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!