Training Log Archive: Bash

The Great Escape - Highest Intensity

At 10 months old, we thought BazingaDog might be mature enough for some off-leash play with BulletDog after our New Year's Day family hike.



Nope. The little guy took off at full speed, zooming through our forest and into our neighbour's forest, leaping over logs and flying up and down big hills on their 45-acre property. 'Bent, BulletDog and I went after him but he quickly disappeared from view. I was able to stay on his tail (as it were) better than 'Bent, which was unfortunate since 'Bent is a faster runner. We listened for BazingaDog's bell and caught occasional glimpses of him galloping like a greyhound in random directions. He thought it was a jolly game of chase, so he bounded away with his tail wagging if he saw us coming.

Thank God, after swinging by our neighbour's place, he turned toward home instead of heading onto the road or further into the forest. I finally got near him by anticipating a trail junction he would pass. I dove onto the snowy ground which confused the heck out of him. He circled me quizzically from a few meters away, then allowed 'Bent to grab his collar when he arrived a minute later.

Phew! It could have been a Crappy New Year but it's all good now. Wishing all the best to you for 2012!



P.S. Needless to say, BazingaDog is back on leash for the foreseeable future.

Got the new year off to a good start with an hour of strength training. The fact that it was pouring rain and slushy outside made it a little easier to stick to my resolution. I watched old Daily Shows that I'd missed.

Welcome to 2012! On a cold, windy, rainy Sunday, a little armchair navigation practice sounds like good training. Here are two excellent resources:

1) Peter Gagarin's orienteering maps for 2011. As many of you know, PG is one of the most respected and experienced orienteers in North America, and the only one whose photograph has been featured on a Wheaties box! He has drawn in his routes on most - if not all - of these maps, so you can compare your choices and get some ideas.

2) World of O Route To Christmas. Starting Dec. 1, an interesting leg from an orienteering course somewhere in the world was posted each day. First you look at the leg and think about what you would do. Scrolling down, readers have the option of drawing in their leg. (At this point, you can just see what the "community solution" was.) There is usually some information about how the different route choices played out for the top racers so it's not just theory.

Event: 3rd Annual Falls of Hamilton Run
 

Today was the latest edition of Trav and Baloney's Waterfalls of Hamilton run (WoH). This has become a most excellent New Year's tradition. Last year 'Bent had to bike instead of running because he was recovering from knee surgery. This year I offered to take the more unmanageable of our two beasts (BazingaDog) to let 'Bent enjoy his run.

The combination of icy trails, BazingaDog's mega-strength and his excitement about his first group run proved too risky so I abandoned the idea after less than 10 minutes. Several others were cautious enough to run on the road from the start, including Reid Coolsaet who probably doesn't want a twisted ankle or rock-smashed knee to interfere with his training for the Olympics. Wimp. ;)

BazingaDog and I turned around to trek/run the slippery Bruce Trail in the other direction, aka the "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Waterfalls of Hamilton" run (WDNNSWoH). We visited Sherman Falls and Canterbury Falls on our route so we didn't miss out completely. The trail remained icy but was a little less technical in our direction. More importantly, my crazy puppy wasn't trying to catch 'Bent anymore. Even so, he pulled hard enough that I needed cleats about as desperately as I've ever needed them! It was a beautiful morning for a run combined with a random strength workout.

Trav and Baloney's hospitality was incredible as always and the company was excellent too. Once again they offered up the Best Brunch Ever featuring Trav's fresh homemade waffles with a multitude of yummy toppings. To make Pathetic miss Canada a little (he's already leapt ahead into 2012 without us), I'll mention the bottomless cups of Domestique coffee we drank by the fire.

BulletDog had a fun run with canine hostess Trix, 'Bent and the gang and was a perfect party animal afterward. Other than BazingaDog mistaking the Hottage's lovely high-ceilinged living room with its beautiful rug for the great outdoors (ack!), our New Year's morning couldn't have been better. Thanks, T&B! :)

Happy New Year to you and yours! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you in 2012. :)

Light snow fell through the night so the ski conditions out our back door looked good. That, along with some freezing drizzle and fog, convinced us to ski from home instead of driving an hour north to Highlands Nordic where the skiing was undoubtedly excellent today. We were so happy to be out playing in the snow!



My hair got coated with hoar frost.
(Don't touch that, Auto Correct! ;) )



Snow ranged from 5-15 cm deep with a thin crust from this morning's freezing rain. We did a lot of trail breaking, climbed over a few logs, crossed a few roads and snuck across a couple of forbidden fences (sshh!)

We skied from home through Palgrave West and Palgrave East, then crossed the fence onto the Reddington golf course.

On the far side of the subdivision, we had to take off our skis and bushwhack down a slippery hill to get around another barrier labelled with a "Danger: Electric Fence" sign even though it is just an ordinary chain link fence. (After my rogaine with JayXC this summer, I know what a *real* electric fence feels like!) That got us to the rail trail which we skied into Albion Hills.



There was much less snow than in Palgrave and the park wasn't officially open for skiing. We did the Red Trail before returning home on a slightly different route.



I'd brought 2 peanut butter cups and 2 gels for a 3-hour ski; 'Bent only brought 2 peanut butter cups. I'd been planning to buy a bowl of chili at the Albion Hills "Vegetarians Not Welcome" cafe, which turned out to be closed. I'm not sure what 'Bent was thinking!



As 'Bent's wife and adventure racing teammate, obviously the right thing to do was to eat my extra food myself so he wouldn't make the same mistake in future. ;) We were both ravenous for the last hour - too busy obsessing about what we would eat for lunch to do any extra loops in Palgrave West. Sadly, this weekend's rain will decimate our beautiful snow.



'Bent said, "This was a perfect Friday!" :)

I didn't want to wreck the Palgrave trails for XC skiing so I took BazingaDog on his first hilly bushwhack in the snow. It felt like snowshoeing- except for the lack of snowshoes. Lots of logging debris and fallen trees from windstorms. BazingaDog still can't be trusted off-leash and pulls hard, so he gave me a bonus upper body and core workout in addition to choosing some non-optimum routes. Logged at 50%.

Skied mostly in Palgrave East - ungroomed trails plus half an hour of bushwhacking. With the relatively thin snow cover, debris and hard frozen ground, it would not have been a pleasant outing for a novice skier. I landed hard on my, um, gluteus maximus on a steep, narrow downhill trail and will likely have a bruise. But it was awesome fun otherwise - I love gliding through the silent forest. Too bad about the rain forecast for tomorrow afternoon. :(

Hydration is *so* important.

Snow! We only had about 12 cm by the time it settled but it draped beautifully on the trees and transformed the forest into a winter wonderland.

This is our driveway. Good thing 'Bent commuted to work by ski today.



The west side of our property is ready for tobogganing.



I went for my first XC ski of the year! The pines in Mad Dog Meadow looked like they belonged in a Christmas TV special.



The Palgrave West trails were beautiful in spite of a little debris. It's looking like a Happy New Year! :)

It's been on my bucket list since university and it's finally going to happen! 'Bent and I will ski 11 km over two mountain passes to Skoki Lodge and spend a couple of nights at 7,100' in the backcountry of Banff National Park. The lodge, which was built in 1931, has no electricity or plumbing but has loads of ambience, history, good wine and yummy food. Prince William and Kate spent a night there during their Canadian tour this year; a royal flush toilet was helicoptered in specially for the occasion.

Most impressive training-related accomplishment of the day: I got halfway through a massive clean-up of our outdoor gear room, even washing the (filthy) floor. Time for some editing too.

Slippery run around Palgrave West in 5 cm of snow!

More of the Daily Show.

Short "morning after the turkey before" run from my parents' place with BulletDog. Mostly on a trail along the Grand River with a little off-trail detour into Glenhyrst Gardens.

Nice version of Carol of the Bells played on classical guitar and piano. This makes me want to start practising again!