Training Log Archive: Bash

TD mistakenly cancelled my credit card while I'm waiting for a new one to arrive. Now I await the fun and games as my preauthorized payments fail one by one and make me look like a deadbeat! Amazingly, I can't even back up my iPhone with an invalid credit card and that's how I found out. #Firstworldproblems :)

Sulphur Springs Trail Run 50K
"HTFU in 38C Humidex" edition

Super tough racing conditions today! Even the DontGetLost relay runners were coming in way over their estimates, and they are usually accurate within a minute or two.

The first 10K at 7:30 a.m. wasn't too bad - warm and humid but not unpleasant. I ran flats, downhills and gentler uphills. Lap time 1:05.

The next 20K lap was when it started heating up, especially in open areas. The forest was still manageable. I ran some gentle uphills in the first half but not so often in the second half. I ran 10K with Lorie Miller from Brampton and had occasional chats with Hans Maier, an avid ultrarunner in his late 70s. Impressive.

I'd planned a big break after 30K to put on new sunscreen, switch out my drink flasks, add some food, switch my visor for a hat, stop by the aid station, etc. It ended up taking 7 minutes but it wasn't a day to mess around.

Timato kindly offered to get me ice so I gave him a large empty ziploc bag, not knowing how I would use it - just that I really wanted it. That ended up being the key to my next 20K lap. I put some of it on my head under my hat (the reason I switched from the visor) and ran off carrying the bag. I got out my Sugoi cooling sleeves and a little sponge from a side pack pocket and stuck them in the bag of melting ice. A few minutes later, I put on ice-cold cooling sleeves - awesome! They really did work. I have some other cooling clothing from Columbia that hasn't impressed me as much.



The sponge was an idea from a Swiss ultrarunner last summer; the idea is to dip it in streams and stick it under your hat to cool your head but that's unnecessary if ice is available. So I kept it in my melting ziploc of ice and periodically squeezed ice-cold water down my back, front and neck. It was incredible. It ran out about 2K before each aid station but I replenished it and filled my hat each time.

Even with the ice water, it was a tough lap. In the open Orchard area, it felt like breathing in a sauna - really unhealthy. This was a long run for me, not a "race", so for a little while, I only ran sections that were both downhill *and* shady. It improved when we got back into the forest again but I still did way more walking on this lap until the final few kms. It averaged out to 1 min/km slower than the previous 20K lap, not counting transition time. I sure hope it's not this hot at Lavaredo!

It was a wonderful surprise to meet Mrs. Gally at the bottom of the final hill. She encouraged me, took photos and ran (and walked) with me. Thank you!



I'd estimated that my time would probably be around 6:45 so I'm a really good guesser. I was almost exactly midpack overall, within the female category and within my age category. My goal was to finish 50K feeling good and feeling like I could run another 50K. I did feel good but there's no way I could have talked myself into another 50K. The high heat and humidity were just too hard on my cardio system.

It was great to see some relay runners on the race course and back at the DontGetLost canopy tent - Frankenjack (and Tara doing 25K), Sudden, Harps, Super, Hansel, Hermes, Bender, Griz, Tarno, Turbo and others I'm forgetting. Captain Trav had bravely herded the cats into three relay teams this year and they finished 1st, 2nd and 5th.

That is my last big run before Lavaredo in four weeks. I'll still do some running but it will be more important to sleep, eat, drink, pack and plan well. No training plan turns out perfectly but I'm happy with the way things have gone. I've stayed healthy for the past few months, I've done lot of strength and mobility work, and I haven't had an injury in a long time. I did a bunch of races between January and May. In theory, there is more I could have done. In practice, it never would have happened.

Fun ride around the Hydrocut with Funderstorm and (eventually, after a long work day) Mrs. Tiny. The single track and the company were excellent. It felt like a tropical evening, complete with tropical mosquitoes if we dared to stop. Next stop was dinner at Taco Farm - delish! I had my first Rhubarb Margarita while the other ladies enjoyed yummy orange-basil craft beer. The food was great too!



(My bike computer failed halfway through but I think this is the distance Funderstorm got. I forgot to turn on the Ambit after one stop.)

Final indoor boot camp of the season! Tiara Tuesdays are over until the fall although there will likely be some outdoor boot camp sessions at the quarry this summer.

AdventureDog decided to give us a grand finale of his own while we were out. Bye bye to my Salomon XA Pros and the buckle on my AR bike shoes. I don't want to think about how much tonight's free boot camp cost us. :(( Technically, it's our fault for trusting him. He hasn't destroyed a shoe in a long time.

Fascinating (long) article from "Science of Sport" featuring an interview with Joanna Harper, who describes herself as a scientist first, an athlete second and a transgender person third.

The issue is that last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended a requirement for female athletes to maintain testosterone levels within a very generous female normal range. With this rule change, Caster Semenya's performances, which had deteriorated since her early wins as a teenager, have now returned to their previous high level and she is expected to clean up at the Olympics this summer.

Ms. Harper suggests that although intersex (hermaphrodite) women are extremely rare in the population, it is possible that an Olympic podium or two in Rio could be filled entirely with intersex women.

And thus the controversy... Women's sports exist in a separate category because men have natural biological advantages, of which testosterone is thought to be the most significant. There is no question that Semenya was treated cruelly when she was outed and dissected in the media at 18 years of age. That was handled horribly and it's a fair human rights argument that sport should be open to all. On the other hand, one can argue that this decision removes the right of the overwhelming majority of women who are not intersex to compete in the category that has been created for them.

For those who won't have time or interest to read the full article, the transgender scientist believes that people have the right to identify as any gender socially but she supports the requirement for female athletes to have "female" levels of testosterone. Really interesting and there are no easy answers that will satisfy everyone.
http://sportsscientists.com/2016/05/hyperandrogeni...

Hike with Browner, 'Bent, BazingaDog and AdventureDog up the Village Way trail then down via ski slopes with a few big snow patches for the dogs to roll in.

Breakfast Hills to start the day! Browner, 'Bent and I went out for two more hill climbs before packing up. Once again, I'm calling it a run but we went at "Lavaredo pace", i.e. easy running on most flats and downhills, and power hiking uphill with poles. After checking out, we made a beeline for Espresso Post in downtown Collingwood to get yummy snacks and drinks for the drive home.