It had rained all day on Friday and for a good part of the early Saturday morning, which promised a very rough Défi for all of us.
As I would be going to Europe in the following week, I had already decided that this
year I wouldn’t do the full Défi, I would stop at the end of phase 3, so that I wouldn’t mess up my legs too much.My wife and I got to the Verdun Auditorium a little after 5h30, I got my package (I’m #3 this year) and sat down to get ready. There were just a few people in there, I think this year was our lowest level of participation. The highest number that I saw was 35.
I was ready ten minutes before the start time and went out for some warming up. There was some very light drizzle and it was a bit cold, part of me wished I were in bed, under warm covers...
1. Phase 1.
So a little before 6 am we all got together at the start line, Mr. Fortier announced that we would leave in two minutes, I said goodbye to my wife and she took some pictures.
At the beginning I stayed in a group of four skaters, numbers 5, 25 and 29 were there with me, we were all going more or less at the same speed. I stayed with them for some fifteen minutes. A few faster skaters who had started a bit late passed us in the meantime.
The wet pavement plus the leaves and branches made it quite difficult to skate. At a certain point our little group decided to go on the street because the bike path was unusable. I returned to the bike too early, didn’t see a manhole cover (covered by leaves, of course) and almost had my first accident of the day.
Due to this “close encounter”, I had to slow down and the group that I was going with left me behind. I was never able to catch up with them because my feet were already giving the first signs of pain, so I had to go softer on them.
Some ten minutes later I caught up with skater #5, who was by this time alone, the group had left her behind as well. She was not doing so great either, so I left her behind as well.
Short before the end of phase 1 Mr. Belisle (the only man to have competed in all Défis) caught up with me and we skated together for a few minutes. I told him I’m thinking of doing the Montreal marathon next year, he told me he had done more than twenty marathons in the eighties and nineties. As he’s twenty years older than me, there is some hope for me... :-)
2. Phase 2.
I stopped at the end of phase 1 to get a new bottle of water and ask the time (it was 7h44), so Mr. Belisle continued without me.
Pascal Roy and two other skaters passed me by somewhere in phase 2. They must have started at least half an hour late because they were going much faster than me. When they passed me, Pascal (who knows me from other Défis), gave me words of encouragement. I believe he was also recording the adventure as he did it in 2008 (see his fourteen episodes starting with #1).
During phase 2 my feet really started to hurt, specially that small pointy bone right above the ankle. I felt that the skin was being rubbed hard there and skating was becoming a real pain.
Due to this pain I had to slow even further and skater #5 was able to catch up with me again. We went together for a minute or two, but then I could not follow her anymore and she took off.
I met Mr. Fortier just before the Senneville hill, sat down in his car to see if there was anything I could do for the pain. He suggested I put a padding in the region, so I used a paper towel folded a few times. It didn’t help very much...
The hill wasn’t as bad as I remembered it and after it the descent was also great. There were no cars, so I could do it in all safety. As I didn’t have to skate and just let gravity do its work, it was the best part of the race for me. More than ever, I wished it were downhill all the way to the finish line... :-(
They properly paved Senneville! The “moonscape” is gone and we can actually skate on that pavement! Fantastic!!
By this time I had already decided that I wouldn’t even go to the third phase, I would stop at the end of the second one. There was no point in rubbing my skin bare for another thirty kilometers. I started looking for a public phone. Of course I found none in the wilderness of Senneville and Gouin.
3. Giving up.
When I finally got to the end of phase 2 it was around 9h45. I told the volunteer there that I was abandoning the event. Unfortunately he didn’t have a cell phone, so I had to continue for another two or three kilometers until I found a gas station with a public phone.
I called home, explained to my wife where I was and waited for her to come pick me up. It was cold, so I sat in an abribus and waited. I couldn’t stop shaking; I was wet and the cold was really getting to me.
My wife and daughter finally arrived and my daughter took a picture of me:
We have this ingrained “training” that if someone is taking a picture, we must smile to the camera. Oh well...
But then I asked her to take another picture of me to show how sad I was not to finish the event:
Giving up is never easy, but considering my trip the following week, I believe I did the right thing by stopping after fifty kilometers.
4. Next year.
For next year I most definitely have to solve the rubbing problem that I had this year. I’ll have to try some strategies during the summer to see what works best. I don’t want ever again to be forced to abandon the race due to feet pain.
