16K last eve

Did a 16K Road/Trail Run , longest since Aug 9! Been doing10s but for one reason or another I just haven't been able to go long! It was a damp run , not too warm at 22C but the Humidity was close to 100%. It was raining for the past day and things were quiet damp , there was a bit of fog here and there. Today I am heading out to Beaver Valley to run ( or try to) the Bruce Trail. Hope to do the "long one" today, 30+K's . Legs feel good after last eve, could have used a bit more sleep but I am pumped to go!

A couple of trail runs!

Been running trail the pat two evenings. About 12K both times at around a 6min pace. Haven't had time for an LSD, its been 15 days since I went long.... been running but only short distances. I will try to get out again tomorrow , maybe 16 or 21K depending on time. Saturday I have a full day planned at Beaver Valley ... at least 30K ! I havent felt too full of energy , the shorter runs are making me question my ability to go the distance. I never really feel comfortable until the 8-12 K mark . This eve I settled in to a nice pace around 8K , it felt like I could go on for hours ! Paused a couple of times to take in the sights. Ran a new trail and came across an old barn / house foundation. It was probably abandoned 60 or so years ago , wondered who lived there and what life must have been like. Paused on a high ridge that you can see 30-50K, only a few barns/houses visible other wise all bush !

Sauble 8K today!

Race day started as usual , up at 6:30 after about 5 hours of sleep. Too little sleep , almost decided to skip the race but I am glad that I didn't ! Had breakfast, OJ/Oatmeal/English Muffin with PB and Coffee. 30 minutes in the Hot Tub after eating then I was off! It was an hours drive to Sauble Beach, 22C when I left home at 08:00 am.

Did a gel and downed some water on the way. Arrived and picked up my race kit , no number or timing chip just a name tag you pin to your shorts! It was getting too hot for any kind of a warm up so I walked down the beach a half a K and back! The race started at 10:00 am , I am guessing that it was somewhere around 25C, 80% Humidity and Sun... it was going to be a hot one!

1st K was done in 4:23, a few times I slowed my pace to try to meet the 4:30 pace I was trying to maintain over the first 5K. 2nd K was done in 4:00 ..too fast for such a hot day but I was feeling good and crunching the numbers...maybe!!!!! At the 3K mark I was starting to feel the heat , I managed to slow to a 4:30 pace . Passed a couple of others around 3K , one fellow in the 30-39 category started to walk , guess he went out way too fast, would that be my fate too ? Passed the 4K half way point at 17:39 , this was a 4:46 pace! Now I was crunching the numbers in the opposite direction. First 4K was with a breeze at our backs and 50% shade. The last 4K was 0% shade straight south and with a breeze in my face ! Passed 5K at 22:34, 4:55 pace , getting slower! There was an aid station at 6K, ran past but dumped a glass of water on top of my over heating head , there was no sensation of cool ... just wet , that cant be good! Passed 6K at 27:38 , last K pace of 5:04 , 5 runners passed me in the last K , I didn't care I just wanted it to be over ... it was so hot! Made 7K at 32:54, last K pace of 5:14. Four of the 5 runners that passed were a few hundred meters ahead , one fellow who I later learned was 14 was only about a 100m ahead....I set my sights on racing him at the end. I spent the 700m of the last K closing the gap on the young fellow 33 years younger then me. Ever so quietly I snuck up to within a couple of meters , with 300m to go the race was on. I was ahead of him until 200m were left the he was ahead of me until 100m were left !!!!!!! I though to myself " You gotta have more ... its only been 8K , last time it was 50K I gotta have more ! So past him I flew , probably the fastest I have run since I was a kid. Garmin said I was doing 25km/Hour as I passed the finish line ... WOW, last K at 4:41 pace ! The wow factor lasted about 2 seconds as the first of 3 dry heaves occurred ... the crowd that a moment ago was WOWed by the 47 year old 182lb guy trying to be 14 again clear for fear of projectiles. So here I am down on my knees , heaving and praying that it wouldn't be too bad! 5 minutes , a douse of cold water and I was OK ! Others didn't fare so well , a top 3, 18 year old female was taken away by ambulance , she looked OK covered in Ice Packs . Temp at the end of the race was 30C !

So of the 108 brave souls who faced the heat I came in 29th overall , third in the 40-49 age group with a time of 37:14 , an overall 4:44 pace , 14 seconds over my goal !

While waiting for the awards I meet Anne from Hanover , she is a Run Mania Lurker and avid Blogger . I asked about running groups and Anne mention the the Saugeen Tri Club! Googled it and found http://www.saugeentriclub.com/ ... I am in . Meet Frank from Durham , another local runner interested in Anne and my blog as well as organizing a running group!

Awards were done on the beach , very well organized ... Watermelon/Pizza/Pop and water ! Lots of giveaways from local merchants in Sauble Beach , thanks to all. Overall , a great race...Cant wait for next year! Race day started as usual , up at 6:30 after about 5 hours of sleep.

Pure Trail = Pure Joy

Mixed it up today, didn't want to do a route that I would be able to compare to previous runs. Wanted to go out and make it fun, moderate pace so I totally just went where ever I wanted. Ended up with a 11.4K run at around a 6 min pace. Tomorrow I may pick it up a bit , not sure ... maybe I will go easy.

Another Fast 10K

10K at a 4:45 Pace , getting ready for Saturdays 8K , will see how it goes tomorrow. May not run the rest of the week depending how it feels , other wise I will do a 10 Wed and Thurs ... stay tuned!

Been running .... sort of

After a blistering 10K Friday Evening I managed a slow 10K on Sat and a very slow 5K on Sunday. I felt tired both days and it was hot! I had very little energy , very strange this sort of thing has happened before its quiet rare!

As a leap of faith I signed up for an 8K Road Race in Sauble this Saturday! There is no way to do an LSD this week, working eves and at home with kids. I should be able to get some short runs in , 10K yes .. 16K maybe. I would like to go out fast and short tomorrow then easy and longer on Wed or Thurs reset on Fri race on Sat.

This race is 2 weeks to the day that I did Dirty Girls and a whole Marathon Distance shorter!

Ron.

Fast 10K Road after dark

Wow, I feel like I have learned to run fast again. Did my 10K straight north on the 2nd out 5K and back at a really fast 4:40 pace ! It feels really good to run fast again!

It was a moon lit night and a cool 15C , very nice. As I headed north there was a flash of lightening up towards Owen Sound, very far away. It really feels neat running in the dark, you feel like you are flying ! At 3K there is a long gradual rise over close to a K. I tried to maintain my pace in spite of going uphill, got a really good burn on in the legs as I approached the top of the climb.... 30m up in 800m! At the 5K mark I turned around , was now running South , facing a Full Moon when the tress were not blocking the view. Ran looking up at the clouds/moon and stars.... couldn't see where i was planting my feet so what the heck! Had some Flem stuck at the 6K mark that was rather bothersome to clear, a couple of Ks latter I was breathing better again.

After the run I felt great , really great like I am ready to do a 10K in under 45 min again!!!!!! Maybe I will do the 8K Sauble Race next weekend.

Ron.

10K on the road

First run since Saturdays 50K 6:10! Felt very light on my feet, was considering doing 16K but a 3K in I felt my Quads starting to tighten a bit. So I ran a fast 10K instead, little under a 5:00 pace ... haven't gone that distance that fast in awhile. Felt good after the slow pace of the 50K Run.

Ron.

Dirty Girls

What a day did , my first Marathon and Ultra Distance in the same race!

The day started early , the alarm was set for 04:30 am but as is usual I was up 30 minutes earlier. Had my usual Oatmeal / English Muffin with PB and OJ. Jumped in the Hot Tub for an hour, out a 5 and 30 minutes later I was on the road.

It was a little over an hours drive to Mansfield. A beautiful morning , lovely sunrise ... very red sky. I remembered the saying " red sky in the morning , sailors warning. I wondered what kind of a day I was in for ! Arrived about 6:40. There were lot of campers just staring to stir. Picked up my race kit and made my way back to the car , set up a lawn chair and chilled in the Sun until just before race time.

1st 10K

The race started a 08:00 , off we went first few hundred meters was on a single track so it was slow. As is usual there was lots of joking around , 1/4 of k in a fellow announced " Only 5 hours and 58 minutes to go". Trails were really good, hard packed sandy single track to single lane gravel roads. There was more up/down then I anticipated , most walked the big hills. I had a 5 minute unplanned stop in the woods around 7K , I had started my day with an upset bowl and this was the first of 3 stops that I had to do. It ate up about 10 minute overall attending to this problem. First loop was done in 1:03.

2nd 10K

Blew by the aid station and headed back into the woods, it looked like the weather was about to change. Did a hammer gel washed it down with a bit of water. Did loop 2 in about 1:05 , had a brief 2 minute nature call but it was much shorted then loop 1. Cumulative time at the end of loop 2 was 2:08

3rd 10K

After two loops the weather definitely was changing , stopped at the car and grabbed my hat , also the Jelly Beans , grabbed a 1/3 of a bottle of heed and off I went back into the woods! No sooner did I start the third loop then it started to rain! I felt the most at peace on this loop , I remember hearing the rain in the leaves no one was around ... a moment of Zen 2.5 hours in. By the end of the third loop it was really starting to rain heavily. Third loop was slower at 1:20 , I walked allot more in this loop then I would in the next ... not sure why! Stopped for a a washroom break , more head an some chocolate chip cookies. Cumulative time at the end of loop3 was 3:28

4th 10K

I found a rhythm in the forth loop , it wasn't fast but it was steady. My feet were soaked and I was concerned about how my feet would do , it was really raining heavily during this loop , I was afraid that it would get slippery but it wasn't too bad , the sandy soil made for good drainage! Stopped at the half way aid station , tried some coke. For some reason I really thought I had slowed down , at the 35K aid stop I looked at the Garmin and it was 4:06 ! I really lit up .... 4:06 maybe , just maybe 50K in under 6! Finished the 4th loop in 1:15 , 5 min faster then loop 3 !!! Cumulative time at the end of loop 4 was 4:45..

5th 10K

Started out not knowing what to expect and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I didn't think I would make the 6 hour cutoff for 50K but I was confident that I would easily make the 47.5K mark and I did just that in 5:46. As I passed by the Marshall at the 42.5 K mark I had a small celebration .... Ho rah I proclaimed , I just did my first Marathon Distance ! At the half way aid station I paused for a photo with the Styrofoam Dirty Girl. It was 5:26 with 5K to go , if the course was flat I could have made it but there was a really big uphill at 47.5 K that I knew would be a 5min walk and that was it was resigned to 47.5K. Took it easy that last couple of Ks and came in at 50K in 6:10.

The first two laps I was fighting sever stomach cramps, the third lap it improved and the last two it wasn't bothering me! I had never run more then 30K but I really didn't know what to expect. 30-50K wasn't all that bad , more like an extension of how I usually feel in the 20-30K runs that I have been doing since spring! The last lap I didn't have pain , just an ached through my entire skeleton ! I was wearing a compression short , the chest felt chilly and tight , breathing was laboured ... my chest was feeling tight. After I was done the achey feeling really hit me. I went to the car to change and had a tough time manoeuvring. After spending 10 minutes dressing I made my way to the start/finish and grabbed a Burger. Went back an sat next to the car, at the Burger and washed it down with Beer.

The awards were really cool , very cool as a matter of fact. The race director called out names , you were asked to tell everyone your name and where you were from and what your results were. When the swag was handed out names were drawn , you had to pick a gift and give it to someone. First place finishers were called to the podium , after the 2nd and 3rd from all category's came up and were toasted !

Got home around 5pm, took a couple of Advil then had a shower and a meal , was in bed by 7 and slept 12 hours .. best sleep i awhile. Today, I feel good , a little bit of soreness in the quads... a couple of tender toe nails and some chaffing. Probably be a day or two and I will be back at it , maybe even a race next weekend.

Ron.

Getting ready for Saturday

Haven't been running this week, sort of wanted to but things have been too busy at work and at home. Its really not so bad because I am going to attempt my first Ultra tomorrow. I figured that its not as much about speed as it is stamina , best thing for this was a few days of R&R!

Went out for a trail run last night , did a 9K run like it was the start of my 6 hour race..... real easy! It was a slow pace , uphills I really made a change ... increased the cadence and shortened the stride, it worked !

Finished in 55 min , and I felt like I could go for another 5 hours.

Ron.

12K trail run this evening

12K Trail Run today!