Training Log Archive: Bash

Early afternoon run on the Oak Ridges Trail to the Glen Haffy stile, then north on the Bruce Trail to Coolihan's, back south on the BT to Innis Lake Road, then home via the hilly gravel of Finnerty Sideroad. It was too warm in the sunshine but deliciously cool and lush in the forest. Such a great time of year!

I'd planned to do an out-and-back on the Oak Ridges Trail but between Humber Station Rd. and Gore Rd., I met a very angry grouse who must be friends with the famous Canmore Grouse. I shrieked when he first flew at me, and I figured that would be enough to deter him but he chased me for another 20 seconds. I decided to take another route home. :)

In other news, I'm following Cristina's new trend of expressing confidence for upcoming races. You heard it here first: I *will* set a PB in a 5K race this Sunday. The odds are very much in my favour because it will be my first 5K race - and 'Bent's too! Coach Jeff, whom we worked with this spring, is one of the organizers, and it benefits MADD, a cause that touches our hearts.

I haven't a clue how to run a 5K. Should be interesting!

Need. More. Sleep. But the painters start at 8.

Thirty-one years ago today was Ontario's most prolific tornado-producing storm in recorded history, usually called the Barrie Tornado although it was much more widespread than that. When it hit, I was with a friend who phoned his Dad in Barrie just as he was heading to the basement. It was a short conversation! Except for the basement, their house was destroyed.

Ontario Tornado Watch has put together some photos and maps to show exactly what happened that day. Many of us live in places that saw some damage.
https://www.facebook.com/OntarioTornadoWatch/photo...

Lots of stair climbing and furniture hauling over the past two days. Most of our main floor is getting painted this week, so everything had to be carried upstairs or piled in the centre of each room. How did we end up owning so much fragile stuff? On the bright side, I've been feeling good post-50K - just a little Achilles stiffness that went away by noon on Sunday.

TD mistakenly cancelled my credit card while I'm waiting for a new one to arrive. Now I await the fun and games as my preauthorized payments fail one by one and make me look like a deadbeat! Amazingly, I can't even back up my iPhone with an invalid credit card and that's how I found out. #Firstworldproblems :)

Sulphur Springs Trail Run 50K
"HTFU in 38C Humidex" edition

Super tough racing conditions today! Even the DontGetLost relay runners were coming in way over their estimates, and they are usually accurate within a minute or two.

The first 10K at 7:30 a.m. wasn't too bad - warm and humid but not unpleasant. I ran flats, downhills and gentler uphills. Lap time 1:05.

The next 20K lap was when it started heating up, especially in open areas. The forest was still manageable. I ran some gentle uphills in the first half but not so often in the second half. I ran 10K with Lorie Miller from Brampton and had occasional chats with Hans Maier, an avid ultrarunner in his late 70s. Impressive.

I'd planned a big break after 30K to put on new sunscreen, switch out my drink flasks, add some food, switch my visor for a hat, stop by the aid station, etc. It ended up taking 7 minutes but it wasn't a day to mess around.

Timato kindly offered to get me ice so I gave him a large empty ziploc bag, not knowing how I would use it - just that I really wanted it. That ended up being the key to my next 20K lap. I put some of it on my head under my hat (the reason I switched from the visor) and ran off carrying the bag. I got out my Sugoi cooling sleeves and a little sponge from a side pack pocket and stuck them in the bag of melting ice. A few minutes later, I put on ice-cold cooling sleeves - awesome! They really did work. I have some other cooling clothing from Columbia that hasn't impressed me as much.



The sponge was an idea from a Swiss ultrarunner last summer; the idea is to dip it in streams and stick it under your hat to cool your head but that's unnecessary if ice is available. So I kept it in my melting ziploc of ice and periodically squeezed ice-cold water down my back, front and neck. It was incredible. It ran out about 2K before each aid station but I replenished it and filled my hat each time.

Even with the ice water, it was a tough lap. In the open Orchard area, it felt like breathing in a sauna - really unhealthy. This was a long run for me, not a "race", so for a little while, I only ran sections that were both downhill *and* shady. It improved when we got back into the forest again but I still did way more walking on this lap until the final few kms. It averaged out to 1 min/km slower than the previous 20K lap, not counting transition time. I sure hope it's not this hot at Lavaredo!

It was a wonderful surprise to meet Mrs. Gally at the bottom of the final hill. She encouraged me, took photos and ran (and walked) with me. Thank you!



I'd estimated that my time would probably be around 6:45 so I'm a really good guesser. I was almost exactly midpack overall, within the female category and within my age category. My goal was to finish 50K feeling good and feeling like I could run another 50K. I did feel good but there's no way I could have talked myself into another 50K. The high heat and humidity were just too hard on my cardio system.

It was great to see some relay runners on the race course and back at the DontGetLost canopy tent - Frankenjack (and Tara doing 25K), Sudden, Harps, Super, Hansel, Hermes, Bender, Griz, Tarno, Turbo and others I'm forgetting. Captain Trav had bravely herded the cats into three relay teams this year and they finished 1st, 2nd and 5th.

That is my last big run before Lavaredo in four weeks. I'll still do some running but it will be more important to sleep, eat, drink, pack and plan well. No training plan turns out perfectly but I'm happy with the way things have gone. I've stayed healthy for the past few months, I've done lot of strength and mobility work, and I haven't had an injury in a long time. I did a bunch of races between January and May. In theory, there is more I could have done. In practice, it never would have happened.