Training Log Archive: Bash

Gator Cup farsta. Ran F-Elite again and this time felt like I did a decent job. My nav was OK - not great and not terrible. A number of times I navigated to, say, a depression that was 20 m away from the depression I really should have been at, but from watching the other folks in the woods, I don't think I was the only one. I found this map difficult to read quickly and simplify, so I relied on my compass more than I have in a year. (Oh, if I had only done that yesterday!!) The problem is, I have to stop completely for at least 2 seconds to get an accurate bearing on this compass. Still waiting anxiously for my new Brunton to arrive.

The best news is that I felt great running. For me, this was fast. And I haven't felt good running in a long time. In honour of the occasion, I am taking myself off the sick list. From now on, I am a healthy person who just happens to have a really nasty cough that sounds like pneumonia.

Event: Gator Cup
 

Gator Cup Classic Course. Tried F-Elite for the first time, thinking that it will feel much easier when I run my age group in the Canadian O Champs. My goal for this meet was to have good starts, since I wasted too much time getting a feel for the maps at the Flying Pig. Using that criterion, I guess this race was a success, because I started running almost immediately and did fairly well for the first six controls. And then I lost my mind. I haven't had a chance to figure out where I went, but it took me 44 minutes to go between two controls that were 800 meters apart and not at all complicated. My mistake was that I kept going when it didn't feel right and ended up so far gone that it's a miracle it only took 44 minutes to get back to where I was supposed to be. The map was difficult - many trails were hard to see in the terrain and there were lots of early season marshes and ponds that didn't appear on the map. So once I was lost, there wasn't much to help me find myself. Because I'm still sick, I considered dropping out of the race since I knew that no one would fault me for it. But then I decided that my new goal would be mental training - to find that stupid control and make myself finish the race even though my result would be at the bottom of the list. The rest of the controls went fairly smoothly and believe it or not, I'm glad that I did the longer F-Elite course.

Paddling practice at Island Lake with the Terranauts and Bent. Shifty and I tried out our strokes and standard communications for Appalachian Extreme. Since our entire team is Trayling-trained, paddling should be a great discipline for us.

Out for a quick ride with Skidder and Shifty to test our bike towing system. Looks like it should work well. It's going to be great to have these young guys pulling me through the Appalachians!

Cool new gear update: With the new solar panels, our hydro meter was running backwards this morning before 10:30 a.m.!

Just a quick test of my freshly-tuned bike with its new Geax Mezcal semi-slick tires (or semi-knob, depending on whom you ask). I bought them for Appalachian Extreme to put a little less drag on the tow line and look a little more like a speedy Terranaut. They're just fine in dry conditions, and I don't have to work much harder on hard-packed trails. Climbing loose gravel hills was slippier than usual and I felt a bit less in control than usual when I descended on gravel. That's OK - I'll just get my youthful teammates to pull me up the biggest hills. ;-)

Cool new gear of the day: Our new 1.3 kW solar panels! Had to wait for months because the Germans are buying so many panels. Just got them hooked up late today and at 6:30 p.m. in cloudy weather, we're getting 22 W. Hydro One thinks we have the first grid intertie system in Caledon, and we are the first house in Canada to have the latest Xantrex inverter. This is going to be fun!

Cool new gear of the day: Our new 1.3 kW solar panels! Had to wait for months because the Germans are buying them all up. Just got them hooked up late today and at 6:30 p.m. in cloudy weather, we're getting 22 W. Hydro One believes we have the first grid intertie system in Caledon, and we are the first house in Canada with this Xantrex inverter. Sure hope the sun comes out tomorrow so we can see what these things will do!

Trail run with ThunderDog along the Hardwood Forest - Charlevoix Figure 8 route. Beautiful, cool sunny day! Didn't go too badly, but would like to trade in my lungs for a better model. Still coughing. :-(

Got back and tested all my shoes for possible use in Appalachian Extreme. I am the Imelda Marcos of trail running shoes and it is always hard to make decisions - especially since I have a blister right now and I'm looking for shoes that don't put pressure on it.

Wildlife du Jour: White-tailed Deer
Vegetation du Jour: Ferns
Gear du Jour: Sugoi Arm Warmers

Didn't see my race time, so I'll take a guess and fix it later. I'm pleased to say that tonight my running was better than my navigation. Since I haven't been able to do much running over the past while, that's a good sign that I'm finally on the road to recovery. It took 80 frustrating minutes to drive through rush hour traffic from Oakville (which is already a long way from home) and I arrived when people were already finishing the race. Argghh. So... it took me a couple of controls to relax and get my focus. After that, things went pretty well. I'm not as ready for the Gator Cup as I'd like, but this is way better than Sunday when I felt too weak to walk from the car to the house.

Line Orienteering exercise. This was fun - I've never done anything like it before.
No wildlife sightings today but on the drive home there was an intensely bright rainbow against a navy blue sky. The pot of gold appeared to be in Brampton which, frankly, must have been a mistake.
In the absence of wildlife, how about new gear reviews?
1) Bright blue Brooks trail running shoes that BobTheNavigator talked me into: They are starting to grow on me for runs in soft terrain like this, but they are still ugly!
2) Genuine Swedish orienteering pants purchased from Sudden: These are awesome!
3) Suunto compass: Totally useless. Points 90 degrees off the bearing if I run instead of walking. Can't wait until my cool new Brunton arrives.

Gentle trail ride around Palgrave, mostly twisty single track. It was SO nice to go biking in the woods for the first time this year. I guess I'm a bad adventure racer because this is the kind of riding I really enjoy - not mucky snowmobile trails or back roads. I did the Salty Steven single track section, but walked up and down the most heroic hills since I'm still not able to breathe too deeply. Like yesterday, it's good to see that the legs still work, even though the lungs are still kinda pathetic.
Wildlife Watch: 3 deer, 1 wild turkey

Inspired because I can now walk up stairs without getting dizzy, I tried a light jog around Short Bruce Loop with ThunderDog. It was too soon! Oh well... I was encouraged that my legs still feel strong, even though I can't breathe very well. All this inactivity is driving me crazy!

Other people have seen more wildlife than I have lately, but I will report two mallards and a skidder. Not Skidder the speedy adventure racer, but an actual skidder doing logging in the conservation area.