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.