Training Log Archive: Bash

A few days after we did Raid The North, U.S. uber-orienteer Peggy Dickison did a very different, but far more gruelling event.

We've done too much packing and unpacking over the past 6 weeks, so instead of going away for the long weekend, we just took a quick overnight trip to my brother's cottage in Gravenhurst. It was too nice a weekend to miss out on swimming and paddling in a Canadian Shield lake! The pooches had a fantastic time swimming with us and fetching Kongs, then we paddled to the far end of Sunny Lake and back. Dave's canoe has a low freeboard, and we had to brace a few times when both dogs lurched to one side to inhale the aroma of barbecuing meat outside cottages onshore. This weekend is ThunderDog's 11th birthday, and both pooches had a fantastic celebration.

I had an interesting conversation with a very experienced adventure racer this afternoon. We talked about the flurry of discussion on and off Attackpoint regarding the FAR events last weekend. And then we talked about the FAC Champs at the end of September. Both of us are planning to enter teams, regardless of how disappointed we are in what happened last weekend. We know we'll have fun and see friends and enjoy some beautiful scenery.

Who else out there is planning to go to that race or the RTN in B.C.? If a lot of us are planning to sign up in spite of what happened last weekend, I guess that shows why there is so little incentive to improve the race quality. But hey, my team is looking forward to it, so I certainly can't say that I'm part of the solution.

Looking forward to finding some open water to swim and paddle in this weekend, even if it's only for an afternoon! So far we've resisted the urge to turn on our A/C in 2007 (assuming that it still works), but it has meant sleeping in the basement family room occasionally, including last night. Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend!

The Wednesday morning group ride turned out to be just 'Bent and me, which isn't surprising after a month away. We later learned that Stan was all set to join us until he discovered that his wife had inadvertently taken both sets of car keys. It wasn't too hot yet, so the riding felt better than I'd thought it might. It sure was humid though! The trails are getting very dusty. Some of them are like golf sand traps. We could use some rain. My bike feels a bit rough after banging the pedals hard on rocks a few times last weekend, so I dropped it off at Caledon Hills Cycling after our ride.

Crash and I are continuing to learn more about cougars in the days following her sighting. Most of us who do outdoor activities, including a couple of biologist friends, were totally unaware of the possibility of cougars in our little patch of forest just one hour north of Canada's largest city. However, it's been interesting to discover how *unsurprised* some other people are, e.g. the oldtimer in the neighbourhood, the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the local newspaper, etc. It seems like all the authorities knew about the possibility of cougars around here, but nobody thought to mention it to those of us who go running alone in the woods all the time. I suppose they don't want the yahoos to head out with their shotguns. I can respect that, but it's only fair to give us the chance to read up on how to behave in the event of a cougar encounter.

In my post-race-weekend haze, I couldn't remember what Leanimal and I had decided about our weekly run. I had to go into town anyway, so I dressed for running and stopped by her office, which was locked. That's OK, because I wanted to run outside of Palgrave anyway for cougar avoidance reasons, so I ran some of the HVT west of Duffy's. Unbearably hot in the open, but surprisingly nice in the shade.