Training Log Archive: Bash

As much as I love wandering through a snowy forest with map and compass, I've spent more than 8 hours doing that in the past two days, so this morning, I would have been happy to plop my tired body in front of the fireplace with a big pot of coffee, a couple of warm dogs and a good book. (Unfortunately, that book would have to be "Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change", since I've got class tomorrow.)

However, I'd promised KS that the Thomass course would be in place by noon for him to test, so BulletDog and I dragged ourselves out to hang the last controls, which were spread out at opposite corners of the map. Just my luck, today was one of those days when nothing was easy. The boulders were buried in snow, so I couldn't tell where they were. The map showed 3 rootstocks around one control, but there were six in the terrain, thanks to windstorms last fall. A couple of small clearings were hard to identify because of other clearings in the same area. So... it took longer than it should have. Glad I've got Hammer and AdventureGirl! coming to help me with the final course vetting next weekend, since I'll want their opinion on placement of a couple of the controls.

Hot off the press! 'Bent completed the Canadian Ski Marathon Gold at 3 p.m. He had a great time at Gold Camp last night and was far too warm at -27C with all the stuff he'd carried in that big backpack. He thinks he skied too fast yesterday, so he took it easy today. Although he'd claimed that he only wanted to try this once, he let it slip that he was "planning to carry less stuff next year". Ha!

Now that BobTheNavigator has been named Race Director for ARC, I've tentatively added some of their races to my calendar. Although I've always focused on FAR events in the past, they are offering so few races in eastern Canada this year that we need to look at other options.

Oh, this was FUN! :-) We have to miss the Snowshoe Raid, so BobTheNavigator asked if I would test the course. Yay!

Following up on my post-Ballengee-accident New Year's resolution to let someone know when and where I'm wandering in the woods, I asked BTN if I could check in with him when I was done, since 'Bent is sleeping in a snowdrift in Quebec tonight. He did one better, coming along to Horseshoe to ski for the day. So now I can tell my dubious Mom that I am so cautious about my outdoor activities that I enlist the captain of Canada's top adventure racing team to keep an eye on me when 'Bent is away. However, the flip side was that this meant I had a witness, and thus the time that I took to complete the course could not be kept secret.

It took BTN four hours to hang flags, but he didn't have to wear snowshoes. Since then, Horseshoe has been buried in wonderful powder snow. The heavy trees and the shapes of snow blobs on stumps were reminiscent of B.C. It's not often I can say this in southern Ontario, but I was sorry that I hadn't brought big snowshoes with more flotation. It was a LOT of physical effort. I've called it Level 3 because of occasional stops to make notes or hang flags, but there were plenty of places where the intensity was higher. This had better make me lose my post-Christmas weight, or I give up!

As for the course... Wow, it was pretty out there today. At first, there was heavy snow falling, then sun and blue skies took over. The course was a fun blend of different types of navigation - long, tricky legs in flat, nearly featureless terrain, and shorter legs that featured steep hill climbs and awesome descents roaring through powder snow. This is going to be a 3-hour rogaine-style event, and I would never have attempted to get to all the controls. But as a tester, I had to visit every one - about 15 km, I'm told. Actually, I did skip one outlying control because I was running late and still hadn't come into cell phone range. This snow will likely warm up and consolidate over the next 2 weeks, so the course should be faster on race day. But it will be an interesting and strategic event, I think, since it may be difficult for anyone to get to all controls in 3 hours.

Anyway, it was loads of fun, and I am zonked. A perfect night to crash on the couch without guilt, drink hot chocolate, and watch girl movies that would bore 'Bent to tears.

When I got home, there was a voice mail from 'Bent, who is in the Canadian Ski Marathon Gold Camp tonight. As previously announced, today's course was shortened to 68 km from 80 km due to bodies of water that didn't freeze early enough. The result was that 'Bent made the cut-off for the final section at noon and got into Gold Camp quite early. With all that time to sit around at -20C, I'm sure he'll appreciate all the extra layers he's carrying in that big pack of his.

Congratulations to Tree Huggers Hingo and Luscious, who completed their first marathon in Sedona today. Also, a pat on the back to Tree Hugger Brittany Webster, who was selected for the senior national XC ski team, but declined in order to focus on the junior program.

I set out most of the controls for the next Thomass event, and took down most of the remaining controls from the Tree Hugger race in the same area. It was a bit complicated because I was juggling three maps (yes, you heard it here first - *three* maps) and trying to choose a reasonable route. Somehow I ended up doing everything that needs to be done in the middle of the map, but there are 3 controls still to be hung on the eastern side of the map, and another 3 controls left at the far western side of the map. Oh well...

I'm one of the few people who always wears eye protection while bushwhacking, so it was annoying when I finally emerged into an open area, took off my sunglasses, then immediately got a big chunk of bark in my eye while hanging a flag on a distinct tree. (Oooh, another hint!) I had to keep my eye pointed in approximately the same direction for the final 20 minutes of my excursion - otherwise, it didn't feel too good.

ThunderDog and BulletDog had a fantastic time playing in the snow as we travelled around. They are napping by the fire as I write this, and they haven't asked me for dinner yet as of 7:30 p.m., which proves they are very tired. Just as well, since they'll have a quieter day tomorrow while I'm testing the Snowshoe Raid course at Horseshoe.

'Bent looked pretty happy when the pooches and I dropped him off at the Scarborough Town Centre to catch the bus to the Canadian Ski Marathon. There was a throng of fit-looking, toque-wearing, Goretex-jacketed folks gathered in the parking lot, and all the Gold participants were eyeing each other's backpacks for the overnight camp. 'Bent was concerned that his was bigger than everyone else's - but we all know that size isn't everything, and besides, I'm pretty sure I saw some guys there who had bigger ones than 'Bent.

So... my girls' weekend has begun! I started off by browsing the sales at Running Free for an hour, buying several new pieces of attractive sports clothing that I definitely don't need. Ya! And it's always difficult when the household chef goes away, but it does allow me to be a carnivore for a few days, so I brought home a roast chicken, much to the dogs' delight!

If you're thinking about entering the Horseshoe Resort Snowshoe Raid, be sure to register soon. It's only 2 weeks away, and there is some concern that there may not be enough interest. I've heard lots of people talk about it, so please sign up if you're planning to go. No need to pay until race day. Solos or teams of two, including a Parent/Child category for family fun. I'll be testing the course on Saturday, and it looks awesome!

C3 training night in Caledon East. Mostly ran with Nikki and Mota, discussing last week's IPCC report and recent media coverage of various environmental issues. Nikki is the Editor of Alternatives Journal and does some climate change consulting, so she knows a bit about this stuff. It was COLD in the wind until we got into a rhythm, but not bad after that. Everyone headed back earlier than usual.

Caron's theme for tonight was "Hard, Harder, Hardest", so each exercise had a progression, e.g.:
1) Lie on your back with legs straight up in the air, then do crunches up toward your knees.
2) Lying in the same position, use your abs to lift your hips off the ground, pushing your legs toward the ceiling.
3) Still in the same position, raise your arms and do crunches while lifting your hips. Try to touch your ankles wa-a-ay up there.

Ouch. If you couldn't do an exercise, you were supposed to return to the next most difficult level that you had been able to do.

Tonight's yoga class also had the "hard, harder, hardest" theme, e.g.:
1) Hinge from the waist into a forward bend, with your hands touching the ground. Lift one leg behind you as high as it can go.
2) Keeping your leg way up behind you, move one of your hands from the ground to your supporting ankle.
3) Still keeping your leg up, move the second hand to your ankle, so that you are now balancing entirely on one foot.

We had a similar balance pose where we had one leg out behind us, and for the hardest version, we clasped our hands behind us, pulled our shoulders back, and raised our joined arms as high as we could. Caron said sweetly, "If you're going to fall down, remember to unclasp your hands and get them in front before your face hits the floor."

It all felt good tonight, and surprisingly relaxing in spite of some hard work. I think I'm hooked.

K/O came over to show us a new strength routine that links lower body and upper body exercise efficiently and effectively. Looks like I'm going to need to work on my full push-ups - not just any full push-ups, but really shaky ones where my hands are on a balance board or stability ball. Should be fun!

It was -25C with a good dose of windchill this morning, so we had some concerns about the ski out to our van. Not concerns about us, but concerns about our dogs, since they live indoors most of the time. Sometimes in very cold weather, they've stopped and lifted up a paw for us to warm in our bare hands. If that happened in this weather, it was going to make it tough for the humans, and who knew if they'd be able to make it all the way? And what would we do if they couldn't? We didn't know if their ears or other body parts might be as susceptible to frostbite as our own. Much to their embarrassment, we dressed them in boots, coats (heavy horse blanket style) and Buffs over their ears (which were promptly pushed down). This was a first for both of them, and when the boots first went on in our test earlier this weekend, they had lifted their legs in a high, exaggerated motion like a spider. They managed to trot along just fine today, forgetting about the annoying footwear. We all survived, although I had to keep warming my cheeks (facial, that is) when they went numb.

Another fun year at Kukagami Lodge, in spite of the less-than-perfect snow conditions! I think I ate too many homemade cookies and breads though...

Nasty drive home on snowpacked roads. Lots of cars in the ditch. Not fun.