Training Log Archive: Browner

Today, Bash and I tackled parts of Hockley with Adventure Dog Logan. The weather was spring like and gorgeous but the trails were icy and slick. Thankfully, Bash lent me her spare microspikes and now I am persuaded that I must have a pair. I put them on in the parking lot and didn't need to adjust them at all during the run. Only negative is that they gave me some small blisters, but I can prepare for that better next time. Bash was clearly comfortable in them as she bounded down the icy hills with no fear.

So great to get 700m+ on this run!

C • Thanks! 4

Flat urban run.

Mountain Bike Club snagged another part-time member - Funderstorm! Thanks for joining us!

Awesome, snowy ride around Hilton Falls. With just a few cm of fresh sticky snow over a bed of ice, we started out very cautiously, then picked it up, then watched terrified, as Storm took a super wipeout on a tiny downhill curve, then we eased up again and slowly worked our way around the forest.

So glad we didn't cancel, it was one of my favourite all time rides!

Short fast, urban hill repeats in Toronto. Lots of friendly competition.

1: 2:40
2: 2:14
3: 2:17
4: 2:16
5: 2:19
6: 2:17

Flat urban run

Long slow MAPR run with Lynn in Bronte Provincial Park.

Hill Training (Ambit 3 Sport so not that accurate)

warm up,

4 repeats of 14th side road (720m by 70m up)
6:11
6:12
6:15
6:08

1 repeat of Bell School Line (910 x 63m)
7:06

cool down

total ascent - 357 m

C • Nice work! 3

Snowbiking with DD11 at Halton Forest. There was indeed a section where DD11 shot off into the forest, along a section with almost no trail and I wimpered as we abandoned the packed down fat bike tracks. Halton Forest is now in such a state that the double track is too bumpy for any speed or fun and the single track is the only way to get around.

City run after work with 4 repeats in the middle.

Spinervals

Movie spinning.

Snowshoe Raid

This year I wanted to introduce orienteering to a running friend and ended up with two friends who wanted to give it a try. We found a fourth newbie who mountain bikes in Pretty River but never runs and so we headed out as a team of four (Lynn, Yumi and GI Jane), with me as navigator. We planned a conservative route through the matrix and south west to the big pointers and were surprised that they were all easy to find despite their high point values. One of the girls had a foot injury that was worse in snowshoes, and so we power-hiked most of the course home. The girls were all keen to help navigate, and one kept her map out to give me local knowledge, while the other was keen to spot the CPs in the distance. We finished exactly as planned, and punched in together. The ladies were all thrilled that we got 2/3 female and 17/18 overall.

Great course and fun times all around!

C • Great to introduce some newbies to 1

Snowbiking in Halton Forest. Conditions were slippery, trails weren't always evenly packed and bumpy in spots, but great training for sandy conditions.

Short urban run in the crazy blowy snow.

Oakville O Cup.

This was not my best race day, but I still had fun at today's Ocup. For starters, we arrived late after having had some car trouble and I forgot to get an SI card. I didn't realize until CP1, but still decided to go on and hand touch the flags and give and animated "beep" each time. Nobody seemed to notice.

Everything was fine until I allowed myself to get thrown off by Storm, Funderstorm and Wayne who were coming out of the trail that would take you down to the O/B area west of C. I left my brain on the trail and ran to where they were coming from, which was them actually correcting and not showing me where C was. I ran blindly down the trail, and probably pulled Hermes down there too. I must have wasted 20 minutes on that screw up. After that, I found all the other CPs all right, but didn't have time to get through the second box, so I just worked my way home from 7 through to the finish.

Good practise for Snowshoe next week to ignore other racers!

The best part of the day was the awesome chill! Thanks to all the organizers for putting the event on. It was a great challenge for a 90 minute run.

C • Thanks for coming out!! 4

Week 1 of Hill Training Progression. Goal: hill repeats close to home amounting to 1000m in as little distance as possible. Warm up and then 4 hill repeats up 14 Sideroad (73 m climb)
1 5:57
2 6:03
3 6:07
4 6:12

Total climb ~300m

C • Goal 4

My prayers were answered when DD-11 invited us out for a real mountain bike ride in halton Forest. The conditions were fantastic in there with just enough packed snow to make the otherwise unrideable singletrack fun and flowy.

I worked extra hard to keep up with Storm and DD11, as I had just been thinking about recent sitings of coyotes in the area.

C • Be great if we get one of those a week in Jan 1

First ride on the trainer in the adventure basement. BOOOORINGGG!!!!!

Run, 2/3 road and 1/3 trails in Kelso. It was fun to run on virgin snow with only dog, deer and rabbit tracks in front of me!

Winter Camping Continued! Again, see Bash's blog for the most amazing description of this day!

Bash, Bent - I wish we had stayed out longer that morning, we left so much gorgeous deep powdery snow behind us! Guess my stomach got the better of me!

C • Longer Snowshoe 1