Training Log Archive: 'Bent

Nice easy tour of the Collingwood trails with our neighbour Dennis. Who knew there was such a nice waterfront and so many bike trails? I hand’t seen it.

Pretty River with Tarno and Koko. Steamy hot, even at 7am. Solid run.

Easy paddle with Bash and AD on a nice calm G Bay.

Trot up the grind before dinner.

Commute with AD. He had a sore front leg yesterday but seems ok.

Stoopid appts and thunderstorms messed up my morning run, but BZdog and I ran home in the muggy evening.

Pacing Timato at Western States.
We were to meet Tim at Michigan Bluff for an aid station, then I was to pace him from Forest Hill. Tim was behind schedule due to heat up to 102F, so the 8pm deadline for pacing passed and I had all my gear with me at Michigan (55 mi) so we started there.

Evening was cooler, and Tim started to feel good. We picked up the pace as night fell, and had an easy jog to Forest Hill (62mi) , where we met the whole crew. From there we kept up the easy jog and hiked the uphills, passing over 75 runners who were walking or slumped in chairs at aid stations.

At this pace we were able to chat, and I could eat some fruit and drink a bit more than just Infinit. I even had a small grilled cheese sandwich and a rice avocado ball. Tim was very efficient at aid stations, most of which didn’t allow crew but tried to outdo each other with festive lighting and helpful volunteers.

Nice runnable trails. Tim was solid, and kept a steady pace up to Rucky Chucky (78mi) where I handed off to Bash for the river crossing and the next 16 miles. I felt quite good, but after I stopped I felt I had worked myself a bit.

Tim eventually moved up 110 places from his low point, for a good finish on a tough cooker of a day. Amazing comeback!

C • well done :) 5

I bashed my little toe yesterday on a chair leg, and it turned purple and hurt to run.

Luckily, I was able to get my foot fixed by the guy who literally wrote the book on Fixing Your Feet, John Vonhoff.


Not broken, Buddy-taped very neatly, good to run.

C • Cool! 1

Hike/jog with Ms Tiny up over Emigrant pass and on some of the WS route.
Spectacular!

Another dogless commute as Bash dropped them off at doggie camp.

Poochless pedal to work. Too hot for the beasts.

Workout 3 plus rehab.

Heat acclamation run in 32c, heat warning and sauna-like humidity conditions. Easy pace, walked steep hills. Actually didn’t feel too bad- drank about 800ml, and the last small lap I tried stuffing my hat with ice.

C • Convenient! 5

Run up switchbacks and over to Loree with Dee and Bash. Did a Georgian repeat too. I miss my poles! Nice morning run.

Nice run with Tarno, Koko and AD in Pretty River.

Commute with AD. Warmer than forecast in the afternoon so no extras with the little guy.

Workout 2 + rehab

Run to work with the big boy in sauna-like conditions. He wore the extra-cooling jacket and had a swim.
Stormy and windy on the way home so we got a ride.

Easy trot with the big boy. Nice cool morning, but hot by 6pm.
He was excellent- on leash.

Singletrack with AD. Some sore muscles from 3:10 split behind BZdog yesterday.

Furry Friends 5k with Bazingadog.
Despite his crazy run yesterday, the big boy went out the gate at full bore.
Top speed was 2:40 uphill out the start.
He was right on the pace bike’s wheels, and it took Tristen the OFSA 5k champ (who went on to win in 18) almost a km to catch us. Bazingadog hauled after him well to the 2k mark, but when he went around a bend the big guy backed off. He was first dog after 1 lap with a good margin, but then he decided it was time for a drink, a swim, a bathroom break and some butt-sniffing then a casual trot on the second lap, so we were off the podium.
Nice swim in the kiddie pool for him after the finish. Good to see Bash and Logan come in well.

Nicely organized event with goodies for man and beast.

(2.5 hrs) Hauling, heaving logs and sawing fallen trees.
Also weed-whacked overgrown parts of my commute, but with battery power, not by hand. Princess.

C • Haven't seen that Tiara lately. 1

Dingle and Haffy. Took a while for the legs to get going- they were heavy and sluggish to start, but ok once I warmed up.

Cr@p. When Bash got home with the dogs and we sat down to dinner l realized I’d left the back gate open.
Of course Brody took off. A frantic hour of searching was a no-go, with me riding up and down the trails and roads, while Bash shook a bowl of dog food and called. He came shuffling up to the house just as night was falling. He was filthy and panting so hard his tongue was almost on the ground. Not exactly a taper for Furry Friends nor a relaxing dinner.

He may be too pooped to run tomorrow. I just about had a heart attack too.

C • Bazingadog 3

Hockley with Goose and Adventuredog.
Perfect cool morning and the valley in maximum lushness.
We stopped for AD to have some nice cool swims- the creeks and rivers were crystal clear. Very nice loop today.

Easy commute with AD.

2-dog commute, with the big boy on harness. Nice and cool for them.
Made home again before dark.

Doing some cram hill training- Charlevoix and bushwhacking up extra hills with AD. North face of Mt Tobler route is gone due to deadfall.

Commute with extra hills. The big boy was on harness, but went pretty bazinga in the usual spots. At one point he was hauling me like crazy, sniffing around, but I spotted a little fawn hiding in the bush before he did and got him out of there.

Mohican 100
Bash, FB and I that went down for this one.



Unlike last time it had rained the days before, and the morning was dark and foggy. I seemed to move up a bit more in the pack at the start, as riders were having issues in the slimy wet clay puddles.
The actual Mohican singletrack was fairly dry, but with slippery roots. I was riding better than last time in a faster section of the pack. The singletrack was great, about 40km of nice flowy forest trails.

Unfortunately on one shift I heard a loud clunk, and my rear hub sounded like I was grinding rocks back there.
I had to pull over into the bush and poison ivy and take apart my drivetrain. With my riding contacts I can’t see close up. Luckily I had some folding reading glasses in my tool kit. I struggled with the quick link on my chain, gave up and used the tool to break it. I was hoping it was a jammed idler or the clutch was stuck, but no luck, the freewheel was jammed.
Trying to reassemble the chain my quick link flew off into the poison ivy, but I carry 2 so I got it back together.
I managed to get back on, and as long as I didn’t coast the bike worked ok despite awful sounds, but I was now behind a lot of riders who had to get off or fall on obstacles that were rideable for me. I managed to nurse it into aid station 1, but knew it would fail completely if I continued, so the day was done. I did have a lot of fun on the nicest singletrack.

Amazingly, Zach the volunteer mechanic was keen to have a go. He took off the wheel, and tore apart the cluster and hub at amazing speed, with parts all over the table. He disassembled the freewheel, pulled out the jammed pawl and managed to service and rebuild it in minutes, and shockingly I was OK to continue. It looks like I lost 30-35 min max.

After that I was back on, even though I had mentally checked out. I slowly worked my way back up the field a bit. It was hard for me to pass folks on slippery roots or rock gardens, but some let me by and I was able to ride some of the long climbs where everyone else at this part was walking.
I think everyone had to dismout a bit on sections that were rideable last year - I certainly was walking more.
I still took my time aid stations, where the voluteers were first class. I was able to drink some coke, eat some fruit and chips, and carry on. I made good time on the gravel sections, but dialed it back a bit ln some downhills as 60 kph on loose gravel could really hurt. I rode all the massive climbs this year, but was low on energy for the final singletrack.

In the end I was around 25 min slower than last year, but still mid pack despite the mechanical problems. My riding time was actually faster. The free craft beer went down well!



Bash finished looking good, and FB toughed out the 100 miler looking no worse for wear. Again, a well run race, but plenty tough.

C • Nice work 4