Boxing Day 10 miler

December 26, 2010

This is a casual race that PIH puts on each year, as a fun event to run off some of those Christmas calories.  It's a handicap race, with start times based on performance at a race from the previous year and racers start from slowest to fastest - trying to catch those in front and not be caught from behind. I started 15 minutes ahead of the fastest runner, Sean Chester.  The course is a two-lap course, with long stretches on Mt Newton Cross Road. 

It was a strange race - I got to the race start and a few people were milling about in a very relaxed fashion -- it barely felt like a race.  Other runners were heading out on their first lap, as I got ready to head out on mine.  I started at the same time as Donald Peterson, a local runner who recently ran 24 hours on a treadmill to raise funds for MS.  He wasn't sure how he'd fare on this race, after completing such an arduous event in the past two weeks.  However, as the clock ticked up to our appointed time- 10:31, we headed off at what felt like a pretty brisk pace.  (Donald ended up deciding to only complete one lap -- as he was still recovering from his treadmill ultra-marathon).

As I mentioned previously, other than a few hundred meters, most of the course is along a single road.  Mt Newton Cross Road is a country road with a few relatively significant climbs (for a road race) -- and the steepest climb of the race would come at the end. 

I started off feeling decent, and soon took the lead, running in front of Donald Peterson.  The course climbed up one hill and descended the next, and I kept hoping that the next hill would be the last before the turn-around.  Finally, I started to see the earlier runners coming back towards me, and I knew it was near.  It was fun to see the other racers out on the course, passing and greeting them in turn.  Based on their positions to mine, it seemed difficult to believe that I'd be able to catch them -- but I figured I wouldn't really know until the second lap.  I completed the first segment in 17:55.  I felt pretty happy with this time, although I wasn't really certain what to expect from this race, and wasn't gunning for a specific finishing time.

The way back, my legs really started to feel it - and the race got immensely harder.  This is where I really had to being to work to keep pushing.  At times I thought, why keep pushing - this is just a fun race after all -- let's just cruise and enjoy the run.  But, my race instinct wouldn't let go, and I wanted to try and have a decent performance without getting trampled by the fastees.  At about the mid-way point in the loop,  I saw the fastest runners on their way to the turnaround.  Boy, they looked strong -- I wondered how many I could hold off.

I finished my first loop in 36:15 (18:20 for the segment), having slowed down somewhat.  Now just to do that all over again.  Up a slight incline, down a large downhill and then back to the up, down, and short flat sections.  This third segment felt no easier, and I really felt like I was slowing.  The hills seemed to really break me down.  However, I did end up catching a few runners in front of me.  Then, as I neared the turn-around point, I noticed how I was closer to the runners who had started before me - this race worked, I was actually gaining on them.  I finished my third segment in 18:20 - exactly the same time as for the previous segment.  However, after beginning to make my way back towards the finish, I saw Nancy Baxendale, who had started four minutes after me, and I was almost certain she'd catch me, being that she was so close.  A few of the other faster runners followed, and then I saw Sean Chester.  He was really gunning it, and I figured it would only be a matter of time before I'd see him blaze past me.

This last segment of the course, I began to feel much better, and I started to pick it up a bit.  I was definiteily feeling stronger, but the wind, which had been blowing during the entire race, also seemed to pick up steam, and gave us a nasty headwind (and side-wind) on the return route.  It was definitely a slowing factor. 

I made it about 13 kilometers before Sean came barelling behind me - looking very strong.  I didn't know it at that point, but his goal was to try and break the course record that had stood for 11 years.  As soon as he passed me, I knew I had to keep going as hard as I could, to try and avoid any more fastees from passing me.  I also started to try and catch other runners in front of me.  I figured that if I could pass a few runners, then even if I was passed, I wouldn't lose any positions.  I passed one runner, and put my sights on another ahead of me, as I began the last brutal climb of the race.  The wind decided to make this challenge extra difficult, as it began blowing with extra force at this point.  As if my legs were not already tired enough - they were given an extra hurdle, and I felt like I was shuffling as I crested the hill.  Just as I made it to the top, I passed another runner, and as I looked back, I saw a pack of 4-5 runners coming up behind me.  I was only a few hundred meters from the finish - so I gave it all I had to not get passed by anyone else at this point. 

My parents were cheering for me at the last corner -- and it was great to see them as I dug in for the last bit.  The finish was finally in sight, and I hadn't been passed!  My final time was 1:12:49 (18:14 segment).  I had no idea if that was fast or slow, but I was just so happy to be done. 

As this is somewhat of a non-race race, I have yet to see any results.  So, I have no idea how I fared, or where I placed.  However, I did learn that Sean Chester did indeed end up breaking the course record, finishing in 55 mins XX seconds. It was a brilliant run for him, especially considering the wind, which was pretty fierce during parts of the race.  It also seemed that the gentleman who won the race outright didn't even realize that he was first.  As he was congratulated for crossing the finish line first, he exclaimed "for what?". 

It was definitely a fun race to do, and I'm glad that I decided to run it this year -- despite having a tough run.  It's enjoyable to have another type of format for a race, and a great way to do something a bit different over the holidays.

Stewart Mountain 10 miler

December 11, 2010

This is the last in the series of races that the Prairie Inn Harriers put on at Thetis Lake every Fall.  It's a great course, usually quite muddy and wet, with a fantastic climb at the mid-way point.   The Stewart Mountain climb is a pretty decent length, with some pretty steep sections and has always been a quad and lung burner.

This year, going into the race, I was feeling somewhat nervous, as I wasn't sure how I'd fare on the climb - I've never been a super confidant climber, and as I haven't been training too much on the hills, I thought it might cause me to hurt. The results from the race left me feeling both happy and dissatisfied -- overall I had a good race, but sometimes that's not enough.

The week leading up to the race, it had been raining pretty steadily, so I was pretty certain that it would be a wet course.  As we lined up on the start line, the rain had started to fall, but it wasn't too heavy.  Once we started running, I barely felt it at all.

I didn't expect this race to have a fast start, given that it's a bit of a longer race, with a difficult climb mid-way that you need to save something for.  However, was I ever mistaken - the frontrunners blasted off the start and one guy who doesn't usually lead, I believe it was Richard Knowlton, really took off.  I overheard some of his friends say "What's he doing leading like that -- that doesn't seem like a good idea!"  Apparently he was overtaken a few kilometres later, but held on for a decent finish.

So - I started out at a steady pace for me.  We got onto some smaller trails right off the start, and then wound our way up to Upper Thetis Lake.  I was running around a bunch of guys I didn't recognize and just hoped that I didn't start out too fast.  The race gets much more interesting once we head off the main Thetis Lake trails and onto the single-track. Although, it was also here, that I wanted to speed things up a bit, and found myself behind 3 other guys, who while not going slow, felt like they were holding me up a bit.  This didn't last too long - as soon as we got off the narrow, technical terrain, things sped up again.  Here, we got to maneuver over fallen logs and trash through puddles that took up the entire trail, making keeping your feet dry completely impossible.

Then came the main puddle - it's over knee deep, has a fallen log in the middle of it, and is maybe 25 metres long.  Overall it's not that deep, but it's long enough to freeze the feet.  I emerged from the puddle, with completely frozen feet and then came a gnarly, technical downhill, that my feet did not want to navigate.  At the bottom of this hill, came a gushing stream.  It had definitely expanded, and there was no way, but to run right through it.  As we neared and ran through each of these puddles and rivers, there was a guy running near me who would yelp and yeehaw, excited about each foot drenching experience. 

I knew I was pushing it pretty hard, but overall I was feeling pretty good - although some of the early short hills took it out of me a bit, and I was labouring to climb them.  I only hoped that I hadn't expended too much energy before the real climb, and that I'd be left struggling my way to the top.

Just as we made our way onto the loop that would wind our way up to Stewart Mountain, Joelle McCartie passed me.  I have trained and raced with Joelle, and while we've been similar speeds, I have always been a tad faster than her. I was surprised to see her passing me at that point, and to see how strong she looked.  I had already gone through a few points in the race, where I had battled with myself mentally to keep going hard-- as I didn't want to keep on pushing.  Once Joelle passed me, I was thrown a momentary blow.  'Is that Joelle passing me?...' I wondered.  I knew that she was a strong climber, and she had been training hard over the last year for triathlons - but I hadn't expected her to have become so fit.  I didn't want to lose sight of her, so I kept at it- and staying with Joelle remained my motivation for the rest of the race.

After a few more twists and turns, and a few more puddles, we started the climb.  It's a two part climb - whereby you get a few steep sections, then a slight levelling out for a few hundred meters, and then the second part of the climb begins as we turn onto a wide road that leads us near the top.  As in previous years, it was tough.  However, I felt better than I had before, and was even able to switch between power hiking and jogging throughout the climb.  Near the top, we get off the main trail and head into the woods for the final push.  A guy who was running ahead of me, missed the turnoff.  I tried to yell at him 'Left!  You missed!' was all I was able to muster between deep breaths.  He heard me, but it didn't register until someone behind me yelled 'You've gone too far, turn back!' in a loud commanding voice.  This last part had us scrambling over large rocks, until we hit the summit and had our photo taken.

Photo credit: Adam Lawrence

Then came the descent.  It's somewhat technical to begin with, as it's steep and there's lots of loose rock.  I felt confidant in some parts and let my feet roll with it, and then tensed up in other parts.  Once we got off the loose stuff, I let my legs completely go.  Once you've ascended the hill, the rest of the race much easier.  There are a few climbs on the return route, but overall it's much more downhill on the way back.  It's a nice treat, as you're able to push it, and still feel relatively well.

Throughout this entire time, I kept Joelle in sight, but wasn't able to get much closer to her.  It was somewhat frustrating, as I had thought that perhaps on the downhill I could catch up to her. Once we got back off the Stewart Mountain loop, it was back along many of the trails we'd taken on the way out.  More puddles and rivers to run through, but luckily we didn't have to do the monster puddle again.  As we neared the finish, there were moments when I'd come close to catching Joelle, but then she'd put some distance on me again, and it was definitely starting to feel like there would be no catching her this time.

As we were running some of the final bends around Upper Thetis, I was passed by another strong female runner, who I've trained with.  Although this one I had been expecting.  Kirsten Arensen passed me with a vengeance.  I had been expecting her to come up from behind me, as she generally takes a more conservative start and then finishes strong.  While I'd beat her at many races earlier in the year, she had posted some faster times than me on some of the later races, and I knew that she was fit.  I knew there was no catching her as she pushed hard, while passing me.  This by and of itself would have been okay, but being the third female in a row of three was somewhat demoralizing.

Then, we made our way back onto the final stretch, and while I knew I was only about 5 minutes from the finish, it would be a tough last bit, as we had 3 steep hills to climb: Little Gunner, Big Gunner and Big Bugger.  This is where Joelle and Kirsten got some extra time on me, as my hill strength wasn't quite there.  I did run each of them, but really struggled.  After ascending the last one, there was a fantastic downhill and I pushed it hard to the finish.  As I crossed the finish line, the clock read 1:22:45.  I was around 5 minutes faster than last year, 18 seconds behind Joelle and around 40 seconds behind Kirsten.  Overall I had a great race, posted a faster time than the previous year by a pretty good margin, but I finished feeling unhappy with the race because of my placing (I ended up 7th female, out of fourth place by under a minute).  I was happy for Joelle - she took close to 10 minutes off her time from last year and really had a fantastic race.  However, it was still mentally challenging to have 3 women so close to me, but all beat me.  Although, I cannot be unhappy with my performance, as I felt pretty good during the race, felt better on the climbs than in previous years and posted a faster time than previously - and this is what I  need to keep in mind.

Shane had a fantastic race all-round and won the race overall.  There was some speculation that Bruce Deacon, a previous Olympian, who is still a fantastic masters runner, and who'd shown up for the race last minute, might come out on top.  However, this type of race isn't really his forte, and while he was still the top master, he ended up 3 minutes back from Shane. Shane still had to work for his win though, holding off Trevor Ruck - but congrats to him for his time of 1:04:56. Sarah Baker came in as the top women in 1:14:40 - a really strong showing.  Full results are here.

Thanks to Bob Reid, race director and for the Prairie Inn Harriers for putting on such a fantastic race -it was exceptionally marked, with enough course marshals, and definitely enough wet -- I finished the race completely soaked to the bone with the combination of puddles and rain.  But all in all it was a fun day!

Gunner Shaw 10 km

November 27, 2010

This is part of a series of races put on by the Prairie Inn Harriers on the Thetis Lake trails every fall.  This race is a classic fall race in Victoria that is popular and known for its puddles and muddy terrain.  This year it was a slightly different story though, as we got an early cold snap in Victoria that dusted the ground with snow that lasted for a week.  While the snow had melted in other parts of the city, the trails in Thetis Lake were still completely snow covered, and it would be a slippery run.  Luckily, I had created some 'screw shoes' last year out of an old pair of trail runners, and after seeing the conditions of the trails, I knew they would be perfect for this race. 

It was a beautiful day for a race, the sun was shining and the rays felt quite warm on this autumn day. In the forest, it felt a bit cooler, but the temperature was still great for racing.  I made it to the start line, just in time for the final words by the race director, Bob Reid, and then the countdown.  The race started off fast, as I knew it would.  I didn't want to kill myself right off the bat, so I just tried to maintain a steady effort.  The start of a race is always chaotic, as there's tons of people running all around, and it's amazing we don't all trip over each other. 

I was feeling pretty good and felt like I was maintaining a decent speed.  There were a number of women running around me, who I didn't recognize, but my competitiveness came out and I was determined to try and beat them.  Within the first few kilometres, Antonia Grady, passed me - and my goal then became to latch on to her and stay with her for as long as possible.  Antonia is a fantastic runner, and is somewhat faster than me, so I knew it would be challenging to stick with her, but it would also be a good motivator.  She was pushing it, and was slowly passing other racers as we weaved along the course.  I was following along, passing the same racers, as we went along. 

This year, due to the snow and cold weather, we bypassed the main puddle, as there was still ice on it, and it would have been treacherous to run through it, and likely would have caused some bloody knees.  Just after bypassing the puddle, Antonia and I caught up to the few other women who had been ahead of us.  We tagged along behind them for some time, as I was thinking to myself, 'Ok, Antonia, let's pass them...'.    Soon enough, Antonia made the first pass, and I followed close behind.  I was still feeling pretty good at this point, and was happy that I was able to keep up with Antonia. 

We had now passed the half-way mark, and were on our way back.  The route back went along a few different trails, and we took Sue Reid trail, which is a good single-track section on the way back.  This is one of my favorite parts of this race.  I love this section of the course, as we get onto some more technical terrain that snakes around, and is fun to blast through.  Just as we got near the exit of this trail onto the main trail that passes around Upper Thetis Lake, I couldn't match Antonia's speed anymore.  She was continuing to push hard, and I no longer had it in me to keep up.  I kept her in my sights as we made our way forward, but knew that she would be gone soon enough.  I had to scale it back a bit, but didn't want to slow down completely, as I knew those other women were just behind, and I didn't want them to pass me. 

Soon I was on the last section of the course -- although it's a bit of a cruel end, as it requires us to scale three steep hills, just as the legs are super tired.  I struggled my way up each one in turn, and then came a really fun downhill finish.  I was able to just let my legs spin, and push around the final few bends, before I was spat out into Thetis Lake.  For the very last part of the course, everyone is forced to run through the shallow part of the lake -- it's a fun way to finish the race, and some even decide to dive in and go for a little swim.  I wasn't quite that ambitious - so I kept my top dry.  My finishing time was: 43:57, and I was the fifth female overall.  Thanks to Antonia for giving me the push to work as hard as I did! 

The screw shoes were definitely a good idea - as they really helped with the traction.  After the race I heard about many others who had found the conditions slippery - but I didn't find it too bad.  It also really helped with my confidence, as I didn't feel the need to be tentative out there, either on the up or downhills. 

Shane had a good race as well - coming in 2nd overall, just behind Shawn Nelson, who is running extremely well, and is definitely the force to beat locally on the trails.  Melanie McQuaid was the female winner, coming in at 39:08.  The results are here.

Congrats to all of the racers, and thanks to Prairie Inn Harriers and Bob Reid for putting on another fantastic event!

Bear Mountain 10 km

November 20, 2010

This is billed as Canada's toughest 10km race.  It is known for its rolling hills and it's 3 major climbs: Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear.  The course mainly goes along the golf cart paths around the Bear Mountain golf course.  I ran it two years ago -- and leading up to the race this year, I was questioning why I had signed up for it again.  It was definitely a challenging course, where there would not be any PBs set, and one that would definitely get your heart pumping.

However, this year, it would be an entirely different story.  Victoria is definitely not known for having cold or snowy winters, but this year, as a result of an Arctic weather system that made its way down to the coast of British Columbia, snow had covered our fair city on race day morning.  While it was only a light dusting in the city centre, up at the top of Bear Mountain it was full-on winter, and the race organizers were plowing the course to try and have it ready for the race.

Unfortunately, the snow was too much for our fearless race organizers and the course was shortened to 6-6.5 km.  Despite the inclement weather, more than 400 runners still showed up for the race.  This made planning what to wear somewhat of a challenge - to not overheat, but to have enough clothing to remain warm.  The shoes were another dilemma.  Shane and I had both brought our screw shoes, as one of the many options for footwear.  But, after the pre-run, we both decided to don our road shoes, as the paths didn't seem too treacherous.

Huddling at the race start, we waited for the count-down.  Then we were off on the slippery road.  Right off the bat, I was not totally into the race.  I didn't have my usual competitiveness, and watched as a number of women passed me on the first stretch. My body felt lethargic and I didn't have the desire to push it.  This race draws out a relatively competitive crowd, as there is prize money awarded for the first 5 men and women overall.  I figured I wasn't in the running, as I'd noticed a few very fast women at the race.

We wound our way along the road onto the beginning of the path, which quickly wound downhill along a steep and somewhat slippery part of the path.  I definitely checked my speed here, as I didn't want to injure myself on this early descent.  Soon thereafter we were at the start of the Papa Bear climb.  As a result of shortening the course, the Mama and Baby climbs were removed, but the longest and toughest climb (Papa) remained.  The Papa Bear climb is about 1 mile long, and gets steeper as you near the top.  It was during this climb that I got my stride.

I started feeling better as we made our way through the climb, and soon I started passing people.  My overall desire to do well kicked in, as I passed a few of the women who were ahead of me.  I started to feel strong and stayed strong throughout the rest of the race.

At the top of the climb, we were hit with a wall of wind.  It felt like it ground me to a complete standstill and I was amazed that I was still moving forward.  Luckily, other than that section, the wind wasn't too strong during the race.  I gained confidence as the race went on, and started moving a bit faster on the descents.  I strode out and kept trying to catch the next person in front of me.  On the last climb of the course I caught the last women who was in my sights.  I didn't want to lose my lead over her, so I was focused on pushing it through the rest of the race.  It's always a bit unnerving as you pass someone in a race because you don't know where they end up.  They may catch on to your speed and stay right behind you. Thankfully I was able to put about 20 seconds on her.

As I neared the finish two different people yelled out to me 'Good job, you're 4th woman' and 'Way to go, 3rd woman'.   I thought there was a possibility that I was maybe 5th, but third -- no way.  I finished in 29:01, hopeful that I was in the top 5.

Although I'd worn long tights and a long-sleeve shirt, the cold still got to me, and I felt as though my limbs were restricted.  I definitely did not have the ease of movement that I usually have, and this likely impacted my performance somewhat. 

After a long cool-down run, Shane and I entered the awards ceremony, where I learned that I was in fact just out of the prize money, having come in 6th woman overall.  However, I was pleased with  my performance and by the fact that I was able to convert a race in which I started off feeling so-so, into a decent finish.  Shane did quite well, and eked out 4th place overall, just beating out Jason Loutitt on the final stretch.  David Jackson took the overall win (albeit in a slightly faster time, as he inadvertently cut a couple hundred meters off the course), and Care Wakely was the first female in 24:45.  Full results here.

I may do this course again in the future, just to see how I hold up over all 3 hills, and the complete 10km distance.  Thanks to Frontrunners Westshore for putting it on -- although I do still miss the beautiful forest that the Bear Mountain resort took over in favour of development.

Hallow's Eve - Half-marathon

October 24, 2010

This race is part of the Run the North Shore series in the Vancouver area (trail races).  Every once in a while, I try to seek out races in other cities, to add some variety to the standard fare of races we get on the Island.  While we have a number of excellent races to choose from, it's nice to check out some different venues and trails.  Shane and I also picked this race, as a way to visit friends on the mainland.

The original forecast for the weekend looked ugly - rain and potentially high winds. It looked like it could be a sopping wet day out there.  Luckily race morning we woke up to an overcast sky, but no rain - at least yet.  I went into this race with more calm than many other races.  I felt like there was less pressure, partly because it was a different city and because I didn't know my competition, so I didn't know who I was 'supposed to' be ahead of or behind.  Also, having completed the marathon only two weeks prior, I knew there was the potential that my legs were not quite recovered.

The week prior to the race, my hamstring had still been bugging me -- and I was concerned that it would impair my race.  I could have opted to do the 10 km, but deep down I really wanted to do the half-marathon.  After a wonderful trail run at Thetis Lake the week prior to the race, my stubborness held fast, and I registered for the half-marathon.

As this was a 'Halloween' race, there were a number of people dressed up.  My favorites would have to be the group of men and women dressed up as playboy bunnies, men with wigs and everyone with huge breasts plastered on.  I wondered how comfortable their get-up would be to race in- and if the fake breasts would actually stay on the entire race.

Back to the race -- We lined up at the start line, and soon enough I knew it would be a competitive race.  Tamsin Anstey, a very fast and accomplished trail runner, and Jen Segger, another strong trail runner were both lined up at the start, in addition to Katrina Driver, who held the course record for females. The race director gave us the 10 second countdown and we were off.  Shane and I had previewed the course map so we knew to expect 1 main large climb near the beginning of the race, another secondary steep climb, a long downhill and a final shorter climb near the end. I'd also read that there is a long stair section. Other than that, I didn't know what to expect.


The first kilometre or so was on the road, and then we soon made our way onto the trail.  My main objective in this race was not to get beaten by any woman who was dressed up.  I really didn't know how fast most of these women were, and there very likely could have been a fast woman who'd decided to don an outfit, but it gave me something to strive for.  It ended up that within the first few kilometres I had managed to pass all women who had donned outfits.

At about the 2 km mark, there was a steep descent, that while not very long (about 100 meters), I knew that this was the last climb that we'd need to ascend at the end of the race.  I evaluated it as I went down, knowing that if I'd be able to run it at the end of the race, it would be a fantastic day.  At the top of the climb, the race organizers had littered fake body parts and RIP signs - it was a nice mood lightener.

The trail that we were running on was littered with boardwalks, and it changed between muddy sections and potentially slippery wooden boardwalks.  The boardwalks made the race more treacherous, as I would slow my speed somewhat on them to avoid a nasty fall.  Soon enough, after only a few kilometres we hit the nasty set of stairs.  The stairs were very narrow and were quite long.  I started running them, but soon I slowed to a hike - definitely the longest flight of stairs I've ever experienced in a race. But, unbeknowest to me there was another set of stairs to come just a little ways off.  Around this time, I saw a woman just ahead of me, who I was gaining on.  I put on some speed to try and pass her, and just as I got past I noticed that it actually wasn't a woman, but a man wearing a wig -- it was one of the Playboy Bunnies! It was slightly disappointing, as I thought I'd caught up to another woman, but put a smile on my face at the same time.

Before hitting the main climb, we had a short section of relatively flat trail.  Over the last couple kilometres or so, I'd been running with a group of women.  This was a very odd experience for me, because I'm not used to running with so many women so close together.  At one point, I think there were 4 or 5 of us running in a row.  I passed a number of them on the flattish section, but as the climb began, I was passed back.  Climbs are definitely not my strength, and given that I hadn't done many hills in the past few months, my abilities were even less.  Nonetheless I tromped on, as I watched a number of the women climb on ahead of me.

We hit the highest point just before the 8km mark, then we were into some fun downhill.  My comfort with downhill technical varies - although it often improves in races.  This particular day I was feeling relatively comfortable - unfortunately, it was a narrow trail and I got stuck behind a couple of slower people that I was unable to pass right away.  However, once I got past, I felt like I was able to pick up some good speed on the way down. At this point, I was running right next to Allison Ezzat, from Vancouver.  She knew the trails well and gave me a few tips about what was to come. 

Once we got to the bottom of this hill, there was about a 2 km section of slight uphill on a wider non-technical trail.  This part of the trail was next to a gushing river, and I was able to catch a quick glimpse of the view - but that's all I saw, as I was so engrossed in concentrating on the race and catching my competition, who were just ahead of me.  I was slowly catching up to a few women who were running together on this section, and almost caught up to them, just as we hit the second major climb.

But - I was reduced to a hike as the climb started.  I didn't have it in me to run it -- and let the other women get away.  At this point, Allison passed me, and I was determined to not let her get too far away.  I was able to stay pretty close to her as we made our way up the climb.  It wasn't long, but it was a steep bugger, and I knew that I had to keep pushing it, as there was another woman close behind me.  I felt that as long as I could beat her up the climb, then I could beat her overall, as I was better at the technical downhill.

I got to the top and then there was another fun downhill section - where Allison and I stayed close together.  At this point, I couldn't remember the race course exactly and thought that we were closer to the finish than we were.  As the descent levelled out and we headed onto flatish trail, I started to push my pace, as I figured we were almost at the finish.  However, in reality we still had about 5 kms to go.  As I started to think that the race was over, I really started to hope that the race would soon end.  The last kilometres were back on the trail with lots of boardwalks and muddy sections, and during this section, I couldn't wait for it to end.

For this race, I'd decided to carry a 500 ml handbottle - which added extra weight to my arms.  It was a bit of an annoyance during the race, and after about 15 kilometres, I got tired of carrying around the extra weight and dumped out most of the water.  I thougth I only  had a few kilometres to go, so wouldn't need to water anyway.  However, I had more distance to cover than I thought, and soon thereafter I started feeling dehydrated and wished I'd left more water in my bottle...

After one final major descent, including the mega set of stairs we'd ascended earlier in the race, we hit the final climb of the race.  Allison had pulled away from me a bit by this point and made up even more time on this climb.  I didn't have the climb in me - and felt like the race had taken it out of me.  As predicted I ended up hiking this climb - there was definitely no running for me at that point.  I was soo happy to make it to the top, as I knew that was it.  Now, just a few kilometres of flat and downhill and the race would be done.  Only a few more boardwalks and muddy sections to go!

During these last kilometres I got a horrible pain in my left shoulder.  The pain caused me to slow, as I tried to make it go away.  I tried relaxing my shoulders, massaging it with my right hand - but the pain persisted.  Contrary to what I would have thought, it actually felt better when I hunched my shoulders up.  Luckily, by the time I was spit out onto the last stretch of road, the pain had gone away, and I was able to finish the last bit strong.  Although, I actually did have a moment of confusion near the finish.  I passed a course marshal, who directed me onto a very short trail, and then I popped out on the other side - but I saw two roads in front of me, and I didn't know which one to take.  In actuality both roads led to the same spot, and they were only separated for maybe 100 meters.  But I stopped and yelled: "Where do I go -- I don't know where I am going!"  I didn't get any response, so I headed on, and then realized my confusion was naught.  Oh well - it only cost me a few seconds.

By this time I could smell the finish line -- I put on my speed and blasted down the last hill and was happy to have a downhill finish.  I crossed the line at 2:06:49 (chip time).  Allison had ended up putting a full minute on me in just a few kilometres.  After seeing the results, I felt like I should have pushed more, but was nonetheless happy with my result.  Especially since it was simply a race I threw in last minute, without any specific training for.  I ended up being 8th woman overall (6th in my age category).  Tamsin Anstey took the female win in 1:48:36, 6th overall, beating Katrina Driver by 2.5 minutes.  Blazing fast times. 

Shane had a fantastic race and ended up winning the race - first overall!  He had been battling it out during the entire race with Simon Driver, who holds the course record, but Shane outclimbed him in the last 2 kilometres and ended up beating him by 1 minute.  Shane finished in 1:36:04 -- which is close to my best road half-marathon time! What a crazy fast time!  I was happy to hear he'd won and had such a fantastic race. Race results here.

The rain also mainly held off for us.  The rain started to pick up mid-way through the race, but it didn't bother me too much, as we were under the trees, so it was not a full onslaught.  However, not too long after I finished, it started to completely dump rain -- and many of the competitors got quite wet.  One of the last finishers who I saw come in was completely drenched and was covered in mud from head to toe.  Despite it all, he still had a smile on his face, and had apparently enjoyed the race - rain, mud and all.

I quite enjoyed this race, and was glad that Shane and I decided to head over to try it out.  It was a very well organized event (except for running out of fruit post-race -- but they did go purchase more to please the crowds).  The trails were a joy to run on  -- although I could have done with a few less boardwalks -just to minimize the slip factor.  But overall - huge kudos to the race organizers for a fantastic and fun event!

Victoria Marathon

October 10, 2010

My journey to the marathon really began much earlier this year.  Since I began racing, I knew that I wanted to tackle a marathon at some point - but I just didn't know when.  I had decided that I didn't want to tackle the marathon until I felt I could finish it under 3hrs 30mins. When I first set this goal, it seemed very challenging, but after having a fantastic racing season, in the Spring of this year, I felt that I could be ready and I decided it was time to take on the challenge.  I began training in late June -- which essentially meant just adding in longer runs on the weekends.  Later I also added in mid-week longer tempo runs, and was running 6 days a week consistently.

By the end of my training I couldn't wait for taper week, to scroll down the kms, take it a bit easier, and leave it all for race-day. About 1 month before the race, I started having pain and tightness in my hamstring.  During one of my last long runs, I ended up walk-running the last 35 minutes or so, as I was in so much pain.  A dreadful scenario of my marathon ending the same way flashed before my eyes... To try and avoid this conclusion, I had a few massage therapy sessions that loosened up my hamstrings, and they started to feel better.

The night before, I was doing some exercises that were intended to strengthen my gluteus muscles (and help my hamstrings).  However, as I was finishing up one of my sets, I pulled something in my lower back, and searing  pain shot through my back.  I could barely walk, and bending down and twisting my body in certain directions hurt like crazy.  I grabbed the ice-pack, hoping that it would be short-lived.  Was this the end to my marathon?

The pain did not subside, and as I laid down to sleep, I was praying that in the morning all would be better.  In the middle of the night, I ended up massaging out a few kinks, and my back felt somewhat improved the next day.  I woke up early to have breakfast, then dressed and headed on my way - hoping that once I started running, I would forget the back pain.

Arriving downtown, I saw Shane who had already finished his 8km race (which had started at 7:15!).  He had ran a pretty good race - earning a few second PB - and 6th overall.

Just prior to heading to the start line, I popped a vitamin I (Ibuprofen), hoping it would take the edge off of my back.  Soon enough, the countdown was on, and we were off. Within the first kilometer, I saw my training partner, Julie van Veelan. Unfortunately, she had been battling some injuries, and wasn't sure how she'd be able to do.  We ran together for the first km, then I inched ahead for a few hundred meters, and soon she passed me.  I kept right behind her, as the first few kms passed. At this point, I was running too fast, but mentally I wanted to keep with Julie, I didn't want her to get too far ahead. Although, I knew I should just run my own race, and that it's too early to tell what will happen later on.  I ended up passing her around the 5km mark, and didn't see her again that day.  The ibuprofen seemed to work, as by this point, I didn't feel my back at all - and was running comfortably.

I'd started off too fast - doing about 4:30kms (when I should have been doing ~4:45).  I knew this, but figured the first few kms would be fast, and that I'd be able to rail it in soon thereafter, without causing too much trouble for later on.  The first part of the course, looped around downtown and into Beacon Hill Park, where we did a few loops, before exiting at around the 8km mark.  By this point, I'd clocked one km at 4:08 (downhill) and most were still around 4:30 -- 'too fast' I kept telling myself, but it was soo hard to slow down. I felt like every kilometer had a sizeable downhill.

I hit the 10 km mark at around 45 minutes.  In 2007, I'd ran that time in a 10km race - and now it felt easy.  It was nice to have those kinds of improvements.  These first 10 kms went by quickly and felt pretty relaxed -- if only the last 10 kms could feel like that!  Next, we meandered into a residential area, leaving the ocean to the wayside.  I knew we were heading towards Oak Bay, where we'd do a jaunt before heading back towards the ocean.  We'd stay in Oak Bay until around the 16.5 km mark.
  
As this was an out and back course (mostly), I tried to remember where the hills were, as I'd be tackling them on the way back. I remember being told that this was a flat course-- while not hilly, it still definitely had its share of hills, and I cringed each time we headed downhill, as I knew that meant an uphill on the way back.

It was nice to have so many people out cheering on the racers.  I saw many familiar faces out on the course, and it was of course always great to hear your name called out.  My parents had come out to watch my race too, and I ended up seeing them several times throughout the race.  It felt like they were everywhere, and for while I saw them every few kms!!

I had my first gel around the 1 hour mark, and was picking up water at every aid station I passed.  As we got onto Beach Drive, I overheard other racers nearby talking -- at this point, I was running close to a 3:15 pace -- I just hoped that the fast start wouldn't result in a disastrously slow finish.

The wind started to pick up, as we got closer to Uplands.  It was even fierce at times -- at one point I was running downhill, and had to work pretty hard to keep up my pace due to the wind.  I don't know if the wind slowed me down too much at the time, but it definitely sucked extra energy out of me, which I would need later on.

At the half-way mark, I was still feeling great - I felt as though I could run like this for awhile.... or so I thought!  About 2 kms after the half-way mark, soon after passing Cattle Point and Uplands Park, I hit the turn-around.  Although, I'd already passed the mid-way point in the race, mentally it felt so much better to be going back towards the finish - only 19 kms to go at this point.

This is where I first started feeling the effects of the race.  The course through the Uplands area, while not hilly, definitely is rolling and has a few inclines throughout.  On the way out, I didn't feel them too much, but on the way back, they started to hurt.  None are too long, but there are a few that feel pretty steep, when you've run over 20 kms already. While, many of the kms blur together, I distinctly remember getting to the 29km point.  Just before the km marker, there was a celebration station (there were several littered throughout the course where music was playing, and people cheering) - however, coming up to this particular one, I was dying for water.  I heard the music before I saw the station, and was hoping for water -- however, there were no refreshments to be had, only a guy singing and playing his guitar, and another guy cheering on the racers. Despite the jovial mood, I was disappointed. Luckily, it was only 1 more km until another water station, but I had to ascend a climb - what felt like a very steep hill to get there.

Next, the course headed back into Oak Bay.  I remember many people telling me that this feels like the hardest part of the course, as you still feel so far from the finish line, and your body is starting to breakdown somewhat.  It was definitely around this point 30-32km, that I started to hurt. Every hill was hard, no matter how small.  Somewhere around the 33km marker, I saw my parents again, and my dad tried to run up ahead of me to get a picture.  However, every time he'd get a bit ahead, he'd turn around, just get his camera set up and I'd be passing him.  He did this a few times -- and I'm not sure if he got a picture of me at all.  (Although it's likely for the better, as I'm sure I was starting to look fatigued at this point).

Finally, I got out of Oak Bay, and was back near the water's edge - the finish was starting to feel near.  The best part of the course at this point was the couple handing out water and licorice at their doorstep (35 km).  I headed towards them seeking water, and as they'd run out of water cups, they instead handed me a partially full ice-cold water bottle. Aaahhh -- it was fantastic!  I enjoyed that water for the next few kms, and boy was it refreshing.

While there's refreshment stops located throughout the course, every ~4km or so, some people living along the race-course get into the spirit and also hand out goodies.  The Hash House Harriers get into the spirit every year and even hand out beer -- definitely not for my taste, but some do enjoy it.

The last 10kms of the race, I played a huge mental battle with myself.  On some of the last hills, I sooo wanted to stop and walk.  My hamstring was starting to act up, and on the uphills I really suffered, as they stiffened up. All along, I knew I was slowing down, and had to do everything I could to keep my  legs going.  Everything hurt at this point - every single muscle in my legs was in pain, and yelling at me to stop -- but I wasn't listening.  I knew that it would be hard -- but I had never imagined how hard it would be.  It seemed that everyone was in a similar situation, as although I had slowed down, there weren't a ton of people passing me.  I kept thinking that someone I knew would come up behind me, but that never materialized.

Finally with about 3 km to go, Shane came riding up beside me.  He'd intended to meet me at the 32 km marker and run with me for a bit, but had just missed me.  He waited for about 15 minutes, wondering if I was having a really horrible race, before realizing that I'd probably already gone by.  When, he came up riding beside me, I was feeling horrible - there was no energy left to talk, but it was still nice to see him.  Soon, Garth Campbell came riding along as well, and both of them were encouraging me on.  This seemed to help, as I was able to pick up a bit of speed, and even started passing a few people!  Distance was no longer passing by kilometers, but by hundreds of meters.  I could taste the finish, but it also felt so far away.

Then came the final kilometer -- every hundred meter was marked, and the real countdown was on.  This last section I knew all too well - all of the twists and turns included.  My legs felt like lead, and I was totally done.  Finally - the final stretch - I could see the finish line, and my first view of the clock - 3:22:XX - I was going to make it under 3hrs 30min!  Towards the end of the course, I had stopped checking my watch, and was afraid that I had slowed down immensely.  As I saw the clock, I realized that I wasn't too far off my ultimate goal, and I was going to do okay.  I tried to pick it up in the last 200 meters, but I'm not sure I went any faster - either way I was never soo happy to cross the finish line -- time: 3:22:49 (chip time).

One hundred meters to the finish

I must have looked pretty haggard too - afterwards I was told I looked horrible, and one of the medics almost took me over to the recovery tent, but deemed I was okay to continue on.  It took a few minutes, but then it set in -- I had just completed my first marathon and in a decent time too!  It's definitely something I could be satisfied with, and I was. 

My splits were:  4:30 (7 seconds to get across the line), 4:28, 4:32, 4:47, 4:08, 4:38, 4:42, 4:23, 4:42, 4:28, 4:48, 4:42, 4:45, 4:34, 4:42, 4:41, 9:35 (2 kms), 4:33, 4:52, 4:48, 4:40, 9:35 (2 kms), 4:52, 4:52, 4:45, 4:45, 4:54, 4:50, 4:53, 5:09, 4:50, 10:18 (2 kms), 10:02 (2 kms), 5:34, 5:33, 5:10, 4:58, 5:02, 55 seconds (last 200 meters).

My nutrition: 2.5 gels + 3/4 of a fruit source bar + a few sips of gatorade, and water at every station.

It was a hard day out there for many - the wind sucked the energy out of a number of people, I'm sure.  I'd  like to thank Shane and Garth for catching up to me near the end, because if it weren't for them, I'm certain I would have posted a slower time - and not got that little extra boost, just as I was hurting the most.

Post-marathon.  I had a shake that I'd prepared that morning, and then my stomach was not able to take in any more food for another 5 hours.  You'd think your body would be dying for nutrition, after the mega-calorie burn, but instead my body went into a distinctly opposite mode!  Luckily, my recovery wasn't hampered - as amazingly I was not as sore as I had expected.  For sure my legs were sore and tired, but it wasn't the most pain I'd experienced post-race.

Next marathon for me is Boston in 2012 -- after that, I'm not sure when the next marathon will be - it feels great to accomplish it, but it's not something I'm dying to do every year.

Landsend Half-Marathon

September 12, 2010

One day after returning from a holiday in Hawaii, I was on the start-line for the Landsend Half-Marathon.  We'd come from a hot, sunny climate into cloudy, rainy weather.  It felt cold, and while it wasn't pouring rain, it was steady enough to get you wet pretty fast.  Standing on the start line,  I was feeling nervous, but at the same time calm - because I'd been telling myself all along that I was not going to 'push' it during this race.  This was intended just as a tune-up race before the marathon, and the plan had been just to run around marathon pace.  I'd planned to run ~30 km that day anyway, so it was a good 'excuse' to not worry if I didn't feel up to racing.  I saw a few of my running friends before the start of the race, and I'd explain 'Oh, I'm not really racing this one, just a tune-up before the marathon.'

Often, each of us has a list of excuses to bring up before races - as a means to take the pressure off and explain any less than desired performances.  That way, if you don't have a good race or were feeling off, you can pull out your list of reasons to explain.

On the day of the Landsend race, I needed my hat of excuses, as I'd just got back from Hawaii, was still sleep deprived, and really wasn't sure what kind of performance I would be capable of.

I lined up on the start line, and off I went.  Of course, I ended up pushing harder than I'd originally intended.  The first km went by in just over 4 minutes  -- 'Okay that's fast, I thought, that's closer to my 10km pace - slow down', I told myself - otherwise I knew I'd crash and burn.  I later learned that the first 4 kms are all short, so it wasn't quite as fast as I thought, but still faster than my usual half-marathon speed.  I consciously tried to slow down to a more manageable pace, and watched people pass me by.  It was tough, as I wanted to stay with them!

I soon got into a rhythm and the first 5 kms went by without much difficulty - then we hit the first hill.  I'd heard that this was a hilly race, but being prepared for it didn't make the hills any easier.  On the hills I really struggled.  I definitely was not feeling at my best - but the racer in me still wanted to push, and see how I could do.  The uphill was followed by a nice downhill, where I could just let my legs go - the turnover felt great.

As we approached the turnaround, I saw another hill up ahead.  'Almost half-way done' I told myself.  Just keep pushing.  This race was not about catching anyone, pushing for a PB or even aiming for a placing.  This race was just about finishing.  The middle part of the race felt very hilly.  There seemed to be no flat sections, it was either up or down.  A few people passed me on the uphill sections, as I really struggled to keep it together.  I hadn't hurt this badly in awhile (during a race).  Valerie Bell, a fellow runner (who came out to many PIH events) passed me, looking strong.  I knew she'd have a good race.  I watched her pass me by, trying to not fall too far behind, she had her race legs on, and kept inching away from me, while all I could do was watch.

During the race, my legs felt heavy and I totally thought I was going to come in around 1:40 -- I'd be happy if I could just get under 1:40.  I definitely felt slow during these middle sections.  Nonetheless, I kept pushing, and the kms slowly ticked by.  The hills faded away, and soon I was nearing the end of the race.  The course came back along itself and repeated the first 4.5 kms.  I was soo happy that it was nearly over.  A few final twists and turns, and I was on the last km -- YAY!  I tried to push it hard on this last km, but my legs were definitely fading.  One guy passed me in the last 200 or so meters, but I was able to hold off another one right behind me.  As I neared the clock I was surprised to see 1:33:--.  Seriously!  I couldn't believe it.  I was going to make it  under 1:35.  I was so ecstatic.  I crossed the finish line in 1:34:14 and had to take a few breaths before I could actually speak.  Shane greated me at the finish line, all changed from his 10km race, looking warm and cozy.  Whew, was I ever glad to have that over with.  My splits were: 4:06, 4:12, 4:19, 4:17, 4:40, 4:40, 4:06, 4:15, 4:49, 4:32, 4:19, 4:44, 4:48, 4:24, 4:49, 4:07, 4:12, 4:39, 4:40, 4:48, 4:46.

It wasn't my best race, but it also wasn't a disaster.  I ended up pushing more than I'd intended, but I'm glad I did.  I knew that I could have raced it faster, had I been feeling good - but given the conditions, I was pleased with my race.  It was a fast race overall though -- James Lander came out of nowhere and broke the course record, winning in a time of 1:08:13. The next racer was almost 8 minutes back.

After the race, I changed my shirt (which was sopping wet from the rain), and went out to run another 6 km or so, to get in my 30 km for the day.  Those 6 kms were very tough.  My legs had definitely taken a beating during the race, and were worn out.

The Landsend is one of my favorite races, particularly because they serve corn after the race.  Yummy -- it was fantastic to have the warm, sweet corn -wonderful, after a race in the cold, wet rain. 

Marathon Training

I am now just over two months away from my first marathon - Victoria Marathon October 10, 2010. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Although I have been running for close to 10 years and racing for over 3 years, I hadn't yet jumped into the world of the marathon. This entire experience has been new to me, but I am enjoying the journey. Over the last few weeks, I have had several new experiences: running longer than 30 km on the road (I've completed longer runs on trails - Juan de Fuca - 48km in 2009 and North Coast Trail - ~40km in 2010) and running more than 60-65km/week. I have found the increased distance enjoyable, yet tough at the same time.

I have now done three 30+km runs at a pace slightly slower than my marathon goal pace. At the end of the first two efforts my legs were tired and sore, and my legs felt tired for almost a week thereafter. Although I have been able to run the day after my long efforts, my legs have certainly taken a beating. It feels like going up to the 30km distance has been a huge leap, and my legs have taken more than the usual 1-2 days to recover. This has been exacerbated by lack of sleep -- so I hope to be able to correct that issue, and speed my recovery - enabling me to get more quality work-outs.


My third run was at a slightly slower pace and while my legs ached at the end of the run, I felt much better following that run. I'm not sure whether it's because of the slower pace or because my legs are getting used to the longer distance - but either way, I'll take it. I know that I still have some time to get ready for the race, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was feeling somewhat nervous. Adding an extra 8-10km to the runs I have already completed and doing the entire distance at a faster pace is somewhat nerve-racking.

Jumping into the world of longer distance running - I am truly inspired by the true running 'crazies' who compete in ultramarathons of 100km and 100 miles. Running 42 kms seems far enough - more than doubling and tripling that distance sees inconceivable. Although, as often goes with runners -- ask me in a few years, and I might be planning my first assault at one of these insane distances! :-)

So -- how has my training been going? At about the begining of July I started ratcheting up my long runs. I started at about 20km, and have worked up steadily from there to about 33-34km. My weeks have't changed much. I've been running 5-6 days a week - something that I thought would have been unimaginable a few years ago, as I dealt with injuries and pains anytime I surpassed 3 days/week. Physiotherapy, consistent exercises and orthotics helped me -- despite the fact that I secretely want to be a barefoot runner, with strong arches!

My shortest runs are around 40 minutes, and I have done a combination of speed work, moderate runs, easy runs and a long run. Now, I am re-evaluating my schedule and will be modifying my weeks to ensure my training week includes:

• an interval training session 
• a longer tempo run (16-20ish kms) 
• a hilly run 
• the long run

The other days will be easy runs or cycling.

Learning the nutrition piece has also been interesting. So far, the longest I have run timewise has been 2 hrs 45 minutes. During my longer runs, I have taken one gel and some cut-up fruitsource bars, and water. I'm still trying to figure out exactly when I want to consume energy -- as my stomach's been somewhat distressed during my longer efforts, and I don't want to consume too much -- but on the flip side I also don't want to bonk, or get low energy, as that could also stall my race and inhibit me from meeting my time goal.  Post-runs I have had a smoothie with fruit, yogurt, soy or almond milk and sometimes a little protein powder.  Then, I make sure that I eat quality protein and carbs throughout the day and week.  My body seems to know what it needs and definitely is craving more protein (eggs, nuts, peanut butter, beans etc).

Okay -- so what is my goal for the marathon?....

A goal: 3:20
B goal: sub 3:30
C goal: sub 3:40 (Boston qualifying time)

In some crazy way I am enjoying it - and I enjoy watching non-runners' reactions when I say that I ran over 30 kms. Although it's nothing compared to those 100km guys and gals, it's a good start for me, and still feels like an accomplishment. I am certain that I will be tackling the 50km distance sometime over the next few years, although beyond that - I'm not so sure.... Time will only tell.

North Coast Trail

June 6, 2010

The North Coast Trail is a rugged 45 km trail at the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island.  It was only recently opened in May 2008, and thus is relatively untraveled.  I decided to join a group of running enthusiasts (or masochists, whichever you prefer) to run the whole length of the trail in one day.  This feat was part of the Spine Relay, an event organized by Andrew Pape-Salmon and Gil Parker, which was intended to raise awareness about the plan to build a trail that runs along the entire island, from Cape Scott in the North to Victoria in the South.  Parts of the ‘Spine Trail’ already exist, such as the North Coast Trail, while others are yet to be built.  During the 3 week Spine Relay participants biked, hiked or ran different legs, traversing Vancouver Island from point to point.

I had heard about the beauty of the North Coast Trail, and I knew that it was a difficult trail, with many beach sections and challenging, technical inland trail.  Both of these aspects enticed me to try and conquer the beauty and the beast.  Shane had also signed up to run the trail, eager to take on the challenge.

The North Coast Trail branches off of the Cape Scott Trail, and begins at Nissen Bight beach.  We hiked to Nissen Bight on Saturday afternoon, and the North Coast Trail was slated for Sunday.  

The first section of the trail was fantastic – double-track and without a pebble to step over.  However, not 500 meters into the trail, we turned a corner and were treated to our first muddy section – one of many to come.  We knew that the trail was going to be somewhat muddy, especially as the month leading up to this event, it had rained buckets down on the Island.  However, the amount of mud we would experience was much beyond what I had expected.  The mud sections definitely slowed us down, as we tried to gingerly tiptoe around and avoid as much mud as possible.  Shane was quite nimble with this, and leaped around these sections with relative ease.  I had a bit more difficulty, and ended spending a few moments at a couple of spots, trying to determine the best route, or gain enough confidence to take a leap to avoid the mud entirely.  

Shane would leap easily across, and then wait as I eyed the mud.  He would call out ‘just go for it, the worst that will happen is that you’ll get your feet muddy.’  I could tell he was getting impatient, but new to the terrain, it took me a bit to get used to it, and my mind saw the mud-pit as something much more treacherous than simply mud – stalling my actions.  Unfortunately, I was not successful in staying mud-free, and both feet slipped into the mud at different points, getting completely submerged.

This first section of Cape Scott Trail was 15 km.  Based on a hiking speed of 4-5 km/hour, we expected to make it to the beach in 3-4 hours.  There were kilometre markings along the trail, and we were surprised that after the first hour, we had only made it 3 kms.  This would be a long afternoon, if we didn’t pick up the pace. 

The trail was relatively technical – littered with fallen logs that necessitated climbing over, numerous mud pits, and rocks and roots to step over.  Luckily, after our first slow hour, we began to move at a much faster pace, and soon were covering 4-5 kms/ hour.  Towards the end, I really wanted to get there, as my shoulders ached.  To try and stay ‘light’ Shane and I had packed all of our gear into day-packs.  However, these packs were not intended to haul this much weight for this long, and my shoulders soon began to feel it.  It was definitely a good incentive to keep moving!

The last section of this trail descended along a creek – and the trail essentially was the creek, which made it almost impossible to avoid getting your feet wet.  Then, after 4 hours and 10 minutes, we made it to the beach.  It was a beautiful sandy beach, and the rest of the hikers, having arrived earlier that day, were already resting and enjoying the warm rays from the sun.   

Shane, and I quickly set up our tent, and set about the serious business of eating, starving and ready to nourish our bodies.  A number of people had hiked to Nissen Bight, and would be hiking back to the parking lot the following day, and some of them had volunteered to be our porters (much appreciated, as this was essential to enabling us to run the trail).  As the intent of the run along the North Coast Trail was to do it in one day – this meant going light and only bringing the essentials for the day.  So, we needed others to carry out our sleeping bags, tent, day-packs and extra clothes.

Shane and I went to bed early, trying to get as much sleep as possible before our early rise the next day.  Sunday morning came all too soon.  We quickly ate, packed up and were off by 7:10 am – with initial thoughts of completing the trail in about 10 hours.  Along with Shane and myself, Andrew Pape-Salmon and Jenny Taylor set off on this adventure.  

We started off on the beach, and after about 1 km, we turned onto our first inland trail section.  After yesterday’s hike, I expected that we’d be in for much of the same.  However, the North Coast Trail sections turned out to be even more technical than the trail to Nissen Bight.  There were lots of twists and turns, muddy spots galore, rocks and roots everywhere and the occasional log to climb over.  So, we were constantly stepping over things and jumping from one side of the trail to the other to avoid the mud.  It really interrupted the flow, as you constantly had to slow down and change up your gait to make it over and around the obstacles.  Although this section was difficult, it would have been possible to do a slow jog along it.  However, we reduced to a hike – partially hoping that the next sections wouldn’t be quite as difficult, and we’d be able to make up some time.  This first section ended up being a perfect example of what we’d encounter throughout the day – sections that took longer than expected (we thought it was only a few kms, but it took us over 1.5 hours to complete), lots of mud and lots of technical terrain. 

There were luckily a few boardwalks that had been built along the trail, over the bogs and really wet sections.  Without these, it would have been a much more unpleasant hike, and much, much slower. 

The rest of the day was filled with long beaches (the longest stretching was close to 10 km), and slow inland sections.  Both sections were difficult.  Most of the beaches were difficult to run on, with various sized rocks, some of which were slick with seaweed, and some of the beaches were on angles – all of which made the running very energy sucking, as your feet slid or got sucked into the ground.  The inland sections did not get any easier – but continued to challenge us. There were definitely no ‘easy’ sections, and the only truly runnable parts were the boardwalks.  I’m not sure which section was more difficult – but after some time on the beach I was wishing for the trail and vice-versa.  Also, unbeknownst to us, Jenny was dealing with some injuries that restricted her ability to run, and instead she either shuffled or power-hiked.  As a result, we ended up slowing down our pace somewhat and waited for her at a few points.  However, to her credit, she did keep a steady pace and I didn’t see her stop many times along the route.   

The trail also had some gnarly ascents and descents from the beaches that necessitated ropes to either haul yourself up the vertical incline or manoeuvre yourself down without bailing.  One section of the trail had several vertical hills one after another – we’d pull ourselves up one steep incline, only to see an equally steep descent immediately afterwards, and more of the same thereafter.  We hit the half-way mark at 7 hours, much later than we’d expected, but naively we thought we could pick up the pace and not be too far off of our original estimate. 

The one nice diversion from the trail was two cable car crossings.  My feet enjoyed getting a short rest, as my arms did some work to pull us across.  

Up until about the 9 hour mark, I was feeling pretty good.   I enjoyed running the beach sections (despite the hard work) and was enjoying the views along the trail.  Then, my energy got zapped.  By this point, I’d been mainly eating bars all day, and was getting sick of them, so I stopped consuming enough energy.  All of a sudden, I was moving at a snail’s pace and everyone had gotten ahead of me.  I knew that I had to stop and eat something, but my head told me to keep going.  Finally I met up with the rest of the group, and Shane realized immediately my condition and told me to eat something.  Within only 10 minutes I was feeling loads better and back to my normal self.  This was a good lesson for me, as I learned that on long ventures I need to take real food with me.  Bars only last me for so long, but after awhile my body craves food that’s not packaged in a wrapper.  From now on, I will do like Andrew, who brought hearty rye bread sandwiches with cheese and PB. 

The day wore on, the 10 hour mark came and went and then finally we hit the final inland section.  The maps stated that this section was 8 kilometres – so we figured we had about 2 hours or so left.  We stepped on the trail, happy that the finish was nearing.  This last section was the same as all of the others, except that it had much more elevation.  The rest of the trail had been relatively flat – but on this part we encountered many hills, as we steadily climbed up.  Two hours passed and went and the end was nowhere in sight.  We just kept on encountering hill after hill after hill.   

I was tired and just wanted the trail to end.  My legs ached with each obstacle I climbed over and with each hill we climbed.  The long day was beginning to take its toll on me and I was ready for the finish. For the last couple hours, to keep me moving faster, Shane took my pack –lightening my load. 

Finally after more than 14 hours on the trail, the end was in sight.  We finally had a glimpse of the ocean and could hear the water taxi gurgling in the distance. I got quite excited and started to pick up the pace a bit.  However, the very final section of the trail was downhill and pretty steep- so this limited my speed.  It would be a gruelling start with a full pack, and I was happy that we only had to descend it.  The final so-called 8 km section took us 3.5 hours to complete.  Although we hiked most of it -- we were not going super slow, so I'm pretty certain that this section was at least 10 km, and most likely closer to 12 km. But, at this point, all I cared about was getting my bum on a seat and getting off of my feet. Tired and sore, I was ecstatic to reach our final destination.  After a short boat ride to Port Hardy, we were treated to pizza and salad – thank god for real food. 

Completing the trail definitely felt like an accomplishment, and I am happy that I joined the venture.  However, the trail was much more challenging than I expected, and it’s not a great trail for running; the beach sections suck your energy and the inland trail is rather technical, so it’s difficult to get a nice rhythm going.  But for those who like a challenge – it’ll definitely give you that!

Calories consumed: ~3000 during the hike + breakfast

Lara bars, homemade granola and fruit/nut bars, fruit bars, PB+J sandwich, VEL bar, seed+nut bars, organic grain and fruit bar.

Westwood Lake half-marathon

May 30, 2010

I ended up coming down with a slight cold a few days before this race.  I was nervous that I might end up having a horrible race -- however, I really wanted to run this race, as it's a different course than I'd ran before and likely the only Gutbuster I would have the chance to do this summer.  The day before Westwood I went out for an easy run around Elk/Beaver Lake and it was pretty slow.  I had to stop and walk a few times, and when I was running I was only doing about 5 min kms.  The rest of the day I was exhausted and ended up having a 2+ hour nap.  This made me really worried for the next day.

Sunday morning was an early rise, as we had a 2 hour drive to Nanaimo, and the race started at 9am.  Race morning, the weather looked pretty good in Victoria, but as we approached Nanaimo the clouds came out, and it ended up getting pretty chilly.  We were all walking around in winter-wear: big jackets and even a few toques were out.

The race started and we were off around the lake.  Luckily, it didn't take too long to warm up.  We soon ended up on some single-track that wound around and took us on a gradual climb up to the highest point.  The climb allowed running all the way to the peak -- however, as I was feeling somewhat tired, I almost would have rathered a steeper climb that would have allowed me to hike some.  I wasn't feeling totally exhausted, nothing like the day before, but I definitely was not at my best either. 

The trail was mostly single-track all the way along the climb.  Under different conditions, I would have loved it -- but as I was feeling somewhat off, I found it somewhat straining, as I had to concentrate hard on each step I took- taxing my mental energy.  There were also a few difficult sections on side-hills, and lots of obstacles and bumps to jump over.  Up the climb, along the single-track I led Antonia Grady and Kathy Rung.  However, as we reached the top of the climb, Antonia clambered past, and that was the last I saw of her.  Antonia is a strong racer, and I was surprised that she didn't pass me earlier.  However, she definitely picked it up from that point and ended up beating me by five minutes.  On a better day, I would have been closer to her, but she likely would have still finished ahead of me.  

The decent continued on mainly single-track and had a few rather steep sections.  The trail then led out into the power-line and through the wonderfully huge mud-puddle - and what a puddle it was this year.  With all the rain we had in May, the puddle was definitely at its best.  Then we had a small creek crossing, and a few small climbs, after crossing the road (including a short stair-master).  The climbs really sapped my energy.  I ended up hiking a lot more than I normally would have - feeling like I had no juice to push it. However, I tried to keep pushing somewhat, to avoid having a disastrous race.  For the remainder of the race, I  was close to Kathy - we exchanged positions a few times, but for the better part of the race, she led.  I tried to hang on - telling myself not to push it too hard, but to save anything I had for the end, and hope for a strong finish. 

We wound our way back into the woods, with a bit more climbing and some random music coming out of the woods, near a waterfall.  It was a nice distraction, although I was somewhat perplexed as I didn't see any volunteers around and never saw the source of the music. After the forest, we came out into a field, and we started to head in the direction towards Westwood Lake.  I figured we were about half-way.  I took a glance at my watch and it read 1:10 or so.  At the start of the race I thought I'd come in somewhere around 2:20 -- so if I was right about where we were in the race, then things seemed to be on track.  Kathy, Chris Hamilton and I were all close together at this point -- the race wove us on to some really fun single-track along a windy trail through some berry bushes.  I was able to close the gap on Kathy on the more technical sections, but she would speed away from me on the climbs.  We came out back onto the Hydro-right of way, which included some relatively flat running on wide trails.  My feet had been waiting for some easy running, but when I got it, my body just wouldn't push as hard as my mind wanted to go. 

As we wound our way back towards Westwood Lake, we intersected with the short-course racers, making our way under the highway and through a tunnel.  A few of the short-course racers hollered out some shouts of joy -- as for me, I was just hoping that this meant that the end was near. 

We finally crossed the final road and made our way into the Westwood Lake Park.  I began to recognize this section from previous years, and knew that home was nearing.  As soon as I saw the lake I tapped into my reserve and put on the speed.  I finally passed Kathy, and hoped that I had enough in me to keep my speed to the finish line - as I still had a few kms to go. 

Unfortunately, I got a bit ahead of myself in terms of my speed, and failed to slow enough and had a nice wipe-out on a super slick bridge. Coming up to it, I knew it would be slippery, but didn't adjust my technique quickly enough to avoid a spill.  However, it was a quick up and down and I was soon running again,   determined to keep my placing.  I obviously had more juice left me than in previous years, as there's a few small climbs on this last stretch around the lake that had really taxed me, but this year, I didn't find running up them overly difficult. 

My legs kept turning over, and the parking lot was in sight.  I didn't look back, as I raced to the finish line, trying to put on my best sprint to the end.  I ended up coming in at 2:15:25 -- which I was pretty pleased with, considering I came into the race a bit under the weather.  I knew that had I been totally healthy, I could have taken a few more minutes off my time, but I was pleased that my race was not a complete disaster and I was happy that I was able to come up with enough energy at the end to beat Kathy -- making me 4th woman overall (okay, so yes I am somewhat competitive...). 

Following the race I had a fantastic post race dip in Westwood Lake.  The water was surprisingly warm, especially given the cold and rainy May we'd had thus far.  I ended up getting 2nd place in my age category - which was a nice surprise for me.  Claire Morgan came in as the first woman overall in a time of 2:05:11. Other notable performances were Garth Campbell -- winning his age category - after coming back from an extended injury, Shane came in 3rd overall and Andrew Pape-Salmon and Louise Proulx also had fantastic races. 

It was definitely nice to get back out on the trails for a race.  Next, my focus will be on marathon training, as I don't have anymore races imminently in the future.  I might throw in some races over the summer, but nothing's set yet.  It will be great to just focus on training for awhile and hopefully get in some solid hours.

Squamish MOMAR

May 22, 2010

This was my 6th Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race - and my second time doing it solo.  Last year, I'd also done Squamish solo, and I ended up making a gross mistake in the orienteering/navigation -- I followed another racer, lacking confidence in my own skills, and I ended up in the thick of the forest - totally lost.  Luckily I was able to find my way out (I actually used my compass for one in a MOMAR!) - but it certainly cost me and hurt my confidence in the race.  So -- this year, I was determined to come back and was hoping for a clean race (or at least cleaner).  The biggest issue for me is trusting my navigation.  I'm not a fantastic navigator, but I can usually figure out where to go.  However, the times I've gotten into the most trouble have been when I've second guessed myself and started following other people.  This has been a hard lesson to learn - to trust myself - and remember that the other racers don't necessarily know the way any better than I do.

The race started Saturday morning at 9am.  At 8am, we'd received the course map, and one of the first things I noticed was the minimal amount of navigation that would be required on the bike.  Most sections of the course were actually flagged, and there were only a few sections that would require self-navigation.  Although I sometimes run into navigational challenges, I was actually somewhat disappointed, as I like the challenge of the navigational component of the race.

After a brief explanation of the course we were about to embark on -- the race got underway with a Le Mans style 1 km run.   We ran around the Quest University to our bikes.  It wasn't actually that challenging of a run - but wow it felt hard for me, mostly due to the amount of weight I was carying in my pack.  I had totally forgotten how much liquid I consume during a MOMAR, so I packed 1 litre of water and 1 litre of an electrolyte/energy drink. So, this was 2 kilos of extra weight to carry around at the beginning of the race.

We got to our bikes, and I was actually closer to the front of the pack.  I put on my helmet and was off - as we headed onto a gravel road.  A sizeable uphill section was next on the list -- there were some pretty steep up hills that most people ended up simply walking.  I might have been able to climb more of them, but it was hard to stay on the bike with so many other racers walking their bikes - plus the rocks were slipping around, so it was hard to avoid slipping out -- I also wasn't in the best gear, making the uphill climbing even more difficult.

Then shortly into this gravel section, came a nice downhill.  My mind had gotten into race-mode and I wanted to try and push myself, so rather than slowing down on this section, I decided to let my bike go, and just go with it.  But...... at the bottom of the hill I was in for a surprise ---

There was a water-bar that had been cut-out of the gravel road, to enable water to flow and avoid flooding the road during heavy rains.  I only saw this too late - and I knew I was in for it -- I tried to slow my speed somewhat but then I hit the dip, then my bike hit the sharp uphill, I got some air and..... BOOM I was down on the ground.  My bike lay beside me - and I knew I was hurt, but I didn't want to stop.  I got right up and started walking my bike up the hill. Some kind competitors behind me helped me up the hill, where I was left to assess myself.  Both of my knees were bleeding, my left thumb was sore and bleeding and blood was dripping from my chin.  I opened my bag and began to search for the few bandaids that I had, as part of the mandatory first aid materials.  Soon after, another Vancouver Island racer, Alison Sum and her partner came past.  Alison helped patch me up, and we had a good laugh as I pressed a thin maxi pad to my chin, to try and soak up the blood.  After most of the bleeding had slowed, I decided to get going, and get back into this race -as tens of racers had already passed me.

The gravel hilly section then changed into a trail section - it was a very soft, new trail that had lots of roots and difficult to ride sections.  I just got off my bike and walked, following the many racers ahead of me pushing their bikes.  By the time this section was over, I was already extremely frustrated by the amount of bike pushing that I had done.  I wanted to ride my bike, not push it through the race.

We got back on for some more gravel road uphills - then transitioned onto another single track section of trail (Lower Powersmart), which involved some more bike walking for me.  Finally, we reached the second CP (checkpoint).  I was glad to get my second punch - after what felt like a long haul on the bike (56:18 min from the start). Back onto gravel roads for a bit, then onto Tsuga, a swooping, flowy trail downhill.  Apparently, we took Tsuga last year, but I completely didn't remember it. I ended up riding a good portion of it, but still got off on sections I could have riden, but I ended up being tentative and a bit more cautious due to my fall.  Unfortunately, it's also where the photographers were - so there's some great shots of me walking my bike! Overall I enjoyed Tsuga, and was glad to have my feet on the pedals, for at least portions of it. (this section took 22 mins from the last checkpoint)

Me, walking my bike -- yes, I should be able to ride this!

Next, it was a long climb up on another gravel road.  By this point - my legs were definitely hurting, and I was ready to be done with the climbs. However, I actually ended up being a somewhat better climber than many of the other racers around me -- so that was a nice boost.  (The climb took me 26 mins)

Half Nelson -- an engineered trail was up next.  It was extremely swoopy -- with lots of jumps and big corners -- for a good rider, I could see how it could be a very fun and fast trail to ride.  I enjoyed it, but definitely took it pretty slow.  I'm still not at the level that I know how to handle jumps well, so I was quite tentative on it.  It ended up taking me 32.38mins.


Half Nelson flowed into CP 5 - where we finally had a chance to get off of our bikes and tackle the orienteering/navigation section.  It's also where Shane and Garth Campbell were stationed, so it was nice to see them, and give them a quick update on how my race had gone so far.  I was told that this section would take approximately 45-60mins to complete, so I figured I was in for at least an hour's effort.  I got my map and took a little while just to orient myself.  I did a quick scan, and plotted out my route, and from a first glance, it didn't look too difficult, as most of the CPs were located just off a trail.  Then, I headed off to get my first CP -- it was not too far away.  Last year, most of the CPs were hidden in hard to find locations.  You'd get to the spot where you thought the CP was supposed to be, and you'd have to search around to find it.  This year, the CPs were much more obvious -- which was much appreciated.  Overall, this section went okay, although I made a few mistakes that cost me some precious time.  Right off the bat, I also ended up going up this long uphill section, which I ended up mostly hiking, as I simply didn't have the energy to really push it. 

There was only one CP that really challenged me, and cost me at least 15 mins.   The trail was marked as zig-zagging, but the CP seemed to be located on a section that double-backed on itself.  This was one of the only sections of the trail that looked like it double-backed on itself on the map.  So when I got where I thought the CP should be -- I was surprised not to see it easily visible.  There were a few other racers who came up to this point at the same time, and we were all a bit befuddled.  We searched around, a bit too much.  I kept thinking that it didn't seem right, as all of the other CPs had been easily visible - but I was also hesitant to move on - just in case this was the right spot, and I then had to go back.  Myself, and another racer finally decided to move on -- we hit another few points, that seemed they should be right (according to the map), but there was no CP in sight.  Finally, we came up to the right bend in the trail, and right on track, the CP was right there, easy to see.  I was soo happy to see it! I was almost done - only two more to get, and they looked pretty easy.  A bit more of jostling through the forest, and then I was on the final home-stretch.  I hadn't yet looked at my watch, but I knew I'd spent far too long in the woods. At final count, this section took me 1:25 mins -- frustrating, because I knew I could have cleared it better.

I knew one final technical section of biking was in front of me - and it was the hardest section of the race -- Powerhouse Plunge.  I knew I'd be running my bike through most, if not all of this section - and I was right.  If it had been a training ride, I might have tried riding more of the sections, but I knew this would have just slowed me down. So, I put my feet to the ground, and pushed and ran along my bike as fast as I could.  I actually ended up being somewhat faster than some people who were trying to ride, as they were on and off quite a bit -- which ends up bieng slower.   Glad to have that over with, I rolled into CP 7, said a quick hello to Kim Picard, a friend who was working at this station, and then headed off to finish the race. (time: 28:15)

There was a large hill following this bridge - which I was eyeing.

The next bit was a pretty fast gravel road that let to the bottom of the Chief.  I rolled into the transition after 27.17 of riding.   I went to fill up my water bottle, and then proceeded to take off my helmet and started to run towards the start of the climb.  I ran past several competitors going the other direction, waving hellos, and didn't remember until I was already tackling the first set of steps, that oops -- I actually need to bring my helmet, otherwise I won't be able to do the rappel from the top of the Chief.  So, I had to backtrack, pick up my helmet and start again.  This only cost me about 11 minutes, but it was definitely a drain on the energy.

The climb up the Chief was a complete slog - it's about a 600m climb.  I remembered parts of it from last year, but it felt much tougher this year.  My legs were absolutely burning, but I knew I had to keep on going - past the weekend hikers (with their looks of shock at my bloody knees, chin and lip), and up and up.  The last section is a steep climb up pure rock - with the checkpoint right at the top. (climb took me 39:46)  Then, it was down a bit to the rappel site.

This is where I get a mandatory break.  There was a backlog of people waiting to rappel, so I waited along with other racers, in the cold wind, for my turn.  The rappel was awesome.  The views were spectacular and I loved bounding down the rock.  The run down was pretty fun - although I just wanted to get it over with.  At this point, I knew all the hard stuff was over and the end was nearing. (23:26 from the rappel back to the bikes)

Back on the gravel road, across a river (man the cold water felt sooo nice!), a bit more trail and then onto the road, to weave through the town and make it to the finish line.  But, it wasn't over yet!  I still had a short urban nav to finish.  The navigation was very simple, and we only had to stop at 2 checkpoints.  I collected them both, and finished this last run section in 9:38 -- Crossing the finish line in 7:01:48.  While not a fast time, it was my fastest MOMAR yet, and I would have gotten under 7 hours, if I hadn't forgotten my helmet at the Chief.  If I hadn't crashed and had a cleaner orienteering/navigation section, I would have handidly come in close to 6 hours 30 minutes.
(CP 13-14, 9:25; CP 12-13, 12:41; CP 11-12, 9:26)

Crossing the river... 

Overall I was happy with my race, but wish I would have done it completely clean.  But, it was a good experience, and I hope to continue to improve on my subsequent races.

After the race, I went to the hospital to get myself cleaned up, then off to the after-party.  I filled up on the fruit crumble, then had a great time actually dancing for once to the live band.  A fantastic weekend!


Thanks to Brian Tasaka for putting together another stellar event, and for Jen Segger for all her hard work and time in arranging the course.