Training Archive: PGIn the 7 days ending 2008-05-17:
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| S | M | T | W | H | F | S | |||||||||||
Saturday May 17 | ||
| Event: WCOC Huntington meet | ||
| orienteering 1:16:40 [3] 7.6 km (10:05 / km) | |
| weight:138.5lbs shoes: integrators 2006 | ||
| WCOC local meet at Huntington SP, not my best, not my worst.
Not a bad run, but frustrating in a way, I think because I am having trouble reading the map when I am running. I don't know if my actual eyesight has gotten worse, I don't think so because I can still read the map fine when I'm standing still. But on the move it is all different, the lines seem so faint, I'm just missing all the detail. I'm sure a magnifier would help, but I'm hesitant to go in that direction because it's useless when it rains. But maybe I should try it anyway. Problems -- #2. Went to the boulder, no flag, checked another smaller one, no flag there either. After a bit spotted the flag on the small knoll a little to the south. Interesting that the clue was a cliff. Or, using ancient terminology, "A cliff." #5. Walked up the hill leaving 4, to be expected. #8. Walked up the hill leaving 7, really slowly. Legs were not feeling zippy. #12. Got on the wrong spur, trying to keep running and just couldn't read the map well. Adjusted pretty well. #14. Walked up a couple hills, really slowly. And then didn't look at the clue (top of dot knoll), assumed flag was at the foot of a cliff, sailed along checking cliffs until I finally stopped and took a careful look at the map. 21. Couldn't make sense of the contours on the run, so just kept heading what I thought was west. Hit the marsh pretty much dead center. 24. Don't know if this was my fault or not. Went to where I thought the center of the circle was, no flag in sight, and the area was just a jumble of tipped-over pine trees, like big matchsticks. Eventually found the control farther south, in an area of nice woods. 25. Got myself over to the general area ok, but then didn't read the contours well and was looking too far west. Another minute or two lost. So I finished with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Not that I'd had a perfect run until the last couple, but it had been decent. On the other hand, it was a beautiful morning, the course setter had used the nicest woods, and I have to remind myself -- as I'm starting to do sometimes now when just out for a training run -- that I need to remember to just be happy I can still get out and do this. My routes. | ||
| orienteering 26:00 [2] | |
| shoes: integrators 2006 | ||
| Picking up a few controls. Doing penance for some poor orienteering?
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| Note | |
| Stopped for a quick 9 at Millbrook on the way home. The mosquitos are here.... :-(
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Red - Splits | ||
Friday May 16 | ||
| nautilus 45:00 [1] | |
| Passed on a run today, just didn't feel like it. | ||
Thursday May 15 | ||
| track 19:55 [4] 4.8 km (4:09 / km) | |
| weight:137.5lbs shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| Thursday evening track group. 1 x 1600, 3 x 800, 2 x 400, all on a 9 minute per mile cycle, so not that much rest. Felt better than last week. And as usual, much more pleasant when you're done than in the anticipation or the doing.
1600 - 6:57 800s - 3:18, 3:17, 3:16 400s - 1:34, 1:33 Oh, and there was the dog. A greyhound in fact. Brought by a couple that also had their newborn in a jogger. The jogger I could deal with, mom stayed in the outside lane for the few laps she ran. The dog, on the other hand, well, I wasn't happy with it, even if it was by all appearances pretty well behaved, didn't jump up on anyone, seemed to love zipping around, usually not bothering anyone. But then on one of the 400s the bunch of us are just starting out and the dog is zipping around right in the midst of us, and I'm thinking, it's just a matter of IF, not WHEN, the accident happens. And I don't want to be the one laid up because a dog was doing intervals with us and tripped me up. So I complained afterwards to the guy who organizes the sessions. Don't know if he'll do anything or not. And if complaining makes me the grynch, so be it. | ||
| C • dog 3 | ||
| track 8:55 [2] | |
| shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| A little before, a little after. | ||
Wednesday May 14 | ||
| nautilus 40:00 [1] | |
| weight:138lbs | ||
| hike 41:05 [2] 2.6 mi (15:47 / mi) +340m 6:59 / km | |
| shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| Meant to get out late afternoon, but I lay down for a moment and my how time flies....
So after a fine dinner, still just enough daylight for a quick trip up Toby, minimal pack (phone, jacket, small flashlight just in case), walking/climbing briskly. Good effort, felt ok. Lots of birds out, only song I could remember was the wood thrush. But I was reminded of the woodcock I saw on a run up in Gill a few days ago. Almost stepped on it, and when it flew it had the zig-zaggy flight of a woodcock, but it didn't go far or fast, never far from me, then sat down, then took off again, right in front of me. Best view of a woodcock I've ever had, much better then any time 50 years ago when I did a modest amount of bird hunting with my dad and pheasants were pretty easy shots, grouse very tough, and woodcock just about impossible. But this guy would have been easy pickens, were I so inclined, and so armed. Which fortunately I was not. | ||
| trail running 34:33 [3] 4.1 mi (8:25 / mi) | |
| shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| And then running back via the S curves, down the power line and home. Good pace, good effort, legs still ok, and dinner stayed put. Good rogaine training (not to be confused with rogaine practice, search and rescue with a little white ball). Getting quite dark in the hemlocks at the end, but no falls!
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Tuesday May 13 | ||
| trail running 1:01:30 [3] | |
| weight:138.5lbs shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| In Northfield on the M&M trail from Gulf Road. I was planning on going north across the Upper Bald Hills, hadn't been that way for many years though I ran there fairly often when I was training for ultras (and it was also part of Fred's old 50K course). But there was signs of logging going on, and an improved dirt road, and a big gate, and 3 No Tresspassing signs, and not a hint of anything like a trail marker.
So I went the other way, up and over Crag Mt., really more a long ledgy ridge than a mountain, but quite nice, lots of old hemlocks and only a couple steep but rather short climbs, and then down to Mountain Road, where the section past the Northfield pump storage reservoir starts. And then back. Nice run, legs not too bad, beautiful late afternoon. Before long it will be hot and humid and buggy, but not yet. Today's route.... 
By the way, here's the current digital version of the topo. Doesn't come close to the 1961 version above. 
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Monday May 12 | ||
| trail running 1:01:03 [3] | |
| shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
Found some nice trails in Brattleboro on some land mostly owned by the Brattleboro Retreat (a psychiatric hospital). I'd seen a sign and a map of the trail network last year sometime, thought I should check it out, and finally did. The best part was the little box hanging by the sign that had copies of the map (click for a bigger copy)....
And it was a very good map, as far as the trails went, they seemed to be mapped pretty much perfectly, though of course there were no contour lines. So when I got home I checked out the topo map.... 
The contours are reasonably ok on the eastern hill, totally insufficient on the western part by the ski jump and Ice Pond. A section that would actually be pretty nice for orienteering. And then I spent a while trying to figure out how to combine the two into one image. Totally without success. :-( Anyway, the run was pretty nice. Started at the south end at Solar Hill, north to the top of the ski jump, that got me nervous just looking down, then over to the east and up to Stone Tower, then back to Ice Pond and around and about on most of the trails near it until it seemed like I would get in about an hour. Got back to the car at 58 minutes, so once down Solar Hill and back up. A really nice run, preceded of course by my usual 2 to 3 hour walk. | ||
| C • Success... 13 | ||
| nautilus 45:00 [1] | |
| Stopped on the way home to bulk up. | ||
Sunday May 11 | ||
| Event: WCOC Ansonia Nature Center meet | ||
| orienteering 1:03:19 [4] 7.1 km (8:55 / km) +270m 7:30 / km | |
| shoes: integrators 2006 | ||
| WCOC club meet at Ansonia, Red course. A great area, interesting topography, good map, nice woods. And a fun course too.
Progress. Had a little more energy, ran up a bunch of hills (none big, but I would have walked them all a couple of weeks ago). Started to run out of gas after about 35-40 minutes, walked 4 little bits, but still pretty good. 7 falls. Orienteering was a little shaky, mainly having trouble reading the details of the map well on the run, struggling quite a bit with that. I can read it ok standing still, but on the move, not so good. So a lot of times I was just trying to go with what I could get, plus stay on the direction I wanted, and keep my eyes open. No big mistakes, maybe 2 minutes altogether? My routes. #5 - Should have stayed high. Dropped down to the marsh, was rough going, finally said the hell with it and just waded across (20 meters, mid-calf deep). #8 - Pulled up a boulder too soon and a little to the right. Took a careful look at the map and saw where I was. #10 - A little left. #11 - A little left, but full speed. #12 - A little right, almost went too far. #15 - Getting real tired going up into and out of the control. #16 - A little left, not quite clear on what the contours were supposed to be doing, but just kept moving and saw the control to my right. #17 - Tired, trail seemed easier/faster even if it dropped lower. #18 - Worst control, too far left, stood for a bit, then corrected the right way. #23 - Getting real tired. | ||
| trail running 23:00 [3] | |
| shoes: Montrail #2 | ||
| After a few minutes and a change of shoes, went back out for a little bit on the trails.
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| Note | |
| A bit of a long but good day.
First orienteering at Ansonia. Definitely good. Then to Litchfield for a Mother's Day visit. Went ok, pulled out a couple of very old photo albums, c. 1930s and 40s, and that seemed to dredge up some old memories. Glad I went. And then to Canton for Charlie's birthday party. In his pursuit of eternal youth, or maybe as a result of trying to keep up with all the babes in Rhonda's early morning class, Charlie is going under the knife on Friday for a twofer, shoulder and knee. He's looking forward to it, hopes for significant improvements. That would be real nice, keeping our fingers crossed. An excellent birthday cake, by the way, though I only had a very small piece. And then home, aware all day of how much gas was being burned, and reverting back a bit to 1970s driving, a little slower, a lighter foot on the pedal. Got home without having to fill up. The best, of course, from an energy point of view, would have been not to go at all, but life is short.... | ||
Red course - Splits | ||
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