Training Log Archive: PG

1. So the Hexathon (as Ross called it) is history. The scoring system was simple -- no point system to worry about, no computers needed, just take your best 5 times from the 6 events.

Cynics would point out that this gave a serious advantage to anyone running all 6 events, because they got to toss out their time at Greylock, but, hey, it was a Hexathon not a pentathlon. Clear winners were Joe (thanks to his superior sprinting at Ratlum Mt.) and Pavlina.

Was it a crazy thing to do? Of course. So what, life is short.

Will it be done again? We're not that crazy. If you weren't there, you missed it. Forever.

2. I think I survived. Nothing really hurts. I ran the first four events hard, staggered through the fifth and cruised through the sixth. I think I might be a little tired. I may try to get out on the bike for a little bit if the rain holds off.

The Inov-8 shoes are great. Used the Mudlaw 370s for Graylock, seemed real good, and the Talon 212s for the sprints and mile, felt really light and comfortable. The Mudclaws have a stiff heel counter, and my left heel was getting a touch tender on the steep climb near the top, but it didn't bother me thereafter, nor this morning.

3. The shave. Looks strange, feels strange, but then I've always felt I looked strange so this is nothing new, just different. Gail is reserving judgment. Will I grow the beard back? Who knows. I expect to take a bit of razzing, but that is nothing new either. :-)

The G was down a bit this morning but I doubt the shave was the reason.

In Greenfield anyway, wet roads so I didn't feel like biking, so having preached the virtues of the treadmill to Phil as a good place to run if you are not sure how long the body will hold up, it seemed only right to hop on the treadmill myself.

A five minute walk to start oiling the joints, then 2 miles at a pace slowly ratcheting up from 10:00 per mile to 7:30. Felt pretty good, sweating away (which felt weird on my newly-shaved parts), could have run for a while but dinner was calling.

Also presented myself at the office. The ladies were unanimous that I looked both younger and different, though I don't think any went so far as to say I looked better, nor did any come and give me a few strokes to check it out up close. Perhaps if I had come in on casual Friday?

I wonder if women who cut their hair much shorter have a similar anxiety -- what will they think, also what will they say (which might be quite different)? -- the first time they see friends. A test of one's self-confidence. Because this trivial matter of hair, so totally unimportant, is also so very important.

C • Gizmo 3

Maps from yesterday at Ratlum Mt: Sprint A and Sprint B.

Event: WCOC BBQ, Sprints, Meeting at DeWeese Farm
 

What a great weekend. Six races, wonderful company.

Now totally wasted.

And, thanks to the fine work of Ms. Pavlina and an encouraging crowd at the WCOC summer meeting, almost clean shaven. Now off to see if I can remember how to use a razor and finish the job.

And the initial verdict is in -- I'm looking very good. :-)

C • Clip & Snip, part 2 18

Mt. Greylock Trail Race, a half-marathon more or less.

So, with this the fourth event of the weekend, I was not exactly well-rested, but I didn't feel awful either. No soreness from yesterday. And the weather was better than expected, not raining. Picked up Jeff and Sam and Ross in Greenfield and headed up in the hills.

The Greylock course has varied a lot over the years. I'd run this version once, 4 years ago, time was 2:19. Didn't figure I'd match that because all my times have gotten slower, no reason that this would be an exception. And it wasn't.

One of the things I like to do is take splits at trail races. It's useful when I run the course again, gives me a sense of how I'm doing, plus provides some entertainment value. So my splits from 2005 had been --

1, Junction of Bellows Pipe and Thunderbolt: 15:49
2. Junction of Bellows Pipe and AT: 38:08 (22:19)
3. Top: 46:22 (8:14)
4. Cross road at top of Sperry Road: 1:14:49 (28:27)
5. Jones Nose: 1:35:09 (20:20)
6. Leave Cheshire Harbor Trail: 2:06:45 (31:36)
7. Finish: 2:19:19 (12:34)

The question was how much slower I would be. I was assuming I could still get under 2:30.

We headed off, and up. I didn't feet great, didn't feel terrible, just sweating profusely. Some running, a good bit of walking. Thought I was doing OK, hit the first split, 17:28, yikes, not good at all, over 10% slower. And feeling like I was working too hard.

Up and up, mostly walking, second split at the top of the ridge, 41:23 (23:55), that was a little better than expected, mood picked up. And then a little more up to the tower, 50:05 (8:42), also not so bad.

The next couple of miles are what any orienteer would normally love -- rocks, roots, mud, water everyplace (though never more than knee-deep) -- which I don't do too bad on these days, but my coordination is not what it used to be, plus I really really didn't want to do anything stupid. So in places I was pretty cautious, though still probably taking a few too many risks. Eventually got over to Sperry Road, seemed forever, 1:20:28 (30:23), not too bad. Then over to Jones Nose, trail not so bad, some mud, some rocks but pretty good running, felt like I was plugging along a little better, 1:41:30 (21:02), pretty good!

The next section is always a pain in the ass. After an initial downhill, there is a long gradual slog uphill (upstream), then about a mile of flat mud, before it starts to drop in earnest. All on a jeep trail, no problem with rocks and roots. So it's just a matter of gritting your teeth and doing it. And I gritted my teeth pretty well, 2:14:45 (33:15). And then almost all downhill to the finish, one last uphill after crossing the bridge, managed at least to run all that, finished pretty strong in 2:26:47 (12:02).

So not so bad. Mostly satisfying, a little unsatisfying, the latter just the continual process of dealing with the inevitable slowing down.

Ross did great, Sam did really great, first woman, Jeff was a minute ahead of me, much stronger up the climb. Also there were Will Hawkins, third overall, Joe and Pavlina.

And then, since there was a lot more to do, changed quickly, collected my container of fresh strawberries for the first 60+, and we all headed off for Ratlum Mountain.

Results. The course map, more or less, especially questionable from miles 1 to 3.

Event #5, Sprint A at Ratlum Mountain. Got checked in, figured I should try to warm up a little. The first attempt at running was not fun, no oil in the joints, feet hurt. But after a few minutes of little bits of shuffling and then slow jogging things loosened up.

Headed off, running not so bad through #5, not fast but a steady tempo. 6 through 9 were slow, scrambling through the laurel, but not terrible. And then I bonked big-time, real fast. Sweating like crazy, suddenly no energy at all, even walking the little uphills was a real struggle. Staggered around the rest of the course, really slowly. Definitely low blood sugar.

I've bonked before, but very rarely this badly. The time I remember most vividly was one year at the Escarpment Run, 18 miles, about 4 miles from the end I lost it, zero energy, couldn't even run the flats. Begged a cupful of something sweet from a passing hiker, and within 5 to 10 minutes I was ripping down the trail again.

So this time, I was done Sprint A, but there was still one more "sprint" to be done. I saw Rhonda -- "Can you get me something sweet, anything?" A glass of OJ and a very sweet cookie appeared, and were inhaled. Sat for 5 minutes. Ordered up one more cookie just to be sure. Sat a couple more minutes and then....

Map coming

Sprint B. Headed off, and no kidding, the legs felt good. Ran a nice steady modest pace all the way around. My orienteering left something to be desired, missed 1, 5 (headed for 14), and 14. But a lot more fun than the first sprint. And very happy to be done.

Amazing how the mind and body can work, or not work.

Excellent courses by Charlie. Best ever.

Map coming

Sprint A - Splits

Sprint B - Splits

Event: NEOC: Forest Park Sprints and Picnic
 

Phil's sprints at Forest Park. This was Sprint 1, mostly on trails. Not a bad run after a little fumble at the first control. Tried my other pair of new shoes from Inov-8, seemed fine.

Sprint 2, more in the woods and slower. Several screw-ups (5, 8, 9) but not so bad.

Four more races to go in the next 24 hours....

Maps -- Sprint 1 and Sprint 2.

Also put out 5 controls, picked up 6 after, maybe 30 minutes each, but it was very non-stressful so I can't call it training.

The Northampton Mile. Net downhill maybe 70', all at about the half-mile mark.

Ran OK. First quarter in 91, feeling too fast, but knowing the downhill was coming. Second quarter in 93, last 100 yards or so sharply downhill, but I used it to recover instead of speeding up. Third quarter in 95, first 100 yards or so gently downhill, still a little conservative. Last quarter in 92, felt good at the end, obviously had a little left over. 6:11 total, a little better than expected given I already had two sprints in the legs. I'd guess the downhill was worth 5 seconds, maybe a little more.

Quite good fun actually. And was over really quickly.

Joe B also ran. Disappeared like a shot at the start. I think he was about 5:40, don't think he was really working hard.

Warm-ups before the first sprint and the mile.

Sprint 2 - Splits

Sprint 1 - Splits

Just a short ride to get a little exercise instead of a snack. Bookmill loop. Timing was not too bad -- according to Gail it rained here pretty hard, starting after I left and ending before I got back. I just got a couple of sprinkles.

Blood pressure today was low 120s over about 70, it's been better since I lost a few pounds.

B-day -2?

So this was 2 weeks ago --

Thursday evening track group. And a nice evening it was. And there's is no other way to put it -- just a great workout. :-)

A good crowd, maybe 15 people, I was roughly in the middle as far as speed. The plan was 2x800, then 2x1000, then 2x800, with a modest amount of rest in between. Two weeks ago I did a similar workout with 800s from 3:19 to 3:23, so the goal this time was 3:20 or just a little less.

(distance, time, rest)
800: 3:17.9, 1:14
800: 3:16.4, 1:15
1000: 4:06.7 (800 in 3:17), 1:38 (including back to the start)
1000: 4:02.2 (800 in 3:14), 1:47 (including back to the start)
800: 3:13.5, 1:24
800: 3:09.9

All of them felt easy except the last one, easy meaning around threshold pace, no faster, could have kept going. Felt really good.

Tonight couldn't have been more different.

For starters, rain. It looked like we'd get a break in the all-day rain, but that was not to be, seemed to get harder.

Next, nothing felt easy, everything a struggle.

And, hard to call it a great workout, other than it got done (mostly).

The plan for our group of 6 was 2x400, 800, 2x1000, 800, 2x400, with rest of about 60-75 seconds, not so much. I had thought that a reasonable goal would be to try to keep to a 6:20 pace, or 95 seconds per lap. But that proved too ambitious.

(distance, time, rest)
400: 1:35.8, 53
400: 1:34.4, 54
800: 3:12.1, 1:18
800: 3:16.2, 2:16 (cut this one short, a little more rest, needed it)
800: 3:15.0, 2:18 (ditto)
800: 3:14.3, 1:15
400, 1:31.5, 58
400, 1:30.6

A struggle all the way. But, got it done, even if slightly modified, and there's something to be said for that.

A couple laps before and a couple after. We started the intervals 5 minutes earlier than expected (the guy in charge is very anal about time). I could have used a couple more laps before, though I'd guess it was going to be a struggle anyway. Some days are like that.

C • Time at least for a letter to the department 1

At the trails at the Brattleboro Retreat after a round of RP just up the street with Mike Fritz. I had hoped to run first, it's so nice to get it done with early, but that just didn't happen. But I got it done right afterwards, and the legs felt not as bad as feared.

Up to the Ice Pond, down to the Retreat farm and back up, up to the top of the ski jump and then back down, and then back to the parking on Dummerston Road. All seemed to go by quite quickly. New shoes seemed OK.

Track tomorrow.

So it seems like a reasonable plan for the upcoming weekend should include the NEOC sprints at Forest Park in Springfield on Saturday, the Greylock Half Marathon on Sunday morning, and then after a quick transfer and with a special dispensation from the Duke of Ratlum Mountain for a late start for Sprint 1, the up-to-now totally detested, but this year under a new philosophy (that they are supposed to be fun), world famous Ratlum Mountain Sprints. With just enough time when we get there to don the blue caps, because FDF season is just about here.

To be followed by delicious food and drink, plus some special entertainment to be announced as soon as the final plans, which have been 39 years in preparation, are decided upon.

Anyone game? Joe? Ross? Sam? Clem? Or should I just be asking the guys with a little macho (and mush for brains)? Jeff? George? Clint?

C • tempting 24

One more thing to make Saturday more worthwhile -- the Northampton Mile late Saturday afternoon.

So that makes a 6 races for the weekend. How can anyone pass that up?

C • fdfs 5

From the results of yesterday's race... :-}

Warm-up for the Northampton 5K XC. As almost always, legs didn't feel like there was going to be much there when called on.

Last time I was here was 3 weeks ago, ran 22:14. A couple weeks before that 22:34. The goal this time was under 22. The stretch goal for sometime in the next 4 weeks to have a go at the age 64 record of 21:33.

Here is my post-mortem from 3 weeks ago:

Splits: 7:13, 7:05, 7:14, 42.

Still need to HTFU when it comes to working hard. Holding back a little bit for the first couple of miles (no lactic acid in the legs at the top of the first hill, no real heavy breathing) as if I'm scared of crossing the red line, though I'm not really that close. The third mile was closer to the edge, felt pretty close to the right amount of pain, still could have pushed a little more. Just have to relearn how to do this.

So the plan this week was to start faster, get under 7 for thr first mile (down then up), then a little faster for the second mile (mostly flat, one drop), and then if I died on the last mile, so be it. Nothing ventured, noting gained, at least go down trying.

Saw Seth just before the start, he usually beats me in these things pretty handily. But not tonight.

Shoes were the old stand-bys, Saloman 460s, they're not really called 460s, but that's what each one weighs, a nice solid pound each. I got some much lighter shoes yesterday, but it seemed possibly foolish to race in them first time, plus I wanted to see if the last 3 weeks of solid training had made a difference.

Though I did trim my beard. Trim, not cut off completely. Though I'm thinking about that. Even checked out razors at the store. But didn't buy one. Yet.

C • Clip & Snip 21

Ran as planned, a harder effort right from the start, so I was already breathing hard when we hit the first hill a half mile in. Passed Seth on the way up, not sure at the moment if that was wise, but no holding back. Hit the first mile in 6:49. Holy shit. 24 seconds faster than 3 weeks ago. Definitely working hard.

And for mile 2 too. As quick as I could, definitely breathing hard, 6:42, 13:31. Holy shit again. Though the good time was tempered by the thought that I was right where I had to be if I wanted to beat the age record (21:33). Which meant I had to keep going.

And mile 3 was suddenly longer. Seriously. Not just in my mind. Don, who started and carefully measured the course 23 years ago, had decided a couple of weeks ago that runners over recently years had been gradually cutting a couple corners in the third mile, making the course maybe 20-30 yards short. So he'd gone out and placed big logs marking the original route. Not what I needed at this point, but the course was the course.

Hung in there best as I could up the hills. Knew I had to hit 3 miles in 20:50 to have a chance, got there in 20:47 (7:16 uphill). It was in the bag. A good finish, 21:27, one word after I crossed the line, "Wonderful."

Splits: 6:49, 6:42, 7:16, 40. Forty-seven seconds faster than 3 weeks ago. Lots of good workouts in that period, the best being the 4 hard 400s.

Took longer than usual for the pulse to calm down.

So I finally remembered what it's like to race. Now I'll have to see if I can repeat it.

C • Happy 7

C • big logs? 2