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.