Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I went for a beautiful, sunny ski around Kolapore as the temperature rose from 0C to +5C. Most of the novice County Forest trails were in good shape. It was more variable on the technical trails where bits of rock started peeking out on the tracks in some places, making the downhills adventurous. Even on those trails, conditions were usually good.

We skied Southern Crossing to see what the wetland areas were like. Not as wet as we'd expected but as things warmed up, the snow got thin in places. The snow was turning into sticky mashed potatoes by late morning so it was a good time to stop.

Overall, it was a great ski. We'll need more snow to keep skiing in Kolapore and it looks like it's coming on Wed/Thurs. In the meantime, we're packing up to head home from a good vacation.

To celebrate Family Day Weekend, 'Bent and I skied with a family! We met Timato, K-Way and Aubrey (who's gotten taller again) at Scenic Caves - our first time there this season. It was great to catch up! The wind was very chilly so we enjoyed a break at the warming hut by the Lookout.

While Timato and Aubrey enjoyed the playground, 'Bent, K-Way and I went for another loop on the trails.

Then we checked out the playground too.

I really like the snowshoe trails at Scenic Caves. They've made an effort to keep the trails interesting by separating them from the ski trails, taking them through different terrain and including some good hills. We kept a brisk pace and finished with a big climb on tired legs from the week's activities.

Family snowshoe with dogs.

The snow came back! Probably not enough for the rockier trails at Kolapore but it was beautiful at Highlands today. Fluffy snow fell all day so it was perfect for slow classic skiing in a snow globe. There were even a few times when I had to make my own track because the snow had drifted in. Conditions will be great for Family Day weekend.

After yesterday's rain, the ski centres were closed today so 'Bent, AdventureDog and I went to Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Park. We hiked a section of Bruce Trail that we've only done once or twice before.

'Bent's dental office is open so there was some work involved - looking at a tooth photo, authorizing an X-ray and following up. But if he had to work, it was a nice place to do it. It would be nicer if there were more snow, of course.





AdventureDog will jump a long way to avoid getting his feet muddy.

Dee and I met at the Poplar Sideroad dead-end and ran/hiked up the south snowshoe trail at Osler to the top of Pretty River. We ran some Bruce Trail and side trail sections before coming back down another Osler snowshoe trail near Poplar Sideroad. By the end, the wind was gusty enough that I was very happy to be dropping below the top of the escarpment.

The trails were a mix of hard-packed snow, mashed potato snow, slush and ice so there was lots of hiking mixed with the running. I wore my old Salomon Snowcross - spiked shoes with built-in gaiters - and all went well. We had a little rain but not nearly as much as forecast. It was great to catch up with Dee. :)

Skate ski at Highlands on a bluebird morning! I'd only skate skied for 2 hours in the past 3 years so I wasn't sure how long I would last. Once I climbed up to the top, conditions were really nice, other than a few thin areas that were easily avoided. I've seldom skate skied at Highlands so my Strava showed 16 segment PRs, 5 second fastest times and only one segment that wasn't an "achievement", lol! That one was my tentative route from the chalet when I was trying to figure out a way around the high school ski race course.

The snow was getting soft and starting to grab by late morning so 'Bent and I quit while we were ahead. I suggested that we walk around Blue Mountain Village for the first time in ages. We found several open restaurant patios so we had our first restaurant meal in ages, sitting in brilliant sunshine. Nice bonus. :)

My sports med physician phoned yesterday about my Achilles MRI.

His summary statements: "Nothing too terrible. Exactly what we expected. Classic overuse injury." Most of the findings were preceded by the word "mild": "mild retrocalcaneal bursitis", "mild thickening of tendon", "a little swelling in the subtalar joint", "mild stress in the bone at the Achilles insertion", etc. There's some degenerative change mixed in with healthy-looking tendon, which we knew from the ultrasound two years ago.

He had wanted me to limit my activities before the MRI for longer than I was able to, given that I got a short-notice cancellation. So it's possible that a finding or two might have been influenced by a long ski a few days before the test. But mostly the MRI showed the kinds of changes that would be expected.

Because I responded to shockwave treatment last year, he said I could have more of that. It doesn't work for everyone but the size of the sore area on my heel shrunk a lot during the time when I was getting shockwave and active release therapy, and also doing physio exercises. However, there's a risk that it could further irritate the bone at the Achilles insertion. I could try PRP with the caveat that there's no guarantee I'll respond to it, but there's little risk other than the cost. So that's what I'll try next. I need to find a time when I can plan 4 weeks without running though.

'Bent and I planned to ski at Highlands this morning but made a last minute switch to ski out our back door. Today may have been our last Kolapore ski of the winter. :(

The first part of the ski across our property and Crown Land was pretty good - just a little rock avoidance in our back yard. When we reached the Kolapore Church Trail, it was mostly icy, frozen slush, which was fast and a little dangerous. As soon as it warmed up, it would just be slush so we'd picked the best part of the day.

But still, it wasn't very enjoyable and we didn't dare ski any serious hills. So we headed into the forest and skied all over the place, Snowgaine-style. So much fun!



Some of the bushwhacking was slap-your-face-with-a-sapling skiing.





Some of the forest was wide open.





There was enough snow to ski over most of the boulders and logs. There were exposed rocks and logs but we usually saw them in time.

I hope today wasn't the last Kolapore ski of the season but if it was, it was a great way to go out. :)