Training Log Archive: Bash

So sad for my young friend Erin who came up from Calgary to support me at the Death Race. She's in the hospital in Kamloops today after hitting railroad tracks the wrong way during a weekend bike ride. Wrist is badly broken - heading in for surgery. :(((

As a keen cyclist, she was pleased to report that her bike seemed to be OK. It's still at the local fire hall, she thinks.

Traditional Labour Day paddle and picnic with the Doughty family - Coach LD, Goose, KD, Pops and Susie. I did a couple of kms on the surfski, then switched to the stern of a whitewater canoe with Goose's Dad in the bow. Pops is a very experienced paddler so my job was easy. It was a treat to use a single blade canoe paddle in a canoe for a change - something we don't get to do when we're racing. Beautiful weather, great picnic, Dairy Queen, Starbucks... a nice celebration and now I'm ready to go back to school. The only minor problem is that I don't *have* a school.

'Bent and I are both doing Logs Rocks and Steel solo for our wedding anniversary. (We're such hopeless romantics!) As my gift to him, he gets to use the surfski. I love the cockpit of the Epic V8 and think it's possibly the most comfortable boat I've ever paddled. 'Bent has very little body fat, none of which is on his bum, and he finds the surfski uncomfortable. He wants to install a padded seat with glued-on velcro attachments while I want the cockpit to stay smooth and chafe-free. Our discussion on the drive home today was getting serious and veering perilously close to an (N+1) solution. Then he said, "If only there were a way to use suction cups so I could remove it completely when I'm not using it." I foolishly said, "Something like our gel shower mat would work."

So now I'm getting ready to have a shower on what's left of our mat. The rest of it has disappeared outside to be used in an Important Manly Project. I just saw 'Bent portaging the surfski across the yard, apparently testing how comfortable the shower mat feels against his head. Fellow LRS competitors, I must warn you that he seems extremely well prepared. ;)

'Bent and I rode to Caledon East via Palgrave West singletrack, Duffy's Lane and the rail trail. After picking up Goose, who had ridden up from Bolton, we continued by rail trail through Inglewood, then by roads to the trail system of Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. We exited via the Elora-Cataract rail trail which took us to Erin where we finally (phew!) arrived at The Shed for lunch. I indulged in a toasted roast beef and swiss cheese panini, chocolate zucchini loaf and latte in a bowl. Yum. :)

We went home via Belfountain and the technical trails that lead from Caledon Mountain Drive to Grange Road and the quarry, and descend the escarpment into Inglewood from the west. I don't think we ever take the same route through that area twice. I really need to go for a ride in there with my GPS some day and make myself a map.

Somewhere along the way as I bounced over rocks, I made the highly specific diagnosis of a "spokey" sound coming from my back wheel. I looked optimistically for a stick caught in there but it was, in fact, a broken spoke. Luckily, we were only 20 minutes away from the Caledon Hills Cycling shop when it happened, and they were right on our way home.

My legs are now officially ready to relax for the rest of the long weekend! :) This doesn't mean I've earned a rest day. It means we'll be paddling tomorrow!

Myka, whose previous longest run was 14 km, decided that doing the Hockley Loop would be great preparation for Run for the Toad 25K. Funderstorm and I signed up to come along, although we assured her that she'll find the Toad much easier! We had little celebrations when she exceeded her longest run and when she passed the half-marathon mark. This is a tough place to push your distance limits but Myka was a rock star.

'Bent came along in an Energizer Bunny mood so I sent him off to explore side trails, do hill repeats, and run ahead to the road and come back. I think he got in an extra 6-7 km but he missed out on some of the best girl talk. We stopped to enjoy the beautiful views at various lookouts around the valley. We met Eco and Eco-Hund after their hike, then we all went for a long relaxed lunch on the shady patio at the Black Birch. A great kick-off to the holiday weekend!

Photos are by Myka:

Event: Ultra trail of Mont Blanc
 

And they're off! The UTMB just started from Chamonix a few minutes ago. They have live web TV so I saw some of the excitement. This is the final event of the 4 races in this ultrarunning festival. I hope that a bunch of us will win the lottery and get there next year!

Runners will be a little disappointed with the modified course - something that happens occasionally in the Alps. The forecast was wintry at higher altitudes - snow, wind and -10C windchill. "Weather conditions too difficult on the mountain pass. New course 100km France only. see ultratrailmb.com"

I am watching Brian Culbert, one of my fellow Salomon brand ambassadors in the GTA. The website has him listed as not leaving the start. I know he was fine yesterday; I wonder if they gave people the option to come back next year in hopes of doing the full course. That could wreak havoc on the lottery. Gary Robbins, an ultrarunner from North Vancouver, has started.

http://www.utmb.livetrail.net/coureurentete.php

I'm meeting Myka for an moderate-paced Hockley Loop tomorrow at 9 a.m., main parking lot on Hockley Rd. Eco will do a dog hike, then we'll all go to the Hockley General Store for a light lunch around 12:30-ish.

'Bent is looking for someone to run The Loop faster with him but may just end up running circles around us.

I know others have been considering coming. Please let me know if you'll be there so we'll know whether to wait for anyone. Forecast is sunny and hot but we'll be done before the hottest time of the day.

Wishing my parents a very happy 57th wedding anniversary!

I wonder which anniversary that is. 50th is gold, 60th is diamond.

Hilly mid-day run. Gravel roads to Innis Lake Rd., then through Glen Haffy Conservation Area and home via the Bruce Side Trail. Two main purposes:

1) Heat acclimation - I hope we're almost finished with oven-hot days for the year but I was interested in the article Hansel posted that said heat acclimation training causes some of the same biological changes in our bodies as altitude training. So I guess it's useful even in late summer. Regardless of how much I train in the heat, I still can't believe how much better I feel in the shade. I feel like I weigh 15 lb less and can breathe right down to the soles of my feet (if that makes *any* sense!)

2) Tempo - Kinda sorta, in ultrarunner style. What this meant was that I ran up all the hills except for two short steep ones, and focused on higher cadence, quick turnover and good posture during the rest of the run.

Note: Heat acclimation runs are just supposed to be easy runs. So do as I say, not as I do!

To the Inglewood Market and back via Palgrave West single track, Duffy's Lane and the rail trail. It was a great time to be out - lots of other people enjoying the evening light and deliciously cool temperature. Tragically, the Mushroom Lady did not attend the market today - a huge disappointment. But Knobless' homemade salsa and preserves, the handmade 3-grain bagels, the garlic sheep cheddar, and the organic vegetables and fruit made it all worth it. I rode back with a 13 lb pack. I detoured to the Caledon East LCBO in hopes of making it a heavier pack but alas, I had missed closing time.

Many thanks to Crash for convincing me to join her for a run to start the day. She is just getting back into running after dealing with some post-Tour Divide sore body parts, otherwise she wouldn't be training at my slow pace. Nice to catch up!

BazingaDog came along and was fairly well-behaved. Of course the fact that I have two collars and two leash attachments on him means that he can't get into as much trouble as he might. When he saw wild turkeys, he pulled but didn't *really* try to escape, and when he saw Crash, he jumped up on her but stayed down after the first admonishment. He only tried to chew through his leash once early in the run. After that, he just hustled along and sniffed the occasional bush. Our little boy is growing up.

P.S. GPS went wonky.

I've posted some Race HQ highlights from Wilderness Traverse. Not an exciting race report like everyone else but it's the best I can do after spending 48 hours in the same building!