Saturday Sep 29 |
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| Event: Frontier Adventure Challenge Canadian Champs
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 | Adventure Racing 10:30:00 [4] | |
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| I don't know our exact time for this but it was somewhere around 10 and a half. The race was the final Frontier race of the year at Bon Echo Provincial Park. I teamed up with La Femme and DogRunner again to try to defend our women's title and see how we could fare against the boys again.
We started at 3:45 am by getting campground maps handed to us with a choice of getting either CPA or CPB before running to the canoe dock to paddle to the other side of the lake (maybe 50 metres) where we would dump our canoes and start the trekking leg. I suppose this was meant to spread us out a bit but I am not sure how well that worked. We opted for CPB and counted 7 windows on a boathouse before running to pick up a boat. We were the first ones there so off we went to try to find a dock on the other side of the lake...only we couldn't really see it in the dark. Eventually La Femme spotted the dock and we pulled our canoe up just before Phatty and the boys arrived. The dock was small so I was happy to get there first to avoid a traffic jam.
Up a set of stairs we went and at the top we headed into the bush on our bearing with Team Salomon Suunto and SRS. This was a good sign - now if we could just hold our own in the bush and get out on the other side with these teams I would be happy. It seemed that we were all taking the same approach but with slightly different bearings so in a few minutes SRS was off on our left and Salomon Suunto was on our right.
The bush was relatively fast and despite La Femme's headlamp being about as bright as mini turtle light and her losing her shoe in a mud puddle, the trek was pretty good. We came out a little left of where I wanted and had to back away from a cliff and head back right to get down to the "road" we were aiming for. Apparently the road does not exist and after waking a confused woman at her cottage she kindly told us that the trail in front of her cottage would lead us to where we were headed. That was after I explained in a sweet voice that we were lost and in a scavenger hunt....
Beowolf was with us at this point and the 6 of us ran the trail to CP2 which was at a dam. Not too far back from the leaders, SRS and Salomon Suunto. The six of us continued to run down a road, discussing amongst us whether we were going to swim across a lake to CP3 on a peninsula or bushwhack around. I was looking for a distinct turn in the road and once I thought I saw it I knew we had to head into the bush at the next turn. (I didn't however notice another road on my map that would have indicated where to turn as well and I usually highlight offshoots just so I can see them at night). This was critical as we went into the bush with Salomon Suunto and Beowolf continued on down the road. Both of our teams were on a similar bearing and hit the lake together. We could see the lights of the CP staff across the lake but they didn't seem to be where we were expecting. As we made our way around the lake we realized that we had run too far south on the road and therefore hit the lake way too far south and had to make our way back and around.
As we approached the CP SRS came up behind us and it sounded like they did the same thing - oops. So Adrenaline Rush had jumped ahead of us all and we were sitting in 3rd leaving CP3 with Salomon Suunto again. All of us made our way criss-crossing in the bush to a road that led us to CP4/TA1 the canoe put in.
We managed to get out before Salomon Suunto and when the river proved to be really low we had an advantage in weight and were able to get down to the lakes quickly. Once we discovered a large bubble in the bottom of our boat I knew that our paddle was not going to be quick. We struggled ot keep the boat moving smoothly and by the end of the 18km or so paddle we had been passed by SRS, Salomon Suunto and the Treehuggers. I was not happy! But as Dog Runner pointed out we were going to focus on the mountain bike and planned to pick up some spots there. We had a fast TA and were on the bikes before the Treehuggers and Beowolf and not far behind Salomon Suunto. It took the legs a little while to warm up but once we got into a rhythm and passed around some gels we were good to go. We arrived at CP6 just before Beowolf and headed out onto the ATV trails with them hot on our heels. Not too far in we came to a trail junction and I made the mistake of going left (this may have been critical in beating Beowolf however because they made the same mistake and passed us). Not long after this I noticed some elevation on our right and with a quick glance at the map knew we could only be in one spot, and I didn't want to be there so we turned around and continue northwest to CP6a. We had to make some more decisions at other trail junctions but we got to the turnoff for 6A (an out-and-back) and on the way in bumped into Salomon Suunto and Adrenaline Rush. We ran around a bit looking for 6a and on our way out saw Beowolf and Treehuggers not far behind. Now it was time to move.....
The riding was great with lots of rocks and roots and steep hills under the power line. We passed Adrenaline Rush on this section as they had forgotten to get CP7 and had to go back. I was nervous with some of my decisions at the trail junctions but our direction seemed okay and when we saw a major ATV trail I knew we were fine so we picked up the pace to CP8 and then hammered to CP9 and the final paddle home. As we raced to TA we were cheered on by the female TA staff who were happy to see the ladies racing so close to the top. Shuffling across a bridge to the boats we picked a nice narrow canoe with a keel so we couldn't complain about the boat. As we pulled out we saw Beowolf in TA and encouraged each other to give it all we had for 7km. We could see the boat in front of us and although we didn't know if it was SRS or Salomon Suunto we could see that we were closing the gap over the course of the lake. It was too far to make up but if we could keep up the pace we could stay away from Beowolf behind us.....
So we approached the dock, ignored the kind gentelman's request for help in loading up the canoe and ran through the campground to the finish. Here we found out we were only 1 or 2 minutes behind SRS. I guess they decided to help the man load their canoe and then took the long way to the finish. They were a little surprised to see us so close behind and it was fun to be there. Beowolf, Adrenaline Rush, and the Treehuggers all showed up not long after. It was a great race for us and of course I have been over the maps a dozen times to see where we could have made some time up but all in all I am very happy and my teammates were stellar as always. Geoff designed a great course and it was a beautiful day to finish off the season!!! |
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| C • The Bobkittens Rule!! 4 |
Tuesday Sep 25 |
| Trail Running 55:00 [2] | |
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| Boy was it hot out. I had to postpone my run with Bash so that by the time we went it was midday - perfect for maximum sun and heat! ugghh both of us were feeling sluggish today. A combination of factors but we gave in and walked after 55 minutes. We have to save all of our energy for this weekend anyway...... |
| Yoga 1:15:00 [1] | |
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| Tuesday night class..and not so much power as really relaxing yoga but I am too lazy to add another activity. People were super chatty at the beginning of class and then someone's cell phone went off in final relaxation - unacceptable! |
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| C • Where did you go? 2 |
Sunday Sep 23 |
| Road Riding 2:30:00 [3] | |
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| Phatty and I rode from Orillia along Ridge Road toward Barrie. The temperature was perfect and there were very few cars on the road. We saw a few other riders including one man riding up to Haliburton. The legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday. Great fall day! |
Saturday Sep 22 |
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| Event: 5 Peaks
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| Trail Running 1:29:01 [4] 15.6 km (5:42 / km) | |
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| Ran the 15.6km 5 Peaks trail run at Horseshoe Valley. Slice, Phatty, and I headed up to Orillia on Friday night and then met up with Hansel at Horseshoe on Saturday morning. Phatty was testing himself against his co-workers in the 5.6km race while I showed my courage in entering the same race as Slice and Hansel. The course was beautiful and despite the fact that I felt like I was going to puke at 3km I managed to find a comfortable pace and enjoyed the run. At about the 3km mark I went to pass someone in front of me and stepped over what I thought was a red flower in the middle of the trail (I really should get contacts). It was actually a flag telling us to go left but I was following those in front of me. It turns out Slice, who was leading the group that started 1 1/2 minutes ahead of us, led everyone in the wrong direction. This mishap however managed to get me second overall in the women's division in the end. Thanks Slice!
Here is how that worked. Everyone followed her and by the time they realized their mistake they turned around and redirected us before we ran the extra distance that they did. So I just watched Slice fly by and turned around to follow. Over the next 11 km I ended up running with a couple of people, 2 of whom I thought might be in my category, and so I tried to stay with them. I would catch them on the downhills and single track and then they would pull away on the double track. Luckily about 2 km from the finish there was a steep long downhill that I let go on and managed to pull away from one girl. As I hit the 14km marker I thought "okay time to step it up since there is only 600 metres left" (and stepping it up might not mean much in the way of speed in my case but it means I feel a lot worse). And then I just didn't feel like I was getting closer to the finish until I saw the 15km marker and realized oops it was 15.6km, not 14.6km. UUGGHHHGH....so on I went and when I saw Slice, Phatty, and Hansel cheering I knew I was close.
Great, tough, beautiful race and I think I have to do more of these so that I can push myself and not take it easy like I do when I am on my own. Slice killed the field, including an error, and made it possible for me to come in second to her, over 7 minutes back I might add! The Bobkittens are always working together!!! Hansel continues to amaze me as he was 4th overall and that includes having a raging hangover! So we all made the podium as Pete was 3rd in his age category, Hansel was 1st, Slice was 1st overall and in her age catefory, and I was second overall and 1st in my age category since Slice is still a month away from being in the "Cougar" age group. Fun day! |
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| C • Yay, Bobkittens! 2 |
Wednesday Sep 19 |
| Mountain Biking 2:00:00 [3] | |
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| This time excluded all stops (including my punctured tube that someone kindly replaced for me). One of our group members also allowed me to ride his Specialized Stumpjumper FSR and what a sweet ride it was. I didn't have to get out of the saddle all of the time like I do on mine because I was just cruisin' along as the bike absorbed everything on the trail. I wish I had brought my camera because the fields and trees were covered in a blanket of fog and the sun was poking through. Great ride with a group of 5 today. |
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| C • Fog 8 |
Tuesday Sep 18 |
| Trail Running 1:05:00 [2] | |
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| With Bash on the HVT. Nice day but as soon as we got on trail I rolled my left ankle AGAIN. It must be the orthotics I have put in my shoes since they have a bit of a heel on them and I think it is throwing me off. We enjoyed the rest of the run in the sunshine and great temps and then just as we were about to get off of the trail I rolled my right ankle and fell. uggghghghh stupid orthotics. Now I am going to have to do some of those stabilizing excercises that I tell everyone to do! |
| Yoga 1:00:00 [1] | |
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| Not so much power yoga as very relaxing yoga. I have signed up for 10 weeks of classes and can only hope that it gets a little more involved as the weeks go on. |
Monday Sep 17 |
| Trail Running 2:15:00 [3] | |
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| Nice day for a long trail run. Felt pretty good except for the last 1/2 hour when one of the tendons in my right foot started to ache again. Oh I also twisted my left ankle and even heard a crunch but once I got over the shock I kept running and so far no swelling. |
Sunday Sep 16 |
| Road Running 20:00 [4] | |
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| With Phatty in the Terry Fox run in London. We only did two laps as we had a brunch engagement but the highlight was almost getting run over by an out-of-control teenager on rollerblades on a downhill. At least her screaming alerted us to her presence.....
We were supposed to go for a road ride this afternoon but chatting with old friends ended up taking most of the afternoon! |
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| C • a '4'? 2 |
Saturday Sep 15 |
| Road Running 53:00 [3] | |
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| With Phatty in London in Springbank park. Lovely day! |
Friday Sep 14 |
| Road Riding 2:05:00 [4] | |
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| Terrible ride! The wind was howling which is okay except that it kept blowing me toward traffic. I was white-knucked the whole way and two, not one, two separate school buses came way to close for comfort. I didn't think it was appropriate to flip the bird while little children peered out of the back of the bus!!! Should have gone mountain biking. At least the deer don't come that close. |
Thursday Sep 13 |
| Trail Running 1:00:00 [3] | |
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| Trail run in the beautiful sunshine and the temperature was perfect. I can smell fall coming and I love it. I felt pretty good today too - now there is something new! |
Wednesday Sep 12 |
| Mountain Biking 2:10:00 [3] | |
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| With Bash and Stan at Albion Hills for the Wednesday morning ride. The temperature was perfect and although it rained lastnight the roots weren't too bad but we were careful. I came around a corner to the white tail of a deer right in front of me and once again I marvelled at how gracefully they can run through the forest - if only! Sun was shining by the time I headed home for some lunch and stretching. Great ride! |
Tuesday Sep 11 |
| Trail Running 1:00:00 [2] | |
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| With Bash on the HVT. Humid today but cooler so it was nice running weather. I felt 10 times better than on Sunday thank goodness. Still have a headache but maybe that's because I am cutting back on my coffee intake. I haven't had one since last week. This nutrition course that I am taking is killing me! |
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| C • 5 Peaks 4 |
Monday Sep 10 |
| Yoga 25:00 [1] | |
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Sunday Sep 9 |
| Trail Running 1:00:00 [3] | |
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| Finally Phatty and I were able to get out for a run after much running around to closed bike shops and conservation areas where it was pouring rain. We ended up back at home and ran from the house on the trails. Then we both felt like crap and cut the run short. Must have been all those virgin caesars for me and cokes for Phatty! |
Saturday Sep 8 |
| Mountain Biking 2:30:00 [3] | |
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| With Phatty up to Albion again and then up to Palgrave so he could see the fire damage. I got a couple of good photos of the bare forests. I felt a little sluggish today - maybe from the ride yesterday - but Phatty was riding well and I could tell he hadn't been on singletrack for a while with how excited he was. Great day for a ride, especially since we had to head to TO for a wedding at night. |
Friday Sep 7 |
| Mountain Biking 2:00:00 [3] | |
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| With Slice at Albion Hills. Fun to get out on the singeltrack again and despite a couple of harmless encounters with some trees on both of our parts the ride was great. Really windy though and we headed up to Palgrave to take a look at the fire damage. Pretty scary going from lush green forest to bare charred trees. Thankfully there wasn't more damage. |
Thursday Sep 6 |
| Trail Running 1:10:00 [2] | |
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| With Bash in the disgusting humidity! and people are complaining about summer being over - not quite! We both felt pretty sluggish. Bash has been firefighting for a few days now so no doubt that is still taking it's toll. Hot, hot, hot! |
Wednesday Sep 5 |
| Yoga 20:00 [1] | |
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| A couple of phone interruptions cut this one short. |
Tuesday Sep 4 |
| Road Running 45:00 [5] | |
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| Not entirely a 5 but after warming up Phatty and I headed out to run some hills -uugghhh I hate hills. We warmed up and then ran 4x400 on the hill. Sucking wind! |
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| C • Warming up Phatty? Shouldn't ... 7 |
Sunday Sep 2 |
| Trail Running 1:40:00 [3] | |
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| With Phatty and Phatty Jr. on some gravel road and ATV trails around the cottage. Windy today and once we got on the first ATV trail we promptly turned around once we saw some fresh, good size, bear tracks. We headed through the booming metropolis of Latchford and onto some other ATV tracks while keeping our eyes out for the furry creatures. We only saw some ladies out for an ATV ride though. |
Saturday Sep 1 |
| Road Running 45:00 [3] | |
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| With Phatty around Kimmer's cottage up in Temagami. Beautiful day but the run felt like crap. Maybe because I rode yesterday, didn't stretch, and then plopped myself in a car for 5 hours. |
| Yoga 20:00 [1] | |
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| On the dock after our run. What a place to do yoga! Loons swimming by, no boats, and the sun going down over the trees across the lake! |