Training Log Archive: PG

South Sugarloaf on the paved road. Brisk. 13:16 up, 11:45 down. Just walking, but gets the heart going.

With Gail, to the canal in Turners Falls.

Millers Falls, Ruggles Pond, Lake Wyola. Mostly flat for the first 12 miles, then 30 minutes of climbing, then mostly down for the rest. Sunny and low 80s so quite pleasant, though I still ended up rather wilted by the time I was done.

C • coincidence 3

With Gail plus Di and Tucker, lots of conversation, not much effort. :-)

Pocumtuck Ridge trail up to the picnic table. Brisk pace, no silliness.

South of town, with Gail. Low to mid 80s, getting hot.

The plan was to go over to the lower hills on the west side of the valley, but my legs seemed tired enough from yesterday that I ditched that plan for a loop in the valley, just a few small ups. As it happened the legs get better, and so the effort picked up too. You never know.

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Yesterday was an outing of a quite different sort, being a spectator watching the pro golfers play just south of Hartford. On the warm side and I spent about 7 hours on my feet, but totally enjoyable in a way I had not expected at all.

I had thought of going for a while without making any sort of commitment. One issue was the weather. The possible days to go were Thursday and Friday (the weekends are too crowded), and the weather looked to be rainy for Thursday and fine for Friday, so earlier this week I got a ticket. More expensive than I expected, about $60, but there seemed to be free tickets available to active and retired military (that's common, also does me no good), and also veterans. Well, that's me.

Everything is done online, but it didn't take long for me to upload my official discharge statement from 1970 -- amazing that I knew where it was -- and pretty soon I had my free e-ticket for Friday.

The other issue was whether there was anyone I wanted to watch. Most professionals golfers are pretty boring to watch. One of the keys to being able to perform well seems to be to control your emotions, no highs and no lows. Sink a long putt, hit one in a pond, same reaction in both cases, ie. none. As compared to, say, football or basketball.

Reminds me of the first time I went to see the pros play, probably in the early to mid 60s. Palmer was in his prime, birdied the first hole, long putt for an eagle on the second, he was wired and the crowd was going bananas. But that was then and this is now.

So most of these guys are as dull as can be. But not all. I've got about three guys I like watching. Only one was going to be there, a guy of Indian descent name of Sahith Theegala, young, good and getting better, came close to winning a few months ago in Phoenix and showed such class and good values and good karma that how could you not root for him. He had a decent round on Thursday, 3 under despite some mistakes. Tee time for Friday was about noon.

I got to the course about 10, looked around some, briefly watched a number of guys I'd never heard of, thought some about how hard the sport is, not just the playing (remember that the courses they playing on are way harder than anything a normal person might play on), but also the stress when you're really really good, but just not quite good enough. Guys who have made it to the big leagues, but there are no long-term contracts and in a year or two they're looking for another job.

And then a short stop for lunch, also free for veterans. :-)

And then off to follow Sahith and his two playing companions (one of whom I was interested in seeing as he is another young guy and really good). This being Friday, and none of the three a big star, I'd say there were maybe 30 or 40 folks following the group. Perfect, never a problem getting a good view.

Of course, I was really enjoying whatever I saw because as is the case every day, I had my new and much improved eyesight. Last time I'd been to one of these things, maybe 5 or 10 years ago, it had been really hard to see the ball if it was being hit any distance. Much better this time, plus I had my binoculars which often came in handy.

A few holes went by and I noticed a young couple walking along, looked like of Indian descent, so I asked if they were related to Sahith. No, but they clearly were there just to watch him. A few more holes, Sahith is doing well, maybe 3 under for the day, and I spotted of couple of young guys who also appeared to be of Indian descent. So I chatted them up and it took just a couple of sentences to determine that one was Sahith's younger brother and the other a cousin.

For the next few holes we each went our own way, but met up most every hole for a bit of chat. And the vibes were good, I was enjoying their presence and they seemed to be enjoying mine. And by the last few holes we were just hanging out, talking about all sorts of things, really interesting. Sahith finished up, a 65, tie for 7th with the weekend to go. I would have really liked to meet the guy, but I couldn't figure out a polite way to suggest it. And so I said good-bye to the brother and cousin, said I'd enjoyed the company, and got back in response an unexpected thanks from them, saying how much they'd enjoyed it. And was I coming the next day so we could do it again.

That wasn't in the cards. But still, sometimes unexpected things just put a big smile on your face. So fine.

Story about Sahith on Saturday.

C • the Travelers 1

Nice ride in the hills to the east, tired by the time I was done but not really before.

And tired afterwards. More than a nap could fix.

Brisk walk before dinner, Old Sunderland and Fosters.

C • Brisk 5

With Gail, south of town. She was feeling zippy, it seems. And no e-bike involved.

Leverett, Montague Center. Sunny, low 80s, low humidity, north breeze.

South wind about 15, so I got the upwind part out of the way first, then enjoyed the rest.

With Gail and Walter. Very pleasant.

North Mountain (jeep road), from the top of Claybrook to the power line and back.

Don't know what happened, but the legs felt great. Just zipped right up with no fatigue to speak of, and zipped back down too. Given what I see occasionally for how fast folks of my vintage are moving, I'm tempted to call it "running," but of course I didn't run a step.

Enjoy it, might be a long time before a repeat.

Loop around through Old Deerfield. Lovely morning, modest effort, just the way I wanted.

Short walk (because I was tired), just up to the fork on South Sugarloaf. 10:45 up, 8:25 down, more effort going up (obviously) but only trying to move quickly on the way down. My back is still achy going downhill, though a good bit less than it has been, so we'll see if stressing it just a little bit more helps or not.

A then last school committee meeting for this school year. Continues to be very satisfying.

With Gail, north along the river.

Chard Pond up to N Mountain. 23:35 up, 22:10 back. Just about right.

With Phil, up in the hills. Part of the ride was a decent climb, but mostly flat or down, which was fine by me. Legs felt OK.

Up in 14:11, working hard, down in 15:10, chatting with my brother.

With Gail, to the north. Another nice day.

Short ride, to the south (ie. flat). Windy from the south, but often at least some shelter from it.

With Gail, South Deerfield and Whately loop, hillier than our usual. Perfect day.

In the hills between Conway and Shelburne Falls, the major up being Bray Hill Road climbing out of SF. Did get a chance to use my lowest gear on the last quarter-mile or so. Don't have much zip climbing, but it could be worse. Route included about 3 miles of dirt.

Lovely day, about 70, low humidity, gusty NW wind. Nice to be able to do stuff like this.

With Gail, south of town.

Legs tired, so no ambitions.

With Phil, a loop in the lower hills to the west, getting most of the uphill done in the first 8 miles. A fine ride. And my blood pressure, a topic of some concern recently for being possibly a bit high, came in at 101/60. Hard to believe I'm not passed out on the floor.

Three observations --

1. We had a discussion as to where the high point was on the Haydenville - Conway road, the options being at the junction with Roaring Brook Road (Phil's choice) and further north where the descent down into Conway starts (my choice). It seems the latter has the honor by at least 20 feet. :-)

2. Looking at my data page from clicking the blue globe (or here), it seems there was a moment very close to where we were crossing I-91at mile 15.82 on my Garmin when all of a sudden the elevation was somewhat over 14,000 feet. I assumed it was a glitch in my Garmin. But Phil's data page shows a similar blip. What is going on? JJ, you know everyone, what's up?

3. Having socked away quite a lot of credit in the bank account where miles ridden into the wind with someone drafting behind you are accumulated, I had more than enough of a balance to withdraw miles anytime I wanted and tuck in behind Phil, no guilt at all. A fine way to deal with him pushing the pace way more than had been advertised. And I still have a very healthy balance.

C • Observations 3

Plans for a bike ride didn't work out, but there was time and the inclination for a hike up South Sugarloaf late afternoon, same route as last Friday, but no rain this time. Roughly 35 seconds quicker going up, which is good, and about the same amount slower coming down, which is also good. We'll see how the muscles feel in a day or two, hopefully not as bad as after last time. Though the lower back still doesn't like coming down.

Spent most of the afternoon dealing with my eyes. First was a long visit with a doc I'd seen a couple of times, but then the practice where she worked changed its business model and she had to go elsewhere. She had been great, talked easily and intelligently and was happy spending as much time as needed. We'd had a long discussion about my retina problems. She knew the docs at the retina place in Springfield, told me which one I should see, gave me the push to go ahead.

Anyway, tracked her down. Another good talk about the state of my eyes. Everything looked good, pressure was not a problem. And she spent a lot of time on a new prescription, until we were both satisfied that it was as good as it could be (and better than my current glasses). At the end I asked what line I was reading. 20-20, both eyes!

So then, best get right to it, drove down to Chicopee to the optician she had said previously was the best in the area, got that process started. So in a week or two I'll be seeing a little better. My eyesight is already amazing compared to what it's been, but if it can be a little better, especially at this age, go for it.