Training Log Archive: BashIn the 28 days ending Feb 28, 2013:
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Thursday Feb 28, 2013 #
XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 10:00 [1] 1.0 km (6.0 kph)
This outing was just for photography. Our winter wonderland got even prettier today. Light snow was falling for most of the day.
Here's our back yard.
Here's the narrow downhill trail we ski to get to our neighbour's property.
They have an awfully nice property! It's 45 forested acres.
They have some double track trails.
And they have some great hills for snowshoeing.
The red pine forest makes striking patterns on days like this.
Back on our property again.
Not a terribly productive day for our solar panels!
Here's our back yard.
Here's the narrow downhill trail we ski to get to our neighbour's property.
They have an awfully nice property! It's 45 forested acres.
They have some double track trails.
And they have some great hills for snowshoeing.
The red pine forest makes striking patterns on days like this.
Back on our property again.
Not a terribly productive day for our solar panels!
Snowshoeing (Deep snow) 1:35:00 [2]
shoes: Salomon XA Pro GTX - Black
Wokitoki, Hingo, 'Bent and I went for an evening snowshoe in Albion Hills with heavy packs - except for 'Bent who doesn't need to do silly stuff like that. It was a nice opportunity to chat about Tierra Viva gear, plans, etc. I brought a map to give us some ideas for places to go off-trail. Unfortunately, I forgot my glasses so Wokitoki and Hingo had to do all the nav. ('Bent doesn't need to do that silly stuff either!) The snow was deep and heavy, and more snow was falling steadily. My BashBlaster light worked well. What a magical night to play in the woods!
6 PM
Note
This is for the people who were "surprised" to see Seth MacFarlane's "We Saw Your Boobs" number featured at an Oscar ceremony in the 21st century. I know two wrongs don't make a right but at least they level the playing field and (hopefully) send an important message. Don't click if you're sitting near people who are easily offended!
Wednesday Feb 27, 2013 #
Snowshoeing hills (Deep snow) 1:06:00 [2]
shoes: Salomon XA Pro GTX 2nd pair -
Hilly snowshoe trek through the winter wonderland that is Palgrave West. Wet snow was (and is) falling lightly, and big puffballs of snow were falling off trees because it's so warm. Our beautiful marshmallow-white forest will not last long but for now, it's incredible.
I'd forgotten how steep the hills are at the back of our western neighbours' property. This summer we'll have to get permission to set up a UTMB hill training loop right from our back door. We have three good hills on our property, and our neighbours on both sides have even better hills - and then there is the Palgrave conservation land. It will mostly be bushwhacking but it should be possible to find routes that aren't too bad.
I felt strong; that last block of training must have done some good. Oh wait! My moment of self-congratulation ended abruptly when I realized that I'd forgotten my 22 lb pack full of golf balls and books... On the bright side, I have just finished losing 6 lb of golf ball-equivalent from my body, as per one of my New Year's resolutions.
Tinnitus is still there today but much less. Google tells me that medication-induced tinnitus is almost always temporary so I'll tell the travel doc about it but they generally continue the vaccine unless the side effect is life threatening. I'm pro-vaccine; I believe that for well-tested products, the potential effects of the disease are much worse than the risk of vaccine side effects so I'm glad the problem seems to be subsiding.
I'd forgotten how steep the hills are at the back of our western neighbours' property. This summer we'll have to get permission to set up a UTMB hill training loop right from our back door. We have three good hills on our property, and our neighbours on both sides have even better hills - and then there is the Palgrave conservation land. It will mostly be bushwhacking but it should be possible to find routes that aren't too bad.
I felt strong; that last block of training must have done some good. Oh wait! My moment of self-congratulation ended abruptly when I realized that I'd forgotten my 22 lb pack full of golf balls and books... On the bright side, I have just finished losing 6 lb of golf ball-equivalent from my body, as per one of my New Year's resolutions.
Tinnitus is still there today but much less. Google tells me that medication-induced tinnitus is almost always temporary so I'll tell the travel doc about it but they generally continue the vaccine unless the side effect is life threatening. I'm pro-vaccine; I believe that for well-tested products, the potential effects of the disease are much worse than the risk of vaccine side effects so I'm glad the problem seems to be subsiding.
5 PM
Note
The Adventure Race World Series has introduced a standardized mandatory gear list. Tierra Viva has not announced that they will be adopting it for their 2013 event, btw. Phew - I know a few of us have been busily collecting the items to meet their current requirements. It may be helpful to check this against our personal packing lists though.
http://www.arworldseries.com/news/news_2013_5_ARWS...
http://www.arworldseries.com/news/news_2013_5_ARWS...
Tuesday Feb 26, 2013 #
Road Biking (Trainer) 40:00 [2]
Endurance zone ride while listening to a CBC Radio Ideas podcast on the benefits of parasites.
Ave cadence 72 (lazy), ave 132 W
Ave cadence 72 (lazy), ave 132 W
Strength & Mobility (Legs) 20:00 [2]
More parasites.
7 PM
Note
Argghh. The one optional vaccine I got yesterday was Hepatitis B, combined with Hep A in the Twinrix vaccine. I figured that I could be exposed to Hep B via blood in a non-sterile medical treatment setting in an adventure race in a foreign country. I woke up today with acute tinnitus (ringing in my left ear), a side effect that usually (!!) isn't permanent. I still have two shots to go before the trip. Bleagh.
8 PM
Note
Spectacular! You may need to be on Facebook to see this portfolio of outdoor action shots by National Geographic photographer Bill Hatcher. He was one of the instructors at a weekend photography workshop I took a few years ago.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.415087961...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.415087961...
Monday Feb 25, 2013 #
12 PM
Note
The travel doc says I should keep the training intensity down for 24 hours after starting my pre-Argentina vaccines today. Seems like a good excuse to catch up on my non-training "to do" list. Before February is over, I want to share this box of Valentine chocolates with my AP friends. ♡
Sunday Feb 24, 2013 #
12 PM
XC Skiing - Classic (Mix) 2:02:12 15.79 km (7.8 kph) +115m
Skiing Snowgaine Style - womp womp womp! Conditions are still so nice around Palgrave that 'Bent and I stayed here again. We toured Albion Hills on waxless skis via a combination of icy groomed trails (mostly), ungroomed trails, deep snow traibreaking, twisty single track and a little bushwhacking. Ski play - so much fun! :)
3 PM
Note
I bought a new liner for my sleeping bag yesterday so I had to get my bivy bag and try lying in the snow again - about half an hour this time, still sweaty from our ski outing. I was cool but not cold at 1C, but I didn't add any extra layers and I didn't use the tarp. Still undecided about which combo will go to Patagonia.
4 PM
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 1:01:00 [3]
Today's podcast was CBC's Rewind - a 1974 documentary on the Franklin Expedition. We know more about it today but it was interesting to hear their take on it at the time. One new piece of info for me... Many of us know that the grief-stricken Lady Franklin funded multiple expeditions to search for her husband. It turns out that Franklin had a daughter from his first marriage, and her wedding was approaching. She wasn't fond of her father and took Lady Franklin to court in an effort to stop her from spending the family fortune on the search!
8 PM
Note
In honour of Coach LD's long ski on the Humber River yesterday, I present this video montage from the 2012 Slush Cup in Juneau, Alaska. It sounds like our local river was nicely frozen yesterday but we might want to try this in March when things start to melt.
Saturday Feb 23, 2013 #
5 PM
Snowshoeing hills (Trailbreaking) 1:04:00
shoes: Salomon XA Pro - Navy 2nd pair
I hit the Outdoor Adventure Show today partly to check out the current demographic to see if AR would be a good fit. The AR companies used to attend the show a number of years ago. The Mud Hero folks were there this time. I also had a couple of kayak sails to pick up for Tierra Viva from White Squall and Algonquin Outfitters. I apologize in advance to all the people I'm going to hit accidentally with these sails when they suddenly pop up to 8 times their folded size. It will take some practise to collapse them quickly but I think they're going to work well.
One of the show's highlights was Les Stroud's presentation, which included three songs by his band, some terrific film and a Q&A. His 15-year-old son Logan has asked him for a "Survivorman and Son" episode, and they are going to do it. Like Revy, Logan (not to be confused with Revy's Logan) has a "no bushwhacking through jungles" policy so they're going to choose a relatively friendly location in North America. Les mentioned that his 10-day survival experience in Norway - which I didn't see because we don't get the channel - was his most difficult to date. I'd like to find that somewhere.
Got home late in the day so time was tight. I increased my pack load to 10 kg (22 lb) and went for a hilly snowshoe trek around Palgrave West. It was mostly trailbreaking with lots of hills, including some where I was grabbing at saplings to haul myself up - or sliding back down if I failed to grab a sapling.
One of the show's highlights was Les Stroud's presentation, which included three songs by his band, some terrific film and a Q&A. His 15-year-old son Logan has asked him for a "Survivorman and Son" episode, and they are going to do it. Like Revy, Logan (not to be confused with Revy's Logan) has a "no bushwhacking through jungles" policy so they're going to choose a relatively friendly location in North America. Les mentioned that his 10-day survival experience in Norway - which I didn't see because we don't get the channel - was his most difficult to date. I'd like to find that somewhere.
Got home late in the day so time was tight. I increased my pack load to 10 kg (22 lb) and went for a hilly snowshoe trek around Palgrave West. It was mostly trailbreaking with lots of hills, including some where I was grabbing at saplings to haul myself up - or sliding back down if I failed to grab a sapling.
Friday Feb 22, 2013 #
XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 51:00
Pre-dinner ski round Palgrave West with 'Bent and BulletDog as light snow swirled around us. Perfect.
12 PM
Note
Today I'm toasting Fauja Singh, who is running his final race - a 10K - this Sunday, shortly before his 102nd birthday. In honour of his retirement from racing, ESPN has published a wonderful profile with beautiful photos. I hadn't known that he was unable to walk as a child and that he took up running at the age of 89 to deal with grief from a family tragedy. He decided to do his first marathon only 10 weeks before the race, and his coach was horrified when he arrived at his first training session dressed formally in a 3-piece suit! At the age of 92, he ran three marathons in half a year (but found the last one difficult). He set a few running records. He was the first person to run a marathon over age 100, although the record wasn't recognized officially.
For those of us who have ever thought it's too late to achieve some dream for our lives - athletic or otherwise - Fauja Singh is an inspiration.
For those of us who have ever thought it's too late to achieve some dream for our lives - athletic or otherwise - Fauja Singh is an inspiration.
Thursday Feb 21, 2013 #
Note
Raise a toast tonight to Alex Harvey, first Canadian man to medal at a World Cross-Country Ski Championship! (Bronze in Classic Sprint.)
http://www.cccski.com/Media/Press-Releases/Canada’...
Former Tree Hugger Brittany Webster is at the senior world champs for the first time.
http://www.cccski.com/Media/Press-Releases/Canada’...
Former Tree Hugger Brittany Webster is at the senior world champs for the first time.
4 PM
Road Biking (Trainer) 30:00
I'd been planning to take a rest day other than yoga/core class but I got scheduled for a 24-hr Holter monitor test since I'm one of those lucky athletes with occasional heart arrhythmias. The lab technician wouldn't be analyzing a typical day if I didn't do any training so I headed to the Adventure Basement where I could keep tabs on all the wires attached to my body. I'm sure I'd have lost a few electrodes if I'd attempted yoga class or bushwhacking on snowshoes.
Warm-up
5 X 2 min climbs with 2 min medium pace in between
Cooldown
Warm-up
5 X 2 min climbs with 2 min medium pace in between
Cooldown
5 PM
Running (Treadmill) 20:00
First time on the treadmill in a looooong time. Increased speed by 0.2 mph every minute until I got to 6.4 mph, then started to step back down. (Sadly, our treadmill doesn't speak metric.)
Wednesday Feb 20, 2013 #
Note
Today's Tierra Viva update:
1) Discovered that White Squall and Algonquin Outfitters each have one Windpaddle kayak sail and can bring them to the Outdoor Adventure Show this weekend. Glad to be able to support two of my favourite outdoor stores!
2) Learned Spanish.
1) Discovered that White Squall and Algonquin Outfitters each have one Windpaddle kayak sail and can bring them to the Outdoor Adventure Show this weekend. Glad to be able to support two of my favourite outdoor stores!
2) Learned Spanish.
6 PM
Snowshoeing hills (Off-trail) 44:02 [2]
shoes: Salomon XA Pro GTX - Black
BazingaDog and I went out and bushwhacked up and down hills, breaking trail in crusty snow up to mid-shin deep. I had a 15 lb pack. BZDog only pulled me onto my face a couple of times - once slamming my kneecap onto something hard. Ouch. Finished just as it got dark. Peaceful.
7 PM
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 1:00:00 [3]
Listened to This American Life podcast on psychopaths today. Interesting.
8 PM
Note
Annual physical today so it was good timing when Wombat posted this classic health reminder. Ladies, take note.
Tuesday Feb 19, 2013 #
Note
A typical pre-Tierra Viva day:
- Make appointment at travel clinic for shots.
- Research kayak sails, try to borrow one, contact retailer for info.
- Locate high school Spanish texts.
- Try to arrange training sessions with teammates.
- Weigh sleeping bag.
- Discover that a New Zealand southern hemisphere compass is not the same as a South American southern hemisphere compass.
- Pile paddling gear on guest room bed.
- Find team gear list we used for Apex.
- ...
- Make appointment at travel clinic for shots.
- Research kayak sails, try to borrow one, contact retailer for info.
- Locate high school Spanish texts.
- Try to arrange training sessions with teammates.
- Weigh sleeping bag.
- Discover that a New Zealand southern hemisphere compass is not the same as a South American southern hemisphere compass.
- Pile paddling gear on guest room bed.
- Find team gear list we used for Apex.
- ...
4 PM
Note
I had a long phone interview with a journalist writing a story on rogaining for the New York Times news wire. We had a great conversation. At the end, she reviewed her notes quickly to see if she had any final questions, then she asked me to clarify. "I can't really tell. Do you enjoy rogaining because it's difficult or because it's fun?" How to explain this stuff? :)
5 PM
Road Biking (Trainer) 1:01:00
RIDES Southern California DVD. For some reason, we had to push at 75-80% intensity for quite a long time on a big downhill. It was a good workout but it wasn't helpful to look at the road onscreen because I couldn't stop thinking, "Why are we pedalling so hard? Have you not heard of gravity?!"
Ave watts 174, Ave cadence 75
Ave watts 174, Ave cadence 75
6 PM
Strength & Mobility (Legs) 30:00 [2]
Feeling stronger but I was aware of my left leg being weaker than my right, now that it has been pointed out to me at a running clinic.
10 PM
Note
I'd wanted to take advantage of today's sleet to test some gear but the weather isn't nasty enough anymore to make it worth going outside. Is it any wonder that my non-Attackpoint friends don't understand me? ;)
Monday Feb 18, 2013 #
12 PM
Snowshoeing 1:20:00 5.16 km (15:29 / km) +66m 14:34 / km
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax CS pink/gr
Easy snowshoe tour of Palgrave West with 'Bent, BazingaDog and BulletDog. We followed footprints leading to some of Saturday's control locations, aiming for some of the hillier routes. There is still lots of snow! We ran into Crash with her pack of pooches and told her how things went with the O-Cup race HQ at her house. Soooo nice of her to let us do that! She was doing a mountain bike race in Florida on Saturday while we were running around in the snow.
2 PM
XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 42:32 [3] 5.24 km (7.4 kph) +29m
Ski tour on the Charlevoix Trail in Palgrave West. I'm feeling light-headed today for some reason but didn't want to miss out on such beautiful winter conditions. Alas, rain is in the forecast.
Sunday Feb 17, 2013 #
Note
Don't forget the premiere of Boundless tonight, starring Zoolander and Turbo. It's on the Travel and Escape Channel at 9 p.m.
11 AM
XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 1:41:11 9.35 km (5.5 kph) +109m
Skied on my own at first, then 'Bent joined me for a tour around Palgrave West on a bluebird day. It was good Snowgaine training. Most of it was trail breaking with considerable bushwhacking on the K-Bash property (private block of land south of yesterday's race map). We will need an awful lot of money some day to buy this 150 acre property and build a small house on it with VO2Max and Crash as our neighbours on either side. It has everything - hills, trails, forest and the West Humber River.
I checked out Crash's place to make sure it's in good shape after serving as yesterday's race HQ. Great clean-up job by Pat-hectic and the Doctors - absolutely nothing for me to do to make it look tidy before Crash's return.
We met a couple of friendly hikers. They excitedly told us that someone had been making a grid in the woods - perhaps hunters. We told them about yesterday's orienteering race, which explained it all. :)
I checked out Crash's place to make sure it's in good shape after serving as yesterday's race HQ. Great clean-up job by Pat-hectic and the Doctors - absolutely nothing for me to do to make it look tidy before Crash's return.
We met a couple of friendly hikers. They excitedly told us that someone had been making a grid in the woods - perhaps hunters. We told them about yesterday's orienteering race, which explained it all. :)
Saturday Feb 16, 2013 #
Event: O-Cup #4 - The IceBreaker
Running warm up/down (Trail) 10:00 [1] 1.0 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: Salomon Snowcross
10 AM
Orienteering race (O-Cup) 1:00:00 6.44 km (9:19 / km) +72m 8:50 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross
O-Cup #4 Icebreaker in Palgrave West. Awesome course design by Pat-hectic. It's a small map so we raced O-Cross style, picking up a new map halfway through. There were four different versions of the race course even though ultimately we all had to visit the same controls - except for the ones some of us could skip due to age/gender handicap. This broke up the crowd quite quickly. I was amazed at how often I was by myself in such a small area. Really well done.
Conditions couldn't have been more perfect for the kids' ARK Snow Day that followed our race. We've lost some of last week's big dump of snow but it has been supplemented with a thick layer of fresh powder over the past two days. This meant that running was *really* hard work, especially when we needed to break trail.
This race was literally in our back yard so 'Bent and I definitely had a local advantage. For some reason, I hadn't used the orienteering map for almost two years so there were a few controls that required some concentration. For the most part though, today's challenge was physical. I knew that Getawaystix, Mick and Bender were very close to me after Loop 1, and I figured they'd hold their pace for Loop 2 but wasn't so sure about my own pace in the deep snow. I managed to hold on and then got to watch the sprint finish where Mick took 2nd just a meter ahead of Getawaystix. Their course was almost 2 km longer than mine. 'Bent was 6th!
Thanks to Dr. Poobuttville, Dr. Chewypoo and Pat-hectic for a fun event! And extra thanks to Crash for allowing us to have the event HQ and bonfire on her property while she was off in Florida doing a 12-hour solo mountain bike race.
We followed up with the inaugural Adventure Race Story Swap at the Toby Jug Pub in Bolton. Big thanks to DoubleDown_on11, Funderstorm and Simpy for their terrific presentations on AR wisdom, and thanks to everyone for coming. The pub liked our group and would be pleased to have us back some time. In fact, one of the bartenders and several of the regular patrons were so interested that they asked me some questions about AR and requested that I leave all of STORM's race post cards so they could pass them on to others. I didn't see that coming! Great to see so many friends today; wish I'd had more time to chat with everyone.
Conditions couldn't have been more perfect for the kids' ARK Snow Day that followed our race. We've lost some of last week's big dump of snow but it has been supplemented with a thick layer of fresh powder over the past two days. This meant that running was *really* hard work, especially when we needed to break trail.
This race was literally in our back yard so 'Bent and I definitely had a local advantage. For some reason, I hadn't used the orienteering map for almost two years so there were a few controls that required some concentration. For the most part though, today's challenge was physical. I knew that Getawaystix, Mick and Bender were very close to me after Loop 1, and I figured they'd hold their pace for Loop 2 but wasn't so sure about my own pace in the deep snow. I managed to hold on and then got to watch the sprint finish where Mick took 2nd just a meter ahead of Getawaystix. Their course was almost 2 km longer than mine. 'Bent was 6th!
Thanks to Dr. Poobuttville, Dr. Chewypoo and Pat-hectic for a fun event! And extra thanks to Crash for allowing us to have the event HQ and bonfire on her property while she was off in Florida doing a 12-hour solo mountain bike race.
We followed up with the inaugural Adventure Race Story Swap at the Toby Jug Pub in Bolton. Big thanks to DoubleDown_on11, Funderstorm and Simpy for their terrific presentations on AR wisdom, and thanks to everyone for coming. The pub liked our group and would be pleased to have us back some time. In fact, one of the bartenders and several of the regular patrons were so interested that they asked me some questions about AR and requested that I leave all of STORM's race post cards so they could pass them on to others. I didn't see that coming! Great to see so many friends today; wish I'd had more time to chat with everyone.
Friday Feb 15, 2013 #
XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 30:00 [3] 4.0 km (8.0 kph)
I was meeting Pat-hectic at the Duffy's Lane parking lot this afternoon, and because of the winter road closure, that meant either 1.7 km through the woods or a 7 km drive. No contest - especially on a spectacular sunny day. After providing a brief orientation to tomorrow's O-Cup HQ, I skied back by a slightly longer route.
On the way over, I made the mistake of skiing down Big Hill. In the dense, crusty snow, the narrow, treelined trail was stupid fast. Yikes.
On the way over, I made the mistake of skiing down Big Hill. In the dense, crusty snow, the narrow, treelined trail was stupid fast. Yikes.
4 PM
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 1:00:00 [3]
Today's podcast was from CBC Rewind. (It's probably obvious that I'm a CBC Radio-aholic.) This one featured the long career of broadcaster Bill McNeil, whose last shows were "Fresh Air" and "Voice of the Pioneer". They played clips from his interviews with Walter Cronkite and Irving Berlin at the height of their careers. There were also clips from interviews with a couple of young Canadian women hoping to make it big some day - Anne Murray and Karen Kain. It was jarring to hear a CBC broadcaster refer to female colleagues as "girls" and discuss "mentally retarded" people with Jean Vanier, who used the same terminology. But their vocabulary was consistent with the times.
5 PM
Note
After paddling, I put on a couple of layers over my sweaty clothes and headed outdoors to test different combinations of sleeping bag, bivy bag, tarp and ground insulation in preparation for Tierra Viva. You can't do a proper test of any combination without staying there for at least 20 minutes. I tried 5 or 6 different combos and other than brief indoor breaks to switch things around, I lay in the snow at -4C to -6C for over two hours, returning indoors after it was dark.
As expected, ground insulation was a huge contributor to warmth. Luckily, 'Bent produced a small 62 g mountain marathon sleeping mat for my final test. It's no Thermarest but the impact was significant. I'm undecided on the sleeping bag. but everything else worked just fine.
Hermes texted me during my test and I mentioned where I was. She insisted that I send her a photo.
As expected, ground insulation was a huge contributor to warmth. Luckily, 'Bent produced a small 62 g mountain marathon sleeping mat for my final test. It's no Thermarest but the impact was significant. I'm undecided on the sleeping bag. but everything else worked just fine.
Hermes texted me during my test and I mentioned where I was. She insisted that I send her a photo.
Thursday Feb 14, 2013 #
8 AM
Note
Nice idea for Valentine's Day but Attackpointers have been doing this for awhile without the press coverage.
12 PM
Running (Snowy Trails) 53:51 [4] 6.01 km (8:58 / km) +72m 8:27 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross
No, it's not a mistake. It took 54 minutes to run 6 km at level 4 intensity. This was like breaking trail on a snowshoe run except for short sections on main trails, which were hard-packed and fast, if a little uneven and icy in a few spots. On the untracked trails in Palgrave West and in our back yard, the snow had a thin crust that I broke through with each step, plunging down to ankle or mid-shin depth. Amazing workout! It's been snowing lightly for hours so things are freshening up nicely.
For those who don't know, this is the area where Saturday's O-Cup is happening. I've been a good girl and stayed on the trails here ever since Pat-hectic put out the ribbons, and so far I haven't seen any. (Darn it.) I'm sure that most orienteers will just use running shoes but if someone is planning to do the adult O-Cup course at a hiking pace, they may find snowshoes more pleasant (if they're accustomed to using them). The lead runners will have to do some trail breaking on the lesser-used trails, which will give an advantage to the runners behind. It will be interesting to see how this plays out! Looking forward to welcoming friends to our neck of the woods - literally.
P.S. If you're planning to come, registration closes at midnight tonight. http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content...
For those who don't know, this is the area where Saturday's O-Cup is happening. I've been a good girl and stayed on the trails here ever since Pat-hectic put out the ribbons, and so far I haven't seen any. (Darn it.) I'm sure that most orienteers will just use running shoes but if someone is planning to do the adult O-Cup course at a hiking pace, they may find snowshoes more pleasant (if they're accustomed to using them). The lead runners will have to do some trail breaking on the lesser-used trails, which will give an advantage to the runners behind. It will be interesting to see how this plays out! Looking forward to welcoming friends to our neck of the woods - literally.
P.S. If you're planning to come, registration closes at midnight tonight. http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content...
4 PM
Note
What can't astronaut Chris Hadfield do? In case anyone else missed this last week like I did, here he is on the International Space Station playing guitar and singing with the Barenaked Ladies and the Wexford Gleeks.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/Chris-Hadfield-and-...
http://music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/Chris-Hadfield-and-...
5 PM
Road Biking (Trainer) 1:05:00
RIDE Las Vegas - Valley of Fire DVD: Somehow I always manage to forget that it hits its highest level of intensity with a hard sprint in the last 30 seconds, then I have to cool down on my own after the DVD ends. Lotsa sweat. 164W ave, 84 cadence.
7 PM
Strength & Mobility (Core) 22:00 [2]
Caron gave us a tough one today! 'Bent dodged it by donating blood upstairs before coming down to the class. I knew they wouldn't want my cold germ-infested blood so I had to do the workout. Speaking of which, I'm going to go out on a limb and declare Cold 3.0 over as of yesterday. Let's hear it for Cold FX and herbal tea!
8 PM
Power Yoga 50:00 [1]
Lots of shoulders and opening the chest - because your heart should be wide open on Valentine's Day! 'Bent thought I might like to receive a big chocolate heart today - and he was right. :)
Wednesday Feb 13, 2013 #
Road Biking (Trainer) 40:00
5 min warm-up
30 min Endurance zone (ave 137W, 81 cadence)
5 min cooldown
I listened to an Ultrarunner Podcast interview with Mike Foote, who placed 3rd at the shortened UTMB last year. It was interesting; I felt like I could relate better to him than to most top ultrarunners. He wasn't a runner in school. He came into ultrarunning in 2009 from a mountain culture background - backpacking, skiing, climbing, etc. Like Killian, he prefers to do a lot of backcountry skiing in winter instead of running.
For UTMB, he wanted to increase volume without trashing his body so in addition to running, he did many hours of walking - power hiking the uphills and taking it easy on the downhills. He felt that any time on his feet was valuable since he knew he wouldn't be running all of UTMB.
He works at a running store and mentioned that a lot of people come in thinking they have to have a minimalist shoe because that's what they've read about in magazines - and then they end up with Achilles tendinitis because such shoes are not right for everyone. Foote runs in mid-weight shoes with 8 mm drop - very different from the minimalist trend.
When the interviewer asked about the guy who set a course record at JFK this year, Foote laughed and talked about how he tends to think of himself as a trail hack whereas that other guy is a real runner. Although we're on totally different levels, I completely understand what he means by that and have often said similar things about myself. It was very cool to hear that same comment from someone so successful.
30 min Endurance zone (ave 137W, 81 cadence)
5 min cooldown
I listened to an Ultrarunner Podcast interview with Mike Foote, who placed 3rd at the shortened UTMB last year. It was interesting; I felt like I could relate better to him than to most top ultrarunners. He wasn't a runner in school. He came into ultrarunning in 2009 from a mountain culture background - backpacking, skiing, climbing, etc. Like Killian, he prefers to do a lot of backcountry skiing in winter instead of running.
For UTMB, he wanted to increase volume without trashing his body so in addition to running, he did many hours of walking - power hiking the uphills and taking it easy on the downhills. He felt that any time on his feet was valuable since he knew he wouldn't be running all of UTMB.
He works at a running store and mentioned that a lot of people come in thinking they have to have a minimalist shoe because that's what they've read about in magazines - and then they end up with Achilles tendinitis because such shoes are not right for everyone. Foote runs in mid-weight shoes with 8 mm drop - very different from the minimalist trend.
When the interviewer asked about the guy who set a course record at JFK this year, Foote laughed and talked about how he tends to think of himself as a trail hack whereas that other guy is a real runner. Although we're on totally different levels, I completely understand what he means by that and have often said similar things about myself. It was very cool to hear that same comment from someone so successful.
Strength & Mobility (Calves, shins, feet) 10:00 [2]
Just a little post- bike strength time before dinner. I included teapots in honour of Coach LD's Gatineau Loppet this weekend. Wishing her the best of luck! :)
12 PM
Note
Tuesday Feb 12, 2013 #
Snowshoeing hills 40:00
With Cold 3.0 taking the form of a sinus headache over the past two days, I wanted to focus on strength rather than cardio. I put on my 15 lb pack of golf balls and took BulletDog snowshoeing up and down a bunch of hills. We were mostly bushwhacking and breaking trail in 15-25 cm of snow with a tough, breakable crust. Where the snow is packed down, e.g. our driveway, yesterday's rain has turned our snow into treacherous ice. I can't believe 'Bent thought today would be a good day to ski into work harnessed up to a 90 lb BazingaBeast!
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 1:02:00 [3]
Today's podcast was This American Life on Mapping. It wasn't traditional mapping; the subject was mapping based on each of the five senses, e.g. a sound map of one's workplace.
Monday Feb 11, 2013 #
Note
Saw this tweeted earlier today:
The Pope is hardly the first person to lose interest in his real job so soon after joining Twitter.
The Pope is hardly the first person to lose interest in his real job so soon after joining Twitter.
11 AM
Note
Arggh, I don't know how other people end up with nice-looking homes. After the latest screw-up, I'm throwing in the towel on our project. I've been venting my frustrations with some traditional Shakespearian insults. Try it - they work really well.
12 PM
Note
(rest day)
Legs are jello today! Mild cold still hanging on but not turning into anything that matters. Maybe I'll escape this time. :)
Sunday Feb 10, 2013 #
Event: Stars W.A.R.
9 AM
XC Skiing - Classic warm up/down (Ungroomed) 15:00 [2]
Ski on narrow snowshoe trail to start.
10 AM
XC Skiing - Classic race (Mixed) 1:21:00 [4] 12.85 km (9.5 kph) +80m
Time excludes a 9:17 transition since it was off the clock.
11 AM
Snowshoe Orienteering race 1:16:54 [4] 6.9 km (11:09 / km)
shoes: Salomon XR Crossmax CS pink/gr
Stars W.A.R. (Winter Adventure Race)
Wasaga Beach
This event is worth doing just because it has an awesome name! :) Also, Nick and the Stars always put together a great event featuring skiing and snowshoeing navigation on detailed orienteering maps.
'Bent and I teamed up today. Both of us had sore muscles from yesterday's running strength session (quads for him, hammies and adductors for me), and we could still feel the long trail-breaking ski we did on Friday. So we had a great chance to practise pushing hard while fatigued - excellent training for UTMB and Tierra Viva. Although I sure didn't feel zippy out there, I don't think the fatigue made us too much slower; it just made it seem like harder work.
We started with a group ski along a snowshoe trail to a starting point, then the race continued along that snowshoe trail. From there, we joined the main Wasaga Beach nordic trails and skied on skate trails, classic trails and snowshoe trails. 'Bent and I had chosen waxable classic skis after seeing the course but the two teams ahead of us in this section were on skate skis - Getawaystix and Frankenjack, and the Tarnos, who were towing. I wasn't in a competitive enough mood to ruin one of the most beautiful ski days of winter by going on tow in this section.
It was an interesting course with mandatory controls and supplementary controls that could be done in a somewhat flexible sequence. The course was age/gender handicapped, meaning that 'Bent and I could skip a certain number of the supplementary controls. We had a great time whipping around the ski trails on a perfect sunny day, cheering on our friends as we met each other in odd places. We finished with a long ski along a snowshoe trail, then across the road and across the field to the sports centre where our snowshoes awaited. We saw GStix and FJack snowshoeing across the field as we came in, and we met the Tarnos in transition.
We switched to snowshoes and headed back into the woods. This time I went on tow so I was running faster than I wanted to. It was hard to find time to sneak glimpses at the map or to eat or drink. I had to pick one so I went with reading the map whenever I could. Nick had carefully timed the handicap options and they seemed to work well, as we kept seeing the Tarnos and GStix and FJack for much of the race. The boys shot ahead for good after #3 on the snowshoe map but we kept seeing the Tarnos until the end, which was good inspiration.
The snowshoeing was tough going, especially whenever we decided to break our own trail. There were three boxes in the snowshoe section where we could drop most of the controls but GStix and FJack had no trouble staying ahead. We did a lot of bushwhacking and trail breaking in deep snow in the second half but it paid off, and we squeaked in to the finish ahead of the Tarnos in 2nd overall (thanks to our handicap). We chatted with them afterwards - the four of us need to race together some time.
What a spectacular winter day! Sunshine, fluffy snow, great trails, a fun race course, good friends. Thanks to Nick, FunRun and the other Stars who did so much work to put on this event for us. We had hot pizza and came home with 4 bottles of wine after chatting with friends. This terrific event deserves more racers next year!
Wasaga Beach
This event is worth doing just because it has an awesome name! :) Also, Nick and the Stars always put together a great event featuring skiing and snowshoeing navigation on detailed orienteering maps.
'Bent and I teamed up today. Both of us had sore muscles from yesterday's running strength session (quads for him, hammies and adductors for me), and we could still feel the long trail-breaking ski we did on Friday. So we had a great chance to practise pushing hard while fatigued - excellent training for UTMB and Tierra Viva. Although I sure didn't feel zippy out there, I don't think the fatigue made us too much slower; it just made it seem like harder work.
We started with a group ski along a snowshoe trail to a starting point, then the race continued along that snowshoe trail. From there, we joined the main Wasaga Beach nordic trails and skied on skate trails, classic trails and snowshoe trails. 'Bent and I had chosen waxable classic skis after seeing the course but the two teams ahead of us in this section were on skate skis - Getawaystix and Frankenjack, and the Tarnos, who were towing. I wasn't in a competitive enough mood to ruin one of the most beautiful ski days of winter by going on tow in this section.
It was an interesting course with mandatory controls and supplementary controls that could be done in a somewhat flexible sequence. The course was age/gender handicapped, meaning that 'Bent and I could skip a certain number of the supplementary controls. We had a great time whipping around the ski trails on a perfect sunny day, cheering on our friends as we met each other in odd places. We finished with a long ski along a snowshoe trail, then across the road and across the field to the sports centre where our snowshoes awaited. We saw GStix and FJack snowshoeing across the field as we came in, and we met the Tarnos in transition.
We switched to snowshoes and headed back into the woods. This time I went on tow so I was running faster than I wanted to. It was hard to find time to sneak glimpses at the map or to eat or drink. I had to pick one so I went with reading the map whenever I could. Nick had carefully timed the handicap options and they seemed to work well, as we kept seeing the Tarnos and GStix and FJack for much of the race. The boys shot ahead for good after #3 on the snowshoe map but we kept seeing the Tarnos until the end, which was good inspiration.
The snowshoeing was tough going, especially whenever we decided to break our own trail. There were three boxes in the snowshoe section where we could drop most of the controls but GStix and FJack had no trouble staying ahead. We did a lot of bushwhacking and trail breaking in deep snow in the second half but it paid off, and we squeaked in to the finish ahead of the Tarnos in 2nd overall (thanks to our handicap). We chatted with them afterwards - the four of us need to race together some time.
What a spectacular winter day! Sunshine, fluffy snow, great trails, a fun race course, good friends. Thanks to Nick, FunRun and the other Stars who did so much work to put on this event for us. We had hot pizza and came home with 4 bottles of wine after chatting with friends. This terrific event deserves more racers next year!
Saturday Feb 9, 2013 #
Note
1 hour of 5-pin bowling at Barrie Shepley's 50th birthday party, not logged. Thumbs-of-Death was on our team and he is a talented bowler. I thought that as a former curler, I'd have an advantage. I thought wrong. I am *really* terrible!
7 AM
Note
(sick)
I can't believe it. Sore throat yesterday and today, and now a fuzzy-feeling brain. The one good thing is that this may explain why I felt so horrible on Thursday. I thought maybe my body was reacting to the greater-than-usual amount of high intensity training over the past week but maybe it was just telling me, "Haha, you've got a cold again!"
8 AM
Strength & Mobility (Running drills) 1:00:00 [2]
Running warm up/down 20:00 [1]
Today was our running-specific strength and drills class with Sheldon Persad. It turns out that he focuses on different things in each session, and today was the lower body. Some of the drills were the same ones Coach LD does with the Bounding Babes, e.g. balance on one foot with eyes closed while a "friend" pokes you repeatedly from different directions. There was even some bounding! On my own, I rarely work to develop more explosive power, e.g. knee drive, so those exercises were interesting.
I think my agility, strength and balance were pretty good from other things I've been doing. My power stinks, of course, and I know that my running technique needs work. Based on a jump test, we learned that my left leg (with the gimpy foot) is considerably weaker than my right. Another recurring theme is that my left elbow doesn't come back as far as my right, which isn't good since the arms drive the legs.
It was fun. We can go in for a video analysis, which would be interesting. I don't think they offer any coaching similar to what the Carbons are getting but we could incorporate some of these drills into our training.
I think my agility, strength and balance were pretty good from other things I've been doing. My power stinks, of course, and I know that my running technique needs work. Based on a jump test, we learned that my left leg (with the gimpy foot) is considerably weaker than my right. Another recurring theme is that my left elbow doesn't come back as far as my right, which isn't good since the arms drive the legs.
It was fun. We can go in for a video analysis, which would be interesting. I don't think they offer any coaching similar to what the Carbons are getting but we could incorporate some of these drills into our training.
Friday Feb 8, 2013 #
Note
Big news in our family! My little brother Dave will be directing Toronto's first all-Canadian production of Cats since the original show 28 years ago. It will open in June at the Panasonic Theatre. He has directed four other Canadian productions of Cats but this will be his first time working as a director at a Mirvish theatre. I think the last time he was on a Mirvish stage, he was a young performer kicking over his head as a dancing fork in Beauty and the Beast, 8 days a week for 2 years. (He did get to do other things too!) As his sister, it would be more fun to watch him on stage but it's kinda a big deal to direct a Mirvish show so I'm very proud of him. :)
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2013/02...
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2013/02...
12 PM
XC Skiing - Classic (Backcountry) 2:05:00 [3] 10.14 km (4.9 kph) +112m
It's snowing! It's really snowing! At least 30 cm and it's still coming down.
The Globe is describing this as the "worst" winter storm in five years. We are thrilled. Pat-hectic, too bad you are missing this!
We put on our touring skis and went for a tough, slow Tour de Palgrave. We were breaking trail through dense snow and as we plowed along, the snow piled up against our shins.
BulletDog only went for the first loop since she skied home from work with 'Bent yesterday.
'Bent hooked up BazingaDog to his skijoring harness. He pulled like crazy on the downhills but now that he's wised up to 'Bent's game, he just sniffs around for rabbits on the uphills instead of pulling.
We went to the trail junction where I traditionally snap a photo of VO2Max's house and text it to him out west. He'll be sorry he missed this!
'Bent had an appointment in town so we split up as we went into Palgrave East. I explored in there for a little while. I was going at a snail's pace and loving every minute. No one else had been in there today. It was magical!
I paid a visit to BridgeZilla, which appears to be almost complete. They've built 4 steps to get up to the high bridge platform, so now people can more easily cross the 1 m wide creek on the 10 m bridge span. Unfortunately, this trail is designated for skiing and biking - activities that don't lend themselves to climbing steps. As soon as the workers are gone, we're going to have to throw some planks across that creek again.
I'd brought along some overgloves that I'd bought for Patagonia, and I purposely waited until my hands were cold enough that my dexterity was poor, then I tried to put them on. I figured that would be a good simulation of a race situation. They failed miserably. I struggled for 3-4 minutes to get the overgloves on so they are officially off the packing list.
What an amazing winter day. I could have wandered around out there for hours but with a winter adventure race on Sunday, I guess I'd better save a little energy. Tomorrow's running strength class will undoubtedly leave us with sore muscles so Sunday is probably a lost cause anyway!
The Globe is describing this as the "worst" winter storm in five years. We are thrilled. Pat-hectic, too bad you are missing this!
We put on our touring skis and went for a tough, slow Tour de Palgrave. We were breaking trail through dense snow and as we plowed along, the snow piled up against our shins.
BulletDog only went for the first loop since she skied home from work with 'Bent yesterday.
'Bent hooked up BazingaDog to his skijoring harness. He pulled like crazy on the downhills but now that he's wised up to 'Bent's game, he just sniffs around for rabbits on the uphills instead of pulling.
We went to the trail junction where I traditionally snap a photo of VO2Max's house and text it to him out west. He'll be sorry he missed this!
'Bent had an appointment in town so we split up as we went into Palgrave East. I explored in there for a little while. I was going at a snail's pace and loving every minute. No one else had been in there today. It was magical!
I paid a visit to BridgeZilla, which appears to be almost complete. They've built 4 steps to get up to the high bridge platform, so now people can more easily cross the 1 m wide creek on the 10 m bridge span. Unfortunately, this trail is designated for skiing and biking - activities that don't lend themselves to climbing steps. As soon as the workers are gone, we're going to have to throw some planks across that creek again.
I'd brought along some overgloves that I'd bought for Patagonia, and I purposely waited until my hands were cold enough that my dexterity was poor, then I tried to put them on. I figured that would be a good simulation of a race situation. They failed miserably. I struggled for 3-4 minutes to get the overgloves on so they are officially off the packing list.
What an amazing winter day. I could have wandered around out there for hours but with a winter adventure race on Sunday, I guess I'd better save a little energy. Tomorrow's running strength class will undoubtedly leave us with sore muscles so Sunday is probably a lost cause anyway!
6 PM
Note
You may need to be logged into Facebook to see them but they've been posting some great photos from the Boundless TV series.
http://www.facebook.com/BoundlessTV/photos_albums
http://www.facebook.com/BoundlessTV/photos_albums
Thursday Feb 7, 2013 #
Note
8 AM
Note
Leave it to Dee to shake things up. I've been thinking of UTMB as a difficult 100-mile ultrarun so I've been thinking that I should do an "easier" 100-miler first to get that distance under my belt. A few days ago, I just about pressed "submit" on the Sulphur Springs 100-miler, which is two months after Tierra Viva and three months before UTMB. A masters runner in Ontario did a 100-miler every month last year so this didn't seem too crazy.
But Dee says that UTMB is not like a 100-mile ultrarun. It's more like an adventure race with an expected 40-hour finish. Regular 100-milers involve more running and less mountain climbing (and descending). So if I want to do specific training for UTMB, I should do AR, AR course testing, a 24-hr rogaine, Killarney Loop, a long weekend in the mountains, etc. Interesting perspective and now my head is spinning! :)
But Dee says that UTMB is not like a 100-mile ultrarun. It's more like an adventure race with an expected 40-hour finish. Regular 100-milers involve more running and less mountain climbing (and descending). So if I want to do specific training for UTMB, I should do AR, AR course testing, a 24-hr rogaine, Killarney Loop, a long weekend in the mountains, etc. Interesting perspective and now my head is spinning! :)
Note
Woke up with super tired legs. Aackk, what's wrong? Then I looked at AP. In the last week, I've done:
- 4 hrs of running, some of it up hills with 14-15 lb on my back
- 3 hrs of biking, most of it fairly high intensity
- 2 hrs of XC skiing, most of it skate skiing which I hadn't done for two months
- 40 minutes of leg strength training, doing several exercises to failure
Hmm, I guess the tired legs probably aren't a symptom of illness or lack of fitness but clearly, my plan for a long run today was misguided.
- 4 hrs of running, some of it up hills with 14-15 lb on my back
- 3 hrs of biking, most of it fairly high intensity
- 2 hrs of XC skiing, most of it skate skiing which I hadn't done for two months
- 40 minutes of leg strength training, doing several exercises to failure
Hmm, I guess the tired legs probably aren't a symptom of illness or lack of fitness but clearly, my plan for a long run today was misguided.
Wednesday Feb 6, 2013 #
Note
Yet another day of hanging around the house, waiting for contractors who needed to be let inside but never showed up. They'd mentioned that if I gave them a deposit yesterday, they could get going today. I guess they meant to Mexico.
4 PM
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 1:00:00 [3]
Today's podcast was Adventure Race Radio with Mark Arnold and Simon Donato (Zoolander) talking about Boundless, the Copper Canyon Marathon, Micah True's death, nutrition, Zoo's oatmeal company and more.
7 PM
Road Biking (Computrainer) 1:24:51 [4] 32.83 km (23.2 kph)
RIDE Milton Computrainer - Escape from Alcatraz
Very different from last week's session. Hard work but fun. Some very steep hills that lasted quite awhile and a long, flat section in the middle. DoubleDown_on11 crushed the course with Mr. Funderstorm in 2nd. Mrs. Tiny was the female champion. Funderstorm and I fought back and forth for 2nd but she took a decisive lead in the final stretch, leaving even Hingo in her dust. Simpy was missing his usual Wednesday night date; BugsinTeeth was needed for Daddy Duty at the last minute.
Very different from last week's session. Hard work but fun. Some very steep hills that lasted quite awhile and a long, flat section in the middle. DoubleDown_on11 crushed the course with Mr. Funderstorm in 2nd. Mrs. Tiny was the female champion. Funderstorm and I fought back and forth for 2nd but she took a decisive lead in the final stretch, leaving even Hingo in her dust. Simpy was missing his usual Wednesday night date; BugsinTeeth was needed for Daddy Duty at the last minute.
Road Biking warm up/down (Trainer) 10:00 [1]
8 PM
Note
An adventure travel company e-mailed me to promote a hike and kayak trip around Reine, Norway. Wow, this is a place I need to visit some day!
Tuesday Feb 5, 2013 #
Note
After 32 days, I'm finally declaring this upper respiratory infection to be over. It was two separate colds that gave me the one-two punch without a break in between. For the rest of the winter, I'm planning to steer clear of sick people. I've had enough of sneezing!
4 PM
Running hills (Trail (snowy)) 45:36 [3] 6.08 km (7:30 / km)
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - black
BulletDog and I took my bag of golf balls out for another trail run today, adding another few hundred grams of weight to the pack. After a 2 km warm-up loop, we ran up and down Raspberry Hill. I'd never thought about it before but there are 7 different trails up this small hill half a kilometer from our house, some of them easier than others. I made sure that we ran up the hill on every trail at least once, then we would run downhill and over to a different trail as our rest. BulletDog usually thinks I've lost my mind when I do hill repeats but she liked the variety of this session.
6 PM
Strength & Mobility (Lower Body) 41:00 [2]
Feet, calves, shins, hammies, quads, hips, adductors, abductors, glutes and a bit of core. I finished off with 20 teapots on each side in honour of Coach LD's recent completion of 100 Days of 100 Push-ups.
7 PM
Note
Boundless - starts Feb. 17, 9 p.m. on the Travel and Escape Channel. We were lucky to preview an episode and it was awesome. Seriously. I sometimes get bored watching films about outdoor activities instead of doing them myself, but this was really fun.
Great stuff, Zoolander and Turbo!
Great stuff, Zoolander and Turbo!
Monday Feb 4, 2013 #
4 PM
Running (Trail (snowy)) 44:27 [3] 6.02 km (7:23 / km)
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - black
Time to take things up a notch pre-Tierra Viva. I went into our outdoor gear room, grabbed a big pack and looked around for something heavy to put in it. Hmm, it turns out we've taken great pains to ensure there's almost *nothing* heavy in our outdoor gear room! :) I finally found my big old bag of practice golf balls - perfect! I got the pack up to 6.5 kg (14 lb for my non-metric friends) and wore it for a run around Palgrave West on a chilly day. It felt pretty good!
5 PM
Paddling (Kayak Erg) 45:00 [3]
Today's podcast was CBC's "And The Winner Is" where they replay radio documentaries that won awards. This doc from 1998 was about Hamilton's Plastimet fire. Man, I'd forgotten how horrible that was.
7 PM
Note
Sunday Feb 3, 2013 #
Note
Here's live tracking of Spaff's progress in the Yukon Arctic Ultra 100-miler. Brrr!
<http://trackleaders.com/yukonultra13i.php?name=Der...>
<http://trackleaders.com/yukonultra13i.php?name=Der...>
1 PM
XC Skiing - Skate 1:20:16 16.0 km (12.0 kph) +138m
Highlands Nordic is still closed due to poor snow conditions so we headed up to Hardwood Hills instead. We planned to meet Coach LD there; she only has two weeks until the Gatineau Loppet where she is doing the skate race. In honour of her, we started on skate skis today too.
It's been more than two months since I last skate skied, and that was at Silverstar. I've taken skate skis with me every time we've gone to a ski centre since then, but I've never pulled them out of the bag. Tsk tsk, I know I should; it's good for me.
I sent 'Bent and Coach LD ahead so I could focus on remembering technique instead of chasing them. As usual, the first 20 minutes were hell. Then, as much as it pains me to admit it, it was kind of fun. Conditions were absolutely perfect for skating.
The only small niggle today was the crowd. I'd expected it to be quiet because apparently there's some big sports event on TV today. But - to put a positive spin on the situation - it was heartwarming to see so many enthusiastic people on the trails who do not normally ski. Little kids splatted right and left. Adults carried on animated conversations as they strolled shoulder to shoulder with their poles spread out to block the full width of the skate lane. Skiers weaved back and forth unpredictably, then stopped in the middle of the trail when they needed to rest or re-wax. Some stretches of trail were blissfully empty, then I'd come around a bend and it would feel like a mall at Christmas. It wasn't entirely a bad thing since it forced me to work harder by double poling up some hills where there was no room to skate.
Coach LD saved the day by directing me to a quiet new trail around the edge of a field - a great place for drills. I did a couple of laps of mostly legs-only to decompress, then returned to the main trail system. One good thing about this experience was realizing that I only think my skate skiing sucks because I compare myself to the people I know. Damn all you talented people! ;) Compared to people I *don't* know, it turns out I'm not that bad.
It's been more than two months since I last skate skied, and that was at Silverstar. I've taken skate skis with me every time we've gone to a ski centre since then, but I've never pulled them out of the bag. Tsk tsk, I know I should; it's good for me.
I sent 'Bent and Coach LD ahead so I could focus on remembering technique instead of chasing them. As usual, the first 20 minutes were hell. Then, as much as it pains me to admit it, it was kind of fun. Conditions were absolutely perfect for skating.
The only small niggle today was the crowd. I'd expected it to be quiet because apparently there's some big sports event on TV today. But - to put a positive spin on the situation - it was heartwarming to see so many enthusiastic people on the trails who do not normally ski. Little kids splatted right and left. Adults carried on animated conversations as they strolled shoulder to shoulder with their poles spread out to block the full width of the skate lane. Skiers weaved back and forth unpredictably, then stopped in the middle of the trail when they needed to rest or re-wax. Some stretches of trail were blissfully empty, then I'd come around a bend and it would feel like a mall at Christmas. It wasn't entirely a bad thing since it forced me to work harder by double poling up some hills where there was no room to skate.
Coach LD saved the day by directing me to a quiet new trail around the edge of a field - a great place for drills. I did a couple of laps of mostly legs-only to decompress, then returned to the main trail system. One good thing about this experience was realizing that I only think my skate skiing sucks because I compare myself to the people I know. Damn all you talented people! ;) Compared to people I *don't* know, it turns out I'm not that bad.
3 PM
XC Skiing - Classic 33:51 [3] 4.8 km (8.5 kph) +60m
'Bent and I switched to classic gear and headed out for a short ski for "dessert". Normally, classic feels much better than skating but conditions were icy enough today that I was almost prepared to make the groundbreaking announcement that I enjoyed skate skiing more than classic today. But then we turned onto the ungroomed Seefeld single track trail since we hadn't seen it before. Wow, it was SO MUCH FUN. It was the best part of the day, whipping around hairpin bends between trees and around stumps. It's our kind of skiing - narrow, ungroomed forest trails. You couldn't wipe the silly grins off our faces.
On the way back, we ran into WandAR who had just done her part to help Ontario's winter sports economy by buying some really nice skate skiing gear!
On the way back, we ran into WandAR who had just done her part to help Ontario's winter sports economy by buying some really nice skate skiing gear!
4 PM
Note
'Bent and I also supported the economy by visiting MEC in Barrie. Coach LD wondered how it could be possible that we could need anything from an outdoor gear store, and that's a great question. It boggles my mind too but every major adventure race triggers shopping, often because the mandatory gear list isn't in synch with what I would bring to do the same outdoor activity on my own. So then I need to figure out a way to work with the mandatory gear rather than packing too much stuff and getting hit with excess baggage charges.
For Tierra Viva, one of the weird items relates to paddling. We'll be in sit-on-top kayaks on long, cold lakes in night-time temperatures that could drop near freezing. We'll be pretty wet so we'll need to choose the right paddling clothing to keep hypothermia at bay without overheating and getting drenched in sweat. The only relevant piece of mandatory gear is "neoprene jacket" - and even though I own one, it would *not* be my choice in this situation. So I'm trying to figure out if I can find a way to work with it or if I'll just stuff it in a dry bag and carry it around!
For Tierra Viva, one of the weird items relates to paddling. We'll be in sit-on-top kayaks on long, cold lakes in night-time temperatures that could drop near freezing. We'll be pretty wet so we'll need to choose the right paddling clothing to keep hypothermia at bay without overheating and getting drenched in sweat. The only relevant piece of mandatory gear is "neoprene jacket" - and even though I own one, it would *not* be my choice in this situation. So I'm trying to figure out if I can find a way to work with it or if I'll just stuff it in a dry bag and carry it around!
Saturday Feb 2, 2013 #
Road Biking (Trainer) 1:21:00
Warm-up followed by Carmichael's Progressive Power workout #2. One-legged pedalling drills, 3 X 3-minute 100% power intervals, and a bunch of short (up to 18 second) "stomps" (which aren't about pushing down, even though it sounds like it). The focus today was on kicking forward at the top of the pedal stroke and pulling back at the bottom.
Paddling (Trainer) 30:00 [3]
Much better podcast today, CBC's "Under The Influence". I learned about a Quaker Oats prize offered back in the mid-1950s. They bought 19-ish acres of land in the Yukon when they were sponsoring a TV program, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon". They divided the land into 21 million plots, then Quaker Oats customers could send proof of purchase and receive a deed stating that they owned one square inch of land in the Yukon. It was wildly popular and cost-effective - until people and their lawyers started contacting Quaker Oats years later to find out if the value of their land had increased. Widows would find the deeds and write to see if they could get the money sent to them, please. It turned into a nightmare. Quaker had never actually assigned the deeds to the people for real so there was nothing to pay out, but it wasn't good PR and it took a *lot* of time to deal with the requests.
2 PM
Running (Country Roads) 57:28 [3] 9.32 km (6:10 / km) +111m 5:49 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - black
Around our block with Hingo and 'Bent. Beautiful winter day!
Friday Feb 1, 2013 #
3 PM
Running (Trail (snowy)) 1:32:21 [3] 13.23 km (6:59 / km) +148m 6:37 / km
shoes: Salomon S-LAB FellCross
Nothing feels as good as getting outside after several days of being stuck indoors. The contractors are gone for a little while so I can leave the house during daylight hours. We've started moving back into our kitchen and bedroom. My cold is still lurking in the background but I can breathe now. Life is good. Now if only we had more than 3 cm of snow!
I went for a run around Palgrave East - lots of twisty, rolling single track. I didn't overdress and it was -12C when I finished so it was an exhilarating, chilly run in the late afternoon sun. I've been worried about falling behind on training because of the stoopid cold so I was relieved that running felt good - just what the doctor ordered. I'm signing up up for Ken Niemimaa's February Challenge again - a minimum of 5K of running or XC skiing every day of the month. No doubling up - the challenge is to get out every day. It was tough to pull off last year but it's a good way to build habits.
The Incredibly Hulky new bridge in Palgrave East is nearing completion. At this spot, there used to be a small culvert running beneath the trail to drain a manmade pond. The TRCA decided to naturalize it and restore the creek. I think it's been at least a year that we've been jumping across the creek or walking on the small planks you see at the left of the photo - but then someone decided that this crossing required Bridge-zilla.
When I used to do structural design work for GM manufacturing plants, I almost never had to specify steel beams as big as this. Seriously. And it's so high that they'll need to build a long ramp on either side.
I made a footwear selection error. I thought that my Fellcross might be a good choice for a thin layer of snow because they're great on a thin layer of mud. Wrong. One of the things I like about them is that I feel connected to the ground because of their low profile. But when the ground is frozen hard as a rock and rutted from equestrians and mountain bikers who insisted on riding in the mud, you don't actually want to feel connected to it. There were a few patches of black ice so it's Spikecross weather.
I went for a run around Palgrave East - lots of twisty, rolling single track. I didn't overdress and it was -12C when I finished so it was an exhilarating, chilly run in the late afternoon sun. I've been worried about falling behind on training because of the stoopid cold so I was relieved that running felt good - just what the doctor ordered. I'm signing up up for Ken Niemimaa's February Challenge again - a minimum of 5K of running or XC skiing every day of the month. No doubling up - the challenge is to get out every day. It was tough to pull off last year but it's a good way to build habits.
The Incredibly Hulky new bridge in Palgrave East is nearing completion. At this spot, there used to be a small culvert running beneath the trail to drain a manmade pond. The TRCA decided to naturalize it and restore the creek. I think it's been at least a year that we've been jumping across the creek or walking on the small planks you see at the left of the photo - but then someone decided that this crossing required Bridge-zilla.
When I used to do structural design work for GM manufacturing plants, I almost never had to specify steel beams as big as this. Seriously. And it's so high that they'll need to build a long ramp on either side.
I made a footwear selection error. I thought that my Fellcross might be a good choice for a thin layer of snow because they're great on a thin layer of mud. Wrong. One of the things I like about them is that I feel connected to the ground because of their low profile. But when the ground is frozen hard as a rock and rutted from equestrians and mountain bikers who insisted on riding in the mud, you don't actually want to feel connected to it. There were a few patches of black ice so it's Spikecross weather.