Training Log Archive: bl

Event: NEOC: Powisset Peak (Caryl Park)
 

NEOC meet at Powissett Peak, first meet of season. Warm day, even hot until I got a cup of water on top of me at 4, the water stop with a view. Was overdressed with full length O pants. Did green (5.6K) which assured me a good workout. Worked hard for 75+ minutes. No notable mistakes, one stop too early, #8, and one or two non-optimal route choices. 3 hillsides calling for contouring and, hopefully, some visibility in the approach. 8 was a 0.5 m boulder, and wondered if I might have missed it. Eventually continued on to find it, somewhat hidden by vegetation. Felt lucky. Some of these (only eastern MA?) maps make the route look easy - they offer no detail to speak of and then the route turns out not to be so straightforward as it unfolds.

Stopped in Newton on the way home...Newton-Wellesley Hospital which harks back to internship ’76-7 and associated places where I lived with roommates: 15 Woodside, 140 Mt. Vernon and 120 Pleasant. How young we were. All now spruced up to keep up with times but still very much recognizable. Also Willow Terrace where the Tuthills lived. I suspect they’ll all be standing after I’m gone.

310XT refuses to sync although it did around 3/20, last of Africa. Distance a guess for now.

Figured out the gpx block (that did not exist 2 weeks ago) w/ internet help. Possibly due to a Mac computer update. Anyway, I opened the generally dormant MacBook Pro, updated Garmin Connect and had my gpx file. It might work on Windows as is but I don't have an up-to-date platform for that. Still getting by with XP and Parallells for ocd files, and maybe QR haven't tried that though.

Guessed 7k vs 6.7 actual. Negated above time/distance entry, except for a second.

Green - Splits

Lovely walk with Beth, Pete, Mel and Dylan & Juliet in Nottingcook. Parked in the Arena and went up to Norwegian Ridge thru open pines. Fine spring day and outing.

Entered West Point, first A meet since 2017.
Broke out Purple Pen from the pronounced-DOA (by the Apple store a yr. ago) MacBook Pro & made a simple Bear Brook course which printed flawlessly from the MBP to a printer that I’m not sure was even in the house last time I printed anything from PP. Spent time with Dylan showing him OOM and PP, challenging him to make a map of his neighborhood.

Map walk at Exeter TF around 4:30. Light rain at times, warm, woods clear of snow. Tough terrain, no surprise. Hard to get boulders right there. The slower one goes, the more one notices... 310 won't spit me out a gpx file.

After, drove to Pease AFB to pick Beth up. She walked out as I drove in to the terminal. Went back on Rte. 4 which is really pretty, esp. east of Durham. Amazing sunset with mist on marshes, ponds, lakes.

Concord quarries behind the state prison. Got the idea yesterday at Concord GI viewing them from their 4th floor office. Was there years ago in summer. Fine spring day today. Parked off Little Pond Rd. Followed old powerline cut and then old SVT to early quarries where kids swim and paint the rocks as in vandalism. Went on to Swenson Quarry. Too bad I couldn’t see in but it was too much on the far side to do so. Much open wood, near bare ground at first, moderate snow after first quarries. Stopped at air traffic controller site on way back - more good views, not much trespassing.

Old quarry, Vandals,
NH on the chopping block

C • Granite blocks 3