Training Log Archive: Funderstormin

Mrs. Tiny and I bailed on our paddling plans due to weather and met up for a hot yoga class instead.

Lunch time run with some work colleagues. No shower at the office so it's going to be a sweaty afternoon at my desk.

Mrs. Tiny and I met up for a pre-work run at Bechtel Park. Great temperatures and company!

Road ride on mountain bike.

Lost Horse Loop hike in Joshua Tree with a pitstop to explore the Lost Horse Mine that is the main attraction on this hike. I find old things fascinating so really enjoyed seeing all of the old mining artefacts scattered about the hillsides. Lots of variation in terrain and scenery that made this hike a great choice.

Spent our first night in Joshua Tree at a campsite in Indian Gardens but it was dark when we arrived so we didn't really get a chance to appreciate it. Was super cool to wake up in the morning and find ourselves amidst all the big rocks. For the next two nights, we chose a campsite in Jumbo Rocks. After securing that, we headed over to Ryan Mountain for a hike before lunch. The temperature was lovely and the trail was nice and quiet. After that, we did the Geology Tour drive which was painstakingly slow in our non 4x4 van but still a very cool experience. My brain doesn't do science well but what I learned is that there are a bunch of different types of rocks, they are all really, really old, and respond differently to pressure. We saw a scary looking snake at the side of the path but when we tried to stop and take its picture, it ran away so we must have been scary too.

Did one more short hike around Skull Rock before last light.

Biking in Sedona en route to Joshua Tree. I had rented previously from Bike & Bean but after hearing Bash's positive review of Absolute Cycles and having visited their shop in Flagstaff the day before, chose to rent from them instead. I tried a sweet female-specific Specialized 29er and Graham had a 29er as well. I loved my bike and think it was the perfect choice for these trails. We meandered along a bunch of trails on either side of the highway but only did a half-day rental as we had a long drive to Joshua Tree ahead of us. Such great riding out there!

We left the Grand Canyon Tuesday and made a pitstop in Flagstaff before settling in at our campsite at Pine Flats for the evening. Before sunset, we did a climb up onto a ridge from a trailhead across the road from us.

On Sunday Graham and I dropped my roommate off in Santa Barbara and then started a long haul up to the Grand Canyon - about 600 miles or so of driving. When we made our original itinerary for the trip we had planned to do a R2R2R but realized that would be ambitious for both of us. So we settled for the same Rim to River route that I'd done the year before, going down South Kaibab with a stopover at Phantom Ranch before going back up Bright Angel.

We had anticipated that it was going to be really hot and we would need to either start first thing in the morning or after the heat of the day. Not having arrived until 11 the night before, the first thing start wasn't particularly appealing so we planned to head out about 4. We woke up to find it quite cool though with some rain in the forecast so saw no reason to postpone the start, so took the shuttle out the trailhead and started sometime just before 2. We ran down wherever the trail was conducive to it, and took lots of pictures along the way. We ended up at Phantom Ranch just past 4 so weren't able to partake in their famous lemonade, but that ensured we didn't loiter about too long. The climb back out felt good until Indian Gardens with the last 4.6 miles being a bit of a slog. On the plus side, at that hour the trail is the nice and quiet and from about 7 p.m. on, we never saw another person. Our headlamps did illuminate lots of cool bugs on the trail though!

We finished up just after 10 and made it for last call at the Bright Angel Lounge. The beer tasted well-deserved!

Born to Run 10 miler with Graham. Originally he had signed up for the 60 miler and I had signed up for the 30, but because of his still recovering broken ankle he dropped down to the 10 and I decided I'd rather run with him. He was nervous about his ankle at the start and I was scared for him as well as it would have been the longest he'd run since breaking it in February in Banff. We started slow and enjoyed every minute of the course, stopping to take pictures along the way. I could tell that he had a hitch in his step for the first 5K but it seemed to get better as we went on, and it was exciting when we got past 10K and he realized he was going to be able to do it. It was awesome to be able to cross the finish line together again, and to have enjoyed the course as much as I did.

Although it is not the most scenic course in the world, I will never get tired of the run or the experience!

This year's Born to Run pre-race festivities featured an archery run, a bolla race and a beer mile.

The archery run involved three shots at a target, a penalty run up a hill for every shot missed, then a 1/4 mile run, times 4 for a total of 12 shots at the target, penalty laps and a mile of running. I had practiced my archery the day before with some degree of success but under pressure I had a hard time hitting the target so my strategy was just to fire all of the arrows quickly and get my penalty laps over with. It was an all-female heat and I didn't want to be last! I finished respectably in the middle.

The bolla race is a Tarahumara game called rarajipari and involved a group start where everyone raced their own wooden ball along a course. I skipped this one last year and regretted it so was excited to give it a try this year. It was lots of fun and I managed to keep the ball on course, which isn't easy!

The beer mile is, not surprisingly, my favorite BTR Friday event. Having now done about 6 beer miles, I do think that they are getting easier and this one felt like my strongest one to date. My beer of choice was Tecate, warmed slightly. I am usually not the first female off the start line for the first 1/4 mile, but tend to catch up with each beer. By the last lap I had caught up with all other females except the one who was in the lead and who seemed to be struggling. I passed her in the last 1/8 mile to claim the female beer mile victory. I'm not sure she realized I was on my last lap as she's a very strong ultrarunner and I think she would have tried harder to hold me off if she had known. Nevertheless, I'll accept my stealth victory! In addition to my finisher's shovel, I won a solar powered mariachi figurine that I will brandish proudly in my office.

The evening wound down with some live music and a much more respectable amount of drinking than the previous year.

Drove my bike to the take out, then my car to the put in and paddled down the Grand. Was a bit lower than expected for this time of year.

I couldn't find my bike lock so was just hoping my bike would be where I hid it when I got back. Thankfully it was. Great ride back along the Grand River Trail.

Nice and humid morning run.

Mrs. Tiny and I met up for an evening bike around Puslinch. Tried to go to the Old Marina afterward but it was so packed because of the awesome weather that they weren't even taking a wait list anymore, so we settled for a Turtle Jack's instead. Great way to spend a Friday evening!

Gorgeous morning for a run. Out on the Grand River trail and back along some roads.

Headed out on my mountain bike down the Grand River trail with the intention of checking out a section of the Grand Valley trail that I'd driven by but never ventured into. Didn't imagine it was bikeable so initially was going to carry running shoes but then decided I'd just try it on my bike. Within the first 100m after carrying my bike down some stairs and through a bog alongside the river, I knew that this was going to be more of an adventure than a bike, but I was so curious where the trail went I kept going. There was a fair few hike a bike sections and others that felt like they were straight out of a Bob Miller AR course, but eventually I hit a road and found my way home. Was actually really fun...I haven't pushed my bike up a muddy hill in awhile!

C • Where abouts was this? I'm... 3

Took my roommate Allison up to Hockley to meet up with Bash and BiT for a loop. Absolutely perfect day out for such an endeavour! However, it quickly became apparent that I wasn't quite recovered from last week and I was struggling to keep up with the group from the get go. Did okay on the road sections but legs felt wobbly on the downhills and like I couldn't trust them. Decided to head down the road at the cross over point and let them carry on their merry way - I'd had enough miles and was feeling good about what I'd done but didn't need more. Walked back to the car enjoying the sun, changed, and the rest of the group were back in jig time. Awesome yummy lunch at the Black Birch afterwards.

Had a busy day of teaching riding, horse clipping and beer slogging but really wanted to get out on what was going to be such a beautiful day so did a spin of the Hyrdocut before heading to the barn. Trails were in great shape and I had them to myself at that hour!

Lunch time run with folks from work.