The past three weeks have seen me back in the swing of structured training again, and I have to say that it's feeling good. I'm far from being at my fittest, but having those planned sessions is giving me the motivation to get outside and put in the effort. It's early days, but I am already starting to notice a difference in how I'm feeling in my body, especially with a mix of strength training, faster paced sessions, hill work, and even yoga!
The hill work has been the hardest as I live in a city that is definitely flat, and I don't always have time to head out to the local trails to complete hill sessions after work. Doing hills midweek does take some creativity when short on time, and for the first couple of sessions, I was heading to the local rec centre and hogging one of the treadmills for an hour, setting the gradient to 14%, and just power walking for the full 60 minutes to see how much elevation I could.
Thankfully, daylight saving time kicked in a couple of weeks ago, and we now have lighter nights which means I'm not running in the dark towards the end of my runs. With an improvement in the weather from minus stupid temperatures to sunshine and temperatures around the freezing point, I wanted to take advantage of the much improved conditions rather than spending one night a week on a treadmill just to build elevation into my training. Thankfully we have three local dog parks, one of which has a decent hill that isn't particularly long at around 200 metres in length, but it is grassy and steep, and I felt it would be a perfect way to stay close to home but still get the workout that my training schedule required.
I've now done two hill sessions on that same hill, and I have been very happy with how beneficial that hill has been. The good thing is that it also allows me to practice my downhill running too, and I can already feel the strength building in my legs, although I still have a long way to go before I'm ready to tackle the climbs at the Sinister 78 Ultra 100-miler in July.
Of course, I also need to build up my endurance again, so longer runs have also reappeared on my schedule. These have typically been around 20 to 25km, but when a friend posted about the annual trip to complete a winter circumnavigation of Pigeon Lake - a distance of approximately 50km - I felt the urge to do it.
An informal annual meetup of friends on a winter's day in early March, I first did this route a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it! I'd not had the chance to do it since with the hubby working away so much, but this year he would be home so I didn't have to worry about the pups being home on their own all day - I was in! I'd also somehow convinced my friend Barb to join us on her first circumnavigation of the lake (she's always up for a bit of adventure and suffering!), and she kindly drove us both to the day use area where we met up with Tess who has organised things for the past 7 years, her chap Matthew, and a couple of other chaps -Nathan and Connor - who were also joining the party.
The plan is always to start the run at sunrise, but this year we started a little late, although with the cloudy skies and lightly falling snow, we didn't get to see the sun rise anyway. A few weeks ago, the lake had been completely free of snow and it had been featured in the press showing off the pristine conditions with a surface like polished glass. We'd since had much warmer temperatures which had melted the surface layer of the ice and made it a little bumpy, followed by another freeze and subzero temperatures which saw snowfall of a few centimetres. We were assured that the ice was still a good 12 inches thick and would be able to support our weight, but the amount of snow was now more than anticipated, so this year would be another hybrid version of the run, meaning we would spend some time running on the lake, but the majority of the time would be on the summer village roads that hugged the shoreline for the vast majority of the way around the lake.
The first few miles were on the lake, and as expected, it was a slog in the snow. We could hear the ice crunching underneath our feet which was a little disconcerting, but we didn't hear anything that caused us to make a mad dash before the ice caved in completely! Spirits were high, we were chattering away, laughing, smiling, having fun, whilst Tess and Connor told us stories of their childhood antics when they used to come to the lake many years ago. I always love to hear other people's stories and memories, and I was quite happy to just listen as we ran along.
One of the things about running around the lake is that you have no concept of distance as the lake is always on the left hand side, the other side of the lake is always in the distance, and it never gets any closer, even though you know you are making progress. The other thing is how quickly time passes - before we knew it, we had reach the half way point and were enjoying home made granola bars and other refreshments in Connor's cabin that overlooked the lake. It was nice to head indoors for a short while to warm up and get some fluids inside of me - I had used my bladder today, and the tube was now clogged up with ice thanks to the cold temperatures, so I had been unable to have a proper drink for a good couple of hours. A can of root beer was greatly appreciated, and thanks to the warmth in the cabin, the tube defrosted and I was able to get a decent drink of water for the remainder of the run.
One of the highlights of the annual run is heading across to what is affectionately called Bird Shit Island - a small island a good way out from the lake shore, where birds nest in the spring and summer, and that is inaccessible to humans unless they swim or have a boat. Thanks to the ice though, winter visits are possible, and we made our way across the lake - approximately 3km - to visit the island, sign the visitors' book and grab a group photo, before slogging across the lake for another couple of miles to rejoin the village roads.
By the time we'd done 35km, I could certainly feel it in my legs and my knee and hips were starting to have a moan thanks to the slipping and sliding and trying to get a grip in the snow. Our pace however had stayed pretty much the same, and we were all making really good progress. Without one road completely circling the lake, it meant rejoining the ice again for the last 10km or so, but by now, I could see the tower close to the parking lot and the day use area, and I knew we'd be back within the next hour or so. Checking my watch, it would bring us back almost 15 minutes quicker than last time I did the run - not that it mattered, but it did feel good knowing I' ran quicker 2 or 3 years later, despite being a little older and slower! The group had now split a little, and I hung back waiting for Barb, making sure she didn't get lost, although it was pretty simple to follow the footprints in the snow that stretched out into the distance. This side of the lake also saw more vehicles on the ice, heading over to the fishing holes that had been drilled specifically for the ice fishing. It was once again a reminder that we were indeed running on a lake, quite a way out from the shore, and I got that strange surreal feeling again.
The sun was starting to come out again, the snow bright and glaring as the light reflected, and me wishing that I had brought those shades after all! It was starting to feel much warmer, although occasionally we would get the breeze blowing that would the chill, and I would find myself rolling down my sleeves to stay warm. Earlier in the day, I'd accidentally dropped my gloves down the loo in a portapotty. I had managed to fix them out, but obviously I couldn't wear them, so my hands were feeling the chill every so often.
Knowing we only had about 3km remaining, I pulled ahead of Barb and ended up catching Nathan, and we ran/walked together, chatting about race plans for the year and all things backyard ultra. It was nice getting to know him a bit - I'm always happy to meet new people and make new friends, and he was a pleasure to talk to, giving off lots of positive vibes.
Shortly afterwards, we saw picnic benches ahead and the children's play park, and we knew that we were almost finished. We had been following the footprints left behind by Tess, Matthew and Connor, and as we drew closer to the parking lot, they veered off to the right, so we followed. The lake surface had remained consistent for the entire run, but as we ran towards the shore, there were mounds of snow as if it had been ploughed. It was also more bumpy, and we could see what looked like some fishing holes. The footprints continued to this section of the lake, but the change in appearance made both Nathan and I hesitate, and I questioned whether the ice was still frozen or not. We both stopped, and I used one of my feet to put some pressure on it to see if it caved - it didn't, so we assumed it would be ok. The next minute, I found myself falling through the ice, submerged in about 4ft of cold, icy, lake water. It wasn't so cold that it took my breath away, but I did just stand there wondering what the hell to do as a load of emotions went through me. It was a few seconds before I realised that I was actually standing up and there was no need to panic - besides, we were literally about 5 or 6 metres from the shoreline and thankfully not in the middle of the lake. I tried to climb out, but as I pushed down on what seemed like firm ice around me, it just kept breaking up and I was unable to haul myself out of the water.
I was so thankful that Nathan was with me - he grabbed my hand and pulled me out, me lying as flat as possible as I dragged my body out of the water. He was concerned, but I was ok if a little cold as the water dripped from me. We had been all the way around the lake with no issues, and then literally 20 metres from the finish, I went through the ice. What the ..??!!
We walked those last few metres, me shaking my head in disbelief, and as we came up to the parking lot, we discovered that not only had I fallen, but so too had Tess and Connor. Thankfully, we were all ok and with the sun having now come out properly, it definitely felt warmer which was probably a good thing given how wet we were.
Matthew ran out to Barb who had still to finish, just to be sure she didn't follow those footprints and fall in the water too - she arrived back safely, but was concerned about me, especially as I'd only told her about my almost drowning as a child tale earlier in the day. I have to say I was glad when she got back and I was able to get into some dry clothes and get warmed up in the car. I was also glad that despite the mishap, we were all still in good spirits, laughing at the irony of falling in those last few steps - things would have been very different had it happened earlier in the day!
Of course, there will likely be another circumnavigation of Pigeon Lake next year, and assuming Andy is home to look after the pups, I hope to be there again - but next time I will be a little more cautious when that ice texture changes!
It was a great end to another good week of running, and with 7 weeks until the Lakou Backyard Ultra, and I feeling optimistic that I'll have a good run. I do have a goal for race day, I may have already mentioned it, but if not, I am keeping things under wraps for now - having a goal is all well and good, but it also gives an excuse to stop once hitting that goal. Having no goal means I can just keep going for as long as I can, and that's what the backyard ultra is all about.
Happy trails folks!