Training Log Archive: Bash

Event: Stars W.A.R. (Winter Adventure Race)
 

Stars W.A.R.
Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

Browner and I teamed up and had a blast in an area that is seldom used for orienteering. It was super icy on and off the trails so we both rocked our Kahtoola Microspikes.



There were some detailed rules and bonuses for the opening Matrix where we had the chance to split up for 4 of the 6 controls. Without going into all the details, we got all 240 points. Maximum for the course was 970 pts so this was significant.

From there, we did a loop to the north and east of the map. Things went well until I sprained my left ankle badly shortly before 153. It felt major but I was able to run on it again (painfully) after a few minutes so I can't have torn it as badly as I did in September. It is now really sore along the underside of the medial ankle bone, limiting my ability to flex my foot. It could have been worse.

That aside, we made good time and found most controls where we expected them. We lost 2.5 minutes to a brain fart at 143 but that was our only moment of confusion. Browner was more detail oriented with compass bearings while I mostly used features and rough compass. There were times when one technique worked better than the other so it was super helpful to have both approaches.

We finished with 750 points but I'd guessed incorrectly that the Masters category would be better for us today than Female. Turns out there were a lot of speedy masters men - and Barbara Steele too! When it comes to race categories, I often have to choose between being old or being a woman. Rogaines are better since you get a ranking in every category you're in.

Congrats to Bob and Jack on clearing the course and taking the overall victory. Chad and Greg were 2nd and also cleared the course. Jacquie and Milla were the Female champions, Tarno and Trav won Masters, and Heidi and Alin won Coed. Great job, everyone! There's always a strong field at Stars W.A.R.

Thanks to Nick and all the Stars volunteers. The post-race lunch was yummy and it was a really fun day!

Back in Caledon, where there was a major explosion while I was away. (Different part of Caledon.)
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/02/07/natural-gas...

Tomorrow is the Stars Winter Adventure Race (Stars W.A.R.) so I just did foothab basics, which I neglected at Tree Hugger ABC.

I planned to drive home from Tree Hugger ABC but there were snow squalls, accidents and road closures, and I didn't have any urgent reason to leave. I went to the fitness centre and did 2 km of rowing on the Concept 2 machine plus some strength training.

'Bent will get home from Guatemala in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He has just emerged from the jungle and returned to the land of wifi. He says it was a great week, and the team saw 375+ patients.

Short ski at Scenic Caves in fast conditions, even on waxless classics. It had been drizzling lightly and there were barely any cars in the parking lot. Such a foggy, mysterious day!

My Ambit has no faith in me; it says I need 46 hours of recovery after this.











Then I went to Bob, Hermes and Hank's place for a wonderful dinner followed by dessert and conversation with Goose, Frankenjack and Tara.

If I lived near Blue Mountain all the time, this might be my "Meh, I don't feel like doing much but can't waste that big hill" run. AdventureDog and I parked at the base of the Switchback trail but chose to go up the adjacent Lover's Loop trail when we saw this mess. A-Dog was unimpressed.



All that rock hard ice resulted from the melt early this week but it didn't help that we had freezing drizzle on and off today. The top of the mountain was hidden in fog and the trees on the hillside were frosted.



We ran Enchanted Forest and the Bruce Trail on top, then came back down Lover's Loop. It wasn't quite as bad as Switchback but there was plenty of ice hidden under a skiff of snow and it was so steep in places that even Kahtoola Microspikes weren't enough. I did some bushwhacking beside the trail and lots of tree hugging!

Then I went to the condo fitness room that is a 30 second walk from Tree Hugger ABC. I should go there more often. Apparently the treadmill broke today so things should be even more quiet than usual. I had the place to myself for some full body strength.

After yesterday's spring weather, rain and wind, the ski trails were closed at both Highlands Nordic and Scenic Caves today. Scenic Caves said that branches had fallen and water was pooling. Highlands said they'd "determined it wasn't safe to be on the trails today". It's a lot colder today so some of yesterday's water has turned into ice.

I think I'm still fatigued from Sunday. Apparently, skate skiing hilly trails for 2+ hours requires more cardio fitness than I have. I took my Kahtoolas and went to the Beaver Valley for a relatively short (distance wise) Bruce Trail run. I'd never seen Eugenia Falls before so even though the trails are in terrible shape and winter has abandoned us, I had something to look forward to!

In the first 5 meters, I broke through ice into frigid, ankle deep water. Refreshing!



From the start to Eugenia Falls was a mix of glare ice, rocks and deep, frozen footprints - really slow going. The trail got close to some big drop-offs so the Kahtoolas earned their keep once again.

The falls were pretty. I didn't meet anyone else in the conservation area.







I continued downhill on the Bruce Trail to Lower Valley Road, then retraced my steps. When I got back to the van, I felt more energetic (must have been the maple syrup snack) so I kept going the other way on the Bruce Trail toward Campbell's Hill. In this direction, I was running in soft, wet, ankle-deep snow. Obviously, I had to run to the bottom of Campbell's Hill and march back up. It's icy but a few vehicles use it in winter. Then back to the van.

Many parts of Ontario could get freezing rain tomorrow and Thursday. Boo.

It's incredible how quickly we went from the snowy polar vortex to slush and patches of bare ground. I'd been hoping the deep freeze would continue during my week up north. The only silver lining is that 'Bent isn't missing as much winter during his dental mission as he thought he would.

My left MCL is strained after yesterday's fall but it feels like a 1-week injury, not a 2-3 month injury. My left foot got wrenched too but it was already injured so it's just a setback, not something new.

I decided to avoid running and skiing today to give my MCL a rest so AdventureDog and I went for a hike instead. He always starts barking if he sees me put on my Ambit watch, and he starts barking again if I press a button. Annoying but interesting that he is so attuned to human cues. He also freaks out when my iPhone alarm goes off and when we turn off the TV with the remote. The late BulletDog leapt to her feet whenever she heard the "Windows shutdown" sound from 'Bent's computer.



We started from the Georgian Peaks parking lot. I don't know the forest trails in that area but I know the trails at the top of the mountain, and I figured we'd get there eventually. There were some nice views on the way up.



I think there must be an easier trail. Even with Kahtoolas, the ice, slush and mud had me clinging to saplings or sometimes moving up with hands and feet. I realized I wouldn't want to come down this trail so I would need to find another route. (It was steeper than the photo makes it look.) At times like this, I'm soooo grateful that I got into orienteering.



The Dontgetlost Snowshoe Raid maps show trails leading from Loree Forest partway down the escarpment but the map ends there. I did some bushwhacking and followed an indistinct trail to get to the top, where I met up with the main Bruce Trail. There was bare ground, knee-deep snow, ice and deep slush - crazy conditions.

Now that I was back in familiar territory, we followed some trails on the SSR map. I wanted to do some extra climbing since CCC is only 7 months away so I headed downhill for awhile then over to a control from this year's Raid. The flags are gone now, of course, so there was nothing to find in the woods. So I texted this photo to Bob and asked, "Which SSR control is AdventureDog getting close to?"



Not surprisingly, he's pretty good at that sort of thing. :) If anyone else wants to play, it would be helpful to know that I was facing west when I took the photo.

We went down Camperdown Road and followed the Georgian Trail back to the car. This wouldn't have seemed too long if we were running but it's a looooong walk back from the forest when you're just hiking. It was fine to do once though. I'll need to find a better way to get back down to Georgian Peaks.