Well after stubbing my toes so many times it was a fairly easy run to the start finish area.
Once in the start/finish area it was another weigh in and this time I had dropped a little bit, I now weighed 85.3 kgs. It was a small drop and I was only just under my start weight so I was not to worried.
This is when I met up with Tasha as she was going to run the last lap with me as my pacer. I was still dress in my t-shirt and shorts but the temp had started to drop, I wasn't cold yet so I didn't change and headed out on the south loop with Tasha. I still had the poles I borrowed from Hugh and was thankful for them. The last lap was going to be a tough one but I felt that I could still put together a strong performance. When we gone about 3.5kms and started running/walking on the pavement, it was about 3.5kms to the start/finish area and it was all on pavement. The downhills hurt the most and I was walking all the uphills so it was just a matter of running the flats the best that I could. I still managed to run the first 7km in about an hour so the pace was good.
When we got into the start/finish area I was starting to cool off so I threw on a long sleeve shirt over top of my t-shirt. I grabbed as much food as I could carry in my hands and ate it as I walked out of the aid-station. Calories at this point would be very crucial in getting me to the finish line. There was still alot of race ahead of me, more then a marathon and I wanted to get to the end so bad. Just like on the second lap I found the 5kms from the start/finish area to the unmanned aid-station tough and took over an hour to get through it. We picked up the pace a little for the next 7kms but the top of my left calf started to tighten up on me on this section of the race. When we got into Peenaquim I went straight to my drop bag, I was getting a little cold on the last few kms and wanted to put on my vest and polypro gloves. The vest wasn't thick but, along with the gloves, it was enough to take the edge off of the cool night. Just like I have done at every other aid-station I topped up my bottles and grabbed a handful of food and walked out and headed down the course. There was a huge climb leaving this aid-station and even with my sore calf I was able to power up the slope at a good pace.
It was about 6.5kms from Peenaquim to Pavan and I found that it was going fairly well. The temp was dropping still and it was getting real cold. I resorted to putting on all the cloths I had with me which was only a toque.
Pavan was a welcomed sight, I was still able to run and pushed the pace to the aid-station where I promptly found a chair and parked my butt. I ate all the remaining bacon, mmmmm salty protein, and a hand full of chips. Tasha was getting a little cold so she put on my extra shirt that I had in the drop bag, also put on my BUFF and stole my over mitts. I changed my shoes and socks here for the first time in the race. The socks felt so good on my feet but the shoes where feeling a little weird. I thought I would try them for the next section of the race and if the shoes still didn't feel good I would be coming back through Pavan in about 16.5kms.
Leaving the aid-station with topped up bottles and a belly with some food in it I was feeling as good as I could after covering over 130kms. This was all new ground for me as I had never been over 125km. The first 1km or so from Pavan is on paved roads so I walked them and tryed to get my feet into a faster pace. As we left the pavement there was a good climb up onto the top of a coulee and I was able to climb at a good pace. My left leg was bothering me more and more and as a result my down hill pace was slowing down. We pushed on with me apologizing to Tasha for having her join me on what was becoming a walk.
We finally got out of the coulees and made it to the unmanned aid-station at the far north end of the loop, from here I had about 19kms to the finish. My pace had been slowing more and more over the last few kms as my left leg became more tight and more sore. I was walking all the uphill, all the down hill and most of the flat areas now and it really beat me up mentally not being able to run. There was 6kms to Pavan and about 4 ladder crossings, I almost took a couple of tumbles on the ladder crossings. Tasha had given up running behind me and was now up in front slowly pulling away from me. I asked her to slow down and she politely told me to stuff it and keep up. I managed to increase my pace a little but was cursing her name under my breath. There was about a km of pavement before getting into the Pavan aid-station and the shoes that I had put on really bothered my feet. I knew I had to change them.
When we got into Pavan I sat down and changed my shoes, had my bottles topped up and ate some food. There was still some salmon left so I had a piece of that and a little bit of bacon. The sun was up now so we left our head lamps and I left most of the clothes I had put on over the night, Tasha also shed a few layers. While I sat there Tasha started to give me grief for sitting there so long so I reluctantly got up and prepared to shuffle off down the trail.
This next section of trail was flat to start with and I was doing alright on it, I was even able to run a little bit. Tasha was still up in front trying to get me to go a little faster. When I got to a portion of the trail that had some hills to climb I hit my lowest point in the whole race, actually in any race that I have ever done. I was coming down a big climb when my leg was so sore I thought I couldn't go on. Tasha had to come back up the hill and talk to me for a bit to get my spirits back up and prepare me to continue. This is when I saw Rich, a fellow trail trash runner who was running the 50k, on the trail in front of me. He some how got off course and was running towards me on the wrong trail, I could see the trail he should be on, it was on top of the coulee he was running in. We sent him off in the right direction and headed of down the trail towards Peenaquim.
Peenaquim was a quick stop. I was not allowed to sit down and didn't want to as I was trying to get to the finish line by noon. I topped up my water bottles, ate a few salty things and left as quick as my tired and weary legs would carry me. I had about 7km to go and knew I was going to finish.
This last section had some good points and bad ones. I was moving as fast as I could, I knew I was going to finish, and I would be off of my feet soon. My left leg was real sore now and there was no way I could run, a couple of times I tried to run and only got a couple of steps before I had to walk again. I was about a km from the finish line when I was caught and passed by another 100 mile runner. For a second I was so mad that I had been passed, but then I thought about it and knew I had nothing left, I had pushed myself harder then I ever have before and being passed was o.k. they were better that day.
When I got up to the top of the hill and was in the parking lot of the finish line I wanted to run across the finish line but just couldn't get my leg to cooperate. I crossed the finish line in 28 hours and 5 minutes, close enough to my goal of 28 hours. I went into the tent sat down and did not move for about 20 minutes, like every other aid-station the folks at this one went out of their way to make sure I was looked after. The only thing I wanted at this point was a nice glass of coke, which was promptly brought to me.
When I finally got up from the chair I staggered over to the grass and laid down for a while. Tasha went up to the hotel room, cleaned up and went out with her mom and Kael for lunch. I stayed on the grass and watched other runners come in. There was one goal that I have not mentioned, I wanted to finish before any of the 50k runners, and I made this goal. It was about 15 minutes after I finished when Chris crossed the finish line.
I think I layed on the grass for about an hour and a half. I watched some 100 miler runners finish, some 100km runners finish and even a few 50k runners finish. It was such a feeling of accomplishment that I had while laying there.
I was done. I had finished my pre-season goal of completing the Alberta Triple. Now to figure out what to do next?
Later.
J
Monday, September 24, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Lost Soul Ultra in Lethbridge
Greetings Everyone,
As an almost yearly event a group of us from the Trail Trash group headed of to Lethbridge, Alberta for the Lost Soul Ultras. There is 3 distances at this race a 50k which is actually 53k, a 100k which is basically 100k and a 100 miler which again is basically right on for distance. I was heading down on Thursday afternoon on September 13th with a couple of friends, Hugh and Alan. Alan was coming down to help support Hugh who like me was running the 100 miler, Alan was running the 50k on the 15th. We arrived in Lethbridge around 4:30 and went to the hotel, which is also the start and finish area, to check in and drop off our stuff. Then it was off to the Runner's Soul running store to pick up race package's.
Once we had picked up our race packages we went back to the hotel to relax and sort out our gear into the drops bags. Hugh and I were allowed to have 3 while Alan could have 1. I had no idea what to put in each bag because I didn't know where I would be3 when I needed something. I took a guess at what time I would be at each aid station and packed my clothes according to that. For the most part this guessing game worked out for me and I had no aid station issues with my gear.
On Thursday night Hugh, Alan and I headed out to find a good place to have dinner at. We found a place to park and were walking down a couple of streets looking for a restaurant and couldn't find anything. Hugh finally asked this guy if he knew of a nice place to eat, well this guy opened his mouth showed us his one tooth and then said some word that none of us could make out. So off we went searching for some good food once again, that is when we spotted a couple of cops walking down the other side of the street. Hugh thought we should ask them but I was worried they would point us towards the best donut shop in town at best a fast food place. Hugh crossed over so Alan and I followed and heard the cop tell Hugh about a pasta place in the old firehall, which was only a couple of blocks away. This restaurant was fantastic, we sat out on the patio in a big sun beam and enjoyed a wonderful pre-run meal, I will definitely be going back to that place next time I am in Lethbridge.
We finished up with dinner and headed off to the car and back to the hotel to try and get some restless sleep. I had the hide-a-bed while Hugh and Alan share the queen sized bed. I was asleep fairly early for me 9:30-10:00pm and slept fairly well until about 4am when the temp dropped off and I started to get cold, the bed only had a thin blanket on it.
The wake up call was set for 5:45am and it sure came early, Hugh and I reluctantly got out of bed and started to get ready knowing it would be along day(s). The pre-race weigh in was at 6am and I came in at 85.5 kgs which was good and bad because I could loose up to 5% before being pulled from the course. The pre-race briefing was at 7am and were told about the issues on the course or concerns anyways. It turned out 2 weeks before a bear was chased off of the course, there was a real angry bull in on of the areas we had to run through, there was lots of cows on the course and to top it of 6 rickety ladders to climb over some fences. What a great way to build up the spirits of all the runners, I saw a few of them look at each other and then the door. Oh, the other news was the forecast was for high 20's during the day and zero at night. Now it was just time to sit and wait for the 8 am start.
I moved out to the start around 7:50-7:55. It was cool, but I wore my shorts and a t-shirt anyways knowing I would warm up soon. The start was a little anticlimactic as the race director didn't do a countdown and suddenly bust out with "Start". I looked at the person beside me and they had the same look as me, the look that says "was that the actual start". Well off we went for the first 7k before coming back to the start/finish area, which was also an aid station. It didn't take me long to warm up and soon found a pace I thought I could handle for the first lap or two, the 100 milers had to do 3-53.5k laps. I don't remember what time it was when I came back through the start finish area but I was only there long enough to refill my water bottles and head out to the Peenaquim aid-station. For me the next 5k was one of the hardest sections of the race, no matter which lap I was on this section was always the slowest part of that lap. I pushed myself also and went past the unmanned water station and then into the Peenaquim station. It was nice to get there as I used each aid-station as a small goal to get me through each lap, again I didn't stop long at the station just long enough to refill my bottles and grab my sun glasses. I had brought enough food with me to get me through the lap so food was not an issue I just had to make sure I had water and also something with electrolytes, the race was serving a drink made by GU. GU turned out to be not bad, I had never had it before the race, and each aid station had a different flavour.
As I left Peenaquim, it was a flat area for a short while and then the climbing started again. The course weaved its way up and down what seamed like every coulee along the course. I seamed to be doing well as I could keep the leaders within sight for all this section. The trail opens up out of one of the coulees and I could see the next aid-station, Pavan, and thought of the loop on the north end and then the return trip back to the start/finish area. Pavan was a well setup aid-station in a paved parking lot and had great lighting for the night time stops I would be taking.
From the aid-station it is approximately a 16.5k loop and I would be back in Pavan. While in the aid-station I again only needed water and GU so the stop was short. Leaving the aid-station started out along 1km of pavement before another big climb. It turns out that each lap has about 3000 feet of elevation gain and also elevation loss, that is a fair bit when you consider the race is in the prairies. I was about 2kms from the aid-station when I was about half way around the lap at the 33km mark I could still see the leaders about 10 or 12 minutes ahead of me. At this point I looked at my GPS and did some quick math. I had covered the first half in about 3 hours and my goal was around a 7 to 71/2 hour lap so I had to slow down. At the 35km mark there was another unmanned water station and I filled both bottles with water.
Back at Pavan I topped up my water, made sure I had a bottle of GU with me and took some salt tablets, might have grabbed a few chips to munch on as I headed off down the trail. It was a short 5 kms back to Peenaquim and then 7kms from there back to the start/finish area. At Peenaquim it was the same old story water and GU only and push on as fast as I could.
When I got into the start/finish area my time was around 7 hours, a little on the fast side of what I wanted but I was o.k. with it as I still felt strong and the farther I could cover in the cool temps of the morning the better. At the aid-station I was takenin for my first weigh in and found that I had gained weight over the first loop, I now weighed 85.9kgs and people say they run to loose weight. I helped my self to the food table, known as the buffet and filled up my bottles. I figured I had drank around 15 bottles of liquid on that first lap which was about 8 liters of fluid that I had put into me and I wish I had been able to drink more.
The second loop started out fairly well. The 7km loop that brought me back to the start/finish area was about half pavement and with the heat going up it felt like a furnace radiating up from the pavement. My pace was down to about 7km an hour which was a comfortable pace for me at the time. When I got back to the aid-station Alan and Hugh were there to greet me, which I did not expect, Hugh should have been miles ahead of me. It turned out that Hugh was having some IT band problems and had pulled himself from the race. He was limping with every step and even still I could see the disapointment on his face. The good ting for me was Hugh was able tolend me his hicking poles, I had forgot mine at home and wouldn't have them until Tasha arrived.
As I headed off north running and power hiking. I had little food with me but only had to get to Peenaquim as I had a full supply of food waiting for me there. It took me a little longer then I had hoped to but the temp was still climbing and my pace was slowing a little. Getting to Peenaquim was my current goal and I was going to get there no matter what. Having the hiking poles was a great help as I was able to tackle the hills at a much faster pace then I would have been able to do other wise.
Peenaquim was such a happy sight. Hugh and Alan where there to greet me and help me any in way they could. Alan grabed my water bottles and filled them up, I went to my drop bag and filled up on food. I started to pack my drop bag when Hugh told me to leave it and he would repack it once I had left. The other great part of getting to this aid-stationis Chris was there, he like Alan was running th 50k the next day and had come down a little early to cheer us on.
Leaving Peenaquim I was feeling good and was still moving fairly fast but some how by the time I made it to Pavan I was feelingfairly low. I had tried to talk to other runners through out the race but I found most of them made me feel lower so I just seperated myself from them and carried on alone. This time in Pavan it was the first time I actually sat down in an aid-station. I sat down and spent about 15 minutes eating, drinking and basicly getting my head cleared. The aid-station volunteers were fantastic, they really helped get me back into the game and onto my feet. I had some of the salmon a volunteer had brought and it was so good, also had some salted potatoes, there were other things that I had but can't remember. Finally I grabbed my head lamp and spare batteries and headed out onto the course.
It took a few kms before I started to feel an energy boost from the food I ate at the aid-station but at least it was coming and I was feeling stronger. I had gone about 6km from Pavan before I had to put on the head lamp and light my way. Now that the temp had dropped a little I was making sure I really downed the water bottles to make sure I rehydrated. I had a great return trip back to Pavan and was running faster then my first lap.
I made another sit down break at Pavan, this time it was only about 5 minutes and I just crammed as much food down my throat as I could. About 2kms from Pavan I saw a bunch of lights making their way towards me and I knew I was not that tired so it wasn't a halucination. It turned out to be one of the 100k runners and somehow she had turned her self around and was running back to Pavan. It didn't take me long to convince her she was going the wrong way and she followed along behind me. Over the next couple of climbs I pulled away from her and made it into Peenaquim long before she made it into it.
This next section took its toll on my toes. There was a section that ran along the Old Man river for about 2kms that was nothing but loose rocks and lots were the size of baseballs. I think I stubbed each toe twice along this section. I had to slow down and walk for most of this section other wise my feet would really pay for it later.
I will continue with the final lap later.
J
As an almost yearly event a group of us from the Trail Trash group headed of to Lethbridge, Alberta for the Lost Soul Ultras. There is 3 distances at this race a 50k which is actually 53k, a 100k which is basically 100k and a 100 miler which again is basically right on for distance. I was heading down on Thursday afternoon on September 13th with a couple of friends, Hugh and Alan. Alan was coming down to help support Hugh who like me was running the 100 miler, Alan was running the 50k on the 15th. We arrived in Lethbridge around 4:30 and went to the hotel, which is also the start and finish area, to check in and drop off our stuff. Then it was off to the Runner's Soul running store to pick up race package's.
Once we had picked up our race packages we went back to the hotel to relax and sort out our gear into the drops bags. Hugh and I were allowed to have 3 while Alan could have 1. I had no idea what to put in each bag because I didn't know where I would be3 when I needed something. I took a guess at what time I would be at each aid station and packed my clothes according to that. For the most part this guessing game worked out for me and I had no aid station issues with my gear.
On Thursday night Hugh, Alan and I headed out to find a good place to have dinner at. We found a place to park and were walking down a couple of streets looking for a restaurant and couldn't find anything. Hugh finally asked this guy if he knew of a nice place to eat, well this guy opened his mouth showed us his one tooth and then said some word that none of us could make out. So off we went searching for some good food once again, that is when we spotted a couple of cops walking down the other side of the street. Hugh thought we should ask them but I was worried they would point us towards the best donut shop in town at best a fast food place. Hugh crossed over so Alan and I followed and heard the cop tell Hugh about a pasta place in the old firehall, which was only a couple of blocks away. This restaurant was fantastic, we sat out on the patio in a big sun beam and enjoyed a wonderful pre-run meal, I will definitely be going back to that place next time I am in Lethbridge.
We finished up with dinner and headed off to the car and back to the hotel to try and get some restless sleep. I had the hide-a-bed while Hugh and Alan share the queen sized bed. I was asleep fairly early for me 9:30-10:00pm and slept fairly well until about 4am when the temp dropped off and I started to get cold, the bed only had a thin blanket on it.
The wake up call was set for 5:45am and it sure came early, Hugh and I reluctantly got out of bed and started to get ready knowing it would be along day(s). The pre-race weigh in was at 6am and I came in at 85.5 kgs which was good and bad because I could loose up to 5% before being pulled from the course. The pre-race briefing was at 7am and were told about the issues on the course or concerns anyways. It turned out 2 weeks before a bear was chased off of the course, there was a real angry bull in on of the areas we had to run through, there was lots of cows on the course and to top it of 6 rickety ladders to climb over some fences. What a great way to build up the spirits of all the runners, I saw a few of them look at each other and then the door. Oh, the other news was the forecast was for high 20's during the day and zero at night. Now it was just time to sit and wait for the 8 am start.
I moved out to the start around 7:50-7:55. It was cool, but I wore my shorts and a t-shirt anyways knowing I would warm up soon. The start was a little anticlimactic as the race director didn't do a countdown and suddenly bust out with "Start". I looked at the person beside me and they had the same look as me, the look that says "was that the actual start". Well off we went for the first 7k before coming back to the start/finish area, which was also an aid station. It didn't take me long to warm up and soon found a pace I thought I could handle for the first lap or two, the 100 milers had to do 3-53.5k laps. I don't remember what time it was when I came back through the start finish area but I was only there long enough to refill my water bottles and head out to the Peenaquim aid-station. For me the next 5k was one of the hardest sections of the race, no matter which lap I was on this section was always the slowest part of that lap. I pushed myself also and went past the unmanned water station and then into the Peenaquim station. It was nice to get there as I used each aid-station as a small goal to get me through each lap, again I didn't stop long at the station just long enough to refill my bottles and grab my sun glasses. I had brought enough food with me to get me through the lap so food was not an issue I just had to make sure I had water and also something with electrolytes, the race was serving a drink made by GU. GU turned out to be not bad, I had never had it before the race, and each aid station had a different flavour.
As I left Peenaquim, it was a flat area for a short while and then the climbing started again. The course weaved its way up and down what seamed like every coulee along the course. I seamed to be doing well as I could keep the leaders within sight for all this section. The trail opens up out of one of the coulees and I could see the next aid-station, Pavan, and thought of the loop on the north end and then the return trip back to the start/finish area. Pavan was a well setup aid-station in a paved parking lot and had great lighting for the night time stops I would be taking.
From the aid-station it is approximately a 16.5k loop and I would be back in Pavan. While in the aid-station I again only needed water and GU so the stop was short. Leaving the aid-station started out along 1km of pavement before another big climb. It turns out that each lap has about 3000 feet of elevation gain and also elevation loss, that is a fair bit when you consider the race is in the prairies. I was about 2kms from the aid-station when I was about half way around the lap at the 33km mark I could still see the leaders about 10 or 12 minutes ahead of me. At this point I looked at my GPS and did some quick math. I had covered the first half in about 3 hours and my goal was around a 7 to 71/2 hour lap so I had to slow down. At the 35km mark there was another unmanned water station and I filled both bottles with water.
Back at Pavan I topped up my water, made sure I had a bottle of GU with me and took some salt tablets, might have grabbed a few chips to munch on as I headed off down the trail. It was a short 5 kms back to Peenaquim and then 7kms from there back to the start/finish area. At Peenaquim it was the same old story water and GU only and push on as fast as I could.
When I got into the start/finish area my time was around 7 hours, a little on the fast side of what I wanted but I was o.k. with it as I still felt strong and the farther I could cover in the cool temps of the morning the better. At the aid-station I was takenin for my first weigh in and found that I had gained weight over the first loop, I now weighed 85.9kgs and people say they run to loose weight. I helped my self to the food table, known as the buffet and filled up my bottles. I figured I had drank around 15 bottles of liquid on that first lap which was about 8 liters of fluid that I had put into me and I wish I had been able to drink more.
The second loop started out fairly well. The 7km loop that brought me back to the start/finish area was about half pavement and with the heat going up it felt like a furnace radiating up from the pavement. My pace was down to about 7km an hour which was a comfortable pace for me at the time. When I got back to the aid-station Alan and Hugh were there to greet me, which I did not expect, Hugh should have been miles ahead of me. It turned out that Hugh was having some IT band problems and had pulled himself from the race. He was limping with every step and even still I could see the disapointment on his face. The good ting for me was Hugh was able tolend me his hicking poles, I had forgot mine at home and wouldn't have them until Tasha arrived.
As I headed off north running and power hiking. I had little food with me but only had to get to Peenaquim as I had a full supply of food waiting for me there. It took me a little longer then I had hoped to but the temp was still climbing and my pace was slowing a little. Getting to Peenaquim was my current goal and I was going to get there no matter what. Having the hiking poles was a great help as I was able to tackle the hills at a much faster pace then I would have been able to do other wise.
Peenaquim was such a happy sight. Hugh and Alan where there to greet me and help me any in way they could. Alan grabed my water bottles and filled them up, I went to my drop bag and filled up on food. I started to pack my drop bag when Hugh told me to leave it and he would repack it once I had left. The other great part of getting to this aid-stationis Chris was there, he like Alan was running th 50k the next day and had come down a little early to cheer us on.
Leaving Peenaquim I was feeling good and was still moving fairly fast but some how by the time I made it to Pavan I was feelingfairly low. I had tried to talk to other runners through out the race but I found most of them made me feel lower so I just seperated myself from them and carried on alone. This time in Pavan it was the first time I actually sat down in an aid-station. I sat down and spent about 15 minutes eating, drinking and basicly getting my head cleared. The aid-station volunteers were fantastic, they really helped get me back into the game and onto my feet. I had some of the salmon a volunteer had brought and it was so good, also had some salted potatoes, there were other things that I had but can't remember. Finally I grabbed my head lamp and spare batteries and headed out onto the course.
It took a few kms before I started to feel an energy boost from the food I ate at the aid-station but at least it was coming and I was feeling stronger. I had gone about 6km from Pavan before I had to put on the head lamp and light my way. Now that the temp had dropped a little I was making sure I really downed the water bottles to make sure I rehydrated. I had a great return trip back to Pavan and was running faster then my first lap.
I made another sit down break at Pavan, this time it was only about 5 minutes and I just crammed as much food down my throat as I could. About 2kms from Pavan I saw a bunch of lights making their way towards me and I knew I was not that tired so it wasn't a halucination. It turned out to be one of the 100k runners and somehow she had turned her self around and was running back to Pavan. It didn't take me long to convince her she was going the wrong way and she followed along behind me. Over the next couple of climbs I pulled away from her and made it into Peenaquim long before she made it into it.
This next section took its toll on my toes. There was a section that ran along the Old Man river for about 2kms that was nothing but loose rocks and lots were the size of baseballs. I think I stubbed each toe twice along this section. I had to slow down and walk for most of this section other wise my feet would really pay for it later.
I will continue with the final lap later.
J
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The Anticipation
Well,
I am getting all my stuff ready for Lost Soul this weekend, well for Friday. I leave tomorrow afternoon for the drive down to Lethbridge with a couple of friends. I know what to expect in many ways from the adventure racing I have done and also from the other ultras this year. However I am still running around like a nervous idiot, I can tell my wife is getting fed up with me but to bad for her. I am leaving straight from work so I have to bring all my gear with me and hope I don't leave something at home. I have packed the clothes, the 3 pairs of shoes and a big bag full of different foods.
The food issue will be my most challenging because I never know what I am going to want during the race. It will change through out the run, I will get real tired of sweet snacks, like gels, sharkies, etc.. I just hope that the aid stations will have some good food, more solid food.
It will be nice when I am on my final lap because my wife is going to run it with me, all 53kms of it. We will probably be starting that last lap around midnight so that company will be very nice in all those dark hours.
I will try and keep track of what I ate for the 100 miles and let you all know. I am also curious as to how many calories I will consume during the run.
Later.
J
I am getting all my stuff ready for Lost Soul this weekend, well for Friday. I leave tomorrow afternoon for the drive down to Lethbridge with a couple of friends. I know what to expect in many ways from the adventure racing I have done and also from the other ultras this year. However I am still running around like a nervous idiot, I can tell my wife is getting fed up with me but to bad for her. I am leaving straight from work so I have to bring all my gear with me and hope I don't leave something at home. I have packed the clothes, the 3 pairs of shoes and a big bag full of different foods.
The food issue will be my most challenging because I never know what I am going to want during the race. It will change through out the run, I will get real tired of sweet snacks, like gels, sharkies, etc.. I just hope that the aid stations will have some good food, more solid food.
It will be nice when I am on my final lap because my wife is going to run it with me, all 53kms of it. We will probably be starting that last lap around midnight so that company will be very nice in all those dark hours.
I will try and keep track of what I ate for the 100 miles and let you all know. I am also curious as to how many calories I will consume during the run.
Later.
J
Friday, September 7, 2007
Emerald Lake Training Run
Well on Monday, the 3rd, I went out to Emerald Lake B.C. for a fantastic run. I went out with 4 others and 3 dogs. This was the first time in the area for me and I wasn't disappointed with the scenery and conditions. The weather was almost perfect, it was a little cool and foggy in the morning when we started out around 9:30 but as we climbed up to Yoho Pass the fog started to thin out. The pass had some steep sections that made us walk more then run, except for Hugh and Chris who are more like a machine when it comes to running. As we climbed up to the top of the pass I was going through water, mixed with E-Load, like it was going out of style. It was a little concerning because I was only 4kms into a 24km run and didn't want to run out. When we got to the top of the pass which was the trail junction for the highline trail to Burgess Shale and what we would be taking, but not without a little detour first. Once we were all together and I had a chance to eat a little bit after the big climb, I was starving, we headed down to Yoho Lake. The lake was oly 800m down the trail so we were there in no time and it was beautiful there. There was even a group of about 3 or 4 families with all there kids, most of the kids were between the ages of 3 and 7. It made me feel like I am not doing enough with my boy. Once Cosmo, my dog, had a chance to have a swim and a drink Jen, Ken, Cosmo and Ken's dog Skeemo headed back up the trail to head off to the Burgess Shale. Nobody is allowed to enter the Burgess Shale, which is a designated UNESCO world heritage site, without a special access permit and the only way to get a permit is to be on a guided hike. While Jen, Ken, myself and the dogs headed off towards the Burgess Shale Hugh and Chris with Chris's dog Molly headed off for a 5.5km loop near Yoho Lake.
The run along the the Highline trail across the bottom of the Burgess Shale was stunning, with fantastic view of Emerald Glacier and down to Emerald Lake. Man, with the color of the lake from up on the trail you can sure tell why the lake is called Emerald Lake. Emerald Glacier was beautiful, the run off made a fantastic water fall dropping hundreds of feet down to the valley bottom and then ran into the lake. We also saw a group of mountain sheep running across the upper portion of Burgess Shale.
I don't know what it is, but I get this indescribable feeling when seeing animals in the wild. A few weeks ago I was up in Jasper, AB with my family and saw a wolf cross the road in front of us then follow along the side of the road. I slowed down and watched the wolf for a few minutes and the grace and power that they display is amazing. It was like watching the sheep, the ease that they could cross such rough terrain was amazing. The only times I didn't watch an animal in the wild with amazement was when I have ran into a grizzly bear a couple of times and I basically mean ran into, both encounter brought me with 20 feet of a grizzly. I was a little to worried/scared to watch the bears.
Well back to the trail. From the burgess Shale we made oour way over to Burgess Pass where I had some more to eat. I have been trying to eat more whole foods while running insead of things like gels and sharkies, whole foods may not give the same quick energy but when I am out running for 8, 12, or 17 hours I need food that gives a more sustainable energy level. I have found that tuna is something that works well and does not give me any stomach problems. Now that we have had a chance to catch our breath and eat we headed down the trail which will get us down to Emerald Lake. The trail was only 6.4kms according to the map and in that distance we dropped about 900m in elevation, so needless to say the trail was nothing but a never ending pill of mudding, slippery and rooty switch backs. When I was about half way down I was starting to get tired and a little lazy and boy did I pay for it. A big root decided to jump up and catch my left big toe, I thought I was going to barf it hurt so much. It felt like I had peeled my nail up and was about to loose it. I tried to keep moving but it hurt to much so I stopped to have a look at the damage. It was not as bad as I had thought. The nail was there in place, a little black but that was from a different run. I walked down the trail for a few minutes before running again this time a little more aware to the roots under my feet.
Ken and I made it to the bottom of the switch backs and beside the lake at about the same time, shortly after Jen was there and we decided to take the long way back to the vehicle. This trail was fairly flat and nice easy running for about 4kms. It ws nice to have the flat surface after the 6.4kms of decent.
We had not been at the vehicle to long when Chris and Hugh made it back. they did the extra 5.5 kms by Yoho Lake but took the short way back after coming down off of the switch backs.
As many of us do after our long runs we looked for somewhere to soak our legs, colder the better. This helps promote recovery and lessen the affects of stiffness. So off we all went for a dip in Emerald Lake. I don't think they see to many people go swimming there as everyone was watching us, even the people who work there. I am sure we are now apart of a tourist picture collection, the crazy Canadians. I didn't find the water that cold, I was amazed because it is glacier run off that feeds the lake.
After the swim it was back into the van for the trip back to Calgary.
Another great run in the Candian Rockies with the Trail Trash gang.
J
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
