Last weekend I travelled to Ottawa and Labelle for a road trip to P'tit Train Du Nord. The summer racing season once again kicks into high gear with the looming Chicagoland marathon in less than two weeks so there really isn't much opportunity to sneak in some fun distance training anymore. However, since I've been toying with the idea of attending one of the long distance races in September and October, I want to find out how my body holds up to continuous skating for such duration. To date, my longest continuous effort on skate had merely been 42km.
After some quick planning, a group of us decided to skate 100km at P'tit Train Du Nord last Sunday. It was the first in a very long time when I drove to Ottawa without a hard deadline (wasn't like I was driving to a race). I made a detour to Madoc to visit the Ivanhoe Cheese Factory Outlet and had an al fresco lunch of freshly made cheddar cheese curds and the most amazing butter tart. It was such a nice change to enjoy a leisurely drive instead of my typical less-is-more breaking policy.
You really can't execute more perfect timing even if you try but BO (driving from Virginia) and I arrived at MG's home at the exact same time. The three of us decided to skate the trails of Ottawa despite rumblings of thunder. It was a nice easy skate to loosen up the legs after sitting in the car for far too long. Just as we returned back to the starting point, rain came down with total disregard to the well-being of our bearings. We scrambled to take cover underneath a bridge and waited for the rain to pass. It didn't take too long before the rain eased up. We came out from our hiding and started skating back to MG's place. What do you know, less than 500m in, it started raining again and it took no time before we were all soaked through and through. As much as I love my skating dresses, I have to admit bubble skirt holds water very well. Why did I not think of that before?
Our original plan for dinner had to be delayed because as any skater can tell you, bearing cleaning party trumps everything else on the social calendar. Well, being a sensible group, we only needed to soak all the bearings in citrus degreaser before heading out to dinner (growling stomachs are pretty high on the priority list too). As usual, skating stories abound over a dinner of tex-mex fare. We concluded our bearing cleaning party after dinner and packed our Camelbaks with various gels, energy bars, electrolytes, salt pills, painkills, etc. We were ready for an early morning the next day.
With the addition of EL and GB, the five of us headed out to Labelle over a two hour drive filled with laughs and silliness (I don't even know how we came to the conclusion that BO is of Eastern European descent, unbeknownst to him). The weather forecast was calling for 40% chance of rain in the afternoon but the sky was clear. I, for one, was not at all worry about getting rained on for the second time in one weekend. I munched down one CLIF bar and was ready to roll.
We began with an easy 20km warm up, keeping everyone together in one pack. The trail was a gentle downhill, just enough that it felt nice and easy. The pavement was smooth except for some occasional sections where the asphalt sunk in on the paved-over railway tracks. The first time I rolled over those wavy section totally caught me by surprise. However, I figured out how to skate over them soon enough and they were actually rather interesting obstacles. Skating at that kind of easy pace was very unfamiliar to me. My typical training involves lots of race pace skating so it is unusual for me to work at such low intensity. Fortunately, I was not tempted to go faster since I knew I had a long day ahead of me and of course I did not want to burn my legs before Chicago.
The distance rolled by easily. While I was skating in the pack, it was amusing to see our little pack of Camelbaks. It had been years since I last skated with anything more than a small waterbottle in my back pocket so it was a strange feeling indeed. Obviously you do not want to overpack and carry unnecessary weight for such a long skate. At the same time, you do not want to run out of supplies long before you're done either! I tucked in a packet of CLIF Shot Bloks on both legs of my skinsuit. Inside my Camelbak, I filled a 1.5L reservoir with diluted Pocari Sweat, two CLIF bars, 1 packet of CLIF Shot Bloks, 1 packet of Pocari Sweat powder (in case I need to refill with more electrolyte), a skate tool, mobile phone, some cards, and money. I also skated with my pink camera securely fastened to my left upper arm. Sprinting was not exactly ideal with all these things attached to my body and I had yet to figure out where to tuck in the drinking tube so it doesn't dangle off the side of my leg.
After the first 20km, our group split into two packs. EL, MG, and BO continued on at a faster pace while GB and I skated at an easy 25-26km/h. I thanked my lucky star for such mild weather because it was simply a beautiful day to be outside. There were some long gradual gentle slopes but nothing that can be considered as climbs. I ate one CLIF Shot Blok every 10km to maintain my energy level. My heartrate remained at aerobic zone most of the time and skating felt effortless. I paid attention to technique and was mindful to setdown my skates at a correct angle. I knew that if I get lazy and pronate, it would eventually build up to some foot pain towards the end of my skate. Definitely not something that I want to happen.
We grouped up again at the 60km mark. My body was holding up well and I was surprised by how little food it needed. Between the Pocari Sweat and CLIF Shot Bloks, my energy level remained constant and I felt like I could keep skating forever. Of course, as things usually go, I made my conclusion too early. At around the 70km mark, I started feeling hungry and I knew that I had to eat solid food or else. I munched down a CLIF bar while rolling. At such low intensity, eating solid food was not at all an issue. I felt like myself again soon after.
Unfortunately, weather was not quite on our side anymore. The air felt cold and damp. The wind picked up. The first signs of impending rain. The plan was to skate together as one pack until the 80km mark before the guys take off again for a big finish. Just before we reached the 80km mark, it rained. EL, MG, and BO picked up the pace in hopes of out-skating the rain (and they did). I, on the other hand, wasn't keen on tempting fate without my trusty rain wheels. GB and I skated together for another 10km. Lucky for us, the rain stopped and it was only damp pavement that we had to deal with. My knee joints began to experience mild pain at this point. Staying in proper skating position did not feel comfortable anymore. This is exactly the kind of information I need to find out, the limitation of my body. I pulled away from GB and all my focus was on finishing the 100k sooner rather than later. The distance reading on my GPS seemed to crawl. Funny how that works. In the last 200m, I had enough left in me so I decided to pick up my pace for a decent sprint finish. Just like that, mission accomplished!
I completed my first 100km in 4:23:30 skating a very easy pace. I almost finished those 1.5L of Pocari Sweat, ate 8 CLIF Bloks, and 1 CLIF bar. My feet did not hurt though my knees were complaining a bit for the last 10km. My core held up well as I maintained skating position without too much trouble for the majority of the skate. But most importantly, it was fun beyond what I otherwise expected! If I think about it, I shouldn't be too surprised. I was working in aerobic zone for little more than four hours which is not completely unfamiliar to me. I have done many similar workouts during the off-season using a combination of running and cycling. The base that I built over the winter prepares me well for this kind of long distance training. It is certainly good to know that I have the option to race some of the longer distance events.
Pictures from the weekend are available here.
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