Stride Inside 6-hour Indoor Track Ultra - Saturday, January 5th, 2019

It takes a special kind of idiot to show up for an ultra both under- and over-trained. I, friends, am just that idiot.

Oh look, a curve! I wonder if I'll see one of those again any time soon..?

It wasn't especially encouraging when I stepped out of bed onto a sore ankle. Nonetheless, I skirted up, made some oatmeal, and proceeded to support the families of those hard-working kinesiology tape producers in the hope their fine products would in turn support me.

Confidence inspiring, no?
(Not pictured: another strip on my right high hamstrings/adductors, 'cause noone wants a photo of my butt.)

Off to Marden and the track with a T.Ho's coffee in hand, we arrived just before 8am - not long after the race directors themselves, as the track doesn't open until 8. I got my race kit - with a soft Stride Inside tank top, a Happy Trails porcelain mug, a packet of Endurance Tap gel, a single-serve packet of Skratch Labs drink mix, and a tiny bag of jellybeans in the reusable Happy Trails bag - and my number, in the new smaller format that made its debut at this race. Good stuff!

The rest of the hour before race time was the usual greeting of friends, swinging of limbs, use of washroom facilities (which are both ample and beautifully maintained at the Royal Distributing Athletic Performance Centre) and whining about being approximately 60% kinesiology tape by volume. My only goal was to try to make an ultra of it by running more than 42.2km - some rough math-ing told me that 200 laps would do it, equaling 43.0km by Race Director Jeff's 215m measurement of the inside lane with his treadwheel.

Pre-race meeting and announcements, one last pee, then strap on the timing chip and away we go.

Reza - pictured beside me - ran an incredible race!

There's not a whole lot to say about this one. I was happy to run - and sometimes walk - with friendly people all around me. I got to chat with folks I'd not seen for awhile, and get acquainted with some others I was just meeting.

Hanging out with Chocolate Race Director Andrea - can you believe this amazing woman ran 500+km at Vol State and another 250km at the Gobi March all in July of 2018? 

The start/finish/timing mat area, heading counter-clockwise

I actually started the race off a little hungry, despite a solid bowl of oatmeal doused in OUTRace manager/administrator Pierre's maple syrup in the wee hours, so began nutrition around 25mins in with a swig of EFS Liquid Shot from a flask I left on the window ledge by the track entrance. I had left my bottle there initially as well, but the dry air of the track had me picking it up by the 15min mark and running with it for the rest of the day. I was also smart enough (!) to set a small flip-top bottle full of S!caps on the ledge with the flask, and started taking one per hour (-ish) at the 30min mark. Everything else stayed in the UltraCoolerTM in the room off the foyer, where Tanker was operating the aid station with his usual efficiency and friendliness.

So many people owe so much of their racing success to this guy right here <3

Of course, it couldn't be all sunshine and rainbows - my stupid ankle started to whine by a half hour in. It shut up for awhile here and there, but definitely complained early and often - during the last hour it was basically a constant force tempting me to pack it in. The right hamstrings that had been causing me grief seemed to hold up ok with the tape, but when we changed direction from clockwise to counter-clockwise at 90mins (half an hour after the end of the 1-hour race ended, but just as the 3-hour race was beginning) my left hamstrings/adductors got grouchy in the exact same spot. Oh, and I developed a hot spot under my left big toe - same spot as that shoe/insole combination had generated one at the Niagara Ultra, despite them never giving me grief in between. Booooo.

My braids also apparently started wicking sweat from my head and depositing it on my boobs.
I literally had no idea until I saw the photos afterward.

Nutrition clicked along pretty well, taking in something every half hour or so - generally a slurp of EFS Liquid Shot on the 30's and some real food on the hour. All told I had 5 S!caps (I think I missed the 3.5hr one..), a full flask of EFS (25m through 3h30m), 2 of my salted maple crisp rice squares (1h, 3h), a piece of back bacon (2h), 2 chunks of banana (2h, 4h), 2 Endurance Tap gels (4h, 4h30m), then a chocolate outrage caffeinated Gu gel for a bit of jet fuel (5h) and finally 2 clear gummy bears at 5h30m just to keep me going. About 950cal over the 6 hours, or 158cal/hour. My belly felt fine the whole time, though I did get hungry again by 3 hours in and stayed that way. I had brought turkey wraps with mustard and chocolate chip cookies, but in the former case I didn't want to stop long enough to eat one (as food is not permitted on the track, I tried to finish eating in the aid station room and only bring water on course), and in the latter case I was just damn lazy - I hadn't opened the box of cookies and just couldn't be stuffed to do so. They remain un-opened to this day.

Pictured: a sloth in a somewhat convincing human suit.

I did take my phone out on the track for a single lap (as you can probably tell from the insipid selfies), then ditched it so I wouldn't have to carry it anymore. I tried to keep moving pretty efficiently most of the time, but I know I did hang around the aid station room much longer than I would have if I'd had any real performance aspirations. Smooches seemed more important than one more lap.

It's not my fault - he really gives amazing kisses!

It got more and more difficult to keep myself running as time wore on. With no runs of more than an hour's duration for almost 2 months, plus a recent dramatic increase in overall mileage with virtually no rest before the race, it rapidly degenerated into a bargaining game: run 15 more minutes until the change of direction, then you can walk. Run 10 more laps, then you can walk. Then it was run 9 laps, walk 1...then 8 laps, and walk 1...then 4 laps and walk the 5th..

Just strollin'

After each walk break it became increasingly challenging to stir myself into a run again, particularly past the 4 hour mark. Given my lack of long runs in recent weeks it wasn't terribly surprising; to be honest I was actually a bit astonished at how well I was able to keep moving right to the bitter end, even though it hurt like hell as everything protested. Even a muscle in my chin went all weird and twitchy, as well as the usual suspects like hamstrings, glutes and my crappy, cranky ankle. My crankle. Yeah, that's it.

Hurtin'

I also rather needed a washroom in the last hour, possibly spurred by the caffeinated gel I took at the 5-hour mark to try to regain some semblance of sentient life. I did not, however, bother leaving the track except to grab those two gummy bears at 5.5hrs for a bit of sugar to finish the day; I just couldn't be stuffed to waste the time when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get in the 200 laps I wanted.

With about 20mins to go, I saw Tanker out on the track and decided to invite him to walk a lap with me as he'd done last year. He'd disappeared by the time I came back 'round, but I asked Race Coordinator Heather to grab him for me and bring him out to take a lap, which she kindly did - we walked lap #198 together, then I actually got myself running again and finished my 200th with about 12mins left to go.

Crap - what do I do now?

If you know me at all, there's only one answer: stagger on regardless. I figured I'd try for 205, but even with walking #202 I still had more time, so I pressed onward - I actually ran the final 6 laps straight, despite not having run more than 3 without a walk break for some while beforehand.

Official distance: 208 laps / 44.72km @ 8:02/km

6/18 Women - 26/44 O/A

(Full results are here)

Sporting my snazzy new medal and so, so happy to be done.
Workout data - only from an activity tracker rather than GPS - is here.

I strongly suspect I may have had a lap or two missed - I know other people definitely did, and my 2nd lap shows a time that would have allowed me to complete 2, with no recollection of having walked at all on my 2nd lap. The timing setup apparently has its limitations, but I'm quite pleased with what I was able to tally anyway. 

The best part of all was definitely afterward, though.

Jet tubs full of Epsom salts and curious kittens should be part of everyone's ultra recovery.

In spite of the horrible soreness in my ankle/achilles throughout the day and particularly the final hour, I was able to get out for a short, slow run around noon the next day, and have run every day since until today (I'm taking my damn Friday off, thank you!). I've also begun working with a new physiotherapist who has some ideas about treatment for my crankle, so here's hoping he and I can make some progress!

As for the race itself, it's a fabulous way to get a solid long run in during the depths of winter (though it wasn't particularly wintry on this occasion), and the Happy Trails team does an amazing job of ensuring a fun, welcoming event that will send you home with a smile on your face and a load of great swag. Race Coordinator Heather even hand-made the trophies for 1st-3rd place men and women in each race: now that's love for you! They also raise funds for a variety of charities along the way; Stride Inside specifically helps to support a shelter for women in crisis. Happy Trails have a ton of new races on the docket - plus many returning favourites - in 2019, so I hope you'll consider joining in the fun!

Putting my new mug to good use with a life-giving cup of coffee before the next day's slow, hurty run.