Training Log Archive: Bash

Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.

Last year, Mother's Day came less than two weeks after Mom's funeral. I barely remember May 2019 - thank goodness. Today I'm remembering Mom with love and gratitude. I played her piano this afternoon; she would have liked that. :)

I didn't want to push my luck after yesterday's outdoor run so I did another treadmill run today - a ladder of speed changes to keep it pseudo-interesting. My heel doesn't hurt while I run but if I sit for a while, there's a little extra pain at the usual spot - the upper outside edge of the right calcaneus, 1+ cm from the centre of the Achilles. It's much better than it was but there's always a twinge in that spot, whether I run or not. I'm assuming it's related to the Achilles insertion - maybe some calcification. Dr. Google has some ideas but he/she isn't as helpful as Dr. Thumbs-of-Death or Dr. Bell.

A mix of sun and heavy blowing snow on May 9! This is the front part of our property as seen from the road. There was once a Raid The Rib control on top of that hill.



Since yesterday's treadmill run didn't leave me limping, I pushed the boundaries today with a 5K country road run. The surface isn't as flat as a treadmill but it's flatter than the trails and much more interesting than our basement so I'll be more inspired to run if I'm able to do this. The jury will be out for the next 24 hours but so far, the pain is minor.

The winter closure of north Duffy's Lane has continued so we have a lovely little stretch of car-free road with some hills at the north end.



I followed the driveway in to the old keyhole parking lot for Palgrave Forest but that didn't quite get me to the 2.5 km turnaround point. So I ran a little double track to get the rest of the distance. Here is the start of some MTB single track. The double track has sometimes been crowded lately. The single track is usually not bad - on weekdays, anyway. Or on May mornings with blowing snow.



It is traditional to take this photo of the Palgrave Forest pond every spring.



Although the TRCA has kept its trails open, they warn that the trails are unmaintained. So I never go around blind corners too fast on my bike.



When I got back, the dogs were romping in the yard in a brief period of sunshine with blowing snow. This is their favourite weather - both outside and inside, where the fireplace is roaring once again.

Next step to (possible) recovery: I ran for half an hour instead of alternating running with walking.

More work than play today and definitely no exercise.

Two of our family members are loving the pandemic!

Beautiful, sunny, single track ride, mostly in Palgrave East. It wasn't too crowded but there were some head-on meetings on single track that kept things entertaining. I'd thought about riding up to the Caledon Trailway for the first time this year but conditions were too nice on the single track so I'll save that for another day.

Facebook told me that yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of my Pivot 29er bike. I celebrated by falling off for the first time in 2020 after losing too much momentum on a rooty, steeply banked uphill turn. I fell head first downhill with my bike on top of me but was lucky to land in soft pine needles, missing all the trees and pointy sticks.

I met Tammy P. hiking with her neighbours and had a brief chat from a distance. As I was leaving on Duffy's Lane, I veered around a group of adults standing near four illegally parked cars, holding disposable coffee cups and getting ready to hike (and probably drop the cups, based on what we've seen). One of them called out to me, "This is a blended family!" As if it was any of my business. What a weird world we live in now.

My right heel didn't feel too sore for too long after Sunday's gravel road run so I tried hiking on uneven ground, which is the other thing I've been avoiding for the past few weeks. AdventureDog joined me for the experiment. Running on a flattish surface isn't painful while I'm doing it; my foot gets sore later. But when my heel tilts side to side while hiking on uneven ground, there's some pain while I'm doing it so I kept it short. It doesn't feel too bad tonight. If I weren't trying to recover from an injury, I wouldn't log this but it will be helpful to have a record if I look back.

Upper body strength - TRX, weight machine and dumbbells.

Then 'Bent and I had yummy Cinco de Mayo Taco Tuesday takeout from Gourmandissimo. Today was Gilles and Adriana's 30th wedding anniversary (they're the head chefs) so their son Christian did the cooking.

Tour de Palgrave East in sunny, 9C weather. Crowds arrived here over the weekend but for the first time this year, I didn't see another bike or meet anyone on the same trail. I saw a couple of hikers on nearby trails. To take advantage of the solitude, I rode most pieces of single track in their less-travelled direction and toured the roller coaster double track trails that used to be groomed for nordic skiing. Most groups of hikers stay on the double track trails so I've been avoiding them lately. This felt like brand new fun in our back yard. :)

I do have a bit more pain in my heel after yesterdays run-walk on gravel roads. Not too surprising. There was more running than walking, and the downhills increased the impact compared to the treadmill. But it doesn't feel like a setback with structural damage. Maybe some post-run soreness is my new normal. The Barefoot Science insoles seem to be helping a lot, even just walking around the house in my new indoor shoes. I'd tucked the insoles away in my closet and forgotten about them for the last couple of years.

For weeks, I've been buried in administrative work between pandemic-related work for 'Bent's dental office and several tax returns for Mom and my parents' corporation. Most of the heavy lifting is done for now and I might finally have time to scan in some photos, get back into yoga and clean out some cupboards. Yay.