OK... Here it is... The long-awaited race report :)
As I have been mentioning, I ran the first ultra in the Ontario Ultra Series - the Seaton Trail Race. There were various distances offered for this event - 26K, 52K, and 78K. This race was organised by the Seaton Trail Mud Puppies with whom I run with on a regular basis. For the last couple of years, I faithfully volunteered with the group by marking the course, marshalling on the course, and helping at the aid station. This year, I helped mark the course. In the interest of my 100M mission, I decided to enter the 78K to get some quality miles in and see how I do.
After arriving home from marking the course and organising my stuff on Friday evening, I hit the hay as early as possible. It is a long drive to Pickering and I wanted to get there as early as possible so that I could take care of my needs before the race started. I woke up on Saturday morning at 4h45. My clothes were all lined up for me to decide what to wear. The forecast called for a high of 20C by the afternoon with a chance of rain and falling temperatures. I knew I was going to wear a running skirt because of the water crossing that was part of the race. The harder decision was deciding what shirt to wear. I had two choices - a black long-sleeved shirt, or a purple long-sleeved shirt. I decided to go with the purple shirt because of the fact that black retains more heat. The black would have been a better choice if it was cooler. After getting dressed, I packed up the gear in the car and hit the road just before 6h00.
When I got to the school in Pickering, which served as the venue, I got out of the car and greeted everyone. My response to the question "Which race are you running?" was "Shoot me". I will admit that I was a little anxious and cranky at the same time. A lot of the regulars were missing from the event this time around because of Monday's Boston Marathon. After picking up the race kit and using the facilities, I lined my cooler and bag up by the start/finish line and lined up for the run.
At 7h00, we were off into the woods and running along the Seaton Trail. I started off with Rick and Gavin for a bit. Rick started laying into me about the fact that I was out marking the course the day before. I wondered if he remembered that he happily volunteered for that role as well. One of the things he mentioned to me was that if I actually finished the race, it would prove that I am tough. I don't think he expected me to perform well that day. It became my mission to prove him wrong on all counts. At about 2.5Km, we approached the water crossing. Gavin decided to change into his water shoes to cross the water. Rick decided to wait with him so I took off on them. I thought it was quite nice that I was now ahead of them... hehe...
Upon reaching the Foreststream aid station, I quickly hydrated, grabbed a banana, and headed off into the woods. Before leaving them, I quickly gave them the news about Gavin changing into his water shoes. They all laughed when I told them to ask him if he remembered to change into the shoes at the flooded hydro field. I was cruising along at a rather quick pace. I have a habit of starting out too fast at times. Maybe it was the rush of being ahead of old Rick and Gavin :)
Upon reaching Whitevale, I was greeted with a hug by Howie. He was also given the joke about Gavin and the water shoes. He basically shook his head and said that nobody changes into water shoes at the water crossing. All of a sudden, we heard voices - Rick and Gavin approaching the aid station. I quickly dropped everything and ran off. I made it to the turnaround (13K out) and greeted Ted and Sandy who were monitoring that point. I greeted Rick and Gavin as I was on my way back to Whitevale. They were getting dangerously close to me at that point. When I got to the dam, I made a minor wrong turn and had to head back. The gap was closing in on me within metres. Once I was in the woods, those two old men sprinted past me and had a good laugh about it. Howie observed this when we returned to Whitevale and commented on it. My response was that there doesn't appear to be any love being shared. I took off behind them and kept up with them for much of the loop at that point, chatting as we were running on. Jack Judge and his friend Terry were also with us for parts of the loop. When we got to Taunton Road, we saw Helen and Rene, the photographer. Rene took some pics of us as we were running on. In fact, Rene was being transported to different portions of the course so that he could get different shots throughout the day. On the way back, we also started seeing some of our friends who were doing the 26K and 52K races that started an hour later.
Howie - At your service... He also does foot rubs :)
Coming up to Taunton Road - Gavin, me, and Rick...
Upon returning to Forestream, we quickly grabbed some drinks and I took a couple S-Caps. At that point, we all ended up sharing the love for a bit. We then continued on to the start/finish area. As Gavin was changing his shoes for the water crossing, Rick and I walked briskly until Gavin caught up to us. Once we returned to the school, we snacked on Rick's rice pudding, hydrated, and set off for the second loop.
I kept up with Rick and Gavin for a good portion of the loop before the leg cramps started setting in. I tried stretching, taking S-Caps and hydrating to no avail. The cramps still hung around and slowed me down. After taking some orange juice and oranges from the Whitevale aid station, the cramps started to subside. It was at that point that I realised two things were missing - ibuprofen and calcium-magnesium supplements. I needed to hurry back to the start/finish the best I could and take the ibuprofen.
Coming back from Whitevale - masking the pain...
On my way back, I ran into one of the 52K runners. I told her about the leg cramps and the fact that I had to hurry to get some ibuprofen. She saved my life by producing some Advil. I thanked her profusely and headed off. After a few minutes, I was a happy woman as I started to pick up more speed. I was one kilometre from the school when I saw Rick and Gavin head back out for the final loop. With them was Coco, Gavin's Springer-Lab dog. Rick asked me if I was going out for the third loop. I responded yes while thinking to myself... "what does he think this is?"
Upon arriving at the start/finish, I quickly refilled my hydration pack, drank my protein supplement, grabbed some ibuprofen, and refilled my salt pack with S-Caps and then set off for the final loop. I greeted Rene and Helen who were monitoring the crossing as I was heading back out. They gave me a great send off as I aggressively tackled the water.
Approaching the water crossing...
The going was really getting tough. It was tough to see the 52K runners finishing up while I was heading back out. I came across Jack Judge who decided that he was going to drop after the second loop. He had started slowing down quite a bit so he knew it was time to call it a day. On the way to Whitevale, I took a small tumble coming down a hill while hanging onto the rope. The result was a minor bruise on my leg but that did not stop me.
I got to Whitevale knowing that once I got to the turnaround and came back, it would be past 17h00. I decided to keep going regardless, knowing that I will be able to make it back to the school before the 19h00 cut off. Gord looked at me as I was heading out and asked if I wanted a ride. I cut my eye at him and said "NO". I saw Rick, Gavin, and Coco at the 12K mark and Rick was surprised to see me still out there in the game. When I got to Sandy and Ted, it was 16h55. I immediately took off and got back to Whitevale at 17h15 just as Howie was briefing Mike S. that me, and two other runners were still out there. He saw me come sprinting across the meadow and advised me of what I already knew - less than two hours remain to make it to the school. I grabbed a drink and told him - as he was talking to Mike - that all I need right now is a can of whoop ass. That brought a smile to his face as he asked if I wanted to talk to Mike. While I would have liked to talk to the RD, I knew it would further delay me so off I went.
The the 4.5K stretch between Whitevale and Foreststream became a battle for me as I fought to get to the finish by 18h50. When I got to Forestream, Linda, Howie, Gord, Jan and Peggy were there to help me get on my way really quick. I declared that the previous stretch has worn me out because I was fighting to get to Foreststream as quick as possible. One hour and five minutes to the cut off with 6.5K to go...
The last of the major uphills were right after Foreststream. I set a goal to make it to the top of the final major uphill by 18h05. The hills were quite taxing but I did it. Once I hit the 5K marker, I wanted to get it done in 45 minutes. I was a little over my time though. Once I hit the water crossing, I knew I had to bring it home. The problem was that the flags were removed from the course, forcing me to concentrate on remaining on the trail and remembering which direction to go. Even though I did mark the course, I was tired from booting it all the way from the top of the course. My judgement would have been a little off at that point. Mercifully, I was able to find my way.
Once I got to the soccer field, I emptied my litter in the trash can and marched up that hill. With the finish line in sight, I started to sprint with all my might. I could hear Gord heckling me from the finish line so when I got closer, he got treated to my finger... hehe... Naturally, he was laughed at. I crossed the line in 11:57:16, seven minutes off but still happy for the finish. Rick and Gavin appeared afterwards and Rick told me that he did not think I was going to actually finish... I proved him wrong indeed...
After stretching and walking around, we cheered on Denise, a first-timer at the 78K distance who finished 20 minutes after me. I then waited around with Jim Mullenix who really kicked it up a notch and finished in under ten hours and was now waiting for his friend Thomas to finish. Thomas finished in 12:50. Thomas actually ended up being slowed to a walk after the first loop because he was undertrained. He was an inspiration indeed.
So, to sum it up, the first OUS race of the season was quite successful. It was great to get out with good friends, good weather, and lots of cheer.
Results can be found here.
All photos on this post were taken by Rene Garneau. All race photos can be found here.
As I have been mentioning, I ran the first ultra in the Ontario Ultra Series - the Seaton Trail Race. There were various distances offered for this event - 26K, 52K, and 78K. This race was organised by the Seaton Trail Mud Puppies with whom I run with on a regular basis. For the last couple of years, I faithfully volunteered with the group by marking the course, marshalling on the course, and helping at the aid station. This year, I helped mark the course. In the interest of my 100M mission, I decided to enter the 78K to get some quality miles in and see how I do.
After arriving home from marking the course and organising my stuff on Friday evening, I hit the hay as early as possible. It is a long drive to Pickering and I wanted to get there as early as possible so that I could take care of my needs before the race started. I woke up on Saturday morning at 4h45. My clothes were all lined up for me to decide what to wear. The forecast called for a high of 20C by the afternoon with a chance of rain and falling temperatures. I knew I was going to wear a running skirt because of the water crossing that was part of the race. The harder decision was deciding what shirt to wear. I had two choices - a black long-sleeved shirt, or a purple long-sleeved shirt. I decided to go with the purple shirt because of the fact that black retains more heat. The black would have been a better choice if it was cooler. After getting dressed, I packed up the gear in the car and hit the road just before 6h00.
When I got to the school in Pickering, which served as the venue, I got out of the car and greeted everyone. My response to the question "Which race are you running?" was "Shoot me". I will admit that I was a little anxious and cranky at the same time. A lot of the regulars were missing from the event this time around because of Monday's Boston Marathon. After picking up the race kit and using the facilities, I lined my cooler and bag up by the start/finish line and lined up for the run.
At 7h00, we were off into the woods and running along the Seaton Trail. I started off with Rick and Gavin for a bit. Rick started laying into me about the fact that I was out marking the course the day before. I wondered if he remembered that he happily volunteered for that role as well. One of the things he mentioned to me was that if I actually finished the race, it would prove that I am tough. I don't think he expected me to perform well that day. It became my mission to prove him wrong on all counts. At about 2.5Km, we approached the water crossing. Gavin decided to change into his water shoes to cross the water. Rick decided to wait with him so I took off on them. I thought it was quite nice that I was now ahead of them... hehe...
Upon reaching the Foreststream aid station, I quickly hydrated, grabbed a banana, and headed off into the woods. Before leaving them, I quickly gave them the news about Gavin changing into his water shoes. They all laughed when I told them to ask him if he remembered to change into the shoes at the flooded hydro field. I was cruising along at a rather quick pace. I have a habit of starting out too fast at times. Maybe it was the rush of being ahead of old Rick and Gavin :)
Upon reaching Whitevale, I was greeted with a hug by Howie. He was also given the joke about Gavin and the water shoes. He basically shook his head and said that nobody changes into water shoes at the water crossing. All of a sudden, we heard voices - Rick and Gavin approaching the aid station. I quickly dropped everything and ran off. I made it to the turnaround (13K out) and greeted Ted and Sandy who were monitoring that point. I greeted Rick and Gavin as I was on my way back to Whitevale. They were getting dangerously close to me at that point. When I got to the dam, I made a minor wrong turn and had to head back. The gap was closing in on me within metres. Once I was in the woods, those two old men sprinted past me and had a good laugh about it. Howie observed this when we returned to Whitevale and commented on it. My response was that there doesn't appear to be any love being shared. I took off behind them and kept up with them for much of the loop at that point, chatting as we were running on. Jack Judge and his friend Terry were also with us for parts of the loop. When we got to Taunton Road, we saw Helen and Rene, the photographer. Rene took some pics of us as we were running on. In fact, Rene was being transported to different portions of the course so that he could get different shots throughout the day. On the way back, we also started seeing some of our friends who were doing the 26K and 52K races that started an hour later.
Howie - At your service... He also does foot rubs :)
Coming up to Taunton Road - Gavin, me, and Rick...
Upon returning to Forestream, we quickly grabbed some drinks and I took a couple S-Caps. At that point, we all ended up sharing the love for a bit. We then continued on to the start/finish area. As Gavin was changing his shoes for the water crossing, Rick and I walked briskly until Gavin caught up to us. Once we returned to the school, we snacked on Rick's rice pudding, hydrated, and set off for the second loop.
I kept up with Rick and Gavin for a good portion of the loop before the leg cramps started setting in. I tried stretching, taking S-Caps and hydrating to no avail. The cramps still hung around and slowed me down. After taking some orange juice and oranges from the Whitevale aid station, the cramps started to subside. It was at that point that I realised two things were missing - ibuprofen and calcium-magnesium supplements. I needed to hurry back to the start/finish the best I could and take the ibuprofen.
Coming back from Whitevale - masking the pain...
On my way back, I ran into one of the 52K runners. I told her about the leg cramps and the fact that I had to hurry to get some ibuprofen. She saved my life by producing some Advil. I thanked her profusely and headed off. After a few minutes, I was a happy woman as I started to pick up more speed. I was one kilometre from the school when I saw Rick and Gavin head back out for the final loop. With them was Coco, Gavin's Springer-Lab dog. Rick asked me if I was going out for the third loop. I responded yes while thinking to myself... "what does he think this is?"
Upon arriving at the start/finish, I quickly refilled my hydration pack, drank my protein supplement, grabbed some ibuprofen, and refilled my salt pack with S-Caps and then set off for the final loop. I greeted Rene and Helen who were monitoring the crossing as I was heading back out. They gave me a great send off as I aggressively tackled the water.
Approaching the water crossing...
The going was really getting tough. It was tough to see the 52K runners finishing up while I was heading back out. I came across Jack Judge who decided that he was going to drop after the second loop. He had started slowing down quite a bit so he knew it was time to call it a day. On the way to Whitevale, I took a small tumble coming down a hill while hanging onto the rope. The result was a minor bruise on my leg but that did not stop me.
I got to Whitevale knowing that once I got to the turnaround and came back, it would be past 17h00. I decided to keep going regardless, knowing that I will be able to make it back to the school before the 19h00 cut off. Gord looked at me as I was heading out and asked if I wanted a ride. I cut my eye at him and said "NO". I saw Rick, Gavin, and Coco at the 12K mark and Rick was surprised to see me still out there in the game. When I got to Sandy and Ted, it was 16h55. I immediately took off and got back to Whitevale at 17h15 just as Howie was briefing Mike S. that me, and two other runners were still out there. He saw me come sprinting across the meadow and advised me of what I already knew - less than two hours remain to make it to the school. I grabbed a drink and told him - as he was talking to Mike - that all I need right now is a can of whoop ass. That brought a smile to his face as he asked if I wanted to talk to Mike. While I would have liked to talk to the RD, I knew it would further delay me so off I went.
The the 4.5K stretch between Whitevale and Foreststream became a battle for me as I fought to get to the finish by 18h50. When I got to Forestream, Linda, Howie, Gord, Jan and Peggy were there to help me get on my way really quick. I declared that the previous stretch has worn me out because I was fighting to get to Foreststream as quick as possible. One hour and five minutes to the cut off with 6.5K to go...
The last of the major uphills were right after Foreststream. I set a goal to make it to the top of the final major uphill by 18h05. The hills were quite taxing but I did it. Once I hit the 5K marker, I wanted to get it done in 45 minutes. I was a little over my time though. Once I hit the water crossing, I knew I had to bring it home. The problem was that the flags were removed from the course, forcing me to concentrate on remaining on the trail and remembering which direction to go. Even though I did mark the course, I was tired from booting it all the way from the top of the course. My judgement would have been a little off at that point. Mercifully, I was able to find my way.
Once I got to the soccer field, I emptied my litter in the trash can and marched up that hill. With the finish line in sight, I started to sprint with all my might. I could hear Gord heckling me from the finish line so when I got closer, he got treated to my finger... hehe... Naturally, he was laughed at. I crossed the line in 11:57:16, seven minutes off but still happy for the finish. Rick and Gavin appeared afterwards and Rick told me that he did not think I was going to actually finish... I proved him wrong indeed...
After stretching and walking around, we cheered on Denise, a first-timer at the 78K distance who finished 20 minutes after me. I then waited around with Jim Mullenix who really kicked it up a notch and finished in under ten hours and was now waiting for his friend Thomas to finish. Thomas finished in 12:50. Thomas actually ended up being slowed to a walk after the first loop because he was undertrained. He was an inspiration indeed.
So, to sum it up, the first OUS race of the season was quite successful. It was great to get out with good friends, good weather, and lots of cheer.
Results can be found here.
All photos on this post were taken by Rene Garneau. All race photos can be found here.
Good job Gailanne! Impressive
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a stellar performance!
ReplyDelete"The old men" might think twice about heckling you!!!!