Training Log Archive: Funderstormin

Gear test for my backpacking trip to Frontenac this coming weekend. Loaded my pack up with everything I need to take and hiked a section of the Grand Valley Trail near my house. I had only been on this section once before when I tried (unsuccessfully) to bike it last year. The trail is really overgrown and hard to find in spots. There were many, many green things touching my legs! It's a shame that this trail doesn't get more use as it's a really lovely, wild little trail!

Glad I went out to do this before this weekend as I thought of a few things I'd forgotten and have a few adjustments to make to my gear.

Run on Hydrocut trails. I didn't feel like I had dealt with the heat all that well at SCAR, so waited to go out when it was hotter.

Listening to irunfar pre-WS interviews.

In London for work so did a pre-conference road run with a colleague. It only takes a run this long on the road to remind me why I hate running on the road.

Lovely morning for a short run on the Grand River trail. I had initially intended to run out the doubletrack and back along the singletrack, but decided given the state of my body at the moment which has spots of poison ivy EVERYWHERE (including my left eye!) that I would be best advised to stay away from anything green for a few days.

Second year at the SCAR race, this year teaming up with Work4Justice. This race was really fun last year and I was looking forward to it, but a bit nervous about the heat. Earl and I camped at Holiday Beach the night before, which was a lovely park full of interesting water features, bird sanctuaries, and fireflies!

We were bussed from Amherstburg to Windsor where we'd dropped our bikes off the night before. Started on foot with a few CPs to break everyone up, then did a short bike to another foot section with a few more CPs. It was already REALLY hot at this point and I was getting worried but it was cooler back on the bike and we had a longer bike section to get to the paddle. Collected our two paddle CPs without incident then hopped back on the bike for another longer ride to the main trekking section which was a Score-O. We knew that there was one female team ahead of us at this point since we'd seen them on the water, but we were hopeful that we could make up that time on the trek.

The map for the Score-O was a very confusing aerial image where it was hard to distinguish trails from water features. We were only allowed to enter the section in two locations which made choosing the best route a bit more challenging. There were 9 controls in the section and we assumed we were going to be able to get them all so planned a route that would allow us to do so, but once we got out there we found ourselves readjusting our plan, albeit too late! We struggled with understanding the aerial photo and had a hard time finding any of the trails that we thought we'd come across. The bushwhacking was pretty heinous - thorny and thick and covered in poison ivy. Long story short - we were overly ambitious, didn't get all the controls, and didn't leave ourselves enough time to get back for what we both thought was a shorter ride than it actually was (and into a headwind on gravel roads to boot!). So we emerged from the woods, covered in ticks and definitely humbled!

It was not a fun feeling to arrive back late and the last bike definitely crushed my spirit a bit. Oh well! Work4Justice was a very strong teammate and did a lot of towing on the bike, which I was very grateful for. I was less grateful for the four ticks I found on me after the race and crawling up my leg in Earl the next morning!

I wasn't super impressed by the quality of the trekking map, but aside from this, these guys put on a great event with an awesome post-race meal (with beer!), tons of volunteers and what this year was a pretty challenging course. We covered about 80km which definitely felt like more than last year.

C • Report 5

C • Holy smokes 3

Event: South Coast Adventure Race
 

Little spin to make sure everything on my bike was feeling good before SCAR this weekend. Excited to team up with Work4Justice for this one!

Took Earl up to Turkey Point on Saturday and had a lovely big and secluded site in the Fin & Feather campground. I think that this place is one of the hidden gems in the area - there are so many beautiful trails to explore!

Post-coffee, pre-breakfast, we went out for a short run on one of the hiking trails. Achilles was feeling pretty good and I have definitely noticed a correlation between general inflammation and how it feels.

C • Adventures 3

From my campsite to explore a bunch of the MTB trails. I've been up here a couple of times now so wanted to hit up some of my favourites and add a few more to my repertoire: http://www.tpmbc.com/trail-map/

It was a beautiful morning and there were tons of people out riding. I had a very embarrassing moment when I had my first fall of the season in one of the parking lots when I wasn't paying attention and my front wheel hit a pothole and I did an endo in front of a guy in a convertible driving out of the golf course who I am sure thought I probably shouldn't be on a mountain bike if I couldn't make it across parking lot. Ooops.

There is a body of water that I often drive over and thought was pretty contained but when I was looking at Google maps the other day I realized it was part of the Speed River, so I took my kayak out to check it out.

Had a really lovely paddle from Blackbridge Rd. in Cambridge where I put in to the edge of the Hespeler Mill Pond and back. The river was very active with wildlife, the scariest of which was the gigantic carp that I kept disturbing with my paddle and would make so much ruckus I was sure they were going to jump out of the water and into my boat and it felt like I was a horror movie! These suckers were huge and apparently it was spawning season. They looked like mini-sharks as they swam away with the tops of their backs out of the water. I may have nightmares about this.

Once I got back to the bridge, I tried to go up the river a bit further in the other direction but it was too shallow to make it worth it.

With Mrs. Tiny from Ariss to West Montrose and back along the Kissing Bridge rail trail. I find rail trail riding mentally tough because it is usually so flat and straight and boring, but there is likely to be some in SCAR this weekend which is why I suggested it!

We had a lovely ride and then had a campfire in the Tiny's backyard to cap off a great start to the weekend!

Very frustrated and sad to admit that Daniel is back. Yes, that fun-loving mother fu$%^& that plagued me for so long has decided he missed me and has returned. I have this theory that there is only one Achilles injury between all of us and it just jumps from person to person. Hermes hosted him over the winter but he decided he'd rather spend race season with me! Little bugger.

Kidding aside, my achilles has felt great for the past year or so up to and including Born to Run, but started bugging me after that. At first I thought it was from wearing and running in my sandals too much, but after a few weeks of weird symptoms I think I might have picked something up in CA that is wreaking havoc on my system a bit. My joints and back have all been quite sore and my chiropractor reminded me this week that I've never complained about both achilles at the same time. So something is a bit off and I am hopeful that Daniel's recent return is more related to a general inflammatory response all over my body, then the specific injury. I am going to the doctor on Monday for some bloodwork and hopefully antiobiotics, and in the meantime, have been researching and trying to incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods into my diet.

C • So sorry to hear about Dani... 1

Lunch time RPM.

Epic fail on the X-League course at Chicopee. I'd been wanting to try one of these races and was excited that there was one so close right after ARK.

My confidence was high after navigating with the kids during their adventure run, and having spent the past four weeks at Chicopee, I was sure the course would be a breeze. Ha!

The first four green controls were easy to locate, but after I checked back in and went back out, everything fell apart. There were two high point controls that had to be done in order so I decided to focus on those. The first one took a bit longer to find than expected and then I couldn't align my map with the ski hills to make it all make sense and find the second half of the sequence. I eventually did, but it was all a bit of a disaster! Thought about getting one more on my way back but decided to throw in the towel given how things had gone. I should have my compass taken away! :-)

Despite my lack of success, this was a very fun event and I hope they do more in the area! Chicopee is my favourite ARK location too because there is so much variety.

Headed out on my hardtail from my campsite in Elora to do some exploring. Went out Middlebrook Rd., around through Elora, then came across an intriguing sign that said "Cottontail Road Trail" so followed it for a bit, then made a bunch of right turns until I ended back out on the road that went into the park. I find road riding super boring but love exploring new places!

Lunch time gym session. Threw in a pile of heavy squats which I am still paying for three days later!

Morning ramble around the trails at Elora Gorge, where Earl and I spent the night for a little midweek microadventure! The park has over 400 campsites and I bet there were only 10 people there, so I had my pick of the sites and there were so many awesome ones I had a tough time deciding. Chose one in the woods with an awesome fire pit overlooking the gorge.

Got a later start than planned due to the coziness of Earl's nook and the deliciousness of coffee, and then I didn't take a watch and knew I was getting pressed for time but just kept seeing cool looking twists and turns in the trail ahead and I HAD to see what was coming next. It was a beautiful morning to be out exploring!

The entertaining part of the story is when I went to use the showers to get ready for work only to discover that they were coin operated and I didn't have the right change. So I 'showered' in the bathroom sink, put my dress and make up on, and off to work I went.

It's amazing how much fun and adventure you can pack into just a few hours! :-)

C • Midweek Fun 4