Training Log Archive: Bash

Terry Fox Run - always a nice community event with a pancake breakfast served up by the Palgrave Rotary. Since we were running on rail trail (boring!), I wore my iPod and listened to my marathon mix - which worked about as well for speeding me up as it did in the marathon (i.e. NOT). It's been a couple of years since I've run a marked 10K, and I've slowed *way* down. Oh well... Running - particularly on flats - isn't my thing. At least I finished at the same time as some slim, younger people in expensive running clothes!

'Bent had a great run, finishing first (not that it's a real race) in 43 minutes. Phatty & Leanimal were up near the front, and I high-fived Coach LD, Goose and Tavish on the course.

Before the start, the warm-up leader mentioned that Terry Fox would now be 50 years old. That's so hard to imagine - he is forever young. I love looking around at all the people who come out to these runs - pushing strollers, riding bikes with training wheels, pulling wagons, walking with dogs (75% golden retrievers by my count), and (for a minority of us) running. It's cool that Terry is a hero to so many, even though about half of today's participants would have no memory of his Marathon of Hope in 1980. I can remember exactly where I was when I read that he had been forced to stop running - and I can still see my tears falling onto the newspaper and obliterating the text. An inspiring legacy... Whenever you wonder how much difference one person can make in the world, this shows you what is possible.

Jog on trail + warm-up exercises.

'Bent and I did an out-and-back trail run along the HVT, starting at the north Duffy's Lane entrance and turning around at the south entrance. We took a break before we started because we thought we saw some giant hogweed - all of it dead or dying - along the trail. Now that I've googled, I'm thinking it might have been Angelica because of the leaf pattern, but we'll keep watching because we know that giant hogweed has been sighted at a few locations in Caledon. This stuff was about 8' tall with thick stems.

Nice run - a little too warm and humid for me, but I'm a heat wimp. We met The Archer near our turnaround point and ran with him for about 10 minutes before he reached his own turnaround. Nice to catch up.

To Gore Road and back via country road and moderately hilly Bruce Trail. Only 8 seconds difference between the out and back splits, and I wasn't particularly trying for that. Cool... (I'm such a geek.)

Three 650 m intervals on rolling trail from our place via F&M double track to Mad Dog Junction. 3:11, 3:18, 3:12

Rests between intervals (350 m from Mad Dog junction to home) and cooldown. A little too hilly for the rest sections!

Hard Core DVD - with an increased level of difficulty because the 130-lb mastiff we are dogsitting occasionally leaned affectionately on my chest while I was trying to do crunches.

Got my first-ever distance vision glasses today. I don't really need them, but I'm so used to being spoiled with 20/15 vision all my life that I wanted to be able to see things with crystal clarity again. I love them! My optometrist noticed a couple of changes in my eyes that I'm a bit young for - one that can be (but is not necessarily) associated with UV exposure and one that can be associated with banging your head around, e.g. mountain bike crashes. Hmm, I've never been thrilled about the risk of wrecking my joints from adventure sports, but that hasn't deterred me at all. But my vision is a completely different story. I'm *not* pleased about this - although these things might have happened anyway. Wear your sunglasses, boys and girls - and try not to bump your head too hard!

No resting between sets because there was no time!

It's hard to fathom that our multi-sport racing season is already over for 2009 - a few weeks earlier than usual. We had to make some tough choices this year. From now on, we paddle and bike only for fun. Maybe that's not so bad.

Next up for me is the U.S. Sprint and Ultra-Long Orienteering Champs in 10 days. It's been a year and a half since I've done a competitive orienteering A meet, and I'm feeling woefully underprepared. Last year I purposely skipped the North Am O Champs because I didn't feel qualified to race in them - pretty sad after medalling in both Canadian and North Am Champs in 2006. At least I know what I need to do:

(a) Run. Since the championship races are very different distances, any running will do.

(b) Practise navigating. This is more difficult. Guess I should dig out some old maps and try making quick route choices. My biggest problems in A meets are usually finding the start triangle (in these events, you are already on the clock when you first see the map) and taking a panicked, dumb route to the first control. After that, I'm usually OK, although in longer O races, I sometimes get stupid after about 75 minutes, so that will definitely be something to watch out for! Should be interesting to see how it goes.

Headed to Albion Hills with the orienteering map from the 2007 Tree Hugger Invitational race. It was good practice to follow a map again. I've become sloppy about thumbing and folding the map properly. I hit a mountain bike trail just as two bikes were approaching. The leader said, "Hi Barb!" It was former Tree Hugger Logan Tacoma - a nice surprise! We chatted for a minute before he pointed out that the rider standing behind him was... VO2Max!! Awesome to see him after 6 months out west! On my way back, I ran into The Archer. Turns out the Albion Hills are full of friends. Who knew?

Interesting news from the world of science. People with thin thighs die younger than us normal women, and the more people drink, the more likely they are to exercise.

Ran hilly trails around Palgrave West. I was pushing hard but didn't set any speed records, so I guess the humidity and fatigue were taking their toll. I confirmed that the F&M Loop (front patio to main F&M Doubletrack to Mad Dog Meadow to Pine Trail to front patio) is exactly 1 km and reaches the 2/3 km point at the turn-off from Mad Dog Meadow. That should be useful for some rolling trail intervals.

Rodney Yee Yoga for Flexibility

Relaxed Labour Day paddle at Island Lake with Coach LD, Gosling, Tavish, Susie, Pops, 'Bent and ThunderDog. Logged @50%. In honour of our 13th anniversary today, they surprised us with a wonderful picnic including homemade brownies with whipped cream and Bordeaux in wine glasses. Thank you!! :-)