i2P (58 km) Recap

Photo by http://www.richardmcdonald.ca

Almost 60km in just over 6 hours, this is my longest to date.

The impossible2Possible's (i2P) run is an informal event (no official times or results) that "is first and foremost a celebration of trail running and showcase of the beautiful Gatineau Park".

The route consisted of three loops, roughly 23km, 13km, and 16km totalling (what should have been) around 53 km. 

The run is self-supported, with participants carrying their own food and water.  The loop structure allows for a drop-bag with extra supplies to be left at the start/finish zone.

The weather was great, cool and shady on the trails, and I started a bit too quick. After half an hour or so I got into a more reasonable pace, it felt like the first loop was over in a flash.

53 km done, still 5 to go...

The second loop didn't start well.  I missed a turn early on, and by the time I realised and corrected I had added about 5 km on to my day! 
I had some trouble with a bit of pain in my left foot, and struggled to get my shoe laced comfortably, and to top it off, loop 2 was the hardest section of the course, with a lot of climbing and some very narrow technical trails.

As I started loop 3 I could feel myself getting tired.  Thankfully the course was a simple 'out & back' with very limited navigation required and fairly flat. By this time my sore foot was starting to give me knee pain.  

It felt good to reach the turnaround point but I didn't appreciate the extra distance - I spent a lot of the last hour thinking about the earlier missed turn!  Gatineau Park was a beautiful distraction though.  Getting to know these trails better has been a highlight of this summer. 

With the finish line at Breton Beach it was a quick check-in then straight to the refreshing water of Lac Philippe! 




Night Race 10k

The Pure Protein Night Race was my first time racing a 10 km distance so I wasn't too sure how to run it.
I was feeling strong and confident after all of the summer training and my recent fast 5km, so I decided to push for the same kind of speed and see how long I could sustain it.

The course starts and finishes at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and is an 'out & back' 5 km each way along the unlit parkway road.  The conditions were hot and humid despite the rain earlier in the day.  

The race vibe was excellent, with a live DJ and the lights and sunset it was a real party atmosphere.  Headlamps are mandatory and most runners had the free flashing lace-lights on their feet, which made for quite a buzz as everyone got warmed up and ready to go. 

As the countdown started I was in the first couple of rows, looking forward to getting out fast and trying to hang on to the leaders.  By the second KM marker the leaders had disappeared into the night but I knew I was in the top 10, and I focussed on staying within reach of the next runner, and trying to maintain my distance from the headlamp of the runner behind me!

The dark made for an interesting experience.  It was almost impossible to see how many runners were in front or judge how far away the leaders were.  As we got close to the turn-around I moved up another place and tried to count the runners going back the other way - but it was hard to tell.  At 7.5 KM the race merged with the 5km event so the road became crowded, and as the two races mingled I could no longer listen out for the next 10km runner behind me.

I held on to my pace and gave a final kick to run the last km in less than 4 mins.  I finished 4th overall (3rd place male; 1st place age-group) with an official time of 41 mins 29 secs.

Photos via @NightRaceCA on Facebook
Official timing results on www.startlinetiming.com

Ultra Encore (MEC Race Recap)

On Sunday 07th August I completed my second ultra marathon - running 50km at the MEC Race Series in Gatineau Park in 5 hrs and 8 mins. 
http://events.mec.ca/event/148916/mec-ottawa-race-four-11k-20k-30k-50k-trail-2017 

This was my first trail race and is all part of the physical and mental preparation for the Midnight Moose Ultra next month. 

The weather was near perfect, after a rainy few days the morning was bright and cool - and as the day got hotter there was plenty of shade on the trails. 

The course had been simplified because of a couple of trail closures caused by all the summer rains, so there was a lot of wide double track - including stretches on he Ridge Road that runs through the park - and not much technical trail.

I had expected to finish around 6 hrs but the cool weather and course changes made the race easier than expected. 

The 50k course was a 30k + 20k laps (or 28k + 21k according to my watch!), much of the two courses overlapped and used the same trail so I was a lot more confident in the second half and actually ran a negative split. 

I found the trails a lot more enjoyable than the pavements in Niagara, but the temperature was also a major factor.  I was pleased with my nutrition - alternating between Cliff bars and Cliff energy 'Bloks', with water in my pack and taking Nuun electrolytes at a couple of the water stations. 

It was my first opportunity to think about a drop-bag: I had spare shoes and food at the 30 km mark.  I didn't end up needing it but it was a good thinking exercise to plan contents.  I had also prepared some hiking poles, but the course was fast and wide enough that they weren't necessary either.

Overall this was a good confidence boost, and I don't think I need to change my training plan, just making Relentless Forward Progress.

And I've managed to raise $1,120 so far for the great work being done by Start2Finish!

Sponsorship link: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y
 
Every penny appreciated 😊

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Peak Performance?

Training has gone up a gear this week, with an opportunity to undertake a fitness assessment at the Peak Centre for Human Performance, and a friendly but fast 5 km event.

www.peakcentre.ca

The fitness assessment included testing maximum VO2 rates and lactate acid production, as a basis for understanding current physical fitness and potential performance. It involves wearing a face mask and having finger-tip blood samples taken every couple of minutes as treadmill speed is steadily increased.

I managed to go quite far, but in the end my lungs gave out before my legs, as it became harder and harder to breathe in the mask.

The initial results suggest I could physiologically be capable of running some quicker marathon times! Maybe next year my target will be speed over distance...

I'm looking forward to the follow-up session to find out some more about how to apply the data to my training.

www.events.runningroom.com/raceId=13076 

My first fast run in a while was the Neuro Dash 4 Brain Cancer 5K hosted by the Orleans Running Room to raise money for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, in memory of a member of the local running community.

After so many long training runs it was a great opportunity to open up for a sprint distance along the river pathway. 

The event is informally timed , and I ran the 5 km in just over 20 mins which is close to a personal best.