Training Log Archive: Bash

Turns out there's an activity other than paddling where Urthbuoy has more endurance than I do, and he did some of *that* training while watching the hockey game with his university buddies last night. In deference to a man who saved me from drowning, I did not take a photo of him wearing dark glasses for our 8 a.m. walk to breakfast.

Since my Aeroplan points couldn't get me home till Monday's red eye, I headed up to Whistler for some different training. Lucky for me, AZ had set up a ski-O at Lost Lake yesterday and the flags were still up. Charm and AZ got me set up, then I did some ski-O while Charm went a different direction to train for an upcoming classic ski loppet.



Conditions were fast and icy, and there were some nice big hills to climb. It was awesome having an interesting ski-O course to take me on a tour of a trail system I'd never been to. It took my mind off the hills too. I was distracted by the fantastic scenery and only completed one of the two maps before sunset. Other skiers looked impressed by the ski-O map holder Charm had lent me. They seemed to think I was doing something really important!

A little AR culture to start off the day - a visit to the beautiful village of Deep Cove where the Sea to Summit event used to begin. The race finished at Whistler.

Once again, Urthbuoy and I did the uphill run to our kayak put-in point on the Seymour River.

(Elapsed time was longer.) We did another run down the lower Seymour River. For me, it was a totally different experience from yesterday. It was sunny and the river was a little lower. This made it easier to control my boat in the current, however, there were plenty of new rocks to avoid so the challenges were different. Yesterday's base level of nervousness was gone with just a few adrenaline surges in big, disorganized waves and when I was knocked off balance by large rocks. It felt like we were moving in slow motion - relaxing and (dare I say it?) kinda fun.

As we went along, Urthbuoy had me practise eddying out behind relatively small rocks. The idea is to practise hard moves in easy water - before getting to more difficult water where those moves are actually necessary. I was supposed to hit the eddies high but often I wasn't decisive about cutting across the current soon enough, so I ended up paddling upstream like crazy to avoid getting shot backwards out of the eddy. I could use a lot more practice but I got into most of the eddies I aimed for and made it through the run without flipping, which gave me some confidence that I could actually become comfortable with this stuff.



Urthbuoy carried the camera yesterday to ensure that my next of kin would have something to remember me by. Today I wanted to get some photos of him. This class 2 river doesn't pose any challenges to a good kayaker but he appeased the photographer by finding a few small waves to play in.













There is progress in my attitude toward whitewater kayaking... when we got to the bottom, I felt disappointed instead of relieved. We wandered a short distance out onto the ocean to see some of the ships docked near the outlet of the Seymour River.





Although it's too bad that a major water leak caused the ceiling to fall down in our friend TheMinister's condo, one advantage is the handy new drying rack for our paddling gear! ;)



Huge gratitude to Urthbuoy for the very generous gift of his time and considerable expertise. My whitewater comfort zone has expanded and I'm much better prepared for Coast to Coast in five weeks. Best of all, I feel like some demons have been exorcised. If I paddled whitewater more often, I think I'd actually *want* to paddle whitewater more often! Thank you.

Urthbuoy and I planned to enjoy some moving water today but things started early last night when a broken pipe sent water streaming two storeys down into the condo we're staying in. TheMinister's ceiling burst open and water dripped in fast enough to fill our containers every 2 hours. The plumber's last visit of the night (with problem still unsolved) was 4 a.m. For me, that was 7 a.m. Ontario time. So, appropriately enough, I started my AR training trip with some major sleep deprivation.

After dropping off kayaks and paddling gear at our put-in point on the Seymour River in North Vancouver, Urthbuoy and I drove to the take-out, then ran back uphill to the boats. Along the way, I got a few glimpses of the river. Great big rocks. That's where whitewater comes from, Urthbuoy explained. Gulp.

(Elapsed 1.5 hrs) We changed from light running clothes into winter paddling gear. I'd never paddled anything as small and maneuverable as these playboats!





I can't describe Urthbuoy's complete comfort, grace and joy in whitewater. He played while I was getting organized onshore and it was like being at the Banff Film Festival. I could have just sat there happily watching instead of paddling.





But the whole point of coming west was to get some practice on whitewater before Coast to Coast next month. The hardest part of this river section is right at the top so Urthbuoy gave me a bunch of excellent whitewater tips first, then put me through some warm-up drills. First I was just getting used to the stability of the boat and practising braces to get a sense of how far I could lean.



Then I did some eddying in and out on both sides, then ferrying in both directions.





Some of the things we worked on:
- Short, powerful paddle strokes. Bursts of paddling - different from long, smooth, endurance paddling strokes
- Positive and negative strokes are both fine, i.e. unlike flatwater paddling, it's OK if some strokes don't take you forward.
- Lean by tilting lower body while keeping upper body centred, i.e. use hips and lock upper knee under brace.
- Don't think about leaning downstream - think about leaning so the water runs under your boat instead of grabbing it and tipping you.
- Focus on doing the low brace well with your elbows out to the side and right over the blade you're pushing down. By the time you do a high brace, you've tipped over a long way. Do a low brace when eddying in and out.
- Never let your shoulder get behind your body. (Avoids injury.)
- In these playboats, lean a little forward and keep centre of gravity low.
- Think about the "chunk of water" you're sitting on and where it's going to go as it flows downriver. If it's not where you want to go, paddle yourself over to the right position - might take some work in bigger current.
- When in doubt, stay on the inside of a blind river bend. The fast water and debris are on the outside.
- Enter and exit eddies as high upstream as possible. The eddy line is clearest there. As you move further downstream, there can be a wider zone of "funny water" between the two currents.
- When aiming for an eddy, think about the "chunk of water" you need to be on to hit it. As you approach it, turn sideways and paddle across at 90 degrees to the current.
- Practise hard moves in easy water - before getting to more difficult water where those moves are actually necessary.

For the most part, things went pretty well. I haven't done a lot of whitewater kayaking so I'm sure I don't look smooth but I've done a fair bit of canoeing in class 2 so I'm used to being bounced around and getting smacked in the face with waves. The water was *cold*. There were some big rocks with shallow water spilling over them so part of the challenge was recognizing changes in water flow that pointed out where the rocks were. I got better at this although I didn't always make the right guess on whether I was looking at a rock or a wave train. Whenever he would let me, I followed Urthbuoy's route exactly - but sometimes he made me lead. Jerk. ;)





As Urthbuoy had promised, my good luck didn't hold out. I came up onto a big rock that I hadn't seen in time, teetered a little, then slid off sideways and tipped over. No problem - I'd just do a wet exit. (No time to practise my long lost roll.) Except with my winter paddling gloves, I didn't have the dexterity to pull off the kayak skirt. Tried again. And again. Nada. Yikes - getting worried. Hanging upside down in the water, I slapped the sides of the kayak. Fortunately, Urthbuoy stayed calm.



In an instant, the bow of his boat was there and I pulled myself up. Holy crap. After towing me to shallow water, he had to race 100 meters downstream to rescue my paddle. My heart rate stayed around 250 for the next 15 minutes. Urthbuoy informed me that the standard price for a rescue = 1 beer. No problemo. Hell, you can have a case of 24, dude.



The paddling got somewhat easier from there - or maybe I was just getting used to it. I'm a nervous whitewater paddler but there were definitely moments of good fun in between the stressful parts. I was determined not to go over again but I did a wet exit at the take-out on purpose, just to give myself confidence for next time. The skirt came off fine with bare hands so tomorrow I'll use pogeys instead of gloves.



We don't usually see this mix of sports gear in Palgrave! Next stop, skate skiing.

We wanted to do a paddle/ski brick because you don't get to do that very often in Ontario, so we went to Cypress Nordic to skate ski. Conditions were icy with some big hard snow chunks from a failed grooming attempt - fast and kinda scary if you're fond of your knees and shoulders. Nice to exercise some different muscles (no biceps though) and earn dessert with dinner.

Arrived in Vancouver on a rainy, foggy afternoon. On my way to the baggage claim, I had a chat with Jim Mandelli, who was just heading out of town.

Urthbuoy and I had planned a quick paddle but my flight was delayed and the sun sets early here, so we opted for a twilight run along the sea wall and through Stanley Park. We didn't worry too much about what gear to take because if we got cold in the rain, we could just call a cab. (You can't do that in Palgrave!) I'd imagined this to be a flat run but part of the sea wall was closed so we ended up running several good hills in the park.



Vancouver is beautiful in any kind of weather.





We maintained such a tough pace that Urthbuoy needed a rest.



I kept up the Tree Hugger tradition. It was almost dark by then so we headed back.



And we lived happily ever after. (It's OK, 'Bent - that's not actually us.)

My Snowshoe Raid teammate dropped out because she has to organize a "Jamboree for Midgets" that day. On one hand, I'm sad. On the other hand, I can't stop giggling at the mental image that conjures up!

2011 Training Goals (Year End Review, part 3 of 3)

Last year I did several long events that reminded me why I love outdoor endurance sports. So the emphasis this year in both training and racing will be on the long stuff. It's not straightforward since I don't have a regular AR team anymore and 'Bent - once his knee recovers - prefers events of 30 hours or less. (I'm excited to start racing with him again!) I'll look for solo and team-of-two events where possible but it will take some creativity and good luck to achieve my 2011 goals. Here goes...

1) Do an expedition adventure race (3+ days non-stop), at least one 24-hour rogaine and at least one other 24+ hour adventure race. Run my second 50 km trail race. Consider a 50-miler if my joints are happy. Finish Speight's Coast to Coast.

2) Quality training at least once a week - hills, tempo or speed intervals. Any discipline is OK. For now, this is just about creating a habit.

3) Running - at least 2 hrs/week on average over the year, i.e. no pressure during ski season. This is slightly more than 2010, which was the most I've ever done.

4) Strength training - at least 1 hr/week

5) Total annual training - 550 hrs. This is less than the 608 hrs I trained in 2010 but 100 hrs more than last year's goal. That's plenty, especially if I add more quality workouts. If the total is driven higher by a few long races, that is a bonus. I hope I can maintain the feelings of energy and motivation I had last year but since I'm not sure where they came from, I can't make that a goal.

6) Get 7+ hours of sleep on most nights.

One of the few positive side effects of 'Bent's knee injury was that I trained with a wide range of people this year, which was rewarding in many ways. The truth (which may surprise some people) is, I'm not naturally social. I'm content to do most things alone. I get stressed in advance at the thought of hanging out with people I don't know really well, which is bizarre because I usually end up having a great time. I don't even plan as many things with my close friends as I'd like to. To arrange a training session with someone I don't normally train with is scary and I'm always afraid of slowing them down and wasting their time.

However, if I can get past my qualms, it almost always works out well and I'm really glad I did it. It's fun to chat with and learn from different people, to train in different ways and explore new places. Even when our paces and skills are different, there are usually ways to plan training that can work for us both. If I've made a date with someone, I will get outdoors even when the weather is bad or I'm feeling tired. I know it's all good even though the thought of arranging a get-together with someone who is not a close friend sends me back to the shy, geeky high school part of my personality.

I don't want to turn this into a measurable goal, e.g. "train with 6 different people each month" or "arrange sessions with 3 people I've never trained with before", but I'd like to keep this philosophy in mind and make an effort to get together with more people more often to enjoy the great outdoors together. I've met some amazing people through endurance sports; I'm so glad my life took a detour in this direction. I don't do outdoor activities in order to win a world championship; this is supposed to be fun. P.S. Call me. ;)

Getting excited about my trip to Vancouver! Urthbuoy and I are planning my first-ever whitewater paddling / skate skiing brick workout. (I'm guessing it's probably not *his* first.)

Finished testing Phatty's Humber Valley Hellrunner Thomass course. It's going to be tough. I hope you're training.

Those of you who read PG's log (the most popular log on Attackpoint) are aware of the controversy regarding a New Year's weight loss challenge that PG organized. A number of people signed on to lose 2.5 kg, 5 kg or 10 kg, enticed by the promise of peer support and small prizes. It was intended in good fun but mistakes were made. Several people were added to the list who hadn't asked to be. Feelings were hurt; apologies were made. Everyone, including PG, agrees that part was wrong. That is settled.

But the controversy went far beyond that. Some people, particularly those who have personal experience with eating disorders, felt that encouraging weight loss for high profile orienteers set a bad example. They didn't like people highlighting the correlation between weight loss and increased running speed because it is possible to take weight loss to the point where it hurts someone's health, let alone athletic performance. They made good points about role models and body image issues and female athlete triad and coaches who badger young athletes to lose weight in an unhealthy manner. Read more if you're interested.
<http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/me...>

I respect their passion and reasoning, and I was surprised at the strong feelings. I had a bulimic roommate so it's not a foreign concept and I'm not unsympathetic. On the other hand, obesity leads to plenty of health issues in the North American population too, so I can also appreciate the goals of the weight loss challenge proponents.

But here's what struck me... A challenge was organized on someone's personal AP log. Anyone who reads that log makes a conscious decision to do so. Someone suggested that because this discussion on PG's log was getting so many hits, he had some sort of extra responsibility to the outside world to warn people about the possible risks associated with weight loss. Wow.

That's where I got really uncomfortable - because there have been days when discussions on my AP log have had lots of hits too. I recently put a flag counter on my log and discovered readers in Australia, UK, Sweden and Spain. I have no idea who reads my AP log and that's OK. If someone is interested in hearing stories and seeing photos from our little corner of Canada, I think that's really cool and I hope they'll add a comment to say hi. But do we have a moral obligation to present the world in a particular way just because we know people read our AP logs?

This hits close to home because I've talked about weight loss in my log too. It was central to my 2010 goals. My main motivation was health because I have borderline blood pressure and cholesterol values. As a bonus, I also hoped it would help my running and biking if I had less weight to drag up hills, and I hoped to reduce the pounding on my bad knee. It had nothing to do with appearance. In fact, of the people who felt comfortable enough to tell me, the response has been 50/50 on whether I look better or worse with 15 lb off, which means that the real consensus is likely "worse". But it only matters that I feel healthier. And yes, it feels much easier to go uphill.

So must I avoid talking about that on my log for fear of being a bad role model to people I don't know who might be reading it and might not be as familiar with health and nutrition issues as the people I do know? I've also written about whitewater paddling at night in adventure races, small cliffs I've leapt off while navigating and remote winter training excursions that I've done alone. Those things are pretty dangerous too. There are probably all kinds of things I shouldn't talk about on my log if I have a responsibility to prevent strangers from making bad decisions.

I don't know... The Internet is full of much worse stuff than you'll ever find on anyone's AP log. While I accept many of the points raised in the discussion surrounding the weight loss challenge, I don't accept the suggestion that we should censor ourselves because we don't know who might be paying attention. But just in case, here's my blanket disclaimer for all future log entries. Don't try any of this stuff at home, kids!!

Alas, the recent thaw has wrecked our beautiful ski trails so 'Bent and I went to Highlands Nordic where they still have good (but not fantastic) conditions. It would have been an awesome day to fly on my waxable classic skis - except they didn't turn out to be in the big pile o' skis we'd brought along. So I sent high-speed 'Bent ahead to fly and I worked a little harder on my waxless skis. I did the Red Trail + the first two black diamond loops (3rd loop wasn't open) + the extra Orange loop up top.

A quick tour around the Yellow Trail on skate skis. This time 'Bent had to chase me!

Year End Review, Part 2 of 3 - Final Report Card on 2010 Goals

This year I did interim reports where I measured progress against my 2010 goals at the start of most months. It seemed to be a useful tool for maintaining and correcting course during the year. For me, it helps to make this stuff public since it makes me feel more accountable, even though I know it's just in my mind. No one else is really holding me accountable and some people can hold themselves accountable in private very successfully. But this works better for me.

Similar to my comment in Part 1 about feeling more motivated to train this year, I also felt more motivated to work toward my goals. Once again, I have no idea why. Some of these goals have been sitting on the list for awhile and some of them are still sitting there, waiting for me to get serious. But I knocked off a few big ones this year and I'm going to go eat a piece of chocolate right now as a reward. :)

Here are my marks... Overall I got a passing grade with a couple of serious failures. I will be permitted to proceed to 2011.

1) 450 hrs total annual training
A+ ~ Did 608 hrs.
2) Lose 10 lb. from New Year's Eve midnight weight. Keep a food diary for 2 weeks in January.
A+ ~ Kept the food diary. Lost 18 lb at the peak but settled at 15 lb below my Jan. 1, 2010 weight.
3) Strength training - min. 1 hr/week.
D ~ 23 hrs. Same as usual. Sigh.
4) Do speed and hill intervals regularly.
C ~ Although I didn't do enough of this, I get a passing grade because I did exponentially more than in other years and things are on the upswing. I think Bash & Crash 500s will become an established tradition.
5) One training session per week before breakfast.
C ~ As above, I could have done more - but in most years, I've done *way* less. This has been on my list for a few years and I've never made any real effort before.
6) In bed by midnight at least 4 days/week.
F- ~ Pathetic.
7) Do a mountain marathon and a rogaine. And maybe a 50K trail race?
A+ ~ Completed a mountain marathon, two rogaines and a 50K trail race.
8) On a totally different subject... learn 5 pieces each on guitar and piano well enough that I wouldn't be embarrassed to play them in front of a non-family member.
F+ ~ Learned one piece well on each of guitar and piano.

I'd also said that I hoped to race with a range of different people in 2010, and I did that. I also trained with a very wide range of people which turned out to be even more rewarding.

And next comes the fun part... thinking about 2011.