Training Log Archive: iansmith

Some peaceful stationary biking in pleasant but cool Fall weather on my balcony. Soon, I will need to start running again, as bike season (particularly for long rides) is practically over.

Today would have been my father's 75th birthday, and the first since he died last year. I still haven't quite gotten used to the idea of a world without him. It's so odd to think that I won't make any new memories with him, and that everything I remember and cherish will fade.

C • Dad 2

OUSA Board Meeting

- Elected officers; the entire Executive Committee is returning. Clare is President, Ellen is Secretary, Jon is VP Competition, Tori is VP Youth Development, Joseph is VP Clubs, and I am VP Finance.

- Authorized a second signatory for our bank account, the OUSA Administrator/Director of Membership. The President and Administrator are then our signatories, and the VP Finance has oversight responsibility.

- We discussed the event calendar for 2021 in the context of COVID. We noted that there are three levels of event sanctioning - OUSA championship, OUSA sanctioned NRE, and unsanctioned event. OUSA has no authority over what local clubs do (though I suppose we could revoke a charter or something, but we don't really know what clubs are doing). We will revisit the sanctioning situation for spring events (OCIN, COC) in December to provide a 90-day advance notice on whether sanctioning is realistic. Ultimately, even if the Board decides to sanction an event, we might have to revoke sanctioning if the pandemic situation worsens between now and the event. I also proposed clarifying what our expectations will be for participants - ability to get a refund in the event of cancellation, social distancing policies, masks in event arenas, etc. Joseph Huberman, VP Clubs, is working on this.

- Next official board meeting is scheduled for December 14. At present, the Board is collecting budget requests and defining our priorities for 2021. The Finance Committee will then take the current financial state and projections about 2021 income to put a budget proposal together in November. My deadline for sending the budget proposal to the membership is November 30.

- We discussed implementation of the bylaws and notifications for members. It's all fairly mundane and will be handled by committee.

As an aside, I worked on a communications proposal for OUSA going forward. Highlights include writing an annual report, monthly topical videoconferences, a more active youtube and social media presence, and assembling marketing materials and templates for clubs.

Event: Grizzly Orienteering: Blue Mountain
 

Biking to High Park with Petr and Katie; Petr then left to go see his parents. Katie and I rode around High Park a bit, taking in the fall foliage. We then had an impromptu Middle Eastern food picnic in the park. There were many dogs, some of which unsuccessfully took an interest in our food.

A delightful session on my balcony in a light drizzle with overcast skies and a temperature of 11 C. I worked up quite a sweat in a tempo effort. I reread The Great Hunt. I have had an intermittently irritated throat since my outing on October 3 in the cold. While COVID is the obvious suspect during the pandemic, close monitoring of my body temperature has shown no fever, and I have exhibited no other symptoms. I have isolated as though I had the virus, and I have considered getting a test. Still, I felt good today, and getting out even on the stationary bike improved my outlook.

20 mins warmup on setting 4
2x10 mins at setting 6 then 7 with 2 minutes rest on setting 4
8 mins cooldown

Easy morning ride on the balcony. Difficulty setting 4 for the duration. I felt a bit better today.

Easy thirty minutes at setting 4. I have not been feeling well this week.

In case anyone is unaware, the OUSA Virtual AGM is occurring on Thursday, October 22. Details are available here:

https://orienteeringusa.org/events/virtual-agm-202...

As 2020 has been a shitty, godawful challenging year, there isn't much activity to report on the orienteering scene. Certainly there are several other major activities occurring right now that urgently require more attention. However, it is a good time to see what's happening in the community, participate in discussion, and draw attention to any matters relevant for you.

Board members running for reelection are Clare Durand and Nate Orwaschel. Three other seats are also open for three board members who are stepping down: Lee Todd, William Jameson, and Susan Grandjean. Being on the Board often feels like 80% routine but important business but also brings with it an opportunity to make a difference and shape the direction of the orienteering community in the US.

The plan for today was to repeat my Niagara trip of August 8. The skies were clear, the moon was full, and my weekend was free of plans. Unfortunately, the low temperature forecast for the trip was 4 C, and even as I was setting out, it was 5-6 C in Toronto.

I prepared in the usual way: clothing was SLS shirt, quarter tights, and a windbreaker in reserve; about 5000 calories with 3 Kit Kats, 4 granola bars, 180g of goldfish, 200g of M&Ms, a sandwich, and the usual 3.75 L of gatorade. I carried two innertubes and my usual mechanical kit.

Immediately upon setting out, I felt cold. I resolved to go for an hour to give myself a chance to warm up. Getting low on my aerobars helped my stay warm by reducing my exposure to the wind. I felt ok physically for the first hour, but when I stopped in Oakville at 1:29/41 km, I immediately started shivering. Given that completing this trip basically tested my limits of endurance, I figured that the energy drain from being cold would put the expedition in serious jeopardy. While my core was generally warm enough, my extremities were quite cold. I couldn't seem to keep my calves warm, and my lower legs were cramping when I planted my foot at traffic lights.

Anyway, after my fueling stop, I resolved to cut my trip by about half. I picked Burlington as my turnaround point, but as I hit Burlington, I decided to add a circuit of Hamilton Harbour. This was fine, but the temperature continued to fall, and I was quite cold at my second break at 4:09/110 km despite putting on my jacket at 80 mins. The rest of the trip home was a bit of a struggle, but my return was inevitable. The sun started to come up at about 5:00 into the trip, but I was unable to really push, as I apparently had already drained my available energy reserves.

The lesson here is pretty clear: nighttime starts are difficult when the temperature drops below 10-12 C. A 7 am start today might have been feasible, though the more limited daylight makes 12h expeditions questionable.

Stationary bike workout on the balcony. It was pleasantly cool at around 7 C, but I nevertheless became quite sweaty even though I was in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

I warmed up for 15 minutes on settings 4 and 5, did 10 x (1 min on, 1 min rest) at settings 7 and 4 respectively, then cooled down for 10 minutes on setting 3. I tried to keep my cadence at around 90 RPM by feel alone, and it was quite intense at setting 7. My heart rate just after the last bout was over 172 (measured directly by me counting, not the bike). I also found that the flywheel housing was very warm to the touch at the end of the session.