Training Log Archive: Bash

Yay, it's Tour de France time!! A note to any of you who record the stages and watch them later (like we do): I will not post any spoilers on my log until the day after a stage. Commenters, please don't jump the gun! Thanks. :) For now, I will only say that today's prologue was exciting in good and bad ways, and I think we're looking at another interesting battle for the podium.

We had to take BulletDog for a consultation with a surgeon in Mississauga this morning. (Good news. No torn ACL - her knee is fine. The pain is radiating down her leg from a painful spot on her back, and it will hopefully go away with a few weeks of rest and anti-inflammatories.)

Since we were in the city, we tried texting Michael Fekete of Kayaksport.net to see if we could make an appointment to see their new store. He apologetically explained that he couldn't get to the shop because he was at a park by the Mississauga Sailing Club with some demo boats - just down the road from the vet office. Well, that was easy!

We tested the Epic V8 surfski on Lake Ontario. We were in street clothes since we hadn't planned on paddling, and we didn't have hats or sunscreen or our own PFDs or paddles. So we kept it short but we both enjoyed our test paddle. Michael and his son, who are both awesome paddlers, are loving the V8 and choosing it frequently, even though they can use any boat they want. They say the V8 is slower than higher performance surfskis on flat water but as soon as there is any chop (lake waves as opposed to ocean swells), its extra stability makes it faster than high performance surfskis for many paddlers. Hmm... we are getting close to decision time. I enjoyed paddling JayXC's V10 Sport too and didn't find it particularly unstable, so it's not an easy call.

With two days of adventure race course testing last week and two more coming up again this week, I've got long slow distance training coming out of my ears. So I tried a hill training session - a few kms of warm-up, 1 Raspberry Hill, then 6 F&M Back Pond Hills with a short cool down. I pounded my quads as hard as I could on all of the downhills - the opposite of what I do in long races. Gotta toughen up!

In a history-making first, I added one more hill climb beyond what was originally planned. It felt like this was doing me some good so I hated to stop.

It's too hot to do quality speed work outdoors so this was a rare treadmill run. A CBC Radio "Laugh Out Loud" podcast helped to ease the boredom. Warm-up followed by 10 minutes holding a slightly uncomfortable pace, then 2 minutes at a faster pace and 1 minute at my max pace before cool down. Even in our "cool" basement, I was sweating like crazy - sigh.

Bob and I started our second day of Wilderness Traverse course testing with a paddle scouting mission in cloudy conditions.



Partway through, we left the canoe behind and ran a trail to get its GPS track.



The deer flies and mosquitoes were brutal today and I'd foolishly left my bug repellent behind since yesterday was only mildly buggy. At regular intervals, one of us would stop paddling in frustration, flap our arms and order the bugs to cease and desist. Turns out they aren't very good listeners.







We scouted a few portages.







I have yet to see a bear while WT course testing (although Bob saw a family when we split up one time) but we almost always see a snake. Bob was portaging the canoe when he came across this Massasauga rattlesnake - the only venomous snake in Ontario. It was making this sound . They are a threatened species and shouldn't be bothered. Bob took a wide detour through the forest with the canoe.

Trail run in the middle of our paddle.

Last but not least, we did a relatively short out-and-back bushwhack trek. Things got all competitive when Bob suggested that we check our GPS tracks later to see who could follow a bearing in a straighter line. He would navigate one way and I would navigate the other.





Of course I'm not going to post our GPS tracks but it's hard to call a winner. I got burned by a couple of unmapped water features but I think I was more ruthless about bashing through thickets instead of taking the better line around and potentially risking a loss in the Straight Line Challenge. I'm willing to call it a draw if Bob is.





Teams will need to stay on their toes. Muskoka is rocky and there were lots of small drops as we travelled through the woods. At one point, I was surprised to find a 5-6 m cliff dropping off in front of us; the vegetation ran right to the edge and didn't tip me off. So bring good headlamps for night legs of the race and watch your step.



At one point, we crossed some rocks by the water and Bob let out a yelp. It was another snake, although not a rattler this time. I chuckled at Bob's reaction. I saw a snake swimming away and assumed that he had scared it into the water. A few steps later, another snake slithered past my foot and I shrieked like a little girl. Now it was Bob's turn to laugh.



And with that, we were all finished and on our way to burritos and lattes! Thanks to Bob for the latest set of adventures and for somehow never making me feel like I'm slowing him down.

Bob and I went to Muskoka for some meetings and miscellaneous testing of pieces of Wilderness Traverse. At this point, we're checking out routes for race volunteers and photographers as well as participants on regular and advanced courses.

We had a new experience when a landowner wanted to accompany us in an ATV while we tested a piece of trail for a mountain bike leg. He turned out to be a great guy, and we enjoyed chatting with him during breaks.



We've seen in other years that gnarly trail conditions are better suited to bikes than ATVs. Our ride was mostly dry and pleasant but when we hit this messy stretch of trail, it took some strategic planning to get the ATV across.



Bob revealed hidden talents for ATV route planning and winching from trees. I had my doubts but the ATV driver made it through this section of trail with flying colours.



Speaking of flying, I did some of that too. I was riding at the edge of a muddy section of trail beside a deep rut when my front wheel slid into the rut and stopped instantly. I, however, kept going. The ATV driver was treated to my imitation of Superman as I flew forward into the soft earth in a full body face plant. I threw my arm up to protect my face and heard my neck crack a little when my head hit my arm. Nothing serious but it still kinda hurts.



After a quick, chatty road ride, we dropped our new friend off and headed back into the woods for some exploratory riding in an area where we were considering a tweak to the course. The riding was fun and conditions were great.







That is, conditions were great until we hit this part of the "trail". It started with some hike-a-bike along a beaver dam covered in thick brush, then the trail disappeared under water. Decision made - racers won't be riding here!



The mosquitoes and deer flies found us tasty so Bob chose a less buggy place for our map review. Luckily, traffic was very light on this remote road, and passing drivers were super friendly to us!

Next Bob and I did some canoe paddling with single blade paddles in a heavy canoe in a stiff breeze. We both felt it was a good strength workout that engaged our muscles in a different way from kayak paddling. Mostly, we just felt grateful and privileged to have a "duty" as responsible race directors to be out touring a Muskoka lake on a sunny June day. :)







An evening highlight was our meeting with a local renaissance man who will likely manage WT racer meals. We'd just planned a quick get-together but ended up staying much longer, fascinated by his stories.

Phatty, Leanimal and I went paddling on Lake Couchiching. Leanimal often talks about welcoming the wind as her training partner, and we sure did that today! We fought our way north for awhile and it felt like we were moving soooo slowly that on the return trip, I kept thinking we must be back at Leanimal's parents' place - but actually, we'd made it 7 km north before we turned around. I guess the good conversation made the distance fly by.

There was one sketchy area near a point where the wind gusts and waves were impressive and disorganized enough to make us happy to be in stable boats in warm water. Phatty and Leanimal were practising for Scotland in a canoe with canoe paddles, and I was in Lee's Mom's sea kayak.

Phatty leaves for Europe this weekend and won't be back till Christmas. Leanimal and Weeanimal will follow him in a couple of weeks. What an incredible adventure they are embarking on! 'Bent and I (and a few others!) will miss them terribly but we're excited that they are pursuing such a terrific opportunity. It's time to start posting photos on Attackpoint, P&L! We look forward to seeing France through your eyes. :)

Goose and I took a circuitous route through Palgrave West and East on our way to Albion Hills. We took a break to check out the view of west Caledon from Lookout Hill and stopped for a brief chat with Crash. At Albion, we turned off the Garmin for awhile as we visited with 'Bent and his fellow riders, then caught up with Harps, Amy and Shortstack.

Harps and 'Bent both hit the podium in their respective divisions. Harps' division was a wee bit tougher. :) Nice job, guys!

We ran home on a more direct route - a couple of trails in Albion, a run up Duffy's Lane, then trails through Palgrave West to our place. Our GPS watches disagreed so we had to add an extra loop at the end to ensure that we both did a half-marathon. Victory in the sprint finish went to Goose - no surprise there. Fun destination run with great company!

Timothy Olson just crushed the 15:07 course record at the tough Western States Endurance Run - 14:46:44 for 100 miles of mountain running. Salomon runner Ryan Sandes finished 2nd in 15:03:56 - also under the old course record. Phil Villeneuve (former APer PhillyCheesesteak and leader of the Canadian Salomon Flight Crew) was one of his pacers.

Ellie Greenwood, the elite U.K. runner who lives in Canmore and is an honourary Canadian, is on track to break the 18-year-old women's record as well but her finish is still a couple of hours away.

Wow.

This was actually a mix of running and a bushwhacking trek. BazingaDog and I ran over to the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice event at Albion Hills. I got caught in Palgrave East by a fence that wasn't there in the past, so we tried to run the old Bruce Trail south to Reddington. It has almost disappeared so it became a full-on bushwhack with BazingaDog demonstrating new skills as he leapt over fallen trees a meter off the ground. By the time we got to 'Bent's campsite, he was just leaving for his first lap.

I stayed to chat with 3PinJim, Tom & Julia, Thumbs-of-Death and Brian. They pointed out that I was bleeding like a stuck pig from my shin and had a red goose egg starting. I have no recollection of what happened but my pain tolerance goes way up when I'm bushwhacking. I felt guilty dipping into their first aid supplies!

We went to see Harps, Mac and Joe next. They were leading the 4-man team category after 3 hours. Keep it up - only 21 more hours to go, boys!

We tried to visit Pat-hectic but he had just gone out for his lap so we headed over to watch 'Bent finish. Crash was there! So nice to see her and catch up a bit. She happened to have two cold beers that she was just waiting to share with someone. Unfortunately, BazingaDog lost patience waiting for 'Bent to finish his lap, and started barking and eating his leash. Meanwhile, 'Bent's teammates and I were just worried. He came in about 15 minutes later than expected after his chain broke twice doing the lap - yecch. He headed off to look for 3 chains of a particular type, which is what it takes to fix the recumbent. By this time, BazingaDog had gone looneytunes and I had to get him out of there.

Hot!! Lots of swims for BDog.

Enough with the heat acclimation, electrolyte pills, deer flies and sweat! Instead of getting better at coping, once in awhile it's nice to choose an activity that is pleasant on a hot day. I took the Eclipse for a loop around Island Lake in a stiff breeze. So nice to be out! The lake is weedy around the edges now so I had to keep more to the middle and do an extra little twirl at the end to get the loop up to its usual 8 km. I need to do more of this. I've got at least two multisport races left this year - Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race + either Logs Rocks & Steel or the North Country Endurance Challenge.

A little inspiration for a Friday morning. The tag line of this Old Spice video is: "When you smell like a champion, the only thing standing in the way of success is all of the other things it takes to be a champion besides smell."

The Thing To Do in Caledon this week is a lap of the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice race course - and for people like 'Bent, Harps and others, there will be quite a few more laps coming up.

I rode over from our place and started the loop at the north end. (The official start is at the Chalet.) Chico often tweaks the course at the last minute but Lap 2 on my Garmin track was the marked course today. I measured it at 18.9 km on my bike computer, which is more accurate than Garmin in the single track. That's longer than the usual Solstice lap.

Anyway, great course - I love the way Chico combines our familiar trails in different ways for these races. There is a ton of poison ivy along sections of the race route. I'd suggest that teams bring a bucket, dish soap and some wash cloths for their legs. If they go off trail, their shoes and bike tires may need careful cleaning post-race. If they fall in the stuff... well, I don't want to go there.

I had to push to get home before the thunderstorm - although I took one short break to move a turtle across the road, and I couldn't resist stopping by Crash's place. She is home but wasn't in when I stopped by. Can't wait to hear her Tour Divide stories.

It was another hot day and I used SPF60 sunscreen that made me look ghostly. Combined with the sweat, it made for a really bizarre, blotchy look and an icky feeling by the time I got home. Imagine my delight when the power went out for several hours, making it impossible to shower.

Interesting Outside Magazine interview on Overhydration with Dr. Tim Noakes, author of the classic "The Lore of Running" and a new book "Waterlogged: the Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports".

When he started running in the 1960s, the conventional wisdom was that you shouldn't drink while running. In his first marathon in 1972, there was just one aid station at the 20-mile mark. Soon afterward, some studies caused him to advocate drinking 900 ml/hour. A woman contacted him after she had almost died after an ultra race and wondered if he could figure out why. He was the first to identify hyponatremia (reduced sodium levels from over-drinking) and predicted that it could kill people, particularly young women who need less fluid. He was right.

However, around the same time, the sports drink industry took off and a non-scientist in the U.S. military decided that more drinking must be a military advantage. Largely from those dual influences, we have all been told to drink before we feel thirsty.

"There’s now evidence to suggest that if you drink ahead of thirst, ... your performance will be impaired, just as it will be impaired if you drink less than you should at thirst. Thirst is your body trying to tell you, Listen, I need fluid. If you don’t replace that fluid, I’m going to slow you down until you drink. Only when you drink am I going to allow you to perform optimally again. The brain, unfortunately, can’t tell you that when you overdrink, you’re going to go slower. So you don’t pick up the messaging. You just go slower without realizing it."

"You overheat when you run too fast. ...You don’t overheat because you become dehydrated. The brain’s too clever. If you’re not going to drink, the brain will slow you down, and that will lower your body temperature, not raise it."

Salomon Store Summer Solstice Run

Normally, ultra runner Ryan Barrett leads runs from the Salomon Store all day on the longest day of the year. This year he wanted to take some breaks since he has a 100K race on Saturday. New Brand Ambassador Brian Culbert and I were invited to help out by leading some laps. I enjoyed chatting with Brian about UTMB, which he is doing this year. It was also lots of fun to hang out with the friendly Salomon staff, and Ryan has lots of energy and great stories.

The only downer was the ridiculous 35C temperature and high humidity - yuck!

I led the 2:30 p.m. lap. Salomon staff Joanna, Derek and Matt decided to join me since it was the least busy time of the day. They drove to Edwards Gardens rather than running over with me, then we had a fun run. I even took them on an adventure racing detour on a sketchy sidehill trail in the woods with a steep, root descent. Then we crossed the river on rocks instead of using the nearby bridge - just to get our full money's worth. Good for them for getting out to test the gear they sell in the store!

Lap #2 - still soooo hot. Brian took us on his secret trail that ran along a terrific ridge with a slight breeze that cooled the sweat. To get back, we cut down the steep hill on a trail that ended abruptly in an area of lush vegetation, healthy bugs and tangled trees. As the navigator in the crowd, I bashed a line through it until we popped out by a parking lot in Sunnybrook Park - and then just for good measure, I pulled out the orienteering map I'd tucked in my waist pack for such emergencies!



I was only needed to lead two of the eleven laps, and that was enough heat acclimation for one day, so I hung out at the Salomon Demo Tent for awhile and got people to try on shoes!

While Crash was riding south along the Great Divide, Jason "Hammer" Lane started riding east in the Race Across America (RAAM). Neither of them had a good weekend.

On Friday in Arizona, a car turned right in front of Jason, and he hit it broadside. He landed between the wheels and the car ran over his upper back as it tried to make its getaway. After a stop of almost 6 hours to receive medical care, he returned to racing. His original bike was totalled so he is riding his back-up bike. I can only imagine how much time he must have put into making that original bike perfect.

Here is a video where Jason and his crew explain what happened.
http://www.teamhammerfest.com/1/post/2012/06/accid...

Here are photos and a short video showing his injuries, including tread marks on his back.
http://www.teamhammerfest.com/1/post/2012/06/wreck...

I'm sticking to mountain biking. Even with grizzlies, violent thunderstorms and snow-covered passes along the route, the worst thing to happen to Crash was a blast of bear spray in the face. (Which still stings a few days later!)

To follow Jason's race, keep an eye on the HammerBlog. His crew is busy and tired so the updates are short.
http://www.teamhammerfest.com/hammerblog.html

After Saturday's 50-miler, this week is all about active recovery. And what better way to stay active than to lead running groups on loops from the Salomon Store in Toronto as part of Ryan Barrett's annual Summer Solstice Run! Several of us will be leading 8-10K loops during all the daylight hours from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow.

Come on out to try shoes at the Salomon Demo Tent. You can even run a loop in them to see what you think. There will be summer deals at the store too. If nothing else, come out and laugh at me trying to run multiple 10K loops on pavement a few days after a 50-miler! :) I don't know yet what hours I will be on duty but when I get details, I'll add a comment here.



10 Aggie Hogg Gardens, Toronto

Lap 1: 536 to 630
Lap 2: 700 to 800
Lap 3: 830 to 930
Lap 4: 1000 to 1100
Lap 5: 1130 to 1230
Lap 6: 100 to 200.
Lap 7: 230 to 330
Lap 8: 400 to 500
Lap 9: 530 to 630
Lap 10: 700 to 745
Lap 11: 800 to 903

A little spin to loosen up the legs. Feeling pretty good!

Event: North Face Mohican 100 Trail Run
 

Mohican 50-miler
Loudonville, OH
(Check out the Garmin track in USGS map mode - cool!)

The Mohican Trail 100 in central Ohio includes three events - marathon, 50-miler and 100-miler - and attracts about 500 runners. It is 95% trail, mostly single track, mostly shady and very hilly. Ken Niemimaa, winner of the 2011 Sulphur Springs 100-miler, described it as similar to the Hockley Loop and mentioned that when he finished his 50-miler last year, he was happy not to be going out for another 50!



Ang decided a few days ago to try her first ultra at Mohican, and it was great to share the long drive. The pre-race pasta dinner was good and we had fun chatting with friendly ultrarunners. As an Ironman, Ang found it funny to listen to people who considered the marathon to be this weekend's sprint distance.



We splurged and stayed at Mohican State Park Lodge.



Too bad we had to set our alarm for the ungodly hour of 3 a.m.! On top of the sleep deprivation, I felt horrible this morning for reasons that women will understand best.

We started at 5 a.m. with the 100-milers. After 2.5 km, four hundred runners squeezed into the single track. Although the course designer had made a effort, people hadn't spread out much by then. For the next 6 km, we were forced to walk much more than we wanted. If I'd known, I would have started closer to the front but on the bright side, we had a very thorough and gentle warm-up!

It was beautiful watching lines of headlamps weaving back and forth and up and down in the dark forest. As always, it was amazing to experience sunrise outdoors.

My only results-oriented goal was to get an official finish and two Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc points, so I took a very conservative approach. I couldn't afford to fall, twist my ankle, get dehydrated or lose my appetite in the heat.



This is the longest run I will do before the Death Race so it was also the final test for shoes, clothing, gear, running form, etc. In addition, I wanted to take care of myself well enough to finish the race feeling like I could go another 45 km, which I will need to do at CDR.

Two things I used for the first time in an ultra: Salomon Speedcross 3 shoes and XR shorts. It wasn't love at first sight for either of these items. The original Salomon Speedcross had less stability than the new model, and I thought the XR shorts made me look funny. However, I've recently become a big fan of both. They passed today's test with flying colours and will now be my primary shoes and shorts for the Death Race.

The other thing I was testing was more of a theory. This was my 5th ultra (three 50K and two 50-mile) so I'm still a newbie but I've observed some trends. Cardio hasn't been an issue in an ultra yet, and even muscle strength for hill climbing hasn't been a problem, but at some point in every ultra, some type of pain has become a limiting factor. The location of the pain varies, e.g. I haven't been getting quad pain lately but my hips feel tight after awhile. The other variable is the length of time until pain becomes the limiting factor in performance. I wanted to test different running techniques to see if I could postpone the pain until later in the race.

It worked. By the end of 80.5 km, I felt less pain than I felt after 20 km at Sulphur Springs, and the pain started later than in any previous ultra. For my own reference, here's what I did (and will do at the Death Race):

- Slow, steady pace. Resist the urge to pass people early on. Save it for the second half.
- Walk most uphills early on and stretch the calf muscles while doing so, i.e. touch heels down often.
- Keep top of hips tilted forward and think about kicking back toward bum.
- Feet slightly farther apart than feels natural, right below edge of hips.
- Head directly above spine. (The idea of these last few adjustments is to reduce the work done by stabilizing muscles.)
- Take lots of very short, quick steps on downhills and try to land as lightly as possible.
- Avoid unnecessary impact. When the trails were crowded, I sometimes speed-hiked right behind people who were running slowly, and rather than jumping off rocks or logs, I would take a moment to step down gently.

Ang and I ran together for the first 35K. She scared me at one point with a nasty face plant where she hit her knee on a rock and was unable to answer immediately when I asked if she was OK. We walked slowly for 5 minutes until the shock and nausea abated, then she recovered and eventually moved ahead.



My favourite section (for exploring, not running) was the "Enchanted Valley" - a narrow creek canyon where we had to hop over and scramble under logs while trying to keep our feet dry. We arrived at a big waterfall surrounded by huge mossy boulders, then climbed up the steep canyon wall using our hands and feet on a network of tree roots. It felt very Lord of the Rings.

My major mistake in my first 50-miler was forgetting to eat enough and then bonking around 60K. Food revived me over the next 5K but it was a scary feeling. This time:

- Drank eLoad most of the day - refilled my 1.5L bladder three times on the race course
- Drank 2 cups of liquid at most aid stations - usually Coke or water.
- Put chocolate Boost in my drop bags and took it along to drink on uphill sections between aid stations.
- Carried Honey Stinger energy chews for trail eating since they always taste good to me
- Used the new eLoad Zone CapsX5 for extra electrolytes
- Ate at aid stations - mostly bananas, chips, PB&J sandwiches

It was a hot, sweaty day although we were lucky to spend much of it in the shade. I felt reasonably well hydrated and never bonked BUT I ran the last 13K with a nasty stomach ache. I'm guessing that I drank too much carbonated Coke, which I normally detest but it tastes like ambrosia during a long hot race. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any other ideas?

With 5K to go, I came upon a young fellow whom I'd been leapfrogging all afternoon. He was bent over at the side of the trail with his hands on his thighs. When I asked what was up, he croaked, "I'm done." "No you're not - you're coming with me!" I grabbed the poor guy by the arm and dragged him back onto the trail. We ran together and chatted for half an hour; it was his first ultra and the pain had come as a surprise. I walked a few hills that I might have run on my own but it was worth it to see this guy run up to the finish looking strong! :)

Ang was at the finish after a great race. She rocked out there, beating me by over 18 minutes! On the other hand, as we compared notes, she had suffered more and slowed down more, especially in the final 15 km. I'll bet that happens to almost everyone in their first 50-miler!



I was thrilled to sit down and enjoy a post-race burrito and beer by the finish line but another 45 km would have been possible if necessary, so that was encouraging.

This was technically a PB for 50 miles (if you can even use that term when you've only done two races) but my other 50-miler was a little longer so the pace was identical. San Francisco had more elevation gain but the running was less technical so it's probably a wash.



I was 2nd in my age group by exactly 2 minutes - far less time than I spent interacting with other racers and volunteers but that's OK! One of these days, I'll need to approach an ultra as just a race, instead of always having alternate goals for the event.

Congrats to Ang who was 8th of 42 women in the preliminary results; I finished 12th.

2 + 2 = 4 UTMB points. 3 to go!

Ang and me - full of pasta and ready (as we'll ever be) for the Mohican 50-miler!



The pre-race dinner was Ang's first exposure to people who feel the need to explain why they're "only" doing the marathon or 50-mile distance rather than the full 100-miler. The reason was almost always because they'd done a longer race last weekend. Welcome to ultrarunning, Ang!

Packing up for the Mohican 50-miler. My only goal is to earn 2 more points toward Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, giving me 4 of the 7 I need. If that happens, then I will need to finish either the Death Race or the Oil Creek 100 to get the final 3 points. It would be nice to come out of this weekend without the pressure of needing to finish both of those longer races - not to mention the knock to my confidence if I can't finish this shorter race. Too many people I know did not finish their first Death Race, and they were all better runners than I. I sure don't count on it.

I have 32 hours to do Mohican since they don't have separate cut-off times for their different race distances. A typical 50-miler cut-off time is in the 12-14 hour range so it is very achievable - but as all endurance athletes know, you don't count your chickens. There will be DNFs at Mohican - twisted ankles, heat-related problems, GI distress, blisters, etc. The important thing is to take it easy on technical trails on a hot day and avoid doing anything silly (forgetting to drink, slipping on a rock, going too hard, not taping up hot spots).

I'm excited that Ang is driving down with me, and a group of Ontarians will be there to race/pace/support the 50 and 100 mile events. Should be a fun weekend. Good luck to all of you who are racing too! Sending extra positive vibes to 'Bent, Tiny and The Shedman at ESAR! :)

Another day, another endurance athlete friend riding 4,800 km across America. This time it's Jason "Hammer" Lane (not to be confused with the *real* Hammer on AP). He started in California yesterday and is aiming to be the fastest rookie on the course - about 9 days of riding. He's also raising funds for Sick Kids Foundation. You can sponsor 100 km of his ride and - amongst other things - they promise to play the music of your choice on their loudspeakers and read your favourite inspiring quotes for Jason during that leg. His team is keeping a blog with text and videos.

http://www.teamhammerfest.com/hammerblog.html

In Tour Divide news, Crash was looking great today until her SPOT tracker stopped for a long time in Lincoln. I finally texted to see if she was really there - and she was. She had a 1-hour delay to fix her bike computer, 45 minutes in a ditch with her head down during a massive thunderstorm with huge hail in the mountains, and her knees are "hammered". She and several other riders are staying in Lincoln to rest, heal and avoid the nasty weather. The next stretch to Helena is another tough one - not a good one to tackle in these conditions.

She also phoned in to the voice mail site but it isn't posted yet. http://mtbcast.com/site2/

Deliciously cool weather for a taper run around Palgrave West. After breaking in my SpeedCross this month and planning to use them this weekend, the insoles disappeared after the 5 Peaks race so I had to test new ones. I'm pretty sure they were drying in the sun beside the shoes and I wonder if the raccoons living in our big tree are enjoying some extra cushioning in their home.

I haven't felt this good running for awhile; too bad I am such a princess in heat. I passed a woman running the other way on the Bruce Side Trail and tried not to look too shocked. In almost 14 years of living here, I don't think I've met a trail runner in Palgrave West who hasn't been to our place for dinner - let alone a complete stranger.

Crash called in to the Tour Divide voice mail line last night. She sounds great! We exchanged texts last night and she sounded very cheerful after pushing through a snowy pass around sunset, even though she's tired and her Achilles was inflamed when the day started.
http://mtbcast.com/podcasts/2012/TD12/MTBCast_TD12...

She remains in 4th place of 10 women. As of 8 a.m., it looks like she's finished her restaurant breakfast. The women in 3rd and 5th place have not moved yet this morning. The 3rd place woman, Tracey Petervary, had a rough day yesterday, getting passed by Katherine Wallace, who had been in 3rd since the start of the race. Then close to midnight, Tracey made a wrong turn and went back and forth on the wrong road for awhile, adding over 13 km to her ride.

Broken vertebra and no Tour de France for my boy Andy Schleck! :(( Now I need to pick someone new to cheer for. Maybe Cadel Evans since it would be nice to see George Hincapie go out on a high - although Cadel is rarely exciting to watch.

Great news! Ang is going to come to Mohican with me to do her first 50-miler and earn some UTMB points. :)

I'm breathing much better and now think I was feeling the effects of bad smog rather than starting a cold.

I've been researching the tick situation in Ohio for this weekend's race, and the news isn't good. According to government figures:

- The number of black-legged ticks sent to them last year for testing by members of the public and veterinarians was more than double the number of ticks submitted in all previous years combined.

- They operate a project where hunters submit deer heads and the government looks for ticks. In 2010, they found 29 black-legged ticks. In 2011, they found 1,830.

Yuck.

I was supposed to do a short taper run before dinner but we lost power for 4 hours, and neither 'Bent nor I could get inspired to run in the heat, knowing there would be no running water to clean up for an undetermined length of time. (When you're on a country well, losing electricity means losing water too.) So we wimped out and went to a restaurant for some pre-race nutrition instead.

‎"In the next 100 years, sea levels will rise by approximately one meter. We have no idea how much devastation that will cause because it's metric."

~ Stephen Colbert "sympathizing" with the North Carolina legislators who are trying to outlaw climate predictions based on anything other than extrapolation of historical data.

Ugh, feeling sick less than 5 days out from a big race. Nooooo!!!

Eureka!

Crash has just crossed the U.S. border on the Tour Divide and is riding into Eureka, Montana. That's 274 miles of riding in 3 days and she's not done for the day yet!

I'm in taper mode so I joined Goose and 'Bent for the most interesting section of their long ride. I met them in Inglewood, then we went north to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park where we rode Dominion Trail over to the falls, then west on the rail trail to Erin. We rode to the south end of town for iced lattes and chocolate zucchini loaf at The Shed, then across to Belfountain and trails back to Inglewood.

Without exaggeration, I can't remember another day when I've seen so many cyclists out for a ride. It was slow driving to Inglewood because they were everywhere (yay!), then when I got to the village, I had to drive a couple of blocks to find parking because it was jammed. Getting into the Caledon Hills Cycling bike shop meant weaving through a throng of happy people in bike jerseys, and we ran into a bunch of people we know at The Shed and the bike shop. This was amazing given that today is the Tour de Grand, the Albion Hills O Cup and the Ride to Conquer Cancer, so cyclists had lots of other places to be today. Maybe we will take over the world after all!

Event: 5 Peaks Trail Race- Hardwood Hills
 

My warm-up was in the Salomon demo tent - 75 minutes of talking about footwear and getting racers set up with demo shoes that a surprising number of them chose to wear for the first time in the race.

Team Attackpoint AR was out in force again, thanks to the dedication of FunRun, who also put in hours of volunteer work marking the course. It was great to see so many friendly faces!

The race course is the Gnarly mountain bike trail - mostly twisty single track with some hilly double track. After all the rain last night, the roots, rocks and wooden bridges were slick so I placed my feet carefully to avoid a silly injury before next weekend.

Inquiring minds want to know... did Bash manage to stay on the marked course? Well, almost. The short and long race courses diverged for a short distance behind Aid Station #1, and the volunteers and tables were set up in front of the arrows marking the course split. The volunteer steered the guy ahead of me to the right fork, which made sense since we were on the longer course and I expected to be on the outer loop. Luckily, a couple of guys grabbed my attention by bushwhacking and leaping onto the trail behind me, exclaiming: "We went on the Enduro Course by mistake!" Oh crap, I *want* the Enduro course. I ran back to the fork and went the correct way. Garmin says it only cost me 70 m and 35 seconds of extra running so at least my errors are shrinking. I'm aiming for perfection (in following the trail, that is) next Saturday.

Other than that, the run went well. I didn't push 100% but I pushed harder than I have for awhile. I love running on trails like that - always climbing, descending, turning and changing in character. It sounds like Mohican will be similar - but for a lot longer!

Great performances by Team Attackpoint AR!

Back (L->R): ?, Galyna, WandAR, FunRun, Bash, 'Bent, DoubleDown_on11, FB, Will
Front: Hansel, Leanimal, Pat-hectic, Run-it
Missing: Wilsmith



Team awards are largely based on rankings within age groups and Clydesdale/Athena categories, and we dominated in the running department. However... we were edged out for the team win by the "Preparing The Trail" crew who cleaned up on volunteer points - and had matching shirts, which is what did us in last time. If we'd put in one more volunteer shift instead of leaving it all to poor FunRun, we would have won. Next time!







Our star was Run-it, who placed 3rd overall.



Our heavy hitters were in the Clydesdale category where DoubleDown_on11 and FB took 1st and 2nd.



'Bent won his age category and had a respectable placing overall. Yay - so glad that knee of his is functioning! :)



Galyna and Leanimal were 2nd and 3rd in their age group.


Hansel was 3rd in his age group and our team's 2nd fastest runner.

'Bent, Leanimal, Pat-hectic, FunRun and I went out for a short recovery ride since it seemed a shame to waste an awesome biking destination - even though our legs didn't feel like it and the initial heavy rain was a little discouraging. Pat-hectic is new to single track mountain biking and as everyone knows, it is crucial to learn how to fall correctly. That is why I had a yard sale early on - for educational purposes. It was a fun, social ride - a little tricky with the ruts, mud and slimy roots.

Packing up to race with Team Attackpoint AR at 5 Peaks tomorrow. A note to my teammates...

VO2Max just posted a video of Crash two hours into the Tour Divide! Looking good. :) He rode with her for two hours. (People can ride with her as long as they provide no assistance, including navigation.)

I'd expected to do lots of running over the next 6 days between the 5 Peaks Enduro and pacing for Charlotte's Bruce Trail record attempt. Now that Char has stopped, I need a new plan leading up to next weekend's 50-miler. It will undoubtedly be better prep than what I was *going* to do but I should have spent the past week differently too, e.g. should have done the full Hockley Loop with Dee and Mrs. G.

Because of the change in plans, I went 48 hours without training - a rare occurrence. I grabbed the opportunity for a follow-up test to see if I have any white blood cells to speak of. Low WBC can indicate some nasty things, which is why my doc has her eye on me, but it's not unusual in endurance athletes. It's not that athletes have fewer WBCs; it's that they have more blood plasma so the proportion of WBCs is lower, and that's what the test measures. That, of course, is my vote for what I'd like to be wrong with me. It sounds like WBC level is lowest right after training so I'd been waiting for a lull where I might appear normal. Any other low WBC endurance athletes out there?

Ran around Palgrave West. I'll be working in the Salomon Demo Tent at the 5 Peaks event on Saturday. Runners can try out trail shoes - even use them for the race if they want. Last time we mostly had S-LAB 4 XT Wings and FellCross for men and SpeedCross and XR Mission for women. I hadn't run in the FellCross yet, and I've been excited to try them so today was the day. Very cool feeling! They are low profile with good tread designed for traction in mud, dirt and wet grass. The one trade-off I'd heard was that they were less grippy on rocks, slimy logs, etc. so I did some tests. I'd say they are less grippy on those surfaces than the Salomon XA Pro Ultra, which is my baseline for off-trail scrambling, but they didn't start slipping unless the surface was really slimy or steeply sloped. So I wouldn't use them in situations where I expected to be scrambling up rock slabs but for most trail runs, the trade-off (a need for extra caution on those types of surfaces) would probably be worth it.

I've never used such a low profile shoe and it was a really interesting feeling. My gimpy ankle felt bombproof so low to the ground, and I could feel my feet working more - like when I wear Five Fingers. I could see trying them out for orienteering or other races under 2-3 hours. For someone like me, who lands more heavily than faster runners, I think I'd want more cushioning for longer races than that, e.g. SpeedCross or S-LAB XT Wings.

Sorry for this - I'm an engineer.

Oh man, it is hard to look at the photos and video from the 4-day APEX Race in Switzerland. I'd hoped to go back this year but the stars didn't align. Such a beautiful part of the world!

http://www.arworldseries.com/arwsportal/apex

It's 11 days until the Mohican 50-miler and because of my involvement in Charlotte's Bruce Trail record attempt, much of the next week is going to be crazy!

In a recent Endurance Planet podcast, they talked about a "reverse taper" - not recommending it for everyone but mentioning it as an alternative approach that works for some people. It means that the athlete plans her lightest training schedule three weeks before the race, then builds up over the next two weeks leading into the race.

To make things sound more scientific, I am officially announcing my "reverse taper" for the Mohican.

Just to be on the safe side, I bailed out of the full Hockley Loop today but I still wanted to hang out with Mrs. Gally and Dee, so I arranged to meet them where the trail crosses the road at 5th Line, then we ran the south side of the loop together.

I was prepared for a nice, manageable run. They would already have 14 tough kilometres under their belts by the time I joined them. Furthermore, they are both injured. Mrs. Gally fell off her bike and tore her rotator cuff on Friday night; Dee had to cut a recent run short due to knee pain.

Well, I should have known better. Dee was on fire, running up every hill. Yes, this is the same Coach Dee who advises us ultrarunners to walk up hills. Mrs. Gally worked hard to stay on her heels and I ran more hills than usual but a gap still opened up whenever we got to good running terrain.

Near the top of the ski hill, we had the opportunity for a helicopter evacuation but chose to carry on. Dee was restless when I took this photo, and it was only then that she admitted to a time goal for the loop. Uh oh!



When the trail finally turned onto 2nd Line with a huge gravel downhill and medium uphill to the parking lot 1.4 km away, Dee turned on the jet engines. Mrs. G sprinted with her, swinging her good arm hard and keeping her injured arm snuggled tight to her body. It was impressive to see two determined athletes refusing to give in!

Post-run recovery lunch at the Black Birch was as good as last time. Mr. Logie arrived with Little Logie, who spent the entire time smiling and bouncing around - until I tried to take his photo. He's still a cutie even when he's not pleased.

As Crash gets ready to ride across the U.S. from north to south on her way from Canada to Mexico, another friend is preparing to cross the U.S. from west to east. Jason "Hammer" Lane is in California doing some last minute fine tuning before the Race Across America (RAAM) starts next Wednesday. He's aiming for the rookie win. Here's his latest blog entry:
http://www.teamhammerfest.com/1/post/2012/06/ocean...

Facebook users can "like" his page to get updates.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Hammerfest-RAAM...

Ran around Palgrave West with a long break at Crash's place. We reviewed one of the latest re-routes for the Tour Divide and figured out where it should go on the map. It adds a few more kilometres but when you're already riding 4,500 km, what's another half hour? She heads out tomorrow morning and starts riding on Friday - from Banff to the Mexican border. So excited for her!

Downtown Toronto training... All-you can eat Asian brunch at Spring Rolls followed by "Rent" at the Panasonic Theatre where we watched a young friend in his first big city show. No fitness gained but the carb loading was spectacular!

Charlotte Vasarhelyi started her Bruce Trail record attempt at 5:44 a.m. Rainy conditions and technical trails are making things slow but steady today. 53 km finished by 3 p.m. today. Another 30 km is scheduled before bedtime.
http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp...

If you're on Twitter, please tweet something to the team using #charbruce to let the new-to-Twitter support crew captain know that people are out there and the system is working! :)

We started the day with a special treat for the pooches. A dog breeder on our block has 18 fenced, forested acres with trails and a swimming pond. They're letting us book times to hike BazingaDog and BulletDog there, and today we were even able to borrow a 15-month-old male Flatcoat Retriever so he and BazingaDog could tire each other out. BulletDog had a great run too but stuck close by due to her longstanding concern that if her first family "abandoned" her, then we might do the same. Great way to kick off a Saturday!

'Bent joined me for a long run around Palgrave and Albion. Although the sky looked threatening at times, it only sprinkled on us a little. This year's crop of poison ivy is particularly lush and healthy. Boo. It was nice to get out after hunkering indoors during yesterday's heavy rain.

We stopped to chat with the owner of Hector the energetic standard poodle and to help the woman with two tired young Girl Guides who had turned around during their hike at Albion Hills. The smaller girl explained, "I don't like hills!" They couldn't remember where their campsite was and we eventually got them pointed in the right direction.

For the past couple of weeks, I've followed my 100-mile ultra training program diligently (for once!) but that's about to change. I'll be pacing Charlotte in her Bruce Trail record attempt over the next 10 days and I'm doing the 5 Peaks Enduro race on Team Attackpoint AR next Saturday. So I'll be playing things by ear and hoping to be rested enough for the Mohican 50-miler two weeks from today.

"Our" prime minister is taking full advantage of his majority government to kill many of the programs that made Canada great. By ensuring that scientific research and monitoring are extremely limited, it will be far more difficult to prove that oil, gas and other industries are having any negative environmental impact. Just to make sure, the government is also weakening environmental regulations to remove "red tape". Naturally I didn't vote for Harper but I'm ashamed anyway.

Here's an example - the mass firing of our ocean scientists.

"Canada is dismantling the nation's entire ocean contaminants program as part of massive layoffs at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Among the scientists terminated are ones who have conducted landmark research about global pollutants for decades: Peter Ross, who is among the world’s leading experts on marine mammals and contaminants, Gary Stern, a mercury expert whose work focuses on the Arctic, Michel Lebeuf, who studies the highly contaminated St. Lawrence belugas and Michael Ikonomou, who researches flame retardants and other endocrine-disrupting contaminants in salmon and other ocean life. Ross told EHN that his main concern is the "wholesale axing of pollution research" that will leave Canada, and much of the world, without the scientific knowledge to protect whales, seals, fish and other marine life -- as well as the indigenous peoples who rely on them for their traditional foods. Many scientists say the purpose of the move by the Canadian government is not just cost-cutting but to eliminate environmental rules and protect the oil and gas industry."

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/20...

Too busy building an ark to do any training today. Perfect Hurricane Irene-style rogaining weather.