Training Log Archive: Bash

Just another typical evening around our place... At midnight I was sitting in the snow in our front yard wearing all my Tierra Viva paddle gear, trying to figure out if I needed to beef up any layers. Given that it was -12C and it's actually worse to sit in cold water than on cold snow, I'm not sure how good a test it was - but it was something. Decided to upgrade to winter-grade Sealskinz socks. We will be in sit-on-top kayaks so we will be sitting in water and splashing one another with our paddles for hours on end in temperatures ranging from 0C to 22C. Our upper bodies will be working but our lower bodies could get ch-ch-chilly if our experience in sit-on-top boats at Apex is anything to go by.

Attack the Trax Ski-O race at Highlands Nordic

'Bent, Goose, Coach LD and I drove up to the race together and ran into snow north of Hwy 89. By the time we got to Stayner, it was a full-on blizzard with huge snowflakes blowing around. The forecast had said "flurries" so I was a little worried about the light clothing I'd brought. I had no alternative outfits due to the need to wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

Tarno and Mrs. Tarno gave us maps, then we could go to the start control when we were ready. We had Map 1, Map 2 and a "Matrix" map where all controls were mandatory but they could be done in any sequence. The Matrix could be done after Map 1 or Map 2.

I'd planned to ski classic to maximize fun - for someone who prefers classic, that is. I'd brought my skate skis in case I was struck by an overwhelming urge to be competitive but that didn't happen. With 15-20 cm of new snow on the trails, it wasn't going to be a fast day for anyone anyway.

Map 1 went pretty smoothly. I bushwhacked and cut between trails in a few places - another way to maximize fun. The snow stopped and the sun came out early in Map 2, I think. There was a long leg and I was congratulating myself on finding the perfect place to bushwhack to pick up the orange trail on my way from #2 to #4. I was a little surprised that nobody else had done the same thing. Then as I came out of #4, I saw 'Bent and Goose coming out of the Hawberry Loop. They should both be ahead of me. Hmmm.... So I looked harder at the map and noted that I should have gone from #2 to #3 and *then* to #4. Doh! So I got in some extra distance as I bushwhacked across the thorny expanse of the Hawberry Loop field, then skied all the way back to punch #4 for real. About 5 minutes lost there, says Mr. Garmin.

Last but not least, the Matrix was uneventful other than a little icing up when I skied through slush. Coach LD defended her Attack The Trax female masters title - well done! Goose was top masters and 2nd overall behind Sudden. Great job! Because Map 1 and Map 2 were so similar to the 2011 version of the race, I was able to compare my times. Considering that conditions were faster that year, and I skate-skied in 2011, which was faster, I wasn't too disappointed at this year's time - 1:30 vs. 1:17 for Maps 1 and 2 (excluding this year's Matrix). Maybe next time I'll even visit the controls in the right order.

So much fun!! I wish we could do this more often.

AngrySeagull hosted a paddle instruction and training session at the Mississauga Canoe Club paddle pool. Back in our early days of adventure racing, the Tree Huggers spent a lot of time at MCC with Coach Bill Trayling and it was great to be given this rare opportunity to go back. We really were lucky back then to have access to inexpensive, top quality paddle coaching every week and to have the chance to hang out with other adventure racers. That's where we became friends with Carbon before she moved out west, and it's where we met Shifty and the Terranauts and eventually raced with them. Sometimes we'd even rub shoulders with Famous Racers like Getawaystix and John Yip. It was awesome. I guess these days the O Cups provide similar "glue" for the AR community in the off-season although they are less frequent.

Today AngrySeagull did an excellent review of proper paddle technique. Between the mirror and his comments, I could see that in position 1, my back elbow needs to be at 90 degrees instead of my forearm leaning toward my head. Also, I sometimes jump the gun by starting to push the paddle before it's planted in the water, i.e. blending positions 2 and 3. It was so good to return to basics and to have the mirror to check. I could almost hear Coach Bill shouting at me, "Open your belly button RIGHT UP!"

Everything is a test these days. Today I put my new Epic 4-piece paddle in the water for the first time. I love it compared to my SRS 5-piece although it can be a little hard to take apart (just like the SRS but in a completely different way). Hingo went all out and tested his neoprene vest, pants and socks for Tierra Viva. Turns out he was still a little chilly so it was a useful test.

AngrySeagull gave us a few good drills and exercises to work on:
1) Straight-armed paddling - forces you to emphasize the rotation and circle of power.
2) Sit on floor with legs straight out and hands raised as if holding a paddle across your chest, then move forward, taking "steps" with your bum.
3) Bent-over row except with a rotation toward the side, as in paddling.

A bunch of us went out for pub lunch at the Crooked Cue afterward, joined by TheMinister and his Mrs. There was an extensive beer menu and we let Funderstorm pick for us. Great to catch up and say some goodbyes before the race. On the way home, we stopped briefly by Hansel's place for good luck and to hang out with their cute kids and friendly dog.

Fun day! And now the pre-race panic sets in...

Same ride as yesterday - to Airport Rd. and back on Finnerty Sideroad - but this time I wore my 22 lb backpack of golf balls. Oh, it is such a rude awakening when you ride up your first hill with a heavy pack after a winter on the bike trainer! It didn't seem so bad by the time I was finished though, and it only took me 90 seconds longer - although I worked harder.

It was up to +2C today so the mud was a lot messier, and only 5% of the route was ice-covered. I wore summer-weight Sealskinz over the same socks as yesterday and my feet were toasty. It's not quite as cold today but I think this sock combo should be sufficient for Tierra Viva.

Now I have to clean *everything*.

STORM has been coming up with some nice variations on this theme. This one was reposted to a wide audience today by the U.S. site, Explore. Compete. Live. Great stuff, STORM! :)

Excellent news on a subject that continues to embarrass Canada internationally. Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has been asked to investigate the muzzling of Canadian government scientists (the ones who still have jobs) in a request backed by a 128-page report detailing alleged systemic efforts to obstruct access to researchers.

While I'm in a political mood, maybe this is a good day to post this one.

Sulphur Springs 50-miler is almost sold out and I'm still undecided but have grabbed one of the last spots just in case. I know that I need one or two 80 km ultras before UTMB just to remind me how to deal with the structure of a race. The quandary with SS is the high number of aid stations, which means that I'm not forced to be as well prepared as usual. Anyway... it's a good event, the price is right, other friends will be there, and I don't have to travel very far. So it's tentatively on the calendar.

The Pope, wearing a fabulous vintage chiffon-lined Dior gold lamé gown over a silk Vera Wang empire waist tulle cocktail dress, accessorized with a three-foot House of Whoville hat and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz, on his way to tell us it's Wrong to be Gay.

Actually, I kinda like the tone of this new Pope in spite of our disagreements. It's a tough job and I sure wouldn't want it!

My Specialized Epic returned from the bike hospital today where it survived unexpected fork surgery during what was supposed to be a routine tune-up. I should have taken a picture of it when it arrived home all clean and nice but instead I rode along Finnerty Sideroad to Airport Road and back. Everything east of Gore Road was mud. Further west, there were some big patches of ice so I avoided gathering too much speed.

Lots of hills to test all the gears; so far, the bike is riding well. It was -2C with bright sunshine and my toes were numb blocks of ice by the time I got home. It's not that this was any surprise, given that I wore regular bike socks in regular bike shoes. It's like touching wet paint... Sometimes I just have to try things to prove to myself what I already know is going to happen.

Now I need to put everything back on the bike - lights, map holder, Bento Box. And then I need to take it all apart and put it into the bike bag. And reassemble it just for practice and to make sure I have all the right tools with me. Then take it apart again.

I went for a sunset run to Glen Haffy to check out the condition of Finnerty Sideroad in anticipation of picking up my mountain bike from the shop tomorrow. There's thin layer of mud in most places with occasional ice patches but it's frozen hard underneath and should be decent for riding. I took a brief detour with thoughts of running on the Bruce Side Trail for part of the way but I started post holing immediately and decided that a hilly gravel road would be good enough.

I've been enjoying lots of other types of training this winter but not much running. When I get home from Argentina, I'll have 5 months to prepare for UTMB so running will have to take centre stage for awhile. I was pleased that everything felt fine today. Endurance seems OK but I can tell that some speedwork and running drills would be a good idea. I tried out some of the things that the Carbons have been talking about from their running coach.

After 45 minutes, my sunset run turned into a heavy snowstorm run. Cool! I came home and headed to the back yard to test my sleeping bag/bivy combo in my damp clothes for 45 minutes at -5C. It was OK but I'll be really grateful if it doesn't get that cold at Tierra Viva. It probably won't get any colder but it could get a whole lot wetter and windier.

Miscellaneous "getting into race mood" today:
- Packed Spanish/English dictionary.
- Bought Argentinian wine.
- Encouraged cardinals to elect Argentinian Pope.

America, you must not look away (How to finish off the NRA)

A powerful and disturbing essay by Michael Moore that is ultimately about gun control but makes the broader point that sweeping details and images of horrible events under the rug makes it easier for those things to continue. (Not just in America and not just guns.)

Hey, this training and recovery thing actually works. My forearms fatigued quickly when I paddled last week after all the poling at the Snowgaine, and I was convinced that I'd wrecked myself before Tierra Viva. But today I felt stronger than I did before the Snowgaine.
Exercise Physiology: 1
Worrywart Bash: 0.

1st podcast was Adventure Racing Radio where Mark Arnold interviewed Luke Osborn of Infiterra Sports. They talked about the infamously sketchy paddle section during a small craft warning on Georgian Bay at RTN Parry Sound, then they segued to Wilderness Traverse being hosted in Parry Sound this year and wondered about the paddle. Yeesh, it was hard to hear those two events linked together, and I hope nobody would be deterred from doing WT this year because of what happened a decade ago. Without giving anything away, GStix and I are working with locals to choose a safe, interesting paddle route.

2nd podcast was Dirtbag Diaries, a short segment by a paid ski patroller who got her job at a time when she couldn't really ski.

I can't imagine how anyone (including me) used to live in the boonies before online shopping and expedited Canada Post. My mail carriers must hate me with all the packages arriving before the big race but it is far too easy to locate and obtain cool stuff!

Fyi, there have been some changes to the OARPS (Ontario Adventure Racing Points Series) schedule for 2013. The FAC races are no longer part of the series.