Training Log Archive: Charlie

Event: USA Corn Maze Champs, Classic, Sprint, and Relay
 

Not pushing, just starting to get back in the habit.

Writing that made me think of my old Catholic school friend, Richie Aquilina. Endlessly entertaining, good spirited, full of gentle mischief. Quite a fine fellow. One day in 9th grade he asked, "Is it all right to kiss a nun?" Answer:

"Yes, as long as you don't get in the habit."

4 back to back 5 minute AMRAP sessions. First session alternating 20 situps and 25 squats, then next session row 250 M and 10 burpees, then 20 KB swings and bear crawl one length of the gym, last session 10 pullups, 10 pushups. Knee is increasingly troublesome. Much rolling called for and some application of the stick.

I don't usually log yard work, but so much stone shoveling was involved in the driveway cleanup exercise today that I thought it would have been an ideal crossfit workout. Too bad I didn't have the class here.

Corn Maze Orienteering Classic Course. I'll write this down as spikes of the 12 controls, because I didn't really have trouble finding any of them. Just some sub-optimal routes and moving very slowly. The only time I was lost at all was on the way from 12 to the finish (definitely the most difficult leg). While I fumbled a bit on the way out of 12, I recognized the long N-S stretch up the farmer's hip when I got to it, so not too much trouble there.

The map . Forgot my GPS, so no route.

Corn Maze Sprint Championships. Again, no trouble finding any controls, just slow execution, suboptimal routes, particularly on 4 and 6, I think. The map with no route shown.

Corn maze relay championships. This was seeded so that the better performers were running leg 2. Very clever. Mass start in the maze was excellent. Much running around and bumping into each other, much following, for better or worse. I went too far left on the way to 1, ended up behind quite a few, I think 5th. Saw the leg developing well to 2 and sprinted by the group, except for Camilla, but then she missed the spiral so I was first at that point. Got stuck in two cul de sacs leaving 2, though, so lost some places, and apparently 3rd at 3. Just methodical going to 4, 3rd now behind Camilla and Steve, both of whom missed that 5 was outside the maze, leaving me an opening, so I was able to tag off to Dean first. Alas, Dean got swallowed up by speed young Italian guys on the second leg, and our team finished 8th, I think. The leg 2 map is here. Leg 1 was the same, except the finish was after #5.

Classic - Splits

Sprint - Splits

leg 1 - Splits

Easy - just doing something before going to RI for the day.

Back early from RI, and a short spin with Rhonda to check out the newly loosened spuds. Much better.

Thought I might try crossfit this afternoon, but it was so nice and I had been stuck inside the whole day so a bike ride instead. Knee was much better today, quad too. So some anxiety relieved about the upcoming trip.

I'll have to investigate to see how to get the 310xt to display intensity zones. I know it has them in there. It is doing the same trick the 305 used to do - displaying a very high heart rate in the early going.

Another tough night for sleeping. I woke up at 2:15 and the dog was doing some compulsive bed licking. That was all it took and I couldn't get back to sleep. Charming to see her sleeping peacefully on the floor most of the day.

C • intensity zones 12

A little rattled by how strained my L quad feels 10 days before our bike tour, so a rest day today, and probably tomorrow too.

Took the time I might otherwise have done some exercise and brought my beleaguered brush mower in for repairs. Latest and most dramatic failure was that I hit a rock that broke the blade off even with the support housing. The blade was weak there from a prior malfunction, when the spindle broke a few years ago and I kept using it until I got around to fixing it. Since the blade wasn't properly anchored, it rubbed against the housing resulting in a groove on the blade. That created a weak point, and when I hit the rock yesterday it snapped off right there on both sides. Because there isn't anything left to jam a stick against, I couldn't get the remainder of the blade off to replace it. Lots,of other things wrong with it, including a recent recalcitrance at starting, which reared its head when I was going to drive it up into the truck. I used the tractor to pick it up.

That reminded me of a few tractor jobs I have been stockpiling, so after I got back, and had a few business calls, I got out on the tractor, moved some brush, turned over the compost pile,filled in a gully and then fielded another call before dinner.

C • Tractor jobs 2

From W Simsbury into N Granby and to Copper Hill Rd, where I picked up the bike path for the return.

This was the worst ride for my knee in about a month, kind of scary so shortly before we go to Italy. Rest and ice, gentle stretching. Hope for the best.

I guess I need to train the new Garmin to identify heart rate intensity. It seems to think the whole thing was a big zero. Seems like I should get some credit. I also think I know what happened yesterday with the extra lap that seemed to happen when I suddenly waved my arm. Looks like it is now set to record a lap every km, and that was the only leg longer than a km.

Event: Dakota Rogaining Championships 2012
 

Event: Bye bye Peekskill
 

Bye Bye Peekskill training on Bushy Ridge map. Haven't been here in what? 20 years or more? Still Bushy. This will be an awesome place after the infestations of laurel weevils and blueberry beetles finish with it, if they ever arrive. Here is my route until the Garmin died, and then maybe another 25 minutes shuffling in. To see the course without the route, click hide route choices in DOMA. Running is not going so well at all. Lots of discomfort in L glute and ham.

To #1along W side of pond on trail, across dam and up, stopped to contemplate the cliff on the E edge of the circle for a bit before figuring it out. Better to #2, just right of line, seeing the big boulders on the way in and spiking it, catching up to Craig. With Craig much of the rest of the way. To 3, on compass along the line, reading the situation pretty well, until getting a line too high and W right at the control.

4 was the worst leg, searching for quite a while too far S, despite seeing the marsh off to the W, and eventually following Eddie in the right direction. Long contour S toward 5, a little nervous about not having good contact, but climbing at a good point and right into it. Lucky? I guess. Certainly could have missed it. I had gotten ahead of Craig at 4 and didn't see him here. Stopped short on 6 and wandered a bit, and finally Craig showed up and we pushed on and found it. I had an extra watch punch in here. We agreed that enough time had gone by and we were heading to 10 from here so we would get back at a reasonable time.

I thought we were going too much N, but an illusion, as we popped out at the now dry small pond S of the control and easy from there, meeting up with Eddie again at the control, but this time spiking it myself. With Craig to 11, right of the hill E of the marsh on the line, left of the hill in front of the control, and right in. In contact all the way. Downhill on compass, a little nervous about whether I would see it, but right into it. Lucky again? Out to the trail and I was really shuffling. Craig pulled away and not sure which way he went. R at the junction and across the stream, then N along the hillside and in to #12, where I saw Craig leaving the area, but he was well ahead. Trail to jct, bear right and leave at knoll E of control and in. No streamer and Craig was searching on the next knoll over, so I got ahead briefly, but he passed me on the trail on the way to 15. Caught up again, but fell behind on the trail uphill to 16, and didn't see him again. Moving very slowly toward 17 and finish.

After a much too big lunch with the group at El Conquistador in Peekskill, repaired to Neil's house for a very pleasing nap. Got up slowly around 4 and headed out on round 2, the much more open Blue Mountain, starting right from Neil's driveway in the NW corner of the map. He had prepared what appears to be a 1:7500 version without trails or stonewalls. Plenty of trails in the terrain, though, and a challenge to figure out which ones were useful, and to avoid being tricked by them.

J-J caught up to me around #6, and we promptly blew #7, failing at first to comprehend that the trail we came in from was N of the knoll S of the control, not S of it, so we went one rock feature too high. Then he was running much better than I on the way to 8, and on the way to 9, too, except I was winding around on trails and he was pushing straight through, and I was able to keep about even. A little shaky coming down to #10, and found what seemed plausible if a bit small a feature, but no streamer. So we wandered a little lower. We figured out we were too low when we ran into Camilla, la ragazza di Giacomo, who had a map with the walls and trails. So back up and convinced ourselves that the first place we had gone was the right one. Then they showed me a clean pair of heels on the descent. I was on my own to wander along the trail at the bottom of the hill until I crossed a small stream and hatched an idea of where I was. Perfect! Rest was easy. Saw Guy O ahead of me going up and over the hills on the way to 13. I cut low and left and beat him in there.

My route.. To see without route, click hide routes in DOMA.

First outing for the 310XT, and it didn't seem to pair with the HR monitor properly. All fixed now, though. One weird thing that happened was while I was climbing to #9 I had a balance lapse and waved my arm a bit vigorously to get my balance back. A beep from the garmin and it registered a lap.

Back to the party. Lots of people, lots of food.

Blue Mountain Short - Splits

Here is a very cool video made by our neighbor Belle. Belle comes over to play with Sassy when we are away and she made this for Rhonda's birthday (today!).

Should add, Belle is about 11 years old. Great kid.

C • Love it! 3

Easier WOD today, but still challenging. 10 minute AMRAP 10 ring rows, 10 pushups with hands and feet on parallettes, dipping chest below hands. Made 11 rounds of RR, 10 rounds pushups +4. About half a round ahead of Rhonda, which doesn't happen often.

Zack came home to take Rhonda on a hike for her birthday. I wore the wrong shoes for this, and between that, crossfit the other day, and mowing fields for 3 hours right up until we left, I was pretty knackered. When we came out to the road, Zack volunteered to go get the car, but then our neighbor Deb Pelletier and her son Joe came by and gave us all a ride home. Pretty lucky. Feet very sore, and then calves were next.