Training Log Archive: Bash

Bent and I jogged over to the Palgrave CA parking lot.

First orienteering training session with the new Caledon Navigators Club. Yes, I am now a full member of two orienteering clubs, which will mean more O time and undoubtedly more V time too. (Volunteering.) It sure was a treat to arrive at an O training session on foot, and it was excellent to see a dozen enthusiastic people out on such a nasty, cold, rainy morning. We broke into groups, and I coached a relatively new orienteer. I had no map case in the pouring rain, so decided to make it an exercise in map memorization, while letting my "student" lead the way. Lots of fun, and she is a great runner, so the trail running was a good workout.

Hardwood Hills with Bent, TheMinister, Gazelle and Gazette. We'd asked TheMinister for some skate-ski coaching, and he did a great job - although he was pretty tough on us for a Saturday morning! Lots of skiing up hills without poles, and he explicitly prohibited us from using our "lowest gear", even on the biggest hills. Great workout - it would almost count as interval training. Beautiful sunny day, but really too warm for skiing by the time we left. The last hour felt like being on a treadmill with the resistance turned way up.

I now feel comfortable enough on skate skis that I will definitely use them in the ARC winter race in March. That might even be a good excuse to do the race solo one more time. However, there are still surprises with this new technique, and one high-speed fall today wrenched my lower back pretty badly. I'll do lots of light stretching over the next few days and keep my fingers crossed.

Leg exercises are feeling good and have given me a wonderful excuse to watch Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" occasionally. My bad knee is reasonably functional these days, and the strength/stabilization exercises really seem to have made a difference. I still need to be careful with my knee and am worried that spring mountain biking will bring back the constant pain. Anyway, things have gone a lot better than I expected they would back in the fall, when I was afraid that I would have to take up knitting as my main hobby. Who needs cartilage anyway??

My body is telling me that I need a rest day before a busy weekend, so unless I get inspired for some yoga later, that's probably it for today.

Accompanied Bent and BulletDog on their run to work, since I had a dental appointment in their office. Due to a minor spousal miscommunication regarding the amount of time required between wake-up call and departure, I stumbled out the door without my caffeine, knee brace or brushed hair - and ran pretty much all the way at a good pace with my eyes closed. (Why is it that night owls like me always seem to pair up with crazy-cheerful-energetic-in-the-morning people like Bent??)

Unfortunately, Dr. Bent diagnosed a large cavity that, due to its location and rapid onset, has likely been hastened along by my carb-loaded adventure races. :-((

Ran back home from Palgrave - only one minute slower than the run in, and there is a net elevation gain in this direction. Since I was still basically asleep at the time, I'll take it.

Silly walks to entertain ThunderDog upon my return.

Around Palgrave West with BulletDog

6 times up and down Raspberry Hill in soft snow with poor traction, so lots of work. As I started up for the 5th time, BulletDog took my arm gently in her mouth to try to stop me. Dogs just don't understand intervals.

While watching the fallout from the election on TV... sigh...

Yahoo - finally made it all the way through Caron Shepley's "Hard Core Conditioning" DVD. It gets easier toward the end, actually. Either that, or else maybe I actually USE my lower ab muscles once in awhile, so that part didn't seem so bad. I'd like to try to get through this full core strength routine once a week, then supplement with a few crunches on a couple of other days.

Today should have been a rest day, but right outside my door was a deep blue sky, fresh snow, and a forest that looked like a glittering crystal palace thanks to freezing rain from the weekend storm. I was intrigued by Bent's discovery of a groomed skating trail in the forest 2 km away, and I was curious to see what it would have felt like to use skate skis in Saturday's race, given that some of our route was off-trail.

Today was a good test, because there is plenty of debris on trails from recent storms and logging. Icy branches are drooping and blocking the way in places. Part of my rolling cross-country route to the skate trail included a single track trail. So it was a good test of how a relative newbie can get by on skate skis in less-than-ideal conditions.

I have a strong bias toward classic skiing, but I would have to admit that today's outing went shockingly well. I had a couple of falls, and there was one time when my ski tip hooked a branch and twisted my bad knee. I have less control on downhills than I have with classic skis, especially when I have to be nimble to avoid debris. But overall, it was great - loads of fun, even on the ungroomed trails. It's not often that I get to have a brand new adventure in my own back yard, and I'm excited to have another fun way to spend my time in the woods! :-)