Haliburton 100miler: Time to Play!

Well, Haliburton is almost here. I find it very hard to believe it’s been a year since my first 100miler there.

I feel in a great place fitness wise going into this weekend. I am definitely in the best shape of my life. Going into last years race, I had been pretty sick for 3 weeks in July, which cut into my training significantly. This year, since June I have averaged 15.5 hrs of running each week (with a high week of over 24hrs), including 10 long runs of over 4hrs. My higher training has been much more specific towards a 100 mile trail race this year, and the Haliburton course specifically. The overall high mileage has allowed me to run at a comfortable pace for long periods of time and recover very quickly. Long runs have felt better each and every run as well. All this has me looking forward to race day.

The only bit of recent frustration has been that my IT band flared up on me a few weeks ago. It was a strange thing as during my last long run I was stung by a bee in my quad and my quad/ITB swelled up. I was scheduled to take a few light days anyhow, but my ITB seemed to have stiffened up and stayed stiff since the sting. In retrospect, I probably should have taken it even easier for a few days, but I didn’t really think it would be an issue. Anyhow, I’ve been aggressively rehabbing it with lots of stretching, rolling, massage and it seems to be improving. I expect that things will take care of themselves on Saturday, but it’s never fun dealing with stupid issues like this at the last second. (Note: Just back from an ART treatment with Greg Lehman and seems like it is more of a muscle strain deep in the quad under the ITB which function wise is probably better than ITB).

Regardless, I feel great going into the race and am looking to run my race at a comfortable pace from the start. The trails will be beautiful and I just can’t wait to get out playing in the forest, and fully enjoying them.

As far as gear goes, the final week before a race is the time to pick out your final race gear, and pack your drop bags and crew kit. I feel 100% confident with the great gear I’ll be using. A big thank you once again to the La Sportiva Running Team for providing the best gear by La Sportiva, Sugoi, Petzl, Ultimate Direction, DeFeet, Julbo, Headsweats and First Endurance.

The following are some of the items I’ll be using during the race and packing in drop bags.
-La Sportiva Crosslites: my shoe of choice. Lightweight, great fit and amazing traction.
-DeFeet Trail 19 socks: just an awesome wool trail running sock.
-Sugoi 42k Split short: lightweight and allows great range of motion.
-Sugoi/La Sportiva Singlet &/or t-shirt: lightweight tech fabric.
-Sugoi arm sleeves: removable arm sleeves for a cool morning start.
-Headsweats Cap: breathable with sun protection.
-Julbo Trail Sunglasses: lightweight, comfortable and change with the light.
-Ultimate Direction Double Bottle waistbelt: lots of pockets to carry stuff
-Ulimate Direction Handheld bottles: the only handhelds that I like.
-Petzl Headlamps: E+Lite (for start), MYO XP and Tikka XP (with adapt option on waist) for night running.
-Nutrition: gels, bloks, electrolyte caps/drink, protein drinks, reactin (in case of bee sting), Ibuprofen (emergency use only), rice/cheese wraps, in addition to aid station buffet.
-Extra clothing: Sugoi merino wool long sleeve, Sugoi ½ tights, Sugoi full tights, DeFeet calf sleeves, Sugoi toque, Sugoi gloves, extra DeFeet Socks, Wisp jacket.
-Backup shoes: La Sportiva Wildcats and Skylites.
-Other: Sport lube, lip balm, duct tape, bandaids, ITB strap.
-Pacer: Last, but certainly NOT least, a huge thank you to David Bohn who has offered to be my pacer during the final miles of the race. David will be a huge help once my brain starts going south as he knows the trails very well from running Haliburton the past two years, including winning the 50km last year. I'm looking forward to sharing the trail with you David! Thanks as well to Kimberly Bohn who will be out on the course crewing with Sara in the afternoon and cheering along the way.

Whew, I think that’s it! Hope I haven’t forgotten anything.

Look forward to seeing everyone in the forest!