As we move towards mid-July and I look back at the past couple of months, there's no doubt whatsoever that we've crammed a fair few things into our lives. Working full time again has meant juggling things around a little bit, but I'm a firm believer in making time to do the things you enjoy.
For me, this involves spending time with my three little pups, getting outside and running, and when I'm not running, going camping and doing all things outdoorsy. Of course, in recent months I've also started my own YouTube channel, and I've thoroughly enjoyed being creative and making videos for other folks to enjoy.
In terms of my running, most of May and June was spent doing lots of runs on the track as I prepared for the Survivorfest 24 hour track race. Covid unfortunately led to the cancellation of the inperson race for the second year running, but with the option of competing in the virtual event and having already put in many hours preparing on the local track here in town, I was determined to keep on going with full intentions of still targeting 200km+ again.
Everything was going so well, and I was knocking out 8 minute miling on the track and feeling comfortable. My longest run leading up to the event was 6 hours on the track, and I managed 65km that day, or just over 40 miles, on a hot day at the beginning of June. I cracked my nutrition, I ran at race pace, and I was feeling fantastic.
Two weeks out from the 24-hour, I also ran a 50km virtual race on the track. This event had been organised by a friend out in Wainwright, Alberta, and the entry fee went towards raising funds for a support dog for a young lad that lived in the town. Knowing how much my pups mean to me, and how much better they make me feel when things are tough, I was happy to support the Run for Support Dogs event, and opted for the 50k as my final long run before Survivorfest.
It was another very warm day at the track - with having other stuff to do that day, I didn't start until mid-afternoon, and it really was roasting! I'd also opted to do it as a self-supported event which meant leaving my food and drinks at the side of the track whilst I went around and around and around, and my ultimate goal was to go sub 4 hours 30 minutes. I felt fantastic, and despite visits to the loo and getting a bit spooked by some guy that was just loitering and watching in the last hour, I was chuffed to finish the run in 4 hours 23 minutes which was enough to give me the virtual win in the ladies race.
Coming out of the Run for Support Dogs 50k, I was feeling very confident of the goal for my 24-hour, but two weeks out from the event, things went tits up, and the stress and anxiety I experienced for the next 14 days had a huge impact on race day.
From the day it was announced that Survivorfest had gone virtual, I had decided to run my race at the local track in Leduc - I'd done the Pure Ultra here last year with a friend and we'd had no problems, so I naively thought that this year would be the same. But then a couple of other folks reached out to me, and they wanted to run with me at the same track. With Covid restrictions still being in place, I really didn't want the numbers exceeding those limits, but how could I stop people running on that track if it was open to the public? I also wanted to have official timing and use tents for crew - this event was starting to get bigger and required far more planning that initially anticipated! I reached out the City of Leduc to see if we would be ok setting up tents and timing, and was initially told it would be fine, but then I was notified that there was actually a track meeting that weekend, and therefore the track would not be available. I was gutted and extremely disappointed - what the heck were we meant to do with just 14 days until race day?!
I phoned around other venues and sent tons of emails, but they were either stupidly expensive or else not available as they couldn't get the staff in place quick enough as they'd all been furloughed due to Covid. Shit, shit, shit! The disappointment was mounting, the stress was getting higher, I wasn't doing my sessions on an evening, and I was ready to throw in the towel and forego even running for the 24-hours.
But then another friend managed to secure the Strathcona Track out in Sherwood Park - we would have to pay another $200 each, and we would only be allowed one crew member and no more than 6 athletes on the track, but we would at least have some sort of event. We would also arrange to have the timing and sole use of the track - it seemed like we had a solution - but then the stress of making sure the timing worked in the days leading up to the race brought on another round of stress and anxiety - it really was not the way to prepare for a race, and it was quite the distraction.
Come race day on June 12th, I just wanted to get it over and done with. Andy and I had agreed that this time, no matter how whiney I got, I would keep pushing forward and would break that 200km, and even push for the 210km. I was up for it and honestly thought I could do it, but after an hour on the track, I knew that my mind wasn't in the right place. I convinced myself for the next few hours that I was enjoying this, that I could still hit my goal, and whilst I was going through the motions and generally hitting my schedule, I was not enjoying myself :( It was also a hot day and the heat was bothering me far more than I was expecting, and with a brisk wind for a good couple of hours, I really was getting fed up.
My nutrition had been going really well, but I finally succumbed to the heat and I ended up being sick behind our tent. I managed to get going again by nibbling on food and taking on small but frequent amounts of fluid, but shortly before hitting the 100 mile mark in around 20 hours, I was once again being sick. At that point, I knew I wasn't even going to hit the 200km mark and I had no interest in carrying on. I lay down in the tent with the dogs whilst Andy boiled up some water, and after half an hour, I managed to eat some mac and cheese and carried on walking around the track throughout the night hours.
One of the things I love about the longer races is seeing the sunrise. I really enjoy running through the night and that's where I usually excel, but seeing the light of dawn and the first glimpse of the golden sunrise really is wonderful, and it fills me with a new vigor. Shortly after the sunrise, I did have another snooze in the chair, but I had promised the others that I would join them on the track again in the last hour. Sure enough at 7.30am, I hopped back on the track and saw things through to 9am when the bell rang which signified the end of the race.
I was so relieved it was all over, so relieved that I could now forget all about the track and focus on my trail running again which is where I am happiest. I was disappointed with my run - all the hype seemed to have been for nothing, and I still felt like there was unfinished business. In all honesty though, I do not know how many more 24 hour races I have in me, and I'm not sure I enjoy the monotony of track running anymore. But things change daily with me, and I wouldn't be surprised if I was out there again later this year, trying yet again for that elusive 210km that I am still so desperate to break!
Everybody else that shared the track with me that day did awesome. A few of us didn't hit our goals, but what we did do was support eachother and keep pushing when we could. Taking on a 24-hour track race is still not easy, and I take my hat off to ANYBODY that gives it a go, where reaching record heights, or running just running 50k and running a distance they never thought was possible for them personally.
Since Survivorfest, I've been back on the trails again as I now prepare for Canadian Death Race which is in just 3 weeks time. I've been doing lots of hills to get that elevation and it has definitely been a shock to the system after all the flat track running, but my goodness, it feels so good!
Last weekend, I ran a trail marathon in just under 5 hours with around 3,000 ft of ascent in temperatures close to 30 degrees celsius. I felt tired in the legs but otherwise generally pretty good, and I'm really hopeful that I have a good run in Grande Cache later this month. I'm also excited that Death Race will be a proper in person race - no organising things ourselves, no setting up our own aid stations or finding a venue - thankfully, the race organisers will be doing that this time, and I am so grateful for that!
As mentioned earlier, in between preparing for races, I am still doing my youTube channel, and I have been trying to post videos every week to 10 days to build some content, attract the views, and bring in the subscribers. My channel is quite a mix of things and doesn't yet have the audience catchment that other channels have, but it is still building slowly and I intend to continue with things as I really do enjoy making and editing videos. You can of course see videos by checking out my channel on the link Del's Jogs With Dogs and I really hope you consider subscribing :)
We've been doing quite a bit of camping this year so far, and just before Survivorfest, we spent a few days down in Kananaskis at the Gooseberry Campground. It was quite warm on arrival and I did a lovely hike up Prairie Mountain with the pups. I was kind of hoping to make it up Moose Mountain the following day, but heavy snow on the mountain tops would have meant lots of postholing, so we staying close to the valley bottom and walked around the forests at Station Flats instead.
We also made it out to Elk Island straight after Survivorfest for a couple of days of rest and recovery, enjoying just lying around beside the tent, watching the night skies and watching the bison and all other wildlife.
The last weekend, we did our annual camping trip to Banff. This trip was actually a last minute decision and we managed to secure a camping spot at the Two Jack Campground. The weather was going to be gorgeous with glorious blue skies and temperatures in the 30s. I had a 15-mile run planned so I did a tour of Banff, taking in Sulphur Mountain and Tunnel Mountain, and of course making a great video to capture it all. The weather sure did bring in the crowds and the lakes were so crowded - even the trail up Sulphur Mountain was the busiest I had ever seen it, although I do wish people would take drinks with them on such hikes, and consider leaving pups at home - some of those pups looked overheated and were lolling like crazy! I finished the run off with a quick dip in Two Jack Lake with the pups and it sure felt very refreshing.
We were camping on the nearby campground and I actually spent the night in a hammock. It was so comfortable, and seeing those night skies directly above as I went to sleep at night was so beautiful, whilst waking up to the sunrise and hearing the birds singing and seeing the wildlife passing through the campground really was fantastic. I would certainly do this again, and really hoping to get another campsite booking very soon :)
In other news, the new job turned out well and I am enjoying it. There isn't as much responsibility as in previous jobs and it really is generally easy which is just how I like it - going home at night and not stressing about meetings and deadlines is a great feeling, and not being expected to do overtime is wonderful.
The pups are also doing well although our little girl Tillie did give us a scare earlier this week when she started vomiting, passing blood in her poop, and was very lethargic and had no appetite. We headed to the emergency vets and her vitals were stable, so took her our regular vets the following morning wondering what the heck was wrong with her. She was kept in during the day, had xrays and bloodwork which all came back clear, and she was put on a drip and given lots of meds to help her feel better. Fortunately the next day, she was more back to her usual self, and I think she is now much, much better, having been to the dog park with us this past couple of times, as well as playing with Wilson and April. My levels of anxiety and stress rocketed as all the memories of losing Brandy came flooding back, but thankfully our little girl Tillie is ok.
I'm sure there are lots more things I've forgotten to mention, but then it has been a couple of months since I last updated this, and being so busy, I do forget things. But in simple terms, all is going well, Covid restrictions have now been dropped here in Alberta, and we are getting on with our lives again and trying to have as much fun as possible along the way.
Until next time ...