Training Log Archive: Bash

Finally! I've ridden my new bike! And I think I'll keep it.

'Bent and I rode to The Shed coffee bar in Belfountain, taking a nice route that included a bit of pretty much everything - rocky single track, mucky ATV trails, chewed-up horse trails, rail trail, gravel roads and paved roads. We picked up Knobless along the way to act as a wilderness guide for the navigational Bermuda Triangle that lies in the woods between Inglewood and Belfountain. There was a long, mucky stretch of trail that sometimes gets used by ATVs, so it was similar to most adventure races. I was happy with the way the new bike handled, and I waited with utmost politeness for the boys to catch up after the more technical bits. :-)

We made it to The Shed in 1:55 riding time, then dawdled as we enjoyed iced lattes, chocolatey baked goods and free newspapers. (Thanks, Dave Corner!) Knobless had cleverly packed along his laptop so he could download his e-mail using their Wi-Fi.

On the way home, we stopped at DJ's house to tour his new geothermal system - we hope to get one soon too. The contractor stopped by to check us out this week and said that our kind of property is their bread and butter, i.e. really easy to set up with geothermal. Too bad Urthbuoy is so far away!

I pulled up to the house with 3:59:30 on my bike computer. Of course I had to ride around the yard for 30 more seconds! Sadly, my bike was slathered with mud. I should have taken one picture while it was clean.

Thunderstorms in the forecast, so we saw "Sex and the City", then went on a rampage through Vaughan Mills mall with a bunch of gift certificates that we've received from different sources over the past year. First stop was Basspro, where we used our gift certificates to buy our ESAR prizes. :-) It's the only store I know where you can buy everything from underwear to baby clothes in camouflage colours. I noticed that the shoppers have a higher-than-average BMI; 'Bent hoped to buy shorts for a size 30 waist, but there was more selection in size XXL. Still, we found some nice prizes to take home - thank you Basspro and ESAR!

When the alarm went off at 6:15 a.m., the rain was lashing the house like a hurricane, and thunder was rolling ominously. I'm not a morning exerciser even on the nicest of days, so I stayed in bed until the last possible moment. When it became clear that 'Bent would not be deterred, I reluctantly put on my running gear for the drive to Pete's Donuts to meet up with Slowrunner and Rocky. (A couple of others had wimped out, due to not having a spouse or teammate to shame them into going.) Rocky looked about as happy as I felt, but as soon as we got going, it was impossible not to cheer up and enjoy the woods and the excellent company.

We had light rain on and off, but the need to build an ark had passed. Slowrunner lost her water bottle in Glen Haffy north, but an hour later, Boston Rob suddenly ran up behind us with the bottle in his hand. It was great to meet him in person after interviewing him for a magazine article over the phone. He and 'Bent were decked out in identical outfits - maroon tech shirts, black shorts and black ball caps. It was a little embarrassing to be seen with them, frankly - but that was a short-lived problem, as the two of them got chatting energetically with Slowrunner, and the pace picked up to match the pace of the conversation. Rocky was kind enough to stay back with me, and at least the others didn't get out of sight!

I haven't been doing much running, and my right hip started to get tight around the 90-minute mark, which is around the time we ran through our property. I decided to run a little bit further - through Palgrave West and down Duffy's Lane most of the way to the rail trail, then I ran back home to make it 2 hrs even (including an extra 10 minutes to make up for our stops enroute). I should be doing more running, but that was about right for me today. Hopefully I'll get to some yoga later on.

Update on Team Peak Adventure at Primal Quest:
http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/wp-primal/2008/06/28...

Good news for us runners with imperfect knees:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM...

Another busy day, so I only had time to sneak the new bike out for a *very* short run on the single track behind our house, just so I could see what it feels like to change gears. I think I'm going to like it. Not exactly what I'm used to, but that's to be expected after 6 years on the same bike. It seems zippy - and that *must* be the bike because it's certainly not me in this heat and humidity.

Caledon folk... please keep your eyes open for a missing man in the Bolton area. Grey/white hair, longish sideburns - a senior with dementia who went for a walk. They had ATVs looking for him earlier today, but runners and bikers might have better odds.
http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news/article/5164...

Naturally, one of today's plans was to take my new bike for its first spin, but I had a long list of errands and "to do" items before I could go. At last... I got the most urgent stuff done, put on all my gear and headed out the door - and thunder was rumbling all around as the sky turned a deep violet-grey. Argghh - I rode for 3 minutes around the yard, then came back in to watch the lightning show with my frightened (and ironically nicknamed) ThunderDog. So far I think I like my new bike. It's certainly very, very clean. :-(

I'm returning TheMinister's bike after he generously allowed me to race on it for two events. It's the same model as my broken bike, so it wasn't hard to get comfortable on it. Last night I borrowed VO2Max Senior's bike - a Specialized Epic Pro with a medium frame - and took it on today's ride. A lot of people ride different versions of the Epic, and they mostly seem happy - including the folks writing on the mountain bike review websites. Specialized is also attractive because there are still a few high end 2008 models left in stores and at the supplier - but not many, and there's not much choice in size.

'Bent, Coach LD, Gazelle and I met at Albion Hills, and after about 10 minutes, I decided that I needed to ride double track on my own until I got better at using the fancy hand-flappy shifters. I also wanted to get a feel for how the bike handled without feeling like I had to rush to keep up with the others. It worked out well - I did a nice little tour of Albion, then headed home.

After riding Specialized Small and Medium frames, I had the feeling that I'm borderline, so the next step was to ask a professional. I went down to Gears Bike Shop where we looked at the options. I could order any size I wanted in a really high end women-specific Specialized bike (Era FSR Marathon), but it only comes in metallic hot pink. So if I ever wanted to sell it, I wouldn't just be limited to women. I'd be further limited to that subset of women who don't mind looking froo-froo after spending $5K on a bike. Hmmm.

The bike fitting guy said that people up to 5'8" normally take a small unisex Specialized frame, and I'm only 5'6". However, it's too late in the season to order any bikes I like in that size, so the bike fitter put me on a medium bike to see if it could be made to work. Much to his surprise, it turns out that I'm all arms and legs - and apparently I have no torso, otherwise how the heck am I only 5'6"? Anyway, by the time he measured distances and angles and moved the seat up, down, back and forth, I received the good news that I am miraculously lanky enough that a medium Specialized frame is the better choice. Woo hoo! My 1st choice would have been the Epic Marathon, which is sold out for the season, but they had the next model down hanging on the wall - the Epic Expert. And so I am the proud owner of a new bike!!! Looking forward to getting out on the trails.

Hope everyone is watching Primal Quest and cheering on our friends. BobTheNavigator, Hansel and the McHales are looking great in 2nd place just behind Nike - yay! Sadly, Team Archipela Kinetic is already unranked after Steve had to drop out due to a "non-life threatening medical condition".
http://www.ecoprimalquest.com

Went to Georgetown to test drive Mrs. Flatfoot's awesome bike. (Thank you!) I won't be buying anything quite that awesome, but I was curious about how the Specialized Small frame would feel. At first it felt unnatural, but it started to grow on me after awhile. I suspect that I'm close to the borderline for Small vs. Medium. Next I'm going to borrow a Medium frame Specialized bike. In short tests, a Medium has felt fine too. I like to stretch out over my bike, and I'm not sure if that leads me toward bikes that are less agile for my size.

In the end, it might come down to what's available this late in the season. Or if my replacement Sugar frame arrives anytime soon, I might be happy with the rebuilt bike. I'm not expecting it back until at least mid-July though, and I've got one or two races to do without it. Mrs. Flatfoot has generously offered her bike for the RockstAR event, which takes some of the pressure off.

I was getting dressed for my 2nd lap when Hingo dashed bikeless into our campsite, "We need a new rider!" I hustled to the transition area, but couldn't swipe the timing chip because poor Hingo's lap was unfinished, so my lap time got added to Hingo's partial lap time. I went down hard on one tree root and put my foot down in a number of other slippery places. But the early morning light was beautiful!

24 Hrs of Summer Solstice

This was my first lap - about half of it in the dark. It was a bit slippery from earlier rain, but nothing compared to what it was like later on.

It was the Tree Huggers' 8th year at the 24 Hrs of Summer Solstice mountain bike relay, marking the 7th anniversary of our team name, which I invented on the spur of the moment while signing up for this race. At the time, it referred primarily to our team's mountain biking abilities. We do more than enough racing, so we make a point of treating this as a social event with good company, no pressure to perform, and at least one rookie every year.

This was the first year that we asked a rookie to do the starting lap! 3PinJim stepped in after VO2Max had to drop out due to XC ski training obligations in B.C., and he volunteered to do the first lap. At the time, we didn't tell him that there would be 325 other teams in the line-up, and - well - he didn't ask. Actually, it takes a lot to faze 3PinJim, so he ended up being the perfect choice.



Our second rookie was Sean, a friend of Goose's - a triathlete who really ought to convert to mountain biking. Returning team members were 'Bent, Sid, Knobless, Hingo, Goose, Coach LD, and myself.

Weather was variable, ranging from brilliant sunshine to thunderstorms. In the middle of the night, the course became a quagmire for awhile, and the lap times went way up. It stayed slick for hours, and it was easy to slide off the occasional tree root - ouch.

This was our worst year yet for bike disasters. Knobless had two flat tires on his first lap, and Sid's main light went out early in his night lap in the heavy rain. But the award for biggest disaster goes to Hingo, whose bike stopped rolling, so he abandoned his lap and returned to the campsite.

In spite of all that, this event is incredibly well-organized and fun, and we had a great, relaxed weekend hanging out with friends. We missed VO2Max and hope he'll be able to join us another year since our ranking dipped about 15-20 positions without him! Oh, and this was also the first year that his Mom didn't make cookies for our team. :-(

Without VO2Max and his trusty sidekick Logan, our campsite wasn't as popular with cute young girls as it was last year. But there was one who hung out with us for the entire weekend - 3Pin Jr.



A few highlights... A flying Goose went past our campsite.



Coach LD slid off the Pirate's Plank and managed to fully submerge her head in the mud puddle. She looked pretty good when she was telling us the story (below), but that's only because another rider insisted on cleaning her off at the bike wash.



'Bent survived yet another deluge of questions this weekend - hey dude, can that thing do single track?!?



And Sid pulled through for the team on the Hero Lap, where he had to finish before 12 noon so that 'Bent could head out for one final lap.

Dipped below my weight target by half a pound, ever so temporarily. Didn't think I'd see *that* number on the scale ever again!

Training was set aside when I learned about the Celebration of a Life for a friend's daughter this afternoon. She was my age and had breast cancer return after two years. She was studying to be a Buddhist minister, so some aspects of the ceremony were quite interesting and different. It was all very beautiful, personal, joyous and heartbreaking at the same time. In lieu of flowers or donations, she had asked that each person do something to bring joy to a friend, neighbour or a person in need. Nice.

Met up with Slowrunner, Rocky and Hingo to run the 24 Hrs of Summer Solstice relay lap. They were planning to run the whole 17 km, but I didn't have that much time today, so I headed back to the Chalet after an hour. Fun group, good chat, great single track, perfect long distance pace - glad I went!

Wow, I guess it really is sleep deprivation that is making me feel so draggy. I slept 9.5 hrs last night because for once there was no reason to get up early, and if I hadn't been so horrified when I saw the clock, I probably could have kept on sleeping. Stressful, realistic dreams too. June has been a bad month for sleep. For a couple of days this week, I had strange lip tremors that - according to the ever-helpful Internet - could be caused by early-onset Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis or fatigue. They went away - phew - so my money is on the "fatigue". I should be able to catch up after this weekend. Yay.

'Bent and I met up with Coach LD and Goose to pre-ride the 24-hr race course loop again. It's a rare treat to do something with both of them together! Tree roots weren't as slippery as Monday night, and 'Bent had adjusted the front derailleur so that I could use the small ring, which was a nice change. Now we just have to adjust the front brake pads and oil a very squeaky bearing in the rear suspension, and I should be good to go for the weekend. After that, I'm returning the Sugar to Ming (after buying him a tune-up), and I will be bikeless once again. No time to go shopping - boo!

Guitarman appeared at a couple of points today and took photos. He claimed to be too injured to ride with us, but even though he started earlier, we never caught up.

Rodney Yee - Yoga for Flexibility. Need to do more yoga! (Please remind me.)

Woo hoo - this may be as close as I ever get to my New Year's resolution weight target!

Night pre-ride of the Summer Solstice race course with Rocky, Scooby, Goose and 3PinJim. Great news - 3Pin has joined our team! We had an opening after VO2Max's coach scheduled him for a training weekend in B.C.

There had been lots of rain, and the trails were slick, so there were a few falls and close calls in our group. My borrowed bike worked fine on Saturday, but it's not so fine now. Most times when I tried to shift into the small ring on the front derailleur, the chain refused to move. This meant that I had to stop and move the chain manually sometimes, and other times I just ran through hilly sections instead of trying to ride. Needless to say, this had a negative impact on my joie de vivre, especially since I would need to work hard to keep close to these speedsters even if my bike were working perfectly! Hopefully 'Bent can get it sorted out by the weekend.

My Niterider Storm light is still working well after a number of years. Scooby complained it was too bright, so it's going to be just fine for me!

Huge Father's Day buffet lunch. Yum.

Event: Emergency Services Adventure Race
 

Adventure racing appears to be alive and well after both STORM The Trent and ESAR (Emergency Services Adventure Race) sold out this spring. 105 teams of three showed up to tackle ESAR today - really nice to see.

Since last fall, I've been planning to do this race with two rookies who also happen to be brothers, Hurtn and Damuhl. They are getting in shape for an Arctic backpacking expedition where Hurtn will paint landscapes and Damuhl will walk a few paces behind him carrying extra paints, an easel and a huge stack of canvases. (At least, that's the way Damuhl tells it.)

Hurtn did a mighty fine job of booking our team accommodation! When we arrived, there were bike racks lined up on the lawn of Dave & Erika's B&B on Lake Eugenia. We learned that Flatfoot's Dad and Vin were staying there as well. Hmmm.



There was more serendipity when we learned that (a) Erika is a former police officer who worked in the days when female police officers were issued billy clubs because they weren't trusted with guns, and (b) she has become a prolific oil painter in her retirement. There was even an Arctic painting to make Hurtn feel at home.



After a big dinner and our race check-in at Talisman Resort, we came back for some pre-race preparations. 'Bent would be racing on the Tree Huggers without me, so he spent awhile poring over maps of the area.



Hurtn, Mrs. Hurtn and Mrs. Damuhl tested the HD video equipment that the ladies would be using to film the race. Look at that big "squirrel" on the end of the mike!



We had over 2 hours to get ready and prepare maps before the race, which was quite relaxing. The 11 a.m. race start meant warmer temperatures, but in this case, it also meant that we missed out on racing in the morning rain. 'Bent and I had come up for a day last month to scout the area, and the race course design was along the lines of what we would have done if it were us! (Although there are several great race course possibilities in this area.)

Hurtn used the race as an excuse to buy a new waterproof video camera to carry on the course. Between his clips and the ladies' clips, there's a tonne of great footage of this race. We are the only team who raced hard *and* made a movie! The HD video looks stunning - this is going to be really professional. Not much thanks to me though, I'm afraid. Hurtn asked me to try videotaping while riding my bike with one hand, and I was utterly useless at it. So Hurtn got lots of shots of Damuhl and me.



We started on bikes with a big climb out of the Beaver Valley on an increasingly steep, loose gravel road. A few teams biked to the top, but almost everyone dismounted partway up and started walking, so it was impossible to ride even if we wanted to. And hey, I'm not going to say whether I wanted to! :-)

We had a nice section of goopy mud and big puddles - only about 1.5 km, but it gave the boys a taste of the snowmobile trail riding we do in longer races. Damuhl, who has done most of his mountain bike training on city streets, turned out to have a hidden talent for this stuff. Hurtn, who was being a bit more cautious - in the way that people mountain biking with video cameras tend to be cautious - pulled off an impressive endo, splashing his full body into a huge mud puddle. Hard core!

Our first TA was at the bottling plant at the south end of Kolapore where last year's Keen Games started. We were given maps at the TA with instructions to visit the five CPs in any order. Things went smoothly, and we ran a fair bit of it. Hurtn filmed some of our bushwhacking, so Damuhl and I tried to look as rugged and strong as we could. At each CP, there was a symbol that we had to sketch on the passport, so we were lucky to have a professional artist on the team. Well, at least we *thought* so until he started embellishing because he wasn't satisfied with the result. "Hmm, I could add some shading here... maybe some eyebrows..." "C'mon Hurtn, it's a happy face! Let's go!!" ;-)



When we got back to our bikes, we had moved up to 10th or 11th place - yesss!! Our next stop was our B&B at Lake Eugenia, and we fought a headwind all the way there. The boys were impressed to see firsthand that drafting really works, and we set up a pace line. Hurtn is a strong road rider, and he led the charge.

Our bike/canoe TA was slow, but we made up for it on the water. We used regular canoe paddles, and Damuhl called out commands to switch sides at fairly short intervals. Lake Eugenia was surprisingly pretty, considering how much civilization lies around it, and it felt great to get splashed on a hot day!

Damuhl was out of water, and there wasn't any at the TA, so we drained our extra supplies into his bladder. We rode to Campbell's Hill Road, a steep, rutted gravel road that took us (verrrrry carefully) back into the Beaver Valley. We dropped our bikes at the Beaver Valley Ski Club and completed a special task, which was really a mandatory gear check - lighting 3 candles with our waterproof matches.

Then we followed the Bruce Trail for a few kilometers back to Talisman Resort. The first thing the trail did was skirt the ski hill and head straight for the top - just what the doctor ordered at that point in the race. My teammates were happy when we got to the top!



By this point in the race, we were running the downhill sections and walking much of the rest. As you can see from his facial expression, Damuhl was *this* close to cramping.



At last we descended the ski hill at Talisman - a really pretty run.



We had a few special tasks at the end. There was an obstacle course section where snipers with paintball guns shot at racers. There was an optional penalty instead of doing this, but it would be too time-consuming, so we donned the masks and started running. I've never had any urge to try paintball, and I was surprised that it *hurt* so much to get hit! Some racers ended up with pretty good welts. From there, the guys carried me a fair distance on a stretcher (poor them!), then we went over the climbing wall and ran across the finish line. My rough, tough rookies did a fantastic job on their first adventure race, and we had a good time out there!



Even more cool - we ended up 1st Civilian Coed out of 10 or 11 teams! We were probably around 10th out of 80-odd teams who did the full course. I'm very proud of my newbie teammates! Apparently when they walked into the house wearing their medals, their kids wondered if it was a joke. :-)



My newbie teammate from last year, Goose, teamed up with 'Bent and Tiny this year. We'd placed 2nd overall last year by 42 seconds, but without my help, the poor guys dropped back to 2 full minutes behind first place. ;-) The winners were a Firefighter team captained by Glenn Edwards, pulling in civilian ringer Dave Corner. It sounds like the Tree Huggers and Children's Wish Foundation had an awesome race up at the front. Tiny went home early, but don't worry - your teammates have your medal.



As always, ESAR was a well-organized, fun, safe race, thanks to lots of hard work by our friends Mr. & Mrs. Flatfoot, STORM, Sherpa, Vin and more. Great day!

Leanimal knocked on the door and asked if I wanted to come out and play. I hadn't planned a run for today, but I'm soooo glad that she provided the nudge to get me and BulletDog out into the woods for some chat and exercise.

I haven't felt good on any run since the 25K Sulphur Springs trail race. I'm hoping it's just because the weather has become quite warm since then, and I'm a princess in heat. Surely I don't need 3 weeks to recover from a 2.5 hr race...?

Afterward, Leanimal tried out the kayak trainer that we have here on trial. If we keep it, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of our AR friends next winter! :-)

After Lee left, I bricked it up with a gruelling 2K bike ride. I just wanted to test the small adjustments that 'Bent and I had made to The Minister's bike after my first test ride yesterday. It's feeling good now, and I sure am glad to have it for ESAR!

Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to our race on Saturday. Since we decided to do this race last fall, Hurtn and Damuhl have put in their training hours, bought the gear, learned the lingo, asked about tricks of the trade, and done all the right things that newbie adventure racers should do to get prepared. I'm looking forward to our race on Saturday, and we're going to have a lot of fun!

It's going to be awhile before I have a bike of my own, it appears. There aren't a lot of new high-end bikes left in the stores, and there aren't many 2008 models available to be ordered from the manufacturers either. My replacement bike frame should arrive at the end of the month, and then I only have to worry about the fact that my wheels, tires, gears, etc. are all worn out too.

Luckily, my awesome AR teammate The Minister (aka Ming) is doing more road riding these days, so he has lent me his Sugar for a little while. It's amazing how the exact same bike as mine still feels different when I'm riding it. Maybe I'm being too hard on these other bikes when I'm shopping around. After some fiddling and changing of parts, I took The Minister's bike out on Salty Steven in Palgrave. It doesn't feel like it's been ridden recently, but most things worked well. I've got a list of small adjustments for 'Bent to work on. I'm a little nervous riding a bike that's so *clean*.

Not a real training session, but I just had to acknowledge the arrival of our newest toy (at least I think we'll keep it). It's an indoor kayak paddling trainer with a flywheel, the same one that is used by some serious local paddling racers. It feels reasonably realistic. I can't see spending a lot of time on it in summer, but it will be great winter training.

I can't say anything more because then it would take me more time to write it up than it took me to do it!

Hurtn and I had scheduled a 7:30 a.m. run today, and in spite of both of us being very short of sleep, we stuck to our plan. For months, Hurtn has been giving me some story about not being able to run, but he did just fine out there. It might have had something to do with the fact that if we stopped running for long, the mosquitoes zeroed in for attack, so we kept moving! Only a few more days until ESAR - looking forward to it!

Event: Salomon NavStock 6-hour Raid
 

Picked up #12 from the Raid.

Salomon Navstock Raid. I was the course designer for this 6-hr adventure run - the first time we'd tried this format. It was a challenge to come up with a race that should take 6 hrs for everyone. At our usual adventure runs, the finish times for 25K range from 3 to 8 hrs, and some teams don't even finish the course within the 8 hrs. So in a race with a fixed distance, some teams take triple the time of other teams. Thus in a race with fixed time, we might expect some teams to travel triple the distance of other teams.

But actually, we assumed that top teams would slow down a bit in a longer race, so the ratio wouldn't be quite as crazy as 3:1. The GHO Raid committee estimated that the course would need to be about 42K (marathon distance) to keep the top competitors busy for 6 hrs. We still had to get all teams to the finish line, so we decided to start with a point-to-point, then finish the race with a rogaine around the finish line. My personal preference is that rogaines shouldn't be possible for any team to complete, which forces everyone to solve the same problem of deciding which controls to do. Thus we needed a long distance rogaine, knowing that most teams would only see a small portion of it.

What we hadn't counted on was the extreme weather - the first weekend of the year with oppressive heat and humidity. Ironically, my course planning sessions often seemed to degenerate into hurricane conditions, and my biggest problem had been hypothermia. The hot weather seriously increased the difficulty of the race - especially the long road run, which was unfortunately hard to avoid due to all the development around Horseshoe. We were fortunate that most of our competitors took care of themselves pretty well, and the few racers who were having major problems with the heat and sun dropped out before things got too serious.

I'd made a comment in the pre-race info package that this race would be a bigger change from the norm for our top racers than for our mid-pack racers, who are accustomed to going out for 6 hrs in every adventure run. I'd wondered how top teams would approach the pacing, hydration, nutrition, sun protection, etc. There did seem to be more pain and attrition in a few of the top teams, but the vast majority of participants handled the difficult conditions amazingly well. Some of the teams with excellent results made a point of walking much of the course - in the right direction, of course. I'm a princess in heat, and I'm sure glad that I got to stay in the shade all day!

From the first time I saw Slice & Leanimal on the race course (just a few minutes out of the lead at the 1st aid station), the phrase "well-oiled machine" popped into my head. I see that Slice has used it in her training log, so it wasn't just my imagination! They gave the impression of being calm, organized, physically fit and totally on their game. We've all been waiting for the day that the Salomon Bobkittens would win a major event outright, and today was the day. Congratulations, ladies - rawrrrr!!!!

It was great to see so many friends out, and I continue to be blown away by the incredible support we get from our sponsors Salomon, Sojourn, Running Free and Axis Gear.

Event: NavStock Weekend
 

Event: Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon
 

Nice Navstock 5K course on Schumacher Mountain, designed by GHO Slow. I hadn't anticipated that I'd be able to do this race, but we managed to fit in our Raid course work between this and the sprint. So I just approached it as training, since I wasn't really mentally prepared to race.

It's a pretty area, although I miss all the trilliums that were there when I was course setting for the Raid. I was doing fine until I blew past #5. I must have been close but didn't see it, and of course when I continued on, things didn't make sense and I had to relocate. I wasted a few minutes on errors on a couple of later controls. I could feel my brain shutting down from lack of sleep, and I even had trouble finding #14 which was the same flag as #1 on the way out to the finish. I'd had no trouble finding it the first time.

Not a stellar run, but the important thing is that I finished ahead of 'Bent. ;-)

Moved Raid control #54 to its new, improved location. I was getting downright loopy from sleep deprivation by this point, and I walked right into the pointy end of a broken tree, leading with my face. I thought I tasted salt, and when I got back to the car, my face looked impressively bloody. I snuck into Carriage Hills Resort to use their public washroom to clean up. No sense leaving dirt in there.

I was looking forward to the Stars sprint, but my body and brain weren't up for a race after this sleepless week. Everything went wrong over the first few controls. I was the first starter, and when I turned over the map, I saw that the best route would lead me through a big patch of tall, lush poison ivy. Not worth it, so I ran around on roads, knowing that I had already given up on racing by doing so. I wasted 30 seconds finding #1, then turned the wrong way for some inexplicable reason. After climbing up the hill when I should have gone down, I came back and managed to turn both my ankles hard within the next 5 minutes. Part of me wanted to just go back to the campground, but I didn't want to waste a fun-looking race course, so I did a bit of running, but also a lot of walking from that point on. By the end, I was only walking. It was soooooo hot, and I was so physically and mentally exhausted that I was afraid of injuring myself more seriously. Time is a guess, as I didn't download my SI.

World 3-Legged String-O Champs with my partner, Pixie. Good first lap.

2nd round of String-O. Coach Pixie wisely suggested that we approach it a bit more slowly and smoothly, and the end result was a big decrease in our time. Unfortunately, we were edged out for the Female title by just 1 second. Congrats to the Stars Girls! We were 3rd overall.

Last-minute Navstock packing and prep, then up to Bass Lake to camp. Great to hang out with fellow Navstockers before hitting our sleeping bags. Unfortunately for us, the two adjacent group campsites were populated by complete jerks, and the park warden seemed powerless/unwilling to make them be quiet. Very little sleep for the 3rd time in the past 4 nights. Grrrr.

Bedtime at 3:30 a.m. for the second consecutive night. Very busy week for me, and when in you add in the last-minute pre-Navstock work, there is no time for luxuries like sleep. I feel like crap.

Went to Caledon Hills Cycling in Inglewood to test out the Rocky Mountain Element 70 bike. I liked it but didn't love it immediately, and I returned to the store for a couple of adjustments. I'm accustomed to being stretched out more on my old bike, and this bike made me feel more scrunched up, even though the measuring tape said that I'm not. When I finally got my own seat put on it, that was a big improvement, and I think that if I lowered and narrowed the handlebars, that would help too. I like all the components, and it's a good looking Canadian-made bike. It would work for me, but I need to test-drive another bike or two before making a decision. It ain't cheap!

There's been progress with my old bike. Cyclepath phoned Gary Fisher about my cracked frame, and the manufacturer didn't even ask for the photo or anything. They know the frames sometimes crack there, so they just set the wheels in motion. Because they no longer stock the rear swing arm for my 2001-model bike, they will give me an entire brand new frame (including new rear suspension) from 2005, the last year they made this type of bike. Or if I want to pay $1100, I can have a brand new frame from their current high-level model. I opted for the free 2005 model, but I was impressed at this high level of customer service after 6 years during which I haven't exactly treated my bike with kid gloves.

It was one of those days... Rain was pouring, my computer refused to boot for an hour (keeping all my precious Navstock Raid info locked inside it - eek), my local activism is getting time-consuming and somewhat disturbing, and my latest consulting assignment gets curiouser and curiouser.

But fortunately, Leanimal called and lured me outside for a run in the rain! My legs were still like lead. I don't know if it's from yesterday or if they're still tired from pushing so hard in the 25K trail race. I haven't felt the slightest ounce of zip since then. Just my luck, Leanimal's legs felt great for the first time in quite awhile, so she flew merrily up the hills. Actually, our running time was about the same as it always is, so maybe she's just getting faster, and that makes me feel slow.

Good chat as always - nice way to break up the day.

Took my damaged bike to Cyclepath Brampton, a Gary Fisher dealer. They took a close-up photo of the crack to send to Gary Fisher. Assuming that it is still available for a 2001 model, they will send a new lower rear swing arm for free. That's pretty good customer service after so many years of abuse. The service guy said that it's probably been cracked for awhile, but there has been a new sound coming from that part of the frame ever since Storm The Trent, which isn't promising. His official advice is to not ride the bike because it's dangerous, but unofficially, if it were his bike, he probably would. I looked at the new Gary Fishers and was much less impressed than I had hoped to be. I guess it's time to explore new horizons!

I had to pick up my bike from its tune-up at Caledon Hills Cycling, so I decided to make it into an end-of-day brick workout. I parked at the Town Hall in Caledon East and ran to Inglewood on the rail trail, about 12 km. I kept waiting for the part where my legs would start feeling light and springy, but it never came. It might have had something to do with the unusually hot weather, or maybe it was the weight of my backpack, which contained bike computer, helmet, gloves and shoes - oh, and money.

I met one lovely dog enroute, and one dog that I felt sorry for, since his owners just don't get it. The couple saw me coming, and they turned around, which encouraged their large dog to turn around and jump into a slimy pond. So far, so good. I stayed calm when the dog emerged from the muck, stood stock-still for a moment, then charged me from 5 meters away. I'm a dog lover, so I put out my hand and said "Gooooood doggie", even though he was a mastiff who weighed at least what I do - and of course he was slime-covered. He sniffed me for a moment, then started snarling and jumping at my chest. I said, "Hey, stop that!" in my most authoritarian voice, and stepped away from his lunges. The lady said, "Don't do that!" "I said, "I'm not afraid of dogs, but I've already been bitten once while running this year." "Well, he's just a puppy who likes to jump up on people, and he thinks you want to play."

OK, I'd had enough. In my coldest voice, I said, "Look, I have two dogs at home, and you SHOULDN'T let him do that." Argggh. Every idiot dog owner like that is just hurting the good dog owners who would like to be able to take their well-behaved dogs more places. If they can't control their huge, aggressive dog, or if they just think it's amusing for slimy dogs to jump on strangers, then they ought to stay home and walk him around their yard. Harumph.

On the bright side, my speed really improved for the next kilometer.

Here's where the workout went a little sour. I went into the bike store, and the repair guy's face fell. "Um, no, your bike's not fixed." At this point, with my legs feeling like lead and sweat streaming down my face, all I wanted to know was whether I'd be able to ride it back 12 km to where I'd left my car. Oh yes, I could do that (phew). Then I learned various pieces of bad news, including that the new squeak from Storm the Trent is actually a crack in my frame. Some of the bad news we knew about - 'Bent was already shopping for new wheels for me, and there were some other things that had been discovered at the last tune-up.

So... nobody can say how long it will be before the frame breaks completely. It could be tomorrow, or it could be a few months from now. It has cracked in the same place where a bunch of Gary Fisher Sugar 2 bikes have cracked, and it's possible that a Fisher dealer might be able to get me a replacement part for free. But it's an old bike, and that may not be possible.

So it's looking like maybe it's time to start bike shopping. Can anyone recommend their favourite tough yet lightweight dual suspension cross-country mountain bike, suitable for adventure racing abuse? I've loved this bike, but Fisher doesn't make it anymore. The geometry is designed for awesome climbing, and it also makes it really difficult to go over the handlebars. I like both of those features!

And on a more serious note, Dr. Sheela Basrur passed away today at the too-young age of 51. Most of us in Ontario knew her as the hard-working doctor who ably oversaw the SARS crisis when she was Toronto's Chief Medical Officer of Health. In my most recent contract with the Ministry of Health, I worked on a public health project and was privileged to meet with her after she had become Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health. She was friendly, funny and totally devoid of self-importance. She led some excellent projects related to anti-smoking and the science of smog and health. Sadly, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a year and a half ago. It's a sad loss for her family... and the rest of us have lost something too.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM...

Joined Goose and Coach LD for paddle down the Humber River from Duffy's Lane to Hickman St. For some reason - probably because it requires a car shuttle - we'd never done this paddle before, even though it's only 15 minutes from home. It feels like wilderness in the Humber Valley, but we came ashore in the heart of downtown Bolton - very cool.



The pooches enjoy paddling, so we brought them along. Not such a great idea, as they found the sights and smells of the narrow river much more stimulating than our usual flatwater trips, and they didn't want to sit politely. At one point, BulletDog leapt out and started swimming when we ran aground, then panicked that we were going to abandon her and tried to do chin-ups on the side of the canoe to get back in. She seemed poised to leap out much of the time, and when we met the odd dog or hiker along the shore, she went ballistic. ThunderDog was more sedate, but kept switching from one side of the canoe to the other, throwing our balance off at odd moments.



All of this wouldn't have been too bad on flat water, especially with the ballast of canoe packs to stabilize us. It wasn't so great on moving water, and it would have been nice to be able to focus on paddling this section of river properly, i.e. with 2 hands on the paddle! I guess it's Class 1 - you'd have to work hard to get into trouble at this time of year, but it still wouldn't be fun to tip.

We had some good wildlife sightings - a couple of deer that bounded by and splashed across the river, a beaver swimming with a twig, and a great blue heron that can be seen taking off at the right side of this photo. Fun little adventure!