Training Log Archive: Bash

Event: Raid the Hammer Adventure Run
 

DontGetLost Raid The Hammer with FB and MPopik. Longest run since UTMB by *far* - ouch! The boys kept up a good pace so this was tough - lots of towing and pushing in the first few hours. Thank you, teammates! FB was primary navigator and I was his backseat driver; it seemed to work out well since he is a faster runner.

It was a fun race course with lots of variety - mud, hills, Dundas Valley spaghetti, urban areas and a great 15-minute break at Domestique Cafe where we were able to connect with other racers and volunteers while drinking our hot chocolates.

We had a few minor bobbles and inefficiencies, which is par for the course in a long nav race, but mostly things went pretty smoothly. We were in the toughest category - Masters - which included the 1st and 3rd teams overall in the event. We were 10th of 41 teams on a day when only three teams were sub-4 hours so it was a decent run. Fun day in the woods! :)

Lousy week for sleep and for working out. My brain has been staying in high gear for most of the night.

Signed up for the U.S. Night and UltraLong Orienteering Champs. I really enjoy these formats but we don't get to do them around here. It'll be good to get away, too. As an non-eligible competitor for the champs, I'm going to have my first opportunity to serve on an event jury!

Caron did progressive core tonight, e.g.:
8 double sit-ups
8 double sit-ups + 8 double bird cages
8 double sit-ups + 8 double bird cages + 8 star fish each side
Etc.

Ouch.

And then it was progressive yoga, divided into balance work, standing poses and floor work - tougher to hang in there than it usually it is. My shoulder was less of an issue tonight - partly because of the things we did and didn't do, and partly because it's been doing better over the past week. Fingers crossed it's on the mend.

We brought Mocha to this class last week, and I got a little teary-eyed mid-class thinking about that. :(

January 7, 2003 - November 2, 2014
Rest in peace, Mocha.



Mocha, nicknamed BulletDog, joined our family when she was eleven months old. We didn't know her as a baby but she sure was a cute little fur ball.



Her original family cherished her but they were too busy to entertain an energetic chocolate Lab puppy. We fell in love with this sweet girl who needed a new home. She was a city dog who took some time to get comfortable with our forest trails, crazy smells and fields of tall weeds.



Our seven-year-old Lab, Tobler, fell in love with her too. They lived as sisters for almost eight years - playing, competing, sharing and cuddling. Mocha adored and looked up to Tobler; she was often alone as a puppy, and she was thrilled to share her life with another dog.











Mocha was even more attached to her favourite humans, including several outside our family. She loyally followed us around the house and through the forest, shared our mats when we did yoga, lay outside our shower, supervised our cooking, lay between us on the couch to watch movies, slept by our bed, and nudged us with her nose or paw when she wanted a cuddle. She knew she was loved but she liked to be reminded.





Mocha could be tentative about new situations or dogs but she hated to be left out so she tried extra hard to be brave. We called her our valiant dog.



She matured into a sweet, well-behaved adult. We could take her anywhere and we trusted her completely. It's hard to remember that we ever needed her leash, except around cars. She was popular in Richard's dental office, where she relaxed patients of all ages and helped staff with their lunches. She was unfailingly gentle with the smallest children but took awhile to warm up to men with grey beards.





Mocha loved the outdoors and was an elite athlete for most of her life. She accompanied Richard off-leash on his cross-country work commutes and joined us on canoe trips, bike rides, hikes, swims, skis, snowshoe treks and runs.

















It wasn't all smooth sailing. When Mocha was five, she twisted her knee and tore her ACL. After surgery and three months of rehabilitation, she came back strong. When she was eight, she lost her beloved Tobler. We took her on an Algonquin Park canoe trip for some family bonding time; she had fun but lacked her usual spark. Tobler had usually been the leader and Mocha seemed lost without her.





We hadn't expected to bring a new dog into our family so soon but Mocha's sadness encouraged us to adopt her brother Brody. She avoided him for ten days, then finally brought over a tug o' war rope and showed him how to play, as Tobler had shown her years before. The two of them became very close in their three years together.









When she was eleven, Mocha was diagnosed with cancer. There was hope because we caught it early and she got excellent treatment but we only had six more months together. She felt well until her final week, and she enjoyed hiking and steak on her last day.



We took her paddling a few times this autumn since we hadn't taken the dogs with us for several years due to her boisterous brother. She got excited when she saw the canoe, jumped right in and loved every moment on the water.



Richard made this wonderful paddling video in her last few weeks with us.



We miss her so much and are grateful to have shared our lives with her. If you have a pet, please give him or her a big hug in Mocha's honour. :)