Training Log Archive: Bash

Ontario Orienteering Championships
Long Distance
Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

Chilly morning for mid-May with a mix of sun, cloud, rain and hail. Luckily, the last two waited till I was done!

Although Mono Cliffs isn't far away, I don't get there often since Hockley Valley is closer and hillier. It's scenic, varied and quiet so I will try to get back here before too long. We parked in the main lot today, which is a 22-minute drive from our house but I'd never been there before.

We got started late due to communication problems caused by poor cell coverage. It was worth the wait. Because Mono has an extensive trail network, I expected some long legs on trail but I spent about 90% of my race off trail. Very cool! Lots of different features and vegetation. It always stayed interesting. I had been expecting more scrambling on rocky terrain but there wasn't much of that. Instead I had several long runs on bumpy, abandoned farm fields. There was a time when my ankle couldn't have handled that, so yay.

I lost 25 seconds (according to GPS) on a control that had the wrong number on it - not bad compared to some other people. I continued running when I saw "227" but I was sure it was in the right place so I came back and punched it anyway. Then I saw the tiny ballpoint "213" - phew! I lost another 20 seconds when I passed below #9 and had to backtrack a little.

Otherwise, it was about as perfect a Long Distance race as I've ever had on a standard orienteering course. Typically, I count my mistakes in minutes, not seconds. Although it seems that the Long *should* be my strongest event because of my endurance sports, I've traditionally lost focus partway through and wrecked my race by doing stupid things. It undoubtedly helped that I was running my age group today so the course was shorter and didn't give me time to fall apart.

Because the Ontario Champs have traditionally been held on Thanksgiving weekend when I've been unable to attend for family reasons, I haven't competed very often. Since it's only my 2nd year in a 10-year age group, I thought it would be fun to push hard and see if I could earn an Ontario championship or two. Mom sent me an encouraging text on her way to church this morning: "Hope you have a threesome!" !!! :)) And now I do.



Many thanks to the Stars - a small club that took on a big job (with much-appreciated help from Ian Sidders) and gave us all a terrific weekend.

Ontario Orienteering Championships
Middle Distance
Waterloo

I can't remember the last time I did a formal orienteering race but it was great to see so many familiar, friendly faces. I wish we all got together more often!

Control #1 went pretty well. Woo hoo! Orienteering isn't so hard! Then I got very lost on my way to #2. Fortunately, I forgot to turn my GPS on for the first 12.5 minutes so there is no record of my stupidity, other than a long split Basically, I chose to follow something that looked slightly creek-ish instead of following my compass, and I got what I deserved. If there is a bright side to #2, it's that I somehow managed to relocate.

I was tempted to consider the race a total disaster and lose all competitive motivation but I've done enough orienteering and AR to know that races with errors often turn out better than expected. I pushed hard for the rest of it and didn't have any problems. Physically, it felt great since I've been running so much this year. The forest was spectacular. Apologies to any trilliums I accidentally stepped on. Age group win!

(Estimated distance.)

Ontario Orienteering Championships Sprint
University of Waterloo campus

I had a disadvantage in this race - local knowledge! I did two degrees at UW when there were fewer buildings and before some of the original buildings were expanded. These days, the campus is just familiar enough to be really confusing. I wondered if I might whip around a corner and smash into a brick wall where I expected to find open space - but that's Mick's thing, not mine. ;)

We started with a complex, clever sprint around the Village residences. I've never had enough practice with sprint symbols to get comfortable with them so I avoided the most complicated part of the map whenever possible even though it probably meant running farther. As Hammer said, the best route choice is not set in stone; it's whatever is the best route for you.

Then we ran south past the Campus Centre and crossed Ring Road. After a short run, I went over a little grassy hill to cut a corner, rather than following a paved trail. Well, *that* cost me 50 seconds! I cut the corner so tightly that I ran between the wrong two buildings and panicked when nothing looked right. I ran back the way I had come and saw the woman I'd passed a few minutes earlier. She was going the correct way - sigh.

We had a few more controls south of the Math buiding, then a big run along its edge to the Go control and finish line just to the north. I felt like I ran well - definitely faster than I was navigating at times - and I only had one serious error. Age group win again - yay!

Sending best wishes to our poor friend Wilberto who slipped on a hockey rink today, broke his hip and had emergency surgery to become a Bionic Man. So sorry. :(((

Today's planned Hockley Loop with Dee and Mrs. Gally was cancelled due to too many people feeling sick. I went running from home with podcasts for company instead - over to the Glen Haffy stile on the Oak Ridges Trail, then some out-and-back on the Bruce Trail. Same distance as the Hockley Loop, not as much climb.

I took a break at the farthest point, partly to avoid running back past the man who called me "dear" - the only human I encountered in 3 hours. I found this thing hanging in the forest in Glen Haffy. Does anyone know what it is? Timato, maybe Mrs. Tiny knows? It's about 1.2 m high. It said "Government of Canada" and "Plant pests" on it. Maybe something to do with the Emerald Ash Borer? It contained some plastic-wrapped disks that looked like loonies.



Apparently I trust Phatty and Salomon a whole lot since this was my first run in Speedcross Pros and I didn't leave myself any bail-out plan. This route didn't test the super grippy sole too much but I liked them.

Caron was mean to us tonight. ;)

Tonight's class was a departure from our regular style, just for fun - a modified yin class, which meant we held stretches and balance poses for a really long time until things got sore. Not my favourite but probably very good for me, especially the hip flexor stretch.

I'd totally forgotten that I'm allowed to have a hot fudge sundae after every big race. (Otherwise, what's the point of all this exercise?!) I took care of that today with a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait so my recovery is officially complete.

We were honoured today to have a visit from Shelly Ryan, who rescued AdventureDog (aka Logan) and nursed him back to health after he was discovered alone and starving in frigid January weather in northern Quebec. "Thank you" isn't enough for saving his life but it was nice to be able to say it in person.





Our friend Jan Hannah of IFAW's Northern Dogs Project brought him south and helped A-Dog join our family, as she has done for so many dogs in need of homes. If you are ever looking to add to your family, I can put you in touch. She brought over some cute ones today when she came with Shelly.

Here's a photo from this morning, playing with a new toy Shelly gave him. He's really changed since she last saw him. :)

Fresh from a week in the Tucson sunshine, Caron had lots of new ideas for boot camp. Everything quad-related was a bit harder than usual - not pain, just fatiguing more quickly. Great to be back!

Sorry, Mrs. Gally, it's official now: According to a recent report in the Canadian Field-Naturalist titled Evidence Confirms the Presence of Cougars (Puma concolor) in Ontario, Canada, the big cats are roaming around Ontario’s wilds... It was believed since the early 1900s, due to intensive hunting, the Ontario cougar was extinct. The increase in sightings over the last few years seems to indicate a significant increase in the population.
http://www.caledonenterprise.com/community-story/3...

First long-ish run since Leatherwood and I felt pretty good. I'll try boot camp tomorrow night to see if my quads feel back to normal in a strength workout.

I ran through Palgrave Forest to the village, along the rail trail to Albion Hills, around some trails in there and back home via Duffy's Lane, private land and Palgrave West. It's not one of my regular routes because there's not much climb for the distance but it was nice to do something different close to home. The last 24 hours were stressful and brought some bad news so I needed to clear my head. Not something I can discuss online but we and our families are healthy, which is the most important thing.

Albion is in terrific condition for biking so come up and visit!