Training Log Archive: Bash

Down to Albion Hills and around some single and double track. There are still wet, mucky spots, especially at the south end of the park near the chalet. I'm taking my bike in tomorrow to get its dropper post installed and have it tuned up. After two months, I'm really happy with it and comfortable on the 29" wheels. Except in slippery situations, I now feel safer on the 29er since it isn't as easily stopped by obstacles on the trail, and it would be harder to get thrown over the handlebars because the wheel extends farther in front. On slippery roots though, I'd still be happier on the 26er with my feet closer to the ground. Maybe that will change over time too.

'Bent and I went to the quarry for a SUP yoga class. This was the paddling portion. Such a lovely evening!

SUP yoga - balance, balance, balance. Both of us feel fine after all the hill repeats yesterday. When we did the same session two weeks ago, 'Bent was sore for a few days afterward so apparently this "training" thing works.

You want that booty? Apparently, you need Squat Magic! Unassisted squats are soooo difficult. See the attractive model try one and stumble. Un-freaking-believable.

Back to Georgian Peaks with 'Bent to do repeats on the ski hill. Dee, Mr. and Mrs. Gally and Red joined us for part of the time - what a treat! It felt soooo much easier this time with lower humidity and a light breeze.

'Bent stopped a little early with hot spots on his heel. I did a partial climb in a downpour with black clouds but no lightning. When I returned, 'Bent was looking at a tiny nymph tick embedded in his bicep. (See his log for a photo showing its size.) I'm amazed he noticed that. I can see why nymphs are believed to cause most human Lyme infections. Yikes! I did one more partial climb and decided not to make 'Bent wait in the car any longer. We rewarded ourselves with another yummy pizza lunch at Pie.

Another day, another severe thunderstorm watch! I parked on Coolihan's Sideroad between the two parts of Glen Haffy so I could run out for loops in each direction and return to the car if needed. The rain held off until mid-afternoon, long after I finished, and there were only a few rumbles of thunder.

This was the 3rd day of a 4-day block of training for the UTMR 4-day stage race. Last weekend I did four 10K days, which was easy (phew!) This block is four days of 15K or 2 hrs per day, whichever comes first. One more day to go, then a rest day. Next weekend I'm planning two longer runs on consecutive days. So far nothing hurts.

When I got back, it was great to chat with Storm and 'Bent while we watched our four pooches race one another around the back yard. They all did their best to scare off a very brave (or rabid?) raccoon outside the fence. After watching more, we're thinking she may have babies living somewhere on our property.

Happy Canada Day!

Fun idea for a party tonight! Caron Shepley bought her husband Barrie an Ancestry.ca DNA kit for his birthday awhile ago. He knows he is mostly British but he has slightly darker skin and has been mistaken for a Mexican a few times, so they knew there was something more.

The test results arrived but only Caron and her twin sister Jill knew how it had turned out; they didn't tell Barrie. We were invited to a party where each corner of the room had a table with food and drinks from one of the "finalists": Mexico, Spain, Caribbean and North American Indian.

At the appointed hour, Caron took Barrie into the back room to blindfold him and dress him in an appropriate costume to suit his heritage. Guests were asked to stand by the food and drink table corresponding to our guess. We were also asked to guess a percentage for this ethnicity.

The answer was... Spanish! 'Bent and I guessed that correctly and 'Bent won the grand prize of two bottles of wine by coming within 1% of the correct percentage. The look on Barrie's face when the blindfold came off and he realized he was dressed as a matador was priceless.

Hot, humid, slow, hilly run on the Bruce Trail at Glen Haffy with a couple of hill repeats on Glen Haffy Rd. for a break. I didn't see a soul in the park; everyone else is smarter than this.

In case this helps anyone... I'd rather travel with an iPad instead of a laptop so I upgraded to an Ambit3 with Bluetooth, which means I can upload GPS tracks to Movescount without needing a download cable and laptop, and there is no risk of my watch filling up while I'm away.

I knew it was a "nice to have" feature but I wondered if I could get my GPS tracks into Attackpoint too. Garmin users can upload to AP directly from Garmin Connect but there is no interface for Movescount. Movescount can export a GPX file to be imported into AP but an iPad has no file structure so it can't do anything with that.

Ken had a great suggestion that worked! Movescount will export a GPX file into the Dropbox app, then I can import it into AP from Dropbox. I suspect this may come in handy with some other situations I'll encounter when I leave my laptop at home.

Easy run around our big, hilly country block. Thunderstorms were in the forecast so I did my run in two loops so I could head home quickly if it got nasty. The sky was gloomy and the wind became gusty but it looks like we dodged the bullet this time.

In the past, I've sometimes done this route as a time trial. I didn't do that today but even if I *had* pushed, it's obvious that I can't equal the times I ran a few years ago. Oh well, getting older is better than the alternative.

Part 2 of my run. The clouds and wind had become more ominous so I stayed within 2 km of home on the Palgrave West trails. When I got back, the sun came out - of course!