Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I started at the Lake of Two Rivers store in Algonquin Park and rode out-and-backs in different directions on the Old Railway Trail. They've extended it 6 km to the west to join the Track and Tower loop, and some locals told us there is a plan to restore the old railway line as a trail all the way to Parry Sound. That would be amazing.

Great autumn scenery. In the new section, there were a dozen big piles of bear scat to steer around but otherwise it was an easy, fun ride.

'Bent and I drove to the old rail line that crosses Arowhon Pines Road in Algonquin Park. From there, we could run to the Mizzy Lake Trail, which is known for its wildlife.



It's only three days since I sprained my ankle and this is not the friendliest trail for ankles, especially after a night of rain has made everything slippery. I taped it a little more and hoped for the best.



Scenery was beautiful. As often happens here, I've posted far more photos than a sub-2 hour run deserves in a training log but it was *so* gorgeous. Time has been deducted for photography, for "ooh aah" breaks and for one "oh-crap-is-that-a-bear-no-it's-a-moose-blocking-the-single-track-just-ahead-yikes" stop.















This fun trail made me feel like running!











We both felt good although 'Bent's knee started to twinge after he did some fartlek running toward the end. We're wondering if it's because he bends his knees more when he runs fast, kicking high toward his bum.

My ankle felt fine in spite of catching the injured foot on a tree root and doing a spectacular face plant that bruised the palm of my hand and re-bruised my poor forearm. 'Bent was impressed that I kept on talking without missing a beat. (Mick, if you're reading AP in Switzerland, I was telling him about your trip.) He had to interrupt to ask if I was OK.











We survived both the trail and our moose encounter and made it back to the lodge for their huge lunch buffet. That is why I run. :)

Paddled over to our wedding rock in amazingly calm water. Beautiful reflections! Two friendly-looking men were camping there so we paused to chat. When we told them we'd been married just behind their campfire, they told us they'd been married for 37 and 34 years respectively. One of them became a grandfather just last week and sounded awfully proud. :)

Annual anniversary trip to the lodge in Algonquin Park that hosted most of our wedding festivities. (The ceremony itself was on a backcountry campsite 2 km away by canoe.) The autumn leaves are within a day or two of their peak. We started the weekend off with lots and lots of rain!

For WandAR and Mrs. Tiny (and me!)... some info on cyclocross.

Rocky Mountain Bicycles - Cyclocross from Rocky Mountain Bicycles on Vimeo.

Twisted ankle isn't feeling great when I walk in bare feet but it was manageable when I hiked with BazingaDog in running shoes that provided some support. 8 days till Run for the Toad 50K and I've been planning to run in Algonquin Park this weekend on more technical trails. We'll see...

"Unless you're willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won't happen."
~ Phillip Adams, Australian broadcaster / social commentator

This was one of the conversations Leanimal and I had during yesterday's exploration of the QE2 Highlands. There are other valid philosophies but I'd rather DNF in a tough event than miss out on the experience. I like to have at least one challenge on the horizon that might be too difficult rather than only entering races I know I can finish.

Earlier this year, I entered the 1-day world multisport championship version of Coast to Coast (speaking of "miserable failures", see my Feb. 12, 2011 log entry) instead of the much more popular 2-day event where it appears I would have won my category easily. It sucked to DNF in what will probably be my only attempt at that famous race, although if I had it to do over, I would still choose the 1-day event. (But I'd do a lot more training for 3K road running sprints!)

Sean Clancy, an endurance sport coach who races with DART, wrote about this recently.

Leanimal and I went for an exploratory trail run in Queen Elizabeth II Highlands Provincial Park northeast of Orillia. We were planning a 30-35 km run but when we discovered how rugged and unmaintained the Ganaraska Trail is in that area, we decided to aim for time on feet instead of distance.



It was beautiful - autumn leaves just starting to turn in a forest broken up by rock ridges and large areas of open bedrock. There were cliffs (sometimes in the middle of the trail), lakes and marshes. Too bad I only had the iPhone - not a real camera. I learned tonight that the unusual landscape is not natural; it's the result of devastating forest fires that burnt off the soil after the area was logged.



I turned my left ankle hard after the first 30 minutes. Leanimal was behind me and we both winced at the crunch. I've had a few ankle turns over the years and this was an 8 out of 10. I was limping so I pulled out the magic Leukotape to strap my ankle. Since I'd wisely brought along my sports chiropractor, I got good advice on how to do it. Although I was sore and cautious for the next few hours, I was able to keep going and didn't feel like I was causing further damage. No swelling - I wonder if all my compression wear helped or hindered the process.

Other than that, it was an amazing, fun day with excellent company on a very technical trail. The Ganny is often hard to follow so we had to stay alert for little splashes of white on trees or rock. We made a few wrong turns, especially in open rocky areas. The Garmin track is kinda cool in satellite view.



Luckily, no bears and no bear hunters - just some bear scat filled with berries and seeds. Next time we do this, it'll be moose hunters we have to watch for!

Easy run around Palgrave West on an incredible late summer day. BazingaDog and I had a good hike earlier so he stayed home and slept peacefully kept himself busy. Oh well, I was never cool enough to pull off the Rudy Project look anyway...

Quick workout which would have been longer if 'Bent weren't such an efficient and talented cook.

How Shakespearean are you? Copy and paste something you've written and your words will be compared with all the words used by Shakespeare in his plays. Then a verdict will be delivered on the Shakespearean content of your text.

- I entered my Logs Rocks and Steel race report and it was 81% Shakespearean English.
- CNYO Rogaine report - 80%
- Equinox Traverse report - 84%
"The waters of the Avon almost lap at your feet", said the tool.

- My tribute to Tobler scored 86% and the tool said, "Is this the Bard I see before me?"

I started to get suspicious so I fed in FB's LR&S race report and it scored 86% as well! I guess Shakespearean English is not that unusual.

<http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/08/how-sha...>

In the middle of my Saturday log entry (starting at 12 p.m.), I've just posted photos and report from the beautiful outdoor wedding of Andrew Cameron (PhattyJR) and Kim Brooks (2-Min). If you're only interested in reading about athletic training, you won't want to look. Oh, who am I kidding? Anyone like that stopped reading my AP log a long time ago!!