Training Log Archive: nickiIn the 7 days ending Sep 26, 2009:
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Saturday Sep 26, 2009 #
Adventure Racing (Race the Rockies Edmonton) 6:28:00 [4]
What a day!
I raced with 17-year old, Esther, who is a complete rookie and an incredible trooper. I promised her a fairly easy race for her 1st but it was LONG and tough.
OP 1-4 It started with a lemans-of-sorts score-O in the woods near the ski hill. It was mass chaos and we were definitely stuck in the traffic of middle pack.
Start - CP1 Food bank challenge - carry you max. 60 lbs of food donation to the Edmonton Food Bank across the river valley to the north side of the city. To make things a bit easier for Esther, I carried 44 lbs (!!!!!) of flour on my 2 handle bars. It made for very precarious balancing and careful cycling. No sudden movements or sharp turns. Or any kind of turn. And you should have seen me try to start on the hill at the lights. Esther had the remainng 16lbs in her pack for the full 60 minute time credit.
CP1-CP2 - Bike to Terwillegar Park. No dramas on this fairly lengthy bike section, especially now we were flying with 60 lbs less weight.
CP2-CP3 - Paddle to Grout Bridge. Beautiful. Peaceful. A bit head-windy in spots but the river valley was ablaze with fall colors. We were a bit slow on this section and we exited the water in 10th with 11th and 12th right with us.
CP3-CP4 - Trek/Run 15km back to Terwillegar Park via 12 orienteering controls. The semi-technical orienteering aspect gave us a HUGE advantage and even though Esther had never run more than 6 km in her life, we rocked through this section in about 2 hours and got back to CP4 in 5th spot. Made a killer route choice through the neighborhoods which resulted in us short-cutting through the unfenced backyard of some mansion. Very funny....and very effective.
CP4-CP5 - Bike to Argyle Velodrome. We again took a very efficient route back across town and passed 4th placed team and gained ground on 3rd. Goal was the beat the rain storm that was blowing in with the wind warning!
CP5-finish - Mtb-O section which proved VERY exciting. Caught 3rd place team at the first control, saw them again at the 2nd control, they pulled away into the 3rd control but we made a instantaneous decision to back track on the single-track, climb the hill up to the neighborhood and beeline for the final control on the roads. We overtook the 3rd placed team by about 10 seconds but arrived at the final control together. It was just 200 m to the finish from there. They had their bikes with them at the control and we left ours UPHILL on the road and had to sprint with all our life back to them. They were ahead and gunning for the finish but we were higher up on the ski hill and had gravity on our side to give us that little bit extra momentum to sprint to the finish. Overtook them in the final few meters and took the podium spot by about 3 seconds!! The most exciting and rewarding finish to an AR ever.
But most importantly, what an experience for Esther. 3rd overall, beating some very experienced teams and most of the guys, plus 1st all girl team. Sweet.
Plenty of swag at the end, big smiles, and definitely a new convert to the sport.
Mike, Wayne and co. pulled off yet another amazing RtR.
I raced with 17-year old, Esther, who is a complete rookie and an incredible trooper. I promised her a fairly easy race for her 1st but it was LONG and tough.
OP 1-4 It started with a lemans-of-sorts score-O in the woods near the ski hill. It was mass chaos and we were definitely stuck in the traffic of middle pack.
Start - CP1 Food bank challenge - carry you max. 60 lbs of food donation to the Edmonton Food Bank across the river valley to the north side of the city. To make things a bit easier for Esther, I carried 44 lbs (!!!!!) of flour on my 2 handle bars. It made for very precarious balancing and careful cycling. No sudden movements or sharp turns. Or any kind of turn. And you should have seen me try to start on the hill at the lights. Esther had the remainng 16lbs in her pack for the full 60 minute time credit.
CP1-CP2 - Bike to Terwillegar Park. No dramas on this fairly lengthy bike section, especially now we were flying with 60 lbs less weight.
CP2-CP3 - Paddle to Grout Bridge. Beautiful. Peaceful. A bit head-windy in spots but the river valley was ablaze with fall colors. We were a bit slow on this section and we exited the water in 10th with 11th and 12th right with us.
CP3-CP4 - Trek/Run 15km back to Terwillegar Park via 12 orienteering controls. The semi-technical orienteering aspect gave us a HUGE advantage and even though Esther had never run more than 6 km in her life, we rocked through this section in about 2 hours and got back to CP4 in 5th spot. Made a killer route choice through the neighborhoods which resulted in us short-cutting through the unfenced backyard of some mansion. Very funny....and very effective.
CP4-CP5 - Bike to Argyle Velodrome. We again took a very efficient route back across town and passed 4th placed team and gained ground on 3rd. Goal was the beat the rain storm that was blowing in with the wind warning!
CP5-finish - Mtb-O section which proved VERY exciting. Caught 3rd place team at the first control, saw them again at the 2nd control, they pulled away into the 3rd control but we made a instantaneous decision to back track on the single-track, climb the hill up to the neighborhood and beeline for the final control on the roads. We overtook the 3rd placed team by about 10 seconds but arrived at the final control together. It was just 200 m to the finish from there. They had their bikes with them at the control and we left ours UPHILL on the road and had to sprint with all our life back to them. They were ahead and gunning for the finish but we were higher up on the ski hill and had gravity on our side to give us that little bit extra momentum to sprint to the finish. Overtook them in the final few meters and took the podium spot by about 3 seconds!! The most exciting and rewarding finish to an AR ever.
But most importantly, what an experience for Esther. 3rd overall, beating some very experienced teams and most of the guys, plus 1st all girl team. Sweet.
Plenty of swag at the end, big smiles, and definitely a new convert to the sport.
Mike, Wayne and co. pulled off yet another amazing RtR.
Friday Sep 25, 2009 #
Running 53:00 [4] 11.4 km (4:39 / km)
Fast. Pleasurable. Hilly. GORGEOUS crisp early morning in Calgary.
Thursday Sep 24, 2009 #
Bike Commute 2:00:00 [3]
Long day.
My commute was the only sane part of the day.
My commute was the only sane part of the day.
Wednesday Sep 23, 2009 #
Running 28:00 [4] 6.2 km (4:31 / km)
An early morning "Kenyan run" as Pither calls it. Good tempo effort to wake me up on this beautiful day. Watched the horizon turn bright pink. Quick shower and then will get the sun rise as I ride to work.
It seems good timing that I will be teaching a lesson on climate change today to my grade nines: 5:45 am on September 23 (SEPTEMBER!!!!!) in Calgary and I was HOT as soon as I walked out the door in shorts and sleeveless shirt. It must be already 18 degrees.....on it's way to a record breaking 31 or something today. What I pity I have to work.
It seems good timing that I will be teaching a lesson on climate change today to my grade nines: 5:45 am on September 23 (SEPTEMBER!!!!!) in Calgary and I was HOT as soon as I walked out the door in shorts and sleeveless shirt. It must be already 18 degrees.....on it's way to a record breaking 31 or something today. What I pity I have to work.
Bike Commute 1:50:00 [3]
What a day to be out riding. More cyclists than cars to compete with today. 33 degrees.....if only it would last.
Tuesday Sep 22, 2009 #
Bike Commute 2:05:00 [2]
Monday Sep 21, 2009 #
Crossfit/Gym/Weights/Core 30:00 [1]
A quick visit to the gym to start my 'rest day'.
Sunday Sep 20, 2009 #
Running (Edmonton 21 Half Marathon) 1:35:00 [5] 21.1 km (4:30 / km) +175m 4:19 / km
Yes, yes, YES....what a race! Apparently, only occasional training is working out really well for me at the moment. I had the BEST half marathon ever today. It wasn't a PB, but translated to a flat, paved course, it definitely would have been. It was about 80% loose trail with 2 big climbs, so I am pretty happy with the time. Mostly, I held around 4:15/km with the first AND the last km under 4 min/km. My pace dropped to around 7 min/km each time I hit the big hill and the hill was just over 1 km in length (x2) but I kept running. I can't believe how much I still had in the tank at the end. I felt great the entire race, and was always in control of my pace. Definitely a new experience for me.
Let's hope that my A-race is still to come though....in 3 weeks time!
1st in my age group, 2nd female overall. .
Let's hope that my A-race is still to come though....in 3 weeks time!
1st in my age group, 2nd female overall. .