Cross-training

My back is tight, my butt hurts, my forearm wound has been bleeding again and I think I pulled a groin muscle The cold weather is also murder on my finger nails. What cross-training activity could cause such distress you ask?

My cul-de-sac neighbors are mostly retired and not very healthy so I shoveled three and 1/2 driveways today as well as about 100 yards of sidewalks. It took almost 3 hours. It seemed like good adventure race training because it was a lot tougher than my little 1.5 hour jog in the snow today. Seems a little more functional than lifting weights at the "Y", and I certainly ache more.

It is spectacular outside. So enjoy it. I need to decide if it is good training or foolish to cycle to the UW tomorrow. Your vote - bus or bike??

BUI

The $20 bottle of wine has disappeared so it was time for a quick transition from casual clothes to ice biking gear. I doubt biking under the influence is good training for anything but doing other stupid things. At least, on the Burke-Gilman Trail there were only a few roads to cross.

Training while you're sick on the other hand, or even suffering a moderate hangover is good training for long events. Dehydrated, tired, lacking motivation and having my thermostat a little screwy is exactly what I feel like after a really long outing. Not recommended though since pericarditis and other bad things are known to be caused by training when you're sick.

Vulgarities come easily to my self-talk, and an explicative escaped my lips when I realized my water bottle was frozen even before I started my hour-long ride home.

The Burke-Gilman Trail was really quiet at 9 pm when the temperature is around 27 degrees. The surface was icy, but the traction with knobby tires was very good. For some reason, the black knobby texture against the white trail took on some extra significance and I stared downward for an indeterminant amount of time attempting to think of poetic analogies. An occasional modified verse of Christmas-time melodies kept me entertained as well, but not too loud since I don't like to scare the tourists.

The bleak, black-blue of Lake Washington was very inviting. In my younger days, someone would have suggested a swim, but tonight, by myself, skinny-dipping didn't seem like it would be much fun.

Not many Christmas lights out. Other random thoughts. And I arrived home.

Snow biking

As I started along the Burke-Gilman trail in 4 inches of snow, I was thinking "this is the first day of my race specific training for the Desert Winds." My mountain bike was slowed by the friction of the snow the same as it would be in the sand of Arizona, just like when I rode on the Florida trails. Occassionally, my speed would pick up slightly until I hit another small drift, forcing me to pedal with greater effort. Occassionally, my tires would drift and slip, just like on the sand.

Unfortunately, the snow wasn't deep enough to get a really good workout, but it is snowing now and so the ride home might be better. "The worse the conditions the better the training".

After my minor flesh-removing experience three weeks ago I was a little concerned about falling on my right forearm. Also, I was carrying a $20 bottle of wine in my backpack for the Christmas party tonight (or for survival rations if I get stuck somewhere). So I tested my brakes a couple times on my street as I rode towards the Burke-Bilman Trail. My front brakes locked up on the ice and I slid down on my left side. An ungraceful slide to a stop hurt my ego but nothing else. This is also good training I guess, but I need to learn how to put my foot down or something. After that experience, I just used the rear brakes.

The trail was very quiet. I have introduced my version of a scale for trail usage, or peacefulness as the case may be. The Burke-Gilman can be very busy or very quiet. The scale is called the "pee" scale. In other words: How often could you stop for a pee beside the trail without any pedestrians or cyclists seeing you? Today the scale was around 99%. This is good after a few cups of coffee in the morning.

Enjoy the snow, keep safe, and good training!!

More Training

Today I bailed on driving up to Tiger Mountain for a trail run with Peteris. I am sure he went anyway, as when I told him I was "out" his email response was "haha".

There is snow on the ground in Seattle and the roads are icy. Its always a good idea to stay home when the snow flies in Seattle. We are not great snow drivers and with as little practice as we get here, it's no surprise.

I decided that upper body work was key today, so I did a run-swim-run workout. I started from home, ran along Lake Washington and then up to the pool at Rainier Beach HS ~ 5 miles. I then swam in the pool for 2000 yards, got back on the road and ran back home another ~5 miles. It felt really good to work upper and lower body today.

Hopefully next week I can get back on the trails :-)

Street Scramble and Mt Tiger

Here I include the approximate Street Scramble map. The planning of the route was done in 15 minutes and I started early since had to volunteer. 

Number 33 is a tricky one. The stairs are far over your head and I did not see them as I was running around. 34 was "misplaced" - the circle directs you to a construction site and a dialog of "is this a scavenger hunt?" follows. 

16 to 54 - the morning brings the homeless people to the streets, tired people. From 37 I went to 43 as planned - I did not have an idea I had way too much time: my running was slow and I had to doublecheck my watch at approximately 53 to realize this, I even asked Terry whom I met running somewhere there. So 27, then 39 to 42 and 41. From 41 - out and almost back 38, then 52 and to finish as planned, except 24 after 12. 950 points together with like 10 minutes to go. Next time I should measure the distance. Nikolay cleared the course in 1:30 or so. 

Saturday was planned to be Tiger running, but Christi did not want to risk driving on ice and Nikolay bailed out in the last minutes. Well, it was cold: weather.com said 2 degrees Celsius, but feels like 7. I guess up in Tiger it was more plus the winds. And, of course, the humidity of PNW air. 

I wanted to do the 16 miles of Tiger mountain trail, TMT, but what I got can be seen on the right side. My GPS was set to per second recording, so the light blue line does not begin at the parking spot, but it should start there and then jump on the beginning of TMT. 

The first 4 miles were rather runnable, me getting them done in a bit under an hour. Felt very warm going uphill and I removed one of my two shirts (had a small rain jacket on top). At some, probably 1500 feet or so the place became unrunnable. I slowed down and the whole 22.8 km or 14.25 miles were done in 5:10. I guess I was picking up mashrooms in the middle.

The route: I followed TMT including the Lingering loop, up to almost West Tiger 2, but pass that, cross the Hidden forest trail on TMT, pass 8 mile sign, then 15 mile railroad trail to Tiger Mt. main road, that to West Tigers 2 and then 3 and then straight down. 

Started: 11:38, out of the woods just before dark. As I was running down, there were still some people going up. Lots of snow, I was the first on TMT after Hidden forest trail and on logging road till the same Hidden forest trail. 

Clothes: long underwear shirt, long underwear pants, tights on top, light rain jacket. Full skull bicycle hat with a warm wool one when it started to blow hard - I was satisfied with all this, not too warm, not too cold. The feet were a problem though at the latter stages of runhike, when they got completely wet: smartwools sock inside a sealskinz waterproof one in some Solomon not GoreTex shoe with some small gaiters. Some snow outside the socks and some sweat inside them rendered feet rather cold and wet after some 3 and a half hours. On the logging road I managed to step into some puddle under snow. I do not believe I could continue through darkness with such feet, something has to be changed in conditions like these. 

Oh, and if your Camera stays in your car for more than two weeks, check out the batteries, before the trailhead.

Training

Last Sunday - paddling with Christi - our route.

This Saturday - Christi ran Market foundation Street Scramble and won the female open, Peteris came second in men open. The results are not final though.

Murray is up and running, not too fast.

Tomorrow - training at Tiger.

On Tiger outing

Our GPS  route of MTB on Tiger Mt. Logging roads. Image is created by Sporttracks.

Start is at almost Tiger summit on 18th SR, then logging roads up to Poo Poo point. You can see two places when "from" road is not the same as "to" road - first one is a little trail from Northern glider launching pad to Southern. The second one is a trail off the main road with lots of rolling stones on it followed by another logging road that joins the main one.

The smaller logging road is the one where Murray slipped on some mud.

Garmin 305 thinks the altitude gain is ~5000 feet for this route, which is obviously too much. 

Topo! of National Geographic thinks and gets 3400 feet. However, Miles Ohlrich used an altimeter  for this purpose and had some 2600, if I recall correctly, but that one was straight to and from Poo Poo point. The one I have is not symmetric - I did some back to car and then back to company loop close to end, so there are the two spikes twice which should not be at the end of the profile.

Murray's Song

How's this for my new anthem?

Coldplay "Lost"

Just because I'm losing

Doesn't mean I'm lost

Doesn't mean I'll stop

Doesn't mean I'm in a cross

Just because I'm hurting

Doesn't mean I'm hurt

Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve

No better and no worse

I just got lost
Every river that I've tried to cross

And every door I ever tried was locked

Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

You might be a big fish

In a little pond

Doesn't mean you've won

'Cause along may come

A bigger one

And you'll be lost

Every river that you try to cross

Every gun you ever held went off

Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the firing stops
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off

Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off
Ooh-Oh, And I'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

Calendar is growing

24 hour Trioba - September 19, 2009, location still unknown, hopefully Washington. 

Adventure week in Idaho - two 8-12 hour adventure races, the Crux and the Crucible, and an AR clinic! 12th-14th of June. 

Sprint Trioba - May 31, 2009, location not known yet. 

Mogollon Rim Rogaine in Arizona by Tucson Orienteering club in 16th and 17th of May. 

And of course, the Desert Winds race at Lake Mead, 2nd and 3rd of May.