Snowflakes and Smiles on the Road to Recovery

Today I ran for 9 minutes, walked for one. I repeated that 3 times. I am ecstatic! It was a dark and snowy run. It was about minus 5 as I headed out after work and ran listening to the crunch of the snow under my feet and seeing the street lights reflect off the bright white snow. And I ran for total 27 minutes!! Yes, you are reading the right blog, Ellie the ultra trail runner is ecstatic with a 27 minute road run :) Since getting injured (SI joint) about a month ago I have not been able to run at all until last week. Instead it has been regular physio sessions, twice daily physio exercises and the stepper and recumbent bike at the gym. It's been easier than it would have been at any other time of year as I had planned to take December as an easy month anyway but to go from running almost daily to no running at all has not been fun! Skiing has been my saviour to at least somehow be able to get outside and enjoy the mountain air.

Last Wednesday, about 30mins after getting the ok from the physio, I was trying my first run on the treadmill. 1 minute run, 1 minute walk. 5 times. It was slow, it was painful and it was frustrating after all the work I had put in to heal fast. But having stuck to my run schedule I am seeing I can now run 27mins in less pain than I could run 5 minutes in just 7 days ago - yay! After my first attempt at running on the treadmill I have done all my runs outside, at first I thought this would be frustrating to head out of the door for a run to come back less than 30 minutes later but at least it seems like a real run rather than a painful treadmill session.

So if all things carry on going well then I hope to be running for one full hour in a weeks time! Of course, I am sure there will be set backs and there is still some pain when running and it is hardly at a killer pace but at least it is moving in the right direction. My first race of 2011 is a half marathon in Vancouver in mid-February. I had hoped to get some short fast work outs in the try improve my half marathon time, and there is still some chance of that, but if not it will be a race for the fun of it and I'll just be glad to be back racing!

My 14 day schedule, of which I am now on day 7, has been:

Day 1 - 1min run, 1 min walk, x 5 = 10mins

Day 2 - rest

Day 3 - 2min run, 1 min walk, x 5 = 15mins

Day 4 - 3min run, 1 min walk, x 5 = 20mins

Day 5 - rest

Day 6 - 4min run, 1min walk, x 5 = 25mins

Day 7 - 9min run, 1min walk, x 3 = 30mins

Day 8 - 9min run, 1min walk, x 4 = 40mins

Day 9 - rest

Day 10 - 14min run, 1min walk, x 3 = 45mins

Day 11 - 20min run

Day 12 - 9min run, 1min walk, x 5 = 50mins

Day 13 - 14min run, 1min walk, x 4 = 60mins

Day 14 - rest

Ellie's Gear of the Year 2010

In 2009 Montrail's Mountain Masochist won Gear of the Year award from Outside Magazine, and ever since then has consistently left the shelves of Canadian running stores and hit the trails within days of arriving in the store. I know lots of friends who always stock up on Masochists each time they visit the States as they are like gold dust in Canada. Well here are some of my picks for Gear of the Year from the Montrail and Mountain Hardwear line ups from 2010 (it's a hard job to have to test out awesome gear but someone has to do it ....)

Run Jacket
I LOVE the geist jacket. Small enough and light enough to stuff in a pack or tie around your waist, yet warm enough to keep out a chill and block out the wind. My go-to running jacket for a wide range of temperatures. Great reflective pattern that is subtle yet higly visible. Nice ventilation and pockets to keep the essentials safe.

Trail Shoes

The Rockridges are a super all round shoe. I happily wear them on road to get to the trails yet they'll take a fair amount of abuse from some pretty gnarly trails too. Light weight, roomy toe box and you forget you are even wearing them (a sure sign of a good shoe). Can handle lots of miles. If you like these, look out for the Montrail Fairhavens for Spring 2011, another great all rounder that is designed for both road and trail, and lets face it - we all have to run on a bit of tarmac from time to time!

Run Tights

It can get pretty darn chilly in the Canadian Rockies so winter running in shorts is just not on even for the toughest of runners (please, I don't want anyone to try prove me wrong!) I love MHW's Super Power Tight as they are snug without being too skin-fitting tight, they have good length so no chilly ankles come popping out and they are basic and black, which to be honest, might not be exciting but let's not bring attention to ourselves when running in spandex!
After Run Jacket

It's so pretty! It's so cosy! It's the MHW Nitrous down jacket! The Nitrous is not a heavy down jacket but ideal for those slightly chilly days when you need something quick to warm up in after a run. It packs down small so I often take it in my pack in case the weather turns nasty mid run. And it looks great for everyday wear too!

So there are my favourite run peices of 2010, maybe a few ideas of what to buy your favourite runner for Christmas! http://www.mountainhardwear.com/

Happy trails,

Ellie x

Socks: the Worst Christmas Gift?

Socks are typically one of those Christmas gifts where you think someone is seriously lacking in imagination if they buy them for you. But not all socks are created equal and I think I will be finding this out more in the next few months of running as I test out all the various types of socks in the Drymax range. I had the chance to get some samples and as they fell out of the package that arrived in the mail yesterday I wanted to get them right on and test the Cold Weather Running ones out in the snow, just too bad I'm injured right now! So maybe instead I'll hit the stepper or the recumbent bike in the gym and try out a pair of Hot Weather Running socks or Running Lite Mesh socks...there are just so many different sorts tailored for every running environment possible I'll have to be doing lots of runs to try them all out.

I used to wear any old socks I found in my drawer but as I moved to one or two favourite pairs I realised that this meant not all socks are created equal. On moving to Banff I certainly learnt that you can't confortably run in the same socks all year round - minus 30 to plus 30 and even the feet feel the difference. I'm particularly looking forward to trying the Drymax Cold Weather socks after I got frost nip on my ankles when running the other week in snow (with the wrong socks on). I'll also be keen to try out the Maximum Protection Running socks which are specifically designed for us ultrarunners: I'd never thought of the importance of different socks for different lengths of run until I wore the Team GB kit issued socks at the Worlds. Initially I thought I wouldn't like them as they were to thick - but after 100km of tarmac pounding I was so glad of that extra cushioning to help protect my all important toes.

Anyway, if you are looking for Christmas gift ideas this year for that hard to please person....maybe some Drymax running socks will be the best gift they could receive! Click on their link on the right hand side of my blog to learn more...

Next blog post for you Christmas shoppers will be my favourite Montrail and Mountain Harwear pieces of 2010!

Skipping a race, riding the recumbent bike, it can only mean one thing........Injured!

This past Saturday was TNF Endurance Challenge 50 miler at Marin Headlands in California. With a $10, 000 pay day for the win and not bad earnings for 2nd and 3rd place either the sign up list soon become an all star role call of North American, and some European, ultra runners. Given I was racing the World 100km roads 4 weeks prior TNF would not be a key race but I couldn't resist signing up to pit myself against some serious competition and to hit some new trails.

After Worlds I took a full week off running, I was in the UK with family and friends so plenty to do and I squeezed in one awesome hour road run in Tower Bridge area of London before jumping on the plane back to Banff. Within 2 days of being back in Banff winter and flu season hit with avengance. It was minus 35, I had a cough, a runny nose, I ached and had headaches and an unsettled stomach. It was all I could do to stagger into work, sit at my desk and stagger home again. On a few better days I began gym season and got some good short runs in on the treadmill, some elliptical work outs and even did some swimming and weights, which I notoriously avoid. I got over the worst of my cold and got some hill work in - a trip up Sulphur mountain in the snow and some steep inclines on the treadmill.

The weekend before the race I decided to do another trip up Sulphur - nice and easy but just get some hill memory back in the legs. I hiked/ ran up to the base of the trail from my house and began to feel a nagging pain in my SI. I had felt tiny (and I mean tiny) twinges once or twice the week prior but now it was much more intense. Having had this injury before and it being the only injury that has ever stopped me from running entirely, I relucatantly made the call to head downhill and home. Downhill hurt more so it was a long slow walk home (and I was super glad to have stuffed my MHW nitrus down jacket in my pack!)

As soon as I was home I messaged two Banff friends both of whom recommended the same physio and I got an appointment for the Monday, 2 days later. Until Monday I couldn't walk the 10mins into town and got the bus instead. I got a taxi to my physio appointment. This wasn't looking good. Hugh worked wonders and sent me away with some exercises and optimism that I shouldn't cancel race plans yet. Wednesday saw another physio appointment and on Thursday I flew to San Francisco hopeful I may still be able to race.

Friday was a fun day spent at the Mountain Hardwear offices in Richmond with other Montrail runners. It was great to meet more of the team and talk about exciting Montrail and Mountain Hardwear product developments (ssshhhh, it's secret!) In late afternoon Ryne, Jackie, Kristin and I headed iout to the hostel which was right by the race start. Before we headed out to pick up groceries I decided I better see if I could run for 5 minutes, afterall it's one thing to drop out of an ultra but I'd look damn stupid dropping out only 5 minutes into a 50 miler! I ran on the grass , first on the flat and then testing a very short incline as I suspected that downhills would be the worst. After less than a minute I knew I couldn't race. Ryne told me to run 20 feet without limping, I focused on my breathing but I couldn't run without a limp. I contemplated running on the toe of my right foot but then figured this wasn't really feasible for 50 miles. I considered side stepping down hill, but again figured that this method would be far too slow! Basically I so wanted to race I was willing to consider anything but I shook Ryne's hand, gave Jackie a hug and agreed not to race.

The next morning I woke at 3.30am as Jackie was racing the 50 miler and Kristin the 50km. Just to be sure the vitamin I of the night prior had not performed supersonic miracles I went out to try abother run. It was 4am, it hurt, and in the pitch black with my headlamp and few sounds. I knew that more than wanting to race I just wanted to run. 8 days with no running and I was craving a run.

What can I say? I am disappointed, Ryne (who was ill) and I hiked up to Pirates Cove to cheer on runners and then went to offer any aid to our friends running through Bootjack and just glimpsing the trails made me want to go explore the course. But I am putting this in proportion - lots of other runners were ill or injured too so this made a bitter pill easier to swallow (Devon C-H & Tracy Garneau didn't start, Krissy Moehl dropped) as I was not the only one on the sidelines. I have had a stellar year beyond all my expecatation so I have a lot to be very happy with! When I once talked to Gary Robbins, whining about my constant aches and pains, I so remember him saying, 'Ellie, we are all running that tight rope betwen training as much as possible and being injured'. Let's just say I have fallen off the tight rope at the moment, but I will be climbing back on just as soon as my body allows.

It was a lot of fun to see the race from the sidelines, Montrails Geoff Roes and Dakota Jones lead a strong mens race until Miguel Heras blew by them in the closing stages. Geoff finished 2nd, Dave Mackey 3rd and Dakota was 4th. In the womens race I was cheering for fellow Montrailee Joelle Vaught but also fellow Brit Lizzy Hawker. After Lizzy's 3rd place at the Worlds I so wanted her to find redemption and win in Marin, but she finished 2nd (behind NZs Anna Frost) - an outstanding effort given Lizzy was fighting a serious cold/ flu. Joelle came bounding over the finish line, smiling for her 4th place, and to top off the Montrail results Luanne Park placed 4th in the 50km (rocking her new Montrail Rogue Racers).

Full race details are at www.2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2010.ca/index.html

And Bryon Powell of iRunfar.com probably ran more miles than anyone in covering the race on his website and twitter. He really got the buzz going around the race, so check out http://www.irunfar.com/

Happy Trails, whether they be snowy or muddy!

Motivation Night - Banff Lululemon Athletica - Tuesday Nov 30th

If you live in the Bow Valley come our next Tuesday to the Banff Lululemon store (121 Banff Ave)! I will be speaking along with some other locals on how to stay motivated over the winter months. I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences on how to keep training on days like today when it's minus 33! Come along at 8pm for about 1.5hrs. No actual running required! Details below:


Guest speakers:

John Coleman – Performance Coach with the National Para-Alpine team and National Ringette team.

Ellie Greenwood – Elite Runner:
Second in the infamous Canadian Death Race in Grand Cache
Winner of Elk Beaver 100km on Vancouver Island , setting an unofficial world trail 100km record.
Winner of the Scorched Sole 50-miler in Kelowna , BC
Winner of both the Edmonton and Calgary Marathons
World IAU 100km Champion

Kat Feeney – Nutritionist at NuRoots, Canmore.


Discussions:

John and Ellie will combine their experience of maintain motivation from the psychological and physiological aspect.

John will focus on the 3M's that matter; meaning matters: “What is the meaning behind what you do? Why are you doing what you do and or why are you interested in starting something new?” Momentum matters: The question isn't “am I contributing to my momentum”, it is “how am I contributing to my momentum”. And the next question is “what momentum am I contributing to?” Moment matters: John will talk about the importance of being present in the moment when deciding to be motivated.

Ellie will speak about how she stays motivated during the cold winter months in order to get enough mileage in to remain competitive in the spring. Ellie will touch on the importance of goal setting (both short and long term), discuss a healthy training routine and talk about how the balance between being tough on yourself and also knowing when to step back can keep you motivated.

Kat will focus on seasonal whole foods and strengthening immunity. She will also be providing a list of recipes for you all to take home.

The floor will then be opened to discussion.

IAU World 100km Road Running Championships

Just before I headed off to Gibraltar for the World 100km Championships I read Devon Crosby-Helms blog about her course record setting win at the USATF 50 mile champs at Tussey Mountainback where she had a perfect race; everything came together and she ran strong and fast and felt great throughout the race. It reads like a runners dream. It would be fair to say that I didn't have a 'Devon-day' at Gibraltar but this was a race that I had logged several 140 mile weeks for and many more 100 mile plus weeks, it was my first time I was proudly wearing Team GB kit and I wasn't going to give up without a fight.

I flew to the UK about a week before the race. I chilled with family and focused on having fun, getting over jet lag and going on a couple of easy runs to spin the legs out. Early Friday morning Team GB assembled at London's Heathrow airport and a few short hours later we touched down in Gibraltar and made our way to our floating Athletes Village, a cruise ship, our home for the next 3 nights. That afternoon our whole team headed out to recce the course and stretch the legs. Although on a map it looked like a pretty straight forward course (few wiggles around before hitting 19 x 5km loops) we soon saw that it was some tight twists and turns, uneven surfaces in the docks area and some hills which would be sure to take their toll by the 19th time we hit them. I think everyone adjusted their predicted pace after seeing the course.

Saturday passed quickly, last minute preps of bottles and food, a team meeting to go over the finer details of race rules and organisation and lots of carb loading at the buffet meals provided on the cruise ship. Like someone said, I think the ship's crew were rather bemused that such a slim looking bunch of people could consume so much food! I'd had my usual niggling hamstring pains and was rather concerned that despite a 2 week taper they were still bugging me more than I would like. I therefore decided to risk putting myself in the hands of our Team GB physio David and was glad that I did so as after some stretches and ultrasound my legs felt much better.

The opening ceremony on Saturday evening was a great chance to properly see all the other countries represented and catch a glimpse of the other racers, but after the lively ceremony we all headed back to the ship for an early and eerily quiet dinner before hitting bed by just after 9pm.

I don't think neither I nor my cabin-mate Emily (Gelder, 2010 spartathlon winner) really needed our alarms as we were eagerly out of bed my 4.30am quick breakfast, throw on the kit and by 5am we were wondering what to do for the next 1.5hrs other than pose for silly photos in our GB kit in the small cabin.

By 6am we were off the ship and walked the few hundred metres to the race start line. It was still dark (and would be for the first hour or so of the race) and it looked like it was perfect racing conditions, mild yet overcast. Soon the race was off and I almost immediately settled beside by GB team mate and 2006 World 100km champ Lizzy Hawker. With not being allowed to race with a garmin and there being no km markers until 10km we had to go by feel for our pace. All was going well until the lead bike faltered on which direction to take and suddenly all racers had stopped and we were standing in the street shouting for directions. Someone took the lead and we were off again, I suspected in the wrong direction but we then got back on course and I held my pace back as others rushed off at a much increased pace in mild panic.

After the initial twists and turns we then moved onto the main 5.06km loop which we were to complete 19 times. The first few loops were good to preview and assess how to tackle each part of the loop and I was feeling calm and strong. I soon needed to hit a pit-stop and after not spotting the port-loos on one loop I then found them on the next loop and nipped inside leaving Lizzy to carry on ahead.

My mum, dad, sister, brother-in-law, neice and aunt were all there to cheer me on and after a few loops I was glad to be able to check with them as to how many loops I had done as I was already losing count by the sixth! I was so focused on trying to track my splits per loop that I couldn't count the loops too. I aimed to run about 22mins per loop which would be approx 44min/ 10km and a 7h20 finishing time. Initially Lizzy and I went faster than this so in a way I was glad of my pit stop as this meant Lizzy and I were no longer running side by side as I feared if we carried on that way we would run each other into the ground and both blow up early.

I focused on taking on fuel from the start. At the start/ finish of each loop each country had a feeding station set up where I was grabbing gatorade and Clif shot blocks, whilst leaving picking up plain water from aid stations out on the loops. It was great to come into the start/ finish area as I had not only my family cheering me on but also the Team Canada crew!

I rolled past the marathon mark in about 3h02, this I thought was ok - fast but not crazy fast. However I was already getting a little concerned by how much I was feeling my hamstrings. I know I can run on mashed hamstrings but was worried whether I could run 55 more road kms in the state they were feeling already. It was around the 50km mark (about 3h34) that I shouted out to Team GB crew as I rolled through one more loop, 'my hamstrings are shot'. I was preparing them for the fact that I might need help by the end of the next loop. So it was at about 55km that I made my first stop at the feeding station, on all others so far I had grabbed a bottle or Clif shot blocks on the move. David immediatly had the physio table up and before I knew it his elbow was working wonders on my hamstrings as I downed a couple of paracetemol with gatorade.

I got up off the physio table and was back running. I knew I had lost time but knew it was unavoidable, without David's elbow working it's magic my race would have been over, at least now even if I had lost maybe 5mins I was still on the race course. My hamstrings felt much better but my legs felt just plain heavy. I had not forseen this being an easy race but I was scared by how tough it was feeling already. I still had about 45km to go and I was seriously considering dropping. My pace had slowed, my legs felt awful and I knew that one day my racing streak would come to an end but so didn't want it to be here at the World Championships. A French coach had been calling my splits behing Lizzy (rather kind if rather odd) and now it got to 5mins I said 'Merci Monsieur France but don't bother now' and I could tell he agreed, I was clearly not looking strong.

Here I decided on a few things - 1) I couldn't drop so early, I at least had to go a decent distance, 2) the wheels were falling off but they were still attached by a tiny strand of dental floss and I was going to use that dental floss to get them fixed back on more securely, 3) I was going to crawl to the finish even if if took over 9 hours, we only had 3 women on our team so all needed to finish to be in contention for a team medal, I wasn't going to let Emily and Lizzy down as both of them still looked strong, 4) I never want to run 100km on tarmac again so I better finish it this time as otherwise I'll have unfinished business and will need to run 100km on tarmac again, 5) this is crazy as I really never want to run this again but I may change my mind and if so I won't get on Team GB again if I look like a pansy trail runner who drops when the going gets tough on roads, 7) Three team GB guys have already dropped, Team GB are going to look right flaky if I drop too (note guys - this is no criticism to you, I know you were all ill & ailing!), 8) my friend Jackie is the toughest coookie I know who completed her first crazy hard 100 miler in 42hrs, Jackie must have felt way worse and I'll do this for her.

So off I was again running and with far happier hamstrings but still feeling awful and with all these thoughts whirring in and out of my head. I was going through ups and downs and can so clearly remember thining '7 more loops, I can do that' but then I got the 6 more loops to go and just had a melt down on team GB crew. Suddenly 6 more loops seemed unfathomable. I would feel ok coming into the feeding station but within a few hundred metres of leaving I was wondering how I would get around the the next 5km. So I split it down; they had shortened one loop due to our wrong turn at the start and Norman Wilson of IAU/ Team GB was directing runners onto the short loop so now I was running from the feeding station to Norman, then onto the BP gas station where a local was cheering me on, 'C'mon GB, lookin' great darlin'' ( this was a blatant if well intended lie on his part, I was looking deathly). I had given up all hope of winning or even placing well and was just doing this for the team. On leaving the feeding station with 6 loops to go I knew I would be ok if I got the 4 loops to go and I knew that 6 loops/ 30km was the same distance as one of my standard evening run routes in Banff. I thought of all the times I had run the Lake Minnewanka 27km loop exhausted after work, if I could do that then then I could do it now at the World Championships.

As I came into the feeding station with 5 loops to go I could see Team GB crew looking at me warrily and then stunned, I flew through, grabbed a coke and was off. I have no idea where this second wind had come from but I was a new caffeine-charged-woman and I could do this! Now don't get me wrong, I was still;not doing great but I had picked up the pace significantly and a switch had been flipped in my brain. I had even got my humour back and shouted out to Pete, Brian and Matt of Team GB, 'I'm never running on tarmac again', but it was said with a smile :)

With 3 loops to go I stopped at the feeding station again, I needed some chips as I had gone off my Clif Shots. I was munching away on my Walkers salt & vinegars when Andy said, 'You're only seconds back from 2nd place Ellie, and the longer the your spend eating those chips, the more time you have to catch up'. That was it, I was out of that station ...without even saying to Andy that I had thought I was in 2nd already.

Monsieur France was as stunned as I was by my second wind and began calling rather more optimistic splits. On entering the penultimate loop Norman who was standing on the side of the course casually said, 'You can catch them Ellie', to which I calmly replied, 'I know I can'. I picked up the pace a little more and began searching for an Italian singlet and Lizzy in the crowd of runners looping the loop. With about 7km to go I saw both Monica Carlin and Lizzy. For a millisecond I contemplated sitting behind Monica quietly but I knew I had no time for that so I floated past her and less than a minute latter I passed Lizzy with the words, 'She's on my heels, we need to go now'. I knew from Lizzy's sigh that she was struggling to pick up the pace but I didn't dare look back to see if Monica was following. I just ploughed on and came into the start/ finish with one loop to go and I was in 1st place at the World Championships! I so didn't want this to come to a sprint finish so I focused on extending my lead and praying that my now painful quads would hold for just 5 more km. As I hit the uphill out of the dock area I thought back to pushing the final hills in Chuckanut with Ryne of Montrail urging me, and as I got to about 1km to go I ditched my coke bottle and went for it. I had to take a corner wide around a slower runner I was lapping and the thought crossed my mind that I would be so annoyed if taking that corner wide meant Monica caught me! But I needn't have worried, I crossed the finish line in 7:29:05, about 90 seconds ahead of Monica, and with Lizzy a couple of minuted back of her.

When people have said to me this past week, 'Wow, what an amazing race you had' I don't think the have realised that in many ways I ran a bad race and ran a lot of pretty ugly miles. I won, I'm World Champ (and stoked to be so!), but like I said at the start of this post - I didn't have a 'Devon-day'; I didn't win by running beautfully, I won by being stubborn, determined and dedicated to my team....

A couple of other thoughts...

- Thank you to Team GB - it was a real plaeasure to meet you all and race with you. Look forward to seeing you at many more races to come! Congrats to us ladies for World Team Gold and to the gents for European Team bronze. Woo hoo!

- Thank you to Team Canada - you cheered for me as loud as if I was wearing a maple leaf and it was great to see you all (especially Denise McHale who ran sub-8hrs and Mel Bos) run so steady

- Thank you to 'Lookin' Good Darlin' BP gas station-guy. I really meant it when I said you kept me going.

- Am I happy with my time? ....Well it's a PB so no complaining here, but I may have to revisist 100kms on tarmac to see what can be done...

- Walking down stairs sideways can be an alternative when going forwards or backwards is not option post-race.

And here are a few links to a little more info about the race....


http://www.gbc.gi/television/tv-player.php?programme=360&episode=2501

http://www.iau-ultramarathon.org/

One Toadally Awesome Running Get Away

This year was the 3rd year that I raced at Run for the Toad in Cambridge, Ontario as part of Team Montrail. I love this event for so many reasons; with a Montrail booth at the race expo it is a great weekend to reconnect with the guys from Montrail/ Mountain Hardwear office and learn about exciting new product developments, with 1350 racers in the 25km & 50km races the event has a great buzz and I love chatting to fellow runners, and set in Pinehurst Conservation Area the race is a beautiful 12.5km looped course on easy trails with pretty fall colours.

Ryne and I jetted off and flew to Kitchener, just about 30mins from the race course, were met my Mike of Montrail/ MHW and then started off the weekend with a catch up over a pizza carbo loading meal in a great pub, whilst holding off on the beers!

The race expo is open the day before the race so we all headed down to the site to get ready. Ryne and I went out for an easy 10km run to check out most of the course and it looked like it was in great shape. RDs George and Peggy Sarson pay amazing attention to tiny details and pride themselves in their preparation of the course. Since last year, narrow sections of the trail had been widened (a real bonus given the number of racers), a set of stairs has replaced a worn out section of trail, mulch had been used to fill ruts in what had been mud, and it honestly wouldn't suprise me if the course had been vacuumed of leaf debris! It was in excellent shape. After our scouting out of the course the post-race massage therapists were already there so it seemed a shame to not let them practice their skills on a couple of eager runners! It was then back to the Montrail booth to talk the racers who were coming by to pick up their packages. I always really enjoy this part of Run for the Toad - chatting to runners (many of whom are new to trail racing), sharing stories and reconnecting with faces from the past 2 years. Before we knew it the afternoon had flown by and itwas time to head back to the hotel and get ready for race day - yay!

With Ontario being 2hrs ahead of Alberta I was glad of the 9.30am race start - not too hard on the body clock and no super early wake up call. After a pretty standard pre-race brekkie of bagel and a cup of tea (thanks for the Starbuck run Mike!) we had time to hang out at the Montrail booth and do last minute preparations. Rain had been forecast and it was pretty cool (about 6 degrees), so it was just a matter of hoping that the rain would not be too heavy and might hold off for at least some of the race. Although this wasn't a key race for me I'd got a decently fast target time in mind, in part so I could see where my training was at for Gibraltar 100km in 5 weeks time. The Toad course is non-technical trail, a small amount of tarmac and flat trail with gentle ups and downs, so it a very runnable and fast course. I'd decided to start out with Ryne and aim for 55mins per 12.5km loop, for a nice round finishing time of 3:40, which would be 14mins faster than my CR time of last year (and also rather conveniently it would be one minute faster than Gary's finishing time of last year)!

Wtih the 25km and 50km both starting at same time we let a few runners go off ahead and then I settled into pace by Ryne and Andrew of the Guelph Running Zone store (who was racing the 25km). We hit the 1km marker at dead on 4.00mins. I wasn't panicked by this fast pace as I was prepared to take some risks in going out faster than I normally might. With 4 loops I had my strategy; loop 1 - set the pace, loop 2 - solidify the pace, loop 3 - over half way, loop 4 - push to the finish.

On loop one there was a fair amount of company on the trail, I was with Ryne and Andrew for a bit, I chatted a little to 2nd place female in the 25km, and before I knew it I was done one loop in 53mins and change. I heard Steve, the announcer, call out that I was leading the 50km race but I also heard him call out Ryne's name so knew Ryne was just behind me, which I was more than happy with. On the 2nd loop I could see 1st place female in the 25km just ahead of me and although it took me forever to catch her it was great to have her pull me along and help me maintain my pace. I passed her about 1/2 way around the loop (and reassured her that she was still 1st in the 25km) and now worked on keeping my pace and calling out to 25km walkers who I was passing. The 2nd loop was definitely the most challenging for the volume of slower people I was looping past and having to weave betweeen in the process. As I fields of the 2 distances are mingled it wasn't overly obvious to the vollies that I was lead in the 50km which I quite liked, I was just running along, running my own pace and not attracting any attention - stealth racing!

I completed the 2nd loop again in just over 53mins and was glad to have Steve call out my name and then spot Mike and Bruce of Montrail/ MHW who passed me a new bottle of Cliff drink and a pack of shot blocks. By now it had started to rain (after only about 20mins or so into the race) and although I wasn't cold it was miserable weather and it was definitely a case of just keep moving and get this job done! On the 3rd loop the trail was starting to get a litle muddy in sections but was still holding up pretty well and I had the company of more 25km runners who were on their 2nd loop. This was great because although I was out on my own in the 50km race there were lots of other racers around me and I used them as moving targets to catch! The course really is nicely rolling, some trail in woodland and other sections out on grass in the open. There is only one short steep hill, which as Westerners Ryne, Gary and I always have a little laugh about. Admittedly it is very steep and grassy but it is also literally a few metres, so it's tuck the head down and your at the top in 5 seconds, but the way some locals describe this you might be mistaken for thinking it's Mt. Everest!

Coming into the start/ finish for the start of my 4th and final loop I was on 2h41mins. Steve called out that I had 1h13min to get the course record and although my legs were tiring I knew I would get under 3h40 unless I totally died. Throughout the race I didn't really think about being caught at all. I was pretty sure that there was not too much female competition and having not had any of the guys challenge me earlier in the race I doubted that they would be able to catch me now unless I just hit the wall. One advantange of my recent road marathons is I know that if I can race the last 8 tough kms of a road marathon then I can hold a pace at the close of a trail race because nothing compares to the last kms of a marathon!

By the 4th loop practically all of the 25km runners and walkers were done so there were much fewer racers on the course although I was starting to pass some 50km racers. The couse was now really chewed up as the rain was still coming down and with about 1200 runners doing 2 loops and another 150 or so doing 4 loops, a lot of feet had squelched in the mud. Some sections were fine but others were a total mud bath and reminded me of school cross country. I walked some short hills as I simply couldn't get the traction to run, I skirted along the sides of the trail and I helter-skeltered down some of the hills with zero control (demonstrated by the fact that I body-checkied 2 fellow racers and fell over once)! To be honest I was having a hard time on the muddy sections as I was trying to maintain my speed and also having to avoid fellow racers who I was passing. The one bonus was that focusing on the trail and staying upright made the last few kms fly by :)

Before I knew it I had summited Mt Everest for the 4th and final time, which marked 1.5kms to the finish line and I put down the hammer for a solid finish. The last section was thankfully not too muddy so I could get a good push to complete the course and roll over the line in 3:37:30. 1st place overall - yay!

So all in all a result I am very happy with! Of coure placing not only depends on how you run yourself but who else shows up, so I'd like to thank Taylor Murphy for being a no-show (and also wish him a speedy recovery). Big thanks also go to Gary for giving me a time to beat from last year, and to Ryne for his coaching (but don't think that means I'll start paying you for it Melcher!) Thanks also to all the Montrail peeps for a fun filled and inspiring weekend, and for designing the Montrail Fairhaven - out in sping 2011 and I'm on love with them already having worn them at the Toad. But the biggest thank you of course goes to Peggy and George and all the vollies, what an amazing race you put together - look forward to seeing you next year!

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