Training Log Archive: billa

In the pouring rain with Jennie up at Arnprior. Couldn't bring the easel out of the bag so we walked the trails and made a few notes.
Been a very lazy week and now I have a cold. Don't know why - must be the season - or the lousy weather.

Quick spin and stretch after an easy day except for some yard work. Fun to crank up the music while watching TV with subtitles. Time just flies by!

Got caught in a few showers but otherwise a reasonable day in the thick woods around two large marshes. One marsh was completely dry as the beaver dam had burst. Found a dry route around the marshes but will have cut and flag the way around to be fair.
Bombed around Hidden Meadow with David in his ATV to review where the arena will be and how the busses will turn around. We are so lucky to have such welcoming land owners. Made my day.

Last ride of the year up the Rideau and back via Carleton. Never breathing hard but kept up a constant pace throughout. Packed the road bike away and will rely on the stationary bike now - unless the weather really heats up!

After a week of crummy weather it was very nice to be out in the woods again. Checked out the boundary between the old and new sections of the CR map. Boundary area was OK but made a couple of changes to the old map.
Put on 4 pounds during since Thanksgiving which reflects my inactivity as much as my "here comes winter" appetite. It's cold today but I am going to get a long bike ride in before I put it away for the winter.

Long course at the COCs. Very long. Way over the recommended standard for my age group. Unnecessary in the good technical terrain. So I took it easy right from the start and used a side trail that cost me a minute in time but got my brain in gear. No big mistakes after that but was lucky on number 5 when I caught myself at the edge of an out of bounds area that led me to the control area. Thought I might catch a medal but I was just too slow. Top Ontario medal was a nice consolation. Happy for medalist Gloria and happy for Jennie who had a brutal course but hung in to finish strongly.

The contour shock didn't take full effect until no. 2 when I completely lost contact with the map and had to bail out to a path in a field. Only realized where I really was stopping when I saw another competitor in the distance with that confident posture of someone knowing where they are heading. After that I paid attention to where I was and didn't make any more serious errors.

Sprint race at McMaster. Blew the first control by not turning on my brain until I made that first mistake. A habit of mine. Jogged a bit but mostly a fast walk.
Enjoyed the atmosphere and course and meeting up with lots of old friends.

Mapping the thick woods I avoided in the spring. Not a very efficient day as most of the woods I fought through will never see a control site.
Otherwise another perfect day to be in the woods.

Brisk ride up the bike path side of the Rideau and then back via Carleton.
No twinges in the hip. Hope the weather holds until the week-end.

Yay - first O-meet this year (in Canada). Jogged maybe 25% of the time.
Hip is sore but not too bad. Think I can do 50/50 walk/jog over a middle distance - if it's flat. Next week-end in the escarpment won't be flat.
Very sloppy route planning - but I go slow enough that if I get started in the right direction I can "Plan" along the way - or, change my mind.
All my big mistakes today were due to poor or no attack points. Then again, there were several control sites without great attack points. I lost several minutes on them all!

Back to the bushy area in the NE corner of the map. Slow going for a while but a beautiful day to be outside.

No "training" today after several good mapping days on the Ridge and Arnprior. Finally closing in to the end of the work on those areas.
Very stiff the last couple of days but the massage today should help for the week-end.