Training Log Archive: Bash

Woot!!! VO2Max won today's Alberta Cup 8K skate race at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Yesterday he did a 15K skate time trial with some top national skiers (not all of whom raced again today) and placed 3rd in a sprint finish behind Graham Nishikawa and Dan Roycroft. So proud of our Tree Hugger teammate!! :-)

Sprint before the Thomass Chase at Rattlesnake Point. Good thing this race only counted for determining start order for the 2nd race - because I blew it! As I started out running across the grass, my Grand-Canyon-twisted ankle suddenly stabbed with pain and went weak as I tried to push off on that foot. I wasn't expecting that, and I got to the first control feeling a little spooked. I saw people heading down beside the nearby cliff into a re-entrant, and I needed to be in a re-entrant too, so I focused on climbing down very carefully on the mossy rocks rather than taking the risk of looking at my map. A whole gang of us ended up down there and realized that we had gone off the map - doh! #2 was actually really close to #1 - if I had taken the time to look. Hmm. At that point, I knew I wouldn't be in the top ten, so I wouldn't get an advance start on the 2nd race, so I might as well just enjoy the rest of the race. No further ankle incidents, and it was great to see 'Bent out running again, even though he had a bit of a limp.

Thomass Chase - I had better speed than usual today, but my navigation was merely OK. I was often in a pack, which I'm not accustomed to, and found it harder to stay focused on the map when there were so many distractions. I only made one real error, and that was going around the wrong end of the uncrossable fence between #9 and #10. It was longer and rougher the way I did it. TD passed me there by making the correct route choice, then it became a running race on grass where I didn't stand a chance against the speedy TD! I finished 6th, and AdventureGirl! won both races - yahoo!

Fun, interesting courses by Tiny (who spent about 20 minutes course setting, if you believe his Attackpoint log). Rattlesnake can be a difficult map because it's long and skinny, but he made great use of the area. The top ten racers had a nice mix of handicaps, which is what the course designer always wants to see in a Thomass. Great to see so many friends out. Quote of the day award goes to Phatty, who informed an unnamed gentleman about a large and inconveniently placed hole on the front of his tights. "Hey dude, the barn door is open and the cow is peeking out."

Rodney Yee - yoga for flexibility

First run in over a week, but I felt good - maybe some altitude conditioning from Arizona? I decided to run at a 5K race pace, then realized partway through that the route was more like 7.5K and very hilly - oops! Baby Porcupine was waiting in his usual spot where Pine Trail leaves Mad Dog Meadow. One of these days we'll be pulling quills out of some pooch's nose, I fear. Awesome, cold weather - perfect day to keep the fireplace burning and pick up our Christmas tree!

(Route: Long way through F&M's to BT@Duffy's, then left to Salty Stephen single track backwards to junction with main trail, uphill to lookout, down to main BT, home via short F&M.)

I flipped through a magazine while waiting at the grocery store check-out today, but instead of a photo of Tiger Woods, Angelina Jolie or Oprah, I opened it up to a photo of me! There are some great pics and an article (written by Mrs. Spaff) about three 2009 Rock & Ice Ultra racers. The minor catch is that the article is published in "More", "Canada's magazine celebrating women over 40". Ouch - I've achieved my 15 minutes of fame by somehow managing to ski long distances as a "midlife woman", which is what the story header (definitely *not* written by Mrs. Spaff) calls us. The first friend to stumble on the article without any hints from me was a woman in her 70s. But if you're waiting in the grocery store line-up or wandering around the drug store, feel free to take a look way back on p. 96. Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes those *are* my legs skiing so fast that they're blurred in the photo! ;-)

Log entries and photos are finally all posted for our Arizona trip.
http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920...

Hard Core Live with Caron. We did a lot of stuff lying on our backs with our legs straight up in the air. 'Bent will be sorry he missed this!

Yoga class - there's still stiffness in my arms and legs from pole walking out of the Canyon. More yoga needed!

Phantom Ranch to Grand Canyon Rim via Bright Angel Trail (time discounted for photography).

Another day, another alarm clock going off in the dark. After a hearty ranch breakfast, we headed to the corral to see Dad and the other mule riders off.



After a bit of fiddling with my pack to recover from a bladder explosion (the Camelbak, not me), 'Bent and I headed down the trail too.



We took a different route across the Colorado River today - the Silver Bridge, which provides a shortcut to the Bright Angel Trail that mules aren't allowed to take. So even though we started behind, we got ahead of the mules near the start and ultimately reached the top 75 minutes before they did.



The trail followed the river for awhile, giving us a different perspective. Because the Bright Angel Trail has mule traffic, the surface is in rougher shape, not to mention the omnipresent mule, um, leavings. Along the river, the trail was soft and sandy with scattered fist-sized rocks buried in it. One of these grabbed my foot and re-twisted my gimpy ankle - YIKES. First ankle roll in 10 weeks, and no better place for it than the bottom of the frickin' Grand Canyon!!



We moved away from the river and started climbing. The Bright Angel Trail takes longer to climb to the rim than the South Kaibab Trail, but it mixes relatively flat sections with steep switchbacks.



Near the top of the first big series of switchbacks, we looked far below and saw the mules clip-clopping along.



In places, the trail was just carved out of the cliff.



We headed to Indian Gardens, another treed oasis about 500 m above the Canyon floor. There is a campground, mule corral and water pumping station here, surrounded by huge cottonwood trees.



About 15 minutes after Indian Gardens, the trail headed uphill for the final 1000 meters of non-stop climbing.



The view kept changing as we marched up switchback after switchback.



Success!



And success for Dad too.



This was just a sneak preview of what we can experience in the Grand Canyon on a longer trip some day. It's a huge place with lots of trails and side canyons - plenty of exploring left for us to do! (And maybe an R3 some day too.)