Yeah - completed my second ultra 50 K today! Awoke at 4 AM this morning, left the house at 4:45 AM to make the trek to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Mapquest provided me with a different route and it was great. Arrived at the race site at 6:30 AM. Picked up bib, hoodie, and time chip.
I brought a "tag" for the time chip. Unfortunately, it was long so I had to go back to bib pick up to ask them to cut with a scissors. But that time, the 50 K had started! I was 3 minutes late so had to start by myself - meeting up with the other runners at the 3 K mark.
The past couple of months have been quite cool. The forecasted weather has been hot and humid. The temperature was already 21C at the 7 AM start. I wore my cap, sunglasses, and had applied sunscreeen at home. It was only 3/4 the way to the race site that I realized I left my Garmin at home (!). It was charged a couple a days ago and sitting on my desk.
The route is scenic - along the Niagara River Recreational Trail. Grateful for the many trees to provide shade. Each kilometre was spray painted on the ground in white. You really need to run the race with others - else, I could see one worrying if they are on the right path. Minimal spectators on the course. Volunteers at at major intersections. Fluid stations are 5 K apart. Like last year, I took along a water bottle - for each of the stations in the final 20 K, I had my water bottle filled with 500 mL Gatorade. This was in addition to the cups I drank at the fluid stations - that amounts to an extra 2 L of fluid! At the stations, I also consumed the gummy bears, chips, pretzels, and M&Ms. All the volunteers were nice and helpful. A few of the stations had Gatorade with ice - amazing!
The route is rather hilly. For the majority of the uphill inclines, I walked them - some were rather steep. The first half, to Niagara Falls, is quite uphill, allowing for the 2nd half (the return trip) to be more downhill. The best part was about 38 K to 40 K which was downhill - pleasure to run!
I'm not sure if this year the weather was hotter than last year. The humidity was not unbearable fortunately. We had the clouds keeping out the hot sun. Happy it did not rain or thunderstorm as that would have made it challenging in rocky gravel or with so many trees.
What's great about the 50 K race is the half-way point is at the Niagara Falls. Reached it at around 10 AM - lots of tourists and it was humid! Great to see the scenic view of the falls.
There is no doubt the 50 K race is very challenging. By not having my Garmin, that prevented me from looking at the watch every 10 seconds when I struggled. Lots of walking in the 2nd half - every uphill incline (even the minor ones) were difficult. In the 2nd half, I found both legs (one at a time) stiffening - you could fee the outside part of the upper leg stiffen up. When strengthening the calf, my left leg stiffened to the point I could not even move it. Fortunately, this only lasted like a minute and I was able to slowly walk. A lady running the full marathon saw me in pain and asked if I needed help - I was okay.
There was never any doubt I would finish the race. My goal was to finish, regardless of time. What encouraged me was I could have walked the final 10 K if need be - just got to get to the finish line. This was both mental and physical challenge. Thrilled to cross the finish line. Then walked for about 10 minutes to cool down the beat-up legs and feet. Refuelled with the bagel and 2 slices of square pizzas.
Gun Time = 6 H 33 M 31 S
Chip Time = 6 H 30 M 12 S
Overall Place = 119 out of 154
Gender Place = 72 out of 88
Age Place = 15 out of 19
Nice medal this year!
And Bud is one happy little brother!
Looking forward to next year! Great way to celebrate the end of the school year. Also a wonderful way to end marathon training for the spring.
YTD = 782.7 K
1 comment:
nicely done! Must have been wonderful to run with the falls as the halfway point. Great job almost hitting 1000 for the year, you'll surely hit your 1600 target!
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