Training Log Archive: Bash

Easy late afternoon ride with 'Bent after Mom's birthday lunch. Went from our place to Palgrave East, then around all the single track. It is soooo dry that some of the trails have turned into sand traps. Time for a rain dance! It must be tough for the farmers this year.

Fun pool party and potluck BBQ with a bunch of our former neighbours in Schomberg. After returning home, we had the pleasure of listening to our new neighbour's pool party until 1 a.m. This would have been fine if they hadn't set up monster speakers that seemed to be aimed directly at our place. For many hours, the music was thumping-loud enough for dancing here, even though we're in a valley 400' away. Grrrr, I hate it when people come to the country with the attitude that it's an "empty" place. This won't stop me from being a helpful, welcoming neighbour, though. I can't wait to share all the details about our summer - the homicide victim found in our forest, the skunk with distemper wandering around our yard, the explosion of poison ivy and hornet nests, the black bear in Caledon East, and the cougar in the conservation area, not to mention the usual West Nile-infected birds, healthy mouse population and rabid bats. You know, just in case their real estate agent didn't provide all the relevant info. :-)

'Bent and I did a thorough tour of the trails in Palgrave West, Koturbash woods and some of the Wheelie's property. It was a nice cool day - a refreshing change from the hot, humid weather we've been having. We kept BulletDog on leash so she wouldn't harass any big cats. Our only unusual sighting today was a TRCA crew clearing fallen logs from their forest access trails. That bodes well for the upcoming ski season.

On some birthdays, I've hiked up a mountain or paddled a river. It looks like my big expedition today will be a Quest for Hot Fudge. That's OK - I'm recovering, or maybe I'm tapering. Probably a bit of both, but regardless, it's a situation that calls for chocolate.

It's hard to say my new age out loud, but I have a "suck it up, princess!" attitude about that. I had friends who didn't get to see their 20th, 30th or 40th birthdays due to illness or car accidents. They would have loved the opportunity to keep getting older, and it feels disrespectful to be anything other than grateful that I've enjoyed another fun, healthy year with my family and friends. So bring on the chocolate - and later this evening, an Italian restaurant feast with 'Bent. I'm celebrating!! :-)

Bigger group for the Wednesday morning ride today - Stan, Sian & Smash, 'Bent & me. The temperature is a few degrees lower than it has been, which is *wonderful*. Fun morning! We kept up a decent pace, but managed to squeeze in lots of conversation one-on-one or when the group stopped occasionally at trail junctions.

They say that you're supposed to have a goal for each training session, and my goal today was this: "Except for yer feet, keep yer body parts off the trail, fergawd's sake!" I'm pleased to report that I was successful at retaining all my blood inside me for once. There are no new injuries to add to the list.

Leanimal and I are having a top-secret meeting tonight to plan our strategy for the North Am Rogaining Champs. 'Bent and 3Pin are so jealous that they're copying us by planning their own top-secret strategy meeting for Saturday morning. Of course I have no idea what the boys are going to do, but we're going to use last year's race map to plan a route based on the distance that Leanimal and I want to go. Last year, 'Bent and I planned a short route because he was sick. This backfired when he made a miraculous recovery during the race, and we ended up finishing early, having skipped a bunch of controls along the way. Leanimal and I are going to see if we can (hypothetically, of course) get them all!

Leanimal and I headed out for our weekly run. She told me stories from the 24-hr Angry Seagull race, which her team WON on the weekend, and I told her stories from the Dirty Girls Run. My legs felt surprisingly zippy, given how sore my quads felt on Sunday after pushing hard on Saturday. I think I may have stumbled on a little-known training secret, and I'll share it here (drum roll)... If you do more running, then running becomes easier. Who'd have thunk it?!? Unfortunately, Leanimal's new shoe insert was starting to give her a blister, so we decided to hike back from that point. We need to keep her feet healthy so she can tow me in the upcoming North American Rogaining Champs!