Training Log Archive: Anvil

smt in name only. No regulars, but I had Robin and Duane by my side.
We've got more running to do this afternoon, so didn't do a real session - just got out there with the T-dog and made the most of a sweet Saturday morning.

Zombie Race. Take ~20 people, a 500x200m patch of forest hidden with 'treasure' and 'power ups' and one designated zombie hiding in the arena.
You've got 15 minutes to grab as much treasure as possible whilst avoiding being 'turned' by the zombie. Repeat 2 or 3 times with a different starting zombies.
What you've actually ended up with is a brutal and amazingly fun fartlek terrain session. I started round 1 as a zombie and covered 2.5km - but most of the time was spent at jogging pace. Exhausted by the end of the 4th round

Crisp run in the valley with Trix. Perfect conditions, sunny and cold - probably the last time I'll be able to get away with shorts and T-Shirt for a while.
Still feeling a bit lackluster, but a lot better than last night.

C • Crisp run in the valley wi... 2

TNT+ARK set up.
Got through 5 reps before having to head off and get the session started - think I'm gonna have to tweak Thursdays.
Not feeling great as it was - really need to get some more sleep.

C • sleep 2

C • Tnt 4

Throwing out the usual flags for ARK. Starting to remember why it took me so much longer to set up in the winter - flashy light flags + gloves do not mix.
Probably won't be using the NE corner of the golf course again - 2 of 6 flags went walkabouts. :/

I just did a review, in the past 2 months I've done the Frontier Adventure Race, 3 trail races, 3 cross country races, 3 Ontario Champs races, Turkey Trot, Road2Hope half and RTH. No wonder I'm feeling tired!
That was always the plan to pack the Autumn full of fun races since the conditions are so perfect at this time of year for getting out and making the most of it. Scored a car GPS and NYC entry out of it, so it was clearly worth all those overpriced race fees. :/
Looking ahead to blizzard season I hope to get a good base of solid smts & tnts, like last year. It's also time to get back on the Frankensteps bandwagon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I also plan to take advantage of the wintery activities this part of the world has to offer - the observant amongst have probably worked out by now that my continued residence in this country is unfortunately not a sure thing, so I'd hate to be kicked out next year and not once strapped on a pair of skis (or at least, learnt the correct verb for putting skis on your feet).

C • Killer K 14

TNT: Lazy ass edition.
Feeling pretty flat since RTH - a couple of poor nights sleep not helping the recovery. I'd planned to do every second rep tonight, but when Sudden announced he was only doing 20mins worth tonight, I did a little dance inside.
So it was 6x treeline reps somewhere on the golf course. Felt every one of Sundays 1km of climb on the uphill stretch.

Barely had the energy to lift my legs in the air.

Event: Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Raid the Hammer
 

Raid the Hammer. Had a blast with Raid newbies Robin and Chris (but sad that menzies had to drop out).
Plan was to start slow, walk all the hills and then sneak past other teams as the nav got tough or when tactics would come into play.
Apart from starting *too* slowly and getting stuck right at the back of the pack on the first trail run, then probably running too hard up the road to get a better position on the next Bruce trail section - it all went perfectly.
Robin was hurting pretty early, a combination of a bad nights sleep and mistimed breakfast due to chasing up a 3rd zombie costume, so we took every opportunity to have him rest and eat.
It worked well for the team though, Chris has a knee issue, so it gave him opportunities to stretch and it kept the intensity at a level so that I didn't made any navigational errors (fortunately I found the correct post at 'g' in the matrix - how embarrassing would it have been for an orienteer to mess up a control on a trail junction....)
Towards the end it looked like we might be able to overtake Nev's Sweat Science team (and Coalition of the Willing due to a time penalty). hammer told us a 20 we were just behind them (and Nev 'looked like shit') and then we punched the penultimate control together. Once we all hit the road together, Robin decided to go for it and it looked like we'd do it... until 50m later when he was reduced to hobbling due to calf cramp. He tried twice again to run, but that was it. 8th and comfortably under my prediction of 4:15.
I couldn't be happier though - this is a guy who 6 months ago couldn't run for 25 minutes without a break. The fact he held it together for 4 hours and pushed himself until he couldn't run any more - I'd be proud to call him an honorary Australian.

Great course by Hans and Mike. I know the Valley pretty well by now, but there was still some new spots for me. Especially enjoyed all the different 'sections' - the trail only matrix kept us out of a lot of grotty vegetation and the sweet open forest on the 'World Cup' section is always a joy to run in (though seeing the imposing peak at #12 appear out of the woods was demoralising). Bring on Snowshoe Raid.

Maps with route:
http://dontgetlost.ca/dgl_doma/show_map.php?user=P...
http://dontgetlost.ca/dgl_doma/show_map.php?user=P...

C • Congrats 28