Training Log Archive: Sid

Light ride up to the Sheridan and Culham Trail to Erindale Flats to check out Coach Sudden's school course controls on the map created by Mr. Pither. Map and controls were fine. Nice area to train juniors and ingenues.

Have not got shifting perfected on my new bike. Going up instead of down and crunching a few gears. Seat is harder than my tri bike seat but likely I will be changing position more. Legs felt okay.

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. Warm up 300m swim (75 swim, 25 drill), 300m swim (75m cruise, 25m build) 200 m pull. Main set - 25m kick, 50m kick, 75 m kick no fins, 100m kick fins and 150m kick fins. 150m swim 100m drill 50m, 100m 75 swim, 25 drill, 75m swim, 50m drill and 25m swim. 2 x100m on 2:15, 3 x200m on 4:30, 400m on 9:00, 3 x200m on 4:30 and 2 x100m on 2:15. Cool down - 50m breast, 50m fly, 50m scull and 50m backstroke easy.

Speed was not great. 100m times 1:50 to 2:00, 200 m times 3:50 to 4:05 and 400m on 7:50. Overal felt okay but tiring by the end.

Nice game on forward. Team victory!!

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. A little tired but speed was not bad.

Gators Spring Tune Up at Starkley Hills. Started poorly blowing the first 4 controls, then just used the compass as reference and did point to point navigation and was pretty good. I was outrun a few times but made up time with good navigation. RC saved me from making a error on the 2nd loop when I inadverently switched to the 1st map by mistake. Wore CWX tights and legs and joints felt great in rough terrain.

Spring Tune up Sprint. Relatively easy but fun event in farm fields. Was getting a get slow after the farasta.

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. Warm 300m - 50 free, 50 shark fin. 10 x 50m 25 fly/free/breast, 25m back 10 x 25m breathe 7.
Main Set - 2 x (10 x 100m on 2:10, 4 x 25m fast on 0:45)
Cool down 5 x 50m 25 scull & 25 fly?breast/free.

Tired after not eating well before yesterday's workout giving high resting HR than typical. Ate before swimming. 1st 100m set 1:50 to 1:55, 2nd 100m set 1:55 to 2:05. 25m times 0:20 to 0:25.

Did light weight but one set of 50 to 100 depending on muscle strength. Generally tired after this morning and yesterday.

Started balanced core and back exercises after back problem earlier.

Arm and leg stretches.

Three loops on the Sheridan Trail. Right knee was a bit wonky. A little wind in my face running up hill.

20 km Time Trial on trainer. Reverse Brick Work out. Maintained high speed though tired after the run. Burn - 1250 kcal for both run and bike

Lazy run around a cemetery.

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. Warm 400m pull vertical, double touch. 400m kick with fins 200m board 1/2 in water, 200m fill in. 10 x 50m descending on 1:10 pace. Main set - 100m swim, 100m kick with fins, 200m swim with fins, 100m kick fins, 300m swim, 100m kick fins, 400m swim, 100m kick, 500m swim, 100m kick, 400m swim. 100m kick, 200m swim. Cool down - 12.5m fly, 12.5m breast, 25m back scull, 25m fly and 25m breast.

A bit tired after long week training. The best I could do was 0:55 for 100m. Swam in 500m in 10:30, 400m in 8:15 and averaging just over 2:00 for 100 m.

Two Loops of the Sheridan Trial. Right knee was a bit sore but felt great after. Cold water bath to reduce swelling. Burn - 430 kcal.

MTC Spin with Coach Steve. Cadence and power work. Legs felt a bit tired after no rest in 5 days but speed and power was reasonable. Burn - 480 kcal. HR and energy usage has been lower lately.

Pick up game with a younger team and the better Friday night boys. Smoked them. They started fast but died. Final about 8 to 3.

MTC Swim withCoach Melissa. Warm up 200m swim, 3 x 100m descending. Main Set - 3 x 400 m paddle and pull on 8:00. 3 x 400m swim on 8:00, 400 m with fins 50 kick / 50 swim, 400m pull bouy with light leg kick, 100m easy. Cool down 25 free, 25 breast, 25 fly, 25 feet first scull, 25 back scull, 25 fly, 25 breast, 25 free.

Felt a bit slow and body roll and sync was bad. 100m times were 2:05 to 1:50. 400m times 7:50 to 7:55. Strong but technique sucked.

First Summer hockey game played on the Olympic ice surface. Tie game. Nice skate. Feel more maneouverable on the ice these days perhaps due to improved back strength.

MTC Cycling with Coach Steve. Recovery ride. Did multiple sets of 100 rpm, 110 rpm, standing and recovery reducing from 3 to 1 minute sets.

HR was low and total burn was only 490 kcal. Speed felt okay though still tired from Saturday.

Platelet donation aborted when arm swoll on return suggesting poor needle placement. Health stats - BP 132/85, HR -53, Weight - 67 kg, Height -170.5 cm I will have a nice bruise soon.

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. Warm 2 x (200m swim, 150 m pull, 100 m fist/swim, 50m fast) Main set - 2 x (200mon 4:30 , 4 x100 m on 2:10) 8 x 25m scull, fist, human stroke& all out) 400m pull relax.

Left shoulder and arm were sore on Human Stroke. Quite tired, could not go below 2:00 for 100m. 200m time - 3:50.

MTC Cycle with Johnny B. Tired but hung in there through drills. Last 45 minutes was a simulated ride of Penticton Tronman Canada Bike. By the end my quads were toast. HR was low at 139 maximum and burn was only 980 kcal. Lowest ever for a Sunday class but speed was averaging about 25 kmh. Bike still feels good though and my aero position was good.

Event: Salomon Giant's Rib Raid 25K Adventure Run
 

2008 Giant's Rib at Rocky Ridge. Burn - 3200 kcal.Dicey weather with heavy rain the days before suggesting high swamps in the Rocky Ridge terrain. New version of Silence Beckons with stalwart KS and rookie RS with the SI card. Felt good starting in light drizzle. SB takes the east route choice to control bb & cc and readily hits Control 1. Quick cross country to trail, heading to CP 2. I and KS discuss running the west or east trails to CP 2. The decision is to use the west route. See Bash and 'Bent of TH go the other way ahead of us so have a frame of reference. Run up the west trails and hit CP2 readily on the backside of a mound. B & 'B show up just after us, apparently using the road. The group heads up the Bruce Trail after Marianna directs us on our way. I decide to climb a stream bed instead of veering on the trail, turning the lead over to 'Bent. We slow on a road section and head down a drivewa. I have a bite to eat but soon realize we have missed a trail cut off. I am trying to eat better in races but it fails me here. Trail run to CP3 and see TH again.

We have decided to go across the field pass in aerial photo passed CP 15 to hit CP ff before going on to CP4. We see TriHarder go a different way. We get to CP ff but can not see a control at the south east tree in the tree line so start scouting. Hammer takes pictures and says to check the description. Finally, I climb the hill near the end of the tree line and find the control in a ruins near the last tree. I realize that I have made this mistake before. I am in orienteering mode but this is an adventure race. Descriptions do not have to be as accurate in a A/R. On to CP 4, we get close but fine adjustments are a problem. RS goes northeast along a swamp line while south west seems to be correct and is. The team gets a bit strung out but reunites. We meet up with TH again. They says"Oh, you have been lost also" but we shrug that we had a differing strategy. A group of 3 teams traverses the Lasso finding the 3 SI's and returning to CP8. TH and SB have a similar strategy to CP9, heading cross country from a trail bend. After CP 9, SB heads for a trail up the lake side but it is difficult to locate our exact position. We hit a small trail, thinking it is our target trial but it soon proves wrong. TH is seen in the distance. We soon hit the major trail we hoped for and reach CP 10 shortly. Running the trail to the lake end, we follow the trail south breaking off into the woods, using the lake as handrail and reach CP 11 soon. Bearing south, we soon hit the major trail, running to the lower lake crossing and taking the small trail down the lower lake section. Skirting the lake edge , we reach CP 12 taking a bearing from the river draining the swamp to the lake. Fairly straightforward point to point navigation!! Water bodies are somewhat confusing as a distinctive lake on the map does not look that different than a temporary swamp. From CP 12 we head to the knob at the lake bottom to bear towards the trail and stream crossing. We see a stream crossing but realize that the ridge to the west is our best route choice though after considerable team discussion. TH has headed that way already. CP 13 is easy to fnd following the ridge line. Now we are into the verbal instructions for a disguised section. Another CNOC team plays tag with us. We get a little confused with the woods around the golf course, Granite Ridge, but follow the cliff bottom and scale the crevasse as in the instructions. Finished this section, we decide to run the Bruce Trail south to skirt a swamp, then kitty corner to the quarry trail and run it until we see the long ridge with control ii on top. Following the ridge to the end, we bear north to the field in the aerial photo and run across the open field hitting controls hh and gg in ready order. TH is seen taking a different route to hh. Straight north to CP15, the distance seems long. Retracing our route to CP16, we fuel up for the last section towards home.

Running down the road we soon hit an old trail section, leading back over to Hilton Falls. We are all pretty stiff and our running speed is down. Another road run brings us to the trail leading to CP 17 and the start of "Walk the Line". We take our time but it is easy to follow the foot prints in the snow though the crevasses, water and cliffs are quite nasty. We soon find the 3 SI's, 18 to 20. CP 21 is reached using a bearing but there is something wrong on the map in that area or my head. Seems I had trouble here in the 2007 NAOC's. Now we have the same long traverse as in the NAOC's. We decide to try to go through the thin swamp section as in the Hard Rock 2 weeks previously, but make the same mistake, not hitting the narrows and crossing more of the dense green than necessary. Again we end up too far south but find the trail to the river crossing. There is major water flow on the river making for a difficult crossing with a very rocky bottom but no one falls in. KS has had a watery spill earlier. SB runs up the clearing on the opposite side, veering west to hit the trail and retacing our previous route to CP 22/1. Next SB takes a bearing north to hit the trail leading towards CP dd. We used the swamp as a handrail but the trail was very confusing. Coming to an intersection, a control could be seen on a hill. We concluded it most be dd though our route seemed a bit off. Next we use a bearing to ee in the middle of a pond. I walked up to my knees in water as RS is reluctant. Trail and bearing leads us readily to aa and SB heads for home using the major trail ajacent. Once hitting the clearing we take a side trail to the finish. TD was waiting to cheer us home there.

Finishing in 22nd position out of 40 teams not bad. Overall a pretty good day!! My feeling is that our time should have been faster as we spent too much on group discussion and explaining changing strategies. My right knee was pretty sore by the end after this weekend and the preceeding Flying Pig. May have twisted it at the Pig but could do with some strengthening for longer distance races.

MTC Swim with Coach Stephanie. Warm up 24 x 25m IM with fins, 300m (50 Finger Drag, 50 fist)

Main Set 10 x 100m kick with fins on 2:10, 10 x 50m on 2:15 free, 10 x 50m free/back on 2:15, 10 x 50m 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 descending, 10 cruise on 2:15 500m locomotive.

Cool down, 25m breast, 25 back, 25 feet first scull, 25 otter

Felt good. Was swimming 50's on 0:50 to 0:55 but could get down to 0:47. No problem doing the 100 m kick on 2:10. 50m free/back were 1:00 to 1:07. Was having trouble getting glide and roll on back.

MTC Cycle with Coach Steve. Power strength ride. Maximum at 140 HR rate for 3 minutes with 3 minute cool down 6 times. Legs started to get tired by the last sets but was able to hold above 27 kmh.

MTC Swim with Coach Melissa Warm up 300m swim, 200 (25 drill, 25 free), 300m 50m free 50 breast/back, 200m swim
Main 4 x250m 200m free 50 IM, 3 x (300m swim alternating 25 breathing 3 and 5, 6 x25m 10m under water, 15m build) 600m paddle and pull Cool down 12m breast 13m back scull, 25m back.

Slow warming up but feel okay swimming 3rd. Lead for 250m free in 4:35. Elbows okay after paddles.

Ran Culham Trail from Erindale Flats north with turn around at downhill after the 403. Nice weather. Knees were a bit rough but ran at good speed. Felt good of return.

MTC Spin with Coach Steve. Recovery ride with intervals. Forgot to start HR monitor until 1/2 way through. Legs fell good and was hitting speeds in the 28 to 30 kmh in some intervals. After O-racing yesterday, I was pleasnatly surprised with my strength. Burn - 281 kcal for 35 minutes.

US Ultra Long 2008. last chance for redemption. Not many controls but long legs. From started headed down to river side trail and headed north. Picked up a tail and missed my cut off, not noticing until I hit a stream. Headed up the far cliff and ran along the top above a stream until its end. Taking an easy bearing to hit Cp1 in the next stream valleys. Easy point to point route but lost time with first mistake. Took a point to point route to CP2 kitty cornering trails and using the river bed to reach CP2 in another valley pit. Drank Gatorade and ate fig bar. Took bearing to top of valley to hit CP3 but overshoot. Did poor correction heading far west and crossing stream valley and climbing the wrong valley before realizing my error. Headed back overshooting CP3 again but glimpsed Bash passing. Finally used odd hilltop to nail the CP. Scared I decided to take trail to CP4. This was long but safe. Passed many acquaintances running every which way. Readily hit CP4 but route choice was suspect. Picked up some tails and reached CP5 using the high ground to my advantage. Straight over the CP6 but overshoot and corrected badly. Surrounded by 5 others, I had no dynamic choices to find the control. The group finds it and heads for CP7. Stop for Gatorade and fig bar at 7, manned by MM. Ran trail with kitty corner to CP8 with the group. 8 was easy to finding following a swamp section. The group headed back to the trial but I decided to gamble. Cutting through a dark green band, I hit a white section for easy running using valleys to CP9. Go from the back of the pack to beating the leaders, young army O-racers. Decided to take a near direct route to CP10 and kitty corner from trail to trail ascending and climbing valleys. Hit trail to road and see Bash ahead. Pas Bash on the road and hit the trail section run earlier to 4. Reach corner near CP2 and crash dark green to open running down a spur to the river valley. Cross the river and hit the trail perfectly on the far side. Run the trail until above the river valley and spot CP10 on a hill across the river. Down and up to hit CP10. This leg was without doubt on of my best navigation sections ever. Fast and near direct. Having run the trail section earlier was a big help though the early route choice was slow. Take a bearing towards CP11 but things feel really odd. Up and down a few valleys. The map and my perception seem off but can not pin point the issue. On a bearing hit the trail leading to the river crossing. Run up the hill to CP11 and quickly sprint for home.

Better race than some. Well designed course by Cedarcreek. Still made 2 major and one lesser error costing about 20 minutes. Overshooting and sloppy corrections were major problems. Overall fitness seemed good though.

Green - Ultra Long - Splits

Sprint #1 Flying Pig. Completely out to lunch off the start. Could not figure out where I was and ran across the major road into the tent city. Stood confused in the centre of the field until I realized CP1 was has back across the road. Hit CP2 readily and almost went the wrong way to 3 but slowly puzzled it out. CP4 was okay and CP5 was easy near 4. Sudden came by and lead through a underpass to CP6. Really confused I decide to go by compass. Took bearing and headed the wrong way of the map again. Reversed and hit CP7 with a major delay. Started to get the feel for the course hitting 8, 9 & 10. Decided to be adventuresome going to 11 but no advantage was realized. Similarly went to 12 around the building to the east. Going to CP 14 ran around buildings but in retrospect missed a shortcut using an underpass. Around building to CP 15 and the finish.

Badly messed up race!! Could have knocked 10 minutes off my time if I had got my bearings sooner. Should have concentrated on figuring out north before the start of the race.

C • Crossing the road 4

Flying Pig Sprint #2. My type of sprint, in the fields and trails and with some nasty stuff not for the faint of heart. A little stiff to start with running the open field to CP2. Went near a direct route to CP 3 trough the dark green. Ran trail to CP's 4 & 5. Just overshot 6 costing seconds. Hit 7, 8 and 9 readily. CP 10 was a fast run up a dry stream bed. Trail to 11, back over by CP3 and crashed the green to the field. Around opposite end of the pool to CP's 12 & 13. Sudden appeared behind at 13 and passed me as we ran through the opening with CP1 to 14 and the finish.

Finally got my act together!! Could have been faster but this was near my max nav speed.

C • Great Race! 3

Orange/Brown/Green Sprint 1 - Splits

Orange/Brown/Green Sprint 2 - Splits

Event: Flying Pig XII
 

Flying Pig Model at Rentschler Forest. Light rain but warm outdoors. Flat training section but gave a good idea of the terrain. Ground was saturated with water after the night showers. The light green was quite passable though dense in sections. Route choice was important.

Short Pig WRE. Started good but overshoot 3 and reached it with Bash who started 2 minutes behind me. Ran to CP 4 with tail. I was there first so took the clearings rote to CP5. I knew Bash would take another route as tandem racing is not our thing. Got to CP's 5, 6, 8 and 9 with no problem. Completely lost it at CP 10. Nice easy house line in the distance as a hand rail but went south west instead and hit stream. Getting more confused I bailed east and hit 9 again, followed house line and hit 10 readily. CP 11 was straight forward and back on track, hit 12 and 13. On CP 14 went a bit wide to another course's control before going to the correct one. I still swing by wrong controls when I should not, costing time. Hit CPs 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and finish readily.

Lost about 12 minutes or more with 2 costly errors. Need to be more focused. Running legs felt good though.

Green- Short Pig - Splits

5 days without any activity. Spent a total of 17 hours in airplanes. Flew Sunday Monday to Paris arriving at 7:15 am for Duseldorf flight arriving at 8:45 am. Slept 4 hours on plane and 2 hours on arrival. Went to Wire trade show until 6 pm and out for dinner until 11 pm. Tuesday was at show from 9 am to 6 pm. At night we went to old Staldt and drank beer in the street and had pig's shank for dinner with a 12 am night cap. Wednesday at show all day and out for supper until 11 pm. Thursday up at 4:15 am for 7:20 am flight to Paris. 3 hour lay over for flight to Cincinnati. Arrived in Cincinnati at 3 pm. Caught up on internet. The service in Europe is poor and pricey. Do not know if I am ready for the Flying Pig but navigation has been good lately. Legs should not be bad but am likely 7 lb higher than last week. Hook up with the TOC & GHO crowd tomorrow. Back to 12 hours of training next week. Hopefully, it is a few weeks before next trip to Ohio.

No jet lag though! Perhaps due to heavy sleep quotient normally.