Training Log Archive: Bash

Fun and chatty early morning run on the Humber Trail with Rocky (who has returned triumphant from the TransRockies trail race), 'Bent, Vents, Mr. Biker, Goose, Scooby and The Archer. The rain started while we were out, and I was fine while we were running, but got myself really chilled afterward. Hot shower was good, but I'm still sitting here with two fleecy tops on - after wearing a tank top and shorts yesterday.

On the way home, we stopped at a local market to see a young farmer friend who tragically lost his wife earlier this year when she drowned on their first vacation alone since having kids. A conversation like that makes you appreciate what you have and think about the things in life that truly matter. Today is our 12th wedding anniversary, and we are very, very lucky.

Stars Challenge at Mansfield. Fun course on a nicely updated map with a very complex trail network. This area is going to be tons of fun for the 2010 North American Ski-O Champs.

I think my last orienteering race was in early April, and it was great to be back running around the woods. Nice to see various friends including Mick and Missus and our Coast Raid teammates, Tiny and Pixie. Goose, 'Bent and I drove up together and had a good chat enroute. Discovered an amazing new place near Mansfield for espresso, antipasto, gelato, panini, pizza, pastries and wine. I think we'll be skiing there more often this winter!

I did reasonably well, with one medium error (about 90 seconds) where I overran #7 and one large error (about 7 minutes) when I got within 50 m of #16 and thought I saw a main trail below me that was actually a campfire area. Thinking I'd gone too far, I retreated, looked around and finally relocated and was surprised to arrive at the same spot - and saw the control this time. Oops.

An even bigger oops occurred after controls #2 and #3 unexpectedly turned out to be hand punches instead of SI controls. I decided that this must be a barebones race with SI only placed every 3-4 controls. Not true, but for some reason, that's how I saw things as I ran the rest of the course, with the result that I hand-punched 4 controls that actually had SI punches at them. (The Caledon Navigators have hand punches that look just like the SI stands.) Duh. Nothing like 5 months away from the sport! Looking forward to more O this fall. Big thanks to Nick, Ilona and the rest of the Stars for a fun event.

Rodney Yee's yoga for stamina. (Ironically, my shortest yoga DVD.) Felt good.

Got my Gary Fisher Sugar bike back yesterday - and it's going to give my new bike a run for its money! Fisher replaced the cracked frame at no charge, and it's a beautiful royal blue now. 'Bent had eBayed me new lightweight wheels before the frame cracked, and I'd replaced the front cranks and ring last fall. The only things we upgraded when the bike was rebuilt this time were the chain and back ring. So for just under $300, I've pretty much got a brand new bike! The plan was that this would be my back-up bike, but it looks so nice that maybe I'll put different tires on each bike and use them in different conditions. Really, they're both too nice for the kind of riding I do!

Unfortunately, I'm not going to the World Rogaining Champs in Estonia, but this is the most awesome waiver form I've ever seen!

http://8wrc2008.rogain.ee/failid/WRC_indemnity_for...

Wind got really strong before thunderstorms later today, so I decided to stay out of the woods (full of dead burnt trees) and head to the basement. I started with some paddle training as a warm-up for strength. This will be a great winter workout. I watched Mythbusters, who determined that (a) the 5-second rule is false (surprise, surprise), (b) their toilet seat had less bacteria than any other place in their workshop (as per the urban legend), and (c) a dog's mouth has less bacteria than a human mouth (at least in their test - I've seen what my dogs get into, and it ain't always pretty!)

Workout #1 on the machine, upper body portion only. My previous settings are recorded on the chart, and it's a little depressing to see how much strength I've lost. Gotta get to work!

I really didn't have it today - in fact, I feel so fatigued as I sit here that I wonder if I'm coming down with something. My Tuesday morning run felt good, so I hope it's no big deal. I wonder if my body is telling me that 4 days of racing at the Coast Raid requires more recovery than I'm giving it.

Ran into some guys who were marking trees for logging. Based on what I found when I went off-trail elsewhere, it seems that they're doing some work in there already, so be careful about going off-trail in Palgrave West.

It wasn't a total waste - I wore my Forerunner and measured some distances that I hope to use for trail intervals.

Loop to Thinker's Hill Bench, out and back by different routes through F&M's - 1.5 km

Mad Dog Meadow Loop - 980 m

Front Door to Jct of Pine Trail and Mad Dog Meadow Trail, Short Route - 350 m, Long Route - 630 m

From Pine/Mad Dog Jct to Thinker's Hill Bench and back again - 520 m

Today is the 1-year anniversary of a day we'll never forget - the afternoon that our new-to-the-country neighbours accidentally started a 70-acre bushfire that we had to help fight. A firefighter suggested that I evacuate our home, so I had the strange experience of grabbing our most important things (starting with the dogs) quickly and throwing them into the van. If the wind hadn't changed, Crash's house might have burned. 'Bent injured his knee badly, tearing his MCL and cracking his femur. He had to sit out for much of the next 4 months and spent the first half of 2008 working his way back up to full activity.

Unfortunately, our forest has not fared as well. The meadows recovered quickly, but the coniferous forest continues to die. Blackened trees topple over on windy days, needles are mostly gone, and thick, tangled undergrowth has sprung up beneath the trees, making trails hard to find. So don't play with matches, kids, and try not to live next door to people who do!!

http://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/pe...

OK, it's September, and it's time to either admit that I'm easing into the life of a couch potato or else get off my duff and start training for real. I went out early to avoid the anticipated 29C high temperature of the day and ran around Palgrave East and West. It is *so* sad to see the beautiful trails that we're going to lose under the new trail plan, especially the roller coaster Red Trail in the southwest part of Palgrave East.

Wildlife Report: 6 noisy grouse. I've never seen more than one of them at a time. I forgot to report a baby coyote in Koturbash woods during my run last week. He was a cutie, although I was worried to see him out on his own.

'Bent and I paddled at Island Lake with Goose and Coach LD and some of their family and friends. I only logged part of the recreational paddle time, but some of it was high intensity because 'Bent had brought a GPS to compare the speed of my old Current Designs GTS with his new light sea kayak. Oh, and naturally, 'Bent, Goose and I got a little competitive with one other!

My peak instantaneous speed with my current kayak was 10.3 kph, and I hit 10.5 kph on the new kayak. Not much difference there, but it seemed a little easier to cruise in the 9-10 kph range with the new kayak. After the testing, my vote is that 'Bent should either trade it in for a regular sea kayak that can carry gear for a 2-week trip - or else get a real racing boat. (The guy who sold it to him had left it open that he could trade for something different.)