Let me eat cake

I got myself into a bit of trouble over the winter nutritionally, but I'm eating my way back out of it.

OMNOMNOM

In the last few months, I've been trying to cut down on my sugar intake. I don't think anyone can convincingly argue that sugar is really good for you, and it is increasingly suspect as the culprit in numerous health issues. I'd still eat some directly before, during or after a hard workout, but I tried to reduce as much as possible outside those times. I didn't totally cut out other carbohydrate sources - I'd still have a sweet potato with almond butter & cinnamon for breakfast (SO GOOD), pasta for dinner once a week, make pad thai on Mondays, have rice with fish and veggies a couple of times a week - but I kept my portions very moderate in an effort to strip off some of the Christmas pudding. I'd make Tanker a bowl of pasta but eat mine out of a mug; he'd have a dinner plate of pad thai and I'd have a dessert plateful.

I fell into two traps - one external, and one internal. The external one was in listening once again to all the dietary advice out there for both athletes and non-athletes alike to eschew carbohydrates in favour of more protein and fat. Whether you're calling it Paleo, Primal, or just low carb, there has been a huge push in recent years to reduce people's intake of sugars and starches in the name of health and weight loss. Many elite endurance athletes have made successful transitions to a low carbohydrate intake with no loss of performance, so how bad could it be? So, in an effort to curb my voracious appetite, I'd eat bushels of vegetables and a fair bit of meat, adding nuts, coconut and avocado for healthy fat sources.

Roast chicken, zucchini, onion, garlic & mushrooms - a delicious low-carb dinner.

The internal trap that snared me was thinking that winter equates to the off season. I tapered a bit after Christmas for the RUN4RKIDS 8-hour in early January, then had to take a few days off afterward for recovery from both the race and emergency dental surgery. I was rebuilding distance as the Frosty Trail 3-hour came 'round later that month, and didn't even take a single day off post-race because I didn't feel I needed it. I generally figure that it takes me 1 week to recover completely (enough for another hard effort) for every hour of racing, so that would mean I was finally back on my feet from RUN4RKIDS by March 4th - less than 2 weeks ago. 

By that time I'd run over 400km since the 8-hour. As of Wednesday I passed 700km for the year so far, and my average for the last month has been over 75km per week. This actually represents about the largest training block I've ever put in. The idea that I "didn't need" the extra calories a slice or two of bread would provide sounds patently ridiculous when put in that perspective, which I finally gained just a few weeks ago.

Just a few kilometers here and there..

I was tired. So freakin' tired. I had just finished that 72.5km week and was ready to lay down dead, before I even started adding back any cycling or swimming to my training. All I was doing is running, walking a bit, and my usual strength work - I was even getting more sleep than usual, but nothing was helping. I decided I needed a recovery week, so that's where the 66.8km bar fits in - I was just too shagged out to do any more.

Throughout all this, though, my weight was increasing. Despite being hungry around the clock and running more than I have since the build for Dirty Girls last year, my clothes were getting tighter and the scale was moving the wrong way. I was chubby, cranky (I have no idea how Tanker put up with me!), cold, hungry and utterly disheartened.

I really do like carrots, though..

Finally it dawned on me - I was in almost the exact same place I'd been in 2011. Having just figured out that gluten and I couldn't be friends (it's not me - it's definitely you) and hearing all about the wonderful results people were getting with Paleo, I decided to give it a try while training for my first half iron distance triathlon. I had the same result the last time: weight gain, fatigue, irregular hormonal cycles, and utter bafflement as to why this wasn't working the way everyone said it should.

Then I remembered some stuff I had read back then, about how females may actually suppress their thyroid function by reducing carbohydrate intake too much. I did some quick searching for "hypothyroid symptoms" and immediately knew I was on to something. The fatigue; feeling cold all the time; muscle soreness/failure to recover from workouts; weight gain; heavy, painful & irregular menstruation (yeah, TMI - sorry guys!); crappy memory and even worse mood...even the outer third of my eyebrows being nearly non-existent and the weird hoarseness (without having a sniffle to explain it) to which I'd awoken the day after a very long, hard run...it was all there on the list.

AH-HA!

Having finally put two and two together, I started adding back carbohydrates and dialing back the fat intake. I started on Monday, February 20th with a couple of simple things - a small bowl of oatmeal, a bit more pad thai for dinner - and by the very next day I felt like a brand new person! Enough that I was able to energetically run on my lunch, ride the trainer after work, then hit the pool before a late dinner.

Since then, I've been able to increase my training again, I'm no longer constantly freezing or starving, and the stubborn pudge is finally starting to fall away. Both the scale and the fit of my clothing are showing definite improvement - as of last night there is much less of me poking out from the edges of my swimsuit - and I have much better energy both during and outside of training. I'm also much, much less miserable to be around! My experience is far from unique: searching will yield numerous pages of other women's stories of failure to thrive on reduced carbohydrate intake, and a few brave scientists are finally publishing material about the effect of your sex (and thus your hormone levels) on your dietary needs. There is also new research being done that indicates the Female Athlete Triad (TL;DR: restricting calories resulting in lack of menstrual cycle & bone loss) - traditionally associated with disordered eating and very low body fat levels - may actually have more to do with the body's perception of energy availability regardless of body composition. Since "fat burns in a carbohydrate flame", my poor body may have felt that I was so severely lacking in calories it needed to halt all non-essential metabolic functions.

Muffins to the rescue!

I still wish to keep my consumption of sugar to a minimal level (contrary to the first pic in this post, and really the title as well..), so simply buying a bag of cookies isn't the way I intend to solve this. I'm still trying to restrict simple sugars to before, during and after training, but I've started baking again - the cranberry orange pumpkin seed muffins seen above were last weekend's fuel, and I'll probably celebrate St. Paddy's Day by baking a loaf of soda bread this evening. You may note that there was a drop in run mileage last week (from 84.4km to 79.5km), but that was due to trail conditions being a sketchy mess of frozen and thawed, claggy mud under the snow that fell last week. I was on the trails moving for just as long; I simply didn't make it as far.

The sunshine was super pretty, even though it was cold as hell.

Lest you think I may have impaired my fat burning abilities (which admittedly are highly valuable for ultrarunning, where you're moving at moderate effort for hours longer than your carbohydrate stores and GI tract can provide), Sunday's run was actually 2h20m of trail running & hiking done on nothing but water - I'd had a bagel with a fried duck egg and peameal bacon for breakfast, all washed down with a cup of coffee about 90mins beforehand, but took in no calories along the way.

The hiking because of stuff like this.

I still had sufficient energy in the last half-hour to run sustained on the paved Downtown Trail and CNR Spurline Trail in Guelph after leaving GORBA, too, so I certainly wasn't bonking. That tells me that a couple of weeks of increased carbohydrate intake haven't ruined my ability to use fat as fuel; it's just giving me my life back!

WAHOOOOOOEEEEEEEE

So the lesson here is that what works for one person may not be what works for you. I'm not interested in being told I was doing Paleo/Primal/low carb "wrong" - there's increasing research being published indicating it's a poor option for endurance athletes, and I am pretty solid in my conviction (having tried reducing CHO twice to highly detrimental effect) that a higher carbohydrate approach is the best approach for me personally. If you'd like to take your own nutrition in another direction, I'm not here to say you're wrong; we're all an experiment of one, and I wish you success in finding the best way to fulfill your own dietary needs! If you're not seeing the results you want from a low carb approach, though - especially if you're female - you owe it to yourself to consider that protein and fat may not be the saviours they're touted to be for you.

One last note about weight loss for athletes: I recently read something that really resonated with me, because I have been known to restrict calories as much as possible while attempting to reach race weight. This is a quote from a fellow who is currently experimenting with a pure "calories in/calories out" approach to weight loss by eating nothing but burgers, pizza, ice cream, cake and doughnuts:

"For weight loss, I used to have the mindset of trying to get away with as few calories as possible. This project has changed my mindset to try and get in as many calories as I can while still losing weight. The difference is remarkable just in terms of daily energy and workout energy" - Rob Gray 

So if you're going hard on the trails all day, maybe give yourself the leeway to do a little hard at the dinner table as well.

Who wants to say no to homemade chocolate chip zucchini bread anyway?

Don't get me wrong - vegetables are still the number one mainstay of my nutrition, with my sweet potato breakfast, morning snack of carrots & cucumbers, daily afternoon salad and copious vegetables with dinner. But, I'm really enjoying having french toast and bagels again for weekend brunches, not to mention my homemade goodies. Speaking of which, I'm going home to do some baking!

At least I'm well insulated

I told myself I wasn't going to stray as far from race weight this year.

Apparently, despite reduced Christmas baking and some half-hearted efforts at avoiding over-indulgence during the holidays, I lied.

Nonetheless, I will sally forth into the woods tomorrow to see exactly how difficult it is to haul my big fat ass around for 3 hours. That's right, it's Frosty Trail time once more!

I've been carbo loading for a full month.

As always, the goal is to get in more than a half marathon (21.1km / 13.1mi). While I may be much chubbier than I'd prefer, at least for once I'm not actually injured! No freshly broken toe like last year, no lingering hamstring injury like 2013, and despite some really horrifically cold and nasty conditions I've managed 3 weeks of 50+km of run training since mid-December. With a reasonable taper and a bit of sleep this week, I should be in decent shape except for the anvil tied to my ass.

It's made of cookies.

Well, plus the fact I haven't run more than 10 miles in ages. But, y'know, when has that ever stopped me from doing something stupid?

The real challenges will be the weather and trail conditions. While it's supposed to shape up to be a fairly nice day, the temperature is predicted to be around -12c/10f at start time. I can dress for that (as a matter of fact that's the same as it was for my last "long" run - 15.6km on trail last Saturday, and my water bottle valve froze on me at the 7k mark), but then it's supposed to climb to near the freezing point as the day wears on.

I'm packing EVERYTHING

While I can fairly easily drop a jacket if I'm getting too warm, I'll have to think carefully about which pants or tights I want to wear, especially with that bloody gusty wind. It also depends hugely on what the trail will be like, as I've had problems in the past keeping warm when I was forced to walk too much by shifting, uncertain footing. Speaking of which..

Both recent history and near-future prediction.

The packed, deeply footprinted snow on my local sidewalks and roadways has been enough to put my precious little chicken ankles in great peril lately - the trails (as of last Saturday) are even worse. I have no idea what it will be like up at Camp Heidelberg to begin with, nor how the conditions will evolve as the morning wears on and the combination of rising temperatures and the endless loops of running feet take their toll on the existing snow. It's almost certain to be better than last year's ice-crusted wreckfest, but the extra pounds I'm carrying will make me more susceptible to injury if I put a foot wrong. Since this is me we're talking about - a girl who can manage to break a toe while stretching in a stinkin' hot tub - I don't like my odds.

I'm also hoping things don't get too slushy - the last time I ran in slush was the night of the freezing rain storm (Jan 3rd), and by the end of that particular 1h45m slog my left big toe had gone a bit white from being constantly soaked and windblown. While the frostbite didn't get so bad as to blister, it's been very cold-sensitive since and I worry what might happen if it's exposed to similar conditions again before the tissues have fully recovered.

Still, nothing else for it but to try. After all, it's just a nice little stroll in the woods, right?

Off I go!

Crossing my fingers that I emerge (mostly) upright and undamaged, especially having just signed up to run a 25k in April at a bloody ski hill.

Kona Chocolate Run "Chocolate Double" - Sunday, November 16th, 2014

A tale of self-sabotage and rejoicing in others' achievements.

As I mentioned last week, this was my first international race, and I had high hopes of a 10k PR - I'd been running pretty well since Belwood and had put in a really speedy last hard push on Tuesday that seemed to indicate I was well on track. We hopped in the car Friday afternoon and jammed down to the Ambassador Bridge, got through the border and hit up PF Chang's for an absolutely amazing dinner, then it was down to our friend Mac's house for the weekend.

Such a neat sight after dark.

This, of course, is where things got away on me a bit. There were shenanigans. I may have put some rather unusual strain on my recently injured calf. While I might not have been drinking (I drink alcohol quite rarely), I also didn't manage to get to bed until just past 4am. In order to get ALL THE THINGS done on Saturday, I was up just after 9am.

That made 2 nights in a row with 5hrs of sleep or less. Sub-optimal.

Right after waking, I kicked my butt out the door into the chilly sunshine for an easy shake-out run. I'd mapped it all out before we left, so I knew I just had to run up Telegraph Road to the gas station and back.

Plodding along at just below the freezing mark

I kept looking up the road, and it seemed like the BP station was an awfully long way off. I was feeling pretty flat, but I seldom run first thing in the morning and was working against a headwind, so I attributed my sense that this was taking much longer than it should to being a stinkin' whiner. I sucked it up, threw in a couple of short pick ups to try to get my legs used to some speed, then made my turn-around and headed back.

Halfway back after another short stride or two, I couldn't ignore my sense this was taking too long anymore. I'd intended to run for about 20mins, and had plotted a route that was around 3.6km / 2.25mi long. Pulling out my phone, I gaped as I discovered I'd already been running for 35mins.

Bugger.

I sent a message to the house to let people know I was ok (as I'd already been gone 5mins longer than the max estimate I'd given) and was sweetly offered a pick up, but there was no place I could shelter from the freezing wind while I waited and I was only a kilometer or so away from being done. Final total: 7.5km in just under 43mins.

Crap.

Google Maps fails make K something something.

Off to Plymouth to pick up race kit and scope out locations, everything went relatively smoothly for the rest of the day. We did, however, go for about an hour's hike in the woods out back of the house. It was incredibly serene and beautiful, but walking over fallen branches hidden under the leaves wasn't terribly easy on the ankles.

Brothers from different mothers.

One hell of a backyard.

I did manage not to eat anything that would aggravate my laundry list of food allergies (which is always a concern when we travel), while still having a lovely dinner out with a wonderful group of Mac's family and friends. However, sleep once more took a back seat to spending time with people we love - it was after 11pm this time before I racked out, and I had to be up at 4am.

D'oh. Make that 3 nights in a row with 5hrs of sleep or less.

Race morning came - I can't say dawned, as it was still pitch black out when I left Mac's place at 5.25am. I reached the Tim Hortons in Plymouth looking for a pre-race coffee at 5:55am, only to discover they didn't open until 6am. Somewhat less 24 hour than I'd been led to believe.

It's like a Canadian embassy with doughnuts.

I did get my coffee, though, and then headed to the race site. In another first, I'd let Tanker the Wonder Sherpa sleep in while I made my way through the sub-freezing pre-dawn - the 5k didn't start until 9:30am (or so I thought), so Mac & his wife Marci would be driving up later and could bring Tank along with them.

Arriving at the start/finish area in Kellogg Park, I found the two warming tents completely sealed up. Umm, I'd rather been hoping to stash my race gear in one of them - guess not. I also completely failed to spot any sanitary conveniences, so tossed my running shoes on at a park bench then headed across the intersection to the Starbucks.

I stood in line there for a solid 15mins waiting to use the single women's bathroom, pulling off my wool pants and down jacket and pinning my race bib onto my skirt. Yes, the high temperature for the day was only supposed to be 2c/35f, but damn it if I could survive having ice build up on my bare thighs at Horror Hill in 2013 I was pretty sure I could handle a bit of chilly wind for under an hour.

I eventually got to use the facilities (wordlessly expressing my opinion of Starbucks' coffee), stuffed everything except a sweater I'd brought because I wouldn't mind horribly if I ended up losing it into my race bag, then wandered back to my car to ditch it all. I grabbed my phone, the car key and a gel flask full of EFS sport drink and did some dynamic warm-up stretching before heading out for a 15min run to try to get my legs moving.

There was mixed success. I wasn't really feeling it. Nothing specifically bad - my right ankle felt a bit sore from the hike the day before as I did some toe circles, but it was fine while I was running - I just didn't have any zip in my legs.

Back to the start line with 5mins to go, I found a spot to ditch my sweater and headed for the corral, which was already full of runners. I tried to make my way into a group of people so I'd be shielded from the bitter wind, and ended up just ahead of the 50min pacer. Not a bad place to be, as I was kind of hoping I'd be able to keep him within earshot at least.

I didn't like my odds.

The gun went off, and I started to run, but I could tell from the get-go that it just wasn't going to be my day. Again, nothing I could really put my finger on - no GI issues, not feeling overly tired or sluggish, just no punch. I wove my way through the crowds and passed a large number of people, but something was just a little off.

10k start video

I come bopping through around 2:15

The course literally has more corners than any other route I've seen in my entire life. It seemed almost designed to remove any sense of progress, just leaving me confused as to how far I'd come and had left to go. It also meant your speed was constantly varying as you leaned through the turns and accelerated again, plus gave near-infinite possibilities for running further than 10km unless you apexed everything perfectly.

WHERE THE HELL AM I?

Unable to access my watch (and not really knowing what time we'd started anyway), I had been running a fair while without seeing any distance markers. I was chugging along fairly well and the terrain was pretty flat other than a few short rises, but the pace was starting to tell on me already. I could hear a couple of people talking behind me, one of them saying "we can ease up a bit", and figured it was the 50min pacer. I knew I'd got across the line before him, so if he was on my heels I'd have to stick pretty close in order to make my stretch goal of sub-51mins.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to work out. I finally spotted the 2 mile marker (was there even a 1 mile mark?) just as the 50min pacer came past me with a few runners in tow. I tried to kick it up to hang with them, tucking in behind to take advantage of any draft I could, but they just floated away as I failed to respond. Less than a third of the way through and already tasting bitter disappointment, I tried to keep focused on my stride and just ride it out as best I could. I attempted a surge to see if I could trick myself into holding a faster pace afterward, but to no avail. I tried a sip of EFS drink from my flask to wet my mouth and see if the carbohydrate content might allow me to push a little more, but it tasted too strong and seemed to have no effect.

By the 3 mile marker I was puffing and blowing pretty hard, but was coming to realise that I was really lacking any ability to push hard. By the halfway point of all my previous 10k races I've been death whistling and ruing having gone out too fast, but I couldn't seem to find my way to true threshold pace - it was like someone had locked the entrance to the pain cave, leaving me banging ineffectually on the door. I've felt the same sensation while recovering from long races; in the days after an ultra I can't manage anything more than easy pace swimming, cycling or running, as my body just rebels against any higher effort, shutting down any attempt to hit a higher gear. I generally take a week per hour of racing to recover fully from a hard push, but I had been feeling really good earlier in the week, so I have trouble believing it was due to running the Horror Hill 6-hour 3 weeks beforehand. No, I'm pretty sure it was just plain old sleep deprivation and too much time on my feet Saturday.

Dangit.

Way to shoot yourself in the foot, K.

The cold air may have been part of the problem, too. While rich in oxygen, it felt very thick as I tried to pull in lungfuls to power my aerobic systems - like slurping down syrup. I did my best to control my breathing with long exhales to keep from gasping, but it didn't seem to help much. The density of air molecules at lower temperatures also requires more energy to push through, but at my glacial running speed I don't think I can pin too much of my lousy performance on CdA.

By the 4 mile mark I was ready to be done, and had to resort to cajoling myself. "It's only 3.5 more kilometers" I scolded; "any asshole can run 3.5km". I continued to be confused by the many turns of the route - I knew I was on the 5k route now (as I was seeing mile markers for the 5k as well), but I'd see runners up ahead moving perpendicular to the way I was running at a cross street and had no clue if they were ahead of or behind me on the course.

I did get a giggle out of the fellow serving up dixie cups of Budweiser from the tailgate of his truck parked in a driveway, but was rather puzzled by the number of spectators who just stood there silently as the hundreds of competitors passed by. I'm used to onlookers cheering for everyone, and while there were some wonderfully encouraging folks there were many more who clearly thought this was the worst parade they'd ever seen. I got some weird looks from other runners as I gave them a "good job" as either I passed them or they passed me, so maybe the whole encouraging strangers thing isn't as common at Michigan races. I thanked the police and volunteers as I ran, too, and got some mixed reactions from them as well. Don't be alarmed, folks - I'm Canadian.

They may just have been put off by the t-rex arms.

Speaking of passing, I hadn't been doing much for awhile, and as I came through the 5 mile mark I was chagrined to see some of the folks I'd got by earlier in the race overtake me again. I could tell my pace was decaying but felt powerless to do anything about it. Best I could manage was damage control - just try to keep it together.

I finally spotted the 6 mile marker as a volunteer yelled that we only had a quarter mile left - just around the right-hand turn then into the finish! I tried to pick it up a bit, having no idea what sort of time I was looking at, but the legs weren't any more responsive than they'd been all morning. I was just happy I hadn't seen the 55min pacer come past.

I made the right at the corner then ran up around the East side of Kellogg Park, overjoyed to see Mac & Marci cheering for me as I headed for the chute. Making the final turn I could see 53-ish minutes on the clock (and thought I heard Tank shouting encouragement), but had zero idea how long it had taken me to get across the start line and even less energy for a finishing kick.

I can stop now? Whee!

Official chip time: 52:40 @ 5:16/km (8:28/mi)

35/319 W35-39 - 148/1,667 Women - 409/2,478 O/A
Official results here

So on the bright side I was around the top 10% in both my age group and gender (top 20% overall), plus I was only 28sec slower than my 10k PR, making it my 2nd fastest attempt at this distance. It does burn that it only would have taken another 3sec per kilometer to improve my best time, though - I'm sure I could have found 30 seconds out there.

Internationally ill advised!

No time to mope, though. I found Tanker (and my sweater, untouched where I'd stashed it - win!), who told me Mac & Marci had gone back to their car parked a couple of blocks away. I suggested we follow, as we had to get a bag from their trunk and could drop it at our own vehicle, which I needed to visit to change out of my wet clothing. We met up with Mac, grabbed the gear, then the 3 of us headed to our car while Marci went to find her aunt, with whom she'd be walking the 5k. After a bit of international inappropriate parking lot nudity, it was back to Kellogg Park in time to see the first wave of the 5k go off at 9am.

Not 9:30. Mmmkay.

Quick pre-race shot.

We found Marci and headed for the corral to line up for the second wave, which would leave 10mins after the first. We were all set to go, walking up after the horn went up behind the press of people ahead, when suddenly we were halted - it seems they were only letting a certain number through, and the rest would have to wait for the 3rd wave.

Right to left: Marci, Mac, some dork and Marci's aunt.

I was dressed a little more warmly for the 5k than I had been for the 10k, but the sun had disappeared again and the wind had picked up, so I was still freezing to death.

Marci is apparently entertained by my hypothermia.

Eventually the horn sounded for the final wave, and off we trotted. Mac has made really impressive strides this year to improve his health and fitness (YOU'RE A ROCKSTAR!), and had done a 5k through an apple orchard at the end of September that he finished in about 42mins. The mission for today was to beat that time, and I promised we'd make it happen!

We ran through the crowds of people filling the streets ahead of us, both rather frustrated that people who obviously had no intention of running refused to move aside to let faster competitors through. Mac had told me that he'd probably "jog slowly for a bit, then walk", but he was keeping up minutes-long intervals of really solid running. We chatted along the way, dropping to a walk for a minute or so here and there, but always passing people ahead. We dropped the 12min/mi pacer near the 1 mile marker, and Mac let me know he wanted to keep him in the rearview as long as possible.

Rolling through quaint downtown Plymouth.

Without really intending to, I think I cut a couple of his walk intervals short. You see, Mac's a tall guy with long legs, and when he walks at a fast pace I can barely keep up. So, as he recovered his breath and started walking more quickly, I'd have to break into a light jog in order not to be left behind. Then he'd see me running and start running himself. By the time we passed the 2 mile marker he told me he didn't even care about his finish time anymore, since he'd run a hundred times more than he ever had before and was doing better than he ever imagined. I knew we were on pace to bag him a huge PR for the day, but there was still some work to do.

Coming in hard!

We took one last walk interval, then ran through some of the final turns as the 3 mile marker hove into view. I told Mac he just had one more right turn then it was into the chute - less than a quarter mile left! He said he'd run what he could, walk a bit more, then try to run it in to the line. No way - I know how powerful finish lines are, and I told him he could make it all the way to the end without walking. He told me he couldn't, but I knew he had it in him!

You're damn right he did!
ROCK. STAR.

Official chip time: 36:45 @ 7:21/km (11:50/mi)

5+min PR for Mac!

Chocolate Double total: 1:29:26 - 187/434 O/A

(Official results here)

We proceeded through the finish chute to the now-open warming tents, and I was positively beaming with joy - this was some of the most fun I've ever had racing! As we lined up for the post-race "chocolate buffet" I gave Mac a huge hug and told him he'd done an amazing job and that I'm incredibly proud of him. I was delighted to be able to be a part of this race and to see him blow his goals out of the water! Even better, after getting our food we were able to head back out to the edge of the park in time to see Marci and her aunt come in, Marci bagging herself a 3min PR as well!

Marci and Aunt Brenda on course

PR finish!

In the end, my failure to PR the 10k doesn't matter. There will be other races, and if we're going to spend the weekend visiting with friends first, I'm not going to stress about trying to maximize performance. There's always value in just going out and running as hard as you can on the day no matter what the clock ends up saying in the end, and time spent with people I truly love will always be more important than any of my mediocre athletic endeavours.

It's all about him.
I'm just along for the ride!

I just hope we'll get to do it all again sometime!

Taking this show on the road

For the first time ever, race season got extended past Horror Hill.

I heard a friend was going to be racing in November, and was trying to set a 5k PR. Because this friend is like family and has made incredible efforts this year to improve his health and fitness (over 30lbs lost and counting - YOU RAWK!), I thought I'd offer to come down and pace him through the race since I've had some fun doing that in the past.

Then it turned out that the race in question also has a 10k which is run before the 5k, and there is the option to run both.

Hmm..

I've been running really well this year. A 10k PR attempt followed by pacing a friend? It would let me get the "racing" out of my system so there's no temptation to take off during the 5k.

Let's do it!

In another first to finish off my 6th season of endurance dorkery, this will also be my international racing debut. The car's all loaded and we're off to the grand old U.S. of A. as soon as we're off work!

I suspect the change of nation won't help with the dorkness.

So, with my calf feeling recovered from its recent tomfoolery, I'll be up at stupid o'clock on Sunday morning to drive from our friend's place up to Plymouth, MI to see if I can't take down my current best 10k time of 52:12. I honestly have no idea what my odds are: I've tapered and tried (with mixed success) to get some rest, and I was running damn quickly (for me, folks - don't get too excited) on Tuesday when I did my last hard push before the race, but there are so many variables it's hard to tell what will actually happen.

I just hope I don't freeze to death.

Yikes.
This is why I have a small running store's worth of clothing with me.

Umm, did we pack the camera? Crap..

Horror Hill 6-hour Ultra - Saturday, October 25th, 2014

I decided to give it a go, injury be damned. Really - how bad could it be?

Step one - get out of bed and apply kinesiology tape. I went with a different achilles/calf strain application that I hoped would protect the injured soleus and also support the gastrocs, which would have to take over and do a lot more work than usual. It seemed logical.

Do you know how hard it is to photograph the back of your own leg?

Bagel, coffee, arrive at race site. It's a gorgeous sunrise and looks like it'll be a perfect day - none of the horrible rain or snow of the last 2 years. Skirt up, say hello to the wonderful people with whom I'll be sharing the trail, get my straw from Ron Gehl (choosing to believe nothing bad can happen if I have it), and hope like hell this works. Tanker asked if I was going to get a warm-up run in, to which I gave an emphatic no: I was trying to save whatever my poor calf might have in it for racing.

I did, however, do a little skirt-stuffed-into-my-pants boogie.

Ok, ready as I'm going to get.

One last portajohn stop with less than 5mins to the start, then head for the back of the bunch and off we go.

Crossing the timing mat to start the day.

I ran down the long hill past the pavilion/aid station, around the pond and start back up the hill to the turn into the woods. This is as far as I thought I'd make it, but the damaged soleus actually seems ok. No pain, no need to alter my stride - I make the turn to the technical drop into the forest with a little grin on my face as my calf apparently came to play.

You got it!

By some odd coincidence, one of the first people I really notice that I'm running behind is a fellow whose shirt back reads "Achilles - Running through disability". I take it as a good sign and press on.

Reaching the bottom of the two really, really steep climbs (the ones that reduce pretty much everyone except some of the 5k runners to a walk), I mentally cross my fingers and start to ascend. Fortunately it goes just fine, and I'm back to running again when I reach the top of the second bit. It's working!

The first big stinkin' hill - it's even steeper than it looks here.
(Photo found on twitter - would credit the source if I could find them!)

Truckin'

As you can see above, fallen leaves thickly coated the trail, so it was tough to be sure of footing as I ran along. I was also stuck at the back of a big conga line of runners - things are always pretty bunched up for the first loop, as there aren't many places to pass and all of the 5k, 10k, and 25k runners (no 3-hour option this year) are still on course. I actually kind of welcomed it, since it ensured I didn't go too hard out of the gate.

Around the big woods section, down the sketchy descent, then out of the forest and onto the gravel road up toward the building. Calf was actually feeling damn near normal - huge win!

The 2.5km loop.

Who farted?

Through the parking lot, then back into the trees again for the smaller woods loop and onto the long descent. I ditched a lot of the conga line, crossed the timing mats and then passed Tanker at the aid station while happily reporting no issues so far. Wahoo!

The runner behind me is clearly at race weight.

I came through a second lap after about 34mins without any pain and then a third around 50mins, so decided to have a swig of EFS Liquid Shot from the flask I'd bought the night before while picking up race kit at Runner's Choice. I'd already made it longer than I had on Tuesday without anything blowing out, and figured if I was going to be in it for the long haul I'd need some calories. I had done some carbo-loading in the couple of days before the race and really hoped I could make it through at least 90mins so it wouldn't have been in vain! The day warmed up and I had to pull off my earband and roll up my sleeves to dump some heat as I rolled along.

From the official photos

Tanker took this one - thanks for making me look strong, babe!

I started to tick off minor milestones along the way: 10km took me past the 1 hour mark, then at 12.5km I had run twice as far as Tuesday's ill-fated workout, with another gulp of EFS Liquid Shot around 1h25m. I treated myself to a peanut butter Gu at 2 hours, then had to hit a portajohn at around 2h15m as I passed the building heading for the 20k mark. While the calf injury wasn't bothering me, I noticed my effort level on the uphills was probably not going to be sustainable for the full 6 hours - I was puffing pretty hard as I ran up the long climb in the woods. Then again, I figured there was about a 0.0% chance I'd be able to run the whole thing, so maybe it wouldn't be a big deal. I kept up the calories, though, with more EFS Liquid Shot around 2h35m after passing 22.5km. I had also rolled both of my ankles a few times on roots and rocks hidden under the leaves. I'm sure that wasn't helping anything.

Running with a friendly blog reader - Robin was doing her first Horror Hill

To everyone's surprise, my soleus hung in there through 27.5km (11 loops) and over 3 hours, about which I was overjoyed - at least I'd made it through more than 25k, because that would have been cheaper to enter! However, I'd only got one single run of over 20km/2hrs in since the Waterloo Marathon at the end of April (just under 23k about 3 weeks before race day), and my legs were starting to feel the accumulated fatigue without the training to back it up. I had another swig of EFS Liquid Shot to try to perk me up, but it was about this time that the calf started to get grumpy. 

Ok, we'll do it your way.

I came down the long hill to the pond, and as I ran through the little dip I felt a twinge that made me drop to a walk. A friend whom I've known through this race for years happened to be walking along just ahead of where I slowed, so I quickened my pace a bit to fall in step with him and actually ended up walking the whole rest of that lap as we chatted about backpacking and canoeing and the wonders of exploring the outdoors. I had meant to run the downhill bits, but Chris is good company and I wasn't really feeling any pressure to make distance - for all I knew coming into the race I'd be walking all day anyway, or possibly even heading home after less than 1 full lap, so I was more than happy to just enjoy some conversation while hiking through the forest.

Unfortunately, the weather had turned a bit uglier as a cold front came in. We only got some very light rain showers, but the wind whipped up and I started to get chilled. As I passed the aid station I thanked Chris for a nice chat but said I had to go run to warm myself back up again.

Still doing ok...ish.

Rounding the pond, I ended up dropping to a walk again as I hit the little dip. The calf just didn't want to cooperate, and I didn't want to do any further harm. I was looking at the very real possibility of having to walk for the final 2.5hrs of the race, and wasn't yet sure how I felt about that. I decided I'd just keep testing to see what I could do, and keep walking as long as it didn't hurt to do so.

Dorking it up as I went.

I came through 35k almost right at 4 hours, and whil I only needed 3 more laps in order to make it an actual ultra, though (42.5k being more than a standard 42.2km marathon distance), I was definitely feeling a bit worse for wear. I was still able to run the long downhill through the timing mats down to the pond, plus the gentle downhill portion in the woods, but I was walking almost everything else. I got my chocolate peanut butter Gu (with a bit of caffeine) from Tanker to try to put some zip in my step, but also threw on a light jacket as I wasn't able to run consistently enough to keep myself warm in the bone-chilling wind. 

Still dorking.

Feeling that I'd be unable to do much more than walk for the last hour and a half, I actually ditched my flask of EFS Liquid Shot asked Tanker to get out the chocolate chip cookie I'd brought as a post-race snack. I planned to eat it right around the 5 hour mark as a treat for hanging in, but in the meantime I decided to see if there were any banana chunks at the aid station. I ate about a 2.5" piece and was off to the pond once again.

Little did I know that banana was freakin' magic! Suddenly my calf quieted down and I was able to start running up some mild hills again. I think my gastrocs (which I was forcing to compensate for the damaged soleus by digging the ball of my foot into the ground when climbing) were getting too fatigued to handle the extra load, but the banana helped get them firing again. Things improved even more after I had a salted caramel Gu (best. flavour. EVER.) with elevated electrolytes just past 5 hours - against all odds I was running stuff in the last couple of loops I hadn't run for hours - pace per loop was back to where it had been around the 2hr mark!

Calf after the magic banana.

Completing another lap

I pushed hard through the last full lap plus another partial lap before the horn went, having lost count but thinking I'd at least made it through more than a marathon. The sun came back out, and I ditched my jacket again as I was running consistently enough to need to dump heat. I was super happy to make it past 42.5k so it truly was an "ultramarathon" for the day, though a bit sad at the same time because conditions were perfect and my run fitness has been awesome this summer. Had I not blown the calf I could've PR'd for sure.

Lap times with a few notes

I actually got Tanker to come up to the timing mats just to get a photo of me with the time clock so there would be some evidence that I was still running close to the 6 hour mark!

ill advised racing gang sign and all.

So we go inside and listen to the awards while I get an AMAZING massage and some post-race food (though I never did eat that chocolate chip cookie). Instead of finisher's medals this year, we were given certificates of completion with our final distance. Now, the timing company made a small error and credited everyone with a complete final lap, but I was still surprised to see mine said 47.5km.

Whaa?

It turns out I'd somehow missed a lap in my count, and had actually completed 18 full (45.0km) plus 1.6km of my final lap.

Official distance: 46.6km

0.1km PR (prior best 46.5km in 2011)

4/10 F<40 - 6/13 Women - 22/39 O/A
Official results here

So apparently despite walking that one full lap plus about 2/3 of most laps past the halfway mark, I still managed a 0.1km PR in a race I've now done 5 times.

That's worth a couple of thumbs up.

More awesome things from the race:

There was a volunteer dressed as a zombie marauding around the course for most of the day. He'd hide behind trees and run out at competitors, or hide himself in a pile of fallen leaves and jump out at people. Scared the crap out of a few of us!

Photo lifted from the overall winner's race report

My friend and stud ultrarunner Steven Parke guiding the indomitable Rhonda Marie Avery through the 6 hour race - meet Team Tutu!

They raised $550 for KidsAbility, too!

Why does Rhonda need a guide? Because she's legally blind, and still a more badass ultrarunner than I could ever hope to be! Also the sweetest girl you could ever ask to meet - she's a sports therapist by trade, and generously offered to help out with taping up my calf before the race (on which I'd have taken her up had I not done so before leaving the house), and told me to find her to work on it if it started bothering me while I was running. All sugar with a core of pure iron, that one!

And finally, the fellow I'd seen first thing in the Achilles shirt actually ran his final lap in the storm trooper helmet I'd seen him wearing when we first arrived at the race site.

He beat me by 2km, too!

The best part of all, though? Far from having done any further damage, at 2 days post-race my calf was feeling better than it had at any point since the injury. I took a full 3 days off running and eased back in with an easy 4k on Wednesday and 5k on Thursday, by which point the injury site felt almost completely back to normal. My right (non-injured) calf actually felt tighter than the left! I'm continuing to do knee-wall touches and heel drops - now with both legs instead of just the left - and making sure to warm up my lower legs prior to heading out the door, but I'm confident I have the damage under control and will be well healed in time for the Chocolate Run. A far cry from my expectations when things started to hurt last week!

Post-race glow.

I can only wonder what might have been if I hadn't had to contend with the injury. Fingers crossed for 50k in 2015!