Creemore Vertical Challenge 25K trail running race
Fatigued legs when I woke up today - not a good omen before this hilly race. I'm not sure how much last weekend's 22-hour Wilderness Traverse course test is still affecting my body but I guess it would be naive to think that I could be totally back to normal. Regardless, Creemore has such a fun race atmosphere that I was looking forward to it.
Tizzle, Amber and me at the start.
'Bent very kindly came along so there are lots more pics than I'd normally have. Here are Tarno and Frankenjack leading out the race.
Frankenjack leading around 11K. These three guys ended up being the overall podium.
Logie coming into the aid station near the front of the race. He finished 6th overall and 2nd in 40-49.
Dee, at 5 months prego, rode 43 km to cheer us on at a twice-visited aid station. Isn't she looking awesome? :) It was great to have her there since she's a natural coach and called out good advice as we went by.
Jokeysmurf was one of the top female finishers. She looks like a pro when she runs!
Charlotte did the 50K with a big smile.
Back to the leaders.
Me coming into the aid station. Right arm too low but otherwise the running style isn't *too* awful. I'm about as far from a natural runner as one could possibly be. Whenever I clear up one bad habit, another becomes painfully obvious.
Later when I got tired, I put on a clinic in heel striking. Ugh. Frankenjack saw me twice on the course and advised that I need to work on increasing cadence, which would rule out heel striking. I've been doing this on my bike to good effect and I've *thought* about doing it in my running but haven't gotten around to it. Will do.
I started closer to the front of the pack than I usually do because the course starts on narrow technical trail. In previous years, I've been caught behind cautious people for 2K. I know many of them can pass me on the road but I figured I might as well use one of the few advantages I have.
It was cloudy when we started then after about 8K, the sun came out and the temperature rose to 31C with smog and humidity. The 25K race started at 9 a.m., an hour later than usual, to give the 50K runners their own start. Probably a good idea, especially after STORM won the 50K by a landslide last year after spending the first half running with a 25K runner by mistake. :) This meant a hotter run for us and my legs turned to jello when the sun came out. My first 10K was a little faster than last year but I felt like I was done. I stopped doing math - no more comparing my time to last year's younger, better-rested, slightly cooler self. I would just try to hold my position relative to the women around me, and that made me feel more positive since nobody seemed overly energetic in the heat.
I always monitor my pace when training and racing. Today I was wearing my heart rate monitor intending to look at the data afterward since I'm hoping to get back into HR-based training. Although I had no intention of making decisions based on HR, it was easy to see that my body was reasonably functional at 150 but turned into Gumby near 160 - not good for careening down steep hills. So I ended up watching HR more than pace as the sun beat down harder. My race wasn't pretty. It was mental. I focused on eating, drinking, electrolytes and HR, hoping to fend off effects of the heat. I saw a few overheated runners, including one woman who left in an ambulance.
At the front of the race, Frankenjack beat the course record! Alas, so did Kyle Aitken, who beat it by 67 seconds more. So it was a silver medal for our friend.
I definitely didn't feel as perky as usual in the final 5K but I passed more people there than in any other part of the race. Several runners were literally standing still. One friend was walking but told me he had stopped running because he was overheated. It took me a couple of tries to grab the right saplings to haul myself out of one of the steep gullies near the end, then it was all flat or downhill to the finish. Soooo glad to see the line and 'Bent smiling at me.
I was almost 5 minutes slower than last year although the first 10K (mostly cloudy) was 90 seconds faster than last year. Wow, did I ever fade big time! Looks like my overall rank in the race was about the same so the heat must have affected a lot of people.
The post-race experience is the absolute best. Free Creemore beer on tap followed by a cooldown in the Mad River.
Believe it or not, it got even better!
On my third attempt at Creemore, I was lucky enough to win my age group and get one of the nice pottery bowls handmade by one of the race directors. I also got a litre of local maple syrup and a big bag of Creemore Coffee. Love these prizes!
Tarno was the only guy on the 40-49 age group podium who stayed for awards, so he picked them up for everyone!
Brother and sister prize winners. Jokeysmurf was second in the under-40 age group. Frankenjack was awarded 1st in the under 40 age group.
These guys look like they're posing for their engagement photo...? Logie swears they're just good friends.
'Bent says he's just friends with Dee as well. :)
Fun day! And as always, there is more work to do.