A Brief Catch Up

I've always used this blog as a repository for my running and racing experiences, a place to reflect on things in years to come when I'm old and grey, to look back on what I've achieved over the years, the lessons I've learnt along the way, and maybe a way of encouraging others that read my posts to register for races, to try something different, and perhaps challenge themselves in a different way.

I've been neglecting things a little lately and I seem to have lost some of that motivation and creativity for writing, that way of engaging people and sharing my thoughts and emotions during my races, and I just haven't felt like putting my life on display for the rest of the world to see.

The good news is that for whatever reason, I am now at the stage where I feel ready to get back into the groove, to get back doing what I enjoy doing, and I'm ready to pick up where I left off in the summer. It's good to be back :-)

There is no denying that my summer was awesome, and I sneaked in a couple of races over the past few months which friends and family will already be aware of.

In August, I went in search of my Western States qualifier and made the journey to Grande Cache for the Canadian Death Race. This race is a 125km trail race that includes 3 mountain summits and some 17,000 ft of climbs and having had one of the wettest summers here in Alberta, the course was a muddy, soggy mess, giving way to some of the worst conditions in the history of the race.

I went into the race with no expectations and had no intentions of stressing myself out about times and places. It was difficult explaining to others that I just wanted to have fun out there and not feel pressured in to being competitive, so I was very happy to run the race I wanted to run, finishing in 18 hours and 32 minutes which was well within my "would like to have" goal of between 19 or 20 hours.

Summit of Mt Hamell
PC: Raveneye Photography (Alan Lam)

Out of leg 3 of CDR 125km -
PC: Raveneye Photography 

It really was an awesome race in all respects, and I honestly feel like it was one of my better races for a long time. I has no vomiting, no blisters, I felt strong throughout, and other than a cougar sighting on leg 4 shortly before my arrival and the aid station, there were no wildlife encounters apart from a couple of rather angry red squirrels! The views from the mountain tops were stunning, the support out on the course was outstanding, and I'm certain that I shall be back to conquer Death Race again at some point in the future.

A couple of weeks later, our good friend Julia came to visit from the UK. It was so good to see her again after nearly 5 years and the strength of our friendship was clearly visible with no awkward silences whilst she was here and no "small talk" as we chatted like we had never been apart :-)

We headed over to Banff for a few days whilst Julia was here and spent 3 nights camping at Tunnel Mountain. Of course, with being runners, we managed a couple of trail runs together in the mountains including the Plain of the Six Glaciers above Lake Louise which really was as scenic as seen in the pictures. Sure, there were quite a few tourists, but we still had a wonderful time and enjoyed a drink and a bite to eat at the tea house when reaching the top of the climb.

Plain of Six Glaciers

Plain of Six Glaciers

The weekend that Julia headed home, I was meant to have been doing the MEC Marathon in St Albert but flooding on the course meant the race was postponed. I didn't want to miss out on running a marathon as it was a crucial session for my upcoming 100-miler at the time, so I opted to run 26.2 miles unsupported around Leduc instead. With not being a proper race, I did have to stop for traffic, but I was very happy to run 3 hours 24 minutes with a negative split to boot. I was very happy with that run, and it certainly gave me some confidence again.

This run was followed up with a few trail runs over in Devon to ensure I got some hills and trails in the old legs, and when I had a 50km run scheduled in, I was very happy to see that this coincided with the Rivers Edge Ultra which also uses some of the Devon trails. Having raced REU last year, I knew that this was a great event, so I registered for the 50k with the intention of using it as a good training run.

Andy was working away that weekend and I was apprehensive and a little uneasy about leaving the dogs on their own all day whilst I went out racing for the day. Thankfully being in Devon, it was only a half hour drive from home, and so long as things went as planned, I knew I would be home in time for tea.

I didn't want to race this one as it was only two weeks until my 100-miler, so I deliberately positioned myself at the very back when we were called to the start line. My plan was to run between 9 to 10-minute miles but I found that this still put me amongst the leading ladies and as I went into leg 2, I ended up leading the ladies race. Normally I would have pushed on to retain my lead, but I did not want to race and deliberately started to mix walking with a slow jog to make sure that the other ladies went past me. As soon as slipped back a few places, I felt much more relaxed and was able to enjoy the run and the gorgeous autumn colours.

REU 50k - beautiful autumn colours!

Last year when I did this race, the course was changed due to snowy conditions, so I was very happy to do the full course this time. What I will say is that it is one tough course! There are lots of tough little climbs, it is quite technical in places, and the out and back section to reach the 50k turnaround point seems to go on forever! I was also a little taken aback when I encountered some gentlemen in the nude as I ran along the riverside path - it was only after the race that I discovered that the area is part of a nudist beach, and a very well attended one too!

REU - happy to be turning around now!

As I started the final leg, I was placed 3rd lady. I had no idea how far ahead the other ladies were, but I did pick up the pace and looking at the results afterwards, I did start to close the gap on them both. 

The final leg is where we encountered the river crossing. The weather had been quite warm for September so I was looking forward to cooling off in the water, but I wasn't quite prepared for how deep it would be. Wading across the 100m stretch of water to the island, the water came up to my waist and whilst it wasn't exactly freezing cold, it did cause a little gasp the deeper it got. I also became conscious of the current out there and I wondered how the 100k runners would get on wading across with tired legs later in the race. Having completed the island loop, the crossing back afterwards seemed much easier and before I knew it, I was running up the hill into the woods, before hitting the final mile or so into the finish.

I finished strong and once again had successfully completed a race where I had nailed my nutrition perfectly - success! - but I also had a couple of blisters that would need to clear up in time for my next race in just two weeks.

My last race was the Iron Horse Ultra 100 miler. This was my first 100-mile race back in 2013 and I was excited to be going back to St Paul to see if I could run a faster time than previously. 

It's such a shame that this race does not get more entries as it really is very well organised, has great swag, they provide you with supper the day before race day and then a post-race breakfast, and of course, it's a beautiful course and has amazing volunteers. 

Just 9 people started the 100-miler, and being the only female, I suppose I not only won the ladies race, but also finished last lady! But that didn't matter - I was more interested in running a good time and even though it took me just over 22 hours to complete, I was once again very happy with my race.

The course itself had changed quite a bit from last time with more off-road sections and lots more climbing, but it made things far more interesting and definitely more challenging, especially with lots of steep ups and downs across rutted valley, ducking and diving over and under fencing, barbed wire, and fallen trees amongst other things, but the most challenging of all was having to navigate across a stinky, disgusting boggy bog in the dark when we were already 85 miles into the race! With all the fallen trees and the high bushes, it was difficult to spot the reflective markers and I felt like I was moving blindly, trying to find my way. The bog was deep, and even where folks had tried to put logs across the deeper, wetter sections, they were sinking in the mire. At one point my shoe came off due to the suction and I found myself trying to balance precariously on a log as I fished my shoe out of the muck.

Start of Iron Horse 100 Miler

Iron Horse 100 miler - some of the views :-)

In the still of the night - Iron Horse 100  miler

With all the course changes, with the temporary loss of a shoe, and having ran the best part of 45 miles with barely any food inside of me (I ate chicken noodles – I should not have eaten chicken noodles!), it was inevitable that my time would be slower than the 21 hours and 9 minutes that I ran last time, but I still finished feeling pretty good – hungry, tired and in desperate need of a cup of tea, but certainly feeling good otherwise. What was even better about this final race was that by 9am, just a couple of hours after I had finished, I had my appetite back, and I was eating food like it was going out of fashion. It normally takes me 24 hours before I can eat anything substantial following a race, but this time, I really was famished, and I certainly gave my belly a good fill for pretty much the entire of the following week.

I took a complete week of rest following Iron Horse - my left knee had been giving me a bit of jip and I figured that a good rest would work wonders. It did work wonders, and the following weekend, I managed a decent pain free run and I felt good. I’ve since done more runs including one at the outdoor track in Leduc last weekend. You see, although we are now in October and the racing season is pretty much over for most folks here in Canada, I do have one more race to complete - the Desert Solstice 24-hour track race which takes place in Phoenix in December. This will be the third time that I will have done this event, and once again, I will be aiming to break that 215km mark which in the past would have given me the qualifying standard for the GB 24-hour team.

Leduc track last weekend - psyching myself up for 90 mins of running in circles!

The good news - or bad depending on how you look at it - is that the standard of British ultra-running in recent years has improved dramatically, and whilst 215km would have got you on the team in the past couple of years, it's now looking like I would need to run over 222km to even be considered! Yes, I checked out the current rankings for British ladies over the past 2 years, and there are already 8 ladies that have exceeded that distance - bearing in mind that they can only select 6 for the national team, it's looking like my GB team selection days are well and truly over.

The thing is that I am a stubborn old fool, and whilst I know that running that kind of distance is likely beyond my reach these days, it really doesn't stop me trying. I'm not willing to give up just yet as I truly believe that if all the stars align, I can do it. What I don't know is how many more 24 hour races my body will give me. I've been running for over 35 years now, I have done nearly 50 marathons and even more ultras, as well as those short and difficult races you do as a road runner. In all honesty, I have come to accept that I likely won't make the GB team BUT I still have personal goals to aim for. If I can break 215km in December, I will be a very happy bunny :-)

For now, it's time to focus on getting fit and strong again so I can be in the best shape possible by December. I've seen my training plan for the next couple of months and I will admit that a couple of the sessions are quite scary. But as we know, success doesn't come easy, you must work for it to earn it, and I am feeling motivated, focused and ready to knuckle down to give everything my best shot on that track.