Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent, Goose and I carpooled to Burlington to do the Peak-2-Peak adventure run training course at Kerncliff Park. Other than the Salomon Dontgetlost.ca adventure runs, I think this might have been the biggest orienteering event in southern Ontario in 2009. The popularity was a pleasant surprise to us as organizers. I think one of the keys to the high attendance was the navigation mini-clinic that Hammer and Backwoods offered to interested attendees before they headed out. 25% of participants signed up for it! I noticed a lot of people navigating in teams in preparation for Raid The Hammer, which was awesome.

Dave Grant did a great job designing an interesting course that included a long Walk The Line section partway through. Nice terrain, beautiful weather, perfect temperature - couldn't have asked for a better day to be running around in the woods.

Following up on Tero's presentation last weekend, I wanted to make it feel more like a race, so I started alone and didn't look at the map until after I'd punched the start control. Throughout the course, I tried to visualize where I'd be in 30-60 seconds, and that sometimes even worked. I didn't make any serious errors out there, although I took a bit longer because I walked the entire line and re-punched #7 since the rules didn't say whether we were permitted to abandon the line after finding the three controls, so I figured I'd be careful (like in a race).

It was great to run into friends around the course - spent a lot of time near Trav and Gally on different parts of the course. I had a sprint from the last control to the finish with AdventureGirl! (that was won by the younger competitor, who made a controversial wrong turn immediately before the end, but recovered nicely). The only negative was that I developed a painful blister on my heel half an hour before the end - probably related to the ankle brace.

Followed up with a fun trip to Starbucks and MEC with 'Bent, Goose, Phatty and Leanimal. How is it possible that I can always find something to buy there?

'Bent and I reviewed our routes and, in most cases, had similar strategies. One thing I noticed in his description was that he was constantly readjusting his routes because, "I didn't want to follow so-and-so, so when he went the direction I'd planned to go, I went the other way". So his assignment for next time is to just run his own race, and if a good runner is in the area, try to ignore them and do whatever he would have done if they weren't around.

Beautiful autumn day! As you can see, 'Bent is truly Canadian at heart.

'Bent and I did a Tour de Palgrave East, mostly on single track to keep it interesting. A difference of opinion on the optimum route resulted in a brief bushwhack where I tore a hole in my nice Salomon Exo capri tights - waahh! But I had to let 'Bent off the hook because I was running soooo slowly today. Not sure what's up, but I had no energy - same as Thursday.

It looked cold but got really warm, and for the first time ever, I pulled a "Mrs. Gally", removing my shirt to run in a sports bra. Palgrave is usually deserted, but as we were coming toward the Duffy's Lane parking lot, I saw a large group of people of all ages gathered in the distance. I quickly pulled my shirt back on, then we ran into the middle of a fungus appreciation society meeting. They had tables set out and mushrooms in bags, and I guess they were getting ready to look at the day's haul. Never a dull moment out here!

First time on roller skis! Goose and Coach LD apparently don't get bored from all that coaching during the school week, so they graciously offered to take 'Bent and me out for a roller ski with Gosling. 'Bent had his first lesson last week, so I was the newbie. We started by learning some basics in the parking lot at Palgrave public school, then graduated to the big leagues by heading to one of the quiet areas in Palgrave Estates. I was impressed at how much roller skiing felt like real skate skiing. I could feel a few of those muscles that I always forget about until ski season starts. However, it feels considerably *different* when you fall on pavement - ouch. Only a couple of splats though, and it was a great workout in a subdivision that has some nice rolling hills.

Gosling had stayed back at the car, and a man came out of his expensive house and said, "There's a lot of room on this road. Could you move your car from in front of my house?" She's 13 years old and said she'd go tell her parents. He's lucky that she's so polite. I would have asked pointed questions regarding the location of the "no parking" signs (none) and the nature of any possible harm it could do him to have a couple of cars about 75m away from his front door for an hour or so. (Note the size of the front yards in the photo below.) Sheesh. Regardless, it was fun.

We're looking at about 100 people for tomorrow's Dontgetlost.ca Peak-2-Peak training event. Wow!!

Philly Cheesesteak dropped by for a visit, and he and 'Bent headed out for a night trail run around Palgrave West in 3C pouring rain. I put my feet up and sat by the fireplace with a glass of red wine because I didn't want to slow them down in such bad weather. Selfless of me, I know.

Ran to the post office and back on a rainy day with spectacular autumn colours. My legs had no zip, so I will take the optimistic view that yesterday's strength workout blasted them a little too thoroughly.

Hard Core Live with Caron

Power Yoga class focusing on a lot of upper body twisting, shoulder blades squeezing together and pulling apart, etc.

ThunderDog had to come to class tonight because 'Bent and I needed to keep an eye on her after she dragged the heavy kitchen garbage pail to the middle of the room, tipped it over to get the lid open, then consumed everything edible after chewing the inedible stuff thoroughly. That was my punishment for going running without her - the message was very clear. She ate a bit of stale chocolate, but not enough to need the full purge from the vet. Sigh, now that she's a senior, I'm torn between being angry and cheering for her when she shows that she can still act like a naughty puppy. She was very good in yoga class at least - lying on her blanket until the relaxation when she decided to stroll up and greet the instructor, who fortunately loves animals.

Interesting info for people who do outdoor activities in Ontario... I've mentioned my neighbour who has the hunting tree stand at the edge of his property pointing into the conservation area where there is a trail along its perimeter.

An MNR enforcement officer told me today that it is perfectly legal for someone to construct hunting stands all along the edge of their property pointing into lands where no hunting is permitted. It doesn't become an offence until he (sorry guys, but I'll bet it's almost always a "he") shoots across the line. There is no law against building a stand that has clearly been put up for the purpose of hunting illegally, as long as the stand is on land where hunting is permitted. So if you live in the country like we do, I guess your neighbours can aim at you with no repercussions, as long as they don't get caught shooting. Nice. Interestingly, this is the 3rd time I've talked with MNR, and this is the first enforcement officer who knew that. Even this guy said, "This is not what ethical hunters do."

It's been 3 years since a senior was killed while hiking in a public forest a few kilometers from our house, and I've had a couple of close calls with hunters in fall adventure races, so I've been trying to learn about hunting regulations. Yes, I know that most hunters are well-trained and careful, but obviously some of them aren't, and I want to understand how to lower my risk and our dogs' risk. I'm still not opposed to hunting in principle, but I'm afraid that the more research I do, the worse it smells.

The home page of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters describes the organization as "a highly professional and 'devastatingly effective' advocate for Ontario's natural resources and the rights and traditions of anglers and hunters". No kidding - they're obviously *very* good.

Ran around Palgrave West shortly before dark. Cold rain, but nice autumn leaves.

While watching The Daily Show

Ran on trails through Palgrave West on a warm autumn day. My neighbour's hunting blind pointed at the conservation area trail has been dolled up with a camouflage umbrella for those rainy fall days of shooting at protected wildlife and trail runners. :-(

Insects have invaded due to the higher temperatures - cluster flies, ladybugs and stinkbugs. Mostly they're outside clinging to doors and windows, but some are buzzing around in our house, landing on my keyboard and generally being annoying. Oh well, they're better roommates than mice.

I'm usually hit hard by colds, so I'm surprised to feel so much improved today after hitting rock bottom 36 hrs ago. No idea if these things make any difference, but I took some of the new "Cold Doctor" from the Cold FX people, and it's supposed to make your cold less severe. I didn't take nearly as many pills as they recommended, and I was also taking vitamin C, getting 6 hrs of sleep a night and orienteering in cold weather, so my quick recovery could be due to any - or none - of these things. Whatever the reason, I'm feeling 90% better.

Last week's sniffles moved into my lungs over the weekend, and I don't have much of a voice now, so there'll be no aerobic exercise today! At least it will be better than all those sneezes yesterday while I was driving on the 401 surrounded by transport trucks. I really didn't want to close my eyes at that speed, but it sure is hard trying to sneeze with your eyes open! Neither the cold nor the gimpy ankle affected my weekend races much, but I've had a lot of late nights recently while working on a long "to do" list, and I think I could have been sharper with more sleep.

RY's Yoga for Flexibility with 'Bent. Even *that* felt a little ambitious today.