Adventures..

After much begging and pleading Luke has agreed to participate in a team with me in a muiltsport race held in wiarton in a couple weeks.

You see I really want to do this race. It is Kayak, MTN bike, trail run. On the Bruce Peninsula. Sounds fun right?? Except I can't kayak. Sure I paddle around once a year in a shallow lake, but there is no way I am going out on Georgian Bay by myself to drown. So I beg and plead and finally, after Luke realised just how short the race is, he agrees. The deal is we paddle together 4km  in a tandem kayak, ride separate Mtn bikes for 15k, and run 5.5k trail while staying within10metres of each other.

As of now the major issue is gear. We rent a kayak, already have gear for Mtn biking and running right...but WRONG. The gear list is tremendously long. We don't actually need to buy more then a couple items to assembling it and carrying it seems like a huge challenge.

The kids will most likely to the kids race in the afternoon, if you take a look at the website you will see Maya and her triathlon outfit from last year.

 

2012 MANDATORY GEAR

ALL PARTICIPANTS, FOR ALL STAGES:

•750 ml water carrying capacity

•Whistle (attached to PFD for paddling stages, readily accessible during all other stages)

•Area Map (provided in race kit) marked with transition locations if unfamiliar with area.

•Small First Aid Kit containing:

•Pressure Dressing / Sanitary napkin to treat a significant bleed if it occurs

•Emergency Blanket to treat hypothermia

•10 bandaids

•Tensor Bandage (min 3” width, standard length) to treat bone/muscle trauma

•Hat/Buff

•1 package of liquid energy (power gel, honey, etc)

•1 roll (min = 5 metres) of adhesive tape minimum 1” wide (duct tape, first aid tape etc).

•Recommended: knee high socks / long pants to reduce risk of contact with poison ivy

•Recommended: fully charged cell phone in watertight container.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR CYCLING STAGES:

Each participant must:

•Wear an approved cycling helmet

•Use a Mountain bike in good condition with properly functioning gears and brakes

Carry a spare tube and pump

•Recommended: tire levers, chain repair tool, multi-tool

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR PADDLING STAGES

•Approved life jacket worn at all times when on the water*

•Use a Kayak, Sit-on-Top, or Surf ski in good condition. All other watercraft not permitted, except in the Youth Race.

•Bailer or pump*

•Whistle or signaling device**

•Throw rope (minimum 15 metres) as per Canadian Coast Guard Regulations*

•Properly fitted kayak skirt for boats with sit-in cockpit*

Sprayskirts are mandatory gear. You will not be given a race kit without presenting at Gear Drop with a spray skirt.

You must also keep the spray skirt in or on your boat at all time

•Properly fitting Polypropylene / Synthetic or merino shirt in a waterproof bag (in addition to clothing worn at start of stage)

•Waterproof jacket

•Recommended: spare paddle, wetsuit

 

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR TRANSITION AREAS

•TWO bags capable of carrying equipment for run cycle and kayak stages (not including bikes / kayaks). Bags must be packed

and dropped off Friday night for Challenger course participants and must be dropped off either Friday night or Saturday

morning for Explorer course participants.

 

What my Mother taught me...

Ok lets be honest, my mother is a terrible cook,  but she always put a tremendous effort in to her endeavors when taking a dish to a potluck. She agonized over what to bring and made her best homemade effort. Even if the food didn't taste the best at least I knew she tried her best. As in all of my lessons learned from my mother it was subtle but into adult-hood I went knowing that only those who took store bought items to a potluck where not those who dressed for success. Everybody has a busy life but sometimes you need to put your best food forward.

The photo is a random dinner of glazed carrots and cabbage turnovers- do not recall if I have posted it previously.

5peaks Duntroon

As this is my year of no commitment I did a race from the other trail series- 5peaks.
Went to register about 20minites to late for online registration and was screwed over for 10bucks. Cursed are the people who like to make last minute decisions.

Did the Duntroon Endro which means 12ish k. Which means not long enough for my liking. I actually liked the course and think it would make a great venue for a ouser race. Cause I have decided that's what I like. WHY??
- Food- most but not all,  ouser races pride themselves on feeding runners. Sorry bowls of bagels and fruit cut up do not do it for me. I am partial to a meal. Even the crappy bagged lunch that I hate from Hailburton is better. 

-So it is a short race and you don't deserve a meal says the race organizers in my head. I say make the race longer. My point... too short. Instead of two loops make it four. The infrastructure is there already, use it.

- No headphones. This would be fine if it was longer cause then I would be going slower then I could talk to people to entertain my ADD brain. So I kinda cheated and put my shuffle in my bra on maximum volume and heard snippets of songs here and there. Now don't give me that crap about needing to concentrate on the trail and being aware of other runners and wildlife. etc. blah blah blah. Seriously we drive tremendously faster than we run and  most people can concentrate on the road and the radio at the same time. If it is considered un- friendly to use headphones then why I am the only one talking??? I am paying for the privilege to be on the course, I should be able to enjoy it.

-Individual feel. Every race in the ouser series has its own personal branding, feel, and mythology. Even though there are different venues 5peaks feels like I am at another Gap. You know one with port-a potties and water crossings.

Soo perhaps why I am so negative is the fact I had a awful race. You know the heat wave that Ontario has had? You know how I am a better cold weather runner. Yep both of those do not mix. Have been doing alot more cycling than I ever have- but despite the clams that cycling helps ones running, apparently that does not ring true for me.
The race starts on a uphill, and due to my overly tight hamstrings , yah it wasn't pretty.  Most of the two loop course was great wonderful single track which was a joy to run on. But the course was dry dry dry. There were a few sections of double track which I find really mentally draining.  Mud would have made it tremendously funner.
Did the course around 1:09. Or 5:48ks... which I am better than that. Sucks that I have not been run training and thus this disaster of a race happens. Didn't even win a door prize.

Dairy Milk Dash

 

It all started with a 1kg bar of chocolate seen on clearance at Zellers, and a snide comment about if I wanted a race at Mishawah why didn't I run one?

So I did.

I set up a 2.5k loop around the camp. In the process I cleaned up a nature trail that had been neglected for years, and if west Nile virus was in the area I got it.  I most likely spent at least 12 hours over the week on the race. I had to map it out on garmin, clear the trail,(Whipper sniping takes a long long time) and mark the course. When it come down to it Mishawah is a small patch of land so there was no way around not including the trail ..... and I love trail. Although Luke and I did our best to mark the course still people got turned around and the leaders came in to the finish the wrong way. Next year I will come with prepared spikes and arrows to go into the ground. I will also have a map available for preview. AND I am bring my own whipper snippier!

 

I think Maya is channeling Bree wee here. Apparently the girls ran the whole way!

Despite being given a 4pm time spot by the camp director I think we got a reasonable turn out. Wasn't impressed with the directors attitude about the race. As in I got one announcement. Funny his kids showed up?? Seems his kids like activities 'a little different eh.'?

These ladies had a blast, and were so cheerful. Willing to try even though they are not runners.

I was overwhelmed with the amount of Hanover people who came out to walk. Even people who limped through the whole thing. Really it gave me so much joy seeing my friends  running and walking. Like I birthed another baby!

Everybody got a as many freezzies as they wanted. There was door prises for the dairy milk and some Oh Henry's. I actually forgot to make metals so look for them next year.

Honestly it was the highlight of Mishawah for me. I have been asked numerous times to resurrect the Chesley community classic which benefits the hospital foundation....and it is looking tempting.

Levitating

Personality I like this flying photo better. It reminds me of this photographers work.

Levitating children remind me of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. Which brings me to the point of the fact everybody has a super power, but it is often subtle, difficult to assess and determine, and not necessarily powerful. It is unique though.

Throw Me

One thing Ever and I discovered at Mishewah this year was that he loves to be thrown as far and high as possible if the water isn't too deep.
It's a lot of fun. 

Barrys Bay Triathlon

Cause I can't go on vacation and not do a race.

The Barrys Bay Triathlon is a small race with the tag line 'Challenging race in the beautiful Madawaska Highlands'. Seems to attract an accomplished field of competitors. Many of the competitors were wearing gear from iron man or 70.3 races, and all the conversations I listened in on seeamed to be about the next big race. Reviewing the results shows impressive results from the other female competitors. So basically I felt pretty intimidated.

The swim I knew was going to be bad, bad, bad. Lack of swimming due to my shoulder and my overall lack of swimming skill. Thus 18:34 for 750metres- 2:30/100m. The good was I didn't panic, just swam. The bad was I swam with a fellow wearing bright red boy shorts doing the breast stroke for all of it. Initially I thought I found somebody who would be good to draft off of but he wasn't wearing goggles so hence I settled for boy shorts.

The bike was a whole lot of hills. As in thank god for my granny gear. No bike computer to know how fast I screamed down the hills thank goodness cause I am sure it was in excess of 60km/hr. It was challenging but such a confidence buster to know that it wasn't that bad and I didn't have to walk even the 7%grade one. 1:12 for 32km. 26.5km/hr or in other words,  room for improvement.

Run was good- 8k in 37min. 4:40km off the bike which I am pleased with.

Overall good race experience. Small but I never felt completely alone out there. Good door prizes. Including the $10 git certificate to the local bakery which provided me with donuts.
My goal was under 2:10 and I was 2:08something. I was the 10th female out of 34. The  female winner beat me by 21minites, but her resume is pretty impressive. I wish i had won my age group cause then I would have gotten a pizza cutter shaped like a bicycle. But you can't win them all, well actually I have never won a triathlon.

Camera

Luke and I each have one of those new fangled iPhone and take them everywhere so we can text each other like we have our own language nobody understands. They fit rather handy in our pockets and we always have them with us for in-prompt photo opportunities. Some photos turn out and some don't. Because of the ever present iPhone/ cameras we forget to bring our real camera to places where it might come in handy like the RCMP musical ride or the airshow, where the iPhone just don't cut it.

I don't know what the solution is, I am just saying it is a problem.

In the attached photo Luke trespassed onto a construction zone for a photo opportunity. Ever is wearing is white and shinny soccer shoes which he invents excesses to wear. IE. 'i need to wear my soccer shoes for playing tennis'.

On another note, Ever took a tumble on his bike today and called himself a tough coconut, I think that's funny.



Pure Grit Trail Race

 

How do you know I have not been running much??

I actually run a race and I feel like a truck hit me.

Haven't been running much lately due to work/ heat/ and I have been spending a bit more time on my bike. Which BTW, just when I didn't think it could happen, it has. I have developed larger thigh muscles.

As this is my no pressure/ local races/ fun races year I didn't go to Niagara falls to run the 50k, I went to Sawmill Ski trails and ran a cross country race there.

I call it a cross country race as there is no single track. In my world double track is cross country. It was close though as my legs are all scratched up from raspberry bushes, which I like cause I think it makes me look tough.

The race was held on cross country ski trails as a benefit for a Nordic cross country team. Price was excellent at $20 or $50 per family!!! The race organizer has four kids.

The race was a single loop for the short course of 7.5. Double loop for the 15k. Course ended up being  short at 13.5kish total.

When I was in line at registration I saw the local very fastest girl. Soo whatever. I am local fast not provincial fast, which she is. She is also rather pleasant, so whatever.

Lined up and set off. Tried to stick with one guy I know I have beat before but he passed me as I was dumping large quantlies of water on myself at the only water station. Course was reasonable marked but due to the field being spread out so much I had doubts on a few occasions.  On the second loop I did not see a single person. In fact I asked the aid station if I was the last person left out. I think I run better on high mileage and basically fresh legs are not good for me soo I felt like i had multiple stress fractures the entire race.

Ran the first loop in 36min and very positive split it with  41min for the second. Which totally sucks. Around 1:18 total. I blame my split on the lack of anybody else on the course to push me. I should mention I was beat by 14min. We are the same age. I blame genetics)

I am happy I was the third female though the first lap and ended up being second female OA in the long course.  Which is great cause I got a $20 gift certificate. Free race!!! Homemade cookies and watermelon at the finish line. All good to me.

Math Of a Swim Pass

 

Last year I was very grateful to receive a leisure time grant from my employer. Basically, it gives you funds to allow you to participate in an activity not related to your job. For example salsa dance lessons, pottery class, creative writing correspondence course. etc. etc. I asked for and received funds sufficient to cover the cost of a yearly membership to the Hanover Pool.

By the numbers:

Cost of the membership (Was cheaper - this is 2012 rate)- $298

Times attended Lane Swim- 51.

Times attended Pool Boot Camp- 1

Times attended with kids-At least twice a month- 24

Cost of each visit- $3.92

The other option available is a 20 punch pass which works out to $4 per visit. As I will have more free time with the kids in school I do see myself using the pool more. Surprisingly not in the summer as I do like open water-as long as I have somebody to swim with. Also the summer hours are poor for lane swim. So I might hold off in purchasing another pass until September.

Redemption

In 2008, on a blistering hot day, after being awake all night with a fussy baby, I ran a 10k in Southampton.
It did not go well 52 something... I think it may have been a personal worse. It has always been nagging at me, but it had never worked out to repeat. This year I had actually asked for the day off work as I did want to try again. However, up until last night at 11pm it had looked like I would not be able to do it thanks to the weather and a inconveniently located soccer tournament of Luke's.

The details are boring of how it happened, but I was on the start line at 10am. Crowd felt smallish- not sure what the number were as compared to other years. For most of the out and back with a loop I was on my own. Would have had somebody to work with or at least block the wind. Definitely cool and wet. Good thing I i am rather fond of racing in poor conditions.
I am hazy on my time. My garmins view is screwed up cause I fiddled with it and I am yet to fix it. Basically I was just keeping an eye on my pace- trying to keep it around 4:45k's. The start was downhill so it was 3:30 for a bit- a windy section was 5:15 soo i thought my time was around 45-46min. When trying to figure you why the results were so wrong I found my official time as 44:36. Sooo whatever.

The race course must be different than 2008. At that time it was a definite out and back. This year there was a 1k loop to the 10k course....which seemed to cause a bit of upset, as in some people didn't do it. Top two males apparently didn't do it. Opps.
Other issue was how overwhelmy wrong the awards ceremony was....which at the end of the day is a risk when participating in community races. Those timing companies usually guarantee resonantly  accurate results. Volunteers with a clip board- not so much. If they had simply posted the results anywhere  prior it would have been obviously wrong. For the 10k- both OA female and male winners were wrong.

Anyways, i am short a bronze metal for my AG- fourth OA. The prize was socks or a hat for placement, but really do I need anther metal or hat?? Could use some socks though.

My First Love

While riding today i was reflecting on how much I love to cycle. One might think with as much running I do, that would be my first love. In reality, as a kid/ teenager I would never just go for a run, but from the time I could ride a two wheeler, my bike was an extension of my body.
It was my transportation, it was a way to fill time, and I had some pretty good BMX moves. Even now, MTN biking isn't really difficult as I have inherently good bicycle skills. I didn't go for distance as I rarely went for more than 10k at a time as a teenager. As a kid it was just endless loops of the feed lot I lived on. Which BTW, thanks to google I see is around 6oometres. I recall developing massive callous on my palms of my hands every spring. And as I sit here I realise why I can't handle hills on the bike, there was no hills in the corner of Elderslie township where I lived.

Fear

I recently had a patient who had been in a rather dramatic bicycle accident. I was his nurse during the final stages of the convalescence period in hospital. At this point he had had time to reflect upon the accident. This accident had left him with a broken hip, so reasonably severe. As I had also had a bike accident as of late we had a good time commiserating about our injuries. I shared how my helmet had a crack from such a pathetic accident so I asked how his had made out.

And... he wasn't wearing one. Apparently, he doesn't prescribe to the 'fear mentality' of wearing helmets. He feels motorists are actually safer around people who are not wearing helmets. He feels they do more harm than good in an accident...personally I didn't agree with his argument against helmets but the conversation evolved into a discussion on fear, and paranoia that causes us to build walls, forgo trust,  and prevent community.  As he was in his 60's he personally lamented the fall of hitchhiking. I shared now some might feel I am naive but I feel most people are basically good, how I have no fear encountering strangers on the trail while running alone.

Thus, i was disheartened to read of something as simple the fear of a bike being stolen in Hanover. A bike lock wasn't good enough. They felt the tire had to removed as well. This is not a $500 bike, nor even a $100 bike. Sure it is important to them but worth the trouble of removing the wheel? I call that fear.


The picture is of the Bruce Trail near Owen Sound.

....and I hit a tree.

So I was just riding along, minding my own business, not really paying attention..and that was the problem, I wasn't paying attention...and hit a tree.

There was a fork in the road, go left or go right, made the decision a split second too late and I'm not sure if it was me or my bike that hit the tree. End result was falling directly backwards off my bike onto my right shoulder.
I recall just lying on the ground. Eventually i took off my helmet to get more comfortable assessing the damage. Trying to decide if it was bad enough to skip my planned run. Cause I couldn't stop crying and whimpering I decided to call it day. Problem was I couldn't move my right arm, oh and was dangling a bit, and it was rather distracting due to somebody who would not stop moaning.
Thankfully I wasn't far from the car and I was able to get my bike on the rack using my left arm and a few curse words.
I was sure something was dislocated or fractured, mostly due to the fact my right shoulder was dangling...but here's the thing.. once I was at the hospital i relaxed enough and 'things' just settled back into their proper location.
Fast forward 12days and I remain very stiff. I do have complete ROM with pain and limited strength. Have had a massage which helped alot. Waiting for a physio appointment- six weeks wait. Ultra sound shows something nonspecific could be something new or something chronic.
I can do my ADLS except dealing with my bra- thankfully my personal attendant deals with that. What I can't do is swim. One arm swimming is so stupid and I mostly look like i am drowning so I don't see the point.

At one point in my crash I must have hit my head cause i found a crack in my helmet.This is a good thing cause I had decided I hated my helmet but I really didn't need a new one. Now I needed a new helmet. Spent a ridiculous amount but it matches both bikes and it whispers to me to go super fast.

The photo is the offending tree- the missing bark is from my crash. The blue paint is my efforts to increase the markings at Allan park for my trail group. Ever helped- thus the lower paint mark.

Sponsored Athlete!!

I am proud to say that I am now honoured to be a sponsored athlete of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. It is quite simple really, while running I make an effort to pick up empty liquor bottles/cans and in turn The Beer Store gives me 10cents a item. For my spring efforts I received $8.80.

Thanks to my exhaustive research I have noted that the residents of Bruce/ Grey  County seem to have a fondness for drinking Busch Lager on back country roads and throwing the bottles out windows into ditches.

The photo above represents a single hour long run on the Mary Rutherford Road. 

Read, Watch, Listen

 

Read

Recently read two great books about persons who live with an Autism spectrum disorder. Carly's Voice. A teen in Toronto who after years of intensive therapy makes a break through and starts communicating with those around her.  Also, The Journal of Best Practices. About how a relationship can change and grow once somebody starts to try- regardless of how that simply isn't them and never will be.

Watch

Thanks to Netfix, night shift and my non functioning brain, and our lack of TV , I can get slightly obsessed with television series. I go through all available ones and then stop. I simply can't  just watch a show on a weekly basis. I would rather wait until there is a whole series or at least a season to watch at a time. Might be something about my generation and the need for instant gratification... or is that Maya's?? Anyways, I am currently on series one of Glee. I kinda want be Sue Sylvester. I am serious. This is my excuse for why I refuse to be involved with other people's children, and why I maybe would not make a nice coach, and maybe why people think I push hard.

Listen

As a child I spent endless hours hold up in the back of my parents car getting lung cancer while my father smoked and listening to country music while  they embarked on a Sunday drive somewhere so we could have a picnic-  my mothers obsession. My father also had a minor obsession with movies involving the transportation industry, as in transport trucking. Thus, quite often while flipping the radio I pause at country and western stations and listen to old 'favorites'. Yep, I spent .99cents on Convoy.  I am not really a good person who doesn't steal music, couldn't find it for free anywhere.




My Issues with the Hanover Pool/ First World Problems

The inequality in the lane swim times.

The pool is available for lane swim six days a week in the morning. (Or as I like to call it the time when only crazy people are awake.) (On another note I also say that a key to a happy marriage is both parties are either morning or night people. The two should not mix) Oh yah my point- Noon lane swim is five days a week, and night lane swim is three nights a week. To review:

6am- 6xweekly

12pm- 5x weekly

8pm- 3x weekly

I would like to point out that there is also a senior swim four times weekly. For parents of children who work there is only one option. Night swims, but it is only offered  three times weekly. In the winter if I have a choice I will chose a swim over a run cause it is cold and this is Canada.

The lack of leadership exhibited by the lifeguards during lane swim.
During lane swim there are three options slow/ leisure, medium continuous, and fast continuous. At night all swimmers are very courteous and aware of where one belongs and if you are in the wrong lane people realise it and  move as not to disrupt others. People make a careful assessment prior to entering lane as not upset the flow of the lane. The focus is everybody having the best possible lane swim workout.
Lane swims at noon are a whole other kettle of fish. Old ladies who do a eight minute 100metre are suddenly considered medium continues. (They are moving continuous to be fair.) They are offended if offered the suggestion that they can't keep up with a lane. The former minister who flaps her arm and hits people cause she can't stay in her lane. People who don't get the hint you are on their toes and will not let you pass. And my personal favorite; people who enter the fast lane only to do two laps and leave. I make no assessment on the morning swim as I have never been there- possibly never will.

When people come to the ER it is not decided amongst themselves who gets to been cared for first, a professional looks at each individual situation and decides the severity of illness and who needs to be seen in order of priority. Likewise, lane swim is like the ER. The lifeguards are professionals who can assess quickly who needs to be assigned to which lane. They can make quick decisions and move people based on who is there.   My question is why don't they??

PYP

PYP- Pick your Poison... and for me it was patience.

This was a training run. A practice in pacing and eating and logistics.
50k in four 12.5k loops. Very similar to the four 20k loops at sulphur.

Had a good time just moving along for the first three loops, except for a parachute on my back reminding me by its sure presence to slow down and not race. By the fourth loop I was soo ready to go. Not sure what the splits are as this point. But I ran most of what I had walked on the other loops. Finished with the sure knowledge I could have done another lap and that I can race it faster. The course had changed over last year. Somebody described it as tough but fair and I can certainly agree. In the entire race there was over 5000metres vertical gain. Only two really tough uphill sections though. Only one section of mud and a small river crossing made for a good day. Stayed mostly on top of eating. Only one episode of nausea but it resolved with time and a ginger candy. Had handful of chips, handful of m&m's, two gels, two energy bars, and a sandwich. If I had been racing it most certainly would have been more.  
One amazing upset that didn't happen was feet blisters. I always get blisters in races regardless of types shoes and socks Wore toe socks and at this point I want to buy stock.

Very happy to have beat somebody who has beaten me several times... even if he got me to the finish.

Next comes a 2-3  longer days, and I think I am good for Sulphur. Just waiting for the post race amnesia to set in prior to signing up.
Work today, and aside from the weariness and chafing- which is nothing new. Feel pretty good. Will be running tomorrow. 
Pictures...I am wearing green and am seen in two. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vertical-pierre/6979554762/in/photostream

Spring

As in what happened to ours??

A cure for bad language.....

Is a new sewing machine!!!!

My Kenmore went to the parts department as its ability to actually do the work as a sewing machine has come to an end. Thus today at a local- as in really the only store I had two choices and picked this one.
I am yet to use it as my Thursday night combo of run/swim/ sauna/drink and randomly surf the Internet comes first.

Luke is excited I will fix his pants.... oh funny story. When I left Luke for three months and went to Churchill his pants all fell apart. When I returned he complained to me about this turn of event... never once realising that he could have just bought new pants ....all by himself. Another interesting fact, Luke had never bought himself underwear. Oh how I love him.