Training Log Archive: bill_l

Spur of the moment decision to go back out to Cliff Cave and rerun the o-meet.

Park road was closed when I arrived. Tractor/Trailer at the bottom of the hill on the curve. Was coming back up the hill. Back wheels of the trailer went off road inside of curve. Only thing keeping it from rolling over into the 15-20 foot drop was a wooden guard rail post.

The conditions were not optimal. With the rain we had over the weekend there was an inch or two of semi-liquid mud on top of frozen earth. Top it off with a coating of sleet....

I fell 3 times on the first leg between the road and the creek. It's a steep downhill stretch about 50m long. Not sure if spikes would have mattered. 3rd fall was face first down the hill. Feet slipped, caught in vines, top half kept going....

Because of the conditions, I was not able to move as quickly as Saturday, but my navigation and basic execution were much cleaner. A lot of fun and a great training run.

If the weather is good (= good footing) might run it again next weekend.

C • "...face first down the hill." 6

From the start/finish back up the hill to where I had to leave my car.

Red - Splits

Reflecting on my run yesterday, I lost a lot of time on basics. I think there were only 3 or 4 controls where I had pre-planned my exit strategy before getting to the control. The rest, I'd punch and then have to look at the map to figure out where to go. Part of this may be due to the thick undergrowth at Cliff Cave - it takes a lot of attention to watch where you're going there. But mostly, just not smart execution.

Also, wasn't doing a good job keeping postion on map. So when I did look, I'd have to waste time finding my position and/or orienting.

Map on Eric's blog site.

5 at home, 5 at the park.

Cliff Cave, Motala. 2 Loops, 2 maps. One map had 8 controls, the other had 6. Fun course, but CC is getting really overgrown with honeysuckle.

Mass start, half going on one map, the other half of the field on the second map. Eric was starting on the same loop as I. I wasn't going to follow, but I wanted to see if I could keep his pace. Stayed with him to the first control, but he pulled away on the hill right out of the control. Spikes might have helped as I had some footing issues, but mostly, I just need to work on hill climbing. I did catch up to within about 20 meters after the hill, but I went a little farther east than I planned and got tangled up in some really thick honeysuckle and grapevine. Lost a good 1.5 - 2 minutes getting free.

Overall, I was 4 minutes back of Eric on the first loop, and dropped another 7 on the second.

Perimeter trail with Eric. Having someone to talk to makes the time go by a lot quicker.

Laura hurt her back last weekend. Getting better but kept the walk short.

Red - Splits

in to work. 4 degrees warmer than yesterday, but felt colder. Same clothes. Thermal top, fleece, N2S vest, balaclava, tights, wool socks, heavy gloves.

"DiaperDerm" - Don't know if you can still get this stuff. Supposed to be for diaper rash. Got it 17 years ago when Will was a baby. Made locally. Sold at Schnucks. Lots of natural products like lanolin. Basically a real thick paste form of hand lotion. Found a jar in the cabinet that had only been used for dry hands. I've found that applying a liberal layer, not visibly thick or anything, to the cheeks and nose provides good protection against the cold.....


Got a flat. Rear. 1/2 machine screw. Straight into the tire.

Was on Marshall in VP when I figured it out. Had a little bit of control problem coming down The Hill, so it must have been flat for a while. Then I started thinking I was riding with the emergency brake on or something. Looked at the tire not expecting to be flat. Who expects to get a flat riding roads on a MTB?

Took about 20 minutes to repair. (not included in ride time). Since it was a slime-tube, I tried pumping it up first to see if it would hold air. Then I found the screw...

Hands and toes got really cold. Hands warmed up again, but toes stayed cold. I think I was close to frostbite on a couple toes on the right foot. Was quite painful on the way back to a reasonable temp. Ok now.

Nice evening for a ride.

Ah yes, much less rolling resistance with a full rear tire!

Legs were tired but set a pretty good pace home except for The Hill. Legs just didn't want to climb. Had to stop once to put on different hat, traffic on 141 and a couple of long lights. I think I can shave 10 minutes off the time with a really strong ride and cooperation from the lights.

DiaperDerm is still available. I recommend it highly for kids of all ages....

Dewey's for dinner. I ate too much....

Legs not too bad....

Ride in to work.

Ride home. Got a lift from work to get across 141 bridge. Got dropped off at BB & DF. Not really any closer to home, but I like D Ferry better than Marshall.

23F on the way to work and I was reasonable warm.
52F on the way home and I was cold....

Pre-run

The cold wasn't bad.

Hvy weight thermal top, fleece, wind shirt, heavy gloves, insulated tights, heavy wool socks, balaclava, fleece hat.

After a mile, lost the wind shirt and fleece hat and gloves

Pre-run home

Run home.

Got a ride to 141 and Marshall. Ran from there.

'The Hill' is worse on foot than on the bike. Ran down another runner on the flood plain, but he got me on The Hill.

Tomorrow could be tough going down stairs. Never run 16 miles in a day. I've certainly covered that much ground in a day, but never running....

Another rest day.

Trip to Overland Park has been postponed until next week. Big meeting on Thursday for which I need more prep time.

Took the bus.

Planning to run tomorrow but it looks to be a cold one.... 10F for a low tonight.

BTW: Went to Doc yesterday for follow-up on the knees and another PRP injection to the elbow. Knock on wood: For the first time in 2 years, both my knees are in pretty good shape (98% healed). Neither needed to be treated which is another first! Woooo Hooooo! The elbow is mildly sore but not noticable unless I bump it on something. Hopefully the last round.

C • That is great news!!! 3