50k Down, and So It Begins.

Soooo, remember my last post? I guess I didn't quite hold up my end of the bargain on that one. Well.....except for the beard part.

That beard makes me stronger, it provides extra storage space for carbs

Much like Gob Bluth, I very much enjoy a good Segway. That beard picture was taken about 30 minutes after Lexie and I finished the Sulphur Springs 50K last Saturday. This race was, in a word: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Our goal going into the race was to come in somewhere under 6 hours. Spoiler Alert: We did.

Here is a mini-recap of the race:

-Our main man, Oma, came over on Friday night to watch the boys for us so we could get a bright and early start on Saturday. The race started at 7:30am at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, which is about an hour away. We also had to do packet pick-up/potty/stretch beforehand. So we were up and out of the house at 5:45am. The drive and packet pick up were uneventful. We got our shirts and bibs, found a sweet place to stretch and got read, ready, to run. We took a bib selfie and then a fellow 50k'er with some sweet dance moves took a picture of us, see below;

-We dropped our bag off behind a rock (ultra runners are trustworthy) and the race started promptly at 7:30. We knew from our training run in early May that the course started on a sharp downhill into the Conservation area. It was a fun way to start, but coming back up the hill at the end of each loop? Not so much fun. We had to run hike back up that 800m hill a total of 3 times over the 50K

-The 50k consisted of a modified 10km loop followed by 2-20km loops that the 50 mile and 100 mile runners would complete. 

Course Map

-Our first 10k were very strong. We did it in around 58 minutes. The 50k started at the same time as the 25k so it was a bit congested to start, which stressed Lexie out, but after the 25k racers turned around, it opened up and stayed that way for the remainder of the race. We were familiar with most of this loop as we had run it earlier. It was still fun though. The energy on the course was great, and time was flying.

-The next loop was fun as we were able to see some parts of the course we hadn't had the chance to see on our training run. It was beautiful, and hilly, we did a lot more uphill power walking on the 20k loop, but it was worth it. We spent most of this loop talking about much fun we were having, and how fast time was flying. We felt strong throughout, and before we knew it, we had finished our next 20k in 2:06, including a washroom break and some stops for some highly refreshing watermelon.

-After going back through the start line and hitting the 30k mark, we headed back down the hill into the course for the last time. It was at this point we decided that we would try to hit our secret A+++ goal, to get in under 5hrs30mins. This goal was so secret, that neither of us even knew we had it until we talked about it at this point. I'll expecting a job offer from CSIS shortly.

-The last 20k were difficult. We had to stop for a few more drinks, but despite the fatigue we continued to run strong. We were inspired by the many 50 mile and 100 mile runners we saw. Everyone on the course was super friendly and encouraging. Trail running really does have it's own unique culture, and it made the whole experience that much more exciting. 

-Before we knew it, we were turning back up the final hill. We turned the corner to the finish line, and there it was 5:26:xx on the clock. A+++ goal achieved. 

The race was great. Aid stations were well stocked (watermelon, Coke, and Cantaloupe came clutch). Volunteers were great (shoutout to the dancing direction volunteer). Lots of support from other runners, and a cool medal to boot. We will be back, the only question is, how long will we run?

Post Race Grass Nap

Recovery Week!

So after that good time, the past week has been our recovery week. We got it started off right on Monday with a really cool piece of mail. As I mentioned in my last post, we have been asked by the race organizers if we would be willing to be Ambassadors for the Sears Great Canadian Run. This week, they sent us our Ambassadors Package, which contains some fantastic swag from some awesome sponsors. We will have posts on each of these products in the coming weeks. Here is a sneak peak at the Ambassador Swag:

This week has been a quick recovery week. We both took Sunday, Monday, Tuesday completely off running. We started back with some easy miles on Wednesday and Thursday, then we both did a nice strong 10k yesterday. We are feeling fairly good, which is important because as of tomorrow (Monday) we officially kick off 100k training.

Which brings me to my last point.

As we kick off our official 100k training this week, we are hoping to celebrate the start of this journey by getting one sponsor a day for the next 7 days. Thanks to our generous sponsors so far (Mama and Papa G, Katherine, Dave, Katie, and Sensei Sandy) we are off to get a great start. But we have big goals, and in order to achieve them, we need YOU! You can help us achieve this goal! Please feel free to share our blog and/or fundraising page with any of your friends or family, either on social media or elsewhere. Spread the word that we hope to get one donation a day for the next 7 days and help us help a great cause!

We are also currently working on drumming up some support from corporate sponsors, we have sent letters out to our favourite local businesses, but if you have any other ideas, or know of a business that may be interested in lending some support, please let us know!

Here is the fundraising link! 

http://searscanada.akaraisin.com/pledge/Team/Home.aspx?seid=10173&mid=10&tid=87703

Thanks for reading!

-Leigh

It's Race Week, and, We Have a Job For You!

So after 24 weeks of training race week has finally arrived!  On Saturday we will be running The Sulphur Springs 50K Trail Race.  We are super excited, and with the holiday weekend it sort of feels like Saturday is sneaking up on us really quick!  Let's talk a little about what is happening in the Hanna residence for race week...

1)  I am already not sleeping.  We took an impromptu camping trip to Pinery Provincial Park on the weekend, and despite the post camping exhaustion I had last night I was still too keyed up to sleep.  Guess it's a good thing I'm working nights tonight...May as well work if I'm not sleeping anyway...Right...Right??

2)  Physiotherapy.  You may remember this post from a couple of weeks ago.  The KT tape was helping, and I was relatively pain free, and able to run my training runs.  Trouble is I could tell that I was not getting to the root of the problem.  I was able to get in for a massage and physio appointment last week and got some insight into what is going on.  The muscles that internally rotate my hip are tight, and the muscles on the outside of my ankle are tight.  Both of these things were causing me to be up on the outside edge of my foot, not allowing for proper shock absorption through the joint, and showing up as knee pain.  Our beloved Ben has left Speed River physio, but I saw a new(to me) PT who was AMAZING.  She released my ankle/foot and hip and gave me some exercises to do.  I've done them diligently and my leg is feeling great.  I see her again on Friday to get me all tuned up to race on Saturday.

3) Tapering.  After 24 weeks of training we are ready to taper.  Our runs this week are 4, 3, and 2 miles long.  We are going crazy.

4) Cleaning the house.  Tapering is something like nesting at the end of a pregnancy.  After having NO energy for months, all of a sudden there is something left in the tank.  I think, like pregnancy, it might be the subconscious knowledge that house cleaning is not going to be at the top of the priority list during 50K recovery.

5) Worrying about getting hurt or sick.  Lucas crafted a rainbow loom skipping rope at school today.  It is really something to behold.  He asked me to skip with it...NOT A CHANCE!!!  With my right leg hanging precariously in healthy territory right now, rainbow loom skipping is not in my repertoire.  I can see myself landing in emerg with a broken ankle after a freak skipping accident.

6) Carb loading!!!  We start to eat ALL OF THE CARBS tomorrow.  Which is actually sort of perfect since I am on nights tonight, and post night shift I ALWAYS want to eat all the carbs.  For our first 2 marathons we subscribed to the "eat all the candy" school of carb loading thought.  For the Hamilton Marathon last fall I leaned more towards carb heavy real foods, and my stomach thanked me.  Bring on the pretzel bagels and pancakes!

7) Stalking the weather.  We've seen forecasts for Saturday at low as 16 degrees and as high as 23 degrees.  I would pay Harold Hussein for a good 7 degree day.  Probably not likely.  Also hoping for dry weather through the end of the week to avoid a repeat of the slippy, muddy adventure from last years North Face Endurance Challenge in Blue Mountain.

And what is this job we have for you.  Participate in our 50K fundraising telethon!!!

This 50K is a stepping stone in our training for our 100K.  On Saturday morning, while we are out running we will be thinking about how we can best prepare for our 100K, we will be thinking of Cooper and how his experiences at Sick Kids lead us here, we will be thinking of all the kids and families who deserve to have hope for their children.  We would love it if you could think of us, and think of our cause,  and when you do log onto our fundraising page and make a donation to END KIDS CANCER.  We would love to come in after hours on the trail to donations rolling in for this very deserving cause!