Training Log Archive: Bash

It's not often that we ride single track in December, but there wasn't quite enough snow to ski, and we wanted to do something different, so we headed to Albion Hills. There were at least a dozen other sets of tracks, so we weren't the only people with this idea. There were also tracks on Duffy's Lane, so I suspect that Crash was out today as well.

It was great to be back on my own bike after using rental bikes in New Zealand. When I rent a bike, people seem to think that I should have some cute little feminine model in a pretty colour, but my legs are actually the same length as 'Bent's, so I'd rather have a real *grown-up* bike! It was great to be back on a bike that fits me, has clipless pedals, and responds the way I expect it to. I still have my semi-slick tires on from the last adventure race, and they were surprisingly good at climbing snowy single track, but the wet off-angle roots were scary. Must switch to knobby tires before the next ride.

All of my cold weather biking gear worked well, except for the neoprene shoe covers over regular cycling shoes with SmartWool socks. I'm not sure if Sealskinz socks would do the trick. I probably need to use those stick-on chemical toe warmers if we're going to do much winter biking. (And I kinda doubt that we will.)

Cross-country through Palgrave West to Duffy's Lane, then around the Red Trail for the first time since the logging began several months ago. I've never seen Palgrave this wet, even in spring. The part of the trail that runs along Hwy 50 was flooded to mid-shin depth. The ground was sprinkled with a dusting of snow, so it was a frigid day to go for a dip! My bad knee twinged for the first 5 minutes (eek!), then calmed down. Otherwise, I felt pretty good. Nice to run in cold weather.

While watching the Jeep World of Adventure Sports, which I've rarely seen. I'm not always impressed with activities labelled as "extreme" or "adventure" sports, especially when they involve motorized vehicles. On today's show, it was awesome to watch deep water solo rock climber Chris Sharma climbing a stunning sea arch in Mallorca, including a 7-foot leap to a single handhold near the middle of the arch where the rock was nearly horizontal - wow. Good rock climbers move with the grace and coordination of professional dancers, and it's amazing to watch them.

Pouring rain today, and I couldn't convince myself to go out and enjoy it. Tomorrow it's supposed to be freezing rain, and we've got to drive to Toronto - yuck.

While I was stuck indoors, I tested the new vacuum cleaner. It sucks.

Trail run around Palgrave West, including Charlevoix Loop, at a fast pace (for me). I could really feel the sore muscles from Monday's core-fest, which is probably a good thing, since it means that I'm using those muscles when I run. But it's also a reminder to get my act together and get back into shape!

On Hammer's recommendation, I tried uphill bounding with ski poles to simulate the weight shift for classic skiing, exercise the arms, and (of course) climb a few hills. Today was just a test to see which hills and which ski poles might work best. I did 3 hill repeats, with two of them off-trail, and it was definitely a high intensity workout. The hills have to be steep to use the poles properly. I'm thinking of going next door to Humongous Hill, continuing up to Poison Ivy Plateau. The baskets on my ski poles are an annoyance, so I'll switch to Leki trekking poles at the proper length.

While watching the Daily Show. Jon Stewart's birthday was yesterday - same as 'Bent.

Hard Core Mondays are back!