ENDURrun 2018, Stage 3: 30K

Yesterday was the first of the bigger stages of the ENDURrun. It was the 30 km cross country stage at Bechtel Park in Waterloo, a 5km loop with grass, road, hills, and trails, run 6 times.

My back was feeling much better, so I was cautiously optimistic for this one.

As I started running, I felt good, and was actually in race mode mentally for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, that didn't last the whole race. I fell out of race mode in the fourth loop. It suddenly got really hot mid-stage, but I'm not using that as an excuse, the drop in pace was all me.
I did still increase my lead over 4th place, which was my main goal going into this stage, so I'm happy enough with it. Hopefully one of these days I'll get back into (and be able to stay in) mental race mode.

First 3 laps were pretty consistent and solid:
(1) 24:11, (2) 24:14, (3) 24:16

The second half looks like a different race all together:
(4) 25:05, (5) 25:42, (6) 25:42

I finished in 2:29:10, which is again my second fastest time on this course (the theme so far this week). I also broke my streak of improving on this stage every year, but I knew that was going to happen. I hadn't put in the work to be at last year's level of fitness.

Standings after Stage 3:

Men
1 Rob
2 Aidan
3 Dave
4 Nick
5 Christian

Women
1 Robyn
2 Val
3 Me
4 Rebecca
5 Lisa

Last night, was sushi night, a tradition for the last 5 or 6 years, then a few of us went out for a beer afterward; it was both a fun and delicious evening.

Tonight is the 10 miler on a hilly road at 6pm, my least favourite stage, but at least it's a shorter one. Hopefully it's not super hot.

ENDURrun 2017 Stage 3: 30K Cross Country

It's Wednesday morning, but today's stage isn't until evening, so I'm catching up on blogging about yesterday.

Yesterday was Stage 3, a 30K XC race at Bechtel Park. The course is a 5K loop, which is run 6 times. It's not very technical and there are no giant hills, but the hills that ARE there can wear you down.

My goal/plan for the stage was the same as it is every year: to run even times on my laps. The time I wanted to run each lap in may change each year, but the plan of even laps is always the same. Some times it goes to plan... some years it does not.

Here are my lap times from past years:
2011:  (1) 28:33  (2) 29:27  (3) 31:23  (4) 32:43  (5) 35:30  (6) 36:42
2012:  (1) 29:48  (2) 30:40  (3) 31:06  (4) 32:17  (5) 33:27  (6) 33:26
2013:  (1) 28:54  (2) 28:41  (3) 28:13  (4) 27:58  (5) 28:01  (6) 28:33
2014:  (1) 26:50  (2) 26:48  (3) 26:47  (4) 27:07  (5) 28:38  (6) 28:21
2015:  (1) 26:22  (2) 26:55  (3) 26:46  (4) 27:28  (5) 27:23  (6) 27:20
2016:  (1) 26:06  (2) 25:37  (3) 25:52  (4) 26:46  (5) 26:22  (6) 27:06

As you can see, my first year was pretty bad. I was more than 8 minutes slower on my last lap than I was on my first! 2012 was significantly better, but still an almost 4 minute differential. I started to figure things out in 2013, which, I guess you can say about a lot more than this stage, my times dropped across the board in 2013. I started running smarter at that point and it's evident in my pacing for stage 3. The difference between my slowest and fastest laps in 2013 was less than a minute.

2014 through 2016 weren't as consistent, but finish times were quicker. In fact, stage 3 is the only stage that I've improved on year after year.

Back to this year...
I ran with Merzi for almost 5 loops. We started out together and had the same idea as to what we wanted to do for lap times and finish time, so we stuck together. We are very close in the cumulative as well, so I figured we'd be running about the same this day. We chatted a fair bit as we ran, but not constantly. It did help to make the time (and loops) go by more quickly. Thaddeus was coming up behind us, so before the end of lap 5 Merzi picked it up a bit and Thaddeus followed, I stuck to my plan of being even and let them go. I ran the last loop mostly solo, and finished in 2:23:32, 40ish seconds behind Merzi and Thaddeus, and first female across the line.

My splits for this year's race:
(1) 23:56  (2) 23:51  (3) 24:03  (4) 23:44  (5) 24:00  (6) 23:58

The difference between my slowest lap and my fastest lap was only 19 seconds! I'm very happy with my consistency on this stage this year.

There were no changes in the top three on either side, but there were changes in the relays! I don't know exactly what happened right now, but you can certainly check things out on the results page and also on the H+P site, since the bulk of the relay teams are from the club!

H+P at the ENDURrun

After the stage was complete, I had a nice lazy afternoon in the hammock until it was time to get ready to meet up with some of the other runners for sushi and then out for a drink. It was a great evening with good friends. 

ENDURrun Stage 3 - 30K XC

Yesterday morning, I woke up to the radio informing me that a heat warning had been issued for the region and would last until the end of the week. Great. Oh well, everyone is racing in the same conditions, we just need to be smart out there and hydrate hydrate hydrate!

When I arrived at Bechtel Park it was still quite pleasantly cool, but obviously that was not going to last. The sun was rising, and it was strong.

The race started out at a fairly conservative pace, which was exactly what I wanted to happen. Going out too fast on this long course is never a good idea. The first 4 laps, the temperature didn't seem too bad, but it REALLY heated up after that. Laps 5 and 6 were very hot when out in the sun, but the trail section gave some much needed relief.

My laps weren't as consistent as I would like, but they weren't atrocious. Here's how they went:

Lap 1, 26:06: started out with Catherine, who was running the first leg of the Schmidt Family Relay. She went ahead (of course) somewhere around the school yard section, I don't remember if it was before, after, or in. After that, I stuck just behind Val with Hunter just behind me for the remainder of the lap.

Lap 2, 25:37: Val picked up the pace and moved ahead, I picked it up slightly as well, but was well back from Val and ran solo for this lap.

Lap 3, 25:52: Solo until Jordan (Schmidt Relay) yelled at me while running around the soccer field that he was going to catch me, which he did about 1km or so later, just after entering the woods. I expected him to pass me and keep running, but was pleasantly surprised that he slowed down and ran with me. It was great to have company.

Jordan and I at the end of Lap 3: half way for me

Lap 4, 26:46: I ran this entire lap with Jordan as he was doing 2 loops for his relay. We ran this one a little slower than I probably should have, but that's OK. We were yapping the entire time that we ran together, which at the time I thought was a good idea, to keep the pace on the conservative side for the middle laps, but perhaps should have been more aggressive. But who knows.. that could have backfired with the heat in the final two laps.

Lap 5, 26:22: Lloyd started his relay lap and I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd have company again... but no... he wanted to run faster. :) This lap was run solo. The heat was rising, but I ran it quicker than the previous lap, so that was good.

Finishing

Lap 6, 27:07: This final lap was tough in the heat. I stopped at the aid station just after the start/finsh, grabbed two cups and actually walked to the first corner to drink them.. not because I wanted a break from running, but because I wanted to be sure to actually get the fluids into me instead of just spilling them all over the place. The sun was strong and it was hot.. I wanted to focus on hydration. After that severe slow-down, I got back to business. Running in the full sun for the first half of the lap made me feel like maybe my fitness wasn't where I thought it was... I was very happy that this was my last lap and was starting to do math of... even if I slow down to x pace, I will still finish under 2:40. I really thought I was going to suffer this entire lap. I walked through the aid station by the playground as well, drinking 2 cups, but then as I got going again and entered the woods, I felt so much better! It was amazing how much of a difference just getting out of the sun made. I felt strong again. I finished up my lap, and crossed the finish line in 2:37:49. I wasn't happy that my final lap was over 27 minutes, but when I thought about the fact that I walked through 2 aid stations, it made sense. I still would have rather run it quicker (obviously), but I'm glad that I was thinking about the conditions and making sure I was hydrating well.

I finished in 2nd Ultimate Female again today, 3rd female overall (Val of the H+P Women's Team was 1st woman across the line).

Post-race photos:

Lloyd reading the results

Listening to Lloyd

Platter o' food

Cumulative Results after Stage 3 (top 3):
Male:

Rob 4:04:27

Mark 4:45:44

Kyle 4:56:41

Female:
Angela 5:07:28
Me 5:24:19
Hunter 5:39:40

After the race, I saw emergency vehicles entering the park and I learned that a runner had gone down about 2K from the finish. We were informed in the post-race announcements that he had been taken to the hospital, but that he will be OK. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Justin!

ENDURrun Stage 3: 30K Cross Country

I've been a bit of a slacker as it's 11:43am on Wednesday and I haven't yet posted anything about yesterday's stage. Slacking ends NOW!

After significant rainfall on Monday afternoon, it was uncertain what the conditions of the course would be like for Tuesday morning's 30K, but it turned out to be in great shape! The conditions were fantastic. The trails were dry, it was mostly cloudy, there was a breeze that would occasionally shake some droplets of water off the trees onto the runners below, offering a bit of relief without getting drenched. I have absolutely no complaints about the conditions at all. It was pretty near perfect.

I started the stage in 7th place overall in the ultimate female competition, and finished in 6th. I came in 6th on the stage as well in a finish time of 2:42:11, which was over two minutes faster than last year. My splits weren't too bad, either: 26:22, 26:55, 26:46, 27:28, 27:23, 27:20
I went into the stage hoping for 27 minute splits. I did the first lap a bit too quick, but my average split time was 27:02 and I didn't slow too much later on, so I'm OK with that.
I was happy with how I ran yesterday and I truly enjoyed myself on this stage. I had fun out there, even with a confrontation with a raccoon. It kept things interesting and gave me an excuse for lap 4 being my slowest! :)

After finishing, drinking my recovery drink, getting some massage treatment, and chatting with other runners about their races, I finally sat down to eat some food.

Mmmm... food

There were no changes in the overall winners/leaders after stage 3. Rob and Vicky will still be in gold tonight for the 10 miler. I look forward to seeing everyone in a few hours!

ENDURrun Stage 3: 30K XC/Trail

Yesterday morning, after a night of much rain, the first big stage of the ENDURrun happened. It was stage 3, the 30K cross-country stage.

The course is a 5K loop. The first half is a bit of road then grass sections including some grassy hills and valleys, while the second half of the loop is on trails through a small forest. This 5K loop is run 6 times.
I went into Stage 3 hoping to run between 27:00 and 27:30 per lap, which would give me a finish time between 2:42 and 2:45.

I started out at a comfortable pace, making sure not to go out too fast. By the time we got to the first grassy section, I had settled in behind Catherine and decided to see if I could stick there, keeping her in sight for the remainder of the race.

At the end of the first lap, I looked at the clock and saw that it was a little under 27 minutes. I was glad that it wasn't too far below because I wanted to be sure I was running a pace that I could maintain for 5 more laps.

Photo by Natascha Kleinke

I don't remember the time on the clock after lap 2, but I'm guessing it was 53 or 54 minutes. I do know that when I crossed at the half way point, it said 1:20:xx and finishing around 2:40 was a definite thought in my mind. 

Continuing on, I still had Catherine just ahead of me with her bright shorts acting as a beacon to guide the way. It remained that way until about half way through lap 5.

Shortly after entering the trail section on the fifth lap, my vision started going wonky. I had some spots that I couldn't see. This has happened to me a few times before, so I knew it wasn't anything serious, but I also knew that it was a sign that my blood sugar was too low and when that happens, I need to take in some fuel. Although my body felt great and I felt like I could continue at the pace i was running, I made the decision to back off a bit, take a couple shot blocks (I carried some on me just in case... and I'm glad I did), and take some Gatorade and water when I went by the aid station which was coming up in 1.5 km. After I crossed the start/finish to start my bell lap, I walked through the aid station to drink a cup of Gatorade before continuing on. It felt silly to do that with only one lap to go, but I wanted to resolve the issue to be sure it didn't get worse. I had decided that I would rather have a slow bit of the race and finish strong than suffer (and barely see) for the final 7.5 km of the stage.

The vision was starting to return to normal by the time I entered the grass downhill on my final lap (just past the 1K mark) and by the time entered the trails for the final time, it was almost normal. I finished up the final 3.5 km and crossed the finish line in 2:44:31.

Although I did slow down (and my lap times definitely show it), I didn't lose my position in the race and I was still the next person to cross the finish line after Catherine... I just couldn't see her ahead of me during the final lap and a half.

I finished 4th female today (Stage 3 Results), but maintain my 5th position overall female in the cumulative results.

The lap times haven't been posted in the results yet, but according to my Garmin data, my lap times were as follows:

Lap 1: 26:48
Lap 2: 26:45
Lap 3: 26:52
Lap 4: 27:03
Lap 5: 28:46
Lap 6: 28:16

Post race, I had another large platter of food (actually, it was the smaller of the platters, but larger than a plate), which again took a really long time for me to eat. I'm generally not hungry right after I run, but during ENDURrun, I know that I need to start re-fueling to aid in recovery ASAP, so I force it down even if it takes me an hour to do so.

Congratulations to Pat Kelly and Angela Batsford on your stage wins! Although Mindy and Matt did not win this stage, they do retain the gold jerseys for stage 4 as they are still in first position for the cumulative results. The first and second male and female positions are only a few minutes apart at this point (3:01 for the men and 3:59 for the women), so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next two hilly stages.

The fun continues this evening with Stage 4, a 10 miler on the hilly Wilmot Line.

ENDURrun Stage 3: 30K Cross Country

Last night, I got to bed at a reasonable time, but for some unknown reason, I woke up several times in the night. I saw the clock at 2-something, multiple times between 3:00 and 4:00, and again at 5:00. I didn’t feel too tired when my alarm did go off at 6:00, but it was still frustrating to not have the good sleep I was hoping for.

Pat picked me up this morning and we arrived at Bechtel Park about a half hour before race start, which allowed a bit of time to get ourselves ready, chat with some other runners, and get to the start line without having too much time to get too cold (it was quite cool and windy).

My plan heading into today’s stage, which is a 5K loop run 6 times, was 31 minute laps. This would have me finish in 3 hours and 6 minutes, 4 minutes faster than last year. I wanted to be conservative, with the first lap nice and easy, and hopefully pick it up a wee bit and maintain consistent laps.

I felt very good out of the start, holding back and not going out too quick. I didn’t care if people passed me and I just kept to the plan and ran what felt nice and comfortable. Starting about half way through the first lap, I started running with or near Dusan, a man from my running group with Runners’ Choice who was running as part of a relay team today. He said he was hoping for sub 3 hours today (and that he did!). I was a bit concerned about sticking with him, but I felt like I wasn’t pushing it too hard, so I kept up. As we passed the start/finish line after Lap 1, I saw the clock and it started with 28. Hmmm… would I be able to keep this up?

Laps 2, 3, and 4 went by and I stuck with Dusan, but on lap 5 I went away on my own. I finished up the final 2 laps and crossed the finish line in 2:50:20, over 20 minutes faster than last year! I finished 2nd female today, but will stay 3rd in the cumulative results for the week so far.

I wore my Garmin today, but I was pretty good at not looking at it. I wanted to be able to look at my splits after getting home. I was pleasantly surprised at how consistent I was and was very happy to see that my first lap was my slowest, the second lap was my second slowest, and there was less than a minute between my slowest lap and my fastest lap. Today felt really good.

I was too cold after the finish today to really take any photos, but I did take one of my food. I ate a LOT today. As I told Chris Duke a couple times on the course… I was hungry.

Tomorrow’s stage is in the evening, so we have the luxury of a bit of extra recovery time after today’s tough stage. I am definitely looking forward to not setting an alarm when I go to bed tonight and look forward to a relaxing first part of the day tomorrow.

Great run today, everyone!

Phlox Run is Tomorrow…

But I’m not running it. I was tempted to… I wanted to redeem myself after last year’s silly dehydration race, but due to cost and timing, I decided against it. I’m writing an exam next Thursday, so I really shouldn’t be heading out of town to run at 25K race.

I’m not writing a blog post *just* to tell you that I’m that I’m not running a race tomorrow (although there’s not a whole lot more to this post), but I thought it was mentionable since I ran through some sections of trail this morning with phlox blooming on both sides. I took the above photo this morning at Bechtel Park.

Today’s run was nothing to write home about (although I am writing a blog post, so I guess it’s something to write to everyone about… hmm…), but it was a good run. I actually rode my bike to the park (just over 5 km) and then headed into the trails. It was my first time there since early fall.

I started out heading into the trails and was thinking that I would just run around in the trails for a while and not do anything too specific, but once I got in there, the familiarity took over and I started to run the race course for ENDURrun stage 3.. mind you, starting mid way through an actual loop. The familiar twists and turns put a smile on my face and even the pesky downhill that I took shoulder first last summer, causing me to hit my knee on something and have knee pain for months.. yes even that hill made me smile… although I noticed that I took it quite cautiously every time I went down it.

After I made my way through the trail section once, I decided I should run one actual full loop of the course, so out of the trails I went, making my way around the park, down into the meadow, and even running around the school yard to the approximate locations I recalled being the actual course (without the flags, it’s a bit less obvious), making my way back to the woods. As I entered the shady wooded area, the all-so-familiar relief of being in the shade after being out in the open came over me and my smile got even bigger.

I only did the full loop once, and finished up just with one more round of the trails before calling it a day. I stood by my bike for a minute after I was done, sweat dripping off of me, and was happy. I then hopped back on my bike and rode home.

I’m looking forward to racing at Bechtel this summer. Yes I am.