Thanks to them and others I had a good idea of what to expect but just to be safe I went to the course each month from January to meet other intrepid souls who were also contemplating either the 50km or 50 mile or 100 mile event. During those outings I met some really nice people and we would share our stories and form our little groups. You know how it is.
I met Joe, the race director from the Burlington Runners, along with Rich Humber, who had done the 50 miler the year before but decided to do the hundred this year because he was tired of being treated like a second-class citizen when he did the 50 miler (his bib number was hidden and alot of people asked him if he was doing the hundred or ONLY the 50 miler - ha ha). Well, I'm happy to report that he is no longer a second class citizen and did a kick-ass job, finishing in 24.5 hours.
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| The start of 50/100milers - 6am - I'm number 213 |
Well, I'll cut to the chase and tell all you folks that I DNF'd. I completed 2 of the 4 laps and called it a day and after reading other people's stories out there I feel pretty miffed with myself that I didn't step up to the plate and carry on. It's always easier to feel that way a few weeks after an event but at the time I felt happy enough about it to say I've had enough and I'll be back again.
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| Me - end of first lap |
Rich will be the first to tell you that if I'd heeded my own advice gleaned over and over again in those training sessions I might be here telling you a different story but alas, I didn't; and got caught up yet again in the excitement of all that adrenalin we feel at the start of a big race. My 'comfortable' 20km loop time would be around 1 hour 55 and I had hopes of doing the 50 miler in 8 hours. I'd done 2.5 loops of the course in training and had been putting in 60-90 mile weeks since January and I believe I was not being unrealistic to think I was capable of achieving my goal. I had tapered well, was fortunate enough not to get a cold or have an injury sideline me for any length of time. My fastest single training loop was 1 hour 41 minutes - I'm only telling you that so when I tell you in the race my first lap was 1 hour 39 minutes you'll see what an idiot I was :) Once I saw that on my watch I thought, oh oh, I'm in a world of hurt now!
And yes, that world of hurt came along alot sooner that it should have. That monkey climbed on my back and the speed lessened and the doubt grew and the people passed me. Now, I'd done nothing new on the day (except run the race like a 10km). I had my new Asics 2012 Gel Fuji's. They are the lightest cross country shoe Asics currently has and heck, they are even in my favourite purple colour so of course that means they are going to make me run faster, right! Wrong.
I had my Hammer Gels and my Perpetuem and my Endurolyte all tried and tested in my long runs but holy geez did that go wrong on the day. As anybody who was there knows, it was warm at the start and it got toasty pretty quickly. Well, my drink with the heat soon began tasting like warm soured milk. . . YUCK. That was the beginning of the end and had me chucking shortly after the photographer - sorry, whoever you were. I did tell you the first time past that I wouldn't look as pretty the second lap and I guess I was right.
I thought I'd get my shit together if I walked some during the second lap but it just continued to be a shuffle and my legs were really not happy bunnies. I ran into Rich just before my final summit up the final hill to the finish and told him I'd had enough. He was really good and tried to convince me to carry on but I wished him well on his journey and got his text the next morning 'DONE - AND DONE!' Good on you Rich!
You can read on other bloggers reports about the course if you'd like but if you are considering it for 2013 I can highly recommend it. It is mostly tree-covered and is not very technical and is well-groomed. It is NOT flat and there are hills that you will be walking up. There is enough room to pass around most of it and the aid stations were well spaced, well stocked and with alot of support. They were really great and enthusiastic.
I even saw one of the other bloggers I mentioned earlier, Jessica. I said, 'I read your blog' and she smiled at me. Well, it's better than a scowl any day. I can tell she enjoys her running.
Ok, so my first lap was 1:39 and my second was 2:01 and my 3rd and 4th would have been worse and worse if I'd had the will to finish but I do promise to get back on the horse next year and conquer that puppy!
Next race is June 23rd where I'll be running the Niagara 50km. I ran it last year and did a horrible time (well, to me anyway) of 5 hours 11 minutes. The annoying thing is that in training last year I did it in 4 hours 17 minutes and then it fell apart on the day - yup, too fast out of the gate AGAIN. This year in training I have done it in 4 hours 7 minutes but all bets are off so you'll just have to wait and see and I promise I will TRY to pace myself.
I hope I'll see some of you out there soon and thanks for stopping by.
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| Rich Humber sometime during his 100miler - early on I'd guess considering that big smile |
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