Training Log Archive: Bash

After helping with Hardrock registration, 'Bent and I went out on the Rocky Ridge map for some nav coaching. Rather ironic, since this is the terrain that has messed most with my mind in the past. The main thing I observed was that he wasn't following his bearings well. But he suddenly got better, and when I commented on it, he acknowledged that he had just changed his technique. The bad news is that I turned my stupid ankle again (an "inversion", according to Slice). I just stepped off a rock onto a hummock - I wasn't even running. It was a year ago today at last year's Hardrock that I did the major damage, and I was under the illusion that my recovery was almost complete. Wrong. Apparently, my proprioception still stinks. I wonder if it will ever recover, or if I am doomed to wear an Active Ankle off-trail forever. Not sure how bad this is going to be, but hopefully a bit of ice will improve it quickly. I'm not limping, just sulking.

Event: Storm the Trent
 

STORM The Trent - 1-day Trek adventure race. The well-organized STORM weekend consists of two 1-day races, the longer Trek and the shorter Hike. There is also a concurrent 2-day stage race with support crew, which we would like to do, except for the support crew part. In all STORM events, much of the race course is marked, with the exception of paddling sections and the advanced section. Thus the weekend attracts a large number of participants compared to other ARs around here. It's a great race for newbies, and also a great race for experienced racers who want to put their heads down and push hard on a fun multi-sport course.

We started off with an 8K paddle on Rice Lake. There was a stiff breeze, and we started with 2K into the wind, followed by 4K downwind, then 2K back upwind. The boats all lined up in the water for a mass start, then we took off into the wind. Since paddling involves so much upper body, I don't look to compete with guys, but I guess today's conditions were perfect for a relatively small, Trayling-coached person sitting low in the water in a long kayak. To my surprise, I was one of the first boats to the first CP - even ahead of 'Bent, then I turned around for the 4K downwind stretch. It was no longer helpful to be small and low in the water, so I waited for the crowds to pass me, but only saw 'Bent's kayak and Dave Zietsma's coed canoe (which I drafted for awhile as we chatted). After getting the 2nd CP, we turned back up into the wind. Just to be able to say I did, I pulled ahead of Zietsma's team about 400 meters before the finish. However, he was the first of several boats that passed me on the 350 m portage to the boat corral - one of the disadvantages of being a solo woman.

Next we biked south on fun country roads with great views, arriving at the Northumberland Forest, where we did a nice stretch of single track. My energy level had been pathetic since the start of the race - perhaps because of my cold last week - and in this section, I realized that I was holding it together today entirely through skills that I've put time into learning - paddling in the first section, climbing hills on my bike and now single track where I could pass some people who were walking. Nice to see that it actually helps.

So I was looking forward to the upcoming trek section. The regular course followed winding marked trails to 4 CPs, and I would take this opportunity to use my compass to bushwhack and cut corners to save time over the faster trail runners. ***Sigh*** The first two CPs were misplaced in such ways that someone navigating off-trail like me, with only a trail map to work with, could only find them through extensive wandering and pure luck. The people who simply followed the longer marked trail route were led to the CPs in their wrong locations. Overall, I gave up 13-15 minutes on the trek section because of this, and ended up surrounded by teams I'd been well ahead of - grrrrr. The other two regular CPs and the three advanced CPs (without marked trails leading to them) were placed perfectly - yay.

From there, we rode our bikes through some nice Oak Ridges Moraine hills, rocks and sand, leading to dirt roads and finally hilly paved roads. I'm not usually a happy road rider because of the cars-coming-too-close-to-bikes factor, but even I really enjoyed this road ride. In fact, virtually all of the biking we did today was as fun as any biking we ever do, which is unusual for an adventure race. (Except ESAR, which is run by keen bikers in areas with good bike trails.)

We had an off-road bike orienteering section at the end (very fun!), then a quick ride to Golden Beach Resort, where 'Bent awaited with the amazing news that he was the very first person across the finish line!!!! Considering that his bike handle bars snapped in half last weekend, and he had two flat tires this morning, it was quite a victory for him to be able to ride in first on his recumbent.

I'm very proud of him!!!!!! I'm not sure how many teams were between us, but I was the 2nd solo overall this year. I'm happy about that, of course, and I had a fun day playing outdoors, but I'm not happy about my low energy or the misplaced CPs. I like each race to be a positive learning experience though, and today's main takeaway was that working on sport-specific skills can save my butt on days when I don't feel strong physically.

Just getting ready to head off to Storm The Trent - looks like fantastic weather. Let's hope I get my sunscreen right this time (sigh). As much as I tried not to inhale during yesterday's 90-minute bike ride, it appears that some of that fetid air managed to slip into my lungs, so they're feeling less healthy today. Still one more day to recover, and we plan to get to Golden Beach Resort early, and maybe have a sunset paddle.

I was recently telling someone that when I first started using clipless pedals (Time Atac), it was sometimes hard to get out, but now it is easy, and now I feel uncomfortable NOT using clipless pedals. Well... yesterday, because my bike shoes were already packed for the race, I got my shiny new identical pair out of the box. It turns out that my clips have worn down over the years, and THAT's the main reason I find it so easy to get out of them. I didn't have any major incidents yesterday, but there were a few panicky seconds of frantic twisting before some sudden stops I had to make. Interesting to know. I still love clipless pedals though - and this is coming from a person who suspected that my husband bought a huge life insurance policy on me at the same time he bought me my first clipless pedals.

Now I'd better get out to the garage and practise changing a bike tire. In team races, it is never my job to know anything about bikes, but in these rare solo events, I suppose I should learn what to do with those heavy mandatory bike tools I have to carry. (You might think a Masters in engineering would help me with such things, but you would be wrong.) In my defence, I have never had a flat tire on any bike I've ridden in my entire adult life, which is, um, quite a few years. So my ignorance hasn't really been an issue. Besides, on our team, we usually have more exciting bike problems to solve, like 'Bent's handlebars snapping in half or (my personal favourite) the time his bike seat snapped off his bike just as darkness fell before a long snowmobile trail section in a 30-hour race.

Enough rambling - time to go find those tire lever thingies.

We realized to our shame that we had not used our kayaks since last year's Storm The Trent, so we headed out for a nice sunset paddle.

It was one of those ridiculous days when I avoided contributing to the smog by riding a bike to my meeting, which meant breathing suspect air all the way. Adding another layer of irony, this ride was a test to see if my lungs are functional, now that I'm starting to emerge from the cold that hit me on Sunday. I guess if my lungs can suck up a whole whack of particulates and ozone without sending me into coughing spasms, then I've probably recovered sufficiently to do Storm the Trent on Saturday. All the same, I did my best to ride hard without inhaling. Quite a challenge. Fantastic to see all the trilliums!!!

By the way, I got a nice follow-up note from the Dad of the student adventure racer. He's happy with the way the situation was handled ultimately. He enjoys seeing his son's enthusiasm and will definitely be supporting him in future adventure races. As he said, "I always would have supported him. I was just frustrated when I wrote the e-mail that day." When this Dad says "support", he's not just talking about moral support. He drives groups of kids all over the place, volunteers at their events, pays entry fees, hotels and meals - and in a couple of years, I'm sure he'll be sitting out all night in remote bush as a Raid The North support crew! So I'm glad he's onboard.

Another - and hopefully final - chapter in the high school adventure race saga. Turns out that the results spreadsheet had a couple of errors, including a recorded time that was off by 1 hour, resulting in a surprise victory for the team that ought to have been 13th overall. With the corrected times, the Mayfield team that reached the finish line first has now been declared the winner of the race after all. The math makes a lot more sense now, given their 10-minute lead at the finish line, most of which was gained on the final bike ride. I'd been planning to double-check it when the results were published. So the kids will get all the prizing they should have received, and the other kids will get to keep their prizes too. Good news for Mayfield, because now our teams are #1 and #2 overall. But it's a shame that they couldn't have enjoyed their moment in the sun - in front of all those high school GIRLS.

Still have a nasty cold. With luck, it will go away just in time to taper for Saturday's race.

More news from the high school race - mostly good. It turns out that the situation was handled very badly, which compounded the impact. The awards ceremony was held 4 hours after the leaders finished the race, and nobody informed them about the change in standings. So the kids learned that their victory had been taken away when they were called up in front of several hundred people to accept 3rd prize, much to their shock. Apparently they were gracious about accepting their medals (unlike some adults in the similar Bon Echo debacle), but obviously they were confused and disappointed, and it all happened in a very public forum. No wonder the Dad was upset. Someone should have taken them aside earlier to break the news gently.

But the good news is that the kids and their coach had a great time anyway. The race leaders want to try an adult race later this year, and they're already figuring out their list of things to work on. They've asked for advice on practising paddling and navigation, and they've got one guy who's going to work on technical biking and another guy who's going to get faster on roads. In other words, they sound just like an adult team who finished their first race and can't wait to try another one!

The coach enjoyed himself too, and I'm sure he'd be willing to take students into a race in another year. In fact, he's doing his first race at ESAR with 'Bent and me on May 26.

So it sounds like the many positives of this event outweighed the negatives for these students, and they're going to give the sport another chance. That's lucky. But let's hope we don't have to depend on that sort of luck in future!

My cold is really bad today, but I'm feeling much sicker after hearing about a massive screw-up in yesterday's high school adventure race. The volunteer crew failed to get to CP4 in time, so the organizers removed CP3-CP5 from the results, i.e. most of the trek/navigation section. This changed the rankings so that our #1 team came 3rd overall, and our #3 team came 2nd. There is no good way to solve a problem like a missing CP in the bush, and it is simply inexcusable in a race for high school students.

This has come up in adventure races before. The same arguments always arise, and there is no fair way to resolve the problem. The best navigators are confident when they're in the right place, so they spend less time looking for the missing volunteer crew. Other teams waste a lot of time, or perhaps they stumble on the volunteers waiting at the wrong location. After that point, the lead team works hard enough to stay ahead of the other teams, but doesn't realize that they need to work much harder, because their speedy trek time is not going to count.

We just received an e-mail from a disillusioned parent who was tremendously supportive of this race and will no longer be involved if his son wishes to continue in the sport. Argggghhhh.