Training Log Archive: Bash

Event: Salomon Giant's Rib Raid
 

Salomon Giant's Rib Raid
Tree Huggers with Spirit

I've wanted to race with FB and Willderness for awhile and this seemed like a great opportunity for them to get in some final training before they leave for Expedition Africa.

The weather was perfect - sunny and cool. The race course was fun and varied. Most of the best teams in the race were in our category so our only goals were to enjoy ourselves and spend some time on our feet.

Mostly, it worked out that way. In fact, we spent *much* more time on our feet than planned. Unfortunately, within the first 10 minutes, my foot got tangled in a vine on my way to touch a control flag. I fell downhill onto rocks and smacked my left (good) knee cap hard. The first thing I did was stagger to my feet and touch the flag like a good adventure racer, then it took a few minutes of walking before I stopped hyperventilating from the pain.

FB and Willderness were awesome. I knew they would have taken it well if I'd stopped right there, and I did consider it. It remains to be seen if I called it correctly but it felt like the injury was external (bleeding, bruising and swelling), not an internal joint thing. That didn't stop it from being quite painful, especially while running or on uphills, downhills, rocky areas, or anywhere I had to bend my knee more than 10-15 degrees. In other words, most of the race. I did a lot of gasping and scowling and straight-legged hobbling down hills.

But it was fun anyway, and it was the first long run where I haven't thought about my injured foot at all. Not surprisingly, I had a few lapses of focus in the navigation department but fortunately FB was watching the map too and used his X-ray vision to spot flags. There were some really interesting control locations! I made some longer route choices that were easier on my knee since it was tough bushwhacking through the broken forest from the ice storm.

Both FB and Will are in great shape going into Expedition Africa but they didn't complain about all my walking breaks. I must admit that FB and I were kinda hard on Will until he finally gave in and got his feet wet. I had to remind him that there aren't any hippos here in Canada. His "stay out of the water" strategy probably makes a lot of sense in Africa though. We saw a bunch of snakes, which was also good practice for EA.

We finished an hour behind Lost Bearings, a team the Tree Huggers usually race close to, so that's probably a good gauge for the amount of extra time we spent out there. We were 12/22, which was decent for a day like this. I was sorry to have kept Goose and 'Bent waiting so long (they were 2nd and 3rd overall respectively) and to have missed the chance to catch up with friends after the race. Oh well, hopefully my joints will be happier next time.

Thanks to the Hitchon boys for a (mostly) fun day. :) Happy packing for EA!

Rest day before Salomon Giant's Rib Raid with Willderness and FB but I need to get back to doing physio three times a week.

I warmed up by (perhaps foolishly) putting on a red jacket and hat and checking on the gunshots at the back of our property. I'd yelled a loud, angry "Hey!" after the 2nd shot, which may explain why no one was in sight by the time I'd put on bright clothes and made it back there. Grrr. I hope the turkeys escaped.

There may still be snow patches in the forest but at least the rain is getting prettier!

First outdoor bike ride of the season! This is what happens when (a) winter lasts forever, and (b) I have no adventure races on the calendar yet. There *is* some Wilderness Traverse course testing in my near future, however, and it is entirely possible that Bob may have been training. At minimum, it seemed worth checking whether my bike still works.

I rode single track in Palgrave East, which is mostly in great shape. There was one girlie shriek when I whipped down a hill and almost ran into a pointy broken treetop blocking the trail a meter off the ground. I managed to wrestle it off the trail. The double track has more muddy spots so it's best not to plan to ride too much of it until things dry out. Within the first 15 minutes, I rode over two patches of ice. Yes, ice. On May 2.

This is bike computer distance since the GPS under-measures twisty single track.

Throwback Thursday, Spring 2004. Mocha (aka BulletDog), age 1, with her winning smile. Her muzzle is grey now, and she gets sore if she plays too hard but she still smiles like the puppy she is at heart.

Inspired by the K2 Hurt Locker loops that the Hamilton runners are doing, I used my Ambit to make a map and elevation profile of the steep part of 5th Line south of Hockley and the pretty trails east of it. I did a little bushwhacking but mostly stuck to trails. It looks like I'll be able to come up with a local Hurt Locker loop in this area.

Looking at the elevation profile, I should have done more repeats on the hill where the trail skirts the old ski resort. Too bad there are so many "No Trespassing" signs since I could do a varied and interesting hill workout on the different ski hills but I don't want to get the Bruce Trail Association in trouble. There were people working around there; maybe I could ask permission.

It's been a tough week and this was very therapeutic.

I have to take BazingaDog for a New Client Assessment with a dog sitter and fill out a multi-page questionnaire about him. I feel like a Mom trying to get her kid into a good school. I hope B-Dog is wise enough to put on a good show!

Mmm, such a good sleep. Finally.

Around Palgrave West in chilly rain. I try to think of these days as a gift since they provide an opportunity to test my layers for the Alps. Once the weather warms up - *if* it ever warms up - I will only be able to guess which clothing will feel right.

The trails were in good shape except for a few big mucky sections. The cycling club has swept the pine needles off a large section of twisty single track, which makes it look like a mountain bike magazine porn photo.

The highlight was meeting Crash and catching up on her final preparations for the Tour Divide. The lowlight was discovering that my right knee was hurting again after feeling good during and after Sunday's run. On the bright side, it made my gimpy foot feel comparatively normal, which is a nice change.

Still in Brantford till the evening.

Mom had gum surgery today so I'm the nurse, pharmacist, chauffeur and chef for my parents. Luckily, they should both feel a lot better in a few days. I've gained a new respect for the complexity of planning and adhering to medication schedules.