scorched sole ultra

Scorched Sole Ultra

On Saturday June 26th, i entered the Scorched Sole Ultra event as a training run for the marathon. They have a 25km run, 50km run and 50mile run(both of the 50's had part of their track in the snow!up little white.)and its a really small event, maybe 200 runners total! I went into not really knowing much about it other than it was a trail run, which i was excited about cos it much more interesting than road running. The week before i was talking with Bev about where it was and she thought it would be UP the mountian to the KVR. So far i've done pretty much no hill training as the marathon will be basically flat(basically i take my break on the hills and walk:) So i sorta was thinking this was going to be harder than i thought.

Once i got to the race and started talking with the other runners, i was informed that it is up for 10km, flat at the top for 5km, and 10km back down the same way!!argghhh!!!So i wouldnt be doing it in quite the time i hoped for!

So we started off at 7.30 on a sand/gravel track with a pretty gradual uphill, but it just got steeper and steeper, and the terrain got a lot harder too. We were going through creeks, mud puddles, climbing over rocks, tree roots and at one point a tree. There was an aid station at 5k up the hill and one the the top of the hill and the turn around point. It was a long hard slug up the hill!

At the turn-around-point, i'd been running for 2hours and 15minutes and was feeling a bit tired but really not too bad and was looking forward to the down hill but was a little concerned how my knees would take the pounding!There was a stunning view of the lake on the flat run at the top too, you could nearly see all the way down to summerland. (the run was in Kelowna)

So the first little bit of the down hill i sorta walked to get my knees used to it and got to the 5k aid station no prob. It was after that that i started to poop out....

At one of the last intersections on the trail, i knew there was just 3k left and we're back to running on a nice trail with a gradual down hill slope. Not long before I reached that point, i thought to myself that i hadnt really had that feeling where i just couldnt keep going but i spoke too soon. The last 3k was HARD!!I was ready to be at the finish and u know ur so close but yet so far!haha ha anyway i willed myself to the finish. Before i could see the finish, i could hear the people, and i got all emotional and welled and couldnt breathe :) but i got myself together by the time i crossed the finish line ... 3hours and 30minutes later!So 2hours 15mins running up to the half way point and only 1hour 15min to come down! Sorta gives u an idea of how hard the climb up was!

Anyway, I did it!!Less than a month till MARATHON!!

thats actually me crossing the finish line, wayne was just on the other side!

and kingston and my hubby were waiting for me at the finish line!was so happy to see them!!