So, this race report is VERY overdue - but the month of December somehow ran away from me and before I knew it, the new year had begun. I have my first road race of the season on Sunday, January 10 (Pioneer 8km), so I wanted to get out a quick report about Stewart Mountain before then.
The Stewart Mountain 16km race was my last race of the year, and very happily, the racing year ended on a good note. This was the last race in the three-race series that occurs at Thetis Lake. It's a great race that starts near the main beach at Thetis Lake and winds its way to Stewart Mountain, up and over, and then back again, totalling 16 km.
Leading up to this race, it had been very cold for Victoria, with temps below freezing for a couple of weeks. Most of the puddles on the local trails had frozen over, and I was concerned that this race might turn into a skating event, as we slip slid over all of the ice. The race director, Bob Reid, even decided to bypass the puddle that we were originally intended to run through because it was completely frozen over and too dangerous to try and cross. Days before the race, there was a report of a huge ice patch at the top of Stewart Mountain that we would need to manoever around on our descent, which would make the way down tricky and potentially dangerous. I thought "this might just turn out to be an epic race, after all..." The descent from Stewart Mountain was noted to be icy, steep and covered with loose rocks and leaves. With all of this going on, I was beginning to think that this would not be a PR setting race, but actually slower than last year.
I arrived at Thetis Lake on race day, not in the mood to race. I was feeling pretty casual about the run, and thought I would just go out there, enjoy it and see how things go. I went for a quick warm up, and headed to the start line. Then we were off. I tried to get into a rhythm as the masses started off. As the pace was slower than at Gunner Shaw, the first km's felt very comfortable, as we rounded up and around the trails around Lower Thetis Lake.
Throughout the entire race I ran around fellow Harriers: Louise Proulx and Ben Kersen. We went back and forth a few times near the beginning, and then I took the lead for most of the first half of the race. As we ran towards Stewart Mountain, I was surprised at how good the footing on the ground was. The ground was pretty firm, from being frozen, and although there were a few icy puddles that needed to be avoided, for the most part the footing was good. This made the running quite enjoyable. I actually felt good during this race, and like I was running at a fairly good pace. As we neared the base of the mountain, I heard reports that I was the 5th or 6th woman overall. This was exciting, as I don't often have the opportunity to be this high up in a race.
Soon, we were at the base of the mountain, and the climbing began. I ran part way up, but soon enough began hiking. I've found that at a certain point, running up a climb is no faster than power hiking, and hiking saves your energy for when you need it later on. So, power-hike I did. There were quite a few people around me, and you could hear all of the grumbles about the climb, and thoughts of amazement of the leaders who actually run up this entire thing! I was able to intersperse a few running bits on the flatter sections. Then, we were directed off of the main wide trail onto a piece of single-track that wound up to the top of the mountain, up a VERY steep incline. This is where Ben and Louise passed me. I had expected them to pass somewhere along this section, as I knew that they were both stronger climbers that I was. The climb was taking it out of me, and I was glad to reach the top. I broke into a wide grin and a jog at the top, as I 'posed' for the camera, as Adam Lawrence was taking pictures of the suffering runners.
Me at the top of the climb.
Photo: Adam Lawrence
Then, the fun part began. The reports of the treacherous conditions were over-rated, and I let my legs go as I flew down the other side of the hill. I LOVE the downhill sections - and can usually make up ground on people when moving downhill. The second half of the course was more downhill than the first, which is nice for tired legs. However, Louise was also a master of the downhill, and I couldn't quite rope her in. I went back and forth with Ben a few times as we descended the hill, but then on the flatter sections, he ran away from me.
I was feeling pretty good about my race, and my legs were happy to keep pushing as I winded my way back towards Lower Thetis Lake. I could see Louise just a bit in front of me, and seeing her not too far away motivated me to keep moving. I enjoyed the run back, and spent a large portion of it running by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the few single-track sections, but was also happy in the knowledge that I was getting close to the goal. Then, came the final hurdle -- or three hurdles -- the final three short, but steep hills. By this time, my legs were done and it took all I had to keep moving over these hills. I conquered one after another, and then set my legs in motion towards the finish line. I could hear someone running close behind me and I was determined not to let them pass me in these final few hundred meters. I pushed hard, and luckily was able to keep whoever was chasing me at bay. I finished in 1:27:50 -- good for 7th woman overall, just beating the 8th place woman by 5 seconds. I bettered my time from 2008 by over 5 mins. The final results are here. Eric Findlay won the race in 1:06.:14, just beating Nick Walker by 3 seconds. The first female was Jessalyn O'Donnell coming in at 1:18.08
Overall, I had a fantastic race. My legs and body felt good, and my breathing wasn't too laboured. I had received another long-acting inhaler from my doctor to try, which I was to take every day as a preventative measure, and it seemed to be helping. I'm still planning on getting tested for asthma, but it could take weeks or months before I am able to get in to see a specialist to have the lung-function test completed. But, for the moment, I'm happy when I can run and not feel like I am totally straining for breath.
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