June 25 2011
Kelowna
I decided to sign up for this race, as Shane and I were headed this way for a vacation. It’s always fun to try out new races and experience what the competition and conditions are like in other areas. There were three other races going on as part of this event – in addition to the 25 km there was a 50 km and a 50 mile.
As we drove towards the race start, we actually had a bit of difficulty finding the location where the event was actually taking place. We had programmed the location into the GPS, but when the GPS chimed that we had reached our destination, there was nothing to be seen. We ended up driving up and down the road before we drove into a parking lot that we’d passed earlier –thinking that this seemed to be the most likely location, even though there were no signs identifying this as the race location. We soon saw a few other racers – and were relieved to have found the correct location, as we did not have much time before the race would begin.
The race start was down a hill and beside a lake. With just enough time to get ready, we were off –although not without fanfare. Shane led off the race, and no one else leapt to the front, so I took off next after Shane. However, unbeknown to us, after only 10 meters, we were off course, having missed a single-track trail to the left. We then heard someone yelling at us, noticed our mistake and made our way back on course, although now we were in last place. Shane soon made his way back to first place, and I tried to hop past people on a narrow, uphill, winding single-track, making my way towards the front of the pack.
Soon we popped out onto a road, which we followed for 2 km until reaching another single-track section. During this road segment, I slowly inched past more racers, and soon found myself among the top 10 racers. I found this exciting, but wasn’t sure if it would last, as I don’t usually race this near the front. Although, the competition in this race appeared that it was not super intense, as I soon found myself in 5th place. The single-track section wove through a beautiful low forested area – with a few streams running throughout, small trees, flowers and winding, climbing single-track. The hills soon got to me and I found myself hiking the uphill sections – changing to a jog whenever the trail flattened out. About half way up, I passed a man whom I’d been running with since the road, and soon found myself in 4th place, just behind the first place woman.
Then, we soon found ourselves on a double-track road section, and the first aid station. This is where the race would get tough. This section of the race was completely exposed, as it wound itself up the bare hill. It was a steady climb, with a few steeper sections throughout, and along the entire climb, I kept the first place woman in my sights. Luckily, although the sun was out when we started the race, it clouded over slightly as I got onto the double-track climb –but the heat was still intense.
I was pretty certain that Shane would be leading the race, and as the climb wore on, I was hoping to see him soon. I figured that once I saw Shane I would have about 15- 20 mins of climbing to the top. At first I thought that perhaps I’d make it to the top in about 1hour 15mins or 1 hour 20 mins – but these times came and went, and still Shane was not in sight. I kept trying to get the top of the hill in sight, but the road kept winding around and around and just when I thought I was getting close, we’d turn another corner, and there was more climbing ahead. Around the 1hr 25 minute mark I saw Shane and let out an exasperated ‘finally’. I was already long ago tired of climbing, and while I was happy to see him, that cry along with a grudging smile was all I could muster.
All I’d taken with me was a hand-held water bottle and a fruit bar. As I was expecting to be out there for about 2:15-2:30 hours, this would normally suffice. However, this race ended up being longer than I’d expected, and the heat was taking a toll on my body. As the climb was finally nearing the end, I was feeling desperate for some Gatorade. The top neared, and I saw the first place woman coming back from the aid station. Usually, I don’t stop at aid stations, or just grab some water and get on my way. But, this time I spent 1 minute or two, and headed straight to the flat coke, which I have never before drank during a race or training session – but my body was screaming out for some sugar, so I complied. I added a few orange slices and water to the mix, and headed along my way. Just as I was on my way out from the aid station, a woman from the other side of the hill came running up and declared ‘only 40 km to go’ – ugh – so glad I wasn’t doing the 80 km (50 mile) event.
I headed down the hill and was happy to have mostly downhill in front of me. Soon after starting the descent, I saw a few other men climbing up towards the aid station, not too far behind me. I started to push hard, as much as the downhill grade allowed. Downhill running has generally been my strength and I was able to make up good time on the first place woman. I soon found myself just behind her, and was able to pass her before we made it back to the single-track section. I continued to push as hard as I could, and knew that I was putting a bit of distance between us, as I didn’t hear her directly behind me. The first part of the single-track section was downhill, but near the bottom there were a few small uphills. By this time, my quads were completely thrashed from the long ascent and the descent, on which I’d pushed hard. My pace slowed considerably on each of these minor hills, and my quads screamed in pain – I’d never felt such pain and tightness in my quads before. I had earlier had hopes of potentially coming in as the first woman –which would have been a first for me. But, with my pace on these hills, I feared Liza coming up behind me any moment.
I was able to hold her off until the last road section. Once we hit the road, I knew there was just over 2 km to go, but it would be a very tough last couple of kms, as the road was filled with rolling up hills. My quads were done, and no longer wanted to keep going. Liza Pye soon passed me, and it was all I could do to keep her in my sights. I think this might have even been more painful than the end of my marathon. After a long 2 km on the road, I finally saw the final short single-track section that headed towards the finish. However, this section of the trail was not well marked, and I ended up going off trail, costing me some seconds. However, it would not have affected my placing, as Liza Pye was already too far ahead of me to catch.
After a long race, the finish was finally in sight! Yay, I was soo happy to run down the final hill, and I headed straight to the lake (where I swan and soaked for almost 15 minutes). The race took me 2:57:19 (2 minutes behind Liza), with over 1100 meters of climbing and I later found out that it was actually a bit long - 27 kms. It seemed to be a tough race in every event, with the first place person coming in the 50 km in just under 7 hours, and the first place in the 80 km coming in at around 11 hours! Whew, that would have been tough in that heat! Shane ended up winning the race in 2:13:48, more than 15 minutes ahead of the 2nd place person. It was a hot, hot day, and my energy was definitely low by the end of the race. I definitely needed the lake to cool off, as I felt like I was steaming even in the frigid water.
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