Training Log Archive: Bash

I went out for a short trail run before dinner and suddenly a voice in my head asked whether I had re-assigned control pick-up for three controls after one of our volunteers had to head home to relieve his babysitter. There was so much going on that I may have handed his map quickly to someone else but I couldn't remember for sure.

So instead of a little toodle around Palgrave, I turned right and ran to Albion Hills to visit the three control sites in question. The controls were all gone, and two of the locations didn't have any flagging tape either, so it looks like one of us did it, and all is well. While I was there, I ran to a few other control locations to remove flagging tape that was still out. By the time I got back to Palgrave West, it was raining and so dark that I could barely see the trail. Any longer and I would have been running by iPhone flashlight.

The endless autumn leaf show continues to dazzle.

Don't mess with ultrarunners.
http://trailrunnermag.com/people/news/article/1515...

Event: Star Tracks Mountain Bike Orienteering
 

Star Tracks results are now posted. Thanks, Mick and LJ!
http://stars.whyjustrun.ca/events/view/1603

Thanks to so many of you for supporting the inaugural Star Tracks MTBO event. Registrations soared in the last few days, and I know a few of you helped by promoting the race to your friends. I pushed it hard because I think there is room for some MTBO in southern Ontario, and if we had a poor turnout, it would probably be another 5 years until some club tried it again.

If you have suggestions for improvement, please write me or comment here. I have ideas for things we could do differently but you were out there so you know more than I do. There are always lessons learned in a first time event.

So many people helped out in various ways - putting out controls, vetting controls, taking them down, promoting the event, providing snacks, taking photos, etc., etc. My co-organizers, Mick and LJ (Michael Lucente and Laura Smith) put in a ton of work at a very busy time, just before they welcome their second son. Mick and I have been exchanging e-mails since July as we updated the map to reflect the past few years of trail changes. I got the fun part - riding the trails - while poor Mick had to keep changing the map every time I discovered some new anomaly. Big thanks to Mick, LJ and everyone who helped out. We are lucky to be part of such an incredible community.

Goose went out in the dark to place 7 controls last night (thank you!), which left me 13 controls to place this morning. Veinbuster appeared unexpectedly at the park gate so I had a helper - thanks! I got to do some extra hill training when I realized halfway between #13 and #14 that I had the flag for #14 but its stand was still lying on the ground by #13. Gorgeous morning. I should get up earlier and enjoy more mornings.

Fast last-minute pre-race ride to search for missing control. Found it and problem was resolved with the help of Goose and Mick.

Goose was going out after dark to put out some SI controls for tomorrow's race. Since he hadn't been on the course before and I hadn't checked my tiny ribbons for awhile, I used this as an excuse to go for a trail run in Albion Hills and hang much longer ribbons that would be more easily seen in the dark. Not that Goose couldn't find the correct locations but it was a cold night so it would be nice if he could just confirm the ribbon locations.

Glad I went, as the ribbon had been removed from one of the trickier controls to place in the dark (#9). The same thing had happened to #9 on the Novice Short course so I'm either going to find more missing ribbons tomorrow morning or 9 is just an unlucky number.

I met Mr. and Mrs. Coach Huet hiking in the woods and tried to convince them to come out tomorrow. Mr. CH looked interested - or maybe he was just being polite. Running felt great - loving the colder air! (Sorry, Harps.)

Then I came home to welcome Arthurd as our house guest on her 40th birthday! :)

'Bent texted me at 2:27 of the Vulture Bait 50K to say that he's finished the first 25K. That sounds like a reasonably cautious pace. Fingers crossed that he'll make it through his first-ever ultra without stomach issues. So far so good, he says, but he always feels good at 25K. He is experimenting with some new ideas from a nutritional counsellor.

Pre-race errands around Caledon. I thought I might go out into the woods to put out control stands but I've come up with a better plan that involves the mighty Goose. Unfortunately, that plan allowed me to eat cookies and write e-mails instead of running or riding.

BazingaDog is untrustworthy off-leash so we have very few good outdoor photos of him. Now that he can run around our new fenced yard, I'll have to take my camera out more often. He moves fast! Most of my photos were blurry.

Uh oh, Caron was wearing orange, which always means it's going to be a tough class. Ouch.

Yoga was also tougher than usual - half yang and half yin, lots of strength required. Unfortunately, I wrenched my bad shoulder yesterday when I tripped on a root while running and instinctively flung my arms forward. Thus tonight I had to do modifications for anything similar to a push-up or that involved twisting my shoulder in unaccustomed directions.

I've had no time for a shoulder treatment in the past two weeks and I haven't been doing my physio. Maybe after the MTBO is over...

Photos from my hike with Mocha today, a 1 km loop from our house. It's beautiful up here, hint, hint, so why not try some mountain bike orienteering on Sunday morning? :)
http://stars.whyjustrun.ca/events/view/1603

Mocha can't hike too far these days. Cancer spread into her lungs over the summer so she gets out of breath if she pushes too hard. She has no idea, fortunately, so she keeps galloping and sniffing with doggie enthusiasm. I hope we get to have many more hikes together.













And from earlier this week, BazingaDog and Mocha enjoyed their car ride home from Ottawa. :)

'Bent would like access to my "Find my iPhone" feature for safety when I head into the woods alone. It seems that he has a point.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/15/woman-str...

Just as I was going to declare my cold over, along came a big sneeze! But I think that was just my body's idea of a joke so I went for a short run around Palgrave West. Mocha and I had gone for a hike earlier and the leaves were so gorgeous that I wanted to explore further. Photos to come - from the hike, not from a 28 minute run!

Twelve trekkers have been reported dead near the top of the 17,769-foot Thorung La pass, the high point of the Annapurna circuit, after snowstorms and avalanches related to a tropical cyclone hit Nepal this week. Seventeen trekkers have been reported dead across the country, and a hundred others are missing.
http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/A...

Before we were married, 'Bent and I were on Thorung La pass when a tropical cyclone sent a huge blizzard our way. One person in our group froze to death, and the rest of us knew the risk was real as we shuffled along in white-out conditions. When the storm ended, one hundred people had been killed across Nepal. A few days earlier, a mudslide had hit Bagarchap, a village along our trekking route, just before we arrived. Three Canadians were killed there.

This week's tragedy is stirring up sad memories of a beautiful part of the world.

We're new to this and could use some advice from more experienced folks... We pulled a deer tick off 'Bent tonight. It was only partially engorged; he raced Saturday and Sunday, hence it could have been there > 48 hrs. Skin is bright red around the bite, maybe dime sized. Hard to tell if there is scattered rash beyond that since it was itchy and he was scratching through his shirt. He'll call his doc but I'm guessing local docs don't have much experience with Lyme. Any advice from AP Land?