Tally in the Valley Trail Race 6-hour - Saturday, July 27th, 2019

The plan was simple: just see how long my feet, ankles, and body in general would actually let me go.

How bad could it be?
(NB: if you're looking for detailed course info, you'd be better to see last year's report)

My "taper" was running 8km instead of 11km on Wednesday, and 5km instead of 6+km on Thursday, during a week in which I put in more than a full day's worth of overtime at the office. To make things extra special, I messed up my right ankle in a new and exciting way one week before the race (and tweaked it again on Wednesday evening), so a large portion of my race morning prep looked like this:

Now that's confidence inspiring!

I figured I could make it at least one lap, though, and get my heckin' medal. So, we jammed out through the morning light to Dundas Valley Conservation Area, prepared for carnage - not only would the course be run in the opposite direction to last year, it was predicted to be ever-so-slightly on the warm side.

Thanks Mother Nature!

Fortunately, I was prepared with some cooling strategies to help keep me from overheating, and I wasn't planning on going hard anyway - this was only ever supposed to be a supported long run day, so my goal (if my body would allow it) was simply to try to get in a lap per hour of the 7km course for the full 6 hours.

I got to say hi to loads of friends who were either also running, volunteering or simply showed up to witness the spectacle of the 6-hour, 12-hour day, 24-hour and Gong Show races; hit the portajohns a couple of times; dropped off the UltraCooler™ in the drop bag area; and did my wild flailing of limbs to get things used to moving. I had to hide between a rented cargo truck and the back of the drop bag tent to make sure I didn't hit anyone, as the crowd was immense!

Pre-race announcements

I did my best to get toward the back of the throng of humanity so I wouldn't be in too many people's way when we set off, but the hill above the start/finish alley was packed. I eventually just settled for hanging out with friends.

Well, and some seriously unimpressed looking people behind us.

A moment or two later there was a horn and movement as we all began to walk, then run a bit to start the race...and then down to a walk again less than a minute later as we came to the first of the hills.

The first couple of kilometers have the most elevation in this direction

It turned out that the course was in great shape - a couple of small muddy patches, but nothing that the passage of feet wouldn't dry out very quickly.

No big deal.

Sticking with the plan, I went out super easy - walking anything that even resembled a hill, just taking in the beauty of the trail on a sunny summer morning. My chronic high hamstring issue was grumpy (as usual), but while I'd heard some complaints from the new ankle injury off the start, it had quieted down almost immediately. I was grateful, and hoped it would last.

The only other mud spot I recall - still pretty small potatoes.

What was less encouraging was just how hot it felt even during the first lap, which I came through in a decent time of around 54mins. The sun was like a blowlamp and the humidity made the air feel thick to breathe - I was more soaked than I could remember being in a race since Iroquoia Trail Test back in 2016, when overnight and morning rain turned the forests to pools of mist.

None of that on this day - just endless scorching sun

We couldn't escape it for long even in the forest

I was super grateful when I came through the start/finish after my very first lap and found that representatives from Anytime Fitness were there as promised handing out freezies to all runners.

OMNOMNOM

That was the start of some of my questionable nutrition strategy, which ended up working out ok but had the potential for disaster. I'd got off on the right foot by taking in a swig of EFS Liquid Shot from the flask in my pocket around 30mins and an S!cap somewhere around an hour in, but then I started adding in weird stuff - the grape mini freezie at 55mins, a chocolate ginger "powerball" after my second lap, more freezies (jumbo ones cut in half) as I completed further laps, a shot of pickle juice (which sounds weird but is delectably salty on a hot day after a lot of sugary stuff), a small cup of ginger ale (I almost never drink soda at all, let alone during a race), and a few chunks of watermelon. I knew that the freezies probably didn't have the 100cal I wanted to get into myself every 30mins, but didn't realise quite how low-cal they really are: the jumbo ones are only 70cal, and I was only taking in half of one per lap. I did also supplement with my own foods: a sea salt maple crisp rice square after my first and 4th laps, a piece of shoulder bacon after my second lap (which took me around 57mins as I stopped at the UltraCooler™ to grab my bacon & crisp rice squares after completing my first lap), and a couple of extra swigs of EFS Liquid Shot. However, all of that only totaled about 900cal, if that - closer to 150cal/hour than the 200+ I should really shoot for.

I also helped myself to some of the massive bounty of raspberries on course!

Fortunately, things went reasonably well regardless of me playing fast and loose with my fuel intake, partly because I kept up with hydration - after the first lap, I started to make a stop at the water tap by the trail centre around 2.5k into the course to top up my hand bottle before hitting the long section of rail trail.

Bottle filled and ready to fly!

Because the course ran the opposite direction from last year, the almost-2-kilometer-long rail trail portion was a gentle downhill slope. I was mostly exposed, but did actually have some welcome pools of shade along the edges for most of the day.

Or - in this particular case - a bit of overcast.

I'd love to say that I was able to turn on the jets here, but we all know that isn't the case - I did, however, run every step of the rail trail on each of my laps. As the day wore on it got harder to do so, especially as the 2-3% grade didn't feel like a downhill, but since I knew it to be one I was able to convince my legs to keep turning over.

Photo by the awesome Sue Sitki

Much of the rest of the course was lovely and shady as well, which was definitely an asset as the sun and temperature climbed as the day wore on.

The course did some climbing of its own.

I stayed fairly consistent through laps 3 and 4, coming in at 56.5mins and 57mins respectively (with a quick stop in between to drop off my phone at the UltraCooler™ - the only other time I'd actually use it during the race) for a cumulative time of 3h45m. Apart from getting my bottle filled at the start/finish each lap, I was also getting the wonderful volunteers to help pack ice into...well...everywhere I could fit some. Apart from the pockets on my cooling shirt, I had my cleavage packed so full that I clanked, and some ice in my bottle provided cooling through both contact with my hand and by drinking the lovely cold water.

MOAR ICE PLZ

Rhonda was an aid station champ!
So grateful for friendly, energetic volunteers.

A couple of brief sprinkles of rain during my 4th lap were a tease, as they were over in minutes and only served to add to the humidity. I was gobbling up the S!caps trying to keep my fingers from sausaging to the point of immobility, but with only managing to remember to take 7 of them between 1h and around 5h10m (when I made my last stop at the water faucet and gave my second-to-last one away to another runner who was suffering in the heat) I was distinctly swollen in the digit department for most of the day.

My feet, however, love the softness of the needle-coated floor in the pine forest

Another sunny climb

While I was trying my best to keep an eye on my stride mechanics (after recently having discovered some glaring inefficiency), lap 4 also saw me tweak my right groin a bit while running down a hill. It wasn't enough to stop me, but it definitely didn't feel either confident or comfortable for awhile. My adductors were also complaining pretty loudly about the change in my muscle recruitment after having been allowed to be lazy for weeks, if not months.

Stupid treasonous body!

At least I had Tanker smooches to look forward to each time I came through the start/finish.

I was happy to come through my 5th lap in a somewhat respectable 59.5mins after having to wait in a sizeable line at the water tap to refill my bottle, but from the rail trail onward my cranky right ankle made itself a real nuisance. It had gotten rather irritated climbing the relatively short but fairly steep hills, dorsiflexing it more than it was apparently willing to tolerate without protest.

I also made it run uphill a bit..

..though only up some of the nearly-invisible bits on the elevation profile

I wondered if maybe I should call it a day after lap 5, but I knew I had an hour and a quarter to complete the final lap of my goal before the 6 hour cutoff, which meant I could practically just walk it in. The ankle didn't hurt while walking, so I figured I'd just do a bunch of that as it definitely did get...talkative...whenever I'd run.

I tried jumping instead, but it didn't seem to help.
Also: it is REALLY HARD to jump after running for almost 5 hours.

See if you can figure out which section is the rail trail..

I headed out for my last lap without a freezie (*gasp*), but with a stupid idea in mind - if I kept running to the 1k marker after I'd completed lap 6, I could get 43km in and actually call it an ultra, since technically that's anything more than marathon distance (which is 42.2km, and of which I'd be slightly short if I only did 6 x 7km laps). So, instead of backing off, I kept on pushing to make sure I'd have time left to climb ALL THE HILLS in the first 1k of the course. I'd even get credit for it, as Happy Trails Racing volunteers would be at each kilometer marker to check runners in as time expired.

One last time through the spooky-looking trees

Still running on the rail trail

What was definitely nice was having my ankle finally shut the heck up about halfway through lap 6, which I managed in an hour flat. I was irritated by a small blister that came up on the ball of my foot at the base of my big toe, but it wasn't too painful - probably a result of being wet all day, with my skirt and braids raining drips of water and sweat at I ran. I realised somewhere along the way that I had never actually bothered to pick up the caffeinated gel I'd brought along to keep me sharp in the later stages of the race, but I was able to keep pushing myself along all the same. With just over 15mins still left on the clock I grabbed half a white freezie and ran the initial downhill from the start/finish, and that was about it as it was almost all uphill until the 1km mark.

The sun-drenched meadow approach to the start/finish area.

The grass is difficult to run through, but there are a couple of downhills for gravitational assist.

As I reached the 1km marker with under 7mins to go, the volunteers urged me to push on to the second kilometer mark for extra credit, but I wasn't having it at all. The first kilometer had taken me almost 10mins and I knew the hills continued to roll as you approached the trail centre on the Sawmill Trail. I was quite happy to be done, and to walk the kilometer back slowly while picking a huge handful of juicy, ripe, delicious raspberries to share with Tanker when I returned.

..where they were kind enough to give me a medal for wandering around in circles in the woods.

Official distance: 43.0km in 6 hours @ 8:22/km

25/87 O/A - 12/51 Women

(Full official results are here)

(Garmin workout data is here)

While it was only ever supposed to be a long training day for me, I'm quite pleased with how things came out. I was able to moderate my effort from the start and manage the heat quite well - the overall standings certainly support the idea that my cooling strategies gave my still-kinda-tired-from-Solstice-and-un-tapered carcass an advantage over other runners in the race who seemed to suffer from the heat and sun a great deal more. I definitely credit my cooling shirt for a lot of that, as the sun felt unbearably hot on my skin after I changed out of it into a tank dress post-race. At the same time, when things got difficult later in the day, I didn't roll over and die even though I had every excuse; I kept working and achieved a little more than the goal I'd set for myself, which is always nice. It was also nice that I was able to be largely self-sufficient for once - because I didn't really need much and he was busy prepping things at the aid station, this was probably the least crewing that Tanker has ever done for me in a race. 

I also give massive credit and thanks to all the volunteers who helped keep me going!

Then it was time to head home, grab a shower, have a bunch to eat, and catch a 3-hour nap before heading right back to the race site for around 2:45am to do my own volunteer shift!

With my amazing sweetheart, of course!

We got to see the highs and lows of so many people's races, from the 12-hour night competitors who started at 9pm to the true warriors of the 24 hour and Gong Show events. I was happy to be able to make my own small contribution by taking care of runners' needs at the aid station through the night, and then heading out to man the 2km marker checkpoint as the clock crept toward 9am. I had thought I might only be good for sitting in a chair and providing heckling/moral support to runners overnight, but it turned out that my butt never even hit my chair - my feet, ankles and legs were actually feeling ok, which allowed me to spend the whole night and morning on my feet while I filled bottles, made noodles and served up broth, then walked out to the 2k mark (which was admittedly only about 500m down the driveway to the trail centre from the start/finish) and back. I was tired and footsore by the time 9am rolled around, but was still able to lend a bit of a hand with breaking down pavilion tents and loading up the truck and van before we headed out to Guelph for brunch with friends.

On another hot, sunny day - it barely dipped below 24c all night despite a thundershower!

It was an incredibly fun weekend with lots of friends and astounding feats of perseverance and athleticism to behold. Happy Trails Racing always puts on a high quality event for runners of any ability and persuasion, from my easy-going "out there for the fun of it" approach through elite athletes in fierce competition, which makes either racing or volunteering a pure joy. Why not come out and see for yourself?