I was on my way to running the Super Bowl of trail running, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in 2021. Completing two qualifying races in 2019, I simply needed to finish the UTMB Val D’Aran in July, 2020 to have guaranteed entry to UTMB. A 100 mile race through the Spanish Pyrenees mountains, the UTMB Val D’Aran sounded like an amazing experience. My family and I planned a two week vacation in Spain for the race and we couldn’t wait for it.
Starting 2020 with a bang, I placed third overall in the 6 hour, Stride Inside Indoor Track Race in early January. I felt very strong running 65 km in 6 hours. Shortly after, I started an aggressive training program in the early Spring. I spent hours doing hill repeats since I needed to prepare for the 10,000 metres of vertical gain at UTMB Val D’Aran. Running up and down a hill on Fallbrook Trail, just outside of the Silvercreek Conservation area near Georgetown, Ontario, I would rack up thousands of metres of elevation.
I felt a twinge of pain in my knee as I came down the stairs one morning after one of these long training sessions. Deciding to ignore the pain, I kept moving forward with my training until my knee got too sore to ignore. In all of my six years of ultra running, this was the first time I had experienced significant knee pain. I backed off from my training as a result, doing more hiking and cycling. At the same time, local Covid-19 cases started to climb and I began to hear rumblings that international travel might get cancelled. Holding onto hope that I would still get to run UTMB Val D’Aran, I kept up my training. I cycled and hiked until my knee felt good enough to run again and then I started to increase my mileage.
I received the news in May of the official cancellation of UTMB Val D’Aran as the Covid-19 cases sky rocketed in Canada and around the globe. Although I was very disappointed, I was also relieved since my knee was starting to bother me again.
I backed off my training again from June to July and then resumed heavy training in August. My friend Chris and I successfully achieved the fastest known time (FKT) for the Caledon Trailway in early September, completing 70 km in 7 h 48 m. The FKT has since been broken by Jason West and Tyler Chacra with a time of 6 h 19 m and Denise Brady with a time of 6 h 27 m.
Slight knee pain returned after the FKT along with some glute and foot pain. I ran through the Fall with these strains, hoping that they would go away. Now at the end of the year, I have finally decided to take a few weeks off running and hiking altogether to resolve the various strains that have stuck with me since the Spring.
The major theme that I have identified for this year in running is patience. Holding back on my training has been extremely difficult however running is an activity that I want to do for a long time. I love to race but I love train even more. I rely heavily on my daily run to clear my head, lift my mood and to relieve stress.
More patience will be needed for 2021, I’m planning on spending the winter months getting my legs strong again. I’ll lower my training volume for January and February and will ramp things up in March. For overall goals in 2021, I would love to complete a multi-day FKT in the late spring, a shorter FKT in the summer and to run a 100 mile race in the fall. As for the UTMB, I would still love to run it some day however I don’t feel a huge sense of urgency. Flying half way across the world for a race felt funny when there are a number of great races in Canada which I haven’t yet run.
If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, to roll with the punches and to focus on what I can control in my life. With news of the deployment of two effective Covid-19 vaccines, I’m optimistic that ultra racing will return in the summer or fall of 2021. I’m looking forward to getting back on the trails with my tribe. Here’s to a hopeful 2021.
Great post.
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