Sulphur Springs 50K Trail Run - These Trails are my Peeps!

I did it - my first 50K!  It's an ultra marathon, because a marathon is only 42K.  I've never even done a marathon before, only a 25K.  So I did my first marathon and my first ultra marathon on the same day.  I know what you're thinking...how smart I am.  I know. 

I didn't have a very fast time.  First of all, about a month before the race I found out that my iron levels were so low they were nonmeasurable, and I knew they wouldn't get up anywhere close to normal before the race.  So right away I knew I wouldn't be able to get a fast time.  But usually whenever I do a long distance for the first time, my goal is only to finish upright and smiling.  If I do it again, that's when I hope to improve my time.  And this time I also had to deal with IT Band pain at 30K.  So I was just glad that I finished.

I love these trails and I run them so much I feel like I know them intimately.  As I was running them, I thought affectionately, "I know these trails so well, they're my peeps!"  (You have to think of SOMETHING when you're running for multiple hours in a row with no one to talk to!)  That helps when you're doing a race.  I knew what to expect and how much farther I had to run.  That doesn't mean I ever looked forward to running up the Martin Road hill, though.  Let's not get crazy, here.

It's an interesting experience to run for seven plus hours in the forest.

I have never felt as anxious as I felt about this race, and it started two full days before the race.  We're talking full-blown panic here.  I guess it was just because it was the biggest race (by far) I have ever done.  My previous races were all 25K - half the distance!  I think I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to do it.

Also, my friend and running partner wasn't able to do it with me, as she hurt her knee.  I was worried about being alone on the trails for so long.

I forgot about the running community, though; how supportive they are.  So many people who ran by me would say, "Good job!", "Looking good!", "Way to go!"  It was so nice.  I wasn't alone at all.

Before the race I vowed to try and just record all my observations in my head so I could write them in my blog later.  It's fascinating to observe all the different dynamics and personalities in a race.  One man immediately whipped out a camera and began taking pictures.  He explained, "If I don't take pictures my wife thinks I'm out drinking!"  Another woman said to her friend as they began, "I feel anxiety!"  (I hear you, sister!)

I saw two runners puking by the side of the trail.  I saw a man carried off, clearly in pain, by other runners.  I saw runners crying.  I saw runners trying to stretch out legs that must have been cramping or hurting.  I asked one runner if he had knee pain like I did, and he replied, "I have pain EVERYWHERE."

This may have contributed to my changing mindset.  I've heard talk of how your mind can run off, and it was funny to watch the highs and lows.  For example, my knee was really hurting by 40K, and also I was feeling back pain and pain in my left foot (no idea what that was all about). 

So my thoughts were going something like this: "Why am I doing this?  Why does ANYONE do this?  It's crazy!  I'm hurting myself.  We're all lunatics!  What is the POINT?  You know what?  I am just going to start volunteering at these things...forget about running them!  Hey, wait a second....I think I just passed the 42K mark.  That means I just ran a marathon!  Me!  I did it!  I just ran a marathon!  I LOVE RUNNING!!"  Then I would laugh at myself for being even more of a lunatic. 

Another fascinating thing is that these changing mindsets have continued long after the race.  For example, the night of the race and the next day my legs were in serious pain.  It was hard to walk.  I was 'walking' like either a heavily pregnant lady with back pain or an elderly person who needed a new hip.  Again I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this to my body?  I will NEVER run that distance again.  I mean NEVER.  I will just be happy with doing shorter runs."  And then once the pain subsided, suddenly I thought, "Too bad I got such a slow time.  Maybe I should do it again to try to improve my time?" 

Hmmm, so I can't blame the craziness on race fatigue....I guess it's just me, right?  Don't answer that!

My Second 25K - Sulphur Springs Trail Race 2012

I ran the 25K Sulphur Springs Trail Race held in Ancaster, Ontario on Saturday May 26th, 2012.  The weather was pretty much perfect; it wasn't muddy at all like last year.  There were several improvements made to the trails.  It was a little warm but not too bad.

I came in at 2 hours, 48 minutes.  This made me happy because I took 30 minutes off my time from the previous year.  I'm not doing the races for speed; I'm just happy to do the distance and enjoy myself.

Even though I was pushing the pace a bit this year, I still took the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the trails and I didn't completely push myself because I didn't want to get injured.

I saw several people trip on roots and I almost fell myself.  My friend broke his foot on a root, unfortunately.

I saw a male runner peeing right on the trail; he was standing beside a tree but the tree was literally on the edge of the path.  Hmmm...can women take a minute or two off their finish time for bathroom breaks that men don't have to worry about?

I only grabbed water from the aid stations.  I would have grabbed some food near the end if there had been any there, but there wasn't.  I don't know why.  I was glad I had brought some electrolyte tabs and sport energy beans in a pocket.  However, it's not easy to get small items out of a back pocket while you're running and I wouldn't really recommend it.  Although it's easier to face Martin Road if you have a little boost!

Overall it was a great race.  Beautiful trails, a personal best, and hey - the flip-flops with the race route on them are pretty cool too.

Sulphur Springs 25K Trail Run 2011 - Done!

I did it!  Yesterday I ran the Sulphur Springs 25K trail race.  The only other 25K I have done was last year's Run For the Toad (see earlier post).  It was raining for that race, and the conditions were extremely muddy.  The only thing I wanted for this year's Sulphur Springs was that it not be muddy.  Well - so much for that.  With all the rain we've been having and the cold weather, there were some very muddy parts.  It looked like the race organizers had tried to help by putting some gravel down in certain patches, but they couldn't cover all of the patches.  At least it didn't rain hard during the run - it was more of a light mist to start off with, which eventually disappeared.  The mist actually felt very good as I ran.  And it wasn't as muddy as the Toad, because there were lots of long sections which were perfectly fine to run.  But there were some long patches where the mud was so deep you were afraid you would lose your shoe to it, and then the mud would build up on the bottom of your shoes and you would be skating instead of running.  I saw one guy slide backward at least three feet and then fall on one hill.

Anyway, at the beginning of the race I came up with a slogan for the day: 'Embrace the Mud'.  So that's what I tried to do.  I just ran right through it.

Initially I was worried I wouldn't even be able to run the race, because my shins had started getting sore about 10 days prior, and they seemed to keep getting worse.  I was resting them from running, but I was still doing other things like boot camp.  Anyway, luckily my MMA and runner friend showed me how to tape up my calves and told me to get some Tiger Balm, and that felt so good - I highly recommend it.  The tape really helped and I ran the whole race feeling great.  My goal was not to get a fast time (which, okay, I probably couldn't get even if I wanted to - I'm not there yet!), but just to finish the race and not be injured afterward.  I like the idea of crossing the finish line feeling good and strong and still smiling.  I wanted to feel good and be able to dance at Lobsterfest that night and that's what happened.  I finished in 3:19 hrs.

I have some great memories from the race.  At the beginning of the race, the whole forest was very quiet except for the sound of runners breathing and the different noises our feet made when we would go from running on the hard-packed trail, to the mud, and then on to the gravel.

All the rain had made the forest very lush and green, and there was dark green moss and light green ferns everywhere, and huge blankets of blue and pink flowers around all the trees that were beautiful.

The mist made it feel like I was running through a rainforest, and it darkened all the bark on the tree trunks and etched out the lines on the green dripping leaves.

I really like how runners are so kind to each other; many of them yell to others as they pass: "Good job," or "Well done!"

We met one man who said he had run the trail previously as a blind runner but had just received a bionic eye and could see the trail well for the first time.  He said the trail was beautiful.  He was almost 70!

I met another man who was beside me as we ran/walked up Martin Road hill.  He puffed, "We're almost done.  We'll feel normal again in a week!"

I said nonchalantly, "Oh, a week - is that all? Pffft!"

The best remark came from another woman (who I can only assume was a mother) as we huffed and puffed, sweaty and muddy, up an incline.  She muttered, "There's got to be a better way to get some time for ourselves!"

I mean, some women go shopping.  And I guess some would compare the thrill of achievement of finding a great pair of shoes on sale to a 25K.  But although everyone can buy a pair of shoes, not everyone can run a 25K.

So I'll take my second 25K.  It was a great race!