My Year in Review

As I sit here at my laptop, on New Years Eve of 2018, it’s hard to believe another year has come and gone.  I feel its important to review the year that has passed in order to learn and grow from the experiences held therein.  

I am a goal oriented person and in order to be happy with myself, I feel the need to set and achieve goals.  Even if I don’t always meet the goals I set for myself, as long as I learn from the experience or take away a new growth opportunity, I feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth from the process.  I set both professional and personal goals for myself, hoping to grow as an athlete, fitness professional and a human being in the time spent spinning around the sun. 

So here is my year in review...

Professionally, there were some continuing educational opportunities that happened this year.  I pursued my interest in Thai yoga stretching therapy by attending another workshop on the practice.  I have found this practice to be very helpful with both my running clients and clients dealing with arthritis, who both tend to suffer from muscle tension and issues related to reduced ROM.  

Speaking of which, my personal training practice has been expanding via word of mouth that I worked quite well with those dealing with osteoarthritis, that people dealing with other forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis have referred to working with me.  I’ve really enjoyed working with clients with these unique special needs, and keeping them active and strong, while reducing joint inflammation, has been very rewarding for me.  I hope to expand further in this area in the near future. 

Continuing with significant changes in my professional life, I made the difficult but important decision to part ways from the women’s gym that I worked at for almost four years, to move into private practice.  Standing up for what I believe in was challenging, but morally the right choice to make. While moving solely into private practice is exciting, scary and insecure, it was definitely the right decision for me and I have absolutely no regrets.   

Moving onto my year as an athlete...

I made two different, yet complimentary goals for my endurance training this year: 

1) Step down from the full iron distance to the half iron distance, in order to take the time to improve on sport specific aspects of triathlon, especially in the swim and bike disciplines. 

2) Complete my first trail ultra-marathon.  

As a self-coached athlete, I understand there will be limitations on my ability to self-assess/criticize in a helpful manner, especially in my swim stroke technique, so I made an effort to attend more swim clinics and a few private swim lessons.  I hired Miranda Tomenson for some swim lessons and attended a swim clinic held by Triathlon Ontario.  They were worthy investments.  I managed to knock six minutes off my 2km swim time at both the half-irons I competed in this year (Ironman 70.3 Muskoka and MSC Barrelman).  I also PB’ed my 3.8km swim at the LOST swim race with a time of 1:24:02. I’m very proud of this.  I hope to get my Iron distance swim time down to 1:15:00 for 2019 with consistent training and applying the lessons learnt from my sessions. 

The biggest change to my cycling discipline came late in the year, like only two weeks ago to be completely honest.  I upgraded from my trusted Specialized Ruby road bike, to a brand new Liv Avow Advanced Pro 2 TT/triathlon bike.  Now I’m truly committed to riding aero.  I’m still adjusting to the new saddle position, but I’m feeling exhilarated and inspired. I can’t wait to actually get her out onto the road to race in the spring/summer. 

As for running, I challenged myself in a different way. Instead of focusing on speed so much this year, like I have been doing in previous years, I really went for distance - the ultra-marathon.  I began training on trails and found I really enjoyed the challenge of the terrain and the camaraderie of the trail running community, especially the Five Peaks Trail Race Series and Happy Trails Racing.  I surprised myself with a podium finish at my second ever trail race (3rd female OA at the Albion Hills half marathon) and continued on with the momentum. My end of season event was The Beav 50K trail ultra, and I exceeded my own expectations when I finished 2nd OA female.   

2018 had some real ups and downs for my running discipline. While my performance at the Toronto Marathon (3:40:45) met the qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon (3:45:00), I did not make the final cut off time in the competitive entry system (I missed the cut off by 37 seconds). It was a difficult pill for me to swallow.  Although I knew I was choosing distance over speed in my run training this year, it still sucks to miss a standard you previously met.  

That being said, the time invested in trail and ultra-running ended in several podium finishes for me this year, which was really gratifying.  And I’ll choose positivity over negativity any day. I must admit, in 2018 I really kindled an interest in trail ultra-running, and I intend to pursue this further in the years to come.    

So what are my goals for 2019? 

1) I’m going back to Ironman Mont Tremblant in August, and my goal is to break 12 hours. (FYI, my 2017 time was 13:53:42). 

2) Further explore trail ultra-running, this time at the 50mile (80K) distance category.  I’m considering the Sulphur Springs trail race this May. 

3) Continue to grow my personal training business, particularly in the area of clients dealing with arthritis, a demographic which I have found to be enjoyable to work with.   

I hope your 2018 lived up to expectation, and that you have set some big goals for 2019.   

Happy New Year from Kelly at Contours Personal Training. 

Osteoarthritis & Osteoporosis

This is the time of year I like to take advantage of the quiet of the racing off-season and work on my professional upgrading.  As a personal trainer, I work with a broad range of clients - people who want to run faster, expecting mothers hoping to have fit and healthy pregnancies, and a segment of the population which is growing more and more each year, the active aging population which often have chronic long term conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis. 

I spent much of this weekend attending a training workshop developing my skill set to better train those individuals looking to remain active while managing two common health conditions - Osteoarthritis & Osteoporosis.

It is a common misconception that people managing Osteoarthritis and/or Osteoporosis should slow down and 'take it easy'.  This is far from the truth.  In fact, more motion (including low impact cardio and deep stretching) and strength training (especially around affected joints) will help reduce pain, inflammation and stiffness, as well as improve ROM, and improve Daily Active Living tasks.   

In this workshop I learnt some new techniques to add to my growing repertoire of exercises.

For osteoarthritis I learnt: new fascial line stretches to increase ROM in the upper and lower body, quad & glute activation drills with a stability ball, hand/wrist warm ups to reduce pain & stiffness, how to perform clams for the shoulders (its not just for the glutes you know), etc...

For osteoporosis I learnt: modified body positioning to reduce stress on the spine (one of the most common areas impacted by osteoporosis), appropriate ROM while stretching affected areas, how to apply Wolf's Law (the bones respond to stress) to training such as heel tapping techniques, etc... 

The part I most enjoy about these workshops is the hands on approach to learning all the participants undergo.  I had the opportunity to practice my new skill sets on others.  Below are a few action shots of myself demonstrating the semi-prone clam (for shoulder strengthening) on the course instructor Ona McDonald.  Thanks Ona!

 
If you or someone you know is managing either of these long term conditions and looking for a fitness professional with the skill set to safely and efficiently guide you through exercises, then please feel free to contact me.  Don't let arthritis or osteoporosis prevent you from living a full and active life. 

The Beav

The last race of my 2018 season was The Beav, a 50K ultra-marathon held at Hilton Falls Conservation Area near Milton, ON (https://raceroster.com/events/2018/15698/the-beav).  I had been considering running an ultra for some time now, and I finally decided to build up to this event steadily through the summer.  This was my first season trail racing and I had selected a few Five Peaks courses to help me train for this ultra running event - Rattlesnake Point enduro, Albion Hills half and Mansfield half (http://www.5peaks.com/ontario/). I felt I was improving all season long, finding my trail running legs, and even managed a podium finish at Albion Hills (3rd female OA).  

Besides the Five Peaks races, I went out to Hilton Falls several times in the fall to train on the actual course that we would be racing on.  Being familiar with the course brings me confidence and also a feeling of comfort like I’m running on home turf, so to speak. On a practical note, I always like to know where all the port-a-potties are on the course!  On a more natural note, I visited the waterfalls many times over the last few months. Its one of my fav spots on the Bruce Trail and always worth a visit.     

On to race morning... 

Although this is considered a fall race, Nov 10 felt much more like winter that morning.  I left downtown Toronto where it had previously been raining, but as I drove North and West road conditions grew more treacherous.  There was one car accident on the 427 SB, and I counted three separate accidents on the 401 WB between Mississauga and Milton where ice covered the road.  Still fall on the calendar, many motorists were caught off guard and had either slid into ditches or the back end of another car.  I had to slow down significantly and adapt to the conditions.  Pretty much a good indicator of how the trail conditions were going to be that day as well! 

The windchill was bitter in the parking lot and after picking up my kit I decided to sit in my car until it was time for the pre-race meeting at 8:50am.  According to my car thermometer, the air temp was -3C but the windchill felt more like -10C, ugh.

I just wanted to get moving, because I know I’ll warm up once I run up the first hill, starting on the Philip Gosling Side Trail which connects the Bruce Trail with the rest of the Conservation Area from the parking lot. Sitting around was not enjoyable, it never is.  Finally 9am rolled around and all the 50K runners were off!  (25K runners went at 9:30, and 10K runners at 10am). 

I wasn’t sure what the trail conditions were going to look like with this wintery weather mix. I knew the 50K course consisted of two 25K laps of mixed single technical track (the Bruce Trail) and wide groomed trails (Hilton Falls Conservation Area).  I knew there were going to be spots with mixtures of ice/snow/mud/wet leaves, so part of my racing strategy was to run my first 25K lap conservatively, and make a judgement call at the halfway point as to how to race the second 25K lap.  The wider sections of the conservation area I ran a faster pace (5:30/km), but on the narrower single track of the Bruce Trail I had to slow it down (7:30/km). There were lots of slick rocks that forced me to walk at many points.  

(Above photos courtesy of Sue Sitki) 

When I reached the top loop of the course about 12-13km into the first lap I asked the course marshall what position I was in, she told me I was the 5th woman to pass. I was good with that (I believe there were 100 people registered for the 50K, a third of them women).  

I hadn’t really started to race yet. Honestly, the bigger struggle at this point was with my trail bag water supply.  The long straw/hose that supplied water from the reservoir bag had begun to freeze and after 20K into the run, despite my taking a sip every 5min to keep the water moving. I couldn’t pull anymore water from the bag, it was dead weight.  I decided I was going to have to drop the bag completely at the halfway point aid station and depend solely on the aid station drinks.  Fortunately there were aid stations every 5-7km on the course with EcoCups filled with water, Skratch or coke which was more than enough for me.   

The aid stations were quite awesome actually:

Aid station 1 - Running Rarebits Run Club - This aid station featured s’mores which they made on the campfire next to the waterfall. 

Aid station 2 - Russell’s Roost - where I grabbed handfuls of potato chips and electrolytes. 

Aid station 3 (Start/Finish) - Tanker’s Canteen - run by Tanker & crew, who happen to brew the best hot chocolate.  

Runners would pass each station twice per loop. Perfectly well placed and stocked! 

After dropping my frozen bag at Tanker’s Canteen (remembering to stuff a couple of my GU roctane energy gels in my pockets before ditching the bag completely), I grabbed a handful of pretzels and washed them down with some Skratch mix. I was now ready to head back out for my final 25K lap.  I felt happy, lighter and refreshed.  Before leaving I asked what my current position was.  Apparently two of the women ahead of me had decided to drop out after 25K, which boosted me up to third place.  I was going to race the last lap, to see if I could make up even more ground.  A lot can happen during 50K, and it was getting exciting now seeing how things were unfolding.  Bad weather doesn’t seem to phase me as much as it does other people. Perhaps growing up in Newfoundland I was used to cold, wet, windy and miserable weather in general.  Either way, it seems to work for me on race days. I’ve learned to suffer in my life, both mentally and physically.  As it turns out, it makes me a good ultra runner.   

I ran the second 25k more aggressively.  I ran alongside some people that I knew for short stretches (Eric D’Arcy from the 5 Peaks trail series, Ryan Rogers along the technical section of the Bruce, Sam who worked in the greenhouse...you know who you are) and I enjoyed a nice chat with each of them, but I was out to close the gap between 2nd and 3rd spot so I opened up my stride and promised them we’d continue our chat post-race.  I opened up and off I went.   

I eventually caught up with the woman in front of me holding second place on the last 10k of the course, just after leaving Russell’s Roost aid station for the last time.  I caught up with her as she slowed down for the technical section of the Bruce Trail.  We both had to walk it, it was treacherous at many points.  We started chatting, her name was Sarah, she wore a bright yellow jacket, and was good trail company.  Sure we were racing, but we’re also a trail running community and we chatted about all sorts of things while navigating that challenging 3km stretch of Bruce.  Like me, she had dropped her bag at the 25k point and we were both looking forward to hitting that Running Rarebits aid station for a final hydration stop on course.   

When we reached the aid station I decided to make my strategic move.  Sarah was asking for coke but I just grabbed the first glass I found - water, electrolytes, coke - whatever I didn’t care.  I only had 5K left, I wasn’t wasting time on special needs. I gulped 2 mouthfuls down of whatever I grabbed (I think it was just water) and that was it. I probably only spent 15 seconds there, and I was off again.  That move bought me perhaps a minute ahead of Sarah, and I was now in second place.  I knew that Tanya Wharton was ahead by a long shot as I hadn’t seen her in awhile (that woman is so fast!) so overtaking her wasn’t realistic in my mind. I knew what she could do from the Mansfield half we raced back in October at the Five Peaks season finale.  I just wanted to hang on to second place at this point.  With 5km left I opened up on the wide section of the Red Oak trail and tried to put as much distance between me and Sarah as I could.  Every few minutes I’d glance over my shoulder and I’d see a flash of yellow and I knew I had to keep the heat on. Now I was racing, and I loved it! 

Turning left off the wide Red Oak trail of the conservation area, the final 2k stretch of the Philip Gosling side trail was narrower and more technical.  I wanted to keep a fast pace, but I had to be more careful on this section due to rocks and roots. There was one 500m stretch in particular that was pure mud and super slippery after the ice had melted and hundreds of feet had tread over.  Luckily only some minor slipping and sliding, no major spills and I kept it together for the home stretch through the field, over the bridge and through the finishers chute.  

I finished in second place (5:16:34), with Sarah less than a minute behind me (5:17:19) in third. Tanya Wharton was the first female to cross the line exactly 30min ahead of me (4:46:34).  Kudos to her for an incredible pace on a tough course.  I have so much respect for these ladies for pushing ourselves so hard, but still being class acts.  I made sure to stop and chat with both Tanya and Sarah after the race and they were super friendly and I hope to meet them on the trails again. Maybe in warmer conditions, as so many people left soon after their race was over.  Not many lingering around after this event in the bitter wind. 

Everybody I met on the trail that day was so great.  Old and new friends, as well as the awesome volunteers at the aid stations.  A big thank you goes out to Tanker who personally brought me hot chocolate after the race (you get cold really quickly after you stop running!).  Sue Sitki was out on the trail and took most of these photos - thank you Sue! And last, but definitely not least, a great big thank you goes out to the Happy Trails Racing team, Jeff Rowthorn and Heather Borsellino for organizing such a fantastic event.  I love my unique ceramic beaver medallion and the warm race hoodie.  I hope to be back next year to do it all again!  I can say that I have definitely enjoyed my first ultra running event and I’m planning more of these for 2019.  But first, I’m off to MEC to buy myself an insulated water hose cover before my next long run! 

Boston & Dealing with Rejection

This post is hard to write.  Usually when I post about my athletic endeavours I’m writing about achieving a personal best, conquering some new milestone, showing off a medal or other wonderful news.  I suppose social media has many of us projecting only the best moments of our lives, which makes failure and rejection difficult to discuss for most of us.  But I think its healthy and quite necessary to have a conversation about the moments of our lives where we fail to meet our goals, to remind ourselves that we are all human, and when we do not achieve the goals we set out for, its only truly a failure if we do not learn from the experience. 

This is not a pity me post.  This is a blog that is meant to help myself and others move forward from perceived failure and rejection. 

As a run coach and personal trainer, I put tremendous pressure on myself to perform and succeed.  I consider myself a role model - professionally for my clients - but I also have personal ambitions just like my clients do.  So when I fail to achieve a goal I feel disappointed in myself. 

This is the second time I’ve applied for entry in the Boston Marathon. (https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon). 

I suppose I’m finding this rejection from the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) particularly hard because the first time was so easy for me.  The very first marathon I ever ran was the Toronto Marathon in May 2016, with a time of 3:34:38.  The Boston Qualifying (BQ) time for my age group then was 3:40:00, which meant I had a 5:22 buffer and was eventually accepted in the first week of application for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  The cut off time in the competitive entry system was 2:09 that year. My buffer was 5:22 was plenty cushion. 

I decided to apply for the 2019 Boston Marathon with my most recent marathon time of 3:40:45, which I also achieved at the Toronto Marathon this spring (May 2018). It was not as fast a finishing time, but since I moved up an age group my BQ time was 3:45:00 this year, which gave me a buffer of 4:15.  I applied in the second week of application and was rejected.  Apparently the cut off time for applications was set at 4:52, I missed it by 37 seconds.  The competitive entry system was much more competitive this year.   I would not be lacing up my sneakers in Boston this spring as I had hoped. 

The rejection letter was hard to read. I felt bummed out, inadequate and frustrated.  I wasn’t alone.  I scanned social media all day - I read the comments left on the Boston Marathon’s Facebook page, various Instagram sites, and Strava posts - people were angry, sad, disappointed and obviously frustrated.  All valid feelings.  But what now?  How this rejection is dealt with is very important in moving forward.  

I was surprised at how many people were angry at the B.A.A.  A large number of the rejected runners felt that simply achieving their BQ times, as set by the B.A.A., should have been enough to guarantee entry.  I saw a lot of F*** Boston posts.  It seemed like they felt mislead or taunted. 

Sure, I get the anger, we are all human, we work really hard putting blood, sweat and tears into the process, and the emotional let down is tough.  But I don’t think being angry at the B.A.A. is the right answer. It is the most prestigious marathon in the world for a reason. 

I chose self-reflection over anger.  Why did I fail to be accepted even though I earned my BQ?  Its important to remember that achieving your BQ time only gives you the right to apply, it is still a competitive entry system.  I compare it to applying to an Ivy league University like Harvard - you may have the grades but you are still competing with everyone else who earned those grades.  Its the best of the best, its prestigious, its tough.       

So did I perform at my best? No, I don’t think so.  I ran well at the 2018 Toronto Marathon, but not my best.  I’ve done better.  So why didn’t I run as well? I can’t say for sure, but here are some ideas that have been going through my mind:

1) I’m two years older

2) My cat died 4 weeks before the marathon and I was still incredibly sad from his passing

3) The week before the marathon there was an incident at work that caused significant stress in my life that involved some major work-life changes  

4) My regular ultimate frisbee league team did not play over the winter season due to a registration issue.  This had been the primary source of my winter interval run training.      

5) Perhaps I became cocky/complacent.  

  

Let’s tweeze these theories apart: 

1) Sure I’m two years older, but since I only started marathon running in 2016 I think I have more to learn, and experience is so important in marathon running. I don’t think that was the issue. 

2) Mourning my cat.  I’m not sure what to say.  It was so sad.  I spent many hours crying over him but the grief process was something that I had to work through and am still working through. 

3) Work stress.  This is always the million dollar question because every single person I’ve ever met has stress related to work.  I think its largely unavoidable and as people we need to learn better coping skills when stress happens.  There were people who told me to just channel my anger at the situation into my run but I’m not sure if I was able to do that.  Sometimes it just weighs you down and exhausts you.   

4) Can I blame my team captain for my marathon performance because he didn’t register the team in time? Of course not, that’s ridiculous.  I am the only person responsible for my run workouts, and I should have scheduled interval run workouts during the times we would have had our games. My fault.   

5) Did I get complacent? Its quite possible.  I had a lot of success in my run events that past year and maybe I let my foot ease up on the pedal that winter/spring training season.  

In the end, I really only have myself to blame for not running up to my full potential - being fast enough to get into the 2019 Boston Marathon.  

If I’m going to thrive as a runner and a human being, I must recognize that: 

* I am competing with other athletes who are training hard, and want it bad. 

* I am the only person responsible for scheduling & completing my workouts.

* I can not blame other people, institutions or life situations for my failure to achieve goals. I am the only person accountable for my actions and I must learn how to manage these.    

* Being angry, sad, frustrated are all normal and healthy emotions, but it is important not to dwell on them.  It’s incredibly important to make a plan and initiate the required steps to make progress towards reaching future goals.   

I expect I will run another marathon this spring and attempt to re-qualify for Boston again in the future.  No one likes eating the slice of humble pie (especially when you know the sweet taste of Boston cream), but you never forget the bitter taste in your mouth, and that will help fuel the runs ahead. 

Barrelman 2018

After doing my first full Ironman at Mont Tremblant last year, I wanted to take some time to work on some sport specific aspects of my long course triathlon, and I decided it would be better to do a couple half irons this season before attempting another full Iron.  I picked Ironman 70.3 Muskoka and MSC Barrelman courses for the 2018 season, both are 2km swim/90km bike/21.1km run. 

Race morning dawned foggy and humid, it seemed all my races this year were going to be in hot conditions.  The forecast high was for an air temp of 30C, with humidex of 35C. Ugh, not what this Newfie seal was hoping for. 

Still dark, I left my hotel in Niagara Falls, climbed in the shuttle bus and made my way to the Welland International Flatwater Centre where the swim and T1 section of the courses were located. T2 and the run would be based in Niagara Falls.  The athletes would bike the 90km between the transition zones. 

I checked over my bike, prepped my gear in T1 and headed down to the water to do my warm up swim.  I felt really good going into the swim.  I had done lots of work on my swim with coach Miranda Tomenson over the winter, and I upgraded my wetsuit to a Roka Maverick Elite (replacing my Nineteen Pipeline which had served me well over the last 4 years but was starting to wear and tear now).   

The first 300m of any open water mass swim start is dodgy. You just try to avoid getting kicked, and once I was out of the 'thrashers section' I settled into my groove. I focussed more on my ‘superpose’ style stroke, gliding, and rotating on the skewer (like Miranda suggested) and I settled into a good rhythm.  The guide ropes were still in the canal (used by the kayakers and rowers) so for most of the swim I could use them to help with sighting.  I was grateful for those. 

Exiting the water, I glanced down at my Garmin - it read 41:15.  When I did this course back in 2016 I swam the 2k in 47:34 which means I took 6min 19sec off my previous swim time!  Boom!  Hence the big grin coming out of the water.  I was off to a great start. 

I transitioned out of my swim gear, hopped onto the bike and headed out onto the road towards Fort Erie. This year the race director added 1K onto the bike course with a short turn around (previously it was 89K and they needed to add 1K to bring it to the standard 90K for the half-iron distance).  So the bike courses from 2016 and 2018 will not be 100% comparable. I felt good on the bike, I committed to staying in aero position for parts of the course that were straight and not too technical, but I felt a few of the nagging end of season muscle and joint issues creep up on me towards the last third of the course.   I managed to smash my left knee into my coffee table the weekend before and the bruising ache returned full force at the 60k point, making the ride a little more uncomfortable than it needed to be.  I know, no excuses, but it is what it is.  In the end, I held the exact same pace as last time (27.9km/h).  I'm not as pleased with that. 

The second transition is always welcomed, as I’m glad to get my butt off the bike and start my favourite section of the triathlon - the run.  I felt good on the run, but the heat soon began to take its toll, as it often does at this point.  Recalling the strategy I used in Muskoka, I poured water over my head and grabbed ice to throw in my sports bra whenever I could get it.  It helped, but I think I was a little too focused on keeping cool and forgot to take all the nutrition I needed on the run.  (Or perhaps I was distracted by the magnificence of the Niagara waterfalls in the background.)  I was just taking liquids for the last 12km, when I should have been taking my last 2 gels.  I felt I was running well, but the split times were not as fast as they should have been, especially when compared to what I did on this course previously, and Ironman 70.3 Muskoka.  I ran the 21.1km in 2:01:31, slower than both Muskoka and Barrelman 2016 which were both sub 2h (1:59:47 and 1:56:31, respectively).   

 

Overall I did the 2018 MSC Barrelman in 6:01:37.  Faster than the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka course back in July at 6:03:16, so that’s good.   I’d like to be able to compare it to my 2016 Barrelman time of 6:00:05.5 but I need to remind myself that the bike course was shorter then, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that I was any slower, especially when my bike splits were pretty much exactly the same in both years.  The big difference was definitely the heat, it was much more hot and humid in 2018 than 2016, which impacted my run.    

Alas I’m still in search of my sub 6h half-iron triathlon.  Sadly it won’t happen this year, but I know I’ll get there at some point.  

So what are my take home points from this triathlon race season?  

1. Swim - The hard work on the swim has paid off.  I need to keep doing the assigned drills and focus on the form adjustments my swim coach has taught me.  They are working and my swim times from Muskoka, LOST and Barrelman show it clearly and consistently. 

2. Bike - I saw little improvement on the bike splits this year.  While I am definitely more comfortable in aero-position this season than in previous years, I need to work on my power.  This will definitely be a priority over the winter. 

3. Run - I’m happy with my run form and times. I know its the heat I suffer in and perhaps more heat training would be helpful.  Otherwise, I just need to keep working hard and not get complacent.  

4. Nutrition - After reviewing some of my run splits and thought processes, I think I am overlooking some aspects of race day nutrition.  I think I try to just power through the last sections of the bike/run courses and my performance suffers for it, contrary to what I may tell myself at the time.  I’m going to have to work on this part of my sport.  I need to better strategize my caloric intake while cycling and running, instead of just toughing it out, like the stubborn fool I can be sometimes.       

While its now officially off season for triathlon, my off-season for running won't start until mid-Nov.  I have a few more big run events scheduled over the next two months, so be sure to stay tuned for more on my running adventures, including my first trail ultra-marathon this autumn!  

Swimming with Mental Grit

Last weekend (Aug 18) I did the LOST swim.  Its an annual race held every August by the Lake Ontario Swim Team members based in Oakville http://lostswimming.com/. In the past I’ve done both the 1.6k (mile) and 3.8k (iron) distance events, depending on what my training schedule fit at the time. 

Despite it being held the same place and same time every year, the conditions are always different each and every time - at least all four times I’ve done it (2015-18).  The night before the race, a wind and rain storm past through the Great Lakes region, and although the weather had cleared race morning, there was still a tremendous energy held by the water from the previous nights storm.  In other words, the swell was big. 

                                            All Photos courtesy of John Johnston. 

All the swimmers waded down the rocks and into the lake from the entry point at Maple Grove Drive, and immediately the swell began tossing the swimmers around. It was going to be a rough swim.  The airhorn blasted and off we went.  While the water was much warmer this year (71F) than last years event (a bitterly cold 44F due to a lake inversion), the swell was some of the toughest I’ve swam in.  

Looking around me, it was hard to see the buoys at times, and I could barely see any of the other swimmers.  Typically the bright yellow swim caps made the other swimmers easy to spot, and offered reassurance, but this year I saw hardly any other swim caps in the water.  I felt lonely out there, weren’t we a big crowd when we started? Like over 100 people?  That’s when my mind started to play tricks on me.  I began to think that I was the very last swimmer. I was struggling in the swell and convinced my performance was sucking, hard.  I couldn’t see anyone else, so obviously they had all gone ahead of me and left me in their wake.  I began to feel so defeated that I even refused to look at my Garmin, because if I hadn’t swam far enough yet, and the GPS confirmed it, I would be devastated.  I thought about quitting for a few moments, but I had never quit a race before, even the year the water temperature was a frigid 41F.  So after collecting my thoughts, taking a deep breath, I continued on.  

About 30min into the swim I started to feel the further effects of the waves.  Nausea began to set in from the rough swell tossing me around.  I really wished I had taken some of the ginger gravol I had in my first aid kit.  Oh well too late now.  If I puked in the lake so be it.  Probably the best spot to do it, I suppose. 

With all these negative thoughts and forces of nature working against me I had two options: 

1. Give up, signal to a kayaker and swim ashore, or 

2. Refocus my efforts and swim better so that I would hurry up and finish the damn course so that I could get out of the water at the Navy Street pier with my dignity intact.  

I chose option 2. I refocussed my form, kept my head down, tightened up my arm position closer to my body through the downward pull for efficiency and swam to get this the hell over with.  It was the right approach. I finally arrived at the LOST beach and gladly let the volunteers help drag me out of the waves crashing on the shore.  

I finished the 3.8km point to point course in 1:24:02. I finished 5th in my age group, so much for being last!  

https://results.rmraces.live/LOST/events/2018/The-LOST-Race2018/results 

The last time I did the 3.8km swim (2016), I finished with a time of 1:29:58.  Contrary to the tricks my mind was playing on me, I actually performed much better, cutting 5min 56sec from my previous time.  I was almost 6 minutes faster!  I was really pleased with that. Six minutes is significant. 

I had been making a real effort to improve my swim times this year, including some private coaching sessions from Miranda Tomenson, and spending more time in the lakes doing open water versus pool swimming this summer. And it looks like its paying off. If I had pulled out when things got tough in the lake, I would not have this validation.  

This event is an excellent reminder of how important mental grit and having a positive attitude is for endurance athletes.  We can train our bodies to travel long distances when conditions are great, but what happens when our perfect game plan falls apart, due to bad weather, or other issues out of our control?   A well rounded and successful endurance athlete has to develop mental strength to get them through every situation, especially the bad ones. Its just as important as all that time spend in the gym and the physical aspects of training.   

The mind is the single most important part of our body that we have to train.  We train it to control our limbs and breathing rates when we swim, bike, run - the physical stuff. But we must also train it to think strategically, positively and to suffer through the discomfort when things go wrong.  Remember - its OK to not be OK.  As it is often in the moments of greatest vulnerability and discomfort that we dig deep to find the courage to proceed and reach our highest peaks of performance.  Remember greatness was never found in comfort zones and if you want to get stronger, faster, better than before you need to get uncomfortable. 

So get out there and be uncomfortable.  Good luck with your training! 

- Kelly

P.S. Oh, and I didn’t puke, but it was close. 

Five Peaks Trail Race #3 - Albion Hills half-marathon

One of the challenges I made for myself this year was to explore the sport of trail running.  I chose to race the Five Peaks Trail Series this summer as most of the races were within 1-1.5hrs outside of Toronto and the races appeared to be well organized with a fun and loyal following of trail runners. http://www.5peaks.com/ontario/  

All of which would lead me up to my end of season goal, my first trail ultra-marathon, The Beav 50K trail race at the Hilton Falls Conservation Area in November. https://raceroster.com/events/2018/15698/the-beav  

Race #1, Terra Cotta, was unfortunately cancelled due to a nasty freezing rain storm.       

Race #2, Rattlesnake Point, had beautiful weather and I had a fantastic day running the 12.7km enduro course in 76min to a solid 4th place AG finish, pleasantly surprising myself, encouraging me to up my trail running game for the next event (see my blog dated June 18 for that story - http://contourspersonaltraining.blogspot.com/2018/06/june-blog-updates-riding-for-heart-and.html).   

Race #3, Albion Hills.  After my solid performance at Rattlesnake Point, I decided I felt ready to apply myself to the half-marathon trail race.  I have lots of experience running half and full marathon on road (including the Boston and Toronto Marathons), but I have never ran this distance on trail.  I love running long, I consider myself more of an endurance athlete with my Ironman triathlon background so this was a natural progression for me.  

Unlike Rattlesnake Point, where I felt unsure about where I would place myself in the starting wave, I knew immediately I would start myself in the first wave of this race.  I belonged in the lead pack.  I don’t want to sound cocky here, its not my style to be arrogant.  But I do have faith in my ability when I look back on past performance and training blocks and see that I have demonstrated capability.  So I stepped up.   

Some people might consider the race day weather less than ideal. It was raining steadily, a cool 17C to start, and cloudy grey skies.  However, I love this kind of weather.  I run so much better in cooler weather, and I don’t mind getting wet and dirty.  Considering the oppressive heat and humidity Southern Ontario had been dealing with over the past month, I was quite relieved to have this break in the weather and I for one embraced this cool damp weather.  I would rather run in 17C than 35C anyday!  

The course consisted of three laps of a 7km looped and twisted forested trail in the Albion Hills Conservation Area.  There were plenty of rolling hills, some steep sections, several switchbacks and a few flat open sections of grassy field.  Runners had to pay close attention to the trail signage as there were a few different directional markers (some others for mountain bikers and hiking trails) and it would be easy to make a wrong turn, as I heard at the end of the race that a few runners did. 

One of the differences between trail running and road running is the strategy involved in trail races.  Of course you have to be a fast runner to be competitive in a trail race, but I find there is so much more strategy involved in trail than road.  What clothes and layers do you carry? How much water/nutrition do you take with you? What type of trail shoe do you wear? Do you stay with a pack of other runners and keep pace with with, or race your own pace?  All these things have to be considered carefully to compete in a trail race especially in a distance over 20km. 

I consider myself a minimalist runner, thus I like to run with as little as possible.  I decided to keep my outfit choice simple with a tank top and run skirt.  Sure it was cool, but once I got going I knew I would get hot and didn’t want to worry about ditching clothes.  I tucked 2 GU gel packs in my back pockets and decided not to carry a water bottle with me. Instead I left my water bottle at the first aid station which we would pass after each 7K loop.  It was a cool day and unlike other runners, I don’t seem to take as much water as others because I tend to side-stitch.  I’ve found the best hydration strategy for me, is to drink as much water as possible the day before the race, ensuring my pee is clear (not yellow) before going to bed the night before.  

The trail shoe I wore was one area in the race I think I could’ve made a better choice.  Being new to trail running, I don’t have a lot of experience with the difference type of trail shoe cleat depth and grip.  Being a relative trail newbie, I stuck with a brand I was really comfortable with on the road, New Balance, so this spring I tried their version of a trail shoe, the WT620v2 trail runner. It has a tread depth ranging from 3-4mm.  While I had a great race in this shoe during Rattlesnake Point, the trail that day was dry and hard packed.   The trail conditions at Albion Hills were quite the opposite - wet, muddy and slippery, especially on the descents. 

I managed to do my climbs and flat stretches well on this course, but the descents, an area where I usually pick up my cadence and speed were considerably slower, as my foot grip was much more precarious and I had to slow down to ensure I didn’t wipe out.  It is important to keep in mind when you run trail that one bad step can take you out of the race, so always be mindful.  I think under these conditions a different trail shoe with better grip and deeper cleats would have been a better choice. This is something I would like to experiment with in the future.  You can never have enough pairs of shoes, am I right?!   

Regardless, I got out there in the rain and mud, and ran the best I could.  The first lap I treated as an orientation lap, and a time to settle into an appropriate pace. The second lap I was more talkative and I met some wonderful people out on the trail.  I ran kms 6-14 with a really nice guy, Marc Lefebvre.  He challenged me on the hills and I challenged him to run a little faster on the flat sections.  He also prevented me from taking a wrong turn on the trail at one point, so I am thankful to him for that.  I couldn’t keep up with him on the third lap as he powered up the hills, so I wished him luck and told him to go for it.  

I remember running past the race photographer, Sue Sitki, a couple times and managed to strike a few poses for her camera.  Kudos to her for being so patient taking pictures of all of us in the cool rain all morning.  Big kudos also going out to all the volunteers who helped out during the race.  I didn’t get the name of the man in the green rain jacket at the first aid station, but he was so helpful handing me my water bottle as I passed the station after each loop. He recognized me each time and was happy to help.  Cheers! 

Now I was on to my third and final lap. I remember struggling a little on the first 3km of the final lap.  I’m not sure why.  I felt hydrated and nourished, perhaps it was my lack of trail experience that was hitting me on the hills.  I slowed to a walk for the first time that day on two hilly sections and I started getting frustrated with myself.  I should be running these, damnit!  On the downhill portions I picked up my speed again and started to snap out of it.  I was going to run the rest of this course.  The last 4km of the course I felt better and hit my stride again.  I reminded myself that I have a strong finishing kick in all my triathlons and in principle this was no different.  After running better for the next 10min I pulled into view of another female runner who I hadn’t seen since the start of the race.  If I could pass her I’d move up the rankings.  

I believe this part of the race was where my water bottle strategy came into play.  I noticed her struggling with her water belt and I took this opportunity to dig in and run past her.  Being a friendly race I nodded and told her she was doing great, but I had every intention to keep pushing hard all the way to the end. There was only 1km to the finish line.  At this point I remember there was a wonderful volunteer who high fived me and held back a few mountain bikers as I crossed one of the last wooden bridges and ran it on home to the finishing line. 

My first half-marathon trail race was done, and I managed to push hard holding an average pace of 6:41/km, with a finishing time of 2:18:03.  Waiting for the race results was tough, and I took the time to refuel at the aid station with the awesome salted boiled potatoes and orange slices, thank the volunteers for their help, and change into a warm dry hoodie and jacket.   Finally the results were in - I finished 3rd female overall, and found my spot on the podium in my second ever trail race.  Woohoo!!!  Not only do I really enjoy trail running, but after this performance I think I actually have some real talent for the sport and I will definitely be back for more.  I felt really welcomed at this event and was pleasantly surprised to see another fellow triathlete on the podium, Suzanne French, 2nd female OA, who I have met on the local triathlon circuit in the past.  Congrats ladies! 

I will not be able to attend Race #4 - Heart Lake, as it falls on the same weekend as ultimate frisbee playoffs (and my teammates will have my head if I bail on them!).  But I’ll be out for Race #5 - the Mansfield half-marathon looking for another podium run to end the 5 Peaks season, and one more hard training run before I tackle my first trail ultra-marathon in November.  
Until then, happy trail running everybody! 

The Race Results:

http://chiptimeresults.com/chiptimepublic/do.php?r/fZMkJfuSnhDLnyVxGyhmWtEGOTg+o34DEm1fTxf9MzZ8swfUi249eLvOmGIqrU0keWlGaID7NR9rCVruPBiPcc272Cl1mSYGl/i1rjiLk=

Stats: 

Lap 1- 44:54

Lap 2- 45:44

Lap 3- 47:26

Total time - 2:18:03

Avg pace: 6:41

Third female finisher overall.