It is very key in French restaurants to spell fish correctly,so that your don't order poison instead of the intended poisson... If you are familiar with French waiters, this is a serious concern...
This RR is late because I forgot to write it. There. Some honesty! I forgot to write it because I have been trying to complete a few items, including clean-up of the maple syrup equipment and lines, help build a shed in Toronto, help with landscaping at another house in Toronto, fill in my pond, cut firewood, prepare for the Creemore Vertical Challenge, Spring Clean-up, prepare the gardens and get in adequate training. It's a wonder I was able to run the race!
Pick Your Poison is a trail race with significant vertical gain, the first race on the OTS and OUS schedule, but also the first chance to see if all that training is helping. Lee Anne and I ran the 50K. Please pay attention. 50K of ski hills. Yes, there is a wonderfully gentle first 4K, then the course turns nasty. Downright ugly! The 12.5K course sucks an alarming amount of energy out of your legs. Dialing in your salt, fuel, electrolytes and fluids is critical, unless you majored in bonking. Let's get the real ugly out of the way.
Lee Anne did not enjoy PYP. I had mentioned to her on 3,452 occasions that you need to run trails in training to do well at PYP. I was speaking to the hand. Lee Anne fell 4 times. Impressively, she finished the 50K race on a sprained ankle. The ankle turned an alarming shade of purple. She also performed a category II face plant on a rock, resulting in a fat lip and a bruised nose. Yes, her nose swelled and also turned purple. Did I mention the torn quad? She fell 4 days after PYP and tore the quad again, forcing her to DNS the Toronto marathon she was going to run 8 days after PYP. I experienced a week of prolonged suffering.
During the last few years, I have not provided a comprehensive race report. This is mainly due to having severe handicaps as a result of some injuries. It makes no sense to describe how a lack of training resulted in a slow time. It seemed too apparent! For the first time in several year, I was adequately trained to run a 50K, even a monster such as PYP. This race deserves a bona fida RR.
I accumulated 842.5K in training during the 4 months leading up to PYP. This is actually less than the ideal amount, roughly 1,000K, needed to train for a 50K trail race. But it was an immense improvement over previous years. Instead of dwelling on the all too realistic possibility that I might have to pull the plug, I was looking at possibly pushing for a loop or two. I did push a bit in the first loop, but nothing crazy.
One item that I normally don't consider significant is running the course ahead of race day. I ran the course 5 days before the race. The beauty of running a race course, even one you know fairly well, is that it allows you to peg goals and milestones along the way. These stay fresh during the race. I had forgotten (since last year) how much effort is required during the last 8K of the PYP 12.5K loop. The course lulls you into a false sense of lassitude during the "flat" first 4K, then kills your legs over the remaining 8.5K, replete with monster hills, technical single track and the odd snow covered traverse. Forget monitoring your heart rate, focus on staying alive along some steep and technical sections!
The plan was simple. Start off slowly for 5K, then expend the nervous energy during the remainder of loop 1. Settle into a fair pace during loop 2, keep it up for loop 3, then get loop 4 done. It sounds so simple. I had hoped to complete the race in 6:15, but that was before I ran a loop on Monday and realized I had little chance of pushing this course hard for 50K. Loop 1 went according the plan, in a time of 1:25. My "A" goal was to complete the next 2 loops in about 1:30, but it was not to be. Loop 2 did not go according to plan. I think the "reason" was because I have not really raced in a few years. Although I completed loop 2 in 1:33, close to target, the cost of running loop 1 in 1:25 forced me to slow down and relax. A good thing too, as I had even more difficulty with pace during loop 3. I was tired, as most people were, after 25K of single track and ski hills. I also needed to save something for loop 4.
That's the big problem with 50K races. After 37.5K, there is another loop. This doesn't seem fair during the race, but the alternative is to run the 25K. So I conserved energy during loop 3, tried to recover and enjoy the race. Loop 3 clocked in at 1:38, which was still quite decent. I would not meet my A goal, but I would not be too far off. Those of you who have run a 50K trail race will know that from 37.5K to 50K, all bets are off. The "reward" for doing the final loop is that I would allow myself to walk whenever needed. This is a wise plan as I was not going to make it to the podium, and wanted to enjoy what in recent years has been a death march.
Something very strange happened during loop 4 and I can only describe it as a benefit of proper training. Yes, I had reached the point where energy levels were down. I could no longer run the uphills (not even the little ones), but I had no trouble running the flats and downhills. Power was down (Scotty, I need a report), endurance was failing, speed was a joke, but I could run. I took 4 or 5 walking breaks, mainly to hydrate and fuel, but I was not playing that awful mental game of trying to convince myself that I could run to the next tree. (Coach voice in head: Come on Pierre, you could easily run to the start of the next hill, up ahead. Go for it!) (Evil Pierre voice in head: Shove that ^#%^ Hill Up your #&&@ @ss and get me a &#^%$ ambulance).
I tripped once. Due to back problems, I perform a flip instead of trying to stop myself with me hands. The trick in flipping is to twist slightly, so you don't break your water bottle, if you are wearing a hydration belt. I have not figured out an ideal process for camel packs...
The end result: 6:24. Actually not bad for PYP. Loop 4 was 1:46 (I truncate the seconds, in case you are wondering why the 4 times don't add up to 6:24). I was tired, stiff and sore, but not injured or in need of medical attention. An excellent result!
Above I mentioned that I am filling in the pond. I enjoyed having a pond, but the reality is that it takes an enormous amount of maintenance, including building a dam in the river each year, cleaning out the sediment about every 5 years and re-buildig the spillway on occasion. I can't swim in the pond as it is too shallow. It grows weeds and attracts beavers, who (let's forget the carrots for now) chew down all the trees I plant around the pond, about every 5 years.
I have a cute little 36 HP Kubota tractor, which I am using to fill in the pond. I used it when I worked for Dave Pease, back in 1975 when it was new. Dave sold it to me for a stupidly low price a few years back. I had no choice but to buy it. In 40 years, I have NEVER been able to get it stuck. See the picture? I call it a cute little tractor but the back wheels are about 4 feet high. Look carefully at the picture. I had to stop and dig it out because the engine components (starter, clutch, rad, oil filter etc.) where under the level of the mud.
My neighbour, who truly has one of everything, dropped by with his excavator and pulled me out of the pond. Of course he has an excavator. He needs it for his gravel pit...
Cheers!
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
First Race of the Year
Those of you who prepare perfectly for a race, please raise your hand. I'm waiting... Come on Pat, Dawn, raise your hands. I think it is important to realise that there are runners out there who can plan and execute training programs that have a high probability of achieving "A" race goals. And this is certainly not a complaint, but to achieve such a lofty goal does not allow for much wiggle room in the way of serious injuries.
Due to various injuries and surgical interludes, 2015 will be the first year in almost a decade where I start the race season with an ultra. 50K at Pick Your Poison. For those of you who have run PYP, nothing further needs to be said. If you are in abject denial, or have not run PYP, the 12.5K loop is a study in energy depletion. I ran the course yesterday (Monday before the race) and although I have trained well to prepare for a 50K race, I was very alarmed at how much energy was sucked out of my legs during the single 12.5K loop! Yes, we stopped continuously to remove branches and trees from the course, but our loop took the better part of 2 hours. I have pegged 6 hours as my "A" goal, but realistically, I don't see myself running the loop 4 times in under 90 minutes per loop. My realistic goal is 6:15.
The PYP course is in surprisingly fine shape. There is still snow on the ski hills, especially on the traverse directly after the first aid station, but the single track trails were in fine shape. Even Lee Anne enjoyed the trails, which is saying something about a runner who considers the Toronto marathon course to be technical...
Training
Training for last week peaked at 71.5K, which is slightly below the target of 80K. More importantly, I have 3 runs over 30K under my belt, which typically translates into a more comfortable 50K race. I have reduced the distance on a few training runs, but have missed very few. There is definitely room for improvement, which I hope will transpire over the summer, but I am happier with my training this year than for almost a decade before.
Lee Anne and I have been helping more this year with the Ontario Trail and Ultra series, commonly referred to as OUSer. We are in the midst of rebranding the series as OUTRace (Ontario Ultra and Trail Race series), which will still include the Trail and Ultra race series (OTS and OUS). Lee Anne was race director for the Spring Warm-up, which took place on April 11. About 40 people came out to Dunedin and enjoyed a tough run that required navigating through some snow and mud on the Bruce Trail. All participants walked away with pottery or maple syrup, so I am hoping the $35 entry fee was considered worth it. We raised $1300 for the OUTRace organization! Bob Schwarz won the grand prize of free entry into most of the races, so I'm expecting Bob to be a fixture on the race series this year.
As a plug, Lee Anne is also organizing a film festival for November 7. The films, called Trails in Motion, offer some stunning cinematography and insight into some of the better trail runners. Well worth the $10 fee. The event is capped at 100, so sign up early before it sells out.
Details: http://www.ouser.org/OUSer_Film_Festival_2015.pdf
Sign up: https://www.onlineregistrations.ca/ousfilm/
Hope to see a bunch of you at PYP this Saturday!
Due to various injuries and surgical interludes, 2015 will be the first year in almost a decade where I start the race season with an ultra. 50K at Pick Your Poison. For those of you who have run PYP, nothing further needs to be said. If you are in abject denial, or have not run PYP, the 12.5K loop is a study in energy depletion. I ran the course yesterday (Monday before the race) and although I have trained well to prepare for a 50K race, I was very alarmed at how much energy was sucked out of my legs during the single 12.5K loop! Yes, we stopped continuously to remove branches and trees from the course, but our loop took the better part of 2 hours. I have pegged 6 hours as my "A" goal, but realistically, I don't see myself running the loop 4 times in under 90 minutes per loop. My realistic goal is 6:15.
The PYP course is in surprisingly fine shape. There is still snow on the ski hills, especially on the traverse directly after the first aid station, but the single track trails were in fine shape. Even Lee Anne enjoyed the trails, which is saying something about a runner who considers the Toronto marathon course to be technical...
Training
Training for last week peaked at 71.5K, which is slightly below the target of 80K. More importantly, I have 3 runs over 30K under my belt, which typically translates into a more comfortable 50K race. I have reduced the distance on a few training runs, but have missed very few. There is definitely room for improvement, which I hope will transpire over the summer, but I am happier with my training this year than for almost a decade before.
Lee Anne and I have been helping more this year with the Ontario Trail and Ultra series, commonly referred to as OUSer. We are in the midst of rebranding the series as OUTRace (Ontario Ultra and Trail Race series), which will still include the Trail and Ultra race series (OTS and OUS). Lee Anne was race director for the Spring Warm-up, which took place on April 11. About 40 people came out to Dunedin and enjoyed a tough run that required navigating through some snow and mud on the Bruce Trail. All participants walked away with pottery or maple syrup, so I am hoping the $35 entry fee was considered worth it. We raised $1300 for the OUTRace organization! Bob Schwarz won the grand prize of free entry into most of the races, so I'm expecting Bob to be a fixture on the race series this year.
As a plug, Lee Anne is also organizing a film festival for November 7. The films, called Trails in Motion, offer some stunning cinematography and insight into some of the better trail runners. Well worth the $10 fee. The event is capped at 100, so sign up early before it sells out.
Details: http://www.ouser.org/OUSer_Film_Festival_2015.pdf
Sign up: https://www.onlineregistrations.ca/ousfilm/
Hope to see a bunch of you at PYP this Saturday!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
The long Run
A core component of any training program for long races is to practice running long. Really? Although obvious, it can be very disappointing to anyone who dreams of running a marathon and was hoping to find a training program where the longest run is only 1 kilometer. After a few decades, I got tired of telling people that the long run is the key component of ultra training and central to remaining healthy after finishing a long race. I now encourage ultra neophytes to run short, but to string a bunch of them together. This is similar to the 9 in 1 method (I think you run 9 minutes, then walk 1 minute), but instead, you run a short distance, then you run the same short distance again.
The beauty of this method is that you can decide how far you want to run! The formula then dictates how many times you run the short distance. Let's take 100 meters as an example. Bob (the name of a fictitious runner, not the name of some race along a canal in New York) wants to make 100 meters his long run, but wants to train for a 50K. Simple! I tell Bob that he can choose any day of the week (Bob chose Saturday) and he can go run 100 meters on that day. Bob is stoked! He can train on the high school track near his house. I then tell Bob that he needs to run 100 meters, 350 times on Saturday. This sounds like a lot of runs for one day, but at least Bob never has to run more than 100 meters. Simple!
Bob no longer speaks to me.
Lee Anne and I are training for the Pick Your Poison race. We are both registered for the 50K. Yesterday, we set out on my long run. It is also Lee Anne's long run, although she added 14K and runs long again, today. Please stop reminding me that I married her. We ran a very hilly 36K course, which includes a 6K hill. Yes, 6 kilometers long. Strange things happen to your legs when you run uphill for 40 minutes. After reaching the top, it takes a few minutes for your legs to adjust to running flat terrain; they feel ungainly. No kidding! Fortunately, we didn't have that problem, as the top of the hill is also the top of the Niagara Escarpment. With -8C temperature, 50 kph winds and intermittent white-outs, we couldn't feel our legs, saving us from experiencing the strange feeling normally encountered at the top of the hill. So nice!
What kept me going in such insane elements was imagining what other runners / ultra friends would think, had we asked them along for the run. The imaginary consensus was that Lee Anne and I were trying to kill them.
My running is improving, beyond a doubt. I recently ran 30K on the indoor track at Base Borden. I am running better than I have in years. But, running 36K, including some major hills, in an inhospitable climate? What was I thinking! I know what I thought before yesterday's 36K training run started. I think the word is hubris. I ran 30K on an indoor track. How much harder would a 36K hill run be, outside? Ask my quads this morning. They are not talking to me either.
As a humorous note, after the run I mentioned to Lee Anne that it would be 2 weeks before I recovered fully. Her reply? "Oh, you'll be back to normal after 2 days".
Yeah, right!
The beauty of this method is that you can decide how far you want to run! The formula then dictates how many times you run the short distance. Let's take 100 meters as an example. Bob (the name of a fictitious runner, not the name of some race along a canal in New York) wants to make 100 meters his long run, but wants to train for a 50K. Simple! I tell Bob that he can choose any day of the week (Bob chose Saturday) and he can go run 100 meters on that day. Bob is stoked! He can train on the high school track near his house. I then tell Bob that he needs to run 100 meters, 350 times on Saturday. This sounds like a lot of runs for one day, but at least Bob never has to run more than 100 meters. Simple!
Bob no longer speaks to me.
Lee Anne and I are training for the Pick Your Poison race. We are both registered for the 50K. Yesterday, we set out on my long run. It is also Lee Anne's long run, although she added 14K and runs long again, today. Please stop reminding me that I married her. We ran a very hilly 36K course, which includes a 6K hill. Yes, 6 kilometers long. Strange things happen to your legs when you run uphill for 40 minutes. After reaching the top, it takes a few minutes for your legs to adjust to running flat terrain; they feel ungainly. No kidding! Fortunately, we didn't have that problem, as the top of the hill is also the top of the Niagara Escarpment. With -8C temperature, 50 kph winds and intermittent white-outs, we couldn't feel our legs, saving us from experiencing the strange feeling normally encountered at the top of the hill. So nice!
What kept me going in such insane elements was imagining what other runners / ultra friends would think, had we asked them along for the run. The imaginary consensus was that Lee Anne and I were trying to kill them.
My running is improving, beyond a doubt. I recently ran 30K on the indoor track at Base Borden. I am running better than I have in years. But, running 36K, including some major hills, in an inhospitable climate? What was I thinking! I know what I thought before yesterday's 36K training run started. I think the word is hubris. I ran 30K on an indoor track. How much harder would a 36K hill run be, outside? Ask my quads this morning. They are not talking to me either.
As a humorous note, after the run I mentioned to Lee Anne that it would be 2 weeks before I recovered fully. Her reply? "Oh, you'll be back to normal after 2 days".
Yeah, right!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
The Ides of March
Not Julius Caesar's favourite day, but he has a month and a salad named after him, so I'm not overly empathetic. Just imagine having the temerity to name a month after yourself? Not only that, but stick it in the summer, so that people "like" your month, on the Roman equivalent of Facebook no doubt. To make matters worse, his nephew does the same thing. Not very original and certainly not an august occasion. And neither even bother to fix the remaining months, so that the seventh month (September) is actually the ninth month. I would have stabbed him myself.
Sorry.
While perusing the maple forum, it became apparent that many are experiencing low sugar yields from sap ( http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?25142-Horrible-sugar-content ). I am wondering if the extremely cold weather in February is the culprit. Sure enough, my sap registered 2 Brix (2% sugar, on the Brix scale), so I was a little leery about predicting when I could draw off my first batch of maple syrup from the evaporator. All evaporators are different and obviously the bigger the evaporator, the more sap you need to boil before the first batch of syrup is ready. My rule of thumb is that I need to boil 600 litres of sap before I get the first batch, about 8 - 10 litres of syrup. After the first batch (baseline the evaporator) I normally need to boil 400 litres of sap to make 10 litres of syrup (40:1 ratio). I had run a test boil on Friday afternoon, to check for leaks (found one) and make sure I had all the tools / equipment needed to run the evaporator. On Sunday I got serious and had a fine boil going by 10:30. The fine boil kept going and going. The sap kept pouring in (about 100 litres per hour) and since there are no leaks, the solution in the pans continued to concentrate. I tested the pans with a refractometer and the rate of concentration was incredibly slow. After 2 hours of boiling on Friday and 6.5 hours on Saturday, I had added 1100 litres of sap (8.5 hours X 100 litres + 150 litres to initially fill the evaporator) and the finishing pan was only halfway to syrup! It is a little dispiriting to boil mainly water...
So, I shut down the evaporator and went home. I will start the boil again tomorrow (Monday) in the hopes of having higher sugar content sap and finally making some maple syrup.
Running.
Running continues to improve and I can once again focus on maintaining long runs. "Long runs" are now 25K - 30K and are the bread and butter of ultra running. You can cheat on speed (skip them altogether), hills and trails, but you are in for serious pain if you cheat on the long stuff. Time on your feet.
I am starting to get tired of constantly running roads. Yes, there is the treadmill and indoor track, but running roads can be unsavoury. Today, the wind was quite strong and I felt cold, so I thought "how bad can the trails be this time of year?". Only one way to find out! So I ran a 7.5K trail run. It includes a 2.5K section of road, which probably saved my life. The snow is about a foot deeper than is healthy, for running. So I post-holed up to my knees for about 3K of the run. I think my heart rate hit about 300.
I am now in the tricky time of year, where I need to continue increasing my mileage, yet save time and energy for making maple syrup. I have this bad feeling that even though I am no longer working, it will not be as easy as I envisioned. I signed up for Sulphur Springs 50K, which will probably sell out soon. Lee Anne is still debating whether to run the 50M or the 100M. I need to sign up for Pick Your Poison 50K soon. This will force me to start running longer, as PYP is 6 weeks away.
Cheers!
Sorry.
While perusing the maple forum, it became apparent that many are experiencing low sugar yields from sap ( http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?25142-Horrible-sugar-content ). I am wondering if the extremely cold weather in February is the culprit. Sure enough, my sap registered 2 Brix (2% sugar, on the Brix scale), so I was a little leery about predicting when I could draw off my first batch of maple syrup from the evaporator. All evaporators are different and obviously the bigger the evaporator, the more sap you need to boil before the first batch of syrup is ready. My rule of thumb is that I need to boil 600 litres of sap before I get the first batch, about 8 - 10 litres of syrup. After the first batch (baseline the evaporator) I normally need to boil 400 litres of sap to make 10 litres of syrup (40:1 ratio). I had run a test boil on Friday afternoon, to check for leaks (found one) and make sure I had all the tools / equipment needed to run the evaporator. On Sunday I got serious and had a fine boil going by 10:30. The fine boil kept going and going. The sap kept pouring in (about 100 litres per hour) and since there are no leaks, the solution in the pans continued to concentrate. I tested the pans with a refractometer and the rate of concentration was incredibly slow. After 2 hours of boiling on Friday and 6.5 hours on Saturday, I had added 1100 litres of sap (8.5 hours X 100 litres + 150 litres to initially fill the evaporator) and the finishing pan was only halfway to syrup! It is a little dispiriting to boil mainly water...
So, I shut down the evaporator and went home. I will start the boil again tomorrow (Monday) in the hopes of having higher sugar content sap and finally making some maple syrup.
Running.
Running continues to improve and I can once again focus on maintaining long runs. "Long runs" are now 25K - 30K and are the bread and butter of ultra running. You can cheat on speed (skip them altogether), hills and trails, but you are in for serious pain if you cheat on the long stuff. Time on your feet.
I am starting to get tired of constantly running roads. Yes, there is the treadmill and indoor track, but running roads can be unsavoury. Today, the wind was quite strong and I felt cold, so I thought "how bad can the trails be this time of year?". Only one way to find out! So I ran a 7.5K trail run. It includes a 2.5K section of road, which probably saved my life. The snow is about a foot deeper than is healthy, for running. So I post-holed up to my knees for about 3K of the run. I think my heart rate hit about 300.
I am now in the tricky time of year, where I need to continue increasing my mileage, yet save time and energy for making maple syrup. I have this bad feeling that even though I am no longer working, it will not be as easy as I envisioned. I signed up for Sulphur Springs 50K, which will probably sell out soon. Lee Anne is still debating whether to run the 50M or the 100M. I need to sign up for Pick Your Poison 50K soon. This will force me to start running longer, as PYP is 6 weeks away.
Cheers!
Friday, March 6, 2015
Nothing to Report
It was -22C (-7F) this morning. Yes, I know it is March 6 and Spring is a mere 2 weeks away. Don't talk to me, lambaste Mother Nature...
So, Lee Anne and I ran on the indoor track at Base Borden. The outside lane is 237 meters, so by my calculation, it is 106 laps to complete 25K. I don't attempt to count laps (recall my memory challenges) so I maintain a +/- of seconds between the actual time and 90 second laps. I only have to remember a "buffer" (seconds +/-) and a "lap bank" (accumulate over or under 40 laps per hour). Example: I started at 8:57 and ran 2 laps before 09:00. I "reset" the counter to zero at the top of each hour, so at 09:00 I had zero laps for the hour, with a bank of 2 laps. At 9:03, I was 14 seconds ahead (14 second buffer - i.e. it was 09:02:46 at the end of my second lap for the hour). When the buffer reaches 90 seconds, I add one to the lap bank and reset the buffer to zero. I know this sounds inordinately complicated, but with my math background and a complete lack of memory, it is surprisingly straightforward.
Lee Anne runs by time (granted - a much simpler method). She ran for 5 hours today and will probably run the same tomorrow, as Friday / Saturday is her normal back-to-back schedule. I ran 25K in 2:39, which was much tougher than expected. I hauled the evaporator to the sugar shack on Tuesday which involves putting a 2' X 4' sap pan (5" drop flues), a 2' X 2' finishing pan and all the hardware onto a sled I built custom made for the evaporator. Did I mention that the snow is like sand? I was ploughing so much snow, that on the uphills, I was afraid the 1/4" nylon ropes might break!
I have one more load of maple syrup jugs to haul in and I am ready to tap. Guess what I plan to do Sunday? You got it! I have invited son-in-law Daryl up to help with the tapping. I am not sure if he can make it, but tapping is much easier with two. It appears that the sap will run on Tuesday and/or Wednesday hence the tapping on Sunday / Monday. The forecast for Wednesday is sunny and +4... I know, say nothing.
According to the running log, my mileage has slipped this week, probably due to heightened activity at the sugar shack. Snow shoeing in the woods is very taxing. There is only about 3 feet of snow, but with such cold temperatures since January, the snow is like 2 feet of sand. Snowshoes sink deep and are reluctant to come back out. Tapping will probably result in another low-mileage week.
That's it for now. Embrace the warm weather!
So, Lee Anne and I ran on the indoor track at Base Borden. The outside lane is 237 meters, so by my calculation, it is 106 laps to complete 25K. I don't attempt to count laps (recall my memory challenges) so I maintain a +/- of seconds between the actual time and 90 second laps. I only have to remember a "buffer" (seconds +/-) and a "lap bank" (accumulate over or under 40 laps per hour). Example: I started at 8:57 and ran 2 laps before 09:00. I "reset" the counter to zero at the top of each hour, so at 09:00 I had zero laps for the hour, with a bank of 2 laps. At 9:03, I was 14 seconds ahead (14 second buffer - i.e. it was 09:02:46 at the end of my second lap for the hour). When the buffer reaches 90 seconds, I add one to the lap bank and reset the buffer to zero. I know this sounds inordinately complicated, but with my math background and a complete lack of memory, it is surprisingly straightforward.
Lee Anne runs by time (granted - a much simpler method). She ran for 5 hours today and will probably run the same tomorrow, as Friday / Saturday is her normal back-to-back schedule. I ran 25K in 2:39, which was much tougher than expected. I hauled the evaporator to the sugar shack on Tuesday which involves putting a 2' X 4' sap pan (5" drop flues), a 2' X 2' finishing pan and all the hardware onto a sled I built custom made for the evaporator. Did I mention that the snow is like sand? I was ploughing so much snow, that on the uphills, I was afraid the 1/4" nylon ropes might break!
I have one more load of maple syrup jugs to haul in and I am ready to tap. Guess what I plan to do Sunday? You got it! I have invited son-in-law Daryl up to help with the tapping. I am not sure if he can make it, but tapping is much easier with two. It appears that the sap will run on Tuesday and/or Wednesday hence the tapping on Sunday / Monday. The forecast for Wednesday is sunny and +4... I know, say nothing.
According to the running log, my mileage has slipped this week, probably due to heightened activity at the sugar shack. Snow shoeing in the woods is very taxing. There is only about 3 feet of snow, but with such cold temperatures since January, the snow is like 2 feet of sand. Snowshoes sink deep and are reluctant to come back out. Tapping will probably result in another low-mileage week.
That's it for now. Embrace the warm weather!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
We Get the Point
Thank you very much for all the incredibly cold weather during February - it has spawned countless humorous stories about life in the big chill, big storm, big snow. I'm the first to head out in -20C (-4F) weather for a run. It's great to be outside, alone (you don't see many people reading a newspaper on their front porch), pitting yourself against the elements. The slurred speech, losing all feeling in the toes, frozen water bottles. Great fun!
I avidly track ice coverage on the Great Lakes. This year is poised to be a record breaker! Lake Erie went from zero ice at the beginning of January to 96% coverage in mid-February. Ice coverage is well ahead of last year's figures, which hit a "recent" record.
Hypothetically, I also enjoy the first few days in late February / early March that rise above freezing and I can stretch out the legs on wet or dry pavement, without donning arctic running gear. I say hypothetically, because when the temperature heads north of zero, I'm at the sugar shack, getting ready for the syrup season. Otherwise, I would be out there, enjoying the first few frost free frolics. What's the term for when you use too many words, all starting with the same letter? Annoying?
This February is a little different than other years and I am starting to lose patience. Yes, we all know how Mother Nature is queen, that the arctic air mass trumps the great lake's moderating influence on weather, we get the point. Using the weather network's 14 day trend for Creemore, it will be mid-March before temperatures rise above freezing. This is not funny. For those of you who have not followed this blog, I make maple syrup. I need +5C (41F) temperatures or the trees will remain dormant. I went to Atkinson Maple Syrup Supplies today, in a bit of a panic. I needed to purchase some jugs (early-bird perquisite for the Creemore Vertical Challenge race) and filters. I woke up this morning and realized that it will be March this weekend! I have to get ready now, in case the forecast changes (I realise this never happens...). The season typically ends in early April. This means that if the season doesn't start until late March, it will likely be a short season. All the effort of preparing the sugar shack and tapping 325 trees, for a short season?
It has literally been too cold to work in the woods and prepare for maple syrup season! -22C (cold F) this morning, the forecast calls for -26C (-15F) tomorrow morning. I have to snowshoe 1 kilometer from the road to the sugar shack (and back) and I need unfrozen water (the best type!) to clean stuff. I need to shovel the roof and check all the lines. With 325 taps, this usually takes 4 days. Once the cleaning is done, all supplies are brought in (including jugs and jars for about 300 litres of syrup - I hope!) I then need to haul in the evaporator pans and build the evaporator. Much easier to perform when the weather is mild (sunny and -3 is perfect) than in -25C weather...
This has been an incredibly long rant on the weather, but it is -15C (5F) outside, so I can do nothing else...
Running is going well. One bright spot is that both Lee Anne and I are tired of donning arctic running gear for a survivalist fight to complete a 12K training run. Stepping on the treadmill is becoming anathema to a pleasurable run. What to do? Base Borden's Buell Gym has a 237 meter indoor track. Rubberised surface, slightly below room temperature, it is a welcome change to running outside or on the dreadmill. The first time we made use of the indoor track, I had forgotten how effortless it is to run in short and a T-shirt. Running at 10 KPH felt like a warm-up. Running outside with 14 layers of clothes on 3 inches of snow, dodging cars, it is difficult to maintain a 6 minute kilometer pace. The indoor track was simply wonderful! We intend to abuse this form of cheating the elements in years to come.
I will use the above as a spasmodic segue into a humorous episode that nearly cost me my life. Our main parking lot can easily hold 3 cars abreast during the summer. In the winter, I plow the parking area so that the tractor (Kubota with 6 foot snowblower) and 2 cars can fit abreast, but there is not much room between vehicles. I keep asking Lee Anne to park close to the tractor, or on the far side of the parking lot, so that I can also park my car. Without fail, Lee Anne parks straddling the 2 narrow parking spots. This is usually not an issue, as I can also park in 2 other areas. However, yesterday, I needed to blow the laneway, which might require boosting the tractor with battery cables, from my car. So I parked between Lee Anne's car and the tractor. This left about 2.6 inches between Lee Anne's and my car. No problem, as I was going to change into snowblowing clothes (read arctic survival gear), quickly blow the laneway, then move my car.
Problem: I did not realise Lee Anne was in her car. For those in sunny California or other weather-exotic locals, it is not always possible to see through glass at -20C (-4F) as they are covered in snow, ice, frost, etc. and remain so, even after driving your car. I have had frost on my rear window (yes, I have and use a rear window defroster) for 4 weeks. I have never had the nerve to ask Lee Anne what she does in a parked car, for so long. Let's quickly move on. While changing into boots, snow pants. parka, etc., the phone rang. I thought Lee Anne was in the pottery studio, and I have learned better than to answer the phone, as it usually entails stopping what I am doing and starting a task I have been allocated by Lee Anne. I was almost dressed when I heard Lee Anne leave a message. The message, without swear words was this: " ".
Trying not to laugh too hard, I went out to the driveway, just in time to see Lee Anne move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat in order to exit her car. The humorous aspect of this episode was based on the assumption Lee Anne made, that I KNEW she was in her car when I parked so close. It took some explaining to convince her that I did not see her in the car. I would include the dialogue, but it lacks cohesion without the expletives. My wounds should be 85% healed before March...
So, we are now ready to start signing up for some races. Lee Anne is helping with marketing for OUSer (Ontario Trail and Ultra Series races), so she has free entry into the Niagara and Dirty Girls races. I have signed up for the Limberlost and Horror Trail races. Eventually, we will both be signed up for the same races!
According to my running log, I am starting to up my mileage. I ran 169.5K in January and I am currently at 194.5K for February. As I hope to run long tomorrow (Friday) and possibly squeak in a run on Saturday (February 28), I should have a healthy total for such a short month. I still hope to run during the OUS Spring Warm-up on Saturday April 11, but I might also be making maple syrup. For those who would like to know more about the SW:
http://www.ouser.org/spring_warmup_2015.pdf
The SW is a fun run with reduced numbers (compared to the races) and is a great venue for chatting with other runners who frequent the OTS and OUS races. As purely an academic note, in some years, there have been more spot prizes (maple syrup, pottery, grand prize) than participants. Not that a jug of maple syrup should be the deciding factor in spending $35 for a fun run...
Cheers!
I avidly track ice coverage on the Great Lakes. This year is poised to be a record breaker! Lake Erie went from zero ice at the beginning of January to 96% coverage in mid-February. Ice coverage is well ahead of last year's figures, which hit a "recent" record.
Hypothetically, I also enjoy the first few days in late February / early March that rise above freezing and I can stretch out the legs on wet or dry pavement, without donning arctic running gear. I say hypothetically, because when the temperature heads north of zero, I'm at the sugar shack, getting ready for the syrup season. Otherwise, I would be out there, enjoying the first few frost free frolics. What's the term for when you use too many words, all starting with the same letter? Annoying?
This February is a little different than other years and I am starting to lose patience. Yes, we all know how Mother Nature is queen, that the arctic air mass trumps the great lake's moderating influence on weather, we get the point. Using the weather network's 14 day trend for Creemore, it will be mid-March before temperatures rise above freezing. This is not funny. For those of you who have not followed this blog, I make maple syrup. I need +5C (41F) temperatures or the trees will remain dormant. I went to Atkinson Maple Syrup Supplies today, in a bit of a panic. I needed to purchase some jugs (early-bird perquisite for the Creemore Vertical Challenge race) and filters. I woke up this morning and realized that it will be March this weekend! I have to get ready now, in case the forecast changes (I realise this never happens...). The season typically ends in early April. This means that if the season doesn't start until late March, it will likely be a short season. All the effort of preparing the sugar shack and tapping 325 trees, for a short season?
It has literally been too cold to work in the woods and prepare for maple syrup season! -22C (cold F) this morning, the forecast calls for -26C (-15F) tomorrow morning. I have to snowshoe 1 kilometer from the road to the sugar shack (and back) and I need unfrozen water (the best type!) to clean stuff. I need to shovel the roof and check all the lines. With 325 taps, this usually takes 4 days. Once the cleaning is done, all supplies are brought in (including jugs and jars for about 300 litres of syrup - I hope!) I then need to haul in the evaporator pans and build the evaporator. Much easier to perform when the weather is mild (sunny and -3 is perfect) than in -25C weather...
This has been an incredibly long rant on the weather, but it is -15C (5F) outside, so I can do nothing else...
Running is going well. One bright spot is that both Lee Anne and I are tired of donning arctic running gear for a survivalist fight to complete a 12K training run. Stepping on the treadmill is becoming anathema to a pleasurable run. What to do? Base Borden's Buell Gym has a 237 meter indoor track. Rubberised surface, slightly below room temperature, it is a welcome change to running outside or on the dreadmill. The first time we made use of the indoor track, I had forgotten how effortless it is to run in short and a T-shirt. Running at 10 KPH felt like a warm-up. Running outside with 14 layers of clothes on 3 inches of snow, dodging cars, it is difficult to maintain a 6 minute kilometer pace. The indoor track was simply wonderful! We intend to abuse this form of cheating the elements in years to come.
I will use the above as a spasmodic segue into a humorous episode that nearly cost me my life. Our main parking lot can easily hold 3 cars abreast during the summer. In the winter, I plow the parking area so that the tractor (Kubota with 6 foot snowblower) and 2 cars can fit abreast, but there is not much room between vehicles. I keep asking Lee Anne to park close to the tractor, or on the far side of the parking lot, so that I can also park my car. Without fail, Lee Anne parks straddling the 2 narrow parking spots. This is usually not an issue, as I can also park in 2 other areas. However, yesterday, I needed to blow the laneway, which might require boosting the tractor with battery cables, from my car. So I parked between Lee Anne's car and the tractor. This left about 2.6 inches between Lee Anne's and my car. No problem, as I was going to change into snowblowing clothes (read arctic survival gear), quickly blow the laneway, then move my car.
Problem: I did not realise Lee Anne was in her car. For those in sunny California or other weather-exotic locals, it is not always possible to see through glass at -20C (-4F) as they are covered in snow, ice, frost, etc. and remain so, even after driving your car. I have had frost on my rear window (yes, I have and use a rear window defroster) for 4 weeks. I have never had the nerve to ask Lee Anne what she does in a parked car, for so long. Let's quickly move on. While changing into boots, snow pants. parka, etc., the phone rang. I thought Lee Anne was in the pottery studio, and I have learned better than to answer the phone, as it usually entails stopping what I am doing and starting a task I have been allocated by Lee Anne. I was almost dressed when I heard Lee Anne leave a message. The message, without swear words was this: " ".
Trying not to laugh too hard, I went out to the driveway, just in time to see Lee Anne move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat in order to exit her car. The humorous aspect of this episode was based on the assumption Lee Anne made, that I KNEW she was in her car when I parked so close. It took some explaining to convince her that I did not see her in the car. I would include the dialogue, but it lacks cohesion without the expletives. My wounds should be 85% healed before March...
So, we are now ready to start signing up for some races. Lee Anne is helping with marketing for OUSer (Ontario Trail and Ultra Series races), so she has free entry into the Niagara and Dirty Girls races. I have signed up for the Limberlost and Horror Trail races. Eventually, we will both be signed up for the same races!
According to my running log, I am starting to up my mileage. I ran 169.5K in January and I am currently at 194.5K for February. As I hope to run long tomorrow (Friday) and possibly squeak in a run on Saturday (February 28), I should have a healthy total for such a short month. I still hope to run during the OUS Spring Warm-up on Saturday April 11, but I might also be making maple syrup. For those who would like to know more about the SW:
http://www.ouser.org/spring_warmup_2015.pdf
The SW is a fun run with reduced numbers (compared to the races) and is a great venue for chatting with other runners who frequent the OTS and OUS races. As purely an academic note, in some years, there have been more spot prizes (maple syrup, pottery, grand prize) than participants. Not that a jug of maple syrup should be the deciding factor in spending $35 for a fun run...
Cheers!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Trail Running in February
I have a litmus test for successful winter running. This personal gauge is to see if I can run trails at least once in each month of the winter. For southern Ontario, the key date is early February. There is usually a thaw in late December or early January which provides access to the trails at the beginning of the year. By late March, the normal weather patterns reduce snow in the bush to either hard pack (run on top of the snow) or a foot of slush. Either condition allows for easy and fun running along the trails! For those of you who have run in a foot of slush and are currently yelling at me, please speak to the hand.
A brief explanation on the above term "Southern Ontario". I am using the definition that refers to the area that includes the snow belt. People in Toronto (sigh) commonly use the descriptor NO89 (North of 89) to define the snow belt, but the proper definition is Southern Ontario. Toronto is typically defined as "South of Southern Ontario", which includes places that don't get any real snow (less than 4 feet per year, if you can imagine that!). SOSO includes Toronto, Miami and LA. You get the picture.
A brief note on the explanation: 89 refers to highway 89, an east-west road approximately 1 hour drive north of Toronto. What Torontonians are thinking when they say NO89 is "wild wild country with crazy weather and unstable inbred farmers that cannot differentiate between rednecks and latte toting accountants". I will spare you what we (NO89'ers) think of those SOSO dweebs...
Success is attainable this year, as I have been able to run a 7.5K loop that I run frequently, on both February 2 and 3 (today). Yesterday's run was tough, as we received about 8 inches of snow overnight, it was -16C (3F) and a strong north wind. Today's run was balmy (-4C or 25F) with a gentle southwest wind and only a few spots had drifted over.
Well, I broke down and started a running log. I realised to be serious about training this year, I would need to track my progress. It is humorous how a log forces you to get out and run. Can't have any gaps on run days now, can we? Broken leg? Cut your run down to a 15K. So, my weekly totals have now edged over 50K, with my long runs finally crossing the 25K threshold. The total for January hit 169.5K, which makes me happy, even though Lee Anne would see it as a heavy week...
There is usually a February challenge, but I have not heard about this year's version. I had to chuckle about last year. My running was not great at this point last year, but Lee Anne was churning out some impressively wild numbers. She heard about the challenge on February 2 or so, but her posting on the 3rd was a lie. She had run 40K on the first, 50K on the second and 30K on the third (yes, 120K in 3 days!) but she posted less K's because she didn't want people to think she was a freak!
Challenge or not, enjoy running out there; it will give you something to remember during the hot runs.
Cheers!
A brief explanation on the above term "Southern Ontario". I am using the definition that refers to the area that includes the snow belt. People in Toronto (sigh) commonly use the descriptor NO89 (North of 89) to define the snow belt, but the proper definition is Southern Ontario. Toronto is typically defined as "South of Southern Ontario", which includes places that don't get any real snow (less than 4 feet per year, if you can imagine that!). SOSO includes Toronto, Miami and LA. You get the picture.
A brief note on the explanation: 89 refers to highway 89, an east-west road approximately 1 hour drive north of Toronto. What Torontonians are thinking when they say NO89 is "wild wild country with crazy weather and unstable inbred farmers that cannot differentiate between rednecks and latte toting accountants". I will spare you what we (NO89'ers) think of those SOSO dweebs...
Success is attainable this year, as I have been able to run a 7.5K loop that I run frequently, on both February 2 and 3 (today). Yesterday's run was tough, as we received about 8 inches of snow overnight, it was -16C (3F) and a strong north wind. Today's run was balmy (-4C or 25F) with a gentle southwest wind and only a few spots had drifted over.
Well, I broke down and started a running log. I realised to be serious about training this year, I would need to track my progress. It is humorous how a log forces you to get out and run. Can't have any gaps on run days now, can we? Broken leg? Cut your run down to a 15K. So, my weekly totals have now edged over 50K, with my long runs finally crossing the 25K threshold. The total for January hit 169.5K, which makes me happy, even though Lee Anne would see it as a heavy week...
There is usually a February challenge, but I have not heard about this year's version. I had to chuckle about last year. My running was not great at this point last year, but Lee Anne was churning out some impressively wild numbers. She heard about the challenge on February 2 or so, but her posting on the 3rd was a lie. She had run 40K on the first, 50K on the second and 30K on the third (yes, 120K in 3 days!) but she posted less K's because she didn't want people to think she was a freak!
Challenge or not, enjoy running out there; it will give you something to remember during the hot runs.
Cheers!
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