tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44231572842092023692024-03-05T14:46:34.461-08:00Tales from a mid-pack runner - the quest for speedSonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-76186369903622077732012-06-05T16:04:00.000-07:002012-06-05T16:04:01.735-07:00Boston MarathonApril 16, 2012<br />
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The Boston Marathon -- When I started running, training and racing more seriously, I thought that qualifying for the Boston Marathon was out of my reach -- I didn't think it was possible. I had heard of the many attempts that some runners make just to try and qualify and had visions of only the super speedy being fast enough. As my training progressed, and my speed improved, qualifying for Boston seemed like it was within my grasp. However, I held off running a marathon, until I felt certain that my fitness was at a point that, with the proper training I could make the cut. I finally made the plunge in October 2010, running the Victoria marathon, and qualifying for Boston.<br />
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The training leading up to the Boston Marathon was tough. I found it hard to slog out long runs in the cold, wet, wintery conditions. I had much preferred training for a fall marathon, over the summer! My training also took an interesting turn - because I was racing almost every second weekend between January and March, I had to fit in my long runs after my races. I would race between 5-12 kms and then run an extra 15-30 afterwards to make up the long run. This actually made it somewhat more enjoyable, as I was running in various different locations around the Island, and had the company of Shane for at least parts of most of those runs, as he was also training for Boston.<br />
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We left for Boston on the Friday before the race, giving us a few days to adjust to the 3-hour time difference and see a few of the sights around the city. Boston was spectacular - I loved it! As we walked along the residential streets, I felt like I had just walked into the Cosby show - with the brick townhouses side-by-side, with the steps leading up to the entrance, the flower pots by the windows, and a few street-level enclosed patios. I loved the way it looked, especially since it was so different than Victoria. We actually missed the turn-off to our hostel because we were too busy looking at the architecture. <br />
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The next day we checked-in at the race expo and took in a good part of the city 'walking tour'. Around Boston, there is a red-brick path that you can follow to bring you past most of the historical buildings and places in the city. It's really well-laid out and easy to follow. The highlight of the day were touring the USS Constitution, the oldest navy ship in the US, with a colourful and interesting history. We got to see the depths of the boat, where the eating, sleeping and working took place. This is also where battles were fought and won, as cannonballs actually bounced off the ship's wooden hull, giving it the name 'Ironsides'. It was fascinating seeing the quarters in which the sailors lived, ate and slept - the rows of hanging hammocks that were beds - and hearing about their long 16 hours days that were truncated with eating and sleeping in 4 hour shifts. In the same shipyard, we also saw a WWII warship, of a totally different design and nature - with small enclosed spaces. The Charlestown District of Boston was also very picturesque - again with very attractive townhomes and winding, narrow streets. We also made our way up to the Bunker Hill Monument and climbed the 294 steps to the top of the tower. It was beautiful to see across the Boston landscape and interesting to see how many of the homes had rooftop patios, with barbecues and stylish patio furniture. <br />
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That evening we fit in an easy run along the river, and I was surprised at how drained I felt. My knee was also twinging a bit, and I just hoped that the pain would not appear on Monday during the marathon. That evening for dinner we headed to the Chinatown district to try out a vegan Thai restaurant. I had fantastic memories of the vegan Thai restaurants that I ate at in Bangkok, and was hoping for a similar experience. It wasn't quite the same as Thailand, but the dishes were still pretty tasty, and it was fun to have a huge menu to choose from, rather than just a few select items. If I lived in Boston, I would totally return to try out more of their offerings.<br />
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The next day was expo round 2. The expo was absolutely humongous - definitely the largest I'd ever seen. I'm actually glad that we did it in two days, because after a few hours there it got a bit overwhelming. There were people everywhere, and both days were just as busy. There were lots of samples to try and lots of shoes to try on - I think I actually got a bit overloaded with sugar, with all of the shot blocks, gels, clif bars and shots, frozen yogurt, gatorade drinks etc. But it was fun to see such a huge event, and I managed to pick up a few pairs of shoes in the $50 discount section. That evening we checked out the carbo-loading dinner with Chris Callendar and his wife Wendy, and even managed to share a table with runners from Vancouver! The great drama of the event was the heat. Saturday and Sunday had been fairly warm, and the predictions were that Monday was going to be even hotter, with temperatures reaching into the 30s -- and for running on pavement, that's damn hot. As such, the race organizers sent out emails and warned racers of the dangers of running in high heat, and encouraged people not to race if they were not very fit and well trained. They even offered deferrals to the next year, for anyone who chose not to race this year - about 4,000 people took the offer. Shane and I didn't even contemplate it -- we had come this far, trained hard, and were all in. I figured it might affect my time, and lowered my expectations, knowing that the heat would likely cause me to slow down somewhat. <br />
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The big day! Despite the actual race not starting until 10:00am or 10:20am for me, as I was in the second wave, we were up by around 6am, to grab some breakfast and make our way to the buses that would transport us to the start-line. It was an early start, and we'd been warned by many people to take extra clothes, as the morning can be cold, and you usually end up waiting around for an hour or more until it's time to make it to the start line. I didn't think we'd have to worry about the cold this year, but did take some of the extra clothes that I'd brought along, with the intention of leaving them for charity at the race start. Despite our early start, once we got to the park where the buses were lined up, we had a 45 minute wait until we actually made it onto a bus. The line-ups were a bit chaotic, and it was not clear which line was going where, or that they were in fact going in an orderly fashion. To make matters worse, we had to go hunt down the port-a-potties, as they had been dropped off in the wrong location on the other side of the park. We started getting a bit panicky, as we knew it was about an hour long drive to the start, and Shane was supposed to be leaving for his corral shortly after 9am. Luckily, we were the last to hop onto a bus that left at 7:45, which should give us just enough time to get to the starting line. With so many racers, it's definitely a big production just to get everyone to the start. <br />
<br />
At the start, Shane had just enough time to drop off his bag and make a potty-stop before heading off to his corral. I was just 20 minutes behind him, and so just had a bit of time to seek some shade to sit in before heading over myself. The temperature was already sweltering, and I was seeking as much shade as I could find, and has already started pouring water over my head and hat to try and start off as cool as possible. The start line was about a 10 minute walk away from the Athlete's village, where the bus had dropped us off, and on the way to the start the evidence of the energy and support of the residents was already apparent - as we walked past a station that someone had set up on their front lawn offering a variety of goodies to racers: pins, hair elastics, vaseline etc. It was soo great to see!<br />
<br />
I arrived at the start, just as the first wave took off. I made one final potty-stop - and this was the place to stop, as there were no line-ups, as everyone had been lining up at the Athlete's village instead. I nearly began to sweat as I made my way to my corral, and stuck in the shade until the last moments before my wave took off.<br />
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I positioned myself near the front of corral '2', and waited out the few last moments before the gun went off - in nervous anticipation. Soon enough we were off, and the road descended as we made our way through the first mile through the streets of Hopkington. The Boston Marathon is actually a net-loss elevation course, and the majority of the first half is actually slightly downhill. This can lead to fast times, but more often to thrashed quads that have taken a pounding in the early miles, making it hard to cover the final 10-15 kilometers, which includes the famed Heartbreak Hill. <br />
<br />
I found the entire race, but particularly the first 5-10 kilometers quite packed. The pace started out slower than I'd expected, and although I would have liked to have ran faster, I was hampered by the crowds. This actually probably ended up being a good thing, as I was stopped from starting out too fast on the course. My original goal was to finish in 3:15 or faster, but with the heat I'd readjusted my goal, and I'd be happy with just posting a PB, which would be anything faster than 3:22:45 - although I secretly hoped I could still break 3:20. As we ran through those first kilometers, I tried not to focus too much on my time, and just enjoy the experience and focus on not overheating. I aimed to run in the shade as much as possible, and picked up water and orange slices along the way from both the official aid stations and residents cheering along the side-lines.<br />
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The crowds were absolutely phenomenal. I'd never experienced anything like it. They lined practically the entire course, and were graciously handing out oranges slices, water and ice to the thousands of runners - and cheering loudly along the way and of course doling out lots of hand slaps. It was great, and actually what got me through the race. Without the generosity of the crowds, I don't think I would have fared quite as well. A few people brought out their hoses to spray the runners, and a few kids lined the streets with buckets full of water asking if anyone wanted a 'splash'. I graciously raised my hands to indulge in a couple of those - which the kids were eager to comply with. The race organizers also put together a few spray stations along the route and the fire department came to open up a few fire hydrants, but it was truly the ice that saved the day for me. On numerous occasions, I grabbed handfuls of ice that I stuffed down my bra or under my hat, and it was lovely to help cool down the core and my head. <br />
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The race took us through residential neighbourhoods, where we were running in front of people's homes, and through a few strips of commercial districts through some small towns. Almost every step of the way there were crowds cheering us on. Many people had written their name on their body or their shirt, and if the crowds could see your name they'd call it out, otherwise they'd take any bit of info they could gleam to cheer you along - so there were many individuals with Canadian flags or other markings, and I heard many 'go Canada' along the route. But, the highlight was definitely running past the all-girl's college. They lined the roadside and held signs saying 'Kiss me I'm...... French, a math major, from Mexico, speak Spanish ...' They were definitely the most enthusiastic bunch along the entire route too. So awesome. They would get super excited if someone actually went over to get a kiss too! <br />
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Despite the heat, my energy and legs felt pretty good throughout. I kept checking in as to how I was feeling, and if I had started to feel really bad, I definitely would have taken it back a notch. However, while I was hot, I also wanted to get out of the heat and I knew that if I slowed down, I would actually end up being under the sun for even longer. I split half-way at 1:38:48, which if I was able to keep up the pace would keep me within my revised goal. Despite the kilometers of downhill, my legs were still feeling pretty good at this point, and I hoped that I would be able to hold on. <br />
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Most of the course runs together in a blur - with a lot of my energy spent on seeking the shadiest side of the road, the water stops or random offerings by onlookers and trying to stay as cool as possible. Then came the hilly part of the course, which starts around 27 km and climaxes with Heartbreak Hill around 32 km. I had been warned about how hard this section of the course can feel, even though the hills were relatively not that high. Heartbreak Hill only rises about 75 feet. However, luckily the energy and legs stayed with me throughout this section, and I didn't find the hills too challenging. I kept on wondering which one was the famed Heartbreak Hill, and was surprised when I'd surmounted it -- was that all, I thought? I guess I had gotten used to doing much steeper and harder hills just running around Victoria and in the trails. <br />
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From here on out, the course is pretty much downhill to the end. But, despite the 'easy' finish, it was anything but easy. Just as in any marathon, the legs get tired, the body gets tired and you just want to be done. Towards the end the racecourse got even more congested. I had been passing people the entire way, but near the end the number of people walking increased tenfold, and I kept on having to weave here and there to pass them, as no one was moving to the side, but just started walking anywhere they chose. The water stops also got a LOT slower, as many racers were walking through them, making it hard to quickly just grab a cup of water or gatorade. This weaving and stopping to get water cost me at least a couple of minutes. But, finally the end neared, and the crowds became even larger and louder. The last few miles of the course were insane -- I couldn't believe how loud the cheering was. The last 2 miles also seemed to last forever. I knew the finish was close, but it was still just a few more steps away, and I couldn't slow down now. So, I kept pushing, through the crowded streets, underneath the underpass and up the final little hill that at any other point in the course would have gone unnoticed - and then to the final corner. Once I rounded that corner, I still had a good 700 meters or so to the finish line. I couldn't quite read the clock, but tried to pick up my pace as much as I could. As I got closer, I saw that I wouldn't make it under 3:20, but I could still make it within 3:20 -- and so I did, crossing the line at 3:20:39 - losing only 2 minutes on the last half -- which I was pretty proud about, given the heat.<br />
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After crossing the finish line, is when the real torture set in. The road was in complete open sun without any shade in sight, and it felt like I had to walk so long before I was even offered any refreshment. Then, I was able to grab a water, and was handed a food bag, and made my way along the long walk (probably about another 700 meters) to find my bus and my drop bag. Next, I had to find Shane, which took me along another long route to our appointed meeting spot, but unnecessarily so, as I missed a turn that would have cut my walk by several minutes. Finally, I found Shane and shade, and a spot of grass to sit down on. <br />
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It was great to have the race done, and I was quite pleased with how I was able to run, and was happy that I was able to get a 2 minute PB in these conditions. The recovery was definitely slow, as my inner quads took their sweet time healing -- man I've never been in such pain before just to sit down on the toilet! I also ended up getting a bit of heat exhaustion, as I found myself having to dunk my head in a cold shower several times that afternoon just to get cooled off. Overall, it was a fun trip, and I'm glad that I got to experience the marathon and see what Boston was all about. Shane and I had one more day in Boston after the marathon, and took in a few more of the sights along the walking tour, including Paul Revere's house. I'm glad to have done it, but will have to set my sights on another marathon one day to reach that 3:15 or faster goal! <br />
<br />
<br />Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-75019916551314491762012-04-17T07:17:00.001-07:002012-04-17T07:17:46.634-07:00Chuckanut 50 km<div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">March 17, 2012 </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Happy St Patrick’s Day – let’s go run a 50 km ultramarathon! For the last few years, I’ve been contemplating doing a 50 km race, but had not committed myself to the endeavour. My motivation came as Shane decided that he was going to try the ultra scene in 2012, and start the year off with Chuckanut. Well, I thought I’ll be training for the Boston marathon during that time anyway, so it seemed like a good time to bite the bullet and sign up for my first ultra. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chuckanut’s popularity has grown exponentially in the last few years, and in order to guarantee ourselves a spot on the start line, we woke up early on the morning that race registration opened, and were on our respective computers logging in to purchase a race entry. The f<span style="background-color: white;">irst </span><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">500</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>spots sold out in 3 hours – much faster than in previous years. However, as it was the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary year for the race, the race directors got approval to expand the entries for the race and opened it u<span style="background-color: white;">p for </span><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">another 500</span><span style="background-color: white;"> reg</span>istrations. Eventually 700 signed up for the race – with a very deep and competitive field. It seemed like every fast ultra-runner out there wanted to run this race, and it stacked up with some impressive talent, including fellow Canadians Jason Loutitt and Adam Campbell. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Back to race morning. We awoke early, as the race started at 8:00am, and we were staying about 50 minutes away at Shane’s uncle’s place. The weather was gray, rainy, cold and dismal. Not really inviting to go run 50 km. There was no indoor waiting area at the start, so we got ourselves ready in the car and hit the start line at the last minute. It was definitely a chaotic morning, with HUGE line-ups for the port-a-potties. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">However, once we were all corralled up and ready to go, it felt like it had warmed up already quite a bit, and thankfully the rain had eased off somewhat. The conditions on the race course were reported to be snowy, muddy, wet and slippery. This would definitely make for a slower race, and I only hoped that the snow on the top was not too deep. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, it was time for the countdown and we were off. For once, the pace started off reasonably, as everyone jostled to find their groove. I was a bit nervous about how this race would go, and was just hoping that I would have enough energy to make it through and not feel miserable. I’d come down with a cold earlier in the week, and although it had not been too bad, it had made a significant dent in my energy. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The first 10 km of the race is relatively flat along a wide and not too interesting trail. There were a couple of small early climbs, and then a few downhill sections, that I envisioned would be tough on the way back when the legs would be fatigue – but first I had to get through this first 10 kilometers. Off the bat, my energy started to wane, and the sickness feeling took hold. ‘Drat’ I thought, hopefully I don’t feel this way for the entire race, otherwise, it would be a very long and uncomfortable run. That first 10 kilometers, although relatively flat, felt long and it was a battle between my mind and my body. Although, I knew this is how the race would end, I didn’t figure that this is how it would start. My mind wanted to go faster, knew I could go faster, but my body was holding back and was only willing to let me go at a more leisurely pace. So, I settled in, and figured this might end up as a just ‘survive it’ race. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There were mile markers along this first section of the course, and I counted my way down to the first aid station and the end of the first section. Soon, I heard the cheers, as the field made a left turn up into the forest and mountains. This first section was indeed slow: 54:30 for 10.7 kilometers. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Interestingly, as we ascended into the mountain, this is where I started to actually feel like myself again. Somehow, I’d been able to outrun my cold, and my legs and energy returned to a normal state. Who ever thought that an uphill would make me feel better… but I’ll take it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first climb was steady, single-track like, although not grueling, during which we rose about 1,000 feet over around 6.5 kms. It took me 41:35 minutes. Okay, so I wasn’t blazing up the trails, but I was definitely holding my own and wasn’t getting passed - and this is where the race became fun for me. Getting into the forest was a definite mental boost. We climbed our way out of mud and into snow – as it covered everything around us. Luckily though, the trail itself was well tread, and as a result it was just mucky, but not snowy. I part jogged and part hiked up the hills – trying to jog it along the less steep sections, and hiked the steeper parts. Again, I was surrounded by men – and we formed a long train, as we rose our way higher and higher. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then, we got a bit of a descent – a short rest before heading into another climb. The descent was switch-back along a single-track trail that wasn’t too steep. I definitely enjoyed this part. Descent #1: 33:40. Climb #2 took us along a wide road over 4.5 kms. This climb was over 1,000 feet, and again I resorted to a partial jog and partial hike – although for the most part I was able to hold a jogging stride.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVYz9py3wa189Z3a1568av1fD72F2Y7JyCfNEFKF5N1borb-CuldcP-buLOy8GKb5RORdrZEp3wHRWPgv6CrNOc7GAXcWE2uIk2I9HNFjFa8XkvSwdHukpL0vvApY8-zESqy_2d4BShk9/s1600/2012Chuckanut50Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVYz9py3wa189Z3a1568av1fD72F2Y7JyCfNEFKF5N1borb-CuldcP-buLOy8GKb5RORdrZEp3wHRWPgv6CrNOc7GAXcWE2uIk2I9HNFjFa8XkvSwdHukpL0vvApY8-zESqy_2d4BShk9/s320/2012Chuckanut50Map.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Course Map </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">This was a long climb and I kept thinking the top was just around the corner, as each little bend seemed like it was the high point, but alas it would not be so, as I was continually disappointed to only to see another rise up ahead. This section was a bit slippery, and my goal was to try and stay in the most secure spots on the road. I kept a pretty decent pace all the way up and managed to pass a few men, and one woman who had been ahead of me. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mid-way through this section, I dove into the ‘real food’ that I had brought. I started craving something a bit more solid and took out my bag of steamed potatoes, sweet potatoes (yams) and a hard-boiled egg. However, I unloaded a portion of the bag onto the ground, as I pulled it out of my pack. I only noticed when someone yelled ‘Did I just see an egg fall to the ground?” Oops, that was me – and yes, I was hungry enough to go back to pick it up, dust off the dirt and place it back in my bag for later. Finally, the top appeared with Aid station #3 – climb #2 – 33:43 total time. This is the only aid station where I actually stopped. We were going into a long ridge section that covered about<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">12</span><span style="background-color: white;"> k</span>ilometers and I wanted to top up my water – I also grabbed a banana, which tasted absolutely amazing. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next section of the course was the most technical of the entire race. The trail was narrow and windy and there were logs, stumps and many other obstacles to go over and around. I was on my own for about 10-15 minutes, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I figured it wouldn’t last long. My technical running skills were not up to part for this slippery, snowy, technical section, and as I slowed down, I knew there’d likely be some men coming up behind me that would be able to blow past with their confident running. Soon enough it felt like there was a train of men behind me, waiting to pass. I stepped aside to let some go by, and it felt like 10 people passed me! Ok- not cool – definitely have to work on those technical confidence skills! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">However despite my struggles, I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the course- it was an absolutely beautiful with the snow tipped trees. It felt like a little winter wonderland. Along the entire race-course there were little signs and pictures that had been posted with motivational language and tips reminding us to drink and keep fuelled. These were totally enjoyable, and as a first time runner, they put a smile on my face. These signs also identified that we were coming up to a portion of the course that was supposed to offer a spectacular view. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the clouds, and only the trees were visible – but the race organizers were kind enough to post a picture on one of these signs showing us what the view was supposed to look like ;-) – thanks guys. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although I’d reviewed the course map prior to race-day, I was still surprised at how long this section of the course took to run. It wound back and forth and took me a total of 1 hour 27 minutes. By the end, I was definitely happy to see the aid station – except that it now led into the much anticipated and brutal Chinscraper climb – a short (1.8 km), but extremely steep ascent. The only upside was that this was the final climb of the race. After this it really was all downhill and flat. The hiking started almost instantaneously. My legs were pretty fatigued by this point, and it was more of a survive-it hike rather than a ‘push-it’ hike. This was evidenced by the fact that I was passed by a good number of people, when I usually hold my own on the ascents. My legs were burning by the end and I was more than happy to make it to the top. Total time: an embarrassing 21:09. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now we got into an approximately 6 km descent that was a good quad crusher. Most of it was on a wide logging road that was easy to power down – and maybe too easy. I enjoyed letting my body fall into the hill and made up some ground on this descent, as I was able to pass a few people. Near the bottom, we transitioned onto a smaller trail that wound around a bit, and although the downhill was ‘easy-ish’, I was looking forward to getting off the quad pounder and onto something different. Despite the downhill grade, it still took me 29:48 to run this section. Wow – I definitely was feeling faster than that – oh how you can deceive yourself in this length of a race. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next, I approached the final aid station and the transition into the last flat 10 kilometers of the race. I had expected this to be hard, but I was surprised as to how challenging it ended up being. I won’t ever know, but I did wonder if I’d held off on the downhill portion would my body have felt less wrecked for this last section of the race – would I have survived it better and ended with a faster time? Or perhaps I’d pushed too hard on the uphills? Or it could just be that 50 km is a darn long distance, and it just takes a toll on the body, no matter what. Whatever the reason, the last 10 km were a real struggle and definitely the toughest part of the race for me. My quads were burning and my entire core was screaming at me to stop. I was shuffling along, and it took every ounce of energy I had to propel myself forward. However, despite my best efforts, I did take a few walking breaks. I stopped twice along the flat section and then resorted to a hike on the small uphills that were in the last few kilometers of the race. Unfortunately, because of my struggles I lost several placings during these last 10 kms and was passed by at least 5 women! At the time, I didn’t have the energy to care, but after finishing I thought - if only I’d pushed harder, maybe I could have held my placing better… if only, right? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I appreciated the mile markers along this last stretch – it helped to think – ‘ok, just X kms more’ or only ‘x hundred meters’ until the next mile marker. Because of these markers, I had a pretty good idea of how much longer I had until the finish. When I was about 600-800 meters to the finish, I crossed a road, and there was a marshal standing there, who yelled out encouragement to me and told me ‘way to go, only 6 minutes to the finish!’ What, I thought, that can’t be right, I know I’m going slow, but I don’t think it should take me that long to run that distance. Luckily, she was mistaken, and within about a minute or so, I saw the final marshal who directed me up a tiny slope to the finish line. I had done it – I had ran 50 kms (actually about 52, as the race was a bit long)! It felt so awesome to run up to the finish line – and complete this beast. Shane met me at the finish line, and all I could say was “my legs are thrashed I have to lie down.” I staggered over to a grassy area, and plopped myself right down into a complete supine position. Aww, that felt sooo good! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>Total time</b>: 5:33:44 – good for 20<sup>th</sup> woman overall</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Final 10 km</b>: 1:05:49 (slowest 10 km of my life!!)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Food/energy intake</b>: 1 scoop energy drink, 1 scoop carbo-pro, 1 egg, some potatoes and sweet potatoes, 1 gel, 1 fruit bar, ½ banana, some dried apricots and dates</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Liquid intake</b>: 750 mL? Definitely note enough in any event</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gear</b>: hydra-pack and 1-500mL bottle on the back</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Adam Campbell – a fellow Canadian succeeded in winning the race in a time of 3:48:55. The two leaders, Max King and, took a wrong turn in the middle of the race (due to course marshals and flagging not yet being set up), allowing Adam to come up from behind to take the win. Huge congrats to him. Ellie Greenwood, also a Canadian, unsurprisingly was the first female in a time of 4:09:27 (wow, makes me look slow!) coming in over 13 minutes ahead of the second place woman, and beating her own course record from the previous year. Shane struggled a bit during the race, as his legs felt flat and he didn’t have the extra edge to race to his potential. Despite that he still finished a respectable 24th place overall in a time of 4:11:44. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Overall it was a great race, a good challenging course, with frequent aid stations and encouraging marshals. The post race food was pretty good too – soup and bread, with some potato chips and fruit. Thanks to the race director Kristy Moel – Despite the challenges, I would definitely consider running another 50km race again. </div>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-83487893949289966452012-03-05T20:46:00.000-08:002012-03-05T20:46:27.192-08:00Cobble Hill 10 kmFebruary 26th<br />
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This race was re-scheduled from January, due to snowy conditions. At the time, I was elated, as I was feeling low and tired and quite happy to spend a day at home. The new date however was sandwiched between 2 other Island Race Series races, which would mean 3 races in a row for myself and many other racers. Despite coming off a strong race the week before, the long hours of racing and training got to me on the morning of Cobble, and I had a bit of a mental battle to get into race mode.<br />
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However, when the horn went off, the race juices got flowing, and all systems were go. Since last year, I've been chasing a goal of breaking 40 minutes on a 10 km race. I was hoping to reach that goal this year, but based on my earlier race performances this year, I wasn't sure I was quite there. However, I was hoping to be close, so that it would line me up for a good TC 10km. <br />
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Within the first kilometer, I felt that I was going to have a good race. My body felt good and my legs felt strong. Although I knew there was still a lot of race ahead of me - the early indications were good. I knew the course well, having raced it each year since 2008, and remembered where the up and down sections were and where I could push and where I needed to keep up the pace. The first kilometer was about getting into a good position, and establishing good rhythm. I noticed already that I was passing people and slowly inching my way forward. <br />
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The second kilometer involved a turn-around and a slight uphill. It required a bit more grit and determination to not let the uphill slow you down too much, and I continued to move my way up the line. There were quite a few spectators around this portion of the course, and from the calls of encouragement, I knew that Julie Van Veelan was just behind me. Knowing she was right there was good motivation for me to keep moving, and not let up. Yuki Otsubo was again just ahead of me, and my goal was to try and stay with him for as long as possible. He'd paced me well at Hatley, and I was hoping I'd be able to keep up with him again today. <br />
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As we turned the corner onto the main road, towards the 4 km marker, there was a bit of back and forth between a few racers, as we passed each other, one in front and then the other surging for a bit. Soon, we fell into a pretty static placing, with Yuki just ahead of me and Julie just behind me. <br />
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As the kilometers clicked by, I continued to feel strong and knew that I was holding a good pace. While I always take my splits during a race, I prefer not to look at my watch, as it can stress me out to think I'm either potentially going too fast, or too slow. So, I run by feel, and thus far, it's fared me well. I'm usually done by the time I cross the finish line and rarely do I have a ton in reserve, nor do I often fall apart before the finish line (although I do often wish the finish line was closer or sooner!)- so I feel that my pacing is pretty decent.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFH2I8EAMVmBdSJn1vV_ZsMFgqqx60vVOHHKltt-_GXHfFQWEg2RMTJdjSzKhop4FwPi0goc3ggvbdiRbYULUt4UgP8QumSp5G4dA2eIqT_VtOdnVmhmC2WmsFuOumN2UwqNDyFADR27nm/s1600/Sonja+Cobble+Hill+2012+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFH2I8EAMVmBdSJn1vV_ZsMFgqqx60vVOHHKltt-_GXHfFQWEg2RMTJdjSzKhop4FwPi0goc3ggvbdiRbYULUt4UgP8QumSp5G4dA2eIqT_VtOdnVmhmC2WmsFuOumN2UwqNDyFADR27nm/s1600/Sonja+Cobble+Hill+2012+cropped.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Photo Credit: Garth Campbell</div><br />
There are a few slight inclines and descents in this race, although nothing major -however the rolling nature of the course does cause splits to not be completely even. One thing I noticed in this race was that rather than letting up on the uphills, I was able to push up them and keep my momentum strong - which felt good. My favorite part of the race is when we make a turn onto a road that is lined with beautiful, large, looming evergreens. This section of the race definitely has its share of small hills, which feel all the more large as it's towards the end of the race - but the winding nature of the road and the surrounding trees make it seem peaceful. It was during this section, around the 8km mark, that I came upon Larry Nylen. I had been slowly making my way closer to him throughout the race, seeing him just ahead of me. I wasn't sure what the outcome of the race would be - but once I passed him, he didn't pick up the pace to stay with me, so it seemed like I might have more left in the tank than he did. <br />
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Finally, I passed the last kilometer marker. At this point, I was running in a group of a few guys - a few just ahead and a couple just behind me. There was one younger guy who I was inching towards, but every time I would make my way up to him, he'd put on a bit of a surge to stay ahead. This resulted in a few hundred meters of cat and mouse, as I would surge and then he would surge, each of us putting on the extra gears to not get passed. However, after a bit, I realized that I may be taxing myself too much, and had to ease off, as otherwise it might result in the remaining 700 meters being disastrous. Now, it was simply push to the end time -- around a few corners and then finally the 100m sprint mat was in sight! I didn't have much for a sprint this time, but I'd heard cheers for Julie, so I knew she was close behind me. I was determined not to get passed on the line again, so I tried to push the pace as much as I could, as I heard Chris Callendar cheering me on. I was happy to cross the finish line and also to have been able to hold off Julie. <br />
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As I finished the race I actually had no idea of my time, as the timing clock was blocked by another object. So, it wasn't until I looked at my own watch that I saw that I'd come in under 40 minutes!! Hurrah, I was so elated. I turned around and gave Julie a huge hug - we'd both done it! I saw Larry come in soon after me, and while I wasn't certain of his time, I hoped that he had also completed the race in under 40 minutes. I later learned that he'd just inched under by a few seconds! So happy for him! <br />
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My official time: 39:45. This was definitely the best race of my life in terms of how I felt. I felt strong throughout the race - in body, mind, energy, legs -- everything was moving smoothly and together. If only all races could feel this good. My splits were: 3:54; 3:53; 4:05; 4:07; 4:09; 4:04; 3:51; 3:58; 3:54; 3:51. <br />
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Congrats to <a href="http://shaneruljancich.blogspot.com/">Shane Ruljancich</a> as well for coming in under 33 minutes for only the second time- and on a hard, rolling course.<br />
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This running high helped me get through the ensuing long run. As Shane and I are training for the Boston Marathon in April, the best way to still get our long runs in with all the racing is to incorporate them into race day, and complete the remaining section after the run. So, after the race, we still had about 20-22 kilometers to do. The run thankfully felt pretty good - and the legs did not fall apart on me! We got some beautiful views of the ocean along our route, and got a good dump of snow falling on us as well. Luckily it didn't stick to the ground, so did not provide for slippery conditions. It was definitely good to get the 1hour 40 minutes done and the running for the day completed. Now it was time for some good eats, rest and relaxation!Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-71090490741668311082012-02-21T21:46:00.000-08:002012-02-21T21:46:07.224-08:00Hatley Castle 8kmSunday, February 19, 2012<br />
<br />
You Never Know....<br />
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It's amazing how sometimes you go into a race feeling only so-so, and thinking it will be a disaster, and it turning out the complete opposite - while other times, you can think you'll have a decent race and end up with a so-so performance. I've found that until I actually start the race and get past the first kilometer, I can't tell for sure how I am going to do. <br />
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Case in point - this past Sunday was the 3rd Island Race Series race this year - Hatley Castle 8km out at Royal Roads. I hadn't raced this event since 2009, so was somewhat looking forward to this challenging course. Plus, I knew that unless I totally bombed, I would get a PB on this course. However, I say 'somewhat' because I haven't really been in race mode this year. I've been going through the motions of doing the races, without really putting my heart and body into the experience.<br />
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My main difficulty for these races is just having enough sleep before hand. My body has high sleep needs, much higher than most people, and getting my required 9-10 hours of sleep every night is extremely challenging. As such, I am often tired, and feeling sleep deprived is my largest challenge in terms of my race performance. During the warm-up for Hatley, I could not stop yawning, and my body felt like it was dragging. 'Oh no' I thought 'it's going to be one of those races...' I line up on the start line, wait for the countdown and take off down the hill. 'Ugh' my body felt like it had no juice. A number of people pass me, whom I've beat in races before, but I couldn't get my legs to fire any faster. Then, as we turn the corner away from the ocean, I somehow find my gears. I slowly start inching my way forward and passing people. Hayden Earle is just ahead of me, and I follow him as we move forward through the pack of racers. Soon, I see Yuki Otsubo just in front of me. He's always beaten me by a good margin, so I try to stick near him, wondering how long I can hang on. I don't know where my energy is coming from, but I'm feeling good and it feels great to be able to push up the small inclines.<br />
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Yuki and I continue to pass other racers, and I know that Julie Van Veelan is just behind me, as I hear onlookers cheering her on. At this point, early in the race I hope that I can stick to this pace and not loose my umph near the end. We round a corner, and head down a slight downhill towards the 3km marker. Up ahead, I see Larry Nylen, another strong Masters runner, who has been running strong this year and who also is faster than me. 'Wow,' I think 'I can't believe my placing.' I pick up a few more places as I push down the downhill slope. Next, we round a corner and are faced with the largest hill in all of the Island Series races. This one definitely takes some energy and is perhaps 300-400 meters long. I hear Bob Reid remind me to relax my shoulders as I start the climb. At this point, my body starts to hurt somewhat, and my pace slows. Several racers pass me, including Julie, as she bounds up the hill as though she was running on a flat road. Meanwhile, I'm trying to preserve to get to the top and not lose too much time to her. Just as I crest the top of the hill, I pass Larry. I urge him to come along and keep up - but he tells me to go on ahead. <br />
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I start to pick it up a bit, to try and close the gap with Julie. Somewhere around kilometer 5, another turn-around point, I manage to pass Julie, unexpectedly. However, being a fierce competitor, I know that she'll stay close behind me. Yuki is still just ahead of me - I'm surprised I've been able to keep contact with him this long. Now, comes the fun part of the race, as we make our way into the trails of Royal Roads. This is a fun course as it incorporates a few different elements with some undulating territory, some road and some trail. <br />
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The trail portion is fun, but also includes a few more undulations - both up and down. The last 2 kilometers of this race are pretty fast, as they include a pretty decent downhill and then the last kilometer is flat, flat, flat. As I pass the 7 km marker, a bystander calls out to me 'way to go, 2nd place'. 'Really' I can't believe it, is there really only one other woman in front of me? I didn't dare look back, but all I could think was that Julie was right there behind me. Ahh.. the last km can often feel so long, as you search for that finish line. First, I hear the cheering, and then next I see the 100 meter sprint mat up ahead. Then, I heard the footsteps. Here comes Julie and she passes me just as we cross the 100 meter mat. I don't always trust my sprint abilities, and almost let Julie just whip past me. Then, my better sense kicked in and I thought 'what am I doing, why am I just letting her pass me?' So, I kicked it up and stuck on her like a leech. I left it go a bit too long, and wasn't able to catch her, but we ended up less than 1 second apart. <br />
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Despite the fact that I was beat at the line, I'm happy with my performance - definitely my best race of this year. It was great to feel so good throughout the race, and feel like I was really racing to my potential. It was also great to have good tough battle with Julie. <br />
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My final time: 32:49; splits: 8:22 (km1-2); 3:52; 4:28; 4:16; 4:13; 3:50; 3:47. Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-10165672525302143292012-01-29T14:18:00.001-08:002012-01-29T14:18:21.679-08:00Orcas Island 25 kmJanuary 28, 2012<br />
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I did this race two years ago, and a few runner friends from Victoria were keen to go again. It's a wonderful, fun low-key 25 km race on fantastic trails in a beautiful, lush forest. The race itself is held in State Moran Park, as we climb up Mount Constitution twice, which rises up to 2,400 feet. Over the course of the race we gain about 3,500 feet of elevation. <br />
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The travel is somewhat of an inconvenience, as although it's quite close as the crow flies to Victoria, there are no direct ferry routes during the winter months. As a result, it ends up taking a full day of travel to get there and back. However, as an occasional race, it's worth it and a nice treat.<br />
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Race day, I awoke early to overcast, damp conditions - but at least no rain. Hopefully it would hold off for the run. I was nervous about the race, but actually feeling pretty decent, as we lined up for the start. As the race director was giving us the pre-race spiel, it started to hail on us -- as the runner standing beside me, wearing only a t-shirt and shorts said, "I feel somewhat under-dressed." You think? It's only 2 degrees outside and hailing! This time, in contrast to two years ago, the start went downhill instead of uphill, which made the start much more enjoyable. Soon enough we turned off onto a fun single-track section, and I was about 15 people back. On the start line, I had lined up beside a few other women who seemed speedy, and I wondered how I was going to fare. As we turned onto the single-track, I was pretty certain there were no women in front of me. This caused me to run scared during the entire run -if indeed I was the first woman, I wanted it to stay that way...<br />
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The trails were awesome, and I started off at a pretty decent clip as we bounded up and around a few roots and rocks, and around corners as we made our way slightly uphill. Larry Nylen was just a few racers ahead of me, and I wondered how long we would stay close together. Unfortunately, only about 15 minutes into the race, a racer a couple of people ahead of Larry sprained his ankle quite badly. We came upon him groaning on the ground unable to mutter any words. As I ran up, Larry and another runner were already standing around and seemed to have the situation under hand... not seeing how I could add value, I carried on, hoping the runner would be okay. Larry, the good guy he is, ran back to the road, where he found some marshals to inform about the injured runner - in doing so he lost at least 15 minutes.<br />
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The climb continued pretty gradually as we ascended the mountain. However, the real climb did not begin until about 30 minutes into the run. We crossed a road, and I looked up a steep slope right in front of me. As we began to ascend into the forested abyss, I thought - 'okay, here we go'. So far, I had been feeling good and hoped that I would continue that way as the real climb began.<br />
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There was already snow along the sides of the trail, and it would only increase as we made our way up to the summit. The climb zig-zagged back and forth and the snow on the ground slowly increased in volume. Soon enough we were running on crunchy, hard snow that thankfully was not very slippery, but definitely harder to run in than on a bare trail. As I made my way up the mountain, I found myself able to pick up some speed on the flat or slightly downhill sections - often passing other runners - some of which would pass me back on the steeper uphill sections. While the climb was pretty steady, there were a few small dips and flats, allowing small reprieves here and there. As we neared the top, we encountered a few steep sections, causing me to change into a power-hike, although only for a few minutes at a time. I felt that overall my climbing was better than two years ago, but my speed was impacted by the snowy cover on the ground.<br />
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Due to the snow, the trail was hard to see at certain spots, causing me to question which way to go. While the route was flagged along the way, a bit more would have been helpful, especially with the snow. At one point, the trail crossed back on itself, crossing a river - and I took a few moments to figure out which direction to go into. Two runners came up behind me, and we stared around before figuring out that the trail was actually behind us!<br />
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Towards the top of the mountain, we began running along a cliff, which provided outstanding vistas of the sea and the peninsula. I slowed down slightly to take in the view, taking quick glances over my shoulder, while also watching my feet, as I tiptoed along the snow and ice. Then, it was time to keep motoring, as I could smell the top of the first major climb. I felt like the climb was going on forever, and I was itching to summit. As I made my way up the mountain, I could feel the temperature drop, and the winds increase. My arms were completely frozen and numb, although my core was warm. Even just taking a gel out of my water bottle pocket was a challenge. Finally, I heard the cheering and knew I was just about there - 1hour 10 minutes in. There was a steep rise to the summit, as a bunch of eager volunteers, bundled up in many layers, cheered us on. An aid station was located at the top of this climb, and the volunteers were kind enough to ask me if I needed anything, as I was huffing my way towards the top. I shook my head and was warned about the slippery downhill section that ensued.<br />
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After a short road section, we turned back onto single-track and much more comfortable, less slippery downhill. However, due to the snow, it definitely caused me to check my speed somewhat on the downs, especially anything steep. Two years ago, I'd reveled in the downhill - making up a lot of time as I blasted my way down. This time, the snow was a definite factor - slowing me down. But, I was still able to move at a decent clip - or at least I thought I was, until a male runner came up behind me, just hammering it. I was able to hang onto him, and stayed not too far behind, as we finished the first downhill section, and started climb #2. I was able to pass him at this point - and was able to stay in front until the end. <br />
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By the bottom of the downhill section, we'd made our way out of the snow for awhile, but we soon headed back into it. This second climb was rough for me. It seemed to go on for awhile, and I just kept wondering how much further. I'd look up at the tree line thinking 'Wow, the top still looks so far away!' The second climb was much shorter, taking only about 30 minutes, but on the tired legs and body, it was tough. Although I'd had one gel and one fruit bar, I still felt somewhat energy depleted and was so happy to make it to the top. Then came the final descent! Yay! At this point, there was about 9 km to the end. This was a fantastic downhill - fast and flowy - especially once we got out of the snow. Then I could really fly. I was completely expecting Mr. Fast on the downhill to come up behind me, but somehow I was able to hold him off this time. <br />
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One little road crossing and a final 2 km to the finish around the lake. I had previously thought that this final section was 5km to the end, but as I crossed the road, a volunteer mentioned to me that I had '1 mile to go'. I figure it was closer to 3 km, as I saw a sign a ways in that said '1 mile to Camp Moran' and it took me about 16 minutes to get from the road to the finish at Camp Moran. I had enough juice in my legs to push somewhat hard on the downhill and flat sections, but there were a few small climbs that the legs did not like. I did run the whole last section, but due to sheer determination. At this point I didn't want someone to come up behind me and smoke me at the finish. As you make your way towards the end of the race, you catch glimpses of the beach, and I could see myself slowly inching my way forward. Then, came the best sounds I'd heard all day -- 'cheering'. I knew the finish line was close now. One final descent onto the road, and then one more small push uphill to the finish. It was only at this point, ~400 meters to the finish that I got confirmation that I was in fact the first woman. The last climb was tough, but was I ever ecstatic to cross the finish line, with the knowledge that I'd actually come in first female overall. <br />
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While everyone ended the day with smiles, the race itself was not without mishaps: After climbing like a rocket up the mountain, in second place, Andrew pulled his groin muscle, forcing him to slow his pace. He managed to still finish in the top 10, but was slower than he otherwise would have been. Larry stopped to help an injured runner, losing at least 15 minutes, as he ran back to near the start to notify the marshals. Valerie and Sara both had pretty good races, and made their way through the snow and ice quite well. Kathleen unfortunately decided to pull out of the race, due to extreme fatigue, but was all smiles to greet us at the finish. Overall it was a great weekend getaway with friends! Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-45406349233968872092011-12-29T14:45:00.000-08:002011-12-29T14:49:57.246-08:00Gunner Shaw 10 kmNovember 19, 2011<br />
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Race-day came and it was a day that I was not in race-mode. I was feeling nervous about the race, my quality of sleep and my ability to perform given how terrible I'd felt just the previous week at the Thetis Lake Relay. Although the race did not begin until 1pm, I was helping out with registration, so I made my way to the race-site by 11am. It's fun to see the racers come in and put some faces to names that I've seen on race results many times over. It's also interesting to see the 'other side' and see a glimpse of what's involved on race-day.<br />
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I stayed until about 12:30, when I headed out to get changed, make a pit stop and get in a quick warm-up. The time flew by - not sure where it went - and before I knew it I had time to only do a quick 5 minute warm-up before it was time to make it to the start-line. Then, with only a few minutes to go, I was scrambling to find my race bib... luckily, it all came together, and I made it to the start, with 1-2 minutes to spare.<br />
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The weather was practically perfect. Cool, but not cold and no rain. The conditions were perfect for a good race, now it was time to see if I was ready for a good race.<br />
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The race started out fast - as the racers jumped off the line with gusto. I always tend to fall behind a bit on the first few road hills, as I don't have as much push in me at that point as many others, who push past me. Within a few minutes we funneled onto the trail, and the real race was on. I quickly found myself in the company of a few other women- and I wondered how we would fare - who would come out ahead. Cara Obee (Williams) was just ahead of me, and my goal was to stick with her for as long as possible.<br />
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As we bounded along the trail - I knew this was going to be a hard race. It's essentially a suffer-fest the entire way, as there's no breaks, and not the same rhythm as a road race. It was going to be: push as hard as you can until the finish line. It's also a test to see how you can handle some challenging situations - there's two ice-cold puddles in the race, and some gnarly technical terrain that's been added in for good measure.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">This race attracts a few different types of runners – the trail runners, who only run on trails, the road runners, who with a few exceptions mostly run on road, the cross-country runners, who like the muck and sloppy conditions and then those runners who like to do it all. Because it is not as hilly as most trail races, this race picks up a few roadies who bring speed to the flat open sections. Thus, you never know exactly who your competition will be, or how they will fare over the varying conditions.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At around the 4 km mark, we hit the first puddle. This puddle has gotten more and more shallow over the years, as CRD Parks have actually filled in the ground beneath. It's a bit disappointing, as the extreme conditions give this race some of its character -so now rather than being knee deep, the puddle is only just over ankle deep. By this point in the race, I had been able to get ahead of some of the women that had been around me near the beginning -but Cara had also pulled away from me somewhat. I had noticed a few other women move past me early in the race as well, who I didn't recognize. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Now it was a race to stay ahead and hope that no other women pass me -and see if there were any more spots to pick up. Puddle #2 was not far after Puddle #1 - and it was definitely larger and deeper. There was also a log to hurdle over towards the end of the lake. I always try to move as fast as possible through the puddles, as they definitely freeze the feet, and it takes a few minutes for the numbing to wear off, and for your feet to feel normal again. However, this can also be a downfall, as I heard someone fall into the water after me, and I found out afterwards that it was Karen Laberee, an excellent masters runner. That would be quite a shock to the system, and I can imagine make it hard to get back into the race rhythm thereafter. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Immediately following this puddle, is a fairly steep downhill over some loose rocky terrain. While it's not super technical, the numb feet always make this little hill a challenge for me, and cause me to slow down more than I otherwise would. Luckily, it's a pretty short section - and after that it's back into push mode. Then, we got into a bit of more twisty trail, and some new single-track, that the race Director, Bob Reid, had added into the race to make things more interesting. Plus, with the single-track came some new hills as well, of course. While the hills were not super long, they were steep, and with their placement in the race, they were definitely a challenge. I grunted up then, as I heard the volunteers and fellow Prairie Inn Harriers yell encouragement to me. Wow, this race is hard, is all I could think, as I acknowledged them with a small head nod. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, the race was nearing the home stretch, as I made my way back along the Sue Reid trail, and the final somewhat technical aspect of the race. Once I turned off that trail, I knew I had no more than 10 minutes until the finish, and only a few little hills to beat up along the way. I'd had a bit of back and forth with a women, who I later learned was Katie Surguine from Nanaimo. She passed me along some of the broad, open trail sections heading towards Lower Thetis, and kept pushing the pace. I tried to stick with her, but the final three hills (Little Gunner, Big Gunner and Big Bugger) beat me up a little. My body was definitely worn down by this point, and I didn't have as much energy or gusto on the hills as I would have liked. I felt relatively good pushing the pace on the flats, but the hills were a different story. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I trudged my way up the hills, enjoyed the downhills and tried to not let Katie get too far ahead. Finally, the finish line was in sight - and there were only a few strides in the lake keeping me from the end. Ahh -- how good it felt for it to be all over. It wasn't the best race ever for me, but I had felt pretty decent, and definitely much better than at the Thetis Relay a week earlier. I was tired, but not exhausted, and felt I'd put in a decent effort. I ended up finishing as 8th women, 5th in my category (30-39), and 56th overall out of 297 - oh yes, and 14 seconds behind Katie. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Congrats to <a href="http://shaneruljancich.blogspot.com/%20">Shane Ruljancich</a>, who pulled out another strong performance, winning the race and edging out some stiff competition from Jasper Blake.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here's <a href="http://www.racedaytiming.ca/gunnershaw2011.html">the results</a>. </div>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-39032908859894198512011-11-18T17:53:00.000-08:002011-11-18T17:53:43.975-08:00Thetis RelayNovember 11, 2011<br />
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I'm writing this a bit out of order, as prior to this race I competed in the Shawnigan Kinsol half-marathon at the end of October. But, as that will take longer to write up, I thought I'd start with a quick entry about the Thetis Relay.<br />
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As always, the Thetis Relay hosted by the Prairie Inn Harriers is a fun and popular event. This year I joined a team with Cara Obee and her Pura Vida Fitness Bootcamp. For the first time ever, I was going to run the first leg. I'd always shied away from the first leg, as I wanted to avoid the masses. But, this year I decided to try something different.<br />
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Luckily, the weather cooperated with us. Earlier that morning, it was pouring rain and I was worried that it would be soggy uncomfortable run. However, the weather gods prevailed, and the skies cleared in time for our 1pm start.<br />
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I joined the start line with the other eager racers - quite uncertain of how the 5 km loop would go. I had felt pretty tired during my warm-up and feared that this would not be my best performance. But, at least it was just a fun run, and the time was really only important for myself.<br />
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Bob Reid did the countdown and we were off. Due to the mass start, the first leg is slightly different than the subsequent legs, as it starts up the road before merging onto the trail a few hundred meters later. Ugh - that first climb did not feel good - the legs felt heavy and the body felt tired. It probably did not help that I'd done a hill workout the evening before up the Observatory Hill. It wasn't all-out intervals, but still sufficient to feel it the next day.<br />
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I felt it hard to get into a groove with so many people around. I wanted to go faster, but it was hard to pass due to the narrow trail, plus although I knew I was capable of more, my body wouldn't give it to me. Okay - I resigned myself to just survive this run, and push as hard as my body would allow. I ended up running just behind this younger female (likely in her early twenties or late teens) who was definitely competitive and not wanting others to pass her. I paced right behind her for the first 2/3 of the race, and then passed her on a flatter section. I held onto this lead until the last hilly section. This course is known for its brutal finish, as in the last section of the course, there are 3 steep bugger hills to go up - and while they are not super long, it's just enough to push you over the edge at the end of a hard race. As a result of the tiredness in body and legs, this young woman blew by me and put on some significant distance.<br />
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For me it was now just a struggle to get over these hills and push to the finish. Luckily once the final hill is done, it is followed by a lovely downhill where you can let your body go. Unfortunately, just before the finish line is the last kicker hill -- this one on the road. It's much shorter than the other 3 hills, but still an energy grabber - and it took all I had left to make it up and over this hill to finally pass off to my next teammate.<br />
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Ugh -- I certainly was happy when that was over. However, given how I felt, it wasn't a horrible performance. I finished in 21:13 - still somewhat faster than last year (although on a slightly different course). Plus to top it off, our team actually came in 3rd place in the open women category!<br />
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Afterwards, I did a very leisurely 45 extra minutes of running to get in some extra distance for the day. Still a fun day despite not feeling as well as I would have liked.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-25381027489929823122011-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:002011-10-08T18:14:17.125-07:00World Mountain Running Championships - Albania<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6f8bYZP74kDku5ctgJSoIN-zaRePHuwJ90xUCAuyu_kOAAg5H89gpBL6TELBqGphj9z2sIaXG23hQgxSGt-vYLd-EE0ecJGCbybJ0oInclHaKw-LF7Ty_xtz0v2KHFGcQEQjoiwIruar/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6B8EwHSPnw37DhZENu6pBrrPuj5T2Zr6W7t4pIOsriynbR-Bjt7_JNwbYZCAhvpJz0NcNHi0juuSdVWgDspI2TfL27Sb0AE_uEDTeQp-HzjvZqIeSRTGcJrtlx4fuZn8ZPpxHwRqeLxW6/s1600/P1040361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>September 11, 2011<br />
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This was more than a mere race, it was an event and an unforgettable experience. My ability to participate was also a complete surprise, making me enjoy the experience that much more. Racing in the World Mountain Running Championships required qualifying on behalf of your country. A maximum of six men and four women (plus juniors) could participate from each country. In Canada, the qualifying race took place in Canmore in July. In addition, there were two wild-card spots - one for each male and female that were selected based on past performances. As noted in my previous post, I raced in the Canmore Challenge in July - as a completely last minute decision. I attended the race to support Shane and Andrew Pape-Salmon, who were both racing the event, but then decided to race in the female event a week before the race. In order to qualify for the Canadian team, you also have to submit your interest in doing so. At first, I didn't think I had a chance, but then a couple of days prior to the race, I changed my entry, as it seemed that there were not very many women entered.<br />
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While, I didn't immediately qualify for the Canadian team from my placing at Canmore, I was later selected, when some of the women who finished ahead of me declined. I received a surprising email in August notifying me of my selection. I jumped at the chance at what I saw as a once-in a lifetime experience.<br />
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This led me to the race in Albania. Each year the destination of the World Mountain Running Championship changes, and for 2011, Albania had been chosen as the host country. I didn't know much about Albania before, but was glad to view a different part of Europe, that I may not otherwise visit. Albania is a small country north of Greece, with a friendly population that is known in Europe at least for its beaches and coastline. The race itself would take place in Tirana, the capital city, but all of the teams were staying in hotels along the beach resort in Durres, about 30 kilometres away. It was definitely a popular tourist spot, and the streets were lively with vendors and shoppers in the evenings.<br />
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Leading up to the race, there were some official and ceremonial events, we had the opportunity to tour the race course prior to race day and got a glimpse of what would be a rugged, technical, steep, but also fast race. There was also a parade of the teams through Tirana and the Opening Ceremonies, in which Albanian traditional and contemporary singers and dancers performed for the teams.<br />
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After much waiting, race day had finally arrived. The women's race began at 11am and the men's race at 12pm -- in what we knew would be hot conditions. The temperature was expected to be in the 30s for both races. The Canadian team consisted of Laura Estey, Melissa Ross, Kathryn Waslyn and me for the women and Adrian Lambert, Kris Swanson, Shane Ruljancich, Paul Chafe, Mark Vollmer and James Gosselin for the men. Before our race, we headed out for a short warm-up run, and then headed to the start-line. Going into the race, my goal was to not finish last. I knew there would be many very fast women at this event, and I wanted to enjoy the experience, do my best and hopefully have at least a few people cross the finish line after me.<br />
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Soon enough the gun went off and the race was on. Thoughts of a last place finish drifted before my eyes, as I realized that I was at the very back of the pack off the start line. I gritted my teeth and was determined to do my best. I tried to maneuver around some women at the beginning, but I got locked in and the competition of the race had already set in - so I decided to not waste my energy at this point, and just see how the race progressed.<br />
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The heat was immediately apparent. We'd already doused ourselves with water before the start, but the cool factor did not last too long. We started off on a wide dusty road, and the leaders kicked up tons of dust that made it difficult to even see. Then, we ran by some farmland and through a small field, before starting the climb. We turned onto some singletrack that had been cut-out of the land just for this race. Apparently a large portion of this race took place on a single landowner's property and much of it had been designed and created simply for this race.<br />
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The singletrack led us under some tree coverage as we began to slowly wind our way uphill. The first part made me almost feel like I was on a trail run on the West Coast of BC - with lovely green tree cover and dirt trails with roots poking out. It was near the bottom of the climb that I began to pass a couple of my Canadian teammates and a few others as well. The climb started off rather gradual, but then turned into steep stairs, as we hit grades as steep as 40%. <br />
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I remembered the climb from our scouting excursion and knew it was pretty much just a 'put your head down' and hike as hard as you can type of climb. While I'm sure the leaders ran up the hills, there would be no running for me, but a steady hike all the way up, as I kept telling myself 'just keep going, push as hard as you can, don't let up.' I could hear my teammates breathing hard behind me, and wanted to keep a good steady pace all the way.<br />
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The climb really was dirt stairs practically all of the way up, along a trail that curved around the side of the hill. Luckily, it was all shaded, otherwise the already hot temperatures would have made the climb absolutely horrific. Near the top, the trail evens out for a bit, allowing a beautiful view of the city and a small chance to take a few running strides. Throughout the race there were competitors close by me - both in front and behind, and I wanted to take every opportunity I had to move as fast as I could. Then, after this section, there was one final short push up to the top. I had regained my composure enough to run all the way to the top.<br />
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All along the course there were volunteers handing out bottles of water. This was very much appreciated, as I didn't have to go long before having another opportunity to down a bit of water and try to cool myself down by pouring some water over my head.<br />
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The first part of the downhill was rather technical. It was a fun descent though, as it wasn't so rugged as to make it scary, but just enough to keep you on your toes. This section was pretty short too and only lasted a couple of minutes. The rest of the downhill was mostly all wide dirt road - although there were two very short, but steep loose sandy sections. The first one included some corners that required navigating and a rough transition from loose dirt, which was easy to fly on, and then to concrete steps, where you had to watch where you stepped. I really slowed down on this transition section, as I had a hard time getting my mind in tune with my body to just keep stepping. Then, came another section of dirt road.<br />
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We made our way around the extra loop at the bottom, where our Canadian male teammates were cheering us on. Then, soon enough, came the climb for the second time. The second time around, it was much harder. I knew right away that I was going slower, but it was all I could do to keep pushing. But amazingly, I still made some headway and was able to pass another competitor on the climb. I was happy to make it to the top, but the climb and heat had definitely taken its toll and I found myself unable to maneuver my legs as well on the technical descent. The dirt road section felt so much longer, and I knew I had to keep pushing to keep my place. I kept expecting someone to come flying by me on the down portion, as I felt I should have been going faster. Then I came to the first sandy section, and heard someone say, take your time, there's noone right behind you. Except I took it a bit too literally, as I nearly stopped at the transition section, and lost a few valuable seconds. The finish was close now, and I kept my legs pumping as hard as I could. There was a competitor in front of me who was clearly hurting and I knew I was gaining ground on her -- I got encouragement from the crowd too, as they yelled out 'go get her!' 'she's a goner, you can get her'. But, there wasn't quite enough time, as I knew I was done for too, and ended up still 5 seconds back at the finish line.<br />
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I met my goal and did not finish last -- in fact I was the second Canadian women to cross the finish line. Melissa Ross was the first Canadian female (in 34th place). It was a tough race, in a very competitive field. It would have been nicer to have had a better a placing, as I was still near the back of the pack, finishing just fifth from the end. But, I raced as hard as I could given the conditions, and was still pleased with my run and with the experience. Of course, you always want to do better, and I can only hope that I continue to improve and get faster.<br />
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I got back just in time to get hosed down with cold water, grab a banana and some water and catch the start of the men's race. It was an exciting race, with lots of racers being hit hard by the heat, and either dropping out or falling way back. Unfortunately, two of our best racers did not have their races go as planned. James Gosseli had to drop out because of being ill from food poisoning the night before and Kris suffered from heat exhaustion, causing him to fall way back from where he should have been. The heat also affected Shane's race, as he wasn't able to race at his peak, and ended up slower than he felt he was capable of racing. The other three men were about mid-pack, with Adrian coming in top Canadian male.<br />
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Overall it was a fantastic experience -- and I am so glad to have had this opportunity. A huge thank you to my wonderful club - the Prairie Inn Harriers who provided financial support to assist Shane, Kris and I to attend.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-49193898227749982122011-10-03T20:45:00.000-07:002011-10-03T20:45:38.499-07:00Canmore Challenge 9km<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">July 8, 2011</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I signed up for this race relatively last minute – my original intent on going to Canmore was to support and watch Shane compete in the Canadian men’s Mountain Running Championships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through this race, he was hoping to qualify for the World Mountain Running Championship, which this year is being held in Albania in September. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Originally, I hadn’t even considered racing myself,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but then someone put the bug in my ear, when they asked whether I was planning on racing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next, I realized that since the women’s race is earlier than the men’s race, there would be plenty of time to compete in the women’s event, and still watch Shane (and Andrew Pape-Salmon, who was also competing) race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Andrew and Shane decided to drive from Victoria to Canmore, while Sara (Andrew’s wife) and I decided to fly to Calgary in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all met up in Banff, where we spent the morning walking around and taking in the beauty of the area before heading to Canmore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7552zm1Nfm1vb1_a9U9d5dEYnxwwJ3Awxml9cvg0Zws4GVUZv_EctIblOw9yW_P7ljVKxIMjZx3sdZDkhD5XpQQlvXAiKHBTOUOM2_m8uD-jZcfxRjIiSZbnhZ_mZ4yr51RgzosjLXDd/s1600/P1010466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7552zm1Nfm1vb1_a9U9d5dEYnxwwJ3Awxml9cvg0Zws4GVUZv_EctIblOw9yW_P7ljVKxIMjZx3sdZDkhD5XpQQlvXAiKHBTOUOM2_m8uD-jZcfxRjIiSZbnhZ_mZ4yr51RgzosjLXDd/s320/P1010466.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We decided to check out the race course ahead of time, so we knew what to expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a loop course (women 3, men 5), so we’d get a good idea of the course, from just running one loop. We had a bit of a challenge figuring out the exact loop – let’s just say our maps were not exactly the easiest to follow… but assessed that it would be a mixture of double-track and not too technical single-track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There wasn’t a huge amount of elevation in each lap, but just enough to make things interesting. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Despite earlier predictions of hot sunny weather on race day, we awoke to clouds that looked like they might even drop some rain on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not too warm either – but likely good race conditions, as long as the rain held off. The women’s race was first, so Sara and I went for a quick warm-up and then made our way to the start line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a huge field (about 40 competitors), with even a few guys who’d entered the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I assessed the field before the race start, I knew it would be fast – especially as this was the qualifying race for the World Championships – and only 3 females were guaranteed spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My goal became to simply place in the top 10 females.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Soon enough we were off and making our way up a steady climb – the kind of which I’m not altogether a fan – a non-technical wide gravel road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course took us into a beautifully dense forest, as we wound through mountain-bike trails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were 1500 meters above sea level – and while not that high up, I could definitely feel the effects and breathing was definitely more difficult, as I do all of my training at sea level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This initial gravel road climb, felt like torment, and I quickly fell back about mid-pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">After about 1 km of climbing on the road, we veered onto a single-track section, and this is where I found my legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The steepness of the incline lessened, and the single-track made it seem easier – I started to pass a few people, as my pace quickened and I got into the groove of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This section of the race was interspersed with double-track and single-track sections, with the climb ending on a double-track section that should have been labelled ‘the wall’ – because that’s what it felt like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fairly steep, and felt like it was at least 40 degrees – although I’m sure it was much less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless it was steep enough to make both the lungs and the legs hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On this first climb, I ran part-way up before resolving to fast hiking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had made my way into a pack of 2 other girls and one man, and the four of us ended up running most of the rest of the course together. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After this steep climb, came my favourite part of the race, some really nice, flowy, somewhat twisty single-track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pure joy (at least on this first lap), and I pushed it rather hard (probably too hard), as I ended up passing the woman who was racing in front of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was only one small puddle on the entire course, and as I was in race mentality, I thought I would just power right through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it ended up being rather deep and my foot sunk into the muddy waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it took more energy to run through it, than it would be taken to skirt around it – in subsequent laps I ran around it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the bottom of the downhill section, we finished off our first lap, whew only 2 more to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5z6obMYEmKc-3KKCTAPWU-_MSW5ZwLSaLpQKTjxEiqTlgEbRxvkAat020xjSAfNSjlHdtoFytopzmku7-LfS7Ym12jhbGbUSIgOhgEmJsO3ki0Wbu-ofogMU9G-egt3ZmK_Dagz19LXw/s1600/P1000103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5z6obMYEmKc-3KKCTAPWU-_MSW5ZwLSaLpQKTjxEiqTlgEbRxvkAat020xjSAfNSjlHdtoFytopzmku7-LfS7Ym12jhbGbUSIgOhgEmJsO3ki0Wbu-ofogMU9G-egt3ZmK_Dagz19LXw/s320/P1000103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then, the climbing began again. After finishing the first lap, there was only a bit of single-track before we popped out onto a double-track road climb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, my breathing began to falter again, and the woman who I’d passed on the downhill soon overtook me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, this section didn’t last too long before were back on single-track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The breathing was definitely a pain though, as I felt as though I was moving so slowly – as though I should have been able to move much more quickly than the pace I was keeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the second and third laps, I didn’t even try to run on the last steep hill, but started a fast hike right at the bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I soldiered on and until the last lap, my placing stayed the same – I was just behind Jen Lowery and just ahead of Madelaine Bate and Laura Estey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I pushed each downhill section, I was annoyed that I couldn’t drop Madelaine , I had been hoping that if I pushed hard enough, she would drop off – but there was definitely lots of competitiveness in this race, and that was not going to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we turned onto the initial double-track section on the last lap, Madelaine passed me as we started the last climb. The juice in my lungs had long worn out, and I didn’t have the energy to hold her off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus, since I knew I wasn’t in the running for a championship spot anyway, I knew my placing didn’t really matter, except for my own gratification. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As Madelaine passed me, my only resolve was to keep pushing as hard as I could, so as to stay near her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gritted my teeth, as Laura passed me on this final climb as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That last climb was tough, and I took a few extra steps at the top to catch my breath before I started running again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t that far off the two other women, and still had a far off thought that perhaps I could catch them on the downhill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there was no catching to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They rocketed off at a much faster pace than during the previous downhill sections, and were soon out of sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to stay in contact, but it was not to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I finished off my last lap, and turned off the loop course towards the final descent to the finish, I was so relieved that the woman’s race was only 3 laps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Completing another 2 laps at this point seemed very difficult. Now, just one final downhill section, and I was done. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This last section was fast, and I could have probably pushed a little harder, but I didn’t see the point, as there was no one right behind me, and Madelaine and Laura were far enough ahead that I would not be catching them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finished in 48:12, good for 12th overall, and 10<sup>th</sup> woman, about six minutes behind the first woman to cross the line. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This was one of the hardest races I had completed, in terms of how hard I was working during the entire race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was definitely working on the uphills, and the grade of the downhill section enabled a fast pace, which meant there was no section that provided a ‘break’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the race started, I hadn’t been too stressed about the race, but once I got into it, the race mentality got to me and I wanted to push hard throughout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, I’d been happy with my race, but wondered what it would have been like had the race been at sea level – the outcome might not have been different, but at least I would have felt a bit better! It was interesting to compete in a competitive women’s race, and I’m glad I decided to partake in it. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sara also had a good race, and ended up just where she’d hoped. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After the end of my race, I had just enough time to quickly change and grab some food before the men’s race began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where the real excitement was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The men lined up on the start line, and were told that their race was actually a bit long – it was not 12 km, but actually around 14 kms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if it wasn’t hard enough already, but now it had just been made tougher – at least mentally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The men took off at a quick pace and Shane jetted out amongst the lead pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was a fun race to watch because it was a loop course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sara and I were able to see the men on each lap, and still make it back for the finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shane ended up coming in 5<sup>th</sup>, claiming the last spot from this race on the Canadian Mountain Running Team (a 6<sup>th</sup> member would be chosen based on previous performances).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was ecstatic to see him cross the finish line in 5<sup>th</sup> place, as now he would get to experience the World Mountain Running Championships!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew also had a solid race, coming in 10<sup>th</sup> overall, and first master. The first male was James Gosselin who came in at 56:11. He looked strong throughout the course, and him and Kris Swanson (another Victoria local) had a huge lead on the rest of the racers, coming in almost three minutes ahead of the next three racers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congrats to everyone on fantastic performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-49452607974162351552011-10-03T20:33:00.000-07:002011-10-03T20:33:35.630-07:00Scorched Sole 25 km<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">June 25 2011</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kelowna </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I decided to sign up for this race, as Shane and I were headed this way for a vacation.<span> </span>It’s always fun to try out new races and experience what the competition and conditions are like in other areas.<span> </span>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.<span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">As we drove towards the race start, we actually had a bit of difficulty finding the location where the event was actually taking place.<span> </span>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. <span> </span>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.<span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The race start was down a hill and beside a lake.<span> </span>With just enough time to get ready, we were off –although not without fanfare.<span> </span>Shane led off the race, and no one else leapt to the front, so I took off next after Shane.<span> </span>However, unbeknown to us, after only 10 meters, we were off course, having missed a single-track trail to the left.<span> </span>We then heard someone yelling at us, noticed our mistake and made our way back on course, although now we were in last place.<span> </span>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.<span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Soon we popped out onto a road, which we followed for 2 km until reaching another single-track section.<span> </span>During this road segment, I slowly inched past more racers, and soon found myself among the top 10 racers.<span> </span>I found this exciting, but wasn’t sure if it would last, as I don’t usually race this near the front.<span> </span>Although, the competition in this race appeared that it was not super intense, as I soon found myself in 5<sup>th</sup> place.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>The hills soon got to me and I found myself hiking the uphill sections – changing to a jog whenever the trail flattened out.<span> </span><span> </span>About half way up, I passed a man whom I’d been running with since the road, and soon found myself in 4<sup>th</sup> place, just behind the first place woman.<span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Then, we soon found ourselves on a double-track road section, and the first aid station.<span> </span>This is where the race would get tough.<span> </span>This section of the race was completely exposed, as it wound itself up the bare hill.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>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.<span> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was pretty certain that Shane would be leading the race, and as the climb wore on, I was hoping to see him soon.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>Around the 1hr 25 minute mark I saw Shane and let out an exasperated ‘finally’.<span> </span>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. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">All I’d taken with me was a hand-held water bottle and a fruit bar.<span> </span>As I was expecting to be out there for about 2:15-2:30 hours, this would normally suffice.<span> </span>However, this race ended up being longer than I’d expected, and the heat was taking a toll on my body.<span> </span>As the climb was finally nearing the end, I was feeling desperate for some Gatorade.<span> </span>The top neared, and I saw the first place woman coming back from the aid station.<span> </span>Usually, I don’t stop at aid stations, or just grab some water and get on my way.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>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. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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. <span> </span>I started to push hard, as much as the downhill grade allowed.<span> </span>Downhill running has generally been my strength and I was able to make up good time on the first place woman.<span> </span>I soon found myself just behind her, and was able to pass her before we made it back to the single-track section.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>The first part of the single-track section was downhill, but near the bottom there were a few small uphills.<span> </span>By this time, my quads were completely thrashed from the long ascent and the descent, on which I’d pushed hard. <span> </span>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.<span> </span>I had earlier had hopes of potentially coming in as the first woman –which would have been a first for me.<span> </span>But, with my pace on these hills, I feared Liza coming up behind me any moment.<span> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I was able to hold her off until the last road section.<span> </span>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.<span> </span>My quads were done, and no longer wanted to keep going.<span> </span>Liza Pye soon passed me, and it was all I could do to keep her in my sights.<span> </span>I think this might have even been more painful than the end of my marathon.<span> </span>After a long 2 km on the road, I finally saw the final short single-track section that headed towards the finish.<span> </span>However, this section of the trail was not well marked, and I ended up going off trail, costing me some seconds.<span> </span>However, it would not have affected my placing, as Liza Pye was already too far ahead of me to catch.<span> </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span></span>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).<span> </span>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.<span> </span>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 2<sup>nd</sup> place person. <span> </span>It was a hot, hot day, and my energy was definitely low by the end of the race.<span> </span>I definitely needed the lake to cool off, as I felt like I was steaming even in the frigid water. </span></span></div>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-58940011669397459122011-04-01T15:01:00.000-07:002011-04-01T15:01:46.099-07:00Recent Races - Cobble Hill 10kmSo - an update from me has been way overdue. Life got very busy early this year, and in addition to the usual business, Shane and I also started looking for a house, ended up purchasing a house and have been dealing with all that comes out of that (mortgages, packing, meetings with lawyers, figuring out finances etc). Also, I've been doing a nutrition course, which tends to eat up any other spare time I have. However, before I completely forget, I thought I'd do a few quick write-ups about my races earlier this season.<br />
<br />
<u>Cobble Hill 10km</u><br />
January 23, 2011<br />
<br />
I was nervous going into this race, as I was somewhat fatigued, from not getting sufficient sleep. But, as long as the body is not too fatigued, I've learned that it has the capacity to pull off amazing feats, when pushed. Race-day started off a bit drizzly, but once it was ready to go, it had turned into absolutely perfect conditions. The rain had stopped and the temperature was just perfect for racing. After a very quick warm-up I headed to the start-line and soon the race was off (in fact I believe it started a bit early - which is unusual for a race). I didn't see Shane at the start line and I had thought that he had missed the start (he had actually just barely made it in time and was off to the side).<br />
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The first kilometer went blazing fast, and how I wished I could hold on to that pace for the entire race. I did the first km in around 3:45. In the first 1.5 km of this race is a turn-around, as we do a short out and back on a side-road to make up the distance. Then, there's a slight rise back up to the main road. The 3 km comes shortly after turning back on to the main road. While the first kilometer went by relatively easily, from the second kilometer to the end of the race, I had to really focus on my pace and try and push myself to keep from slowing down. In contrast to the Pioneer 8km, where my running felt relatively effortless for the first 5 km, I was pushing myself hard from the get-go on this one. There was nothing effortless about this race, and I was pushing hard to make my goal of under 41 minutes. <br />
<br />
I lost my splits, so I don't know what they were exactly, but most were around 4:00-4:10. All I could think was to keep pushing as much as I could because I feared that if I let myself think about anything else, my body would slow down and I'd end up losing time. Out to the turnaround the race continued to feel hard, although I'd found my place in the pack, and wasn't being passed. The part after the turnaround and towards kilometer 7 , which is just as we make a turn into a wooded section, is my favorite part of the race. There's a slight downhill, and in many of my previous races at Cobble Hill, I've regained some energy at this point in the race. True to form, this little downhill helped me pick it up a bit, and I felt my body lightening somewhat. <br />
<br />
Next came about 2 kilometers on a smaller side-road that is surrounded by trees. It offers a nice surrounding to the usual drab of a road race, while the road lobs us up small hills, then down again and around slight curves both left and right. While the scenary offers beauty in this section, mentally and physically it was a tough section. My body was tiring and each small rise required me to dig deep to push through. The end was near, but there was still room to falter, if I let myself slow. <br />
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Finally, came the 9 km mark, as we headed back up to the main road and towards the finish line. I could feel the tensions rise, as everyone around me dug in and the pace started to quicken. I tried to stay alongside those who were running near me and push through the pain I was feeling. It often seems in a race of any distance, I want to give up in the last kilometer and barely have enough to keep myself going to the finish line. I'm not sure whether it's more of a mental or physical thing - is it because I know the end is near, so I'm ready for the race to be over, or do I manage to push myself so hard that I only have it within me to make it to the finish in form? As I saw the finish line come into sight, a couple of guys passed me, as I saw the clock tick towards 40:48. My official finishing time was 40:49 -- good enough to meet my goal - but deep down I had hoped for a little faster. <br />
<br />
It was a tough race, and I was happy that I had been able to keep pushing myself. While my tiredness may have played a small role in how I felt during this race, it didn't overburden my race, and I was still satisfied with my time. <br />
<br />
The overall race win went to Sean Chester, who won the first race in the Island Race Series -- his final time was: 32:24. Shane came in third overall in 33:30, and while not an overall PB, still a PB for the course.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-63425915272915123532011-01-26T15:24:00.000-08:002011-01-26T15:29:11.365-08:00Pioneer 8kmJanuary 9, 2011<br />
<br />
This is the first race in the Island Race Series, the first race of the year, and always a good test to see where the fitness is at. I hadn't raced a road race since the Marathon in October, and the last time I ran anything shorter than a 1/2 marathon on the road was in May. So, going into this race, I didn't really know what I was capable of. I was nervous, yet hopeful.<br />
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Last year, I'd ran this race in 33:39, and so I was hoping to get around 33 min, or just under. The race started in cool, cloudy weather. I ran off the start line fast, as I usually do, and tried to get the most of the downhill start. I knew the first km would be fast, so I didn't worry about it too much. Although I was surprised to see myself running next to Karen Laberee, who has always been significantly faster than me. It had been quite cool in the days leading up to Pioneer, and there was still some ice on the roads. Leading up the 1 km marker, there were a number of volunteers pointing out the slippery sections and how to avoid the ice.<br />
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Once we got past the 1 km marker, I made the decision to just try and stay with Karen, and see how the race evolves. I was feeling good, and not like I was overtaxing myself. The next kilometre continued on a relatively flat section, and then we made the turn into 'downtown Brentwood'. It's essentiallly just one block of shops lining the street on both sides. Ahh... it's nice to run outside of the big cities sometimes. Once we turned the corner, the road changed to a slightly uphill grade. I wanted to stay strong here, and focused on keeping the leg turnover going, while pumping the arms for momentum. I stayed just behind Karen along the entire climb up to Stelly's X-Road. Just as we turned the corner, I passed her, as she encouraged me along.<br />
<br />
We were now headed towards the mid-way point, as we climbed and descended a few rolling hills back towards Wallace Drive. I had expected to reach the mid-way point at 17 minutes (I'd slightly miscalculated), but heard a local PIH-er yell out 'Good Job Sonja, 15:43'. I couldn't believe what I'd heard. Both myself and the guy who was running beside me exclaimed 'Really? No way...'. This was way faster than I'd thought. It felt great, and gave me a great boost as I continued along the race. I was also surprised to notice how good I was feeling. I knew that I was pushing myself, but my breathing, legs and body felt strong and fluid.<br />
<br />
After passing the school where I attended high-school (Stelly's Secondary), we descended back to Wallace Drive, and turned left this time, towards Centennial Park. This is where I started to feel the race. My breathing became more laboured, and I had to push to stay at the same pace. Then, just as the race started to feel hard, I got a spurt of energy, and passed a couple of people, including a woman running a bright pink hat. A few of us were running together, and we stayed pretty close to each other, as we ran towards the final turnaround. As we made our way back along Wallace Drive, past the park, the woman in the pink hat passed me back. I was determined to try and stay with her, and knew that I only had about 1.5 kms left until the finish. This was a great motivator, as it kept me pushing and concentrating on my leg turnover and trying to work through the pain.<br />
<br />
The last kilometre of the race is uphill, and always a bit of a battle. But, this time at least I had pink hat lady to motivate me to not give up before the race ended. So, I just kept telling myself, keep pushing, keep pushing, don't think about the pain, but just focus on putting all that you can into this last kilometer. I was able to keep up with Ms. Pink hat all the way up the hill and into the last turn that would bring us to the finish line. Then, I gave it one final push, just edging out another gentleman, Don Costello, and finishing just one second behind Ms. Pink Hat, Rhonda Callendar. My final time as 32:02. About 1 minute faster than I had expected. I'd ran a 4 minute pace for the entire race, which to me was amazing. I hadn't expected to come in at that time and was ecstatic. Karen had kept up with me throughout the entire race, and finished just 7 seconds back. She had been a great push for me for the first half of the race, and I had provided motivation to her for the last half.<br />
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Overall it was a great race, and I was happy that the racing year started off as well as it did. If things continued on like this, it would be a great racing year indeed! My splits were: 3:42; 3:56; 4:08; 3:56; 4:00; 4:10; 4:01; 4:07.<br />
<br />
Shane also had a good race, and achieved a PB, despite not expecting to achieve one, coming in at 26:19 and 6th overall. The win went to Jim Finlayson (24:45), and the top female was Natasha Wodak (27:57).Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-17612103990101972392010-12-30T21:11:00.000-08:002010-12-30T21:11:51.745-08:00Boxing Day 10 milerDecember 26, 2010<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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).<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
<br />
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?". <br />
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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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-2712550515488565612010-12-15T21:15:00.000-08:002010-12-17T18:03:58.779-08:00Stewart Mountain 10 milerDecember 11, 2010<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC7t9nIXMtzPLCNAoFVR0Edxct8DN3hFPwnJc1bvEsCCfPhTBu-NYcCrH17R_P32qUv3S_lpQNDROKkBz7ekuynO56gXBfu0GDxMvti5FitAR5vI140da7lEurjqXg1QGBpYGbimNxA6Y/s1600/Sonja+Stewart+Mtn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC7t9nIXMtzPLCNAoFVR0Edxct8DN3hFPwnJc1bvEsCCfPhTBu-NYcCrH17R_P32qUv3S_lpQNDROKkBz7ekuynO56gXBfu0GDxMvti5FitAR5vI140da7lEurjqXg1QGBpYGbimNxA6Y/s320/Sonja+Stewart+Mtn.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: Adam Lawrence</div><br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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 <a href="http://www.racedaytiming.ca/stewartmtn2010.html">here</a>.<br />
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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!Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-43248159644075799402010-12-12T16:55:00.000-08:002010-12-12T16:55:59.116-08:00Gunner Shaw 10 kmNovember 27, 2010<br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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! <br />
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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. <br />
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<a href="http://shaneruljancich.blogspot.com/">Shane</a> 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 <a href="http://www.racedaytiming.ca/gunnershaw2010.html">here. </a><br />
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Congrats to all of the racers, and thanks to Prairie Inn Harriers and Bob Reid for putting on another fantastic event!Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-53569213445499763942010-11-26T11:50:00.000-08:002010-11-26T11:55:43.508-08:00Bear Mountain 10 kmNovember 20, 2010<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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After a long cool-down run, <a href="http://shaneruljancich.blogspot.com/">Shane</a> 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 <a href="http://www.racedaytiming.ca/bmr10k2010.html">here</a>.<br />
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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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-57872713502800065792010-10-31T19:24:00.000-07:002010-10-31T21:13:59.501-07:00Hallow's Eve - Half-marathonOctober 24, 2010<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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...<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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<a href="http://shaneruljancich.blogspot.com/">Shane</a> 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. <a href="http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/2010/run/Hallow%27sEve2010OAH.html">Race results here.</a> <br />
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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.<br />
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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!Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-3415501073946582602010-10-18T20:59:00.000-07:002010-10-21T20:01:48.482-07:00Victoria MarathonOctober 10, 2010<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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?<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33RynQk-nUl8MUoKSXgFJEqL28FCZYuU3RbqJHGcELRZz1TidwnijhxxE8iirxA5ThbwiyZJQKiHsTGdM7So31ZdOtsVVfLP5njiHHLHQBfKa7k2VgYxCWCy4i3CifYxYEQqYtLGLqDmn/s1600/marathon+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33RynQk-nUl8MUoKSXgFJEqL28FCZYuU3RbqJHGcELRZz1TidwnijhxxE8iirxA5ThbwiyZJQKiHsTGdM7So31ZdOtsVVfLP5njiHHLHQBfKa7k2VgYxCWCy4i3CifYxYEQqYtLGLqDmn/s320/marathon+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleci5PQzr1jn1v1_EQLdHNqnMTuqRC7RyqBC29pNeBJmm7WJoUmbS6cNjGWwrZYg1u-T7MlY_xZt5z1nwQfKmhyj5l_rTq5loxA4eZqPLrh0Yft9gbklSQzxYQ6kn-GFZZimPJeRiie0I/s1600/marathon+finish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleci5PQzr1jn1v1_EQLdHNqnMTuqRC7RyqBC29pNeBJmm7WJoUmbS6cNjGWwrZYg1u-T7MlY_xZt5z1nwQfKmhyj5l_rTq5loxA4eZqPLrh0Yft9gbklSQzxYQ6kn-GFZZimPJeRiie0I/s320/marathon+finish.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">One hundred meters to the finish </div><br />
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. <br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
My nutrition: 2.5 gels + 3/4 of a fruit source bar + a few sips of gatorade, and water at every station. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-60228480068683479222010-10-03T20:53:00.001-07:002010-10-03T20:53:04.343-07:00Landsend Half-MarathonSeptember 12, 2010<br />
<br />
One day after returning from a holiday in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:state>, 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.' <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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!<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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</div>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-5680115104586430432010-08-05T13:02:00.000-07:002010-08-05T13:14:52.455-07:00Marathon TrainingI am now just over two months away from my first marathon - <a href="http://www.runvictoriamarathon.com/index.php">Victoria Marathon October 10, 201</a>0. 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. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiZ1fPxW6ePLazwFQ0iiUBAFneYjcRdUQopuB4kojkrNf9FBK3mdAXxz5noKnJ29CSRPQuBIV2TlSLoXv3PAA09PWh3dEQKxRJKS6VjQMBliXvbTukijI39DsUDtTPoGfzuy9WzYxrHfp/s1600/RVM+coursemap_2010_full.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiZ1fPxW6ePLazwFQ0iiUBAFneYjcRdUQopuB4kojkrNf9FBK3mdAXxz5noKnJ29CSRPQuBIV2TlSLoXv3PAA09PWh3dEQKxRJKS6VjQMBliXvbTukijI39DsUDtTPoGfzuy9WzYxrHfp/s320/RVM+coursemap_2010_full.gif" /></a></div><br />
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. <br />
<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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! :-) <br />
<br />
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! <br />
<br />
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: <br />
<ul><li>an interval training session </li>
<li>a longer tempo run (16-20ish kms) </li>
<li>a hilly run </li>
<li>the long run </li>
</ul>The other days will be easy runs or cycling. <br />
<br />
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). <br />
<br />
Okay -- so what is my goal for the marathon?.... <br />
<br />
A goal: 3:20 <br />
B goal: sub 3:30<br />
C goal: sub 3:40 (Boston qualifying time)<br />
<br />
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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-1109814064314935182010-07-10T14:17:00.000-07:002010-07-10T14:35:45.462-07:00North Coast TrailJune 6, 2010<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">The North Coast Trail is a rugged 45 km trail at the northernmost tip of <st1:place w:st="on">Vancouver Island</st1:place>. 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 <st1:placetype w:st="on">Cape</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Scott</st1:placename> in the North to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state> 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 <st1:city w:st="on">Vancouver</st1:city> <st1:place w:st="on">Island</st1:place> from point to point.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">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.</span></div><br />
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</style><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The North Coast Trail branches off of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Cape</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Scott</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Trail</st1:placename></st1:place>, and begins at Nissen Bight beach. We hiked to Nissen Bight on Saturday afternoon, and the North Coast Trail was slated for Sunday. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The first section of the trail was fantastic – double-track and without a pebble to step over</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">. 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 <st1:place w:st="on">Island</st1:place>. 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. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">This first section of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Cape</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Scott</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Trail</st1:placename></st1:place> 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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span><span lang="EN-CA">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.</span><span lang="EN-CA"> 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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span> <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig51GIqjAVrRdbhdKaG2o0JZB9q2Sa7WHc-o0tj6t-3Lrq4Doj0DbEsVJsEimaz71tB8nxGldT9WBdqS_FnyubSFkQTxwUXYtaYyPnkUXu_8qK-5n6JdvVG8PPMGmd4mV0b2uY7cknhqsj/s1600/P1030145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig51GIqjAVrRdbhdKaG2o0JZB9q2Sa7WHc-o0tj6t-3Lrq4Doj0DbEsVJsEimaz71tB8nxGldT9WBdqS_FnyubSFkQTxwUXYtaYyPnkUXu_8qK-5n6JdvVG8PPMGmd4mV0b2uY7cknhqsj/s320/P1030145.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p>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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">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! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Calories consumed: ~3000 during the hike + breakfast </span></div><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Lara bars, homemade granola and fruit/nut bars, fruit bars, PB+J sandwich, VEL bar, seed+nut bars, organic grain and fruit bar.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span>Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-35584709698584631232010-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:002010-06-13T19:53:02.407-07:00Westwood Lake half-marathonMay 30, 2010<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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. <br />
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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...). <br />
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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. <br />
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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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-7850962269497922522010-06-04T23:07:00.000-07:002010-06-07T21:21:08.695-07:00Squamish MOMARMay 22, 2010<br />
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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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVPyOassHCmKzPTN_LFrbctyK66epvlCdYpXK2X-FariP01ELkHaJOY85z4iSgdPtpZ_zfekF_JI_sFnj8KTxqDLOlQot6zWSmTEOQPlgv24qJQZnHiPVfmSOp5LdLkg1UD0sfMbw51kh/s1600/MOMAR_Tsuga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>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 ---<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVPyOassHCmKzPTN_LFrbctyK66epvlCdYpXK2X-FariP01ELkHaJOY85z4iSgdPtpZ_zfekF_JI_sFnj8KTxqDLOlQot6zWSmTEOQPlgv24qJQZnHiPVfmSOp5LdLkg1UD0sfMbw51kh/s1600/MOMAR_Tsuga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVPyOassHCmKzPTN_LFrbctyK66epvlCdYpXK2X-FariP01ELkHaJOY85z4iSgdPtpZ_zfekF_JI_sFnj8KTxqDLOlQot6zWSmTEOQPlgv24qJQZnHiPVfmSOp5LdLkg1UD0sfMbw51kh/s320/MOMAR_Tsuga.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Me, walking my bike -- yes, I should be able to ride this!</div><br />
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)<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAweGaEnURCQAyHv9dswDi1qGEa5LUF9JSrqTPZjyB6PYcarUxAOaS6-MaxjNpQFMoFv9tZ5fQser3CmL5UIOa8zCaCxAH47WwJXDJs8bZRymBQnv3KC-jrEPiOP9qgO8fc2eC1Nz1ueS4/s1600/MOMAR_bridge2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAweGaEnURCQAyHv9dswDi1qGEa5LUF9JSrqTPZjyB6PYcarUxAOaS6-MaxjNpQFMoFv9tZ5fQser3CmL5UIOa8zCaCxAH47WwJXDJs8bZRymBQnv3KC-jrEPiOP9qgO8fc2eC1Nz1ueS4/s320/MOMAR_bridge2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">There was a large hill following this bridge - which I was eyeing.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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)<br />
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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.<br />
(CP 13-14, 9:25; CP 12-13, 12:41; CP 11-12, 9:26)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQn5f-zK3L1LoZ72C88L2W2MEUwnGs19M9i7lkxww9mRHkTJBREFAKhfv48Clv3vJiDGehIKJh8ygnDjb6Ie9IUBgzByFjHp2BWf1YvbpUFqlMiE-55_YoEZmQwZvjtwHqyJGvYxnFRTH/s1600/MOMAR_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQn5f-zK3L1LoZ72C88L2W2MEUwnGs19M9i7lkxww9mRHkTJBREFAKhfv48Clv3vJiDGehIKJh8ygnDjb6Ie9IUBgzByFjHp2BWf1YvbpUFqlMiE-55_YoEZmQwZvjtwHqyJGvYxnFRTH/s320/MOMAR_river.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Crossing the river... </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-29820801640319353422010-05-26T20:59:00.000-07:002010-05-26T20:59:47.738-07:00Vancouver 10K Sun RunMay 9, 2010<br />
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This race was tough - both physically and mentally. I'd heard for years about how this is a very fast and flat race - so I was expecting a race that would result in a fast time. I'd raced the TC 10km in Victoria two weeks earlier and I had a small PB at that race. I was hoping to better my time and my race experience -- as my race at the TC 10km had felt difficult.<br />
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This is a huge race - the largest 10km race in Canada- with over 50,000 registered racers. Due to its size, it starts in various waves - each section dependent on your predicted finishing time. Each section is tightly controlled with large fences between them. They are also packed - so once you are in your section, find your spot and wait. <br />
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Luckily, my predicted time was fast enough to qualify me for the blue bib - which meant that I got to start in the same area as the elite racers, which included a large section to warm up in. This was fantastic, because otherwise, I'm not sure where I would have had the chance to get a bit of a warm-up run in. Just before this race, I also purchased a pair of light trainers. Shane had told me many times that I should purchase a pair of racing flats - that I could likely cut some time off of my races by ditching my heavy shoes with orthotics. So I caved, and bought a pair of flashy Mizunos. They felt amazing - I'm not sure if it made me any faster, but it sure made my feet feel lighter, and they were a joy to run in. After just one run, I'm sold!<br />
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Now to the race -- After a bit of a warm-up, we made our way to the start line and crowded in for the countdown. The gun went off and the race was on. The first km of this race is extremely fast. It's a downhill start and quite a significant downhill. My first km in every race is always fast, but with the added assistance of gravity I clocked a 3:35 km. That's insane fast for me. I didn't really fret it though, because I didn't feel like I pushed it too hard. After that first km, I tried to ease into a comfortable pace that I thought I'd be able to hold for the rest of the race. <br />
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However, the race started to feel hard early on. The second km wasn't too bad, it had a slight uphill, and then turned a bend and there was the one view of the water that I remember (other than going over bridges). The race course looks like it hugs the shoreline for most of the race, but I barely remember seeing water at all. What I remember most are the gray buildings, and the very city-centric view of the race. <br />
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My legs felt like they didn't have the ability to push hard, and overall I just felt tired. I knew this would be a hard race, and my earlier visions of posting a significant PB faded into the distance. Instead, I thought I might end up with a much slower time than at the TC 10km. Irrespective, I tried my best to keep pushing, and not give up until I crossed the finish line. Up until the end of km 4, the race was relatively flat. Then, km 4 transitioned into km 5 with a pretty steep hill as we headed onto Burrard Bridge. This felt like a killer and caused me to have a very slow km. However, once we got half-way through the bridge, it was a nice downhill for close to a km. This would definitely not be a race with even splits.<br />
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The next few kms all blended together, as there were slight dips and rises throughout the course and lots of buildings to look at. One thing about this race, was you were definitely never on your own-- there were tons of people running all around, passing me, and me passing them. I wasn't even able to keep track of staying with any particular group of people, as it felt like it was constantly changing. Running a race in a different town was definitely an interesting experience, as I had no idea how I was doing, based on the people around me. Usually I have an idea of people who run around the same time as me, so based on who I'm with I can have an idea of my pace. But, this was certainly not the case at this race, as I didn't recognize anybody who was running near me.<br />
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The next major milestone was a very straight section around km 8 -- I remember it going on for what seemed like a long time, as the road just headed straight forward - again without any interesting views in sight. Then we had one more rise as we headed into the final km - as we crossed the Cambie Street bridge. This rise really hurt-- I couldn't believe how slow I felt I was going. I just tried to keep it together for the last km. Almost done I kept repeating to myself -- almost done.<br />
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One final descent down the hill and to the finish line. By this point I already felt discouraged and thought it had been a bad race, and I would end up with a slow time - so I didn't push as hard as I probably could have. Then, just 100-200 meters before the finish, I saw the clock counting down. I was still under 42 minutes! I might actually be able to get a PB if I pushed it! This gave me the impetus I needed to sprint to the finish. Officially, my finishing time was 41:44 -- a PB of 9 seconds, it wasn't huge, but based on how I felt during that race, I was glad to have gotten a PB. My splits were: 3:35; 4:07, 3:31 (km 3 was short); 4:50 (km 4 was long); 4:34; 4:14; 8:24; 4:24; 4:03.<br />
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Unfortunately, many other racers also didn't have great races. It seemed like the course somehow wore people down -- either that, or it was the fact of having raced the TC 10km 2 weeks earlier. Although, you'd think that 2 weeks would be plenty of time to recover from a 10km race. There's lots of theories out there about why there were so many poor performances, but there's no one answer. Like anything, it's probably very individual - and could be part mental too.<br />
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I was happy to have my last significant race completed for awhile. I'll be doing a few other races in the next few months, but no key races. The next goal is the Victoria marathon in October - which I will begin formally training for soon.Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423157284209202369.post-77722938889028647132010-04-29T21:25:00.000-07:002010-04-29T21:25:09.605-07:00TC 10kmApril 25, 2010<br />
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This was one of my hardest races this year. I've had a good year of racing, not only in getting a lot of PBs, but also in the way that I have felt during my races. I've felt strong and while pushing myself, I didn't feel like I was totally dying. However, that changed with this race. It felt hard from the start - and it didn't get any easier throughout the race.<br />
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This is the largest 10km race in Victoria, and the second largest race of this distance in Canada. This year, it attracted over 13,000 registrants. It's a great community event, but is definitely a different atmosphere than the smaller island series races. It also attracts a much deeper field, and this year didn't dissappoint - with many fast racers at this year's event, including Simon Whitfield, Steve Osaduik, Scott Simpson, Jim Finlayson, David Jackson, Lucy Smith, Lisa Harvey, Kristina Rodey a number of Kenyan runners [including the winner from last year: Willy Kimosop and his training partner Kip Kangogo (the ultimate winner of the race this year)] and a fast woman from Poland: Karolina Jarzynska, who ended up being the fastest female on the course.<br />
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With the huge number of runners and walkers, the beginning of the race can get quite crowded. Luckily, I was able to start near the front, and I didn't have to fight the crowds too much. The number of racers didn't slow me down any, as I was able to keep to the side and run my race at my speed. <br />
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My goal for this race was to better my time from the Cobble Hill 10km in January (41:58), and I was hoping to get close to 41:30 -- this would put me at about 4:09 per km. I knew that my first km would start off fast - and I hoped that any faster kms I posted in the beginning wouldn't hurt me in the end. This was the first race of the year where I was under more pressure - as I had a real time goal in mind that I knew would be challenging to meet, and would require me to really push it. Due to my desired time, I tried to go as fast as I thought I could handle - but didn't look at my splits.<br />
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From the start I knew it wasn't going to be easy - my breathing was laboured pretty much off the start and the run didn't feel as relaxed as previous races had. The kms went by, people passed me, and I definitely was not feeling fast. The nice thing about this race, is that there's lots of spectators, so I heard my name called out a number of times -- which is always uplifting. After the turnaround, and closing in on km-5, there's a small hill that's not that huge, but definitely hurts and slows you down. The next two kms are quite slow, as there's a gradual uphill - and for me they were definitely slow. Sandra Mullen, from PIH, passed me around the 5km mark - she's a strong racer, and I tried to stay with her. She got some time on me, but I was determined not to let her get too far away. This extra bit of motivation was good to keep me from totally falling apart.<br />
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Kilometer 7-8ish is mostly slightly downhill, and I definitely felt it - glad for the little bit of help along the way. Finally I hit the 8km mark - thankfully, only 2 kms to go. I could hardly wait for the race to end. When looking at the profile, these two kms look relatively flat, but there's a slight hill just before km-9. It's not much, but enough to feel it.<br />
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The final km! The last km is very twisty turvey - with several turns before the final stretch to the finish. I've done the race enough times now to know to be patient with the turns and not get too excited until the final stretch. Ugh -- it felt hard! Push, push, push, keep the legs going, focus on turnover. -- The final turn -- the finish line is now about 400 meters away. <br />
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Slowly the finish line comes into sight. I see the clock -- is that 40? -- No, it's already at 41... 41:30 - quick - push, in order to stay under 42 minutes -- with 100 meters to go, I put on the speed, as the clock ticks away. I make it in 41:53. Ahh -- my body hurt, my stomach was weak, and I crossed the line panting... Thank god that's over. My splits were 4:01; 4:05; 4:07; 4:09; 4:21; 4:21; 4:17; 4:05; 4:16; 4:11. While, I didn't have the best race of my life - many other Harriers had fantastic races - including Shane, who ran an amazing 33:00 - getting one second away from his goal of breaking 33:00. Andrew Pape-Salmon also had an amazing race - his track training has paid off. <br />
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So - it ended up being a PB - but not as good as I had wanted. I took off 5 seconds, but in the scheme of things, it was a pretty flat race compared to my Cobble Hill 10km. Looking back at my training over the past month-1.5 months, I can see where I think things fell apart. While I kept up my mileage, for the most part, my speed work really dropped off. Since September, I had made two major changes to my training: more distance/days of running and more speed work, and especially track workouts. But due to various factors (not enough sleep, illness, and even racing), I had missed out on too many of my track workouts. My perception is that this was the key factor -- the key missing link that kept me from reaching my goal. <br />
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Anyway -- nothing like a hard race to get me motivated to get back to training hard and making sure to get in those key workouts.<br />
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I'm doing the Sun Run next weekend, we'll have to see if that race turns out any differently...Sonja Yli-Kahilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648806776053897550noreply@blogger.com0