Training Log Archive: Bash

Hilly, icy trail run in Glen Haffy with 'Bent, BulletDog and BazingaPuppy. Lots of dog-related stops deducted. Most of the run was on smooth, polished, uneven grey ice with a few millimeters of fluffy snow on top. It wouldn't have been possible without spikes - and even with them, we still had to be super careful. As always, Glen Haffy provided a great hill workout.

It was 'Bent's turn to hold BazingaPuppy's leash while I got the easy job of controlling angelic BulletDog when we approached roads. In today's treacherous conditions, I don't think I could have handled BPuppy without getting hurt. Even 'Bent had some trouble when a squirrel dared to flaunt itself about 20 m off-trail ('Bent got dragged almost as far as the squirrel tree!)



BulletDog turned 9 years old this weekend so it's a doggie celebration around our place. 'Bent is currently barbecuing steaks for the dogs and me - a tradition on the birthday of the oldest dog in our household, starting when Tobler turned 10. 'Bent doesn't eat meat so I'm usually vegetarian at home since he's the chief cook. Really looking forward to dinner. :)

Increased reps on several exercises. Added Leanimal's FHL stretch.

Just ordered a book: Conquering the Canadian Death Race.

I've never liked the word "conquer" to describe things like climbing Everest or finishing a wilderness event. These feats deserve far more humility and respect than that. But it's not as if I had a wide range of Death Race books to choose from! :)

Note to Death Racers: I'll share any juicy stuff that I learn.

Right shoulder, which always hurts a little, hurt a little more today. Boo. I guess there's been more arm work over the past week than I've done in a long time - skiing, snowshoeing with poles and upper body strength training. So it's fair enough, I guess, as long as it feels better in a day or two.

Year End Review Part 3 of 3 - 2012 Training Goals

I've been stalling on my 2012 training goals since I don't know what I'm training for. In 2011, I focused on skills, endurance and running at the expense of speed and strength. I can't have it all at the same time so it's risky to tinker with the balance without knowing where the new emphasis should be.

In an ideal world, I'd plan my year around a couple of expedition adventure races in wild locations like Patagonia or Tasmania. However, most of my past teammates aren't training for AR anymore and I would only want to do tough events like that with people I trust - not with strangers looking for a "mandatory female". The harsh truth is that I'm not - and never will be - fast enough to race with most people whose AR/outdoor skills and experience are similar to mine. So it's time for more realistic plans.

Events with navigation are my favourites, the longer the better. Rogaines and mountain marathons are easiest to plan since they require minimal gear and only one teammate. Long races of any kind are good - ultraruns, long paddling races, solo multi-sport, etc. I may not be fast but I have plenty of endurance. Maybe I could aim for the Trans Andes Challenge mountain bike stage race in Patagonia next year. The Dontgetlost adventure runs and a few sprint ARs will remain on the schedule because they're fun, challenging and social, and we've got some great local race directors who deserve our support.

The only big event I'm committed to so far in 2012 is the 125-km Canadian Death Race. I'll be training differently this time. For my 50-miler, I tried to follow an ultrarunning training plan but it was derailed by injury. Since the race went fairly well in spite of that, it looks like the multi-sport training and racing I did earlier in the year was good preparation. As a bonus, it was a lot more enjoyable than just running! I hope to run less often this year but increase the length of some of my long runs. I will add specific training for downhill running, which is what gave me the most trouble.

I liked the rest days in my ultra program, not just because they refreshed my body but because they gave me more time for other parts of life. I'm not aiming to specialize in ultrarunning but I think ultras will complement my adventure racing and other sports.

With all that in mind, here are some fairly general training goals for 2012:

1) Do one or two 24-hour rogaines. Run the Canadian Death Race [edit - in 22 hours]. Train appropriately so that a multi-day adventure race would be possible if the stars align.

2) Quality training - Focus on becoming stronger on uphills and (especially) downhills, and throw in occasional speedwork.

3) Running - 150 hrs (mostly in non-winter months since I'm not trading skiing for running). Work on form, cadence, drills, etc. Include some longer long runs.

4) Become stronger overall - upper body, legs, core. Lower body strength is the top priority.

5) Improve biking strength and power, completing the power tap trainer program over the winter and increasing mountain bike hours in 2012.

6) Stay healthy - sufficient sleep and recovery time, good diet and hydration, maintain appropriate weight, etc.

I started the day with a short loop of skate skiing because it's good for me. Most people I know are happier on skate skis than classic, and I sure wish I could get closer to that point. I started classic so much earlier in life that it feels like the natural way to move across snow. My skating skills are so-so and because I don't do it very often, it's just not that much fun! The silver lining is that I got a great workout since I was using a few muscles that haven't seen much action lately and reaching a level of intensity that I haven't hit since the 50-miler training began. ...yahoo...

It was +4C when we arrived and the guy in the ski shop said the wax of the day was "waxless". It certainly was! I was alone for the first part of this ski, then I joined Coach LD and 'Bent.

It wasn't the best day for skiing but the tracks were in good shape and it was great to be out there after such a lousy December for snow. I could go straight up steep hills without any herringbone because the snow was so soft, and by the end, we were double poling to get all the way to the bottom of the hills. Today looks like the worst day for weather, then we should get some colder weather and snow again.

Hard Core Live with Caron. Just a short one tonight to ease us into the new year.

This was a good reminder that my sprained ankle still has some healing left to do. It's not unstable anymore but my foot is stiff. The class seemed to improve the mobility a little between the balance poses and stretches.

Looking around the room tonight, I counted more men than women. I'm guessing this is unusual compared to most yoga classes but it feels totally normal since we're training with a triathlon club whose members do yoga as part of their injury prevention strategy.

Quick trip up to Highlands Nordic to enjoy the 25 cm of snow they got in the latest storm! My time was tight since BazingaPuppy was home alone but the fun was worth it. (Except for the part where my much-desired lunch got taken, kinda by mistake.) Driving conditions were still sketchy starting around Creemore; the storm must have been impressive.

Trails were in great shape although they could still use more base. It was beautiful up on the escarpment.



I used waxable racing skis, and with the temperature around 0C and fluctuating with elevation and time of day, I didn't always have the best grip. That didn't matter; it was just *so* great to be out in wintry conditions, and hey, I needed an upper body workout anyway.



I thought I'd parked next to the Doughty Prius but it was probably the Follas Prius since I saw three Follases and no Doughtys. I also ran into Jacquie Tarno and C & M Huet. It was crowded on the trails near the chalet but once I got on the far reaches of the red trail, I spent most of my time alone. Really nice. :) I'd planned to finish with a short skate ski but it would have been on the busy trails so I saved it for another day.

The new year triggers thoughts about good habits I'd like to have. When the time comes (and it ain't now), here are some video clips showing proper technique for running drills. Am I the only one who feels totally uncoordinated when attempting "B"s?

For those of us aiming at UTMB in 2013, here is some info about how hard it is to get into the different races in 2012. Registrations are *way* up. They have previously offered preferred status in future years to runners who don't succeed in the lottery. With so many applications, I wonder if they can continue doing that.

In 2012, how the h&*% is it possible for someone who believes state governments should have the power to outlaw birth control and gay sex to be a leading U.S. presidential candidate?!?! I've probably already driven away any Republicans who might ever have read my log so I doubt I'll get enlightened on the importance of these election issues.

Dual purpose outing:

1) Vet race course for Thomass Caledon. (Success)

2) Tire out the puppy. (Failure)

BazingaDog had several firsts today: his first time orienteering, his first time snowshoeing and his first time at -16C. He lifted up a couple of frozen paws early on and I had to warm them with my hands. After that, he was enthusiastic and full of energy. He has to stay on leash, so this was a full body workout - upper, lower and core. He pulled me onto my face in the snow a couple of times. Of course, he had no idea; he was just chasing deer.

We've all had the experience of bushwhacking behind someone who isn't very good at choosing a line; that's what it's like to hold BazingaDog's leash in a thickly vegetated place like Glen Haffy. Lots of stepping over big logs, squeezing under low branches and passing the leash around saplings when we ended up on opposite sides. He is a lousy map reader and makes inefficient route choices. Lucky for him, he is very cute and has a sweet personality so I will take him orienteering again.

Brrrr, nice to have real winter here. Today was crazy busy but I'm hoping to head north to go skiing tomorrow.

Year End Review, Part 2 of 3 - Report Card on 2011 Goals

I received useful feedback from many of you during the year. Much appreciated; that's one of the reasons I make my goals public. I feel more accountable when I say something out loud, even though people rarely give me a hard time when I blow it. (Btw, please do!)

Here's how things turned out:

1) Do an expedition adventure race (3+ days non-stop), at least one 24-hour rogaine and at least one other 24+ hour adventure race. Run my second 50 km trail race. Consider a 50-miler if my joints are happy. Finish Speight's Coast to Coast.
Did a 4-day expedition AR (APEX), two 24-hour rogaines, Equinox Traverse (46 hr AR), a 50K and a 50-miler. Biggest fail was missing a time cut-off in Coast to Coast. At APEX, an ill teammate dropped out and we were short coursed. The other events went well and, honestly, I'm just happy to have attempted everything on the list. There are always going to be a few failures. If there aren't, then I probably need to set my sights higher.

2) Quality training at least once a week - hills, tempo or speed intervals.
This was on and off. I got distracted by a busy race schedule in spring/summer, then by an injury in the fall. This is a high priority for 2012, as the emphasis on endurance has made me slower.

3) Running - at least 2 hrs/week on average over the year
Yup, averaged 2 hrs 40 min / week.

4) Strength training - at least 1 hr/week
Averaged about 25 min/week. Ridiculous! I don't want to let go of this priority but I need to rethink the goal or the approach because it's not working. I got lots of good advice on this a few months ago - thanks.

5) Total annual training - 550 hrs.
612 hrs, which I don't expect to repeat.

6) Get 7+ hours of sleep on most nights.
Yes on most nights, but I could still use more sleep. I'm learning that more training hours = more recovery needed.

I had an informal goal to train and race with a wide range of people, which happened and was so rewarding that I plan to keep it up.

I added some mini-goals during the year and for a couple of them, I only scratched the surface:
- Increase running cadence.
- Get my kayak roll back.

There's one that I haven't done anything with yet:
- Get training in Pose or Chi running.

And a couple that achieved the desired results:
- Do more training with HRM.
- Buy bike computer with cadence and work to increase cadence.

Now... what to do in 2012?

For those interested in doing the Canadian Death Race on Aug. 4-5, the website has been updated and the registration date has been pushed back to Feb. 1 for Solos and Feb. 8 for Relays. So this gives us more time to collect a few more friends to come along. LosDobos is the latest to throw his hat into the ring for both CDR 2012 and UTMB 2013.

The weather forecast called for snow squalls in many parts of Ontario so the skiing should be better tomorrow. Unfortunately, 'Bent is working tomorrow so we packed our winter gear and headed to Dufferin Forest 30 minutes north, intending to ski their ungroomed trails. It was close enough that the drive home wouldn't be too bad if a storm came in, and we expected to find deeper snow up there. Alas, there were just a few cms of powder coating rock hard ice, similar to our back yard.

We backtracked to the Hockley Valley for some snowshoe hill training instead. The Salomon Dontgetlost.ca Snowshoe Raid is less than 3 weeks away and my teammate Dee is looking strong. For people familiar with the Hockley Loop, we went to the Town of Mono's Shelly Anderson Tract, the forest on the northeast corner of the loop with insanely steep hills. There wasn't a ton of snow but our poles and snowshoe cleats were very useful.

We explored the Mono Trails network and also did some bushwhacking - so exciting to discover unfamiliar terrain close to home! We've still got more trails to explore and we found some terrific hills for mountain race training. Now I need to find a map so we know where the public land ends.

Year End Review, Part 1 of 3: Training

After almost 7 years of logging on AP, the trends are getting easier to spot.
2011 training totals by activity.

Training volume went way up in 2010 (608 hrs) and stayed there in 2011 (612 hrs).

Specifically:
- More running than ever before (138 hrs vs. 101.5 hrs last year, my previous highest)
- More paddling than ever
- Biking was about the same but a third of it was on trainer or road bike so technical skills suffered.
- 2nd biggest year for adventure/multisport racing (163 hrs)

Top 5 activities were:
Adventure Racing 163 hrs (I don't break it down by discipline)
Running + Snowshoe Running 138 hrs
Mountain Biking + Road Biking 89 hrs
Paddling 73.5 hrs
Orienteering + Snowshoe Orienteering - 73.5 hrs (includes 2 rogaines)

I think the higher volume has helped although I'm appreciating rest days more as I increase my running. Winter sports suffered between our trip to New Zealand in February and the lack of snow so far this winter. Orienteering hours were also down. Hope 2012 will be better for both these sports. It wasn't intentional to cut back.

Up next: Final report card on 2011 goals, then plans for 2012!