Training Log Archive: Bash

Year End Review, Part 1:

2018 Training Hours by Activity + 2018 Report Card
(2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 totals in brackets)

Boring to read unless you are Future Me - I learn a lot by writing it each year.

Total Annual Training Hours = 333 hrs
(468.5, 495, 494.5, 470, 557, 505, 612)

Target was 525 hrs. Until this year, the moderate decrease in recent years was mostly explained by the fact that I haven't done overnight/expedition AR since 2013. My other training hours remained fairly consistent so the lower totals didn't represent major changes in fitness or habits.

This year was different - a complete blowout. I've been logging on Attackpoint for 14 years, and my training totals have ranged from a high of 612 hours (2011) to a low of 426 hours (2008). In 2018, I was almost 100 hours below my lowest year ever.

So what happened? I don't understand it completely but there are some contributing factors:

- Mom decided to sell her house and move to a 2-bedroom apartment in a retirement home. Downsizing and moving are huge, stressful tasks, and her house sold quickly so things were rushed. I now have a room full of boxes of family treasures that I need to sort through. It's been a major life transition for Mom, and my brother and I have wanted to support her as much as possible.

- All year I've been dealing with the fallout of a huge, expensive contractor error on our small raised deck. I've spent full days doing engineering analysis, making phone calls, writing letters and attending meetings - often on short notice. All this has happened against the backdrop of thousands of extra dollars and threats of "enforcement" from the Town of Caledon - the same Town for which I've volunteered hundreds of hours over the years. I could launch a lawsuit since I'm not at fault but I just want my life back and - hopefully - a decent-looking deck and some money left in my bank account. It's been super demoralizing to be treated like a criminal by the Town after paying the contractor $$$$ extra to ensure that the project was approved and legal. There is still no simple way out of this.

- I'm also the primary contact for a relative with health concerns and frequent doctor/hospital visits. I've spent many hours communicating and listening, researching medical conditions and drugs, worrying and wondering from hour to hour whether I should cancel plans and drive to another city. The concerns are legitimate, and I'm sympathetic and want to help but it means that my mind is often elsewhere rather than being fully focused on what I'm doing. 'Bent has been very understanding.

I know people with busy, stressful lives who still find time for training. I could have squeezed in training sessions around this stuff; I don't have kids or full time work. I don't really understand why it has affected my activities so much. It feels like random external forces control my life more than I do, which apparently reduces my motivation and makes me feel defeated. I've had trouble sleeping because my mind keeps churning, and then I don't have the energy for long endurance training sessions. 'Bent and I haven't had a full week of vacation together since the summer of 2017, and he's had his own list of external factors to deal with. I think many athletes have similar lists of external forces, and most of them handle it better than I have been doing. Most of the time, life is good and I'm happy but I haven't done well at translating that into motivation to train.

The external forces will continue for the foreseeable future so I'll need to learn to train when I don't feel like it - or maybe there's a way to convince myself to feel like it. I'm not sure how one does this.

The most compelling reason to get back to training properly in 2019 is CCC - the 101 km race at UTMB - in Chamonix on Labour Day. I did my first ultrarun in 2010. In 2011, a few of us decided to try to qualify for the 168 km Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. I ran it in 2013 and 2014 but only made it 75% of the way around Mont Blanc. I still need to see the last 45 km of the course, and I want the experience of crossing that finish line. CCC will give me both of those things. It's been a project 8 years in the making, and I'm determined to succeed - even if it means giving up butter tarts for a few weeks along the way.

Top Five Activities - 2018

1) Running + Snowshoe Running - 145
(222.5, 250.5, 188.5, 204.5, 153, 190, 138.5)
The 114 km Fat Dog Ultra in August was cancelled due to forest fires in B.C. so I missed my big race of 2018. A severe ankle sprain in September prevented me from doing a different race, and I'm still feeling pain from that. My only ultra was the 60 km Black Canyon Ultra in February, which was tacked onto a busy week of mountain biking and trail running.

2) Mountain Biking + Road Biking - 45 hrs
(53, 33.5, 37.5, 34.5, 60, 77.5, 89)
Like last year, this included the fun 100 km Mohican mountain bike race in Ohio. I need to set up my trainer to log some winter hours since I don't have studded tires or a fat bike.

3) Strength + Yoga - 30.5 hrs (Target was 80 hrs.)
(59.5, 82, 65, 65.5, 52, 36, 30)
Pathetic effort, particularly in the second half of the year.

4) Paddling - 30 hrs
(32.5, 17.5, 22.5, 14, 48, 31, 74)
This included our trip to The Massasauga Park with Timato, Mrs. Tiny, Mick, Laura and all the kids.

5) XC Skiing (Classic, Skate, Roller) - 26 hrs
(20, 30, 60, 38, 45.5, 55, 28)
Still doing my snow dance. It helps that we now have Tree Hugger ABC in the snow belt.

Former Top 5 Activities that missed the 2018 list:

Orienteering + Snowshoe Orienteering - 23 hrs
(18.5, 36.5, 13, 57.5, 55, 66.5, 73.5)
I've been on the board of Orienteering Ontario since 2008 and I also spent a year on the board in 2005. This is mostly a volunteering sport for me, not a sport that I do very often - almost never in its traditional form. Living so far from any club makes it impractical.

Adventure Racing - 8 hrs
(8, 18.5, 30, 0, 112, 26, 163)
I still think of AR as my primary interest but I'd rather do other adventure activities in Ontario than travel a long way for an AR. I'm the Assistant Race Director at the only overnight AR in Ontario so it's been a long time since I've actually *done* an overnight AR, even though I really enjoy them.

Trekking - 17 hrs
(47.5, 10.5, 64.5, 38.5, 19, 17.5, 16)

Part 2 of the Year End Review is "Training Goals", which I didn't write in 2018. Maybe that will help!

Happy New Year!

Storm, Browner, Scout and Contour came to visit last night. We'd planned a night snowshoe in Loree Forest for New Year's Eve but heavy rain kept us indoors, where we happily ate and drank without burning calories as planned.



So this morning we headed up to Scenic Caves to snowshoe up and down some hills. Little icicles hung from every branch after all the rain. It was beautiful! Light snow started falling.











We stopped at the warming hut by the Lookout where we made purchases to support local bakeries while chatting with the friendly staff member. We probably should have climbed a few more hills - oh well!

Storm, Browner, 'Bent and I took Scout, Contour, AdventureDog and BazingaDog for a brisk hike in Loree Forest, which got chillier while we were out there.



On the way back, AdventureDog and Scout - the two off-leash dogs - wanted to hang out together. They were probably talking about the rest of us.

It's a new year and I have a lot of work to do. I'm going to aim for some strength, mobility or yoga every day - even if it's just 5 minutes to maintain the habit. Tonight it was the basics: intense lower calf stretches and one-legged balance with eyes closed. These were the first things Dr. Bell's kinesiologists taught me when I was recovering from injury with their help a few years ago.

Instead of starting with a half hour of skate skiing, 'Bent and I did some actual skating. It was our first trip to the 1.1 km Woodview Mountaintop Skating loop at the top of Blue Mountain. It's fun but not cheap at $37 for two including tax. There was occasional congestion but it could have been a lot worse on New Year's Eve. At one point, a skater stepped sideways and cut me off, forcing me to jump off the ice and run through the snow to slow down, clutching at tree branches and trying not to trip over my skate picks. But there were also some nice open stretches and pretty views.

'Bent's skates were jabbing his ankle so I abandoned my goal of 10 loops. We can skate there another time. To make sure of that, I dragged 'Bent to Canadian Tire to buy new skates in the Boxing Day sale. Next time should be less painful for him.

Since it was only a 2-minute drive from the skating loop, 'Bent and I went to Scenic Caves for a ski on our way back. Conditions were slick and fast. I was wearing waxless classic skis, which rarely feel fast. It was uncrowded away from the chalet in spite of the busy parking lot. Great way to finish off 2018!

A nice social ski with Leanimal, who is visiting from France, and occasional visits on the trail from 'Bent, Phatty, Coach LD, Bob, Hermes and Hank as we all did our different things. Time includes stops to chat with various people. We adjourned to Tree Hugger ABC for an amazing Cheese Fest provided by Coach LD. Hermes brought me my very own Beaver trophy in honour of my work on Wilderness Traverse. A fun reunion!

'Bent and I only had time for a short ski at Scenic Caves so we kept skate skiing a little longer after our mandatory 30 minute prologue. It was snowing and the forest was beautiful after yesterday's rain and warm temperatures. There was a little ice but conditions were mostly good. I'm still hating the steep uphills on skate skis but flats and downhills are OK.

'Bent, BazingaDog, AdventureDog and I went up Lover's Leap (beside Switchback) and followed some Craigleith snowshoe trails. It was snowy, icy and muddy - always slippery. I guess I'll call it a run but there was a lot of climbing and there were areas of poor footing where we just hiked. The dogs had a fantastic time and met a bunch of other dogs on the escarpment climb.