Training Log Archive: 1LIn the 7 days ending Sep 16, 2012:
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Saturday Sep 15, 2012 #
Event: Paul's Dirty Enduro
Event: Storm the 'Scarpment
9 AM
Adventure Race race 8:00:00 [5] 60.0 km (8:00 / km)
Storm the Scarpment
Team: I thought this was a beer run
Tag Team co-ed
Signed up for this with my co-worker Paul as an introduction to AR disciplines minus the nav.
Got an email from Paul on the Monday before the race saying that he'd hurt his knee. I followed up when I got back from Algonquin and he said he thought he could give it a go.
We arrived later than I'd hoped and I wasn't exactly ready when the race was about to start so Paul and I agreed that he should take the first lap. First, the run portion of the race had been extended due to the crazy low water levels in Kelso Lake. Second, Paul doesn't run. He's active but it's not one of his things. Those two things paired with his gimpy knee had Paul bowing out of the race after one lap. His knee was in bad shape so there was no way he was going out again.
I accepted the challenge and just mentally switched to a solo racer.
I LOVED the bike section of this race. Half the course was identical to Mine Over Matter but in the opposite direction which was actually easier to do. There was a lot of fast straight aways and some fun twisty technical stuff. I'm not a great technical rider but the technical stuff we hit for this race was very much in my skill range so it was just pure fun. I even managed to pass a few teams. The downhill at the end was so fast! I can't think of a ride where I've ever descended something so steep. Terrifying and exhilerating! There's a tiny bump about half way down the descent where I would get air each time I went over it. I don't generally do jumps so I did my best to avoid the air time as much as possible. It's possible that I should have just gone with it but I'll need some advice from some regular riders on that.
I wasn't crazy about the run with the obstacles. I'm not brilliant runner and I was wearing my bike shoes the whole time so the runs were just painful. They would have been more fun I think as a straight trail run - mainly because I really like running on trail. The climb at the end was brutal - in a good way though. It was a legit natural challenge.
The paddle section was moved further down the beach because of the low water levels so we had to run further along the lake to get to the boat launch. I had no issues with the paddle. I'd been warned that the rental boats would be awful but they were better than the Daggers I practice in so no biggie. I managed to pass a few teams on the water with each lap.
On my final lap I was neck in neck with a male solo rider. He pulled ahead on the final bike leg and I figured he was gone so I was surprised to find him sitting on a picnic table on the way to the paddle. He had decided he wouldn't be done in time so he just sat down and cheered me on. On my way back from the paddle he actually ran me back in which was SUPER nice! I really wish I had got his name but in all the hullabaloo at the end I lost track of him.
Which brings me to one of the things I love most about STORM events. The racers are always so wonderful. Always with a great sense of humour, humility and respect for each other. The volunteers are also bring a great mood to these races. Thanks Chief for volunteering and being there to keep our spirits high.
Other things about this race I loved:
- HQ music as always
- Getting to see Bugs In Teeth repeatedly on the course. I pretty much never saw Double Down on the course though. What's up with that??
- Well placed hilarious and/or motivational signs throughout the ride and paddle. One sign at the top of Fire said "ARGH!" which was exactly the noise I made when I ran into it! My favourite was "Hammer here. Suck on your own time." That became my mantra.
In the end Paul did 1 lap and I did 4 giving us a total of 5 laps.
We won first place. Sure we were the only co-ed tag team but with the 4 laps I did on my own I would have placed first in female solo masters and open so I feel that I earned it and I'm really happy with the results.
It was kind of nice having Paul side-lined because he was able to clean up camp and pack the car while I was running my last lap. :)
I'm also happy to report that he's keen to try again and I'm thinking we'll give Storm the Trent a go next season. He's also promised not to show up in cotton and court shoes again.
Team: I thought this was a beer run
Tag Team co-ed
Signed up for this with my co-worker Paul as an introduction to AR disciplines minus the nav.
Got an email from Paul on the Monday before the race saying that he'd hurt his knee. I followed up when I got back from Algonquin and he said he thought he could give it a go.
We arrived later than I'd hoped and I wasn't exactly ready when the race was about to start so Paul and I agreed that he should take the first lap. First, the run portion of the race had been extended due to the crazy low water levels in Kelso Lake. Second, Paul doesn't run. He's active but it's not one of his things. Those two things paired with his gimpy knee had Paul bowing out of the race after one lap. His knee was in bad shape so there was no way he was going out again.
I accepted the challenge and just mentally switched to a solo racer.
I LOVED the bike section of this race. Half the course was identical to Mine Over Matter but in the opposite direction which was actually easier to do. There was a lot of fast straight aways and some fun twisty technical stuff. I'm not a great technical rider but the technical stuff we hit for this race was very much in my skill range so it was just pure fun. I even managed to pass a few teams. The downhill at the end was so fast! I can't think of a ride where I've ever descended something so steep. Terrifying and exhilerating! There's a tiny bump about half way down the descent where I would get air each time I went over it. I don't generally do jumps so I did my best to avoid the air time as much as possible. It's possible that I should have just gone with it but I'll need some advice from some regular riders on that.
I wasn't crazy about the run with the obstacles. I'm not brilliant runner and I was wearing my bike shoes the whole time so the runs were just painful. They would have been more fun I think as a straight trail run - mainly because I really like running on trail. The climb at the end was brutal - in a good way though. It was a legit natural challenge.
The paddle section was moved further down the beach because of the low water levels so we had to run further along the lake to get to the boat launch. I had no issues with the paddle. I'd been warned that the rental boats would be awful but they were better than the Daggers I practice in so no biggie. I managed to pass a few teams on the water with each lap.
On my final lap I was neck in neck with a male solo rider. He pulled ahead on the final bike leg and I figured he was gone so I was surprised to find him sitting on a picnic table on the way to the paddle. He had decided he wouldn't be done in time so he just sat down and cheered me on. On my way back from the paddle he actually ran me back in which was SUPER nice! I really wish I had got his name but in all the hullabaloo at the end I lost track of him.
Which brings me to one of the things I love most about STORM events. The racers are always so wonderful. Always with a great sense of humour, humility and respect for each other. The volunteers are also bring a great mood to these races. Thanks Chief for volunteering and being there to keep our spirits high.
Other things about this race I loved:
- HQ music as always
- Getting to see Bugs In Teeth repeatedly on the course. I pretty much never saw Double Down on the course though. What's up with that??
- Well placed hilarious and/or motivational signs throughout the ride and paddle. One sign at the top of Fire said "ARGH!" which was exactly the noise I made when I ran into it! My favourite was "Hammer here. Suck on your own time." That became my mantra.
In the end Paul did 1 lap and I did 4 giving us a total of 5 laps.
We won first place. Sure we were the only co-ed tag team but with the 4 laps I did on my own I would have placed first in female solo masters and open so I feel that I earned it and I'm really happy with the results.
It was kind of nice having Paul side-lined because he was able to clean up camp and pack the car while I was running my last lap. :)
I'm also happy to report that he's keen to try again and I'm thinking we'll give Storm the Trent a go next season. He's also promised not to show up in cotton and court shoes again.
Thursday Sep 13, 2012 #
7 AM
Hiking race 30:00 [3] 1.5 km (20:00 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara 2
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 3
(race day 2, hike leg)
Quick notes:
Entirely on trail.
Kids now fully into race mode.
Team work suffered.
Day 3
(race day 2, hike leg)
Quick notes:
Entirely on trail.
Kids now fully into race mode.
Team work suffered.
Hiking 30:00 [3] 1.5 km (20:00 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara 2
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 3
(race day 2, trek leg)
Quick notes:
kids fully in race mode
team work suffered
Day 3
(race day 2, trek leg)
Quick notes:
kids fully in race mode
team work suffered
8 AM
Paddling race 50:00 [0] 3.0 km (16:40 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara 2
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 3
(race day 2, paddle leg)
quick notes:
Swim
Raft building
Team work discussion
Day 3
(race day 2, paddle leg)
quick notes:
Swim
Raft building
Team work discussion
9 AM
Cycle race 3:00:00 [3] 40.0 km (4:30 / km)
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 3
(race day 2, bike leg)
quick notes:
Final leg
option between road and trail
riding footware
navigation challenges with older maps and logging roads
teaching trail riding skills
good teamwork
staying motivated
one accident
water crossing
Day 3
(race day 2, bike leg)
quick notes:
Final leg
option between road and trail
riding footware
navigation challenges with older maps and logging roads
teaching trail riding skills
good teamwork
staying motivated
one accident
water crossing
Wednesday Sep 12, 2012 #
7 AM
Paddling (Canoe) 4:30:00 [3] 11.5 km (23:29 / km)
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 2 (race day 1, paddle leg)
Timing is all approximations based on memory. I know it was a 7am start for sure.
First I'll just break down the sections. I'll try and include more details later. If my first day entry is anything to go by then this will take awhile...
Quick notes: VERY windy morning - not for rookies.
___________
I'll say this time and again, I think I had the best group of the school! We scheduled a 5:45am wake up to be ready for the 7am start and, god bless them, the boys mostly got themselves up. I only had to buzz their tents twice. No banging pots and pans or anything!
We packed up camp and were at the boats for exactly 7am at which point I handed over the map and race instructions and became their silent teammate.
The wind had really picked up in the night so we made a point of staying as close together as possible during the paddle for safety reasons. The guys were really gung-ho and were pushing hard to catch the first two teams who had got off the line slightly before we did. The leading teams were clearly very good paddlers. I had a couple of guys who were excellent, some who were so-so and a couple who weren't so strong. Keeping the team together on the water was probably the hardest (vs. on foot or bike), largely because the winds really separated the good from the less good paddlers.
Once through the short portages our first checkpoint was in a tiny lake, called Pat Lake, off of the main water way which connected North Tea Lake and Kawawamog. It wasn't hard to navigate since there weren't a multitude of turns. We managed to overtake one team and ended up neck and neck with a second who had caught up to us.
Once on Kawawamog the winds were even stronger and it was a very big struggle to keep the boats close. I had hoped the better paddlers could have provided a wind barrier for the boats having trouble but it was just wishful thinking clearly.
However, we did make it to shore without incident and found we were about 4th into the transition checkpoint.
Day 2 (race day 1, paddle leg)
Timing is all approximations based on memory. I know it was a 7am start for sure.
First I'll just break down the sections. I'll try and include more details later. If my first day entry is anything to go by then this will take awhile...
Quick notes: VERY windy morning - not for rookies.
___________
I'll say this time and again, I think I had the best group of the school! We scheduled a 5:45am wake up to be ready for the 7am start and, god bless them, the boys mostly got themselves up. I only had to buzz their tents twice. No banging pots and pans or anything!
We packed up camp and were at the boats for exactly 7am at which point I handed over the map and race instructions and became their silent teammate.
The wind had really picked up in the night so we made a point of staying as close together as possible during the paddle for safety reasons. The guys were really gung-ho and were pushing hard to catch the first two teams who had got off the line slightly before we did. The leading teams were clearly very good paddlers. I had a couple of guys who were excellent, some who were so-so and a couple who weren't so strong. Keeping the team together on the water was probably the hardest (vs. on foot or bike), largely because the winds really separated the good from the less good paddlers.
Once through the short portages our first checkpoint was in a tiny lake, called Pat Lake, off of the main water way which connected North Tea Lake and Kawawamog. It wasn't hard to navigate since there weren't a multitude of turns. We managed to overtake one team and ended up neck and neck with a second who had caught up to us.
Once on Kawawamog the winds were even stronger and it was a very big struggle to keep the boats close. I had hoped the better paddlers could have provided a wind barrier for the boats having trouble but it was just wishful thinking clearly.
However, we did make it to shore without incident and found we were about 4th into the transition checkpoint.
12 PM
Hiking race 6:30:00 [3] 10.0 km (39:00 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara 2
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 2 (race day 1, trek leg)
Bushwhack (described by the organizers as bushcrash).
Quick notes:
Stipulation by the teacher up front that there will be no swamps. Uh. Sure.
No trails until CP3.
CP marking on the map obscured the contours around the CP.
Lessons for the boys - judging speed and distance.
Bog crossing.
Shelter building.
VERY late team arrival - or pseudo-arrival.
____________________
This was the most adventurous part of the entire race.
Day 2 (race day 1, trek leg)
Bushwhack (described by the organizers as bushcrash).
Quick notes:
Stipulation by the teacher up front that there will be no swamps. Uh. Sure.
No trails until CP3.
CP marking on the map obscured the contours around the CP.
Lessons for the boys - judging speed and distance.
Bog crossing.
Shelter building.
VERY late team arrival - or pseudo-arrival.
____________________
This was the most adventurous part of the entire race.
Tuesday Sep 11, 2012 #
12 PM
Paddling (Canoe) 3:00:00 [2] 9.5 km (18:57 / km)
Algonquin Eco-Challenge
Day 1 (pre-race)
Summary
This has to be the neatest thing I've done in ages.
As part of a leadership week exercise, Voyageur Quest offers an adventure race style event for high school students in Algonquin Park. I was hired along with 5 other guides, including Mj, to take a group of teens and teachers out into the park. Our goal was to teach them as many wilderness racing and survival skills as we could, then follow them through a 36 hour race to facilitate with periodic questions and make sure that they didn't go wildly off course.
The program wasn't a standard adventure race in that there was overnight camping. The camping completely threw me off because it meant bringing a pack with a sleeping bag, pad, and something to wear while camping. I wasn't used to racing with so much stuff.
Day 1 started with the group of grade 11 boys and their teachers arriving and being split between the guides. I had a team of six boys and one teacher.
I realized the extent of my challenge when they pulled out their footwear and asked whether they should be wearing their crocs or their hiking boots. They were provided with a gear list as I understand it but it "long pants" to these kids means long cotton track pants. One kid on another team did the entire race in loafers. LOAFERS.
After sorting through their gear and having a pack of clean clothes for the end readied for shuttling to the finish, we had a short intro session on map and compass followed by lunch, then it was straight into the canoes.
There was one kid in my group who was all over the navigation and wanted to take it on immediately so I let him navigate our canoe trip from Kawawaymog Lake to the island on North Tea Lake where we'd camp for the night. He was pretty good at working with features which impressed me. We were working with the standard 1:50,000 topo maps and he got the hang of identifying contours.
Frankly I'm more accustomed to racing than camping so most of my shared knowledge had to do with navigation, team work tips and how to move through various terrains. The only camping knowledge I had to impress on these kids was not keeping food in the tent - yes even if it's still in the wrapper. The rest they pretty much had down pat and were zippy with camp set up and tear down.
When the camp was ready we practiced more navigation - going over declination and triangulation using the islands nearby. Then I had them bushwhack to a bay on the other side of the island where we were camped. They used leap frogging to keep the bearing. I went over drifting several times but that concept wasn't sticking so well. They practiced this for about 10 mins before the bush started to get dense and hard to move through at which point they collectively announced that they had it and they didn't need to practice any longer. In literature we call this foreshadowing.
The rest of the evening was spend getting dinner ready and collecting wood to keep a decent fire going.
There were 3 of the 6 teams camped on the island, 2 on shore and 1 other camped on an island across from us. Based on the experiences of the day so far the guides all had an idea of what the rest of the race would be like. Some of us had a keen group others not so much. As I understand it, the kids have a short list of activities they can choose from and sometimes they get assigned to do the race even when it was the last thing they wanted to do. So not everyone on this trip wanted to be there. I had 1 or 2 of those kids but for the most part my group was pretty gung-ho.
Dylan's group in the next campsite was the most organized bunch of teenage boys I've ever seen. Mj's group, further along the island, .... less so.
For my part, I had a few new experiences on the island - not counting having to educate 16 year old boys, which is entirely new to me.
I was chatting with Dylan near his groups campfire when I spotted something swoop above him. I had thought it was a bat only it was larger, lower and white. I turned to the tree next to him just in time to see the flying squirrel scrabbling up the side. A little later exactly the same thing happened where we were talking with Mj and his teacher and again Dylan was buzzed by a flying squirrel and this time it was close enough that he felt is brush passed in the air. It was particuarly funny because in the previous year Dylan had been hit smack in the chest by a flying squirrel. Crazy odds. I think they like him.
My second new experience, sleeping by myself in a tent. As I said, I don't camp nearly as much as I'd like to so I'm not as informed as I should be on things like what to do if you think there's a bear outside your tent. Historically I take my cues from other people so without someone else there to gauge the appropriatness of my response, I found myself sitting in my tent with a flashlight in one hand and my knife in the other because I was convinced there was something behind my tent. Not a bear but something bigger than a rodent. I wasn't sure if turning my flashlight on would startle it in my favour or be detrimental. I didn't know if I should look or stay in my tent where an animal at least could see where exactly I was.
It was almost certainly my imagination and I did eventually fall asleep still clutching my knife.
Consensus from the guides I spoke to afterwards was to poke your head out, and shine your flashlight on the animal. Most animals would be scared away by the light.
Day 1 (pre-race)
Summary
This has to be the neatest thing I've done in ages.
As part of a leadership week exercise, Voyageur Quest offers an adventure race style event for high school students in Algonquin Park. I was hired along with 5 other guides, including Mj, to take a group of teens and teachers out into the park. Our goal was to teach them as many wilderness racing and survival skills as we could, then follow them through a 36 hour race to facilitate with periodic questions and make sure that they didn't go wildly off course.
The program wasn't a standard adventure race in that there was overnight camping. The camping completely threw me off because it meant bringing a pack with a sleeping bag, pad, and something to wear while camping. I wasn't used to racing with so much stuff.
Day 1 started with the group of grade 11 boys and their teachers arriving and being split between the guides. I had a team of six boys and one teacher.
I realized the extent of my challenge when they pulled out their footwear and asked whether they should be wearing their crocs or their hiking boots. They were provided with a gear list as I understand it but it "long pants" to these kids means long cotton track pants. One kid on another team did the entire race in loafers. LOAFERS.
After sorting through their gear and having a pack of clean clothes for the end readied for shuttling to the finish, we had a short intro session on map and compass followed by lunch, then it was straight into the canoes.
There was one kid in my group who was all over the navigation and wanted to take it on immediately so I let him navigate our canoe trip from Kawawaymog Lake to the island on North Tea Lake where we'd camp for the night. He was pretty good at working with features which impressed me. We were working with the standard 1:50,000 topo maps and he got the hang of identifying contours.
Frankly I'm more accustomed to racing than camping so most of my shared knowledge had to do with navigation, team work tips and how to move through various terrains. The only camping knowledge I had to impress on these kids was not keeping food in the tent - yes even if it's still in the wrapper. The rest they pretty much had down pat and were zippy with camp set up and tear down.
When the camp was ready we practiced more navigation - going over declination and triangulation using the islands nearby. Then I had them bushwhack to a bay on the other side of the island where we were camped. They used leap frogging to keep the bearing. I went over drifting several times but that concept wasn't sticking so well. They practiced this for about 10 mins before the bush started to get dense and hard to move through at which point they collectively announced that they had it and they didn't need to practice any longer. In literature we call this foreshadowing.
The rest of the evening was spend getting dinner ready and collecting wood to keep a decent fire going.
There were 3 of the 6 teams camped on the island, 2 on shore and 1 other camped on an island across from us. Based on the experiences of the day so far the guides all had an idea of what the rest of the race would be like. Some of us had a keen group others not so much. As I understand it, the kids have a short list of activities they can choose from and sometimes they get assigned to do the race even when it was the last thing they wanted to do. So not everyone on this trip wanted to be there. I had 1 or 2 of those kids but for the most part my group was pretty gung-ho.
Dylan's group in the next campsite was the most organized bunch of teenage boys I've ever seen. Mj's group, further along the island, .... less so.
For my part, I had a few new experiences on the island - not counting having to educate 16 year old boys, which is entirely new to me.
I was chatting with Dylan near his groups campfire when I spotted something swoop above him. I had thought it was a bat only it was larger, lower and white. I turned to the tree next to him just in time to see the flying squirrel scrabbling up the side. A little later exactly the same thing happened where we were talking with Mj and his teacher and again Dylan was buzzed by a flying squirrel and this time it was close enough that he felt is brush passed in the air. It was particuarly funny because in the previous year Dylan had been hit smack in the chest by a flying squirrel. Crazy odds. I think they like him.
My second new experience, sleeping by myself in a tent. As I said, I don't camp nearly as much as I'd like to so I'm not as informed as I should be on things like what to do if you think there's a bear outside your tent. Historically I take my cues from other people so without someone else there to gauge the appropriatness of my response, I found myself sitting in my tent with a flashlight in one hand and my knife in the other because I was convinced there was something behind my tent. Not a bear but something bigger than a rodent. I wasn't sure if turning my flashlight on would startle it in my favour or be detrimental. I didn't know if I should look or stay in my tent where an animal at least could see where exactly I was.
It was almost certainly my imagination and I did eventually fall asleep still clutching my knife.
Consensus from the guides I spoke to afterwards was to poke your head out, and shine your flashlight on the animal. Most animals would be scared away by the light.