Training Log Archive: Bash

Ontario Orienteering Championships Long course.

I haven't done much individual start orienteering in the past couple of years, so it seemed like a good idea to practise before heading down to Pennsylvania for the North Am Champs in two weeks. I figured I may as well get the maximum possible amount of practice by entering the elite category instead of racing my age group. Glad I did, since even a 90-minute race didn't feel very "long".

I didn't spend enough time thinking about route choices on a few longer legs, and ended up making bad decisions. However, I executed those bad route choices pretty well, considering my longstanding issues with navigating Hilton Falls-type terrain. I overshot a small trail turn-off by a minute or so, but otherwise I think I always knew where I was within 50 m. I didn't enter F-Elite to compete but I feel OK about finishing within 15 minutes of winner Molly Kemp. I could have saved 10 minutes with better route choices. I bought new orienteering glasses with higher magnification immediately after the race. :)

Beautiful autumn day to be running at Hilton Falls. Fun course, great job by the Stars. Thank you all!

(Started and stopped Garmin a little late.)

Congratulations to my Salomon Flight Crew teammate, lawyer Adam Campbell, on setting a new Guinness world record for running a marathon in a business suit. Not only did he *finish* the Royal Victoria Marathon, he ran it in 2:35:53 and placed 6th overall! (Previous record was 3:24.) He raised funds for a charity that provides pro bono legal services to people in need.

Event: 2012 Ontario Orienteering Championships
 

Congrats to my Mom, Dorothy Campbell, on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service this morning. It even comes with a "Wearing Guide". It turns out there is *serious* protocol involved in wearing a medal - we had no idea! I'm very proud of her.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Between the TRCA's Palgrave Forest and Wildlife Area Trail Opening event with Crash and some trail work on our property, I hiked about 7 km today - might as well log some of it. Could the autumn leaves and flowers be any more beautiful??

Hard Core Live with Caron. It's that time of year again - and not a moment too soon! Ouch.

C3 yoga class. Feels so good to be back building strength again. Much needed. Nice to see 'Bent able to do a couple of poses that his knee wouldn't allow last year.

Peter Thompson's name and face looked familiar in last week's news - but it's a common name, and why would I know the 19-year-old head coach of the Bow Valley Kayak Club? The teenager died in B.C. after paddling over a 6 m waterfall he had been over many times before. He was with a group of friends; neither he nor his boat resurfaced.

National Geographic photographer Gordon Wiltsie just posted this tribute, and now I remember. I took an adventure photography course with Gordon at the Banff Centre in 2008, and Peter was one of our "models" - local athletes who biked, climbed and paddled for us in exchange for a collection of photos of themselves in action. He stood out from the crowd since he was so young (only 15 then), friendly and talented. He just seemed to be having a whole lot of fun. Aw, such sad news. Rest in peace, Peter.

'Tis the season for Ontarians to become familiar with hunting regulations in the outdoor areas we frequent. MNR has posted a new web page to make it a *little* less cumbersome for non-hunters to find out when legal hunting takes place in different parts of the province. Note that the province is divided into many small "wildlife management units" with different seasons so you need to check the maps carefully.

In Caledon, we've got deer bow hunting season from this week until the end of the year. Coyotes and skunks can be hunted legally at any time. Turkey, pheasant and raccoon seasons start next week. Certain local masters athletes will be interested to know that squirrel season opened last week; note the maximum of 5 squirrels per day.

This web page tells you "when" and "which animals" but the more difficult question is *where* hunting may occur. For example, we live beside a large piece of conservation land where hunting is illegal but one of our neighbours hunts deer there anyway. Next to that is private land where we have permission to use the trails but the landowners invite deer hunters in. We spend more time on the conservation land at this time of year, and we wear bright colours and put orange hunting vests on our dogs when we have reason for concern. If we had kids, we probably wouldn't take them to some of these places.

There are many places in Ontario where bullets can whiz legally across the Bruce Trail and other trails that pass through private land. In the Milton/Georgetown area (e.g. the land north of Hilton Falls where many of us have orienteered), there is a gun hunting season for deer from Nov. 5-9 and bow hunting from October to December. Warning signs are rarely posted, It's our responsibility to know about this; it's not anyone's responsibility to tell us.

A few kilometers away from us in Simcoe County, much of the public forest is multi-use including hunting. A hunter who shot and killed a grandmother hiking on a Simcoe Country trail several years ago was acquitted because it could not be proven that he had broken any rules of hunting . Once again, it's up to us to find out where hunting is permitted so we can make an informed decision about whether to share the woods with people who can kill us without breaking any laws while pursuing their recreational pastime.

Power Yoga for Flexibility - Rodney Yee
Hurts so bad that it must be good.

Glad I kept my paper maps!

Fellow Salomon Flight Crew member Adam Campbell, a lawyer in B.C., is trying to set a new Guinness World Record time for running a marathon in a business suit at the Royal Victoria Marathon this Sunday. Yup, full suit, tie - maybe even a briefcase, according to his wife. As Adam says, "I hope it's worth the inevitable chafing." Current record is 3:24, and Adam's marathon PB is 2:29. The smart money is on him.

Speaking of smart money, he's raising money for Access Pro Bono, a non-profit charity that works to increase access to pro bono legal services. Details are in the article above.

Congrats to Revy and James, Mr. and Mrs. GHOSLO, and Eldersmith and Sharon for their excellent performances this past weekend at the North American Rogaining Champs!

Half the participants in the 24-team event qualified for the world champs. Only one team competed in each of the Open Women's and Veteran Women's categories, with the stronger team getting 620 of 2700 available points. (Arthurd... sigh.) A very experienced rogainer in another single-team category confirmed a berth in the Worlds with 50 points, i.e. the team likely visited one control in 24 hours. That's how the (crazy new) rules work so that was smart strategy. Or to be fair, maybe they were injured or sick.