Training Log Archive: jtorranc

Event: QOC Swanson Road
 

West Education Campus 5K at RCP, Fitzgerald Tennis Center - one more road 5K before the A meets begin? No, took a pass on this - just as well since my hamstring got a bit unhappy with me three controls into the red course at Swanson Road even without a 5k preceding it. No hard running for me until Friday in Rochester.

Also took a pass on 'cross country' 5K at US Soldiers and Airmens Home, with start allegedly at Abraham Lincoln's cottage on the grounds. Scare quotes since course map indicates the course was maybe two thirds paved road and 1/3 gravel road. Apparently they had Joan Benoit Samuelson lined up as race marshal.

QOC Swanson Road Red - not quite a full effort due to left hamstring giving warnings. Messed up on 4 and 6. 4 I navigated right to then failed to see the bag hung up high among the lower leaves of the tree it was hung in maybe not quite on the advertised side of the feature - I didn't stay to check that carefully once I had gone away to check out other possible locations and them come back and seen the bag as I was passing by the control feature ~20m to the west. 6 was an area where the mapping of several reentrants seemed particularly shaky. Nevertheless, given the map he had to work with (which we should be able to improve greatly before its next use), a respectable first solo course setting outing for Craig Shelden and a nice run in the woods.

Red - Splits

Commute.

MBT time trial, southbound.

Warmup/cooldown.

Silly walks.

Roosevelt loop.

Commute.

MBT time trial, southbound.

Warmup/cooldown.

Silly walks as additional warmup.

Roosevelt loop. Time a bit of a question mark. Mapsource actually says 3:59 for the duration of the track I recorded but I'm going by what my watch said immediately after finishing. Of course, it also claimed the loop was 10m shorter than all the previous times I've run it. I can't see how but maybe I managed to hit stop accidentally slightly before the actual finish.

Commute in.

MBT time trial southbound, with road tires on my bike again.

Weight is getting into the ballpark of what it was during my better competitive years - still a few pounds to go. Idly checked just now and I'd have to lose roughly 11 more pounds to, all else being equal, raise my VDot back up to its historic high. Of course, any realistic program to lose that much would almost certainly produce not just weight loss but cardiovascular improvements - it's not as though my weight wasn't over 160 (not sure how much over but definitely over) when I set my 5K PR in 2007. Unlikely I'll ever see 159 lbs from below in a non-dehydrated state but it will be interesting to see what weight (and speed) I stabilise at with a continuation of current dietary and training practices, my body willing - one serious injury to stop me training and all bets are off about my ability to avoid regaining some of the recently lost weight purely through dietary discipline.

Commute.

MBT time trial in the middle of the ride to work. Atmospheric conditions probably neutral to slightly favourable but still had off road tires on the bike from Sunday so speed records not under threat.

Warmup/cooldown.

Silly walks.

Roosevelt loop.

Commute.

Warmup jog in Rock Creek Park plus cooldown returning home.

Silly walks as darkness was falling.

Event: QOC Lake Accotink
 

Event: Susquehanna Stumble XVI - Adams Creek
 

Non-Metro parts of getting to Lake Accotink and back. Could have been shorter but I didn't make it to Columbia Heights in the morning quite in time to catch the first train so I continued riding to Foggy Bottom to intercept the blue line train I would have transferred to there.

Lake Accotink Advanced MTBO - hadn't entirely appreciated when I set MTBO courses here a couple of seasons ago just how much rougher/strewn with minor human-installed obstacles the trails are than the ones at Rosaryville. Fun trying to navigate a denser trail network at speed - course was less route choicy than what I did but probably calling for a bit more split second decision making in consequence, rather than pondering route choices on long legs. Was fairly clean, just under 2 minute lost says AP to one poor route choice (should have taken the time to turn the bike around and leave the control in the other direction from 7 to 8), one map problem and one silly riding past the finish and having to come back up the hill, and had plenty of power to the pedals, when called for, but I'm sure I was losing lots of time on the more technical sections of trail to more confident descenders and bunnyhoppers of small logs laying across the trails. Still, good enough for second place. I wonder what it would take to interest Jeff Dickey (1st, just over 5 minutes ahead) in the national team - my impression is he may be too successful in straight MTB racing, at least locally, to be tempted.

QOC Lake Accotink Red - second again, much closer behind Ken than I was behind Jeff Dickey in the MTBO, with a slightly less clean performance that a compass probably would have ameliorated. Will be satisfied with that, especially the fact that the hamstring tweaked in the 5K a week ago Saturday didn't complain, during or afterwards.

Red - Splits