Perhaps I should call it the weekend from hell. The only great aspect of the weekend (May 16 - 19) was the race itself. The RD's and volunteers fully understand that there are people seeking PB's, national and world records. Their support of the race is truly epic. They understand how to support multi-day races.
3 Days at the Fair offers 12, 24, 48 and 72 hour races. Most runners consider 24 hour races "the fringe". And it is! Anyone that considers 6 hours of running as the warm-up is not a mainstream, pass-the-salt athlete. They are wackos. And someone running 3 days? Scheduling 2 - 40 minute sleep periods per day? Certifiable. I'm usually the last person to judge anyone, but I've been to 2 of these multi-days and whoa! Certifiable! Of course Marylou, Maryka, Charlotte et al will now try to lynch me (they have all the tools necessary) but the running community needs to know about this. How many people do you know who plot a running schedule over 72 hours that results in upwards of 400 kilometres? I worked at Honda and we made these devices that avoided running such anomalous distances...
The drive to New Jersey was uneventful. We left Creemore at 05:30 on Thursday (I like to get well into a trip before I actually wake up) and arrived at the race site circa 2:00 PM. We said hello to a bunch of Canadians, then sought out the hotel. Friday morning, we picked up our race kits and Lee Anne got ready to run. Her A goal was to break her age category Canadian record (28:14) for 100 miles. She was registered in the 48 hour race for the attempt. I was registered in the 12 hour, with a special starting time of midnight, Friday. Not my idea. Lee Anne thought it would be nice for us to run a few laps together every once in a while. The course was exactly 1 mile, so when you reach 100 loops, you've got 100 miles in. Lee Anne's race started at 09:00 Friday morning. So did the rain. Did it pour? The area received 2 INCHES of rain in the next 14 hours. I crewed from 09:00 until midnight. Everything was wet. I'm talking 3 inches of water in the tent. Shelters being blown over, tent pegs flying. It would have been crazy-fun if it was a short 50K race, or something. The first 14 hours of a 48 hour race? Not so much fun...
Lee Anne ran on a "reasonable" schedule, but in retrospect, perhaps a bit slow for attaining 100 miles in 26 hours (the A goal). But it was hard to put in serious laps with everything so wet. Dan (Marylou Corino and Maryka Hladka's crew) and I had quite a challenge simply providing dry fare, sage advice and that special humour reserved for floods...
Want to know a funny thing about 100 mile runs? They take a freakin long time to complete. During these protracted endeavors, things can go wrong. They are also long enough that you can address certain issues and revert back to plan. Think of building a pyramid. If you exhaust your quarry, it's no big deal to source a new one 2 - 3 years later...
Lee Anne ran into very few issues, even during the monsoon. Yes, she was not faster than schedule, but not too far behind. Clockwork comes to mind. And so it went until midnight, when I started running. We ran a few laps together, some apart, but after a short time (3 hours) I wasn't able to run with Lee Anne and went back to crewing. Crewing did not last long! I felt tired. Very tired. I had little sleep the night before (don't forget, up at 05:00 Thursday, little sleep Friday night, a misguided attempt to sleep Friday evening during the monsoon. start running at midnight) but even still, I was overly tired. Since the aid station was all wet and the tent was under 3 inches of water, I put the seat back in the car and tried to sleep. From 03:00 Saturday morning, I would get up every 30 minutes to replenish the aid station, then back to the car, the only dry and warm spot around.
At 05:30 Saturday morning, after running without a major stop for 20.5 hours, Lee Anne woke me up in the car. This was a big surprise to me as I normally don't actually fall asleep when supporting Lee Anne. Something was wrong - with me! Something was also wrong with Lee Anne. She was at 126K and not looking all that good. Near tears, she blurted out "I don't think I can do this". With 22 miles to go, the wheels had fallen off. I tried to provide the encouragement that would entice her to continue, but I also noted that Lee Anne was far from "okay". She had reached a point where a 2-3 hour rest was mandatory. Unfortunately, she did not have that luxury if she wanted to break the record. Dilemma!
We spoke at length about her goals, options and desires. This was no easy decision, but I did not like how Lee Anne looked and would prefer to see her miss all her goals, rather than incur serious injury / medical issues. We decided to pull the plug. In retrospect, I wonder if this had anything to do about how I was feeling. Something was wrong with me!
I packed up the aid station, tent and supplies while Lee Anne showered. Almost. After packing the car, I informed the RD that we would both be stopping, then went to see what was keeping Lee Anne. She was not at the shower. I found her back at the car. She had taken off her running clothes. then passed out naked on the floor of the shower room. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. She could not shower, but put on her street clothed and returned to the car.
We then travelled from New Jersey to Niagara-on-the-lake, where we had booked a B&B for 2 nights. I felt unusually tired during the trip to NOTL. We arrived, checked into the B&B and I promptly started throwing up. Did I mention the diarrhea? Let's make it interesting! I spent the next 2 days in bed (yes, at the B&B) before I had the strength to get up and drive back home. Incredible fun eh?
In comparison, this weekend was great. We biked to Owen Sound to visit with Doug and Joanne Barber (had a great time), then biked back to Creemore. It almost killed me!
Dig Deep!
Monday, May 26, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Training for a 12 Hour Race
3 Days at the Fair in New Jersey: May 15. Lee Anne signed me up for the 12 hour race, while she is doing the 48 hour race and possibly stopping at 100 miles if she attains her A goal. We will run a few laps together, but for the most part, she just wants someone out there on the course during the night, lurking. Someone to goad her should she fall off her A goal. What is her A goal? Under 28 hours for 100 miles. Why does 28:14 pop into my mind? Hmm. I am about to run 12 hours, starting at midnight. Fun fun fun!
So here I am putting in massive training, for my 12 hour race. I ran 7.5K today. It was 12 degrees so I ran in shorts, but found it a bit cold. However, it wasn't that long ago (refer to picture) that running was REALLY cold. Funny how quickly we adapt. I am still quite happy to be running trails. Roads are great for speedwork, but after being forced to run road or spend time on the dreadmill for the last 4 months, trail is still a treat.
Oh! I retired May 1. I'm still in "gotta get ready for work tomorrow" mode. It takes a while to get used to such a major life change. I will write more on this once I wrap my head around it. For now, I am trying to juggle a few things... Cleaning maple syrup equipment and lines, finish destroying Lily and Daryl's house and getting ready to start building, ramp up my running, gardening and getting ready for the Creemore Vertical Challenge. I made about 80 medals today. The tractor was starting to overhear, so I changed the thermostat. No better, so I pulled the radiator core and sent it away for cleaning. Hopefully that does the trick. Of course I need the tractor for almost everything but the running. I need to clean the lies before we head to New Jersey and before the house framing starts... My hopes of reducing my work week to 60 hours is currently a bit of a joke.
However, I do get time in the middle of the day to blog!
So here I am putting in massive training, for my 12 hour race. I ran 7.5K today. It was 12 degrees so I ran in shorts, but found it a bit cold. However, it wasn't that long ago (refer to picture) that running was REALLY cold. Funny how quickly we adapt. I am still quite happy to be running trails. Roads are great for speedwork, but after being forced to run road or spend time on the dreadmill for the last 4 months, trail is still a treat.
Oh! I retired May 1. I'm still in "gotta get ready for work tomorrow" mode. It takes a while to get used to such a major life change. I will write more on this once I wrap my head around it. For now, I am trying to juggle a few things... Cleaning maple syrup equipment and lines, finish destroying Lily and Daryl's house and getting ready to start building, ramp up my running, gardening and getting ready for the Creemore Vertical Challenge. I made about 80 medals today. The tractor was starting to overhear, so I changed the thermostat. No better, so I pulled the radiator core and sent it away for cleaning. Hopefully that does the trick. Of course I need the tractor for almost everything but the running. I need to clean the lies before we head to New Jersey and before the house framing starts... My hopes of reducing my work week to 60 hours is currently a bit of a joke.
However, I do get time in the middle of the day to blog!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Pick Your Poison
Full reverse captain!
Even though I live in the area I was a bit surprised to see the quantity of snow on the ski hills at PYP. As in "Hey! There's a bare spot". For me, PYP has been the season opener for a few years. First time I'm allowed out of the sugar shack...
Reports of the trail conditions leading up to the race and on race day were ominous. Snow, ice and mud. Very slow conditions. Perfect! Due to the never-ending syrup season (I boiled down 3 days before the race) my conditioning was laughable. I should NOT be running a 25K race with so little training. A trail race with ski hills. Fortunately, the trails were slow, slippery, treacherous and nearly unrunable in spots. Everyone would have to run at my speed!
I had the usual apprehensions of someone who had only run 28K in the last 2 weeks, during 4 runs. Would I uber-bonk at 20K? Would I make it to 20K? Does snowshoeing out from the sugar shack with a case of syrup on my back count as training? After 40 years of running, I figured something out. If I start slowly and don't do anything really stupid, I can generally make it to the finish line without having to use the Quasimodo lurch. As the race unfolded, all the snow, ice and mud really cheered me up. To indicate how slow it was, first place in the 25K was 2:05! Not the typical 1:45 range. It was tough!
The first 12.5K loop was run at an easy pace, in 1:35. I was tired starting the second loop, but thought I would simply run until forced to walk. I don't know if this occurs because I have leg memory, or some such thing, that tricks my legs into thinking they can actually run for 3+ hours without any training, but I was able to run until the finish. Sure, I took walking breaks up the hills, and my definition of a hill changed dramatically as I slogged along, but I was not forced to slow down due to a conga-line, as I had at spots in the first loop. I don't like slowing down, just to cross a little bridge, or to step over a bunch of logs. Just close your eyes and maintain a steady rhythm, and your feet will figure out what to do. Trust me! So the second loop was completed in 1:39, for a fairly even split and a total of 3:14. Because of the conditions, 3:14 is actually a respectable time. I'm very happy with it and hope that with a modicum of training, I can do better!
So, I went home happy and tired. I was invited to my brothers for supper, which would (so I thought) allow me to hit the pillow circa 10:00 PM. Nope, not even close! Supper turned out to be more of a retirement party (I retire May 1) with 80 - 90 of my closest friends. Quite the surprise! Lee Anne had spent 3 months planning the event and it included family and friends from work, running and old acquaintances. Quite the spectacle! The only problem with such an enterprise is that there were 20 - 30 people with whom I would have loved to spend an hour or two talking. However it was great to see everyone and it helped impress on me that retirement will actually happen! I got home with a bunch of retirement gifts and made it to bed at 02:00 AM.
Well, see you soon at the next race!
Even though I live in the area I was a bit surprised to see the quantity of snow on the ski hills at PYP. As in "Hey! There's a bare spot". For me, PYP has been the season opener for a few years. First time I'm allowed out of the sugar shack...
Reports of the trail conditions leading up to the race and on race day were ominous. Snow, ice and mud. Very slow conditions. Perfect! Due to the never-ending syrup season (I boiled down 3 days before the race) my conditioning was laughable. I should NOT be running a 25K race with so little training. A trail race with ski hills. Fortunately, the trails were slow, slippery, treacherous and nearly unrunable in spots. Everyone would have to run at my speed!
I had the usual apprehensions of someone who had only run 28K in the last 2 weeks, during 4 runs. Would I uber-bonk at 20K? Would I make it to 20K? Does snowshoeing out from the sugar shack with a case of syrup on my back count as training? After 40 years of running, I figured something out. If I start slowly and don't do anything really stupid, I can generally make it to the finish line without having to use the Quasimodo lurch. As the race unfolded, all the snow, ice and mud really cheered me up. To indicate how slow it was, first place in the 25K was 2:05! Not the typical 1:45 range. It was tough!
The first 12.5K loop was run at an easy pace, in 1:35. I was tired starting the second loop, but thought I would simply run until forced to walk. I don't know if this occurs because I have leg memory, or some such thing, that tricks my legs into thinking they can actually run for 3+ hours without any training, but I was able to run until the finish. Sure, I took walking breaks up the hills, and my definition of a hill changed dramatically as I slogged along, but I was not forced to slow down due to a conga-line, as I had at spots in the first loop. I don't like slowing down, just to cross a little bridge, or to step over a bunch of logs. Just close your eyes and maintain a steady rhythm, and your feet will figure out what to do. Trust me! So the second loop was completed in 1:39, for a fairly even split and a total of 3:14. Because of the conditions, 3:14 is actually a respectable time. I'm very happy with it and hope that with a modicum of training, I can do better!
So, I went home happy and tired. I was invited to my brothers for supper, which would (so I thought) allow me to hit the pillow circa 10:00 PM. Nope, not even close! Supper turned out to be more of a retirement party (I retire May 1) with 80 - 90 of my closest friends. Quite the surprise! Lee Anne had spent 3 months planning the event and it included family and friends from work, running and old acquaintances. Quite the spectacle! The only problem with such an enterprise is that there were 20 - 30 people with whom I would have loved to spend an hour or two talking. However it was great to see everyone and it helped impress on me that retirement will actually happen! I got home with a bunch of retirement gifts and made it to bed at 02:00 AM.
Well, see you soon at the next race!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
New Computer... New Operating System... Old Operator
The title is a bit of a joke. I started at Honda back when the earth was cooling, as a mainframe computer operator. Before then, OS360 was introduced circa 1965 and it was still good enough for the 1980's. In 1985 ish, they introduced OS370, a minor upgrade. Think on that. 20 years before a minor upgrade. Nowadays, the operating system changes faster than I change my underwear. Strike that last bit, it sounds ominous.
Here is how my week has progressed: Friday: Upgrade my work laptop from Window XP (no, not joking) to Windows 7. Monday: Install specialized software until just after the cows came home. Tuesday (today), buy a new laptop with Windows 8.1. Now I'm not Amish, although they think so at work, but this week has been a precipitously steep learning curve. First point, for the designers of Win8.1: Are you out of your cotton-picking minds? Who would consider such an obscure, counter-intuitive system as a good idea? I actually want to FIND C drive. I like to dictate the file path so that way out in the future, such as tomorrow, I can FIND the @%#@$ file. I understand hierarchical databases; I don't understand mansy pansy fog-overlaid file storage, where you find what you stored by wishing on a star.
But let's move on to a topic that has caused me some angst in the last month or so. Maple syrup production. I have 73 liters so far. For those who will be demanding their age category prize of syrup at this year's Creemore Vertical Challenge, this translates into "I have enough for the race". I don't have enough for personal and (this is funny) I don't have the 100 liters that people have already ordered, including the dreaded MMSC (militant maple syrup consumers), who believe that pain is a conscionable method of making me understand what and who are important in the grand scheme of things. The good new is that it will be -10 tonight. I have a very shaky and short reprieve from the budding season, when I will lose all hope (yee who enter here) of filling the outstanding orders...
Running? It is not going very well, but I did get a run in with Everhard, a neighbour who normally runs at twice my speed. Everhard brought a couple of friends who were in need of some hill training. Soon the vertical trash talk started and Lance displayed some fine sarcasm while talking of the 4K hill on Collingwood Street (part of which is hill #1 on the CVC course) by thanking us for choosing such an easy hill...
So, I am resigned to a slow and painful "long training run" at the Pick Your Poison race in 2 weeks. I hoped to ramp up the training to make it more of a race. However, the first (for me) race of the season is meant for meeting up with running friends and talking about the long winter!
Dig Deep.
Here is how my week has progressed: Friday: Upgrade my work laptop from Window XP (no, not joking) to Windows 7. Monday: Install specialized software until just after the cows came home. Tuesday (today), buy a new laptop with Windows 8.1. Now I'm not Amish, although they think so at work, but this week has been a precipitously steep learning curve. First point, for the designers of Win8.1: Are you out of your cotton-picking minds? Who would consider such an obscure, counter-intuitive system as a good idea? I actually want to FIND C drive. I like to dictate the file path so that way out in the future, such as tomorrow, I can FIND the @%#@$ file. I understand hierarchical databases; I don't understand mansy pansy fog-overlaid file storage, where you find what you stored by wishing on a star.
But let's move on to a topic that has caused me some angst in the last month or so. Maple syrup production. I have 73 liters so far. For those who will be demanding their age category prize of syrup at this year's Creemore Vertical Challenge, this translates into "I have enough for the race". I don't have enough for personal and (this is funny) I don't have the 100 liters that people have already ordered, including the dreaded MMSC (militant maple syrup consumers), who believe that pain is a conscionable method of making me understand what and who are important in the grand scheme of things. The good new is that it will be -10 tonight. I have a very shaky and short reprieve from the budding season, when I will lose all hope (yee who enter here) of filling the outstanding orders...
Running? It is not going very well, but I did get a run in with Everhard, a neighbour who normally runs at twice my speed. Everhard brought a couple of friends who were in need of some hill training. Soon the vertical trash talk started and Lance displayed some fine sarcasm while talking of the 4K hill on Collingwood Street (part of which is hill #1 on the CVC course) by thanking us for choosing such an easy hill...
So, I am resigned to a slow and painful "long training run" at the Pick Your Poison race in 2 weeks. I hoped to ramp up the training to make it more of a race. However, the first (for me) race of the season is meant for meeting up with running friends and talking about the long winter!
Dig Deep.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Waiting for Godot
Okay, this will be a bit of a rant.
I checked my records and since 2000, the latest I have started the evaporator is March 15. Yesterday (March 28) the forecast was calling for +8. I was pumped. This would be the first truly warm day this year. My only concern was one or two barrels might overflow. During the past 2 weeks, the sap has run marginally, interspersed with cold snaps. I would get 2-3 inches of sap (not enough to pump into the reservoir) which would then freeze. Repeat. I now have barrels half full of frozen sap. So, a good run would result in sap overflowing the barrels.
Fortunately, Lee Anne had run 50K yesterday and warned me that it never got very warm. Seriously? The first day since November that it would be above 3 degrees and they were wrong? This morning I checked the temperature for the previous 24 hours. It went up to a scorching 1 degree. Not happy. I also noticed it was -5 this morning and that the record low for March 29 is (was) -2. Very not happy. Today's high is zero, but don't worry, tomorrow's high is going to be 4! Yeah, right.
The real problem is that the clock is ticking. All maple syrup producers know that circa April 15, it gets warm. The frogs croak, the snow melts and the trees bud. Note that last point. Trees bud because the sap changes chemical composition. It is time to make leaves, using energy stored in the roots, transported to the buds via the sap. That chemical change in the sap spells the end of making maple syrup. The sap "sours", foams like crazy and can even turn to gel. Pull the spiles. So, I am now anticipating a short season, even if the sap continues to run past April 15, it will not run well.
Running: It has taken a back seat to prepping the sugar shack, digging out mainlines (over and over) and helping with house demolition. The house is close to being a shell now, down to exterior walls, load bearing walls and the roof. Soon, the roof will come off. If the sap doesn't run soon, I could stand under the ceiling and blow the roof off...
I did get out for a run yesterday with a few fellows at work. We ran on the treadmills at the Honda gym, as running on Industrial Road in rain is not much fun; there are no sidewalks.
Good luck to all those running the new Laura Secord Memorial run on April 5. I think the Bruce Trail down south should be fine by race day. I am looking at Pick Your Poison, as my 2014 inaugural race. Just 25K, to ease into the season!
I checked my records and since 2000, the latest I have started the evaporator is March 15. Yesterday (March 28) the forecast was calling for +8. I was pumped. This would be the first truly warm day this year. My only concern was one or two barrels might overflow. During the past 2 weeks, the sap has run marginally, interspersed with cold snaps. I would get 2-3 inches of sap (not enough to pump into the reservoir) which would then freeze. Repeat. I now have barrels half full of frozen sap. So, a good run would result in sap overflowing the barrels.
Fortunately, Lee Anne had run 50K yesterday and warned me that it never got very warm. Seriously? The first day since November that it would be above 3 degrees and they were wrong? This morning I checked the temperature for the previous 24 hours. It went up to a scorching 1 degree. Not happy. I also noticed it was -5 this morning and that the record low for March 29 is (was) -2. Very not happy. Today's high is zero, but don't worry, tomorrow's high is going to be 4! Yeah, right.
The real problem is that the clock is ticking. All maple syrup producers know that circa April 15, it gets warm. The frogs croak, the snow melts and the trees bud. Note that last point. Trees bud because the sap changes chemical composition. It is time to make leaves, using energy stored in the roots, transported to the buds via the sap. That chemical change in the sap spells the end of making maple syrup. The sap "sours", foams like crazy and can even turn to gel. Pull the spiles. So, I am now anticipating a short season, even if the sap continues to run past April 15, it will not run well.
Running: It has taken a back seat to prepping the sugar shack, digging out mainlines (over and over) and helping with house demolition. The house is close to being a shell now, down to exterior walls, load bearing walls and the roof. Soon, the roof will come off. If the sap doesn't run soon, I could stand under the ceiling and blow the roof off...
I did get out for a run yesterday with a few fellows at work. We ran on the treadmills at the Honda gym, as running on Industrial Road in rain is not much fun; there are no sidewalks.
Good luck to all those running the new Laura Secord Memorial run on April 5. I think the Bruce Trail down south should be fine by race day. I am looking at Pick Your Poison, as my 2014 inaugural race. Just 25K, to ease into the season!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tap Dancing
Not sure why this year is so much different than other years, but I don't recall ever reaching mid-March without 2 - 3 contiguous days above freezing. The average daily high at the sugar shack this time of year is +1. They are now calling for above freezing on Friday; a measly +1. From then until March 19, it is not expected to go above freezing.
I need to tap when it is -5 or warmer. Tomorrow's high is -5, which (technically) means I can tap for about 2 hours, during the warmest part of the day. But let's factor in how tired I am of waiting for Godot. I will start tapping tomorrow, damn the torpedoes. That way I can take full advantage of the huge sap rush on Friday, when it climbs to +1. Do you know what roots think about +1 when there is 4 feet of snow covering them? Absolutely nothing. Roots can't think. However I would estimate that the ambient temperature just above ground level (near the bottom of 4 feet of snow) will be -10. And dark.
Worked at house destruction today and took the ceiling in the basement down. It went quickly, considering the ceiling was comprised of half inch drywall nailed to the joists, with a half inch of plaster attached to the drywall. I can't figure out why. Perhaps the house was not heavy enough, with only a layer of "light" drywall? The MO was simple. Reach up and grab the plaster/drywall and wrench with slightly more than body weight. Repeat 3,000 times. My arms are sore and my fingers are not working well (plenty of typos in this entry, before correcting). Did I mention that I dug out sap mainlines for 4 hours yesterday? I can clearly see now that retirement is going to kill me. What does not kill us makes our arms sore.
Anyway, it is a beautiful day and I should be out snowshoeing, but since I will be tapping tomorrow, let's give it a rest. I'm too sore to run, but might go for a short one tomorrow before the killer snowshoe.
Cheers!
I need to tap when it is -5 or warmer. Tomorrow's high is -5, which (technically) means I can tap for about 2 hours, during the warmest part of the day. But let's factor in how tired I am of waiting for Godot. I will start tapping tomorrow, damn the torpedoes. That way I can take full advantage of the huge sap rush on Friday, when it climbs to +1. Do you know what roots think about +1 when there is 4 feet of snow covering them? Absolutely nothing. Roots can't think. However I would estimate that the ambient temperature just above ground level (near the bottom of 4 feet of snow) will be -10. And dark.
Worked at house destruction today and took the ceiling in the basement down. It went quickly, considering the ceiling was comprised of half inch drywall nailed to the joists, with a half inch of plaster attached to the drywall. I can't figure out why. Perhaps the house was not heavy enough, with only a layer of "light" drywall? The MO was simple. Reach up and grab the plaster/drywall and wrench with slightly more than body weight. Repeat 3,000 times. My arms are sore and my fingers are not working well (plenty of typos in this entry, before correcting). Did I mention that I dug out sap mainlines for 4 hours yesterday? I can clearly see now that retirement is going to kill me. What does not kill us makes our arms sore.
Anyway, it is a beautiful day and I should be out snowshoeing, but since I will be tapping tomorrow, let's give it a rest. I'm too sore to run, but might go for a short one tomorrow before the killer snowshoe.
Cheers!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Memo to Spring: Ontario is Waiting
88F in Florida. -8F in Creemore. I tried to convince the fellow I was talking to today who works in Florida that we should spread the temperature evenly. He did the math and figured out the the AVERAGE of our temperatures (40F) is about as cold as it gets in his neck of the woods. His reply was succinct: "We ain't got no deal".
I went out for a run yesterday (Sunday March 1). Into a strong freezing humid wind with the chill factor north of -25. No thanks. Turned around and embraced the treadmill once again this winter. Not happy.
Tapping is not fairing much better. Tapping a tree below -5C is not recommended, as it can split the wood, resulting in damage to the tree. So I wait. The long range forecast for the property (near Singhampton) is nothing above freezing until after March 17. And in case you want to mention Friday March 7, the high is -2 there. Then it gets colder.
My biggest fear is that the temperature will go from -10 one day to +20 the next. Everyone will be ecstatic, except for those who were rash enough to declare that they could fill all maple syrup orders this year. Again.
Well, tomorrow I will dig out the mainlines in a feeble effort to get ready. There is so much snow in the bush that many mainlines that are normally well above the snow are buried.
At least I'll get in my workout!
Oh! Today's picture is the current snowbank along Airport Road, just south of Avening / Creemore. It should melt by July...
I went out for a run yesterday (Sunday March 1). Into a strong freezing humid wind with the chill factor north of -25. No thanks. Turned around and embraced the treadmill once again this winter. Not happy.
Tapping is not fairing much better. Tapping a tree below -5C is not recommended, as it can split the wood, resulting in damage to the tree. So I wait. The long range forecast for the property (near Singhampton) is nothing above freezing until after March 17. And in case you want to mention Friday March 7, the high is -2 there. Then it gets colder.
My biggest fear is that the temperature will go from -10 one day to +20 the next. Everyone will be ecstatic, except for those who were rash enough to declare that they could fill all maple syrup orders this year. Again.
Well, tomorrow I will dig out the mainlines in a feeble effort to get ready. There is so much snow in the bush that many mainlines that are normally well above the snow are buried.
At least I'll get in my workout!
Oh! Today's picture is the current snowbank along Airport Road, just south of Avening / Creemore. It should melt by July...
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