Training Log Archive: Bash

Along with many others, 'Bent has carried pandemic insurance on his dental practice for his entire career. It's supposed to pay out within 24 hours and it would cover about one month's wages for his employees. Yesterday the insurance company asked for yet *another* week to decide whether they were going to pay Canadian dentists.

Their loophole is that the office closures are "voluntary" even though it is illegal in Ontario to do any dentistry except to treat a short list of "true emergencies" defined by the dental governing body, using a subset of the usual techniques (no high-speed drills) and only if the patient has no symptoms. 'Bent estimates that 1-2 patients per month might fall in that category and he will direct most of them to the dental emergency clinic in Newmarket. He has donated most of his masks and gloves to the local hospital, as dentists were asked to do.

Given that true dental emergencies can be extremely serious - even life threatening in rare cases - the government could never order all dental offices to shut down completely. So pandemic insurance could never be claimed, apparently. We'll see what they decide next week.

Originally, I didn't name the insurance company but the Globe and Mail posted an article about this today. I just read the comments and it seems that 50% of commenters think insurance companies are crooks and 50% think dentists are crooks. Sorry, 'Bent.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-d...

After a long day, 'Bent and I went for a short, brisk hike in the forest behind us to remind ourselves that the outdoors still exists and is beautiful.

Even though our schedule has had some openings lately (!), 'Bent and I have been thinking that we shouldn't go to Tree Hugger ABC in Collingwood over the next while for a number of reasons, including ethical ones. Now the Mayor has made it official, specifically asking part-time residents not to come. If they insist on coming, they should stay indoors like everyone else. But really, they should stay home if that's where they usually get their health care. That's sensible.

I made the foolish mistake of trying online grocery purchase and pickup in the midst of a pandemic. It seemed like a good idea at the time - mostly for non-perishable items from 'Bent's list, which can take me a long time to collect from different aisles. "Where are the hemp hearts in this store?"

As of 5 days ago, the first available time slot was today from 2-3 pm. Because it poured rain this morning, I planned to bring home the groceries and work out afterward. But there was a delay and I spent all afternoon waiting for them to notify me that I should drive 20 minutes to the store. Around 6 pm, they phoned to say that they'll email me tomorrow morning to assign a new pickup time. So... it was a bad idea. And no exercise got done.

Coach LD has set up a couple of orienteering courses in the Humber Valley in Bolton. Although we're trying to stay very close to home almost all the time, we know Coach LD always does a great job. I don't think it will be long before we're subject to outdoor activity restrictions like the ones that have been imposed in UK and some European countries where Covid 19 is more widespread. So it was nice to get out in a different forest while we still can.

We were looking for yellow caution tape. There were clues on the tape - letters, numbers and words. This control had been vandalized so we had to text Coach LD to find out the clue.



It was lots of fun! We went to some places we'd never visited in the Humber Valley, and we got really muddy, which was great.



I wore Hokas to switch things up on my injured foot, as per Baloney's good advice. They were comfortable on the trails but they aren't designed for steep, muddy slopes so that made things extra adventurous at times.



We had just planned to hike but we had a little trouble finding #10, then we realized we would have to run to get back to our car and drive home in time for online Zoom Beers with Timato and K-Way.

On the way back, we met Gunda picking up garbage and also looking for controls. She was the only other person we saw in the valley.



Coach LD met us at our car with a finisher gift of homemade soup - yum! Then we went back to try more of our Half Hours on Earth craft beer while catching up on the news from Kitchener. A fun, socially distant day!

AdventureDog and I did a brisk loop through Palgrave West. Most of the ice is gone now, replaced by goopy mud, so I won’t need spikes next time.

Then I drove to our CSA farm for a pandemic-style food pickup. I’d put our CSA bushel basket in the back of the car, and Sarah filled it with our food while I stayed in the car. She was using gloves, hand sanitizer and a scarf over her mouth, and we were advised to wash everything when we got home. I had a nice, distant conversation with Jim and Sarah. Actual human beings that I know! In person! Who knew that would ever be so exciting?

Today was also a much better day, as the government announced a 75% wage subsidy program in addition to the $2,000/month CERB program announced earlier in the week. We crunched the numbers and figured that between the two programs, we should be able to keep all six of ‘Bent’s staff employed and receiving a reasonable salary for the 6-month period we are estimating the office will be closed, without the business going into too much debt. (We hope we’re wrong about the timing but...) ‘Bent’s office has been closed for 2 weeks and he’s kept paying everyone rather than laying them off with the hope that something like this would be offered. One nice thing about this is that employers can be part of the solution, rather than just the government. Phew. I cried.

Another walk-run combo on the treadmill - 1 min running to 2 mins walking with a little cheating at the end. My heel remains a bit sore but these sessions don't seem to make it worse the way my trail run did. I could really use some trail running right now. :(

Things got real today as 'Bent gathered up most of the masks and gloves in his dental office and loaded them up to donate to Headwaters hospital tomorrow - a twilight zone scenario we never could have imagined a month ago. We think it's going to be a very long haul and this seals the deal. It's unlikely he'll be able to order more protective equipment for a long time.

Yesterday's 30-minute treadmill walk-run didn't aggravate my sore heel so apparently Dr. Bell's plan is worth following. I will try another walk-run tomorrow but my big adventure will be a trip to a grocery store.

For a couple of people with negative income, 'Bent and I have been very busy with work lately.

This was the kind of treadmill session Dr. Bell made me do when I was recovering from my last heel injury - 1 minute running and 2 minutes walking. I think he actually said 3 minutes walking at first - oops. Anyway, I'll see whether I'm limping in the morning. So far it's not too bad. The best thing I watched while run/walking was Randy Rainbow singing about social distancing.

C3 is emailing a suggested daily home workout to its members. After running, I did one of Caron's short core strength videos and some foothab and balance.

Also part of the prescribed workout: Caron's lower body stretch video.

Busy day as we continue to sort out details of the closure of 'Bent's dental practice. Patients will continue to get toothaches and employees will still have mortgages so it's not simple.

Frankenjack (from a family with two physicians) and his wife Rockstara (a nurse) shared a video made by a local family physician on avoiding contamination from groceries. I haven't been this careful but I guess it's time.



He also has a video about how to deal with mail and packages. He says to assume it's all contaminated. On the same topic, my accountant mentioned today that their firm is putting all mail and packages aside for 72 hours before opening.

So just in case life wasn't complicated enough right now, there's more.

Yesterday's short walk-run caused my heel pain to flare up so I went for a sunny hike with AdventureDog today. I wouldn't normally log a dog hike on AP but it looks like hikes will be a key part of my injury recovery, and I don't want to be tempted to run outside just because it's loggable.

I'll try the walk-run progression on the treadmill that I did with Dr. Bell last time I was recovering from a heel injury. It's not quite the same injury but it's worth a try. I have lots of time so I can build up to running and do foothab exercises.

I looked seriously at getting a rowing machine on Black Friday and now I really wish I had!

Spectacular, crisp, cold, sunny day! I haven't been running in regular shoes for more than 6 weeks in an effort to heal whatever is hurting at the back of my right heel. I did some snowshoe running in a couple of races and I've also done a lot of skiing so it has only been a partial rest but my heel has been feeling almost normal again.

It was too nice to stay inside so I tried a short walk-run in Palgrave West. A few years ago, when I had retrocalcaneal bursitis in my left heel, Dr. Bell started me back into running with walk-runs on the treadmill. Initially, I think it was repeats of 1 minute running and 3 minutes walking. So it was kinda cheating to go out on the trails but it's not as if I have any deadline to recover, and it was fantastic to be outside in this weather.





My heel is sore tonight. Maybe it needed more time - or maybe Dr. Bell's method is the way to go. He is kinda smart. :) I'll find out tomorrow when I see whether I have to limp sideways down the stairs.

Pro mountain biker Rémy Métailler of Whistler posted this photo with some good, specific suggestions about reducing risk. (Spoiler alert: he won't be riding this line any time soon.) It's a great time for me to do trail maintenance and learn more about bike repair.



"With the current situation, I will not do anything risky anymore. That picture was taken last year. I have opened and done that line so many times and never got sketchy on it, but I would not want to take a chance to go to the hospital at this time. They are already extremely busy with a way bigger problem. Go and ride your bike if your country allows it but at this time don't ride within your comfort zone; ride below it. The health workers do not need to take care of an injured biker. For the next little while I will do things bike related that will allow me to progress without needing to push my riding such as working on my basic skills, flexibility, mechanic, finding new lines (but not testing them), trail maintenance... Outside of the bike world, I already miss my friends and seeing people but social distancing is needed and should not be taken lightly. If you are not scared of the virus for yourself, you should at least fear the financial impact of it. It will be tough for the big companies and the small businesses. The faster we react, the faster we get back to our lives. Be smart our there, stay healthy and thank you to the health worker, people at the groceries stores, delivery drivers and everyone that keeps working for the community. Cheers. Photo by James Lissie"

Some lower body strength and foothab to get things going again.

A few months after finishing CCC last year, I really needed motivation. So I was uncharacteristically efficient at booking flights and registering for 4 trail running events in 4 countries between April and October. I also registered for two adventure races in Ontario. This strategy hasn't turned out too well so far but it's nothing compared to the big stuff happening in the world.

Given that I can't rely on medical care being available for the next few months, I want to stay healthy and uninjured. Exercise is part of that so I'll need to motivate myself without those races and without traveling, training partners or post-run lunches. Stress usually drives the motivation right out of me so this is going to be challenging.

I'm thinking about appropriate ways to reduce risk. Although I've never had a serious accident, people do break ankles while trail running or get concussions while mountain biking. I've seen recommendations for mountain bikers to stick to trails of "low consequence" during the pandemic. In some European countries, it's a crime to go cycling or to run farther than 2 km from home. Maybe those measures are coming, given that our case numbers have been closely following Italy's numbers from 20 days ago. We're lucky to have good indoor training options if it comes to that, and we do have trails behind our place where we rarely meet anyone.

Anyway, baby steps.

For non-Facebookers, here are two recent posts since I didn't do any training *again*.

Excerpt from a post on 'Bent being home from work:

Staying home is *really* not easy for a guy who loves his work and hates to sit still. There are a few silver linings in this gloomy time such as:
- Our large pile of chopped and stacked firewood is growing fast.
- He phoned or texted every single one of his relatives today.
- The dogs are thrilled to have both of us here.
- He's a great cook and we can eat garlic on weeknights now that he's not doing dentistry.
_________________________________________________

Scenes from the Grocery Store in this Crazy New World:

- I would have felt more relaxed leaving my phone visible on the car seat while I shopped than my hand sanitizer.

- Many shoppers brought spouses and/or children old enough to stay home. I saw families of four (including both parents) shopping together - grrr! Apparently, some families think social distancing means hanging out with a bunch of strangers in the only store in town that every family has to visit.

- The store had no TP, no eggs and no anchovies. I'm curious about the purpose of anchovies in a pandemic. It seems that I've failed to stock up properly.

- No, I'm not hoarding chocolate. That's a perfectly normal amount of chocolate for a person to buy in a week. But yes, we are hoarding wine and craft beer. There are only so many risks a person can take.

Coronavirus Rhapsody: I recommend singing it out loud from start to finish. It gave me a much needed fit of giggles. Warning: dark humour.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/124030754149149...

This is all good info.

Hello out there! AP is pretty quiet these days but as we all keep our social distance during the pandemic, it feels more important than usual to reach out.

Life is crazy for everyone - potential health concerns, worries about family members, job stress, financial loss, general uncertainty and - of course - the Great Toilet Paper Shortage. I'm sending a big hug to folks in AP Land and hoping we can help one other by staying connected while we're required to stay apart.

'Bent, BazingaDog, AdventureDog and I are fine. The week leading up to yesterday was super stressful as we tried to figure out what to do with 'Bent's dental practice. After a lot of soul searching and research on the disease and best practices around the world, we decided to close the office except for minor emergencies that can't be managed with meds. This was considered a radical idea by most other dentists early Sunday afternoon but within 2 hours, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario had made the same recommendation.

It's especially tough for younger dentists who still have huge student loans and practice loans. Like 'Bent, most dentists also have employees who need income regardless of whether there are patients. Some offices aren't closing down. We're hoping the government will offer some small business assistance in tomorrow's announcement.

Regardless, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders since deciding to (mostly) close the office. It was a tremendously difficult decision. 'Bent loves his patients and his staff, and he loves dentistry and helping people. Meanwhile, I have chronic low white blood cells so I'm not sure of the effectiveness of my immune system. I was freaked out knowing that he and his staff work in the occupations considered most likely to get infected.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/15/bus...

Last week we also stressed over whether to cancel plans with friends that ultimately got cancelled anyway - the Costa Brava Stage Run in Spain and the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Toronto. It all seems obvious now but it wasn't so obvious last Monday. In both cases, we decided to cancel 24 hours before it became a moot point. I'm sure Ultra Trail Snowdonia in Wales in June is next but if I wait a while, the cancellation may cost less.

We thought we might ski a little more now that 'Bent's schedule is suddenly open but Scenic Caves and Highlands have closed due to the pandemic. That's OK - there are lots of other ways to stay busy.

Sending love from our home to yours. Stay healthy, take care of each other and keep in touch.

Jackie Tarno and I skate skied together for the first time, with the understanding that I would probably ask her to go ahead eventually because she's stronger. We stuck together for a while then I felt like taking it easier. We stopped for a long chat (time deducted) about these crazy times, especially for people in the healthcare field. Aside from a peripheral sense of gloom, it was a gorgeous day with deep blue sky, bright sunshine and shimmery snow. I don't usually skate at Highlands because of the big, steep hills but even I have to admit it was probably the better choice today!

Coach LD had a time for a Green Loop on classic skis while waiting for latecomers to show up for their ski lesson. Conditions were good for classic skiing too, and the day was spectacular. :)

It was Retro Day at Highlands Nordic, part of their 30th anniversary celebration. We haven't kept much gear from that period but we skied a lot back then. We almost never went to nordic ski resorts, which we dismissed as "hamster wheels" - hence the compass for wilderness skiing.



In those days, I would have worn corduroy knickers with knee-high wool socks but the best I could do today was knee socks with a pair of long johns from that era. On top, I had some of my original fleece although it was too hot to ski in all of it!

'Bent's tights were from that era and so were his skis.



It was nice to take a break and think about something other than the pandemic although my jaw never unclenched so I don't think I was very successful.



Obviously, this week we cancelled our April trip to the Costa Brava Stage Run in Spain. Turns out Spain is in lockdown now anyway. I'm sure Ultra Trail Snowdonia in Wales in June won't happen either but I haven't started cancelling the few things that we can. None of this matters. There are more important things to care about.

Living with a healthcare provider, it's hard not to be stressed all the time these days. But I did smile this morning when I traded the dirty one for a clean one.

Scenic Caves Ski-Orienteering

Day 2 Long

We had a great time last night catching up with Funderstorm, Amber, Arthurd and Katie.

Today there was a choice of Medium or Long courses, where the Medium course was the first of two maps that made up the Long course. The Long was advertised as 15 km point-to-point, estimated to be about 20 km of skiing.

It was another bluebird day but the temperature had been above zero overnight and was forecast to soar this afternoon. The snow was slower and I felt awkward - like I'd never skate skied in my life. I think I may have been a bit dehydrated. I should have carried water - duh! Thanks to Funderstorm for the awesome scenery photos.





We started with a few long legs today so I had lots of time to think about my poor skiing. It was fun to get into the southwest part of the trail network that we didn't see yesterday and do some bushwhacking down there.



Between 12 and 13, I thought it would be fun to take a shortcut by removing my skis and running down a snowshoe trail to a lower ski trail. Two young women followed me. They got their skis on faster and left. My boots were jammed with rock-hard snow so it would have been faster to just stay on my skis and go around on trails. I was bent over for at least 90 seconds, using the tip of my pole to gouge snow out of my boots and trying not to slide after I put on my first ski. When I stood up, it felt like something triggered my heart to start racing and I felt lightheaded. I'm not sure what it was - maybe a combination of mild dehydration, stopping in the middle of a hard effort and standing up after bending over. It only lasted a few seconds but it scared me into taking it pretty easy for the rest of the race - at least as easy as possible, given that I was on skate skis.

I stopped at the map exchange and waited for my heart rate to get close to its resting level. I was ready to turn around if I didn't feel right. I kept my heart rate moderate and just did herringbone up some of the hills instead of skating. Ugh. I was tired after the race but actually not as exhausted as last year's Long Ski-O race. Looking back at my log, I was so thirsty after that one that I bought a big drink at the chalet before downloading my SI card, and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck for several hours. The aftermath wasn't nearly as bad today even though I skied a little farther in warmer weather. This was the 2nd longest skate ski of my life; the longest was a 3-hour ski-O practice session at Sovereign Lake in Feb. 2006.



Map 2 was different enough from Map 1 to keep things interesting. I saw almost no one since most skiers stopped after Map 1, and the rest of us had spread out. The temperature rose to the point where my skis stopped sliding reliably. It happened very suddenly - glide, glide, glide, glide, stick, stick, stick, glide, stick, stick, stick, glide. For the last half hour of racing, my skis decided to surprise me constantly. This was especially fun on downhills if one ski slid while the other hit the brakes.



I was grateful to learn that I'd visited all 32 controls in order. What an immense amount of work to organize this race! Big thanks to Mark and Jackie Tarno, Hammer, Etoile and Anvil for a super fun weekend.

Event: Scenic Caves Ski Orienteering Races Weekend
 

Short warm-up ski before the ski-O race to remind myself what it feels like to skate ski and what it feels like to wear a ski-O map case.

Scenic Caves Ski-Orienteering

Day 1 Sprint

With help from the Wadd Squad, the Tarnos organized a fantastic weekend of Ski-Orienteering at Scenic Caves Nordic Centre. The courses were lots of fun, and they got the weather exactly right with sunshine, blue skies, soft snow and spectacular views of Georgian Bay.

Today was the Sprint, advertised as about 5 km between controls as the crow flies - although it's not always safe (or legal) to ski with a crow! I forgot to turn on my watch until 10 minutes after the start so my distance is an estimate. (Click on photo to enlarge it.)



Bushwhacking was permitted on white parts of the map, i.e. through the forest. On orange/yellow areas of the map, we were required to stick to marked trails including some temporary trails created by a snowmobile in open fields. This provided lots of route choice. Some controls were on snowshoe trails so there was some unavoidable floundering in the woods on skate skis, which suited me just fine as someone who does lots of classic skiing.

Most trails were marked with chevrons to indicate the required direction of travel. For skiers familiar with Scenic Caves, it was important to be alert because it was legal to ski the wrong way for a short distance on a one-way trail as long as we did not cross a chevron on the map - and even legal to punch a control at a chevron that was pointing the wrong way. This was different from the one-way trail rules in other races I've done and organized (trails have usually been 1-way from junction to junction), and I lost a bit of time in a few places as I made an extra effort to ski in what I thought was the required direction.

It took me a few minutes to get into the map. I'd expected to ski off into the woods but we headed toward the chalet instead. I'm told that several regular Scenic Caves skiers made the same mistake on #2 by skiing to a small ski loop that we've all seen in front of the main chalet (unmapped) rather than a small loop near the parking lot. This ensured that our moment of confusion was witnessed by the maximum number of tourists in the busiest part of the Nordic Centre. :)



After that, my brain started working. I haven't been skate skiing lately but it felt pretty good. I didn't have as much trouble in the deep snow off-trail as I'd expected. I'd considered classic skis but I don't think the off-trail sections would have been much easier. There were 19 controls in a relatively short distance so we always had to be thinking.

Lots of fun! My hero of the day was Stacie Smith, who placed 2nd to Milla Tarno in the Open Women category. She's just returning to sports after many months of health issues. I gave her my Masters prize because she deserved it *way* more.

CNYO Snowgaine, Day 2
Winona State Forest

It was another frosty morning but it was forecast to warm up so we dressed in lighter layers. It was sunny all day with a perfect blue sky and we felt really lucky to have such crazy hobbies.



I'd had more time to plan today's route so I knew where we had to be at what time. At the end, we hoped to have time to get 4 extra controls. We did a counterclockwise loop heading southwest to start.



We only had 7 hours today and expected to be slower. Yesterday was my first run on a hard surface in 3.5 weeks because I've been resting my injured heel. I was limping in pain this morning and felt it all day. Ugh. The weird thing is that by Monday, when I expected horrible pain, my heel felt better than it's felt in a few months. Maybe it needed two days of floundering around in deep snow? We'll see what happens after my next run.



Everything else went like clockwork other than a few minor 'Bent-gear failures - a frozen compass (again - but he had a backup today), a frozen bladder hose and a broken lanyard holding our punch card. His fingers went numb during the first half hour, even though he was wearing big mitts, so we may want to start him with hand warmers in future. (He got frostbite in a blizzard in Nepal and has had hand problems ever since.)



After a brief road run, we took a ski trail toward 75, then did 46-29-34, which were close together. If we did those 4 controls in less than an hour, I planned to add 30, which was harder to reach. We were moving well so we did the out-and-back to 30. It was slower going than I'd expected so I was a little nervous about the decision. During our first hour, we met Olga and Erin several times and they saved me from an unzipped pack pocket - thanks!



From 30, we had 4.5 km of travel on a mix of ski trail, snowmobile trail, ungroomed trail and a short stretch of road. It took an hour and there were no controls to visit. Then we were in the valuable northern part of the map where we picked up 32-45-77 and ran into Harps and JVD a couple of times.

From 77, we had to retreat 700 m southwest to a road to avoid private property. When we first saw racer tracks climbing up onto the road, I mistook it for a private driveway so we didn't follow them. We broke trail for another 200 m to a snowmobile trail, which proved that the other racers had been correct and we had bushwhacked extra distance for nothing. Oh well.



We put our snowshoes on our packs, 'Bent got me on tow, and we did a hike/run 2.3 km to the turn-off to 62. It was our farthest point from the finish and I'd hoped to get there halfway through our 7 hours. We hit it at 3:31 (pure luck!) then we were on the homeward stretch with a good chance of adding some extra controls. After a shorter road run, we put our snowshoes back on and visited 73, 35 and 19, which was our decision point about extending our day.



We had 2 hrs 19 mins left so we added 43-57-37 to the east. After scrambling up the steep slope from 43, we watched for private property boundary markings to the southeast but never saw them. We and a good American team went south a bit, then turned and followed a snowshoe highway that looked about right to avoid the little chunk of private land but I honestly don't think we (or a bunch of other teams) succeeded. I should have watched our bearing more closely on the steep climb out of 43 to stay in better contact with the map. :( Taking a quick look on Attackpoint and Strava, I haven't yet seen a team who avoided that error near 43, which explains all the tracks.



We met Chris and Chad (Team Twin Towers) on the road run between 57 and 37. 'Bent stopped to give Chad a zip tie to fix his snowshoe. Our final planned control was 64 with the addition of 15 if we had time. We did both and finished with 15 minutes on the clock. We *might* have been able to get 21 after 30 this morning but then we probably wouldn't have had the confidence to go for all the extra controls at the end, so I feel like today's route was the optimal choice for our abilities. Yesterday was OK but could have been improved with more time to plan.



Once again, we had a great post-race snack from a local food truck while chatting with friends about their days.

Teams from the Canadian contingent won every category in which we were represented - great job, all! Bob and Scott won overall, clearing the course with 2 hours to spare. Harps and JVD also cleared the course and were 2nd overall and 1st Male since Bob and Scott were Veterans (40+). Alex and Karine were 1st Coed, and 'Bent and I were given medals for 1st Veteran (no gender divisions). We were actually 2nd to Bob and Scott in a category with 12 teams, which is the best we could have hoped for. They are going to get an Overall award. Rootstock Female won their category and the incredible Eric and Mary Smith won SuperVet (55+) in their mid-70s with a very respectable overall ranking.

Here's Team Canada 2020. Absent: Dave and Will Hitchon and JVD. What a great time! We hope to go back next year with an even larger Canadian contingent.



Many thanks to Bruce, Gian and Russell for a fantastic event. They really knocked it out of the park on their first attempt! We're so grateful to have this terrific event back on the calendar.