Week 5 - May 2 - 8 Goal: 59km
Monday - Rest Day
Part 1: 8km @ 96m elevation gain
Part 2: 5.8km @ 17m elevation gain
I know it was supposed to be a rest day but tomorrow will be an "On The Road All Day" day and I don't know what time the family plans to leave or arrive home, so why not slip out early in the morning for a nice cup of coffee at Wake Up Call. With cup in hand I enjoyed a walk back along busy roads until drained of the last drop and in a garbage can of convenience, I started back home for a spontaneous road trip to Montana for lunch.
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| The Dandelions of Coeur D'Alene, Sunshine on the Patio, Montana's Sliver Dollar Bar |
Tuesday - 7 Steady
8.4km @ 96m elevation gain
Travel Day, coming back from Spokane
Managed to slip in a run this morning after all. The usual 8km run from Grandpa's to a morning cup of brew. Yes I am a creature of habit it seems.
Wednesday - Rest Day
Thursday - 5x Hills
8.1km @ 220m elevation gain
Misery loves company. So thankfully Jon was also looking to do his hills workout today, and Phil is always up for a little vertical challenge.
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 30km LSD
31.5km @ 928m elevation gain
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| Four happy runners! |
Officially my longest trail run to date. Actually my longest run on any surface! So grateful for the three friends that came out at 7am Saturday morning to tackle this beast. Admittedly there was no speed record being broken on this run, just a steady conversational pace with frequent "runfie" stops and "aid stations" to keep us going. Refuelling on bites of Picky Bars while hiking some of the larger hills and sipping at Mango-Orange Nuun* Energy in my water bottle has been working so far at keeping me going. I haven't experienced any stomach upset or cramping while out, however I may need to increase my electrolytes a little. A couple hours after the run I experienced great difficulty getting into my car in the drivers seat, the action of climbing in triggered foot cramps which prevented me from driving to the Okanagan. I had to relinquish the driver's seat to Brian.
Stairs proved particularly awkward throughout the evening too.
Once the visiting was done for the evening with my lovely Mother&Father-In-Law I laid out with a couple ice packs on the knees and popped a single Tylenol hoping for a bit of a miracle to occur: please let me wake up tomorrow morning with the ability to walk. I really didn't want the 10Miler I signed up for in Penticton to be a massive mistake.
*Yes, I am a TeamNuun member.
Sunday - 6km Slow(kinda ignored the plan)
Blossom 10Miler, Penticton, BC
16km @143m elevation gain
Incredibly I was able to roll out of bed this morning and not land on my face on the floor! Yay!
So Brian and I jumped in the car at 6:00am and headed south to Penticton for the Blossom 10 Miler, part of the Interior Running Association's road race series.
I admit my decision to run this race last minute was not rooted in any training logic or master plan for the race series, I just wanted to try it again. It had been 4 years since I last ran the Blossom and I really wanted to better my time on the race, even if I had run a huge 30km the day before.
Ambition did not persuade me to run "all-out" though. My pace was steady and comfortable, when I realized that the first couple kilometres were averaging 5:10/km I dialled it back to a pace somewhat resembling a recovery run, including one distinct stop to untie, remove and readjust a shoe while seated on the retaining wall of a winery.
Aside from an irritating hot-spot on the one foot, the finish line came with no new strains, pains or cramping. I'm both surprised and pleased with my official race time of 1:28:20, besting my previous result by 11:29 m/s.
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| Headed for the finish line, photo credit:Dina M |
High points of this race:
1. Volunteers and course marshals - they were everywhere you needed them to be, and all with a smiles on their faces.
2. The race route - I have not done this event since 2012 and at that point I was a different runner. This was likely my longest run ever at that point in time and it took the encouragement of my great friend Elise running with me to complete the whole 16kms. This time out there I had more experience, more endurance and enjoyed a greater appreciation for the rolling bench road hills over orchards, lake and wineries.
3. Considering the weather's progression to a blustery afternoon, race organizers were quick to gather and distribute awards following the last runners over the finish line allowing folks to get on with their Mother's Day plans.
Room for Improvement:
1. The Shuttle Buses - Since the race is a point-to-point from Naramata to Penticton lakefront, shuttles are needed to get racers to the startline. Unfortunately the buses did not arrive on time, pushing the race start back 20 minutes, which isn't a big deal but combine that with no washrooms at the race start area and you end up with many uncomfortable and annoyed racers. Many took to the woods where they could but in future I hope the organizers consider a rental Port-A-Pottie to meet the need.
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