Training Log Archive: Browner

Spin class at RPM, great to see WandAR after all these years living in the same hood.

C • Good to bump in to you too..finally :-) 1

Around the Bay:

First time running this race in at least 5 years, and although it was a personal worse in time, my old injuries didn't bug me at all, and I was 6 minutes faster than my goal. I probably could have run it even a few minutes faster if I had kicked it up sooner towards the end (when I got to 27k I thought it was 25k since a bunch of km markers were blown over). I think the road running over the winter has been good for me in terms of improving my speed, and not aggravating my creaky knees, but my god I can't wait to get back onto the trails.

Two of my friends did the race in 2:13 and 2:25, so I am motivated to see if I can incorporate some of their speed work tactics into my routine.

C • congrats 8

C • congrats 1

Spin class

Intervals: 5 x 5min off, 5min on.

Run from home.

First ride of the season (on mainland North America, ;)) with Simpy, appearing as Barbara Walters, and Reeder, as himself. It was friggn cold at minus 9 before the windchill, but nobody called chicken and we went for a lovely road ride from Uxbridge on icy and partially snow covered roads. Reeder, who is still enjoying fat season, still kicked my butt up the hills, so I guess hill training on the bike starts next week.

Good times.

Road run from Kilbride. Storm went to hunt out trails but I was having none of that. The roads were much better, but not on the wide open ones through farms into the blistering wind. Still so great to get out of the city.

Hill Repeats #1:

20 min warm-up
4 hill repeats steep side of Ellis:
2:24
2:26
2:26
2:08

Run home

Run

First brick of the year, with this spin class after a run. Whoa, tiring.

Spinerval DVD...this should get real fun after the 3rd time through.

Long run on gravel roads out of Terra Cotta, worked up, down and across the escarpment a few times. Lots of hills!

C • Great run! 5

Intervals: 5 min on 5 min off

Lunge matrix, hip mobility, etc.

Day 2 Snowgaine

We started day 2 still not all that motivated to push hard and had a plan to just get a pile of CPs and then head home early afternoon. We tootled about the course for the morning, walked through a few CPs with "Sparkles and Jerkface"and found things were more interesting with more tracks to choose from. Around noon we decided to grab a bunch more CPs, the competitive spirit finally coming out and so we had to pick it up to finish on time. My legs and knees were shot by this point and I was pace-challenged in the woods but Storm carried everything but the shirt on my back (and of course not my underpants) and we hit the road for a 4k run to the finish.

Storm says that despite our tootling we only left 7 CPs out there, so I suppose it was possible, just maybe, for us to clear the course too - if we had only pushed as hard as all the other many amazing athletes that were out there this weekend. Congrats to everyone for being so motivated this early in the year, it is very inspiring! Don't fear DD11 and Simpy, I will loose my lousy attitude towards racing in 10 days, the first day of spring!

C • Nice job! 3

C • Sparkles and Jerkface?!? 5

Event: 19th Annual Snowgaine
 

Day 1 Snowgaine with Storm

Storm and I teamed up for this race both reluctant to be outside in the cold for 8 hours, 2 days in a row. I was particularly concerned about freezing to death based on how cold and wet I typically am after 3 hours of Snowshoe Raid. Storm agreed with me many weeks ago that we would take it easy and not push the pace so as not to sweat - the first step towards hypothermia. As it turned out, the temperature was warm and this was not going to be an issue. I took Denise's sage advice to loose the 5 pound bag of clothes but still kept the expedition pack loaded with other stuff to start training my back and shoulders for Cowboy Tough. I kept the spare underware, however. Underware is the new emergency blanket.

At the start - with 40 people and 4 suburus in the parking lot, the Race Director sent us on our way with a very clear warning to not return with a dog, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't alluding to Peak Performance... You know who I'm talking about!

Day 1 went great and was easy for us to just follow the elephant tracks in the snow but in a few cases where Storm really questioned the route of the leaders to the CP, and we broke off the beaten path, well those were the most fun for us. Not that the leaders didn't know what they were doing!

I found that freezing to death was not going to be a problem at any pace, even if you're sweaty, as long as you keep moving, you wear gaitors and booties to keep your feet dry as long as possible, and you don't fall in a creek. Then it might as well be 10C.

Tossed in 7 x 2 minute intervals

C • Knee doing OK? 1

5 x 10 reps squats and dead lifts (20lb)
+
Hip mobility and glute work

Spin class. We were annoyed that the spin instructor kept getting off his bike to answer his phone until we found put that he was the crisis communicator for Hydro One and he was responding to the big blackout. So we give him some slack.

Strength component of spin class - learned new torture methods.

Urban run. Took it extra easy on account of yesterday's fall and threw in lots of stops. Knee feels stiff yet tender.....Chris to enter joke here....

C • Took it easy.. 1

Mrs Gally's torture chamber, nah....play room of pain.