Training Log Archive: Bash

Peak-2-Peak training event. Until a few days ago, I hadn't planned to do this but I decided to give it a go. Raid The Hammer is only two weeks away and I need to know how my injured ankle feels when I go off-trail.

There were 119 advance registrations and it was great to see so many friendly faces - although I would have loved to have an hour just to chat! Sometimes I forget how long it's been since I've seen a person face to face because many of us communicate regularly online.

Backwoods expertly led the mini-nav clinic with Pat-hetic and me as her loyal sidekicks. It was awesome to see so many inexperienced people trying this event. It was an absolutely spectacular autumn day so I hope they had the same great experience that I did.

After we'd filled up the newbies' heads, I set off on an ankle-friendly version of the 10K course. I wasn't sure how much to do but in the end, I only skipped one control that was somewhere along a 2K "walk the line" mostly on trails.

I wore my ankle brace and walked when I was off-trail. I did some easy running on trails - maybe half the time. I felt excruciating pain whenever my foot was extended unexpectedly, e.g. when my heel landed on a tree root and my toe lurched forward toward a pointed position. That is the normal motion of the foot so the ankle brace doesn't prevent it. There were a few times when it hurt so much that I had to stop, bend over and gasp for breath. That was all though - no other ankle issues.

The big news is that I was able to do a good test of my new Salomon SpikeCross shoes. Ancaster Creek has steep-sided slopes covered with wet leaves and mud at this time of year. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect testing ground! To be honest, I wasn't sure about trying new shoes with an injured ankle. I'd brought my trusty XA Pros to change into just in case. As it turned out, the SpikeCross were stable and snug-fitting, and I was super-grateful for the traction in the steep ravines. It was like the security of biking on a rough trail with clipless pedals vs. platforms. I felt safer knowing that my ankle was protected because my foot wasn't going to skid and do something unexpected. So the SpikeCross will be my shoes for Raid The Hammer - and I have to admit that I wasn't thinking I'd try anything new with my gimpy ankle.

I needed a take-out lunch for the long drive home so I googled the famous Domestique cafe and let my iPhone lead me there. Yummy sandwich, brownie and latte for the road!

Trail run to Glen Haffy and around with 'Bent. Trails are fairly gnarly and leaf-covered so this was a tough test of the ankle brace. It worked OK (although I was still in pain) but I turned my good ankle, probably because I was favouring that leg. Unlike my other ankle, it still has plenty of ligaments so after a few minutes of scowling and walking around, it was fine. 'Bent confirmed that I really do have an obvious limp - it's not just in the way I am perceiving my running.

The clouds looked full of snow but we didn't get our first real flurries yet. It has to be soon!

(Left GPS off for one section so had to fix data.)

Quote from two women to the clerk as they entered the Salomon Store today: "We're here because we have a Salomon problem."

I would have laughed - but what the heck was *I* doing there?! :)

I got most of the way home OK. I was on Fogal Rd. waiting to turn right onto Gore Rd. when I felt a big thump from behind. My head was flung forward, then smacked back onto the head rest. Luckily, the seat wasn't reclined at all so my neck didn't snap backward. I was - and still am - pretty freaked out by it.

There were only scratches on both cars but I wanted to exchange information in case something came up later with the car or my neck. The young woman, not originally from an English-speaking country, spoke with the older woman who was with her, but I couldn't understand. She was polite but didn't write anything on the paper I'd given her. She eventually phoned her husband and he wanted my name and phone number, which I wrote down, but he still didn't want her giving out her info. She finally suggested that I talk with him. I pointed out to him that I already had the licence number so I could contact them through the police if need be. He saw the logic and gave her permission.

How weird it must be to feel obligated to get your husband's permission to do what any responsible driver should do! Yet I know this is *nothing* compared to what women are subjected to in many parts of the world. At least this woman was allowed to drive a car (even if she wasn't paying attention).

Hard Core Live with Caron - back for the fall session!

C3 Yoga. Nice to have Crash there too. My ankle can't handle side planks on the left, and chair pose makes me want to scream. But mostly, this was great ankle rehab.

Upped the ante, taking a lunchtime run on somewhat gnarlier trails in Palgrave East while holding a leash attached to an unpredictable puppy. My ankle survived it all and continues to hurt a little less and feel a little stronger each day. I am going to put on the ankle brace and do Peak-2-Peak verrrrry carefully this weekend!

This was BazingaDog's first 10K - almost double the distance of his longest run to date - and the little bugger fella didn't have the decency to seem winded in the slightest. In fact, after stopping over and over and *over* to sniff things in the first few kms (I kept turning the Garmin off), he got the idea and started trotting along like a real runner. He's napping like a champ now even with a bunch of roofers making noises that sound as if our house is being opened by a giant can opener.

(Lost satellite early - fixed distance.)

Several causes for celebration today:

1) 'Bent's laptop booted up for the first time in over two weeks and important data was retrieved with a technician's able assistance. He is a much happier camper - and thus so am I.

2) After 12.5 years, I attended my final meeting of the Caledon Town Council-appointed environmental advisory committee. It's been a great run and I've learned a lot about topics ranging from climate change to forest stewardship to politics. Now it's time to pass the torch and move on to new things.

3) Last year my training goals included losing 15 lb. It had been on my "to do" list for awhile and the reason I finally succeeded was that my cholesterol shot up and I got scared. I learned today that the numbers are back to where they were 16 years ago. Yay. I stifled the urge to go out for a burger to celebrate.

TRAIL run, baby! I warmed up with a two-dog forest hike in my grippy new Salomon SpikeCross shoes. No ankle brace. So far, so good. Then I changed into my Old Faithful XA Pros with ankle brace and ran around Palgrave West in the rain. The trails are familiar and not overly rough, and there is still some gimpiness in my gait due to ankle pain and weakness. I'm not ready to run Lion's Head just yet. But the improvement in my ankle since Monday's appointment with Thumbs-of-Death is significant. Yahoo, I'm not condemned to staying on roads all the time.

Thumbs-of-Death (sports chiro) inflicted excruciating pain on my foot yesterday, as requested. I don't think soft tissue is the big problem anymore; the bones in my foot don't feel quite right and ToD did his best to get them back where they belong. There is some improvement since yesterday (and quite a lot since a week ago) but it's going to take awhile for my foot to feel normal.

In the meantime, I went on a run east of Palgrave, starting and finishing on the rail trail. I headed south on Mount Hope Rd. to Old Church Rd. then over to Mount Pleasant Rd. and north to the rail trail. As the road names would imply, there were some good climbs and descents.

I rarely run on roads and I'd never been in this area on foot. This area is not on the way to anywhere I usually go, so I'm rarely on these roads at all. It was kinda cool - I had no idea you could see downtown Toronto and the CN Tower (an hour's drive from here without traffic) from a hilltop so close to our place. If I'd had a better camera than my iPhone, I would have taken a photo.

A positive aspect of all this road running is that I'm pounding my legs harder on the downhills than I do on trails, even though I'm running less than I would like. I need that to prepare for a mountain ultra.