Training Log Archive: Bash

Easy, humid run in Palgrave West. Small niggles in both knees from recent silly injuries. Hope they don't magnify over a distance.

The Life section of today's Globe and Mail has a cover story on Women in the Canadian Death Race. As expected, the 15-minute interview with the reporter was condensed to about 30 seconds of material - not selecting the comments I would have chosen (as reporters never do) but it's fine - nothing too embarrassing! The only inaccuracy is the quote about Coca Cola. Normally I can't stand it, which is why we never have it around our house, but it tastes surprisingly good in a race.

My pic is only in the print version, which most of us don't get so I'll include it here. (It's cropped in the paper.)



Here's the article.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fit...

As is typical of every Globe and Mail article, the online reader comments are 80% negative. Some don't like the gender-specific focus of the article, while others believe that "extreme" endurance events are really stupid.

"why don't they just run blindfolded against red lights at most of the major intersections in large canadian cities?"

One guy with the online nickname "I am God" took exception to my comment about eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches (one item on a long list that I mentioned to the reporter but of course he only selected a couple of things).

"Peanut butter and banana sandwiches? Are you kidding? You realize you are running 3 marathons right?"

I couldn't help myself... I replied to him in the forum.

"I sure do! :) I have done adventure races that last up to 4 days non-stop so I have lots of experience with planning how much fuel I need and what goes down well during a hard effort like that. I'll eat many other foods in addition to the examples included in the article - gels, salted nuts, chips, Honey Stinger electrolyte chews, coffee, Boost, fruit, sports drinks and some pasta before the long night leg. I'm always interested in new ideas though... What foods have worked best for you in long races like this? ~ Barb"

P.S. Note that the phrase "you arsehole" is implied in the first sentence of my reply even though it's not explicitly written. :)

RockstAR! I rode as the mountain bike sweep, first on the 8-hour course and then on the 4-hour course. (This GPS track is the 8-hour course.)





I carried a monster backpack and took down the course marking signs as I went. On each course, I had a great chat with the team that finished last on the bike leg. I was sincerely hoping that if anyone had bike problems, it would be (a) something they knew how to fix, or (b) a flat tire. By the time I arrived, there was only one team on either course with technical difficulties. Fortunately, they knew what they were doing so I only had to deal with FDFs while I waited.



I had a couple of silly falls on the short course because I was riding soooooo slowly that the big signs sticking over my head knocked me off balance when they caught on branches. I should have just walked my bike instead of trying to be a hero by riding at 1 kph.

RockstAR is always a fun, well-organized event and this was a good way to stretch my legs without doing anything too crazy before next weekend.

There were some CPs around the camp that included tasks, e.g. diving to find a CD.



SistaP has volunteered at so many races that she got to staff the prestigious (and physically demanding) Dock CP!



Ursula, last year's Canadian Death Race winner, gave me some tips.



PhattyJR Jr. was there. A tiny cutie!



Mummy raced while Daddy kept his daughter smiling!



This is one of the few races that is truly fun for families who are watching. Gally was racing with Beowulf while Mrs. Gally and the kids hung out at the beach.



Harps and Relentless were at the finish line 40 minutes early but didn't cross it right away. "We *think* we got all the CPs. Did we get this one? Yup. This one? Yup."



They got all the CPs!



Mique was there snapping photos.



Katie and Jaxson were there too.



Team "The Scenic View" was back!



'Bent and Pat-hectic teamed up in the extremely competitive 2-person Male category. As predicted, they placed 4th overall in the event - a very Canadian thing during the Olympics. Great job, guys! Pat-hectic was undoubtedly the highest ranked racer using platform pedals and had probably spent less time in a canoe than most people on the race course. As an Aussie, he aced the swimming-related CPs, and 'Bent (who is great with a slingshot) finally got to use his skills in an event.



After my duties, I got to hang out on the beach.









Ang and Arthurd won the 2-person Female category!



Dee, Aud and WandAR won the 3-person Female category.



Team TA3 (Eco, Myka, 2-Min) was proud to place 3rd just a few months after 2-Min became a Mom.

4-hour course. This includes a quick pre-race dash to tape off a side trail that another volunteer felt might be tempting to the racers.

Enroute to RockstAR with Team Unconquerable Badness who are doing well now after a rocky start. First Pat-hectic got in the wrong side of the car - a temporary Down Under flashback. 'Bent laughed and said, "OK, it's settled. You're not driving" - then backed into Pat-hectic's car in our driveway. So it's been decided that Pat-hectic will navigate.

One key weakness in my Death Race preparation is my inability to force myself to go for a solo trail run in the dark to test my lights. I've tried on two nights but the pack of howling coyotes in our forest scared me into just running up and down our long driveway. Wimp! I'm not going to have a choice about running with the grizzlies. (Hope you're not reading Attackpoint today, Mom!)

Endurance athletes, this article from Trail Runner magazine is long, but a good read. "Pacing Diana" was written by ultrarunner Diana Finkel's husband and pacer, Ben Woodbeck. It's the story of her 3rd straight female win in the prestigious Hardrock 100-miler in 2010 - a race that she led overall until near the end - a race where she walked the last 20 miles and fell down repeatedly because she felt so terrible. It's also the story of her subsequent rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure, her weeks in the hospital, her dialysis and the discussion about a kidney transplant.

It's a cautionary tale because we've all been there. We've all felt like crap after a long effort and figured it was normal. We've been around others who felt like crap but we didn't worry too much about them. Diana could have died. This is good stuff to know about.

http://trailrunnermag.com/component/content/articl...

Around Palgrave West with a few raspberry picking stops. In honour of Ang and Arthurd, I ploughed through some chest-high thorny bushes on a stretch of overgrown trail. Running felt good but both my knees feel funny from last week's injuries. Little problems can magnify in a long race so I sure hope my knees hang in there.

In better news, Pat Chan (whom some of you may know from AR) is going to team up with my friend Erin to support STORM, Pat's friend Marian and myself at the Death Race. Pat has supported Marian there before, and he has more experience volunteering and supporting at adventure races than just about anyone I know. It will be complicated to support three runners with very different paces over 125 km but it will be easier with two people and two cars. We still have to get ourselves over the mountains but we couldn't be in better hands.

Cycling fans may enjoy reading Jens Voigt's blog. He writes in the same honest and sometimes amusing manner in which he speaks, and it's interesting to get his views on some of the things that happened in this year's Tour.
http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/

In the "Adventure Racing Sure Has Gotten Softer" department...

I found a copy of Get Out There magazine from 7-8 years ago - the issue that featured Winter Adventure Racing. In spite of taking various first aid courses including a full weekend of Wilderness First Responder training, I learned something new from the cover story.

Quote from a paramedic: "The only way we'll be able to grow this sport safely in winter is to start performing skill audits. People have to realize that nothing in the outdoor industry is without risk. People may be required to carry safety pins in their pack, but until they realize it can be useful for pinning someone's tongue to their shirt to clear an airway, it's a useless item to carry."

I'm undecided about whether I want my teammates to know that!

Mrs. Gally and I started the day with a chatty paddle around Island Lake. Amongst other things, she took me through all the legs of the Death Race and answered my latest round of questions. She tried to shake me down for Wilderness Traverse hints but I held firm. ;) A fun paddle with great company.

More Rodney Yee. Not as tight this time.

I've been unintentionally rough on my joints over the past couple of weeks - but not while running. I turned my ankle hard for the first time in months when I was wearing cycling shoes in a gravel parking lot while volunteering at a kids' day camp orienteering session. Then while course testing last week, a rock slipped under my right foot while I was descending a steep slope, and suddenly my left knee was forced into a full bend where my foot kicked my bum. Later I stepped into an unseen hole and hyperextended my right knee. It now makes crunchy sounds. Arggh.

I've got an interview with Dave McGinn of the Globe and Mail this afternoon; he's writing an article on women in the Death Race. Note to self: Think before answering questions. I don't want to come across as either "lunatic" or "inspiring" so I'll be trying to walk a fine line.

In the "What Goes Around Comes Around" department... Friends of mine had two little girls whom I used to take to see Disney movies. One of them, Erin, is now a young triathlete who lives in Calgary, and she is keen to come to the Death Race to support me - yahoo! Frankly, it is a lot easier and more fun to take a child to "The Lion King" than to support someone in a 24-hour ultra, so I am definitely getting the better part of the deal.

Does anyone have a checklist or set of instructions that you've given to your support crew at an ultra? I can put one together myself but it's always quicker to start with a template. This type of racing is new to Erin so I'd like to make it easier for her.

An interesting study... Maybe it isn't so bad to exercise in polluted air. For most of us, the protective effects of regular exercise may outweigh the damage done to our bodies by the smog, i.e. their hypothesis is that people who *don't* exercise on smog days fare even worse. It still makes sense to minimize your exposure by starting early when pollutant levels tend to be lower, avoiding busy streets, wearing a mask if practical, and eating anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables (although the last point remains unproven).

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/wellness/Exha...

Leg strength workout on the bike with 'Bent. It was a hot day at 30+C but after training at 35C a few times recently, it didn't feel as awful as it normally would. We warmed up by riding gravel roads over to the base of the hill I've been using for downhill running. The lower slopes of the Col de Coolihan are gentle, then the road twists and tilts up sharply. The steepest part of the 1.1 km climb is also the roughest - loose gravel, washboard surface and potholes. The rest of the slope toward the Plateau de Glen Haffy is more moderate. I did 5 hill repeats and 'Bent did 6.
6:16
6:11
6:11
6:15
6:02

Then we headed home to watch Le Tour. We had a few King of the Mountain sprints during our cooldown but 'Bent Voeckler-ed me on every one!

Around Palgrave East and West. Today I was testing three things:

1) 2L bladder in my 12L Salomon S-Lab Skin Pack
- It fits but the water (not the pack) is bouncier than the 1.5L bladder that comes with the pack. It will work but next time I'll try another 2L bladder that has two chambers to reduce water movement.

2) Carrying trekking poles on the Skin Pack using the tiny pole attachments.
- Worked really well. Rock solid.

3) Mira-cool evaporative cooling headband
- As suspected, this thing doesn't work. Perhaps another brand would be better. Jason "Hammer" Lane used arm "warmers" made from a product called Ice Cold Towels and said they worked really well. This headband felt great at first - like a cold washcloth on the forehead. But within half an hour (not the advertised 6 hours), it was tepid and yucky. I took it off since I figured that my own sweat would feel cooler.

Meanwhile, 'Bent went for a long run with Ursula, female winner of the 2012 Death Race. I'm hoping that some of her awesomeness will rub off on both of us!

Rodney Yee Power Yoga for Flexibility DVD. Wow, if you take a few months off from yoga, it isn't easy to get proper form back right away. I feel better having done it though. Maybe this will be a good way to stay limber over the next couple of weeks when I'm planning easier activities.

I've been avoiding the Canadian Death Race Facebook group for most of the year because it is extremely active, and the nuggets of useful info are few and far between. I figured it was time to jump back in. There is *much* talk about bear spray, bear bangers and bear bells (the least useful of the bunch but apparently they're mandatory gear). What a day... Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Real Facebook interaction from the "My Joke Didn't Work" department:

A friend of mine posted a status describing a great buffet he'd just visited in the U.S. that included strip lion steaks (sic) and a long list of other yummy things.

I couldn't resist poking fun so I commented that we can't even get "lion steak" in Ontario.

A friend of his whom I don't know wrote me a very nice private message listing several places where he buys "strip lion" steaks in Ontario, although he prefers "tenderlion" himself.

I wrote back, explaining the joke politely so he wouldn't feel silly. I pointed out that he was talking about beef, whereas "strip lion" would be another animal. :)

He just responded, explaining that he hadn't been thinking along those lines but he has been trying to remove pork from his diet.

I don't think I'll write back.

Yes, that's right - the colour of my new shoes is "Papaya". Really, Phatty?? Papaya? In every day life, I'm just going to call them "pink". They're very pretty and comfortable, whatever colour they are.

The Canadian Death Race is 16 days away so this is time to taper and focus on race-specific things. My fitness is what it is - too late to work on that.

I ran on the Bruce Side Trail to Glen Haffy and out to Coolihan's Sideroad where I did three 1 km reps downhill on gravel road to simulate a quad-pounding mountain run. Carbon mentioned awhile ago that it's supposed to be beneficial to give your quads a tough workout two weeks before a race. I've been doing it for months but this will be the last time before CDR.

I tried out my new shoes - the same as my current shoes in a different colour. (Inquiring minds will undoubtedly want to know that the other ones are "Very Purple". Heck, even *I* could have thought of that!)

I also used my new waterproof earphones. STORM pointed out that earphones are a bad idea in grizzly/cougar country so I'm just going to turn the volume up and stick the headphones in a pocket on my pack. Not for the entire race but definitely during the night when I want to make noise to frighten wildlife. Don't ask me why it feels more important to do this when it's dark. It's the same as the monsters under your bed when you're a kid. Obviously, they are only there at night. Also, the music may help to keep me awake.

Cardio and strength felt fine today but there were some new minor aches and pains that could have become a bigger deal over a long distance - arggh. They're probably from the combo of a 50 km road bike race on Sunday + 20 km of bushwhacking on Monday. It is probably time to cut back a little since it appears that I'm not invincible (!!!) Also, I need to sleep a LOT more.

I've posted the report and photos from Monday's Wilderness Traverse course test.

Jon Montgomery (2010 Olympic gold in Skeleton) sends a message to Canada's London-bound athletes.

Wilderness Traverse course testing with Mike Waddington. Bob and I thought it would be interesting to get feedback on part of a trek from a 3-time North American orienteering champion!



It was one of those stupid hot days but we spent a lot of it in the shade or in the water, so it wasn't too bad.





Mike knew the acronym "FDF" but until today, I don't think he truly appreciated the *meaning* of the term. He sure does now! This is why we hold the race in mid-August.







As a wetland ecohydrologist, Mike especially enjoyed the thickly vegetated beaver dams and mucky shoe-sucking sections. We didn't get into much mud due to the dry summer, and we were able to walk across wetlands that Bob and I had to skirt last October. From an environmental perspective, that's a little worrisome.





The Muskoka landscape has beautiful open rock ridges where it's possible to move quickly while enjoying scenic views. The ridges tend to end abruptly - sometimes in small cliffs - so racers need to pay attention in this technical terrain.











Everyone knows how much Mike loves heights so I took a break while he scaled this rock face. ;)



I haven't seen a bear in 3 years of Wilderness Traverse course testing but today we saw several big piles of scat, suggesting that the local bears are eating well. That's what we like to see!



We were scrambling up a steep hillside when I picked up a familiar sound. "Hey, that's a rattlesnake!" If you haven't heard it before, it sounds like an insect but I've drilled it into my memory after Bob and I saw one a few weeks ago. If you're going to Muskoka, you should become familiar with it too.

I took a step backward and heard it again. I couldn't see anything so I took a few tentative steps back and forth to figure out approximately where the sound was coming from. After that, it took about 30 seconds to see the well-camouflaged snake hiding in the leaf litter.



It took another 30 seconds of my pointing at it until Mike could pick it out. Massasauga rattlers hide really well. They are timid and don't want to strike unless absolutely necessary. Even when they do, they don't always release venom since that uses up precious resources. We didn't stay long, and the snake and I parted on good terms.



You could pack raft parts of this route but today we chose to travel overland and take advantage of opportunities to swim. It felt soooo good!



I got in the water carefully.



Mike, not so much.





In summer, it sometimes takes imagination to see a trail.



I had to take this photo for VJ, Mike and Bart. You may have heard of their team. :)



Course testing isn't *all* fun and games. But some of it is.



Thanks to Mike for giving us a day of his time to check out an interesting and varied section of the race course. It's so much fun to play on the Canadian Shield!

Neutral roll-out up Horseshoe Valley Rd. hill.

Centurion 50K cycling race at Horseshoe Valley. I'm not a road racer - just a chicken when it comes to road riding, and this event provided a rare opportunity to ride with virtually no traffic and police controlling every intersection.

Centurion does a great job of organizing events. There were about 1,000 racers today in the 50K and 100K races. We saw Bill Logie, Martin Rydlo, Keith Sanger, John Yip and Brent Doberstein (old friend of 'Bent's family). It's one of the few places I've been where I felt perfectly comfortable leaving a $3,000 bike lying around because nobody there would have touched it with a 10 foot pole. In this carbon/titanium/aero crowd, Princess was definitely a commoner.

My race went pretty well, considering that I've only done two short road rides since last fall. We started with a neutral roll-out up the hill on Horseshoe Valley Rd. and started racing on 4th Line. The route was nice and hilly and I'm feeling my glutes now, so I hope this will be a decent substitute for the long run I should have done this weekend. I did some pulling, some drafting and a lot of riding into the wind on my own. I learned that one of my biggest weaknesses is a fear of tiny road tires skidding out on corners. I got passed on most turns because I was more cautious than others in my part of the pack. I kept thinking about the Tour de France commentators who say that former mountain bikers are "great descenders" and "excellent bike handlers". Hmm, instead of bringing mountain bike skills into my road riding, I've brought a fear of falling on hard surfaces!

Post-race meal was a pancake breakast - yum.

'Bent did really well, even though he had been asked to start near the back of the starting corrals on his modified recumbent mountain bike. He was 5th/23 in his age group.

The rockstar in our group of friends was Coach Huet, who was 5th of 83 women in our race! They recognized the top 5. (That's Coach H. on the left.)



She also won our age group, needless to say.



I squeaked onto the podium too, 3rd of 17 in our age group. (They brought up all the 3rd place riders at once.)



Great workout - nice to have the chance to push hard on a bike for so long without stopping. I may do the Centurion in Collingwood in September too.

A few weeks ago, 'Bent and I attended a fundraising dinner. When they announced the winners of the silent auction, 'Bent was surprised to learn he had won the entry to Centurion Horseshoe - especially since he hadn't bid on it, haha. :) He was a road bike racer in his teens but hasn't raced since then and can't ride a regular bike anymore due to a bad case of "dentist's neck".

So... he converted one of his recumbent bikes to a more road-friendly configuration, and today we went out for a hilly test ride northwest of Caledon East. We're not sure if he will be allowed to race ranked tomorrow but he sure flies on the downhills and flats. I gained time on the uphills.

We've been listening to Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen doing live commentary on the Tour de France, so I knew I should practise "stamping my authority on the race", "tapping out a good rhythm" and "digging into my suitcase of courage".

Horseshoe will be a hilly course so we should get a great workout tomorrow. We have to leave at 4:30 a.m. (yikes!) but on the bright side, we'll be done before it gets too hot.

You know it's hot when...

'Bent was in downtown Toronto for an event this afternoon. The soles of his dress shoes melted as he walked around Nathan Phillips Square!! (The soles were rubber; he bought them for our wedding on a rocky canoe campsite.)

Another Extreme Heat Alert = another opportunity for an easy heat acclimation run. I waited until the mercury climbed to 32C then headed out on a combination of rolling country roads and rail trail to maximize the sun exposure. (Humber Station to rail trail to Duffy's Lane to home.) It was manageable thanks to moderate humidity, occasional cloudy periods and a few light puffs of breeze. In theory, this heat acclimation training is helping my body to adapt biologically. I have no idea if that is happening but it is helping to ease my fears and increase my confidence in hot weather. It still sucks though; I much prefer cold weather acclimation!

The relationship between mathematics and Olympic success, including an explanation of why swimming records get broken more often than running records.

Paddle training on Island Lake with 'Bent, Goose and Coach PH. We moved around between the kevlar canoe, my JKK Eclipse downriver racing kayak from NZ and our new Epic V8 surfski.



Goose and I both found the V8 was faster than the Eclipse, however, I didn't test my hypothesis the way he did - by revving it up to 15.7 kph (with a tailwind).



His record in my Eclipse is 13 point something.



Endurance cruising speed in both boats is considerably lower. Easy paddling for me is in the 8-9 kph range. If I start putting in serious effort, I can keep it between 9-10 kph for awhile. Going over 10 kph is possible for me but not sustainable for very long. Goose can sustain 10-11 kph and keep it over 11 kph for a little while with high effort. Nice to see that the rudder didn't get tangled in the weeds since there are quite a few.

The first part of this GPS track is mine, then I gave my Garmin to Goose for the second part. I'm sure the switchover will be obvious!

A few hill sprints with 9-year-old boys and a little mountain biking at Forks of the Credit as I helped Pat-hectic hang and take down flags, and coached kids taking part in the C3 Day Camp orienteering session. A couple of kids asked me if they would get to do this again. The ones who figured out the map were the same ones who asked permission for our group to run up hills. Well, OK!

Many of you know about Emily Kemp's bronze medal in the Long race at the Junior World Orienteering Championships yesterday. It was the best ever finish by a North American at JWOC or WOC.

She has worked diligently toward this, attending university in France so she could train with world champion Thierry Gueorgiou and other French elites.

The Team Canada blog links to her CBC radio interview today and posts a text interview done after yesterday's race.

Here's the Ottawa Citizen article that was on page 1 of today's sports section. It quotes Orienteering Canada's executive director Charlotte MacNaughton (Charm on AP): "“Emily’s medal makes this a historic day for Canadian orienteering.” Nice!

Congratulations, Emily. The middle distance qualification races start in a few hours!

If a 3-week taper for the Death Race is appropriate, this is the last week to do any hard training. Naturally I will cheat a little, e.g. the 50K Centurion road biking race at Horseshoe this Sunday and a day of Wilderness Traverse course testing with Hammer on Monday. But this is the last week to build anything up; then it's all about resting and maintaining fitness until the race.

Today I ran in Hockley Valley Provincial Park - all three Bruce Trail side trails on the way out and the main Bruce Trail on the way back. That was about 14 km of hilly trail, then I went south up the 2nd Line hill (the first part of which is Bruce Trail) out of the Hockley Valley, then ran back down. It's a 2 km hill with a dip in the middle that makes for a little more climbing.

When I got back down to the Nottawasaga River, I decided to do it one more time - 2K up and 2K down. When I do training sessions like this, I don't make the same efforts to protect my body that I do in ultra races since I'm hoping that what hurts me will make me stronger. Ouch, I guess I'm going to be stronger.

Today's podcasts: "This American Life", "Spark", "Ultrarunner", "Q". A couple of interesting ideas from the podcasts:

1) When the Internet first got going, we tended to interact in an asynchronous manner, i.e. we downloaded forum discussions or e-mails and took our time crafting a response. In those days, the Internet made us look smarter. Now that we're responding instantly to messages on tiny keyboards on our phones, the Internet can make us look dumb!

2) If you race smart for the first 20 miles of a 100-mile ultra run, it's very difficult to "race dumb" for the final 80 miles. If you "race dumb" for the first 20 miles, it's almost impossible to race smart for the final 80 miles.

Hmm, apparently the theme of today's run was "smart vs. dumb". Not sure what that means...

Tempo trail run on Bruce Side Trail to Centreville Creek Rd. and back. Legs felt great!

Added more pics from FB's cottage yesterday. Thanks, FB and Will - so much fun!

The Popik kids got up first thing to go fishing. FB was up a little later due to some over-hydration issues.



We all took turns testing Will's Cobra Viper racing kayak and our Epic V8 surf ski. There isn't a lot of difference in speed; the V8 is likely a little faster. The big difference is stability. I've never had any trouble with tippy kayaks but it took me three tries to get into the Viper! Will has perfected the entry now. He's going to be tough to beat in that boat!

My time logged was for two 1 km loops around the island, the first one in the V8 and the second one in the Viper. There was some water sloshing around in the Viper due to my problems at the beach so this may not count as a valid comparison of the two boats.







We all practised dumping the surfski and getting back into it. No problem. Nobody dumped the surfski for real; everyone - including 10-year-old Jacob - was able to paddle it right away.



For those interested in saving money, FB discovered that he can paddle pretty quickly without a boat!

Will gave us all a motorboat ride around Go Home Lake. I wanted to see where we went so I downloaded my Garmin here. :)

'Bent and I paddled back to Potter's Landing. He soloed the whitewater canoe with all our luggage while I paddled the surfski. I paddled at an easy pace most of the time but did a few pick-ups for fun. In today's conditions, it seemed that I could paddle 9.X kph without going too crazy, and if I pushed, I could paddle 10.X kph. This is better than our fastest kayak but it's nothing in Frankenjack's world!

I had to deduct some time from the Garmin download to cover the time I spent waiting for 'Bent, who was actually making good time - for a guy soloing a loaded whitewater canoe on a windy day.

This cottager has a quicker way to get back to his car.

FB, 'Bent and I paddled our whitewater canoe and new Epic V8 surfski over to FB's cottage on Go Home Lake while Will ferried our luggage, food and drink. I started in the V8 then 'Bent switched into it for the short paddle after the portage. Other than some nervousness about the rudder near shore, I immediately felt comfortable in the V8. Even as a new surfski paddler, I'd probably be OK in it in any type of wind or flatwater waves where I'd feel comfortable in an open canoe. In bigger chop, I'd still be happier in an enclosed kayak but maybe that would change over time. It's easy to maintain a good speed - a little faster than any boat we own, at least for me - but it's not an order of magnitude faster (not that we expected it to be).

This was an easy chatty paddle over to FB's cottage which he had described as "not fancy". It turns out that FB and I have had very different experiences with "not fancy" accommodation. I was anticipating an outhouse and a few bunk beds under a leaky roof - not a hot shower, wi-fi, two fridges and a more tastefully decorated interior than our house.



It is perfectly situated for AR-style exploration and is equipped with some great toys including my favourite, the floating rock climbing wall where you climb up and slide into the lake.

Mike, Sandra, Jacob and Michael Popik were the other guests at the cottage this weekend, with FB and Will as our terrific hosts. The Popik kids are keen fishermen, and Will took them under his wing, taking them fishing at sunset and showing them how to fillet a fish. It was delicious!





FB had some AR-style exploration planned for Mike, Will, 'Bent and me. We would take two canoes and paddle south on Go Home Lake, then paddle the Musquash River into Musquash Channel on Georgian Bay. We'd keep north, following Freddy Channel west out to Georgian Bay, then we'd make the call on whether conditions were suitable for open canoes to paddle 5K north to Bushby Inlet, which leads into Go Home River and back to the lake. It was the perfect adventure race training session. It involved canoes, kayak paddles, a long distance, rocky portages with overweight canoes, maps, no previous reconnaissance and a little uncertainty. It also involved high fashion, for which adventure racers are well known.





I'd brought our middle canoe seat, and 'Bent and I requested that Will paddle in our canoe so we could spend the day being regaled with stories about FB that he would never tell us himself. :) Will and I took turns in the bow and middle seats, and we all took shifts with canoe and kayak paddles.









The westerners are justifiably proud of their mountains but we Ontarians love our lakes. I've had the experience of living in other countries and provinces for brief periods, and this is what I missed most, other than family and friends. It's hard to express how I felt without sounding corny but our lakes and rivers are part of who I am, and I know many of you feel the same way about the area where you live.















Although it would be fair to say that paddling Ontario's lakes can be a spiritual experience, we were surprised to find an open air church on Freddy Channel near Cognashene. In good weather, it would be a heck of a place for a wedding. There is even an indoor place for the clergy to stand, complete with a sound system - and there's probably room for the bride and groom in there too. There was a service on Sunday at 11 a.m. and it would have been interesting to see how many people come and whether they sit on the rocks or stay in their boats at the dock. There are two pulpits aimed in different directions so either is possible. The sign says that Cognashene Community Church was established in 1906 so we're assuming there was a building at one time, maybe for loggers working in the area.









Will was hilarious as he talked to us about the area. He's doing Wilderness Traverse this year and is eager for hints so a lot of his stories went along the lines of, "We were biking this snowmobile trail over here, and Barb you know the bridge that has the big drop-off..." or "It's a short portage to this lake, and Barb will agree that the falls in there are beautiful."

We made it out to Georgian Bay, and even in an area protected by a few islands, it was clear that a 5K upwind canoe paddle on the open bay was going to be slow and a little nervewracking. So we paddled around Aberdeen Island before heading back the way we came. I love the wild, windswept, "Group of Seven" feeling of Georgian Bay. We've done a fair bit of kayak camping there but some day I want to splurge and rent a cottage on an outer island where we can take our kayaks, swimsuits and stacks of books to read.











The evening light made the paddle home even more beautiful. We were going upstream toward the rapids we had to portage but it wasn't too hard.









'Bent and FB feel most at home with canoes on their heads, and the rest of us didn't want to take that away from them. Luckily, they don't whine (much).









Great day and wonderful to sit out at the big table on the bug-free deck of the "not fancy" cottage enjoying our BBQ dinner and beer as the sun set. (Which was around the same time that we all reached for a 2nd drink instead of pulling out our headlamps for the night trek we'd talked about doing after the FDFs went to bed. Oh well... :) )

Some days the Tour de France is heartbreaking. It's before midnight so I have to stick to my spoiler rule. If you're a cycling fan and you've already seen the stage, you might find this interview with Chris Horner interesting. I love the way he speaks from his heart in interviews. This gave me some idea of what it must feel like to be racing on a day like today.

http://www.steephill.tv/players/720/bicyclingbc/?t...

And here's an honest-sounding interview with Allan Peiper, Garmin's Director of Competition.

http://www.steephill.tv/players/720/bicyclingbc/?t...

After changing Princess' tire, I had to go for a short ride to see if I got it right. I did the Patterson Sideroad roller coaster out and back between Hwy 50 and Airport Rd. The good news: the tire worked. The bad news: I still don't like riding on pothole-pocked pavement with trucks and horse trailers whizzing by. 'Bent and I are doing the Centurion 50K at Horseshoe next weekend after buying an entry at a silent auction; this explains my sudden (and temporary) burst of interest in road biking.

In today's Tour de France, the commentators made scathing remarks about the 38 seconds it took for a mechanic to change a cyclist's back wheel on the road. I was watching this in the middle of a 30-minute tire change as I got Princess off the trainer and ready for the road. Damn, those princess tires are tight! Ended up with only a few small injuries to my hands. 'Bent kept giving me sideways glances and offering to help but I only wanted hints because if I can't do it myself, I'll end up taking a cab home from a road ride one day. Luckily, Princess has never put me to the test outside of the basement.

Guess I can cross "Bike Mechanic in the Tour" off my list of potential careers.

Our course testing up north was postponed, and today's forecast was 34C with a humidex of 40C. I'll translate that in honour of our American friends celebrating the 4th of July... The combined temperature + humidity felt like 104F.

In other words, it was a perfect day for a run at high noon! The Death Race is exactly one month from today so it's time to focus on heat acclimation. It's also time to work on race-specific things so I wore my 12L Salomon Skin Pack (bigger than I usually need) and ran with my lightweight poles that I'll be using on a couple of the steeper sections of the Death Race. I've already tested nutrition, hydration and electrolyte pills but today I also tried filling my Salomon soft flask with slightly concentrated eLoad.

I ran the Bruce Trail heading north from 5th Line Adjala just off Airport Rd. The trail leads into the Hockley Valley, and the terrain along the way has lots of climbs and descents, including a route from top to bottom of an old ski area, mostly through the trees, with a spectacular view to the north. The forest was tolerably hot but any time I came out into the open, it was like an oven. Shortly after the trail joined the Hockley Loop, I came out on 2nd Line. Rather than continuing on the loop, I climbed to the rim of the valley on 2nd Line, which is a quiet lane. Then I ran down to the bottom of the valley to pound my quads, then back up to the top and halfway down to get back on the Bruce Trail for the trip back. I ran some of the uphills on the way out but eventually I was walking the uphills as if I were in a 50-mile race.

The #1 positive thing to say about this run was that it was very good Death Race training, and whenever I felt miserable, I reminded myself of that. I didn't have a bad time but it would be a stretch to call it "fun". Nothing hurt and I don't feel dehydrated or drained of energy now. The soft flask was a good addition to the hydration arsenal - really easy to drink from. I could use it for gels too. Today's podcasts: "This American Life" with some interesting stories about fathers, and "Ideas" about gender stereotyping.

It's official. We've bought the Epic V8 Ultra surfski and will have it by the weekend. JayXC, I'm coming down to Hemlock Lake to race you!

P.S. Let's trade surfskis before the race.

Btw for people interested in surfskis, here's a comparison chart looking at speed vs. stability. (You have to scroll down to the Surfski Comparison Chart and click on it - I can't link directly.) The V8 isn't on the chart but it would be more stable and slower than the V10 Sport Ultra - although the difference isn't big, based on other user reviews. Note that moving up to the Ultra material increases speed a fair bit for a given surfski model. Also note that the paddler who maintains this chart sells Stellar surfskis, which receive good ratings here.

Social paddle with Goose and Coach LD on Island Lake. Did 3K in our kayaks then switched to the Doughty whitewater canoe so they could test out the kayaks. It took a shoe horn to get Goose into my Eclipse but once he was all set up, he briefly took it up over 14 kph!

We went to The Shed for paninis and drinks on their back patio. To celebrate them getting their liquor licence on Saturday, I had a chilled white wine - mmm. It was nice to catch up with Mrs. Shedman. Apparently, The Shedman and 'Bent are both feeling some after-effects from yesterday's 3.5 hour run!

In spite of getting the summer off, school teachers never *really* take a holiday. Coach LD took time to teach the staff the correct spelling of "tomatoe" and "latte's". Goose... well, actually he *was* on holiday.

'Bent did a 3.5 hour run with The Shedman so close to sunrise that I was not inspired to join them. He didn't want to push his knee too hard after that so we planned a Canada Day ride to the C3 swimming quarry in Caledon Village. We're members of the local triathlon club because we like to support them but until today, we had never tried out their open water swim training area.

Alas, as we were getting ready for our ride, 'Bent got a call from a good friend and patient whose child was having a dental emergency. So we headed out on our bikes in opposite directions. Most of my riding was on hilly gravel roads beneath canopies of trees, beside farmer's fields or along the escarpment with sweeping views down to the Toronto waterfront. There was a strong crosswind that made me work at times. Traffic was light; I rode my first 6 km without being passed by a single car.

The nice country roads don't line up so I had a few kms of riding along the shoulder of fast, busy roads - Airport Rd. and Hwy 10. Today I wanted a fairly direct route but an option to avoid most of the busy roads would be to start with the longer rail trail route to Caledon East or even Inglewood. The only really, *really* nasty bit of riding was on Kennedy Rd. I couldn't figure out why so many cars were rumbling down this gravel road but later I realized that busy Hwy 10 had an emergency closure so drivers were taking a detour. I had a headwind there so the clouds of dust blasted my eyes and my lungs. I did my best to breathe through my nose - and not very often and only while looking back over my shoulder at times when the dust level seemed lower. I also kept my eyes squinted most of the way closed because grit was flying everywhere. Bike riding on hilly terrain is *really* difficult when you're trying to do it without breathing, with your eyes closed.

The quarry water was deliciously cool and now that I've seen how the system works, I'll know the ropes for next time. It looks like we would be very welcome in a kayak or surfski since we could keep an eye out for swimmers in trouble on the 2 km loop. I look forward to doing some paddle training there.

The ride home by a slightly different route. This direction is 100 m net downhill.

Happy Canada Day! :)

In honour of the occasion, here's "When Canada Rules the World" by the Arrogant Worms:



And William Shatner's classic "I am Canadian" routine.



And to leave you in a celebratory mood, here's the catchy "I am Canadian" anthem.