Training Log Archive: Bash

Here's live tracking of Spaff's progress in the Yukon Arctic Ultra 100-miler. Brrr!
<http://trackleaders.com/yukonultra13i.php?name=Der...>

Highlands Nordic is still closed due to poor snow conditions so we headed up to Hardwood Hills instead. We planned to meet Coach LD there; she only has two weeks until the Gatineau Loppet where she is doing the skate race. In honour of her, we started on skate skis today too.

It's been more than two months since I last skate skied, and that was at Silverstar. I've taken skate skis with me every time we've gone to a ski centre since then, but I've never pulled them out of the bag. Tsk tsk, I know I should; it's good for me.

I sent 'Bent and Coach LD ahead so I could focus on remembering technique instead of chasing them. As usual, the first 20 minutes were hell. Then, as much as it pains me to admit it, it was kind of fun. Conditions were absolutely perfect for skating.

The only small niggle today was the crowd. I'd expected it to be quiet because apparently there's some big sports event on TV today. But - to put a positive spin on the situation - it was heartwarming to see so many enthusiastic people on the trails who do not normally ski. Little kids splatted right and left. Adults carried on animated conversations as they strolled shoulder to shoulder with their poles spread out to block the full width of the skate lane. Skiers weaved back and forth unpredictably, then stopped in the middle of the trail when they needed to rest or re-wax. Some stretches of trail were blissfully empty, then I'd come around a bend and it would feel like a mall at Christmas. It wasn't entirely a bad thing since it forced me to work harder by double poling up some hills where there was no room to skate.

Coach LD saved the day by directing me to a quiet new trail around the edge of a field - a great place for drills. I did a couple of laps of mostly legs-only to decompress, then returned to the main trail system. One good thing about this experience was realizing that I only think my skate skiing sucks because I compare myself to the people I know. Damn all you talented people! ;) Compared to people I *don't* know, it turns out I'm not that bad.

'Bent and I switched to classic gear and headed out for a short ski for "dessert". Normally, classic feels much better than skating but conditions were icy enough today that I was almost prepared to make the groundbreaking announcement that I enjoyed skate skiing more than classic today. But then we turned onto the ungroomed Seefeld single track trail since we hadn't seen it before. Wow, it was SO MUCH FUN. It was the best part of the day, whipping around hairpin bends between trees and around stumps. It's our kind of skiing - narrow, ungroomed forest trails. You couldn't wipe the silly grins off our faces.

On the way back, we ran into WandAR who had just done her part to help Ontario's winter sports economy by buying some really nice skate skiing gear!

'Bent and I also supported the economy by visiting MEC in Barrie. Coach LD wondered how it could be possible that we could need anything from an outdoor gear store, and that's a great question. It boggles my mind too but every major adventure race triggers shopping, often because the mandatory gear list isn't in synch with what I would bring to do the same outdoor activity on my own. So then I need to figure out a way to work with the mandatory gear rather than packing too much stuff and getting hit with excess baggage charges.

For Tierra Viva, one of the weird items relates to paddling. We'll be in sit-on-top kayaks on long, cold lakes in night-time temperatures that could drop near freezing. We'll be pretty wet so we'll need to choose the right paddling clothing to keep hypothermia at bay without overheating and getting drenched in sweat. The only relevant piece of mandatory gear is "neoprene jacket" - and even though I own one, it would *not* be my choice in this situation. So I'm trying to figure out if I can find a way to work with it or if I'll just stuff it in a dry bag and carry it around!

Warm-up followed by Carmichael's Progressive Power workout #2. One-legged pedalling drills, 3 X 3-minute 100% power intervals, and a bunch of short (up to 18 second) "stomps" (which aren't about pushing down, even though it sounds like it). The focus today was on kicking forward at the top of the pedal stroke and pulling back at the bottom.

Much better podcast today, CBC's "Under The Influence". I learned about a Quaker Oats prize offered back in the mid-1950s. They bought 19-ish acres of land in the Yukon when they were sponsoring a TV program, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon". They divided the land into 21 million plots, then Quaker Oats customers could send proof of purchase and receive a deed stating that they owned one square inch of land in the Yukon. It was wildly popular and cost-effective - until people and their lawyers started contacting Quaker Oats years later to find out if the value of their land had increased. Widows would find the deeds and write to see if they could get the money sent to them, please. It turned into a nightmare. Quaker had never actually assigned the deeds to the people for real so there was nothing to pay out, but it wasn't good PR and it took a *lot* of time to deal with the requests.

Around our block with Hingo and 'Bent. Beautiful winter day!

Nothing feels as good as getting outside after several days of being stuck indoors. The contractors are gone for a little while so I can leave the house during daylight hours. We've started moving back into our kitchen and bedroom. My cold is still lurking in the background but I can breathe now. Life is good. Now if only we had more than 3 cm of snow!

I went for a run around Palgrave East - lots of twisty, rolling single track. I didn't overdress and it was -12C when I finished so it was an exhilarating, chilly run in the late afternoon sun. I've been worried about falling behind on training because of the stoopid cold so I was relieved that running felt good - just what the doctor ordered. I'm signing up up for Ken Niemimaa's February Challenge again - a minimum of 5K of running or XC skiing every day of the month. No doubling up - the challenge is to get out every day. It was tough to pull off last year but it's a good way to build habits.

The Incredibly Hulky new bridge in Palgrave East is nearing completion. At this spot, there used to be a small culvert running beneath the trail to drain a manmade pond. The TRCA decided to naturalize it and restore the creek. I think it's been at least a year that we've been jumping across the creek or walking on the small planks you see at the left of the photo - but then someone decided that this crossing required Bridge-zilla.



When I used to do structural design work for GM manufacturing plants, I almost never had to specify steel beams as big as this. Seriously. And it's so high that they'll need to build a long ramp on either side.

I made a footwear selection error. I thought that my Fellcross might be a good choice for a thin layer of snow because they're great on a thin layer of mud. Wrong. One of the things I like about them is that I feel connected to the ground because of their low profile. But when the ground is frozen hard as a rock and rutted from equestrians and mountain bikers who insisted on riding in the mud, you don't actually want to feel connected to it. There were a few patches of black ice so it's Spikecross weather.

Hard Core Live with Caron. She was wearing orange - the traditional signal that tonight's classes will be tougher than usual. Crunches made me cough at first but luckily that didn't last.

Lots of strength, stability and endurance tonight - she made us work.

End-of-January Report Card: Although it's been a terrible training month due to stupid upper respiratory infections, I've planned a fun 2013 during the down time. Once I finally (!!) get healthy, I'm really looking forward to building my training around two major events that some good friends will also be doing:

Tierra Viva 6-day expedition adventure race - Argentina, late March

Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc - 168 km mountain run - France, late August

Flights and accommodations are all booked so now my priority is to drink more tea with honey, take Cold FX and Vitamin C, put oil of oregano under my tongue, etc. etc.! I feel very lucky and thankful to have these terrific opportunities, and to be blessed with friends who also think this crazy stuff is fun.

Quick paddle in between the contractors, dinner and the Orienteering Ontario board meeting. I'm learning that comedy podcasts are great for driving but don't engage my brain enough to distract it from the monotony of indoor training. I looked at my watch four times in 30 minutes! I'll have to dig up something more thought-provoking next time.

As expected, I'm paying the price for doing a high intensity workout with a chest cold. The doctors who advise against this know what they're talking about! Coughing fits started 45 minutes after last night's ride and kept me up most of the night. My cold is improving now but I'm totally exhausted since apparently sleep serves some purpose in our lives. Now that I'm regaining my sense of smell, I can better enjoy the subtle bouquet of fresh paint fumes from our home repairs. Ahhh.

Ladies' Night at RIDE Milton. I really should have taken another day off to get rid of Cold 2.0 but we'd spent a lot of time pulling this evening together so I wanted to be there. It was a great group - Funderstorm, Mrs. Tiny, WandAR, Sherpa and Jenna. Sherpa had the coolest bike (a fast-looking Cervelo), Jenna had the newest bike (never ridden before), Funderstorm had the highest wattage, WandAR had the best matching outfit, and Mrs. Tiny had the sexiest bib shorts.

Harps always says there is no time for conversation at RIDE Milton but we approached it differently. We chatted away and caught up on our latest news and only stopped to focus on riding if our wattage fell below 300, which rarely happened. When we finished the course that the guys had ridden earlier, we rode a second one to make it a full workout. I don't know what takes the boys so long.

Congrats to Mrs. Tiny on the win! :)

[Edit: Average wattage was actually 159! ]

Cold 2.0 has turned into a much nastier beast than Version 1 - foggy brain and unhappy lungs. I would have stayed in bed with a pot of honey tea and a warm dog except that contractors are working in my bedroom. I've been stuffed up since Jan. 4 so my 2013 training hasn't been too good. Patience, grasshopper. In the meantime...

Athletes and Blood Clots

Athletes may be at a greater risk for developing blood clots than the rest of the population. Here's how to protect yourself and spot symptoms.

Since several of my athletic friends have had blood clots, this may be of interest. If you're flying to/from a race, wear compression socks and go for regular walks around the plane.