Race Report: Wascally Wabbit 50k - Postscript

I hopped over to the event site today and found a link to more photos from the day taken by Troy Johnston.  Thanks, Troy! 

Here are three of my favourites.

Husband and me approaching the finish line

 

One very happy camper at the finish line



The fabulous organizers!

A great event and a great day! Thanks again to everyone who made it happen. 

Race Report: The Wascally Wabbit 50k Trail Run

Woohooo! I did it!  I ran 50k to celebrate turning 50 a few weeks ago.

And the great thing was it didn't even feel that hard. I mean it felt hard, of course - it was a 50k trail run, after all - but everything that could go right did so I had a wonderful day.

It was a rough week leading up to the event. I was nervous so didn't sleep well, and the weather forecast was grim. Added to which, I'd heard a lot of scary stories of how bad the blackflies and ticks might be. Fortunately, the weather was perfect as it turned out - sunny and cool with just enough breeze to keep the blackflies at bay (for the runners, at least) - and I never saw a tick.

The organizers and volunteers did an amazing job. Despite being attacked by blackflies, they worked hard throughout the day, providing directions, ensuring the runners were well-fueled, taking photos, and providing terrific encouragement and support at every turn. As a result of their efforts, the event raised over $1400 in support of a local woman who is fighting cancer. Hats off to Jodi Isenor and his team for a job well done.  If I'm not running next year, I'll volunteer for sure.

A total of 55 runners toed the start line to run 6k, 12k, 15k, 30k, 50k or 80k and nearly everyone finished. The course consisted of two loops - approximately 6k and 9k long - with 68% on logging roads and 32% on ATV trails. Here are a few pics to give you some sense of the terrain.

Running lessons: Three more days and I'm in tapering hell

A quick post because I need to get some stuff off my chest so I can try to focus on work.

I'm in tapering hell. It's the worst thing about training for an endurance event - the jitters that settle in the week before when you find yourself worrying more or less constantly about the weather and the tightness in your hamstrings and the slight tickle in your throat and whether you'll find parking close to the start line and what you should wear and how much it's going to hurt and whether your body's going to hold up... You get the idea.

The very worst part is that your usual antidote for this kind of spinning is to go for a long run but, of course, you can't do that because you're saving your legs for race day. You can go for an easy, short run but it feels so awful when you do that you wonder why you ever thought you could run 50k - and the spinning gets worse and friends and family begin walking in wide circles around you and you just...want it...to be race day already!!

There. I feel better. Sort of.

BTW, in case you think I'm the only person who experiences tapering craziness before a race, check this out.

Running lessons: Five days and counting…



The path behind our house

My first ultra – a 50 k trail run – is just five days away. I won’t lie. I’m terrified – though perhaps I shouldn’t be. After all, the Wascally Wabbit is only 8kms longer than a marathon and I’ve already run six of those. The scary thing is that it isn’t a road race. It’s 50kms on rough logging roads and ATV trails and I honestly have no idea whether my body is strong enough to deal with so much rough terrain. I guess I’m about to find out.

Between now and Saturday, my plan is to try to eat well, drink lots of water, sleep as much as possible and think positive thoughts.

To that end, I spent a good part of my long run on Sunday (a relaxing 15kms along the river between our home in Conquerall Bank and Peace Park) coming up with a list of things I’ve learned (or relearned) in training for this event. 

Running lessons: Digging deep

A stone bench on the shores of Lake Charles

Last week wasn't a great running week. I was tired from a tough long run the Saturday befoe and busy moving into our new house this past weekend.  In fact, I only managed to run twice - 7k on Wednesday and 19k on Sunday.

And I almost didn't run on Sunday. Husband and worked 12 hours straight on Saturday packing and moving stuff from two locations into the new house. Sunday, we spent the morning unpacking and organizing, before returning to clean the apartment we'd just vacated in the afternoon. By the time we'd finished, it was after 3pm and we were both bruised, sore and exhausted. When we finally made it back to the house, I laid on the bed and dozed while my tired body and brain tried to figure out whether they were up to tackling a final long run before race day.

There were two things that finally got me off the bed and out the door.