From north of Pretty River Valley back to Craigleith - mostly Bruce Trail but one shortcut.
Today was our first UTMB of the year - Ultra-Trail du Mont-Bleu. Wow! Dee did a ton of work to design and test a challenging trail route that allowed people to run different distances. She set up aid stations, figured out transportation, prepared detailed maps (even laminating them for us) and even managed to get out for a run herself. She and Mr. Logie offered us accommodation and showers, and whipped up a yummy post-run meal. THANK YOU!!! :)
The basic route was an out-and-back from Craigleith, just west of Collingwood, to Duntroon, starting with the steep climb up the Switchback Trail, then following the main Bruce Trail white blazes. In the end, nobody did the whole thing without some sort of shortcut, and a few people did it in one direction. Nobody got to the optional extra loop but we can try that another time.
This is a tough, slow section of trail - lots of hills, lots of rocks, lots of gorgeous views and lots of poison ivy too! We did our best to decontaminate but we were out there a long time before we washed the oil off so it could be an interesting week. Simpy, your name came up a few times. Let's just say that 'Bent is worried.
Browner had graciously agreed to stick with me down to Duntroon, then she planned to ride her bike back. Red and Windmill ended up staying with us too, even though their pace is faster, so we had local tour guides. (Not that it stopped us from taking a few wrong turns onto side trails - but we should have been watching too!) Great company and hard work climbing hills. I was pacing myself with the intent of doing the full trip back so did a lot of walking.
The bad news is that I rolled my stupid ankle again within the first hour. It had seemed to be recovering nicely, and I thought it was ready for a big trail run with some light taping but no. As usual, it was some little twig on a stretch of good trail that got me - nothing impressive. The sprain was about a 5 out of 10, and the pain was getting worse when we hit the first aid station. Luckily, Dee was there with our drop bags so I put on my ankle brace, which I obviously should have used in the first place. It made a huge difference, changing it from a sharp, acute pain to a dull background pain. Virtually no swelling or bruising but my ankle doesn't do much of that anymore. I probably shouldn't have continued but I really wanted to get in some hours on the trail. Don't try this at home, kids.
At the turnaround point, the group I was with - including Tiny, who had turned around to join us - were all planning to stop. I realized that if I went back alone as planned, I would be arriving back at Dee and Logie's place around 9 p.m., long after everyone other than 'Bent had left. That didn't sound so great so I caught a ride to a road north of Pretty River Valley and met up with 'Bent, who had run back from the turnaround taking shortcuts to skip parts of the main Bruce Trail, as did Storm, Mrs. Gally and Dee, who also ran back from the turnaround. I ran the rest of the way back to Craigleith with 'Bent. The heat and humidity of the day was much improved by then, fortunately.
Takeaways:
- I should have forced myself to drink more today. I didn't feel particularly dehydrated in the hot weather but I didn't feel overly energetic. After I glugged down a bunch of extra liquid at the turnaround, I felt rejuvenated.
- I need a new ankle. Grrr.
- I need to experiment with different ways of carrying stuff in my pack; I don't think I've got an optimal arrangement yet for the things I need to access while running.
- I need to take Browner with me to UTMB because she is very punctual about reminding me to take a salt pill every hour.
Thanks so much, Dee. What a wonderful gift you gave us! Much appreciated.