Training Log Archive: Bash

First monthly GHO Canada GHO orienteering training session. Our debut was marred by getting seriously lost - sort of. Bent and I allowed lots of time to drive on a snowy day, so we got to the Hilton Falls main parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and took our time getting ready. By 9:05 a.m., it seemed *really* suspicious that nobody else was there. We fired up Richard's Treo and waited - and waited - until it finally chugged its way into the GCG blog where we learned that the session had indeed been moved to a different parking lot. Aaack!!

Instead of the relaxing start we'd planned on, we ended up chasing Icebug tracks through the snowy woods, which eventually led us to TD. She was pleased to have company and immediately passed me the map, asking me to talk her through the way I would approach the course. It ended up being a good outing, because when I am forced to talk about what I'm doing, I navigate better, and it reinforces things I should be remembering all the time. We worked on a few different skills, particularly map memorization, since we only had one map!

Hilton Falls is a great place for O practice - you really need to pay attention. The last time I practised there, it was summer, and today it was much easier to see the contours - phew! Still, I really have to squint sometimes to be able to pick out a ridge 2.5 meters high!

Nice inaugural session by Coach Sudden, with a good turnout. These are going to be fun!

Trail running portion of our outing at Hilton Falls.

After yesterday's running analysis session, Bent and I did some test runs so we could watch each other's posture. I think we now know what it is supposed to feel like when we are doing it right. Now we just need to practise, practise, practise.

Warmup/cooldown and tempo running for the camera at the C3 running analysis clinic with biomechanics expert Dr. Robert Taylor. Being an adventure racer, it never crossed my mind that people can run indoors, so I arrived in heavy tights, long-sleeved polypropylene top, vest, toque, gloves, etc. Other more savvy runners wore shorts and T-shirt. Oops!

Except for being overdressed, this was an *extremely* cool experience! First they wrote numbers on our arms, then we all warmed up on the track for 20 minutes. Then we ran in small groups while Dr. Taylor watched and took notes, and a retired CBC cameraman videotaped us running toward and away from the camera. Then we returned for a general presentation on running technique, followed by a review of the videos of all 40 participants.

One thing I learned is that virtually *nobody* is a perfect runner - even the teenager that Dr. Taylor encouraged to apply for a running scholarship. And keep in mind that C3 is a triathlon club, so the room included people who had done as many as 17 Ironman races - and there was still room to improve their running efficiency.

Dr. Taylor observed that virtually everyone there needed to work on their arm movement - keeping elbows close to the body, driving the legs forward with the arms, and not moving arms or torso side to side. Core strength and flexiblity were visible issues with many people. Posture was a problem for some people - and he pointed right at me (in a room of 40 people), and said, "You have posture issues." Gulp. I've already heard that from my Mom, my husband and my paddling coach. Maybe, just maybe, there is something to it.

He went through all the videos one by one, dispassionately listing everyone's problems (there were always a few), and showing us exercises or recommending particular types of therapy. At least 20% of the group he described as "beginner runners", i.e. people who have never done track or worked with a running coach, so they haven't been shown how to run properly. When he got to me, I was totally convinced that I'd be labelled a "beginner runner" since I have no background, and I was prepared to smile and agree. So you could have knocked me over with a feather when he said, "Now she is actually quite a good runner." Huh?!? One of the basic facts of my life (and it doesn't bother me much) is that I am a bad runner. But he claims that I'm a good runner who leans forward from the waist too much, plus I have a bit of a lurch to one side (see Hammer). This comes as quite a shock, and it's very cool to know what specific things to work on. (Other than speed, which has always been an issue.)

I took reams of notes and hope to write them up and post them to the Tree Huggers web site. Both Barrie Shepley and Robert Taylor are *very* keen on running drills (As, Bs, Cs, Strides, etc.) and suggest that we replace one run per week with running drills. They also said that most runners have far too much endurance relative to their other abilities, and they should spend more time on speed and hill work. Studies have shown that people train 80% of their time in a low HR zone, then race 90% of the time in a high HR zone. Other research has shown that people who mostly do long, slow jogs are using less than 50% of their muscle mass - and they are stunting their fast twitch fibre so they actually do worse on the "fast twitch" test than the average couch potato!

More to come in my notes. Very interesting session - well worth getting up before sunrise!

No, Bent and I did not set out to ski for 10 minutes! We have almost 20 cm of fluffy snow here, so we headed out for a loop with the dogs. Unfortunately, we kept screeching to a halt. It turns out the snow fell on relatively warm, wet ground, so there is a thin layer of slush next to the ground, insulated by thick snow which prevents it from freezing. So we abandoned our skis where we could find them on our way home.

After dropping the skis, Bent, BulletDog, ThunderDog and I went for a brief hike in Palgrave West. We were in ski boots, so it was a bit awkward, but the forest was a winter wonderland, so it was great to be out.

Trail run around Palgrave West with Crash and BulletDog (who ran 5 times the distance that we did). It's great to run with someone at a steady pace. It prevents me from cheating and walking more often than I really need to.

The best part was the post-training taste test of the new Crashbars - homemade energy bars developed by our favourite uber-athlete chef. I always figured that she could get rich from her brownies, but Crashbars could knock Clif Bars and Powerbars right out of the marketplace. :-)))

Reached 2000 hits tonight. Hello out there, whoever you are!

Upper body strength workout to help with XC ski poling. It's been a long time since I've done this, and now I need to use lighter weights than the ones I had previously marked on the wall chart. Need to work my way back up to where I was in the summer when I was paddling.

Leg strength exercises.

I feel like I could enter 15 extra minutes at Level 5 to account for the time and energy spent hauling, lifting, sawing and installing our 7-foot Christmas tree today. Phew! You know that lady in the Canadian Tire ad who makes their new tree stand look so easy to use? Well, she must be a WAY better trained adventure racer than I am.

Trail run around Palgrave West with ThunderDog, who was full of beans. She kept throwing quick glances in my direction to make sure I was looking, then she would tear off in a different direction to follow a deer trail, swim in an icy pond, or locate nasty, smelly things on the ground. I explained to her that she was showing complete ingratitude for the $3500 of back surgery, but that didn't really improve matters. On the bright side, I got more off-trail running time today than I'd originally planned on.

Since I can't go to TNT, I figured that TNT can come to Palgrave! I set out to do some intervals - my first speedwork in many months. It wasn't long before it became clear that my chest cold hasn't cleared up enough to do really intense exercise. So... I decided to invoke the Thomass age/gender handicap rules to drop several of my planned intervals! Did 3 intervals of 3:15 with 1:30 off, then ran home. I need to find a loop of the right size so I can try running a fixed distance.

Speaking of canine ingratitude, I'd left ThunderDog at home for this part of the run rather than having to worry about chasing her. When I returned home, I found the empty plate that used to hold Bent's birthday cake! :-(

Leg strength exercises while baking Bent's surprise birthday dessert... The surprisingly large number of items requiring cleaning after the unfortunate egg handling incident showed once again why Bent is normally the chef in our house.

We still have snow, but warm rain has been falling on it all day. Looks like we're back to autumn for another few days.