Training Log Archive: Funderstormin

Lovely tour of Palgrave Conservation Area after braiding this morning. Didn't even get lost this time!

C • Well done! 3

TRX class. This definitely warranted a 4 today!

Warm-up on treadmill before TRX

TRX Class

Awesome night with bike group at Puslinch.

RockstAR is always one of the highlights of my racing season. I love races where a) I can stay on site b) there are rogaine style courses and c) where there is beer available afterwards. RockstAR is therefore my AR trifecta!

Stephania and I were in the two person female category. We had chatted about the race beforehand and decided that the first priority was that it was a fun, positive experience. Stephania in particular has not had super positive race experiences this year and I wanted both of us to have a great time. I knew that would mean reining in some of my personality quirks and racing tendencies and doing all I could to be a good teammate. So we chose a course that she was happy with and I made sure to keep a pace that would keep her fairly comfortable. Our route was not overly aggressive, nor was our pace, but we definitely achieved our goal of having a great time that reminded us both of why we love to do this together - something that has been missing a bit for us this year.

We finished our planned route with 20 minutes to spare but didn't have time to get anything else. We knew there was one team in our category that might have beaten us, and, turns out they did. As weird as it sounds though, I've never been so happy to have come second! I think not winning the category was a better learning experience for both of us than coming first would have been; it reinforces the message that we can have fun races where we take it relatively easily but can't expect the same outcome as would be possible when we are pushing ourselves harder.

Aside from putting the fun back in Funderstorm, we were also really pleased with how we executed our plan. There was only one CP that caused us a bit of trouble - 62. We went in a bit earlier than we had planned and got a bit disoriented by additional water features that we saw. Fortunately Dog Runner had warned us about this when we saw them on the trail coming back from 120 and after a bit of wandering around we found the creek we were looking for. Aside from 62, there was nothing on the course that caused us much trouble (maybe a sign that we should have been a bit more ambitious?) and we didn't feel as if we wasted much time having to look for things. Even though I like to try new events, RockstAR will definitely be on my calendar again for next year!

C • Great attitude! 2

TRX class. I actually found myself looking for ways to make some of the moves harder so I was getting my money's worth!

TRX Class #5. Really enjoying these now and think I may do another month of classes to firmly solidify it as a habit before buying my own equipment.

Hydrocut. Love it.

Nice early morning paddle on the Grand River with Gareth. Sometimes, I think my boat has a mind of its own, but this is more likely because I don't entirely understanding water movement.

C • I can relate to that sentiment!! 3

Steph and I signed up for the Why Just Run event at Sunnybrook to tune-up before RockstAR next weekend. We were told that the course was ambitious for 90 minutes in the heat and that the time limit was somewhat flexible. We decided it was more important to get as much practice in as we could than to get back in time, so we stayed out until we finished the course. I'm very curious to see how many people completed the full course in 90 minutes!

Somewhere the middle of a bushwhack both Steph and I felt a strange stinging on our skin after brushing up against some sort of plant. Hours later, I can still feel it but there is no mark on the skin...weird.

C • WJR 3

TRX Class #4. Think this one is gonig to hurt tomorrow!

TRX class #3...waiting for the soreness!

Loop of Bruce Trail and some side trail near Lion's Head. It was clear that we needed to update our version of our Bruce Trail mapbook when we saw at least two new trails that weren't on our map!

C • BT Guidebook 2

At Brant Tract near Paisley. Did some of these trails in Angry Seagull 2008, but it had poured all night and we'd been racing 20 hours when we got there so didn't really have an opportunity to enjoy it. Only saw one other person in there the entire time and had a great ride.

Kept heading north to our next destination, the MTB Adventure Park just outside Wiarton. Quite a different ride from this morning, much more technical but just as much fun. Wouldn't ever make the trip up just to ride this place, but it was a fun add-on.

TRX class #2. Anything involving abs was super painful as they have definitely not recovered from Wednesday. Class was fun though, and I got a better sense of the range of exercises you can do with the equipment. Don't have another until next Wednesday, which will give everything my not often used enough stomach muscles some time to recuperate!

Combination of road, backroad and rail trail.

My midsection is RIDICULOUSLY sore from yesterday's TRX class. Feels like the dream I had last night about getting into a weird fistfight (in the middle of the biking section of an adventure race) with a lady who wouldn't yield to me was actually real!

In the dream, my house was a transition area in the race and as I turned onto my street, this woman gave me the finger. So I gave her the finger back, she screeched her car to a halt, and came at me. Then it was fistacuffs all around as I threw her down to the ground (even though, in the dream, she weighed about 400 pounds). Chaos ensued, but I am pretty sure I got the better of her.

No more Wolf Blass Shiraz before bed for me!

C • AR Dream 1

C • TRX 4

Signed up for a month's worth of TRX classes at the place where I've been going to for other chiro / physio type stuff. I'd always been curious about this system and have a friend who is always touting its benefits. Knew I'd need some structure and feedback to get started. Today's class combined the TRX with circuit training (oh, how I loathe burpees) and I'm sure I'm going to feel this later on today!

C • TRX 3

Had a trail running date with some friends who ganged up and said it was too hot to run, so we hiked instead. I was suppose it was nice to be able to chat instead of huff and puff!

Awesome run on Bruce Trail starting from Kilbride.

at Guelph Lake with some friends. Hadn't ridden there yet this year and had forgotten how fun the trails were!

From West Montrose to Kaufman Flats on the Grand River.