Training Log Archive: FB

late getting to T.O. so no time to hit the gym before Midnights Children premier.

Always avoided TIFF in the past, but it has it's good points. Enjoyed the movie and would like to see it again. Wish I had more knowledge of the (20th Century) history of the region (India-Pakistan-Bangladesh).

Event: Logs Rocks and Steel - A Multisport Adventure
 

Race report ... actually LONG race report :)

5th annual LR&S. I made the first 4 and wanted to keep my streak going, even though I was not physically ‘up to it’. My plan was to try and stay upright in Will’s boat (he opted out of racing and volunteered out on the course), which is super tippy and very fast… and then to maintain a steady pace on the bike and maybe push it a bit on the much faster back half… and then to see how the legs were doing and perhaps just trek through the run. I was hoping to come off the bike between 5th and 10th and give myself lots of time if I chose to finish it all.

The rain came down hard most of the night and when the early morning delivered more of the same it would have been soooo easy to stay in my nice comfy bed at the cottage (I LOVE THAT BED!)… the infamous “I slept in” excuse would suffice, I thought. But Will was a volunteer and since Syd had bailed last minute, I just couldn’t leave Bob short another volunteer… plus I’d already left some frosty treats out on the course for the final trek!!
I already knew the drill so getting my gear sorted at the race was quick and painless and afforded me 5 minutes to practice an entry, quick paddle and exit of the Viper… no swims and I was feeling a little more confident!!
When we set up in the water for the start I made sure I was WAY out to the east of the field, in the middle of the lake, for our southbound start. If I flipped it would take me ‘forever’ to get to shore and drain the boat, but if I was in traffic swimming would have been a certainty, not a concern. I figured isolation was the way to go on this paddle and at the word GO I was convinced I had made the right decision. I know this because based on the way FrankenJack took off from the pack, there was obviously a ghost or something equally scary over closer to shore.
By the time I got down to the south end of Gullwing Lake I was starting to feel a little more comfortable, which is good because I was being forced to come closer to the other boats as the waterway narrowed and turned west. FJ was long gone and I think there were 3 kayaks and 2 canoes either beside or slightly ahead of me. I dared not turn my head to look at the pack because the slightest head turn had me struggling to stay on the dry side of the boat (if there was one on this day). I had to laugh at my ineptitude as I fought to keep my balance in the huge 2 inch wakes coming from my competitor’s ships. Then, as we rounded the bend and started back north on Echo Lake I gained another level of confidence as I veered out left of the pack to avoid the wash of the other boats. I still couldn’t paddle with full effort, but I would put together strings of 8 or 10 strokes where everything seemed to feel ‘right’ and I could feel the boat surge ahead. I managed to pull ahead of the group I was in, with the exception of Breathe Magazine. I hit the portage just behind them and was able to quickly get in front as they struggled for a moment to get sorted out.
In spite of my inability to quickly enter or exit the Viper, I was able to hold onto second place behind FJ until the next portage (The next time I actually saw FJ was at the finish line!) Batt-Kins put in behind me after the 2nd portage, but they were off ahead of me because of my boat entry issues. I followed them most of the way down the lake until Breathe Mag caught up to us and then I followed BM to the final portage. In the end I came off the water in 3rd overall, 2nd solo at 1:36:35 – 6 minutes faster (and 15 lbs fatter) than last year, but having worked less and stressed more than in 2011.
I left the TA in second overall, only to discover I had a flat. I quickly returned to the TA and inflated my tire. I didn’t change it at that point, because it had only lost air since I topped it up 2 hours earlier. I had struggled a little to open the valve earlier and I thought that maybe I had just not closed it 100%. It seemed to be holding, so off I went. Within about 20 minutes I was noticeably low on air and eventually pulled over to try and fix it. I was just going to re-inflate rather than change the tube while I was covered in mud and grit, but I had pump issues (new pump 4 weeks ago!) and was getting pretty frustrated when after about 5 minutes ‘Bent came along and loaned me his pump. By now I had massacred my valve stem, so I had to change the tube, had no levers… yadda yadda yadda. So I’m having a yard sale on the side of the trail, with my crap everywhere and I finally got the new tube in the tire and pumping it up with ‘Bent’s ‘uber lightweight probably cost more than my bike’ pump. I had lost track of how many people passed me, but I remember seeing Coach LD, Breathe Mag and Bash (at least she didn’t spit on me and laugh as she rode past, like she did when my wheel came off last year!) Then Tom and Julia came along and Julia had a higher volume pump, which she loaned me and had me on my way in short order.
The trails where in much better shape than I had anticipated and I pushed it harder than I had planned for the rest of the ride. My knees were feelin’ it and I must say that 35(ish) PSI in a rear tire and my fat a$$ is a match made in hell. I got to see my boy, Will, with Harps at the second bike aid station and get a snack and some good natured taunting and finished the ride in pretty good spirits, even if a little sore in the legs. I had fought my way back to about 7th or 8th overall and likely 4th solo male. My ride was 3:21:52 which is 34 minutes slower than last year.
I took a full 10 minutes at the TA and then decided to give it a go without my trekking poles. I basically hiked until the end of the bushwhack section on the way out and found that my legs were feeling relatively good. I decided to jog intermittently to stay warm and shorten the time between myself and warm dry clothes and some food. I caught up with Coach LD, who was doing great, but didn’t give off a vibe of ‘really embracing the fine Scottish weather’. She got a bit of a leg cramp so I gave her some e-load and got out of her hair so she could focus on enjoying the rest of the run . It was about this time that a near hurricane blew through, which was kinda fun for the first 5 minutes and then kinda sucked. When I got to the aid station I had to run past it by about 50-100 meters to find my carbo-loading cooler, because the aid station was not quite where I had expected it to be. I took one and left the other two for the aid station crew to dispose of!! (Harps seemed most appreciative)
In retrospect a regular size beverage would have been perfect for the trek/run, as the tall-boy got a little bit flat and perhaps even (rain) watered down by the time I got to the last couple mouthfuls. Just as I was finishing it off Tom and Julia ran up from behind, so I used them a s a bit of inspiration and ran a little more on the way back, keeping them in sight and finishing about a minute behind them… and about 10 minutes before the freakin’ sun came out!!!

The run took me 2:33:59. 13 minutes slower than last year, but last year I was nursing an injury and didn’t want to push it before the ARWC’s. Total I was about 48 minutes slower this year, took 12:30 in TA vs 5:30 last year and I believe I enjoyed it more, in spite of the crappy weather!!!

C • Well Done! 8

incl 15 mins of rehab (eccentric calfs and stretching)

bizarre to be riding inside on a night like this... but it was all timing and needing to do some specific leg rehab
Hill int program

knees started to hurt... cut it short

hab