The Long Road to Haliburton

When I started running 50s, people started asking when I was going to do a 100.  Never.  That was my answer.  I meant it.  Rick never believed it, but I did.  After Mindy and I did our first 50, Peaks, together, I was sure she'd be running a 100.  She seemed to get stronger as the miles piled up.  I also think the seed was already planted in the Squirrel.

Then I paced George, the Jedi, at Vermont 2012.  I was blown away by the effort, determination, and attitude of the back-of-the-packers.  These people were putting everything they had into finishing.  It was beautiful.  Inspiring.  Hmmm.  Maybe.  I started looking on line at the different 100s.  The Squirrel was looking, too.  I nixed some just cause of temperature.  I was afraid of heat and humidity.  When I saw that the highest high for the Haliburton 100 was 75 degrees, I decided it was probably the one I would be able  commit to.

Mindy and I registered as soon as it opened.  Were we already training in the winter?  It seemed like it.  We had our kind of adventures with extreme snow, deer carcasses, laughing, chatter, and hard work.  Then came the official training.  Mindy had Ian tweak a 100 mile plan for us.  We DNFed at Wapack, kicked arse at Tarc, and cranked out the miles.  Towards the end, Mindy said we needed to buckle so we wouldn't have to do it again.  We were tired of the hours and hours of running.  Not so much because of the hours and hours of running, but because they were planned.  Our weekends were dictated.  After our UXB (ultra extreme badass) run, we needed to get away from Brad's twisty, rooty trails for a while.  We ran our last long runs at the Androscoggin Riverland State Park, Andy.  It was good to run on less technical, less twisty trails for a while.  They did have more elevation, though.

There were hard parts along the way.  Tuttle and Spot.  I guess since our dogs were of similar ages it shouldn't be too surprising we lost them around the same time, but, somehow, it seemed important.

My work interfered.  I had a stretch where I worked over 20 something days in a row.  Mindy met me whenever I could get to the Brad.  Some of of long runs were much later than they should have been.  I bonked on a few humid runs; Squirrel pulled me through.  Then I discovered Tailwind.  I was running on Unicorn Dust.  Squirrel switched over, too.  Hmmm.  It made things easier to not have to think about food.  There was more room in our packs, too.  I wrote the company to see if they thought it would be OK to use for up to 30 hrs.  The answer was prompt.  They assured me it was more than fine to rely on Tailwind alone, but that I might find I wanted solid food on a run that long.  I could eat, just subtract the calories from what I was supplying with the wind and add some water.  Mindy and I felt like we'd just stick with Unicorn Dust.

Mindy and Pete got two new pups.  I had puppy envy.  My work hours didn't allow for a puppy.  Then I realized I could have a dog!!!  Rick and I soon adopted Piper (the Squirrel named her :)  She promptly caused me a broken toe (no official diagnosis, but it sure seemed like it).  I think it was only 6 wks out from Hali.  Fortunately, it was only really painful when I landed on a rock or landed unevenly.  I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be a problem.

At Andy, where we were enjoying the less technical trail, Mindy fell hard twice on on 30 mile run.  The next weekend, part of the taper - just 20, I fell hard aggravating my ribs.  Hmmm.  That might be a problem.  Fortunately, it was less bad than another time I'd done the same thing.  The deep breath from running up a big hill wasn't super painful.  Sneezing, coughing, or laughing hard were.

Almost there.  Jedi and Ann, Pete and Mindy, Rick and I had all taken off the Thursday before.  We rented a cool house in the town of Haliburton, ON.  We were all making our way there more or less at the same time.  For the first hour or so, we were in communication.  Then cell coverage and Canadian charges made us travel in radio silence.  By the time Rick and I got to our cozy home, Pete and George had a fire in our idyllic fireplace.

We settled in just a bit before heading into town for dinner.  We lucked into the best pub in town (at least according to Xar's source).  The next day we enjoyed the little town of Haliburton.  Bags of milk!  I bought a fan at the hardware store to assist in sleep.  Then we went to the forest. A quick visit to the Wolf Centre was worth the $10/person. Less than three, less than three, less than three. Then on to packet pickup.  I winced when I saw my number: 3.  I didn't tell the others.  I'm not really superstitious.  Science, it works bitches and all...but, shit.  That was my number of my first 50, my first DNF.  Don't share.

Then our film crew showed up.  That's funny to say, but, I'm so glad they exist.  How many people get their first 100 professionally recorded?!  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  Ben was in on the event almost as soon as we were.  He had wanted to film the 100 Mile Wilderness, but had a commitment conflict.  It was getting chilly.  I put on my race hoodie.  Shit.  Is that a no-no, too?  Everyone said it wasn't, but I took it off pretty quick.

The pre-race dinner was yummy, but the event went long, especially since we had to weigh in after (none of us knew about this).  I was anxious to get home; we'd be getting up at 4:15.

OK, that's enough for now.