Training Log Archive: Bash

O Cup #4 Ukrainian Club
Bendor and Graves Tract, East Gwillimbury

This was the closest orienteering event to Veinbuster's house in a long time so I talked him into trying his first O race. It was actually quite easy after I offered a solution to the old "I don't have a compass" problem.

Eugene and Igor had planned an interesting course with an O Cup box *and* an O Cup circle, which was a new one! It looked like a Venn diagram but the controls that fell into both "boxes" had to be visited twice if you wanted to count them in each box.

The main trails were hard-packed from local hikers so the running was fast. There wasn't much soft snow on top of the dense lower layer so it was pretty quick to move through the woods off-trail too. In a few steeper places, I managed to hit the ice layer, which added to the adventure.

I felt like I was running pretty well. I'd taped my gimpy ankle within an inch of its life although I never felt the tape kick into action. Most of the time my ankle is not inclined to get sprained, luckily. I've had some weird heel and arch pain since last weekend but I've been really fortunate that it hasn't been worse because it felt serious when it happened.

I was happy with my nav. I could have moved with more confidence from #3 to #4 but I'm happy with my route even though I walked too much of it. I left the trail a little early before #5 thinking it would be farther in the woods because my brain has trouble getting used to 1:5,000. Otherwise, I don't think I would change anything.

I surprised Eugene, who wasn't watching the finish yet, so that was nice! The SI software was confused by the controls that some people visited twice so the results will need manual adjustments but it looks like I won. :)

Thanks, Eugene and Igor! We came home with a bottle of wine and two nice crystal glasses.

I need to be better about cooling down after races so I headed back into the woods to look for Veinbuster. I thought it would be fun to shadow him and be available for consultation if needed. He had one control left in the first box when I found him so we continued from there. As a male, he has to do two more controls per box than I do, which is rough for a first-timer. (The Orienteering Ontario board has been discussing ways to handle O Cup handicaps better.) He did well and finished his full course. He was aiming for last place but there were still two racers out in the woods when we left. Best of all, he says he would do it again!

'Bent and I went on an Expotition (as Winnie the Pooh would say) this afternoon. We skied over to Palgrave East and around the Reddington golf course, then bushwhacked around their fence (sshhh!!) to access the Caledon Trailway that leads to Albion Hills Conservation Area. I didn't carry food or water to ensure I'd have an excuse to stop for hot apple cider at the chalet.

There were lots of people out on the Albion Hills trails for Family Day Weekend, and it was nice to see so many skis on the racks outside the chalet. It did mean we had to be cautious on downhills and politely weave around a few people but that's OK.

On the way back, we left the golf course across the road from Wheelie Woods so we could ski home through Palgrave West in the warm evening light. There aren't many better ways to spend an afternoon. :)

Thoughts and prayers to American friends as they deal with their National Emergency. I would have thought the emergency would be gun violence or climate change but hey, what do I know?

'Bent and I went to the Hockleycrest trails near Orangeville for the first time this winter. They're in great shape after the storm this week! They were rolled a couple of days ago, and some were track set although they had drifted in by today. After our visit, there are tracks almost everywhere.

These trails are maintained by dedicated Bruce Trail volunteer Dave Moule who buys gas for the groomer himself. So if you go, don't forget the tiny donation box tucked behind the sign at the parking lot (5 Sideroad near the Tai Chi Centre). https://hockleycrest.blogspot.com/

Today I won Adventure Enablers' Valentine's Day contest on Facebook, which means I get a small discount on one of their races. They were looking for adventure race sayings that could be printed on candy hearts, e.g. "I always have lube", "I can do it for 24 hours" or "Talk navigation to me". The entry with the most "likes" would win.

My entry was: "Slow down - we all have to finish together."
I'm not telling my Mom about this, lol!

Unlogged treasure hunt, gently shovelling snow in the area where 'Bent thinks he dropped all his keys. Ugh.

High resistance skiing at Albion Hills! I thought I'd get out to enjoy pristine conditions before the Family Day Weekend crowds but a lot of skiers had been out already. I had my waxless backcountry skis to break trail but there wasn't much of that so it was like wearing boat anchors. Good training though! Some of the trails had been track set while others had just been skied in. The warming snow was a bit sticky but the snowy forest was beautiful.

A Day with Damian Warner, Canadian Decathlon record holder. I'm posting it here because it's cool to see what an Olympian does in winter to get ready for 10 different summer events. Also, Coach LD's brother is Damian's head coach and appears in the video. Something is wrong with the music though.

The Colorado trail runner who killed a mountain lion with his bare hands agreed to an interview. Yikes, yikes, yikes!!!
https://www.kunc.org/post/meet-colorado-man-who-ki...

And there's a video interview too.

After the wind died down, AdventureDog and I went snowshoeing in the fluffy powder from the storm. I wore heavy plastic MSR snowshoes for extra stability for my injured foot. If I were really being careful, I wouldn't have been bushwhacking; some of it was really messy. It was still way more fun than snowshoeing on trail. I purposely climbed as many little hills as I could. I *think* A-Dog is a little tired now.

Miscellaneous - mostly legs and feet.

Foothab during the winter storm. I was able to do the basic stretching and balance exercises that hurt too much yesterday so things are improving more quickly than expected. I don't even think I'm limping anymore!

A short session of foot-friendly strength training. Turns out my injured foot is too inflamed for single leg deadlifts but everything else I tried was OK. My usual foothab basics - soleus stretches and 1-legged, eyes-closed balance poses - would hurt too much right now. As a runner, I'm pathetically optimistic but it seems like this may be a shorter term injury than it felt like when it happened yesterday.