ENDURrun 2018, Stage 2: 15K TT

Today's stage was a 15km out and back where the runners start 1 minute apart in reverse of the finishing order from Stage 1. It's a fairly long time from the first runner's start to the last, but the runners finish in close succession.

I finished the stage in 1:05:03 today, moving into 3rd place female. 
There were no changes in the gold jerseys today, but there were changes in the top 5.

After Stage 2:

Men
1 Rob
2 Aidan
3 Dave
4 Nick
5 Christian

Women
1 Robyn
2 Valery
3 Vicki (me)
4 Lisa
5 Rebecca

The back held up better than expected today, it definitely wasn't perfect, but I thought it would be worse, so I'm happy about that.

It felt more tight/stiff than sore today, and didn't really get any worse. It seemed to limit my pace to around half marathon pace, but I could hold that for the most part, so I was OK with that. I'm hoping it wasn't just that it was a shorter stage today and that maybe just maybe it's getting better.

Tomorrow will be a real test of how things are feeling. It's a 30K rolling course, so if the back isn't happy, it's going to feel like a very very long day.

Photo by Reza

ENDURrun 2017 Stage 6: 10 Time Trial

This is going to be a quick on. It's Sunday morning, the morning of the marathon... so I need to get something up here before I leave for today's final stage!

OK.. the 10K.

Joel (H+P teammate) met me at my house around 7am and we drove to Conestogo. Parked the car by Lloyd's house, left a few things in the yard for post-race and then got shuttled up to the start in Elmira.

The race is formatted the same as Monday's race, so the runners start one minute apart, with the fastest runner starting last. My estimated start time was posted as 8:53, but since there were 4 scratches, I was now starting at 8:49. The other girls were starting 4 or 5 minutes ahead of me, due to some guys between us in the cumulative results as well as relay team and guest runners that are slotted in according to the seed times they provided. On Monday, I had the advantage of starting right after them, so I could keep an eye on what they were doing the whole race. This time, not so much. I couldn't see them at all.

I started behind Thaddeus (also from H+P), and Robyn (also H+P) started behind me. I wanted to reel in Thad and not be caught by Robyn. I never caught Thad, but I did close the gap a bit, and Robyn did not catch me. The 3 of us finished in the following times: Thaddeus 41:41, me 41:15, Robyn 40:25.

Catherine got me by 6 seconds, which I didn't know until the results were announced as I had no idea what she was doing since I couldn't see her. I'm actually not sure if I would have been able to tell a 6 second increase on a one minute lead, anyway.

Heading into today's marathon, I'm 9:45 ahead of Catherine, who is 5:26 ahead of Val. On the guy's side, Rob is 53:32 ahead of Nick, who is 44:20 ahead of Stefan. 4th place Andrew (who started a half hour late on Stage 1 and has been jumping up the list each day) who is 10:19 behind Stefan.

But.. that's enough about today's race! I need something to write about later on. :)

Have a good race today, all who are running! And for those who are following along, Thank you for your support and I hope you've enjoyed my little posts.

ENDURrun Stage 7 - Marathon

The 2016 ENDURrun has come to an end. Sunday, August 14th, was the 7th and final stage: the marathon.

The race started and finished at the same park in Conestogo where it all began one week prior, but the course was not the same. The ENDURrun marathon course is a 21.1 km loop that takes you from Conestogo, through Bloomingdale, Kitchener and Waterloo, back to Conestogo, run twice.

I arrived at the park around 45 or so minutes before race start, stowed my bag under a picnic table, said hello to various runners and volunteers, signed in, got myself ready, and lined up at the start. I spoke with Mark McDonald about potentially running with him, Alexandra, and possibly a couple of other runners, who were looking to finish in around 3:30. My arbitrary A goal was 3:30, but I would be perfectly happy with 3:30-anything. I lined up near them, but when the race started, they seemed to shoot out from the line. I wanted to ease into this race, not crash and burn. I did not want to be pushing this early. I ran the first 4 km fairly easy and slowly got myself into the pace range that I wanted to be in for the bulk of the race. Around 10K into the race, I started passing a few people. From 13K on, I was on my own.

I crossed the half way point in 1:46:00. I was hoping to maintain the pace I was running as I crossed half for the second loop, but at around 24K I could feel painful blisters forming on a few of the toes on my right foot. I think my shoe had gotten wet from throwing water on myself at a couple of the water stops. These blisters were very difficult to ignore and I started playing mental games to get myself to the next water stop (they were placed every 3K) and then I would allow myself a very short break to grab a drink and to get a bit of relief from the blisters.

Around 30K, I felt like I was really slowing down and was thinking that this race was going to go downhill rather quickly, but by 34 or 35K, I no longer noticed the blisters and was back to running around or just under 5 min per km.

The final 3K of this marathon, I was feeling great and ran well under 5 min for each of them. As I ran up the final couple hills up Northfield and was about to turn the corner to the finish, I knew that I was going to be finishing under 3:35. My official time was 3:34:04. My second loop was 2:04 slower than my first, which isn't ideal, but is definitely not too shabby considering the giant puffy blisters I found on my feet when I removed my socks and shoes.

It was great to talk with everyone about their marathon, their week, their journey, to share a bit of pool time, socialize over eating much delicious food, and then to share in everyone's success at the awards ceremony. This year, there were 38 finishers of the Ultimate division of the ENDURrun. A group of 38 people who shared a journey of however many steps it takes to run 160km.

The overall win for the week went to Rob and Angela. Mark Meyers and myself placed second, and Kyle and Hunter placed third. The Rookie awards (fastest time by a first time finisher) went to Patrick Voo and Hunter Kelly.

Full Cumulative Results.

For the sixth year in a row, I have truly enjoyed this week of racing, cheering, socializing, and comradery. It truly is an event like no other.

ENDURrun Stage 6 - 10K TT

Just like Monday, today's stage was a time trial, so the runners started a minute apart from slowest to fastest.

I was scheduled to start at 8:50 this morning, but wanted to get to Lloyd's around 7:30 to ensure I had a ride up to the start (it's a point to point race) and could leave my car at the finish. I was apparently excited and in a bit of a hurry to get there and I didn't realize it until I saw the police car sitting just off the side of the road and glanced down at my speedometer, that I was speeding (whoops!). I drove past the cop, and as expected... he pulled out.. on came the lights, and I pulled over. I got my very first speeding ticket ever. He asked me where I was headed and thought it was funny that I was on my way to a race... seemed appropriate.

So... after the interesting drive to Conestogo, I parked my car, put my bag in the backyard, and made my way into a car to get a ride to the start.

It was nice to watch people starting their race as I did a slight warm-up (it only totalled about a half mile, but I wanted to get the legs moving and a bit loosened up).

When it was my time to start, I headed over, waited until Lloyd counted me down, and I was off. Steve Schmidt was nice enough to come out this morning and ride his bike on the course. It worked out especially well when I no longer wanted to wear my hat. He took it from me and brought it to the finish. Thanks Steve!

I went into this race looking to finish around 45 minutes. My official finish time was 45:12. It was another super humid day today and I was absolutely drenched with sweat when I finished. At least I know I wasn't dehydrated!

This was BEFORE I went in the pool.

There were no changes today in the top three on either side. Now, with 117.8km down, we have one final stage to run tomorrow: the marathon. It's a two loop course, starting at the same park as last Sunday's half marathon, but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow!

ENDURrun Stage 2 - 15K Time Trial

Although today's stage started at 8am, only one runner was to start at that time. The runners each started one minute apart, from slowest to fastest based on yesterday's half marathon results (or seed times provided by relay and guest runners). I was slotted to start at 8:41, but due to some no-shows and some people who have had to drop out of the ultimate competition, I started a few minutes earlier.

Starting a race alone is very different than starting with a pack. It worked much better for me today, as I could head out at a reasonable pace and not get carried away and go out too fast with others around me. In this stage, since I started after some, but before others, the name of the game was to catch as many runners as possible and to try not to be caught. I almost thought I was going to make it to the finish without being passed by a single runner, but Rob passed me in the final stretch.

I ran a lot smarter today than yesterday, with fairly even splits. I finished the stage in 1:07:32, which was my fastest time on Stage 2 by two minutes and 15 seconds. I am very happy with that result.

Since the race started and finished across the street from the Race Director's house, we were able to take a dip in the pool immediately after the race, which was very welcome. There was some more delicious food today, as usual, which was enjoyed poolside.

There were no changes in the cumulative top 3 today. Rob has increased his lead over Mark to 19:30 and Angela has increase her lead over me to 12:31.

Although it's been fairly warm already, tomorrow, we will really start to battle the heat. The weather forecast is currently showing a high of 32 for tomorrow, 35 Wednesday, and 35 again on Friday. Hopefully they are wrong. One can hope, right? Hydration will definitely be top of mind for the remainder of this week.

Great work today, everyone! It's now time to rest up and get a good night's sleep before running around and around and around Bechtel Park tomorrow morning.

ENDURrun Stage 7: The Marathon

On the way to stage 7 yesterday morning, someone on the radio mentioned a heat advisory. What perfect weather for a marathon!

I already knew this was a "no pressure" marathon for me, which felt great.

I was going into the final stage in 6th place for the week, so top three was not a possibility unless something bad happened to those ahead of me, which I'm happy to report did not happen.

Earlier in the week, it looked as though I had a chance to beat my time from last year, but the slip 'n' slide that was Chicopee made that disappear. The only way I could get a personal best ENDURrun week would be to run a 3:22 marathon, a PR by 10 minutes. That would be an extremely tall order on a perfect weather day after a nice taper, let alone on a day with a heat advisory after already running 120km in the week leading up to the race. So since that was out of the question, I knew I could run a nice comfortable marathon, enjoy the day, and survive.

The start of the race was more conservative than I have ever seen it. I was happy that people looked like they were going to be smart out there. It was not the day to be reckless. Not that recklessness usually gets you anywhere... but a fast start often happens.

I was initially in a bit of a pack, which started to thin out after the first couple of kilometers. I then ran with Lumi for a while, up to maybe 5 or 6 k, and then ran the rest of the marathon with Joanne. It was great to have someone to run with. I truly enjoyed having company the whole time.

About 1km from the finish, telling the photographer (Jeff Wemp) that I was glad to see that he was still in the shade.. apparently I talk with my hands.

After we finished the seventh and final stage, I ran to my car to get the beverages for Joanne and myself that I had mentioned and promised earlier in the run, and then hung out with all of the other ultimates, guests, relay team members, family members, friends, volunteers, and the race director. What a great group of people to spend time with on a sunny Sunday morning and afternoon!

The week went by quickly, as it always does, and now it's unfortunately time to get back to regular life. I know many people are already planning for next year's ENDURrun. For me... I first need to focus on making sure my toe/foot heals properly, then get back at it and hopefully run a strong fall marathon.

Thanks to everyone in the ENDURrun community, both near and far. Although each year it is a little different and some years have more positive aspects than others, the positives ALWAYS outweigh any negatives that there might be. This week truly is a highlight of each year for me; I love summer camp for runners!

ENDURrun Stage 6: 10K Time Trial

Similar to stage 2, stage 5 is a time trial, with runners starting one minute apart, chasing people all the way back to Lloyd's house. There are some differences, though. Monday's stage was 15K and was an out and back. Saturday's stage was 10K point to point from Elmira to Conestogo.

I started at 8:43am and it was already quite warm and very humid. I was happy that it was a short and flat stage today both because of the weather and because of the body that was a little angry with me. My calves were tight and my foot was iffy. Not horrible, just iffy. At least everything seemed OK once I started running.

I finished the stage in 47:37, which is around a minute slower than last year, but I'm perfectly fine with that. I was thinking about the pool for a good chunk of the race, so that is where I went almost as soon as I was done.

Swimming, massage, food, more swimming, and then out for lunch with some of my fellow runners. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning and early afternoon!

In the evening, we were back at the Schmidt house for the traditional pre-marathon dinner/potluck, which is always a good time thanks to the incredible hospitality of Lloyd and Julie.

Going into the final stage, the marathon, I am in 6th place ultimate female with a cumulative time of 10:42:46. I am a little under 14 minutes back from 5th and 22 minutes ahead of 7th. In all likelihood, those positions will remain the same, but anything can happen. So, we will have to wait and see!

ENDURrun Stage 2: The 15K Time Trial

Today was so much better (for me) than yesterday!

I slept more (still not as much as I wanted to, but more), I woke up looking forward to running today's stage, I was well organized, and I felt ready to roll. This was a much better start to the day than yesterday... aka scatterbrain day.

The stage 2 format has a staggered start and I was scheduled to start at 8:32 am, so arriving at the Schmidt house just before 7:30 gave me plenty of time to put my post race stuff in the back yard, talk to other runners, do a very short warmup, watch some of the others start their races, and be ready to go when my time came.

A description of the stage can be found on my blog post from last year, but I'll give a super brief overview here. The 15 km course is an out and back, is quite flat, and has long straight stretches along only three roads. The bulk of the course is on paved roads, with the middle section on a gravel road.

Starting the race, I felt good; I felt happy and excited. My head was in it today, and that was definitely what I needed to happen. If my head's in the game, that's where the focus will be, not over-analyzing the little things that might not feel "quite right" with the body. Whether it was my head or whether my foot was actually significantly better today, I didn't have any foot pain aside from a bit of mild discomfort for a brief couple moments around 10K. 

Most of the race was relatively uneventful as far as how I was running (a good thing!). I had a great time out there today, the high fives were flying and the hellos and good jobs were plentiful. It is so nice to be able to see absolutely everyone on this stage! That is definitely a highlight for me.

Since everyone started at different times today, according to their expected finish times or placing from yesterday, the finish is a rapid succession of runners coming down the final stretch. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone coming in and it was interesting to see the actual results being updated and posted as we watched. Since the fastest runners stated at the end, the rankings of today's stage were constantly changing as more people finished.

In the results, Rob (53:41) and Victoria (1:01:03) won for the ultimates again, increasing their leads over second place; they will wear the gold jerseys again tomorrow. The H+P Men's A team won the relay again today, with Adam Hortian running 48:49!

From the race website: Stage 2 Recap and Results

I've never had a finish time so close to other runners at this stage. 5th (Joanne), 6th (Leigh Anne), and 7th (myself) finished with with very close times of 1:09:40, 1:09:46, and 1:09:47. This made me super excited (and perhaps a little hyper... sorry if I was a little on the giddy side, Leigh Anne! I'll be more calm tomorrow, I swear.) to think that perhaps I won't be running all by myself in some of the longer stages, especially the marathon. It would be great to have some company.

One other thing:
I don't recall if I mentioned the dead skunk on yesterday's course, but today has now marked the second day in a row with a dead skunk. If there's another one at Bechtel tomorrow...........

And on that amazingly appetizing note, I will leave you with the usual post-race food photo. :)

ENDURrun Stage 0 - Pre-Race Meeting

It's that time of year again... ENDURrun time!

This year seems to have absolutely flown by! I can't believe it's already August 8th and I have already been to the 2015 ENDURrun Pre-Race meeting at the Schmidt house.

Pre-Race Meeting at the Schmidt House

As you can see from the above photo, there is a large field this year. Now, that group of people also includes some spouses and friends, some Sport Contenders, relay team members, guest runners, as well as the Ultimate Contenders, so it is a little inflated, but there are also people who were unable to make it to the meeting tonight. We will not truly know the total number of athletes competing in the event until the stat of the race tomorrow morning at 8:00am.

There were 67 people registered to compete in the Ultimate, however, it is already known that 8 are unable to start for various reasons. This brings us to 59 ultimate contenders expected to compete in this event.

Last year was the biggest year so far, with 46 Ultimates toeing the line at Stage 1 and 42 completing the entire event. Unless an additional 13 people do not show up tomorrow morning, it looks like this will be a record setting year!

As usual, I will be blogging daily, providing some brief updates, some photos (they tend to be of the food...), maybe some links to various sources of info, etc.

For today, I will leave it at this... I look forward to seeing all of the happy/excited/nervous/anxious/terrified faces tomorrow morning morning in Conestogo!

The Swag. You gotta love the swag.

ENDURrun Stage 7: Marathon

On Sunday, August 17th at 7:30am, the final stage of the ENDURrun had begun. When asked by Sean (H+P coach) just before the start what I wanted to do, I said 3:40 or under. My fastest marathon so far is 3:32, so I was planning on something a fair bit slower than my PB, but with six races in the seven days leading up to this marathon, I figured that this was still a reasonable, yet reasonably hard goal.

I was quite happy with how I started the race this year. I kept it controlled, didn't go out too fast, and settled into a pace a little over 8 min/mile. After a few km, the pack thinned out and I was running with Mark McDonald, who was hoping to run around 3:40. Mark and I stuck together for 10ish km (but I could be wrong... I know it was more than 6, but less than 13), but then I ended up a little ahead of him, on my own.

I started to pass a few people once I got to University Ave, and a couple more on Northfield and I could see Catherine ahead, noticing that the gap was closing. As I ran through the start/finish at the half way point, I was just behind Catherine, who was one spot ahead of me in the cumulative results. Until this point, I wasn't even considering the possibility of moving ahead in the overall standings on this final stage of the ENDURrun. I was in 4th, over 18 minutes behind 3rd place heading into the marathon, so it would be a tall order to overcome that deficit.

I ended up passing Catherine around the 22km mark. As I went past, I asked if she was ok; she was having some muscle tightness in her leg. I wished her the best, and she offered some encouragement to me as well. From that point on, the race is a bit of a blur, with the exception of the final 10km of a painful stomach. I think I had too much Gatorade and I was paying for it. It was tough to run through that, but I was determined. I did slow down a bit, but looking at my splits, I can see that I would slow for a bit and then probably tell myself to suck it up and I'd speed up again. That happened a couple of times until it was less than 5K to the finish. At that point, I was able to maintain a decent pace. It wasn't quite the pace I was running at the start of the race, but it wasn't too far off. My first mile was 8:13, my 26th mile was 8:36 (and was uphill). I rounded the final corner, and ran across the finish line, with a finish time of 3:39:43.

I had finished the marathon in 3rd place for the ultimate females, but wouldn't know how I placed overall for the week until Catherine crossed the line. I hung out near the finish, drank my recovery drink, chatted with other runners, teammates, etc, and kept an eye on the time. When the clocked passed into mid 3:58, I knew that I had finished the ENDURrun in 3rd place, something that I did not expect at all going into this week.

My final time for ENDURrun 2014 was 14:06:52, just under 54 minutes faster than last year, and over 2 hours faster than the year before. I am very happy with how I ran all week and I look forward to continuing my training and hopefully improving even more for next year!

I had a fantastic week with everyone again this year. The race organizers, runners, the volunteers, family members, friends, and teammates were/are all so very supportive and were/are such a fantastic group of people to be around day in and day out. Thank you to everyone for making ENDURrun the summer camp for runners that I (and many others) want to attend year after year.

I'm sure all see you all again next year for my 5th year, but for now.... for the 4th time.... after 8 days, 7 stages, and 160km, I am still one tough runner.

ENDURrun Stage 6: 10K Time Trial

ENDURrun is getting dangerously close to being done for the year. This morning was stage 6, the second last stage of this event, a 10K.

This time trial stage starts in Elmira and finishes at the race director's house in Conestogo. It is a flat course with long straight stretches. It's a fast course, but it takes place the day after running up, down, and all around a ski hill and also the day before a marathon... those factors don't necessarily make the fast course a fast course. :)

I figured I would run 46 or 47 minutes today and I ran pretty much smack dab between the two, finishing in 46:38.

Although the cool temperatures have been great for running, it was cold after today's stage. Normally, when races finish at Lloyd and Julie's house, I immediately jump in the pool. Today.... I didn't even consider going in. I was way too cold. Instead, I threw on my jacket, drank my recovery drink while waiting in line for massage, then put on pants and grabbed a little bit of food.

I am still sitting in 4th place overall female, about 18 minute behind 3rd and 32 minutes ahead of 6th.

Tonight, there is a social event at the race director's house where the runners and volunteers have the opportunity to hang out, eat some food, talk about what has happened this week so far, and also about what to expect tomorrow (or possibly not about running at all.... but that doesn't happen often).

I'm looking forward to spending some more time with everyone this evening as we are nearing the close of our incredible week together. If you are one of the runners or volunteers reading this... See you there!

ENDURrun Stage 2: 15K Time Trial

I'm going to be a bit lazy today and quote the race website's stage description instead of describing it myself. Actually, I will call it efficient. Yes... efficient sounds better.

This flat out-and-back course on paved (70%) and gravel roads runs through Woolwich Township and takes you through countryside dotted with Mennonite farms. The peaceful and relaxing surroundings are among broad open field spaces where the land is still worked by horses. You’re sure to encounter the local horse-and-buggy traffic on this scenic run. The course starts and finishes in the quaint village of Conestogo at the Schmidt residence, and runs on some of the 10 km Time Trial course. Flat and wide open, you won’t be able to hide from your competition in this exciting time trial Stage.

Being a Time Trial, runners start at separate and consistent intervals, in reverse order of current standings.

Today, each runner started one minute after the last, with the first runner starting his race at 8am. At 8:39, and it was my turn to start the game of catch (or attempt to catch) the runners who started ahead of me while trying not to be caught by anyone who started after me. I passed a few runners today (4?) and I am happy to report that I was not passed by anyone in today's stage. 

My finish time was 1:10:44 (PB). I was 5th female today and I have maintained my 5th place position. There was no change in the overall leaders today, so the gold jerseys will continue to be worn by Mindy and Matt at the 30K stage tomorrow.

After writing this incredibly short post, it is time for me to get back to resting up in preparation for tomorrow's stage, which some call the real first stage of this race. But first... the obligatory food photo.

 

 

My platter of food that took me approximately an hour and a half to finish.

Great job out there again today, everyone! See you at Bechtel Park in the morning!

ENDURrun Stage 1: Half Marathon

Good morning (although it will be afternoon by the time I publish this blog post). It's 6:58am and I have a few minutes before my ride gets here, so I thought it was a good opportunity to quickly start today's blog post.

I am excited to get to the start line this morning and I'm looking forward to everything this week has in store. I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

........

It is now 3:27pm. I ran, I ate, I got a massage, I swam, had a beer, and now I'm home, sitting on the couch, drinking smoothie #2 of the day. Time to actually write this blog post.


The Race:

Stage 1 of the ENDURrun is a half marathon, starting at a park in Conestogo, running one ~13km loop on roads and paved trail through a golf course, then a smaller ~8km loop following a similar, but shorter route (obviously).

The race started at 8am with a record number of people this year. Although the registration numbers were not the highest (there were over 50 registered in 2012), it was the year with the most starters. Each and every one of the 46 registered Ultimate Competitors was able to run (and finish) today's stage! Already, this was shaping up to be a great week.

It was fairly cool (for August) at the start, which was fantastic for running. The sun was definitely out in full force and it did warm up in the second loop, but it didn't get overly hot. In fact, I finished much less sweaty than I normally am at the end of an easy summer training run!

My plan today was to keep each mile below 8 minutes. I had my watch set to only display the laps and not total, so if I looked at my watch (which I didn't do much) I actually didn't know what my pace over the whole distance was or how many minutes I was into the race, just the time and pace for the mile that I was currently running. I came very close to successfully implementing this plan.... one mile (mile 13) was 8:01. So close!

I finished the stage in 1:42:00, which was 6:59 faster than last year and 4 seconds slower than my fastest half marathon, but more importantly, it felt good.

Looking at the results, I see that there were a lot of great times today! It's going to be interesting to see how the week plays out and how the standings change (or stay the same... you never know!) throughout the remaining 6 stages.

The gold jerseys, which represent the top male and female contenders based on cumulative time, have now been awarded and will be worn by two newcomers tomorrow: Mindy Fleming and Matt Leduc.

Great job out there today, everyone! See you tomorrow in Conestogo for Stage 2!

I almost forgot to take a photo of my post-race food today.... as you can see, my watermelon was already consumed.

ENDURrun Stage 6: 10K Time Trial

It’s tough to run a 10K race the morning after Chicopee. My legs did not want to race today, but they had no choice (or at least I didn’t give them one) and my legs and I ran.

As with the 15K on Monday, this stage was a time trial, with runners starting a minute apart from slowest to fastest. Since the 10K distance is a popular one and since it is now the weekend, there were a number of guest runners. The guest runners submit their predicted finish time with their entry and are slotted into the starting order accordingly.

The course for Stage 6 is a point to point from a park in Elmira to the race director’s house in Conestogo. It is mostly on long stretches of country roads with minimal shade. The course is also a slight net downhill, so it does make for some good finish times.

After socializing in the parking lot for a while, it was my turn to start (I started 38th today). I waited for the countdown, while chatting with Lloyd for a wee bit… turns out he had my predicted finish time down as 47:33. Did he actually expect me to run that today? (My best 10K is 47:57)

I went out today, planning on running around a 50 minute 10K. As I ran along, I noticed that my pace for the first bit was a bit faster than I expected, but nothing crazy, so I wasn’t concerned about it and just kept running along, trying to find a good rhythm to maintain and keep going to the finish. It worked out well, as I only had 1 km at 5 min and all the others were a little bit faster. I finished the race in 48:19 and was 3rd female again.

I have my usual post-race food photo to include on this post, but I can’t seem to find my phone right now. I will add it to this post once I locate it.

[Edit: I found my phone, so here’s the photo.]

It was breakfast food day today.

ENDURrun Stage 2: The 15K Time Trial

After completing yesterday’s half marathon, the starting order for today’s stage was made based on the finishing times. The person with the slowest time from yesterday started first and the person with the fastest time started last, with each runner starting 1 minute after the last.

I started 11th today. I had some issues with my Garmin this morning, and as I walked up to the start line, I turned it on again (was trying to save battery life as it told me it was low earlier) and it shut right off again, I tried again, and it did the same, so I took the watch off and ran without. I always run with a Garmin, so I was a bit concerned how this would work out… would I go out too fast? Would I end up trying to run TOO conservative and not be able to get up to the paces I wanted to run? I guess time would tell.

As I headed from the start line, I held back and made sure I didn’t feel like I was doing anything all that “hard” at this point, I wasn’t going to try to pass anyone in this first stretch before the turn, just over 2km down the road. I felt good, and passed my first competitor (Susan) at around the 4km mark (I think) [Edit: Susan has informed me that it was not until 5K :)]. At this point, I decided that I was going to count how many people I passed and how many passed me. It was a while before I caught anyone else, but starting around 6km, I managed to start catching up with some more people. I kept counting as I ran along.

When I turned around the final corner, with just over 2km to go to the finish line, I had passed 9 and I realized that I had not been passed by a single Ultimate competitor and thought maybe just maybe, I could be the first Ultimate to cross the line (this of course does not make me finish the stage in the fastest time, but would feel pretty darn good). Just after I had that thought, Jack passed me. I was passed by another with 1 km to go, but I did manage to be the first girl to cross the line (ultimate or otherwise) and I managed to pass every single person who started ahead of me! I was very happy with that and very happy with my race overall. I finished in 1:13 and some seconds that I’m not sure about (I will update this when the results are posted), which was 6 minutes faster than my previous best time on this stage 2 years ago.

Running without a Garmin was different and, surprisingly, it felt really good. I think the time trial format helped out because I wasn’t alone on the course without anyone around me, I had people I wanted to catch and I had people that I did not want to catch me. I don’t think I’m going to give up the Garmin, but I will think about running without it from time to time. 

After the race was over, it was time for some fluids, food, massage, the pool, and results. The gold jersey will be worn by Stefan tomorrow for the men and Catherine maintains her overall 1st place position and will wear the gold jersey for the women.

As always, it was an enjoyable post-race experience. I had a great time at this morning’s stage. I look forward to Stage 3 at Bechtel Park with the good weather forecast. It will be a nice change from the rain last year and the year before. I should now go knock on some wood to make sure I didn’t jinx anything.

Great race everyone! See you tonight for some sushi and tomorrow for another stage of the 2013 ENDURrun.

Photos from today’s stage:
Pre-race – they were baking bread ON SITE!

My delicious plate of food. Well, I actually didn’t eat the potato… I accidentally dropped it in the pool. In case anyone was wondering… they sink.

Post race

ENDURrun Stage 1: The Half Marathon

As usual, I didn’t get to bed as early as I should have last night. I did some running around the house, locating items, gathering items, and packing items to bring to the race. I will make sure to be ready earlier for the remaining stages. At least now that my running stuff is more organized, it’ll be easier to be ready for the rest of the week.

Since stage 1 went better for me in 2011 than it did in 2012, I decided to have the same breakfast today as I did two years ago: a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and a banana as well as a cup of coffee. 

Ed and I pre-race in our ENDURrun swag from 2012 and 2011

I tried to run smart today. It didn’t quite go as planned, as I started quicker than I should have, but I felt like I did regain a fair bit of control and was able to finish strong. I feel as though I ran better than I normally do and had more “left in the tank” at the end of the race than usual. As a bonus, I even ended up with a new half marathon PB of 1:49:59! So far, I do not feel like I overdid it or anything today, but I guess the following stages will reveal whether or not that is true.

First place Ultimate finishers for today were Mark and Catherine, who will have the honour of wearing the gold jerseys tomorrow for the 15K time trial. I sit in 4th place of the ultimate females after stage 1, but anything can happen over the remaining 6 stages.

Now to rest, fuel, recover, and get ready to race in the 15K time trial tomorrow

But first… here are some photos from today’s stage.

New to 2013 – Menu board to specify which items are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc.

Susan, Dave, and Kyle post-race

Thanks for a great morning, everyone. Let’s do it again tomorrow!

ENDURrun Stage 7: The Marathon

The marathon is the 7th and final stage of the ENDURrun. It starts at the same park in Conestogo where the half marathon started last Sunday, but is a different courses. It’s a 2 loop course, so on the second lap, you know exactly where you are in relation to finishing, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing.

I had set out to run a 4:05 marathon today. At the 32 km mark, it was still a possibility, but when I had 8 km left in the race I knew it was no longer going to happen. I figured at that point that I’d be around 4:15. I felt a little sorry for myself, but then quickly realized that I was being silly. I had already run over 150 km since Sunday and only had less than 8 more to go. I was doing something that most people would never dream of doing and I was doing it well. My finish time would still be a good time and I should feel proud and thankful that I’m able to do this.
I plugged away at it and finished my marathon in a time of 4:12 and change.

I came. I ran. I finished. I'm very proud to say that in 2012, I am still One Tough Runner!

This was a fantastic week and I got to spend it with an amazing group of people. The runners and the volunteers are among the best in the world. Thanks to you all for another successful ENDURrun!

ENDURrun Stage 6: 10K Time Trial

After a good night’s sleep, I felt ready to face the next stage of the ENDURrun today. I actually woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off; it was nice to wake up naturally. I got up, made coffee, and breakfast, which today was a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana.

As I was eating my breakfast, I took a look at the cumulative results to this point. My cumulative time was 11:03:40 for the first 5 stages. Many months ago, I decided that my goal for this whole week would be sub 16 hours. Taking this into consideration, I had 4:56:20 to complete the final 2 stages (a 10K and a marathon) and still meet my goal. With this information, I decided that if I ran a 50 minute 10K today, I would still have 4:06:20 for the marathon, which is still possible. Last year I did the marathon in 4:08:41. My best marathon is 3:51:28 (Mississauga Marathon 2011) and I ran the Waterloo Marathon in 4:03:09 this spring. Hopefully, I have enough left in me to run a decent marathon tomorrow.

We left the house, stopped by Lloyd’s house in Conestogo briefly to see if anyone needed a ride to the start line in Elmira and we were on our way. This race is a point to point course, so it starts at a park in Elmira and finishes right in front of the race director’s house. The post-race food, massage tables, etc are set up in his backyard, waiting for us upon our return from the race route.

This stage was another time trial, so the runners all start at different times and then came in to the finish area fairly close together. Today, I was passed by 3 runners and I passed 3 as well.

I finished today’s stage in 50:48, so I was a bit slower than I wanted to be and well over a minute slower than last year, but this still leaves me with 4:05:32 to run tomorrow’s marathon and meet my goal of sub 16. It’ll be tough to do and I’m not 100% confident that I’ll be able to do it, but I will certainly try. My concern at this point is the fact that I’ve run all the road stages in more time than last year and this final stage is road. But, as I was discussing this with a fellow ENDURrunner today, it was pointed out to me that the trail stages were also the longest stages so far, so I’ve actually run the longer stages faster than last year and tomorrow’s stage is the longest of them all. Perhaps I have a chance after all.

And now, some photos:

My food photo looks a little sad today, but the food was quite good! In this photo there is orange hummus on a slice of bread, a piece of cantaloupe, a fruit pancake, a tuna sandwich, and some fruit salad.

Tonight, we will attend the barbeque to celebrate the last night before the final stage. I am looking forward to our wonderful dinner with the amazing company of the other runners, the volunteers, as well as their family and friends.

ENDURrun Day 5 (no stage): Rest Day

After last night’s “mountain stage” it is time for the mandatory rest day. I decided to skip going out for breakfast with the other ENDURrunners this morning so that I could stay in bed a little longer and also because I had a massage therapy appointment this morning at 10am and didn’t want to have to rush around this morning.

I made myself a smoothie with banana, blueberries, orange juice, and vanilla Greek yogurt before heading out to my appointment. On my way back from massage, I stopped at Tim Horton’s to grab a coffee (I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to make my own when I got home) and then made myself a late breakfast of a slight variation on eggs benedict and some roasted sweet potatoes with green peppers and onions that I had left over from the dinner I made a couple of nights ago.

This afternoon, Paul picked me up so that we could go for a swim at the race director’s house before meeting up with some others at the Huether for a late lunch and some beer floats. I tried to like the beer float, I really did.. but I couldn’t finish it. Is it an acquired taste?

Now.. some photos from the afternoon/early evening:

    

ENDURrun Stage 2: 15K Time Trial

After yesterday’s stage, I did not get to rest and relax as much as I would have liked. Ryan and I attended a wedding on Friday afternoon, so I only worked a half day that day. Since I’m off this week for the ENDURrun, I wanted to get caught up on some of the work I didn’t finish up on Friday. I ended up working for a good chunk of the afternoon, into the evening last night. At least now, I feel like I’ve finished up the work that I wanted to before going on vacation.

I packed up the few things I need for today (including a bathing suit for a post-race swim) and heated up my leftovers from last night’s supper, ate my dinner, watched a bit of TV, rolled out my legs on the foam roller, and then headed off to bed around 10:30.

At 5:55am my alarm woke me up. I was a bit more tired this morning than yesterday morning, but that quickly passed as I got up, made some coffee and got my breakfast ready. Breakfast today was a toasted whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana, coffee, and water.

I arrived at the race start (across from the race director’s house) about 20 minutes before 8am today, which was a bit later than I’d hoped, but since today was a time trial, it’s a staggered start, so I still had some time to get prepared for today’s stage.

For the time trial, each runner starts one at a time and one minute apart, starting with the person who had the slowest time in Stage 1 and finishing with the person with the fastest time from Stage 1. Since there are also guest runners and relay times, estimated finishing times provided at the time of registration allowed for an estimate in the placing for these people as well. The name of the game in the time trial is to try and catch those in front of you and to try not to be passed (or at least to not be passed by too many people).

I ran this stage quite well last year, so I knew going into today’s race that it would be difficult to beat last year’s time. I had a couple of issues with side stitches today, which kind of cramped my pace (pun intended) at certain points in the run, but they resolved and I was able to maintain a relatively steady pace throughout the stage, but I didn’t even come near to beating last year’s time. Once again, I came in 4 minutes slower than last year. Hopefully, I’ll kick my butt into gear and make up some time tomorrow at Bechtel.

The post-race action took place in Lloyd’s back yard, which has a fantastic pool and a lot of space for all of us runners to stretch out, get massages, grab some food from the food tent, etc.

When I first stepped back into the yard, I noticed that the cover was on the pool. I was a little disappointed, because I was hoping to jump right in after this stage, but then I noticed that Keenan (Lloyd’s son) had just walked into the yard and was heading over to the pool! As he was removing the cover, I was removing my shoes, getting ready to head straight over there. As soon as the cover was completely off the pool, I dove into the pool. Refreshing! After 15 or so minutes of hanging out in the pool, I went and grabbed some food. Shortly after I filled my platter, it was time for my post race massage, which really helps in the recovery. Thanks again to KW Health Connection for their continued support of this event!

  

When I went back to my platter of delicious food, I noticed that a wasp kept coming near, flying around, and checking out my food. It was quite interested in my slice of turkey and when I watched closer, I could see that it was actually working away, cutting out a chunk of the deli meat. The wasp flew away with its new found protein-rich meal and it was not long at all before another wasp was doing the same. The slice ended up with about 6 holes in it from the wasps.

After all of the runners had a chance to eat and most had a chance to get a massage, it was time for the results and announcements. There was no change in the gold jerseys today, so Bob and Jackie will be wearing them again tomorrow for Stage 3: 30K trail at Bechtel Park.

Most of the group disbursed after the announcements were completed, but I (and a few others) headed back to the pool, where I went for a quick swim and then relaxed, sitting on the pool stairs, letting my legs rest in the cool water, while I enjoyed the sunshine and a nice cold Mill Street Organic. It was a great way to end Stage 2.

My time for Stage 2 (as per my Garmin): 1:23:38