So with no runs longer than an hour undertaken once or twice per week since my dislocated rib in June, I knew I had to test myself in some way before leaving the starting line at Lost Soul. I had planned to run Skyline Trail two weeks before the race, and with the chiro and massage helping my back, Aerin and I loaded Ursa into the car, filled the trailer with gear, and departed for Jasper.
I started from the Morraine Lake trailhead about 8:30. I had asked Aerin to hang there for about six hours in case I needed to make a slow, painful retreat from the trail. Fortuitously I didn't need to exercise that option.
In the grand tradition of grinding out the distance, I did a fair bit of the trail at my "military" pace. This is about a 16min/mile, or 4mph/6kmph. I did run quite a bit of the level and downhill sections, but I wasn't out to push past wherever my limit was - I just needed a confidence boost before undertaking Lost Soul. It also gave me a chance to test changes to my nutrition plan that proved highly beneficial.
The weather was quite warm - about what it would be at Lost Soul it turned out. I stopped for about 80 minutes total for fixing the tape job on my heel, changing socks, ingesting lunch, stretching and some sightseeing. It took me 8:47 (if my recollection is correct) to finish the trail. Some real speedsters passed me, including the University of Alberta mens cross country running team, during the run, but most weren't spectacularly fast compared to my slow, undertrained ass.
So with this confidence builder under my belt I knew I could finish Lost Soul even if I was reduced to military pace for most of the race.
We arrived in Lethbridge on Friday afternoon to pickup my race package and unload the trailer. This was followed by a trip out to the Pavan and Peenaquim aid stations to walk Ursa and get our bearings as both the runner and the crew. I also got to check out some of the terrain beyond the hotel area. Despite the slightly grim description of the course in the race info I didn't see anything I didn't already expect or wasn't confident I could handle in the terrain. Certainly I wouldn't be breaking any speed records, but I knew I could handle it.
With most of my pre-race bag prep finished prior to leaving Calgary, I managed to refrain from too much craziness that Aerin would find amusing or annoying. (She did do all the driving so my distracted self didn't crash the car.) A nice pasta dinner and soak in the hot tub got us into bed in decent time for the 6:30am race meeting. I also taped my feet before bed to move things along in the morning.
It was cool in the morning, and I was quite happy to cover as many miles as possible before the rise in temperature forced me to slow my pace. I started out toward the back of pack of the 50km racers, and before not too long I was moving at about the middle of the field. Ultimately, that placing didn't change much over the course of the race. The south loop takes you down to the river from the hotel and then back up to the coulee tops before another descent to the river and a return climb to the hotel for the first transition area. At one point I got a little off track, but I managed to correct that error quickly.
I unloaded my vest, had some food and flat Coke before heading out for the next section. This is the second longest section with a few good climbs up and down the coulees, and I ran a fair chunk along the top side of things. There are also a few good steep sections, but being rested and relaxed I managed these without too much trouble. My methodical approach even moved me up a few places, but I knew I'd probably lose these spots at the transitions where I wasn't planning to take any less time than I needed to be prepared for the next section. I continued to push myself to run the level and downhills as quickly as possible.
At Peenaquim I fixed up the tape job on my heels, changed socks and my race bag. Things were going good, and I was happy with the pace I was maintaining.
Unfortunately, things slowed significantly when somewhere along the trail to Pavan aid station I developed a slight twinge in my left knee. It wasn't too bad on the climbs, but it definitely didn't like running downhills or over rough ground. So when I rolled in to Pavan I resigned myself to military pace the rest of the way.
The north loop is the longest section of the course at almost 16km. I quite enjoyed this loop, and was passing some of the 100-milers that were working on their last lap. It was darned hot, so I made sure to drink lots of water and refilled at the unmanned water station. (I was glad I did too.) They had put up ladders to climb over the barbed wire fences. I don't know if bending over to crawl through or using the ladders to go over would be worse after 100+ km, but I didn't really dwell on that one much at the time. In the end it took me less than 3 hours to finish the loop and change my socks and race bag again at Pavan before heading south. I did try running a little during the loop, but I was firmly stuck in my high rev walk.
From the north end of the course back to the start line was along the river for most of the way, and there were long stretches under the big trees lining the river. The shade and steady wind was a nice respite from what would otherwise be oppressive heat. A couple of steep climbs to surmount the coulees that butted up against the Old Man River made for some slow moments, but it also made for some nice views up and down the river valley. I never had a moment during the whole race that I didn't enjoy the views and scenery.
I arrived back at Peenaquim inside of an hour, refueled and reloaded my bag with more food before heading for the home stretch. I had maintained a 15min/mile pace for the last four hours, so I would arrive at the finish line with another hour of effort.
It was during this last leg that I wished my knee would let me run more, but every attempt was short lived. I certainly had the energy and spirit to do it, but my body just wouldn't cooperate. One gal commented that she'd never seen anyone that walked so fast. Apparently I had been in her sights for a while, and she didn't truly leave me behind until I was halfway to finishing that last leg. There was a lot of gravel, shale or paved trail to follow, so I just kept going. It got to be a little mentally stupid for a bit as I started fixating on how slowly the clock seemed to progress, but I got off it and I was flying again.
After passing through the Fort Whoopup park it was up the last big climb to the finish line. I kept pushing to keep up my pace on the hill since I knew I didn't need anything extra to carry over the finish. I ran the last 200 meters despite the sore knee.
I was finished. 9 hours 17 minutes despite the heat and a cranky knee. I certainly felt I could have done much better, but was happy with being able to finish with some strength. Pizza and much hydration later is was time to rest.
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