Training Log Archive: BashIn the 30 days ending Apr 30, 2012:
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Monday Apr 30, 2012 #
Note
(rest day)
Noticed a wild turkey hunter preparing for some illegal activity in the conservation area today. I wish I felt more comfortable standing up to big men dressed in camouflage and carrying guns.
Sunday Apr 29, 2012 #
10 AM
Running race (Road) 51:26 10.19 km (5:03 / km) +35m 4:58 / km
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax - Bay Blue
Brantford Rotary Classic 10K - for local kids' charities
Last year my Dad, a long-time Rotarian, decided he wanted to do the 5K course as his first race since high school 60 years ago. We set up a challenge for my 10K time vs. his 5K time. We came in at 49 and 41 minutes respectively so I had to sponsor him. We also had a "bragging rights" fundraising competition but he raised close to $7,000 so there was no contest. (Same thing this year but I'd like to send a big thank you to the folks who generously sponsored me. It is going to a good cause!)
'Bent and I both did the 10K this year, in hopes that one of us might be able to beat Dad. Dad started training on Monday for a Sunday race. He had not walked 5K since last year, nor had he done any running, but he often goes for a 1-mile walk with Mom. He turns 79 later this year, btw.
It was a perfect day for running - sunny and cool. 'Bent had never done a real 10K road race before, and he snuck in with a 39:59 chip time - wow! I think he should retire now so he can say that his average 10K time is under 40 minutes.
I just broke 50 minutes last year, which was a surprise unlikely to be repeated. At 51:26, I was exactly 10 seconds/km slower this year which wasn't as bad as I'd expected since my focus on longer races has made my top gear slower. I should probably do more of these short races just to force myself to push hard once in awhile.
After I'd finished, 'Bent, Mom and I moved to the opposite side of the finish chute to get a better view of Dad. (The 5K racers had started 15 minutes later.) In the last of his three training sessions for the race, he'd speed-walked 4.5 km and he was feeling it today. He'd promised us that he would go more slowly this year so we started looking for him shortly before 41 minutes, the time he came in last year.
And we waited. And waited.
The 5K runners came in, then it was mostly the 5K walkers with their different bib colour. At 50 minutes, I sent 'Bent to run back on the course to look for him while Mom and I waited with the camera. One hour passed and still no Dad. Then 1:10. The only reason I wasn't super worried by this point was that we were a block away from the hospital so if anything had gone badly wrong, we would have heard the sirens. But he must have stopped along the course.
Then 'Bent came running back. It had occurred to him to ask a race volunteer whether he'd seen my Dad. "Oh yes, a LONG time ago." It turns out he'd finished while we were moving to the other side of the finish chute. He'd taken 2 minutes off last year's time and was waiting in a different place, wondering where everyone was!
Whoops! Great work, Dad. He came in 33 seconds faster than 'Bent at 39:26 so we both had to sponsor him.
'Bent and I also "lost" a side bet with another couple where we jointly ran at a slightly faster pace than they did, thanks to 'Bent trying too darned hard. So we had to pay an extra $50 to charity but at least we won the bragging rights.
Fun day, and Dad is already talking about how to go faster next year. I'm going to humbly suggest that he start training more than a week in advance. :)
Last year my Dad, a long-time Rotarian, decided he wanted to do the 5K course as his first race since high school 60 years ago. We set up a challenge for my 10K time vs. his 5K time. We came in at 49 and 41 minutes respectively so I had to sponsor him. We also had a "bragging rights" fundraising competition but he raised close to $7,000 so there was no contest. (Same thing this year but I'd like to send a big thank you to the folks who generously sponsored me. It is going to a good cause!)
'Bent and I both did the 10K this year, in hopes that one of us might be able to beat Dad. Dad started training on Monday for a Sunday race. He had not walked 5K since last year, nor had he done any running, but he often goes for a 1-mile walk with Mom. He turns 79 later this year, btw.
It was a perfect day for running - sunny and cool. 'Bent had never done a real 10K road race before, and he snuck in with a 39:59 chip time - wow! I think he should retire now so he can say that his average 10K time is under 40 minutes.
I just broke 50 minutes last year, which was a surprise unlikely to be repeated. At 51:26, I was exactly 10 seconds/km slower this year which wasn't as bad as I'd expected since my focus on longer races has made my top gear slower. I should probably do more of these short races just to force myself to push hard once in awhile.
After I'd finished, 'Bent, Mom and I moved to the opposite side of the finish chute to get a better view of Dad. (The 5K racers had started 15 minutes later.) In the last of his three training sessions for the race, he'd speed-walked 4.5 km and he was feeling it today. He'd promised us that he would go more slowly this year so we started looking for him shortly before 41 minutes, the time he came in last year.
And we waited. And waited.
The 5K runners came in, then it was mostly the 5K walkers with their different bib colour. At 50 minutes, I sent 'Bent to run back on the course to look for him while Mom and I waited with the camera. One hour passed and still no Dad. Then 1:10. The only reason I wasn't super worried by this point was that we were a block away from the hospital so if anything had gone badly wrong, we would have heard the sirens. But he must have stopped along the course.
Then 'Bent came running back. It had occurred to him to ask a race volunteer whether he'd seen my Dad. "Oh yes, a LONG time ago." It turns out he'd finished while we were moving to the other side of the finish chute. He'd taken 2 minutes off last year's time and was waiting in a different place, wondering where everyone was!
Whoops! Great work, Dad. He came in 33 seconds faster than 'Bent at 39:26 so we both had to sponsor him.
'Bent and I also "lost" a side bet with another couple where we jointly ran at a slightly faster pace than they did, thanks to 'Bent trying too darned hard. So we had to pay an extra $50 to charity but at least we won the bragging rights.
Fun day, and Dad is already talking about how to go faster next year. I'm going to humbly suggest that he start training more than a week in advance. :)
Saturday Apr 28, 2012 #
Note
Thanks to Double_Downon11 for posting photos of the day on his log.
I've "borrowed" a few... Here is most of the Attackpoint AR team after we'd cleaned up. Hansel and Gally had already vanished into the demands of fatherhood.
L->R: Pat-hetic, Aggosst, Super, Solo, Double_Downon11, FunRun, Bash, Funderstorm
Shortly after crossing the finish line (me, that is - these guys had all crossed 15-25 minutes earlier!)
"And *that's* how I managed to do the Crawford Lake Loop backwards!" (Concerned empathy on Super's face. FunRun appears to be choking.)
Team Attackpoint AR on the podium in 2nd place. If our team had done a better job of carpooling and provided more volunteers, we would have won. Oh, and it appears that matching shirts would help too.
Maybe we could take another crack at the podium at the Hardwood Hills 5 Peaks on Sat. June 9? Btw we didn't have a full team and it doesn't look like the same people need to participate at each race. So we could use more Attackpointers, especially people in small categories - older, younger, heavier (Clydesdale/Athena), etc.
I've "borrowed" a few... Here is most of the Attackpoint AR team after we'd cleaned up. Hansel and Gally had already vanished into the demands of fatherhood.
L->R: Pat-hetic, Aggosst, Super, Solo, Double_Downon11, FunRun, Bash, Funderstorm
Shortly after crossing the finish line (me, that is - these guys had all crossed 15-25 minutes earlier!)
"And *that's* how I managed to do the Crawford Lake Loop backwards!" (Concerned empathy on Super's face. FunRun appears to be choking.)
Team Attackpoint AR on the podium in 2nd place. If our team had done a better job of carpooling and provided more volunteers, we would have won. Oh, and it appears that matching shirts would help too.
Maybe we could take another crack at the podium at the Hardwood Hills 5 Peaks on Sat. June 9? Btw we didn't have a full team and it doesn't look like the same people need to participate at each race. So we could use more Attackpointers, especially people in small categories - older, younger, heavier (Clydesdale/Athena), etc.
10 AM
Running race (Trail) 1:13:09 [4] 11.31 km (6:28 / km) +291m 5:44 / km
shoes: Salomon SLAB-3 XT Wings
Salomon 5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point
This race was a last-minute decision after learning I'd been picked for the 2012 Salomon Flight Crew. We are encouraged to help out at some events so I asked if I could work at the Salomon demo tent today. Yes, I sure could - and I could get an entry into the sold-out race too. It seemed like a good opportunity to acquire another excuse for why tomorrow's Rotary 10K will be a lot slower than last year's!
It's probably because I don't do it in real life but I love talking about trail footwear with the 5 Peaks crowd - a mix of experienced trail racers and excited first-timers in white road shoes. Racers who stop by the booth can try on the different shoe models and even race in them if they want. (A surprising number of people do that!) Naturally, I couldn't resist trying on all the shoes too. Note to self: Get the new Fellcross shoes in men's size 7.5.
Another Salomon-related note... If you want to meet new people, just put on a Skin Pack and stand around a race start line. Every time I wear my pack in public, strangers come up to ask about it. Instead of advertising, Salomon should just get a bunch of us to put them on and mingle at cocktail parties!
Oh, and then there was the race. Alas, I can now join the ranks of experienced navigators who have taken a wrong turn on a marked course. Super even tried to warn me about course markings as he came back toward me in a 2-way section. It was around the 5K mark where the trail turns into a "gnarly limestone jungle", to quote Pat-hetic's lyrical prose. I was watching my footing and following a crowd of people in front of me. None of us saw a left turn so a train of racers ended up going the wrong way around a 1.7 km loop. There were people coming toward us but there were just as many of us going the other way, and I hadn't studied the map closely enough to know which parts of the race course were 2-way.
When we finally got to the far end of the loop, there was a "turn right" sign pointed in the other direction so I realized our error. I knew the only way to ensure that we did the full race distance was to continue around the loop the wrong way so I kept going. When I looked back, people were milling around the junction. It didn't seem that they came after me, and if they went back the way we came, it would have saved them some time.
After that, I didn't know if I was still racing or if I was going to DQ myself, so my mental focus was off. It was a super fun race course though - a nice mix of double track with a few rocks and roots, rocky single track, several decent hills and a few kms of leap-from-rock-to-rock trail. It would have been a tough first trail race for a road runner.
For the final 200 m, we ran a big loop around a grassy area - like a track with spectators. Super was on the phone when he saw me emerge from the woods, and thankfully he hung up and paced me to the finish. It was an eye opener because I had no problem speeding up to keep up with him at an average 4:30/km, which normally I believe I can't do. It showed me what a lazy racer I am!
As soon as I crossed the line, I checked my friends' Garmins and saw that I'd measured a little more distance than they had. A debrief with Super confirmed that I'd done one of the loops backwards. Maybe a volunteer placed at that junction would help, as I hear this has happened in other years. Another racer who made the same error spoke to race officials and they said not to worry about it. No one in my age group was close behind me (although a couple were ahead) so I decided to let it go.
The best thing about the day was that Solo and FunRun had the great idea of putting together Team Attackpoint AR, consisting of adventure racers and orienteers including Gally, Hansel, Double_Down, Pat-hetic, Super, Funderstorm, Aggosst, Solo, FunRun and me. We raced as individuals, then the top 6 team members based on category points counted toward our total. Also, Solo and Aggosst contributed three volunteer shifts for additional points. The extra social/competitive element was fun and gave us an excuse to hang around longer and chat. We placed 2nd to some running club with matching shirts. We could have made sure our shirts matched. Grrr. ;)
Hansel (who introduced us to his sweet dog Bunk) was our team's top runner in the race overall but Double_Down won the Clydesdale category and brought us the most points. Pathetic won the Most Photogenic Award.
This race was a last-minute decision after learning I'd been picked for the 2012 Salomon Flight Crew. We are encouraged to help out at some events so I asked if I could work at the Salomon demo tent today. Yes, I sure could - and I could get an entry into the sold-out race too. It seemed like a good opportunity to acquire another excuse for why tomorrow's Rotary 10K will be a lot slower than last year's!
It's probably because I don't do it in real life but I love talking about trail footwear with the 5 Peaks crowd - a mix of experienced trail racers and excited first-timers in white road shoes. Racers who stop by the booth can try on the different shoe models and even race in them if they want. (A surprising number of people do that!) Naturally, I couldn't resist trying on all the shoes too. Note to self: Get the new Fellcross shoes in men's size 7.5.
Another Salomon-related note... If you want to meet new people, just put on a Skin Pack and stand around a race start line. Every time I wear my pack in public, strangers come up to ask about it. Instead of advertising, Salomon should just get a bunch of us to put them on and mingle at cocktail parties!
Oh, and then there was the race. Alas, I can now join the ranks of experienced navigators who have taken a wrong turn on a marked course. Super even tried to warn me about course markings as he came back toward me in a 2-way section. It was around the 5K mark where the trail turns into a "gnarly limestone jungle", to quote Pat-hetic's lyrical prose. I was watching my footing and following a crowd of people in front of me. None of us saw a left turn so a train of racers ended up going the wrong way around a 1.7 km loop. There were people coming toward us but there were just as many of us going the other way, and I hadn't studied the map closely enough to know which parts of the race course were 2-way.
When we finally got to the far end of the loop, there was a "turn right" sign pointed in the other direction so I realized our error. I knew the only way to ensure that we did the full race distance was to continue around the loop the wrong way so I kept going. When I looked back, people were milling around the junction. It didn't seem that they came after me, and if they went back the way we came, it would have saved them some time.
After that, I didn't know if I was still racing or if I was going to DQ myself, so my mental focus was off. It was a super fun race course though - a nice mix of double track with a few rocks and roots, rocky single track, several decent hills and a few kms of leap-from-rock-to-rock trail. It would have been a tough first trail race for a road runner.
For the final 200 m, we ran a big loop around a grassy area - like a track with spectators. Super was on the phone when he saw me emerge from the woods, and thankfully he hung up and paced me to the finish. It was an eye opener because I had no problem speeding up to keep up with him at an average 4:30/km, which normally I believe I can't do. It showed me what a lazy racer I am!
As soon as I crossed the line, I checked my friends' Garmins and saw that I'd measured a little more distance than they had. A debrief with Super confirmed that I'd done one of the loops backwards. Maybe a volunteer placed at that junction would help, as I hear this has happened in other years. Another racer who made the same error spoke to race officials and they said not to worry about it. No one in my age group was close behind me (although a couple were ahead) so I decided to let it go.
The best thing about the day was that Solo and FunRun had the great idea of putting together Team Attackpoint AR, consisting of adventure racers and orienteers including Gally, Hansel, Double_Down, Pat-hetic, Super, Funderstorm, Aggosst, Solo, FunRun and me. We raced as individuals, then the top 6 team members based on category points counted toward our total. Also, Solo and Aggosst contributed three volunteer shifts for additional points. The extra social/competitive element was fun and gave us an excuse to hang around longer and chat. We placed 2nd to some running club with matching shirts. We could have made sure our shirts matched. Grrr. ;)
Hansel (who introduced us to his sweet dog Bunk) was our team's top runner in the race overall but Double_Down won the Clydesdale category and brought us the most points. Pathetic won the Most Photogenic Award.
Friday Apr 27, 2012 #
Note
Some of you will have seen this already - most amazing bear photo ever! P.S. The bear is fine.
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_20485529/cu-...
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_20485529/cu-...
Thursday Apr 26, 2012 #
Running (Trail and Country Road) 33:10 [3] 5.21 km (6:22 / km)
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax CS pink/gr
Around Palgrave West with BazingaDog, avoiding KBash and Wheelie Woods because wild turkey hunting season opened yesterday and we weren't wearing our blaze orange. Hunters sometimes sneak into the conservation area too but I know for sure that they shoot guns in Wheelie Woods. Luckily, the season only lasts till May 31 (sigh). Btw if you're in Ontario, it's very likely that people are shooting turkeys in forests near you. Wear bright colours and when you eat energy bars, do not "gobble, gobble" them!
P.S. You can get hunting season info here.
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/Publicatio...
1) Check the Wildlife Management Unit Maps to get the WMU number of the area you're interested in.
2) Click on the Wild Turkey document to find out whether there's a spring hunting season in that area.
For bonus entertainment, read the Small Game hunting season document. Did you know Ontario has seasons for Squirrel, Raccoon, Bullfrog, Snapping Turtle and Skunk?
P.S. You can get hunting season info here.
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/Publicatio...
1) Check the Wildlife Management Unit Maps to get the WMU number of the area you're interested in.
2) Click on the Wild Turkey document to find out whether there's a spring hunting season in that area.
For bonus entertainment, read the Small Game hunting season document. Did you know Ontario has seasons for Squirrel, Raccoon, Bullfrog, Snapping Turtle and Skunk?
9 AM
Note
Photos are now posted for the Wild B.O.A.R. adventure race last Saturday. Scroll back or use this link. Thank you, Mrs. Tiny!
http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920...
http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920...
11 AM
Note
Phatty is leaving us to become the Global Grand Poobah of Salomon footwear but we can learn about the latest trail shoes without him. You can see and try out the 2012 trail footwear at a number of events this spring including Rattlesnake 5 Peaks this Saturday. Free swag for people who stop by. I'll be working at the demo tent since I'm back on the Salomon Flight Crew for 2012 - yay!
You can find the demo tour schedule at the link below, and even if you're not planning to do any demos, you may as well enter the free contest to win Salomon and Suunto gear and possibly the grand prize of traveling to France to run with (i.e. behind) ultrarunning legend Kilian Jornet. As a Flight Crew member, I suspect they'll pull a different name from the hat if I win so I'm spreading the word and cheering for my friends!
http://www.salomonflightcrew.com/index.php?page=do...
Wednesday Apr 25, 2012 #
Note
Interesting map review with Crash today as she prepares for the Tour Divide. There are so many factors to consider in an unsupported 4,500 km mountain bike race along the Great Divide. There are rider needs - water sources, lodging and campgrounds, food supply and bike shops. It's not as simple as that though, since we also have to look at the map that shows the density of grizzlies along the trail using a colour coding system, and there's also an area where wilderness camping is not advised due to drug trafficking and illegal aliens.
As we look at all of this to devise a game plan, we need to estimate distances that could be travelled in a day, which means finding out what we can about the condition of the trails and roads and looking at the elevation profile. We also have a book written by one rider and a blog by another, so we know where they stayed enroute and what their finish times were.
I love problems like this; I feel an Excel spreadsheet coming on...
As we look at all of this to devise a game plan, we need to estimate distances that could be travelled in a day, which means finding out what we can about the condition of the trails and roads and looking at the elevation profile. We also have a book written by one rider and a blog by another, so we know where they stayed enroute and what their finish times were.
I love problems like this; I feel an Excel spreadsheet coming on...
11 AM
Trekking (Trail) 30:00 [1]
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax CS pink/gr
BulletDog and I went for a Humber Valley Trail trek with Mrs. Tiny, who set a surprisingly good pace for someone whose due date is in two weeks. Mrs. T is going to be one of those Moms who come back strong and faster; I'd better enjoy keeping up with her while I can! Logged @50% due to our chatting.
6 PM
Running intervals (Trail) 49:28 8.08 km (6:07 / km)
shoes: Salomon XA Pro Ultra 2 Blue
I've heard it's a good idea to do speed intervals at least once a year, and since there are two short races coming up this weekend (Rattlesnake 5 Peaks 12.7K on trail and Brantford Rotary Classic 10K on road), today was the day.
There are different schools of thought on speed intervals for ultrarunners. For sure, elite ultrarunners should work on speed but some people believe that the average ultrarunner would do better to invest that time in something else - hill intervals, strength training, longer long runs, etc. Without making a conscious decision regarding my own philosophy, I've skipped speed intervals for quite awhile and have noticed the drop in speed that has accompanied my increase in endurance. Last spring I had a 49:46 PB in the Rotary 10K but this year my only goal is to see how accurately I can guess how much slower I'll be.
Today I returned to Bash & Crash Intervals since I have lots of data on them. The interval is 500 m on the Bruce Trail between two posts. My first interval today was the worst one I've ever done but the last two were close to the best. So maybe there is hope of getting those 2 fast-twitch fibres of mine to wake up occasionally!
2:22
2:16
2:08
2:08
There are different schools of thought on speed intervals for ultrarunners. For sure, elite ultrarunners should work on speed but some people believe that the average ultrarunner would do better to invest that time in something else - hill intervals, strength training, longer long runs, etc. Without making a conscious decision regarding my own philosophy, I've skipped speed intervals for quite awhile and have noticed the drop in speed that has accompanied my increase in endurance. Last spring I had a 49:46 PB in the Rotary 10K but this year my only goal is to see how accurately I can guess how much slower I'll be.
Today I returned to Bash & Crash Intervals since I have lots of data on them. The interval is 500 m on the Bruce Trail between two posts. My first interval today was the worst one I've ever done but the last two were close to the best. So maybe there is hope of getting those 2 fast-twitch fibres of mine to wake up occasionally!
2:22
2:16
2:08
2:08
Tuesday Apr 24, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 51:00 [3] 8.06 km (6:20 / km)
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax CS pink/gr
BazingaDog and I ran over to Palgrave East and toured the double track. We ran through sleet for awhile, as is typical on April 24 (!?!). Halfway through, I got a text from 'Bent saying that he was leaving work so we met him near the Reddington entrance and ran home with him and BulletDog. 'Bent did a few fast hill intervals along the way since he's getting ready to race with the Fast Boyz at the Sulphur Springs relay. He would come back and meet me afterwards as I chugged uphill like a normal mortal.
Happy Birthday to Goose and to my Little Brother Dave!
Happy Birthday to Goose and to my Little Brother Dave!
12 PM
Note
If you're thinking of adding a nice pooch to your family, a local friend tells me that a family is looking for a good home for their 7 month old purebred chocolate Lab. They love him but they both work and just moved to a new home; they have a baby, a toddler and another dog. They are feeling overwhelmed and guilty that Bentley is not getting the attention and exercise he needs. The owner, says "He's a great dog and it breaks my heart". He's excellent with kids and has his shots. If you want more info, I can forward the e-mail with cute pics.
BulletDog came to our family from a similar situation when she was 11 months old. It was so much fun to introduce her to the forest and see her snoozing happily after the first good run of her life.
BulletDog came to our family from a similar situation when she was 11 months old. It was so much fun to introduce her to the forest and see her snoozing happily after the first good run of her life.
Monday Apr 23, 2012 #
Note
The Father-Daughter Challenge is on again this year!
This Sunday I'm running the Brantford Rotary Classic 10K and attempting to beat my Dad's 5K time. He hasn't done any training since last year's 5K, which was his first foot race in 60 years. At age 79, he's planning a brisk hike this year instead of a walk-jog so I have a fighting chance.
We also compete on fundraising, which I lost last year by an even greater margin in spite of the terrific support I received. As a longtime Rotarian and community volunteer, Dad has a significant and unfair advantage. The funds go to programs for special needs children and the Brantford Boys and Girls Club. If perchance you feel inclined, your help would be much appreciated.
http://www.rotaryclassic.ca/user/5078/donate
This Sunday I'm running the Brantford Rotary Classic 10K and attempting to beat my Dad's 5K time. He hasn't done any training since last year's 5K, which was his first foot race in 60 years. At age 79, he's planning a brisk hike this year instead of a walk-jog so I have a fighting chance.
We also compete on fundraising, which I lost last year by an even greater margin in spite of the terrific support I received. As a longtime Rotarian and community volunteer, Dad has a significant and unfair advantage. The funds go to programs for special needs children and the Brantford Boys and Girls Club. If perchance you feel inclined, your help would be much appreciated.
http://www.rotaryclassic.ca/user/5078/donate
9 AM
Note
Weather Forecast: "Snow at times heavy, gusty winds"
Sorry, Old Man Winter, but it's too late to make it up to me now.
Sorry, Old Man Winter, but it's too late to make it up to me now.
Sunday Apr 22, 2012 #
9 AM
Orienteering race 1:27:55 9.39 km (9:22 / km) +209m 8:26 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - black
TOC Mob Match
Long Sault Conservation Area
This 90-minute Score-O was my first time orienteering at Long Sault since it's 130 km from home. But today was the Orienteering Ontario AGM so I wanted to be there. Glad it gave me an excuse to explore this interesting area!
Here's a Where's Waldo puzzle... Spot The Bash.
The density of points was a little higher in the southern half of the map where the start/finish was located, so I decided to pick them all up first instead of grabbing the distant high value controls first. There were several ways to bail out to the finish from the north end. I was fairly certain that I couldn't clear the course so aimed to maximize points instead.
I woke up tired from yesterday's anaerobic dash to the Wild B.O.A.R. finish line, and my regular dose of coffee didn't wake me up. But my legs felt decent while racing - except for a minor ankle turn - and my nav went well other than #17 (the loop-de-loop at the bottom of the Garmin track).
There was also one moment near the end of the race when I thought, "I've been on this trail too long - I should have hit a junction by now. Hmm, could I have ended up on this parallel trail by mistake? If so, there would be a control just off the trail to my left... Oh yay!" Yeah, that's how navigation ought to be done. P.S. Kids, don't try this at home. Learn to read your map instead.
A nameless Attackpointer with only one L in her first name (hint, hint!), a sense of humour and a flair for dramatic sports photography called out that I only had 2 seconds left to make the time limit. After yesterday's public shaming at the BOAR, I was *not* going to be late today so I flew the last 10 meters to the finish control - and finished with over 2 minutes left. :) As you can see, I frightened the children.
2nd woman behind Galyna, 1st female masters. Huge congrats to Funrun on the overall win; he was the only one to clear the course!
Thanks to Jamie, David, 1L and all the TOC volunteers for a fun morning.
And thanks to the folks who attended the OOA AGM and especially to everyone who agreed to serve on the board of directors. I'm excited that this year we voted in the maximum number of directors, the majority of whom were not sitting on the board 12 months ago. Lots of fresh energy!
Long Sault Conservation Area
This 90-minute Score-O was my first time orienteering at Long Sault since it's 130 km from home. But today was the Orienteering Ontario AGM so I wanted to be there. Glad it gave me an excuse to explore this interesting area!
Here's a Where's Waldo puzzle... Spot The Bash.
The density of points was a little higher in the southern half of the map where the start/finish was located, so I decided to pick them all up first instead of grabbing the distant high value controls first. There were several ways to bail out to the finish from the north end. I was fairly certain that I couldn't clear the course so aimed to maximize points instead.
I woke up tired from yesterday's anaerobic dash to the Wild B.O.A.R. finish line, and my regular dose of coffee didn't wake me up. But my legs felt decent while racing - except for a minor ankle turn - and my nav went well other than #17 (the loop-de-loop at the bottom of the Garmin track).
There was also one moment near the end of the race when I thought, "I've been on this trail too long - I should have hit a junction by now. Hmm, could I have ended up on this parallel trail by mistake? If so, there would be a control just off the trail to my left... Oh yay!" Yeah, that's how navigation ought to be done. P.S. Kids, don't try this at home. Learn to read your map instead.
A nameless Attackpointer with only one L in her first name (hint, hint!), a sense of humour and a flair for dramatic sports photography called out that I only had 2 seconds left to make the time limit. After yesterday's public shaming at the BOAR, I was *not* going to be late today so I flew the last 10 meters to the finish control - and finished with over 2 minutes left. :) As you can see, I frightened the children.
2nd woman behind Galyna, 1st female masters. Huge congrats to Funrun on the overall win; he was the only one to clear the course!
Thanks to Jamie, David, 1L and all the TOC volunteers for a fun morning.
And thanks to the folks who attended the OOA AGM and especially to everyone who agreed to serve on the board of directors. I'm excited that this year we voted in the maximum number of directors, the majority of whom were not sitting on the board 12 months ago. Lots of fresh energy!
Saturday Apr 21, 2012 #
10 AM
Adventure Racing race 4:00:06 31.34 km (7:40 / km) +427m 7:10 / km
shoes: Salomon SLAB-2 XT Wings
Wild B.O.A.R. - the 3rd edition of the Best Race Money Can't Buy.
Once again, Goose prowled the lesser known nooks and crannies of Caledon, King and Vaughan to create a top notch adventure race for his friends. It's a ton of work, and the craziest thing is that this is his own birthday party.
Teams are assigned by the Race Director, ensuring that spouses are separated. This year Tiny was my assigned partner - great news indeed, as we have raced together before. Team costumes are a key part of the event, and their preparation typically takes more time than the race itself.
This year, in honour of Phatty's and Leanimal's upcoming move to France, the theme was "Europe Bound". I think the idea was that we would all dress up differently like the United Nations but I guess we're not that original since France was by far the most popular choice. Leanimal and Coach LD were French maids, 'Bent and Crash looked like a couple of movie stars, and Phatty and Biker Rob wore rude Euro short shorts in hot pink (over their tights). Both Scooby and 'Bent sported big fake moustaches... you get the idea. Costumes need to be semi-functional as sportswear since we are required to wear them for the first leg of the race - and we don't know what discipline that will be until race day.
In keeping with their French theme, 'Bent and Crash raced with a bottle of wine and a baguette.
It's impressive that Leanimal finished the race with her doily still on her head.
Tiny and I decided to dress up as Phatty and Leanimal after they've lived in Europe and sopped up the culture for awhile. We wore Salomon everything - including the white "compression shorts" favoured by Europeans but not popular in North America, for some strange reason. (Since neither of us owns such a thing, we wore tighty whitey boxer shorts with dozens of little hexagons painstakingly drawn on with a Sharpie.) We had lots of other compression wear, some real and some fake - and nice bright Euro colours. I had a long blonde fake ponytail, a tiny pack and the tow rope around my waist to haul "Phatty" off the start. Tiny had a 30L pack full of water containers with "Weeanimal" sticking out the top of it. (The doll was wearing clothes intended to be worn by Mr. and Mrs. Tiny's actual baby, who should be arriving in the next couple of weeks, so Tiny had some incentive to take care of her.) I'm holding her here before the race.
Oops, I managed to miss the start by dashing back into the house to drop off $200 sunglasses that were part of my costume. (It was too cloudy to wear them and I didn't want to lose them.) We started with a Matrix where we each ran through the subdivision to pick up a control. Then we returned to the river and put our canoes in. I remember being hypothermic last year so I put on rain pants, warm jacket and toque for the paddle - so glad I did! The Humber River is never a relaxing paddle - shallow with current, tightly twisting, lots of rocks and woody debris. I was in the stern which was a test for my injured rotator cuff. In the bow, Tiny took good care of little Weeanimal.
At one point my fake "Leanimal" long ponytail got caught in the branches of a tree overhanging the river. Hammer will laugh because I had my map and compass around my neck while paddling (not such a great idea), and the cords were tangled in the ponytail, and I nearly got strangled as the current swept me along. Luckily, the ponytail ripped off my head and I survived. I managed to grab it and reattach it to my head since it was essential to follow the race rule of staying in costume until the paddle was finished.
Racers didn't spread out much in this section, although one team took an (ahem!) illegal portage. (Btw all the portagers pictured below were legal). We saw the leaders leaving the TA so we were not far back but we left in 5th place of 6 teams.
Tiny navigated like a rockstar throughout the bike section, and we were in 1st place when we returned to the TA with two of the optional checkpoints! The biking was an interesting network of trails through the old Woodside Conservation Area which apparently was a big deal 50-60 years ago.
Thanks to last night's heavy rain, there was a lot of muck and I went down a couple of times when my front wheel slid out - including once on my injured shoulder - boo. There were some really steep hills and it was hard even to walk up them with our bikes clogged up with heavy mud and our feet sliding backwards. But mostly, the trails were fun and rideable - kinda cool since it's an area close to home where nobody thinks much about going riding.
Unfortunately, my bike wasn't shifting well at all. The mechanic had mentioned that I'd need to ride it awhile to see whether it needed a new cassette along with its new chain. Yup. When I didn't need to shift, it felt really smooth with its nice new cranks and chain.
Leanimal didn't realize you could just walk around the gate by the TA. ;)
Goose served coffee at the TA - mmm...
The car trunk aid station included homemade cookies, bananas and dark chocolate M&Ms, amongst other things.
The final section was a mostly off-trail trek/run with more optional CPs.
'Bent joined us partway through since his teammate Crash's feet had turned into blocks of ice and she thought it best to drop out. We'd planned to hit two optional CPs but missed one of them and had to move on, given the race's tight 4-hour time limit. More hill climbing, more running and a mad dash to the finish behind Tiny on a tow rope. I glanced down at my Garmin at one point and it said we were going 16.5 kph. I believed it. Goose and Mrs. Tiny stood at the finish line cheering us on and we made it... at 4 hours and 6 seconds. So we were the best ranked of all the teams that DNF'ed - which was everyone.
Amazing potluck race dinner afterward and an inspired rendition of "Happy Birthday". Great event - better than a lot of races I've paid for - and a really fun day with friends. Thank you, Goose and have a great Birthday!
Once again, Goose prowled the lesser known nooks and crannies of Caledon, King and Vaughan to create a top notch adventure race for his friends. It's a ton of work, and the craziest thing is that this is his own birthday party.
Teams are assigned by the Race Director, ensuring that spouses are separated. This year Tiny was my assigned partner - great news indeed, as we have raced together before. Team costumes are a key part of the event, and their preparation typically takes more time than the race itself.
This year, in honour of Phatty's and Leanimal's upcoming move to France, the theme was "Europe Bound". I think the idea was that we would all dress up differently like the United Nations but I guess we're not that original since France was by far the most popular choice. Leanimal and Coach LD were French maids, 'Bent and Crash looked like a couple of movie stars, and Phatty and Biker Rob wore rude Euro short shorts in hot pink (over their tights). Both Scooby and 'Bent sported big fake moustaches... you get the idea. Costumes need to be semi-functional as sportswear since we are required to wear them for the first leg of the race - and we don't know what discipline that will be until race day.
In keeping with their French theme, 'Bent and Crash raced with a bottle of wine and a baguette.
It's impressive that Leanimal finished the race with her doily still on her head.
Tiny and I decided to dress up as Phatty and Leanimal after they've lived in Europe and sopped up the culture for awhile. We wore Salomon everything - including the white "compression shorts" favoured by Europeans but not popular in North America, for some strange reason. (Since neither of us owns such a thing, we wore tighty whitey boxer shorts with dozens of little hexagons painstakingly drawn on with a Sharpie.) We had lots of other compression wear, some real and some fake - and nice bright Euro colours. I had a long blonde fake ponytail, a tiny pack and the tow rope around my waist to haul "Phatty" off the start. Tiny had a 30L pack full of water containers with "Weeanimal" sticking out the top of it. (The doll was wearing clothes intended to be worn by Mr. and Mrs. Tiny's actual baby, who should be arriving in the next couple of weeks, so Tiny had some incentive to take care of her.) I'm holding her here before the race.
Oops, I managed to miss the start by dashing back into the house to drop off $200 sunglasses that were part of my costume. (It was too cloudy to wear them and I didn't want to lose them.) We started with a Matrix where we each ran through the subdivision to pick up a control. Then we returned to the river and put our canoes in. I remember being hypothermic last year so I put on rain pants, warm jacket and toque for the paddle - so glad I did! The Humber River is never a relaxing paddle - shallow with current, tightly twisting, lots of rocks and woody debris. I was in the stern which was a test for my injured rotator cuff. In the bow, Tiny took good care of little Weeanimal.
At one point my fake "Leanimal" long ponytail got caught in the branches of a tree overhanging the river. Hammer will laugh because I had my map and compass around my neck while paddling (not such a great idea), and the cords were tangled in the ponytail, and I nearly got strangled as the current swept me along. Luckily, the ponytail ripped off my head and I survived. I managed to grab it and reattach it to my head since it was essential to follow the race rule of staying in costume until the paddle was finished.
Racers didn't spread out much in this section, although one team took an (ahem!) illegal portage. (Btw all the portagers pictured below were legal). We saw the leaders leaving the TA so we were not far back but we left in 5th place of 6 teams.
Tiny navigated like a rockstar throughout the bike section, and we were in 1st place when we returned to the TA with two of the optional checkpoints! The biking was an interesting network of trails through the old Woodside Conservation Area which apparently was a big deal 50-60 years ago.
Thanks to last night's heavy rain, there was a lot of muck and I went down a couple of times when my front wheel slid out - including once on my injured shoulder - boo. There were some really steep hills and it was hard even to walk up them with our bikes clogged up with heavy mud and our feet sliding backwards. But mostly, the trails were fun and rideable - kinda cool since it's an area close to home where nobody thinks much about going riding.
Unfortunately, my bike wasn't shifting well at all. The mechanic had mentioned that I'd need to ride it awhile to see whether it needed a new cassette along with its new chain. Yup. When I didn't need to shift, it felt really smooth with its nice new cranks and chain.
Leanimal didn't realize you could just walk around the gate by the TA. ;)
Goose served coffee at the TA - mmm...
The car trunk aid station included homemade cookies, bananas and dark chocolate M&Ms, amongst other things.
The final section was a mostly off-trail trek/run with more optional CPs.
'Bent joined us partway through since his teammate Crash's feet had turned into blocks of ice and she thought it best to drop out. We'd planned to hit two optional CPs but missed one of them and had to move on, given the race's tight 4-hour time limit. More hill climbing, more running and a mad dash to the finish behind Tiny on a tow rope. I glanced down at my Garmin at one point and it said we were going 16.5 kph. I believed it. Goose and Mrs. Tiny stood at the finish line cheering us on and we made it... at 4 hours and 6 seconds. So we were the best ranked of all the teams that DNF'ed - which was everyone.
Amazing potluck race dinner afterward and an inspired rendition of "Happy Birthday". Great event - better than a lot of races I've paid for - and a really fun day with friends. Thank you, Goose and have a great Birthday!
Friday Apr 20, 2012 #
Note
Thanks to GHOSLO for an inspired idea! Yes, former World Rogaining Champion [edit--->] and North American overall champion (only female team in history to win 1st overall at NARC!) Pam James lives in Halifax now and yes, she needs a teammate for the Eco-Endurance Challenge. Yahoo! Her multiple Canadian and North American orienteering gold medals may come in handy too. Do I even need to pack a compass? :)
http://ecoendurancechallenge.ca
http://ecoendurancechallenge.ca
Thursday Apr 19, 2012 #
Mountain Biking (Trail) 20:00
My Specialized mountain bike got out of the hospital today, and with the Wild B.O.A.R. coming up on Saturday, I wanted to take a quick spin.
The bike was given a major overhaul. When I arrived to pick it up, the mechanic commented that it's obvious I'm a racer. Aw shucks - I blushed, fluttered my eyelashes and looked down modestly. Then he elaborated: It's obvious because racers can't wait for decent bike conditions; they ride when they have to. They treat their bikes like crap, riding through big mud puddles and getting grit everywhere. And then they ride them again without cleaning them properly, forcing the poor bike mechanic to replace a bunch of parts during the annual tune-up. Oh. Yup, I'm a racer, all right. :)
The bike was given a major overhaul. When I arrived to pick it up, the mechanic commented that it's obvious I'm a racer. Aw shucks - I blushed, fluttered my eyelashes and looked down modestly. Then he elaborated: It's obvious because racers can't wait for decent bike conditions; they ride when they have to. They treat their bikes like crap, riding through big mud puddles and getting grit everywhere. And then they ride them again without cleaning them properly, forcing the poor bike mechanic to replace a bunch of parts during the annual tune-up. Oh. Yup, I'm a racer, all right. :)
Wednesday Apr 18, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 2:08:55 [3] 18.65 km (6:55 / km) +198m 6:34 / km
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax - Bay Blue
Cool, hilly morning run to Glen Haffy and around the conservation area, then back again. Took a short break to check out the carpet of violets in the forest at Glen Haffy. Today's goal was to keep a relatively consistent pace, i.e. finish at the same pace I started at, plus or minus some hills. Garmin says it worked. (The slower bit in the middle is mostly "K2", a long climb.)
I ran into a man with poor social skills at the stile in Glen Haffy. It was a weird conversation but maybe he just thought he was funny. He was likely harmless but I changed my route from that point to avoid running into him again.
There are as many ways to train for an ultra as there are ultrarunners. One of my ideas leading up to my first 50-miler was that I wanted to get to the point where a 2-hour run didn't feel like a big deal, i.e. it wasn't a "long run". I got there but for the Death Race (125 km), that probably needs to be bumped up to 3 hours or longer. 16 weeks to go!
I ran into a man with poor social skills at the stile in Glen Haffy. It was a weird conversation but maybe he just thought he was funny. He was likely harmless but I changed my route from that point to avoid running into him again.
There are as many ways to train for an ultra as there are ultrarunners. One of my ideas leading up to my first 50-miler was that I wanted to get to the point where a 2-hour run didn't feel like a big deal, i.e. it wasn't a "long run". I got there but for the Death Race (125 km), that probably needs to be bumped up to 3 hours or longer. 16 weeks to go!
Tuesday Apr 17, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 41:10 [2] 6.15 km (6:42 / km)
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax - Bay Blue
It was one of those days... Can't say much but it involves one of the worst projects with which I've ever been involved, and it has to be done because other people screwed up really, really badly. I needed a pre-dinner run with BulletDog in Palgrave West to clear my head.
Yesterday we had gusty winds all day with some really wild blasts around dinnertime. According to the news, they were 90-100 kph. Here was the view outside our front door after dinner last night - a heavy cast iron table with an umbrella counterweight base - blown over with the umbrella closed.
After 'Bent - my husband who spent 78 hours in 2011 doing strength training - had gone outside several times for various reasons, here was the view outside our front door this afternoon.
Don't worry, honey - it's just cast iron. I've got it. ;)
The trail through F&M's was hit hard in the area where the forest fire passed through.
When BulletDog and I reached the last blockage, I was seized with the desire to do something useful that would show immediate visible results - the opposite of much of my day. So I turned off the Garmin and spent 10 minutes attacking this pile of trees with my bare hands. Not only was it cathartic, it cleared enough space for an easy duck-through. Hike-a-biking will still be a pain though since the main fallen tree is at upper thigh level.
And then a wonderful run in the forest in the evening light. 7C is an ideal temperature, spring flowers are coming up, the trails are dry, the hills felt great and I'm lucky to have first world problems. Life is good.
Yesterday we had gusty winds all day with some really wild blasts around dinnertime. According to the news, they were 90-100 kph. Here was the view outside our front door after dinner last night - a heavy cast iron table with an umbrella counterweight base - blown over with the umbrella closed.
After 'Bent - my husband who spent 78 hours in 2011 doing strength training - had gone outside several times for various reasons, here was the view outside our front door this afternoon.
Don't worry, honey - it's just cast iron. I've got it. ;)
The trail through F&M's was hit hard in the area where the forest fire passed through.
When BulletDog and I reached the last blockage, I was seized with the desire to do something useful that would show immediate visible results - the opposite of much of my day. So I turned off the Garmin and spent 10 minutes attacking this pile of trees with my bare hands. Not only was it cathartic, it cleared enough space for an easy duck-through. Hike-a-biking will still be a pain though since the main fallen tree is at upper thigh level.
And then a wonderful run in the forest in the evening light. 7C is an ideal temperature, spring flowers are coming up, the trails are dry, the hills felt great and I'm lucky to have first world problems. Life is good.
9 AM
Note
What Google would look like if it had been invented in the 1980s - ah the painful memories. P.S. It really works.
Monday Apr 16, 2012 #
Note
I've posted photos and reports from Wilderness Traverse course testing on Wednesday. If you're interested, you can either scroll back or click here.
2 PM
Note
Congrats to Zoolander and Hermes on finishing the Boston Marathon on a very tough day for racing! :)
Sunday Apr 15, 2012 #
Note
Albion Hills trails are in great shape.
1 PM
Mountain Biking (Single Track) 2:10:43 27.66 km (12.7 kph) +240m
'Bent and I rode to Albion Hills, doing a U-turn enroute to help out a painted turtle who was taking too darned long to cross Duffy's Lane. It was my first ride of the season and the trails are in incredible mid-season shape. Usually we can't even start to ride there until late April but conditions have been dry for several weeks.
My main Specialized MTB was rushed straight to the bike hospital after its shameful showing on Wednesday so I was using my old Gary Fisher, which hasn't been tuned up in awhile. It's a little creaky, and the geometry is funny because the handlebars are lower after a major repair. However, it still climbs well even though it makes me feel nervous about endos.
We had a nice treat when we ran into Coach LD and chatted with her for awhile as we all rode together. She was one of only two bikers we saw; I guess everyone is at Paris to Ancaster today. I'd considered doing it again but decided it wasn't worth devoting most of a weekend to it after being away so much lately. It's a fun day but very congested when we did it. Maybe next year...
My main Specialized MTB was rushed straight to the bike hospital after its shameful showing on Wednesday so I was using my old Gary Fisher, which hasn't been tuned up in awhile. It's a little creaky, and the geometry is funny because the handlebars are lower after a major repair. However, it still climbs well even though it makes me feel nervous about endos.
We had a nice treat when we ran into Coach LD and chatted with her for awhile as we all rode together. She was one of only two bikers we saw; I guess everyone is at Paris to Ancaster today. I'd considered doing it again but decided it wasn't worth devoting most of a weekend to it after being away so much lately. It's a fun day but very congested when we did it. Maybe next year...
3 PM
Running (Trail) 37:30 [2] 5.22 km (7:11 / km)
shoes: Salomon XA Pro GTX 2nd pair -
Run off the bike with BulletDog - part of the bike/run ultra training strategy. Took awhile for my legs to start working properly. I'm sure they would have gotten even better with more time but I could hear some red wine calling me.
Saturday Apr 14, 2012 #
12 PM
Running hills (Trail) 2:52:04 [3] 22.37 km (7:42 / km) +786m 6:33 / km
shoes: Salomon SLAB-3 XT Wings
Hockley Loop - Mixed it up by starting a clockwise loop at 5th Line and Hockley. I should choose different start points more often so I don't fall into a rut, e.g. always being tired on certain hills or pushing hard on the same final section. Today's version of the route had the steepest hills clustered together after 2.5 hours of running followed by a long, quad-bashing downhill dirt road run to the car.
Since it rained this morning and was mostly cloudy this afternoon, I expected the usual solitude. It was warm so I wore a running skirt. I love running skirts but feel that the public should be spared the sight of me in one, so I only wear them at home or on trails where I don't anticipate much company.
Turns out I got it *totally* wrong. At the road by the Hockley Ski Club, I ran through an entire Cub Scout troop and a few Dads. They were cheering and sticking their little hands out for high fives. Less than a minute later, I spotted a large Japanese hiking group. Although I still felt self-conscious about the skirt, I've run past lots of Japanese hiking groups on the Bruce Trail in the past, and they have always been very nice and good for the ego. They tend to smile and nod, sometimes even clap, but there is little or no English conversation. Today was the same except that when I got to the top of the hill, one gentleman stepped forward to address me. I expected a greeting consistent with all the approving gestures but he wrinkled his brow and asked, "How come you are out here all alone?" I had no snappy answer so just smiled, said "hi" and kept on running.
After that, I met families, couples, groups - the busiest day I've ever had on that trail. I even ran into people I knew - Andrew Reeder and Tessa Bobessa training for UNE with big packs, and old friends Bruce and Val King from 'Bent's University of Toronto Outing Club.
Fun run! Nice to get out there with tired legs from the past week's activities. Today's podcasts were The Bugle and a couple of Endurance Planets. Interestingly, the EP coach was advocating two approaches to ultrarunning training that I've adopted:
- Multisport instead of just running
- Focus on time instead of distance
He also outlined several "key workouts" that he tries to do weekly, each of them using hills a little differently for power, VO2max or tempo.
Since it rained this morning and was mostly cloudy this afternoon, I expected the usual solitude. It was warm so I wore a running skirt. I love running skirts but feel that the public should be spared the sight of me in one, so I only wear them at home or on trails where I don't anticipate much company.
Turns out I got it *totally* wrong. At the road by the Hockley Ski Club, I ran through an entire Cub Scout troop and a few Dads. They were cheering and sticking their little hands out for high fives. Less than a minute later, I spotted a large Japanese hiking group. Although I still felt self-conscious about the skirt, I've run past lots of Japanese hiking groups on the Bruce Trail in the past, and they have always been very nice and good for the ego. They tend to smile and nod, sometimes even clap, but there is little or no English conversation. Today was the same except that when I got to the top of the hill, one gentleman stepped forward to address me. I expected a greeting consistent with all the approving gestures but he wrinkled his brow and asked, "How come you are out here all alone?" I had no snappy answer so just smiled, said "hi" and kept on running.
After that, I met families, couples, groups - the busiest day I've ever had on that trail. I even ran into people I knew - Andrew Reeder and Tessa Bobessa training for UNE with big packs, and old friends Bruce and Val King from 'Bent's University of Toronto Outing Club.
Fun run! Nice to get out there with tired legs from the past week's activities. Today's podcasts were The Bugle and a couple of Endurance Planets. Interestingly, the EP coach was advocating two approaches to ultrarunning training that I've adopted:
- Multisport instead of just running
- Focus on time instead of distance
He also outlined several "key workouts" that he tries to do weekly, each of them using hills a little differently for power, VO2max or tempo.
3 PM
Note
Interesting... With temperatures forecast to hit 30C, the Boston Marathon is allowing runners to defer their race to 2013 (with payment of another entry fee).
4 PM
Note
Run trails, people! Treadmills aren't just boring - they're dangerous.
Friday Apr 13, 2012 #
5 PM
Mountain Biking (Single Track) 1:10:00 [2]
Although I've been riding a lot this spring, this was my first ride on our home terrain - tight, twisty, rooty, hilly southern Ontario single track. It's interesting how different it is to ride the various types of technical mountain biking terrain. Moab made me more comfortable with rocks and sand but when I hit mud during Wednesday's Wilderness Traverse course test, I felt out of practice. Today I found that I wasn't turning the tight corners and hitting the roots and logs as precisely as I need to, so I'll need more practice to regain my mid-season skills.
First I rode cross-country to Crash's house to see how her GRR-injured hand is doing. Something in her thumb is torn but nothing is broken. She still can't ride single track, which is unfortunate given that it's just 8 weeks until she starts the 4,418 km Tour Divide mountain bike race from Banff to Mexico. Fortunately, she's improving every day.
I did an easy cruise of Palgrave East and experienced a wave of "I'm so lucky to live beside these awesome trails" feeling. My knee didn't feel perfect yet but it didn't interfere. I think all systems are go for a long run tomorrow.
First I rode cross-country to Crash's house to see how her GRR-injured hand is doing. Something in her thumb is torn but nothing is broken. She still can't ride single track, which is unfortunate given that it's just 8 weeks until she starts the 4,418 km Tour Divide mountain bike race from Banff to Mexico. Fortunately, she's improving every day.
I did an easy cruise of Palgrave East and experienced a wave of "I'm so lucky to live beside these awesome trails" feeling. My knee didn't feel perfect yet but it didn't interfere. I think all systems are go for a long run tomorrow.
Thursday Apr 12, 2012 #
Strength & Mobility (Core) 23:00 [2]
Tabata Core with Caron
Power Yoga 48:00 [1]
Had to skip some poses because my left knee is inflamed. It's the one that I crashed onto a rock in Moab two weeks ago today. After a week, it still hurt a lot when I ran but it was feeling good on Saturday for GRR. I probably banged it on something yesterday and started the healing process all over again!
Wednesday Apr 11, 2012 #
Trekking (Course test) 7:25:00 [3] 31.0 km (14:21 / km)
shoes: Salomon XA Pro Ultra 2 Blue
Spring is here so it was time to head north for more Wilderness Traverse course testing.
Well, actually, the right time would have been mid-March when it was 25C but that's not the way we roll. Bob and I hope that if we test the course when it's cold, rainy or buggy, we'll gain some karma that will result in perfect conditions for our racers in August! Today it was a windy 4-8C with occasional steel grey clouds that threatened rain but never delivered. Just as well - we were chilly enough in the breeze without being wet too. Of course, this was Canadian Shield country and we eventually *did* get wet - but that comes later in the story.
We started with a classic wilderness trek that we've really been looking forward to. We hiked and ran over 30 kilometers between roads and visited a couple of planned CP locations along the way. As usual, we made a few detours to check things out. "How visible is that old trail?" "Is there a campsite on that point?" "Do you suppose we could just wade across that?" (See previous paragraph re "getting wet".)
Bob is heading out next week for the Costa Rica Adventure Race so I tried to keep up a good pace in the forest. I can't push as hard as he can, of course, but at least I try to move fast enough to keep him from getting cold!
We did a lot of bushwhacking, mostly through open forest with great visibility since the leaves aren't out yet. We scrambled over countless rocks and followed some rough trails. When the going was good, we ran; otherwise we hiked quickly.
The most incredible thing about the Bala area is the huge amount of open rock - amazing for the long views it offers. It's a good place for a team to move quickly. Naturally, it was on this relatively easy terrain that I turned my stupid ankle. :(
We encountered wetlands everywhere. Some were dry enough to walk across. We skirted others or tried walking gingerly across the floating moss, hoping we wouldn't plunge in neck-deep when we had to leap across stretches of open water. Warning: Bob can leap a huge distance with those long legs of his, so it's not always a good idea to follow him.
Beaver dams are our friends and we are always on the look-out for them since they make crossings easier.
Some wetlands are covered with tangled alders - slooow progress here.
If I paused too long with my camera, Bob could easily disappear from view in there!
We hit a few skinny lakes separated by high ridges of rock. When we were heading in the direction of the ridges, life was beautiful. When our direction of travel was perpendicular to the lakes and ridges, we got a terrific hill workout. Win-win.
Here's Bob deflating our pack raft. We often take a pack raft along but we don't use it the same way racers would. We would never paddle the length of a lake since we want to check out the forest along the shore, even if pack rafting would be the faster route. Conversely, there are water crossings that would be easy to swim in summer but this early in the season, we're feeling a little too soft to immerse ourselves in the frigid water.
We managed to do our first-ever pack raft paddle where we didn't get a single drop of water in the raft. I was feeling pretty good about that since we were biking after the trek, and I didn't want to be too wet for that. Unfortunately, our luck ran out. There was a narrow channel that we thought we might be able to cross by balancing on a long, slimy floating log most of the way, followed by a 2-3 meter wade at the end. As it turns out, we should have pulled out the pack raft but by the time Bob had made it across doing a wild, out-of-balance dance with great leaps and waving arms, it was too late. I had to get over there too but if I was going to try Bob's method, I might as well start swimming from the start. I sat on the sinking log and inched my way along it to the end, then made a big leap toward shore while grabbing Bob's arm. I managed to keep everything dry - except for the part of my body below my armpits. Brrrr!!
The official Wilderness Traverse animal has traditionally been the garter snake - the largest animal we typically see on the course. Today we stepped around a number of impressive piles of scat early in the trek and observed what appeared to be bear scratches on trees. When we heard brush rustling loudly 50 m away, we froze in our tracks and waited to see which animal would come over the hill. It was a fast-running deer who had undoubtedly heard us but didn't stick around to see us.
We sometimes pass by cabins or hunting camps in the bush, usually looking very inhospitable with plywood on the windows and padlocks on the doors. Today at lunch time, we had the luxury of finding a well-kept little cabin with a sign that invited visitors to come in and take good care of the facilities. This strategy obviously works; the place was in great shape. It was so funny to spend hours in the bush, then take a lunch break where we could sit on chairs and lay out the map on a kitchen table!
We've both been checkpoint volunteers ourselves so in addition to placing CPs where they will create route choice, we look for pleasant locations to spend a number of hours and possibly go swimming if it's hot.
It's a privilege to stumble upon beautiful wilderness locations that few people have seen.
Here's our best find of the day - a great blue heron nesting area. The birds were everywhere, and nearly every tree in the water had a huge nest on it. It was magical.
One of today's highlights was meeting a gentleman who owned a cabin in the area. We seldom encounter people, and when we do, they are usually fishermen or ATV drivers who are nice enough but think we're a little warped. This fellow thought that Wilderness Traverse sounded "cool". He provided all kinds of useful information and pointed things out on the map. He had even mountain biked part of the route we're planning. Hope he'll be around on race weekend to cheer on the participants!
At last we emerged from the woods and found our bikes stashed in the trees where we'd left them early this morning. The trek was fun, scenic, interesting and challenging - everything we'd hoped for after staring at the maps over the winter. We're so lucky to have wilderness areas like this close to home. Can't wait to watch the SPOT trackers as teams take different routes!
Well, actually, the right time would have been mid-March when it was 25C but that's not the way we roll. Bob and I hope that if we test the course when it's cold, rainy or buggy, we'll gain some karma that will result in perfect conditions for our racers in August! Today it was a windy 4-8C with occasional steel grey clouds that threatened rain but never delivered. Just as well - we were chilly enough in the breeze without being wet too. Of course, this was Canadian Shield country and we eventually *did* get wet - but that comes later in the story.
We started with a classic wilderness trek that we've really been looking forward to. We hiked and ran over 30 kilometers between roads and visited a couple of planned CP locations along the way. As usual, we made a few detours to check things out. "How visible is that old trail?" "Is there a campsite on that point?" "Do you suppose we could just wade across that?" (See previous paragraph re "getting wet".)
Bob is heading out next week for the Costa Rica Adventure Race so I tried to keep up a good pace in the forest. I can't push as hard as he can, of course, but at least I try to move fast enough to keep him from getting cold!
We did a lot of bushwhacking, mostly through open forest with great visibility since the leaves aren't out yet. We scrambled over countless rocks and followed some rough trails. When the going was good, we ran; otherwise we hiked quickly.
The most incredible thing about the Bala area is the huge amount of open rock - amazing for the long views it offers. It's a good place for a team to move quickly. Naturally, it was on this relatively easy terrain that I turned my stupid ankle. :(
We encountered wetlands everywhere. Some were dry enough to walk across. We skirted others or tried walking gingerly across the floating moss, hoping we wouldn't plunge in neck-deep when we had to leap across stretches of open water. Warning: Bob can leap a huge distance with those long legs of his, so it's not always a good idea to follow him.
Beaver dams are our friends and we are always on the look-out for them since they make crossings easier.
Some wetlands are covered with tangled alders - slooow progress here.
If I paused too long with my camera, Bob could easily disappear from view in there!
We hit a few skinny lakes separated by high ridges of rock. When we were heading in the direction of the ridges, life was beautiful. When our direction of travel was perpendicular to the lakes and ridges, we got a terrific hill workout. Win-win.
Here's Bob deflating our pack raft. We often take a pack raft along but we don't use it the same way racers would. We would never paddle the length of a lake since we want to check out the forest along the shore, even if pack rafting would be the faster route. Conversely, there are water crossings that would be easy to swim in summer but this early in the season, we're feeling a little too soft to immerse ourselves in the frigid water.
We managed to do our first-ever pack raft paddle where we didn't get a single drop of water in the raft. I was feeling pretty good about that since we were biking after the trek, and I didn't want to be too wet for that. Unfortunately, our luck ran out. There was a narrow channel that we thought we might be able to cross by balancing on a long, slimy floating log most of the way, followed by a 2-3 meter wade at the end. As it turns out, we should have pulled out the pack raft but by the time Bob had made it across doing a wild, out-of-balance dance with great leaps and waving arms, it was too late. I had to get over there too but if I was going to try Bob's method, I might as well start swimming from the start. I sat on the sinking log and inched my way along it to the end, then made a big leap toward shore while grabbing Bob's arm. I managed to keep everything dry - except for the part of my body below my armpits. Brrrr!!
The official Wilderness Traverse animal has traditionally been the garter snake - the largest animal we typically see on the course. Today we stepped around a number of impressive piles of scat early in the trek and observed what appeared to be bear scratches on trees. When we heard brush rustling loudly 50 m away, we froze in our tracks and waited to see which animal would come over the hill. It was a fast-running deer who had undoubtedly heard us but didn't stick around to see us.
We sometimes pass by cabins or hunting camps in the bush, usually looking very inhospitable with plywood on the windows and padlocks on the doors. Today at lunch time, we had the luxury of finding a well-kept little cabin with a sign that invited visitors to come in and take good care of the facilities. This strategy obviously works; the place was in great shape. It was so funny to spend hours in the bush, then take a lunch break where we could sit on chairs and lay out the map on a kitchen table!
We've both been checkpoint volunteers ourselves so in addition to placing CPs where they will create route choice, we look for pleasant locations to spend a number of hours and possibly go swimming if it's hot.
It's a privilege to stumble upon beautiful wilderness locations that few people have seen.
Here's our best find of the day - a great blue heron nesting area. The birds were everywhere, and nearly every tree in the water had a huge nest on it. It was magical.
One of today's highlights was meeting a gentleman who owned a cabin in the area. We seldom encounter people, and when we do, they are usually fishermen or ATV drivers who are nice enough but think we're a little warped. This fellow thought that Wilderness Traverse sounded "cool". He provided all kinds of useful information and pointed things out on the map. He had even mountain biked part of the route we're planning. Hope he'll be around on race weekend to cheer on the participants!
At last we emerged from the woods and found our bikes stashed in the trees where we'd left them early this morning. The trek was fun, scenic, interesting and challenging - everything we'd hoped for after staring at the maps over the winter. We're so lucky to have wilderness areas like this close to home. Can't wait to watch the SPOT trackers as teams take different routes!
Mountain Biking (Trail) 2:10:00 [3] 19.0 km (8.8 kph)
Sigh... I had to wait for Bob while he dawdled at the Trek/Bike transition. ;)
Actually, we were both wet and chilly so we tried to warm up here - added layers, changed our socks and ate yummy snacks. It would have been great to put on dry clothes but we had to take everything with us from here so we hadn't left much stuff with our bikes. This was my first time using my new men's Salomon XA20 pack - a little larger than the women's version, which is perfect for course testing since we need to carry more emergency gear. It was no problem to attach my wet, muddy shoes - a handy thing to know.
We mostly rode on snowmobile trails. At first we were in mountain bike heaven because they were rocky and fun.
But then came a dose of reality. It's early April and there are still some big mud pits on those trails!
On top of that, my bike started misbehaving badly - a reminder that it was time for a spring tune-up. We had been making good progress but now we were looking anxiously at our watches. The sun would set shortly before 8 p.m. and we wanted to be out of the woods. We had lights with us if we got stuck but we really wanted to make it to the burrito place in Barrie before it closed.
We got lucky. We figured out a way to make my bike a little happier, pedalled hard for the last few kilometers of rugged trail, and arrived at the car exactly 5 minutes before sunset. Phew - that even gave us time for a latte.
Already excited for the next testing expedition!
Actually, we were both wet and chilly so we tried to warm up here - added layers, changed our socks and ate yummy snacks. It would have been great to put on dry clothes but we had to take everything with us from here so we hadn't left much stuff with our bikes. This was my first time using my new men's Salomon XA20 pack - a little larger than the women's version, which is perfect for course testing since we need to carry more emergency gear. It was no problem to attach my wet, muddy shoes - a handy thing to know.
We mostly rode on snowmobile trails. At first we were in mountain bike heaven because they were rocky and fun.
But then came a dose of reality. It's early April and there are still some big mud pits on those trails!
On top of that, my bike started misbehaving badly - a reminder that it was time for a spring tune-up. We had been making good progress but now we were looking anxiously at our watches. The sun would set shortly before 8 p.m. and we wanted to be out of the woods. We had lights with us if we got stuck but we really wanted to make it to the burrito place in Barrie before it closed.
We got lucky. We figured out a way to make my bike a little happier, pedalled hard for the last few kilometers of rugged trail, and arrived at the car exactly 5 minutes before sunset. Phew - that even gave us time for a latte.
Already excited for the next testing expedition!
Tuesday Apr 10, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 37:00 [2] 5.6 km (6:36 / km)
shoes: Salomon XA Pro GTX - Black
Dropped off my car at the garage in Palgrave - because the right time to get your snow tires taken off is when you see flurries in the forecast. I stopped by the dental office to pick up BazingaDog and leave BulletDog. 'Bent commuted barefoot today for the "One Day Without Shoes" campaign and it only seemed fair that he should have a well-behaved dog for one of his runs. BazingaDog and I headed through Palgrave East and got in the door just before the hail began.
Getawaystix and I were supposed to be course testing in Muskoka today but postponed till tomorrow to avoid the sleet. The forecast doesn't look a lot better so I'm packing a bunch of layers.
Getawaystix and I were supposed to be course testing in Muskoka today but postponed till tomorrow to avoid the sleet. The forecast doesn't look a lot better so I'm packing a bunch of layers.
Monday Apr 9, 2012 #
Road Biking (Trainer) 1:10:00 [3]
I wanted to hit the trails but the wind gusts got crazy later in the day, and I didn't feel like dodging flying branches. The "RIDES Las Vegas" DVD took me back to Moab - or at least as close as I could get in our basement.
Ave watts: 158
Ave speed: 24.8 kph
Ave cadence: 82
(excluding cooldown)
Ave watts: 158
Ave speed: 24.8 kph
Ave cadence: 82
(excluding cooldown)
Sunday Apr 8, 2012 #
Note
(rest day)
Family Easter. Consumed chocolate - for the antioxidants, of course.
Saturday Apr 7, 2012 #
9 AM
Orienteering race 4:57:26 [3] 28.94 km (10:17 / km) +543m 9:24 / km
shoes: Salomon XA Pro - Navy 2nd pair
Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid, St. Catharines. 'Bent was busy with Passover so this year I put together a female team with Crash and Ang. Crash is a veteran adventure runner while Ang would be a first-timer. I met her when she beat me at the Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race so I knew she would do well. She and Crash have competed against each other in XTerra events in the U.S. but I don't think they had formally met before. It was a treat for me to race with two strong women who were patient enough to wait for me to catch up!
Weather was perfect for this year's event - sunny, cool and dry. I'd only orienteered on the Niagara Peninsula once before so I was keen to see some new territory. It was beautiful escarpment terrain!
After a bus ride to the start and an initial trail run, teams spread out quickly. We worked well together and had lots of fun - a theme that continued all day. We spent a little extra time getting to #5 after we drifted too far up the canyon as we crossed it. We ran smack into Hammer at the top and apparently he got my confused reaction on video when I realized where we were. But for the most part, things went smoothly.
That all changed during the 2.5 km trail run between #8 and #9. It was a rocky, technical trail with lots of opportunities to fall or turn an ankle. We were running at a good pace when Crash suddenly flew forward in a Superman move that was stopped by her thumb and index finger hitting a tree. OUCH!
At first she turned down the offer of my first aid kit but after a short distance, the bleeding and pain were so severe that we had to stop and patch her up. Her thumbnail was half torn off and her hand was swelling up. As the day went on, she became unable to move her thumb normally, and it appeared that something was likely broken. She is such a tough cookie that she just kept on racing. "They can't do anything about small broken bones anyway." She's the one in the pink with the taped-up thumb.
We had one more set of controls to do in the Alpha Stage of this multi-stage race, then we had a 40-minute break that included a short bus ride and some time to work on our maps for the Beta Stage.
The rest between stages was pleasant although it was easy to slip out of race mode and I heard about some teams who made huge errors at the start of the Beta Stage. We fuelled up on goodies and headed out feeling great, plus or minus one broken hand.
The Beta Stage was crammed with challenges - Walk The Line, the Relay of Lactic Hell, a long Bearing/Pace exercise and lots of escarpment climbing. Once again, things went smoothly. I sent Ang and Crash on the long run to pick up C and D in the Matrix while I took the shorter route to get A and B.
We arrived near the finish line where we received the map for the final Omega Stage. It consisted of contours and a railway and not much else. We could draw in as much info as we wanted from the master map. I thought I had enough to go on but the vegetation was thick and we managed to miss seeing #1 on our first time past it. We followed the gully all the way to the golf course, then came back on a higher line and located the flag. Boo - based on the splits it was at least a 7-minute error. The remainder of the controls went well - better than the 1st and 2nd place teams who made a major error on #3, making the rest of us feel better by proving that they're human.
Fun team and great racing! We were 11th overall and 1st female. Poor Crash had to go off with the medics at the finish so we didn't get to sit on the grass as a team and enjoy the sunshine. Another time!
Thanks to the organizers, volunteers and sponsors for another fantastic adventure run. A ton of work goes on behind the scenes. Much appreciated! :)
(Garmin data adjusted since I left it on for the shuttle bus ride during the race. Race time was 5:37 including the bus.)
(Photo Credits: Mike Waddington, I think)
Weather was perfect for this year's event - sunny, cool and dry. I'd only orienteered on the Niagara Peninsula once before so I was keen to see some new territory. It was beautiful escarpment terrain!
After a bus ride to the start and an initial trail run, teams spread out quickly. We worked well together and had lots of fun - a theme that continued all day. We spent a little extra time getting to #5 after we drifted too far up the canyon as we crossed it. We ran smack into Hammer at the top and apparently he got my confused reaction on video when I realized where we were. But for the most part, things went smoothly.
That all changed during the 2.5 km trail run between #8 and #9. It was a rocky, technical trail with lots of opportunities to fall or turn an ankle. We were running at a good pace when Crash suddenly flew forward in a Superman move that was stopped by her thumb and index finger hitting a tree. OUCH!
At first she turned down the offer of my first aid kit but after a short distance, the bleeding and pain were so severe that we had to stop and patch her up. Her thumbnail was half torn off and her hand was swelling up. As the day went on, she became unable to move her thumb normally, and it appeared that something was likely broken. She is such a tough cookie that she just kept on racing. "They can't do anything about small broken bones anyway." She's the one in the pink with the taped-up thumb.
We had one more set of controls to do in the Alpha Stage of this multi-stage race, then we had a 40-minute break that included a short bus ride and some time to work on our maps for the Beta Stage.
The rest between stages was pleasant although it was easy to slip out of race mode and I heard about some teams who made huge errors at the start of the Beta Stage. We fuelled up on goodies and headed out feeling great, plus or minus one broken hand.
The Beta Stage was crammed with challenges - Walk The Line, the Relay of Lactic Hell, a long Bearing/Pace exercise and lots of escarpment climbing. Once again, things went smoothly. I sent Ang and Crash on the long run to pick up C and D in the Matrix while I took the shorter route to get A and B.
We arrived near the finish line where we received the map for the final Omega Stage. It consisted of contours and a railway and not much else. We could draw in as much info as we wanted from the master map. I thought I had enough to go on but the vegetation was thick and we managed to miss seeing #1 on our first time past it. We followed the gully all the way to the golf course, then came back on a higher line and located the flag. Boo - based on the splits it was at least a 7-minute error. The remainder of the controls went well - better than the 1st and 2nd place teams who made a major error on #3, making the rest of us feel better by proving that they're human.
Fun team and great racing! We were 11th overall and 1st female. Poor Crash had to go off with the medics at the finish so we didn't get to sit on the grass as a team and enjoy the sunshine. Another time!
Thanks to the organizers, volunteers and sponsors for another fantastic adventure run. A ton of work goes on behind the scenes. Much appreciated! :)
(Garmin data adjusted since I left it on for the shuttle bus ride during the race. Race time was 5:37 including the bus.)
(Photo Credits: Mike Waddington, I think)
Thursday Apr 5, 2012 #
Strength & Mobility (Core) 25:00 [2]
Hard Core Live with Caron. Two sets of 20 of everything. Ouch.
Power Yoga 50:00 [1]
A nice reminder of which parts of my body are still bashed up from mountain biking! Very good for me.
1 PM
Note
So today was my CBC Radio interview on adventure racing and... I don't think I did well. I know some people will say, "Oh c'mon, you always say that" but hear me out. I *do* like the interview I did for Mark Arnold's Adventure Racing podcast (Episode 3) so I can be positive sometimes! :)
I arrived in a mildly nervous state but when I entered the CBC building, my heart rate shot through the roof. I am a huge, longtime CBC Radio fan. (For some Americans, maybe NPR brings out equivalent feelings?) Inside the building, there were 10' high photos of CBC personalities. The CBC museum was across the hall from the security desk where I checked in. I thought I saw Jian Ghomeshi whiz past me in sunglasses. I was sweating; I started yoga breathing to relax,1,2,3,4,5...
The CBC people I dealt with were super friendly and highly professional. Every day they bring in people who have never been on the radio, don't know the correct way to sit near a microphone (not in front of your mouth, I learned), pop their "p" sounds and get nervous. They made me feel comfortable instantly - phew. While waiting, I had the choice of sitting in the open office, the green room or the control room where the sound engineer was managing dozens of screens and controls to record the interview before mine. The latter was clearly the coolest opportunity!
The host, Mary Ito, is a master of using words and facial expressions to encourage the interviewee; she made me feel as if everything I said was fascinating, even when I knew it wasn't.
So what went wrong? (Man, I would love another chance because I learned so much!) In the pre-interview with the producer, we explored a wide range of topics. By the end, I felt we'd covered much of what adventure racing is all about. But in the real interview, there is much less time. The host focuses on the pieces of the pre-interview that the show's staff felt would be most interesting to their audience. There's no time for the complete picture. Unlike a regular conversation, you generally don't get to return to a topic if you left something out in your first answer. (Like when I explained what AR was and neglected to mention that it included navigation - urgh...)
I knew that's how it would work so I should have thought more about the key concepts I wanted to get across. Politicians are great at giving brief answers to questions then steering the conversation to related topics. On the other hand, I know that radio hosts and editors are skilled at thwarting that technique so maybe it wouldn't have worked anyway!
My engineering brain is a hindrance. I answer questions literally when sometimes I could skim over topics I'd rather spend less time on. Also, my tendency is to go into too much detail. (If you read my log, you already know this.) When I write freelance, I have to do a lot of editing and compressing after the first draft but if I get too detailed on the radio, it means that I only get to tell the first part of the story. For example, in describing the Giant's Rib Raid, I don't think I got beyond planning the maps before it was time to move on to the next topic. Every answer should have been an "elevator speech" with the most important points packed up front. (Much of this entry is a "note to self" in case I ever do another interview but maybe it will be useful to someone else.)
Bottom line... I think the interview will turn out to be more about me than I'd expected rather than the sport in general. They were interested in the fact that I dropped phys ed when I was 12 and only got back into sports as a masters athlete. They were interested in danger, injuries and death in AR - as the general public often is - also the challenge, competitiveness and the long races. I can't remember if I ever said AR was *fun* or expressed my passion for the sport and the lifestyle. I also wanted to stress how accessible it is. I kept thinking I'd get to this stuff but then the time ran out. That's why I think I blew it. It wasn't the producer's or interviewer's fault; in fact, from their point of view, it probably went OK. I feel badly because I failed to convey the big picture of what makes AR so amazing. Regardless, it was a cool experience. Just wish I'd done a better job.
I arrived in a mildly nervous state but when I entered the CBC building, my heart rate shot through the roof. I am a huge, longtime CBC Radio fan. (For some Americans, maybe NPR brings out equivalent feelings?) Inside the building, there were 10' high photos of CBC personalities. The CBC museum was across the hall from the security desk where I checked in. I thought I saw Jian Ghomeshi whiz past me in sunglasses. I was sweating; I started yoga breathing to relax,1,2,3,4,5...
The CBC people I dealt with were super friendly and highly professional. Every day they bring in people who have never been on the radio, don't know the correct way to sit near a microphone (not in front of your mouth, I learned), pop their "p" sounds and get nervous. They made me feel comfortable instantly - phew. While waiting, I had the choice of sitting in the open office, the green room or the control room where the sound engineer was managing dozens of screens and controls to record the interview before mine. The latter was clearly the coolest opportunity!
The host, Mary Ito, is a master of using words and facial expressions to encourage the interviewee; she made me feel as if everything I said was fascinating, even when I knew it wasn't.
So what went wrong? (Man, I would love another chance because I learned so much!) In the pre-interview with the producer, we explored a wide range of topics. By the end, I felt we'd covered much of what adventure racing is all about. But in the real interview, there is much less time. The host focuses on the pieces of the pre-interview that the show's staff felt would be most interesting to their audience. There's no time for the complete picture. Unlike a regular conversation, you generally don't get to return to a topic if you left something out in your first answer. (Like when I explained what AR was and neglected to mention that it included navigation - urgh...)
I knew that's how it would work so I should have thought more about the key concepts I wanted to get across. Politicians are great at giving brief answers to questions then steering the conversation to related topics. On the other hand, I know that radio hosts and editors are skilled at thwarting that technique so maybe it wouldn't have worked anyway!
My engineering brain is a hindrance. I answer questions literally when sometimes I could skim over topics I'd rather spend less time on. Also, my tendency is to go into too much detail. (If you read my log, you already know this.) When I write freelance, I have to do a lot of editing and compressing after the first draft but if I get too detailed on the radio, it means that I only get to tell the first part of the story. For example, in describing the Giant's Rib Raid, I don't think I got beyond planning the maps before it was time to move on to the next topic. Every answer should have been an "elevator speech" with the most important points packed up front. (Much of this entry is a "note to self" in case I ever do another interview but maybe it will be useful to someone else.)
Bottom line... I think the interview will turn out to be more about me than I'd expected rather than the sport in general. They were interested in the fact that I dropped phys ed when I was 12 and only got back into sports as a masters athlete. They were interested in danger, injuries and death in AR - as the general public often is - also the challenge, competitiveness and the long races. I can't remember if I ever said AR was *fun* or expressed my passion for the sport and the lifestyle. I also wanted to stress how accessible it is. I kept thinking I'd get to this stuff but then the time ran out. That's why I think I blew it. It wasn't the producer's or interviewer's fault; in fact, from their point of view, it probably went OK. I feel badly because I failed to convey the big picture of what makes AR so amazing. Regardless, it was a cool experience. Just wish I'd done a better job.
Wednesday Apr 4, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 1:10:00 [2] 10.3 km (6:48 / km)
shoes: Salomon SLAB-3 XT Wings
I pulled out all the stops today to try to stop the "knife slicing my leg open like an overstuffed haggis" feeling. I used Leukotape and a tensor bandage to hold my injured adductor together and wore Salomon compression capris in case any body part wanted to veer off course. Much to my relief, it worked and the major pain in today's run came from my bruised and inflamed kneecap, which at least is something I can understand. This excruciating dent in my thigh is brand new territory!
BazingaDog and I had an excellent run around the rolling, twisty singletrack of Palgrave East. It was a "dog-enhanced" run, meaning that one of us stopped to swim, sniff and relieve himself an astounding number of times. The late afternoon light was beautiful, the air crisp and my mood jubilant in the way it always is when I've spent time fretting that I might lose my ability to run. I won't push my luck before the Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid though. Now that I know running is possible, I'll stick to other things for a couple of days to encourage some healing.
BazingaDog and I had an excellent run around the rolling, twisty singletrack of Palgrave East. It was a "dog-enhanced" run, meaning that one of us stopped to swim, sniff and relieve himself an astounding number of times. The late afternoon light was beautiful, the air crisp and my mood jubilant in the way it always is when I've spent time fretting that I might lose my ability to run. I won't push my luck before the Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid though. Now that I know running is possible, I'll stick to other things for a couple of days to encourage some healing.
Strength & Mobility (Legs) 30:00 [2]
6 PM
Note
Coming off a week of mountain biking, I'm extra-impressed at Danny Hart's amazing skills in the mud at the 2011 UCI Downhill World Championship. But the real reason I'm sharing this is that I couldn't stop laughing at the overly-excited announcers.
Tuesday Apr 3, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 4:30 [2] 0.6 km (7:30 / km)
shoes: Salomon XA Pro Ult - 2 Tomato
Trail run fail. :( My injured leg hurt too much. Not so much that I couldn't have run if a mountain lion were chasing me, but enough that it seemed wiser to rest it for another day. Crap. STORM is out there doing 60K runs to get ready for the Death Race and I am doing 600 meters.
1 PM
Note
'Bent was chatting this morning with CBC Radio producer Sandy Mowat - son of author Farley Mowat, who lived across the road from our place before we moved here. Sandy had heard about the Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid in St. Catharines, and somehow this conversation evolved into me doing a radio interview about adventure racing on this Saturday's Ontario-wide Fresh Air show.
I did a pre-interview with a producer today and will go in for the pre-taped (and thus editable - phew!) interview on Thursday afternoon. They are very curious about why people would do this sort of thing. I'm nervous but I'll do my best to represent. Ironically, I'll be racing that morning so I won't get to hear the show until later.
I did a pre-interview with a producer today and will go in for the pre-taped (and thus editable - phew!) interview on Thursday afternoon. They are very curious about why people would do this sort of thing. I'm nervous but I'll do my best to represent. Ironically, I'll be racing that morning so I won't get to hear the show until later.
Monday Apr 2, 2012 #
Running (Trail) 40:50 [2] 5.7 km (7:10 / km)
shoes: Salomon SLAB-3 XT Wings
Home sweet home. BazingaDog and I did an easy lap of Palgrave West. I hear that trilliums are out in Hockley Valley but I didn't see any today. Ferns and bloodroots (not yet in flower) were out. No sign of poison ivy yet but I bet it'll show up earlier than it ever has.
My stoopid bruised thigh continues to be mega-sore when I run. I've been googling "contusion" and "fascia tear" for ideas. It's only been 4 days and I haven't given it much RICE so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Don't worry, Ang and Crash, I'll be fine for the Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid as long as I can give it some compression.
My stoopid bruised thigh continues to be mega-sore when I run. I've been googling "contusion" and "fascia tear" for ideas. It's only been 4 days and I haven't given it much RICE so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Don't worry, Ang and Crash, I'll be fine for the Salomon Dontgetlost Giant's Rib Raid as long as I can give it some compression.
12 PM
Note
'Bent and I listened to a podcast on the weekend where a sports nutrition expert took a question from an athlete who experienced chocolate cravings after exercise. The expert said this was likely due to a magnesium deficiency and outlined a number of ways to "fix the problem". Yikes, this is like a teenager announcing that he is gay and receiving suggestions from an expert on how to cure himself. (Well, maybe not that bad...)
To be fair, there is some evidence that links chocolate cravings/consumption with magnesium.
There is also a study on Pubmed suggesting that "habitual use of cocoa as a dietary supplement favors correction of the negative effects of long-term feeding with a diet moderately deficient in Mg".
So chocolate makes you healthier! Furthermore, a recent study showed that people who consumed the most chocolate had the lowest Body Mass Index, regardless of activity level.
I rest my case. And if there is any evidence contrary to what I want to believe, I don't want to know about it. It's the same way I feel about research on the health impacts of coffee!
To be fair, there is some evidence that links chocolate cravings/consumption with magnesium.
There is also a study on Pubmed suggesting that "habitual use of cocoa as a dietary supplement favors correction of the negative effects of long-term feeding with a diet moderately deficient in Mg".
So chocolate makes you healthier! Furthermore, a recent study showed that people who consumed the most chocolate had the lowest Body Mass Index, regardless of activity level.
I rest my case. And if there is any evidence contrary to what I want to believe, I don't want to know about it. It's the same way I feel about research on the health impacts of coffee!
1 PM
Note
Mountain bikers... don't drink from muddy bottles and avoid riding through areas with lots of animal poop. "A recent study from the journal Epidemiology and Infection found that mountain biking in muddy conditions risks campylobacter infection." Revy, isn't campylobacter what hit you in RTNX?
Sunday Apr 1, 2012 #
Note
Long, spectacular drive through the mountains to Denver, then home today. We had a great time in Moab with Harps, Mrs. Harps, Shortstack, Kona and Trek. Thanks for planning so many fun expeditions, Harps!
We stayed in a beautiful condo about 6K south of town; I'd stay there again.
We had some delicious meals, especially Mexican - and the coffee in town was surprisingly good.
We missed a few restaurants...
Excellent trip. 'Bent was pleased with his birthday present!
P.S. Photos have been added below for yesterday's farewell run.
We stayed in a beautiful condo about 6K south of town; I'd stay there again.
We had some delicious meals, especially Mexican - and the coffee in town was surprisingly good.
We missed a few restaurants...
Excellent trip. 'Bent was pleased with his birthday present!
P.S. Photos have been added below for yesterday's farewell run.