Going Long (again) in 2024

Strong North wind and a chilly -13C/8F, but clear skies and bright sun, which felt good on the face.  9:08 pace.  Quads a bit sore from running the downhills hard on Sunday, but not too bad.

Easy 9:31 pace on the treadmill.

Treadmill; 9:31 pace.

Started off with snow - big, wet flakes.  Then switched to rain, with some sleet mixed in.  9:07 pace.

Was supposed to run 50 miles today, and decided to run it with the Backyard format, to see how it felt.  I had previously measured out 2.08 miles, for an out and back of 4.167 miles.  My plan was to start at 6am and finish at 6pm today.  I didn't plan for the Spring storm that is hitting us big time!

Everything is shut down today.  Major storm.  Lots of snow and very strong wind.  But I set out, as planned, at 6am.  At that point, it wasn't too bad.  Just a light snow and little wind, and a comfortable temperature of -4C/25F.  I ran the "yard" with a pace around 10:30/mile, and had a little more than 15 minutes to rest before my next "yard".

The wind picked up for this lap, and the temperature was dropping.  Still, not too bad.  By the third lap, however, it was snowing heavy and the wind was blowing at 20 mph.  The wind just kept getting stronger after that, and the snow was falling fast.  Visibility was about a quarter mile, and less than that at times when the wind gusts picked up.

By Noon, it was really quite miserable out there.  The wind is blowing from the North at 27mph, and gusting to 38mph.  My route is essentially a bit less than 2 miles North and then the same back South, with a bit of East/West to make up the rest.  So, going out is a slog, but coming back is kinda nice.  The real problem is the deep snow on the road.  There is very little traffic, so no tire ruts to run in.  By now, the snow is drifting across the road and is reaching half way up my calf/shin.  It is a real slog to move through it, and I'm beginning to feel the strain.

By the time I was on my 8th yard at 1pm, I was feeling pain in both my knees, shins and hips from having to force my feet through the deep snow.  At that point, I made the decision to call it a day.  I figured that 4 more laps would cause an injury that wasn't worth it for a training run.  No regrets.  That distance in those conditions was pretty awesome.

So, I know a bit more about the Backyard "feel" now, and have a bit more confidence going into my 100 miler next month.  It was really nice to have that 15 minutes between laps to rest, dry off, change socks, shirt and hat and whatever else was soaked through.  It meant the cold never penetrated deep, and I was comfortable enough running.  The fierce wind I could handle; it's just the deep snow that did me in today.

Aftermath of Monday's storm:  All highways out of Sudbury to the North, East and South were closed.  7 inches of snow fell.  That broke a record that was 102 years old.  There was major drifting on top of that, with snow almost to my knees on the road in places.  I'm glad I stopped.  I should have run yesterday instead.  At least the sun was out.

Anyway, I decided to pick up some of the mileage today, since I wanted to see how my legs were doing after Monday.  On the treadmill at an even 9:31 pace.  Everything felt fine.  I could have run further, but I have to leave to drive to North Bay for the Chrism Mass very soon, and so didn't have time.

Run in North Bay before I head back to Sudbury; 9:21 pace. They didn't get clobbered with that massive storm on Monday here.

Sunrise run; 9:08 pace.

9:14 pace on a gorgeous morning; clear skies, little wind, and a comfortable -4C/26F temperature.

After Saturday's run, my right knee was pretty stiff.  I realize I hadn't done much stretching or foam rolling, which is a mistake in the midst of peak mileage.  So, a lot of that yesterday and today.

This is a cutback week, so I'll continue doing lots of stretches and foam rolling.  The knee is still a little tight, but not quite as bad as it was Saturday afternoon.  

I kept it ultra slow today; 10:13 pace.  If need be, I can take some extra days off this week before ramping up my mileage for one more week.

Light snow falling, with some wind.  Pushed it a little faster and a little further; the knee is feeling better.  9:30 pace.

Treadmill run; 9:31 pace.

Cold and wet.  It rained off and on throughout.  Mostly on.  Great Good Friday weather.  9:31 pace.

A bit warmer today at 6C/42F, but still raining.  Foggy too.  9:23 pace.

It started off decently enough, despite a stiff East wind and a coolish 4C/39F.  At mile 8, it started to hail.  That turned to rain quickly enough, and by the time I was done, it was pouring rain quite hard.  9:11 pace.  

Another cool morning with a light drizzle; 9:19 pace.

Finally, a run with no rain; 8:57 pace.

Three mile shakeout run at 9:13 pace.  This afternoon, I'll drive the 3 hours to race site.  I'm staying in an airbnb right next to it.  Weather is forecast to be unpleasant.  Cold, windy and rainy.  Seems to be a theme for my races over the past year.  

50km trail race.  I need to finish with a 12:00 minute/mile pace average to give me time to get home for my Saturday evening Mass.

This is the 15th year for Pick Your Poison, situated in the Horseshoe Valley Ski area.  You can run 12.5km (one lap), 25km (two laps), or 50km (4 laps).  I ran 50km.

The course is 85% forested single track, 5% logging road, 5% x-country double track and 5% up and down ski hills.  It was mostly clear of mud, but there were a few sections of mud impossible to avoid, and some snow pack on the tops of the ski hills.  Over the 4 laps, there is total climb of 1720m/5643 feet.

This area was hit hard by the ice storm 4 weeks ago (I passed through here on my way home from 30K Around the Bay).  The airbnb I stayed at had no power for 5 days after that storm, but that was better than others who lost it for 10 days.  LOTS of trees down.  The race organizers cleared the trail, and that was a HUGE job (they almost cancelled the event), but there were big trees down all over the place.  Quite a mess.

The day threatened rain, but mostly it held off until the final lap.  It was pretty much at 5C/41F throughout the race, and a steady wind that you could really feel at the tops of the ski hills.

My lap splits were:  1:30:18  1:34:32  1:42:50  and  1:42:15.  I came in first in my age division.

We started an hour before the 25k folks.  The 12.5 k folks started a half hour after that, so exactly 18 seconds after I finished my first lap.  That meant I had a horde of fast runners behind me.  I slowed to let the front of the packers pass while on the logging road, but when we got to the single track, I had to keep up with the pack, as there was no way to let anyone pass.  It pushed me a bit faster than I wanted, but it all worked out on the double tracks and ski hills.

I ran mostly alone on the 4th lap.  I was really concerned about getting home in time to celebrate Mass at 7pm.  I had a 3 hour drive to get there.  Turns out, that motivated me to run slightly faster than my 3rd lap.  And I managed to get home in enough time.

Not great sitting 3 hours and driving right after a big event, but I had no choice.  Still, no real issues in my body.  A bit of ongoing tightness in my right quad/knee, and hammies a bit tight after all the hills, but no pain or soreness.  I'll take tomorrow off and see what Monday brings.  I taper now for 3 weeks and then run my Backyard Ultra.