Training Log Archive: Bash

Recovery loop with 'Bent in Palgrave East. I suspect a lot of Canadians were inspired to go "ryding" today. ;)



There's a lot to be said for running slowly; I feel a lot better than 'Bent today and could barely feel it in my quads. I kept showing off to purposely annoy him, e.g. doing my best Riverdance impression. :)

Event: Sulphur Springs
 

I had a couple of goals for today's 50K. It was supposed to be a long training run in preparation for the Death Race. The reason to not "race" shorter preparation events is that the training program for the longer event shouldn't lose momentum due to taper/recovery. It's important to feel good the day after these races.

The other goal was to practise running in heat and test appropriate hydration, nutrition, electrolytes, clothing, etc.

I think for a new ultra runner, Sulphur would also be a great way to practise "racing your own race", as you are surrounded by 10K, 25K, 50K, 50-mile, 100-mile and 100-mile relay racers (doing 20K laps), all running at a different level of effort. I'm used to being passed so this isn't an issue for me!

I'd guessed at a 6 hour finish but that only mattered because it's useful to be able to make realistic time estimates.

I achieved my goals for the run - didn't push the pace, didn't feel too sore or tired afterward, learned a few details that I'll document in private notes since they're boring, and finished in 5:52.

However, I continued an annoying trend of course errors in my 2012 trail races. I'd planned to study the race course map in advance but my PC hung when I tried to print it right before we left and yada, yada, I ended up relying on the markings and the volunteers (both of which were excellent).

Because I left it to chance, I'll be listed as a DNF. I was coming up to an off-road aid station that I didn't need. There was an intersection with traffic cones going in several directions (for cars, not us, as I learned later) and a few cars and volunteers moving around the intersection. I asked a volunteer where I should go, and he said, "Cross the road and run back the way you came." Which I did. Except that I should have entered the aid station area and run a 5 km loop that started on the other side. My fault - if I'd spent a minute or two reviewing the course, I wouldn't have needed to bother a busy volunteer who obviously thought I had done the loop already.

I was blissfully unaware of my error but became increasingly worried about 'Bent, who should have passed me on his relay lap. If he had taken a wrong turn and blown the relay for 7 other guys, he would be devastated. Or maybe he was running much more slowly than he'd hoped... Or maybe he'd collapsed in the heat and was lying on the trail... Eeek, as I approached a familiar aid station that I knew was a certain distance from the end of the lap, I looked at my Garmin and did the calculation in reverse, counting backward from the time I knew he was expected to reach the finish line. I realized then that I was going to reach the end of my current lap much too soon after not enough distance. A map was posted at the aid station and I was overjoyed to see that instead of "My husband is in trouble", the real story was "I'm a doofus". I can live with that.

This also explained the overly solicitous way passing runners (of which there were many!) kept looking over their shoulders and saying, "Good job!" in sympathetic voices that suggested I was falling apart. They were right; if I were *really* qualified to be in their part of the pack (i.e. 5 km farther along the course than I should have been), it would be a total disaster to run like me.

This had little effect on the rest of my day, other than making it easier to treat it as a training run since I planned to DQ before I'd reached the 20K mark of a 50K race. The race course is designed in loops so I returned to the same point awhile later. This time I ran the loop I'd missed, came out of the aid station to the middle of the road where I'd talked with the volunteer, then went back in and ran the loop a second time. So I got to do the whole 50K course and my time is meaningful to me (would have been 2nd in age group by almost an hour) but I didn't cross the finish mat - just stepped aside and went into the tent to withdraw from the race. They offered me a finisher's medal after asking my reason but I didn't take it.



Honestly, the only negative emotion was annoyance at myself for not making the map review part of my pre-race routine when I know better. I got what I wanted out of the day; I didn't care about an official result. This will *not* be true of the Mohican 50-miler next month, as it is a UTMB qualifier and I need an official result. I'm going to run with a frickin' National Geographic Atlas, a race course map, a compass, a GPS, an iPad with Google Earth loaded, and an electronic buzzer that gives me a shock if I do anything stupid.

The exciting story was the success of the Dontgetlost 100-mile Relay Team. They burned up the course, taking over 20 minutes off the course record with a time of 11:48, finishing 1st of 19 teams. 'Bent was mid-pack in a terrific group of runners; after all his knee problems, I was really happy for him.

Here's 'Bent, Frankenjack and Coach Trav.



Frankenjack did 20K in a blistering 79:38 - about 7 minutes faster than any other team member. Freak. ;)



It's not easy coaching a top relay team! Trav ran up the final hill with every runner while taking photos on his iPad; he got pics of the exchanges too. (Note Bender in the background.) As everyone knows, if you didn't tweet about something or mention it in your Facebook status, it didn't happen.



If any runners weren't going fast enough up the final hill, we got BazingaDog to chase them.



The team (minus Almageddon and Frankenjack): Hansel, 'Bent, Super, Tarno, Bender, Pat-hectic and Trav in the front row with BazingaDog. It was a wonderful treat to hang out with these good friends in real life - a nice reminder that cyberspace is not enough.



Additional pics on Flickr (thanks, Bender!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30145888@N00/sets/721...

And more pics sent as tweets during the race.
https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23sulphurs...

Sulphur Springs 50K tomorrow. It'll be a long training run in warm, humid weather but I'm not planning to "race" this one.

The Dontgetlost relay team is another matter. They're setting out to break their own 12:08 record in the 100-mile relay. 'Bent and the other boys are aiming to do eight 20K trail laps in about 90 minutes each. Updates will be posted on Attackpoint and Twitter. (You don't need to be on Twitter to read the tweets.)

My training program today is "hydrate"!

Ryder, Ryder, Ryder! :)

Just when you thought it was safe to go... Yup, this happened in Ontario.
http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/B...

Hot, humid run around Palgrave West, although the breeze and the shade improved matters.

I took a break to use a big stick to clear several large patches of horse feces from the Bruce Trail. I entertained myself by writing a letter in my head to the local newspaper editor, imploring local equestrians to show consideration for other trail users and anticipating their usual response that (a) horses are good for Caledon's economy and the Pan Am Games are coming, and (b) horses are vegetarian so I should be OK with their sh*t in my lungs and on my living room carpet, just as I'm sure they would be OK with my vegetarian friends defecating in their home. In my imaginary letter, I demanded evidence of the lack of health impacts and refused to accept anything other than peer-reviewed studies published in respected scientific journals. I am soooo pushy in my imagination.

Tomorrow we are taking BazingaDog for a private session with a dog trainer. He needs to come when called and be trustworthy off-leash, and we're ready for some professional help.

Although he will be an adventure race training companion, we are going to focus on running and paddling. But I suppose we might look at other disciplines in future. ;)

BazingaDog and I ran around Palgrave East on a humid day, stopping for three good dog swims. *Six* stops in the bushes for the pooch - it was like doing a 50-miler with CO! ;)) I'll do a short run tomorrow at high noon for heat acclimatization then it'll be all pasta, chocolate milk and magazines till Saturday's 50K.

BulletDog and I went for an easy pre-dinner run around Palgrave East. Lots of doggie start/stops and three swims. This is one of the rare weeks when I'm actually going to do the training specified in the program I'm theoretically following for the Death Race. I've become really good at making substitutions, e.g. Storm The Trent = a Long Run.

Sulphur Springs 50K is on Saturday. 'Bent and the Dontgetlost Fast Boyz are aiming for the 100-mile relay record!

Mrs. Gally, it's not just cougars and bears you need to watch out for in our area...
http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news/two-months-a...

Most serious mountaineers have lost interest in Everest and this recent photo shows why. Wow.



Here's the sad story of the fatalities in the past few days, attributed mainly to traffic jams and slow travel on the route.