Epic day in Shawnigan July 14
0700 - Wake up
0730 - pick up Rosheen and start north bound on the Malahat
0830 - park at the Provincial Park on the west side of the lake, unload and the fun begins!
Rosheen and I decided that with the great weather, today would be an ideal day to take the bikes up to Shawnigan and I could show her the general area that the race might cover next weekend. Being that this was my old stomping ground, I remembered most of the bike route and the orienteering section. We started in the provincial park parking lot, took a look at the kayak launch and bike transition area from last year, hopped onto the Cowichan Trail and went north towards the Kinsol Tressel.
As we stood at the top looking down towards the river it brought back memories of the pain. It was a LONG way down, nice cooling water crossing, a LONG way up to the check point at the top of the other side. Take a quick breath, repeat. Studies say your body doesn’t remember pain, but standing at the top looking down, I beg to differ! Instead of going down and leaving the bikes unattended we just looked and said “Soon enough!” I had heard from sources (who will remain nameless) in my old running club, Ceevacs, that the bike trail specifically cut for last year’s race was now in really good condition. I was stoked at this news cuz last year, most of the trail was unrideable for me. Walking my bike then didn’t prove any faster as the silt averaged about 6 inches deep! Let me just say that 5 minutes up the trail I thought Rosheen was never going to speak to me again! But, I am blessed with a great friend who just smiled beautifully the whole way and said “This is great” when really, it wasn’t!
2 and a half hours and a lot of hike-a-bike later we popped out right at the quarry. We both wished we brought swim suits but kept pushing on. Out onto the pavement it was a 30 min slog on the road back to the truck. Just before the quarry I had drained the last of the water in my hydropack bladder and was working on my half full bike bottle when we started to really hear grumblings from our stomachs. We knew it was time to crank it up a notch and started to really push it. Rosheen took the lead and before I knew it I was falling seriously behind. She is brilliant on the hills and I just stuck my head down and struggled to keep up. Thankfully we arrived at the truck, both ravenous enough to nibble on our own arms, threw the bikes in the back and took off for the bakery in Cowichan Bay as fast as the law would allow!
MUCH to our dismay, the brilliant little organic bakery and cheese shop was closed!! The single thing that kept me going thru the last 30 minute push was now a daydream. Fortunately (especially for me!) the Rock Cod Cafe next door was a very tasty replacement. 45 minutes later, fuelled and full, we were cruising thru Mill Bay on our way home. A much needed shower and I was on the bed, barely keeping my eyes open before I hit the pillow (my excuse is I’m working nights tonight!
Week in Review:
Monday - Rest (and dentist appointment - eww)
Tuesday - 1.25 hr ride at Hartland with Kitt and Panda (my 4 legged partner)
Wednesday - 45 min light run with Rosheen
Thursday - Heavy weight upper body workout with Rosheen, 30 min hike up to alpine cabin on San Juan ridge at night
Friday - about 2 hours of hiking along the ridge
Saturday - home sick, exercise: lifted a mug of Neo Citron repeatedly
Sunday - Crossfit leg & upper body workout
Monday - epic 3 hr bike ride (sore from Crossfit and the ride now!)