Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I did the 10.8 km Egg Nog Jog today - a very rare race on pavement. The Georgetown Runners have put on this race in Terra Cotta for 35 years but this year their usual route was unavailable due to construction. They were ready to retire from event organization anyway so they made a deal to transition the race to C3, our local triathlon club. They decided to hold the race on paved roads in Albion Hills Conservation Area so we ran a couple of laps to complete the traditional 10.8 km distance. It's not called Albion *Hills* for nothing. :)

I dressed for the season. This was fairly tame compared to some of the outfits with flashing lights and brightly coloured tights. :)



'Bent also dressed for the season - but for him, it's the last night of Hanukkah. Note the dreidels tied to his waist.



Jessey The Elf won the race by more than 5 minutes. Nice running form! That's his legal name and he had surgery to make his ears pointed. He is hoping to represent Canada in triathlon at the 2020 Olympics.



Our friend Trent Dilkie got some good action shots.





'Bent had been complaining of tired legs after all the early season skiing in the past two days so it was rather shocking when he placed 1st of 26 in his age group! If he was interested in setting some running goals, he sure has a lot of talent - but he doesn't have the interest. I was happy to be 5th of 20 in my age group, which is a good result for me in a road 10.8K.

After a nice overnight visit with Goose and Coach LD at Tree Hugger ABC, 'Bent and I went for our first ski of the year at Highlands, separately at our different paces. It was all open except for the Woolner Loop, and conditions were pretty good although thinner than Scenic Caves. It all depends where the snow squalls hit so the advantage will go back and forth during the season.

I ran into Coach LD on the trails and Goose in the pro shop. I also chatted with Tarno, who is a regular, and had a very unexpected meeting with Pete O, an old friend from my engineering class who has moved to the area. I had no idea that he skis, mountain bikes, etc.

'Bent demoed a pair of skin skis and ended up ordering a pair. I got new boots in the early season sale for season pass holders.









The sky over Georgian Bay looked so dramatic that we took a detour to Princeton Shores Park on our way home. I think this will become a regular stop.

'Bent and I went for a short ski around Scenic Caves this morning. Last night's white knuckle drive in snow squalls was rewarded by lots of fresh snow this morning!





The entire ski and snowshoe network is open although it can be hard for the groomer to keep up. Beautiful day.



Froze my hair!

Ow, yesterday’s flu shot hurt the muscle immediately, and the pain spread down my arm overnight so I couldn’t lie on my left side. I don’t usually react that way; I hope it’s a sign of enhanced immunity this winter.

A little gravel road run at the start and finish with some Palgrave Forest trails in the middle. Other than a few vehicles kicking up big dust clouds on the road portion, I had the place to myself today.

We have a race on paved roads on Sunday - the hilly 10.8 km Egg Nog Jog. It was held in Terra Cotta for 35 years and now the Georgetown Runners are passing the torch to C3. Its usual route isn't an option due to construction so it's going to be in Albion Hills on park roads with no cars. It's been a long time since I've done a road running race. Watch for me to finish in the bottom 10%! I'm looking forward to thinking up a Christmas running outfit.

AdventureDog and I went for a sunny lunchtime run around Palgrave East and West. It's still deer hunting season for a few more weeks so we avoided the private land rather than draping ourselves in orange. This felt like an easy, low energy, metronome-like run. I don't mean it wasn't fun - just kind of lazy. I wish I could say the pace was significantly lower than the days when I try hard but the difference was barely noticeable.

We met a fat biker, a dog walker and a pair of hikers. The trails were frozen hard and, in many places, icy with a skiff of new snow on top. For several kilometres, we ran along 'Bent's and BazingaDog's bike commute route, which was pretty cool for A-Dog.

This was the first time since September that I've had a successful run on trails without taping or bracing my ankle. So that has to be worth a piece of chocolate cake for dessert. :)

What started as a strength training session quickly became a "trying to set up my new Ironman watch as an interval timer" session. I've had the same watch model for years - or so I thought - so it should have been easy. This was followed by a brief "moping because I bought the wrong watch model" session. Then it became a "checking out the App Store for interval timers" session. And then it was time to eat 'Bent's awesome pizza so the moment was lost.