Training Log Archive: Bash

Sunset paddle with 'Bent on Little Joe Lake, Algonquin Park. It's our first evening at Arowhon Pines lodge, the "base camp" for our multisport wedding almost 20 years ago.

Runners and Animal lovers: The Furry Friends 5K is coming to Burlington on Sunday Sept. 11. Over the past 5 years, their Whitby event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animal rescue charities. Our friend Caron Shepley, who has worked tirelessly to make Furry Friends a success, has added a 2nd event this year to help more charities but entries are currently lower than hoped.

Runners and walkers are welcome. Electronic timing is provided and there is a special category for participants with dogs. Great swag including a professional photo and an official race bandana for doggie participants. Please consider coming out on Sept. 11 or sponsoring 'Bent, who will be running with AdventureDog. I'll be running too but I want A-Dog to have the sponsors! :) http://www.furryfriends5k.ca/event/burlington

Funderstormin', Mrs. Tiny and Heidi came up for an evening Hockley run. We only did the first two side trail loops since our priority was dinner before the Black Birch closed at 9 p.m. After all the days with humidex of 35-40, it was a treat to run in moderate albeit humid conditions. Lots of chatting on the trails and one face plant by yours truly. Even before that, my right leg/knee/shin was feeling strange - and of course that's the one I landed on. Not sure what that's all about but it had better be nothing!

We followed the run with a great dinner, capped off with a surprise slice of birthday cake with a candle. Thanks so much, ladies - my favourite kind of party. :)

"There were Americans everywhere" as wind blows 1,500 U.S. partiers to Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/floatdown-sa...

I rode to Albion Hills to meet Dee in beautiful, non-heat-wave weather. She is strong on the bike so it was hard work for me, which was awesome. I haven't seen her since Italy and it was great to chat.

We had a 3-hour ride planned but unfortunately I got a flat when we were at the north end of Palgrave Conservation Area. I've had very few flats in my life and am not quick to fix them. It would be like watching a video in slow motion so I didn't want to put Dee through it. I pumped the tire up and we rode to our place which, luckily, was just 1 km away. I drove Dee and her bike back to Albion Hills - so sad to bail but we'd had a pretty good ride.

I timed my flat tire fix and it's safe to say that Team Sky will not be hiring me anytime soon: 18 minutes!!! However, I found a tiny thorn embedded in my tire so I resolved both the symptom *and* the root cause of the problem. For someone with extremely basic bike repair skills, that counts as a huge win. I even got the bike computer working again!

UPDATE: 'Bent just came in the front door and said, "Your front tire is flat." Ugh.

UPDATE 2: Dr. 'Bent diagnosed a small puncture in the tube I installed. I was super careful to avoid a pinch flat so my guess is that the spare tube got damaged over the years of riding around in the seat pack with other tools. It's the same spare tube I carried at Tierra Viva in 2013 so it's been around a long time. Glad I used it today when it didn't matter.

Stratford Festival for Mom's birthday

Thank you, Gord.

Another hot, humid run - close to 30C with humidex of 35.

A few days ago, Dave Robinson asked if I'd found a way through the "mess" in the northeast section of the Hockley Loop (where the 3 Itches are). Apparently, Dave and WandAR tried to find a way through last week but finally gave up and returned the way they had come. I didn't know about any mess but 'Bent said the area had been logged when he ran the Loop with Leanimal and Goose last month.

I started my run at the north end of that section out of curiosity since it's one of my favourite places for hill training. It's always sad to see beautiful woods being logged but in a managed forest, it's not a surprise. The turn-off onto the Bruce Side Trail single track isn't marked right now but I was able to follow the usual route with the exception of a 30-40 m section where the trail disappeared into logging debris. When that happened, I descended the rest of the bare hillside to the double track and continued.

After the first 900 m, the rest of the trail is unaffected by the logging. I continued south over one more big hill to be sure. Heading back north, I found a detour sign where the logging started. Turns out the Bruce Trail wants people to head north on the East Access Trail and exit onto 15th Sideroad 500 m east of the usual entrance.

There is no detour sign at the usual gate off 15th Sideroad but if you continue farther east, you'll find the gate shown below. This trail joins the blue-blazed Bruce Side Trail with an unmarked left turn onto single track after about 900 m so the Loop distance remains the same with a little less climb. See my GPS track.

If you know the area well, you'll be fine but it's not a good plan to do the full Loop right now unless you're quite familiar with it.



I'm not training for mountains so I ran over to Mono Cliffs for the rest of my run. I took a 9-minute break around the 90-minute mark because it wasn't going to be worthwhile training unless I let the effects of the heat dissipate. I drank a bunch of water, ate another salt pill and a snack, and (most importantly) stood still in the shade until I felt some energy return. That gave me a second wind but I decided to cut half an hour from my plan. Hope this heat wave ends soon.

Afterward, I went to the Farmhouse Pottery Cafe on Hockley Rd. for a thick slice of their awesome strawberry rhubarb pie and an icy drink.

Small GPS adjustment because I messed up the on/off when I stopped to chat with some mountain bikers

Canada's goal for medals at the Rio Olympics = 19
Number of Canadian medals as of today = 21
Great job!!

Around Palgrave East single track on another warm day. In the past, I would have called this a hot day but I've been forced to change my standards. Thank you, Climate Change! I failed to avoid the abundant poison ivy and horse poop so I'll need to glove up and scrub my bike tires and shoes with dish soap. Yay.