May Frontenac Weekend

Not a running weekend, but...I can blog about hiking and backpacking if I want to.  MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ahem.

So, Neb and I got up bright and early (5 am) Saturday morning to get to Frontenac for the park open at 8:30.

My pack weighed 9kg, or for those who don't like metric (AND WHY NOT!) 19.8lbs.  That's with food and water, so it's not as bad as you'd think.  2L of water in Nalgenes.

This trip I decided to try to ZPacks Hexamid with Neb, which I've used plenty before, but not with the dog.  I figured he'd be good in it.

We started off with a plan to do the southern perimeter of the park, head to the north side of Big Salmon, meander over to the Bufflehead trail, then end up at our campsite at cluster 7.  ~34.5k.

About 5, 6k in, I was like 'hmmm...it is very hot' (over 20C).  I was wearing pants tucked into socks (there are TICKS in Frontenac, and I will die if I get a tick, though I brought my tick lasso recently purchased from MEC, and Neb wears Advantix which is a tick repellent), so I was sweating like nobody's business, and Neb, true to Husky form, was slowing down - first hot hike of the season (why is that dog not better at camping in the winter....sheesh).

At 7.8kish, we got to a nice pond - we were past Flagpole Hill - and I thought - what am I in a big rush for?  I was worried about our speed, which had averaged 4.9k/hr moving for the first hour, but then I wanted to be good to Neb so I slowed down for him.  I'm not running ultras this year as a stress management technique, and here I am stressing out about pace and not enjoying just being out in the woods.  What the hell, me?  So I sat down, let Neb walk around in the water, we had something to drink, to eat, got more water, and I looked at the map.  Decided to turn around and head to Cedar Trail, which we did, over to Dedication (both new trails for me, yay) to West Arkon to Bufflehead to East Arkon to the campsite.  Got in, had a big drink (I was dehydrated) and got Neb up on his tie out.  He of course immediately went to the fire pit to eat charcoal.

Let me first say the day.  The sun was BEAUTIFUL.  The flowers - beautiful.  And you could see the trilliums come out over the course of the day.  I love spring.  And it was amazing to see the forest floor carpeted in small flowers (I'm not good with plant identification sadly, but they were really pretty).

However - and here, let me say - I have NEVER had trouble setting up the Hexamid before.  It's a tarp, with netting, and you use a hiking pole to put it up.  It's not rocket science, it's a tarp.

But for whatever reason - I could not get the damn thing up right.  The net wouldn't zip close, then I got it closed, but it was all awkward, and the beak wasn't taut, and after 20 minutes I was like 'WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!' and said 'no shelter - fuck it' and packed up, took poor Neb, and hiked out to the car for ~30k on the day.  Decided to stay at the Motel 6 in Kingston (hey they take dogs, don't judge) and managed to hit up the Sydenham LCBO 3 minutes before it closed so had beer for the night.

Derrick saw I was there and was like 'Dude!  You should've told me!' so we made plans for me to have breakfast at their place Sunday.

I had some serious heat rash - still do around my ankles.  Stupid pants and socks.  Stupid ticks.  Enjoyed a quite night with actual TV (how boring TV is...nothing I wanted to watch).

Sunday got up, went to Derrick and Sara's, had breakfast - it was LOVELY to see them and the dogs, and enjoy Sara's delicious homemade granola with almond milk...yum yum yum.  Great folk.  Hadn't seen them since the snowshoe race - gooo Frontenac!

I was going to hike Little or Big Salmon, but then driving to the park I thought - you know what, I haven't spent as much time in the north end of the park - so I drove to Kingsford Dam and we did Tetsmine Loop (I snagged some mica for Jaene).  Was going to do a bit more but a blister on my heel got shirty (I'm not used to wearing hiking boots versus trail runners) and Neb was doing okay but I thought he was a bit tired.

We saw deer, a snapping turtle, birds, and a CHIPMUNK WITH A FROG IN IT'S MOUTH.  I wasn't believing what I was seeing so I stopped and stared - Neb didn't notice it, and the chipmunk wasn't scared - it was probably all 'yeah I'm badass I just killed a frog SUCK IT'.  I googled when I got home, and chipmunks are omnivores known to  kill small frogs.  So there you are.  I learned something today, and I think that's super cool I got to see that.

So all in all, it sucked that I'm a loser about putting up the Hexamid (was planning on the Tarptent next weekend at Killarney, and you'd better believe that's what I'm using), but it was a great weekend of hiking and seeing cool people.  So it all worked out.  Drive back was boring but good.

MEC Burlington Race 1 - Dundas Valley Conservation Area

Here comes my usual 'short' race report.  LOL.

I got some upsetting news on Friday afternoon so dinner out with my friend Cindy went late as discussed and had a few pints.  Good night though.  Good race prep?  Well, it was an 11.5k race, so I figured I'd be fine.

Toby's alarm went off at 5:30 because even though he wasn't working (at MEC Toronto), he had an early ride.  I was going to get up, but decided to sleep in a bit - Mom said she would come sometime 'before 7' so I figured I had time to get up, get dressed, and take the d-o-gs out.  At 6:14, she called to say she was at Dupont and Spadina - uh oh!  She got to our place while I was still out with the dogs, who were thrilled to see her.  From Davisville to High Park in 21 minutes.  If you know Toronto, that's impressive.

I decided to change my clothes based on taking the dogs out, so I went with a tshirt rather than a tank, and by the time I'd fed everyone etc we left about 6:45 I think.

The race was well organized - I picked up my bib, we did beat the timing chips but they got there soon and were sent up quickly.

We had time to relax and went into the trail centre, when I ran into Tim who I've run 40k training runs on the Sulphur Springs course in Dundas Valley, it was great to see him, he was sweeping that day.  He said 'I hope you're doing the long race!' and I assured him I was.  Heh.

Then I went for a 750m warm up run, and it was close to race time.

The instructions weren't what I expected - I'd looked at the race maps before hand and thought we were doing the top bit first.  So I got slightly confused but figured I'd just follow the people in front of me.

But it was very nice to run in a part of Dundas Valley that wasn't the same as the Sulphur Springs course.  A few familiar trails, but lots of new trails too.  That was really nice.

My pacing was weird for this race - I felt good at the start and went hard except on the hills, but that wore me out as I haven't been running as much as I should be #fatandoutofshape  I started off running the hills but when we got to the crossover of what I think is Sulphur Creek it was steep enough that everyone in front of me walked so I did too.  After that, I just started walking hills.  I mean, I do in ultras, but I'm a bit embarrassed that I did in such a short race.  EVERYBODY ELSE WAS!!!  If everybody jumped off a bridge, would you too?  The answer may be yes.

The aid station was around 3, 4k in.  This is my only suggestion for the race.  Move it to close to the the parking lot off Sulphur Springs Road or by the Hermitage, which is accessible by car to bring the supplies in.  Further into the race, more the middle, and - this race, the aid station was set up in front of a turn into another trail, so people didn't see it and ran past.  I didn't got too far past as the leaders were coming back, but you literally had to go around the aid station to get onto the trail.  The aid station volunteer didn't point out the turn either.

I had stopped at the aid station for a drink - in small races, I don't feel right running with water and chucking my cup later so that the few volunteers have to pick them up - but it would make more sense to position the recycling/garbage after the aid station, not before.

So those are my aid station comments.

It was a beautiful day.  I was running hard, mostly, but slowing - Mom saw me turn onto Deer Run but I didn't see her, though I looked - I saw her leaving it and said hi.

By then I was mostly around the same runners, but the little problem I have when I run too hard (it never happens when I do tempos though, for some weird reason, just in races) reared it's head...leakage.  I would bomb down the hills and leak leak leak.  AUGH!  I just decided to go with it.  Road2Hope I walked for a bit to try to stop it, here I was like 'Forget it, it's not that bad'.

The thing is, I peed before the race, didn't drink a huge amount of water, and didn't particularly FEEL like I had to pee.  I apparently just when I run at 91% of max HR (or higher...that was my average for this race, yes I'm on a med that can raise HR, but still) my pelvic floor muscles forget their function.

Anyways, leaking aside, I had a great time.  Dundas Valley does not boast the most technical trails out there, but it's still really pretty, I like running there.  And it is hilly - I forgot how hilly it is.

So, shortest race I've done in years, but I had a blast.  I'm feeling good about my decision to step away from ultras for a bit - I've got backpacking trips planned, next race is Sulphur Springs in Dundas Valley (again) where I'm only doing the 25k.  Bit nervous for that now!

By the numbers:

Distance;  11.5k
Time:  1:17:57
Pace per km: 6:47
Elevation Gain, as per 920 (available at MEC!):  256m (over 11.5k!  No wonder I was tired)
Average HR:  91% of max
Maximum HR:  95% of max
Place: 70/103 (so front of back of the pack, which is fairly typical for me)

Yes, so the numbers show I'm out of shape.

Sunday Neb and I did a 24.46k hike in Hockley Valley (1,021m elevation gain) and I think that I am going to change up footwear for our backpacking trips, so will need to visit MEC sometime soon.

MEC did a great job putting on a grassroots race - it was nice, no bells and whistles, but post-race food, water, chip timed, bibs - I don't need another medal that I'm just going to stick in a drawer or a shirt that I probably won't wear.  The MEC race was about what races should be about - RUNNING.

Great job by the organizers and volunteers, many thanks to them.

A couple of shots of Neb hiking on Sunday, because who doesn't love pictures of dogs?

Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race

It was a lovely weekend in Kingston and Frontenac Provincial Park north of the city.

I've been struggling to regain my fitness after Road2Hope...who knew a few weeks off would mean a huge drop off in pace and a big spike in HR.  I'm still struggling to understand this.  Just running a lot slower...sigh.  Got to get the weight back down too.  I like food way too much.

We left for Kingston on Saturday and returned Sunday, so there was no need for a housesitter for the cats and Eco.  The dogs came with us.  The race was Sunday morning.

That said, this isn't an 'A' race, so there was no interruption in training.  We got up early Saturday morning and ran 22k which at the pace we ran it at was 85% of MHR for me (!!!!!!) so it was actually a 22k tempo run.

Which is weird, because our actual tempo runs are faster with lower HRs (yes, I need to run them faster, but I'm huffing and puffing on those...not on Saturday, I could talk).  I traditionally have a higher HR in the morning, possibly because I'm dehydrated, but STILL.

Anyways, it was a good 22k run, and worked my legs.

We then drove to Frontenac Provincial Park, stopping once (legs were stiffening, just what I need for a race the next morning).  We got there and bumped into Derrick and Sara, who were dropping off supplies and heading out to mark the course.  We managed to get Derrick his box o' beer (I owed him one...fun to gather, though getting the Junction Stationmaster Stout in bottles was difficult as the brewery was always out and it's not available in the LCBO, but eventually, I prevailed).

We then did a short snowshoe hike on trails I've never done in Frontenac because they're so short - Doe Lake and Arab Lake Gorge.  Both were nice trails, though Arab Lake Gorge was a little boardwalk-y at the start for my taste.  We met a couple using snowshoes for the first time on Doe Lake and told them about the race...you never know, maybe next year they'll come out and run it!

Then we headed off to the motel, checked in, got the dogs set up in their comfy crates (you're not supposed to leave dogs unattended) and then headed to downtown Kingston to pick up Kelly and go meet our friend Rob who is doing his masters at Queens.  We went to a nice pub with great food specializing in craft beer, recommended by Keith (and seconded by a guy at Junction Brewery who used to work there).  Nice evening.

Sunday morning we woke up, took the dogs out, then went out to pack the car and discovered that some fucktard who must've parked drunk decided to start a third row behind our car and blocked us in.  GREAT.  The race is in an hour and a half and it's at least a 30 minute drive to the park.

We go in.  License plate not registered.  Must be a friend of a guest.  We ask them to get it towed - meanwhile, I'm freaking out - how long will THAT take?  OMG I'm going to miss the race.  Then I said 'What about the car properly parked in front of us?' so the office called that guest, who came down and moved their car (THANK YOU!!!!!!).

I've never been tempted to key someone's car before.  But I was.  I didn't, but I was.

We got to the park about 9:20...ran in to check in, pee, and then I decided that maybe just maybe I had time to do a short warm up with Neb - just under 10 minutes.  The only thing that did was remind me that my legs were sore and not happy with me....greeeeeat.

Oh well.

The race started, and I ran with Kelly for just over the first 3.5k.  It was nice to run with her, but she was stronger that day and eventually left me behind.  I passed one girl who would run faster than me, but then walk, and eventually stopped seeing her.  At about 4k my legs stopped hurting and I settled into a nice, albeit slow, rhythm, and just enjoyed the day on the Corridor Trail.  That was my favourite part of the race, for sure.  It was just nice to be running by myself feeling good.  There was nobody around me so I decided I wasn't going to race to catch people who knows how far ahead and I wasn't going to race to stave off an attack from the rear.  I was just going to enjoy running by myself.
Too soon, the race was over.  I wish the whole race was like the last 2.5k!  Oh well.  Maybe a longer warm up next time, heh.  And no 22k tempo runs the day before.

I finished 38/61.  Definitely not my best showing, but for my level of fitness and fat I'll take it.  BOMOP, but not BOP (barely hahahaha) so hey.  Dion Brighton will hopefully be a better race for me.

Then Toby and I took the dogs for a snowshoe hike along West Arkon, running into Sara who was heading out to run to de-mark the course - and I will pause to note this - the course was amazingly marked.  Not only do Derrick (and Sara!) put on a great race, but they did an amazing job of marking everything.  Totally well done - thanks guys!

We enjoyed the hike but SOMEONE cut a pad so when we stopped at the 4k mark for some water we realized the snow looked like a bloodbath.  No limping, but rather than doing the 11k loop we did an out and back.  We also weren't sure how Luc's arthritis would take 11k (he limped for a day and a half after a hilly 14k hike at the start of the month, though we've taken steps to better manage his arthritis now).  Anyways, no arthritis flare ups with 8k, so that was a positive thing.  Goooo Luc!

We were a bit late getting back to Toronto but it was worth it to have a hike after the race.  A great weekend all around.

Road2Hope Half Marathon Race Report

So I didn't have the best training going into this.  Everything was going great until about a month before the race, other than a few missed tempo runs :whistles:

Then I wore 3" heels to work, after a summer of wearing 2" heels, and my ankle/posterior tibial tendon went NUTS again.  So I couldn't run.  Thanks Neb - tear some ligaments in my ankle, give me arthritis and osteophytes, and leave me with a weird tendon!  Great!  As an aside, the sports medicine doctor is sending me for a MRI.

Anyways, I finally got in one last long run (20k) which went terribly I guess.  My tendon was slightly tender, my left hip got pissed off, and my heart rate was jacked.  I revised the plan from PB to just over 2 hours, with an atheist prayer for sub-2 just for respectability.

Finally, some personal upheavals left me too upset to run, followed by our rabbit Eco getting cancer (invasive subcutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma as per the biopsy) and having surgery - all very quickly.  Good news is Eco should be fine.  So, I didn't run for 8 days prior to the race, and my last run had been shorter than planned.

Nothing like a good taper, right?

Add to that diet fatigue has set in so I've been holding around the same weight for a while (overweight on our scale, not overweight on the doctor's scale, but still, fat for a runner).

Saturday before the race we drove out to Hamilton in the snow to pick up our race kits...uh oh.  Brrr.  Then we went and ran some errands, went over to Joe's for lunch to celebrate him doing the Atacama Desert Stage Race, went home, took the dogs for a walk, then over to Mom's to celebrate Jaene, my SIL's, birthday.

So beer and wine was consumed.  Plus a shocking amount of food...seriously.  And it was a busy day, a bit later night then we would've liked given that we decided to get up at 4:45 am to make sure we got to the finish and found parking and got on a bus to go to the start (Road2Hope is a point-to-point course).  Also we forgot to get fuel for the car so had to do that on the way home from Mom's.

So we were all set for a great race!  Hahahahahaha

Everything went smoothly race morning though after taking the dogs out in the morning I opted for a warmer top (I tend to get hot easily while running).

Had a banana for breakfast, perfect for a half-marathon.

Waited around at the start, tried to coax a reluctant BM (after all I ate yesterday?  I know you're in there!).  Finally had to pee again but the line ups for the indoor washrooms and port-a-potties were long so I decided to just hold it (sigh).

We lined up just in front of the 2:15 pace bunny, not because that's what we wanted to run, but because that's where we could sandwich ourselves in without getting stuck at the back.

And the race started!

Everything felt SO much better than it did in the last long run.  Pace slightly faster and felt more comfortable.  I began to entertain that sub-2 might in fact be possible.

We hit Red Hill Parkway and enjoyed the downhill running after the flat.  Toby mentioned he had some bother-y leg stuff, but said we were fine at our pace.  (Toby kindly offered to pace me).

Off of the Parkway we went onto a gravel path, with rollers - which were fine, we train hills, but since I'd read that the race was all downhill and I was like 'WHAT IS THIS????!!!?'  Heh.  We passed a lot of people in this section who had gone out too hard.

Finally down to the flat out and back, which was brutal - I really had to pee, and was running hard, which in ladies is not always a good combination (maybe guys too, I dunno, but I was a little leaky).  Toby's IT band was really bothering him, so he said that if he had to slow down just to go, but he kept it up.  A few k out we walked for about 20 metres, which was probably dumb, as the 2 hr pace bunny paced us (we'd past him ages ago).  Started running again and I was like 'I'll be damned if that fucking pace bunny finishes ahead of me!'

We caught and passed the bunny.  I lost track of where Toby was at this point, as I was hammering along trying not to die.  Finally rounded the final corner and saw the finish - was going all out (which for fat pathetic me is a 4:21min/k) at 97% of max heart rate - ouch.  Hit the first mat and my legs just went out from the effort - I hit the deck.  I was like 'oh shit!  Which of the two mats is the final timing mat?' and stumbled up and over to the other mat, stopped my Garmin and was like shit shit shit shit shit.  Quickly grabbed by 2 volunteers who I told I was fine, and they said 'No, you have to go to the medical tent'.  But I knew I'd gone sub-2, so go me!

I heard the announcer saying they were shutting part of the race when I fell, which I didn't understand, because I just fell and got back up - not that big of a deal - but as it turns out, a man in back of me had a heart attack.  When Toby got there, they'd shut the course and were doing chest compressions - an ambulance took him away.  Eventually they let the runners around the barriers, but Toby said some woman who was going for sub-2 cried because she wasn't going to get it.  Yeah, some guy is basically dead and you're crying about your fucking time?  PRIORITIES.  Jebus.

They took me to the med tent and I was all upset and kept saying 'I have to find my husband' but because of the effort I was slightly woozy.  They grabbed some gauze and put it on me, grabbed a blanket, told me I had to take my jacket off (but I don't have anything underneath!  It's a shirt/jacket).  They got me a weird-fabric jacket that all finishers got but I missed (though I made sure I got my medal on the way to the tent, I don't know why, I stick all my medals in drawers).

Anyways, so I was bleeding from the chin quite a bit, which I didn't realize.  They said the wound needed cleaning and stitches, but that they couldn't do that there.  It took them forever to put on the butterfly bandages, gauze and tape - which wouldn't stick because I was sweating - and then I had to sit there.  Eventually I convinced one of the nice nurses to go look for Toby, but in the thousands of people, she couldn't find him (I told her he was also wearing a Sydenham Fall Trail Run buff...represent Spafford Health and Adventure).  She offered to send him a text, after agreeing I could go on my own, so I said I would meet him at the car.

There are multiple parking lots, so I got lost, but found another lady who was lost, and we walked together, running into Toby who was also looking for the car (where his phone was) who was pissed I hadn't waited for him.  I was like 'Umm...my chin is covered in gauze goof, I was in medical'.  We all walked and found the right parking lot together, the lady had done Run for the Toad and recommended it, she lives in Brantford so I told her she should check out Sulphur Springs.

I didn't bring my wallet, so we went home, changed shirts, and then went to the hospital.

The sad thing:  I tore a hole in the knee of my new tights :(

Got seen, the doctor was impressed at the depth of the wound, cleaned, stitches (appears to be 5 well-spaced stitches - I wasn't expecting them to be so far apart).

Now we are home having beer.  Yum!

In final round up - we each took two gels, no water, so had gels at water stations and were somewhat stuck for WHEN we took them then - 5k and 14k.

Final chip time:  1:58:27.  My PB is a 1:58:05.  Sigh.  Maybe if I hadn't done the short walk, maybe the second timing mat at the finish is THE mat - but it's fine.  I went sub-2 on meh training while chubby, so I'm happy.  I gave it my all and left nothing on the course.  I can't complain.  Next up is Chilly and I will be thinner and have more base and fucking DEMOLISH my PB!

Road2Hope is a great race, even though I was embarrassing at the end and fell like a loser.  I guess that's what running at near max feels like.

I'd do it again, but we were lucky with the weather - I'd hate to do this race in early November if it were raining.  But we lucked out with a sunny day, if cold at the start.

Seaton Trail Race Volunteer Report

So, the fastpacking - the 'no long term damage' one?

Yeah.  Two weeks off.  I let the IT band calm down and two days later the medial side of my ankle swelled up - probable deltoid irritation from where I damaged it in November tearing the ligaments on the lateral side.

Beautiful.

I stayed off it as much as possible, only doing strength workouts - sure, this is AWESOME for the Sulphur 50 miler (now two weeks away) but I was also supposed to run the Seaton Soaker today - the Seaton Trail Race.

So I was trying to make it so that a)it wasn't swollen; and b)I could take a step without pain.

The swelling is pretty well gone but walking is STILL painful, though much improved.  The lateral side of my ankle is now painful, I think everything has gotten stiff though why my lateral side should get painful over a week into the medial pain is beyond me.  Fuck my ankle.

Anyways, I decided that running Seaton would be a bad idea.  And god knows, I'm ALL about #illadvised, but I'm trying to stay healthy for Haliburton and that means staying healthy for Sulphur.  So.

I volunteered!

It was lots of fun.  I helped unload food at the school in the morning, then headed to the Forestream aid station and made some PB&J sandwiches and cut some fruit.  Met Merle and his son Will, and a bunch of other lovely volunteers.  Leeanne had asked if I could help direct runners where the course takes a sharp turn off the road back onto trail, so this actually meant I was away from the aid station for most of the day - out of sight of it actually - but I had come prepared with a camp chair and it was a beautiful sunny day.

Once the first runners started coming through, I headed to my spot, and directed and cheered.  There were a few people who wouldn't have noticed the turn, and one guy I had to chase after despite repeating 'to your right' so it was probably a good thing I was there.

Once most of the runners had come back through on their way to the start/finish or turnaround for the 50k, I headed back to the aid station and stayed there until the 50kers came back, and then I went back to my spot.  Everyone knew the turn by then, but I got to cheer people on and of course trail runners are lovely, so it was fun.

And sun-shiney.

I also managed NOT to get burnt, so there Toby, I don't ALWAYS get burnt!  60 SPF, I probably blocked all that good vitamin D...

So that's where things stand.  A fun day, and I am planning on trying a run on the rail trail tomorrow, but geez.  Crossing fingers for Sulphur!

Frontenac Fastpack...sort of

So for my third and fourth trail runs since being cleared to run trails following the torn ligaments, I decided to go fastpacking in Frontenac!  32k, 22k.  Sure, that might be a bad idea, to a NORMAL person, but what could go wrong?

I'd run 40k on the Sulphur Springs course in Dundas Valley Conservation Area the week before, and my IT band got angry - this is my STRONG glute side, though the side of injured ankle.  Anyways, I rehabbed it, and it seemed to be okay.

Perhaps though, running with a backpack was not the wisest idea.

Baseweight: 11 lbs.  Hey, a girl who gets cold easily needs her -7C sleeping quilt, down pants, down jacket, and rain pants and jacket given that it was calling for rain.  Add a hat, gloves, Kobo (I was soloing!  Need something to do in camp), camera, saw, and, for the making of many hot meals, the Jetboil (fuck the alcohol stove) - it was a 'light' trip.  Hahahaha.  With food and water, 14.8 lbs.  I carried heavy running snacks, rather than powder, not sure I'd do that again but I thought I could practice solid eating.

Drove up to the park Saturday morning, got there as it opened.  So many of the sites were already taken!  I couldn't stay where I'd planned.  Oh well.

Got onto the trails and into the southern section of the park...parts of the trails were good, parts muddy:

But hey, spring trail running is supposed to be muddy, am I right?

I was using poles for this, which is new for me.  I hiked a bit with them this winter, after tearing the ligaments in my ankle, but this is the first time I'd used them without gloves and oww blisters.  My delicate skinned hands.  Oh well.

But, I ran up hills without realizing I was doing it - I was just bopping along, going slow, but not giving a shit about time, just enjoying being out there, the scenery, and focusing on having a great day.

It was overcast, but the rain held off and I was just in total peace, alone on the trails.  I have been practicing positive self-talk and while I think in the past I would have been going 'You're slow!  You suck!' all I could think was 'What a beautiful day!  I'm really enjoying this!'

My IT band popped up again, and shortly afterwards I noticed my ankle fatiguing - the two were related, I've no doubt.  I decided to keep going, and reassess.  I started to walk, to try to help the IT band - practice power hiking!  Man I suck at power hiking!  Maybe it was just the IT band :)

I didn't decide to pull the plug on the trip til 3k from the car - I could've headed north towards my campsite (I'd done a big loop of the southern half of the park), but my IT band was becoming more and more inflammed and I have Sulphur coming up, and I want to be healthy for it so that it is good practice for Haliburton, and we're in Algonquin next weekend to do my last long run before Sulphur, so, eyes on the prize.  It sucked, but was the right decision - I don't feel bad about it, I have so much to look forward to.

So all in all a great day of training, and a chance to fool around with gear and practice carrying heavier weights.  Just maybe not a good idea at this point in my rehab.  Really happy with the pack, need to attach the bottles to the front but I was worried they'd swing, however it would make access a lot easier.
And that is the fastpack...it was a day of fastpacking, just not an overnight trip.

Weighty Thoughts

I am a fat runner.

That's right.  Fat.

For a while, last year, after being off Seroquel for a while and on Saphris, I was normal, though as ultrarunners go, monsterous.

Right now?  After tearing the ligaments in my ankle and going delusional, I gained about 20lbs.  Which put me in the 'fat' thing again.

And I'm torn.

Running is easier lighter, and it's free speed.  For that reason, I want to drop weight.

But I hate that there are some runners who will always look at me sideways.  Who will think I'm new to running, when I might have more experience than them.

Maybe that doesn't matter.  Maybe that's my own insecurities.

But I read running blogs, where people talk about butterballs.

Toby has a well-regarded ultrarunner tell him at Sulphur, after meeting me (at the high end of normal, fat for a runner) that what he 'likes about these races is no fat chicks'.  And then, when a bigger woman walks by, says 'Well mostly'.

People always say triathletes are assholes.  That's not true.  Triathletes may be type-A, but they're honest about themselves.  Trail and ultrarunners are the liars who think they're all friendly open granola crunchers...when really they're just as much about type-A douchebaggery as a triathlete.

Sometimes, I say, give me a triathlete any day.  Don't get me wrong, I know lots of great trail runners, but I dislike being an outsider based on my looks.

Even if I lose the weight, to me, I'll always be a fat chick.

AND FOR THE RECORD...

...when I finished 7th woman at Haliburton 50k last year, I stood at the finish line and watched runners thinner than me (remember, thin=free speed) finish after me and it felt so good.  I may be fat, but they're lacking something that can't be made up.  At least I can go on a diet.