Carlene Paquette - Race Reports
This page was last changed: May 26, 2008
"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after
another."
Walter Elliott, Cited in BITS & PIECES
"DETERMINATION - The race is not always to the swift... but to those
who
keep on running"
"Doctors and scientists said that breaking the four-minute mile was
impossible,
that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the
track
after collapsing at the finish line, I figured I was dead."
-- Roger Bannister, after becoming the first person
to break the four minute mile, 1952.
Contents (in reverse chronological order):
2005
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
Ottawa
International Self Transcendence 24 HOUR RACE, Sept 10-11, 2005
My finishers certificate from the
race provides a good quick
summary:
24 hour self-transcendence ultra
marathon
September 10-11, 2005
This certificate awarded to Carlene
Paquette
For running a total distance of 64 km
"I begin by Imagining the impossible
and end by Accomplishing the
impossible" - Sri Chinmoy
Well... I had begun to doubt that I'd
ever finish a marathon. It seemed
every time I thought about training for one I got injured. This past
summer though I was running well and after doing a great 25K trail race on July 2nd I decided to try
and do a compressed marathon
training schedule and see what happens. Although I didn't get injured,
my training was a little on the light side for long runs. I only trained up to 35K and only did that
long run once. However, I was
running daily in June and July and I was hoping the total accumulated
mileage would help too. In early August I got sick with a sore throat.
After 2 weeks of being sick I finally got antibiotics from the doctor.
A few days later my throat was starting to feel better. However, I
still wasn't running much. I was feeling tired and so I allowed myself
to run very little.
Fast forward to race day... I'm a bit
nervous as my training has been
on the light side and my taper running almost non-existent. However,
the race environment was really casual and laid back and I was hoping
I'd have a good run anyhow.
This event is a Sri Chinmoy marathon
team event and is run entirely on
a 400 m oval track. The main group of runners started at 8 am. Since I
knew I only wanted to do 12 hours, and because I'm more of a night
person, I started Saturay night at 8 pm. By that point many people had
already stopped running all together and/or we taking naps. Many people
were walking. Instead of numbers, each runner wears a laminated card with their name on it. Each
lap I had to make sure my
lap counter saw me and recorded the lap. The volunteers were
PHENOMENAL. They had lots of food set up and were continually checking
on us. The line of lap counters would call out encouragement as we
passed them each time. I would smile and thank them every time I went
by. I felt such a surge of positive energy from them it was awesome. I
followed my run 1K, walk 100 m routine that I had used in training. I
found that initially I was running too fast (6:15 kilometers) and tried
hard to reign that in as I had many hours to go. Conditions were lovely
- clear and relatively warm for this time of year. We even saw northern
lights off and on throughout the night.
My friend Sue from my running club
was there and running strong. She
was very encouraging throughout the event and incredibly
inspiring. By the 30K mark I had developed some bad blisters on
my left baby toe. I switched to mostly walking and stopped a couple
times to re-apply vaseline to my toes to relieve the blister pain. When
I got to my marathon lap they gave me a flag to carry for my lap. (They
had flags for the marathon, 50 mile, 100K, 100 mile laps. It was very
inspiring seeing people carrying those flags!) I finished my marathon
around 5:25. And was very happy. My friend Sue congratulated me after
my marathon lap and we both got emotional and cried a tiny bit. After
my marathon I rewarded myself with a trip to the bathroom to change
into warmer clothes. It was nice to take a break in a heated
environment. I also switched to my daily walking shoes since I
didn't see much running in my immediate future. My husband had done a
McDonalds run and returned just after my marathon was finished with
dinner. He actually tried to talk me out of eating it since he was
worried I would get sick from it. I ate my chicken nuggets and fries
with gusto and enjoyed every bite.
I was soon back on the track and
working towards goal #2 - reaching
50K. Since I was walking it was SLOW going. However, I gradually made
progress. Sue reached the 150K mark before I got to 50K. I kept
telling her I was very impressed.
Throughout the night I got really
crampy/tired feeling and then I would
stop to take some more Ecaps (electrolyte) and keep shuffling along.
Eventually I would feel a bit better and my walking would speed up.
Sometimes I felt worse and I would slow. My husband left to take a nap
somewhere in the middle of the night. I can't remember what time it was
but I stopped to stretch once and after 55K I thought I was done. I
stopped, took some ibuprofen and just sat wrapped up in a fleece
blanket for a bit. Eventually I decided to get up and see if I
could move again. That first lap was torturous. But I soon was
shuffling along with everyone else.
I finished my final lap just
before 8 am. I finished with 160 laps even
and that works out to 64K or 40 miles. WOW! I had time for a quick dash
to the bathroom and then I was outside watching the final count down.
Runners keep moving until the gong goes. At that point they stop and
drop sandbags with their names on them at their position around the
track. The race organizers then measure the partial laps and add them
to the runner's totals. My friend Sue (yellow hat) was really motoring
and I was so impressed. Last year she finished 162 km, and from her
description was walking at the end of the race. This year she finished
178 km and was running along quite strongly at the end. She far
exceeded her goals for the event and is coming closer (I believe she
was within 3K) to the Canadian record for 24 hours. WOW! It was
inspiring to see.
We stayed for the award ceremony
and watched me friend Sue get a boat
load of awards for being first woman overall, winning her age category,
etc. Another inspiring winner was this fellow Jim Newin who I believe was first man overall. He broke
three records during the
night. WOW! Each finisher got a participants medal and a finishers
certificate indicating how far they went. Most finishers also got a picture of themselves running along. (They
took the pictures Saturday
sometime before I arrived and sent them off to be printed.) It was
really nice seeing everyone get their certificates and hearing how far
each person went. One young boy (14) finished 53 miles. WOW! They did
have draw prizes and I won a pair of socks. I can't remember the name
but they are alpaca wool socks.
As we were leaving I told my
husband that my face hurt from smiling so
much. I had a great time. (Actually, at one point during the night one
of the lap counter volunteers told me I should win an award for best
smile because I was so cheerful. LOL!) I went home, took a hot epsom
salt bath, drained my mondo blister and went to bed. After I got up I
drank some more gatorade and then my hubby took me out for Chinese
food. We're now home again and I am limping around the house and
grinning like a fool. I have already started talking about next year. I
think I'd like to do 12 hours again and see what I can achieve. If
anyone wants to join me, the race will be second weekend of September.
It is limited to 50 registrants (this year they had 48) and is a
wonderful event. Her is the URL to the race list:
http://www.ouser.org/races.htm
Carlene
Who is glad Sue talked me into this
and who is still beaming
PS - The shirt is orange but I still
like it. I plan to wear it to work
Tuesday. (I took Monday off to recover and enjoy sleeping in.)
Race #1 - Canada Day 5K, July 1, 2005
Ran this one with Pushpa, one of the runners from my club. Last year
she ran 38:07 for this race and she was hoping for a new best time. I
was running with her to help with pacing and to prevent myself from
really racing the 5K and ruining my 25K the next day. We ran 34:54 and
had an awesome time. Pushpa had a wonderful first 2.5K or so and began
to slow after the 3K mark when the sun and heat began to take their
toll. She had one "I need to walk now I feel like I'm going to have a
heart attack" moment around the beginning of the 4th kilometer. (I
should mention that she is 55 years young and not used to exercising to
maximum intensity.) After that walking break I dragged her up the last
hill and along to the finish. She put on a great sprint for the last
200 m and finished very happy.
Race #2 - Conquer the Canuck 25K
trail race, July 2, 2005
I had an awesome time. I am not sure what sacrifices were made to the
weather gods but conditions were wonderful Saturday - cool and clear.
This was my first 25K event and I was a bit apprehensive about it.
However, my friend Sue (who did the Ultimate Canuck 92.2 K) encouraged
me with the advice that ultra people tend to do alot of walking and so
everything would be fine. Here's a picture of Sue finishing the
first day of running.
My training leading up to the event was both spotty and awesome
depending on how you look at it. Spotty because my long run was only a
couple of 14K outings. Awesome because I had been running daily for the
past month and had accumulated more mileage in one month than ever
before. (The daily running thing was part of a food/exercise/weight
experiment I was running.) I was feeling strong and was hoping the
daily runs would provide enough stamina to get me through the 25K. It
worked out perfectly.
I did my usual 'no warm up before the race' thing and set out at the
back of the dozen or so runners who were doing the 25K. I soon realized
that I was a bit faster than 2 other people and, once I got ahead of
them, I started running along and watched the rest of the group
disappear into the trees. Next came alot of running alone which was
fine as I do most of my training alone. I had no strong plans regarding
when I would walk since I generally don't take organized walking breaks
in my long runs anymore. I decided to just go with the flow and see how
things went.
Eventually I got to the first aid station where I promptly stopped dead
and stayed there while I drank a cup of gatorade. The volunteers at
this station were SAINTS! It was very BUGGY there and they were being
attacked mercilessly. The mother and 2 kids manning this station never
complained and were awesome each time I saw them. I told them they were
my favourite volunteers. They did a great job. After downing my
gatorade I continued along and eventually got to the second aid station
where I repeated my stop and drink routine. Then I was off for the big
stoney swamp part of the loop. This loop was both amazing (hearing the
frogs and feeling like you are in the middle of nowhere) and awful (I
hated the footing for much of this loop). I was glad to exit the loop
and leave it behind. Back at the aid station I refilled my water bottle
and started the trek back to the start/finish. Along the way there were
a few segments of the loop where the footing was so difficult that I
walked. (On Wednesday June 29th I managed to trip and scrape my knee
running a pretty benign part of the same trails so I was out to avoid
killing myself mid-loop.)
At the start/finish I did something I've never done in a race before...
stopped to visit the bathroom. After leaving the loo I had 2 runners
ahead of me - a man and woman and I decided that my goal was to keep
them in my sights and see if I could catch them. I also realized that
my stomach was gurgling alarmingly. That was when I decided I shouldn't
have any more gatorade. During the second loop I also decided I was
getting hot so I began dumping water on my head which was heavenly and
helped me alot. I never did catch the man but I was fortunate enough to
catch the woman I was chasing just after the turn around point on the
second loop. WOO HOO! Victory. Of course this then put me in a 'you've
got to keep working or she will pass you back' mode for the rest of the
race. I also had a personal goal to run a sub-3 hour race. Both the
phantom runner behind me and the time goal kept pushing me along the
loop. I was *very* happy to finish in 2:49 something. This was slightly
before noon and just in time for lunch (pizza, salads, home made baked
goods - YUM!). Unfortunately my husband dropped by shortly after I
finished and so missed my happy moment. I guess that's what you get for
racing harder than you thought you would :)
The race shirt is a nice technical shirt with the race name on it which
will be great for running races in the USA. I was pleased as punch to
get my beautiful Conquer the Canuck medal and also lucky enough to win
a door prize (a hat). The race kit also
included some other great stuff (trail running magazine, water bottle,
gel sample, discount coupon for Bushtukah, etc.) All in all - this race
had great stuff. I was
totally impressed. Well worth the $50 fee paid (and I could have paid
less by registering as an Early Bird. Next time for sure!)
The race director Paula Burchat and the volunteers did an amazing job.
I had a wonderful time. Before starting the 25K Paula suggested that
next year we all needed to graduate to the 50K. I had so much fun that
I just may consider it. I am not a fast runner but I do consider myself
persistent. Many thanks to Paula, her crew and the race sponsors
for a wonderful day!
Picture of the 25K runners relaxing after getting our medals
Carlene
Still smiling in Carp
ORN: Ran another 7K Sunday night because the weather was perfect. Butt
felt a little tired and calves felt a little tight but overall I feel
great.
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