Training Log Archive: Funderstormin

Took my friend from Michigan up to Hockley with the intention of running the main Bruce out and taking the side trails back. There was a fresh layer of snow which was so lovely it was hard to hate that it was only October. We were having a wonderful time and she was awestruck by the trails. Then things took a turn for the worse...

On our way to the far end of the Glen Cross side trail, on a flat stretch of trail, she took a misstep, fell and we both heard a pop. She was pretty sure she had broken her ankle... After taking some time to calm her and get her up to see if it was weight bearing, I called the Orangeville police who started the process of initiating a rescue. I'm fortunate to have never found myself in this situation before so had no idea what was going to happen, but it was impressive. The first to arrive on the scene was Cody Gilles, former BT FKT holder, who confirmed the location for the others on the way in and reassured Leslie everything was going to be okay. Then some paramedics arrived, with all sorts of gear and contraptions, and then a set of firefighters with what looked like a giant wheelbarrow that was going to be used to help get her out. Several hikers had stopped to offer their help as well, and their extra jackets were invaluable in keeping Leslie warm.

Long story short: three hour evacuation, then three hours at the hospital to confirm an unstable fracture in her ankle. She had a temporary cast put on and was told to visit a hospital when she got back home, where I drove her yesterday morning. She was a trooper through it all but I found it to be a fairly traumatic experience and one I hope to not ever go through again! Fortunately she has health insurance in the US, and everyone who helped us out was so wonderful and kind to her that they represented Canada so well and made me proud!

This was a good reminder that a flukey step can take place anywhere and anytime, it's good to know who to call in case of an emergency, and that it's never wasted weight to carry an emergency blanket and other supplies.

C • WOW 11

Had a friend from Michigan up visiting for the weekend so when she arrived we went to Puslinch for a tour of the trails and then dinner at the Old Marina.

Trying to sweat out my nasty cold!

Really fun morning at Peak to Peak. I never really know how to plan routes for these types of races, even though they are by far my favourite! So I made a general plan and modified it along the way. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out and in doing the post-race couch review last night, decided I'd only have made one different route choice. I stuck mainly to trails as I didn't want to get all thorned up and I figured I was really rusty so I'd just treat it like a Sunday run with some controls thrown in! It was chilly at the start but a lovely temperature for running once we got going. I don't run in Dundas Valley very often and it was lovely!

C • Great job! 3

Really nice run after work at a park that I rarely visit and was impressed with how many trails I didn't know were there!

Hiking with Tim. Super impressed with how good my legs feel today; I wasn't really stiff or sore at all. I credit the strength training + Tailwind Recover for the quick bouncebacks that I've had after all my races this year.

Joined some friends in Michigan for an unofficial "race" on the Lakeland State Park trail, with a few out and backs, loops and side sections to make it a marathon distance. We had beautiful weather and an absolute blast! We had a roaming aid station packed with goodies and one of the organizers made us some beautiful wooden medals. A real fun way to spend a Saturday!

In Toronto for work so got to run with Stephania this morning before it started. A lovely tour through the downtown streets before the light and the people came up was a great way to catch up!

Lovely solo run from Mew Lake. Once I left the campground, I didn't see another person! It was cool and misty and perfect running weather.

Centennial Ridges trail as we heard it would have the best fall foliage views. Lots of other people had the same idea and we tried our best to keep our distance from the other groups. Toward the end of the hike, the skies cleared a little bit and the views were pretty impressive!

C • Awesome! 3

Iris and Amber and I had plans to backpack across QEIIW on the Ganaraska Trail for the long weekend, parking a car at each end and taking 3 days, 2 nights to hike across. We kept a close eye on the forecast all week, trying to will it to change, but alas, it did not look like it was going to be a good weekend for backpacking. So Friday at noon, we called Earl up from the bench and put Plan B into action instead: book a campsite in Algonquin and use that as a home base for the weekend. We were all very glad that we did as it was damp and chilly all weekend - nice when we were moving but it would not have been nice to be sitting at camp trying to start a fire with wet wood.

We arrived up there Saturday at lunch and after we checked into the beautiful site on Mew Lake that Iris had scored for us, we hiked the Bat Lake and then Lake of Two Rivers trails before retiring to Earl for happy hour.