Training Log Archive: GlenT

Event: 2015 Billygoat Run
 

37th Billygoat on Egypt Mills map in the Delaware Water Gap, ably hosted by Sandy Fillebrown, Clem McGrath and the DVOA crew. Great terrain, great map and great weather (high 50s, low 60s, slight overcast). Course was 13.4k with ~500m of climb, one forked leg and, of course, one skip allowed. Excellent course with lots of skip options and lots of opportunities to see other competitors on crossing or sometimes nearly parallel legs.

Goals going in: 1. Don't get hurt, 2. Get a shirt, 3. Don't make big mistakes, 4. Don't cramp, 5. Have fun.

Got about 4.5 out of the 5. Hamstring cramped coming out of #22 but I was able to stretch it out and then was conservative (i.e walked a lot) the rest of the way in and the cramping didn't return, even on the ride home.

My race went well. From about control 2 - 10 I was with a pack including Tom Overbaugh, Karl Ahlswede, Ed Despard, and a few others. Things got a little tentative on the way to 4 (we took the right fork to 3) but at the big stream crossing we got things figured out and were fine the rest of the way to 4. Dasa Merkova caught up at the water stop (8) and Ron Bortz appeared somewhere between 9 and 10 (having unknowingly skipped both 6 and 7). Tom O took off, skipping 11, and I took the pack lead by crossing the dam to the west of the second pond while everyone else looped further around. Missed 12 to the left and wandered around in thickish stuff too far west (this was my largest error, about 3 minutes). At the aid station I spent a little more time than Karl and Dasa and lost contact with them shortly after leaving the aid station, mostly because I headed more directly toward 14 along the stream, which I think was slower. Was considering skipping 14 and made up my mind along the way to skip since I was now on my own. Saw JJ leaving 15 and then intermittently until he skipped 18 but navigated most of the rest of the course on my own. Helped a couple of people into controls on the way (Stefan Slutsky at 20, Dan Mayland? at 22) but they were both moving faster than me so lost me on the road to 23. Apparently as I was visiting 22 several people who skipped 22 passed me. Tori Campbell passed me on the road just before the aid station (passing through it again on the way to 23). The rest of the way in I mostly walked, happy that no one appeared from behind on the trail in from 24 to the finish.

Skipping 14 was OK, but I think that 18 might have been better and 22 would probably have been the best. Considering when my hamstring cramped, the long road run from 21 to 23 might have involved a lot of walking had I skipped 22 rather than 14.

Billygoat - Splits

Forking - BG - Right - Splits

Event: HVO - Tourne Park
 

HVO local event at Tourne Park near Boonton, NJ - Green course (4.9k SL, 140m climb). Mostly open woods on a sunny and warm day. Nice course by Kseniya and Nadya. Did Green as a Billygoat warm-up.

OK run. Two errors of about 3 min each (on 3 and 8), both caused by not being careful with direction leaving the previous control. Not sure I took the best route on 5 by cutting across a swamp rather than around.

Hung out with the grand kid and his parents afterwards, then dinner before heading to the Water Gap.

Bands.

Easy run at Schodack Island SP. Sunny and 65.

A little tight and muscles fatigued from yesterday, but not as tough as I thought it would be. Am I the only person who sweats pofusely while just stretching and balancing?

Checking control locations at Peebles Island for EMPO local event on April 25. Sunny and 70! Lots of water in the rivers. Actual time about 3.5 hours.