Training Log Archive: iansmith

445 am started up East end of Rundle. Black Nissan Versa. Expected return by 5 pm, though probably much earlier because of predicted storms. The mountains are glorious in the pre dawn twilight!

Returned to the car at 230p, all is well. More to come.

C • Nice 2

Assault on Rundle! While my trip hadn't been explicitly catered to climb Rundle, I had arranged to arrive Thursday and depart late Tuesday to allow for an attempt. I think this compromised my racing to some extent, as my legs were definitely tired on Saturday and Sunday. It is difficult to have everything.

After a pleasant afternoon and evening of socializing with the Canadians + Will and Biggins, I left Tori's at about 9:30p, drove to the Willow Rock campground, and plopped my tent. I woke up at 3:30, packed everything up, and drove to the EEOR trailhead. I wasn't seriously considering a Traverse; while there was a bus from Banff to Canmore, getting from Canmore to EEOR would have been tedious, so I was committing to returning to the trailhead. I packed four liters of mixed gatorade/water, some M&Ms, Snickers, sunscreen, a jacket, gloves, toque, my phone, and my usual bag o' survival stuff including an emergency blanket, matches, knife, and whistle/compass. Unusually, I didn't have a map. Two glaring errors were I forgot to put in my contacts and my watch wasn't fully charged (hence the patchy track).

Hiking through the night and reaching the ridge just as dawn hit was sublime. It was gloriously cool and pleasant, and the beauty of the mountains cascading into the distance in the gentle light of the rising sun was overwhelming.

My trek to Rundle 4 - my previous turn around point - proceeded uneventfully in about three hours. The few tricky sections felt trivial - since I had already done them, and I was in good form when I started the descent from Rundle 4 to the main peak of Rundle 3. Leaving Rundle 4 required downclimbing a good 10-15m pitch, and seeing holds to place my feet was tricky. The actual trek from 4 to 3 took longer than I expected, but I arrived at the base of the Rundle 3 rock at about 8:30. It's a little tricky to see from the photos, but there is a clear buttress on the SE ridge of Rundle 3. The route that I had read about ascended south of the buttress and up a steep reentrant, climbing a sequence of steps. My first attempt went up the ridge too quickly, and I found myself surrounded by steep walls (waypoint 9). I descended a bit, then traversed west to a different couloir-ish guy with two streams running down it. I climbed a set of shelves that in my head I dubbed the first through fifth steps to about 2840m by my watch. At this point, I had basically stopped scrambling and was climbing. Foremost on my mind was assessing whether I could downclimb each section, and a few times, I backtracked to make sure. Some of the pitches were steep and disconcerting in that I couldn't see my feet at all while downclimbing and had to step by feel and memory alone.

I have read much of summit fever and otherwise intelligent people making bad decisions in the stress of an ascent; eventually, I decided that it was becoming too risky to keep going. Beyond the challenge of downclimbing, I was very concerned I might lose the route - and many of the steps only had a few points at which they could be challenged. Looking ahead, I really think I could have proceeded further, and maybe even made it to the top, but given that I am inexperienced and was traveling solo, it was the right call to turn around. I also had the tricky descent and the ridge ahead; as has been said, getting up is only half the battle.

The views and journey were fantastic, and the challenge was within my abilities but formidable enough that I grew and improved through this adventure. I considered making a different scramble for Tuesday - e.g. Cascade, since a Traverse was impossible, but I'm glad I attempted Rundle, even if I fell short. It was a wonderful experience and memory, and perhaps some day, I will return to Canmore even stronger to continue my adventures in the mountains. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice, support, and knowledge - especially Tori and Marion, and to Will for the pep talks.

Warmup. X-talons would have been preferable to my clunky trail running sneakers.

COC Sprint at University of Calgary! This was a fun course in an interesting area; it was definitely a runner's course, but there were a number of decision points, especially in the network of buildings at the end. I really enjoyed the race, though I was ponderously slow.

COC HPP Sprint Relay! This race had the best festive atmosphere of the weekend. I ran on a team with Carol, David Ross, me, and Biggins running anchor. My leg was the longest at about 3 km (apparently). The character of the race was similar to the morning; it was a great chance to fly. Unfortunately, I was moving at more of a plod. BigWillyStyle caught me at 9; I attacked with all the gusto I could muster. Kudos to a great finish by DGL, FWOC, and GVOC, and to the organizers and announcers extraordinare, Meagan and Brent!

Afterward, our crew went to the public wave pool at the Village Square leisure center. Canadian public pools are excellent, and I've never been in a wave pool before. I can imagine there are some interesting possibilities for coupled oscillations, but I didn't really experiment. We rode the water slides, including one that required climbing stairs outside the building. Delightful. Pizza, games, and beer followed before I said my goodbyes.

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful weekend. While the terrain, racing, mountains, food, and pools make great contributions, it is the people that really define the experience. To my surprise, this is the third Canadian champs I have been to, and it is great to hang out with such a friendly group.

Sprint M21-34 - Splits

Run to the start for the COC Long. Legs still felt a bit meh.

COCs Long course on the same map as yesterday (but 1:15). In short, I struggled technically and was slow physically for a miserable performance. I started carefully, but made a 2 minute mistake to 2. I somehow overlooked a trail to 3 for a 60s route choice mistake, though executed my plan well. Unfortunately, I blew six minutes at 5, which was control 4 from yesterday. Really poor execution, bad compass work, and inadequate planning; I should have used the depressions as my approach rather than traveling down a vague spur. This so shook my confidence that I took a trail route to 6. I took a poor route choice to 11 (trail instead of ridge), made a two minute mistake at 15, executed 19 poorly for two minutes, got stuck in surprise green at 21 for 90s, and was horribly confused by the clearings for the go control for 30s. Overall, a terrible day of racing. I suppose running in the woods was fun, but I'm hugely disappointed by both my fitness and execution.

Cool down jog to reflect. The banquet afterward was delightful, and I purchased a running jacket, a cap for my sunburned face, and a jar of jam made by Graeme Rennie in the HPP Silent Auction.

Long M21-34 - Splits

Event: 2016 Canadian Orienteering Championships
 

Warmup. Watch wasn't running the whole time.

COC Middle Distance Race. The terrain was tricky, vague, and subtle with relatively little visibility, few useful trails, and few locations to relocate with confidence. I started conservatively to 1 and was very careful on a leg to 2 across a long swatch of featureless white woods. Unfortunately, I had a complete meltdown at 5 - a gentle downhill leg in vague terrain, and lost 11 minutes, eventually relocating off a powerline to the west. I had just started to build up some confidence; I need to work on running on my compass in vague terrain. A big challenge here was that it was difficult to run to anything in particular.

Afterward, we all went to the public pool at Elevation Place; it had a fun floating obstacle course and water slide. My technique of going down the water slide in a cannon ball was satisfying. Good times hanging out with everyone!

COC Middle M21-34 - Splits

I camped at Willow Rock campground and slept somewhat poorly because it was very windy. At one point, the half of my tent that was not weighted down by my body lifted up into the air, so I moved to the windward side of the tent. I woke up at 9 AM, picked up my registration packet, and grabbed my bear spray. While it was later than I had hoped, I set out for the East End of Rundle (EEOR) for a reconnaissance expedition. I spent a bit longer on the ridge than I probably should have, turning around north of Rundle 4 after 3.5 hours. It was technical and exposed in places but sublime and delightful.
6.5 hours, 15 km, over 1000m climb.

At the Orienteering Canada AGM. My presence has largely gone unnoticed, though Pam James greeted me with a "quoi?" Met Harold.

Reconnaissance of the EEOR ridge. Last night, I camped at the Willow Rock campground, but probably due to stress from travel, I slept until 8:30. I drove to the Nordic center to obtain the bear spray I purchased, then drove to the trailhead at EEOR. I finally hit the trail at 10:40 - later than I had hoped, but still with plenty of time to survey the route. I brought my standard gear and two liters of water - which I had consumed 5:00 into the trip. I got a pretty good look at the crux of Rundle 3, and it looks daunting. Real time 6:30.

Afterward, I went to the Canadian AGM in preparation for the US AGM in September. Seeing how a different organization wrestles with the same issues we do is informative.

I'm in Calgary! I'm here to drink double doubles and run up mountains - and I'm all out of Timmy Horton's.

I forgot my ANT stick like a pro, so let it be noted that I ran for about an hour in Noon Hill after my plane landed to wake up my legs. It was generally pleasant, though there were a few mosquitos.

Depressed. Work has been unpleasant lately for a variety of reasons.

C • . 5