Training Log Archive: Bash

The Bad Thing 50K

Funderstorm steered us toward this cool new point-to-point 25/50K trail race. The 50K followed the Maitland Trail along the north shore of the Maitland River from Goderich to Auburn. It's a part of Ontario we know little about and this was a great way to check it out. Greg and Julie Diamond invited some of the out-of-towners to stay at their place in Belgrave so we had a fun dinner party and a short drive for the 5-6 a.m. check-in.

LosDobos and his Mom were there. (Ilona took some of these photos - thanks! The rest came from the event Facebook page.) It turns out Pete's brother Paul lives in Goderich and was doing his first 50K. It was nice to see familiar faces along the route.



We had a 6:15 school bus ride to Goderich and the race started at 7 a.m. in a city park. Now that I have a Bat Girl costume, I need to get my money's worth. I was surprised to be the only runner in costume on Hallowe'en. I suspect the small field consisted mostly of (a) runners too fast to risk being slowed down by a costume, and (b) people with little or no ultrarunning experience who didn't want a costume to mess them up.



We crossed the river and started running single track. It was dark for the first hour or so as we ran a mix of trails and roads on our way out of Goderich.



Shortly after sunrise, Bat Girl checked to see whether she could fly after catching a foot on a tree root. Nope! Luckily, there were no rocks or poison ivy in the landing area.

I underestimated this race course. The elevation gain is about half as much as the Hockley Loop per km and there are several road sections. I knew I hadn't been able to train properly but it wasn't going to be the hardest 50K I've ever done, right?

Actually, it was. The trail was rooty and rocky like the trails in Caledon but a layer of autumn leaves often made it impossible to see the uneven ground and choose good footing. There were mucky sections and steep, punchy climbs up beautiful ridges. There were steep staircases with narrow, extremely slippery wooden steps. This photo shows some of those steps in one of the areas of devastating forest damage from the 2011 tornado. Parts of the trail had to be rerouted.



It's only been two weeks since I turned my ankle so I was super cautious. I didn't mind taking time to look around since the terrain was beautiful. We followed the Maitland River upstream and watched the changing nature of the river and its valley. I'm sure a lot of us thought about coming back to paddle. The late autumn colours were still vibrant, both on the trees and off. The terrain and forest were constantly changing - a rushing stream here, some gorgeous Carolinian forest there. It felt like we were on a journey.





The trail passes through Bender's grandmother's property. He had perfectly described his childhood play area along the trail and it was easy to recognize - a lovely place in the forest, straight out of a fairy tale. (This photo isn't it.)



With only 30 runners starting in the 50K, it didn't take long to spread out. I ran with Greg Diamond a bit early on but from 18.7 km to the finish line, I was alone without any other runners in sight - except one guy I passed at the 30K aid station.

I often train alone so that wasn't a big deal. The biggest risk was missing a trail marking since I had no one to follow. I eventually did that and added an extra half kilometre to my day.

The only other time it bothered me was when I heard gunshots at a few locations along the river. It occurred to me that I was running through the woods with big pointy animal ears sticking up from my head. I tucked my Bat Girl mask into my pack until the final half hour.

From a running perspective, there were no surprises from my mind or body. I knew it would quickly start to feel exhausting after I passed the 23 km mark - the longest long run I'd done in the past 3.5 months. I was pleased to see what base training can do; I never doubted that I could make it to the finish. On the other hand, I was equally pleased to observe that training for other races has made a difference. It's much nicer when running doesn't feel as hard as it did today! I had occasional coughing fits but my cold held off its worst until I was finished - then came back with a vengeance! (As deserved.)



The later aid stations were farther along than indicated on the map, which was a little disconcerting. I thought I'd missed Aid Station #3 when it was 2 km late. After that, I just worried about how long the race was really going to be. (Only a little long. My distance includes my 0.5 km error.)

Other than that minor niggle, the race organization was nearly flawless - impressive for a first time event. There were lots of friendly volunteers, some in costume. It felt like the Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race where a small town takes pride in hosting an event and the organizers have lots of good local connections. The shirts were great. There was still plenty of hot chili - veg and meat - when the final runners arrived, along with other treats. Well done.

Our AR friends represented! Bob and Hermes were the male and female winners of the 25K.



And STORM won the 50K just ahead of Bender.



'Bent was 40 minutes behind STORM in 10th place. The good news was that his stomach didn't let him down. That's the second ultra in a row where he's felt fine for 50K. (Too bad the other one was 51K!) Unfortunately, his bad knee became excruciating so our fingers are crossed that his meniscus isn't injured again.



I finished 1 hr 45 min behind my slowest previous 50K time but I couldn't have done any better today and I had fun out there - most of the time, anyway!



Note for later reference - details on my non-training for this race: In each of the last 3 months, I ran 8 hours (i.e. my TBT 50K race time) for a total of 183 km. I also did a 2-hr orienteering race, a sprint adventure race with no running (teammate's request) and the Killarney Loop trek in mid-August. Strength training and yoga have been almost non-existent compared to usual. I did the Eiger Ultra Trail (90K in the Alps) 3.5 months ago and felt reasonably well-trained for it. This strategy wasn't planned and isn't recommended; it was a mix of being too busy and sleepless, getting sick from being too busy and sleepless, and one minor injury.

Spent an hour coughing in the middle of the night. Ugh.

Not looking good for Saturday's race. :((

Not everyone is on Facebook so here's a little Hallowe'en atmosphere!

Here's my younger brother Dave and me playing with knives. Looks like I'm about 8 years old.



Dee, Mrs. Gally, me and Virginia at last weekend's Virginia vs. Bruce celebration party. She's a Super Woman and we are her loyal sidekicks!

Relapse. Also, I couldn't sleep. :(

The combination of cold remedies seems to be helping so I took a chance and attended the first class of Caron's new boot camp.

If there was any doubt that I've lost fitness over the past few months, it can be banished now! I felt so so weak but at least I wasn't alone. Great class, very well attended and free with my C3 membership. Looking forward to more!

My immunity is still feeble - sore throat and sniffles again. Only a few days left to recover for a 50K

DontGetLost Peak-2-Peak Adventure Run

I was exhausted after last night's Virginia vs. Bruce celebration in Horseshoe Valley, mostly because of coffee that kept me awake for the drive and a few hours afterward! I briefly considered just staying in bed but I'm glad I went to Ancaster to enjoy such a beautiful day in the woods. Nice to see so many AR and O friends too!

Not surprisingly, my fitness and navigational sharpness have been better at other times but I did OK. I made a major error at double black diamond control #60 when I marched up the wrong spur and went much higher than I needed to. I'd turned off the trail early to save climb but the attackpoint wasn't solid enough so I ended up climbing considerably more. Lesson noted. I made a similar error on a much smaller hill while chatting with Harps' neighbour and demonstrating the proper way to screw up a control.

In my sleepy state, I also forgot about the extra dummy flags at the Vertigo control. As in, totally forgot. I noticed that the flag was in the wrong place but that's OK - at least I'd found it. Then when I got there and realized there was no control to punch... "Oh right!"

Otherwise, it was relatively uneventful other than another ankle twist while bushwhacking - just a 3/10 this time so it won't prevent me from running.

DoubleDown, Gally and I enjoyed a post-race "Dirty Southern Lunch" - a double decker sandwich with chicken, BBQ sauce, arugula, maple syrup and waffles instead of bread. Tasty but I could do without the waffle in this case. Coincidentally, on my drive today, I was listening to a This American Life podcast about a team that invents crazy sandwiches and burgers. Apparently, the key is to have a good story that explains the food item; it's not sufficient for the combination of food items to taste good.

I was 1st old lady and top 15% overall with 540 pts. I probably couldn't have made it past 600 pts but my strategy near the end left something to be desired. Next time!!

No time for my planned workout. I've had the interesting pleasure of spending most of the last three days "with" my Dad. Several organizations are jointly nominating him for induction into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame, which is very touching.

It turned out to be easier for our family to fill out most of the sections of the nomination form as a first draft for the nominators. Some stuff was easy, like "Education". Some checking of details was challenging, given that most of Dad's major contributions to agriculture happened before the Internet.

Amazingly, we stumbled onto information that we hadn't expected to find by Googling - an industry journal article about Dad from 1971, some details on North America-wide conferences he helped to organize in 1972 and 1985, lists of past presidents that included him, and newspaper articles that mentioned his name. There weren't any real surprises but there were things that we'd forgotten. Now that we've passed our work back to the nominators and the sense of urgency is gone, I look forward to doing more Googling to see what else I can find.

As has often happened during this journey of the past ten months, I've thought of so many things that I'd like to discuss with Dad. But since that's impossible, I will at least enjoy finding his stories, nuggets of information and photos.

Busy day so I ran trails in the dark - something I rarely do because I'm a wimp. At one point, I saw animal eyes glowing around a bend in the trail. I kept running toward the eyes. (Yay, I'm so brave!) When I got there, the animal was gone but there was a nasty stench like a carcass or - gulp - a bear, which is not impossible around here. That improved my pace for awhile. (Not so brave after all!)

It's an out-and-back run so I had to pass that same spot on the way back. I picked up a big, sharp stick and yelled as I ran through that area. I was not attacked by a wild animal. The End.

Stopped by the Salomon Store to see their winter selection. :)

Not pleased by how tired I felt after two consecutive days of running. :(

If you've ever thought about Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc but don't feel like committing several years to the qualification and lottery process, there is a great alternative. The Eiger Ultra Trail, which 'Bent and I raced this year, is happening in spectacular Grindelwald, Switzerland in July 2016 and offers four distances from 16 km to 101 km.

Admittedly, there is nothing like being in Chamonix during UTMB week with thousands of other trail runners and their families; I'm glad we got to experience that. But if you'd be content with spectacular Alpine scenery and excellent race organization, the Eiger Ultra Trail fits the bill.

EUT is part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour and is still a relatively new race, just in its 4th year. No qualification is required and until this year, there was no lottery. For 2016, they will accept most entries as they come in, then they'll set up a lottery for the final 100 places for each of the 101 km and 51 km distances.

Registration opens this Friday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. Grindelwald time. Last year, 500 entries were sold in the first few hours. With the introduction of the lottery, entries will sell out faster. Check out the video if it sounds like your kind of thing!
https://www.eigerultratrail.ch/en/home.html

I think I read somewhere that when you're building up your running, you should double your distance every day. So today was 20K after yesterday's 10K. I've studied a lot of math so I know if I can keep this up, next weekend's 50K will be a total cakewalk.

This was another ankle-friendly run on gravel roads, gravel shoulders, rail trail, a little pavement and some forest trails in Palgrave West. (Finnerty, Centreville Creek, rail trail, Duffy's Lane, Palgrave West.) It felt harder than 20K usually feels, which is no surprise. I'm ready to take my ankle back onto the trails again. It's still a little stiff but not too bad. There won't be any taper for The Bad Thing (how can I taper down when I'm building up?) but I'll need some rest next week if I'm going to get through it.

Wildlife Watch: One muskrat, one deer.

Must. Start. Strength. Training. Again.

It's been three days since I rolled my ankle, and I've been feeling it so I didn't want to try running right away. I did a gravel road run today, figuring it would be less risky than the trails. It felt OK although my ankle was still a little annoyed at me.

Unless my ankle gets worse, I've decided that The Bad Thing 50K next weekend will be an experiment in what happens when I don't train for an ultra and rely entirely on my base fitness from several months ago. It may well be a spectacular failure but that's what experiments are all about. This was not the original plan, of course, but it is the only option, other than dropping out.

From the "What does a Registrar do?" department, here are excerpts from an email exchange I've been having today.

1) "I'd like to sign up Solo. Should I enter the Male category or the Coed category?"

Luckily, I didn't have to touch that one! I explained that the race is for teams of three and he should enter the appropriate category.

2) "OK. What's the difference between the Coed and the Male category?"

There are no dumb questions - but there are always questions!

A friend's 4-year-old son has been marching around lately, telling his parents that his 1-year-old brother Justin "is just not ready." :)

And then there's this:

O Canada! A beautiful autumn day. :)

Event: Star Tracks - Mountain Bike Orienteering
 

Star Tracks Mountain Bike Adventure, Albion Hills

My alarm went off early since there is always lots to do on the morning of a race. Unfortunately, I didn't actually wake *up* until 40 minutes later. So things were a little rushed and I forgot some details - like giving LJ the pile of waivers *before* racers started checking in. It all worked out eventually.

I put out the final two controls and vetted one loop of the Novice course, then spent the rest of the event hanging around Race HQ while other volunteers did all the work on the race course - vetting controls, taking photos and picking up controls. Other than a few minutes giving race briefings, all I had to do was eat cookies and chat with racers - a pretty sweet gig!

At one time, the forecast hinted at up to 15 cm of snow this morning! I'd advised everyone to dress warmly and bring running shoes in case we couldn't ride. The park superintendent even mentioned that they had snowshoes! But it didn't come to that. It was clear, sunny and crisp - a gorgeous autumn day. We had a bonfire with hot apple cider (thanks to Goose for fixing the campstove) and wonderful goodies baked by Ilona and Coach LD.

The race went smoothly from our perspective. People came back in one piece, mostly smiling. There was some tough competition and great performances in every category. The overall winner was Wokitoki, just ahead of our defending champion, Tiny. ThreePinJim was a surprise 11th hour attendee and won the Masters Male category. Coach LD was the fastest woman and Top Masters; Dee and Browner joined forces to win Open Female. Wilberto Jr. was the top Junior Boy and Tarno Jr. was top Junior Girl. Team Lather Rinse Repeat won the Novice Family award (Eva and Julianne Leek). Our fastest growing age category in MTBO is Men aged 60+. The winner, Anthony Welch, was 10th overall. He is not a regular orienteer.

My awesome partner in crime for this event was Mick. He and I have exchanged dozens of emails in recent weeks. LJ, Nick, Val, Ilona and Goose also played big roles to make race day successful.



Many more photos are available on the event web page. Thanks to everyone who came out!
http://stars.whyjustrun.ca/events/view/2207

'Bent



Dee and Browner



Coach LD



The post-race lunch venue was a bit of a bust although the company was excellent. Now that Caruso's has closed, I need to find another place where a group can drop in without reservations and have good food at a reasonable price.

Goose and I met at the remote northeast parking lot at Albion Hills so we could divide up the controls for tomorrow's mountain bike O race. We had come about an hour before sunset to ensure that the park would be nearly empty when we put several thousand dollars of timing equipment out in the woods.

The place was crawling with teenagers. Not only that, there were long rows of tents so these teenagers were *not* going home. And one of our controls was going to be only 100 meters away.

Luckily, they were Cadets and seemed busy and well-supervised. We went to say hi to the leader. It turns out there are Army Cadets, Air Force Cadets and Wilderness First Aiders in Albion Hills this weekend. Boy are they going to be surprised when mountain bikers start flying by tomorrow morning - especially the ones who make the route choice that takes them right through the field with 20 tents on it!

Ironically, their main mission this weekend is to work on their navigation skills. I mentioned the Orienteering Ontario website since they thought they might enjoy more practice races to prepare for their annual event with the Gators.

Goose and I went our separate ways with our backpacks full of gear. I put out a few more controls than I'd planned since it was pitch dark by then, and it didn't seem like there would be much difference if I went at first light. The park will still be full of people.

I cranked my ankle pretty well after placing the first control - about a 6 out of 10. There are a lot of leaves obscuring bumps on the trail.

Only 2 controls left for the morning, both close to the Start. I still have to make up a first aid kit, pack the van and car with different things, get my bike in the car and, oh, get some sleep. Actually, things are in good shape so I definitely will!

(Moving time only. Lots more elapsed time.)

Throwback Thursday - October 2007

'Bent received the Bullfrog Splash Award for his early commitment to green electricity. The presenter was none other than Hansel himself! Bullfrog Power recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Not so coincidentally, it has also been 10 years since 'Bent started buying "Bullfrog green" clothing and even a green van. http://bullfrogpower.com/

Star Tracks Mountain Bike O will be easier than this - and probably not quite as hilarious.
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-videos/watch-...

Just in time for winter... Some great tips for faster kayak paddling. This was a nice reminder of our long-ago hydrospinning classes with Coach Bill Trayling - where we met Carbon.

I ran to Albion Hills to check the location of a control ribbon that Nick de St. Croix hadn't found during his test of the Star Tracks Mountain Bike O course. It was in the right place but I could see what happened; a road has been rerouted near that trail so we'll need to update the map. Good catch, Nick!

It's been awhile since I've run this far. Knock on wood, it felt fine. Maybe I'll be able to do that 50K on Oct. 31.

All but one of these photos was taken within 150 m of our house. Love this time of year!

This just in: Playboy will no longer publish photos of naked women.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//news/world/playboy...

As Oct. 19 approaches, it's nice to know that anything is possible. :)

Albion Hills - I snuck out early to hang the final few flags for the Novice Mountain Bike O course this Sunday.

Dee, Mrs. Gally and I went for a fun, chatty, hilly ride on a spectacular autumn day. Dee brought an old Albion Hills map to practise reading it while riding. It proved extra challenging without a rotating map board or compass but she managed it. The effects of my non-training schedule were quite apparent. Lunch was by far my strongest discipline today.





(Used bike computer distance. Stops included.)

Started to feel human again during the morning! My cold is almost gone and it's out of my lungs so I tried a run around Palgrave West. Over the next week, I'll make the call on whether The Bad Thing 50K is going to be possible after missing out on real training for the past month.

Someone asked about the recommendation from sports docs to avoid exercise when you have cold symptoms below the neck. Although it's rare, the most compelling reason to follow this rule is that cardiac complications like myocarditis and pericarditis may follow viral illnesses, and some research indicates that prolonged physical exercise with an upper respiratory infection significantly increases the risk of heart muscle damage. This article talks about some athletes who got myocarditis.
http://www.dw.com/en/when-sports-are-bad-and-threa...

Martin Rydlo, a strong athlete whom many of us know, had pericarditis that may have been caused by a cold.
http://domorecommunity.ca/treat-your-heart-careful...

Also, a member of my immediate family had congestive heart failure that is believed to have been caused by a virus. (No idea if it was a cold.) Thanks to amazing pharmaceuticals, my family member recovered but with significantly reduced heart function.

So that's why I'm cautious.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Unless you're American - in which case, Happy Columbus Day.

'Bent, BazingaDog and I hiked over to Palgrave to hang the final two mountain bike O posters. Gorgeous autumn weather! Unfortunately, my lungs are mad at me over yesterday's ride so I'm feeling worse, not better. Ugh.

Stupid cold is still in my chest so I shouldn't be raising my HR. Since the Star Tracks mountain bike adventure is next week and the course won't test itself, I had to get out and ride around Albion Hills regardless. I rode as easily as I could but some of those hills can only be climbed with a little oomph!

I was out for almost 3.5 hours but didn't use my Ambit for all of it. I've logged the approximate (slow) moving time. I checked the map and terrain in the area of each control and revised the course (or map) if I saw major issues with expected routes. Most of the trails are in great shape and the autumn leaves are already gorgeous.

The Regular course is flagged but I ran out of gas - mentally, more than physically - with only half the Novice course flagged. I went home to enjoy 'Bent's yummy dinner just as the sun set.

P.S. Please come to Star Tracks next Sunday! Late fees start on Tuesday night so there is no time like the present. :)
http://stars.whyjustrun.ca/events/view/2207

Cold is still in my lungs. Blah.

The cold is in my lungs now so no training for me. Bah humbug! :(

On a happier note, I visited a velodrome for the first time along with Mr. and Mrs. Veinbuster. Flight was in town for the Canadian Track Cycling Champs. She raced the Team Sprint and was Carla Shibley's driver on the tandem bike in the Para-Cycling 1K event. Very cool and looks like so much fun!

Woke up with a nasty sore throat - payback for the last 3 weeks of not taking care of myself properly. Drinking tea with honey, scarfing down cold prevention remedies and crossing my fingers. I need to test the mountain bike O course for Oct. 18 and do some running before my 50K at the end of the month!

I have a 50K in three weeks and done minimal training in the past three weeks. Given that my cold isn't in my chest (yet), it's probably OK to run. I felt stiff and out of practice in my short tour of Palgrave West but it didn't seem to make things any worse. Yay.

Many thanks to the Logrents for hosting Bob and me post-WT. So nice after the busy race weekend to postpone the long drive and just relax, eat well and sleep like a log.

Event: Wilderness Traverse
 

So much for getting sleep before Wilderness Traverse - another long, crazy day. I really thought I could squeeze in a 30-minute run - or even just a trip to Staples to print Delorme Instructions or to the grocery store to buy snacks for my weekend inside the Orrville Community Centre. Nope. I do love WT but boy, is it a lot of work. And I'm not even Bob!