Well, we're almost two weeks into 2024 and things so far are going pretty well. As in previous years, I signed up for the January Battle at the request of a friend, the goal being to run 400km by the end of the month. That's quite high mileage for me, especially when I have no races on the horizon, but I signed up regardless and am currently ahead of target with 204km in just the past 13 days.
I may have already mentioned that at present, I am taking a
break from structured training. Andy will be working away quite alot over the
coming weeks, and I find it hard to complete all the runs on my training plans
when he's not home. Rather than paying somebody to take time to write training
plans for me, only for me to let them down by not completing them, I decided to
take a break until the spring, when hopefully things will have settled down a
bit and I can get back into the swing of things.
This means of course that I can run as often as I like right
now, as fast as I like, and as far as I like. To some degree, I find it hard
not having a coach - there is a sense of drifting without any clear direction
or accountability with my running - but then it is also quite nice having that
flexibility and just doing things if and when I can.
Weirdly enough, I ended up doing a speed session last
Tuesday evening, even though I had absolutely no reason to do so. Even more
unusual was that I really wanted to do it at the local outdoor track, despite
track session still filling me with dread after all these years. My plan was to
do 8 x 2 minute repeats off a one minute recovery, a session that I used to do
at the running club many years ago, and that had contributed to my running a
2.47 marathon back in the day. We hadn't really had a great deal of snow so far
this winter, but the small amount we had had created a covering on the track
which had melted in the mild daytime temperatures, only to freeze again
overnight. It was terribly icy on the bends, and I found myself slowing down to
avoid a wipeout, but I was still happy to be knocking out just under 7 minute
miles.
I had a few more decent runs in the week, but the most
enjoyable one came at the weekend when for the third year in a row, I took on
the Fat Ass 50km.
The Fat Ass is an unofficial race that is organised by the
Blackfoot Ultra team. There is a choice of doing one lap of 25km, or two laps
for the 50km, and the entry fee is a mere $4 which goes towards the aid station
food and drink. Any excess funds are usually donated to a chosen charity, this
year The Saffron Centre benefited with a donation of $174 or thereabouts. There
are no official results, although runners are asked to submit their times so
that some sort of ranking can be provided. It really is just a bit of fund, and
a great way to get folks moving again at the start of the year after quite
possibly overindulging during the festive period. This year, my friend Barb
joined me for the 50k.
I’m not usually an early morning runner, but we were both up
at the crack of dawn, and by 7.30am, we were ready to get going from the
Kinsman Centre in Edmonton. The weather had turned a little cooler by the
Saturday, and it was hovering around -13c when we set off although the expected
high for the day would be around -8c. Conditions were really good – no ice and
only a little snow that provided some cushioning on the paved sections. Neither
of us really had a goal except to make sure we did the full distance, although
I suspected that at an easy pace, we would be out there for a good 5 and a half
to 6 hours. As the sun started to rise, the trails looked really pretty as it
glinted through the trees, and although things were starting to warm up a
little, our food and drink still froze in our backpacks making our fuelling
strategy go out of the window!
It was great to see our friend Laura managing the aid
station at the midway point on each loop, and we took advantage of the propane
fire pit to try to warm things up a little so we weren’t drinking Tailwind
slush puppy or breaking our teeth on rock solid gummy bears! The first lap was
fairly quiet and we didn’t really see too many people, but things did get
busier as we set off on lap 2, me personally refuelling up on a blueberry
muffin and a sausage roll, washed down with a couple of mugs of hot coffee as
we passed by the car at the half way point. The second loop seemed far easier
for some reason although we did take a little longer, probably due to taking
more pictures as we admired the structure of the ice shelves on the north
Saskatchewan River, but we ended up finishing the full 50k in around five hours
50 minutes, both Barb and I feeling tired, but happy and accomplished.
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| River views at the Fat Ass 50km |
I was expecting to feel somewhat tired for Sunday’s run, but with the snowfall overnight, things felt much more wintry again and I was excited about getting out for a run. I did a decent 10 miles on the Sunday, the legs feeling much better than anticipated, and I had a smile the whole way now that I was finally running in some snow and could justify wearing the trail shoes. It still wasn’t too cold at around -10c, but things definitely changed a couple of days later when an Arctic air mass moved in over Alberta, and we got our first blast of proper winter.
The cold and snow has never really bothered me. Yes, it
slows me down and I hate having to wear all the layers, but once I’m done, I
always feel glad that I’ve got outdoors and ran. Tuesday of this week saw
temperatures already starting to plummet, and it was in the -20s when I headed
out. Come Wednesday, things had gone even colder, and we were experiencing
closer to the mid -30s. I still got outside for my runs, making sure I was well
wrapped up to prevent any frostbite, and getting in a good 10 miles each day. I
was glad that a couple of friends from Leduc Runners were happy to head
outdoors too, and I did about 5km with them on Wednesday evening with the
remaining miles solo. We had had a good dump of snow and some of the pathways
hadn’t been cleared, so not only was I battling the frigid temperatures and
wind, but also slogging it out in snow that was a good few inches deep. But my
legs felt great, I was still enjoying the running, and other than my face
covering freezing as I ran along, I had no problems.
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| Things are starting to get a little chilly! |
Come Thursday, the deep freeze really had really taken a hold, and even during the day, temperatures were still below -30c. By the time I was due to head out for my run after work, it would be at -45 with windchill, and I knew that heading out for another 10 mile in those kind of temperatures was starting to get a little risky. I figured that an hour or so would be ok providing I dressed appropriately, but anything longer than that would just be irresponsible. Normally I can run a 10 mile run in around 85 minutes or quicker, but with the wintry conditions, I could potentially be out there for two hours - it was too long to be outdoors in such conditions so I opted to do just 10k instead.
I could tell that things had gone much, much colder, and
despite an extra two layers, I didn't feel like I was overheating. My quads
usually suffer the most in such cold temperatures so I put an extra pair of
shorts over the running tights and wore the thermal skirt. I was actually
toasty warm, although for some reason my fingers tips got really cold again
towards the end, and I was concerned that I was going to get frost nip on them.
It was another good run, not fast, but definitely consistent and feeling strong.
It was fun and I was happy.
It's now Friday night, and we are still under the extreme cold warning with tomorrow morning expected to be the coldest of the week. The forecast is calling for -50 or even lower, and that is definitely far too dangerous for me to even consider heading out for an outdoor run tomorrow. I've already decided that I will be heading to the indoor track instead, and I hope to get in another good 50 or 60km towards the January Battle this weekend. I know for sure that I do much prefer to run outside, but then I know that I'll enjoy doing what seems like endless loops of that 200m track, listening to music and using that to keep me going. I am actually looking forward to it :)
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