Rob Mackay :: Notes from the edge

I woke up this morning with a sore, but not painful, right foot which was a bit of a relief. Getting in to see my Physio considering how busy he is and on such short notice, would be like winning the lottery. Luckily my Bro-in-law is a Pedorthist and by chance was coming to our house last night to pick up our BBQ for our annual family BBQ this weekend. Bottom line, he thinks I should be fine for the race. His diagnosis, after pulling, pushing and prodding my foot…first degree muscle strain not ligament damage. Treatment - RICE and no running, then doing A, B, C’s, etc when the pain subsides.

In one week I’ve spoken to two people I consider great athletes who are serious about heading to Transrockies this year. Green with envy, I am. T’is one of the races on my list.

So here’s the scoop: If anyone out there is heading to the race but has to pull out for any reason, my hand is in the air. If I don’t make it this year, good luck to RC and MN - if it all goes down as planned, you will have a great time (and I’ll be streaming in the video….)

Diez Vista, for me, was a decision point. I didn’t mention it to anyone but this was THE race I was going to use to decide if I was going to continue running ultras or not. Even writing it is hard. As a recap on my brief ultra running career, I have run 13 to date (Plus Gobi and MDS).  Everyone wants to crack the top ten. Me included. I don’t want to get into the ’shoulds’ - so I won’t.

For one thing, I stuck to my plan. That was to use Perpetuem, and to go out slowly. This is the first time I really forced myself to go slower from the start. I watched Gary Robbins (who had an amazing race) and Todd Nowack (who would have done really well if not for some uncooperative legs) take off and I fought the urge to hang with them. I took my time up the hills, pushed harder on the downs and forgot about anyone else. Mentally, this really saved me for later in the race.

The first 20 km were challenging but manageable. At around the 26km mark, one of the aid station people said, “You’re doing great, you’re in 14th place!” I was a bit taken with that, my mind screaming “You’re going to fast, slow down…” but at the same time, I felt great, hydrated and well fueled. I kept moving forward, as quickly as I could. (As a side note, I have figured out the nutrition part of racing - I used Perpetuem for the full time and the nasty taste was dulled after a while - my energy was up the entire time.)

From 30 - 40km I ran into a rough spot. I couldn’t get moving faster than about 6:40/km. It was frustrating but I was only passed by 1 person (I think Andy Bachman). This section is mentally tough because you go down a long forest service road to a checkpoint and then back up and over the section you just came down. As I entered the aid station, I asked for some Coke and had a sip, looked up and Todd was in a chair - looking cold. When I asked what the scoop was I was told, “His pins are shot.” That sucks - I have been there… To go back, I turned around, pulled my hat down and started to chug up the hill. Up and up. Eventually to a plateau and I realized that I was on my own. No markers, no people. Crap. I was off course. To avoid coming back up the hill again, I waited for a few minutes. Still no one came so I started walking down the hill to see if I could catch sight of anyone coming up… The trees blocked my view. I gave in and started to run and saw the markers way down the hill and people running back. Crap, again. I ran as hard as I could to get down the hill and started up another one on the course…

The last 10km were a struggle. My calves were grabbing - we were up against 6000ft of elevation gain and my calves were on the verge of clamping down. I had to stop every few kms to give them a stretch. Again, it was frustrating but manageable as a few more people passed, asking the obligatory, “Are you OK?”…

I came across the finish line in 27th spot - not the top 15 as I had hoped. That said, I wasn’t unhappy and I discovered a few things;

1) I am averaging about 12 hours of training a week. Someone mentioned that Gary Robbins is around the 20 hour mark. Aerobically, I’m not there yet and I need to find a way to increase my capacity - spinning may be the answer. 

2) Race nutrition - Done.

3) To run mountains you need to run mountains. My calves are still sore!

4) I really ‘enjoy’ ultra running. I approached this race way in a more relaxed way and actually had some fun on the course.

See you at Elk/Beaver.

JH and I set off this weekend for the Capitol Peak 34 miler. Have a look at his site because he does a great recap of the event. It was a 4 loop, 34 miler (more like 35 miler!) and it was a very hard course.

 Some Highlights/Lowlights of the day:

- My hill running has vastly improved. I was hammering over the first 17 miles and came in at 2:30. The 2100 ft of elevation gain wasn’t nearly as hard as past runs.

- The 3rd loop was brutal. The course was thrashed by this time (mud, snow, ice and ponds). This, combined with me not managing the nutrion well meant I was about 30 minutes slower than I should have been.

-  The last loop wasn’t as brutal. The Pepsi/hammergel combo kicked in and I ran up the last 1200ft into the snow.

- On the way down from the last hill, I tripped and SUPERMAN’d. I hit the ground pretty hard and bashed up my right knee. Got up and brushed myself off and got going again. By this time the course was absolutely trashed - there was alot of chatter post race about one particular section of nasty mud that I almost fell on, 3 or 4 times…

- I am sore today and bruised but overall pleased with my fitness. Not pleased with my lack of nutritional planning but I know how to fix this.

I need some time this week to repair then I’ll be hitting the hills again in prep. for Chuckanut…

Between these two lucky WS entrants.

Jar, looks like we’ll be running together after all!

Western States lottery is on Saturday and they have the full list of attemptee’s on the web site. 62 Canadians - most names I recognize, a few I have run against, a few from out east.

Suprises? Nicola Gildersleeve threw her name in. I ran against her at STORMY and she is blazing fast. Would give Jen Segger-Gigg a run for her money. As well Darin Bentley - another accomplished ultrarunner who can run really long, really fast. If they are picked, I will be rooting for both of them as it would be cool to have a Canadian in the top 10.

Crossing my fingers.

I don’t think I’ve had a full week off from running for at least six months, maybe longer.

Life has taken over at the moment - I am getting an appreciation for single parenthood managing the kids daily and taking care of the house.  It’s amazing the energy reserves you can find. I’ve become more organized (militant, I think) than ususal.

I will attempt my first run in 7 days today - if the timing works out. If not, I’ll attempt it tomorrow, then again and again until it happens.

When M isn’t feeling well, life is wobbly.

Like Pluto’s orbit.

I had planned on going long-ish tomorrow with Jarhead and crew but M is out sick right now so I’ll have to go at another time.

Elsewhere…I have a BIG idea that I am working on that will be announced soon. Running and Ultra related. Cool stuff.

These days I rarely find myself having to ‘get through…’ something. I don’t believe in just surviving yet this next 48 hours (chaos at work) is totally occupying my mental space and I am counting the seconds.

This Saturday I will be in Squamish running STORMY with Jarhead and Pano. I’m not in the same shape I was when I ran STORMY last year but am looking forward to it like Christmas morning.