Training Log Archive: Bash

A new self-supported 260 km, 6-stage (in 7 days) trail race in Quebec - the Trans Gaspesia 2014, the inaugural event of Land's End Expedition Racing. The race will move to different locations over the next few years. They've done the website right. $3200 entry fee!
http://www.landsendracing.ca/en/

Palgrave Terry Fox Run 10K - always nice to be part of this community event.

It was BazingaDog's first "race". He still can't be trusted off-leash so 'Bent used the canicross harness, which also meant that 'Bent was tow-assisted - except when BazingaDog chose to go in a direction other than forward, which happened a lot. They also stopped for 5 doggie bathroom breaks and a swim and still finished 10K in 44 minutes. Grrr. They were 3rd to cross the line with Goose alongside.



I felt like I started out at a decent pace and faded badly but the Ambit says my 5K splits were only a minute apart so it was just the perceived effort. After the 5K turnaround, it felt like really hard work! Although I feel OK day-to-day, I need to remember that it's only been two weeks since a 95 km mountain run in a different time zone, and my body can't possibly be back to normal.

Nice to see that I'm ready to run a 10K race on rail trail with a 21 m elevation gain. Now I just need to add 158 more kilometers and 9579 meters more elevation gain on technical trail, and I can claim the coveted UTMB finisher's vest. :)

Great to hang out with Caron, Tim, the full Doughty clan, Susan and other Caledon friends.

Some video of Kilian's record-breaking Matterhorn climb and descent on Aug. 21. I wonder if he is followed by a helicopter 24/7 in his regular life! Beautiful scenery and another fantastic performance.

I've gotta say though... Kilian is starting to scare me with this fast 'n' light mountaineering. The mountains are not always kind to young climbers (he's only 25!) who take risks. Seems like a super nice guy though - I hope his luck holds.

Check out the Live Race Map from Muskoka River-X, "the longest single day expedition paddling race in the world". This event is in its first year and is happening a couple hours north of us around Huntsville. Just looking at this race map through familiar Canadian Shield terrain makes me wish we were there! :)

Finishers have already started to come in. Winning time for 130 km with 20 portages was 14 hrs 12 min. Goose and Coach LD need to tackle the Coed category next year!
http://muskokariverx.com/live-race-map/

'Bent was busy atoning for his sins in Toronto (it's Yom Kippur) so I met Coach LD and Goose for a chatty destination ride to the Inglewood General Store for lunch and ice cream. (Go ahead, Phatty. Scorn us.)

One of Goose's former students from high school Health class ran into us and heard Goose order a buttertart and ice cream cone as his lunch. It can't be easy being a role model for youth.

We were so busy catching up on the last month that I made them late for everything else they had to do for the rest of the afternoon.

Spectacular, cool late summer day.

Caron's Power Yoga DVD #1. It's been a long time since I've done this one. My arms haven't gotten any better at yoga push-ups and side plank dips in the meantime. I had no idea how tight I was - wow.

Feet and lower legs - just a little work to start getting back into a routine. My gimpy foot is going to get fixed or else!

Bad Cluster Luck
http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/B...

(Sorry, I couldn't resist that headline. But it is a cool story too.)

And the Globe has more details.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ballo...

Easy ride around Albion Hills before dinner - first one in a long time. Google says that if you get heat exhaustion, you're extra susceptible to it for the next week so I wore as little clothing as I could get away with for technical riding in public. :) Also, I rode in places where people would see me if anything went wrong - and I was rewarded by running into Crash. Fortunately, it was beautifully cool, and I felt great. Hopefully, yesterday was a one-off.

My bike was filthy when I took it out of the garage, and I thought of Carbon's Offset feeling so guilty about leaving one day's worth of mud on his bike overnight that he washed it in a mountain lake. I think my bike has been caked with mud since I rode with FB more than a month ago. I'm not proud. :(

(Used bike computer distance.)

My report is up for Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. Caution: it's very long so it won't be of interest to everyone. (I want to be able to refer to it later for details.) Lots of pics though.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

The Good News: My legs and cardio felt fine. This was a good pace. (Although the GPS is messed up so I'm guessing at distance.)

The Bad News: What is the deal with this extreme heat and humidity in mid-September? 40C with the Humidex!

I've been enjoying the cooler, drier air of the Alps lately, and this did not go well. After half an hour, I was forced to take a break when my body suddenly went on strike. My stomach got queasy and I felt close to passing out, something that happened once several years ago during my first overheated run in spring. It occurred to me that if I really blew up, nobody would notice me missing until 'Bent got home at 9 p.m., then he wouldn't know where to look. So when I felt a little better, I made a beeline for his commuting trail and took it home. I had to take another break on the way.

Wow, I've never been great in heat but that has never happened before. I wonder if it's related to being at the tail end (I hope) of a 24-hour headache. My face was bright red when I got home, and I had to elevate my feet until I felt better.

I took my temperature on a digital thermometer out of curiosity. It soon started flashing "29E" - what could *that* mean?! It can't be good. Then it occurred to me to flip it upside down - 36.2. Ha, much better!

Very weird. For obvious reasons, I postponed my planned mountain bike brick. Also, there are tornado warnings around Ontario so maybe I'll just stay in.

The Star has published an article about my Salomon teammate Brian Culbert's finish at UTMB. It wasn't easy. He hallucinated and passed out at the side of the trail for two and a half hours! That would be the two and a half hours we waited at the side of the road to cheer him in - but unfortunately, we missed him anyway!
http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/fitnes...