Training Log Archive: Swampfox

O' pass on the Lights of Cheyenne map, 9.4 kms, 20 controls, mostly open prairie with very good runnability w/ almost no stretches of leg sucking, wet marsh.

Planning has now begun for a 2018 Rocky Mountain O' Festival, with 6 days of racing ending on September 3, and it looks like 4 of those days are likely to end up being "A" days (or whatever it is they are to be called now.)

I am going to set 2 non "A" days along with 1 "A" day, and really hadn't thought where to put the non "A" days. However, I enjoyed today's course so much, and it has been so long since we last used this map for anything that I think this could fill the bill for one of those non "A" days, with maybe a tweak or two.

Another beautiful day, sunny with just a few high clouds, and midday temps in the upper 60s. About as nice as could be!

C • "A" 8

Another super fine day out. Did some more mapping at Granite Planet, and then ran a short O' course--5.4 kms, some snow, 2 moose, and one animal that could have been a mountain lion, a coyote, or a bobcat. The raw odds would favor a coyote, but the color and texture of what I could make out of the fur and the lack of any tail that I could see make me lean towards bobcat. At any rate, it definitely wasn't Billy Gibbons or his beard. Also ran into a small herd of mule deer that just didn't seem that concerned, despite it being hunting season.

But of course it being Tuesday, the highlight of the day was the release of the updated Bottom 25.

I was very surprised to glance through the list quickly and not spot the Denver Broncos, I mean, I realize the rankings are just for college teams, but last Sunday the Broncos really, really, really stunk. How could the same team that pounded Dallas just a few weeks ago lose so completely to an utterly depleted, win-less Giants team consisting of Eli Manning and a motley corps of injured invalids and a few disoriented rookie newbies? The only plausible answer is the alien pod people must have sucked out all the competitive juices from the Broncos roster and replaced them with denatured celery spray or something. Mercy. When the wind is blowing https://www.attackpoint.org/up from the south, you can still catch a hint of the stench all the way up here. When the Broncos play Kansas City, Denver fans better have those solar eclipse glasses handy because they're going to need them to avoid seeing the carnage.

What caught my eye this week were mainly three things:

1) UConn did not impress. Another week like this one, and they'll be out of the rankings.

2) But Kansas did. They may have gotten off to a slow start this season, but this week they showed veteran prowess. They know where they want to go, and they know how to get it done. Baylor better watch out!

3) Massachusetts is headed in the wrong direction, and they better figure out quick how they can actually play some of the games they have scheduled, and lose them.

In closing, hats off in honor UTEP for being the first to 0-7 this year!

C • KU Football 4

Quite a nice fall day. Mapped a little, picked up a tiny amount of trash, and then did some pleasure running. All I saw were blue skies.

C • All I saw were blue skies 2

Intervals not run yesterday were run today, under beautiful conditions. Not a cloud in the sky from sunup to sundown, and all the wind could muster was a light breeze. If every day here was like today, then the population would be x10. But not much danger of that!

On one of my rests, a hunter drove up and we talked briefly. I asked him what he was after, and he said elk. I had seen two nice mule deer bucks in that area 20 minutes earlier, and told him so. He showed me a picture of an enormous bull elk he had shot nearby in 2012, and I showed him the two beer cans I had picked up while I was running. The elk was a lot more impressive.

Ran trails in snow late in the day. I had planned a different workout, but opted to change plans because of the conditions. It wasn't outright cold--a few degrees below freezing, but the skies were mostly gray, and the there was formidable wind putting the "c" in chilly. It certainly felt like the coldest day we've had so far this winter season--especially out in the open. In the trees, it was more comfortable.

Long run on trails, easy pace. Nothing but blue skies.

O' pass, 11.5 kms, 30 controls, at Twin Boulders, partly cloudy, breezy, pleasant running conditions, some snow on the ground, up to 4-5" deep on protected northern slopes. Saw one owl flying low and away through a small wooded area--probably it was wondering what a swampfox was doing out there.

C • owl 3