Training Log Archive: Bash

Ski-O training Long course, hosted at Scenic Caves by Mark and Jacquie Tarnopolsky. After yesterday's long Sprint, we heard that today's Long course was only a little longer. Well, *that's* good news, we smiled, heaving deep sighs of relief. As it turns out, we heard wrong. After visiting the controls in numerical order (which course setters didn't have to do) and obeying all the one-way trail signs, today's course was just over twice as long as yesterday's!



It was a fun course design. There were a few route choices but mostly it was a matter of reading the one-way trail indicators very carefully. We often had to take roundabout routes to get to controls that weren't very far away.

I had a bad fall within the first 15 minutes. The temperature was above zero with some misty drizzle early on so the snow was soft. Coming down a hill, my skis got stuck in soft ruts that diverged, and I couldn't move them over. Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit! In hindsight, I should have lifted one ski and taken a hard fall on the other side. Instead, I had an awkward fall when my legs had wishboned past the point where my body could balance. There was a nasty yank all along my left inner leg with pain in my MCL and gimpy ankle. After I peeled myself off the snow, I was able to keep skiing but I could tell it would hurt later (it does), and I noticed some pain under my arch later in the ski.

Skate skiing is anaerobic for me, and this was my 3rd day in a row. I hit the wall after an hour and had to take some breaks on uphills. I felt dehydrated. I was exhausted at the finish and bought a large a drink before I handed in my SI card in another building. A skier in a Scenic Caves jacket said, "This was the hardest day for skate skiing in a long time." Oh, really? Maybe the soft, warm, wet snow was hard work for other people too! Hours later, I'm still feeling like I was hit by a truck.

I looked back in my log and realized that I've only ever done one longer skate ski session in my life. It was at Sovereign Lake, B.C. in Feb. 2006, and we were doing some ski-orienteering practice with a map that Marie-Catherine Bruno had given us. We'd had an excellent skate ski lesson with her two days earlier so our technique would have been much better that day. It's heartbreaking that someone with so much spirit, talent and joy is gone. :(

Amber, Browner and Funderstorm did most of today's course together on classic skis so we compared notes afterward before returning to Tree Hugger ABC for post-ski snacks.

Funderstorm and I met at Scenic Caves for the first day of Tarno's Ski-O training. He and Jacquie did an amazing job - 20 controls with SI timing and pre-printed maps for a free training day! Today was called a Sprint course so we might want to pack a lunch for tomorrow's Long course.

Funderstorm hadn't skied yet this year and was skiing classic. Since I need to work on my skate skiing, we decided to take our time, chat and do the course together without an SI card. It was loads of fun.

Conditions were great on the lower trails. It was extremely windy on top of the escarpment. Some trails were closed due to big snow drifts but of course they were still on our ski-O course. :) We had two controls in an open field on the Northwest Passage and that was just insane. I wanted to pull up my Buff to prevent frostbite but then my glasses iced up so I couldn't read the map. At one point I stopped skiing and held out my arms, letting the wind blow me along the trail. It felt like we were crossing Antarctica. In hindsight, we should have taken some video. Great morning.

After lunch, Funderstorm, AdventureDog and I went over to climb Lover's Loop beside the Switchback Trail. I love that trail in winter! On top, we followed the Enchanted Forest trail and dropped down to follow the river before climbing a ridge and descending a spur to pop out at the back of Alpine. The snow was puffy and perfect - a beautiful day to do this route.

'Bent left for his volunteer dental mission last night. He and the other members of the Health Outreach team flew to Guatemala City today, traveling via Mexico City rather than landing in Trump's America, which - fortunately - is paying its air traffic controllers this week. The down side of Aeroméxico is that 'Bent's personal bag didn't arrive in Guatemala with its useful contents like underwear and specialized dental equipment. The bag should arrive tomorrow; luckily he doesn't do any dentistry until Monday. As for underwear, it would have been nice to have it a little sooner. (Yes, he should have brought it in his carry-on but it was stuffed with super-valuable-irreplaceable things.)

Last year when he went on his dental mission, I went on a mountain biking and trail running trip to Tucson with Browner, Dee and Mrs. Gally with special guest appearances by Cristina, Melissa and Lukas. This year I packed up the dogs and drove to Tree Hugger ABC in Collingwood. I'm telling myself it's going to be a training camp. Yes indeed, I will return home slimmer, fitter and more muscular with better endurance. At least that *might* have happened if I hadn't picked up so much delicious food and drink to keep my energy up.

By the time we arrived and got set up, I only had a little time to get out this afternoon. I went to Scenic Caves and started with the mandatory minimum 30-minute skate ski. It's been a few weeks since the last one so I was back to my Drunk Bambi impression. It didn't help that the snow was super squeaky cold, and my skis were waxed for around -5C. Anyway, my uncoordinated technique and slow skis burned some extra calories, which was a bonus.

Beautiful, frigid, peaceful, non-Bambi, late afternoon classic ski at Scenic Caves. :)

And it's official - the 10th edition of Wilderness Traverse is happening on the Aug. 24-25 weekend in the Dorset, Ontario area. I won't be able to attend on those dates but I hope to help with course testing and other preparations.
https://www.wildernesstraverse.com/

Foothab and lower legs

The wind was too gusty to go into the forest - too bad because the snow is still amazing. Instead I did a treadmill film festival with some pyramids.

It's not snowing in this video clip of our back yard - just blowing.

It's a winter wonderland in most of Ontario after yesterday's storm - about time!



AdventureDog and I went for a "ski" around Palgrave West. I'm not sure how much snow fell yesterday but combined with existing snow, I was shuffling through 25-30 cm of fluffy powder most of the time. There was nothing for my skis to grip, and I had to double pole most of the downhills but it was still wonderful - especially when a heavy snow squall passed through. We included some bushwhacking since it wasn't any slower than the trails. We ran into Crash with her pooches and had a little party.

Returning on the ski track I made on the way out



Why downhills weren't as fast as usual



AdventureDog loved it.



The one negative is that we've recently recognized that some of the trees on our property have fallen victim to the Emerald Ash Borer. Now that I know what it looks like, I realized that Palgrave West is full of damaged ash trees. I'd estimate that I saw 100-150 trees with severe damage today. When the wind gusts came up and the trees started creaking, I felt more vulnerable than usual although I don't know how long the trees will take to die. I hope they don't hang around too long because it will be hard to feel safe in the woods with barkless trees looming overhead.

Foothab basics. I ran more in the past three days than I've run in a long time, and even though my gimpy foot is feeling pretty good, I don't want to push my luck.

I've been reading about Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction. It sounds like my left foot is at Stage 1 of 4 - or maybe early Stage 2 since my foot alignment looks pronated even though I can do 1-legged heel raises. Ugh. I should dig up the Barefoot Science insoles and give them another try.
https://www.footeducation.com/page/acquired-adult-...

'Bent had a great commute today with an extreme cold warning *and* a snowfall warning. :)