125 Km Canadian Death Race Training

Did you know, that when I run trails I average 1,300 steps per kilometre??  That means, that during the 125 km Canadian Death Race in August, I will potentially reach 162,500 steps!!!  People who track their daily steps commonly set a goal of 10,000 steps per day!!!  That means that during this one race, I could potentially run as much as many people walk in SIX MONTHS!!!  Yes, that is a crazy thought!!  Even to me....

"Don't always obey the signs...!!"

I just recently received the second portion of my training plan.  The magnitude of what I have signed up to is starting to sink in.  I have only completed a handful of half marathons, one marathon and one 60 ultra; but this training program just might turn me into a runner yet!!

The longest training run on the schedule is for June 9, and is 70 km.  This training run will be completed with several other runners (hopefully) who will be running the Canadian Death Race as well.  We are planning to run legs 1, 2, and 3 of the race course...plus 5 kilometres.  This will allow me to see what that portion of the trail is like and to see how close I am to the cutoff time for leg 3.  We will be starting this training run at 8AM, just like race day.  This will be one of the first indicators if my training is working or not!!!

There are two marathons worked into my training schedule - Evergreen Trail Trek is just over 3 weeks away on May 2 and Mountain Madness on May 27.

I am completing these races just as training runs.  I dont have a time goal for either one, I just need to go the distance for training.  There aren't too many training runs where I get a finishers medal at the end!!  But trust me; after most of my runs, if I had a medal I would give it to myself!!  And rightly so - anytime you set out and complete a goal; that is a reason for celebration!!

"Waxwing Trail"

My biggest concern about the marathon in 3 weeks is the amount of snow still in the bush.  I am trying to decide if I should wear my trails shoes or snow shoes for this race!!   The trails are still very snow packed.  And once the snow is all gone, it will still take some time for the ground to dry up.  It could be a muddy run....

The excessive amount of snow on the ground is also delaying any training runs in the mountains.  With 17,000 feet of elevation gain at the Canadian Death Race; mountain training is a key part of my training schedule.  Once a week, I am scheduled to run stairs at the grandstands at Evergreen Park or run some smaller hills locally; but getting quality time running the mountain trails is vital!!  Once I am able to get into the mountains, my goal is to run in the mountains at least every other week.

The weather is starting to get warmer and more of the runs can be completed in the daylight.  This adds a new energy to the run and makes the longer distances much easier.  Of course, having company share the run with, also makes the run more fun!!

"Running the Dunes Loop on a 28.5 km run with Christine"

As the snow leaves and the temperature continues to rise, everything changes about running.  Most exciting to me, is that I get to wear different running gear.  This means NEW SHOES and less layers of clothes!!!

Right now, I am switching between the Saucony KOA which is a semi waterproof shoe designed for running in snow and the Saucony Razor Ice which is 100% water proof, which is very nice for running on trails with known slushy sections.  Both shoes have specific traction designed for running on snow and ice.  The trail I plan on running for the day determines which pair of shoes I wear.

Once the trails dry up a bit more, I will get to lace up some NEW summer shoes and enjoy the freedom of less layers of clothes!!!  Oh yes, and the water hose from my hydration pack shouldn't freeze anymore either!!!  Long runs are really tough when I have to fight to keep the water line from freezing.  (Usually, I lose that fight.)

With spring and summer approaching, most runners are talking about what races they will be running this summer and which ones they have just registered for.  It's tough for me to stay focused on the ones that I am training for and to not look for new races to challenge just yet!!  My focus for the summer is Canadian Death Race 100%....but after the Death Race, I will be well conditioned....!!  I wonder what other races I can find for this fall.....???