Spongy

For just a 25k race, Rugged Raccon left me pretty bloody knackered.

Ok, I admit that only getting about 3.5hrs of sleep afterward is probably a contributing factor.

I did run the following day, but kept it on the road and a little shorter - only 8k instead of the usual 12-ish for Sunday. My feet, calves, and hips were feeling the effects of fighting the mud all evening - my left hip, which has been grouchy for a few weeks now, was particularly problematic. I was lucky to have an appointment with my physiotherapist on Tuesday, though I didn't feel quite so lucky when he decided to do some dry needling on my external rotators.

I'll give you a photo of a trillium instead of a picture of someone sticking big needles into my butt.

I dragged arse through every run last week - the half-hour lunch runs on Monday and Tuesday felt hillier than usual, despite being my standard routes (there are only so many ways to get from Tanker's warehouse back to my office). My usually-speedy, almost-all-downhill Wednesday romp through the various bits of trail in Mississauga was slower and took an inordinate amount of effort.

Worth it.

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was in pure survival mode - a late, humid run in the post-rain air took everything I had to keep moving forward. 

Unlike the Speed River, I just couldn't find any flow.

With the Sulphur Springs 50k just 3 weeks away, I wanted to get a longer run in - the 25k at Rugged Raccoon was actually my longest of the year so far, apart from Stride Inside. On the strength of my one day off (Friday - which I actually spent mostly on my feet, between a bunch of short walks and selling a motorcycle), I knew I had to get after it on Saturday.

Which started off Sunny, if a bit cool.

I wasn't willing to give up running to the market, though, so I was up and out the door for my first 10k straight out of bed. After picking up 3 weeks' worth of goods (due to some fun plans coming up), a few errands, brunch and some other odds and ends, the sun had disappeared. I was also feeling quite tired, and nearly bagged off the long run until Sunday...but with nasty rain and wind predicted, I figured I'd just have to get it done however I could. I plotted a route, and set out under overcast skies with rain supposed to begin any minute.

First stage: out & back on the Mill Run Trail

The highlight of the first 12km was seeing a whole flock of fuzzy little goslings cross the road right in front of me!

NEEEEROOOOOOOOM

Across King and down the Linear Trail, where a single cherry tree by the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers flaunted its blossoms in the fading light.

Much less crowded than High Park.

A road leg down to the Delta, then back down to the Grand River on the Living Levee Trail with just barely enough light to run without a headlamp.

Which didn't stop me from nearly getting slewfooted by a wire dog leash.

Across the Park Hill bridge, then back up the same Grand Trunk section of the Walter Bean Grand River Trail that I'd run on to get down to the market that morning.

Same spot, taken about 12hrs apart.

Finally, across the (now fully lit) Blair Bridge and up the back of Preston Parkway.

Just one more hill left, but it's a bit of a doozy.

30km later - with more than 40.5 in my legs for the day - I stumbled into a shower, ate dinner, and collapsed into bed..

..then got up the next day and (after too big a brunch and a bit of a lay-down to settle my stomach) headed out again.

On a different section of the Grand River Trail

Conditions were not encouraging: only 7 degrees, with winds gusting up to 50kph from the east for a windchill barely above freezing. Knowing this would be more of a run-hike, I ended up in a full jacket and even running pants!

In May. SERIOUSLY.

In on-and-off rain, I dragged my sorry self around for another 2 hours, walking and hiking where the terrain or a head-on wind gust dictated. I didn't see another soul the entire time - everyone else was bright enough to stay home.

It was actually kind of the highlight of the "run"..

With almost 56km in my legs for the weekend, I was happy to return to just simple half-hour lunch runs on Monday and Tuesday, though even they felt incredibly difficult. Wednesday brought another mostly-downhill run through the creek valley (pictured at the top of this post), but it - like every other run since my "hero weekend" - was struggle bus material from start to finish. I almost called it, knowing that I had a bunch of packing to do when I got home..

YASSSSS

Instead, I got it done, and that just-shy-of-11k put me over 20,000km lifetime of running in the process - that's since November 10th, 2008, so it took me about ten and a half years.

This bus may struggle, but it does get around.
(Photo taken moments before the thunderclap that turned the last 2k into a tempo run)

Absolutely exhausted on Thursday - deep, bone-tired that had me ready to crawl under my desk at any moment to snooze for awhile - but I managed to kick my arse out the door for another 7.75km after we finished packing up the car. I was testing a new pair of shoes, but the aches and fatigue of the past few days made it difficult to gauge whether they were the source of some unpleasant twinges, or whether it was just my legs and feet being too beat up from my second highest mileage training block ever.

Only 1km shy of my peak week for the Sulphur 100k in 2017

You may wonder about my sanity at pushing this hard with only 2 weeks to go until a 50k - I know I certainly do - but I do have a plan. You see, we're going camping for the long weekend. We'll canoe in to our site this evening, and won't be home until Monday afternoon sometime. 

The original plan that was made months ago was that I'd run all weekend, since we'd be camping right beside a long trail and not moving from place to place each day. However, since the trail we'll be camping beside is the same damn muddy mess that beat me up so badly at Rugged Raccoon, I've decided it's time to finally take a break.

Taking a lesson from my kitten, though my belly isn't nearly as cute and fuzzy as his.

Yes, we're going back to Wildwood Conservation Area, to hit one of their backcountry sites on the south side of the reservoir. I did pack one set of running kit (which past history tells us won't stop me from going for more than one run), but I'm going to aim to not use it this weekend. After nearly 5 months of 6+ runs per week, I think I'm finally going to take a couple (or few) consecutive days off. With 1,183km in my legs year to date, I think I can afford a bit of a break to sit around like a sponge and absorb all that work.

Training is all about inducing stress on the body, breaking it down so it can rebuild stronger. That rebuilding only happens when you rest, so I'm going to do my level best to keep this weekend nice and relaxed - a bit of paddling, a bit of hiking (I wouldn't mind seeing that section of the trail in daylight!), and a lot of time spent with my sweetheart.

'Cause this guy is just the best <3

Have a fun long weekend everyone - be good, or if you can't be good at least be careful!