A slow 16k Trail Run in the scorching sun ☀️🥵

[SaskAlliecat]

That was a hot one. Thank goodness for the breeze! With working this weekend, I shifted my runs around and drove out to the lake to do my long run on the trails this morning. They’re calling for a high of 29C, so my initial plan was to get up early, get ready and take my coffee and bagel to go for the 35 minute drive to the lake. But I woke up so tired I needed my coffee before I could think of doing anything, then wanted to make sure all my morning “business” was done. I still managed to get to the trailhead by 8:30 am but it was already 17C. Oops. There were a couple of other runners there who just finished their run. They were there by 6 am. Smart move on their part! But no need to dwell on it. I used the facilities in the equestrian campground, wet down my buff and hat, got my shoes and socks on, my hydration vest with 1 litre of ice water and 2 500 ml soft flasks with 300 calories of Tailwind between the both. My goal was to work on fuelling strategies and to keep the run slow and easy given the heat and my hubby still being in town if something were to happen to me on the trails. I also packed 4 little 2 bite brownies, a brownie cliff bar and a small bag of gummy candies, just in case my energy and sugars got too low. My plan was to sip the Tailwind on the run, trying to slowly consume most of it and reserve the water for washing down a couple 2 bite brownies at the 11k mark (where the Aid station is on race day), wetting down the buff and to drink after my run. I find I can sip well from the soft flasks, but tend to chug the water from my hydration bladder which doesn’t feel very good sloshing around in my belly mid run 🤢

I set off nice and slow, even walking some of the hills I tend to run, just trying to conserve energy. The breeze was lovely, the sun was shining, and a few birds were in the shrubs adjacent to the trail. It must have been a little too hot for the other wildlife because that was all I saw all run.

I took a sip of Tailwind about every km and it seemed to work alright except my tummy started to grumble saying it was hungry at the usual hour into my run. I held off eating until the 11k mark (which was about 2 hours in) but, in hindsight, should maybe take something in every hour. The 2 bite brownies were a little dry and crumbly and I had to drink quite a bit of water to wash the 2 of them down. Maybe the cliff bar will be better. I’ll try that next run. My legs were heavy and I was feeling quite hot for the last 5k so it was a painfully slow 5k. I enjoyed the one little spot of trees I got to run through, giving me a whole 15 seconds or so of shade 😊, but the swampy area was a little less enjoyable. There’s lots of shrubs but your head and upper body is still very exposed, there was no breeze and there were lots of bugs, as expected, as you slog through the mud and muck. There was no stopping there to take a pic (so I tried to take one before I got into it while I was coming down the hill). The final climb after the swamp was soooooo sloooooow (the temperature was in the mid 20’s by now and there was no breeze going up this final climb 🥵) but then it was through a meadow and down the hill along a busier trail where I met a few hikers. I got back to the trail head in just over 3 hours, ate 2 more 2 bite brownies, chugged some water, then walked the km or so back to my car parked at the equestrian campground. I took off my shoes and socks, marvelled at my dirty trail runner legs with the lovely sock line😂, drove to the houseboat to get everything turned on for my family when they get to come out for an overnight birthday party today for my son (am I happy or sad to miss this gaggle of tween boys? I’m not sure yet 🤔. I’m thinking it’ll be a fun boy’s night without Mom around and only Dad to help lead them astray.... oh wait, I mean keep them in line 😁). Lunch eaten, stretches done, time to head home for a shower and get ready for work. A great, albeit slow, way to start my weekend on call 😊

[Katnap Marathon]

Dust plus ''glow' looks kinda muddy!

Great running SaskAlliecat! 😁🐱

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Katnap]

I went through 3 baby wipes before I felt clean enough to get back in the car and that was just my legs 😂. It was awesome. I didn't realize how dirty I was though until I took my socks off.

[Katnap Marathon in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Fingers crossed it cools for the big day. There will be a lot of dust when you are all running!

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Katnap]

The last 2 years have been really cold (just above freezing) and very windy on race day but the first year was hot, hot, hot. You just never know.

[Katnap Marathon in reply to SaskAlliecat]

You will do great whatever the weather! 👍👍

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Absolutely wonderful Sask. You’re a real trooper running those brutal trails in the heat! Beautiful though, there’s no denying that! 😍 It sounded like lots of fun and the feeling of achievement must have been huge at the end. 💪

Were you plagued with mosquitos? 🦟🦟 The swampy bit looks like a haven for the little so-and-sos. 👎🦟

PR for me this morning. I’m off for a flat coastal one, as I still feel rather sapped after our ridiculously hot week, even though today is cooler. I don’t feel like hills today and my 2 regular courses are full of them! 🙄

Happy running Sask! ❤️🏃‍♀️

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

There were definitely lots of mosquitos in the swampy bit and every where there was water crossing and marshy shrubby areas. It just meant no stopping for pics and you had to keep moving 🙂.

Best of luck on your PR today. It’llhe Nice running on the coast. We’re calling for a high of 33 so I’m almost glad to be working and in air conditioning.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to SaskAlliecat]

I don’t blame you not hanging around in the swamp. I hate mosquitoes and they love me! 😳

Oh crikey 33 is HOT! 🥵🥵🥵 I think we were close to that on Thursday. Cooler here today, but it was still mighty humid and sunny on my PR. Parts of the country had refreshing rain. Not us! 😩

Stay cool Sask. 😀

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Ahhhh that sounds so lovely!! I miss my trail runs 😊

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Nothing beats a great trail run 💕

[Oldfloss Administrator]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ! I loved that! What a run... what a run!!!!

I was with you all the way...but I really disliked the swamp... bugs!!!! EEEEK After my horsefly incident last year I am slightly paranoid!

These runs are really fantastic.... and I do feel as if I am running them with you... thank you for sharing them.

I bet the boys had a great time.. and you, have a good weekend.. whatever xxx

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Oldfloss]

The swamp is the only part of the run I don't look forward to. There is great variety in the rest of the loop though which is a lot of fun. Mud and bugs are a part of trail running, so I try to embrace and tolerate....and use a lot of bug spray. I switched to icaridin this year from DEET due to the heavy layer I put on my legs and arms. Who knows what all that DEET was doing to my body.

I'm sure the boys had fun. It is supposed to be over 30 today, so I'm sure they'll be home early afternoon.

[Hidden]

Wonderful description. In a couple of places, I literally saw through your eyes. I feel a total wimp HM training through the streets of Abingdon after reading that! You are incredible x

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Hidden]

Thanks flick. We all have our own journey. My first HM journey was in town this Spring; I'm glad to have reached the distance before starting this journey. If only I was quicker - it takes a long time to do the runs but am focussing on just reaching the distance for now. I'll be happy to finish the race upright and smiling 😁

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

What exciting runs you have SaskAlliecat, and the views look super in that blue clear day. But I don’t like the sound of swampy bogs and bugs. I bet you were glad of the shower afterwards.

Experimenting with the food and drinks is where I’m at, even though I am only aiming for 10 mile. But it will be over 2 hours. Someone else recommended tailwind- do you have favourite and do not try flavours?

Hope work goes well and the boys survive without you 😂😂

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

The shower felt very heavenly that's for sure!

I've only tried berry and lemon. My favourite is to actually mix the two together, half and half, which I really like. I'm not sure if I've actually tried the lemon on it's own, now that I think about it. I might have to try it next time 😂. A friend of mine tried the naked one, which has no flavour and I wasn't a big fan when I tasted it. It had a chemical taste to it, but in hindsight, that might have been from the bladder she carried hers in. I find if I try to empty the water out of my hydration bladder and use it in my water bottle, it has a weird taste to it, but I tolerate it just fine when I'm running. The naked isn't supposed to have any taste.

I just got back from work ( it was a crazy 14 hour day and it's not over yet 😢) and it sounds like the boys had a great night on their boys trip 🙂 but it was bloody hot today..,35C. That is too hot, even at the lake! They're enjoying the air conditioning now!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Oooh that looks so tough! Those climbs!! Well done. Love the sock line

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks Linda. You feel mighty powerful when you finally make it to the top, even though there is no running it. The views when you get to the top are always spectacular and the breeze awaiting you is a godsend lately with the heat.

[Lavender1962 Half Marathon]

I always love to read your run reports. I can run through the trails vicariously. Sounds like a great run. I guess you'll get to hear about the male bonding experience or tween boy party soon; at least some of it.

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Lavender1962]

Thanks Lavender.

Sounds like the boys had a lot of fun, without getting too carried away....at least from what I got to hear 😆

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

I like how you planned most of it, very good job. Hot weather is my ally but l never take it for granted, too dangerous to do so. With Tailwind you can try and make dosage more stronger in 500ml bottles in order to avoid running out of nutrients before the time (see their website). I did it when l ran a lone marathon (lunacy, l know, but I'll do it again) and it worked really well. Also (we share the same error), watch the forecast and get out there as early as possible in warm weather. Before my maiden marathon l had a late night, a few beers with my mates (football cup final was on and my side lost) and l got there when l should have cut my first 10k stage. I paid for that.

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Thanks. I tend to overplan most aspects in my life. I'm not a footloose and fancy free kind of person 🤓. It's unfortunate when life and work wreaks havoc with my planning though 😁. I've been slowly working the concentration of my Tailwind up a bit as my runs get longer (easy to do since I have the large bags of Tailwind with the scoop) but can get it more concentrated yet. So much tweaking and experimenting. I'm trying to avoid any sort of gut bombs though since there are no bathrooms where I run and the trails have been getting a lot busier lately. That could be awkward, although the trail running book I'm reading has a whole section about the proper etiquette of relieving your self (number one and two) on the trails 😳......I'd rather not go there 😱.

[Bluebirdrunner]

Great read as always Allie...how you tackle these distances in this terrain is hard to imagine, you are just amazing. Just looking at those inclines makes my heart sink...and in the hot sun too.I hope you do have cooler weather on your race day, its a great idea to praise the fueling and hydration etc. Good job your socks were blue and not white!

So well done!

Sounds like your son had a great birthday again... what a nice mom you are... xxx

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon in reply to Bluebirdrunner]

Thanks Jan 😊. I’m really hoping for a cooler race day, but September is unpredictable. I’ll be training in the heat so I guess I’ll be ready regardless.

I actually have one pair of 3/4 crew running socks that are white.... well they are whitish now 😆