Sunday, October 17, 2010

Ottawa 24 hours on the track race report



September 24th / 25th was the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race around the track. It took place in Ottawa on a really great track at the Louis Riel Dome. The track was a standard 400 meter indoor track so no worries about heat, rain, mud, uphills, downhills, bears, sleet or snow for this race.

I really had no idea of what to expect when it came to this race. I have done a number of races this year where I was on the course for 24 hours or longer but they were all trail races. This was to be something completely different as I attempted to run around in circles (literally) for a full day. As a track Ultra virgin I when into this race feeling good about the physical effort that would be required but nervous about the mental challenge that running the same 400 meters again and again might present. I got to say in the end I was pretty clueless.

Prerace
As those of you that follow this blog know I ran the 100 miler at Haliburton just 2 weeks before this race. In the process I completely demolished my feet as well as straining my left ankle. As I got ready to head to Ottawa both of those conditions had improved but not healed completely. My ankle was still a little tender and my feet while not blistered were still a little raw in places. To be honest 2 days before this race I was still not sure I would be healthy enough to go but by Friday morning I decided to give it a shot.

The plan was to try and run 160km so that is how I would pace the race however I would be happy with 140+. The real factor would be how my feet held up, if they were an issue then all bets would be off.

For most distance races like this Kim and I will take the day before off so that we can drive up, get accommodations and relax but for Ottawa we just couldn’t. That meant that we would not be able to start the 5 hour drive until Friday evening and even then it would be in Toronto evening traffic which is not exactly fun or fast. By the time we go home, packed up the car and got out on the road it was already 8pm.

The drive up went well but slow and we didn’t get into Ottawa until close to 2 AM. Both of us were struggling to stay awake and so when we pulled into the parking lot of the Dome we decided that with less then 6 hours before the start of the race there was little point in getting a room that we would use for 4 hours or so. We opted instead to just sleep in the car. We had a tent but it seemed like way to much effort to set it up.



After a very restful (HA .. as if) sleep we slithered out of the car around 7 AM. Hmmm that’s strange there were still no other cars here. Kim had been told that the Dome would be open at 6 AM. It was after some map consultation that we realized that we were at the wrong dome and that the actual place we were supposed to be was a bit further down the road. In our very sleepy state the night before we had just figured that there could only be one dome on the same road. Man talk about being a dummy. We headed farther down the road and found the actual race venue around the next corner.

We spent the next little while drinking coffee and setting up our tent and chair. The track looked great but I discovered it also looked bigger when its inside. Soon each runner meet their official counter, we had some final directions, a group photo and it was time to race.



The race
Not much to report from early on in the race. I tried to make sure my pace was the proper speed for a 160km run. I found that I had to really work on staying slow. I also just kept a very close eye on my hydration, salt intake and food. It was easy to loss track of this as you circled around and around. The first 50k went really well and I was right on pace and feeling good at that point. The mental fatigue I had expected just was not there as I found myself chatting to different people as I went along. Some people were really flying out around the track as there were a lot of really good runners. Laurie McGrath lapped me so many times that we practically had an ongoing conversation.



Kim stayed up until this point and then left to go do a long run on the canals in downtown Ottawa as I continued to circle. I managed to hit the 80km / 50 mile mark at just over 10 hours which was again right on pace. I felt okay but was begin to have issues with my feet. The areas that had been in the process of healing from Haliburton were now beginning to blister. I took 10 minutes at just after 50 miles to lance and drain a number of growing blisters and apply some newskin.





It was also at this point that I made my first appearance on the leader board in 7th place (men) and by 85km had moved to 6th and I was still running well even with my blisters. Unfortunately somewhere just before I hit 90km I began to feel pain in my previously injured ankle. Not bad pain but it was there. Now as everyone that runs long distances knows the best thing to do when you have pain is to run through, it so I did.

The blisters continued their growth over the next 10km despite repeatedly stabbing them with sharp pins while at the same time the small pain in my ankle continued to grow. I hit 100 km in 13 hrs, still right on pace for 160 but now I was aware that I was slowly heading into deep trouble. Soon after this point my ankle became incredibly painful and by hour 14 I was no longer able to run. Any type of pressure greater then a ginger walk became impossible. Continuing to run no longer became a mental challenge. It became a physical impossibility.



At that point I did what every good runner does. No I didn’t quit. No I didn’t cry, okay at least not where others could see me. I started walking and I keep walking. I walked slowly, very very slowly as that was all my ankle would allow but I walked. I figured I am here on the track and it’s the middle of the night so what the heck else was there to do. It was frustrating but round and round I walked that damn track and my blisters continued to grow. They grew so big that I should have given each of them their own name before they demanded it. How big does a blister have to get before it becomes self aware? The more I stabbed and drained them the bigger they got. It was like they were mocking me. No matter though, I keep on going at somewhere around the pace of a dung beetle. Somehow I kept this up until 6:30 am and then my feet would go no farther so I called it a day. Maybe I could have continued for the last hour and a half but I was so slow that I may have only gotten around the track 3 or 4 laps in the time left. There will be no pictures of my feet in this blog posting. I didn’t take any as I found my feet actually too scary to look at.



Post race
Total distance 128km
Place 22/41
2nd mens 40 – 45

After the race they served us up a pretty good breakfast although it was vegetarian (I knew that going in). Then they gave out the awards. Everyone got a photo of themselves running (sorry I cant post it as I haven’t scanned it into the computer), a certificate with their mileage on it and a finishing metal. I also managed to pick 2nd place in my age category.



I actually really liked this race / type of race. It would have been a lot better if I had not been injured but hey that’s the breaks when it comes to running. I didn’t find it a bigger mental challenge then other long races like 100 milers but somewhat different. On the track there is no place to hide.

I will definitely be doing another one of these races in the very near future.

Next up for me is the Vulture Bait 50km on Saturday October 16th.

54 comments:

  1. You're insane, but you already knew that. Man the blisters and feet sound rought, I hope your recovery is going well.

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  2. Insane may sum it up - but then again, Age Group Podium Finish! Amazing.

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  3. Wow, congratulations! Hope your feet heal up quickly and forget and forgive...until the next one, anyway!

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  4. Good Lord Chris!?! What a fantastic and crazy race:) Nice work and congrats on your 2nd place age group place!

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  5. Sleeping in your car is very hard core!! Nice finish though, congrats!!

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  6. Wow. My feet hurt just reading this. Great job with the 2nd.

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  7. This is so different from anything I have done. Interesting report and congrats on the age group award.

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  8. My mouth was open in "awe"...your AMAZING!!!!!!
    I am super impressed!
    How in the heck do you do it????

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  9. Got to hand it to you - that is hardcore. Running circles all night? My mind would have revolted before the feet had a chance! Great job running through it and picking up and AG placing!

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  10. wow....you are so much tougher than me! Sorry about your feet...mine hurt just thinking about yours..

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  11. Congratulations on your AG award. Thanks for the recap - I'd heard of these 24-hr type of races but hadn't really heard what they were like from someone who had completed one. Nice work!

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  12. Holy.crap..you are hardcore..never will I complain about my wussy little blisters.

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  13. Great stuff, I love this! Well done, you did very well. These races are never easy. Just running for the 24 hours is already an achievement, never mind the total distance. I really enjoyed this report, my favorite type of race. Congratulations!

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  14. I'm surprised you didn't develope any right knee problems from the constant turning of the track. I ran 6 miles once on a 400 meter track and that almost drove me nuts.....but 24 hours...I don't think I would enjoy that much...Great job Chris!

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  15. That sounds like hell, I have a hard time doing a loop twice. Congrats!! You have some mental stamina for sure! Good luck in teh 50K

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  16. Way to hang in there Chris. Not sure I have it in me for a track event. I did 13 miles on a track as part of a training run a few weeks ago. It was fun watching people come and go as I continued but 24 hrs on that little loop. No thanks

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  17. "How big does a blister have to get before it becomes self aware?"

    That is the funniest thing I've read in a while. Thanks for that!

    I live in horse country and there is an ultra on a horse track about an hour away in May. I thought mentally it would be brutal but your recount makes me think, maybe? I think the track is maybe 800 meters.

    Great job considering your injuries and congrats on 2nd in age group!

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  18. I hate blisters. It sucks when you have all of the mental and physical energy to do a long race and then you have stupid blisters messing you up. Do you always get them during your runs? I'm still looking for some masterful socks.

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  19. Congrats! I'm sure you would have just been flying if the ankle had not acted up. Great job.

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  20. You're crazy man.. and I love it! Great race and report. Did you say that your 50km was this past Saturday? How'd it go?

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  21. Wow, I bet you got totally dizzy running in circles for all that time! Great race though, I honestly don't know how you do it! Maybe I'll have to try something like it one time to see if I can figure it out! I don't think my legs would let me yet!

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  22. wow. impressive. no, really, REALLY impressive! congrats on battling through

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  23. since you are now, in my opinion, an expert in the area of blisters...what do you do to treat a blood blister? is it the same poke-drain-cover approach as with other blisters?

    i can't believe that you were able to do so well while injured and after sleeping in your car! its truly amazing. good work!

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  24. Crazy race! How can you run injured and after a night into the car? Congrats for the race and the 2nd place in your a.g.

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  25. I guess I am just not crazy yet. There are many times I would have paid 60$ for 4 hours of sleep though :)
    Amazing accomplishment!

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  26. That is wickedly insane! You are awesome. Congrats.

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  27. OMG, you are one crazy man - I LOVE it!! I'm not sure how you did it, but I bow to your greatness for doing so. Congratulations!!

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  28. o.m.g...i'm so tired just reading about your race. wow. holy moly.

    Nice jog!!

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  29. uh...I meant to say nice JOB...not jog!!...oops!

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  30. Congrats to you!! I'm so impressed. I am not a runner but I really admire those who are.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  31. Congratulations on finishing the race-and doing so well despite your injury. As someone who has bad knees, I love reading about others' experiences with distance running. I always wonder what motivates those who run marathons, I don't know if I would have it in me to stay the course.

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  32. My God-128K around a track and 2 weeks after a 100 miler. HARDCORE! My sister ran an indoor marathon in Milwaukee last year and also really enjoyed the atmosphere-would be interesting. Congrats!

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  33. Holy cow, I can't imagine 128k around a track... Very impressed!

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  34. Freaking amazing, really. you rock.

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  35. WOW! I'm very impressed! What an accomplishment! Congratulations!!! :0)

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  36. Your post is so impressive..Congratulations.

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  37. Wow. I would go crazy. You are hardcore! Congrats!

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  38. wow, so impressive! i think i might've lost my marbles :) congrats!!

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  39. "They grew so big that I should have given each of them their own name before they demanded it. How big does a blister have to get before it becomes self aware?"

    Too funny!

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  40. wow!! Pretty hardcore, but that seems to be the name of the game for you ;) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Looking forward to following your trail adventures as I grow as a trail runner myself.

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  41. Not to be repetitive but WOW! Sorry about your feet, but you are truly inspiring! Loved reading your recap!

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

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  42. As I face my third trail (measly) 50k potentially unsupported race, I come here to re-read some of your adventures and remind myself that I am NOT the only crazy one out there trying to do new, bigger, longer things. And I can do it!

    You are inspiring! thanks!

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  43. Chris,

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    I'm impressed with your ultra race results. But I'm even more impressed by your cult following of what appears to be attractive women. What's your secret. Ha ha!

    I'm trying to bring runners together, but your list of followers is incredible.

    Ken

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  44. Awesome job out there. I have a friend who did a marathon on an indoor track and loved it, but I am not sure how a 24 hour ultra would feel.

    I guess the constant interaction with people helps keep you awake and distracted.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  45. You, sir, are a machine :) ...what a great race you ran...hope you're feeling better by now! Congrats for your AG award.

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  46. oh my gosh. that's insane. i can't imagine running around and around and around a track for so long.

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  47. That is ridiculously awesome!! I am in awe, and incredibly impressed & inspired!!

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  48. I am so impressed because every time I read about one of your ultra races I have a hard time picturing myself being able to complete it. So even though you had an injury set back, my hats off to you!

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  49. Good race and interesting report!
    Congratulations on your age group award.

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  50. I know this post is a little older already, but I'm just catching up on blog reading. Anyways, I have no idea how you ran around a track for that long. That's some mental strength!

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  51. Running for a day around a track = something that would be impossible for me to do. My brain would implode! Impressive!

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  52. wow, that is impressive! Did the entire race ever change directions at certain times? I would think that my hips or ITB would have problems if I ran around the track the same direction for that long.

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  53. Hi Chris!
    Thanks for the comment!
    Stay healthy and "Run on!"
    Marco
    lessonsinhealth.blogspot.com :)
    PS! Nothing like a daily 5K to cleanse the mind!

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