Training Log Archive: Bash

Hanging flags in Palgrave West for Saturday's Tree Hugger race. We have a stronger field this year, so I'm making the course longer. BulletDog and I were out for 2.5 hrs, and I'll count half the time. I think I deserve a gold star for going bushwhacking with my blistered feet and sore quads on the day after Raid The Hammer! :-)

Event: Raid the Hammer
 

Raid The Hammer 25 km Adventure Run. This year's team was Crash, Bash and Bent. (Our regular teammate and talented back-up navigator, Hingo, is out with an injury.) Crash did an awesome job in her first-ever adventure run, including towing me up the Molson Mountain Climb (without complaining) at the very end of the race. Wow, that girl is fit!

It was an awesomely fun race. Congrats to Hammer for once again devising a fun, clever, creative and challenging race course. He just keeps surprising us! On the ride home, Crash asked what was different about this adventure run compared with previous ones, and it wasn't at all difficult to come up with a list. That's pretty amazing, considering that I've done all 8 adventure runs since 2002. Thanks for all your hard work once again, Hammer. We appreciate it.

Our race went quite well at first. We were running with people we were very proud to be seen with! :-) That all ended on the way to control 5D in the advanced section (yes, the really easy one). We wasted 15-20 minutes after a very simple map reading error convinced us we were at one stream when we were really at another one 400 meters away. We even decided that the control had been stolen at one point, before I finally (**finally**!!!) saw my huge mistake. Other than that, I was satisfied with our navigation. And hey, no penalty loops for the 3 micro-O controls!

We are proud of the great performances of many of our friends - but especially GHO Canada GHO, who totally blew away the competition on a tough course. Way to go, Coach Sudden! (I think you're the only one who reads Attackpoint.)

I'd been worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the race because of my stupid knee. I'd figured that if I couldn't even do a 4-5 hour race, it would be the end of endurance sports for me, and I was prepared to take it really hard. Today's results were mixed. I did finish the race, which was a huge relief. But I was in a lot of pain for the last 5 km - mostly my hip because my knee wasn't making its usual contribution. Also the arch support has changed the biomechanics of my leg. If nothing changes, I won't be able to do 25-km trail races because the pounding hurts. A 25-km adventure run is actually easier because of the greater variety in motion.

Anyway... it was a fun day, excellent weather, beautiful scenery, and a great chance to see friends. Almost everybody we know from racing was there!

Trekking and trail running around Palgrave East with BulletDog, finalizing the eastern portion of the Tree Hugger Invitational race course. I've subtracted 30 minutes to account for all the time I spent just standing still, overwhelmed by the complexity of the challenges that I'm inflicting on my friends. Heh heh, not really.

Here's a big hint: Both yesterday and today, I came home covered with burrs. So that gives you an idea of where we are going on the map. BulletDog often twists and turns to reach the burrs on her back. A couple of times today, I felt warm breath on my shin, and looked down to see her gently removing burrs from my tights with her teeth, then spitting them out. That's a new trick, and I'm mighty impressed.

The controls are spread out over a large area, and this will be the more advanced section of the course, so I had more opportunities to run than yesterday. My knee didn't feel wonderful, but at least I didn't feel crippled like I did yesterday. There is still hope for Raid The Hammer! Which is good, because if my stupid knee forces me to drop out of a 25 km adventure run, I'm afraid that I may get all girly and blubbery. This is my first long race in 3 months that will involve running, and I really would like to believe that I can still do this sort of thing.

Long trek with ThunderDog around (and around) Palgrave West, finalizing control locations for the Tree Hugger Invitational. I don't want to give too much away because some of the THI racers have been known to read my log. Let's just say there was some trail running, some lovely open forest, some frustrating bush-bashing, some steep hills to clamber up, and a few cold, ankle-deep swamps. It snowed on us a few times, which makes this the first official Tree Hugger Snow Report of the season.

Wildlife Watch: We saw tonnes (herds!) (flocks!) (gaggles!) of white-tailed deer today. It was almost ridiculous - they were everywhere. It is hunting season, so perhaps they are all hiding in our conservation area where hunters are not permitted to follow them.

I'd planned to follow up with a faster run, but my knee was killing me when I woke up this morning, and it didn't get better after 2.5 hrs in the forest. Sigh...

This wasn't supposed to be a rest day. And this wasn't supposed to be a day where all I did was talk on the phone to tech support people and hang out at the local computer shop trying to get my laptop to talk to the Internet again. But that's the kind of day it was. And I am borrowing Bent's laptop tonight. :-((((