My Running Secret

If there was a secret to running and you miraculously stumbled over it, would you tell anybody?

So you've been running for years and have found that no matter how hard you train you just can't break into that class of runners who make it all look so easy. They are the ones who pass you talking glibly amongst themselves as they bound ahead and out of sight while at their "slow" long run pace. That pace btw is your current 5km pace on a downhill course with a tail wind behind you and 3 cups of coffee in you. You have wondered how they do it? Is it how they train, what they eat, their bone structure, muscle fibres, mental cunning, emotional fortitude? Demographics? Genetics? Or maybe all the above or a mixture of some but not all of them? God knows you've done all you could and to no end. Well I suggest to you that it is none of that.

For the most part I have come to believe that it is quite simply statistical luck of the draw. Of course to even consider this argument you have to agree that there are at least two different ways of running and that one of them makes some people much faster then others without added effort or training. So let's assume that there are at the very least two ways to run. The Right Way(TRW) and The Wrong Way(TWW). The right way is how the top 20% of runners run and the wrong way is how everybody else does it. So how did this top 20% of runners learn to run correctly when everyone else did not? Statistically, when they learned to run they would have had a 50/50 chance of doing it right or wrong like everybody else. However their chances of running TRW increased if their parents(who they would model themselves after) also ran TRW. It may also be possible that there are more then two ways of running in which case if there were four ways of running then each person would have a 25% chance of running one of those four ways and again their chance of running one way or another might be further influenced by those they modeled their running patterns after. If it is statistics which determine how we eventually run then statistically I would also assume that a certain number of runners could relearn their running patterns.

In fact of all of the scenarios, relearning a running pattern seems more doable then changing ones bone structure, muscle fibres, demographics or genetics so if you do hope to someday run TRW then you certainly hope that my statistics theory is true. If it was true and you figured out how to run The Right Way one day while charging down a hill and everything just clicked then consider what might follow. All of your dreams suddenly come true. You begin "running like the wind" in all of your races. You win a local 5km breaking your PR by 2 minutes, you win a big National marathon, qualify for Boston and set an Age Group World Record. Then you tell everyone how you did it and they all cheer and thank you for discovering the secret to running. Then what? Well now everybody knows how to run, just like you do and you go right back to being just another runner in the race.

So I ask again, if there was a secret to running and you miraculously stumbled over it, would you tell anybody?

Technical Difficulties Please Stand By

Remember when you use to get your TV signal from an antenna on top of your house. If the picture was a bit off all you had to do was fine tune it and the squiggly faces were miraculously revealed. However if the picture was entirely snowy the fine tuning couldn’t do much to help and a total repositioning of the antenna was called for. So that is where I find myself. I have fine-tuned the hell out of my antenna and still my reception doesn’t amount to much more than a ghostly image behind flickering snow. Certainly it is nowhere near the HD "Elite" quality I have been striving for.

There are many reasons why one’s antenna might not be picking up a good and proper signal. It could be that it was set up incorrectly, or a strong force blew it off course. Perhaps the signal changed position or ceased to be broadcast altogether. In my case I believe that my antenna was set up incorrectly to begin with. No matter how much I fine-tuned it I would never be able to find a good signal because my alignment was off beyond the limits of my fine tuning. In this instance my fine tuning refers to my attempts at conditioning. I could have the best coach in the world(and I did) but no amount of conditioning(fine tuning) could ever bring a clear signal because of the physical limits that conditioning can achieve. Every coach knows this fact. A seasoned coach can pick out of a crowd of runners those that have their antennas in position to hit a crystal clear picture and those that are destined to watch a fuzzy screen no matter how much they fine tune.  

If a coach doesn’t know immediately what a runner’s potential is then a season of dedicated training would surely reveal it i.e. local, regional, national, world class etc. Take me for instance. At the age of 46 my coach told me that I might be capable of a 36 min 8km. This was his best hope for me and at the time I was thrilled because I had only just run under 40 minutes. However, 5 years later and with a 36:56 8km PR I realise that not only was he pretty spot on but that his assessment ranked me a mere regional class runner. On an age graded scale a 36 min 8k ranked me at 72% at 46 years of age. So out of a 100% signal quality the best I could ever hope to receive is 72% clarity.

It is my feeling after many years of this running stuff that most running coaches are indeed “running conditioners”. Give them a local class runner and they will condition them to win local races. Give them a regional class runner and they will work the hell out them and make them top 3 at a regional competition, give them a national class runner and their girl or guy might be top 10 in country. But in no instance can a coach turn a local class or regional class runner into a national class champion. Nope not gonna happen. But Why? They can’t do it because they aren’t running coaches, they are running conditioners. They can’t change the antennas position they are only capable of fine tuning it to within a maximum variation of 10%(of age graded ranking).

I have followed many local runners whose history of training I am familiar with and compiled data from races dating back 10 years from SportStats.ca  I converted their results to age graded percentage of world record time on a graph and each runner’s own personal pattern/ranking/signal quality emerges. EM(me) as a new runner had a spike between the first and second year of running, than a gradual rise followed by a leveling off and a decline. Most of the runners on the graph had been running for many years prior to the results I could find so they had no spike in their results. Note AT and AN had a spikes in their later years when they began training with a high level coach who fine-tuned them to their maximum 10% limits. Each runner's ultimate signal quality was revealed as, none as 60% local class, EM, AT and MB as 70% regional class, AN and SM as 80% national class, and none as 90% world class.

So what does all of this mean??? It means it’s time for me to climb the antenna myself and begin some serious repositioning!!

Stay tuned J

I'll Now Resume Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Get Rich Quick Schemes

I just want to admit publicly that I am the victim of a Get Rich Quick Quick Scheme. Actually I have been vicitimized again and again. I wanted to make this admission publicly as I don't want anyone else to fall for these schemes. So beware anyone or any article or any book or any thing that promises to accelerate or make easy the process of becoming a the best runner you can be. The truth is that there are no shortcuts, no shoes or lack of shoes, no diet or vitamin or strength routine that you can take or do that will be more effective in making you a better runner then just getting out there and putting in the time on the road or the trail or the treadmill. It is not that I didn't put in my time, I did but I thought I was using my time more efficiently and smarter then everyone else, that I had a special way to run, a secret way to think, a magic powder energizing me but in the end I don't think that any of that made a difference and that it was just the time, not the shoes or lack there of or the powders or the extra curicular workouts that have gotten me where I am today. It was infact me, all me all the time.

Life is not about how we feel during it, but how we feel at the end of it. If life was a 5km race a perfect plan may be to try to run an even pace and give a bit more at the finish. We may think we are mapping out the perfect life for ourselves but we will never know until the final days or moments when we realize

Welcome to HELL

Note: this is a collage of art I found on the internet and photoshopped, sorry not sure of the artist.

After my workout last night I now fear that Hell may be a place where Satan sets your treadmill at 10% and makes you run hills into eternity. If that is true then my workout was hell on earth and my coach is "Satan"!!!

So do you agree or do you have another image of your own personal hell(running related that is)?

Is this one of the Hardest Races in the World??

This past weekend I ran along side some brave athletes who were tackling the 100 mile event at Peaks.com's annual snowshoe races in Pittsfield, Vermont. Some quick approx. stats

Finish rates-
125 people in the 10km fun run, 1 loop with 100% finish rate

 125 people in the half marathon, 2 loops, 92 % finish rate

 66 people in the marathon, 4 loops, 58% finish rate

10 people in the 100 miler, 16 laps, 0% finish rate

100 mile race stats required to finish-
16 laps(10km or 6.5 miles x 16)
36 hour cut-off (average of 2 hours and 15 min per lap)
4 finishers on old course with 1200 gain/loss per loop
0 finishers on new course with 1900 gain/loss per loop

100% of course is snow
100% of course run on snowshoes


100 mile race profile-
This year's course  had approx.1900 feet of gain and loss per loop
Recent past years course had 1200 feet of gain and loss per loop
Original course had 1900 ft. of gain per loop

 

Profile(in metres) of one lap of the 2014 Peaks Races snowshoe course.
Approx. 1990 ft. total gain/loss per lap

Other Hardest Races in the World for comparison(I left the comparison for you to do)

Barkley Marathon's

Hardrock

HURT

race name??????

race name??????

So what do you think? Does this course really measure up to the BIG BOYS of Hardest Race in The World Fame?

Chasing the Cut-Off at the Peaks National Snowshoe Championship

...at the Peaks National Snowshoe Championship

"Would you like your medal now?", the young guy asked as he held out the finisher medal ready to place it over my head. "No, thanks" I replied for the 3rd time that day, "I'm going for another lap". "Oh?", the timer to the right of me exclaimed, "You'll have to be back before 6pm, can you do that?" she anxiously asked. "We're closin' up at six, absolutely no one can be on course after 6pm", Andy the RD interjected. "Can you BOOK IT?" he pointedly asked me, "You'll have to book it!". "Well, my watch died, what time is it?" I asked of them, "3:15", the timer replied. "So I have 2hours and 45min? No problem", I promised and ran off to replenish my bottles trying not to even think about if I had to pee or change clothes or do anything else because really I wasn't sure if I had the time to do anything else plus make in back in time for the cut-off.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO BOOK IT...BOOK IT...BOOK IT", was all that I could hear echoing in my head as I quickly ran the 50 ft or so from the start/finish to the base of the mountain where I began the arduous 1200 ft. climb to the summit. 2hours and 45min. seemed more then doable at that moment but I didn't know if my body would still be so agreeable to that after another climb up or if my mind would be sharp enough for that during another run down. So in a desperate move to convince myself that it was possible I began a mantra which I continued for the entire loop, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it".

The unrunnable(for me anyways) incline went on for a good 1km at a 21percent grade it took me approx. 20 minutes. Then there were some switch backs with some short but runnable sections which I had always forced myself to run on my previous ascents. It was so easy to get stuck in the rhythm of hiking on the up parts that when you finally could run, if only for a short section, your legs just didn't seem to want to start up again. I wondered if it was even worth revving up the engine to only have to gear down again after a measly 40 or 30 or 20 ft. when the switchback would turn and begin to climb steeply again. But I chose to run each and every time if only for the sake of sticking to a plan that seemed to be working and would hopefully get me back to the finish before the cut-off of 6:00 pm.

I continued up the remaining 2 plus kms to the top(3km total) and was all alone as I entered an eerie section aptly named "The Labyrinth". Inside the trees grew so closely to one another that they blocked out most of the sunlight and the trail winded seemingly aimless back and forth, up and up. Once deep inside, the temperature dropped markedly from the lack of light and I got colder and colder and soon all I wanted to do was to get out as fast as possible where there might be some warmth to be gleaned from the cloud covered sun that awaited me on the other side. Once I was back into daylight I warmed up quickly and with a few more steep and now familiar climbs I was at the summit and a small stone house called "Shrek's Cabin". There was no one there to greet me this time and I began to feel abandoned when suddenly from behind me a fellow called to me as he practically fell out of the old wooden outhouse with a half moon hole on it asking if I was the last person on the course. "I think I am", I shouted back as he reached for his phone to call down to verify that fact and I imagined that after a long day on the summit he was probably ready to get back to a warmer and more comfortable setting. I found out later that I was indeed the last runner that they had let back on the course and that the RD had let me go as a sweep of sorts. I'd be able to verify to him that no other runners were out there and when I passed the volunteers on the summit it would be their cue to come down. I suppose he figured that once I was in that everyone would be in and that would mark the end of what had been a very long day and successful day.

I had made up my mind while climbing to the summit that I would have to throw caution to the wind and make up as much time as I could on the down side. I had to make sure to be back with time to spare as the last thing I wanted to happen was to finish a 4th lap and have it not count. On my first lap I ran down the 4kms to the bottom at what I would describe as "break neck speed", meaning that if I was to fall I might indeed break my neck or collar bone or an arm or my head, face etc., etc. After finishing that lap however I began to re-think all of the risky jumps and slides and stumbles I had survived and I become more cautious with each successive lap. I'd catch my snowshoe on a root or almost fall on my face or I'd fall on my back and think, "Wow that could have been a lot worse, maybe I should slow down". I also saw a lot of people take hard falls and tumbles and paying for it with broken snowshoes and painful impacts and after experiencing that over and over I began to put the brakes on during the more difficult descents more often as time wore on. However on this last lap it was as though my brake pads were completely worn and my accelerator was stuck to floor and I hit every short steep dip and every long slippery slope the course had to throw at me with complete abandon.

As I was about halfway down I noticed another runner below and a few switch backs ahead of me and I was quickly gaining on him. I hadn't seen anyone for a long time so it was nice to catch up to him and he fell in behind me. We made it to the base of the mountain where on previous years there was a bridge that would lead runners to the finish line. However this year there was no bridge so instead the course designer perhaps decided it would be fun(I use the word "fun" loosely) to send the runners back up the mountain for another 1.5km and an added 700 ft of gain before we would then come back down another 1.5km and to the finish area. It was at this part in every loop where I could "smell the barn" but it seemed to take just so darn long to get to it. Tim and I were not really sure how long it would take us to get to the finish and he calculated that we would be close time wise to beat the cut-off so I began the run back up the mountain...that's right, I said "run up" the mountain.

For the first time all day I decided to not only run the "runnable" stretches but to run the "unrunnables" also. I didn't need to save my gas anymore and was happy to run to the end on fumes if I had to. Needless to say I don't think that Tim was too thrilled with this new plan and suggested that "we should be fine" time wise but I could not take the chance and I kept pushing us up and up and just when I thought the ups were over we'd round a bend and there would be another up. "Oh when will it end?" I thought to myself...out loud. We began to pass people as we charged through "The Stairs" and the "Escalator" trails and it was not until we finally hit the downs that we knew we would be back in time. Only another 1.5km down, one more dicey sugary long slope, a few more switch backs and we could see the parking lot, then the outline of a wooden barn and then the cheers of some volunteers and Andy and the lovely Lady Timer who exclaimed, "You did it!...And faster then you said you would!" Finally, after 9 and a half hours I allowed the young guy with the out reached arms holding the finisher medal to place it around my neck. I had in deed "BOOKED IT", I had chased and beaten the cut-off, running the second fastest loop of my day with 30 plus minutes to spare.

Thanks-
Firstly, a HUGE thanks to my coach Derrick who's training plan got me to the starting line healthy and ready to run further, for longer and higher then I have ever done before or even dreamed possible. As I wrote to him after the race, "Without your training plan I would not have attempted it(the race) in the first place, I would not have had that thread of hope to hold onto in the middle of it and I would not have had that great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment at the end of it."

Also EPIC thanks to the Peak Races organization, RD Andy Weinberg, course designer Matt Baatz and all of the great volunteers who spent the entire day waiting, cheering and making sure that everything and everyone was running as smoothly as possible. This was truly an "EPIC DAY" in every way!!!

Last but not least, thank-you to everyone who shared the mountain with me as we made our way through various portions of the course. Your amazing performances inspired me when your pace overtook mine , your encouraging words gave me hope when you stepped aside for me and when I fell your helping hands lifted me up in so many ways. (a very nice gentleman literally pulled me to my feet when I fell during my first descent. You were so kind. Thank-you so much).

A few facts-
The Race- Peaks National Snowshoe Championship - Marathon / Half Marathon and 10km
Where- Pittsfield Vermont
When- March 1st 2014
Loop Distances- 3 km up, 4 km down, 1.5 km up, 1.5km down (total approx. 10.2km)
Gain- 1900ft per loop(7600ft total according to Peaks)
Grade up- 21% for first 1km, then averaged 5% for next 2 km to the top with switch backs and climbs. Avg. grade up was 10%
Grade down- -6 % for 2 km down, -14 % the next 1km down, then -5% for .5km, then up 7.5% for 1.5 km then down again 4% avg. for 2 km
Total time- 9:35
Lap times on course- 2:01, 2:25, 2:33, 2:15(approx. 9:15)
Time between loops- 3mins, 13minutes, 5minutes(approx. 20 minutes)
Place- 5th Women
Temperature- -15C(morning) to -5C(mid day)
Nutrition/Hydration- 20 oz.(560 calories) of Vitargo, 20 oz. protein drink(100 calories) 1 block(300 calories) per loop(approx. 800-900 per 2 hour loop)
Snowshoes- Dion 121's
Lodgings- The Swiss Family Inn, Pittsfield, VT

Suggestions-
A porta-potty closer to the start finish for those of us who don't like to make yellow snow art along the trail. A woman's tent to change wet clothes in between laps.

Pictures can be found here

They're just trying to scare me...

Ah, they're just trying to scare me-

"Peak Races Snowshoe Race (3/1) course description: Climbs steeply up Camino de los Muertos before mellowing along a stretch called Valhalla which is always awash in sunlight (when its present). Crosses upper Stonewall to Tweed Cabin then climbing Green Trail, into the Labyrinth. Hooks around Shrek’s Cabin at the summit to Devil’s Throat and some very narrow and technical singletrack. Drops down the double chutes of Upper Bubba before trekking across Bubba. A very steep bushwhack to Middle Ravine which in turn drops down Fuster's Skid Road. Briefly traverses the banks of Tweed River before climbing Stairs and Escalator Trails. Cuts through Noodles Revenge then follows Crazy Mazie to the start/finish. Epic." 

So I rewrote it-

Peak Races Snowshoe Race (3/1) course description: Climbs a large angle to the plane of the horizon up Camino de los Muertos before mellowing along a stretch called Valhalla which is always awash in sunlight. Crosses upper Stonewall to Tweed Cabin then climbing Green Trail, into the Magical Maze. Curves around Donkey's Cabin at the summit to Pussy Cat's Tail and some narrow and lumpy built for one person trail. Lowers down the double channels of Upper Bubba before trekking across Bubba. A very angled frolic to Middle Ravine which in turn descends down Fuster's Slide Road. Briefly proceeds along the banks of Tweed River before climbing Stairs and Escalator Trails. Passes through Noodles Pardon then follows Lazy Mazie to the start/finish. Good Fun.  

The Eye of the Storm

 

I whirl around in a long slow cyclonic spiral, a prisoner bound by the nature of a phenomenon I cannot escape and I submit to the powerful energy which now engulfs my very being. I am pulled and pummeled by the vortex of a storm that has just begun to pick up speed. I am afraid, enthralled and curious all at once. I am on a ride and terrified yet I cannot, will not or do not know how to get off. My body is battered, my soul is ravaged, and my resolve wanes yet I am compelled to anticipate whatever is to become of me. A grip of hurricane force rotates me faster, tighter and harder until I am about to break apart from my insides out and as I approach the limits of my humanity I am spit out into the quiet warm calm of the eye of the storm. I have survived, I've made it through the tumultuous wall and now my weary body slumps while my thankful heart rejoices and I am re-energized under the rejuvenating rays of the taper sun. 

-Eliza Murphy

5 years of the Dion Frontenac Park Snowshoe Race

The start of the 5th Annual Dion Frontenac Park Snowshoe Race
(can you spot me?)

 

I was very happy to attend the 5th annual running of the Dion Frontenac Park Snowshoe Race this past weekend.  There was a good amount of new snow fall leading into the weekend which made for a beautiful snow covered course on race day and with the temperature hovering around 3 or 4 degrees below freezing it turned out to be almost ideal conditions for this kind of event. Over 50 athletes showed up with their snowshoes in tow ready to tackle the trails which included a good variety of terrain to test their snowshoeing skills on.

The race began with a long, wide and rolling straightaway for the first 2km then made an abrupt left turn into the woods for some exciting single track action with lots of steep, short ups and downs including multiple bridge crossings and if you weren't already tired enough there was a good long climb as we made our way back towards to the finish of the 6.5 km lollypop loop course.

Thank-you very much to Derrick Spafford and Sara Montgomery, their family and all of the volunteers who help out every year to put on this and other awesome snowshoe races in the area.



Cool race swag included these Barefooter shoes which I won
in a tie breaking Rock, Paper, Scissor contest when
my "Rock" crushed my opponents "Scissors".
These shoes are very cool and I am already addicted to
wearing them around the house instead of slippers.





My 5 Years of Running the Frontenac Snowshoe Race in Pictures

2010 47:27

2011 47:37

2012 42:21

 

2013 44:14

 

2014 47:46

Photos by Evelyn Harding, Sara Montgomery and ScallyEventPhotos.ca


I WANT TO EAT MY TRAINING PLAN!!

 

The difference between the cookie cutter training plans I’ve been following recently and the custom training plan I just received from HealthandAdventure.com’s Derrick Spafford is something like the difference between store bought cookies out of a bag and the homemade kind straight out of the oven. Sure, you think the first kind taste good enough, until you try the others, and realize just how much better they are with all of their warm, ooey gooey deliciousness.

When I first received my plan from Derrick I immediately began reading through it and was struck by how much more detailed it was as compared to my previous one. Derrick's plan was like a thick, hot juicy pastrami and corned beef sandwich with Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard on rye bread with a side of coleslaw and a pickle too in contrast to the simple "slap it together" processed cheese and white bread sandwiches I had been dining on. It was complex but not overly so. Each ingredient seemed perfectly chosen to complement the others and my mouth simply watered spontaneously at the thought of biting in to it. 

The plan was obviously custom made with consideration to what I have done recently and in my past. The transition from the old to the new appeared seamless and natural. Derrick's plan for me not only addressed the distance of the race I am training for but he has also taken into consideration the terrain I will be racing on and the weather I will be encountering. I don't believe I could find a training plan anywhere so perfectly suited to my own specific needs that would include instructions for me to pull a tire on a trail on Monday, churn out tempo hill repeats on a treadmill set to varying degrees of incline on Wednesday and to perform the middle portion of a 4 hour long run in snowshoes on Saturday.

As I delved deeper into my 3 month plan each workout brought about a salivary response like one might expected happened when Gretel came upon the Gingerbread house in the forest. Like her I felt famished and wanted nothing more then to dive in and begin eating everything in sight. The descriptions of my long runs were like the spicy gingerbread shapes which alone seem simple but when fit together create a perfect foundation to build upon. The tempo workouts were the icing mortar holding everything together and giving strength, the tire pulling and snowshoeing sessions I likened to the meticulous icing details which add depth and character and the intervals were the candy decorations and the delicious finishing touch to a masterful and tasty design.

Unfortunately the one and only thing I did find distasteful about my new plan was that it doesn’t kick in until tomorrow. I am now like a kid on Christmas Eve night waiting for Santa and morning to come, a horse kicking inside his stall waiting for his door to open to be put out to be pasture. I am a runner with a new training plan who must sit and must not run and may do anything other than the one thing I want to do, and by now perhaps you've figure out what that one thing is... I WANT TO EAT MY TRAINING PLAN!!"

The Top 5 Things...

The Top 5 Things I saw before, during and after my run today-

The sunrise looked like this but
through my front window.

1) The sunrise over Sydenham Lake while I had my coffee pre-run-

I was up at 7am, the sky was turning all shades of orange and yellow and the beauty of it all really had me excited to get outside and enjoy the day and my long run on the trail despite the cool temperatures that awaited me.

If I had a camera this is what my picture of today's
trail would have looked like.

2) The freshly groomed snow on the trail-

I had somehow beaten the snowmobilers outside this morning and was rewarded with the most beautiful carpet of hard packed crusty snow groomed ever so flat and smooth. It was as though it was done just for me and the one other runner who's footprints I followed in for sometime. I felt very appreciative to whoever it was who got up so early on this Saturday morning to do it. Unfortunately the loud snow machines were out tearing up the snow on my return run and I had to escape to the road rather then try to negotiate the rubble of crust and powder they had surely left in their violent wake.

Like this x2

3) Two beautiful white-tailed deer-

I was 10k into my run when in the distance I saw what looked like a tall dog of some kind. Perhaps a Great Dane or a large Lab. I really hoped it wasn't some kind of skinny black bear. It ran off trail upon hearing me approach and I then caught a glimpse of two deer hopping off into the woods and with their white tails held high they vanished in mere seconds.

Like this minus the kids and dogs

4) A Jingle Bell bedazzled horse pulling a sleigh-

Just as I was heading home to pick up my snowshoes to finish off my run I was passed by a friendly horse making the most Christmas like jingle bell sounds. You don't see that kind of thing everyday and it really put a smile on my face.

Hey look it's Santa, The Real Santa!!

5) Watching the kids waiting to see Santa at the Mall-

There was a line of kids at the mall with their parents in tow all waiting to see Santa. It was the very same Santa I had stood in line to see year after year with my daughter. I found myself feeling very nostalgic for that time when she was still young and still believed.

The Top 5 Things I learned on my run today-

1) Getting the layers right on the first long run of the winter can be tricky and you'll probably dress too warm or not warm enough-

 I dressed way to warm and ended up peeling off my top layer after 30minutes of a 31/2 hr run. I learned it's better to carry the extra jacket you might need rather then put it on right away and find out you don't. I had built up a nice layer of sweat before I realized how hot I was and then risked getting colder because of it.

2) Water bottles are not good insulators in temperatures below zero Celsius-

I learned that the nipple of the bottles will freeze first then the liquid will begin to freeze, then the slushy liquid will begin to freeze the hand that is carrying it and as you drink the icy pink refreshment your throat and stomach will begin to ache from the cold. I don't know how I never had any of this happen to me before.

3) Tying a double knot it no guarantee that the laces of your running shoes will stay tied for the duration of your run-

I double knotted both of my running shoes before leaving the house and wouldn't you know it but both of them came undone. I ended up retying them using this method: After you have made your bows grab the ends of both laces. Put one bow and one end of the lace in one hand and the same in the other then make your double knot pulling the bows and the lace ends tight.

4) You don't need as much water on winter days as you would in the summer which leaves you a bit freer to wander further from home and or your water source-

 Today I was able to extend the first part of my run further then I had planned to as I didn't feel a need to return home to refill my bottles. I felt comfortable with 40 oz.(2 bottles) for the entire run whereas in the summer I would have needed 70 oz.(3.5 bottles) for the same time and therefore would have had to return home within 2hrs. Today I carried two water bottles for 3hrs and 20min. and didn't need to go home except that I wanted to pickup my snowshoes. I did consume around the same number of calories though coming in at around 1120(4 scoops or Vitargo) or approx. 300 calories and hour.

5) The second snowshoe run of the year is much easier then the first showshoe run of the year-

 I tried running for 45 min. on snowshoes a few days ago and thought I might collapse after 20min. However today after having already run almost 3 hrs. and 20kms., running on the snowshoes for another 5km actually felt pretty good.

Run For the Toad…My first 50km Race Report

“Hey, you're DFL”, a gentleman with a salt and pepper beard called to me from the sidelines approx.100 m passed the finish line where I had just completed my first 50 km race. “D.F.L.”, I thought to myself. I had heard the acronym before, now how does that go? Oh ya, “Dead F#$%king Last”. Unfortunately as I unraveled the letter puzzle in my mind the words took control of my tongue and I blurted it out loud for anyone near to hear.  Luckily there were no children around and only a few post race stragglers including the whiskered ultra runner who is somewhat of a stable fixture on the Ouser circuit (Ontario Ultra Series Events Races) ultra scene. In fact, I was quite amused to have actually made it on to the veteran runner's radar. “Well at least I didn’t “DNF” I called back jokingly, which I immediately wanted to take back just in case he himself had DNFd(he hadn't). As I headed towards Aid Station 1 to retrieve my gear I could hear a friend of his tell him that shouldn’t have said that and then they both had a bit of a muffled laugh.

50km Race Start - Of 1250 athletes only 169 were in the 50km

I was doing that a lot today it seemed, hearing conversations going on regarding me not intended for my ears. Like back at the last couple of aids stations catching wind of the attendants radioing in my position and progress, “Runner 162 is heading into Station 2”, “Runner 162 has left Station 4”. Then there’s the time that keeps echoing in my head at the last road crossing, with 250m to go and only a short final stretch of forest remaining the volunteer radioed as I passed by, “Last runner heading home”. “LAST RUNNER”, “Did I just hear that?” I thought to myself, “Last runner?”, “Am I really the last one?” I have to admit that a few tears came to my eyes, my lower lip quivered and I am sure I was sporting the most pathetic sad face you have ever seen. “People must have dropped I thought to myself but still I’m last, Last!, LAST!!”. “It’s my first 50km and I’m LAST!”. “Who cares if I'm last” the one way conversation with myself continued, “I’m last and there are people waiting for me and I’m happy just to have finished and hey I beat the muscle cramping demons, I'm still running and never gave up hope”. “I deserve last, LAST is GOOD”. There were no cowbells leading me in this time around and as I approached the finish I guessed the rain had chased everyone home early. The cars were all gone and my spirits slumped a bit. There was one lonely paramedic huddled in her truck as I made my way towards the archway I had already passed under 4 times today. I raised my arms in victory and let out a little holler (hope that pictures turns out well) and a few officials and the photographer were waiting to greet me under a shelter with a few last cow bells to seal the deal. Still as they placed my finisher’s medal around my neck I held out hope that maybe just maybe there was another runner on course but I dared not ask. I just really didn’t want any confirmation at that point that I was indeed last during this final celebratory moment of a race that had begun 7 hours and 20 minutes earlier on a cloudy and humid day.

They had been calling for rain all week plus lightning to boot. It was a chilly fall morning when I poked my head out of my first floor motel room’s back sliding door. I was heading out for some early morning pre-race food and the rain was misty but nothing like what had been forecast. Unfortunately due to the weather predictions, my crew of my Mom and her two dogs had opted out of joining me at the race. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to sit around all day in the rain with two wet border collies. So after a bagel, eggs, banana and a coffee I headed off to the race with a cooler of premixed Vitargo in 5 water bottles, enough gels, blocks and salt tabs to fuel my race  and a couple changes of clothes and shoes in preparation for a long wet and stormy day in the Pinehurst Conservation Area. The line of cars heading into the park seemed endless and we weaved and snaked our way through the forested race venue until finally I was directed to park in some obscure field. I was impressed with the organization to it all and the volunteers did their best to stuff over 1200 athlete’s vehicles into every nook and cranny they could find. I made my way to the Start/Finish area and Aid Station #1 which was also the dropbag area for the 50km runners where I surveyed the land and met some of my fellow runners. We were all busily preparing, trying to figure out what to wear etc. when the bagpipes began to play signifying the beginning of the opening ceremonies. It all happened so fast after that. I was there listening to the music of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada (RHFC) and they called for the 50km runners to line up where I found myself behind the arch I would be running through for a total of five times throughout the day. The course was made up of a 12.5 km loop which you ran 4 times for a total of 50km. The 50km runners lined up and started first, to be soon followed by the 25km runners and walkers. The gun went off and everyone began to move, I kept to the back and dropped off my raincoat at the aid station and upon my leaving realized that I was in fact in last place. The mob disappeared ahead of me and I fell in behind a few other slow moving brethren.

I don’t like to say that I wasn’t prepared for this race as that kind of talk only sounds like I’m making excuses. But I had been very ill for 2 weeks straight, not being able to run at all during weeks 13 and 14 of my 16 week training program and not being well enough to run a true long run since week 11. When I finally was able to run at the beginning of week 15 it then took me all of those 7 days to get my running legs back and culminated with a nice 10km run in the woods. It was then time to taper. It really didn’t make sense for me to do so but not knowing what else to do the week of a race I kept to the schedule and taper I did. Well we have all read the studies that say you don’t lose that much fitness in the course of a month's time so I figured I’d run the race and see just how accurate those accounts were.  My “A Plan” was to finish running, “B Plan” to finishing walking, “C Plan” to finish as many loops as possible without damaging my body. So finding myself at the back of a pack of many veteran and talented ultra runners including David Riddle, Cleve Thorson and Stacie Carrigan to name a few, didn’t worry me a bit, in fact it was comforting to know that I hadn’t gone out too fast and I felt ready to settle into my own rhythm and a comfortable pace. Unfortunately the muscle cramping demons in my legs had other ideas.

In the woods

OK I expected that I might have to deal with some muscle cramping issues sometime in the race, like on loop 2 or 3 or 4, but loop 1 at 6km, no way!! I still find it hard to believe that only 6km into the race my legs began to cramp up. From the bottom of my feet to the tops of my thighs, I had spasms upon spasms. It could not have been the distance, it could not have been the hills(I had walked almost all of them), it could not have been my fueling. I didn’t know why but all I could do was deal with it so from that point on, with 44 km in front of me to go I began the process of cramp management. Whatever it took to keep my legs from going into full spasm I did. Mostly that meant running with straighter legs and walking the hills, sometimes sideways so the shins were happy. It seemed that anytime one muscle was stretched the opposing muscle cramped so I couldn’t stretch or contract any muscle too much…for hour upon hour. It was a constant mental battle to figure out the rubrics cube like solution to keep my legs functioning. But lap after lap I succeeded and really from the waist up I was in as good of spirits as anyone in the middle of a 50km race could be. In some ways I was the lucky one because I wasn’t taxing my anaerobic system at all. My heart rate was steadily between 130 and 140, exactly where I would have wanted it to be with or without the cramps. So perhaps in a way the cramps forced me to slow down and may have actually saved my race.

 As I pulled into Aid Station 1 for the last time to refuel I noticed a gentleman a bit older then myself follow me in. “One more lap for me” I told him, “Me too he replied” and I was off. Funny thing but I suddenly realized that the muscle cramping demons had mysteriously disappeared as fast as they had arrived 6 hours earlier. I was moving freely and felt strong. “Dare I ?” I thought to myself, “Dare I push the last lap of a race distance I have never run before”. The furthest I had ever run was perhaps 28km and as I entered into lap 4 I had already surpassed that mark by10km. Well I went for it. I ran every hill in the early going. Finally I was able to put to use all of hill repeats and hilly tempos I had been running previous to getting sick. I did notice that my foot was hurting me, an old cuboid problem I haven’t felt since hiking the Cataraqui Trail pulling a sled this past winter. But I wasn’t going to let a foot ache slow me down. Heck it was probably the pain from the foot that had in fact caused the cramping to so suddenly stop. I do know that the body has a short attention span and that diversions like sour pickle juice or a pinched lip has been known to stop muscle spasms. I actually tried using that tactic earlier in the race by breaking my salt tab on my tongue every hour hoping for that very effect. But alas I do believe it was the foot that finally did the trick, but how long would it last. Well not that long.

The finish

 One particular quad, the right one was determined to keep on cramping which forced me to run or walk sideways up every hill but undeterred I kept moving forward, every sideways hill climb carrying me closer to the finish. BTW, that rain I mentioned earlier that was suppose to make the day so wet and miserable, well it finally hit halfway into the last lap. I laughed, I had to laugh, no rain was going to stop me, as long as I didn’t tumble down a slippery hill and hit my head that is. But I didn’t and I rolled through each aid station, hearing my number being called ahead to the finish line as they awaited my arrival and I thought about the guy who I assumed was behind me and how he was making out in the rain. “Last runner heading home”, is what he said, and I crossed the finish line, received my medal, was chided for being DFL from the sidelines and as I made my way to the drop bag area I fully expected it to be empty and deserted, but it wasn’t. Hey maybe I wasn't DFL after all I thought to myself. Just then Peggy, the race director came to check on the area and I pointed out 4 lonely bags to her to which she replied, “Yep, they're still out there”.

 As of now while I write this I still don’t know when or if the others made it in. I wish I could have stayed to wait for them but it was a long 4 hour drive home alone in the dark and rain with a pair of cranky legs to contend with. I wish I had stayed, they deserved that. So to whoever you are, congratulations on a great race and if you were the one to finish last then CHEERS TO YOU and your well earned title of DFL!!

Lap 1 1:48:05 avg. hb 136 bpm
Lap 2 1:51:13 avg. hb 137 bpm
Lap 3 1:54:26 avg. hb 135 bpm
Lap 4 1:47:50 avg. hb 143 bpm

 Of course I have to thank the RDs Peggy and George and all of the great volunteers who encouraged all of us runners and provided everything we could possibly need during the race. Kind words, drinks, food, a good laugh and endless clapping, cheering and cow belling. Also congratulations to all of the winners and finishers of this 12th Annual Run For the Toad event. See you all next year:-)

Update: Results are up and I was officially 143 out of of 147 finishers. Cheers to finisher 147 Peter Bromley. Way to get 'er done!! Although I lost my title of overall DFL to Peter it turns out that I was DFLF. I'll carry my title proudly(after a good tear up and lip quiver that is):-P

…hopefully some pics to follow :-)

Is it possible?

Is it possible?

I was pessimistic, in an optimistic kind of way. I held on to the hope that I would feel up to running today but knew it probably wouldn’t work out that well. I hadn’t run in 2 ½ weeks and history tells me that I never have a good run the first day back after being off for injury, illness or race recovery. So I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst, i.e. runners knee symptoms that always pop up, shin tightness I’ve been plagued with for a year now and maybe even the muscle cramps which crept into my last run those 17 days before that finally clued me into the fact that I was sick…real sick. Not just stuffy nose above the shoulder you can run through sick. I had the sweats and unexplainable cramping of my quad muscles only a couple of kilometres into my run which had me turning home with the sinking feeling that I wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

“Maybe a week”, I thought to myself, 7 days of no running and resting would surely have me back on track ‘er trail, missing merely one week of a 14 week plan (which had already been modified from a 16 week plan). Even though the coming week was supposed to culminate with me running my first half marathon, as a training run mind you, I knew I’d have to give the “rest and recovery thing” a good effort or I’d risk letting this illness drag on even longer. I had already taken a half assed approach to getting over whatever it was, with taking 2 days off then trying to run, and taking another 3 days off before trying again and failing miserably.  I was only getting much worse and didn’t want to jeopardize my ability to take my place at the starting line at this year’s Run For The Toad 50km on October 5^th. So 7 days off it would have to be. I’d probably have to miss the half but hey, if I was back to feeling good by the Saturday I might still be able to get it in and then get on with the next 3 weeks, and what important weeks they were to be.

Two of my biggest running weeks were ahead of me, an 84 km week followed by a 74, a 67 then a taper week before the BIG RACE. Two of those weeks would hold the biggest running totals I have ever done along with some hilly tempos and increasing hill repeats so I was still holding out hope that one OFF week to kick this illness wouldn’t be the end to my successful foray into the world of ultras. Well the week dragged by and I visited my doctor to get her opinion. It isn’t always easy to get in to see her and I luckily already had an appointment lined up to talk to her about my shin. It had been a year since she had diagnosed me with a stress fracture. The diagnosis was the impetus for me to begin hiking and in turn for deciding to back off of 5kms and try to get a good base of slower miles in my legs. For the most part this approach worked out well as it had always seemed that I would begin getting injured (foot, calf, knee) when speed was introduced to my training. Unfortunately though, the shin never seemed to be absolutely happy as it still had this constant omnipresent dull throbbing ache.

So there I was in the doctor’s office and she starts in with, “So I understand your shin is still bothering you”, to which I reply, “Forget about the shin doc, I have bigger problems these days”…or something to that effectJ So it turns out I had a temperature and together with the sweats, muscle cramps and aches she thought I probably had a nasty virus that was going around. She also ordered a round of blood tests to be sure it wasn’t something more chronic like anemia or a hypothyroidism. Well the rest of the week didn’t go well and I ended up skipping the half, and had only enough energy the next week to get up and go back to sleep a few hours later, every day, day after day. I have never felt like that before and all kinds of thoughts entered my head, let’s just say I was worried and not just for my race but my future health as well. I was very glad that I had taken time off to recover though because as it turned out I could have extended this thing a lot longer if I hadn’t headed the warning signs and tried to push through my workouts just to get the miles or time on legs in.

So here I am now, four days out from the race. Having missed 2 ½ key weeks of training I bring you back to my initial question, “Is it possible?” Can I actually run and finish a 50km race this Saturday? Well to fill you in further, the first run back which you’ll remember had me optimistically pessimistic lasted about 15 min before the knee started complaining, so I tried again a couple days later. I got a bit further each day, 40min, 50min then had a 90 min. run this past Sunday. Heading home from Sunday’s run in Gould Lake on the same stretch of trail where I first felt my shin pain last year, I couldn’t help but hope I’d make it back to my car running. I was also trying not to think about the muscle cramps that plagued my runs 3 weeks back that had put a sudden halt to my training and I had some time to reflect on what had made it all go so wrong. Had I pushed the pace on my back to backs? Heck, should I even have been running back to backs? Well I know my first mistake was throwing my coaching/training funds into the monthly expenses pot and going it alone or coachless for the first time in 4(?) years. But I saw it all as a learning experience and one I dove into head first and excitedly so if not with some trepidation.

I had pieced together a training schedule in a way only Dr. Frankenstein might appreciate. A part from this 50km plan I found on the race’s website, a piece from that marathon plan I googled, a tidbit from past plans, a crumb I picked from my former coach’s brain. I think I probably screwed things up when I  became so concerned with hitting weekly distance goals that I ran recovery runs for distance and not by how I was feeling and thinking back believe that many of them could have been reduced by half or more. In the past I ran 30, 40, 60min recovery runs but now was doing 13km recoveries which came in around 90 minutes. I even wrote a few times in my journal that it didn’t seem much like a “recovery run”. The week I began to fall apart and get sick I had to take two days off before my hills because I was just too darn tired. I had every intention of making up the days later in the week but my body had other ideas and put a stop to my hill repeats early, then rewarded me with horrible muscle cramps on the way home during which time I fell hard and scraped myself up on the trail. I really think that with the overtraining or overreaching as some like to call it, that I left myself vulnerable to whatever viruses were circulating at the time and I seemed to pick up a nasty one.

What I have learned is that viruses love to attack weakened, damaged cells and I probably had a big share of those due to overstressing my system. So once the virus takes up residency in these dying cells it begins to replicate itself. The more weakened cells you have the more viruses can move in and the longer it can take your immune system to fight them and clear them out. So what may have been a virus that most people can deal with in a week, my compromised system took 3 weeks to take care of. All I can say is thank goodness it is gone and lessoned learned.

An interesting side note for runners is that viruses actually help clear your body of all of those damaged cells we accumulate as a result of breaking down our muscles etc. during workouts. Our body is actually not that good at recognizing what cells have been damaged so the bad ones tend to sit around a long time before being replaced with strong healthy cells. However, viruses like colds and flus can detect those compromised cells quickly and when they do move in the body is alerted to the virus and the damaged cells and begins clearing them both out. Of course a cold or flu virus is pretty easy for our bodies to deal with if we are relatively healthy however sometimes a real nasty one can move in which can lead to one of many diseases. So if you are one to always come down with a cold before a race it is probably due to an accumulation of damaged cells from your training. This of course has me pondering how we can best use this knowledge so as to make sure we are healthy for race day. If I want to avoid a cold, obviously, not over reaching in my training is a no brainer but I might want to consider taking a week off now and again weeks before a race to let those damaged cells clear out of my system before a nasty virus moves in. Or if I can’t avoid the colds altogether, I could at least try to “schedule my colds” for earlier in training rather than later. One way to do this might be extend my training period and perhaps the tapers also. Now that I have a better handle on the damaged cell, virus connection it makes it easy to connect it to other dots such as making sure to boost  my immune system with what I put in to my body and to take adequate recovery no matter what the bloody schedule calls for.

As for the race I plan on starting very conservatively. I can only hope to finish at this point. I’ll have a small crew of 2 border collies and my Mom. I am running it as a long run…a very long, long run or perhaps just a good days hike:-) I really hope to be able to run more then I walk. I don't even know if there are cut-offs...let's hope not:-P