Training Log Archive: Bash

Flat run from Tree Hugger ABC in Collingwood - out to the Georgian Trail and around a big block, then home through the George Christie trail system. My foot loosened up and felt OK but it feels stiff tonight. It was *much* better running in terrain where I could see my footing. I will wear an ankle brace for Raid The Hammer.

Foot still a bit tender - one more day before taking it running again.

In other news, there was blowing snow for a couple of hours but it didn’t stay.

Foot pain is a notch higher today, not surprisingly - definitely not as bad as it was after the sprain last month though.

I had another painful visit with Dr. Thumbs-of-Death this morning and just missed Coach LD, apparently. I asked him if it's OK to run on my gimpy ankle now and he said it's time to "work it hard". So AdventureDog and I went for a short forest run around Palgrave West. The ankle is still creaky - and maybe it always will be - but running felt great. I felt like the queen of the world until 200 meters from home when I turned my ankle. (Everyone saw that coming, right?) I wasn't ready for a trail covered with leaves. Obviously. Fortunately, it's not too bad. I should have run on the road but A-Dog couldn't have joined me.

Hard Core Live with Caron - it's baaack! This year it's in Inglewood.

C3 yoga - It's the first class since the summer break and most of us noticed a few underused muscles and some reduced flexibility. 'Bent said he's been keeping up with his strength and stretching so he didn't moan like the rest of us.

It was a Mom day and half my “to do” list involved technology. She’s really good with electronic devices for an 86-year-old!

Since I'll be doing some cautious running while my ankle recovers, today's workout time was dedicated to treadmill maintenance, which apparently you are supposed to do. I've had the treadmill for 8.5 years and had never opened its manual to that section. I wouldn't have looked there today either if the treadmill hadn't shut itself down a few months ago, demanding that I lube its running deck before it would operate again. Shortly afterward, I did some googling, bought the appropriate product and proceeded to do nothing.

Today I finally cracked the manual and learned that I was supposed to have been lubing the running deck every 6 months. Not only that, there were lists of tasks that I’m supposed to do after each run, once a week and once a month. As if! I decided to be a good citizen and do all of those things today though. Chances are pretty good it will be another 8.5 years before I do any of them again.

So... yesterday I did a 2-hr orienteering event with an ankle brace - my first significant activity on foot in the 25 days since a nasty ankle sprain. It was a mix of trails and bushwhacking over uneven terrain. I walked for the first 90 minutes, then tried a little easy running on smooth trails in the final half hour.

Today I woke up a little sore but it wasn't my ankle; it was my hip flexors! Apparently I haven't needed to lift my feet that high for awhile. :) The same thing happens to me every year after my first long classic ski.

So this was pretty exciting. There is still some pain in my ankle but it doesn't feel much different than it did a couple of days ago. I guess it's safe to try some running on even surfaces. Yay!

Fans of the Barkley Marathons are familiar with Lazarus Lake. One of his other events is Big's Backyard Ultra where participants run a 4.166667 mile loop at 40 minutes after the hour. During the day, it's a trail loop starting in Laz's back yard. At night, it's an out-and-back on the country road Laz lives on. This is not a random distance; it works out to 100 miles in 24 hours.

Runners must return within 60 minutes and they must start their next loop at exactly 40 minutes after the hour. All food, water, sleep, first aid and other breaks need to be squeezed into the minutes or seconds between loops. The winner is the Last Man Standing, which is also the generic name for this race format.

This year the Last Man Standing might be a Woman - the incredible Courtney Dauwalter who won Western States this year. After 57 hours and 237.5 miles, just 3 runners remain of 70+ who started. Defending champion Guillaume Calmettes was hobbled by tendinitis on Loop 55 and had to drop out. Greg Salveson was a finalist but did not finish his 57th loop in time to continue. Johan Steene of Sweden and Gavin Woody of Washington are the two other contenders.

Live results are available here, updated realtime - most interesting if you check at about 35 minutes past each hour. The record for this race format is 245.8 miles and it looks like they're going to pass it soon.
https://my2.raceresult.com/110552/?fbclid=IwAR3mY8...