What: Manitoba Trail Marathon - 50 km
Where: Spruce Woods Provincial Park
Result: 7:49:11 19/19
Avg pace: 9:23/km
LONG VERSION (and yes, it is long. Sorry
)Pre-race
This year, I'll hit a milestone birthday: the big 5-0. Reading various journals here at Running Mania, I was inspired to do something special in celebration. My goal: to run an ultramarathon. Specifically, the 50K event at the Manitoba Trail Marathon in May, 2013.
I made that decision back in November, after running the Winnipeg Fire &Paramedic Service Half Marathon. That gave me plenty of time to build up mileage over the winter. I was running 4 times per week at that point, with a longer run each weekend. I continued that pattern thru December and January, gradually increasing length of both weekday runs and weekend long runs. Mid-January, I upped that to 5 times per week, with 1 faster effort mid-week and back-to-back longer runs Saturdays &Sundays.
Towards end of February, I ran the Hypothermic Half as my long run for the week. [Nice way to break up winter running
] Then I started following a proper 50 km training plan. The plan worked pretty well for me. I continued to build mileage gradually while keeping free from injury. Even my fickle calves &achilles were OK, so long as I remembered to stretch regularly. I was also cross-training 2 or 3 times a week: yoga plus a group fitness class for strength &core training.In April, I decided to tweak the plan just a bit: I removed the longest run of 39 km, and shuffled weeks around to insert a rest week where there wasn't one already. I kinda regretted doing so at the time, thinking that running that 39 km long run would be good confidence booster for running 50 km. But reaching the starting line free from injury was a higher priority; hence the rest week.
I need not have worried. Just as I started tapering for the race, the race director Dwayne scouted the trail conditions. We were having a very delayed spring, and the trails were still snow-packed. What's more, so were the access roads which would allow support vehicles in to set up aid stations. Dwayne decided to postpone the whole event until June 1. Hopefully by then, all the snow would be melted [this is Manitoba, after all
], and any spring flooding along Assiniboine River or Epinette Creek would have subsided.So, time to adjust the plan one last time. With 3 more weeks available, I finished the first week of what had been a taper as a rest week. Then I did 2 more weeks of training, including a 39 km long run. Spring eventually came to Manitoba despite Winter fighting a protracted retreat, and everything looked good for race day. Despite a brief dip into taper madness, I felt good, healthy &ready to race.
Race Day
Spruce Woods Provincial Park is about a 2 hour drive from Winnipeg. I got up around 4:30 am and ate my usual pre-race brekkie. Then into the car &off to Spruce Woods. I had left in plenty of time to allow for getting lost. Glad I did: I took one wrong turn, and ended up wandering down a muddy gravel road for a km or two. However, saw a deer on way back, so bonus.
Got myself turned around &found the correct trail head for the race. Mother Nature had tried to psych us out by raining for 2 days before the race. However, race day itself was sunny &bright, with a cool 7C to start. Pretty brisk wind, so most people were wearing an extra layer or two to keep warm. Temperature warmed up to 13C or so by midday, and we were usually sheltered from the wind when running. Couple of cloudy periods, but really the weather was excellent for running.
Manitoba Trail Marathon offered 4 different races that day, with staggered start times: half marathon, full marathon, 50 km and 50 miler. The 50 km started at 8:30 am. Timed things quite nicely, in that I visited the charming outhouse &got myself geared up just in time for Dwayne's pre-race briefing. Then off to the starting line.
Leg 1 - Trans Canada Trail out&back
In both of the marathons I've run before this race, I went out too fast &faded in the last 10 km. I told myself I wasn't going to do that this time. Especially considering I was aiming to just go the distance. I started off at what I thought was a slow, relaxed pace. The other 50 km racers were off like shots in a cloud of dust, and disappeared down the Trans Canada Trail. If that leg hadn't been an out&back, I would never have seen any of them again until the finish line.
After hitting the turn-around, I checked my Garmin to see how I was doing. Big surprise: I was averaging 60 secs/km faster than my target pace. I briefly toyed with the notion that I was having one of those really good days, where you're running much better than you expected. Then I gave my head a shake: Uh-oh, I went out too fast yet again.
Well, fine. All I could do was slow down, get my pace back under control, and do my best not to fade horribly by day's end.Leg 2 - Epinette Creek trails outbound
Back at the start now, I headed off down the Epinette Creek trails for the north side of the big loop. This next section would be shared by all the events. Given that, you'd think that I might see a few more folk running now. I did have several of the half marathoners pass me on their way out, and I exchanged pleasantries with a few. But for the most part, I spent the next 7 hours running all by my lonesome. I'm usually a solitary runner, so that didn't really bother me. The occasional person to try &catch would have been nice, however.
Trails out at Spruce Woods are naturally dry &well-drained, so there was only a few token muddy patches to worry about. The race website describes the course as follows: "The trail is about 5 metres wide and is never really flat. It’s either rolling up or down over grassy plains, through forested sections and down one gravel access road. There are a couple hills along the way that will make you question your fitness if you try to run them at a steady pace. But for the most part, it is just a non-stop rollercoaster of ups and downs." Intellectually, I thought I knew what to expect. I even had vague memories of cross-country skiing as a teenager in the same woods. But skiing those hills as a teenager and running those hills as a much older adult (ahem) turned out to be *very* different things. Frankly, those hills were a rude shock to a Prairie boy like me. Couple of them should've had staircases instead of trail.
But I did the good ultrarunner thing: I ran the uphills and downhills that I could, and walked the ones that I couldn't. Stumbled over rocks or roots several times, but only took 1 fall &even that was minor.There were 4 aid stations along the big loop. Stopped at each &took advantage of the very well-stocked tables. Tried some GU Brew &handful of mini pretzels at one, some flat coke &gummies at another, and half a banana midway that really hit the spot. Refilled my own water bottles 2 or 3 times. But otherwise, stuck to the stuff that I brought along with me. Never ran low on anything, and never felt like fuel or water was an issue.
Leg 3 - Epinette Creek trails inbound
Started to feel the pace and constant ups&downs in my hip flexors. Had to walk even more of the downhills. Partly because some of them were steep enough to have signs warning mountain bikers to dismount &walk down. Partly because I couldn't get a handle on proper downhill technique any longer. Felt very jarring, especially in my knees. By this point, my pace had started to fade as well.
On the other hand, there were some gorgeous views to enjoy. Popped out on top of a ridge, overlooking a steep-sided valley. Nice
So, I plowed on, just trying to keep a steady effort going. Back started to ache in last few kms, which was a new thing for me in races. Trails are wooded &rolling enough that you really couldn't see the finish line until you're almost upon it. Found myself glancing at Garmin a lot in that last few kms as a result, to reassure myself that I was actually making progress &that the end was nearing.Finally, I saw the red tent of the finish line over the trees. Put in a wee bit of a surge for a strong finish. Made it! Checked my Garmin: 7:50:08. You know how I said I just wanted to go the distance? Well, like most first-timers, I also had a secret time goal in mind. And I beat that by 10 minutes. I'd have been even happier if I was closer to 7:30:00, but I was satisfied that my finish time started with a 7 instead of an 8. Especially when I later found that my official time was 7:49:11.
Post-race
Made sure to walk around for 5-10 minutes, to give legs a good cooldown. Enjoyed some of the post-race chow being offered. Drank lots of water. Chatted casually with a few of the other finishers. One woman I'd chatted with on course had been carrying a Camelbak. I mistakenly thought she'd be doing one of the longer events. Turns out she was running her first ever half marathon. Wow, heck of a race to pick for your first. Mad props to her
Found Dwayne &gave him my thanks for putting on a great race. Then drove back to Winnipeg. Was convinced I'd stiffen up enroute, to point I'd need pry bar &forklift to get me out of the car.
Luckily, it wasn't that bad. Even on Sunday and Monday, I never really felt crippled by stiffness or soreness. So I must've been doing something right.Closing Thoughts
* What Went Well
- training mileage. Wasn't sure I could handle the mileage required for a 50 km. If I do another marathon -- or another 50 km -- I can probably aim for at least this same level, knowing now that I can handle it.
- support #1. Made a running widow of my wife V over the winter &spring, especially with back-to-back long runs on weekends. She deserves big thanks for putting up with me. There's a backlog of chores for me to do, now that I'm in recovery mode.
- support #2. Some very nice people gave me advice in my journal here @RM. I want to thank all those who did. Your encouragement meant a lot to me.
* Even Better If
- more hill training. I made sure to run a hilly trail along the Seine River near my house once a week. But that paled in comparison to the hills of this race.
- less ticks.
I was warned that ticks were a potential hazard out at Spruce Woods. Despite checking myself thoroughly before leaving for Winnipeg, I still found 3 unwanted stowaways when I got home. Luckily, I caught them all before they truly latched on. But still, yuck 
Bottom line: would I do a 50 km again, or was this a one-off bucket list thing? Yes, I think I would. If nothing else, I want to run this same course again sometime, 'cause it is very scenic -- and challenging. Even if that means doing the marathon instead of the 50 km.
yippee! You did it. Spruce Woods is a great place for your first ultra. 
