Training Log Archive: Bash

What a spectacular April summer day!

When I first consulted the hand surgeon, he assured me that I would be able to bike technical trails after 4 weeks so I chose my surgery date to fit between ski and bike seasons. I'm not officially allowed to bike until tomorrow so as a compromise, 'Bent and I chose the Caledon Trailway from Palgrave to Inglewood and back.

It was a little long for my first ride of the year but we took a long break in Inglewood for a picnic lunch from the Coywolf Cafe with Jan and Neil (formerly Knobless and Gorgeous on AP). Then on the way back, we ran into Paul and Lucy (Hingo and Luscious) for the first time in ages and had a long catch-up chat that probably took a big chunk out of their planned bike ride (oops). We don't get to see friends very often anymore so it is *really* special when it happens.

Today was a Significant Birthday for my little brother Dave, who is on a business trip in B.C. working a 12-hour day. We'll raise a glass in his honour!

Raid The Rib
Rocky Ridge
With Browner (Heather Brown)

I haven't done much running since my Achilles injury started bugging me two years ago, and I'm recovering from hand surgery and a broken nose. Browner is now focused on biking and doesn't do much running either. So clearly, we were favoured to win today, lol.

The format was a 3-hour Score-O with a couple of twists:
- A 100-point bonus for doing 4 spread-out controls in sequence, which necessitated a lot of extra running,
- An optional 15-control Sprint map near Rocky Ridge Ranch that was only available in the final hour of the race.

I have some history in the area at the south end of today's race course; it's the only orienteering map that ever made me cry! Hammer kindly took me out on the map the week after that and helped me realize there was hope. It's never easy in there, though.

Browner lives nearby and is familiar with many of the trails. She also has a great eye for flags in the woods. We had great teamwork and probably did about as well as we could have on today's course with our abilities.

A key part of our success was immediately discarding the two twists in the planning stage. At our pace, it made no sense to add a lot of extra running just to get 100 bonus points. And I've spent enough time navigating in the complex trail network near Rocky Ridge Ranch to know that the final Sprint map sounded easier than it was. If we got back early, it was an option but that wasn't our plan. We never get back early in these races anyway!

It was an interesting race course that could be tackled in a number of different ways. I like courses that aren't clearable because it forces the top competitors to make the same kinds of decisions that the rest of us do. In this case, I think a lot of teams were enticed by the 100-point bonus that required them to run past a bunch of controls without punching them, and in most cases, that wasn't the best strategy for them. The top 2 teams didn't attempt it so they started out knowing they couldn't earn maximum points. That was brave and it paid off.

Our nav went smoothly, including a Walk The Line. We got our feet wet but never went knee deep in ice water, which has happened to me in this area in springtime. We encountered some slow, nasty bushwhacking in areas that have been logged. I only fell once and spared my broken nose but banged a knuckle that now doesn't bend very well. Par for the course. We had to run for 35 minutes at the end and I just took a compass bearing and ignored the trails south of Rocky Ridge until we got close to the ranch. We finished with 5 minutes to spare. I'll find out tomorrow if my Achilles survived.

Kristen and Heidi took the well-deserved Female win and we were very proud runners-up, finishing in the top 25% of the field overall. Even more exciting, we're still awaiting final results but it appears that 'Bent, Gally and Storm won overall in a competitive field of 40+ teams.

Really fun day out. Great lunch from Cafe Domestique. It was sooo nice to see so many friends that I've missed so much. Thanks to all the staff and volunteers!

As expected, I look like a prize fighter with colours spreading from my nose toward my eyes and one cheek. It can all be hidden by a mask so I can go out in public without looking like someone beat me up. I expected much worse and am a bit disturbed by how much better I’m breathing than usual. Did I break my annoying sinuses too? There was never any real pain. I wasn’t supposed to get my heart rate up for a couple of days post-accident (to avoid pumping more blood up there) so I’m past that. I’m also not supposed to put my head below my heart if possible. I can’t put my hands on the floor right now anyway. No concussion symptoms after two days, which is the most important thing. I signed up for Raid the Rib with Browner an hour before the accident and I’m still going to go but I won’t run much and I won’t fall at ALL!