The visit to
Niagara was based on a family road-trip, with an aside to take on my first
ultramarathon.
I was
relying on the recent marathon in Ottawa to get me through the distance without
any race-specific training. With only an extra 8km (5 miles), the 50km
distance is often referred to as a gateway (or “baby”) ultra.
The course
was an out & back along the scenic Riverside Trail from Niagara-on-the-Lake
to the brink of the famous Horseshoe Falls. The forecast was hot, with
potential thunderstorms that didn’t materialize.
My target
was to finish in less than 5 hours, but my main goal was to enjoy the run and
finish with enough energy to continue sightseeing in the afternoon!
At the start
line the conditions were overcast but already warm. The vibe was relaxed, and it was particularly
great to be in the company of around 20 runners from my local club.
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| Photo: Vincent Young |
With my
longest ever run ahead of me and a bottleneck at the start, I began with a
couple of easy km to get warmed up and allow the field to spread.
As I got
into my stride the sun started to come through, and by about the 10km mark it
was getting really hot. This was also where the main hill on the route occurred
with a steady climb from 11-13km.
The scenery
was a great distraction, with some beautiful heritage trails and views of the
river. After the climb the route follows the gorge and it was fascinating to
see the vultures spiralling above, and the sparkling blue, green water below.
I reached
the American Falls just after 9am and the tourist traffic was already starting
to get busy. I joined
them admiring the view and taking a few photos! Pushing on through the refreshing mist to the turnaround point at the
Horseshoe Falls, it was surreal dodging around coach loads of people who were
oblivious to an event taking place, making the occasional cheers even more appreciated.
Peace and
quiet reigned back along the Niagara Parkway, although the temperature was
still climbing. At the 30km water station I paused to fill my hydration pack
with ice and to put sunscreen on my neck and shoulders (but not enough to stop
my shoulders blistering). As I moved out
I could feel my left knee beginning to struggle and my pace started slipping.
After
catching me on the Ottawa Marathon, once again Tony caught me walking around
the 32km mark! We fell into step
together and it was nice to have some distracting conversation.
For the next
few km we moved along steadily, but I had to focus on short term objectives –
just pushing on to the next landmark or water station. By 40km I was barely
hanging on to Tony, and around 42/43km I started to drop back.
There isn’t
anything ‘baby’ about those last 8km. I got through them on a mix of running,
shuffling and walking – with less and less running. My final distraction from my knees and feet
was the mental arithmetic on my pace… I calculated my buffer slipping away and
the 5 hour mark was looming.
With a last
burst I was able to cross the finish line in 28th place,
with a gun
time of 4 hrs 59 mins,
and a chip time of 4 hrs 58m 27s.
The
post-race was fantastic, with the family joining me at the finish – and free
beer and pizza for runners, it was great to sit back and swap race stories.
Despite some sunburn and aching knees I was happy to feel strong enough to
visit the falls with my family that afternoon – but definitely with a new
perspective.
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.
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. 
