Training Log Archive: Bash

Yesterday I got two emails from Strava: "Uh oh! Shannon has taken your crown." What?!

I rarely post workouts on Strava but apparently, I had the women's crowns for two segments of Kolapore ski trail. I was bummed - not because Mrs. Miller had taken my crowns but because I never imagined I would ever have any Strava crowns. And now they were gone and I never even had a chance to enjoy them.

With a little research, I learned that I still have one other crown from 2 years ago. Out of curiosity, I uploaded 10 Kolapore ski GPS tracks from the past 12 months, which gave me three more. It's all quite hilarious and unbelievable. Leaderboards are one of the aspects of Strava that have made me feel like I don't belong there. I'm slow and I don't want to feel like I'm in a competition while I'm training.

There are two that look like this. Yup, that's how I roll - sharing crowns with Bob.

While 'Bent and Bob did a long, speedy loop around Kolapore, I took our neighbour Darcie out for her first serious ski loop. She's a snowboard instructor and triathlete who has borrowed her Mom's old XC skis because the downhill ski clubs have been closed. Skiing in Kolapore isn't for beginners but she stayed in control and did very well. We were out for almost 2 hours before we met anyone else on such a cold morning - and of course, it was Bob and 'Bent! After that, we met a handful of others but we almost had the place to ourselves. Awesome, chatty fun.

My Ambit3 has lost its mind recently when it comes to elevation gain. Today was a typical outing - about 11,000 meters of climb. My high point was 12,520 meters - about 40% higher than Mount Everest. Cool! Last week I switched to the Suunto app after their repeated threats to those of us who hadn't done so yet. So far, they're not impressing me.

Chilly, deep powder snowshoe before dinner with 'Bent, our neighbour Darcie and the 3 largest dogs in the neighbourhood pack, including both of ours. We gave her two old pairs of ski boots and some chocolate croissants. She gave us fresh-baked challah, which has become a regular treat on Friday nights. I love winter.

1 km of rowing, dumbbells and some slant board stretches for my feet.

A couple of Caron's YouTube videos - Happy Hips and Stabilizers.

I spent a few hours sorting through the Orienteering Ontario archives since I'm hoping to park in our garage one of these winters.

One thing that has surprised us as we dig through the boxes is the huge pile of cartoons that were apparently required by provincial orienteering associations 30 years ago.

Spectacular, chilly day with perfect fluffy snow and a mix of sunshine and snow squalls. 'Bent and I went for a long ski to a high viewpoint where I got out the buttertart that I'd carried along for the occasion. It was so cold that I had to scarf it down quickly so we could start skiing down. We met Bruce and Val King skiing with Richard Ellen; they're all old friends of 'Bent's. We also met and chatted with a skier, John Fallis, and a couple of snowmobilers - Cavan (also a mountain biker) and his friend. It's been ages since I've spoken with so many humans in real life in a 2-hour period. Thank goodness for the great outdoors!

Snowshoe outing with 'Bent, our neighbours Darcie and Marla, and 5 dogs. Shortly after we started, we saw a dog crossing a snowy field without an owner. Then we ran into neighbours we hadn't met before - Tom and Lisa - and they had met the owner looking for their dog. So we did some detective work as we hiked. We found tracks in a few places but didn't find the dog again. We learned tonight that the dog made her way home after dark. She'd been off-trail a couple of kilometres from home on a very cold day so that was great news.