Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: SMOC Pontiac Lake
 

Warmup before the race; an easy poodle on roads with Ali.

SMOC red course at Pontiac Lake, White Lake, MI. I had never orienteered in SMOCland, so I wasn't sure what to expect of the terrain. A glance around during the warmup revealed some interesting contour features and woods varying from excellent to thick. The operation, overseen by director Rick Waldo, was smooth and inviting. Link to map; Ali's quickroute. Winsplits.

I had a solid run with a few errors and poor route choices. The terrain had intricate contour detail, and it had a good combination of open woods running, trails, and bashing through green. Most of the vegetation neither obscured vision nor was painful; it tended to be small deciduous saplings and chest height skinny branches. There were a number of vines that were so entwined around other trees that they dragged incident runners to a dead stop.

Legs:
1: Control was in the campground; I ran across a field before joining the road network and running into the control. Easy, spike. Got to see how thick and impenetrable the dark green was on the map.
2: Shoddy plan; I ran north to the field, crossed the road, ran to the trail, ran west to the first hill, and attacked north. Spike, though apparently the control was about thirty meters high in the reentrant.
3: Like Ali, I ran to the trail junction, but I didn't use the reentrant enough, missed right, and flailed around in the green before coming to the marsh and doubling back south. 1:00.
4: Ran south of the two marshes through a little green to the trail, attacked from the trail junction.
5: On the trail across the road, then straight. I clipped the short section of trail north of the control, but was otherwise marching across the depressions. Apparently slower than the trail route to the right.
6: S of hill south of first marsh, across the flat to the broad reentrant, along the short section of N-S trail, to the hill, down the spur, spike. Some weaving among the veg.
7: Drifted right; had to correct.
8: North along spur, up over trail spur, along the spur S of marsh, skirted the right edge of the big depression, over the saddle, past the cairns, and straight to the flag.
9: Along E-W hill, up the spur, over the N spur, skirted edge of second hill into the control.
10: Basically straight. Checked off trashy reentrant, flat area, square depression, and second line of depressions into the reentrant.
11: Took a mostly trail route: down the spur to the trail, then over the hill top clearing to my attack at a trail bend over a spur. Attacked from the marsh edge.
12: Up the hill; left (non-gimpy) arch hurt on the way up. A little too far to the right.
13: Out to the trail to the right, them attacked between the marsh and the hill. Up the left edge of the depression, over the saddle, and in.
14: Confusing - ran to the trail, up the trail to the hill, then drifted too far south, running up the big E-W spur before reconsidering the reentrant and choosing the correct hill. Vegetation is thicker than mapped. 2:00
15: Straight.
16: Trail.
F: A little confused; the start was actually quite south, and I wasn't sure where the finish punch was (it was on the table by clear/check/start).

Non spikes were 3, 7, and 14; reasonably happy with my woods speed after the 10 mile and long leg.

C • surprised by #2 2

After the course and subsequent chatting about routes with Ali and SMOC member Alex, Ali and I departed to pick up controls and do PG's exercise of map hiking while inspecting reentrants for various qualities - steepness of sides, top, bottom, shape, vegetation, rock features, curviness, tributaries, etc - and comparing map representation to physical quality.

After reattacking controls 2 and 3 from my course, I map hiked for 20 minutes, then picked up 10 and 9 and headed back to the car.

Red - Splits

Easy warmup with Ali before the start of the 10 mile race; we scoped out the transitions between the two loops and ran along a stretch of bike path on the course.

Randy's Race 10 mile, put on by the Toledo Road Runners in Monclova, OH. Results. Ali suggested we run this race, and I was excited, though I haven't really done any specific training for it. I had hoped that I could run 6:30/mile, which is about the equivalent of my 5k PR.

Conditions were cold - a temperature of about 4 C - but clear. We arrived at the race site 45 minutes before the start, checked in, warmed up, and moseyed over to the start line. As the gun went off, the lead pack of Ali, another girl, and two guys set off on a quick clip; I decided their pace was too fast for me and settled in with the second pack of 5. I felt loose and comfortable, and was quite surprised when we came through the first mile in 6:06, about 20 seconds back of the leaders. The pack dissolved in the second mile, and I left three of them behind to take up position about ten seconds back of red-shirt-guy at mile 2. Despite my best efforts, red-shirt-guy kept increasing his lead; I eventually lost sight of him around mile 7. I could see the lead pack until mile 4. I went through the 5-mile mark in about 32 minutes.

Miles 6 and 7 were on a long stretch into a moderate wind, and I was really struggling. Blue--shirt-guy caught up to me around mile 5.5; I fought to stay with him, and held until about mile 7. The last miles were a death slog; I was in 7th after blue-shirt-guy passed me, and a man and woman running together gradually overtook me. I held onto the woman for about four minutes before she started inching away; I couldn't follow. I kept blue-shirt-guy in my sight until just after mile 9. It took considerable will to keep my posture and running form intact - my head lolled sometimes - and I started getting a cramp in my right abdomen. I tried to focus on running just on the edge of blowing up - sometimes counting strides until I passed a chosen landmark. At mile 9, I heard another guy starting to close on me, and resolved to not let him by. He got to within ten or twenty meters when we passed the sign indicating there were 500m left; I opened up, started kicking, and finished with a comfortable 15s margin.

Overall, I'm disappointed. I fell far behind 6:30 pace - which isn't very impressive anyway. The race was great fun, and it is good practice for getting into a race mindset, for enduring through pain, and for knowing physical limits. I will take this as a reminder that I need to train hard over the next six months.

Splits (from memory):
1: 6:06
2: 12:36
3: 19:06
5: 32:20?
6: 39:00
7: 46:56

C • nice! 9

Easy cool down. Legs felt ow.

Best cannon ever.

I am irritated.

C • 76ers! 1

Hammond Pond Night-O set by Pia. The course was interesting, with lots of directions changes and leg length variation. Pia constructed reflective streamers, and challenged me to avoid using trail routes. To my chagrin, I poorly navigated traffic and hills and arrived between 7:15 and 7:20 instead of 7. Fail.

I brought my ghettolamp, but forgot my compass and contact lenses. The course was challenging, and I struggled to keep going in a straight line on some of the controls through featureless vegetation. I definitely paid more attention to the contours than I would have if I had had my compass, though I made many mistakes and had to slow down at times.

Nevertheless, it was a great outing.

Easy run around the Charles. I started slowly but picked up to tempo pace and 3/2 breathing when another runner coasted by me, probably doing 7-minute miles. I hung with him for about a mile, then pushed past him. He must have turned off my path after I passed him, because I never saw him. I then cruised in at an easy pace for the rest of the run.

October has been my first 100 mile running month since December 2011. My plan for November is an additional 20 km - 112 miles.
Ghettotrack

Two cools vids from WOCs:
2009, 2011 (Go Adamski!)

I recently watched the Star Trek episode "Tapestry." The central premise of the episode is that the course of our lives is shaped by the decisions we make, and that modifying individual decisions can lead to vastly different outcomes. As Picard, the main character of the episode, summarizes:

"There are many parts of my youth that I'm not proud of... there were loose threads... untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I pulled on one of those threads... it had unraveled the tapestry of my life."

Picard is given a chance to change what he considers a mistake in his past, but the consequence of "fixing" the error in the present is that his career has been devoid of the ambition, confidence, and determination that characterizes him. In that alternate reality, in which he is a lowly lieutenant instead of the Captain of the Enterprise, he has this conversation which resonated with me:

Lt.(jg) Picard: How would you evaluate me as an officer?
Deanna: Well. Um, your performance records have always been good. You're thorough, dedicated...
Riker: ...steady, reliable (searching for something to say) ...punctual.
Picard: I see. What would you say if I told you I thought I was capable of being more than that.
Riker: Frankly, Lieutenant, I don't think that's realistic.
Picard: Why? Please. This is important to me. I know I can do more.
Troi: Hasn't this been the problem all along? Throughout your career, you've had lofty goals. But, you've never been willing to do what's necessary to attain them.
Picard: Would that be your evaluation as well?
Riker: I'd have to agree with Troi. You talk about wanting more. But, when it comes to doing something about it, you hang back. If you want to get ahead, you have to take chances. Stand out from the crowd. Get noticed.

C • late bloomer 2

After a scrumptious dinner at Border Cafe with ndobbs + posse, I decided to go for an easy run around Cambridge and Somerville. I started out sluggishly, due in part to my enchilada-filled stomach. Nevertheless, I felt comfortable. While a torrential downpour had fallen while we were at Border, there was no rain or wind when I was running. I finished Unbroken (which I would recommend) and started John Dies at the End.

I fell asleep immediately after showering and woke up about 8.5 hours later still feeling groggy. I need to avoid running after 10 pm; it seems to be having deleterious effects on my sleep cycle and life performance.

Ghettotrack

Easy run around town while the wrath of the outskirts of Hurricane Sandy battered New England. After 25 minutes, I ran 3x(4 min on, 1 min rest) threshold intervals. Conditions were unusual , but not particularly hazardous for a runner - windy, with speeds of 50-60 kph, a temperature of about 15 C. I saw a handful of downed branches, including one which severed some power lines.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5723231>Ghettotrack.