Back on the trail

5.6 Ks done on the backyard trail this afternoon.  Just a slight bit of doms and a wee bit of discomfort from the blisters other wise a pleasant recovery run.

Sulphur Springs 100 Mles DNF

DNF...kind of a metaphor for life especially this week.  

Had allot going on lately so I wasn't sure how I would hold up attempting a. 100 miler.   Strangely enough I was able to clear my mind and more or less enjoy the time I spent running in the Dundas Valley.   One of the things that made this a great experience was my running friends.   Even if you have never met someone before we are all kindred spirits in the forest.

Actually managed 4 hours sleep the night before.   The alarm was set for 2:15 am but I was awake at 12:30 so I decided to put on a pot of coffee and jump in the hot tub for an hour.   The drive took about 2hrs15min arriving at the race with plenty of time to spare at 4:45 am.

The first 20k loop was great somewhere around a 2hrs50min as planned.  It was going to be hot,  very hot so I got into the happier of 500ml of water between the aid stations which works out to about 2 litres / loop.  I was telling and taking S Caps too.  Really felt great going out on the 2nd loop like I just warmed up.    It started to get incredibly hot on the second loop and it wasn't long before temperatures pushed into the 30's with a humidex pushing 40...YIKES.   Second loop was a little slower but I still can in a little over 3hrs.  Third loop was fine but the heat was starting to catch up to me.   Nearing the end of the loop I had very very dark urin and a small pain across my shoulders which is heart related as a result of thinking blood.   I finished the loop in reasonable time ,  around 3hrs20min or so.   I decided to take a cooling break grabbing a bottle of water ,  can of Blue and a cliff bar.  Dove for the car and cranked the air for nearly 25 minutes.    Heading back out things were not getting any better so I decided to walk through the heat of the day.  Walking always seems to be harder on the feet then running and the heat was relentless.  I was extremely fatigued walking up the hills having to stop to catch my breath.  I was no loner enjoying the race and decided to stop at the 80K mark.   It's a bit tough to quite when there is enough time to complete the run but I just wasn't into it satisfieyed that I logged a long one under some pretty tough conditions.

 The DNF was actually life changing for me ..really really.  Someday I will explain!

Wednesday and Thursday and today, Friday

Its been a gut wrenching week from hell and to be quite honest I really wasn't sure if I would even make I to the start line at Sulphur.  Last night I got a decent sleep albeit a little short and I actually managed to eat normally albeit a little light on volume.   So I am going to tow the line and give it my all ...there will be nothing left on the course and nothing left in me somehow I think it's a good thing, When I finish on Sunday it will be like a new beginning the page has been tuned and a new chapter has begun.   What a trip life is!

OK ,  back too Running .  Did my last run Wedensday logging 5.6 Ks on the backyard trail.  Thursday was a "rest" day but I† didn't feel like it going on 2 hours of sleep.   Today the day before its prep day and some odd jobs around the house.    Goal is to get 4 hours sleep in my own bed before getting up arc 2:15 am for the drive to Sulphur.  

Monday and Tuesday

Not up to too much this week with the 100 miler Saturday.  Logged 5.6 K on the backyards trail both days.   Trying hard not to so too much physical this week.  Been trying to eat and sleep better but both have been off but are coming around a little bit today.    Another little trail is planned for tomorrow and maybe Thursday but it may be a rest day and certainly Friday will be.  

Best 11

Grant biked over today and we hit the neighbourhood trails logging 11K's.   Grant is a great "running friend" who I am able to talk and laugh with ....the best.   We have a plan for Sulphur and are both pumped for the 100 miler!

Blue

Feeling very Blue today did a little 5.6K backyard trail run and it helped a bit.

Two Run Friday

5.6Ks on the backyard trail and 5Ks on the treadmill at work today.  

Again

Working Eves again so I logged a second run today doing the 5K "lunch run".

Another beauty

Once again a it was a lovely day that called for some trail time.   Logged 5.9 km on the backyard trail this afternoon.  

Lunch Run

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

Couldn't resist!

Wasn't expecting to get out on the trail today but I found myself with an extra hour this morning.   Thought about doing some lawn maintenance then though nah its too nice not to run so I laced up logging a 5.2 ker on the backyard trail.

Twosday

Two Run Tuesday today ,  5.2K on the backyard trail  this afternoon and 5K on the treadmill on my meal beak at work this evening.  

Seaton Pictures

Wow ,  tons of shots ....

Trail Monday

5.4 Ks done on the backyard trail this morning...felt great ,  100% like Seaton was last year!    Two solid 50Kers in 2 weeks have really helped to put my 100 Mile Mental on...really looking forward to going long. Let the adventure begin!

Seaton Ultra - May 14, 2015

 Did my 2nd Seaton Soaker 50K yesterday.   In 2009 I did the 25K race here returning in  2010 for the 50K event.   I was surprised about how much of the course I remembered.    The layout was quite different then it use to be and it appears to be a little easier course then I remember.

 With the Sulphur 100 miler looming in 2 weeks my Seaton goal was just to have a solid consistent run and thats more or less what I did.   The weather was a wee bit on the nasty side with temps around the 10C mark but just to add to the joy there was a cold rain and a cold sometimes brutal wind.  I wore a Tech T with Shorts ,  Gloves and an on again off again Running Hat.   Plan B was in my running backpack ,   a long sleeve Tech T,  a water and wind proof Shell ,  extra Gloves and a couple of chemical Hand Warmers!    I really didn't expect to need all the extras but it did give me confidence that if I was cold I could do something about it and be quite comfortable.    With the rain came some rather slick conditions here and there on the course.    Had one "almost" wipe out where is was flying though the air about to make a belly flop at the bottom of a small hill but managed on of my best save ever grabbing onto a tree.   With about 5K left in the race I went down on a muddy section landing on my left leg getting completely caked in mud.   Luckily the river crossing was only a few Ks ahead where is paused in cleaned most of the mess up.     Didn't need much hydration and did a little less calories then PYP.     Gelled 5 times with race supplied hammer gels and had come killer spicy Burritos at the 20K mark...they were still hot!    Did zero extra electrolytes because I wasn't sweating much and I figured I got what I needed out of the Gels.    There were tons of folks on the course that I hadn't run with in awhile so I really appreciated the out and back sections of the course getting to cross paths with everyone.    Every race has a mental aspect to it and this one was no different.    To start with I was going against the grain with my sleep patter ens working 4-midnight the week of the race.  I booked off early the night before but with a 3:30 am wake up it doesn't allow a full night sleep!   The race was a 2.5 hour drive ... love hate thing there and then there was the cold!!!!    I like the warm weather runs but I know I will manage better in the cold.   The first 25K loop was all about getting to the second 25K loop.  I always feel great joy when I have half the run done and the joy of the event builds when I have more behind then in front.   I never hated being out there although at times it sucked ..weather ,  muck so on and so forth.   I also knew throughout the race that I need a solid solid outing before the 100 miler.    I am under no illusion that a couple for solid 50 Kers means a walk in the park going long because no matter what covering a 100 miles is a tough challenge.   However  I do take away from PYP and Seaton a sense of bring it on ... its time and I am ready!    From time to time chatter would occur on  the course and someone was asking about my race calendar.... mentioned Sulphur stating " I have too much time on my hands".    I booked the week before and two weeks after the long one to mentally prepare myself for some of the mid games that go on going long ....I often think of all the other things I would rather be doing!     Back to Seaton....   love the finish ,  I was chasing down another man with about 5K to go.   He was a distant target at times and other times I was on his heals.   No works were said ,   I was pushing him and he was pulling me along.    It was really cool how we exchanged nothing,  not a word,   not a look nothing.    I had thought about passing but he had a good pace so I tucked in.   He really pushed at the end and ended up crossing the line a few hundred meters in front of me.   When I stopped we congratulated each other and it was only then that I realized it was JD .... yeah JD from way back in the beginning,  how cool is that!    

 So its Sunday morning the day after and I feel great ,  a little tired and hungry but great!    I had ZERO muscle pain in this race compared to PYP.   There was wee tenderness in the right knee that went away after an hour in the hot tub.   Feet were great ... on tiny blister under a challis,  that can get really nasty!     

  Not sure on all the finishing numbers but I did stop the Garmin at 6hrs16min54sec.  

Tired

Strange and wonderful things on the day before....

 Seaton is tomorrow and its going to be an early morning with not enough sleep.   I am going to drive for 2.5 hours one way to run around cold ,  wet ,  muck trails for 6-7 hours then jump back in my car making the 2.5 hour journey home.    Looming on the horizon is the Sulphur 100 miler ... its seems like tomorrow!


 So today is a coveted rest day but the day before should be coined a "restless" day.  The mind wanders and the body subconsciously knows what it is you are about to do .... remember two weeks ago!   So I feel beat ,  tired and I have been overeating a routine that I think of as " eating ahead".   


So yeah I am ready all those Ks logged on a regular basis says yup you can do it but the mind still wanders and doubts creep in but I carry on.   Ultimately I know its time well spent and once I get there and get well into the race the joy will follow and then when I am done there is the immense silly satisfaction of knowing .... " I did it" .

Choosing Trail

 With Seaton 50Ker on Saturday I have held back logging any substantial Ks since PYP and really pulled back this week logging daily 5Kers.   I have choose to hot the trail vs the treadmill and am 100% happy to get off the hamster wheel although I do feel a bit guilty not using my meal breaks as a fitness opportunity.    Washed the original Hokas yesterday and wore them on the trail today and I still had a bunch of sandy grit in my socks ....can you ever get the dirt out of a trail shoe?????     The dirt reinforced the plan to save the new Hokas for Sulphu!

 Logged a little 5Ker this morning on a very warm backyard trail.  

Great morning for some trail

6K in the new kicks under a sunny sky and a nice warm breeze.   New Hokas are great!  Cleaned the old ones and I am leaning even more towards using them at Seaton Saturday then retire them from service!   The old Hokas served me well at PYP so the idea of keeping the new ones grit free for Sulphur makes sense although I must admit running in the new ones is really nice.  

New Kicks

New kicks today ...haven't said that in a very long time!    Picked up one of three pairs of shoes on order today the trail version of the " Hoka Stinson 3".    The shoe provides a nice smooth cushioned ride.  Seems like it takes more effort but the HR didn't say so topping at at 138 bpm at the 4K fartlek.   Logged a little 5K break er in tonight on my meal break.   Will take em outside tomorrow where they belong.   Jury's out on whether I use them at Seaton or break them in gently getting ready for Sulphur.   If I remember correctly a wet Seaton is a super dirty run where as Sulpur has much less of that stuff.   Once a shoe is super dirty its hard to get the grit entirely out and that is something thats not real welcome in the shoe going long!  

Monday Trail

Super nice but a bit chilly day.   Working Eves starting today so I planned on hitting the backyard trail at some point thinking of a 10 ker.   Got busy and was feeling a little tired when I headed out after lunch so I geared it back to a 5 k instead. With Seaton 50 ker in 5 days that was probably a good choice.  

One more

Another 12 laps , 10.3 ks  of the backyard trail this afternoon.... exaclty what I need to do a week after PYP and a week before Seaton.  

Ultra season  is here ... bring it on!

Friday Eve + Saturday Trail

 Did a 2nd run on a most beautiful Friday after work logging 5.2 Ks on the backyard trail followed by some well deserved extended hammock time.  

 Saturdays 10.3 Ks done on the backyard trail was much cooler and wet.   Really enjoyed being out in the rain.   Had the tunes on a local classic rock station and just went out real easy like the start of a 100 miler just shorter!  

Body Amazing

No pain today ... total blows me away how this 55 year old body recovers from a 6.5 hour run up and down Ski Hills 6 days ago.   Ready to do it again.    Logged another 5Ker on the treadmill on my meal break again today.   Looking forward to some trail and hammock time after work.  

Thursday Lunch

5K the usual way on my meal break today.  Just a little pain ,   more of an annoyance then anything.  

Wed Lunch

5K at usual pace on my meal break yesterday.   Real sore but able to get up to speed.  

Two Run Wednesday

Couldn't resits the nice weather last night so I grabbed some Beer and laced up running 5.6 k on the backyard trail.  Still pretty sore going down hill but its much better today.   Expect to be 100% by tomorrow.  

Interesting Metrics

5Ker done slow at a 6:00 pace and painful.  Quads were screaming but I got it donw... going to be a day or two before the pain fully subsides.   The form was better today thats why I was able ti run but the metrics are outstanding.    When I hurt my cadence goes way up ,  my vertical oscillation goes down and so does my ground contact time.... huge difference!

Trashed Quads

 It was a pain party on my lunch run today.  Quads are super trashed after PYP Saturday.   A no big deal thing ...muscle pain I can deal with.   Started walking then a little running then walk then longer run so and so forth until I ran a whole 0.5 Ks.  Things started to smooth out but I was kind of running on my tip toes so I shut down after 3Ks.   Should be back to normal mid week.  

April Totals

April -  350.6 km
YTD - 1,222.8 km

There were 2 race the Marden 1/2 early in the month and the PYP 50Ker on the last day.     I was happy with the increased volume from Marches 332.5 km I was missing a long run but it just didn't fit into my schedule.  I am pretty much where I need to be with the 100 miler looming the PYP and Seaton 50Kers will really help with both the physical and mental  aspects.

Here is a breakdown of my 35 April Runs

Trail   15 Runs,  154.9 km
Road   2 Runs, 26.5 km
Track  1 Run, 33 km
Treadmill, 17 runs 188.2 km
Rest Days,  2


Looking ahead through September the races are more or less going to dominate my long runs.  The races are the training for the next race.  In between I will throw in the odd LSD and of course the staple of my diet the " Lunch Run".

Pick Your Poison 50K - Saturday April 30, 2016

Did my 6th PYP 50Ker yesterday in 6hrs34min59sec a 1 second improvement over last year ... yeah one second LOL!

This years 12.5 K lap split ...
Lap         Lap Time        Lap Position
 1            1:38:12                 46
 2            1:35:51                 33
 3            1:39:16                 26
 4            1:41:39                 24

Last years 12.5 K lap split
Lap         Lap Time      
 1            1:33:06
 2            1:32:22
 3            1:43:15
 4            1:46:19  


All and all I would have to say it was a great season opener with good results.   I was looking for a sub 6hrs30min and really felt that I had a crack at it.    Headed out the first lap near the back of the pack with the goal in mind to finish the first 12.5Ks feeling like I had just completed a warm up lap and that is more or less exactly what I did.   Brought in only water averaging about 1.5 liters / lap throughout the day.     The weather and course was about as good as it gets ,  sunny with temps in the mid single digits and no wind.   As it warmed up the breeze picked up but the heat became a wee bit of a factor late in the afternoon.   Second lap was my fastest of the day and I totally expected it would be.   With the 12.5 Kers off the course there was allot less traffic and I was warmed up.   Half way through the lap I started to get a bit of muscle pain on my legs.  On a scale of 1-10 I would rate it a three...it was more annoying then anything!    I was going to try no calories in the race in spite of having a half dozen GUs along for the ride.       At the 20K aid stations they had some GUs out so I figured what the hell ... I was having a solid run feeling great so I started.   Between the 20K mark and the completion of the race I gelled a total of 5 times for a total of 500 calories on the day.  The Garmin said I burned 3,500 calories so I was probably pretty close to burning mostly Glycogen vs body mass over the 6.5 hours I was running.   Over the course of the run I also consumed 5 Ezone Caps.   Stopped briefly mid way through the second lap to help a Woman who had fallen.   She was in a ton of pain and was pretty sure she has dislocated her shoulder.   She was only a K away from the last aid station on the loop  and actually  kept going and ended up there before me .... unbelievable that she carried on ,  tough lady!    Felt great heading out on the third loop  thinking that I only had to cover the same ground one more time.   I was loving the new single track  on the course ... so much fun really the best single track in all the "Outrace" courses.     The was allot more of the single track and allot less of the Tractor Trails which made it more fun but also added a bit more difficulty thus time!   Speaking of the course it has never been better or run faster.  Only one small muddy wet section.   Headed out on the 4th and last with the temps climbing to the mid teens and a very nice breeze coming up that sort of offset it.  The pain in the legs had increased to about a 4 out of 10 and was starting to affect the way I attacked the hills slowing me down a wee bit.   I was also starting to fell the affects of sun exposure and increasing temps as well as a depletion of Glycogen.   The hills climbs were a little tougher and there were time I pegged the heart rate so again I slowed down a wee bit.    Finished feeling solid like I had managed the race  properly. Did a 1K cool down walk when I was done.      There were no major issues but I was a tiny bit surprised by the leg pain.   I also underestimated the  electrolyte requirements a bit based on the salt deposits on my face ....

 

















PYP is the start of 3 Ultras in May.    In two weeks its the Seaton 50Ker and then in 4 weeks its the Sulphur Springs 100 miler.   PYP and Seaton are good leed up races to the finally at the end of the month.