Running race 7:15:00 [3] 50.0 km (8:42 / km)
Haliburton Forest 50K
I will be the first to admit that I have not yet wrapped my head around the idea of "racing" 50K's. Even though I have a few of them under my belt now, I still go into each one with the goal of a) surviving and b) enjoying. In my two earlier trail races this year (Sulphur Springs 50K and ITT) I made some really stupid mistakes - I went out too fast and didn't manage my hydration and nutrition very well - and suffered pretty good as a result of both. With this in mind, I had some very specific goals for this race:
a) Be more consistent with my pace. Since this course featured an out and back, I wanted to be no more than 30 minutes slower on my "back" than on my "out."
b) Remember Dee's wise words: "ultras are really an eating and drinking contest." I was going to be more mindful of how much I was eating and drinking and try to avoid the super fat finger and inability to pee I had experienced in my other races this year.
c) Keep a positive mental attitude. This, for me, is probably my biggest struggle. At both Sulphur and ITT I went through some really low points where my poor mental state contributed to a poor physical performance. I know that this is something I can control and I wanted to stay as positive as possible during the entire race.
We started our race with the 50 and 100 mile participants at 6am in the dark, which was kind of cool as I've never done this before. The first hour or so of the race was a run around a lake on unpaved rolling roads and some only moderately technical trail. At the 11km mark we left this loop and started an out and back through the singletrack trails of the forest. I was familiar with many of these trails from Crank the Shield last year and could not believe how much muddier they were - this made me pretty happy to be running instead of biking them (or in some cases carrying my bike up them). This out and back section was obviously the most challenging part - lots of long climbs and muddy downhills to negotiate, but I really enjoyed it. I arrived at the 25K turnaround point in 3:25 in really good spirits. I had been eating and drinking more than usual and was feeling really good physically as well. I even managed to pee at the 26km aid station - woo hoo!
At this point, the 50 and 100 mile racers kept going so our route back was very quiet in terms of other runners with the exception of the 26K runners some of whom were still on their out. I reminded myself to run as much as possible in keeping with my goals and because I knew there were many big hills where I wouldn't be running. I was really impressed with how good I was still feeling at the 5:00 mark when usually my mental or physical motivation to run would be waning. After the out and back we had to do the loop around the lake again and I was looking forward to this as it meant I could put my Ipod on (I'd tried to leave it off as long as possible as they are prohibited at JFK) and not worry so much about tripping and falling.
This last loop was fairly uneventful. I was able to run (albeit rather slowly) most of it and even passed a fit looking young guy who I'd been jostling back and forth with over the past few hours. After completing the loop, it was only 2km *unfortunately mostlyuphill* back to the base and the finish line. I didn't run my watch, so I'm guessing on my time of about 7:15 based on a 6:00 a.m start. This ranks as my slowest 50K time (PB is 5:43) but definitely the toughest course. I remember when I was thinking about doing an ultra and was talked out of trying Haliburton as my first because of the course - it's cool to think that this no longer scares me! I also accomplished my goal of having my second half be no more than 30 minutes slower than my first half. Most importantly, I stayed very positive throughout the day and really enjoyed the experience, which is key for me if I'm going to keep doing them. And since the next one is only three weeks away, I'm really glad I had a good experience here!
Finally, I think I have to give credit to what I am calling my "lucky potatoes." I'm sure Dee will cringe when she reads this, but I carried a small bag of boiled and uber-salted mini potatoes in my pack throughout the race which I now believe were good luck :) I guess I should add that I did eat them, not just carry them!