Training Log Archive: Bash

Took Mom to a Piano Guys concert - fantastic! So cool to see people of all ages enjoying piano/cello because of TPG's Youtube popularity. They played music ranging from Vivaldi to Disney to Taylor Swift to U2 to Mozart with talent and humour. They're touring Canada until May 20 - probably not many tickets left but since they use video in the show, even bad seats would be OK.
http://thepianoguys.com/events/

C3 Boot Camp

Short lunchtime ride in Palgrave East. Tested bike computer, sun/reading glasses and bike/trek shoes for Storm The Trent. Wanted to put on the bike map holder too but ran out of time. Next ride! (Bike computer distance)

Last-minute Monday evening Hockley Loop with Mrs. Tiny. We practised with our poles and (later on) our lights. Most of the ice storm damage has been cleared although the trail is still officially closed in the northeast forest where the *tches are. Good pace, cool weather, great to catch up!

@Americans: Pack your valuable U.S. dollars and come up north to join us!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//opinion/dear-ameri...

If you need further convincing...
Twenty-three people have been shot by toddlers in the U.S. since the start of 2016 — exactly 23 more than have been shot by Muslim terrorists over the same period.
https://mic.com/articles/142348/in-2016-toddlers-h...

Ontario Orienteering Championships
Long Distance
Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

Chilly morning for mid-May with a mix of sun, cloud, rain and hail. Luckily, the last two waited till I was done!

Although Mono Cliffs isn't far away, I don't get there often since Hockley Valley is closer and hillier. It's scenic, varied and quiet so I will try to get back here before too long. We parked in the main lot today, which is a 22-minute drive from our house but I'd never been there before.

We got started late due to communication problems caused by poor cell coverage. It was worth the wait. Because Mono has an extensive trail network, I expected some long legs on trail but I spent about 90% of my race off trail. Very cool! Lots of different features and vegetation. It always stayed interesting. I had been expecting more scrambling on rocky terrain but there wasn't much of that. Instead I had several long runs on bumpy, abandoned farm fields. There was a time when my ankle couldn't have handled that, so yay.

I lost 25 seconds (according to GPS) on a control that had the wrong number on it - not bad compared to some other people. I continued running when I saw "227" but I was sure it was in the right place so I came back and punched it anyway. Then I saw the tiny ballpoint "213" - phew! I lost another 20 seconds when I passed below #9 and had to backtrack a little.

Otherwise, it was about as perfect a Long Distance race as I've ever had on a standard orienteering course. Typically, I count my mistakes in minutes, not seconds. Although it seems that the Long *should* be my strongest event because of my endurance sports, I've traditionally lost focus partway through and wrecked my race by doing stupid things. It undoubtedly helped that I was running my age group today so the course was shorter and didn't give me time to fall apart.

Because the Ontario Champs have traditionally been held on Thanksgiving weekend when I've been unable to attend for family reasons, I haven't competed very often. Since it's only my 2nd year in a 10-year age group, I thought it would be fun to push hard and see if I could earn an Ontario championship or two. Mom sent me an encouraging text on her way to church this morning: "Hope you have a threesome!" !!! :)) And now I do.



Many thanks to the Stars - a small club that took on a big job (with much-appreciated help from Ian Sidders) and gave us all a terrific weekend.

Ontario Orienteering Championships
Middle Distance
Waterloo

I can't remember the last time I did a formal orienteering race but it was great to see so many familiar, friendly faces. I wish we all got together more often!

Control #1 went pretty well. Woo hoo! Orienteering isn't so hard! Then I got very lost on my way to #2. Fortunately, I forgot to turn my GPS on for the first 12.5 minutes so there is no record of my stupidity, other than a long split Basically, I chose to follow something that looked slightly creek-ish instead of following my compass, and I got what I deserved. If there is a bright side to #2, it's that I somehow managed to relocate.

I was tempted to consider the race a total disaster and lose all competitive motivation but I've done enough orienteering and AR to know that races with errors often turn out better than expected. I pushed hard for the rest of it and didn't have any problems. Physically, it felt great since I've been running so much this year. The forest was spectacular. Apologies to any trilliums I accidentally stepped on. Age group win!

(Estimated distance.)

Ontario Orienteering Championships Sprint
University of Waterloo campus

I had a disadvantage in this race - local knowledge! I did two degrees at UW when there were fewer buildings and before some of the original buildings were expanded. These days, the campus is just familiar enough to be really confusing. I wondered if I might whip around a corner and smash into a brick wall where I expected to find open space - but that's Mick's thing, not mine. ;)

We started with a complex, clever sprint around the Village residences. I've never had enough practice with sprint symbols to get comfortable with them so I avoided the most complicated part of the map whenever possible even though it probably meant running farther. As Hammer said, the best route choice is not set in stone; it's whatever is the best route for you.

Then we ran south past the Campus Centre and crossed Ring Road. After a short run, I went over a little grassy hill to cut a corner, rather than following a paved trail. Well, *that* cost me 50 seconds! I cut the corner so tightly that I ran between the wrong two buildings and panicked when nothing looked right. I ran back the way I had come and saw the woman I'd passed a few minutes earlier. She was going the correct way - sigh.

We had a few more controls south of the Math buiding, then a big run along its edge to the Go control and finish line just to the north. I felt like I ran well - definitely faster than I was navigating at times - and I only had one serious error. Age group win again - yay!

Sending best wishes to our poor friend Wilberto who slipped on a hockey rink today, broke his hip and had emergency surgery to become a Bionic Man. So sorry. :(((

Today's planned Hockley Loop with Dee and Mrs. Gally was cancelled due to too many people feeling sick. I went running from home with podcasts for company instead - over to the Glen Haffy stile on the Oak Ridges Trail, then some out-and-back on the Bruce Trail. Same distance as the Hockley Loop, not as much climb.

I took a break at the farthest point, partly to avoid running back past the man who called me "dear" - the only human I encountered in 3 hours. I found this thing hanging in the forest in Glen Haffy. Does anyone know what it is? Timato, maybe Mrs. Tiny knows? It's about 1.2 m high. It said "Government of Canada" and "Plant pests" on it. Maybe something to do with the Emerald Ash Borer? It contained some plastic-wrapped disks that looked like loonies.



Apparently I trust Phatty and Salomon a whole lot since this was my first run in Speedcross Pros and I didn't leave myself any bail-out plan. This route didn't test the super grippy sole too much but I liked them.

Caron was mean to us tonight. ;)

Tonight's class was a departure from our regular style, just for fun - a modified yin class, which meant we held stretches and balance poses for a really long time until things got sore. Not my favourite but probably very good for me, especially the hip flexor stretch.