Training Log Archive: Bash

I joined 'Bent for part of his long run along the Humber Valley Trail today. He was supposed to do some hills in the middle where he could use his poles so I brought mine too.

The good news: Running felt great, mechanically. It is, of course, impossible to have recovered from running 80K six days ago but I couldn't have hoped for any better than this. I tried to run in such a way that I wouldn't make my tibialis anterior (shin muscle) sore again. Success - not even a twinge! However, my shin didn't hurt yet after 2.5 hours last weekend so it's too soon to celebrate. I was super wimpy and walked up most slopes today which also made it easier on my body.

The bad news: Including the Humidex, I think it was supposed to feel like 35C in the hottest part of the day, which is when we were out. This was a hell of a long run to do for our first really hot, humid run of the spring. There were a few times when my heart rate went through the roof and I felt light headed and had to stop. I couldn't believe how slow our progress was, and this was not good since I had arranged to meet Osteo at Albion Hills at 3 p.m. I ended up having to leave the trail and push the last 2K on roads to get back to my car and race over there. We met at the entrance gate - phew!

Osteo had very kindly offered to do an assessment of my chronic gimpy foot while he was in the neighbourhood. It turns out I have an ill-behaved tibia and navicular bone. At least I *used* to but after some work in the Albion Hills parking lot, I am apparently fixed - at least for now! My gimpy foot feels more mobile than it has in ages. Now my good foot feels like the bad one. He gave me some homework assignments to keep things working better. Thank you soooo much, Osteo! :)))



[Distance increased by 0.6 km to match trail map.]

Awesome jazz vocal concert tonight by our friend and neighbour Andie Trepanier, daughter of artist Cory Trepanier who did ESAR with me a few years ago to get himself fit for a painting trip to the Arctic. Andie is only 18 and is preparing to study jazz in the fall but she is already a very polished performer. I think she's going to do well!
http://andiejazz.com

Got home to our 3rd big power outage in 16 days! Blah. Winter power outages are easy but not hot weather ones. No running water, no snow to melt and we could lose our fridge contents if we're not home when it happens. We'll have to get up every 4 hours in the night to start the generator if it's not fixed soon.

Easy ride around Palgrave West. I was thinking this might be the last ride before the single track becomes less fun due to poison ivy but as it turns out, I'm already too late for that. In two places, I started down a trail, then changed my mind because I just didn't feel like dealing with it. I've already had my first ivy rash of the year - probably from one of the dogs brushing against my leg.

Some folks may remember the Monster Bridge over the tiny creek in Palgrave West. Here's the photo. You can see the pair of 2X8s we used to cross the creek before. The new bridge had huge steel beams and four steps to get onto it. Now they have removed the steps and are creating long ramps on each side. They won't be able to take regular vehicles across but smaller equipment could use the bridge when this is done. I guess that's their plan.



They are continuing to look out for our safety in other ways, which is touching.



(Used the bike computer distance - 800 m longer.)

Registration closes at midnight for the Stars Elora Cup this Saturday morning. Two races at one event - a Sprint and a Middle Distance. Two categories - Advanced and Open. Then stick around and enjoy the beautiful Elora Gorge since the conservation area entry fee is included with the race. Maybe even keep me company and share your ideas for the sport at the Orienteering Ontario Annual General Meeting from 1-3 p.m. with light lunch provided.

Calvin, all grown up, by artist Craig Mahoney. Awww... :)

Slate article on Ultrarunning and Scott Jurek

Researchers have studied the nutritional needs and mental toughness of ultrarunners and found that they have a strong psyche that’s balanced by euphoria. For them, euphoria trumps pain. They regard 100- or 150-mile challenges as a great thrill, whereas regular athletes like me would think of such a run as the most miserable thing ever. Brain chemistry may help explain the difference between my pain scale and Jurek’s.

History was made 60 years ago today. 'Bent and I had the pleasure of meeting the fellow on the right a little later in his life - a very classy gentleman.

The Style of the Elite Ultra Runner Girl
http://networkedblogs.com/LCUS7

Glad that people at my level don't have to worry about having a "style"! ;)

Is it bad that I'm kinda disappointed there haven't been any updates in the Rob Ford saga since this morning? Sure, I could go read the latest on Harper and Duffy instead but the Senate scandal doesn't make as good a movie plot.

BazingaDog and I went out for an easy run in the misty rain. Everything is so green and lush right now that it sometimes felt like we were in a B.C. rainforest. I'll bet they don't have as much poison ivy out there though.

I felt good, and nothing hurt but I could tell that some muscles were still fatigued. I tried to identify which running motions contributed to the sore shin muscle and which ones alleviated it. I was also thinking about Carbon's comments about using ankles to lift the feet instead of toes, as well as the need to relax the foot behind the body.

Things that felt good (some of which I had tried at Sulphur to ease the pain):

- Pressing my toes down into the ground. I have a tendency to lift my toes up, which engages the shin.

- Stretching the shin when my back leg comes off the ground. In the race, I pointed my left toe like a ballerina at that point in my stride, and that felt good. This is where relaxing the back foot comes into play but while the shin is still tight, it feels better to do more than that.

- Thinking about keeping my strides symmetrical. Because my gimpy left ankle has less strength, I compensate by pushing up more with my toes but I don't come as high off the ground. I think this translates into a painful right hip flexor, which I also had during the race - but it wasn't a worry because I've had it before.

Carbon has sent me some excellent resources on running form and drills, along with all the great info she and Carbon's Offset put on their AP logs. I have my work cut out for me. I may also go and get a video analysis to see what a professional would notice.

Google Street View goes to the Galapagos Islands. This is gonna be fun! :)

Event: Sulphur Springs Trail Run
 

Sulphur Springs 50 miler - 4 loops of a hilly 20 km course.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions. It was 4C when we started racing at 6 a.m., then it warmed up to the mid-teens as the day went on. The sun shone all day and the trails were almost entirely dry. Thanks to a good night's sleep at the Hottage, I was able to leave for the race just 50 minutes before its 6 a.m. start, so this was as civilized as any ultra I've done.

On one hand, I'm happy with this race because I bettered my 50-mile PB by over an hour and qualified for Western States. However, I'm not happy with how it played out.



I felt great at the start and ran the first lap steadily but without pushing hard. I was amazed to see 2:15 on the clock after the 20K lap - much better than expected, given how relaxed I felt. But the downward spiral began when a muscle in my left shin started hurting around the 30-35 km mark. It eventually radiated upward and inflamed my knee by the time I finished. For the rest of the race, I worried about whether it was something serious and I was stupid to continue. What if I missed out on UTMB because of this?

I polled my brain for everything I've ever googled about shins - and believe me, I have googled a *lot* since I had a slightly different shin issue at the end of the Oil Creek 100K. I considered dropping out but semi-convinced myself that it wasn't serious, even though the niggling worry never went away so I couldn't bring myself to push through the pain. I altered my running gait to a slow, awkward trot that made it hurt less.



I've finished strong in other ultras but in this one, I just faded away. My laps were 2:15, 2:31, 2:44 and 3:11. To be fair, I took it easy on my body in the last lap since I just wanted to do what was needed to break 11 hours and qualify for WS100 - but still, that is a very wide range of lap times. It had nothing to do with cardio or even leg strength. My quads/hammies feel quite good today. It feels like maybe my longtime gimpy ankle is misaligned and causing some imbalance that starts in my left foot and adds up over the hours. This didn't happen during our long mountain treks in Argentina so it's running-specific, and it didn't happen in the Death Race so it's relatively new. Hmm. I need to figure this out quickly, and Carbon has already given me a couple of good leads.



Other than that, things went fairly well. I saw lots of friends on the course and said quick hellos. I Leukotaped all the right places so there were no blisters or chafing. My clothing, pack and shoes worked well. I ate and drank enough. The hills didn't seem particularly big after training in the Hockley Valley. The only other negative was the frequency of portapotty visits - grrr.

The 50 milers are allowed pacers on their final lap so I invited 'Bent to join me so he wouldn't have to sit around all day. Too bad the pace was so slow by then that it was more of a power hike. At least he had time to take a few pics so I could show the course in my race report.



Congratulations to friends who had great races at various distances, and a big shout out to JohnnyM who placed 3rd overall in the 100-miler in spite of a knee twinge that knocked him out of contention for the win.

Special congratulations to the two Dontgetlost 100-mile relay teams who set out to break their record from last year (11:48). They both succeeded after an all-day tight battle between some truly amazing runners. The new record is 11:24. See Trav's log for details on the team members and run times, and check out Bender's impressive relay progress board below.





Here is Frankenjack demonstrating the forward lean.



And here are JP and Bender doing a speedy transition.



Time/distance adjusted since I accidentally turned off GPS briefly.

Snow this morning. Perfect weather for 'Bent and Mrs. Gally's excellent adventure.

Great article on using your compass by multiple World Orienteering Champion Thierry Georgiou.
"How many times I have been writing "compass!" in my own race’s analysis, meaning that I had to put more focus on it. I would still say that around 60% of my mistakes are due to inefficient use of my compass."

This applies to adventure racing too!

Short version: Continuing to take it easy before Saturday's 50-miler.

Long, overly detailed version: Just reviewing the info for the Sulphur Springs ultra. The 50-mile awards are scheduled to happen 2.5 hours before my earliest possible finish, hahaha. :) I can take solace in the fact that I won't be the only one missing them, given that last year's female winner finished only 8 minutes before the awards took place.

For the next few months, everything needs to be done with UTMB in mind so I want to approach Sulphur as a long training run with the added benefits of good motivation, friends in attendance, and aid stations every 5K. The reason it's important to do it as a training run is that I don't plan to do a race-style recovery; I need to get back to regular training next week. Only 3 months till UTMB - yikes.

There are still some goals, as there are for every training run. The #1 concern is finding out whether my training has been sufficient. I haven't done anything like a traditional 50-mile training program, and I don't feel as prepared for an ultra as I did last spring. While there was snow, I focused on winter sports and ran very little - just over 12 hours of running in the first 3 months of the year. I did another 15 hours of orienteering, some of which was running, and then there's the whole matter of that 5-day non-stop adventure race eight weeks ago. Maybe it helped; maybe not.

So... if I fail miserably, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out one of the reasons why. But I'm cautiously optimistic that a non-standard training program works better for me, even though I wouldn't recommend it to others.

I'll be using/wearing a lot of gear that I plan to take to UTMB depending on how it works so that's another purpose for the day.

As for time goals, those are risky to think about when it's supposed to be a training run. But hey, I'm human so of course there are some. I just need to resist the urge to push to make them happen. I'm supposed to listen to my body and refer to my watch once in awhile for interest only. Here are the time goals:

1) 50-mile PB - OK, I'll admit that I'll be disappointed if this doesn't happen. I've only done two 50-milers, and they were both UTMB qualifiers with a lot of elevation gain. Time to beat: 11:47:57. Last year's time at the Sulphur 50K: 5:52:55 (unofficial since I didn't cross the mat because I'd done a loop out of order).

2) Beat the winning Dontgetlost 100-mile relay squad - Last year Trav assembled a crack team of runners, including 'Bent, who set a relay course record. This year Trav has organized two teams who will compete against each other in their attempt to set a new record. Their current record: 11:48:24, just 27 seconds slower than my 50-mile PB. Yes, my goal is to run half as fast as them. Talk about reaching for the stars! :)

3) Break 11 hours - This is one of those nice round number goals that exist for every distance. In this case, it would qualify me for the 2014 Western States Endurance Run lottery where I'd get two tickets since it would be my 2nd attempt. Finishing UTMB is another way to qualify for the lottery so there isn't much pressure. I'll go out on a limb and say this should be possible.

There are no age category awards so the only goals are time goals. I'll be hours behind the podium.

And now back to pre-race rest, food and drink. Some people hate the taper but I love it - although not as much as I enjoy the post-race hot fudge sundae.

What is the world coming to? Guess who's giving advice to ultrarunners!

Thanks to Haliburton 100 winner JohnnyM for suggesting that I adapt one of my AP log entries for wider consumption, and for making final tweaks and posting it on the Salomon Running blog. I'm sure Kilian will be calling me up soon for a training run and beer so we can share our ideas on the sport. ;)

BazingaDog and I did a little tour of Palgrave West in warm rain. I'm not doing too much this week because of the Sulphur 50-miler on Saturday so I tested the Suunto Ambit heart rate monitor to make this interesting. The strap is very comfortable - maybe the nicest HRM strap I've ever had. Only one complaint... I can't figure out how to undo it so I had to slide it off over my feet! I probably just need to twist it a little harder but it feels like I might break something.

I've been slowly working my way through the new Maffetone book which talks a lot about aerobic training with a relatively low HR. I'm not a total convert but some of his ideas make sense to me, and they certainly fit with my type of running so I'll likely give it a try at some point - probably not too much before UTMB though.

First trip of the year to Island Lake on a sunny day with a good breeze. 'Bent and I took turns in the boats. I started with the JKK Eclipse kayak and switched to the Epic V8 surfski about halfway through. The strange thing is that 'Bent and I both went faster after we switched boats, and we felt more comfortable too. Maybe we made the wrong boat choice for Storm where I offered him the surfski to be nice!

The only problem is that the surfski is hard for one person to carry when it's slippery and wet since there isn't anything to hang onto near its centre of balance. We spent awhile thinking of possible solutions that wouldn't risk chafing the paddler. 'Bent came up with the idea of a little piece of carpet grip pad.

With a clear view of the sky, the Ambit measured this loop at the same distance the Garmin usually gives me. Good!

Big excitement... The long-awaited bridge across Island Lake is nearly done - although several friendly workers were still drilling and pounding in nails as we crossed today. The Vicki Barron Lakeside Trail is eventually intended to be a loop around the lake, more or less, but there is private land at the northeast end so they had to build a 600 meter long bridge/boardwalk that hops across two islands to get from shore to shore, cutting off the part of the lake where the trail can't go. It really is an impressive undertaking, and it even appears to be wheelchair/stroller accessible. This is the first segment leading to the first island.



The final stretch of trail will be along the western boundary of the conservation area. The current trail led us to a parking lot on Hockley Road, which would have been way too much road running to make the loop. We retraced our steps until we got close to the lake, then ran along a rough, muddy trail and crossed a field that led us into the cemetery. I think Coach LD did some exploring in this area recently as well. We ran out to Hwy 10 and followed it until we caught the trail again. That part wasn't so pleasant but the rest was great - a nice addition to a place we've visited a lot. Looking at the satellite map of our route, it appears that we could shorten the road run with further exploration.

The only down side is that I don't know if I'd feel safe running alone there when I come paddling by myself. It's funny because I run alone in the woods all the time in every season but there's something about a remote, wooded trail in the middle of a city that gives it a different feel.

'Bent and I did an easy tour of Albion Hills on a perfect spring day. Trilliums, sunshine, trails in perfect condition - awesome. We met a guy who works at a bike shop that sells recumbent bikes, and he was keen to try 'Bent's bike and get his photo taken. Over the years, a fair number of people have taken test rides but I can't remember anyone just hopping aboard in the middle of hilly, twisty single track. This fellow did just fine though - even on a tight uphill turn.

Lots of people in the park - hiking, biking, picnicking, walking dogs, chasing frisbees. Although I selfishly prefer having the trails to myself on most days, it was nice to see so many families enjoying the great outdoors.

I totally forgot that my Storm The Trent race plate was still on the front of my bike. I guess everyone thought I was really cool. ;)

I'm continuing to learn about the Ambit 2. I miss the Garmin's display, which I had set up with 4 data fields of equal size. For running, it was Activity Time, Distance, Pace (or Speed for biking),Time of Day. I'm far-sighted but I can read them all without glasses when I run. On the Ambit, I can have a maximum of 3 data fields on the display. This isn't too bad since I can put Time of Day on an alternate display and toggle over to it. The problem is that only one of the 3 fields is large enough for me to read easily without glasses. So it's like going from 4 data fields down to one. I'll have to experiment with this some more but this could be a deal breaker.

The other thing I need to experiment with more is the distance measurement. The Garmin and my bike computer are usually very close. The Ambit measured almost 10% lower than the bike computer today. The Garmin has occasional bad days on single track as well, but the Ambit measured the Hockley Loop lower than expected too so I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Other than those things, I like it. Surprisingly comfortable for its size, extremely quick to pick up satellites, easy to start/pause/stop, nice backlight, etc. I'm hoping I'll make it work for me.

Happy holiday weekend! :)

Tech geek update on my earlier problem with Ambit pause time being included in the run time, which turns out to be a Suunto problem with the export from MovesCount. Lucky for me, Attackpoint Ken provides excellent support for Friday-night-of-holiday-weekend questions, and he explained where to find the data before it is uploaded. He has an Ambit himself and is quite happy with it, so no one should worry about Attackpoint / Ambit compatibility.

The tricky part is that the directory is hidden on a Mac so to see it in Finder, I went to "Go to Folder" and entered the exact name:
~/Library/Application Support/Suunto/Moveslink2

The most recent XML files are in there but they get cleaned up regularly. To permanently unhide the folder, I did Utilities - Terminal and entered this command: chflags nohidden ~/Library
(I love the Google.)

Seems like a good night for me to make an extra donation to Attackpoint! :)

I started Hockley Loop with WandAR, then the second wave of runners (Dee, Mrs. Gally, 'Bent, ShedMan and his dog Clyde) caught us on 5th Line, a little later than planned. After running together for awhile, the group drifted apart, and I finished with Mrs. Gally, who was having a rough day or else she would have been with the frontrunners.

My plan today was to do the Loop on fatigued legs to simulate the later part of a longer run. Storm The Trent was six days ago, and I've done a fair bit of running and strength work this week, including last night's session, so I definitely succeeded in the fatigue department! Also, with the Sulphur Springs 50-miler next Saturday, I wanted to walk up hills that I would walk in a 50-mile event. It was a great day on the trails followed by another stellar lunch at the Black Birch. The owner is getting used to us quietly asking for a table away from other people because we don't smell so good.

Adding to my fatigue was the fact that I stayed up late to configure the Ambit 2 and figure out how to use its basic features for today's run. It went reasonably well for a first attempt. It actually feels more comfortable than the Garmin even though all these watches are huge on my little wrist. I weighed it and found that it's only 6 g heavier than my 310XT, although the specs say 10 g. It definitely feels more watch-like and less computer-like, and it was nice to be able to go into a restaurant without exchanging it for my regular watch.

It measured the distance 700 meters shorter than the last time I ran the Loop although I'll have to check back since I know the measured distance has been variable, and that may not be far off. I miss having 4 display fields but can probably get used to that. It picked up full GPS signal in less than 2 seconds - incredible.

It measured the elevation gain about 100 m more than the Garmin (about 830 m vs. 730 m). The ascent and descent were roughly equal. Since this is a barometric altimeter, and today's weather wasn't changing, this may be more accurate than the Garmin but I want to run the Loop with it a few more times to be sure.

Carbon, although I didn't use it, you'll be pleased to know that the Ambit 2 has auto pause.

I'm a little disturbed that I can't turn it off. Apparently, it will run as a watch for 30 days but I'd still rather not drain any power at times when I may need all of it, e.g. before UTMB.

See update in note above regarding this next paragraph:

The one stumbling block I've hit so far is that when I export GPX from MovesCount and import into Attackpoint, all my pauses are included in the run time. So I have the correct run time in MovesCount but have to manually adjust it for AP. That means that my pace for the 1 km splits will be wrong in AP, which is info I look at a lot. The easiest solution is to never ever pause, of course! I'll keep looking into that.

Caron's hardest core class yet! I felt like my muscles were tired - probably from STORM and from Tuesday's strength training. I can't remember the last time I couldn't do full sets of everything in this class. That's OK though, since I wanted tonight's sessions to get me ready to run the Hockley Loop with a fatigued body tomorrow. Mission accomplished.

Arms were rubber by the end.

The Science of Sport has published an excellent summary of current knowledge on barefoot running, minimalist vs. more substantial footwear, midfoot vs. heel strike, prevalence of injury, the down side of footwear evangelism, etc. There are *many* nuances, and as is often the case, the right answer depends on the individual.
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2013/05/a-minimali...

This follows the recent announcement of a drop in sales of minimalist shoes. "...[This] further suggests that we're now seeing the pendulum settle somewhere towards the middle, away from the extremes, which do tend to embrace over-simplified paradigms and theories."

Wednesday night run from the Salomon Toronto store since I had other things to do there. The new trails north of Sunnybrook have some super steep sections - a surprisingly good workout for the city.

Early in the run, a very sharp, pointy thing jabbed through my hat into the top of my head. It was extremely painful but as I quickly reviewed my first aid courses in my mind, I couldn't think of anything to worry about other than the potential for copious bleeding from the scalp. So I took my white hat off to avoid staining it and kept running. It's unbelievable that in all my wilderness tripping, adventure racing and orienteering, I've never had that happen but a short run in downtown Toronto could have scalped me! The other runners were all guys, mostly talking about obstacle racing, and I think my casual attitude toward my bleeding head may have inspired a little respect for the sport of adventure racing. :)

When I got back to the Salomon store, who should be there shopping but WandAR!

I can't tease her though because I bought a Suunto Ambit 2 tonight, hot off the press. This has been planned for a long time since I want the longer battery life to get me through UTMB, and I've been waiting for the new model. My Garmin 310XT seemed to know what was coming and attempted to sabotage me before tonight's run. The buckle ripped out of the strap as I tried to put it on, and Derek had to more or less zip-tie it onto my wrist. So now I have a manual to read...

(Garmin stats adjusted since I forgot to turn it on for a short distance.)

Morning trail run around Palgrave West with BazingaDog. It was a double workout for him since he had already done hill repeats with 'Bent. (BZDog does *not* understand hill repeats.) He is snoring now so I guess it worked. Having a 2-year-old puppy is like having a toddler. It's nice to get them tired so they feel like napping.

Other than a few stops to mark our territory, he did really well although he was panting so much at 5 km, even in the shade, that I took a short break. It's tough to run in a black fur coat in May, although it wasn't very warm. I should have soaked him with the hose first.

Approaching the end of the Danger Zone:

1) Almost 4 days since the finish of Storm The Trent, where I encountered some poison ivy - not too much, fortunately. If I got it on my shoes or bike tires, there may still be effects to come but I've never had a reaction more than 96 hours after direct exposure.

2) 2.5 days since 'Bent accidentally ate a big serving of 4-week expired yoghurt. He should be out of the woods after about 72 hours for most types of food poisoning.

Living on the edge! ;)

Hehe, thanks 1L!
Chris Hadfield comes home to $1.37 million Rogers phone bill

20 mins upper body - trekking pole strength training - and 25 mins legs.

Labrador-assisted.

Editorial comment from our paddle coach Bill Trayling.

Now that the snow has stopped, it is beautifully cool. I thought I'd just run for an hour so I hadn't taken any water but it was so nice that I stayed out until sunset.

I've been trying to mix things up a bit when I run or ride close to home since it's easy to do the same routes all the time. Today's GPS track is not public because I explored some trails on private land including (I think) the property of a former Ontario premier. There are trails back there that neighbours all share, usually for horseback riding, and 'Bent was given a tour recently by one of our friends who lives on that block of land. So if I'd been caught trespassing, I probably wasn't going to get in trouble!

From there, I went into Glen Haffy and hopped on a minor trail I don't know for some more exploration. For at least half of today's run, I was just keeping an eye on the setting sun and using it as my compass to guess where I should turn at every junction. Kinda fun to do that so close to home.

The dogs were seriously peeved when I didn't get home until 8:15 p.m. to serve them dinner.

STT race report is posted on Saturday.

Happy Day, Mom! :)



P.S. It snowed for several hours today!

Event: Storm the Trent
 

Storm The Trent
Trek Elite

Another fun, challenging, well-organized Storm event shared with friends. 'Bent and I raced solo and enjoyed our rivalry!

We started with a bus ride to the north side of Stony Lake, west of Petroglyphs Provincial Park. The first leg was a trek with three CPs we could visit in any order. I had chosen a stupidly cautious route, knowing that I risked losing some time but I didn't want to have to worry about screwing up in the first adrenaline-fuelled hour of racing.

I hit CP20 first since the easiest way to find it was to follow the marked trails from the start. Then I bushwhacked to the north end of the lake and went around to CP22, High Falls, where I saw Arthurd and 1L. There was a trail route all the way to CP21, then I bushwhacked until I was within sight of the lake and followed various unmarked trails back to the transition area. My simple-minded nav plan paid off, as a lot of people had trouble so I was one of the first racers in. 'Bent and Double_Downon11 arrived while I was in the TA, and I knew I'd see them again soon. My Garmin said the trek was 6.3K at the time but it now says 7K.





We biked 6.5K on paved roads to CP2 at the start of the powerline east of Petroglyphs Park. 'Bent and DD11 both passed me. Then we headed into ATV trails for 15K of fun, rocky, muddy, sandy, hilly riding with two CPs to locate along the way and a swollen creek crossing to keep things interesting. Although both CPs were right beside trails, they weren't obvious so we had to pay attention. CP31 was tucked behind a small shed. That's where Raid Pulse (Jackson5 and Nathalie - the eventual overall winners) caught me after they made a nav error on the first trek.

I had a deep, muddy wade with my bike right before CP30 and didn't see any evidence of passing racers so I began to doubt myself but pressed on. Arthurd was punching the control when I arrived. From there, it was a fun, bumpy, hilly ride back to CP2. I saw Wokitoki (eventual male solo winner) coming toward me. A little while later, he shot past me on his way out, so he'd obviously visited CP30 already. (It turned out to be a nav error so don't bother trying to discern his strategy!) Amber was on her way in too.

Another 8K on hilly roads, then at CP3 we turned into the woods again on another ATV trail. This one had some rockier sections but was still loads of fun. After the jackhammer biking at Tierra Viva, I was absolutely loving today's biking. You couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face! We had to stay on a marked route on the ATV trail for about 9K and look for two CPs along the way. Then we emerged onto roads that led us 8K on a marked route over a few hills on our way back to Warsaw.

We parked our bikes on racks by the finish line and transitioned to paddling. I had a quick chat with LosDobos as I got ready, then hit the water. We paddled almost 5K through Quarry Lake and up the river to Warsaw Caves Conservation Area. Between Tierra Viva and all those winter paddle trainer sessions, I felt great on the water even though I hadn't been in my own kayak since last fall. I passed a few racers (who passed me again on the final run).

We had four CPs to find in the conservation area in almost 7K. I did them counter-clockwise since that would get me to the toughest one first, using the transition area as my attackpoint. CP53 was so close that I just planned to use features and pace counting rather than following a strict compass bearing. Bad idea! The water features are more extensive than shown on the 1:15,000 map, and when I got to my destination, I stumbled on a concerned-looking Tom Martin instead of the flag. We looked around together, getting confused by an extra bay and stream. It all makes sense now that I'm looking at the satellite map! Eventually, I spotted the flag on the opposite side of an inlet so I swam across. It was so cold, I was hyperventilating! Garmin says that was a 7-8 minute error.

The remaining CPs were straightforward, on or near trails. Double_Downon11 caught up with me near CP50, and we got briefly distracted by the wrong fenceline break with a fallen tree. DD11 ran off and a short while later, I turned off the trail to bushwhack to the TA. I arrived at the top of a cliff within sight of the road I needed. It was treacherous and slippery and foggy, and I had to throw stones to figure out a safe route down since I could only see 1 meter in front of me. I kept trying different spurs and finally camped to wait for daylight... Oops, wrong race. :) There *was* a cliff!

I made my way to the TA, hopped in my kayak and paddled back into a headwind. Along the way, I enjoyed a brief draft behind DD11, whose plastic kayak was slowing him down. Then I paddled hard to the finish line, trying to reduce 'Bent's lead in today's spousal competition. Alas, he felt a lot better this year than last, and he crushed me by 33 minutes! He was 1st Masters and 2nd solo behind Wokitoki. Official results aren't out but I was the top female solo.

Good times hanging out with friends afterward including my special buddy, Emi Cameron aka The Monster. Thanks to STORM and all the volunteers for another terrific day!

Almost forgot... Lots of good results for friends including Anber and 1L, who were 2nd and 3rd female masters. Arthurd probably won female open although there was a printer snafu so we haven't got all the solo results yet. Wokitoki was 1st solo and Tom Martin must have been on the podium too. Bugs in Teeth won the Coed 4 category, and TA3 won Female 2. I'm undoubtedly forgetting people!

Just curious since most Attackpointers do crazy things too... I've often experienced numb big toes after long races, and it takes awhile to go away but it steadily improves.

Since Tierra Viva, I've had a little numbness in my fingers. I think it's just the 2nd, 3rd, 4th fingers of each hand (i.e. the ones involved in carpal tunnel syndrome) with my right hand affected more than my left. On most fingers, it's just the fingertip or on the inside up to the first joint but I sometimes feel it on the inside of my entire middle right finger which makes it hard to drive in city traffic, haha. The sensation isn't the same all the time and it's fairly mild but I don't think it's improving; in fact, I think it was better when I first got home from TV. It's aggravated by running, biking and paddling but I can read a map without any problem so it doesn't interfere *too* much with adventure racing. :)

Anyone else have similar experiences from AR or its disciplines? It could be carpal tunnel syndrome from the jackhammer mountain biking at TV but I also wonder if it could be a pinched nerve in my neck from all the rattling. I got carpal tunnel after a tough kayak trip years ago but we really didn't paddle that much at TV.

I felt like mixing it up so I went for an easy run through Palgrave East and West, along Duffy's Lane to the rail trail, into Albion Hills and back out to the rail trail, through Palgrave Village and Reddington Estates and back home through Palgrave Forest & Wildlife Area via trails. At one end of the spectrum, I was bushwhacking and scrambling over thigh-high logs; at the other end, I was on roads. Mostly it was nice, hilly single and double track on a beautiful spring evening. The hills were alive with mountain bikers, hikers and runners. Excellent! Also a few FDFs - boo.

Huge thanks to our dogs for acting like snarling beasts that could barely be restrained as I clung to their collars. A suspicious-looking man had come up our long driveway and said he was doing a paving job on Airport Road (6 km away) and wondered if we'd like his excess "recycled asphalt" on our gravel driveway. Um, no. BulletDog was leaping around so much that she slipped her neck right out of her collar but she was smart enough to stay in the doorway beside her partner BazingaDog, jumping in the air and hurling her best abuse at the scam artist. Love my puppies. :)

Easy run on and off-trail around Palgrave West to loosen up before some leg strength work. I ran up Lookout Hill for good measure. 'Bent surprised me at a trail junction, and it felt like I hit my fastest possible speed (Garmin says 4:06/km) in an attempt to outsprint him to our property line. Didn't win.


First Trillium of the Year in Palgrave West - Photo Courtesy of Veinbuster

While watching The Daily Show.

Veinbuster is in town this week, and he needed a long ride in preparation for next month's Ride to Conquer Cancer in Alberta. We couldn't have picked a more perfect day for it - sunny and not too hot.

We started with single and double track in Palgrave East, then rode some hilly gravel (mostly) roads to join the rail trail at Centreville Creek Rd. Veinbuster has a cool Garmin gadget that told us the % grade and altitude of the hills. Apparently the Caledon hills have some steep bits! We finished with a short trail tour in Albion Hills before heading back uphill toward home. Great day to ride and nice to catch up with Veinbuster. We often talk about biking but it's rare that we get a chance to ride together.

Used bike computer time and distance, which deducted time for socializing and admiring views.

Today I have a Tale of Two Birthdays.

One marked a significant milestone for our friend Goose - his 50th. Coach LD drew on her boundless creativity and energy to design an event that took us on a tour of Goose's life and some of his favourite things. It was loads of fun, and we were privileged to share in the celebration last weekend. I've just posted a report with lots of (occasionally embarrassing) photos. If you haven't seen 'Bent's scary video trailer, check it out below. Once it gets going, you may need to hit the little gear symbol in the lower right to increase resolution to 360p.

Aubrey's Adventure Extravaganza Bike-O

At the other end of the spectrum, today was the celebration of Aubrey Grant's 1st birthday. Also known as Teeny Tiny, she made her parents proud by hosting her first adventure race for her friends and family. For sure, this was the race to do this weekend. The course had been well tested, the maps were top quality, the format was fresh, and the race director had put as much time into it as she could, given her busy day care schedule.



When the maps and instructions were distributed, you could feel the tension in the air. In a 2.5 hour rogaine-style bike and foot navigation event, there is no time to mess around.



My biggest concern was the Male Open team of Mick and J-Lu - and they proved me right, taking the overall win.



Our team had experience on our side. Aubrey's grandfather (Mrs. Tiny's Dad), who nicknamed himself "Slow Mo", raced with me. He didn't have a lot of off-road biking experience but he learned as he went, and he was tough and positive throughout - an excellent teammate.





We enjoyed our tour along the Grand River Trail to Bingeman's Park although it probably wasn't the most efficient route choice for us to maximize points. We were a little surprised at how hilly the riverside trail was. At least it was scenic and shady.

We were passed by Mrs. Tiny and her rookie teammate, who just missed winning the whole thing!



The checkpoints were ribbons, and we had to photograph them.



No adventure race can happen without dedicated volunteers. The Grant family came through big time! We were able to drop our bikes in Bechtel Park and look for checkpoints on foot. We liked this part since Slow Mo is a strong hiker. Note that Mr. Reeder was taking a lunch break when we passed through the bike drop.



More dedicated volunteers.



We headed into the forest and bushwhacked, stomped through a swamp and waded a river. Slow Mo got the full experience of adventure racing in a short period of time!





We stopped to smell the trilliums.



It's always nice to see the Race Director out on the course. In fact, it was the first time we'd seen her all day since she was napping during the race briefing.



If we didn't return within the 2.5 hour time limit, we would be disqualified. We had to push a little to sneak in a final checkpoint but Slow Mo and I hit the finish line with 3 minutes to spare. Yahooo!



'Bent and his team cut it the closest - and 'Bent cut in front of a car to reach the finish line. Ahem. Let's just say it has been a subject of discussion.



Mrs. Mick, also on 'Bent's team, became a stronger mountain biker as the race went on, according to reliable sources. Here she is chatting with race winner J-Lu.



The post-race party was excellent with BBQ, homemade salads, two different cakes, good company, great race prizes for all, and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday".







Thanks to Aubrey for hosting a 5-star adventure event - and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Tiny for helping her and securing us a coveted entry. Fun day! :)

Bechtel Park - the part of the race where we dropped our bikes to orienteer on foot.

My Achilles was tight so I went for a recovery bike ride instead of joining 'Bent for an easy run. The ride seemed to fix the problem for now. Spectacular day! Spring flowers are coming out but we have no trilliums just yet - and no poison ivy either.

Hockley Loop with 'Bent, Double_Downon11 and Mr. Yaneff. It's always a pleasure to take people on their first tour of the Loop, and this time we had two newbies along, which was a special treat.

'Bent looked exactly like one of the guys in this picture today. Guess which one. :)



'Bent's coach had also prescribed 45 minutes of running on flatter terrain before and after the Loop. He was going to cheat on that but I kicked him out the door first thing in the morning and dropped him off 45 minutes from home on our way back. You're welcome, dear. :)

Anyone who may remember that I am training for a 168 km race while 'Bent is training for a 100 km race is advised to avoid editorial comment.

Terrific lunch at the Black Birch afterward. Time deducted for enjoying views at lookouts, etc.

Hard Core Live with Caron.

Felt sooo good to stretch my non-stretchy bits.

Sunny weather and new running gear provided terrific motivation for a lunchtime run on the Bruce Side Trail to Centreville Creek Road and back with an extra hill on Finnerty. Like last year, I'm planning to do some of my runs in hot weather to get my body used to it. After all, heat is the new altitude!

I ran in my new Salomon Sense Ultra shoes today and got them dirty - sniffle! I made an extra special effort to avoid the coyote poop at least. They are the lightest, most minimalist shoes I've ever run in, and they made me feel fast and agile, even though I'm not. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine myself mountain goating along the trail like STORM or JohnnyM on their way to victory in a 50K.

But wisely, I didn't close my eyes for very long on such a technical trail. :) I don't think my running form is good enough right now to use such lightweight shoes for more than about 2 hours, and if there was a lot of road running, they wouldn't be the best choice for someone like me. Maybe they will be an incentive to keep improving my form! But for a typical Bruce Trail run, it was love at first sight. Not so, alas, with the Sense Mantras that also arrived in my Flight Crew package. It appears that my feet are too wide for the women's version but maybe a men's size will work.

I also tried one Hydro Sense glove with a 200 ml soft flask. I've been looking for options to carry water for short runs, and I liked the idea of running with a relaxed hand but still having water handy. I really liked it but I did have to adjust the position of the soft flask as it got smaller. Also, it wasn't quite enough water for an hour on a hot day, even for a camel like me. So I will probably try the other glove as well. One of the Salomon Store staff told me that a top runner has been using them backwards with the flasks on the backs of his hands. I'd already had that thought so I will do that test next time!

And finally, I tried the S-Lab Advanced Skin Belt. For years, I've kept buying different waist belts for running, believing each time that I've finally found the right solution for runs when I don't want a pack. But almost all of them end up bouncing around and driving me nuts. I didn't give this one a fair test today but it felt good so far. I only put my phone and house keys in it because I already had water in my hand. That will be a test for another time. I'm thinking that maybe it would make sense to have a couple of flasks in the belt that I move to my glove one at a time when I'm ready to drink from them. Carbon's Offset and Carbon both tested this belt recently and wrote some detailed comments on their logs.

Yahooooo!!

To expand on this, I passed the final heart test (stress echocardiogram) so my doctor has signed my medical form for UTMB. *Huge* load off my mind. Now I need to train.

Fun Attackpoint reunion at the Salomon Friends and Family sale today. As nice as it is to chat online, nothing beats seeing friends in person. I had lunch with Bender and Double_Downon11, then 1L arrived, then WandAR, then Wilberto. Special thanks to Birthday Boy Bender for lunch, and all the best at the rogaine in Nova Scotia this weekend!

P.S. I have not taken off my Salomon Sense Ultra shoes since I got home. I may never take them off - so comfy.