Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent wanted to do some biking that would be similar to what we do in adventure races, and thought that the double track in Dufferin Forest would resemble the chewed-up ATV and snowmobile trails that we often race on. We've never ridden up there, but we have the orienteering map, so we decided to do some MTB-O as we explored the trail system. I'd thought we'd need to be careful to avoid the Mansfield trails, since we didn't have a day pass, but it turns out that Mansfield isn't open to the public for mountain biking anymore. Too bad, the single track was awesome there. You're still not supposed to go on their trails without permission, so we stayed north in the county forest.

Some of the double track was nice, but a lot of it was sandy and loose. Some of it was OK to ride on, but in some places, it was like skiing up and down hills as our bikes skidded around in the sand and deep eroded holes. The only other person we saw was on an ATV (there are big signs prohibiting motorized vehicles). It looks like there are more horses than bikes in there, which makes sense, since the sand wouldn't be as difficult for them to negotiate. We eventually stumbled on some really nice single track, which was the best riding of the day.

The highlight had nothing to do with biking. It was the huge number of ripe red and black raspberries we saw - and consumed. Yum!

I was impressed by the difficulty of mountain bike orienteering. I've done lots of bike nav in adventure racing, but haven't used a detailed 1:10,000 map on a bike before. I wonder what scale they use in MTB-O, because we were able to ride across our map in no time, and kept having to re-fold to see different areas. In AR, with 1:50,000 maps (usually) and long legs between CPs, I don't need to look at the map too often while biking, particularly when I'm riding off-road. It was a big change today when I needed to look at the map frequently. It actually made a good map memory exercise, since I wanted to look at where I was riding, not at the map, so I practised getting a simplified picture in my mind of the map (which I should do all the time in any kind of navigation).

My gears have been deteriorating, and today they were shifting at random all over the place. We made a detour to Caledon Hills Cycling to drop off my bike for some TLC. I suspected a major overhaul might be necessary, and a follow-up phone call has already confirmed that. That's OK - my bike doesn't owe me anything.

5 Peaks Trail Race - Durham Forest

Trail race. Meridian had warned me to run hard for the first 700 m before the race course switched from double track to single track, but I'm never a fast starter. Meridian was right. As soon as I got on the single track behind a long line-up, it was like I was jogging in place. It was impossible to pass when everyone was crammed in so close. Eventually, we got to the highlight of any Oak Ridges Moraine event - hills! That's where the field started to spread out. Like every event I do, people passed me whenever the trail was flat and wide, because they have a fast running gear and I don't. However, I would pass people on the uphills, downhills and twisty sections with big tree roots. Since the latter comprised most of the course, this meant that after the initial 2 km, I passed more people than passed me.

I'm a heat princess, and my legs really felt sluggish at first on this 30+C day. Then when I saw the 8-kilometer mark, I suddenly felt my legs spring to life, and I started tearing past people. Weird - does it really take me 8 km to warm up?? And if it does, should I just give up on doing 11 km races? I noticed G. L. Portuguese just ahead of me with 1 km to go. Since she is in my age category, I thought I'd see if I could move up a rank before the finish. I passed her at an aid station (glad to be one of the few runners with a Camelbak), but she was right behind me a few seconds later. With 100 m to go, it looked like it would be a tie, but then she demonstrated that she has fast-twitch muscles that I definitely do NOT have, so I finished 1 second behind. Great to have her there to inspire me to race hard to the end!

Results weren't all posted when we left, but I think I was around mid-pack overall and 9th in my age group, which was probably top third or so. Not nearly as good as the Old Mill 10K last month, leading 'Bent to make the horrific suggestion that perhaps I am actually destined to be a road runner.

Speaking of 'Bent... when we race separately, it seems that we often run into each other on the course after he or his team has a nav error. During this race, I was thinking that it was nice that it wasn't a possibility today, due to the course being marked clearly with little orange flags and signs. Well, I was wrong... 'Bent managed to have a nav error on a marked trail race! He still had a great race, but just imagine how he will do some day if he only runs the same course length as the other competitors!

Fun morning - nice forest. Great to see Meridian out and about, as he has been in hiding for so long. Now that he's emerged and seen his shadow, he needs to return to his thesis for 6 more weeks, then he can finally join the world again.

Palgrave West, mostly cross-country. This wasn't really the plan, but I started through our neighbour's property and was halfway across when I heard a logging machine start up and a big tree crack. Yikes - I turned 90 degrees and made a beeline for the far property line. I ended up passing through some private property and other areas that I've never seen in summer. Lots of waist-high weeds and stealth patches of poison ivy, so it took awhile to get started on my trail run.

Palgrave East on trails - much less eventful, thankfully. Not much bounce in the legs today. Hot afternoons zap my energy - and today isn't even that hot. It'll be interesting to see how the trail race goes on Saturday, since it is supposed to be a scorcher.

Fun, twisty trail ride in Palgrave East with some good hill climbs. Sometimes I forget that we have really nice single track just around the corner, right across Duffy's Lane from Krash's Kountry Kitchen.

Horses have been using the single track trails, which I haven't seen before. From a trail damage point of view, that's the best place for them, since a TRCA biologist works with the mountain bikers to locate trails in areas that are not easily damaged. However, it's not fun to ride over big dollops of horse poop on a trail that is only 20 cm wide in places. And it's hard to imagine a safe way for a bike to pass a group of horses on such a tight, narrow trail. However, these trails are designated multi-use, and at least the horses aren't creating any nasty quagmires, as they have done elsewhere in Palgrave.

Planned rest day. 30C weather today, but it will be cooler tomorrow - yahoo!

Went with 'Bent to pick up his new all-wheel-drive Tree Huggermobile. Nice!

Around Palgrave East and West. Only intended to stay out for 45 minutes, but felt surprisingly good in the hot weather. Not sure why running felt like such a chore on Friday.

As someone who normally keeps an eye out for weird-looking strangers when I'm alone in the woods, I'm not sure why I didn't run the other way when I saw a man in a winter parka and fur-lined hat in 30C weather, walking with a large dog on leash. Anyway, he was a nice fellow with an injured ankle from baseball, and he wore his winter clothing to fend off the bugs because he was moving so slowly. Poor guy!

When I got back, I took ThunderDog for a short car ride to go swimming in the Humber River - much too hot for her to go for a walk today.

Registered for my first 5 Peaks trail race this Saturday. Long course is only 11.1 km, so the race will be too fast for me, but it will be good training to run at higher intensity than usual.

Hard Core Monday with 'Bent, relocated to the basement where it was cooler. The wildlife (two Lab Retrievers) really increased the degree of difficulty for some exercises.