Running Through The Wall

Slogger Jogger

Sounds like a great race, with a sense of fun about it. Nice report.

Macanri

Well done, A good time had and a good time on the clock.

For some strange reason I decided to take a full week off before doing DCM09. it worked well for me as the legs felt very fresh on the day (until I hit the wall).

Abhainn

well done and a good day at the office.
It s not every day you get the chance to run in a race like that.

Killerz was your log title inspired by "Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon" ?
I'm reading that now

pgmcpq

Great race - especially given your foot problem. Back loading hills on race courses is bad form !

Hope to get up to do this one sometime.

Killerz

Abhainn wrote: »

Killerz was your log title inspired by "Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon" ?
I'm reading that now

Indeed the title was shamelessly copied from that book. interesting short stories tho, from some serious runners.

Killerz

29th March-4th April

Tuesday: Gentle run to ease out the stiffness from Sunday's racing exertions. 3 miles, no watch.
Wednesday: Still feeling the stiffness. 5 miles, 35:53
Friday: 21.14 miles - 3:12:10. Unbelievably hot - 26 celsius. This was cork city marathon-esque. Despite putting a lot of suncream on and hat etc, still got a good bit of colour. Toronto was out to play today (bank holiday), twas like Spring Break out at the Beaches. Tested Clif Shot Bloks (ate the full packet - 8 or so, one every 20 mins) - no harmful side effects, but not sure if they really did anything for me.
Saturday: 15.4 miles - 2:09:59. Not as hot as yesterday, but still sunny and warm nonetheless. Didnt find this run too bad actually. Tested Hammer Raspberry gel - this gave me a really good kick and tasted awesome.
Sunday: No running, but went to see an NBA game - Toronto Raptors. Some spectacle. Very impressive, serious athletes.

I am also very much enjoying fistfuls of pretzels in later parts of the run. This has been a great discovery.

Other observations from a weekend in Toronto:
1. On two separate occasions over the weekend, I saw a cat on a leash being taken for a walk. absolutely hilarious to look at.
2. They are really into their running over here - granted there is a higher population than say Ireland, but everyone is out with bottle belts, the full running gear etc. Great for motivation.

Total mileage this week: 44.54 miles (race was only running this week)
Total mileage this year: 533.06 miles.... yeaaaahhh... over the 500 mile mark

Killerz

5th-7th April

Monday: 7.8 miles, 58:30. Was surprised that this went fast enough as I wasnt trying to be speedy at all. Included a few hill repeats just to keep fresh! Bones a bit achy after the weekend's exertions.
Wednesday: Took the trail runners out for a serious go. Did 12.5 miles, about 80% on grass/ trail/ mud. 1:45:58. Foggy, rainy and soggy ground made for an interesting evening, but gave it a good lash and enjoyed it. Even ran into lake ontario up to ankle level to get a feel for these upcoming "river crossings" i'm going to have to do in the trail races. went ok actually. bit more confident now.

Notes: 1 fox, 23 squirrels and 38 grouses seen on trail run today. Very few humans tho.

Killerz

8th-12th April

Sat: 14.3 miles, 1:55:50. Stomach not too great on today's run. weather a bit mixed aswell. heart not really in it.
Sun: 30k on the bike (fairly leisurely pace) out along the coast with Mrs. Killerz.
Mon: 12.1 miles, 1:37:05. Nice enough evening for a run.

On taper mode now ahead of my first ultra trail run this Saturday. I opted to switch up to the 52k from the 26k, as I felt I need to be at this level ahead of the 50 miler a the end of next month.

While I appreciate that 52k may, by some, be considered to not be a truly challenging ultra length, this will be a very technical and difficult race, with stairs, mud, and 4 river crossings. So, I really am going into the unknown.

Have gained some inspiration from the Connemara race reports - well done everyone.

Just one more short run this week to keep loose.

Total mileage this week (8 days incl. Monday): 46.7 miles
Total mileage this year: 579.76 miles

Killerz

13th-18th April

Mainly just taper-week for the 52k ultra on Saturday, one 3 mile run on Wednesday (had done a decent-length run on Monday, which was incorp'd into last week's log entry).

Total miles Tues-Sun inclusive (including race, report in next post) - 37.2 miles
Total miles this year: 616.96

Killerz

Seaton Trail Race, 17th April, Pickering, Ontario

No chip timing in this race, only have watch time at this stage:
6 hrs, 21mins 15 secs
Total distance run: 55km (34.2 miles) through woodland, watery, rocky, rooty terrain.
Entry fee: CAD60 (c. E45)
Race pack contained: cotton tee, gloves.
After race: medal, unlimited lasagne, pasta, salad, coke/ pepsi etc + hot showers!

Background:

This race forms part of the Ontario Trail Series/ Ontario Ultra Series (www.ouser.org), and is the first in the trail races of their season. There are 3 distances available: 27k (1 out and back lap), 54k (2 laps), 50 miles (3 laps).

The race includes the crossing of a river (fast flowing water to knee height), twice on each lap at the 2.5km mark. Also includes tough rocky terrain, rooty, twisting paths, sandy paths, stairs, steep hills... the works. It is considered by many to be the most difficult of the trail races in the series.

This gives an idea of the water crossing (not me in it, from previous race):
http://www.ouser.org/photos/08/st/index.php?image=seaton013

And one of the hills:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vS3btv6RK74/SfeAn2cjQQI/AAAAAAAAAFE/pUHC4ampGWA/s1600-h/seatonrope.jpg

Race numbers are limited to c.150-160, and the atmosphere is generally relaxed and enjoyable.

My aims:

I entered the shorter race initially to give me an idea of what to expect from a trail race, ahead of my goal race for H1 2010 - The Sulphur Springs 50 miler on 29th May. As time got closer, I decided that it would be more in my interest to trade up to the middle distance. This was supposed to be 52k, but was increased to 54k to even off the laps for the 50 milers (who did 3 laps, or 81k). It became 55k for me due to a wrong turn - more about that later.

Was inspired by reading some of the Connemara Ultra logs in the days before!

The race itself:

Got there at 7am to catch the start of the 50 mile race, then registered and got myself set. Bodyglide on the feet and the usual spots, woolly hat and gloves on (there was snow that morning), hand held water bottle filled and gels etc strapped on. Also left a bag at the start-finish area for refuel/ extra gear etc.

Off we went (together with the 26k runners) at 8am. I really wanted to keep as slow a pace as possible, as I knew I was going to need energy out there on the trail. I was dreading the first water crossing, and after 2.5k of twisting forest trail, it came.

And so, in I got, immediately getting the feet (trail runners and socks on) saturated. The water was freezing. took about 15 seconds to cross. Out the other side and off through the trail. squelch squelch etc. didnt feel any discomfort from it tho, and so ploughed on. then the first long hill arrived. i followed what everyone else did and power-walked up it.

It was soon after this then that the occurence that a load of us were going the wrong way happened. While the course was clearly marked out with red flags, I had been aimlessly following the line of people in front of me. Then lo and behold, they come back towards me saying theres no flags. so we went back the way, and it was about half a km before we got back on the course.

So, we were back in the middle of the pack again. Down the first significant downhill, which had some serious mud (just over ankle deep for the first 15-20 metres of descent. Nice. Then the next bit of the descent was seriously rocky - almost went over on the ankle a few times. Lucky i had the support of the trail shoes, as there was no way this could be done in road runners.

On and on the trail went, up and down hills, twisting and turning through the forest. Up some stairs, along the top of cliffs etc, then down what can only be described as a horror hill - it was almost vertical, and you had to scramble slowly down it so as not to end up rolling down. Going back up it was easier, to be honest.

Then came the first aid station on a 300m section of road at 6.5km (the only section of road on the course. Here I had my water bottle filled up, ate some crisps that were on offer and drank some electrolyte drink. Timewise, was about 45-50 mins I think.

Powered on, and went through the next section of the trail. This bit was tough - a lot of hills - up, down etc, many tree roots and stumps to deal with also. Very challenging, and you couldn't really go full pelt on this, even if you wanted to. Began to come across some of the leaders on the 50 miler coming back towards us on their first lap. Looked surprisingly fresh and were very chirpy, even later on in the race.

Through the forest and on to aid station no. 2 (about 11.5km/ 12km mark - there were no mile markers on course and i had no garmin - i was relying on what other people told me). Here, I consumed more electrolyte drink (HEED), and filled up the water bottle, ate some potatoes and salt, pretzels and wine gums. Off I went again, downed a gel, and headed towards the turn-around point (13.5k) which I hit at 1:35:44.

Sped up a bit on the return leg, as I knew a little bit more what I was in for. Got a bit of rain and snow, but there was fairly good shelter from the forest overall. Woolly hat was on and off and on again! My runners were almost dry when I had to navigate the river again, damn cold. Then onwards to the start-finish. This leg completed in 1:30:21 (possibly a bit too fast). 3:06:06 for the first 27k.

Picked up some more gels (think I had had 2 at this stage) at the start/ finish, some more food from the tables, and a lighter hat.

This next leg (3 of 4) was the loneliest of all. I passed maybe 8 or 9 people going my way, with no-one passing me over the course of the next 2 legs, which surprised me. Obviously, I saw many more people when I doubled back at the turnaround. I hit the 4 hour mark soon after the midway aid station and then noted that this was already the longest I had ever run for (time-wise, the longest being DCM '08 in 3:49). I still felt okay, tho the next 5km were the toughest. I kept myself fed and watered well and took it easy where I needed to. Got through that leg in 1:39:57 (4:46:03 total), and geared myself up to try and go sub 6:30.

This final leg went excellently. Really enjoyed it, and pushed it well. Through the final water crossing and put down the pedal to get a last leg time of 1:35:11.

Overall finish time of 6:21:15.

Fuel used:
Gels x 5: 1 Strawberry Carb-Boom, 2 x raspberry Hammer Gel, 2 x strawberry Clif Gels with caffeine.
Water: c. 6-7 litres
HEED electrolyte drink: c 1 litre
Potatoes: 1
Crisps: 1 packet
Pretzels: 1 packet
Wine gums: about half a packet

Have no idea yet on how that fits in results-wise, but based on last year, I imagine its mid-table respectability.

The main thing with this was to sample an ultra and sample a trail race. Both of these aims passed off very well, and I couldn't be happier with my performance.

I know some people may think that (a) 55km isnt a true ultra distance and (b) that 6 hrs 21min is a long time to cover that distance.

To that I would say that this course was almost more of an obstacle course and that tho i havent done an IMRA race, it may be more akin to that. 6 hrs 21min may be a long time out there, but the goal today was to get the hours under my belt ahead of the 50 miler next month. With that, to know I can comfortably stay on my feet that long, has given me great confidence.

Well organised race, I met some really cool people and they will be at some of the other races over the summer and beyond aswell.

My body doesnt feel too beat up afterwards (I feel much better one day later than I did after any of my 3 marathons).

Goal accomplished. A couple of days' rest now before getting back into it!

Macanri

Well done K, that sounded very tough. Fair play to you to be able to stay on your feet for that length of time... I think I need to lie down having read that!

Killerz

Macanri wrote: »

Well done K, that sounded very tough. Fair play to you to be able to stay on your feet for that length of time... I think I need to lie down having read that!

Cheers for that - its amazing what ya can do when ya put your mind to it!

misty floyd

Holy crap thats a bit nuts isn't it. I enjoyed that read and fair play to you Killerz.

pgmcpq

Wow ! 34 miles+ trail run is serious business. That you've recovered that well is amazing. After getting the feet wet - did you take precautions to avoid blister problems ?

Yes, I like the Hammer stuff. The gels are lighter and easier to get down than others. The thing about the cliff bloks is that they are supposed to contain electrolytes so if your sticking with water (rather than a sports drink) on a run they're a good choice (don't know about a whole pack though!).

Killerz

Hey pcmcpq,

Thanks for that. Regarding blister prevention - I've never been prone to blisters *touches wood!*, but i put some easy glide on some of the more typically prone areas of the foot that may get a good battering. Seems to have worked out fine.

Also wore running socks with merino wool - apparently deals with water better.

Tied the runners fairly tight aswell so they wouldnt slip around. Cut the toenails back aswell - so no black toenails now!

I actually went with the Clif Gels instead of shot bloks (which i have also tried, but didnt really do anything for me). I really like the hammer stuff tho - would almost down one of those just for pleasure!

Just back from an easy run now (first since ultra) - enjoyed it.:)

Killerz

Tue 20th April - 30 mins on stationary bike in gym to loosen out muscles after Saturday. Nothing spectacular, nice and easy.
Wed 21st April - A surprising 8.4 miles (thought i had only done about 5). Forgot my watch. enjoyed this run - getting the last of the stiffness out. Probably about an hour out there I'd say, which would be about right.

Killerz

22nd-25th April

Thu 22nd: 11.2 miles, nice and easy. Felt the tiredness during this one. 1:25:41.
Sat 24th: Still aware of the recovery period after the ultra last week, so did a relatively short long-run. 16 miles along a trail that was new to me. Warm morning, 2:09:42 - happy with that time.
Sun 25th: 7.2 miles, 49:44. Rainy, cold morning in Toronto, but pushed this one hard, to try and get back in home as it was cold. A nice speedy run to finish off the week.

Monday and Tuesday will be rest days as I am in New York, then a step back week next week, culminating in the Toronto Sporting Life 10k Road Race on Sunday morning. This is a big event (c.15k people), and similar in stature to the Great Ireland Run. Hoping to nail the sub-40 10k for once and for all (I have a 34-odd minute 9k from the Aware Run prior to Christmas).

Total miles this week: 42.8 miles
Total miles this year: 659.76 miles

Killerz

28th April

After 2 days off training due to travelling with work, was keen to get back into it today. 12.5 miles in 1:33:43, on a challenging course with plenty of hills. Wasnt pushing it too hard overall, so am really pleased with that time.

8-10 miles tomorrow, and 5 miles on Friday is the plan ahead of the latest sub-40min 10k attempt on Sunday morning.

Killerz

29th April - 2nd May:

Thu 29th: Forgot the watch for this one. Laboured through 7.4 miles in what was probably about an hour.

Sun 30th:

Sporting Life 10k, Toronto

Chip Time: 37:23

This is a big race in Canada - think about 14,000 people showed up for the 8am start this morning. The Great Ireland Run of Canada, I would think. Very well marshalled in terms of corrals and wave starts. Live entertainment at various locations along the course. Weather 13 celsius, tho quite humid. was sweating like a beast throughout.

I was in the Green corral (for sub 40 - my last recorded 10k was 10:24, GIR Apr 2009, tho I did the Aware "9k" in 34:30 ish, so i felt i belonged here). Very well organised, and corral colour was checked as you went in. Plenty of room, and no problems at all with the start.

The course goes down Yonge Street (the longest street in the world!) for about 6.5k or so, then turns off and runs through a couple of other streets and finishes up at a place called Fort York. There are a few rolling hills for the first 5k, but nothing to get too concerned about.

Felt ok going into it, tho a race starting at 8am meant a 5.40 am start for me :eek: . Started well, and kept to sub 38 min pace (or better) throughout, hitting 5k ahead of time bang on 18:45 (only 8 secs slower than my 5k PB!) and picked up some more speed to finish in 37:23 and 116th place overall.

Great result for me, really happy. It was a race I only 100% committed to after completing my ultra a couple of weeks back, but felt I wanted to put the sub40 min 10k to bed once and for all, and this was the opportunity to do so. I didnt do any speed-specific training for this other than the running thats part of my 50 mile training plan. This result gives me confidence to really push my boundaries for the Toronto Marathon in September.

Now that the 10k is out of the way, I can focus on the 50 mile trail ultra on May 29th. I have a couple more fairly intensive weeks to go then will lighten up.

Total mileage this week (including 10k/ 6.2 mile race): 26.1 miles
Total mileage this year: 685.86 miles

Macanri

Well Done Kz, You fairly smashed the sub 40 there alright. Happy running!

Killerz

Tuesday 4th May

17.5 miles, 2:23:10. This was a toughie. Did the first mile and a half with Mrs K, then I went on for my long run and she turned around home to complete a 5.4km loop. 20 celsius this evening, and a good bit of humidity out there. had only intended on doing 15 miles but took a couple of wrong turns, and just let myself go with it. that said, great to get the miles in. Felt the tiredness from the 10k efforts on Sunday, and was probably a bit dehydrated aswell.

tisnotover

great racing in the 10k killerz, good stuff!

Wow, 14,000 people for a 10k !

Killerz

Wednesday 5th May

7.4 miles in tropical conditions in Toronto - rainy humid night, thunder, lightning - the works. 56:29. Note to self: Do not wear white running shirts when its raining - they're see through when wet.:o

Killerz

Saturday 8th May

20 miles, 2:54:46. Very cold, wet and windy. Didn't really enjoy this run at all. Good to get through it all the same.

Overall, a good week mileage-wise: c.45 miles off three sessions.

Was considering doing another longish run on Sunday, but i think my body may be crying out for a day or two's rest, definitely from the longer runs.

Won't really be doing a lot more tough long runs between now and the 50 mile ultra in 3 weeks. Maybe one more btwn 15 and 20, but not much more than that.

Total mileage this week: 44.9 miles
Total mileage this year: 730.76 miles

Closing in on 3/4 way there to the 1000 miles. Hope to hit the target in mid-summer, all going well.

Killerz

Monday 10th May - Weds 12th May

Monday: 6 miles, 48:46. Nothing much to report
Wednesday: Awesome 12.5 mile gentle run, 1:35:32 on trails and road

Knees starting to annoy me a bit, hope theyll be okay. not putting too much stress on them.

Less than 3 weeks to the Big One!

pgmcpq

Just catching up with your log. That's a terrific 10k time back up there !

Killerz

Cheers - I'm a devil for leaving logs for a long time - must catch up on a few myself - busy lives and all that! It was good to scratch the sub40 off the list alright!

Killerz

Sunday 16th May

8.7 mile run, 1:09:52. Really struggled on this one. Was away on a quiet weekend with Mrs K and her parents (visiting Canada for 2 weeks... yes, you heard it right), visiting more inlaws in Western Ontario. Think all the chatting and cups of tea and eating took its toll on me, and I had a horrible run (first since Wednesday). Heat didnt help either.

Hopefully a momentary glitch and normal service will be resumed next week (week 2 of a 3 week taper).

Total mileage this week: 27.2 miles
Total mileage this year: 757.96 miles

Killerz

Mon 17th-19th May

Mon: 24k on the gym bike 50mins. Enjoyable, listening to an interview with Padraig Harrington on the podcast. Good to keep in touch with Ireland.
Tue: 7 miles. tough going. 55:08
Wed: Enjoyable run, but 22 degrees made it tough. Quite humid. 1:34:56. Saw something interesting advertised outside a restaurant in suburban Toronto: "Curry Goat - $6". Nice.

Killerz

Thu 20th-Sun 23rd May

Thu: day off
Fri: 7.4 miles in sweltering muggyness. 56:40. Enjoyed the run all the same.
Sat: 3.3 miles first thing in morning. 26:53.

Forgot to put in the mile total on weds: 12.5

Tapering right down now for the 50 miles on Saturday.
Feeling relatively confident about it, tho the temperature is expected to be in the region of 25 celsius. On the positive side, i'm starting at 6am, so hopefully will have at least a marathon and a quarter down by the time the midday sun kicks in. Its also in a forest, so that should keep the evil sun away.

Electrolyte tablets, water, gels, suncream, hats all at the ready!

Hopefully this time next week i will be posting a race report from a successful 50 mile trail ultra!

Total mileage this week: 30.2 miles
Total mileage this year: 788.16 miles