Gym Workout

(reps) Set 1 / Set 2 / Set 3

(10) Front Squat: 60lbs / 70lbs / 80lbs [shaky on that last one, plus needed a spot to get it up there]
(10) DB Bench Press: 30lbs / 35lbs (7) / 35lbs (7)
(10) Inverted Rows: Setting 4 / Setting 4 / Setting 4
(10) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate

(10) Leg Press: 280lbs / 300lbs [Tried it on the last notch instead of second-to-last, and it was much tougher. Will continue with this setting, as it's more appropriate for my leg length.]
(10/side) Cable Straight-Arm Pull-down: Setting 3

--Duration: 22mins

Pool Swimming

100m catch-up
100m zipper

400m kick w/ fins - my one and only talent, I actually lapped my lanemates
400m pull w/ paddles - torture!

750m TT
14:50 minus ~0:15 in lay-overs while I was being passed for ~14:35 !!
Not sure how to count this one officially. I think I will enter it as the time on the clock.

2x
200m on 4:00
3:47 / 3:50
100m on 1:50
1:52 / 1:55
50m at 0:50
0:55 / 0:55

50m easy

--Distance: 2,500m
--Duration: 70mins

Gym Workout

(Reps) Set 1 / Set 2 / Set 3 / Set 4

(10) DB Bench Press: 2x 25lbs / 2x 30lbs / 2x 30lbs
(10/side) DB Rows: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) Bent-Over Rear DB Fly: 2x 7.5lbs / 2x 7.5lbs / 2x 7.5lbs

(10) BB Deadlift: 120lbs / 125lbs / 130lbs / 135lbs
(10/side) DB Chop @ Half-Kneel: 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs
(10) Inverted Rows: BW / BW / BW

--Duration: 35mins

Gym Workout

(Reps) Set 1 / Set 2 / Set 3

(10) Leg Press: 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs
(10) DB Bench Press: 2x 25lbs / 2x 30lbs / 2x 30lbs
(10/side) DB Rows: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs

(10) BB Squats: 60lbs / 70lbs

(10/side) Cable Straigh-Arm Pull-Down: Setting 3 / Setting 4 (6)
(failure) Chin-ups: 2

--Duration: 20mins

Pool Swimming

This was a surprise session, as our regular pool is closed for the holiday. My club friends IP and TS found another 25m pool (Variety Village) that was open specially for Family Day. I joined them last minute, once they had started their sets - which were long!

The pool was quite warm, so we ended up taking extended breaks to cool off.

Warm-up: 200m

3x 400m
7:50 / 7:48 / 7:39

4x 200m
3:40 / 3:52 / 3:48 / 3: 50

100m
1:41

2x 50m
0:45 / 0:45

200m easy

--Distance: 2,600m
--Duration: 2hrs

Much respect to the para-athlete swimming in his buoyant wetsuit in that hot water. He looked quite dizzy when he got out!

Snowshoe Trial Run

I had come into an extravagant sum in MEC gift cards ($200), and had decided that I wanted to buy a pricier item that I probably otherwise wouldn't buy. I settled on snowshoes. After getting some advice on the orienteering site AttackPoint, I decided I wanted more of a racing snowshoe, not a trekking or climbing shoe, since I'm not much of a hiker. The one cool thing that the climbing shoes have is a heel lift you can flip up, so that you don't strain the backs of your legs when climbing. Oh well. My shoes are super-light and very springy instead. They are the Atlas Run, and they felt utterly weightless on my feet in the store.

The next day, my parents went up to my roomie's parents' property north in the woods, and we came with them. When we went for a winter walk, my roomie and I strapped on our snowshoes: me with my racing aluminums and he in his parents' ancient wicker tennis rackets. The race was on!

The snow was deep (1-2') and very fluffy. EW stayed basically right on top of the snow, although he kept stepping on his own shoes. He had trouble climbing without any crampons.

Kickin' it old school

My feet would sink down a few inches, but the fluffy snow was so light, that it was no problem to jump the foot back out. The shoes were very springy, and I had run up a fairly steep hill in no time. We switched for a while for fun too.

When I got my Atlas back, I ran up to the top of a fairly high hill (30-40m), and I wasn't tired. It was magical. I couldn't believe I wasn't trudging. It was like suddenly realizing you could walk on water. Later, I ran up another big hillside, this time in a dense crusty-dry pine forest. These shoes are so small and narrow, I nimbly darted between the stalks of the trees. I felt like I could go anywhere on these shoes.

I must have had the biggest grin on my face when I came back to the house. Of course, my butt was covered in snow because I had given my slick snowpants to my mom while staying in my fleecy sweatpants. The running shoes do kick up a lot; but I knew that going in - it's a matter of wearing the right pants.

If I'm ever able to really run again, I'm gonna love these.

--Duration: 25mins

Kyoshin Ryu Jiu Jitsu

Jab / cross / mae ashi shitsui gari / shitsui gari drill: hard to do lead shitsui
Mae ashi shitsui gari / shitsui gari with retraction / jab / oi zuki drill

Mawashi gari to the bag: my right leg was weaker but with better chamber, while my left leg was much more powerful but I couldn't raise it very high

Mae mawari ukemi - gentle fall
Ushiro mawari ukemi from a series of punches and pushes, working towards uke waza
Uke waza: my nemesis, crashed MN, and then took my own hard landing
Kaiten nage: reminder to throw from kiba dachi

From kneeling, a forearm on forearm only pushing/grappling drill: trick was not to commit too much, lest your opponent moves out of the way; sideways pushes also worked

2-on-1 randori: a lot of moving one person around to block the other; I even got thrown into another opponent!
3-on-1 randori: looked more like quick kumite

--Duration: 50mins

Pool Swimming

Nearly got the whole warm-up today, and the drills really helped. Best swim in a long time.

100m easy

100m high elbow recovery
100m 100% catch-up
100m DPS [25 / 24 / 24 / 24]

2x 25m fast - 0:15 R
0:20 / 0:22
50m easy
200m as fast as possible
3:41 [this didn't even feel that fast, holy crap]

2x 25m fast - 0:15 R
0:21 / 0:22
50m easy
400m as fast as possible
7:29 [ridiculous. PB by a mile]

4x 100m on 2:05, holding 1:50
1: 42 / 1:48 / 1: 49 / 1:51 [puke-worthy, but really smooth]
100m easy

4x 200m on 4:20, holding under 4:00
3:40 / 3:40 / 3:42 / 3:46 [just awesome, wanted to die]
100m easy

Hypoxic: 25m + no breath return
Nearly got to the blue line, then 2 breaths

--Distance: 2,650m
--Duration: 70mins

Pool Swimming

(should have been 2x 50m kick w/ fins)
100m kick for time - 1:40

2x 50m pull w/ paddles
100m pull for time - 1:41 [shocking that I was as fast as the kick]

100m high elbow recovery (zipper)
100m DSP - 24 / 23 / 26 / 23 [ouch]
100m catch-up
50m high elbow catch

50m swim - 0:52
Then we got pulled to do a quick dry-land session with swim bands. Elbow should stay high on the pull, but not actually travel upward. I find I can't do the flat-body dry-land exercises as it messes with my pool form.
100m swim with the high elbow

Totally misinterpreted the main set.
2x 50m (add up 100m)
2x 100m (add up 200m)
2x 200m (add up 400m)
Didn't get we were supposed to do the added up in addition to the separate laps.
0:57 / 0:58
1:57 / 1:58
3:59 / 4:02 [could not breathe on these at all; I think it's the longer stroke with the high elbow.]

4x 25m hypoxic [really tough, all in my head. but I got 'em]

--Distance: 1,600m
--Duration: 60mins

Stars W*A*R

First race of the year! Finally!

Format: Ski-O with two handicap boxes
Terrain: flat to rolling, white forest, snowshoe trails, single-track, machine track-set, skate trails, bushwhack
Weather: Sunny and crispy chilly

Route Link

Started the day off really nicely with a ride up with "Bender" and "Chief". I love carpooling.

This being my second Stars WAR at Wasaga Beach, I meant to prepare, but of course forgot last year's map at home. I also forgot my highlighters but thankfully borrowed from a friend.

There were 7 point-to-point controls plus 2 boxes of 4 controls, where I could skip 1 in each. I think I picked a decent route, and off we went, shuffling up the mountain and through the forest to the start. This was mainly a team ski/snowshoe race, and these guys mass started first. Then they started us skiers one per minute.

I started behind my two rivals: MT, a highly-ranked junior skiier, whose parents had won this race on occasion, and VD, our dear course setter's wife and a great skier/orienteer as well.

The first leg was a long slog on a snowshoe trail. I caught up to VD at one point, and my nerves got to me. I was really intent on getting a particular control that I thought was my first one, that I skied right passed #1 and on to the first optional A. D'oh! I climbed the hill to manual-punch A, then had to backtrack 200m for 1, much to the surprise of the later starters.

The long ski to 2 was really nice, although I eventually got stuck behind some straggling ski teams who had a hard time climbing. I also missed an opportunity to bushwhack instead of switchbacking, but I enjoyed the fast ski. The next leg was fun on a skate trail. The snow was so glidy and smooth, that I could even skate a bit - I think??? I easily hit my other two letter controls in the lower box and then jumped in for #3. Passed a team of skaters, who were having trouble on the single track.

Since many of the fast teams had gone ahead, there was a nice trail blazed to cut between several parallel ski trails. I came out onto a major track that should have taken me up to 4. I kept going and going, but there was no turn-off. I eventually found myself at a junction with a little warming hut, and thank goodness, because then I could see how far north I had ended up on the map. Another racer had the same problem as me and went back out to investigate - turns out the trail we were looking for to get to 4 did not really exist!

Met "Bender" and his teammate "Mick" as I skated (!) my way back down to 4 - a junction control, from which I had to grab three controls labelled 5, then return to in order to continue to 6. 5a was really close through a bit of forest, and I was surprised no one had broken trail for me yet, harrumph. So I took off my hopeless skis and hoofed it. Definitely worth it. As I left the control, I wanted to take a gel, so I didn't notice that I had dropped one of my poles. Had to backtrack again 200m to pick it up, golly! Really surprised that one team of struggling skaters who had now caught up to me. "How could you possibly not have noticed that you don't have a pole??"

I quickly hit the other two 5 controls, and decided to take a skate trail back up to 4. The trail was really cool, as it had constant little ups and downs. Not the best for classic skis, but since the snow was great for it, I could help myself with a bit of skating.

I saw VD again as I was leaving 4 back down the same trail, plus I had now passed those skaters again, and my excitement got the better of me again. Along the long ski down to 6, I made one right turn way too early. This time it was a 300m-each-way mistake. Yikes. I passed the skaters again on that awful snowshoe single track heading back to the start/finish, but I was sure that VD had gone by. A male skier was also catching up to me now, and I had to let him go.

Now I passed the Treehuggers team heading out on their snowshoe portion, followed about 10mins by Bender and Mick, then "Tiny" and his partner. The ski tracks were rapidly deteriorating under their clunky footwear, haha. I couldn't catch the guy who had passed me for anything. Finally gasped my way to the finish in 1:58, two minutes behind him.

In the end, I was the third woman and sixth skier. VD made a mistake after 4 and did not finish. MT won handily, the little whippersnapper. After the race, there was a some talk of getting more ski-Os going in Ontario, as driving out to eastern NY state sucks. RD Nick, BC, and MT's parents are all into putting something else together. I told the RD that I could do this every weekend.

To summarize, I think the course really favoured classic skiers, or at least evened out the advantage that skaters might have had. I couldn't believe how easy it was to move on this snow too. The adventure teams felt that the handicap system was fair and quite democratizing. A wonderful, wonderful day. Despite the fact that I lost about 1.4km worth of time (10-15mins) through stupid mistakes. But I got a sweet door prize - massage therapy with, of all people, the wife of the dude who passed me on that last fight to the finish. Oh, my back needs that.

--Distance: 14.5km
--Duration: 1:58

X-Country Skiing

Last training session before the Stars W*A*R. Took some friends' advice and went to Taylor Creek Park to ski along the east-west bike trail. So many skiers out that there were some decent trails made.

Haldon to west lot - 15mins
Struggling over the bare bridge and coming back due to path closure - 15mins
West lot to Haldon - 15mins
A couple of bridges east of Haldon and back - 15mins
I even climbed the hill up to the parking lot nicely. Arms were tired though, didn't want to over-do it.
Kept telling myself I have to keep my head up and be aware at the race, but I always find myself staring at my feet.

It was nice, but I do love a good track set. Plus at one point, some asshole cops went by on their ATVs and smashed up our existing tracks.

Fuck da police!

--Distance: 5.8km
--Duration: 60mins
--Route: Garmin tracks

Pool Swimming

200m kick w/ fins
~3:30
200m pull w/ paddles
~4:00

4x 100m on 400m goal pace
1:56 / 1:57 / 1:56 / 1:57

3x
400m
100m easy
7:50 / 8:01 / 8:02 [adjusted for stops while getting passed]

4x 25 hypoxic 10" / 15" / 20" RI
full / full / flags / flags

--Distance: 2,400m
--Duration: 60mins

Pool Swimming

Missed 100m easy and 3x 100m kick w/ fins.

3x 100m pull w/ paddles on 2:00
1:50-2:00
3x 100m fins and paddles on 2:00
~1:30 each

100m each of DSP, 80%, zipper, high-elbow-catch
25 / 21 / 24 / 21

4x
2x 100m fast on 1:55
1x 100m easy on 2:15 (usually ended up with more rest)
1:45 / 1:51
1:51 / 1:53
1:55 / 2:00
1:51 / 1:50
The last set was a miracle. I always do better once I relax.

4x 25m hypoxic, easy-peasy

--Distance: 2,300m
--Duration: 60mins

X-Country Skiing

Went back to Hardwood Hills for final training before the big race. I'd heard about the uphill start at Mansfield, so I wanted to get my hillwork in check. I took another lesson with Instructor Martina, and she showed me some neat tricks, but it turns out that my hill climbing is really quite good.

I wanted to speed-run the Sochi loop and then do some harder stuff afterwards, but I think I dawdled a bit much in between to do both. I did manage to get up to pretty good speeds on Sochi, though. Usually around 6:00/km. I felt pretty smooth, although I was still noticing that I was looking down a lot and not paying attention to my surroundings, which is what killed me last year. The conditions were a bit icy and the track was shredded to shit. Nevertheless, I finished in 1:17 flat.

I decided to do a Nagano-Lillehammer combo, but in the end had to cut short on the yellow course and didn't get a chance to climb the crazy hill in the southwest corner.

Well guess what? There's no snow at Mansfield again, and the Stars have moved the WAR back to Wasaga. Flat as a board!

--Distance: 18km
--Duration: 2hrs

X-Country Skiing Lesson - Hills

Right away I announced to Instructor Martina that I would like help with hill climbing this time. I wasn't even sure whether you're supposed to stay in the tracks and fight or get out and herring bone. I suck so bad at herring bone that I tend to keep running, but I wasn't sure if that was a waste of energy. To my great surprise, she told me that if I don't have much trouble climbing in the tracks on most hills, that is quite impressive, and that I should stay in the tracks as long as I can.

Running uphill in tracks:
- short, quick steps
- full transfer of weight from foot to foot
- kicking foot forward and attacking
- using the shoulders to help with the weight transfer.
Turns out I was already doing most of these things just by instinct, but the more aggressive "stair climbing" technique really helped.

Then she wanted to introduce some alternative techniques for when I would have to get out of the tracks.
1. Skating diagonal climb: like herring bone, but with a skating sideways glide for more propulsion
- could not get the glide into it, at least not uphill. On flats it was okay, but no way going up
2. Skating parallel pole climb: similar, but both poles touch down together
- same difference, there's just no glide in these little fishscale skis (although Martina had the same equipment!)
3. ("Plan D") Fast herring bone: herring bone with the straight running technique of kicking forward
- by far the best and easiest, fastest and most fun: she told me to just stick to what I know

I also asked her about downhilling and cornering. So the last technique was a kind of half-turn, also based on skating technique:
- the inner foot guides, while the outer foot glides sideways for propulsion. You can go round and around like this. At least Martina can. I have no talent for this sideways gliding thing. She made me try it along a slope, which was a disaster. But for the record, you're supposed to go downhill, slow down a bit, and then do these quick turning steps to corner. Uh-huh.

When I went out to practise, I did actually manage to corner a bit better than before, but I'm just so unsteady out of the tracks. Maybe need to try skating next year to see if I can improve my balance.

--Duration: 45mins

Gym Workout

(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set

(10) DB Bent Lateral fly w/ external rotation: 7.5lbs x2 / 10lbs x2 / 10lbs x2
(10) DB Bent-over Lateral Raise: 5lbs x2 / 7.5lbs x2 / 7.5lbs x2
(10) DB Row: 25lbs / 30lbs / 35lbs (6)
(10) DB Low Incline Bench Press: 2x 25lbs / 2x 25lbs / 2x 25lbs

(10) BB Deadlift: 110lbs / 120lbs / 125lbs
(10) Push-ups: BW / BW / BW 
(10) Cable Straight-Arm Pulldowns: setting 3 / setting 3 / setting 4 (8)
I was gonna do an anti-rotation DB thing, but I got distracted by a hot guy and forgot...

(10) Leg Press: 300lbs (20) / 320lbs

--Duration: 40mins

Glute Strengthening Exercises

Doctor's Orders Exercises:

Walking in a 1/4 squat, knees out, with band around knees:
- sideways and backwards/ forwards
This really burned the sides of my ass/hips, but felt good.

10x 1/4 squats with toes against the wall - very hard too keep the hamstrings out of it.
3x 10x 1/2 squats with the band around the knees - hard to control the glutes
3x 10x glute bridges with punching the muscles
- also difficult, but not as bad as the squats


--Duration: about 15mins