September 2017 Totals

September -   194.8 km
YTD         - 2,294.0 km


Wow ,  can't believe the late season races have already began!   Did one race this month " Run the Edge" ,  Tobermory to Cyprus Lake and back.   It was a fantastic race albeit super hot but I managed things well and was able to comfortably run the entire race in spite of a wee bit of dehydration in the last couple of hours.    Once again my " Mileage" is a little light punctuated with a large number of reset days...basically I am missing a couple of long ones!   It plays with the mind a bit but after 15 years of running , 10 of them running Ultras I have a pretty good idea what I am doing.  If there is one thing that I have learned this Summer its " Less is More".  I feel dam good,  really good and race ready last weekend reinforced it.   Yes I am " Run Ready" ... what I have been doing are all quality miles.  I can't say enough about my lunch runs especially when the emphasis has been on making the time count and " Heart Runs" fit the bill!  So in another week its the Sticks and Stones 50Ker ... an easy non technical 5K loop.  I am expecting it to be fast and fun and should finish closer to the 5 hour make then 6....bring it on!

September Summary

Beach 5 X = 50 km
Trail 3 X = 51.8 km
Treadmill 14 X = 93 km
Rest Days X 10

Last September 2017 Run

Can you guess....working 12s today so it was a 10Ker at a mostly 5:00 pace.  Went easy with no farteks.  The run passed quickly lots of other things on my mind so I really didn't notice that I was running which is a very good thing because the treadmill is not so much fun.   Did an upper body weight routine after the run. 

Friday Lunch

7K ditto yesterday just allot hotter in the Gym! 

Thursday Lunch

7K Heart Run today on my meal break.

Lunch Run

Back to work after a 4 day weekend at the Beach.  Didnt run Sun/Mon/Tues after Saturdays Trail Marathon temps were super hot so I had Beach Days at Sauble!  Logged a little 5Ker at a mostly 5:00 pace...it was solid.   Just a tiny bit of quad pain after the long one.   DOMs ( delayed onset muscle syndrome ) and DOTs ( delayed onset tired syndrome ) were 48 hours out... not  a big deal just a little bit of muscle pain ,  a little bit tired and a really big appitite! 

Tobermorry Trail Marathon - "Run the Edge" - Saturday September 23, 2017

Loved this race can't wait to do it again next year!

Click on this link to Relieve the Run

 Race day forecast was for super hot temps  especially being late September and it didn't disappoint.  This is the second year for this race and my first time doing it.   This was the 4th time this Summer that I had been up this way running and as it turns out I covered 90% of the technical bit which were about 80% of the race!     I had Doug Barber pick up my race kit and arrived just before the 06:30 ,  after a 90 minute drive for the  " mandatory meeting ".   Though it was a 7:30 start but it was 07:00 am so there was a bit of a scramble getting ready but it was no big deal because as is usual I was pretty organized! 

 The race started with a Bagpiper and half K walk to the start area then we were off!   The first 4K of the race were pretty easy ...something to look forward to on the way back!  The real fun started at Little Cove and more or less lasted until Cyprus Lake where we got a break running around the Campground ending up back on the Bruce Trail just before the Grotto. The race reminded me allot of the Niagara Ultra where you run to the Horseshoe falls then back to Niagara on the Lake.... strange analagy when the Niagara Race is super easy and this race was super hard.    When you get close to Cyprus Lake there are allot of folks on the trail and going through the Grotto was very busy.   Running thorough unsuspecting  Tourist is a blast...just like Niagara.  Most  are having a tough time walking some of the trails and here were are running them!    As a matter of fact I pretty much flew through the Cyprus Lake area logging some 7 min Ks!  It was allot of fun following the blazes and race flags through the Grotto area.  It reminded me of a recurring dream have follwing flages and getting lost only this time I pretty much remained on course!       I was gelling and taking in as much Water as I could but the Aid Stations were a wee bit spaced out for such a hot humid day.  Temps returning from the Grotto were in the mid to upper 20's with really high humidity.  The one savings grace was some unexpected haze/cloud so there was very little Sun exposure.    In the last couple of hours I began to dehydrate a bit ... heart rate climbs as the blood thickens and I started to get the pain across the shoulders.  Slowed down ,  chugged as much water I could get down and upped the S Caps.   I never really recovered but did make the necessary pace adjustment to maintain a little slower run.   I hadn't run long since I did Endure a month earlier so there was a little bit of doubt about how successful I would be and I have to say that I was very pleased with the run.    If it wasn't so hot I am sure I would have been a sub 6 hours and I wasn't too far off the mark at 6hrs10min. 


 So I feel pretty much set up for my remaining 3 fall 50Kers ,  Sticks and Stones Oct 7,   The Bad Thing Oct 21 and The Batawa Fat Ass Nov 12.

Finish Line Picture

Slow Run

Gearing it back in prep for Saturday long one.  Logged an easy 5K at a 6:00 pace this morning on my meal break.

Backyard Trail

  Had some issues sleeping yesterday so I rolled out of bed,  packed up all the necessities and headed for the backyard trail for a little 4.8 K Run.  Recovery was a few beers in the hammock ,  a dip in the pool then a couple of hours more sleep! 

Solid Seven

Did another 7K Heart Run on my meal break tonight.   HR was lower ,  much lower not sure if I believe the watch although this is a phenomena that I have observed on mids before.    Only one more planned run before I " Run the Edge" this weekend ...  Tobermory Trail Race .

Tuesday Treadmill

Working abbreviated mids this week starting yesterday.   Took Monday as a reset day I was just too tired to run not doing my usual shift prep in order to enjoy one more Summer Day at Sauble! 
Tonight's 7K Heart Run was a solid.... HR was much lower only hitting the " peak " during the 4:30 fartelks ... max out a 143bpm but it was mostly in the mid to high 130's.

Weekend Running

 Wow ,  what a great ending to Summer!   Logged 2 X 10K runs on the Beach at Sauble this weekend and man was it hot!   Heading out I was into a nice breeze but heading back it was behind me and with the full sun exposure it was smokin hot.   Cool down was a refreshing dip in Lake Huron.  

One more...

7K Heart Run done on my meal break this evening.

7K Heart Run

Yup ,  another Eve another 7K Heart Run done on my meal break.  

Two Run Tuesday

7K Heart Run this evening on my meal break.

Trail Tuesday

Super nice day today so I hit the backyard trail for a little 4.8 K run before going to work.  

Rest - Rest - Run

Rest days Saturday and Sunday ...sort of planned.   Solid 7K Heart Run done this evening on my meal break.  

Friday Evening

Did the same run as last night running a 7Ker on my meal break.

Fast Seven

Logged a 7Ker the old way on my meal break last night.  

August Totals

August -   242.4 km
YTD -   2,099.2 km

Another funny month of running punctuated with lots of rest days and periods of intense activity .... can you say Endur!

Only one event the Endur Ultimate....7 races in 8 days logging the majority of my monthly Ks!

Breakdown

Trail -  5 X 84 km
Tread - 6 X 54 km
Road - 5 X 104.4 km
Rest Days -   14  YIKEs ... a new record.   Last time I had that many was when I was sick with Bronchitis!


There are 4 long ones this fall so I a just starting to gear up for it now.  

Fast Five

5K the old way at a mostly 5:00 pace with a short 0.2K Fartlek to start the cool down.   Gradually building to the " Heart Run" Friday....tomorrow its a " Fast Seven".

Tuesday @ Work

Wow , its been a month since I ran treadmill.   I must admit its a good option when its -20C out but not so much fun in the Summer.   Logged a really slow 5Ker working my way up from a 7:30 pace to a 6:00 pace.   Something happened to my left foot Monday Eve ... out of the blue it became very painful on the top eventually becoming very very painful couldn't put any pressure on it.  It was suggested that I " blew a blood vessel" .  Yesterday it was a  better ,  slightly red on top and only a little painful and today its almost 100%.   I recall this sort of thing happening from time to time ... good thing its not a race day!

Windy Beach

One last beach run to wrap up the vacation.  Its super windy here at Sauble , 30 to 50 k from the SW.  Headed to the back streets heading South then jumped to the beach and let the wind push me back.

Beach again!

Another 10K done today along the beach at Sauble.   Strong offshore breezes,  cloud and comfortable temps made for a pleasant run.   Have to admit not doing much for the last couple of weeks has caught up with me but I expect to be back on track by the end of the week.  

Back at it again!

Switched to a new cottage yesterday so today's run was a 10 Ker on the beach at Sauble!    Expect to get back in the swing of things next week when I return to work after a month of vacation.    Tobermorry Trail Marathon is 3 weeks away ...looking forward to it.