Run For the Toad

[Sandy]

What a great day!  I can't believe I beat all the other posters to a race report!!!    I know I don't often write about my races but here goes.  I just want to warn you that I am a bit of a trail snob and it MIGHT show here.  I am for anyone running where ever and when ever as long as they pay their money.  I do however find it a little annoying when road racers hit the trails thinking it's easy when it clearly is not and they line up at the front.

Pre-race I felt that I would run how I felt but not push any envelopes as my goal race is Niagara Falls in one month.  HOWEVER two things happened when the gun went, #1. I felt great and #2. all of the "non-trail racers but I think I can run here" people in front of me pissed me off and I needed to pass them.  I only know there were a number of these people by their conversation.  The first lap seemed ok, my pace was moderate but my breathing accelerated.  I must confess at this point I had brought my Fuel belt but had forgotten all of my bottles and my Infinit.  Not to be deterred I wrestled two from Ryann and went on water, gels and electrolytes.  I began drinking  as we waited for the gun and was out of both bottles by the time I hit the RV so grabbed a bottle of water there.  It was of course warmer then we thought it would be so the stripping began about 3k in.  Passed a number of people on the downs on the first lap and made the dissicion to run the rollers instead of walking them.  By the second lap there was a monster blister under both big toes (thanks to the ups and downs) and my right knee was screaming (thanks to the extreme camber) and I was thinking two laps would have been smarter.

I was thrilled with my 25k time of 2:34 which is a PR on this course for me but found the finish line area to be frustrating as 25kers  were mingling across the run through area.  As I continued on I decided to take the edge off my intensity as the third lap is always the hardest.  Next thing I knew I was coming upon the walkers in our group.  As I did I took a short walk/talk break to visit and then move on.  As a consequence this lap was my longest, but also the most enjoyable.  By the fourth lap I was just beginning to get warmed up.  My blisters had popped on the third lap and therefore I had long forgotten about them as well as my knee had stopped aching.  One mental game I play is to count 10 people I pass on my way "home".  Very quickly I passed four and had to work a bit to get 5, 6 and 7 but felt pretty proud when I passed some other ultra runners I've raced with before.  With my sight's on #8 I heard fast approaching foot steps.  Sneaking a quick peak it was #6 who had decided that he was not going to let me go.  If he were driving a car in busy traffic he'd be one of those annoying people who'd race up quickly then slam on the breaks.  He'd stay with me until a hill then he'd slow down, walk, moan, get over the hill then race up behind me.  He asked if I minded if he drafted off me for a while, which I didn't and although we didn't talk much we helped each other along...him pushing and me pulling.  We passed #8, 9, 10 and 11 and as we approached 1/2 a k to go he was surprised by his wife and baby so he stopped for a visit.  This had me crossing the line solo but happy.

I felt great as I crossed the line, and although I was ready to quit at 25k, had some physical ups and downs, I think I could have run 80k.  I drank at least 8oz of water between each water stop, had 2 salt tabs and a gel every 30 minutes and had a few chips, pretzels, a small snickers bar and some coke.

All of our group did great and we couldn't have asked for better weather.  I chatted with all of you briefly yesterday but would love to hear your personal stories.

[Cathy]

Great report Sandy.  Again you amaze me.  Coming into the finish line looking like you just started out.  WOW.  You are my "favorite'.   

[Jane]

Sandy, you looked great when Barb and I saw you -- or should I say snuck up on us and just at the right moment too!  You would never know that you had thought you should have only done 25K!

Here is my report.

This was a different year for me at the Toad.  I was supposed to be racing all my races this year.  Well, I raced Wolfe Island and ended up with a problem with my right leg.  Which snowballed into a problem with my left foot.  I've been fighting with this all summer and into the fall.  I went into the Toad with no expectations.  I was just going to run with the group and see how I did.  If I had to walk, I had to walk.  If I had to quit, well, I was ok with that too. 

First the race started stressful for me -- I lost my stupid race bib!  Yes, dorky me, lost my race bib.     OK, it must be a menopause thing.    Anyhow, at least I had my timing chip on my leg, but I didn't want to look like a bandit and luckily Peggy gave me a new bib with a scratched off number.

A bunch of us started off together, near the back of the pack.  Barb was doing her first race of this length.  She started having asthma problems within a couple of Ks into the race as well as not feeling well.  She admitted she was probably going to have to walk the whole race, due to the breathing problems and I should go on.  You know, I think things happen for a reason and maybe I wasn't meant to run this race.  I decided I would rather stay with her and make sure she was ok than go on without her.  She had several periods of nausea but managed to work through them.  At these points she indicated that she was probably going to have to quit at the half way point, if not sooner.  I told her, whatever was best for her.  I would stick with her as long as she wanted to keep going but if she really medically had to stop, I would just continue on by myself. 

Well, by the time we got to the half way point, she was feeling good, and decided to continue on.  So off we went again.  Our main goal was just to get Barb over the finish line so she could get her medal.  OK, I admit it, I wanted my medal too, even though I had said before that if I couldn't finish, I would be ok with it. 

Thanks Sandy for coming along right at a bad point and getting us through it, even though you probably didn't even realize it.  After that, it was basically clear sailing to the end!  We were actually slower on the 2nd half (by alot) but that included a lengthy bathroom break and prolonged aid station stops where I filled my face.  We also stopped to take photos like this. 



A lady at the aid station took that one -- I think she thought we were strange.   

We spent the last few Ks planning our finish line appearance and decided we would have to run over the finish line.  Unfortunately, I guess Adam didn't get a photo of it.  Barb was so happy to be able to finish and I was happy to be able to help her do it.  In some ways 4.5 hours seemed like a long time, but in other ways it didn't.  I really enjoyed being out there and you do see so much when you are walking.  I found out though that I should incorporate a lot more walking into my cross training.  I felt good out there walking and when we finished I felt I could have gone another 15K.  But my butt is KILLING ME today.  And my foot which has been bothering me the last two months feels great!  So, maybe walking the Toad was good medicine for me!

Thanks Sandy and whoever else helped to put on the delicious breakfast yesterday morning!  It was yummy!!  And the half a bagel I ate as we were going by on loop #2 was just as good too!

By the way, has anyone heard from Dave???  Is he OK???

[Sandy]

To me THAT's what it's all about.  Bravo to Barb for pushing through some mental and physical issues and bravo to you for staying by her side.  To the real athletes in the cowd, I salute you.

[Cathy]

I don't think that I can post a race report after hearing and reading about Jane and Barb's "Run for the Toad".  Congratulations to both of you for your accomplishments.  You did awesome out there and really proved what the sport of running/racing is all about.  My hat goes off to both of you.  Well done.

[Jane]

Oh yes you can, Mrs. Warren.  What you did was amazing!  We want to hear about it.

[Heath]

Congrats to everyone who ran/walked the Toad yesterday.  You all deserve a round of applause.  A special congrats to Barb, Donna, Bob, Laurie and Dave who did their distance yet.

My Race Report:

I really didn’t have a goal in my head for this race, even when we were standing at the start line.  I had decided I would start out with my mom.  We started out and our group was all pretty close together but my mom and I stuck with the Toad Virgin’s (Barb and Stephanie) for a walk break.  Barb’s asthma was acting up so she said she was going to walk so we walked with her.  At that point I said I was going to have a fun race and help out a “Toad Virgin” and get them to the finish line.  We started to run again but another walk break was needed.  Barb expressed that she didn’t want to have all of us stay behind because of her.  So I talked to Steph and she agreed to go ahead and my mom stayed with Barb. 

So off Steph and I went.  We ran and eventually caught up with Patti and Ryann.  Stephanie and I ran most of the race with them up until about 21K or so.  It was very enjoyable.  We were talking about our goals and it seemed only Ryann and I had goals.  Mine was to beat my goal from last year (3:45) and Ryann’s was to beat 3:30.  We were calculating and after miscalculating we figured out we need to do 6K in an hour to get Ryann’s goal.  We thought that was very manageable which encouraged us to keep going.  I was taking my salt pills and gels regularly while drinking water.  The last 5K was a really big struggle for me.  I had no energy and I started having digestive problems.  We ran/walked the last 5K or so but she kept me going.  At this point, when we were running I wasn’t moving too fast so she kept ahead of me to keep me moving.  When we were in the meadow, I kept saying I just need to get out of the meadow, then I was saying we just need to go up the big hill and after that I can walk the rest of the way if I need to.  I took my last gel at the last aid station.  It never seemed to kick in.  We walked up skeleton hill and saw Adam which was a nice surprise.  Not nice pictures though!  We walked for a bit after the hill and then Shannon and Sue passed us.  I thought that it would be nice to cross with them so we started to run.  I think my gel or adrenaline kicked in at this point because I somehow found a bunch of energy to run the rest of the route starting at the road to the finish line.  I crossed the finish line with Stephanie in front of me with Shannon, Sue, Patti, Ryann and Carole crossing not too far behind.  I thought it was great that all of us Quinte FunRunners were so close to each other during the race and crossing the finish line within a minute or two of each other.

So I had three goals; help out a Toad Virgin, Ryann’s goal of 3:30 and my goal of 3:45.  I crossed the finish line in 3:28:12 which definitely beat both my time goals. I was able to help out Stephanie a “Toad Virgin” but she helped me more.  Thanks Stephanie for dragging me to the finish line!

So inclusion, I am very happy with my race.  That course is tough!  I felt I ran my hardest in the first 16K.  Maybe that is why I bonked and got digestive problems.  Does anyone know what causes hiccups after a race???  I had them probably about 10 times yesterday after the race and it was started to seriously hurt.  I couldn’t wait to get home to bed so I could sleep so they would stop.  Anyway, all in all, it was a excellent day with great company and weather!

[ShoppinShannon]

Shout out a big Thank You to Sandy and Jeff and all the others who put on the morning breaky spread.  It was yummy!  I thought everyone did awesome out there.  It was quite warm, which I think caught a lot of folks off guard.

I had a lot of fun that day.  I was most thankful for running with Sue and Carole, the wonderful thing that we had going on was we were like geese formation heading south for the winter.  It was real interesting.  One of us would go ahead and the other two would trail, and then swap positions.  Don't know what it was, maybe it was bursts of energy, I would just say go with it.  Then Sue and Carole were awesome on the hills, thats were I usually slowed down and walked it out.  When I got to the top, I would run as fast as I could all the way down, letting momentum carry me.   So, in some way we evened out.  We did the first loop in 1hr 45min, so I was really happy if we continued at that pace.
We drank lots and I filled my bottles at every station.  Gelled at the right times and super happy I brought some salt pills.
Love the food stops too.  There was even coke at one station.  We finally caught up with Ryan, Patti and could see Heather and Stephanie a few feet in front of us.  We were basically together at about the 1 mile to go mark, and thats when skeleton hill came into view.  Not sure what got into me, but I really wanted to beat that hill.  It beat the heck out of me on the last loop.  So, I charged it and ran all the way up, and my quad's were screaming at three quarters up.  I could hear the gang cheering me on behind me, felt so awesome!!!  
Just a few hundred feet from the  end, Sue yelled at me to go for it, so i did.  We all came in at 3 hr and 30 min range. 
Way to go Carole for getting up after your falls.  Your one tough cookie.
I wanted to give Sue a special mention, she ran with IT band problems through the whole way.  She couldn't run down the hills, in fact, I saw her hoping down on one leg.  But she did it.  She pushed through the pain, and at the end, I saw her hanging onto a tree with tears in her eyes.  Sue, your my hero.  I'm so proud of you.

Thank you gang, for helping me meet my goals.  I love the Toad!

[ShoppinShannon]

We are most fortunate to have Adam at this race, he took some great pictures (going up skeleton hill! lol)
Thank you Adam!

[Sandy]

I just looked at all of Adam's Toad photos...you guys are awesome and you all look so cool in your T & R shirts!!!

[Sue]

Congratulations to you all on your awsome races!  I thought about you guys on Saturday and wondered how you all were doing!  You are a tough bunch, I will have to say! Wish I could have been there.
We are in Arles, South of France for 6 days and then onto Paris for three and then home.  We have been having a wonderful time.  I have not run much but know you guys will whip me back into shape when I get home.  We have walked lots everyday and many, many steps up and down many,many church towers.  Jane I know you were wondering who I was lighting candles for, it is for my friend Nancy's sister who is severe diabetic and has kidney disease as well.  Nancy gave her sister one of her kidney's about 12 years ago and she has been having some serious troubles with the effects of the anti-rejection drugs.  She belongs to the Catholic church and that is why I have lighting candles for her in the most beautiful Catholic chuches.  We now have access to a computer in the apartment we have rented, which has made it a little easier to keep in touch.  Thanks Sandy for sending my messages on.
Will see you all at the finish line at PEC. Happy Running!
Miss you all and I am looking forward to getting back on track.
P.S. the food is tres bien!
Sue

[patti]

Having had a couple of days to recouperate... I think I can safely say I would enjoy going back to race that event again.  It was alot of fun running with most of our group.  I think we kept each other quite entertained!!
Heather, Steph and Ryann all wanted to come in around the 3:30 mark and we all hit that. 
Congrats to Sandy and David for completing the 50k distance!
patti

[SNOWRUNNER]

  Hi.
First off, excellent reports guys, good runs and great attitudes.. as if i expected anything different from ya`ll..
Well here is what Dave has to say about all of that..
                                                  AWESOME DAY!! .

My first 50k was a success, to me anyway.Like i said before" i`ll finish it".. and dang gum i did.
Like all of my first new distances these races are a learning experience, and this one was the grand daddy so far.
Seems like the greater the distance the tougher the lesson.The things that i learned on this run were logical but i had to learn the hard way.

So we were at the line and i told sandy that i wasnt concerned about performance as much as my stomach.I get anxiety in the pit of my stomach and i just have to deal with it.but only on the first time of a new distance.But unfortunately it prevents me from a half decient breakfast, and that is lesson # one.
eat!!.
one the first lap i blew my left ankle ( again) on a rock, this was 1:05 into it.
so.. ok.. hobble for a half hour then shut up n` run. so i did.
i took some advise and walked the hills, glad i did actually.And it was crowded, i ran out and around trees to get by some of the road people, but i was still at a slow pace.
This was a lesson from 2005`s full marathon, dont go out to fast.lesson learnt.
second lap i was into the gel`s and sodium tabs.. feeling good but didnt want to run to fast.

maybe running the 50k`s and up is knowing HOW to run them. Today i learned how to run them.lesson #2.

I listened to my body and ran accoringly. but the down hills werte becoming increasingly difficult on my toes.I have only experienced this mildly on the new Bata trails, but we had 30 hills per loop at the toad.

this was a problem with no fix in mind.my toes were literally smashing against the toe of the shoes.
i truely have sympathy for people who have this problem.
on the 3rd and fourth lap the lack of people provided me with a great opportunity to open it up and give it.
my cardio was great my quads and hamstrings were in perfect shape, and still are.but the toes said no.
i had to walk EVERY hill and toddle like a kid on the down side.this cost me some time but i learnt a lesson.
 buy bigger shoes so the toes wont hit the bottoms.lesson #3.
   And now the dumb part..haha.. as always.. i lost my sodium tabs at the latter part of lap 3 or the beginning of 4. i remember taking one, and counting them.. good.. got lots. them i assumed i put them back in the tiny zipper part of the water belt, but i must of missed and dropped them.

Holy cow!!,, stop taking your salt and you will see how fast you feel like crap.so i was guzzleing gatoraid at every station, i do believe i was drinking 3 bottles per the last 2 loops.I could feel myself over hydrating, i know this from 2005`s County marathon.what a creepy familiar feeling.

but at this point i think i had only 7 k left but it was a terrible run from then on.

so at 5:36 into the run i decide to take a hedder over a tree root.. great!.. and then i laughed. dont know why, but i did.
so almost home.. aha. im gonna finish it.. yahoo!!.. then skeleton hill.. crap!!.. started walking it, and then something weird happened.. i started falling backwards.. so i laughed again.. the thought of falling ass over tea kettle down that hill put me into stiches.. i hope nobody was around me cuz i must of looked like a lunatic.. but it was funny..

them i saw everybody at the finish line and that was one of the greatest feelings of all.. except when Jeff told me i had one more lap left.. i am gullable especially when im in the middle of a good bonk.

Jeff helped me after the run though.. and that i thank him for, he really is a great guy.

               so over all i do believe that i had a fantastic race, taking in my troubles and all.

so i have a notion that i may lose a couple of nails.My right toe is swollen and going purple.
the quads and strings are perfect, not a glich anywhere.but my butt is hurtin a bit.but other than that im ok.
special thanks to Laurie for driving me back to the Hotel and putting up with my cursing.. . it was a toe thing.
              would i run it again??..yep sure would. i love the distance.
         i may just make a trail runner yet.
                                                       David Storey.

[Cathy]

Excellent job Dave.  Glad you had all those lessons to learn and actually remembering them is a good thing as well.  But here is another lesson to learn.............

REMEMBER WHEN YOU RUN INTO FELLOW RUNNERS (AFTER LOOSING YOUR SALT TABLETS) TO ASK IF THEY MAY HAVE SOME. 

I had plenty as you found out afterwards and would have gladly given any or all to you.

Pat yourself on the back for getting there and making it over the finish line.

Way to go.

P.S.  I am also loosing a nail and I walked it.  Think it goes with the territory.

[sweetsue]

Great race reports everyone.  I must admit this is one of my favourite races and one I don't think I will stop doing for a long time.  I had originally set a goal to better by time of last year which was 3:30.  I wasn't able to do that this year, but still really enjoyed the race.  I always have a good time running with people.  Shannon and I have done many long runs together and it seems that we have always been able to find things to talk about and keep one another going.  Carole is another person who is great to run with as she is relentless.  It was quite funny to see us out there as the three of us took turns leading the pack and pulling the other two along.  I think Shannon is right when she said one of us would get a burst of energy and instead of holding it back we just went with it and it pushed us all along.  It was great that the majority of us had the same shirts because it was easy pick one another out of the pack.  We came across Patty and Ryann on the first lap for a short period and I have to thank Patty for the drugs, as I know it helped me get through my second loop.

Thanks to everyone that I ran with either for a short time or a long time, I really appreciated your companionship and encouragement.  I also want to thank Sandy and Jeff for the breakfast before the race.  It was nice to have somewhere to congregate and talk with the whole group. 


Congratulations to all who were did the Toad.  Hope everyone had a great time.  We have a tough group as almost everyone I talked to had some issue or another but still managed to finish looking good.

Susan

Susan