Going Long (again) in 2024

The Limberlost Challenge

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Location:

Garson - Sudbury,ON,Canada

Member Since:

Apr 20, 2013

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I ran my first marathon in 1998: "The Friendly Marathon" in Massey, Ontario. I was 32. I had never raced in a shorter event, and I trained really poorly - ended up running it in 4:00:30. After that, I gave up running for the most part for 6 years. I got into karate a bit more seriously, until I got my knee kicked out and had ACL surgery. Then I became a 'fair weather runner' and started to run half marathons every so often. As a priest, entering weekend races always meant having to book a holiday, so it just didn't happen much. My holidays were primarily focussed on various canoe and kayak trips.

At some point, I started training more consistently, and started to think of myself as a runner. I guess doing that in your 40's is better than never doing it at all. I even started to wonder if I had it in me to qualify for Boston. Well, I did. First time didn't count, I suppose, since I didn't make the "cut". But the second time was a charm, and on my sixth Marathon, run in Chicago in 2015, I beat my BQ by almost 6 minutes. And now, running a BQ is routine for me, not that I have any desire to run Boston again.

Through it all, I've made tons of mistakes - and have had lots of injuries to show for it. Hopefully, now that I'm in my late 50's, I'm a bit wiser and can use that to my advantage to continue running for a very long time.

My PRs:

5k (12 run): Guelph, ON. October 10, 2016 (50 yrs.) 20:10

10k (10 run): Collingwood October 5, 2013 (47 yrs.) 43:37

Half Marathon (25 run): Cleveland May 18, 2014 (48 yrs) 1:33:08

Marathon (12 run): Ste-Jerome, QC October 3, 2021 (55 yrs.) 3:22:10

Ultras (5 run):

Run for the Toad 50k Trail September 30, 2017 (51 yrs.) 5:31:23

Niagara Falls 100k June 17, 2018 (52 yrs.) 12:26:30

That Dam Hill 24 hours September 15-16, 2018 Completed 100 Miles in 23:20:44

Sulphur Springs 50 mile Trail May 25, 2019 10:37:27

Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail September 7-8, 2019 26:46:27

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Pacing my sister in her 1st Half Marathon.

Short-Term Running Goals:

After a broken right foot in 2022 in the later stages of a marathon training cycle, then adjusting to a 1/2" heal lift in my right shoe to compensate for a leg length discrepancy, and then a left plank plate rupture in the late summer of 2023, I had to decide: go fast or go long. I opted for long, for this year at least.

May 2024: Sulphur Springs 50 Mile Trail (revisiting it after 5 years)

July 2024: Limberlost 54KM Trail

September 2024: Haliburton 100 Mile Trail (also revisiting it after 5 years).

Everything this year is really focussed on the Haliburton 100 as my key event. After that, and depending on how things go, I'll reevaluate.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run until this old body of mine won't let me run any more. I was inspired in the Spring of 2016, watching the start of the Ottawa Marathon. Near the back of the pack was an 'old man', running with his walker. I loved it! I thought ... there's me in 20 years. Maybe.

Personal:

I am a Roman Catholic priest of 30 years, ministering in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. I spent 8 years ministering in the small town of Wawa (where I helped establish the annual Blackfly Run) and 9 years in Sault Ste. Marie. I have been in the Sudbury region now for 13 years. Currently I Pastor 2 small Parishes: St. John the Evangelist in Garson, and St. Bernardine of Siena in Skead, covering the area just Northeast of the city, surrounding the Sudbury Airport.

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to Ukraine's Armed Forces

Miles:	This week:	22.00	Month:	145.00	Year:	1953.80
Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Lifetime Miles:						412.40
Brooks Cascadia 11 Lifetime Miles:						394.00
Salomon Speedcross 4 Lifetime Miles:						356.75
Brooks Launch 8 Lifetime Miles:						153.00
Asics Metaspeed Sky Lifetime Miles:						32.20
Brooks Ghost 13 Lifetime Miles:						474.50
Triumph 18 Treadmill/outside Lifetime Miles:						232.00
Black Hoka Bondi Lifetime Miles:						53.00

Sat, Jul 06, 2024

Race: The Limberlost Challenge (34.797 Miles) 08:12:57, Place overall: 27, Place in age division: 3

Total Distance

34.80

I just got home. This was a tough course, but I figure it is comparable to the Haliburton 100 in terms of elevation and terraine. So, a good rehearsal run, which is what I wanted.

I drove the 3 hours on Friday to race site and slept in my tent. Not much sleep in a rather noisy group campground, but that is expected. It rained during the night.

The course is 4 loops of 14km each, so about 8.7 miles/loop. It has 1100 feet of elevation gain/drop per loop, so a total of 4400 feet. It is mostly single track and quite technical. Close to 100% is on trails. On the course at the same time were also runners in shorter distances of 1, 2 or 3 loops. They started after we did, but the faster ones in the shorter distances caught up with us in no time.

It was hot and humid, and rained off and on all day, so the trail was muddy and slippery. The sun would come out briefly to steam things up, and then it would either drizzle or pour, depending on the hour.

For most of the first lap, we were a long line of runners (which I found irritating). I could not run as fast as I would have liked on the downhills, and had to walk harder than I wanted on the uphills. Plus, you constantly had to adjust your pace to the runner in front of you. I think most people would enjoy the company, but I much preferred the last 3 laps, and especially the final lap when the only people I saw were at the aid stations.

On lap 3, the humidity really hit me hard, and I overheated a couple of times. Heart rate shot up, and I had to walk even the (rare) level sections in order to get it under control. Most times, you were either going up or going down, and even then you often had to pick your way over rocks, logs, etc. Technical, as I said.

My lap times were:

1:45:45 (12:10 pace) 1:59:31 (13:45 pace) 2:11:48 (15:09 pace) 2:16:04 (15:40 pace). Overall average pace was 14:11. I didn't stop at all on the first lap, so the subsequent laps show not just a slower pace, but also reflect my lingering a bit at the 3 aid stations.

I carried one bottle of Tailwind, and one of water. That combination worked well. I ate at the aid stations - mostly M&Ms, watermelon and chips. Oh, one gingerbread cookie too, which I appreciated!

Since this was a 'training run', I had no taper leading into it (so, a large mileage week) and I didn't push myself terribly hard. My right hammie is sore today, and the long drive home didn't help. I drove 2 hours after the race to Madonna House for 2 nights, and then 5 hours home today.

So, overall, I'm pleased with the results. Middle of the pack for the most part:

27th overall of 67, 26th man of 55 and 3rd of 8 in the 50-59 age group.

Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 35.00

Weight: 160.00

Comments

From Tom K on Mon, Jul 08, 2024 at 12:15:24 from 47.206.202.65

Being stuck behind someone on single track sounds awful. Actually, the whole mud, technical, hilly thing sounds awful to me! Way to push through, man!

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