Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent, our neighbour and I went for a chatty Sunday morning snowshoe with four dogs. Breaking trail was hard work but we found tracks to follow for a while. The most notable thing about this outing was that I recorded 5.99 km, which I normally wouldn't allow to happen. I clearly wasn't paying attention! #numericalOCD

To celebrate all the new snow, 'Bent and I spent a few hours skiing through the woods in the sunshine. Pretty much perfect. :)

The Winter Scavenger Hunt includes a Dream Team badge where we have to come up with our own idea for a challenge. CMTR is going to borrow one or two of them for the next Summer Scavenger Hunt.

If I had been smart, I would have done this badge early. For weeks, I've watched as people have filled the Facebook group with terrific ideas until it became difficult to think of any ideas that might be left!

My Dream Team challenge is Puzzle Designer. If you're on AP, you might recognize this one.



Design an outdoor puzzle or challenge that will make someone else think while they're out for their run or walk. You might even inspire someone to exercise who doesn't usually go out.

I set up a snowshoe navigation course for our neighbour's young son who wants to learn how to orienteer.



'Bent, BazingaDog and AdventureDog joined me. We went out at dusk and finished by headlamp on a chilly night, mostly breaking trail in deep snow. The dogs will sleep well.







Additional text from my post in the CMTR Facebook group:

There are many ways to design a puzzle in your neighbourhood. You could send friends on a running route where they have to find answers to questions like, "What's the number on the hydro pole on the corner of Main St. and Maple St.?" "What year is on the plaque on the park bench?"

You could assign tasks along the way: "Do at least 10 swings on the park swingset." You could send them a sheet of numbered photos and ask them to mark the numbers on a street map in the places where they see those views on their run.

If you want to share more widely, design a challenge independent of physical location like an "every letter of the alphabet" run. That's a run where you need to spot items starting with every letter - in sequence, if you want to make it more challenging.

The CMTR Winter Scavenger Hunt includes a 5K Time Trial badge. There are people in the challenge who know their 5K PB - unlike me - and there are people who only ever walk. So it's definitely not a competition but like all these challenges, it's in the right spirit to make a special effort.

Running from our house means trails or gravel roads, both of which are hilly and icy with uneven footing. So I drove to the far side of our block to the Caledon Trailway, which is flat and icy with uneven footing.



The fastest place to run would have been a treadmill but I'm so close to the end of the Scavenger Hunt that I'd like to finish it 100% outdoors. Also, given that I haven't been running, there's no point worrying about speed. I did several out-and-backs to avoid bumping into people. My spikes were good enough to stay vertical but I couldn't push off too hard. Hence the level 3 intensity and the 32:35 time, which is definitely not a PB. But this is a Winter challenge so that's OK.

Foothab

Foothab

Too much (digital) paperwork this week! :(

I took a break to watch today’s inauguration and the incredible performance of the young poet, Amanda Gorman. Physical feelings of tension melted away, at least temporarily. It’s cathartic to see a woman of colour step into such a powerful role after 4 years of a president who was both misogynist and racist. I wore pearls today! It will be a difficult road ahead but it was nice to have a good news day for a change.

Heel drops + new slant board

2020 Year End Review, Part 1

I haven't felt like reviewing 2020 because it didn't feel like a real year of my life, let alone a year of real training, but I'll do it for record keeping purposes.

I got off to a big start by registering for 4 trail running races in 4 countries with 4 flights booked and one expensive, non-refundable hotel stay in Wales. Hahaha. I also registered for two adventure races closer to home. When they were all cancelled, I deferred everything that I could since I didn't want to take money back from race directors. I'm not sure whether I'll end up doing most of those events.

The racing season got off to a great start. Denise and I had what was probably our best-ever finish at the DGL Snowshoe Raid - 1st of 32 female teams and 5th of 80 teams overall. Browner and I won our category at the Stars Winter Adventure Race, and 'Bent and I won the Veteran category at the CNYO Snowgaine (with a big asterisk because our fellow Veterans, Bob Miller and Scott Ford, were awarded the overall medal instead of the category prize).

Injury-wise, it wasn't a great year. In early January, the back of my right heel started getting stiff and painful sometimes after running. A niggling pain is almost always there now when I push off on my foot. My guess is that it's insertional Achilles tendinopathy with bursitis. My AP log just reminded me that my heel also got banged hard while moving furniture in late January, which I'd forgotten. That aggravated the injury but I assume the setback was temporary.

I likely would have sought medical help and diagnostic imaging around the time that everything shut down. Given that the health care system was still catching up on more serious procedures after the spring, I didn't pursue it during the short window between the two pandemic waves when I would have felt comfortable going to multiple medical appointments. I tried some chiropractic treatments, which didn't improve it.

As a result, I sometimes took long breaks from running, and I did very few of my beloved long runs. I suspect they may be gone for good but I haven't given up hope entirely.
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2020 Training Hours by Activity + Report Card
(2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 totals in brackets)
**Boring to read unless you are Future Me.**

Total Annual Training Hours = 372 hrs, 2193 km, 36,774 m climb
(387.5, 333, 468.5, 495, 494.5, 470, 557*, 505*, 612*)

*2011-2013 training totals were inflated by overnight/expedition ARs.

I logged about the same number of training sessions as usual in 2020 but they were shorter on average. That actually surprises me since I felt like a sack of potatoes much of the time. 'Bent and I often log training hours during active vacations but that didn't really happen this year. I'd envisioned lots of free time and energy when everything was cancelled but it turned out to be a busy year between dental office admin work (lots of Covid emergency grant applications), being an executor of Mom’s estate, and home reno work.

Top Five Activities - 2020

1) Trekking - 84 hrs
Top of the list because my foot was often too sore to run.
(27, 17, 47.5, 10.5, 64.5, 38.5, 19, 17.5, 16)

2) Mountain Biking + Road Biking - 65.5 hrs
Also increased because I had to cut back on my running. I like mountain biking so this was just fine! I gave away my road bike, Princess, so there won't be any more road biking. I'll still probably call my trainer time "road biking" though.
(21.5, 45, 53, 33.5, 37.5, 34.5, 60, 77.5, 89)

3) Running + Snowshoe Running - 59 hrs
In 2019, my average time per run was just over 2 hours thanks to two ultras. In 2020, it was about 50 minutes.
(193.5, 145, 222.5, 250.5, 188.5, 204.5, 153, 190, 138.5)

4) XC Skiing (Classic, Skate) - 50 hrs
Best year in a long time and it would have been even better if the XC ski places hadn't been forced to shut down in mid-March when they still had great snow.
(45.5, 26, 20, 30, 60, 38, 45.5, 55, 28)

5) Strength + Yoga - 33.5 hrs
We have lots of home fitness equipment and I did some Zoom fitness classes during the first shutdown. I could/should do a lot more of this. Nothing could be more convenient during a Stay-At-Home order!
(21, 30.5, 59.5, 82, 65, 65.5, 52, 36, 30)
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Former Top 5 Activities that missed the 2020 list:

Paddling - 30 hrs
This included our canoe trip in Killarney (paddling + portaging) with Timato, K-Way, Mick, Laura and all the kids. I bought SUPs this year so we have multiple ways to paddle.
(33, 30, 32.5, 17.5, 22.5, 14, 48, 31, 74)

Orienteering + Snowshoe Orienteering - 30 hrs
The majority of this was snowshoe orienteering in the first two months of the year, thanks to the Snowgaine, DGL Snowshoe Raid and Stars W.A.R. We live a good distance away from most orienteering events so we've only done one event since the March shutdown.
(17, 23, 18.5, 36.5, 13, 57.5, 55, 66.5, 73.5)

Adventure Racing - 0 hrs
Thanks to Covid-19, there was no summer AR scene in Ontario. :(
(14.5, 8, 8, 18.5, 30, 0, 112, 26, 163)

Starting a programme of eccentric heel drops to see if it helps my heel pain.