Training Log Archive: iansmith

Left ankle looks like a balloon or an inflated latex glove, though there isn't much pain when I gingerly move it. Running is clearly out of the question for the immediate future, but I think biking may be feasible.

C • Timing 8

My left ankle has basically transformed into a flesh boot, as the swelling - despite icing last night - is ample. However, walking on it and rotating it don't hurt, so I decided to do some stationary bike intervals. I ran the preprogrammed set of 7x2:30 with 2:30 breaks.

I finished up with two sets of a core circuit:
20 inclined crunches
2x20 12 kg kettlebell clean and press
20 4.5 kg shoulder fly
50 oblique crunches
25 kayakers + medicine ball
5 pullups

The second time I went to the mat for the oblique crunches, I dozed off for a few minutes. Oops.

I have decided to make my attendance at the 2017 Canadian Champs in Yukon contingent upon running a sub 18:30 5k this year.

C • 2017 Canadian Champs 9

After work, I got together for a quick pickup game of soccer with some other Broad people. Unfortunately, about thirty minutes in, I rolled my left ankle hard while putting my foot on the ball, and it has swollen considerably.

Link to Rundle photos:
https://www.facebook.com/iamsinht/media_set?set=a....

C • nice photos! 4

445 am started up East end of Rundle. Black Nissan Versa. Expected return by 5 pm, though probably much earlier because of predicted storms. The mountains are glorious in the pre dawn twilight!

Returned to the car at 230p, all is well. More to come.

C • Nice 2

Assault on Rundle! While my trip hadn't been explicitly catered to climb Rundle, I had arranged to arrive Thursday and depart late Tuesday to allow for an attempt. I think this compromised my racing to some extent, as my legs were definitely tired on Saturday and Sunday. It is difficult to have everything.

After a pleasant afternoon and evening of socializing with the Canadians + Will and Biggins, I left Tori's at about 9:30p, drove to the Willow Rock campground, and plopped my tent. I woke up at 3:30, packed everything up, and drove to the EEOR trailhead. I wasn't seriously considering a Traverse; while there was a bus from Banff to Canmore, getting from Canmore to EEOR would have been tedious, so I was committing to returning to the trailhead. I packed four liters of mixed gatorade/water, some M&Ms, Snickers, sunscreen, a jacket, gloves, toque, my phone, and my usual bag o' survival stuff including an emergency blanket, matches, knife, and whistle/compass. Unusually, I didn't have a map. Two glaring errors were I forgot to put in my contacts and my watch wasn't fully charged (hence the patchy track).

Hiking through the night and reaching the ridge just as dawn hit was sublime. It was gloriously cool and pleasant, and the beauty of the mountains cascading into the distance in the gentle light of the rising sun was overwhelming.

My trek to Rundle 4 - my previous turn around point - proceeded uneventfully in about three hours. The few tricky sections felt trivial - since I had already done them, and I was in good form when I started the descent from Rundle 4 to the main peak of Rundle 3. Leaving Rundle 4 required downclimbing a good 10-15m pitch, and seeing holds to place my feet was tricky. The actual trek from 4 to 3 took longer than I expected, but I arrived at the base of the Rundle 3 rock at about 8:30. It's a little tricky to see from the photos, but there is a clear buttress on the SE ridge of Rundle 3. The route that I had read about ascended south of the buttress and up a steep reentrant, climbing a sequence of steps. My first attempt went up the ridge too quickly, and I found myself surrounded by steep walls (waypoint 9). I descended a bit, then traversed west to a different couloir-ish guy with two streams running down it. I climbed a set of shelves that in my head I dubbed the first through fifth steps to about 2840m by my watch. At this point, I had basically stopped scrambling and was climbing. Foremost on my mind was assessing whether I could downclimb each section, and a few times, I backtracked to make sure. Some of the pitches were steep and disconcerting in that I couldn't see my feet at all while downclimbing and had to step by feel and memory alone.

I have read much of summit fever and otherwise intelligent people making bad decisions in the stress of an ascent; eventually, I decided that it was becoming too risky to keep going. Beyond the challenge of downclimbing, I was very concerned I might lose the route - and many of the steps only had a few points at which they could be challenged. Looking ahead, I really think I could have proceeded further, and maybe even made it to the top, but given that I am inexperienced and was traveling solo, it was the right call to turn around. I also had the tricky descent and the ridge ahead; as has been said, getting up is only half the battle.

The views and journey were fantastic, and the challenge was within my abilities but formidable enough that I grew and improved through this adventure. I considered making a different scramble for Tuesday - e.g. Cascade, since a Traverse was impossible, but I'm glad I attempted Rundle, even if I fell short. It was a wonderful experience and memory, and perhaps some day, I will return to Canmore even stronger to continue my adventures in the mountains. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice, support, and knowledge - especially Tori and Marion, and to Will for the pep talks.

Warmup. X-talons would have been preferable to my clunky trail running sneakers.

COC Sprint at University of Calgary! This was a fun course in an interesting area; it was definitely a runner's course, but there were a number of decision points, especially in the network of buildings at the end. I really enjoyed the race, though I was ponderously slow.

COC HPP Sprint Relay! This race had the best festive atmosphere of the weekend. I ran on a team with Carol, David Ross, me, and Biggins running anchor. My leg was the longest at about 3 km (apparently). The character of the race was similar to the morning; it was a great chance to fly. Unfortunately, I was moving at more of a plod. BigWillyStyle caught me at 9; I attacked with all the gusto I could muster. Kudos to a great finish by DGL, FWOC, and GVOC, and to the organizers and announcers extraordinare, Meagan and Brent!

Afterward, our crew went to the public wave pool at the Village Square leisure center. Canadian public pools are excellent, and I've never been in a wave pool before. I can imagine there are some interesting possibilities for coupled oscillations, but I didn't really experiment. We rode the water slides, including one that required climbing stairs outside the building. Delightful. Pizza, games, and beer followed before I said my goodbyes.

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful weekend. While the terrain, racing, mountains, food, and pools make great contributions, it is the people that really define the experience. To my surprise, this is the third Canadian champs I have been to, and it is great to hang out with such a friendly group.

Sprint M21-34 - Splits