It’s hard to believe that it's almost mid-August and with 3 major races looming on the horizon, I really am in the thick of my training at the moment. Although I’m excited and have clear goals in mind, it’s also quite daunting as I try to balance training and recovery to ensure I’m in tip-top shape for each of them, and that I don’t peak too early.
The marathon requires speed endurance and so I’ve been focusing on tempo runs and longer reps on the roads to prepare myself for Edmonton on August 25th. I’d love to get a season’s best time, and with a flatter course at a slightly lower altitude than Calgary, I’m hoping things will work in my favour. But I also have to tell myself that Edmonton was never really a target race for me, having only entered at the last minute due to the cancellation of my other target races – I just needed a long distance event, so to some degree I'm feeling quite relaxed about it.
Likewise with my 100km race two weeks later. I’d initially entered the Lost Soul 50km, but the cancellation of Iron Legs meant I needed something more challenging and eventually opted for the 100k instead, which kind of brings me to the conclusion that subconsciously, the race I am perhaps more focused on is still the Iron Horse 100 mile ultra in October.
I have no idea how to run Iron Horse, nor how to pace it. I don’t know the course and won't have the opportunity to recky it prior to race day, so all I can do is log the miles and prepare my body as much as possible for a physically, mentally, emotionally demanding challenge that I have never experienced before. It will mean running early in the morning and watching the sun rise, running throughout the day right through to the evening as the sun sets, knowing that I need to rely on myself to keep going when darkness arrives, even when my mind and body are telling me it’s time to sleep. It’ll mean running through the night in open country on unfamiliar trails with just a headlamp and wildlife for company – but it will also present me with an adventure and a journey into the unknown, an opportunity to go beyond anything I have done before.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve tried to prepare myself as much as possible, and have peaked at around 150-160km each week. I’ve made myself carry a backpack with spare clothes, 2 litres of water and food during my longer runs – venturing out at the hottest part of the day over relatively hilly terrain for around 50km. When I’ve not wanted to run the 18km home from work every day, when my body and mind have wanted to quit, I’ve made myself run on tired legs. I’ve been running early hours of the morning, and I’ve ran late at night when usually I would be curled up and fast asleep in bed. I’ve wanted to confuse my body clock, breaking it out of its usual routine, forcing myself to get out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. It has been hard at times, but I know it will be even harder when I do the full 100 miles in one go.
Last weekend I treated myself to an easy run and headed down to Lethbridge about 2 ½ hours drive south of Calgary. The plan was to check out the Lost Soul course, and to spend some quality time on the trails with my 2 pooches,Wilson and Brandy. Although the Lost Soul Ultra isn't really a target race, I still want to run well and with reports of steep hills, the need for gaiters, and runners suffering from the heat, I wanted to experience things for myself and make my own judgement about the course and possible conditions.
The coulees in Lethbridge are surprisingly beautiful and I was amazed at how far I could run and how varied things were. I spent time running freely with Wilson and Brandy, and they were so excited running alongside me through the long grass, chasing butterflies and grasshoppers amongst the beautiful flowers blanketing the valley floor, sprinting up and down the hills with a wild and excited look in their eyes, jumping in the river and having a swim when things got too warm, and just generally having a great time. Even when on their leads, they kept looking up at me with excitement and anticipation, knowing that before long they would have their freedom again and be able to run ahead and show me the way as the sun shone brightly overhead in gorgeous blue skies.
It’s these special times when running with my dogs that make me forget about all the aches, pains and tiredness, and I feel so grateful to have the opportunity and ability to run in such wonderful places in such fantastic company. Whilst I was loving the run, I was quickly learning that the 100k would indeed be a tough one but I knew it was the right thing to do if I wanted to succeed in achieving my goal of attempting and completing my first 100 mile race.
Later that evening as midnight was approaching, I headed out once again, this time just taking Wilson along for a little 10km run. How different from earlier in the day - almost complete silence except for a few cars on nearby roads, the sound of owls overhead as they went about hunting their night-time prey, a couple of jack rabbits catching Wilson’s attention and him wanting to sprint off after them, a dark clear night sky full of stars whilst the lights of downtown Calgary glittered in the distance - a reminder of civilization.
I've experienced night time running before, where you become entranced by the beam of your head torch, where you are moving forward through the darkness and yet time seems to stand still, where the senses are more alert and the brain creates imaginary creatures lurking in the shadows. It's so different from running during the day time and for me it adds even more excitement and anticipation for my race.
It's just over 8 weeks until I toe the line in St Paul, Alberta and after the past couple of weeks, I am already certain of one thing - I’m going to embrace the whole experience, enjoy the running and be conscious not to ignore the beauty of the world around us – it’s going to be a fantastic experience, whatever the outcome.
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