Since my last post, I have run 3 more races: the Sulphur Springs 25k, the 12 Mile Creek Trail Half Marathon, and the Milton Try-a-Tri. One was a blast, one was so-so, and was a disaster.
The Sulphur Springs Trail Race takes place on my home trails and I have participated in some way for the past 7 years. I have a lot of fond memories here and it was my first ever 100 miler a few years back. This year, I didn't plan on running it. I volunteered to set up the flagging on the course, to help pace a friend who was doing the 100 miler, and to remove the flags after the race. On the Friday evening, Heather and I went for a 12k run on the course and then met up with a great group of volunteers and we marked the route for the race the following day. It was way more tiring than I expected. My friend Dion was planning on running the 25k race with an old friend from the East coast; however, there were some complications and he didn't make it. Long story short, I ended up running the 25k race on Saturday morning. We made it a social run and took it really easy. I think part of the problem was that I may have taken it a bit too easy. The slower pace changed my gait and I was running less efficiently. Even though I had fun, I finished the race feeling sore and tired. Later in the evening, I had the privilege of pacing a friend, Katherine Yager for 20km. Katherine ran incredibly well and went on to finish her first 100 miler! The next day, I did the 20k loop one more time and gathered all of the flags and signs from the race. I finished the week with close to 150km under my belt.
The 12 Mile Creek Half Marathon was a disaster. I promised that this year was going to be a year of "no excuses" so, even though I want to use a couple, I'm just simply going to say that I ran a bad race. The course was beautiful and I will eventually go back for redemption. I planned on running the race as a progression run. I was going to be conservative for 7k, pick up the pace for 7k, and then run the final 7k as hard as I could. That didn't happen. First of all, I went out too hard. I hung with the leaders for the first few kilometres and then dropped back a little bit. By the 9.5k turnaround I was suffering a great deal. Although I was still in 3rd place, my lead had dropped considerably and I was certain it was only a matter of time before runners started passing me. I felt nauseous and really weak. Then I did something that I have never done before in a half marathon; I walked. At first, it was just for a few seconds. Then I walked again, and again, and again. If there was a hill, I walked it. If there was a bump, I walked. If there were other people walking, I walked. Remarkably, the more I walked the happier I became and the more I enjoyed myself. Forgetting about my time and goals was a freeing experience.
The course had plenty of rolling hills and one absolute beast at the end. The big hill didn't bother me as much as it bothered the runners ahead of me. Can you guess why? BECAUSE I WALKED!
The highlight of the race was my daughter running the final 500-600m with me across the finish line. After I finished, I felt really dizzy again. Something was definitely wrong but I can't pinpoint the problem. I have my suspicions but I can't tell you because I said "no excuses".
The Milton Try-a-Tri was the most fun I've had racing in a while. My friend Rhonda sent me a text a few days before the race asking me if I wanted to be her guide for the triathlon. Rhonda is a fantastic endurance athlete who happens to be visually impaired. It is not uncommon for her to text and ask me to do something crazy. I usually say "no" but this wasn't as far-fetched as most of her ideas. I hadn't done a triathlon in 5 years, which was also the last time I swam. I don't own a bike but that wouldn't be an issue since we would be riding Rhonda's tandem bike- she even said that I could steer! Sign me up!
I was worried about a few things:
1) The lake was going to be cold
2) I may drown
3) Rhonda may drown and drag me down with her (we were tied together)
4) The bike may be difficult to manoeuvre
The lake was 71 degree F, which sounds cold but actually felt fine. There was basically no visibility in the water and I felt dizzy again but I got over that. The swim was tiring and I feel as though my crappy wetsuit actually hindered my performance. I have gained 15lbs since the last time I wore it and I felt like it was cutting of my circulation and restricting my range of motion. We didn't drown and I enjoyed the swim way more than expected.
We transitioned to the bike and made it 2 feet before disaster struck. The derailleur got damaged in transit and the chain not only fell off but also got severely tangled. Some very helpful individuals rushed to our aid and eventually got the chain back on... for 2 more feet. The same thing happened. It seemed as though it couldn't be repaired. We brought the bike to the grass and started to walk back to the transition area. Once again, a couple of kind and very helpful men got the chain back on. They informed us that it was rideable, as long as we didn't change gears! That's right, not only would we be riding the heavier tandem bike, we also would do the course in one gear. We didn't let it get us down and we had a great time as we SLOWLY covered the bike course. Once again, we didn't die.
The run was a breeze and we were happy to cross the finish line. For the record, I officially beat Rhonda by 1 second.
