Training Log Archive: Bash

Race recovery with Moules Frites and beer in Baie St. Paul.

Québec Mega Trail 80 km
Petite-Rivière-Saint-François to Mont Sainte Anne



I hadn't trained for an 80 km trail run. It's been more than two years since I've run that distance, and over the past 3 months, I've only run about 300 km. That wouldn't even be a great 10K training program. But I'm running the mountainous, 101-km CCC at UTMB in two months, and the recent changes in their entry process mean that it's probably my last chance.

So I entered the QMT 80 as a test rather than waiting and letting CCC be my first and only test. 'Bent came along to try out his 50K legs in advance of OCC although he'll be fine regardless. The Québec Mega Trail is a very well-organized event and this year, most of the distances (but not the 80K) served as the Canadian Mountain Running Championships.

The alarm went off at 2:40 a.m. and a short time later, the bus left the Chateau Mont Ste. Anne. It was raining and foggy as we gathered on a pier on the St. Lawrence River near the base of Le Massif ski area for our 5 a.m. start.







We ran 2 km on roads then began the biggest climb of the race through the wet forest to the top of Le Massif. I made good use of my poles.



It took 2.5 hours to reach Le Massif aid station at 15K, which was the forecast time for a mid-pack runner. That would have been great news if the race had attracted any back-of-the-pack runners but very few of them came, apparently. I was never the very last person on the course, especially since the 110 km racers started with us, but I wasn't far from the end of the line. It was a relatively small field so I spent a lot of time running alone on slick trails through lush green forest. There are black bears and moose in the area so I made noise as I went.



A couple of weeks in advance, we'd been given a list of every food item we could expect at the different aid stations. 'Bent was going to be offered a burger (which he wouldn't take) at one of his aid stations while my biggest "meal" would be a grilled cheese sandwich. I loved the hard boiled eggs - not a standard aid station food. The aid stations in France will not be as appealing.

Although we were mostly in the forest, we did emerge for a few spectacular views over the foggy St. Lawrence after the rain stopped.









My iPhone6 battery died early from turning itself on in my pack pocket too often so I missed a lot of great photos. :( Thank you 'Bent and Google for helping me fill in a few blanks. I could live without photos but the trail was so isolated that I was disappointed to lose my ability to communicate.

This pro photo shows a typical stretch of trail but I haven't seen any photos showing the frequent stretches of thick, gooey mud and the huge brown puddles across the entire trail. The mud slogs were worthy of an Ontario adventure race. Often the mud was on a slope, on a slippery wooden ramp or oozing between rocks, roots or manmade steps.



Around 32 km, after running alone for 25+ km, I caught up to a woman. I expected to pass her but GG sped up when I arrived. We chatted as we moved at a brisk pace through that section. She speaks some English and I speak some French, and we managed to chat happily about all kinds of things in our Franglais.

She said she'd like to run the rest of the race with me. Gulp: I *never* do a trail race with anyone. I protested that I didn't want to slow her down but she didn't mind. Since my only goal today was to finish, and we had a healthy cushion of 100+ minutes over the cut-offs, I nervously agreed. GG was clearly more fit on flats and uphills with her marathon PB of 3:02. I was faster on downhills and through the mucky technical sections. The soles of her shoes weren't designed to handle mud as well as mine. So we weren't a perfect match but it was going to be a long day, and the time went faster together. We were also passing a few people.

I kept waiting for my body to rebel and tell me I had no business being out there. I think my longest training run in recent months was 33 km but I still felt fine at 35 km - and at 40 km and 45 km. It was just plain weird. My injured ankle was taped and held up well. I didn't get any blisters. My quads didn't get sore until the final few hours. I think the soft, muddy trails were easier on my body and postponed the aches and pains. I felt energetic climbing hills until late in the race. That was good, of course, but I was almost disappointed not to feel more difference between "trained Bash" and "untrained Bash". Is there no hope for improvement? ;) Maybe on a race course like this - technical and relatively slow - a runner's body draws more on endurance gained over years of training, not the most recent training block. I am curious about the science.



Shortly before the St.-Tite-des-Caps aid station at 57 km, it started pouring again. We had to cross the road inside a large culvert with a small river flowing through it. It was thigh-deep in places with large rocks underwater to add to the fun.

GG's boyfriend was at the aid station and immediately leapt into action like a superhero, supporting both of us as we changed socks, replenished food and packed our headlamps. I asked him to text 'Bent to explain that my phone wasn't working. There was some road running before and after St. Tite, and GG was like a coach, pushing me to run more than I would have on my own.

Unfortunately, from that point on, there were a lot of slippery, muddy, rocky, rooty descents - the most technical trails of the day. I was standing still waiting a lot but decided to think of it as an adventure race with a teammate. I got a little cold in the rain so I added a layer. GG said if I wanted to go ahead, that would be fine but I figured we'd get through this difficult section and our paces would match more closely again.

The RD had warned us that the rocky, slippery Mestachibo section of "trail" along the Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River would take considerable time and energy and we would need to be very careful. One racer referred to this 10K section as "the boulder problem", lol.









I suddenly realized that our cushion over the cut-offs had almost evaporated. We had one hour to do 3 km of rock scrambling to the next aid station and I didn't know how technical it was going to be. When we took 20 minutes to get through the next km, I panicked. I didn't want to leave GG but our paces were so different in this type of terrain, and I didn't want to lose my race finish. I apologized profusely and ran down the trail. A short distance later, I passed another woman who, thankfully, ended up joining GG for the rest of the race. We were 12 km from the finish when we separated.



I ran and scrambled the 2 km to the Mestachibo aid station and left 15 minutes before the cut-off. Darkness fell soon afterward. I felt terrible about going ahead of GG. Fortunately, the final cut-off was very generous and after a few more kms of slippery scrambling, stair climbing and boulder field climbing, it got easier. The final few kms around Mont Ste. Anne travelled on gentle trails.

Unfortunately, that's when I learned that I'd paced myself perfectly for a 75 km race. I started to feel fatigued to the point of wanting to close my eyes, and my stomach felt a little unsettled. But under the circumstances, I won't complain. It was nice to cross the finish line and see 'Bent with GG's boyfriend - although I had some explaining to do! Fortunately, she ended up finishing about 50 minutes later, still under the 18-hour cut-off. She gave me a big hug and seemed totally fine with my decision. She competes at a high level in skiing and mountain biking, and this was just a training race. We had a post-race beer and planned to get together in future.





Earlier in the day, 'Bent had finished his 50 km with a smile - although his stomach only lasted 45 km.



My ultrarunning superpower is not running; it's my ability to eat at almost any time.



I'd recommend this race to trail runners who enjoy hills and don't mind slippery, steep conditions. The organizers did a great job and it's a fun area to visit as a tourist.

*GPS measured 78.6 km using a battery saving mode to record this run.

We’re at Mont Sainte Anne. Funny story, when I searched The Weather Network for the forecast for here when I was packing at home, it suggested that I might mean Sainte Anne des Monts. OK, fine. However, it turns out that is a different town 540 kms from here - whoops! I’m wishing I’d brought my better raincoat. It’s going to be a very, very wet day.

"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" has come up with a great idea to alleviate the environmental damage and dangerous crowding on Mount Everest: Don't go!

In the past, it was considered unethical to Photoshop yourself on top of Everest but now it's understood to be a great way to address the problem. Make your own Everest summit photo at their site; taking a pet is optional!
https://www.thetopofmounteverest.com

Thank you, AdventureDog, for tap dancing on our bed at 5:30 a.m. (Yawn.)

This was a quick test of the custom "20-Hr Ultrarun" mode that I'd entered into my new-ish Ambit3. I hiked the 1 km loop that runs through our neighbour's property and ours - the one I'd like to use for a mini-Backyard Ultra some time. This battery-saving mode works really well.

I also wore the shoes I'm planning to wear on Saturday because it sounds like it may be wet and slippery. These are new Speedcross Pros so I'll take some old Speedcross just in case the new shoes don't feel right on the day.

Not that I've been able to follow a training program this spring but today's run was supposed to be 5K, and that seemed achievable for once. I used the treadmill to avoid a last minute, pre-race ankle roll. Also, I hadn't watched "Mountain Outhouse News" in a few months so it was a good chance to catch up on a few episodes.

First time I’ve attended a race briefing by webinar - very efficient! Nice to get it out of the way and be able to ask questions while we’re still packing. So far the Quebec Megatrail seems really well organized. The only negative: lots of bugs there at this time of year.

Two thumbs up for Rocketman! (But don't take the kids.)

The Québec Megatrail is one week away so I double-taped my injured ankle and tested it on trails in Palgrave East and West. The trails aren't rocky so it wasn't the toughest test but my ankle seemed fairly solid. The reduced mobility from the taping led to some soreness in ligaments - or maybe that's just the remnants of the injury. Anyway, I'll do the same taping for the race.

Beautiful day! It was summery enough that I sincerely regretted forgetting my hat.

Still protecting my ankle so I ran gravel roads again. Beautiful day! I was aiming for a tempo run but turned my watch off when two phone calls came in so I'm not sure it counts. My ankle felt more solid. I bought two new boxes of Leukotape yesterday so I'm ready to mummify my lower leg for next weekend's race.

My ankle isn't fixed but I needed to test it running so I did an out-and-back to the west on Finnerty Sideroad, turning around at Innis Lake Road.

There was a bit of messing around at the 1 km mark when Otis the adorable, overweight chocolate Lab puppy started chasing me and torpedoed me in the popliteal. (Google if you must.) Some people in a driveway said he belonged to their neighbours - the people who bought the cool log house that used to have a mini-barnyard in front with goats and donkeys wearing little coats.

Finally, a woman came out to the road and we had a little chat. (OK, it may have been a bit of a lecture on my part.) Otis wasn't wearing a collar, which meant that when she tried to take him home and I tried to continue on my run, Otis came after me again. She had a heck of a time trying to drag the poor fellow away by the scruff of his neck.

I asked if he had a collar. "No." (Her husband doesn't think it's necessary.) I asked if he was microchipped. "No." He's almost 1 year old so I asked if he was neutered. "No." When necessary, they use a leash with a slip collar; otherwise there's nothing around his neck. They just don't understand why he's started chasing cyclists and runners down the road near the blind hill where they live. I told her about the dead Lab puppy I found in the middle of the road nearby. That driver didn't bother to stop. I forgot to tell her that if Otis had nipped me in his excitement, and he wasn't wearing an obvious rabies tag, it would have put a major strain on neighbourly relations.

Anyway, I hope Otis' owners smarten up because the poor guy deserves better than that.

My ankle felt fine for the entire run. Then I walked out to our mailbox as a cooldown and felt my ankle start to turn within a few seconds of switching off my Ambit. It didn't go over but it's just waiting to do it again. Boo. You may want to buy shares in Leukotape.

Best ball golf tournament raising funds for C3's young triathletes. Luckily, I wasn't the cart driver so I took every opportunity to run to pick up balls and bushwhack into creeks to find balls that others had left behind. It meant I got some exercise. I managed to resist the frequent visits of the beer cart and maybe that's why I think 9 holes would have been plenty.

It was my 2nd time golfing in the past few decades so it took a long time for my body to remember how. I didn't know the rest of my foursome, who were longtime work colleagues, but they were friendly and very polite about my poor skills and rare good shots. The woman driving my cart was from St. Andrews - yes, *that* St. Andrews - so she really knew her stuff.

Given my inconsistent track record, my teammates looked a little shocked when we got a par on the 18th hole using all 4 of my shots. Of all the sports I've done, I guess I was most competitive at golf but that was a very long time ago. Today proved that I wouldn't have the patience for it anymore but I'll try to get to this golf tournament every year. Maybe it will help if I drink the beer next time!

At 6:40 a.m., I was awakened by the sound of dog growls and shattering glass. Mom passed my great aunt's decorative bowl to me - probably close to 100 years old - and it survived exactly one week out of the box at our place. This is why we can't have nice things. :(

On a happier note, Coach LD cooked a lovely dinner and we had a great catch-up with her, Goose and VO2Max.

Up and down The (very muddy) Grind at Blue Mountain plus a short run along the top. Beautiful day! This was a test of taping my ankle instead of using a brace. It seemed to work OK although I'm not sure if it will hold things together for 80 km on wet trails.

'Bent, Tarno, Milla and I paddled the Beaver River from Kimberley to Heathcote. We bought yummy sandwiches at the Kimberley General Store and stopped for an on-the-water picnic after an hour (time deducted). We paddled our whitewater canoe and lent the Tarnos our Kevlar canoe as a Father's Day gift.

It was a perfect day to paddle. The forested sections felt very Lord of the Rings. We saw lots of birds including quite a few Great Egrets.

Alas, the bakery in Heathcote was closed when we finished but luckily, our car shuttle took us back to the Kimberley General Store, where they had just baked fresh banana bread.

Last weekend’s ankle sprain is healing more slowly than hoped so I hiked with poles at Pretty River while ‘Bent and Tarno ran. I wore my favourite ankle brace although it’s designed more to prevent side-to-side movement, whereas this sprain was 45 degrees toward the front outside. I think the brace would help but it hurt after 2 hours so it’s not an option for running right now.

BazingaDog went with the boys but Koko wisely chose me since she knew she’d get more time to sniff and explore at my slower pace. She didn’t always agree with my route choices, especially when I repeated hills, so I got lots of Vizsla Attitude!

This seems to be a week for Tick Talk. In case I haven't posted this here yet, here is a tick growth chart, i.e. what does a tick look like depending on how long it's been attached to you. Useful and disgusting stuff.
https://tickencounter.org/tick_identification/tick...

I've seen a lot of tick pics on social media and even in my email inbox over the past week. Apparently, southern Ontario is hopping!

This link from Johns Hopkins is a good summary of the standard advice (although they're based in an area where ticks are more likely to be infected) but it has an especially good discussion of Lyme Disease symptoms. For example, we're told to watch for flu-like symptoms after a tick bite but this clarifies that we're looking for symptoms like fever, abrupt fatigue and aches - *not* runny nose and coughing.

Click on the link to the poster of different rashes. I knew that 25-30% of people with Lyme never have a rash, and I knew the rashes might not be a bullseye, but I didn't know that only 20% of Lyme-related rashes are bullseye-shaped.

Furry Friends 5k
Fundraiser for animal rescue organizations
Albion Hills

It's fun to mill around before this race in a crowd of animal lovers and their dogs. There was a dog refreshment station with a long line of water dishes and little swimming pool. AdventureDog walked along the line and drank a little from each dish until he got bored with that.



AdventureDog and I are on the poster! (Bottom middle.)



He was really keen to get going.



Right from the start, AdventureDog chased his Lab friend Barley, who was rescued from the same northern town as A-Dog. Unfortunately, Barley belongs to pro triathlete Taylor Reid but A-Dog refused to let that worry him. This race is run on hilly trails near our place so he felt totally comfortable in the terrain and wanted to be in the lead pack. He was attached to me by the waist so I was towed along - yikes!



Barley soon disappeared over the horizon because even AdventureDog can't make me run like Taylor Reid. At 1.5 km, we were passed by another pro triathlete, Kristen Marchant, so we knew that A-Dog's pace was still too fast.



He took care of that near the 2 km mark when I caught a toe on a tree root and went for a Superman flight, yanked forward through the air by the cord around my waist. I landed hardest on my left forearm and later found bloody scrapes in five different places around my body - and lots of dirt! The important thing is that my Ambit 3 was not damaged; the arm will heal. :) On the down side, my sore ankle got tweaked again.

We ran at a more reasonable pace after that and had a nice stop at the aid station with dog water bowls. It got exciting for everyone when we started passing dog walkers on our 2nd lap.



Word got out that race favourite Taylor Reid's dog Barley had taken a nature break, which not only knocked Taylor off the podium; it meant he had to run the last 2 km holding a bag of poop!

AdventureDog and I crossed the finish line in a decent time, then one of us went for a swim in the river. Although we didn't catch Taylor and Barley, A-Dog got in the last word by taking a big bite from Taylor's post-race pizza slice as we were chatting.

This year's Bolton race raised over $30,000 for animal rescue charities, more than double what we raised last year. So far in 2019, Furry Friends 5Ks at various locations have raised more than $100,000 $115,000.

AdventureDog and I spent the rest of the day recovering.

Browner and I met at Scotsdale Farm for a fun catch-up run through the rocky trails around Silver Creek Conservation Area. It's been way too long!

My ankle was feeling pretty good until I cranked it again - ugh. I'll wear an ankle brace for the Furry Friends 5K tomorrow, then give it a few days off. The Québec Megatrail 50 miler is three weeks from today and I can't wear a brace in the race because I'll get blisters. Looks like I may have to tape it though. I wonder if my foothab was keeping it in line. I'm hoping to have time for regular training like that again soon.

Then I went home and planted our vegetable garden. Better late than never!

'Bent and I parked by the Tai Chi Centre and ran the Bruce Trail north through Hockleycrest and across Airport Road into the Hockley Valley. We went at our own paces and did some hill repeats around Sally's Pinnacle and Dave's Pinnacle, including the big 5th Line hill, which is closed to traffic now and rutted enough to feel like trail running.

It was one of the warmest runs that I've done this year, and my body wasn't impressed in the final hour. No big mystery: I felt like drinking *lots* of water but it turns out I hadn't rinsed all the dish soap from my hydration bladder so it tasted pretty gross.

On an easy-looking downhill about an hour in, I turned my ankle for the first time since last autumn. Grrr - ain't nobody got time for that! Luckily, it feels like the injury was only a 4 out of 10, although my cursing was closer to 8 out of 10. Sorry, chipmunks.

'Bent and I parked at the dental office and walked to the Caledon Equestrian Centre (used for the Pan Am Games) for the Rotary Palgrave Wines of the World evening. Lots of yummy food, some of it cooked by Crash, and dozens of different wines for tasting, along with a few beers and ciders. It's a community fundraiser so we were forced to consume lots of calories. I think my favourite dish was the strawberry goat cheese pizza. We'd brought trail shoes and headlamps so we could taste several wines in good conscience and then hike home through the forest around sunset. Lovely evening for it!

If you - and optionally your dog - are interested in a fun trail race at Albion Hills this Sunday morning, check out the Furry Friends 5K, which raises funds for several animal rescue charities. AdventureDog and I are returning for a second year. Unfortunately, 'Bent has another commitment so BazingaDog will have to sit this one out.

If you can't make it, please consider donating to my fundraising campaign. Not sure if Pride Month is a factor but half my donors so far have been women with wives. Are they nicer human beings than most? Do they have a greater love of animals? Will this wonderful trend continue? Let's see! :)

Georgian Peaks ski hill repeats with 'Bent, each of us going at our own pace. After yesterday's long run, we were both feeling pretty comfortable on the couch this morning with our coffee, dogs and iPads. But the countdown is on for our race so we dragged our tired bodies over to The Peaks. On my first visit this year, I did 3 repeats, and *boy* did my weary legs want to stop after the 3rd repeat today. But in endurance sports, I know I get the most benefit from the training I do after the point where I feel like quitting. As it turns out, the 4th climb felt easier than the 3rd climb. I did a little extra after that because I'm too OCD to stop with 982 meters of climb on my Ambit. :)

'Bent and I met Goose at the Beaver Valley Ski Club. The plan was that the boys would run the Bruce Trail loop to the south end of the Beaver Valley counterclockwise while I ran it clockwise. That way we could say hello partway through and get an idea of our timing. Goose would drive 'Bent to Thornbury after they finished. I would pick 'Bent up in our van after I finished.



We started in fog, which is my excuse for missing my first turn from the Bruce Side Trail to the main Bruce Trail. I only saw one white blaze across the road and I cheerfully followed the main Bruce almost a kilometre in the wrong direction. I was supposed to turn onto the road for a while but didn't see any blazes there - oops. That added 1.8 km to my loop.

I remember some scenic clifftop views on the east side of the Beaver Valley but today I just had to imagine them. The fog had mostly cleared by the time I got to Eugenia Falls, which was lovely. The trail around it seems a bit risky in places even now so I can't believe I was romping around there on ice in my Microspikes in February!





I met 'Bent and Goose a few kms later. They were looking strong even though Goose had cranked his ankle hard two weeks ago and was wearing a brace.

I'd never seen Hogg's Falls before and was surprised to find a crowd of tourists taking turns getting photos of themselves in front of it, including attempts at seductive Instagram selfies by people wearing uncomfortable city shoes. Good grief. I felt a little better when I discovered a tour bus in the parking lot. Turns out I'd arrived at the worst possible time.



There were a trillion trilliums along the trail, especially on the west side of the valley. It was absolutely beautiful in the forest. We'd heard there were black flies and mosquitoes, and there probably were, but they mostly steered clear. There were rocky, rooty and muddy sections, just the way we like it. I passed occasional hikers and backpackers but often ran several kilometres without seeing anyone.



I made another wrong turn but this one I blame on confusing signage. There were footprints so I wasn't the first to interpret this trail marker at a T intersection as "Turn Left".



Turns out it was intended for people coming from the opposite direction but it was attached to the tree at an angle that made it visible from my direction too. That added another 1.2 km to the loop plus a good climb.

Afterward, I picked up 'Bent in Thornbury and got to see Hermes and Hank briefly before we dashed back to ABC to take the dogs out. The Québec Megatrail is four weeks away, and I'd say 'Bent is ready for his 50 km. I'll have one more long run next weekend, then I'll find out if these little bursts of training time been enough to build up to 50 miles. It's not as if there has been any choice so it is what it is. I'm tired tonight but I felt pretty good out there, considering the limited amount of running I've done.