Friday, July 31, 2015

July Totals

July 2015  -    383.1 km  ***
YTD         -  2,018.1 km

Three races,  Laura Secord 50 km,  North Face 50 km and the Dirty Girls 24 hour 80 km.

Breakdown ....

21 Trail Runs logging 322.8 km. 139.5 km of that were done without leaving my property looping my backyard trail.

10 Treadmill Runs logging 50 km

1 Road Run logging 10.3 km


*** Pretty sure this is the most K's ever logged in a month.


Trail Friday

Looped again today logging another 5.6 km on the backyard trail.


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Tired Lazy Trail













Looping again ... trying to avoid the treadmill.  Late night at work  +4am ish to bed +9am ish rise just not enough #s inbetween but I shuffled along and got and enjoyable 5.7 km looping the backyard trail.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Trail Today

5.8K looping the backyard trail today.  It was hot and I liked it...allot!


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Extra Hour

Finished up at the Dentist a little early today so I had an hour to kill before I started work so I decided to hit the treadmill for a 5K Run.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Monday Trail

 5.8Ks looping the backyard trail this afternoon.

I liked it because ....


  • It was hot
  • There was Beer
  • I felt great
  • I didnt have to run on the treadmill at work
  • I was outside
  • I was having fun
  • It was sunny
  • There was a hammock
  • I wasn't working
  • I fulfilled the July Challenge 
  • Did I mention I felt great 
  • I could have run all day ,  all night and some of the next day ...with Beer if course. 





Dirty Girls Pics

Thanks for the pictures  Patrick ,  Robin, Kim and Christa.
























\

The video is really cool .... just because it makes us SMILE!





















Dirty Girls 24 Hour - July 25/26 2015

 What a blast this race is.  It just keeps getting better year after year.  The small filed and setting with folks camped out around the start finish makes it one the of the best races of the OUS series.  New friends made and old friends.    No matter how much effort I put into this race report it will never do the event justice.

 Race day started at 5 am a half hour before my alarm after a really lousy nights sleep.  Note to self.... DO NOT ,  DO NOT  dine out the night before a race.   I know to stick to "normal food" the night before.    A lousy sleep usually translates to a good performance.   Waking up before the alarm allowed me a brief but enjoyable Coffee in the Hot Tub.

 Arrived in Mansfield at 7am an hour before the start.  Got ready and then chatted it up with lots of my " Ultra Friends".     It was the biggest field yet for the 24 hour race with 47 of us doing the 24 plus we had the 6 hour  and 12 hour folks 75 for a total of 122...WOW!   Started on time at 8am and after the cha cha line in the first single track we all spread out quickly.

 Weather forecast was for a rather hot day unsettled conditions with a chance of afternoon T Storms and an almost guaranteed chance of at least a shower.    Well it was HOT  but as it turned out there was barely a drop of rain and no Storms.   I knew heading out that this was not going to be a day that I tried for a buckle  achieving 120 km in 24 hours.   I like running in the heat but I really have to slow down to enjoy it otherwise the heat rules and I loose.   I was thinking that I would like to get to 100K .   that was goal A and B was 80K enough for metal ... love the bling!   For some time I was planning a different sort of fueling plane and that was to stop every lap ,  sit down in my "Zero Gravity Chair " have a Beer and some food then grab a 0.5 Litres of Water to go.    Run plan was more or less always walk the first K ( mostly uphill ) finishing the water.  At the 4K aid station it was Gel time and 2 glasses of water then run back to the start finish.      Now all I had to do is repeat , repeat ,  repeat ,  repeat .......

 There was tons of interest in my fueling plan and plenty of skeptics and I have to admit I was one of them not really sure of what I had committed too.   As it turns out I was OK , actually way more then just OK.   It was hot ,  really hot someone overnight said we had a humidex pushing 40C.   Hydration was spot on! I figured I consumed 10-12 Litres of fluids 7-8 of which were water.    With a Gel and S Cap every lap my electrolytes were perfect.   Usually I never get enough calories.  Sometimes they get in but don't get processed.  Liquid calories seem to be easier to absorb so the Beer was perfect.   Never felt like I was low on Calories and believe me I know when I run out of fuel!   One unexpected surprise of my rather unconventional plan was lowering my core temperature.   Not only was I adding carbs I was also cooling my core every lap with just shy of a liter of Ice Cold fluids.  At both Laura Secord and the North Face 50K's it was HOT and my core temp was way high for a long time.   Not the case a the DG 24 and I know that for 2 reasons.  First off when my core is hot hot hot for a long period of time 24 hours after the event I get the "Rash of Scarlet Fever" and I  got it for LS and NF but not DG.  Second I know by the temperature of my breath when the core is HOT and there was only 1 lap that I headed out that I though the core temp was up.  In addition to the cold bevy I also was horizontal in the shade so that also aided in my cooling.   I was in no hurry to drink the beer and my stops were anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes in length.    Yet another positive was my Feet ,  yes my  feet benefited greatly from being elevated regularly.  Usually at the long DG race it feels like someone was beating on the bottom of my feet with a 2X4.   This time there was no foot pain util the last lap.   Now I do give some credit to the Hokas ... they rock but I am sure that putting my feet up helped a ton.   There was a mental aspect to the fueling plan and I cannot tell you how much I looked forward to ending a lap knowing there was a cool shaded chair and an Ice Cold Beer waiting!!!    So I was really happy with how the whole Beer thing went however if I was "racing"  the fuel plan was a lousy idea but being hot and not really wanting to go for it it was perfect.    The only "Mentally TOUGH" part is I could have walked every lap ,  not  taken such a long break and more or less did the 80 km in the same time.

 One of the absolute hands down best part of doing theses sorts of races is the folks that I get to hang out with.  Old friends and new found friends always.   Its hard to pick any event on Southern Ontario that I don't bump into someone I know.   Patrick Rose paced me after dark.   When I dawned my lights I threw a Blue Tooth Speaker in my backpack and we streamed Okemos Brewing off the Internet rocking the forest away for a few hours.   There are so many sub stories to tell ... moments with old friends on the trail .   One special surprise was Grant Monet coming out for the 12 hour night ... the only OUS race he could squeeze in all season.  And then there was the 19 year old, Lizzy  going  going for the buckle on her third ever and longest by far Ultra ,  she made it with time to spare.   Any day I bump into Doug Barber is always great ... a running legend and  neighbor.    Can't say enough about Diane the RD and Henry.  I was teasing Diane about the "Pig Tails a Flying" sign was missing.   She has these really cool creative signs describing each section .... things like "Single Again" , "Dirty Boys Muscle Duo" .... so on and so forth.   I fell like I should mention everyone that I talked to ,  swapped stories or heard words of encouragement but I would have to write a small book to include everyone.

So I decided to pull the plug with 4.5 hours to go at 3:30 am logging 10 laps in 19 hours 29 minutes .  Skipped Beers 9 and 10 because I decided to drive home when I reached 80K mark.      I had a family dinner to attend to Sunday afternoon so the thought of a shower and my own bed won  me over.    Made it to bed as night turned to day and passed out for few hours of much needed sleep.

 Many pictures were posted so many that I will do a picture post in my next blog entry.   Thanks to everyone who shared them.

Cant wait until next year and I am hoping that maybe just maybe the 48 hour race would return.



  Splits 

Lap     Time 
 1     1:20:16   
 2     1:34:41   
 3     1:39:33   
 4     1:44:24   
 5     1:52:36   
 6     1:53:18   
 7     2:05:20   
 8     2:30:15   
 9     2:19:33   
10     2:29:50  Walked this lap.  

Friday, July 24, 2015

After Midnight ...



 With the Dirty Girls 24 Hour tomorrow I needed a bit of a taper so I dawned the lights and hit the backyard trail at 01:24 am for a little 5.7 Ker.    The Moon had set and the light from the Stars was simply amazing.   Its so dark here that the Milky Way looks like clouds.   I never tire looking into our own Galaxy.   After the Run I chilled in the Hammock in total darkness watching the Sky go by.   Observed a really cool Meteorite that split in two as it entered our atmosphere.   I yelled out from the Hammock " Thanks for contributing to our planet " .... yes there were Beers!    Returned home at 4am  slept until Noon and now I am charging everything and getting my Race on.   Look out 24 hours here I come ...


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Weird

Last treadmill run of the week.   Its been a busy somewhat stressful evening at work.  HR was much higher then usual in the 140's after 2K pushing up to 151...YIKES.   Last couple of days its been normal ... high 130's but today it was 10-12 bpm higher.   Its a great mystery however I suspect stress or perhaps I subconscious know what I am about to do this weekend or perhaps it  has something to do with what I did last weekend however the last couple of runs have been normal ... so fickled!


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Tuesday Eve

Another 5K the usual way on the treadmill on my meal break this evening.

Monday, July 20, 2015

LS and NF thoughts....

Haven't really had a whole lot of time to fill in the blanks in the blog lately been too busy running and just plain old enjoying Summer.   Any time I lace up to run long its an adventure.  You never know what little thing will stand out but there is always that moment or two in any event that are worth remembering.

Laura Secord ...

A couple of weeks ago was really a fun event.   The presence of the military made it very special.  There was an unspoken mutual admiration and respect for what the Ultra Community and the Military were doing ... a rather unique bond I would say.    I came across a Military guy finishing up his distance... not sure what he was doing or how long he had been out there but teh Sun was high in the sky and the heat was coming on!  He couldn't believe that I was heading out for a second loop ...totally dumbfounded actually.   In fairness to him I was wearing my typical warm weather running gear and he was head to toe covered in military attire!  Another moment I remember was teh second time through the Brock Monument.   42K in with 8K to go the wheels more or less fell off and I a, sure it showed.   There was a Bride and Groom with a photographer and as I ran by I muttered congratulations nit really thinking it was audible and I heard the Bride say "Thank you".   I don't know why but that hit me a being a really cool moment.   Next up was plopping myself down on a Park Bench  to realign my Metatarsal support in my shoe.   There was a tourist from Asia sitting  taking pictures ... I just had to sit down in-spite of having to share a bench with him.  Funny but he didn't hang around very long and I can't figure out why!  

 North Face Blue

 Arriving just a little after 6am the Sun was rising over Georgian Bay and I stopped to get some pictures at the top of the Mountain.   I hear some excitement from the 10K Aid Station and the lead 50 milers were coming through ... tough 10 in about 70 minutes for these guys.  As they Run by I realize that it was the dudes from the Magazine!   That was kind of cool!

 So I am standing at the start waiting for the gun and who wonders over but Dean Karnazes  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Karnazes) ... " So it looks like your working on your tan today "  now how do you respond to that LOL!   Then he commented on my Nathan Gear saying that he had the same vest.   Anyhow it was cool and left me with a smile that the  guy was so friendly.  

 It wasn't very long into the race that I realize that this was a different crowd ... there were folks from all over the place and the average age was allot longer then I was use to seeing at an Ultra.   There were allot of first timers on the course too.   I started slow but figured I would end up passing a pile of folks and thats more or less what I did between 10 and 30  K's.    Leaped frog back and forth with a fellow I am guessing mid to late 60s who was the most grumpy unpleasant person .  Caught up with Grumpy at the end ... he was sitting eating his meal alone and still didn't want anything to do with anyone.  Hey I tried!!!

 So I am leaving Blue and was parked at the "Event Lot" a K away from the race at the foot of the South Chair.  As I was getting to my car a Woman and her Son, about 17 years,  stops me asking for directions to the Race HQ to register her Son for the 1/2 Sunday.   She asked about my race and I told her that I just Ran 50K .... she said looking up at the Ski Hills  " thats must be the hardest race you have ever done " and without hesitation I said "No".   I think I floored her ...   felt very smug walking away.  Although it was hot  and there was some elevation and I was out longer then I thought this doesn't even make the top 10 list ...really wasn't that bad and I really enjoyed the day and hopefully next year I can work it into the race calendar to do the 50 Miler Race!


 Its always an adventure lacing up you just never know where its going to lead you.  Thats one of the main reasons I keep coming back for more!

Lunch Run

Back working Eves this week.  5K don the usual way on the treadmill on my meal break.

HR was around 10 BPM higher.  It was a little bit warm in the Gym but it probably was a result of being a little fatigued from the weekend.  


Sunday Trail

Forgot to post Sundays Run...

Just a little 5.7Ker looping the backyard trail.  Felt great after Saturdays 50K NF Race.   It was hot but I liked it and there was Beer in the Hammock afterwards.




North Face Endurance 50K Picture


Sunday, July 19, 2015

North Face 50K Blue Mountain - July 18 2015









 It was one of the warmest Races I have done in a long time.    Figured I would be around 8 hours and I ended up over that at 8h36min.  Was moving well through 30K then the Hills at Blue and the rising temps made things allot more difficult.   More or less just managed the heat through the last 20Ks ...sometimes better then others.   Felt like I was getting somethings back towards the end was moving better but it probably had more to do with being closer to the end.

The course was a little long.   My watch dies with 1.6 K to go reading 50.6 K ... the course was just beyond the 52K mark.  Normally not a big deal but on a hot day ... YIKES.

On a positive note I took the Pan Am Mascot Pachi  for a ride...his first Ultra.

Before the race...






















After with his medal...











Friday, July 17, 2015

Taper Time

19 Hour Taper begins .... thanks July Challenge!     NF Blue 50K tomorrow.

5K the usual way to day on my meal break.

See you out there!


Thursday, July 16, 2015

T Minus Two

Two days til Blue 50K.    Going to go super duper easy just because 7 days later its the 24 hour DG!

Race plan has been officially sealed after being notarized!

Logged another 5K lunch run the same as the other days this week.   HR was much lower but so was the temperature.




Tuesday, July 14, 2015

2nd RunTuesday

5.4Ks logged on the backyard trail after work today...just because it seemed like the right thing to do!  

Lunch Run

Another 5Ker the same way as yesterday.   It didn't seem as hot today and my HR was a little lower.


Monday, July 13, 2015

Its been 2 weeks!

Back to work after 2 weeks of no treadmill.   Logged a 5Ker at lunch @ 5:00 pace along
with a .2K 4:45 fartlek at the 4K mark followed by a cool down.  

HR was higher today ... vacations are hard on me!



Sunday, July 12, 2015

Trail Sunday

Last day of this round of Summer Vacation.  Nice and warm again.   Concentrated on taking care of things and slowing down.  It was really a very pleasant  but slow 10.2 Ks.  

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Warm Trails

Waited for the heat of the day then looped the backyard trail logging 15.7Ks in just a little under 2.5 hours...slow by design and I liked it!

Friday, July 10, 2015

Trail Friday

Looping again today logging 10.9 Ks .... did one extra lap barefoot just to see what it was like.   The cool earth under foot was neat ,  pine needles were fantastic but twigs not so much.   Will have to try this again ...very interesting.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Thursday Trail - HR Watching

10.2 K logged on the backyard trail today.

Overlayed HR over elevation.

First 6 laps  CW...













Second 6 laps CCW ...













Both segments were done in the same average pace.   Going CW most of the elevation gain is in one short distance  around 30 meters or so.  Going CCW the elevation gain is over 200 meter distance  or so...more gradual but a much longer climb.   In each segment I walked the last climb.  HR dropped on the walk and took awhile to return to the avg when  I got going again.   Going CCW is better because I pushed the HR up to Zone 3.

Hard to belive its the identical trail done at an identical pace!


Trail Wednesday

10.6 K looping on the backyard trail.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Tractor Trails and Back Roads

Tractor Trails and Back Roads  this eve.  Temps were 12C cooler then yesterday at 15C.    Logged 10.3 Ks I was only planning a little out and back 5 Ker but it felt good so I kept going.


Trail Monday

10.6 very warm Ks looping my backyard trail.    The heat slowed me down but it was really embracing.  

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Trail today

Feeling almost no affect from yesterdays 50 Ker...one good thing about finishing slow!    Logged a little 5.5 K run on the back yard trails.

Laura Secord Memorial 50K Ultra - Saturday July 4, 2015

 Did the Laura Secord 50K yesterday.... the course won!    Actually it wasn't all bad I finished in 7hrs57min2sec good for 3rd in my age group ( there was only 3 in my age group ).  

 The day started early with an alarm set for 3 am.    Race day I often wake up before my alarm so after 5 or so hours of sleep I was in the Hot Tub at 02:30 am.   Didn't feel the least bit tired driving to Niagara.   Stopped at the Tims on the east side of the bridge over the Welland Canal and had breakfast.  I was at Firemens Park in Niagara at around 6:30 am.  First impression was how many military personal were there.  There was at least a dozen tents housing at least a dozen personal.   The military runs an exercise in conjunction with the race....very cool.  This was the second year for this event and it was staged on the Bruce Trail so I expected it to be tough but figured on a 6-7 hour day.    The weather forcast was for some warmish temps in the mid to high 20's.

 The race started at 07:30 am.   First K or 2 were on some open trail leading to a large climb up an old landfill site.   At the top was one of the most amazing views on Western Lake Ontario  and Toronto ... breath taking actually.   Got to go through the " Screaming Tunnel  twice ....


































Screamed twice ...it was cool!   It was only a couple of Ks and we were into the most gnarly section I dubbed the Achilles Killer.  It was a K or two stretch of trail cut out for this course between an rail line and a fence that separated residential back yards.  Grape vines and stuff to grab and trip you everywhere!    Leaving that section we headed out to a small road section with a gentle grade that included a little trail jaunt I dubbed the Horse Shoe!  After the road there was a few Ks of more of less flat along the side of the escarpment.  Its must have been an ancient rail bed but it sure was nice to be able to fly along for awhile until we got to Sheaffe's Hill where in the War of 1812 he drove his army up the hill and came back around and surprised the American Army .... there were  ghosts!    After the climb it was another k or two before we ran around General Brocks Monument then headed back to the start finish.    Tripped the Matt after the first 25K loop at 3hrs32min11sec...YIKES.   Heading back out for the second and thank god final loop it was getting warm and I was feeling fatigued so I was thinking somewhere around 4 hours to complete.    Heading up over the old landfill I walked across the top taking in the amazing view and lovely breeze off Lake Ontario.   This time through the screaming tunnel I only let out a sigh!     Went real easy through the Achilles section then moved well through the ancient rail bed.  I noticed that my right foot was very uncomfortable to the point of being painful.  I wear a Metatarsal support in my shoe that sits under the arch and it appears to have shifted under the toes when I did a rather violent kick and save at the 17K mark ... only tripped once all day!   Coming through the Brock Monument I sat on a park bench took off my shoe and re-aligned the metatarsal support.    It felt really weird at first but I knew I had it in place.   So there was 8K or so to go and I was feeling rather nauseated.   I had been gelling ,  drinking water and taking enough S Caps but it just wasn't being processed.  Taking a 30 minute break at this time would have really helped but I headed out just wanting to get it done.    Goal for the last 8K was to keep the Ks under 10 minutes.   I would run for a bit the take a break the run some more but it was hard to maintain a constant pace.   I kept getting a pin across the top of my shoulders that I suspect is a result of the heart working harder due to dehydration.   I am familiar with this sorts of thing and rest ,  hydration and nutrition alleviate i but I just wanted to get it done so I chipped away running where it was easy and walking  when I had to.     Did a little sprint the last half K wanting to trip the clock a under 8 hours and that was what I did coming in in 7hrs57min2sec .

 All and all it was a  great day.  Any time I can finish an Ultra I am happy.   On a positive note when I have a slow finish it is like a huge cool down and there seems to very little effect on my muscles the next day.   Its Sunday morning writing this report  and I feel great,  nothing hurts and I had a great 9 hour sleep.   I am 100% ready to Run today ....   how cool is that!



















Splits Click here for splits

Friday, July 3, 2015

Getting my trail on.

Planned arest day before tomorrows Ultra but I am doing the July Challenge``  so I logged a lazy 5.1Ks on the backyard trails.  Did some of my lesser travels routes with some decent climbs.  


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

First of July

Logged a little lazy 5.2 K on the neighborhood trails this afternoon.    Its another cool running day nice but it will make the warmer weather allot tougher.  


June 2015 Totals

 June     301.8 km
 YTD 1,635.0 km

Two races done in June the Huron Shores 10 km  in 45min43sec and the Niagara 50 km  done in 5hrs6min.

Did 36 runs in total ...

Treadmill  X20 logging 128 km
Trail  X14 logging 113.7 km
Road X1  logging 10 km
Park Path ( Niagara ) X1 logging 50 km