Thursday, October 31, 2019

October 2019 Summary

Oct.   -   223 km
YTD - 2229 km

 There were two races ,  Sticks and Stones 53 km and The Bad Thing 50 km.   I was super pleased with how both of these races went especially after the Sept.  toe injury!     One more Ultra to go before year end running the Beav Nov. 9. 

Breakdown

Trail 10 X 162 km
Treadmill 10 X 61 km
Rest 11 X

Same as yesterday.

5K@6:00 pace today on my meal break. 

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Lunch Walk!

Started to run today ,  left knee complained so I decided to walk 3 km on my meal break today. 

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Bad Thing Trail Race - Saturday October 27, 2019

 My second 50 km race in as many weeks was completed yesterday tripping the clock at 6h54m39s.  Did the same race in 2016,  7h15m30s and again in 2017, 7h8m3s so I am pretty happy with the year over year improvement.   The course is never the same,  in 17 if was a start at the Kiwanis Park,  in 18 it was the old Jail House...yeah we got to "break out" and this year it was a church!   Kind of hard to get an exact measure but I would have to say the start was a little more trail this year!

Relive 'Morning Oct 26th'


 Gave this race a ton of thought ahead of time planning both fueling and hydration plan.   There was only 4 aid stations along the way ( suppose to be 5 ...story to follow and it involves expletives ).   The 50ker I did two weeks ago had 20 aid station stops ... 5 km loop done 10 times ,  2 AS / loop.  The plan

Gel every 40 minutes or so... nailed it!  Calories CHECK

Hydration Plan
1) Start to AS 1 8.1 km
Consume 500 ml water before getting to AS 1
2) AS 1  to AS 2 8.4 km
Consume 300 ml at AS 1 ,  fill water bottle with 500 ml the consumer it before AS 2.
3) AS 2 to AS 3 13.5 km
Consume 300 ml at AS2,  fill spare 500 ml bottle ,  put in pack the fill the other bottle with 500 ml.   Consume 1 litre of water before getting to AS3.
4) AS 3 to AS 4 8.4 km
Consume 300 ml at AS 3,  fill bottle with 500 ml and consume before AS 4
5) AS 4 to AS 5 6 km ,  consume 300 ml,  fill bottle with 500 ml and consume before AS 5
6) AS 5 to finish 5 km,  THE PLAN WAS AND I REPEAT WAS WAS WAS to consume 300 ml then fill the bottle and consume before the end of the race.

Much to my dismay the unmanned 5th AS had no water left!!!!!    I did a GEL on the way into the AS and had NOTHING to wash it down with.   Here is where I yelled out "" FUCK,  FUCK, FUCK".

I was properly hydrated but I was running on the edge.  I know its only 5 km to the finish and yeah I figured I could manage and I did but its a  fast part of the course and I really wanted to keep the party going and more or less did but it became harder then it should have been!

One of my greatest downfalls in Ultra Running is staying well hydrated.  On countless occasion I have been slowed by my heart having to work much harder to move the thickening blood around the body.  At first the heart climbs,  I really  slow down and feel fatigued then if it gets bad I get a pain across the top of my shoulders.  When the pain starts I really pay attention because that the heart sending a warning. 

So on with the story ....

I arrived at the race with just enough time to do all the usual pre-race stuff.     On the bus at 06:15 or so then in Goderich at 06:45 .... dropped  at a Church!   It was still dark when we started at 07:00 and the temperature was just a little below freezing.   Started the race in shorts ,  tech T,  arm sleeves, shell, compression hat and gloves...it was COLD!    I hate cold starts ,  I know it will change quickly but I hate cold starts.   The RD added a second river crossing that was at the start ,  luck has it we were 2 or 3 K in when this happened so I was a wee bit warmed up.   The water was pretty cold but not too deep.      At this time I started to notice I was sweating so off came the hat.   The run to AS 1 was uneventful ,  I went out slow and felt good ... not too cold,  not too hot running with the shell still on.  Was really starting to warm up and the Sun was up higher in the sky by AS 2 ,  here I took the shell off and stuffed it in the backpack.   I was feeling really great at the 16 km mark not paying  much attention to my Garmin other then to check my last K pace now and again.   I was surprised how quickly Ben Miller came up after the 2nd AS.   It was here that I starting catching up with the field of runners passed quite a few enroute to AS 3 ,   it was also the longest section of the day  13.5 K.   The 3rd AS is at the 30 K mark ,  this is where the race really starts.  Between AS 3 and AS 4 is by far theh toughest part of the single track and possibly the toughest part of the course.  This is where you find out if your hydration and nutrition plan was adequate and I am please to say that it was.    I was really paying attention to my pace and how I was feeling  30 to 38.5 K  and was very happy with how things turned out.   The last 10 km of the race a pretty easy ,  past 40 K its a few Ks of road ,  a little trail another K or 2 of road then some nice flat double track all the way to the final river crossing a few hundred meters to the finish.   The lack of water at AS 5 didn't slow me down much but there was a spike in the heart rate and it felt harder then it should have been but I was OK  and pushing to bring it in under 7 hours and that is what I did.

Fitbit HR data ...






Inspite of the variable nature of the course the overall heart rate stayed the same throughout the race.  I credit the nutrition and fueling. 

Garmin Data ...











































































Catch Up

Not up to much last week with Saturdays 50 ker.   On Monday ,  going on no sleep I logged 12 laps on the backyard trail good for 10.4 km.  Took Tuesday off then did 6 laps on the backyard trail Wedensaday good for 5.6 km.   Saturday was the Bad Thing ... blog up next!

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Mid 7

Another 10 km logged on my meal break this evening. 

Made a plan for the upcoming " Bad Thing" ,  last 50 ker had 20 aid stations enroute this one only 5 and between AS 2 and AS 3 its 13.5 km.   I have done this race twice and both times ran into some issues.  In 2015 I was overdressed and dehydrated ,  in 2017 it was warm and I dehydrated.  This time I am not going to let that happen I have a fuel,  hydration and electrolyte plan all laid out!    5 more sleeps!

Mid , 3,4,5 and 6

Still on nights ,  6 done 1 to go! 

Mid 3 and 4 were both 5 km runs @ 6:00 pace

Mid 5 ...lost interest and didn't run

Mid 6 I logged 10 km @ 6:00 pace. 

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Mid 2

Working another round of mids!  No run last nighted lifted instead.   This morning it was my first run since Saturdays Ultra running 5 km @ 6:00 pace on my meal break.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Sticks and Stones 53 km Ultra - Saturday October 12, 2019

  First best thing about the race is that I wasn't a DNS ,   second best thing about this race is I wasn't a DNF,  third best thing about the race is that I still have a left little toe! 

 All kidding aside I really had and very solid day and one of my best results of the year finishing 30th out of the 98 souls who started!  

























The splits define my success more then my time or finishing position.   

Starting the race sucked.  It was kind of miserable with temps in the high single digits ,   wind in the double digits and a wee bit of rain but that was only part of it.   The longest runs I had done since the Endur Marathon mid August was last weeks 1h40m outing on the backyard trail. The crush injury to my little toe was still quite a concern.  I was off my feet for a week then gradually returned to running the following week with a shoe with the toe box half cut away.   In the week leading up to the race I was able to wear a  normal running shoe but with a fair bit of discomfort.  

This picture I will title " The look of trepidation ".


















The race took place at the Christie Lake conservation area on a 5.3 km loop around the lake!   I really hated the first few loops.  As mentioned it was kind of cold at the start,   a couple of Ks on the hat came off ,   2 more Ks and it was the coat.    There was 2 aid stops on the loop and right from the get go I made a brief stop for water.   At the end of the third loop I started on the Gels every lap and did so until the last lap of the day.   

The picture below is somewhere mid race.  My mood had picked up and the toes wasn't bothering me.  My uninjured foot was the one complaining  a bit but otherwise I was feeling pretty good.

When ever I pass or get passed by another runner I usually have something to say.   Past the midway point in the race I asked a Woman how she was doing ,  her firm response " THIS IS STUPID" ...it made me laugh ,  I really couldn't argue the point.   

The weather really improved in the last few laps with the sun breaking though a couple of times but temps remained comfortable pushing up to the low double digits.     The picture below was taken with a few laps to go.

I passed quite a few runners in the last few laps and although it felt like I was fading I was actually hanging in there pretty good .   All of the splits ended up being within +/- 1 min of 37 min/loop.

I made a be line to the warmer bathroom area as soon as I crossed the finish line.   Took the shoes and socks off ,   washed the toe the treated it with an antibiotic and bandaged it up....just a percaution.  

This is the toe 7 hours  later.  
















Part of my drive to have a successful race was to get my mental on for the Bad Thing 50 km in two weeks.   I am feeling a whole lot better about the upcoming Goderich to Auburn run along the Maitland River.  

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Another stellar day

5.6 km logged on the backyard trail this afternoon.    Doing all the change of season stuff around the house I was tempted to keep working but decided it was too nice not to run...Sun,  20C no wind! 




Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Super nice trail today

Sun ,  no wind and temps in the mid teens made for a stellar day to log 5.6 km on  the backyard trail.

Monday, October 7, 2019

Weekend and Monday

10.2 km logged Saturday morning on the backyard trail.  Took a rest day on Sunday then logged 5 km on the treadmill at work Monday evening. 

The toe continues to be problematic.  The wound is staying closed but when I run the scar tissue goes from clear to what look like a scab.  The toe goes from an almost normal colour to a reddish purple when I run.  The pain is not so bad ,  almost not there but it feels like the nail needs to come off however I am not going to speed up the process for fear of making things worse. 

Friday, October 4, 2019

Two Run Friday

5.6 km on the backyard trail early this afternoon then 5.0 km on the treadmill at work this evening. 

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Trail Thursday ...its good!

5.6 km logged on the backyard trail late this morning.   First run in the " normal shoes" and it was OK ...way better then the treadmill.   I was tempted to make it a 10 km outing but decided to err on the side of caution.      It was super chilly out ,  8C overcast with light drizzle.   Wore shorts ,  tech T and gloves and was pretty comfortable.    I often shy away from the outdoor runs as the temps drop but I need to take it out more this cold season .... it really isn't all that bad! 

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Back in "normal" shoes.

First day back in normal shoes and super guarded.    Wore them around the house vacuuming then to work tonight jumping on the treadmill for a 3 km / 21 min run.   A wee bit uncomfortable but manageable and I didn't open the wound so all is good.   Going to try 5 km on the backyard trail tomorrow! 

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Steamy October

10.4 km logged on the backyard trail this morning.  It was 21C and super humid feeling tropical.      7C and dry air on Saturday was way better ...if I had have brought gloves! 




Relive 'Morning Oct 1st'


Toe update ...