Frosty Trail Run race report and Operation Lose the Gut

I read about the Frosty Trail Run and it appealed to me: winter trails, new-to-me venue, and very few participants (there were 6 people registered in the 1 hour last year).  I debated between 1 and 3 hours but I really didn't want to be out there running for 3 hours if I hated it.   
Robin unfortunately didn't make the drive, but there were 2 people I knew:

Rhonda and me hoping that we wouldn't meet mid-race again.

 Fellow Supermom Alison!

The course was a 2K loop and for whatever reason, no one ventured outside until 1 minute before race start, so I didn't get satellites on my Garmin until about 400 m in.  The loop was not technical nor very hilly, but a lot of it had ankle/mid calf deep snow.  The trail was just starting to get worn in when I was done, I wonder if it had turned to mud soup with the thaw at the end of the 6 hours?  At about 1K in, I looked behind me and saw no one.  Oh well.  Managed 3.5 loops, following Rhonda and her guide for all but the last kilometre.  The loop had markers every 500 m, and when the air horn blew, you took note of which marker you were closest to, walked back to the start, and honour system reported to the RD, who was sitting at a table with his laptop.  

UPDATE: official results posted.  I was 4/6 female and 11/13 overall.  woohoo!!

Following Rhonda and her guide.  Photo by Christopher Giesler.

When I finished, I evaluated whether or not I'd want to be out there for another 2 hours, and the answer was a resounding, "NO!" But I felt it was a bit silly to drive 1 hour each way to run for just 1 hour.  Maybe next year if there's less snow....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had a serious metabolism slowdown when I turned 20, resulting in a 40 pound weight gain.  At the time my exercise consisted of sitting on my ass and my diet could be best described as eat whatever the hell you want, however much you want, so in hindsight, it wasn't very surprising.

Miss Fat Ass, Y2K New Years, about 9 months before I started exercising.

In the past year or so, 10-15 pounds have crept up on me.  At first I attributed it to a few too many AYCE sushi lunches, but I cut those out and my pants still kept getting tighter.  It especially rankles, because I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight in about 2 months and the weight that stared at me last week was only 3 pounds less than what I weighed when full term pregnant with Bryden.  I suppose the silver lining was that I dress well so no one noticed my expanding girth?

I've used Sparkpeople since 2006 for tracking exercise and community on the message boards, but never used the nutrition tracker, despite knowing that people who track their food are far more successful with weight loss.  Previously, I lost weight and maintained with the South Beach diet, which includes no counting, but clearly this approach was not working for me any more.  

So I've been logging my food for about a week now.  I've set Spark to give me a calorie range based on 0.25 pound loss a week, I'm not in any hurry.  But imagine my surprise this morning when I weighed in at the gym after my usual weekend eating - more controlled though, I paid attention to portions and didn't eat until the point of pain - and saw a loss of 3 pounds!! Now I know most of this is water weight, but I am ecstatic.  Food tracking isn't for everyone, but it makes me aware of portions.  Plus, I pre-track, so I'm unlikely to deviate from the plan, since I would have to change my tracker.

My skincare routine

Included in the Oakville HM race kit this year was a sample pack of TheFaceShop products.  Having had acne since age 8, over the years I've tried tons of skin care products.  I have to say TFS products have impressed me like no other.    All the products I've tried so far have a very pleasant, but not overpowering scent and most importantly, they pretty much do EXACTLY what they are supposed to do!  They are also very affordable, and there are constant store-wide discounts on top of that.

So I thought I'd write this blog post to detail how I keep my skin in decent shape while being outside year-round.

Cleansers:

 TFS Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam Spearmint For Man - this is supposedly for men, but the fragrance is a pleasant green tea/mint scent and is suitable for both sexes.  I used Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser for about 10 years, but the first TFS product I tried was The Smim toner, and after washing with C&C, the toner still removed a ton of makeup I didn't realize was still on my face.  The Herb Day cleansing foam washes absolutely clean.  A freaking steal at $6 for a giant tube.

TFS Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam - I got this in a gift pack from Nicole for Christmas.  It doesn't clean quite as deeply as the Herb Day, but still very thorough.  Smells great, faintly citrus-y.

Rice Water Bright Cleansing Set.  Includes Cleansing Foam, Eye/Lip makeup remover, 3 sheet masks.

Exfoliant:

TFS Jelly Apple Peeling - I had a sample of White Jewel Peeling, which is stronger and liked, but they were sold out so I got this instead.  I'm not a huge fan, I can't feel the dead skin beading up when I scrub like I could with the White Jewel.  My skin does feel very smooth after using though.

Toner:

TFS The Smim Fermentation Concentrate Emulsion - I bought this because it was less expensive than the toner (The Smim is one of the most expensive TFS lines) because I was so impressed by how well it cleaned off the makeup remnants, but the Herb Day does such a good job that I find the toner somewhat unnecessary.  I use it if I've been out and about all day without makeup and still want to clean a bit before bed.  

Moisturizer/sun protection:

Marcelle Essentials Multi Defense Cream SPF 15.  This is my every day stuff.  It's soothing and keeps my face from getting chapped, even in the winter.  TFS doesn't have a facial moisturizer with SPF.  Shocking.

Kiehl's Facial Fuel UV Guard SPF 50+ - the hardcore shit for sunny days and summer.  My skin is completely non greasy after applying, and it doesn't sting my eyes.  Worth the $39 price tag.

TFS Seaweeds Moisturizing Pack - one of the samples in the Oakville race kit was the Babyface Aqua Drop Pack, which I loved for how gentle and soothing it was.  Also, it was a light gel texture and again very lightly scented, unlike many anti-aging night creams out there.  I couldn't find the Aqua Drop Pack at my local TFS, so the girl recommended Seaweeds Moisturizing Pack instead, and it is very similar.  You squeeze a tiny amount (about the size of a pencil eraser) and rub it into your face, where it melts into liquid.  You then gently pat your face until the liquid is absorbed into the skin.

Other:

TFS Rice Water Bright Lip & Eye Remover - the engrish is pretty funny, eh? Lip & eye MAKEUP remover, as I still have both lips and both eyes after using.  It is a biphase cleanser, non greasy, smells great.  I still have a bit of mascara residue after using but less than the Nivea remover I was using before.

TFS Real Nature Mask Rice - I've never used a sheet mask before, and it was less annoying than the clay masks that get into your hair and fingernails, crack when your move a muscle and take forever to wash off.  I once tried a sample of that Glamglow mask that a lot of people seem to love and it made my normally grease bomb skin so dry and irritated,. that it took almost a week to calm back down to normal.  My skin was very soft and smooth after using the sheet mask.

Disclaimer: All products reviewed in this blog post were purchased by myself or received as gifts or samples. I am not affiliated with any companies or brands - therefore the opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own. 

The obligatory 2014 roundup post

In the past, the year end roundup post has been full of numbers, stats and dreams of PBs in the coming year.  This year I'm doing something a little bit different.

As I was planning this post in my head, I thought for a second, "I haven't accomplished much this year." and then promptly stopped myself. I may have "only" run 2 PBs this year, but obviously my achievements this year aren't in the speed department, they are in learning to like trail running, and finally learning to ride a bike after 36 years. Even though Paul is still giving me shit for saying I wouldn't as recently as May.

I also felt like it was noteworthy to mention all the new people I met through running/ran with this year.  I love meeting runners; it's like we are old friends right away!

Erin

Heather
Anna
Pranada
Jana
Rhonda-Marie
Kim (since we never ran together before this year)

...did I forget anyone?? I feel like I'm missing someone or two...

Stats

Running: 2374.1K (goal: 2400)  I believe I've been over 2600K the last 2 years, but thanks to the advent of Audrey Lexa, my fall HM training cycle was only 4 days a week instead of 5.

Bike: 1369.07K. Holy crap.  I had no idea I rode that much, especially considering I couldn't even ride more than 200 m without falling over at the end of May.

Other (strength training, yoga, a couple walks and exactly once on the elliptical): 70:11

What's next in 2015?

1/17 - 1 hour Frosty Trail Run

3/1 - Chilly HM (2:15 r/w pacer, of course)

3/29 - ATB

4/18 - MEC Burlington Race 1

5/3 - Mississauga HM (hopefully pacing)

5/23 - Sulphur Springs 25K

6/7 - NFWHM (pacing)

6/20 - 5peaks Rattlesnake Point
Sept - Chase the Coyote
9/27 - Oakville HM (pacing and it better not be the same weekend as CtC)

TBA - a duathlon

various trail races, possibly another obstacle event, and also MS Bike Tour, as time and finances permit.

2014 wasn't a great year for me personally, but I am still satisfied with my fitness achievements.  Here's to better things in 2015!

Confessions/Road2Hope HM race report/crazy ideas

This training cycle wasn't stellar.  I've always had a tendency to cheat (ie take rest breaks) during solo runs but the last few long runs, the breaks were getting ridiculous.  My 26K trail long run took me 3:22 but 4:47 in real time.  I was stopping every 200 m to stretch or massage my calves, which had a lactic acid-like burn and tightness, not excruciating, but felt like I couldn't run through.  Rest days and compression did little.  Magnesium cream definitely helped, but the issue still felt like just plain old fatigue.

I went to get my usual pre-race Graston/ART and when I mentioned the calf fatigue, Kevin told me that he suspected it might be compartment syndrome. However, he didn't tell me not to run, so on Sunday, I popped ibuprofen, slapped on Voltaren and KT taped my calves and hoped for the best.  

After missing out on sub 1:50 at last year's race, the plan this year was to lighten my HM racing schedule to focus on R2H. I ran most of my long runs on trail, so although I had the time on my feet, I didn't feel like I had the endurance effect of a continuous road long run, something that came back to haunt me at my disastrous pacing gig at Oakville last month.  Or was that mostly just my calves being ornery?

Race morning was a bigger clusterfuck than anticipated.  I have my old phone, which I use as an alarm, set to manually update time and I turned the clock back before I went to bed.  Apparently despite the manual setting, the clock still automatically went back another hour.  So I thought I was getting up at 5:15, went downstairs and saw everyone online on FB already and realized it was actually 6:15.  2nd mistake - I didn't read the part on the site that said the last bus left at 7:15 so my warmup consisted of running across the parking lot to the bus. 

Found the gang (#burlingtonskirtbrigade + Nicole + Kim) in the gym just as they were calling people to the start.  For the 2nd year in a row, the starting horn went off with us all crammed on the embankment on the side of the road. As the pack started to disperse, Nicole picked up the pace and I kept up for...maybe 500 m.  My calves felt all right, but my gut feeling told me that racing in the red zone for 21.1K wouldn't be a good idea.  I've already qualified for corral C at ATB.  I don't need a half marathon PB.  I needed a smart and quality race, one where I didn't blow up. So I dropped back a bit and let everyone go.

KMs 1-5: 5:23, 5:32, 5:23, 5:24, 5:36

I was actually pleasantly surprised that I could hold these paces comfortably, considering my speedwork had been a struggle, to say the least.  Greg, in his first half, started farther back and we ran together for about 1K and he took off just as the on ramp for the Red Hill came into view, despite him saying pre-race that he was going to run 5:40/k pace. Ha ha ha.

KMs 6-11: 5:18, 5:07, 5:24, 5:36, 5:43, 5:51

The original race plan called for sub 5 pace on the Red Hill, the wind made it impossible to gun it.  Ran with Kim on and off.  1st gel at 7K, few walking steps at the next water station for a drink. At the off ramp to Barton, I kept my stride very short, praying my calves would stay calm and they did.   I heard someone say "nice outfit!" only to realize they weren't talking to me, but to a girl wearing this hideous skort with neon yellow CEPs, an aqua tank with a neon yellow reverse mullet jacket that was really short in the back so that the tank was visible.  

KMs 12-16: 5:46, 5:59, 5:34, 5:42, 5:47

I was dreading the Red Hill section, because it's switching from road to trail during long runs that my calves have been the most unhappy.  Came to the bottom of that ridiculous brick hill and walked it. Calves still hanging in there.  Next hill was the one where the pavement began and kept my form and still felt good.  Bad habit wanted me to walk after that hill but I remembered:

Thank you, Mapleview lululemon, for my race day mantra.

2nd gel, very brief walk break through the next water station.  There was pretty much no break from the wind through this part of the race and I knew that at least after the final turnaround back on the beach path there would be a tailwind.

*2 guys bitching about the wind*

Me: yeah I can't wait to get out of this fucking headwind.

Guy #1: you should draft behind someone tall.

Me: like you?

Guy #2: I'm short and wide.  Pick someone else.

KMs 17-21.1: 5:51, 5:43, 5:45, 5:42, 5:35, 5:15

It was distinctly warmer with the wind behind me.  There were a lot of people walking/stopping to stretch and I kept moving, Relentless Forward Motion! I felt really good in this section and I felt like I passed a lot of people but my pace didn't show it.  I love being so familiar with the course.  Pass Hutch's.  Pass Wild Waterworks.  Pass the yellow bathroom.  Now a little incline.  I heard someone yell my name and I snapped out of my zone to catch Brandon's eye and yell hi back.  Garmin beeps 21K right at the final turn.  Now kick!  The clock was counting down the back half of 1:59 so there were some wild sprints going on all around me.

Happy to be finished, not so happy with our times.

Ah, the big old what's next?

I have a crazy idea..
— Patty Scott (@zorbs13) October 26, 2014

My crazy idea is that in 2015, I am not going to be going for any PBs, except at ATB.  I will not run a marathon. I will pace my favourites: Chilly, Mississauga, NFWHM, Oakville. I will try more trail races.  I will return to Chase the Coyote.  I will try a duathlon.  I'm going to practice changing gears and attacking escarpment hills with Audrey Lexa.  I will try Spartan Super.  I might tackle a few swimming lessons. I've spent the past 7 years always pursuing time goals, and I think it's time for a change.

My first DNF :(

As I've said before, one of my very real fears about trail running is falling and damaging my already frail ankles further.  Although, my ankles are actually a lot stronger since I started running, they sustained a LOT of damage during my step aerobic days.  But since starting to trail run this summer, I hadn't had a single face plant.  Every time I'd catch my toe, I would manage to stay upright and any pain would be gone within a minute.  I've been wondering when the lucky streak would end.

This was last Wednesday's run.  It was a bliss of runner's high and unicorns and I obviously knew things were too good to last.

The drive up to Mono Cliffs was uneventful, my GPS did not lead me wrong and I didn't even have to park on the road.  Saw Robin sitting on her rear bumper, got my race kit and chatted before the race.  It was cold sitting there but as the sun rose higher in the sky, I was glad I decided to wear a tank top.

The Coyote.

Because Robin and I didn't get a nice posed pic post-Mississauga.

There were a couple of end-to-end Bruce Trail runners at the race, including a lady who fired the starting horn for the Sprint race.  My plan was to keep everything EASY and nothing like what I'd usually feel like a "race effort" to be.  The first 2K was uphill, I walked the steeper part, as Pierre and Robin had advised me and all was well.  The next section was still uphill, but technical but then flattened out into a gradual downhill.

Then It Happened.

I caught my toe on a root, turned my ankle and landed on my butt.  The wind was knocked out of me, I massaged my ankle and thought I could still continue after catching my breath.  Many runners passing by asked if I was ok, but two people actually stopped.  It was the end-to-end Bruce Trail lady and her running partner.  She introduced herself as Rhonda, a RMT and massaged my ankle a bit while her running partner ran on ahead to the next aid station.  I tried to keep running several times and I was dizzy to the point of nearly blacking out and I'd sit down again.  Rhonda gave me a damp Buff to put on the back of my neck and asked me to drink water and eat some candy.  Finally, the shock wore off enough to keep running for a sustained amount of time but at one point Rhonda and I thought we were lost due to the lack of orange marker flags and turned back a bit but figured we were on the right course after all.  She asked if the BT blazes on the trees were white or blue and I thought she was colour blind.  Her running partner returned and told us that he had alerted the next aid station.  The three of us continued onward and Scott would say things like, "big root, head left", "rocks coming up" and thought it was for my klutzy ass's benefit.  Between us and the aid station were the infamous stairs.  I had to stop on the landing because I was seeing stars again, we all took water at the aid station but then there was another ascent..I glanced at my Garmin and it showed 5.6K and thought, I could gut it out for another 9K, finish DFL or I could just call it a day.  I chose the latter and returned to the aid station, letting Rhonda and her RP continue on.


This was actually a wrong turn I made during my walk of shame back to the start/finish area.   As I approached the finish, runners/spectators saw me walking and would shout encouragement, which made me feel even worse.  The clock read 1:38:xx which would have been an excellent finish time for me and I actually saw some people who had been directly behind me finishing as I slunk off to the side specifically to avoid crossing the finish and being handed a medal.  

When I got home, I googled Rhonda.  Holy crap.  She is a BAMF in the truest sense of the word, and completely generous in spirit, as she threw whatever race goals she had to help little ol' ME.  Even though CtC marked another crap race for me, I am amazed by her kindness and for that I am so grateful!

Oakville HM race report

After having trouble running faster than 6:10/k during my 22K long run the week before the Oakville HM due to tired legs, I had thoughts of switching pace assignments with Amy.  But I nailed the test run on Thursday and thought I was good to go.  

Went to the kit pick up nice and early to find a huge lineup due to a bib number assignment snafu.  Fortunately Sam found me in the lineup and she took a picture of me with the well meaning but creepy race director of NFWHM because I was wearing the race shirt.  Then I scored this sah-weet lole cycling jersey for 50% off at the expo.

Then I felt an itch on my tricep, and yup another mosquito bite.   I had laid out the same outfit that I wore for Richmond but decided at the last minute to wear something different.

Race morning dawned early and I was driving the Skirt Taxi.  The usual pre-race meetup and pictures with DM friends, potty stops (I wisely put my sign and water bottle outside the PP this time!!), fielding the usual questions from participants about pace..blah blah blah.  One big difference: I did not feel supremely confident, as I do when pacing 2:15.  After seeing the forecast calling for 70% chance of rain, I debated wearing my Drymax socks but didn't want to break the #burlingtonskirtbrigade uniform.

Emma, Amy, Yours Truly, Sam, Kim, Zindine, before the deluge.

I was totally on pace through 15K, rain and all.  The people around me were very quiet and when I asked questions all I heard was crickets and the tinny music of some girl who thought that the other race participants would like to enjoy her music as well and told her to put her damn headphones on.  The headwind on Rebecca, humidity and rain started to wear on me.  I dropped my sign as it was becoming a sail.  I've always done runs with lots of breaks, and it never had an ill effect during races...until now... 

Splits 15-21K (goal 5:55/K):

6:06
6:02
6:39
6:25
5:53
6:07
5:30
4:39

There were lengthy walk breaks.  People asked if I was doing 10/1.  No, I'm just having a really shitty day.  I considered DNF but realized that a shitty finish time would be preferable.  Why do I always think about dropping out when things are going poorly? I have the racing mind of an elite! I considered walking until Amy caught up and running with her.  I ripped my ears off and no one gave a fuck since I had no pace group anyways.  I guess you could consider that to be the silver lining.  

I felt a bit better around 19K and realized if I could pick up the pace, I could salvage some kind of decent finish time.  So I pushed it and pushed some more, treating the finish like my final repeat at the track.

So, it goes without saying that I'll stick with 2:15 r/w in the future, and I'm working on my mental game to keep moving during races. Relentless forward motion!

Official chip time: 2:06:14
Pace: 5:59 / kilometer 
Field Placement: 417 / 673 (62%) 
Age group: 30 – 39 
Placement: 46 / 106 (43.4%) 
Gender Placement: 159 / 333 (47.7%)


Next up: Chase the Coyote 14.4K Challenge and I will see Robin there, although I'm sure she never wants to run a race with me ever again.

Muddy Puddles

This is Peppa Pig and her little brother George.  They enjoy jumping in muddy puddles.

However, the last time I checked, I am not a pig and I do not enjoy mud, although a little bit on a trail run is tolerable.  And I can't quite explain my aversion to obstacles -  I'm not afraid of heights but the general feeling is a holdover from my childhood, when everything physical was impossible and frightening.

Going into this race, I felt like my training was solid, if not spectacular.  Not having access to a gym since late March meant my strength training since then has consisted of bodyweight exercises, kettlebells (8-16 kg), TRX, and a pullup bar with a resistance band.   Unlike 99.99% of the runners I know, I strength train diligently year round.  So I was in decent, but not top shape.  Since committing to train for Mud Hero at the beginning of June, I've been doing weights sans gloves, in order to strengthen my grip.  Lastly, as you know, I've been running trails at least once a week to prepare for the terrain.  I was assured by everyone I knew that there would be people who literally roll their 300 pound asses off the couch race morning, stuff their cigarettes and chips into their back pocket of their cotton shorts at the start and complete the race/obstacles successfully and that my years of running/ST would put me well ahead of the pack.

The night before the race, Greg and I went through the course map on the website and talked through every obstacle.  The 2 that I really had issues with were the cargo nets and the Kong, mainly because I have a tendency to climb up and be too scared to get back down.

I was already a panicked mess a few days leading up, to the point where people told me if I felt so bad, I should just skip it.  But chickening out on things really isn't what the Real Patty would do, right? I have a prescription for meds to be used only at anxiety causing situations, but I was warned by my doctor that I would feel relaxed and possibly sleepy.  We never discussed the drug use should the anxiety causing situation be an athletic event.  So I skipped the drugs and fought the rising panic.  The night before, I took my regular daily antidepressant and washed them down with a few too many drinks.  Even 10 minutes before the race, I turned back towards the car several times, and at one point lay on the ground in tears, trying to summon up the nerve to walk to the start.  No one else was acting like me.  Everyone else seemed able to relax and have a good time. Why can't I do this too?!?!?!

We were signed up for the 10 am heat, and lately I've been totally addicted to PC Hawaiian Buns with globs of butter and a piece of fruit for breakfast.  It's not terribly filling but sufficient if I head straight out the door to run.  So I packed a Luna bar but Greg and I shared it in the car around 8:45 am.  

The few times Greg and I have run "together", it has meant me trailing along at least 50 m behind, even though he knows damn well that I cannot run the paces that he does.  Of course the race last week was still on my mind, where he swore we'd run together but was out of sight by the 1K mark and rubbed salt in the wound by finishing 10 minutes ahead of me and ran backwards on the course, wearing his medal, to look for me.  I'm sure you can imagine how much I appreciated that gesture. The original plan was that we'd run our own races but at the very last moment, I challenged Greg to stay with me - really stay with me - for a minimum of 1K.  Not wanting to punch my way through hordes of walkers, we lined up in the 2nd row and took off with no warm ups before, save the walk from the car.  Upon the very first hill, I was dizzy and a bit faint from the lack of food and had to walk, even though this was the easiest trail I'd ever run.  

Not going to give a play-by-play of every single obstacle, but some of the "best".

1. Cargo net climb - this was the absolute worst.  I got to the top and was too scared to put my leg over the other side.  Then I was afraid to climb down backwards, so I was basically clinging on to the net at the top for dear life and I had a total freakout.  People were trying to tell me I was doing great. Um, I'm stuck on a net and can't get down..obviously I am not doing great, stop fucking lying to me!  Somehow I got down but I think I spent 10 minutes here.  Then after getting down the anxiety got the better of me and I lay down on the ground, completely freaked out.

2. The Kong - I had visions of me with either leg stuck in a hole, dangling and no way to lever myself out.  But someone suggested butt-scooting across and I did it at the side, with one hand holding on to the frame.

3. Demolition Derby - I swear, one of the cars there was my old 2002 silver Protege.  But i checked for a telltale scuff near the gas tank door and it wasn't there.

4. Balance beam - this would have really sucked if I had fallen.  I started scooting over sideways, but my feet ended up at an angle and that actually worked even better than sideways because about 3/4 of my foot was on the beam.

5. Every single mud pit was above Greg's waist.  Drowning in a mud puddle is not how I want to die. 

Remember how I used to be afraid that I'd step into shoulder deep mud while trail running? Please, make the obstacles midget-friendly.

So I can't say I enjoyed myself, but afterwards, I was angry at myself, a) for being irrationally scared and freaking out and b) not trying my best and having a really embarrassingly slow finish time.  I was also annoyed that this race was just mud and not much in terms of strength or athletic skill. Greg tells me Spartan is much more along those lines and I would like to do the 10K Spartan next spring, leading up to Tough Mudder next summer, because my whole self imposed cognitive behaviour therapy method of "doing it until I don't hate it any more" worked for me when I was starting to exercise, and more recently with trail running.

My "I'm not having a good day" take on Nicole's signature #runnerd double thumbs up pose.  Also: epic muffin top, ew.

I'm having such an awesome time, can you tell?

I almost didn't take a medal because I didn't feel like I deserved it, and I did, but put it in the mud at the finish.