Training Log Archive: cmorse

C • open classes... 6

Easy 5 on snow covered trails.

Afternoon walk w/ Jackson - 30s with rapidly disappearing sunshine, but pleasant enough for January.

Event: QOC Fountainhead East
 

Lunatic Road Trip - guilty, but JJ concocted this nonsense...

Left Tolland around 6pm Saturday, drove down to Hamburg, PA for a convenient overnight stop at Cabelas. Then up at 6am to finish the drive, pulling into Fountainhead parking lot about 25 minutes prior to our appointed 10:15 start window. JJ & I both ran up - he doing Blue and I opted for the 6.8km Red rather than green.

Started off tentatively, to ease into the map - navigated ok, up and over hill, but had trouble sorting out all the trails, which was which and saw a trail bend that looked about right but no cairn or flag. Then noticed a flag perhaps 20m to my right, so wandered over and sure enough, but trails didn't seem to be as close as map depicted. Oh well, mental note made to take trails with a grain of salt.

Off to #2 using a combo of trails (but shortcutting loopy bits) and moving more or less on line. Vegetation really not bad, not sure I'd map it with undergrowth, just some minor deadfall. In without problem.

Continued moving along, trying to avoid excessive climbs by skirting re-entrants where I could. Until #6 somehow got into wrong reentrant and ended up east of control by dot knolls along trail, then proceeded to incorrectly relocate into reentrant S of control - pretty major time loss here, probably 5-6 minutes. Damn.

Slowed down a bit to be more careful reading contours. Not bad through #8, then uphill through green which was rhody's but didn't really impede speed at all. Up to trail, noted boulder group to my left, proceeded R on trail but apparently the boulders I noted were not the mapped group as I wound up NE of control trying to make send of contours before coming back to prominent 2m boulder. Probably another 4 minutes flushed on this one.

Lots of up/down plus just getting tired on 10-12 and as I was getting closer to #12, my brain just started navigating to #3 instead. Realized my error as I crossed the tip of the inlet and saw #3 off to my left as I passed it enroute to 12. Time loss mostly to not having the legs to be running up the hills through here. Slowed up on the top of the last ridge headed toward #13 to assess the shape of the lake below and ensure I was dropping down in the correct spot - i was slightly south of where I wanted to be, but an easy enough correction. Run in mostly on trails and I had good energy left in the legs on the trails, just struggled on the steep uphill bits.

Just under 100 minutes and a good day in the woods. Terrain very relevant to next weekend, so that's good. A shame I left so much time out there on #6 & #9 but it is what it is. Pretty much middle of the pack - which I'm ok with on Red. On to GA...

10/24 on Red.

Red - Splits

Skipping Forest Park 5K and headed to Strider group run at Soapstone instead. No need to beat myself up with impending road trips... Six potential O runs in next 9 days.

• OUSA - Updated National Calendar w/ Masters Nationals website - Web
  
• OUSA - Evalin Brautigam - 3rd W21E @ Oceania Champs - FB
  
• OUSA - Registration Updates - Royal Romp, GNC, Anza Borrego - FB
  

Strider social group run. Easy pace, lots of regroup stops.

Amigo day, but not a soul in the lot. They all went to the bubble instead. So a solo run. Easy 3, then faster couple and some fartlek pickups for the last mile.

Easy 6 with Kathy, Bob & crew

I the dark, in the mist & rain. Not far, but something.