Training Log Archive: Swampfox

Spent part of the afternoon surveying at East Pelican; cows were very curious, and asked some quite interesting questions--you just have to understand Cowspeak--demonstrating a much higher degree of intelligence than most give them credit for. In a battle of the brains between cows and submorons, the cows would win hands down.

The area I was working in is ridiculously detailed with various types of stony features, and once I have enough to draft up and do some running with, I will have to see how it looks while on the run, and think about dot knolls vs. boulders. In many cases, it's a very fine line between mapping something as a boulder instead of a dot knoll, and in this type of an area, mapping objects as boulders probably gives overall better clarity/legibility. But there are drawbacks with that approach, too, and it is simply the case that there is no algorithmically exact solution; there is no substitute for eye and experience. Adding to the overall coolness of the area is that it is an almost park-like setting (as in a city park)--with scattered trees and grass that has been bitten so short that a lawn mower would not produce a better result. For a vegetated area, if underfooting is represented at one end by typical Swedish forest, then this would represent the other end of the barbell.

After mapping, I warmed up and tested my leg, which felt fine. So I continued with a hoped for set of intervals, finishing up right at sunset.

While dining on some pizza with bell peppers, I checked out the newly released Bottom 25 rankings. I was a nice surprise to see UConn make an unexpected appearance, and of course I thought of Charlie when I saw that. I don't know if this is a fleeting thing or if UConn could actually hang around for a while.

And even though it was inevitable and only a matter of time, it was still comforting to see Kansas back in the mix. All is right with the (Bottom 25) world again.

But how 'bout them UMasser whatever they ares! Man!!! They are laying down a path towards glory that most can only dream of--the first team to 0-5, and one of only 8 win-less programs so far this season. Is an invitation to the White House in the offing? Well, there is still a lot of season to go, so it's probably best for them to focus on next week and not look too far ahead. That said, they would seem to look pretty good for another loss this coming weekend, going up against 3-1 Ohio (as an interesting side note, Ohio played and, needless to say, beat Kansas earlier this season).

Though sharper eyes will note that of all of UMass's losses, only the loss to Coastal Carolina impresses. Sorry to have to say it UMass fans, but I am afraid winning days lie ahead.

C • UConn 7

Tweaked something in my upper right leg, so I opted for an easy jog and see how that would go. That was fine, and I had lined in an easier day anyway. Drove up top to check out some of the roads/trails at Plains of Despair. The west slope of the the Range was entirely free of snow, though there were small patches of snow here and there on the north slope of the canyon gong up.

The east slope, however, was a whole other story, and it looked like what has been clouds skirting by town in the afternoon had translated to a full-on snow/grappel storm on the east slope. Everywhere and everything was covered in about 3/4" of slushy snow and pellets, much of which was in the process of melting and running down the roads I ran on. Despite that, my feet stayed about 98% dry--go figure. Surely it helped that I was moving slow.

Heavy Rain Fog/Mist (the current listed weather) my ass--at 8:41 on Sunday evening here in Laramie, the snow has started coming down again--so fine! Time to get out the waxing candles and get to work on the skis.

I have been reading over the summer about waxing tips from the experts, and a surprising number recommend the use of Milky Way bars for an extra fast glide zone. They don't say exactly how this should be done however, and I have inferred they mean you should *eat* the Milky Way bar, which anyway is the way I am going. Quite delicious waxing technique.

O' pass at Pelican Bay. Socked in conditions with moderately heavy fog and refreshing mist that kept me both clean and hydrated at all times. Breeze from the east, and about 40F. Abundant cattle, which I tried to ignore as they all looked wet and cold. 9.8 kms and 30 controls. Interesting to compare the running conditions with that of just a few days ago--quite a change.

Felt almost like I was back in Scotland, except for the absence of stone walls running everywhere and country cottages of stone with chimneys at either end. Instead of everything being crunchy dry, everything was dripping, and running through patches of sage and bitterbrush unleashed sprays of waterin limitless quantity. Fortunately, most of me stayed dry the entire time under the jacket I had on, otherwise it might have gotten a bit cold. As it was, I was comfortable from about 10 minutes in (most of that warming up on the way to the start); I did have on wool gloves to keep my fingers working.

It's usually fun running in the fog, and it was today, too.

I don't think the snow is helping my tomatoes.

Earlier this week the County Commission approved the purchase of 5500 acres of land immediately due east of town, stretching up from the edge of town all the way up to the National Forest. In orienteering terms, stretching from the edge of town to the edge of the Telephone Song orienteering map, and including a large chunk of the Telephone Song basemap covering what is presently private land.

It's a pretty big deal for the county/town. However, now comes the hard part: funding the purchase price of $14 million, with one year to raise the money. I have no idea how doable or how tough this will be, but at the very least it is unlikely to prove easy, especially with the state still facing some pretty severe financial constraints from the energy downturn.

It is about time to check the Bottom 25 rankings for the first time this season. Overdue--remiss,in fact--and, after 3 games, Wyoming is right in there at a well deserved #19, having been pounded by Oregon last weekend. But that's nothing compared to UMass, at a #10 with a scintillating 0-4 start. Most teams have only managed 3 games so far, so that's an especially impressive feat!

But, wait, what's this?!??!??! After checking the rankings about 60 times--in other words, *almost* as many times as Republicans in Washington have tried to repeal Obamacare--I can not find Kansas anywhere on the list. What the hell is going on in Lawrence these days? First, the city auditor walks away to take a better paying job with nearish-byish Johnson County, and now KU has already won a football game, and it's still only September???

C • Confident 5

Fairly execrable weather today for things like biking, sun bathing, and looking for unicorns on the high altitude prairie, but pretty good if you're something like a moose. Cold rain much of the day and even a teensy bit of snow.

I went out biking *just* as light rain started, and was back home in under an hour, thoroughly chilled down despite being pretty well dressed for the weather. There is only so much you can do to stay warm and dry on a bike in weather like this.

Went running at the very end of the day, partly because it took that long to get warm again, and partly because by then the rains had nearly spent themselves. It drizzled on and off the whole time I was out at Happy Jack, which made me feel lucky, considering how much it had rained earlier.

Cheech (Marin) is in town today. I think he came to run at Diamond Bay. He might not realize Labor Daze is already come and gone--he is Cheech, after all.

Right now he is talking on the radio and I am drinking coffee--so about the right things are happening in the right places.

O' pass at Remarkable Flats, 9.3 kms, 30 controls. Expected some amount of cold rain and had along clothes appropriate for that; happily it was just gray clouds on scene and it looked like it would be okay in just a long sleeved t-shirt, which worked out fine. In the end, only a few drops fell on me here and there while I was running--much better than the wet bike ride earlier.

Things were going well for the first 21 controls and I was running at race pace. Right after #21, however, I had to make a decision: I came across a nice 4 point mule deer shed. Stash it somewhere and come back for it later, or take it with me and finish the workout while definitely trying to avoid and falls? It was such a nice shed, and I didn't have thaaaaat much more to go distance wise, plus part of what was left consisted of a loop, so I could drop off the shed at the beginning of the loop and pick it back up as I was exiting...I took it with me and kept a laser focus on running efficiently and upright until I was safely at the end.

Nice as the shed was, the best part really was not having the heavens open up with heavy rain. Once started, I would have finished, but it would have been a whole lot less fun.

Lots of cows.

Ran at Happy Jack in the late afternoon in air that was close to dead calm--this, after being quite windy earlier in the afternoon.

Around here, this condition often presages a "change in climate".

Beautiful day with little haze.

Back from biking. It's properly windy out this afternoon--probably best wind we've had since the end of last winter--and so great biking for those who like their air fresh. Conversely, very bad were a fire to break out (I'm sure it's red flag conditions), as there would be no stopping it until the winds let up.

O' pass at east part of Pelican Bay, about 11.2 kms, 30 controls.

The course I drew up was unusual in that the first part was through an area that is basemapped but not surveyed, with the purpose of running there being to check out how it looks and feels in the context of a course. Then I sent the course across into mapped area for enough distance to bring up the distance to something appropriate for how long I wanted to run.

The largest and most complete area of ponderosa forest in the basemap area had been subject to a controlled burn earlier in the year--I hadn't known that--and while there were still plenty of intact beetle kill logs on the ground, it was mostly just pine needles and largely cleaned out of any underbrush (wasn't much to begin with.)

Even though the Pelican basemap was never very good, it was good enough, and it will be good enough for this new area--especially after I upgrade the basemap with imagery--which will give nearly all of the rock and vegetation, which is mostly what runners will use in this area anyway. The contour structure itself is pretty straight forward. And the area itself will be quite special, once mapped properly.

Heard an elk bugling while I was running, the first I've heard this season.