Training Log Archive: Bash

Hard Core with Caron - one of her infamous "orange" classes.

A different class, alternating yoga poses and stretches with foam roller or massage balls on the same muscles. Less effort than a typical power yoga class but way more pain!

There are a lot of deer around here lately and our dogs noticed them at first light. So much for a good sleep!

I wanted to move my legs today so they wouldn't get creaky after last night's Hockley Loop so I did a quick pedal around Palgrave. It turned out to be my bike that was creaky; it's unhappy after I rode it through nasty mud and cleaned it up pretty well.

I've been browsing online lately... 27.5 or 29? Other advice? Specific models? I'm 5'6" with average riding ability - probably a little above average technically in Ontario terrain but below average physically. I want a bike that will feel fantastic on our local Albion Hills single track - rolling trails with lots of roots and a few rocks, tight turns and short, steep climbs. The other types of riding I do, including AR, happen much less frequently so it doesn't make sense to buy a bike suited to those purposes instead of my back yard trails. Outside of AR, I almost never ride roads. If I were to ride in real mountains, I'd probably rent a different bike. Ideas? Do you have a recent model bike that you love and would recommend?

(Bike computer distance)

Mrs. Tiny and I did a counterclockwise Hockley Loop tonight, just to mix it up. We used poles and hiked briskly up the bigger hills. Mrs. Tiny pushed the pace early on, leaving me no choice but to chase her so I wouldn't hold back her training. After an hour, we were back in my comfort zone - phew!

Since last week, the Bruce Trail volunteers have done the last bit of trail clearing and repair so we didn't have to do any bushwhacking for the first time since the ice storm. Yay, Bruce Trail Conservancy! Buy your trail memberships and make your charitable contributions - they've had a tough spring.

We made it all the way around to the north end of Hockley Provincial Park before we needed headlamps. We kept waiting for the moment when we would need jackets or arm warmers but it was a perfect cool temperature for running. The almost-full moon made it even nicer to be out.

Coming over a rise in the darkness, we met a porcupine who was adamant that he wanted to stay on the trail too. He jogged slowly ahead of us but refused to head into the woods. We were getting ready to bushwhack when he finally climbed a tree and let us pass by. He had an adorable face.

Great company and a beautiful night in the woods. :)

Boot Camp with Caron. 'Bent is back! He was able to do almost all of the workout.

Unplanned rest day due to computer problems.

Event: Storm the Trent
 

STORM the Trent, 15th Anniversary edition
Warsaw, ON
Trek Elite course, Solo

Coming to Storm feels like coming home - so many friendly faces and so much enthusiasm!

The weather forecast was perfect for toughening us up: high of 11C and 80-90% chance of rain every hour of the day. As always, it was worse looking out the window than it was to be outside. I debated clothing choices and was very happy with a polypro base layer under a Goretex jacket. There were a few moments when I was too warm but mostly I was comfortable, and I only felt cold after the race was over.

We started with a 4+ km paddle on the Indian River, out and back from Warsaw. This was shortened from the original 10 km paddle with a foot navigation section in the middle, probably because of the wet, chilly weather. Too bad because I learned today that training is a waste of time. The last time I held a kayak paddle (not counting a handful of winter sessions on our erg) was seven months ago, and it was by *far* my best discipline. It felt comfortable and I was able to hold a consistent pace for almost half an hour without feeling taxed. Mine was the 4th boat off the water, just behind the Long Sault Longshots. More importantly, I finished ahead of 'Bent. :)

However, I lost all advantage with a slow TA. Part of it was out of my control and part of it was just silliness. The first boats off the water had to be carried to the far end of the row, which was more awkward for me with a kayak than for two teammates carrying a canoe. My gear bag wasn't near my boat anymore, and I had to change shoes because I need to bend my feet to steer my kayak toe pedals so I couldn't paddle in stiff-soled bike shoes, as many people did. To top it off, I started out of the transition without a bike helmet, which Phatty Jr. thankfully noticed! I was wearing a hat so my head didn't feel bare. Oops, back to the gear bag!

We rode a few kilometers up the road to a bike drop CP where we accessed a trail into Warsaw Caves Conservation Area. This meant a little more time on our feet compared to the original plan. Warsaw Caves and its trails mostly consisted of wet, slippery slabs of rock - an excellent test for the Pearl Izumi bike/trek shoes I use for AR. They failed. I've been using different versions of this shoe for 9 years without significant problems. My #1 goal for this race was not to injure myself and there were some close calls on this trek - but luckily also some good saves. I'm curious to know how my new Salomon Speedcross Pros would have done; Phatty says they're excellent on wet rock.

At each CP in this section, there was a map with a CP marked for a later trek section. As an orienteer, I figured that would play to my strengths but my glasses were so wet and fogged up that I had trouble seeing the rocks on the trail, let alone the maps. It all worked out eventually. I picked up my bike and headed back to the place where we'd left the marked bike route on the changed race course. (Turns out this wasn't required - oh well.)

I rode to CP3 on a mix of gravel roads, pavement and ATV trail, arriving around the 3.5 hour mark. This was where we used the CPs we'd drawn on our supplemental maps earlier. As I ran in, Double_Downon11 was running out so I knew he was doing well in first place with Mr. & Mrs. Wokitoki only a few minutes behind. Thanks to the out-and-back running, I realized I was in a head-to-head battle with Una Hall for the female solo lead. I think she is faster but my much-cursed Pearl Izumi bike shoes saved the day. I ran into CP3 a minute or two behind her, jumped on my bike and left immediately. The next short trail running section at CP4, Brookwood Wildlife Area, revealed that she was only a few minutes back so I had another quick transition. Yay, bike shoes. (They were fine on regular trails that didn't consist of rocky ledges.) For the next 2 hours, I imagined she was right behind me, which was accurate since she eventually finished 6 minutes back.

At CP5, we started a 10 km stretch of mucky, rocky snowmobile trail. I haven't done much biking this year so it took a little while to wrap my mind around the change in riding style. By the end, I was riding stuff that would have seemed crazy at the start. In addition to riding, we had to keep track of our location on the map and watch for two CPs along the route. I mostly used my bike computer for this, with a little help from the compass. That allowed me to focus on riding rather than watching the map all the time. My bike and I were slathered in mud by the time I emerged onto a gravel road. My front derailleur was almost non-functional.

Perfect timing since we only had 4 more km of riding back to Warsaw, including some fast pavement. Great to see that Double_Downon11 took the overall win - huge congratulations on a successful year to date! 'Bent was 2nd solo, 1st Masters, which was impressive since he can't run properly yet. I was 4th solo, 1st Female. Lots of friends were on the podium so it was fun to cheer at the awards ceremony. Big thanks to Storm, Browner and the great group of staff and volunteers. It's a ton of work but STT is always well organized and fun.



We had a bit of post-race excitement, both good and bad. As soon as we put our surfski on the van roof, a gust of wind flung it off; the back end hit me and I tried to catch it as the bow landed on my racing kayak, still on the ground. Ugh! It looks like everything is OK but it's hard to tell; I have red paint marks on my boat. Thanks to FB and Willderness for helping us with our second attempt! Then we went to Peterborough for a brief visit with Phatty Jr., Kim and their kids. So nice to catch up with them.