Training Log Archive: 'Bent

Event: ECCO-Emergency Services Adventure Race
 

ESAR with Bash and Angus as Tree Huggers/ Bullfrogpower.com
Bash and I usually do this on separate teams. Originally I'd hoped to find some hammerheads capable of beating Beowulf and Canadian Outback for a 3-peat overall win. All my "ringer' buddies were away, injured or washing their hair, so I joined Bash and first-timer Angus, the coach of my previous ringers V-maxx and Britt. Little did I know!

We started with a river paddle. 90 boats, with some who couldn't steer to save their lives made for chaos. We managed to haul clear, and worked our way up. Angus turns out to be a great paddler, and we managed to pass the powerhouse Outback but couldn't quite catch Anystyle, 3 male cops. No sign of Beowulf.
Sadly the paddle was only 21 minutes. We came in 2nd, then swam the river into a bush bash through the Minesing Swamp. A "trail" run turned out to be knee deep muck for 4km where we couldn't tow so we lost a little time to strong running teams until we hit firmer ground.
Near CP3 we met Beowulf, Anystyle and Numsi's team all searching. We and Numsi got lucky and headed to the TA/CP4, where we met Outback running back to find CP3!
On the bikes in 2nd, but cunning nav by Bash got us to the special task 1st just before Raid the Fridge- a 100 piece puzzle. We got the 3 little pigs, but RTF got a map of Canada and finished 1st.
Back on bikes on singletrack, trail and road, where Angus did some good towing. Next task- Crossbow targets. No real penalty system there though.
Next we were handed an old and confusing orienteering base map of Snow Valley, for big climbs of course. Neck and neck with RTF and Anystyle, and expecting Beowulf any minute. Tricky time finding one of the CPs in the half-pipe due to the old map, ended up past it at the bottom of the hill and racing back up with Anystyle and RTF.
Anystyle just got the CP by seconds, and we took off after them. We ended with a climbing wall, a stretcher carry, then an inflatible obstacle course fun-house!

We finished 42 seconds behind Anystyle, for 1st Co-ed and 2nd overall. I was very pleased with this, and racing with Bash was the icing on the cake. Rookie Angus turned out to be a great teammate, strong in every discipline. And Bash claims she's only good in long races!
Numsi and his 2 firefighter amazons were right up there in the top a few places behind Beowulf.

C • Nice 3

Easy link workout and heavy on the stretching.
I won't log mucking out the dog-pond.

Took it really easy due to crappy air, and its anti-training effects. Kept the bulletdog down to a trot after her swim rather than the usual ballistics.

Workout #1 + some extra quad and hamstring work on the ball.

I had to drive in from Toronto, and you could see the brown air all along the horizon, from Downtown Toronto all thorough Caledon. I'm guilty of contributing :(

Did a *very* easy jog in and back.

Note:
Big thanks to LeAnimal, Flatfoot, Hansel, 3Pin and all the other Bullfrog Power customers who aren't responsible for the bad air.

C • Ahem 3

Bah. My new commute route that I spent so long cutting in the bush is now a forest of poison ivy:( I saw a couple of plants last week, and naively brought a hunk of carpet to smother it, strapped on the back of the bike. I'll need about 20 more now.
I'm not sensitive but the dogs could pick up some oil and give it to Bash or patients.

I really tried to throw off the chain from my modified idler setup. Bulletdog and I rode Salty Steven Singletrack, convinced that I can crash-and-burn somewhere. Wouldn't you know it- I made it up the Wheelie hill, I took the old and discontinued extra hard loop and made it up that (First time ever) and everything else, and never managed to throw off the chain once.

Bash and I were trying to keep up with 3Pin at Puslinch tract. Wow, a great ride on 20km of nice singletrack, and 3-pin's quick! A bit of it was probably at the limit of what a 'bent can handle, and I had chain issues again. 3Pin luckily drove his entire workshop there, so we rigged something up to keep it from flying off the midship idler.

Our planned paddle didn't work out, but I gave the lawn a trim on the pedal mower.