Training Log Archive: abiperk

Exploring Yellowstone - carrying a fair bit of weight, but more family nature walk than strenuous hike. Distance c/o my sister's fitbit, estimate on time.

Sunset run at 6700 feet

A mix of thick humidity, muddy gravel, and wind-swept roads -- more storms rolling through this afternoon. Very much looking forward to a change of scenery, and to being reunited with my Niner. The Surly is a mess, and also not set up to be comfortable for more than a commute.

Flying to Denver tomorrow, and then onto Wyoming!

2x20 min intervals

General joint check - ankles and lower back seem to be holding pretty well.

Two days of intense storms made for a crazy commute to camp -- thick mud, two downed trees, and a dozen puddles up to my hubs, all with a toddler on the back of the bike!

Ditched the toddler seat and continued on. A little bit smoother sailing after that, but didn't feel so hot. More about time in the saddle than being able to push.

Fitting in a quick set of intervals during a frenzied day of packing and race prep. Brent leaves with all our gear (and our pup!) first thing tomorrow morning!

C • ahhhhh! 3

Hangin' out in the basement.

Ride through the suburbs and farm towns west of Philly. I set off with a loose plan to follow some of the route of the Schuylkill Century, a supported 100-mile ride that takes place every September. The route's marked by small white painted arrows on the street. They haven't repainted for 2017 yet so everything's pretty faded and I lost the route a few times, but I was generally able to get myself back on track.

Two Rivers scouting -- baking as we dreamed about December adventures... I'm beginning to think that this humidity is doubling as altitude training for my lungs.

Ditto.

To GA and back, a mix of road and gravel. Felt like mush.

Trouble sleeping after last night's ride -- lights out around 11:30pm, up at 2:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. So, out at first light for an early ride to Valley Forge and back on the SRT.

Weekly ride with my dad, Part I

Weekly ride with my dad, Part II

Out-of-practice stroller run. Humidity is supposed to break for a bit later today.

I've had lingering headaches post-workouts all week - I think a combo of the humidity and air quality. Decided to go out this evening instead of afternoon to see if it made a difference, and I felt a lot better. Sunset hill repeats in the Wiss - L&M headlamp doubled okay as a bike light, except the three times of flew off my helmet into the street...

Needed a break from the humidity.

Wiss hike with Val. 95 degrees, heat index of 115, and full race pack. Good test of what race foods will melt in the Wyoming sun.

Lower back/tailbone adjustment. Didn't intentionally schedule back-to-back with massage, but I think both helped.

micro-attacks with a side of heat and humidity. Oof.

Long intervals

Cashed in a massage GC from my mom for an hour of deep tissue. Ouch! I'd thought about scheduling it last Friday before the rogaine and I'm glad I didn't -- my whole body was sore afterward. Productive pain, hopefully.

Enjoying these weekly rides with my dad. Z hung out on the back of B's bike this time, and I got a nice shakeout.

First stop - playground.

Next stop - lunch.

And then back home for naps all around!

Event: DVOA Lucky 7 Rogaine
 

DVOA Lucky 7 12-hr Rogaine with Joel, Nicki, and Glen Gibson. 9am race briefing, followed by maps and a 10am start. So, we had about 40 minutes to make sense of seven overlapping orienteering maps covering all of French Creek (N, S, E, W, and central maps), Hay Creek, and Warwick - two of them at 1:15 and the rest at 1:10.. We did our best to wrap our collective heads on everything and started with a plan that would allow us to clear the course, if we had time. I wasn't feeling particularly fresh, but my legs held up okay over the course of the day and I was able to keep pace with the group (except long-legged Joel, who was a beast physically and kept getting about 25 meters ahead of the rest of us).

We flew through the first couple hours and then settled into a comfortably sustainable pace. Joel worked the maps with Glen playing backup and Nicki following along and adding some clutch observations throughout the day. I managed the hieroglyphics that were the clue sheet.

We swept west and south and then around in a counterclockwise direction. Ultimately decided to skip the Warwick map entirely - a 4-5 mile roundtrip road run to get out to it didn't seem like the best use of our time once we realized we weren't going to clear the course. From there, we moved north and east, ultimately up into the Hay Creek/Birdsboro area. I knew this section pretty well; Brent and I used it in the first 24-hour race that we designed. Unfortunately, we were running short on time by then and had to leave the five northwesternmost points, which are in my favorite area of the park. Still, we were treated to a beautiful sunset view of the southern reservoir, which alone made the day worth it. That, and the giant black snake that crossed our paths, and what we think was a bear tromping through the woods behind us until we yelled Hey, Bear! and it went away. We had one 20-minute nav bobble but otherwise hit everything relatively cleanly.

About 4 hours into the race, I nicked my big toe on a rock at just the right angle and managed to dislodge the nail from the bed. Holy shock of pain! It was intermittently searing for the next two hours, until I finally called for a pause and raided the first aid kit. We weren't carrying much, but a little bit of tape to keep it from moving around made a big difference, and I was able to run most of the rest of the course with a manageable level of pain.

We made it back onto the FC North map with about 2 hours to go and made an over/under bet on finishing before 9:27pm. Joel and Glen took the under, Nicki took the exact time, so I went with the over. We bombed down the trails, hit the last four points cleanly (other than wasting 10 minutes at CP 86, which was hung wrong - about 20 meters from the flagging marked with CP86 - so they gave everyone the points), flew down the final trail (where I nicked my toe again and hobbled the last 100 meters), and clocked in with 2.5 minutes to spare. And I won a beer from my teammates.

Overall, the course was long and rambling. We were on roads and trails a lot more than I was expecting, but that may have been more a product of our route choice than anything else. Frank Boscoe and Sam Kolins, the eventual winners, estimated that they covered about 10 miles less than we did, and trekked almost the entire thing, only running the out/back to Warwick and a few other short spurts. Super curious to see their route on here. We ended up 1st the mixed category, 2nd overall.

C • Sam just told me that we we... 4

One hour of intervals, followed by two of steady effort. Shoulders and elbows sore the last 30 min so focused more on using my legs -- made a big difference.

4x5 micro attacks, followed by an out-and-back on FD.

Super tired today and had trouble gearing up to get outside. When Val texted to see if I wanted to meet her and Laura for a run/hike, that seemed like a good compromise to the harder run I had planned. 90 degrees and humid - would have been tough to push the pace in those conditions anyway.

Leisurely ride downtown with my dad, B, and Z - Z on the back of my bike.

Ride home - same crew, same setup.

Ascent with pack, part 1 - took a break for dinner and bedtime

Ascent with pack, part 2