Training Log Archive: Bash

Spent a fun, sunny morning wandering around our property with 'Bent, Mick, Goose, Milhouse and BulletDog, while Hammer shared some of the secrets of orienteering mapping. Etoile and AdventureGirl! took ThunderDog for a much-appreciated hike.

'Bent, BulletDog and I ran the Red Loop in Palgrave. Turns out some of it is much too wet for running, and we should probably skip the Hwy 50 section until the snow falls again.

I tried to replicate the conditions leading up to my fainting incident (strong effort for awhile, abrupt stop, then stand still a few minutes), but couldn't make it happen. The missing element seemed to be heat - it was about 10 degrees cooler today, and my body is truly Canadian in its love for cold weather. I also carried 'Bent's pulse oximeter and tried it a few times out of interest, although I'm not sure I'm proving all that much when it shows that I'm getting enough O2 to my finger!

Stopped in to visit Crash and her pooches on the way home, then had a morel picking session in the fire-burned field behind our house. Yum, they are good sauteed as an appetizer!! BulletDog did something to herself in the last few minutes that had her hopping on three legs for much of the evening. The pain was in the leg she had knee surgery on last year - the one with steel plates and screws in it. So we were freaking out and contemplating staying home from Arizona. But she started walking on all four legs again about 90 minutes before bedtime - phew!!!!

While watching the last hour of "The Last King of Scotland" with 'Bent. A good movie, but most definitely not a "feel good" movie. We had waves of thunderstorms and heavy rain all day. I'm hoping it was better for our friends who did STORM the Trent.

In some ways (running speed, navigational ability, wealth, and attractiveness in tights), I aspire to be like my friend Hammer. But in other ways, I don't want to be like him at all, even when I am. This was one of those days.

Nice sunny day for a short trail run. I felt surprisingly energetic, and my Forerunner confirmed a good pace. I could feel the 21C "heat", but it wasn't a biggie. I stopped to chat with a neighbour, and just after we'd talked about my MTB gash and his recent TIA, I felt a little nauseated and very dizzy. The dizziness felt like the postural hypotension I sometimes get from standing up too quickly. I should have sat down, but instead I turned to leave, and the next thing I knew, I was lying face down on the trail, unsure of how I got there and feeling like I'd just awakened from a pleasant dream. My neighbour was freaked out, but I assured him that I'd just tripped over some unknown divot. I wasn't even sure at first that I was lying to him, but when I realized that I hadn't tried to stop myself from falling hard on my face, I knew I must have blacked out for a second. After a couple of minutes of walking, I finished the run at a slower pace and felt OK, but not great. I've got some nasty road rash on my face and whiplash in my neck. Bizarre.

I'm guessing that it was some combo of stopping too quickly (blood still in the legs, not pumping to the brain), unaccustomed heat, and maybe not enough hydration. Too early to worry, I think. If I'd stopped and sat down for a few seconds, like I do at home, I think the dizzy feeling would have subsided without incident. But I do come from a family where women have heart problems, and I've had all kinds of tests after activity-related arrhythmias, so I'll need to keep track of this stuff.

Riding your mountain bike and navigating at the same time? Crazy!! Best of all, we're doing it at the Mansfield Outdoor Centre, whose wonderful trails are no longer open to the public. Sunday, May 31, 10:30 a.m. Online registration and further info is now on the Caledon Navigators website. More details to come (e.g. rules) closer to the event.
http://caledonnavigators.heysport.com/

There will be a novice course for people who aren't accustomed to riding on single track. The regular course will be suitable for intermediate riders - nothing too hairy. A good navigator will have an advantage, but all the controls are at points along trails, so any biker who can read a trail map should be able to get around the course - eventually!

Hope you can make it, and please pass this on to your friends who bike and adventure race. I'll be honest - our costs are high for insurance and venue fees, and I'm worried that the club will lose money, so I need to promote the heck out of this!

Included some pick-ups.

Really just wanted dinner, but talked myself into a short session in front of the Colbert Report rather than abandoning it entirely. Finished with a minute of balance on the Bosu ball.

With the North American Rogaining Champs just a week and a half away, I'm not sure how I should be spending my time. Tapering? But I've barely been training! So I guess I'll stay active, but limit the time I spend on my feet to save them for that 24-hr trek. It was probably a bad idea to fend off a tree with my arm today, since it looks like this stupid gash might still be bleeding a week from now. :-(

The Loneliest Pig
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM...

Leanimal has written a great report from Saturday's race, including the full story on the irate landowner!
http://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_2521/p...