A couple of weeks ago, I ran the MEC Half Marathon. It came just a couple of weeks post Blackfoot and for once, I didn't really say too much about the fact that I was racing. I felt the need to keep a low profile as I needed to get some confidence back, but that didn't stop the nerves as I drove to the start on that Sunday morning.
The previous day, I'd ran almost 17 hilly miles on the trails. My legs felt ok, but there were definitely some aches from all the climbing and whilst I wanted to run a good time, I had a feeling that the achy legs would cause me some problems.
For once I knew most of the course, and although still a couple of good climbs, I knew it would be one of the flatter Edmonton road races I'd done.
On arrival st the start, it was so good to see Ailsa McDonald and her hubby. She was also running the half today and she looked fab considering she had spent 6 hours on a track the day before - she went on to win half in 86 minutes, an incredible time given the previous day's performance too!
For me, I was happy enough with my run. I ran strong, I was running close to 7 minute miles for the most part, but the final climb and the achy legs slowed me in the last couple of miles, and I eventually finished in 1 hour 37 minutes. I placed 2nd behind Ailsa so I was pretty happy and I received another MEC medal to add to my collection.
 |
| MEC Half Podium, minus the awesome Ailsa! |
Andy came home that following week so we actually booked a week off work, spending a few days at home and finishing off with 4 days of camping in Jasper.
I really wanted to do some hiking with the pups whilst there, but Wilson has been struggling with a poorly paw and Tillie prefers to do things with Wilson rather than alone. So whilst I left Andy babysitting the pups, I headed out for some hilly trail runs to get the legs used to the uphills again.
Last Christmas, we did the Valley of the Five Lakes hike in the snow, and so I wanted to go back again in the summer to do it again, and then run into jasper where I'd meet Andy with the dogs.
The weather had been pretty damp and whilst running, I was hit with heavy rain and storms, and once again the surrounding mountain peaks were shrouded in cloud. The second part of the run into jasper was an unknown and I had no idea what to expect. It was certainly much quieter than I was expecting - I'd read that this route was popular with mountain bikers heading to and from town - but in that last 10km, I saw just 5 or 6 other people and one cyclist. The trail took me across open meadows, through dense forest, and as I got closer to Jasper town site I ended up high on the cliffs overlooking the Athabasca River which gave some fantastic views of the valley. I was loving the running, I was feeling really good, but I was also feeling extremely uneasy and was worried about running into a bear or a cougar. It was so quiet out there with not a soul in sight - in some respects it was awesome, but in others I was definitely on the look out for critters of the furry variety!
 |
| Valley of the Five Lakes, Jasper |
 |
| Cliffs overlooking the Athabasca River, Jasper |
The following day I headed up Whistlers Mountain. This seems to have become an annual thing for me but it felt strange this year not taking the pups up with me. However, it did mean I could run more rather than hike, and I made it to the summit in record time. The weather held out with no rain or storms, and I had a marvellous run. If the climb up had been steep, the run back down meant holding back and putting a strain on the quads to stop me slipping down the mountainside and I knew that the quads would be pretty sore the next day!
 |
| Summit of Whistlers Mountain, Jasper |
We had another great night camping under the stars, and the next day before heading home, I squeezed in another run, this time on road. I'd arranged for Andy to pick me up within the hour at the junction with the ice fields parkway,and when he wasn't there, I settled down on the grass verge In the sunshine to wait for him. As I sat there, I did wonder what j would do if a bear suddenly appeared. It was so quiet and not that much traffic and I thought that maybe I should make some noise. It was only after Andy collected me that we did indeed see a black bear, munching away in the grass verge just 400 to 600m further down the road from where I'd been sitting - yikes!
 |
| Even road running is fun in Jasper :-) |
 |
| Road running and roadside views in Jasper :-) |
Our 4 days out in the mountains had been pretty awesome, but the following weekend, things became even more eventful.
I'd been wanting to do another longish trail race as a training run prior to Death Race, and having spoken to coach Paul, he agreed that doing Rundles Revenge 50k would fit perfectly into my training plan. Once again, I didn't really say too much about doing the race as I didn't want the pressure or the weight of expectation on my shoulders, and I went there with the intention of putting some demons to rest, and to find my trail legs and trail confidence again.
We had planned to stay over in Calgary on the Saturday night, spending the day relaxing before heading to the race the next day. Whilst we still stayed over in Calgary, there was the minor change in our plans in that we would be meeting a young 8-month old, Basenji-Mix puppy named April, with the possibility that if the meet and greet with our family went well, she would be heading back to Leduc with us on the Sunday to join our family.
We hadn't been actively looking for another dog as it doesn't seem that long since we lost Brandy, but when our friend Jo Schmidt contacted us about April, we wanted to help out if we could. Jo's friend Suzanne had rescued April from the beaches and jungles of Mexico and when they found her, she was extremely thin, was riddled with worms and covered in tics, the latter of which had led to her contracting Lyme Disease. She was treated at the vets in Mexico and when healthy enough to travel, they drove April from Mexico to Canada to give her a better quality of life.
She's such a sweet girl and it was obvious that they loved her so much, but sadly their lifestyle wasn't suitable for April so they were looking for another home. Thanks to Jo, we were introduced, and it seemed like the Salt-Smith home would be the perfect match.
Despite a lip curl from Wilson, the meet and greet went extremely well, so on our way back home the following day, we would be collecting April.
Of course, before that I had the small matter of a 50km race to do, so I had to switch my focus back to racing which was difficult with thoughts of April and our current pups running around in my head all night!
On the Sunday,we were on the road just after 5am as we headed up to Canmore. The weather was calling for warm temps with thunderstorms and rain for most of the morning but fortunately when we arrived, it was dry and a little on the cool side.
I was feeling so nervous and my tummy was going crazy with butterflies. It was silly really as so few people knew I was even racing, but the anxiety I was feeling about whether I'd even finish or not was somewhat overwhelming. Andy was awesome. He once again calmed me down and made me realise that all I needed to do was keep moving forward - there was no need to worry about finishing times or positions, all I needed to do was enjoy the race.
 |
| Ready for 50k but very, very nervous and stressed! |
The course had also changed from when I'd done it previously which was a good thing as it meant I wouldn't be comparing my performance to what I did here 5 years ago.
The race started at 7.30am and already I was having difficulty getting my head into the right place. The first few miles were uphill, and within the first 10 minutes people were walking due to the steep climbs. I started to power hike, but got frustrated by having to walk. I started to question why people call themselves runners only to do hilly races all the time, which turns into mostly walking. If I wanted to hike, I'd do it with my dogs and not pay to do it. I didn't want to be walking for the next 6 hours, I wanted to be fricking running! I'm crap at hills and at this rate, I'd finish last and look a fool again.
I was starting to get emotional and desperately needed to stop the negative thoughts, but I was finding it tough. My mind was all over the place - I'm not going to race after this, I'm going to cycle more, I'm not going to do death race because I can't run far anymore, I can't, I can't, I can't. WTF??!!
I then started to feel a little fuzzy headed and started to think something was wrong with me. I removed my hat thinking perhaps that was too tight, and it was only when the sweat started dripping in my eyes that o thought maybe I was dehydrated. I started to make a conscious effort to drink - the cool start had been deceiving and it was actually quite muggy - and a half hour later having taken a yummy energy gel and popped a salt tab, I started to feel much better.
It was then that I decided that I didn't care about my position today. I didn't care how long it took me. So long as I kept moving forward and got to that finish line everything would be ok. I was not going to quit.
The instant relief I felt as soon as I removed that pressure off myself was amazing! I started to run with more gusto, I was feeling strong and much more positive, so much so that without really putting j any great, conscious effort, I started to catch other runners, and yes, even on the climbs!
I was gradually starting to feeling like an ultra runner again, z trail runner again, and whilst at that point in the race o wasn't interested in being competitive, at least I was back in the zone. The next few kilometres flew by, and I was running more strongly and more quickly that earlier in the race. The hills were no longer bothering and I was actually running up them quite well, and bit by bit, I was picking off runners ahead of me. I was also finding myself smiling again as I ran onto the double track trails and the valley opened up ahead of me with the splendid views of the Bow Valley and the surrounding mountains. We'd had a few spots of rain but nothing too crazy, and the sun was now shining despite the mountain peaks still being shrouded in mist.
 |
| Race views at Rundles Revenge :-) |
 |
| Stunning views ... and a bear! |
I was now running with more of a spring in my step, and I started to overtake a few more of the men including a couple that had been playing leapfrog with me for the past few miles. As we hit a long drawn out climb that weaved between the trees, I overtook these guys again. I was very surprised when one of them commented, "I can see where your strengths are - you're a strong climber!" and I felt somewhat taken aback given my feelings of self-doubt when it comes to hilly runs. Yes, I was feeling stronger now and was making good progress on the climbs, but for somebody to actually comment gave me that confidence that I have been seriously lacking of late - it felt good!
I thanked him and said he was doing really well too, and then I found myself pulling away from him and the gap widening. This part of the course seemed to be a long, twisty turny downhill, followed by a long, twisty turny climb back up towards the staging area. I was feeling good and as I came into the end of the first lap, I was feeling extremely good. It had taken me just under of 3 hours to do the first 25km and knowing that I had struggled for the first 10km and had almost but given up, I felt capable of actually running a negative split and set off on lap 2 with full intentions of breaking the 6 hours and maybe running a 5.50. It's strange now looking back at how differently I was approaching things compared to earlier on in the race. That fight and determination I've had for many,many years had resurfaced and I was starting to get reckless on the downhills and appeared to be crushing the uphills. I was amazing even myself at how many people I was now overtaking on those climbs, and with every step, I was growing in confidence. I was also being much better with myself in terms of fuelling. I was making sure I was drinking and I had been taking gels and salt pills each hour to keep things ticking over. I was feeling fantastic with the mind and the body doing exactly what I was asking of them.
I still hadn't seen any ladies and had no idea where i was in the overall standings, but I was now racing against the clock if not the people around me.
I was cruising the ups and downs, I was listening to the birds singing, I was laughing at the chattering of the squirrels that seemed to get angry whenever a runner ran by, and I was loving my surroundings. I was now running pretty much solo and it didn't seem like too many people were around me, and as I ran happily down one of the trails, a couple of marshalls called out to me. At first it didn't register that they were telling me there was a bear on the trail just ahead, but then I stopped dead in my tracks and I finally spotted what looked to be quite a large bear feeding in the grass right beside the trail which made up part of the race course. The bear was probably 150m away from us and didn't appear to be interested in us whatsoever, and whilst the marshalls had their bear spray in hand just in case, I quickly snapped a photo just as some other runners came running up behind me, thinking maybe I should get my bear spray out and at the ready just in case!
 |
| Bear on the course! |
We waited for several minutes, but the bear was in no great hurry, so we decided to just walk slowly along the trail above the bear, hoping that he wouldn't suddenly decide to charge. I stuck with one of the guys for the next 5 or 10 minutes, but he appeared to be struggling, I was feeling awesome, and I ended up leaving him behind.
That's when I became very aware of how quiet it really was. The mountain bikers were now out and about and a few did pass by, but otherwise it was pretty silent. Of course we know bears are in the area but I never expected to really see one, so after that, I got paranoid that I would bump into another one. I started yelling and making much more noise, feeling silly when I'd yell and then a cyclist would come flying around the corner.
Shortly after the bear, I came into the staging area again. I stopped at the aid station to grab some more gels, banana and water melon, and was chatting to them when I thought I heard them say over the loud speaker that I was currently 2nd in the over 40s ladies race. I wasn't quite sure, but that did give me a spurt, especially when the aid station volunteers told me that a couple of ladies had just left about 2 or 3 minutes earlier. With just 12 or 13km now remaining, the chase was on!
Less than five minutes later, I found myself sitting on the rocky ground effing and blinding at a 10cm cut in my knee, feeling a little dazed , whilst blood poured down my leg. I had been so busy looking around for bears that I wasn't paying enough attention to my feet and I had tripped over a rock and fallen on the sharp edge of another which had gone a little deeper than a graze into my right knee. A lady had heard me swearing as I fell, and when I got up and started to slowly hobble, I apologised to her for my language. It turned out that she was a doctor and she took a quick look at my knee. I felt awful as it was bleeding and covered in dirt and mud, but her prognosis was that it didn't look too deep and it wouldn't get infected in the next hour or so - I'd be ok to carry on, but then it "was only a race" and maybe I should just go back to get it cleaned up.
 |
| Ouch, ouch, ouch! Real time photo of the knee injury just after it happened :-) |
At that moment I knew that my ultra runner instincts and stupidity were back and I felt a huge sense of relief that it had been buried in there all along. I did not want to go back to get it cleaned up - there were a couple of ladies within striking distance just ahead of me and I had already given them the advantage by deliberating over whether to carry on or not. Neither did I want to DNF, but then I also didn't want to make my knee worse if I carried on, and I certainly didn't want it to get infected.
I finally decided to just carry on - it was only 8 miles and I was sure I could manage it. Avoiding another DNF was more important to me at that moment. I took a quick picture of the knee and sent it to Andy to let him know that I may be a little longer than the 6 hours I had been hoping for, and his reply was just what I needed to keep me going.
As I tried to run, the knee was undoubtedly stiff and the blood was starting to flow a little more from the cut. It was stinging too, but I was able to manage the pain and as I found my rhythm again, I started to run without too much trouble and I soon forgot about the knee. The only time I thought about it was when I almost tripped again but caught myself in time - I really didn't want to fall on an already injured knee!
The bear from earlier had now cleared the course but I was still very aware that another appearance was possible, so I was still making lots of noise and calling out. The downhills felt amazing and I knew I was closing on at least one of the ladies ahead of me, and as the climbs started again, I found myself covering ground pretty quickly, eventually passing one of the ladies and being able to keep it going.
When I finally saw the concrete pathway that leads back to the Nordic Centre, I knew I was close to the finish, but that last couple of miles seemed to go on forever as the course teased us into thinking we were heading back, only to lead us away for a brief couple of hundred yards. I was feeling good in the legs and really wanted to run strongly into the finish, but the blooded knee was starting to get a little sore now so I aimed for a respectable looking finish rather than a sprint or a walk.
I ended up finishing the race as 2nd placed lady in the over 40 race and 5th lady overall in 6 hours and 7 minutes - if it weren't for the bear and the fall, I'm pretty sure that a 5.50 finish would have been on the cards, But I was still very happy and I felt a little emotional crossing the finish line - demons had been defeated and Del the Ultra Runner was back!
 |
| Top 3 40+ ladies :-) |
It was awesome to see Andy and the pups at the finish, but now we had to get the knee looked at and it was a mess. By carrying on, I had actually stretched the flesh so the cut was now wider and it was looking like I was going to need stitches. They suggested I go to the emergency ward to have it looked at properly due to the amount of dirt in there - they didn't have facilities to clean it properly and were worried about the infection if they used the temporary stitches.
We had to wait around for the presentation which took another couple of hours as we waited for the 3rd placed lady to finish and recover, and in the meantime, I was famished and thirsty.
To cut a long story short, I made it to the hospital, had a local anaesthetic to freeze the knee for cleaning, it wasn't enough so doctor stuck 3 more needles in me to deaden the knee, and then I had it scrubbed and scraped literally raw before having 12 stitches put in. No running for at least a week or until the stitches come out in 7 to 10 days, a tetanus booster, plus 2000mg of antibiotics daily for the next week. Given the excellent treatment I had and the fact that the only cost was the prescription for the antibiotics, I want to give a huge shout out to Alberta Health Care which was on a par with treatment received in the past by the awesome NHS in England.
Of course, we were now running late for our meeting to collect April and we didn't want to delay things for too long - the longer we left it, the harder it would be for her current owners to part with her, but by the same token, it also meant that they had that extra time with her to say their special goodbyes. They were of course waiting for us when we arrived in Calgary to collect her, and I think we all cried and I know for sure that I felt terribly guilty taking away their furry baby even though it was all for the greater good. We promised to stay in touch, to share photos of April as she matures in to a beautiful young lady, and to swing by for a quick hello whenever we are in Calgary.
April has now been with us for a full week and after a few initial growls from Wilson and some grumblings from Tillie in the first couple of days, I think it's safe to say that harmony has returned to the household. Tillie and April play constantly and I even found them sharing the bed the other day, and even Wilson has succumbed to wagging his tail and snuffling April's ears occasionally. Last weekend, we did a couple of longer leashed walks as a little family and all three pups were so well behaved and had a wonderful time, so much so that several people commented on how good they were which certainly made me a proud mom :-)
 |
| Walks with the pups and bliss all around :-) |
 |
| Feel like a dog walker again! :-) |
The past week has certainly been eventful and I'm certainly feeling a bit perkier than I have been doing as of late. Andy is of course working away again - he comes back home on Friday for a weekend of camping at Elk Island National Park - but he jets off again on Monday for the remainder of July whilst he works on a job over in Newfoundland - on the positive side, at least he'll be in Canada, albeit on the other side of the country!
When he returns, the Canadian Death Race will be on the doorstep and we'll be heading off for the weekend in Grand Cache. I'm actually looking forward to racing this time - it's my Western States Qualifier and I've made the decision to make finishing and just enjoying the run my main goal. Of course I want a good, strong, solid run, but I'll put it out there now - I do not expect to podium at this race, I will not be going out there to podium, I don't care about the quality of the competition, what the other ladies have or haven't ran or won or whatever, I don't care what time I run nor what the course record is, I don't even care if I finish last so long as I do finish and I do so in the cut-off times. I also won't be comparing myself to anybody else, nor my former self when I could comfortably run much faster than I do these days. I just want to do my best but more important have fun for once. I'm also realistic that having injured my knee at Rundles Revenge last weekend, I have missed a week of training and will likely not be back to full pace for a few more days. Whilst I don't expect to have lost too much fitness and the forced rest will likely have done me good, it will undoubtedly have some small impact on my build up to Death Race. I am ok with this and I am realistic about what that impact may be.
But Death Race is 4 or 5 weeks away and I don't want to start thinking about it just yet (thanks Paul!) I have another month of training to get through and I want to enjoy that training, I want to enjoy being out on the trails and I want to have fun, I don't want to dwell too much on pace - hey, I might even run without a watch for once! The good news is that at the moment, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to knuckling down, getting in the miles and not worrying about things too much - I want to be the carefree, fun loving runner that I used to be, with that happy, positive, optimistic outlook that I am familiar with instead of worrying about whether I'm meeting other people's expectations - I know that runner is still there, I know that she resurfaced briefly last weekend in Canmore. I just have to give her a little encouragement to show herself a little more often, to grow in confidence again, and for her to realise that she's doing this for herself, and that if she can hit her own goals, then nothing else really matters.