Training Log Archive: Bash

Today I have a Tale of Two Birthdays.

One marked a significant milestone for our friend Goose - his 50th. Coach LD drew on her boundless creativity and energy to design an event that took us on a tour of Goose's life and some of his favourite things. It was loads of fun, and we were privileged to share in the celebration last weekend. I've just posted a report with lots of (occasionally embarrassing) photos. If you haven't seen 'Bent's scary video trailer, check it out below. Once it gets going, you may need to hit the little gear symbol in the lower right to increase resolution to 360p.

Aubrey's Adventure Extravaganza Bike-O

At the other end of the spectrum, today was the celebration of Aubrey Grant's 1st birthday. Also known as Teeny Tiny, she made her parents proud by hosting her first adventure race for her friends and family. For sure, this was the race to do this weekend. The course had been well tested, the maps were top quality, the format was fresh, and the race director had put as much time into it as she could, given her busy day care schedule.



When the maps and instructions were distributed, you could feel the tension in the air. In a 2.5 hour rogaine-style bike and foot navigation event, there is no time to mess around.



My biggest concern was the Male Open team of Mick and J-Lu - and they proved me right, taking the overall win.



Our team had experience on our side. Aubrey's grandfather (Mrs. Tiny's Dad), who nicknamed himself "Slow Mo", raced with me. He didn't have a lot of off-road biking experience but he learned as he went, and he was tough and positive throughout - an excellent teammate.





We enjoyed our tour along the Grand River Trail to Bingeman's Park although it probably wasn't the most efficient route choice for us to maximize points. We were a little surprised at how hilly the riverside trail was. At least it was scenic and shady.

We were passed by Mrs. Tiny and her rookie teammate, who just missed winning the whole thing!



The checkpoints were ribbons, and we had to photograph them.



No adventure race can happen without dedicated volunteers. The Grant family came through big time! We were able to drop our bikes in Bechtel Park and look for checkpoints on foot. We liked this part since Slow Mo is a strong hiker. Note that Mr. Reeder was taking a lunch break when we passed through the bike drop.



More dedicated volunteers.



We headed into the forest and bushwhacked, stomped through a swamp and waded a river. Slow Mo got the full experience of adventure racing in a short period of time!





We stopped to smell the trilliums.



It's always nice to see the Race Director out on the course. In fact, it was the first time we'd seen her all day since she was napping during the race briefing.



If we didn't return within the 2.5 hour time limit, we would be disqualified. We had to push a little to sneak in a final checkpoint but Slow Mo and I hit the finish line with 3 minutes to spare. Yahooo!



'Bent and his team cut it the closest - and 'Bent cut in front of a car to reach the finish line. Ahem. Let's just say it has been a subject of discussion.



Mrs. Mick, also on 'Bent's team, became a stronger mountain biker as the race went on, according to reliable sources. Here she is chatting with race winner J-Lu.



The post-race party was excellent with BBQ, homemade salads, two different cakes, good company, great race prizes for all, and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday".







Thanks to Aubrey for hosting a 5-star adventure event - and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Tiny for helping her and securing us a coveted entry. Fun day! :)

Bechtel Park - the part of the race where we dropped our bikes to orienteer on foot.

My Achilles was tight so I went for a recovery bike ride instead of joining 'Bent for an easy run. The ride seemed to fix the problem for now. Spectacular day! Spring flowers are coming out but we have no trilliums just yet - and no poison ivy either.

Hockley Loop with 'Bent, Double_Downon11 and Mr. Yaneff. It's always a pleasure to take people on their first tour of the Loop, and this time we had two newbies along, which was a special treat.

'Bent looked exactly like one of the guys in this picture today. Guess which one. :)



'Bent's coach had also prescribed 45 minutes of running on flatter terrain before and after the Loop. He was going to cheat on that but I kicked him out the door first thing in the morning and dropped him off 45 minutes from home on our way back. You're welcome, dear. :)

Anyone who may remember that I am training for a 168 km race while 'Bent is training for a 100 km race is advised to avoid editorial comment.

Terrific lunch at the Black Birch afterward. Time deducted for enjoying views at lookouts, etc.

Hard Core Live with Caron.

Felt sooo good to stretch my non-stretchy bits.

Sunny weather and new running gear provided terrific motivation for a lunchtime run on the Bruce Side Trail to Centreville Creek Road and back with an extra hill on Finnerty. Like last year, I'm planning to do some of my runs in hot weather to get my body used to it. After all, heat is the new altitude!

I ran in my new Salomon Sense Ultra shoes today and got them dirty - sniffle! I made an extra special effort to avoid the coyote poop at least. They are the lightest, most minimalist shoes I've ever run in, and they made me feel fast and agile, even though I'm not. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine myself mountain goating along the trail like STORM or JohnnyM on their way to victory in a 50K.

But wisely, I didn't close my eyes for very long on such a technical trail. :) I don't think my running form is good enough right now to use such lightweight shoes for more than about 2 hours, and if there was a lot of road running, they wouldn't be the best choice for someone like me. Maybe they will be an incentive to keep improving my form! But for a typical Bruce Trail run, it was love at first sight. Not so, alas, with the Sense Mantras that also arrived in my Flight Crew package. It appears that my feet are too wide for the women's version but maybe a men's size will work.

I also tried one Hydro Sense glove with a 200 ml soft flask. I've been looking for options to carry water for short runs, and I liked the idea of running with a relaxed hand but still having water handy. I really liked it but I did have to adjust the position of the soft flask as it got smaller. Also, it wasn't quite enough water for an hour on a hot day, even for a camel like me. So I will probably try the other glove as well. One of the Salomon Store staff told me that a top runner has been using them backwards with the flasks on the backs of his hands. I'd already had that thought so I will do that test next time!

And finally, I tried the S-Lab Advanced Skin Belt. For years, I've kept buying different waist belts for running, believing each time that I've finally found the right solution for runs when I don't want a pack. But almost all of them end up bouncing around and driving me nuts. I didn't give this one a fair test today but it felt good so far. I only put my phone and house keys in it because I already had water in my hand. That will be a test for another time. I'm thinking that maybe it would make sense to have a couple of flasks in the belt that I move to my glove one at a time when I'm ready to drink from them. Carbon's Offset and Carbon both tested this belt recently and wrote some detailed comments on their logs.

Yahooooo!!

To expand on this, I passed the final heart test (stress echocardiogram) so my doctor has signed my medical form for UTMB. *Huge* load off my mind. Now I need to train.

Fun Attackpoint reunion at the Salomon Friends and Family sale today. As nice as it is to chat online, nothing beats seeing friends in person. I had lunch with Bender and Double_Downon11, then 1L arrived, then WandAR, then Wilberto. Special thanks to Birthday Boy Bender for lunch, and all the best at the rogaine in Nova Scotia this weekend!

P.S. I have not taken off my Salomon Sense Ultra shoes since I got home. I may never take them off - so comfy.

Tour de Palgrave West cut short by gusty winds that made it too scary to be in a forest with trees that sometimes drop big branches or crash to the ground.

Better late than never... My Tierra Viva race report is now posted.

Extremely disturbing events on Mount Everest. Sherpas allegedly attacked Ueli Steck's team and made death threats in a conflict over climbing etiquette. Steck is on his way home, having abandoned his climb with fear for his team's safety and a deep gash to his face.