Training Log Archive: Bash

Groggy this morning after trying unsuccessfully to sleep as trains chugged by my least favourite campground in the world, Oastler Lake Provincial Park. Official Motto: "There's nowhere else to stay around here. Deal with it."

But it was a perfect day, and Parry Sound has a Starbucks so I got sufficiently caffeinated to do a Georgian Bay paddle out of Snug Harbour and around Franklin Island. At times 'Bent and I had a brisk headwind but the water didn't get too wavy even by the afternoon, so paddling conditions were perfect.





We had a long stop right at the beginning when my rudder only went down partway. The cord had shrunk over time. The last person to use this sea kayak was Hermes, and I vaguely remember her saying something about the rudder not working. Hmm, I guess this was it but luckily she won that race (Logs Rocks & Steel) anyway. Sorry, Hermes!

Lots of people were camped on Franklin Island but it still felt wild and rugged as we paddled along its outer shoreline.



I had a marine chart for much of our route but hadn't been able to find my topo map. 'Bent downloaded a free topo map onto his phone. As suspected, it's a great app that is less practical than paper if you want to paddle at the same time as you read the map. Other than that, it worked well.

Beautiful day!













Time deducted for rudder repair and lounging on the rocks eating chocolate croissants for Second Breakfast.

No training but I hit my max heart rate when I realized that nearly all the other women had interpreted today's wedding invitation differently.

Instructions were: "Please dress casually and wear comfortable shoes." The invitation referenced 1.3 km of walking to/from the outdoor wedding site, an afternoon of lawn games, dinner, dancing and an evening campfire. Ladies, before you read further, what would you have worn? Changing during the day would mean changing in your car so you would probably stick with one outfit.

The correct answer is: a dress about 80-100% as fancy as you would wear to a regular wedding, with nice jewellery and low-heeled sandals you can kick off for the lawn games. Oops! I wore dressy capris and short-sleeved shirt, thinking I might be overdressed for the lawn games. Um, nope. I wasn't entirely alone in my choice but I was definitely on the un-dressy end of the continuum and felt a little stressed about it when we first arrived. Too bad, I love dressing up!

When the bride came up the aisle, she really made me smile and my stress melted away. Partly that's because C and C are such a happy, well-matched couple and their entire wedding day was wonderful. We've known her since before she was born.





But also, I felt way, WAY more relaxed after seeing the bride's awesome wedding shoes. :) It was a great reminder that she isn't the type of person to care if her guests were dressed differently from one another. Fun celebration!

Not a planned rest day but ran out of time.

We almost signed up for Muskoka River X since the dates finally work for us this year - but 'Bent (new Attackpoint name: "Wet Blanket") thinks we ought to have trained for it by actually canoeing a few times this year. Sheesh.

@Map lovers: Cool story about the Soviet Union's remarkable maps made during the Cold War.
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/secret-cold-war-maps/

Ladies' Day in the Beaver Valley! Hermes had planned a terrific canoe paddle on the Beaver River from Epping to Heathcote, followed by a nice run back to our cars. Coach LD and I were excited!



Goose liked our plan except for a slight technicality: he isn't a Lady. So we just decided to wear skirts, which gave him a way to fit in. :)



This section of the Beaver River was serene, surrounded by farmland and forest. There were only a few riffles and rocks. It was deliciously cool compared to the weather we've been having, and it was mostly sunny with a few drops of rain. So relaxing. :)

We flipped the canoes near the put-in in Heathcote and ran back to Epping via a surprisingly hilly mix of trails and roads. It reminded me of the Creemore Vertical Challenge since there were long, spectacular views from the roads. Hermes took us on a side trail that wound along a pretty brook and up another hill.

After returning to Heathcote to pick up the boats, we made our second visit of the day to the Heathcote Bakery. Most of us scarfed down berry scones pre-paddle and buttertarts post-paddle. Excellent choices. :) Then we went to the bakery in Thornbury, which had yummy sandwiches and coffee. We capped off a wonderful day with a tour of Hermes and Bob's new house - and were thrilled to be sent home with freshly made banana bread!

Hockley Loop with Dee on a humid day. Dee arrived early and ran a little extra before I got there, then she added a little more by running up some hills and back to me. I like to find ways to run with faster friends so this worked out well.

Great to catch up. Both of us ran long races 17 days ago, and our legs reminded us about it. I felt like I was going faster than usual because Dee was pulling me out of my comfort zone but our time was the same as I've done a few times, so apparently my comfort zone insists on more comfort than it used to!

'Bent and I paddled around Island Lake in Orangeville. After 10 years of fundraising and construction, the Vicki Barron loop trail around the lake is now open! Part of it runs on big bridges across the water since some of the shore is privately owned and other areas are sensitive wetlands. So now we'll be able to do an 8 km paddle bricked with a relatively flat, partially forested 10 km run. It's probably worth buying a family membership again next year; we haven't done that in awhile.
http://orangeville.ca/news/2015/07/17/trail-at-isl...

We were going to run a little today but... Dairy Queen.