Training Log Archive: Bash

Lousy sleep last night but it was for a good cause: I wanted to text Sarah when she finished the Tour Divide so I had to keep an eye on her.

It's too early to celebrate but I'm back at my target weight after last week's Alberta FoodFest. It was worth every delicious calorie; I'd eat it all again in a heartbeat!

I decided today that I'm tired of running and hiking, and my poor mountain bike is feeling lonely. I had some work to do anyway - riding trails at Albion Hills with my Ambit to help with map updates for the Star Tracks Mountain Bike-O event on Oct. 19. I'm the course setter and am getting terrific support from the Stars, which is really cool since this type of event is new to them. I hope a lot of people can make it, hint, hint. :)

I didn't get as much done as I'd planned. I got into some poison ivy early on so I wanted to get home within two hours to scrub up. Also, I had underestimated how long it would take to travel every rideable trail in the northeast section of Albion. So... there will have to be a few other rides to GPS the rest of the park. Oh well, it was really fun. :)

Warm-up and some of Caron's 10 Minutes to Zen routines from Youtube.

Today's virtual photo hike from Day 3 of our Rockies trip: Scrambling up Mount Rundle
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

I joined 'Bent for the first part of his hike - from 5th Line northward over the B*tches of the Hockley Loop up to 15th Sideroad. It's easier after the Rockies but those are still steep b*tches!

And then I ran home. I started at 15th Sideroad and ran south on the Bruce Side Trail (yup, over the B*tches again), then along the main Bruce Trail to the stile at Glen Haffy, then home via the Palgrave Side Trail. The Dingle is getting pretty overgrown so I probably won't run it again for awhile.

The main trail has been totally rerouted at the old ski resort east of 5th Line. This is mostly good news since the Bruce Trail Conservancy was able to purchase some of the land there. But the bad news is that we've lost one of the excellent hill climbs in our area because they've closed the trail beside the old ski hill.

Nice to be running again although I miss the cool temperatures of Canmore!

Yay, it's that time of year! :) I'm not a big drinker so I prefer to think of this as a Tour de France chocolate eating game. But it's the same idea. :)
http://blogs.bicycling.com/blogs/thehub/the-tour-d...

For a mostly pictorial tour of hiking trails around Lake Louise, see Day 2 of our Rockies report featuring special guest star, Slice.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

Around Palgrave West before dinner. It's more humid than Canmore but the mountains are smaller and my lungs are getting more oxygen, so this felt good.

This was my first run in the new Salomon Sense Pros - a blend of the S-Lab Sense Ultra upper and the Sense Mantra sole. The Pros have the same snug fit but feel a little stiffer and more cushioned. They don't have the super minimal feel of the Sense Ultras but I think I could run farther in them. JohnnyM, past winner of the Haliburton 100, is a big fan. Also, they are a pretty blue. :)

Alert readers may notice the 2.6 lb in the weight field. Yes, I purposely pigged out in Alberta so I could train better by hauling more weight up mountains. Or something like that... I will keep track until I get back to my target weight. Sigh.

Bob and I could use one more floating volunteer for Wilderness Traverse next weekend. This role would be perfect for someone who is busy during the first part of the weekend and would still enjoy being part of the event.

Starting around sunset and throughout the hours of darkness, we experience The Witching Hours. That's when individual racers or entire teams drop out for a variety of reasons. If there is no medical issue, we do our best to arrange transportation back to HQ as soon as possible but they may have to wait awhile. As they wait, they may get hungry, thirsty, cold or frustrated. Although they have safety gear and should be able to take care of themselves, I prefer to extract them sooner rather than later.

The ideal floating volunteer has his/her own vehicle that can hold the driver + 4 racers (we'll chip in for gas), has a cell phone with texting capability, is able to nap when opportunities arise so they can spend a safe all nighter on the roads, understands a little about hypothermia and minor first aid (optional but nice to have), and is comfortable driving at night on unfamiliar roads using a map. This can be a busy role that can change on a dime, e.g. a TA may need water delivered or a forgotten gear box might need to be moved ahead. It can also be a role with lots of waiting/sleeping interspersed with bouts of activity. Wilberto did this for us one year so he knows what it's like.

If anyone is interested in more info, please e-mail me. Thanks! :)

If you'd like a virtual visit to Canmore, I've posted a full report on Day 1 of our western trip - Lady Mac and Ha Ling Peak.
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/per...

Travel day back to heat, humidity, hills (not mountains) and much loved pooches. Thanks for being such great hosts out west, Carbon and Carbon's Offset!

Cory and Edith Pass Loop with Carbon and 'Bent. Spectacular scenery and weather to celebrate Canada Day. Very few other hikers, only one bear, a mechanical puzzle to solve in the parking lot and a trip to the Canmore Ice Cream Bus afterward with Slice and Darcy. Photos to come. Time deducted for our 40 minute (!) lunch break at the high point.

Carbon, 'Bent and I went up and down Mount Rundle, the iconic peak behind the Banff Springs Hotel. Very hard work, lots of scree and some exposure up high. It got a little too sketchy for me near the summit but I made it there with some trepidation. I think Carbon got at least one good photo of a frightened Bash, which I will include in my report. Photos and details to come. Time deducted for lunch and summit stops but not for other breaks.

Today's plan: Scramble up Mount Rundle in Banff.



The summit is the second peak from the left.



This route starts on a forest trail behind the Banff Springs Hotel golf course. It climbed steadily until we got above the tree line.





We crossed a few creeks and avalanche slopes, which gave us a chance to look up and see where we were headed. Wow!



Then the fun *really* began - a steep scree, open rock and dirt scramble with terrific views. We stopped for a lunch break partway up. It would be a shame to miss such great views because we were working so hard.













In this photo you can see ant-sized people way below on the spur we're climbing.



Near the top, it started to feel sketchy to me. There was some snow and ice, the scree and rocks were quite loose, and it was a long, steep ride to the bottom if we slipped.



I knew I could stop anytime without going to the true summit but I'd climbed Rundle before when I was 23 and had dangled my legs over the edge while eating lunch. I couldn't accept losing a competition against my younger self! So I got to the top - although I had some trepidation on this move where I had to down climb onto a small piece of ice.



After that, it was smooth sailing along a short ridge to the summit - although it was a long way down on both sides!



Summit photos







Looking over the edge



And here's what you see!



Here's the view looking down what we came up. It's rare that a photo is able to show how steep a slope is but I think this conveys the idea.



Coming down was faster, of course. This was a great route to toughen up my knees and quads for descents.





We went for a late afternoon snack at the sushi train in Banff. It was hard to hold back and not spoil our dinner since it was soooo yummy. Luckily, we saved a little hunger so we could all enjoy a nice get-together at Thai It Up with VO2Max. Emma was our server.