Rusted from the Rain

Wow. Do I ever stink at this blog thing. Well I figure 2.5 months is a good break in between posts... geez. I'm really not a very good writer and it takes me a long time to edit things, which I don't have time for but...

Well after reading some truly inspirational posts in the last couple of days here, here, and particularly here, I'm feeling the groove to write a little bit.



Before I get into it I think I'm going to do a few things to keep my own interest in this blog going (and I hope it keeps yours). I love listening to music, sometimes whilst running, and sometimes not. But I find that there's a song for every occasion, especially from Billy Talent :) . The above song, in a detached way, describes my day at Pick Your Poison last Saturday.

So here we go.

Saturday was the Pick Your Poison trail race which is located somewhere in between Orillia and Barrie. I was just there but if someone were to ask me where it was, I still wouldn't tell them anything other than somewhere in between Orillia and Barrie. But before I go there I'll briefly talk about the last couple of months.

I'm going to try my best not to sound like I'm whining or feeling sorry for myself but it was feeling like my training wasn't going anywhere. I have had good runs, but it seems more often than not, especially mentally on the long runs, they aren't so great. I have just come to the realization as to why this has been happening, but unfortunately there just isn't much I can do about it but be patient. It all just snuck up on me. I think it was his mention of being exhausted wjhere Gary Robbins post really struck a chord with me. And while I'm not running 100 mile weeks, lack of sleep was really taking its toll. The kids decided to wake up throughout the night again, leaving me with 4 and 5 hours of interrupted sleep most nights. I didn't even really notice that it was having an effect on me - only in retrospect. But last night I got some sleep and it was FANTASTIC!

So going into the PYP 50k, I had a couple of months of crappy sleep, coinciding with not the most consistent training (but what's new). I had also woken up at 3am and hit the road at 4am to drive the 3.5 hours in rain and a flurry of transports with their blaring headlights heading towards me.

I get there and while tired, I'm excited about the race and getting the distance under my belt - something that's been making me uneasy since I had to take time off in December. I'm still not at the same fitness level I was last October and I desperately want to be back in that place. But I need to remember to be patient. But I digress... so I'm nervous and excited but am happy to see a lot of familiar faces at the race and enjoy talking to everyone. Luckily, when I see Helen Malmberg (a woman whom I revere and idolize) I only say hi and save myself from saying something stupid, like I've done in the past - and seem to always do with the people I look up to.

So the the race starts, I'm feeling good, maybe starting a bit fast getting caught up with the racers but I slow down once it breaks up. I'm thinking about fuel and reminding myself to eat something every 20-30 minutes, which I do the first loop. So there's lots of ups and downs and then we come to a flat section, kinda country road-ish and some flat twisty trails and it feels like heaven, and I say to a dude that 'this isn't so bad'. I knew I would regret those words... So I continue, walking up the ups and bombing down the downs. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm surprised at how cautious people are going down the downhills... although I know it can be hard on the quads, but it's the only time I ever get to pass people even if it's only until we reach an uphill again. But the forst loop was a lot of fun, and I was ready for the second loop, even feeling excited about the prospect of rain from the loud thunder above head without realising the effect it would have on the course (the newbie reveals herself again). I finish the loop in just about 1.5 hrs. By that time the rain had started and I was feeling some hot spots on my feet and the ITB was feeling a bit tight but I was ready to go on. But not long after I started, I was feeling zonked and I started to get a headache. Not to mention that some parts of the trails had turned to mush and I couldn't gain time on the downs anymore. I took my hat off and my head felt better but I was still so very tired but my body wasn't hurting, just my mind. Thoughts of not finishing were in my head and I was going back and forth between a plan of changing my shoes and shirt and grabbing the ipod for some motivation, and thinking about my car and how nice it would be to go and sleep. The latter won. I got to the start/finish and I didn't even really think about it too hard, I just told them I was going to call it a day.

The next day was the Sudbury Rocks marathon and I actually woke up at 5am thinking I might go and run it to make up for the miles I missed the day before and to stay on track for training. But alas, they did not take race day entries. Probably a good thing for so many reasons.

Wow, did I ever blab on there for a while... perhaps I shall make an effort to post more regularly... who am I kidding ;)