R2R2R

This time 3 days ago I was winding my way through the depths of the Grand Canyon and to be honest, I haven't been able to think of much else since. I knew this run would be a mind blowing experience but the term mind blowing seems to just scrape the surface. It was a day of extremes, awe inspiring beauty, bliss and friendship. On the other hand it was also a day of extreme heat(100+F), lung busting climbs and knee quivering descents. 

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The day started by pulling up to the South Kaibab Trail head in our rental van around 4:30am. A nervous tension and child-like excitement was the general tone as we checked our gear awaiting the first of many steps through the great ditch. We arrived late the previous night in Tusayan and with just a few hours sleep, plenty of time sitting in the plane and van the day before,  I had thought my body would feel less than fresh. But it didn't, the body felt springy and light. Now as most early mornings when an intelligent decision must be made, I started by towing the party line and once again made a poor choice. I decided to run down from the South Kaibab with Adam Campbell. Hell, that didn't last too long. He was descending as if he was being chased by a pack of zombies and to be honest - I suck at downhill! I stopped, watched the sunrise and waited for the next group to come taring down -- the best decision I made all day. The rest of the morning was an absolute gift from God. I settled into a group of 4 runners: Myron, Mike, Kyle and Trevor. A very accomplished group of runners and as I discovered throughout the day, they are incredible human beings. Surely we looked ridiculous with smiles spread across our faces and giggling like kids in a candy store. It took us around 70 minutes to reach the Colorado river even with stopping every 3-4 minutes to snap a shot. Crossing the river I noticed my quads were shaken up from the 1450m descent in just over 10K distance. Passing through the historic Phantom Ranch and winding through the canyon floor the cliffs would jet out from the earth, extend its red arms up through the sky making a skinny runner feel like an ant in comparison. The cactus flowers were all receding knowing it was still the cool hours of the morning and that there would be plenty of opportunity to bath in the heat when the sun decides to offer it up. Now with a slight uphill and a moderate pace I noticed myself running slightly away from the group, not that I wanted to be antisocial but because I found myself deep in thought. Now this was a strange place I found myself in. At the best of times I prefer staying out of my head but there is something very special about that canyon. My thoughts resolved to gratitude, appreciation for Sharon, my kids, my family, my health and the general good luck and fortune I've seemed to come by all my life. Sad to say, the good luck ended there. Ahead of me was an 1800m climb up the North Kaibab Trail ending in the state of Utah. Half way up the ascent I looked upon my friends' grimacing faces and knew that with strength in numbers we would all arrive atop the north rim and celebrate by collapsing in a grassy patch. Right then, I hear from ahead "Adam's coming!" I know this sounds like a stretch but there blows Adam right passed me with a smile on his face! Yeah, a smile on his face (watch the video if you don't believe me)! We passed through countless ecosystems on the ascend up, all distinctly different then the last. The vision of the cactus covered canyon floor was now replaced with the smells of the familiar fur trees now blanketing the 8000+ feet above see level landscape. The grind ended when the group crested the north rim. I so looked forward to the spoils of chilling and relaxing in the grass but what was unexpected was how bloody cold it was up there. I don't know the exact temperature but what I did know was lying around was not an option. I mentioned to Myron that I needed to get going. He agreed so down we went.

Our spirits were lifted as we scurried down the 1800m canyon wall. Now with a new reference point, descending these narrow red rock cliffs was a very intimidating position we put ourselves in. I can see why they say to keep to the very inside of the trail as one trip may just be your last. Approximately 2 miles from the trail head we ran past the other runners from our group, Blaine, Ryan, Matt, Ed, and Andrew. In all honesty, they looked like they got run over by a car. At that same point of the climb I'm sure I looked the very same. We chatted for awhile, told them they looked wonderful and that the rim was just around the bend. As grade started to lessen and the cactus's appeared the heat came upon us like a swarm of locusts. At this point I felt confident, my body felt good and spirits were high but within 30 minutes of enduring that 100+F heat, my head started to bobble and my vision blurred. I dropped from the group and began walking. With my head in a cloud I made my way, hunched over thinking of a way to overcome this melting heat I came across a gift from the canyon gods. A pipe under the trail must have burst and a man made 3 foot puddle now bubbles up from below…it's my lucky day! I must have kneeled down aside that puddle for 20 minutes splashing myself down with cool, refreshing water. When I began running again I was a new man. I picked up the pace and was able to catch the group before crossing the Colorado river for the final ascent up the Bright Angel Trail. I started the climb with some relative speed but only a few miles in I decided to back right off, hike the rest of the climb, talked a lot with Mike, spoke a lot with other hikers and just take in the day. Now this was a new experience for me. A former self would have grinded it out and put my best effort in but I have to say: being a pedestrian runner, slowing down and enjoying the experience is definitely something I can get used to. Around 2 miles remaining I heard ahead "Adam's aid station!" and there was Adam handing me a Coke and hot damn that tasted good. Adam ended up running a 7:20! One of the fastest times ever ran and here he was, with a case of coke hiking down into the canyon to help out his hurting friends, what a guy! The rest of the day and night we saw one after another emerge from the rim looking like they just had there ass handed to them. Yet when they were handed an ice cold beer the canyon struggles seemed to drift away and laughter ensued. 

My time for r2r2r was just over 12hrs and I'm proud to say that this one running experience trumps any other that I've run before. I've got a new found respect for the Grand Canyon, taking pride in slowing down and smell the flowers and I feel confident in my running abilities going into this racing season.

2 weeks to go. The mental preparation

With now 2 weeks to go til the Blackfoot ultra the doubt monsters start creeping in telling me: I didn't get enough mileage in, that little niggle will hurt you on race day, I didn't do enough hills in training, and that I simply am not prepared for the giant task now only 2 weeks away. Every race I have the same thoughts but yet some how the race comes and goes and everything works out just fine. I'm just as guilty as the rest of you. If ultra running really is 90% mental you'd think us ultra runners would have this mental business down to a tee but why is it that at race after race I see runners failing when there bodies still have gas in the tank? How is it that some train less yet show up on race day and rock it?

There are Two studies I read many years ago that made a great deal of sense to me (sorry I couldn't find them online to link them). The first was a study that hooked runners up to Heart rate monitors and asked them to run for 30 minutes. Like clockwork around the 25 minute mark the runners heart rates would rise. The next week the runners were asked to run 60 minutes. The participants ran right passed the 30 minutes without a spike in there heart rate whereas upon around the 55th minute the runners began to fail shown in a rise in there heart rate. The study went on up to two hours and showed linear results which proves that the body will endure what it needs to and no more. This protective mechanism proved very valuable thousands of years ago when calories were sparse and physical conservatism proved smart, one would only divvy out what one would need to survive, any excess would just be egoic. Now of days it's not hard to see we live in a very different world and we do these crazy ultras for sport, not to feed our families. The second study was a simple one that showed a large number of pro Ironman athletes as pathological liars that passed a lie detector test knowing very well they were not telling the truth. Why is this relevant? Simply because to excel in Ironman one must be able to reason the unreasonable. You take Lance Armstrong, the stories told by his fellow riders tell of a man who showed no pain when pain was excessive and would appear childlike and giddy around the idea of workouts that delicately mirrored death. The very idea that a guy could convince himself of a non truth would be invaluable in an endurance sport.

Point is, if your race day plan is to start running knowing very well you will run be fine for the first half and somehow get through the rest, congratulations, you have just created your reality! Just the thought of going out and running at red line for 9 hours and looking forward to it, most people would think I am stupid or dumb and you know what…they're right, but dont tell me that, Im too busy convincing myself of a false truth.

3 weeks to go. Transition to taper.

      So now with only three weeks before Blackfoot it's time to have the age old debate. How much rest (taper) does one need going into a 100K ultra marathon? A friend of mine (also running the Blackfoot100) and accomplished ultra runner believes he only needs 7-10 days to feel fresh and spry on race day. He also feels he can race well with only one or two weeks between intense efforts at ultra races. But let's face it, he is an absolute beast and I have always respected his toughness. Myself on the other hand find that I need 2-3 weeks of taper before a high intensity ultra and at this year's Blackfoot I will be running on a 2 week taper. The reason for 2 weeks and not 3 is that on May 10 a group of friends and I will be running the r2r2r (Grand Canyon), an absolute bucket list run with around 2 miles of elevation over 75K. If I can sit back and try not to run with the big boys, but instead coast the canyon then this run should be the ideal training for Blackfoot. Otherwise if I go too hard I risk not recovering in time for race day.

       Upon taper time you've got to just trust your training and know you've taken the necessary means to prepare yourself for the day's challenges. They say in a marathon the taper is uber important but I think in ultra running it's extremely important. Showing up on race day with a full tank of gas and itching to get out there sure counters the nervous emotions. I think the mistake most make when tapering is thinking they didn't get enough in. Anyone who has run Blackfoot knows very well that the hills play a major hurdle in the later half of the race. Two years ago I made the mistake of running too many hills in the weeks approaching Blackfoot. The first two laps went very well, whereas upon the third loop the wheels came off and I bonked big time around the 60K mark (in a 100K race that's way too early to suffer). At the time, I thought it was salt or fuel but later I concluded it was due to too many hills too close to the race. The same happened last year during the Blackfoot 50M. I raced the Elk Beaver 100K and thought I'd be fine for 50M in two weeks time. At the 65K, like a drop kick to the solar plexus I was reminded that 2 weeks wasn't enough recovery time for this old body.

       We are all different and optimally perform on a unique set of variables and I believe we all have this innate ability to sense what our own body needs. Ultra running is a mentally challenging sport but maybe even more so is the tapering process. Listen to your body, learn from the past, be weary of advice you receive but be patient with those who supply it.

Wall sit and squat challenges…DONE.

Click HERE for video

Just a quick blog post. I didn't know I would post this video until I saw it afterwards, at which point I laughed my ass off. In this vid I'm completing the 30 day wall sit challenge by doing a 10 minute wall sit but that acts as a distraction to the real impressive activity happening all around me. The fact is, while I'm putting myself thru 10 minutes of absolute hell my lovely family is in the back ground putting on a show. They demonstrate the chaos that takes place in the Proctor house on a regular day-to-day basis. It's an enjoyable chaos but chaos all the same. After watching this, it begs the question: 

Why can't a guy just wall sit in peace?!?

(If you feel the need to criticize my form…go kiss a cactus!)

Good Friday Red Deer run

    Two friends of mine Oleg Tabelev and Joe Huising both told me about their plans to run fast, benchmark type times at the Elk Beaveer 100K ultra in May. They mentioned their intentions to run with one another to aid in the ultimate goal of running below said benchmark time (I'm not mentioning the time so not to cause them any more stress) and I told them, "I wanna be a part of this!" So started the plans for a training run in Red Deer on Friday April 18th - three weeks before the launch day.

Oleg Tabelev, Joe Huising and me

     When planning this I envisioned a beautiful, crisp spring morning running parallel to the river...but yeah for unpredictable Alberta, we got the opposite. We arrived to snow, wind and borderline sub zero temperatures. Pulling into the parking lot were a lot of the Alberta ultra running elites: Joe and Oleg whom I mentioned before, Alissa St. Laurent, Vincent Bouchard, Gary Poliquin, Wayne Gaudet, Gary Glover, and Alan Lam, to name a few. All lacing up their shoes to get in a solid training day getting ready for upcoming events, finding an excuse to get out for a run, or my main reason, seeing old friends, making new ones and getting out for a hard run while enjoying the activity we all absolutely adore. 

Alissa St Laurent and myself

     It was my goal to press the 4:30 min/km pace for 50K but given the weather conditions we in the end fell short and hell thats okay! The effort was there but mostly it was just down right awesome to touch base with fellow ultra folk. After the run we all sat down in a resteraunt for some lunch. Looking around the table, enjoying good food, drinking good coffee I was caught in the realization that sometimes that happiness doesn't exist in what you are doing. It's about who you are doing it with.

     Thank you all for taking part today. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Topless spring running

Me and Adele running in Black Diamond today

     There is just something about running topless in spring. It might be that this year's winter was painfully long, could be that my body is yearning for the depleted vit D stores. Or it could just simply be the fact that it feels stellar feeling the warm sun and cool breeze on my skin…sweet! It was only one week ago I had covered myself, layer upon layer to get outside to stomach the frigid temperatures. Then when I started feeling reasonably comfortable and stopped, the sweat would then press against my body, leaving me in a near hypothermic state. Today's run was a mere 13 degrees and windy, but hell, if you asked me it felt balmy. 

     During my run today, which was only 15K (around 1hour), I counted five vehicles that passed me rapidly honking their horns. Now this will happen often with fellow runners and you pretty much know it's a sign of encouragement or respect but these honks had more of a mockery tone to them. I know this because these were younger men driving pick up trucks. One was yelling "Run Forrest Run!"…yeah, never heard that one before. A couple of the other drivers mumbled something, but coming from a speeding passing truck all I heard was a noise that would come from the mouth of Chubacka. Wise words for the knuckle heads: When you think it's cool to yell out your window at someone, chances are you won't have enough time to think of something clever so you'll end up saying something dumb. Even if you say something witty, chances are the person you're yelling at will only hear you sounding like Chubacka. A vehicle of young ladies passed me honking frantically. The girl in the passenger seat was sprawled out the window yelling "Hey baby!!!" Scary thing is, she looked 17; even scarier, I think I know her mother. Fact is: we live in Alberta and worse off I live in rural Alberta. Conservatism is king and anything a little different or outside the box should be squashed right away. So does it surprise me that when I run with my shirt off the horns start to sing? No of course not, but that doesn't mean it'll stop me. 

Friday night long runs

     In January of 2012, my friend John Hubbard and I decided to move our long run from Sunday morning to after work on Friday night. It was mostly a logistical decision due to family commitments. Friday night after the kiddies went to sleep proved to be the most practical time of the week. After a few weeks we realized the benefit of an extended run at the end of a long work week wasn't the effect of the run but the mental fatigue before, during and after the run itself. We all know that ultra marathoning is 90 percent mental and I have to tell you, it takes an awful lot of kahonas to grind past midnight into the wee hours of the morning when all you want to do is put your feet up, have a cold one and watch a sports game. Starting a long run when you are already super tired is a difficult dance. In your typical 100M race, when you depart the 100K aid station I would consider most to be less than fresh. May as well get used to it. To symbolize our Friday night long run endeavours both John and I coined the saying "Embrace the suck!" And my lovely wife had shirts made for us with just that…very fitting.

What I want to be doing

What I am doing

     Since the Friday night long run has been a staple in my weekly regime, they seem to have grasped some attention on Strava making others reach out and wanting to give them a go. This past year I have run with many new faces and made new friends. This past week we got a great group out including the likes of Oleg Tabelev, Carl Pryce, Ryan Twa, Tristan Janusc, Myron Tetrault, Ed Bickley and Nick Haddow. What a great way to meet up with like minded peeps, make new friends and survive the grind together. It's true what they say "Misery loves company."

     One thing (maybe the only thing ;)) Calgary doesn't do as well as Edmonton is getting the ultra running community together. Jack Cook at Fast Trax in Edmonton does an awesome job of organizing group runs to create a community setting amongst Edmonton runners. When they show up at races, the support from one racer to another leaves this Calgarian, well, kinda jealous. This past year I have been getting out with countless runners trying to widen my running group and in the mean time have forged some great relationships. 

     If Friday night long runs didn't happen I'd miss out on valuable mental and physical training important for ultra marathoning. But I also value the idea that if these night runs didn't happen, the close friendship that John and I have wouldn't have been created - well not at least to the same extent. Something very special happens when two people are put into an absolute state of exhaustion…even more so when it is a choice.