Training Log Archive: Bash

Funderstorm invited me on a road trip to Michigan for the Trail Marathon. So much fun to hang out, shop, visit W4J, chat and prepare for our race together! This event has 5 mile, Marathon and 50K courses that run almost entirely on rolling, forested single track in beautiful Pinckney State Recreation Area where a number of Attackpointers train regularly. Most of the trails looked excellent for mountain biking too, and we saw a few riders out. The 50K race course consisted of two half-marathon loops plus an 8K extra loop.
http://www.trailmarathon.com/

Until April, I focused on winter sports and didn't do much running so I knew I had the cardio to do 50K but I wasn't sure about my body mechanics. I'd had 5 days of hip pain and instability after Raid The Rib for no obvious reason, then I crashed hard on the same leg on a rocky mountain bike ride nine days ago. I still have a rainbow of bruises and scrapes down my left leg, and my longest run since last fall was 22 km so I wasn't sure how 50K of running would feel.

It was sunny and 2C at the start and only warmed up to about 11C. I started in short-sleeved shirt, shorts and summer running hat with arm warmers, Fast Wing Hoodie jacket and lightweight gloves, which worked perfectly. The arm warmers were the last to come off at 21K.

I like to have a purpose for each trail race and it was hard to come up with one this time, other than finishing a long run uninjured. I don't expect to set PRs anymore. I don't tend to have issues with cardio or stomach. I have to remind myself to eat and drink enough that my brain doesn't get foggy but that's nothing new.

On a whim, I decided to see how long I could run up hills. In past 50K races, I've started by walking hills and only allowed myself to run later on if I felt good enough. The hills today were Caledon-style and I'm preparing for the Alps in twelve weeks so I figured this would increase the training value. I kept thinking I would stop doing this at... 25K, 30K, 35K, 40K. In the end, except for a couple of big climbs on the last loop, I ran all the hills unless there was a short, super-steep pitch or I wasn't able to get around another runner. I'm not fast so on the first lap, this meant that I'd sometimes pass people walking uphill who would pass me later on a flat section. By the second lap, I would pass people and generally not see them again. After one lap, I was in 60th place but after two laps, I'd moved up to 45th. It was interesting because I really didn't push hard. I used body weight and gravity to pull me up, and I could feel my winter glute strength training helping out but it was still a gentle pace. But even a slow running pace uphill made a big difference compared to hiking. I found that in the places where I walked briefly, including aid stations, I had to overcome physical and mental inertia to get going again. So it was a learning experience! I can't run up the Alps but maybe I can try to resist walking breaks in places like Hockley.

Exactly at the halfway point, I got lazy and caught my toe on a stealth root hiding in leaf litter on a downhill. Wheee! Superman! As I hit the ground, it was funny to feel the soft flasks on the front of my pack cushion my landing a little - like an air bag, except that an air bag wouldn't have squirted water on my cheeks. :) Btw I really liked my Sense Ultra Set pack although I don't know whether I felt the same pressure points that Bender was talking about. The pack felt super comfortable and light but I did finish with some soreness on my bottom two ribs on both sides. I wonder if they hit the ground in my fall. I skidded and picked up splinters in the palms of both hands, and my knee hit the ground too so I wasn't paying attention to what happened to other body parts. Since I remember the front of my pack hitting the ground, my rib cage probably did too.

As expected, it was my PW of four 50K events, partly due to age and partly to more technical trails. I didn't approach it as a "race" but even if I had, I don't think I could have pushed much harder right now. I finished in the top half (47/112) and was 3rd of 11 women 40+. I currently can't imagine getting through the 100K I've entered in early June but somehow it will probably happen... yikes! :)

Road trip with Funderstorm to Ann Arbor Michigan for tomorrow's Trail Marathon in Pinckney State Recreational Area. We had time to patronize REI, Whole Foods and Moose Jaw, and have a fun seafood dinner with Work4Justice.

If anyone has a slow Sunday morning, there is a race tracker. Start is at 7:30. I'm doing the 50K, bib 1056. Projected finish between 1:30 and 2 pm.
http://m.racetecresults.com/Track.aspx?R=1240&EId=...

Short run on rolling gravel roads to test my new Sense Ultra Set pack and get some dirt on a pair of new Speedcross. The shoes are "Coral" coloured, which means "Flaming Fluorescent Flamingo" must have been taken. Just kidding, Phatty! There were 6 colours to choose from and I thought this colour looked fastest.

I liked the new pack. Even if a zero-weight pack were invented, it would still weigh 1 kg more with a litre of water in it but even so, it felt soft, lightweight, non-bouncy and breathable. I'll probably put a small dry bag in the large open back pocket since I'd be afraid of small items slipping out. I tried my iPhone in the upper back pocket and later in the side zipper pocket; both places worked fine. I'm going to try the pack for Sunday's 50K. With aid stations every 5-7K and sunny weather, I don't need to carry very much. It's actually good to have limited capacity since it forces me to keep my pack light. Dee is *also* good at forcing me to keep my pack light but she won't be at the race. :) The Coral Speedcross passed their test too.

As I was approaching a driveway, a fellow in a pick-up truck backed right out into the road without looking. I screeched to a halt to avoid getting hit and glanced at his two friends standing in the driveway who did nothing to alert him to my presence. I was wearing a "Don't Hit Me" high visibility outfit on the road - red buff, lime green jacket and flaming pink shoes. Anyone who didn't see me definitely wasn't trying. The truck driver was wearing an orange reflective vest behind the wheel - safety first! This is why my road bike hasn't been on the road for two years.

Last but not least... here is the report from last week's mountain bike ride near Cathedral Rock in Sedona.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

All 4 days of Arizona reports are at this link.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

Big day in the big city including boring errands plus a trip to stock up on spring goodies at the Salomon Toronto store. If you're a member of their Loyalty program (i.e. if you sign up for occasional emails, which you can do at the store), they are giving 20% off until this Sunday. Their spring gear, clothes and shoes have arrived. I'm not sure if the Ambits are on sale too.

My fave new 2015 product will likely get used in this Sunday's 50K - the ultralight 3L S-Lab Sense Ultra Set pack. What excitement would there be in racing without some gear that I've never tried before?
http://iancorless.org/2015/01/27/salomon-s-lab-sen...

This was followed by the Wilderness Traverse Adventure Race Intro Clinic at Running Free - always a fun night with Bob and a group of enthusiastic newbie racers, enhanced this year by Simpy's attendance. These clinics are even better when experienced adventure racers show up and share their stories.

Report and photos are posted for our hike in the Grand Canyon last Thursday.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

6-year-old Iain Armitage, a well-known Broadway critic on Youtube, explains proper theatre manners. (He is awesome.)

Yup, that is blowing snow on April 22.

Also, I'm not sick yet. My last food poisoning incident took 72 hours to hit though.

Ran in Palgrave East and West with AdventureDog. We had to take shelter in a conifer grove when we were hit by heavy gusts of wind in an area with lots of dead trees from the forest fire. We were pummelled with graupel too. (I would have called it "hail" but some meteorologists educated me today.)

I lacked energy and felt the first wave of food poisoning coming on. Ugh. Sheldon Creek Dairy has been very apologetic about their mistake, giving me a new bottle of milk and some of their fancy yogurt. The fact that I can still face dairy products at all is a good sign, I guess.

Strength training session with Slowrunner. One more session planned before I switch focus for the spring/summer.

On a different note, I bought some Sheldon Creek whole chocolate milk yesterday as a treat. It tasted like chocolate strawberry milk, which I've never bought but have seen on the shelf. I checked and it was definitely labelled chocolate. I had another glass today - yup, a neopolitan ice cream taste. I looked at their website to see if there was any comment about mislabelled milk. Instead I discovered that they don't start using the strawberry flavour until July. Hmm.

I phoned the dairy who told me to check the expiration date. I'd never *seen* an expiration date on their milk - not that it's ever mattered since it doesn't last long around here. Turns out it's written in black on the side of the dark brown lid - really hard to see - and it expired 4 weeks ago!! Yikes! They think it was the result of a new truck driver accidentally mixing up two crates of milk. There was expired milk that he had picked up from a store and he may have accidentally delivered it to my store instead of the crate of new milk. Yuck.

I had about 300 ml of it. So now I wait...

Report is up for Wednesday's Bear Mountain trail run/hike in Sedona.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...