Training Log Archive: Bash

Feeling much worse today - weak and light-headed, so went to the doc on the way home from Bon Echo. Starting on Vitamin V (Vibramycin) to replace Vitamin X (Amoxicillin). Asked him if it's unusual to feel this bad with an upper respiratory bug and he peered at me over his glasses and said, "Well, you're not twenty anymore, you know." Gee, thanks.

Event: Bon Echo SAC Race
 

Sprint adventure race rules state that 3 team members must begin a race. Then if one member drops out, officials may or may not grant permission to the other two to continue unranked. So... there wasn't much choice for me at the Bon Echo Salomon Adventure Challenge. No matter how rotten I felt (and boy, did I feel rotten!), I had to be at the starting line - even if I only walked across it, collapsed in a limp heap, then withdrew from the race.

However, it was an ideal course design for the Tree Huggers (much canoeing and off-road navigation, minimal biking), so I decided to go as far as I could without raising my heart rate significantly. We began with a Lemans start, travelling on foot about 1.5 km on roads to the canoes. Our team walked at first (oooh, it was SO hard not to run with 100 teams charging out), then did some light jogging with me on tow, arriving at the boats well back in the pack, as intended. We paddled the beautiful Kishkebus canoe loop with several portages (one > 1 km), passing beneath the stunning cliffs of Bon Echo as we returned to the campground 2.5 hours later.

On the last long portage, I realized that my race was over. Even walking up small hills, my lungs felt like I was at altitude - nowhere near enough oxygen. My cough had become much worse as I got soaked in cold water from paddling and wading up to waist-deep on a breezy day. To keep going would probably mean being sick for an extra week. So for the first time ever, I dropped out of a race and sent my teammates on alone, unranked. :-( Amazingly, we were still in the upper half of teams at that point - really hard to believe. Our paddling classes have helped so much - we sailed past a lot of teams on the water, even though we kept reminding each other that we weren't racing today.

The good news - actually, it's great news - is that my teammates did really well without me. Bent, who claims that he can't navigate, took the maps that I'd prepared and led the way through a challenging trekking section, travelling with confidence and speed. The Minister offered his considered opinions upon request and stayed right on Bent's heels. Even with our deliberately slow start to the race, the Tree Huggers were one of the earlier teams to finish the regular course - unranked, naturally. I'm *very* proud of my teammates!

Really feel awful today - no voice, no lungs. At the moment it's looking unlikely that I can race at Bon Echo tomorrow. It's the first summer adventure race of the season and it's sold out with 100 teams, so should be a blast. We will drive up there and camp for the weekend and figure out what to do from there. Maybe Bent and The Minister can race as a 2-man unranked team and I can volunteer. Or maybe we will just walk part of the course. :-(((((((

Another perfect sunny day and I still feel like I've been hit by a truck. Since it worked so quickly for Bent, I've started on Vitamin X (amoxicillin) in hopes that Saturday's race will not literally be a walk in the Park for our team.

At last... a beautiful day with no snow or ice pellets in the forecast. So naturally, I am sick again. So much for the long bike ride I've been planning. :-( I guess I will be tapering for Bon Echo after all. This is our first Wednesday in a long time without a 6 a.m. paddling class, so at least we got to sleep in.

I decided that if I kept clinging to my old-fashioned, princessy notion that snowstorms and biking are mutually exclusive, I would never get out for a ride this spring. I went looking for a hilly, muddy, poorly-maintained country road to give my legs a workout. Luckily, my search was brief because I happen to live on such a road, and it connects to a network of similar roads. So I did an out-and-back to the intersection of Glen Haffy Road and Hwy 9, and got spattered with muck from head to toe. Wore a 15-lb AR pack to make the experience even more pleasant. Wildlife Watch: Two white-tailed deer and a dozen pick-up truck drivers who stared at me like I was insane.

Transitioned immediately to trail running, mostly to keep BulletDog happy, since she was annoyed that I went road biking without her. Kept the pack on. Legs did not feel bouncy today. Unfortunately, either my bronchitis is coming back or I'm catching whatever Bent has.

After the 6th ice pellet storm of the day, I decided to be a princess and wimp out of today's outdoor bike ride. I used Bent's indoor trainer in lieu of getting pummelled with hailstones along the road, and pedalled hard to get it over with quickly! I always find it boring to bike indoors, but today's session was made considerably more bearable by watching part of "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl". That was/is SUCH good stuff.

Woo hoo! The sun came out just long enough to create the illusion that the nasty weather forecast was incorrect, so ThunderDog and I made a break for it. Trail run around Palgrave West and Hardwood Forest. Icy chill in the air. Legs felt bouncy (how 'bout that, Skidder?) but the rest of me is still feeling the bug that I'm not quite over after 2 weeks. Got back to the house just as the heavy rain and hail were starting yet again - phew!

Trying to figure out how to change my training plan for the week. Was going to taper for Bon Echo sprint race, but now the race will double as a long training day for AppX. Will move activities earlier in the week, I guess, but won't take as much time off as planned.