Frozen Ass 50 - RunUltra Marathon

Best ever. Fourth time out there this year and I really wanted 6 hours.

To 8k
Started a little fast, but you always do, but I was smart this year and did a couple walk breaks to slow me down. Had one gel. Took a leak, super well hydrated. Met up with Rob after my leak, he started a bit back and had caught up. He expressed some concern with our pace so far which was about 6:50, I said, "dude, I ain't going any faster." Had a quick cup or so of Ultima at the aid station and grabbed some pretzels.

To 18k
There is a traffic light here and you are about 300 meters away or so, anyway, saw the other way was green so put 'er in high gear and got there so I didn't have to wait at the light. So good. Meandered on. Still a little fast so a couple more walk breaks. By about 12k though I was at a solid 6:58-7 pace so just kept going on.

A word about the trail this year, it sucked. Worst in four years. Maybe a total of....3 k on pavement, the rest was on hard packed snow. At times you could run on the grass on the side of the pavement but for the most part there was no grass to be seen either.

Had a gel half way into this leg.

Grabbed another cup or so of Ultima at the aid station. Also grabbed an energy bar which tasted awesome.

To 25k.
Just kept on moving, passed a couple people at this aid station, people tend to hang for a while at the aid stations. The trail got really bad and people moved from the trail to the canal, which seemed to be better packed. Saw the lead men and women (Ellie Greenwood 100k world champion, apparently she lives in Canmore she was second over all in like 3:50 or so yikes http://elliegreenwood.blogspot.com)flying by at around 19 and 20k here.

Spent a while chatting with Barefoot Neil, check his page out if you like http://becauseallthecoolkidsaredoingit.blogspot.com/, he wasn't running barefoot today but there was quite a bit of snow. Turns out he lives around the street from me which is kinda cool. Actually was running near him earlier and was commenting to him how I always bonk at this stupid race and I was going to fast (mostly because of a nice pair of heels that I was following, but that is another matter) anyways reminded me to slow down which was cool and I am sure helped with my overall result.

So, just hustled along for a while. Good pace, right around 7 minutes, real good. Felt real good. About 1-2k out from the turnaround you hit some pavement which felt nice. Had my gel like right before the turn around. Couldn't stomach it any earlier, those things were getting mighty sweet.

Half way at around 2:53, little fast, little concerned here, always fall apart on the way back.

25k-32k
Grabbed another energy bar, god those were good, and a couple swigs of ultima. Took another leak, not as well hydrated but, well, at least I had to go.

Rob caught up to me again. He made it to half way before me but I left him there. Anyways, we ran at about a 6:40 for a bit, enjoying the pavement. Then it was back to the Canal. Still around 7:00 min pace so good. Felt good. Feet hurting a bit, but felt good.

We had a bit of a headwind but it was not so bad. The sun disappeared though, which sucked, so there was a gloomy feeling.

Had a gel halfway, those gels were getting nasty.

Saw Fraser along here, he was only doing the 25 and he was out there plodding along. Good for him. I kind of roped Rob and him into doing it, whatever, it is good for them. Passed 2 people on this leg.

33k-42k
So grabbed another energy bar, good. Cup or so of ultima and one piece bacon this time, just looked too good to pass up, and off. Started to lose Rob around here, he was a little behind me for the last little bit but started to trail off. Started to close the gap on a number of people in front of me. Passed two people on this leg. They were hurting. I remember what that is like, Poor pacing or poor hydration or nutrition, body just falls apart and nothing to do to make it move. I felt a little bad, I didn't have any real words of encouragement because I remember how much that sucks.

Anyways, kept going, still feelling real strong actually. PAce falling into 7:01 range but that is okay. Felt good, no walking. The years I did this and had to walk for 18k at the end, man. Not this year. Well, okay, maybe I was not that strong. Looked at my watch often. I was still ahead of 6 hour pace so I still had time in the bank, so to speak, just kept counting the km down thinking, well, if I run one more km then that is one less I have to walk.

Had a gel halfway, gross. Exploded all over my shirt. These gels are Stinger gels which are made out of honey. The first one is awesome. The 6th one is so sickly sweet that I would have rather sucked on a bottle of vinegar. Anyways, I digress.

Sped up a bit to hit the traffic light.

42k - 50k
Cup or so of Ultima. Not sure if I ate anything else. Don't think so. Off. Felt tired now. Feet sore mostly but my arms were starting to ache. But I just kept at it. Breathing was fine, pulse felt good, legs felt okay, feet mostly the limiting factor here. But yeah, pace fell to 7:05 or so but whatever.

Had a gel halfway through. Did not want that gel I tell you that. Especially after the last one leaked all over my face and shirt. Sticky sticky. Sucked it back.

Passed 2-3 people on this leg as well.

Finished real strong, 5:40 min/km last k, so good on me.

nothing. nothing. Best I could do without crippling myself and sacrificing my marathon training.

6 pieces of pizza, 3 pops, cup of chili, vegan muffin. Good.

Hung around. Won a pair of shoes, sweet. Rob came in about 6:20


I mean, I feel good today, I didn't leave it all out on the course so to speak. Not sure if I could have gone much faster though. This was a PB by 26 minutes. That is an awesome improvement.

And no walking, except at the beginning to slow my pace down. I cannot believe that. No walking. And as good as walking would have felt, keeping going until the end felt better.

I think I paced this race really well. I was putting time into the people in front of me. Clearly they paced better than me as they finished ahead of me but I was catching up. I think there was a line of people finishing in front of me that were clearly slowing down, will have to wait for final results.

I feel really good about this one.

I think what really helped is unlike in past years I didn't train at race pace. I stuck to my marathon schedule and have put in a number of fast long runs. Gave me good endurance.

Darn near even splits, I can't get over it.

Lastly, nutrition was dead on. I didn't carry anything except for a gel athat I picked up at each aid station. I was super well hydrated to start and slightly dehydrated, but feeling no ill effects, when I stopped.


Awesome race. Best group of people. Best food, best swag, cheap fee, good support.