Note
Post-rogaine thoughts:
Things that worked well - Montrail Hardrock shoes (purchased 36 hours earlier - could have been a huge disaster), knee-high XC ski gaiters to fend off seeds and cacti, shin pads beneath pants, trekking poles, quick-dry trekking pants, long-sleeved Coolmax shirt to keep sun off, Brunton 1SJet compass, Pristine water purification to avoid detours to water controls, NiteRider Storm bike light used only when major illumination was required.
Things that didn't work well - In spite of my best efforts, I still carried twice as much food as needed. I'm also not that impressed with my Myo5 headlamp anymore. Need to look at alternatives.
Note
After doing three major events in a 3-week period (Canadian O Champs, Raid The North Deerhurst and North American Rogaine Champs), I don't quite know how to start up again with my training. All my regular routines are messed up - I've been in race/recover/travel mode for awhile now. My training this year has been focused on doing my best in those three events, and I hadn't really thought much beyond that. There is a big break from racing - nothing until the Raid The North Champs in late September. But that one is a 72-hour expedition adventure race, so I definitely can't slack off for long! We have a strong team for the Champs, so I need to be fitter and stronger, and I'll especially need to work on my road biking, which is now my weakest discipline. Anyway, I guess today is the first day of the next phase of my training program!
Running 43:00 [3]
Trail run around Palgrave. Who would ever have thought that 27C would feel like a cool day? But the way this summer has been, today was great. I felt surprisingly good from a cardio perspective, but there were niggling pains in my knee and ankle that gradually faded - probably the result of running on pavement in Vancouver. Although we have no ocean or mountains here, it was great to be back in the Ontario woods with the smell of warm pine needles, the last of the wild raspberries and Monarch butterflies everywhere, glowing with the sun behind their wings. Also, I'm not terribly disappointed that my wildlife report consists of deer and wild turkeys again, rather than bear cubs and their mother. (I did see many shadowy bears in my peripheral vision today, all of which turned out to be fallen trees.) Today I focused on running over the tops of hills, rather than slowing at the brink. It's amazing - if I focus on a tree 5 meters beyond the top of the hill and give myself permission to stop and walk there, most of the time, I don't feel like stopping by the time I get to the tree. So even though I wasn't pushing hard today, I actually had my best-ever time on my time trial route: 39:45. Interesting.