Tales from a mid-pack runner - the quest for speed

Orcas Island 25 km

2012-01-29T14:18:00.001-08:00

January 28, 2012

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Gunner Shaw 10 km

2011-12-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

November 19, 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Congrats to Shane Ruljancich, who pulled out another strong performance, winning the race and edging out some stiff competition from Jasper Blake.

Here's the results.

Thetis Relay

2011-11-18T17:53:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

World Mountain Running Championships - Albania

2011-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Canmore Challenge 9km

2011-10-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2011

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. Through this race, he was hoping to qualify for the World Mountain Running Championship, which this year is being held in Albania in September. Originally, I hadn’t even considered racing myself, but then someone put the bug in my ear, when they asked whether I was planning on racing. 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.

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. 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.

We decided to check out the race course ahead of time, so we knew what to expect. 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. There wasn’t a huge amount of elevation in each lap, but just enough to make things interesting.

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. 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. It wasn’t a huge field (about 40 competitors), with even a few guys who’d entered the race. 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. My goal became to simply place in the top 10 females.

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. The course took us into a beautifully dense forest, as we wound through mountain-bike trails. 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. This initial gravel road climb, felt like torment, and I quickly fell back about mid-pack.

After about 1 km of climbing on the road, we veered onto a single-track section, and this is where I found my legs. 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. 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. It was fairly steep, and felt like it was at least 40 degrees – although I’m sure it was much less. Nevertheless it was steep enough to make both the lungs and the legs hurt. On this first climb, I ran part-way up before resolving to fast hiking. 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.

After this steep climb, came my favourite part of the race, some really nice, flowy, somewhat twisty single-track. 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. 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. However, it ended up being rather deep and my foot sunk into the muddy waters. 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. At the bottom of the downhill section, we finished off our first lap, whew only 2 more to go.

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. Here, my breathing began to falter again, and the woman who I’d passed on the downhill soon overtook me. Luckily, this section didn’t last too long before were back on single-track. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

As Madelaine passed me, my only resolve was to keep pushing as hard as I could, so as to stay near her. I gritted my teeth, as Laura passed me on this final climb as well. That last climb was tough, and I took a few extra steps at the top to catch my breath before I started running again. 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. However, there was no catching to be done. They rocketed off at a much faster pace than during the previous downhill sections, and were soon out of sight. I tried to stay in contact, but it was not to be done.

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. Completing another 2 laps at this point seemed very difficult. Now, just one final downhill section, and I was done. 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. I finished in 48:12, good for 12th overall, and 10^th woman, about six minutes behind the first woman to cross the line.

This was one of the hardest races I had completed, in terms of how hard I was working during the entire race. 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’. 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. 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. J Sara also had a good race, and ended up just where she’d hoped.

After the end of my race, I had just enough time to quickly change and grab some food before the men’s race began. This is where the real excitement was. 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. As if it wasn’t hard enough already, but now it had just been made tougher – at least mentally. The men took off at a quick pace and Shane jetted out amongst the lead pack.

It was a fun race to watch because it was a loop course. Sara and I were able to see the men on each lap, and still make it back for the finish. Shane ended up coming in 5^th, claiming the last spot from this race on the Canadian Mountain Running Team (a 6^th member would be chosen based on previous performances). I was ecstatic to see him cross the finish line in 5^th place, as now he would get to experience the World Mountain Running Championships! Andrew also had a solid race, coming in 10^th 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. Congrats to everyone on fantastic performances.

Scorched Sole 25 km

2011-10-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

June 25 2011

Kelowna

I decided to sign up for this race, as Shane and I were headed this way for a vacation. It’s always fun to try out new races and experience what the competition and conditions are like in other areas. There were three other races going on as part of this event – in addition to the 25 km there was a 50 km and a 50 mile.

As we drove towards the race start, we actually had a bit of difficulty finding the location where the event was actually taking place. We had programmed the location into the GPS, but when the GPS chimed that we had reached our destination, there was nothing to be seen. We ended up driving up and down the road before we drove into a parking lot that we’d passed earlier –thinking that this seemed to be the most likely location, even though there were no signs identifying this as the race location. We soon saw a few other racers – and were relieved to have found the correct location, as we did not have much time before the race would begin.

The race start was down a hill and beside a lake. With just enough time to get ready, we were off –although not without fanfare. Shane led off the race, and no one else leapt to the front, so I took off next after Shane. However, unbeknown to us, after only 10 meters, we were off course, having missed a single-track trail to the left. We then heard someone yelling at us, noticed our mistake and made our way back on course, although now we were in last place. Shane soon made his way back to first place, and I tried to hop past people on a narrow, uphill, winding single-track, making my way towards the front of the pack.

Soon we popped out onto a road, which we followed for 2 km until reaching another single-track section. During this road segment, I slowly inched past more racers, and soon found myself among the top 10 racers. I found this exciting, but wasn’t sure if it would last, as I don’t usually race this near the front. Although, the competition in this race appeared that it was not super intense, as I soon found myself in 5^th place. The single-track section wove through a beautiful low forested area – with a few streams running throughout, small trees, flowers and winding, climbing single-track. The hills soon got to me and I found myself hiking the uphill sections – changing to a jog whenever the trail flattened out. About half way up, I passed a man whom I’d been running with since the road, and soon found myself in 4^th place, just behind the first place woman.

Then, we soon found ourselves on a double-track road section, and the first aid station. This is where the race would get tough. This section of the race was completely exposed, as it wound itself up the bare hill. It was a steady climb, with a few steeper sections throughout, and along the entire climb, I kept the first place woman in my sights. Luckily, although the sun was out when we started the race, it clouded over slightly as I got onto the double-track climb –but the heat was still intense.

I was pretty certain that Shane would be leading the race, and as the climb wore on, I was hoping to see him soon. I figured that once I saw Shane I would have about 15- 20 mins of climbing to the top. At first I thought that perhaps I’d make it to the top in about 1hour 15mins or 1 hour 20 mins – but these times came and went, and still Shane was not in sight. I kept trying to get the top of the hill in sight, but the road kept winding around and around and just when I thought I was getting close, we’d turn another corner, and there was more climbing ahead. Around the 1hr 25 minute mark I saw Shane and let out an exasperated ‘finally’. I was already long ago tired of climbing, and while I was happy to see him, that cry along with a grudging smile was all I could muster.

All I’d taken with me was a hand-held water bottle and a fruit bar. As I was expecting to be out there for about 2:15-2:30 hours, this would normally suffice. However, this race ended up being longer than I’d expected, and the heat was taking a toll on my body. As the climb was finally nearing the end, I was feeling desperate for some Gatorade. The top neared, and I saw the first place woman coming back from the aid station. Usually, I don’t stop at aid stations, or just grab some water and get on my way. But, this time I spent 1 minute or two, and headed straight to the flat coke, which I have never before drank during a race or training session – but my body was screaming out for some sugar, so I complied. I added a few orange slices and water to the mix, and headed along my way. Just as I was on my way out from the aid station, a woman from the other side of the hill came running up and declared ‘only 40 km to go’ – ugh – so glad I wasn’t doing the 80 km (50 mile) event.

I headed down the hill and was happy to have mostly downhill in front of me. Soon after starting the descent, I saw a few other men climbing up towards the aid station, not too far behind me. I started to push hard, as much as the downhill grade allowed. Downhill running has generally been my strength and I was able to make up good time on the first place woman. I soon found myself just behind her, and was able to pass her before we made it back to the single-track section. I continued to push as hard as I could, and knew that I was putting a bit of distance between us, as I didn’t hear her directly behind me. The first part of the single-track section was downhill, but near the bottom there were a few small uphills. By this time, my quads were completely thrashed from the long ascent and the descent, on which I’d pushed hard. My pace slowed considerably on each of these minor hills, and my quads screamed in pain – I’d never felt such pain and tightness in my quads before. I had earlier had hopes of potentially coming in as the first woman –which would have been a first for me. But, with my pace on these hills, I feared Liza coming up behind me any moment.

I was able to hold her off until the last road section. Once we hit the road, I knew there was just over 2 km to go, but it would be a very tough last couple of kms, as the road was filled with rolling up hills. My quads were done, and no longer wanted to keep going. Liza Pye soon passed me, and it was all I could do to keep her in my sights. I think this might have even been more painful than the end of my marathon. After a long 2 km on the road, I finally saw the final short single-track section that headed towards the finish. However, this section of the trail was not well marked, and I ended up going off trail, costing me some seconds. However, it would not have affected my placing, as Liza Pye was already too far ahead of me to catch.

After a long race, the finish was finally in sight! Yay, I was soo happy to run down the final hill, and I headed straight to the lake (where I swan and soaked for almost 15 minutes). The race took me 2:57:19 (2 minutes behind Liza), with over 1100 meters of climbing and I later found out that it was actually a bit long - 27 kms. It seemed to be a tough race in every event, with the first place person coming in the 50 km in just under 7 hours, and the first place in the 80 km coming in at around 11 hours! Whew, that would have been tough in that heat! Shane ended up winning the race in 2:13:48, more than 15 minutes ahead of the 2^nd place person. It was a hot, hot day, and my energy was definitely low by the end of the race. I definitely needed the lake to cool off, as I felt like I was steaming even in the frigid water.

Recent Races - Cobble Hill 10km

2011-04-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

So - 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.

Cobble Hill 10km
January 23, 2011

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pioneer 8km

2011-01-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Boxing Day 10 miler

2010-12-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

December 26, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stewart Mountain 10 miler

2010-12-15T21:15:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Adam Lawrence

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gunner Shaw 10 km

2010-12-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

November 27, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bear Mountain 10 km

2010-11-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hallow's Eve - Half-marathon

2010-10-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

October 24, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Victoria Marathon

2010-10-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

October 10, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I hit the 10 km mark at around 45 minutes. In 2007, I'd ran that time in a 10km race - and now it felt easy. It was nice to have those kinds of improvements. These first 10 kms went by quickly and felt pretty relaxed -- if only the last 10 kms could feel like that! Next, we meandered into a residential area, leaving the ocean to the wayside. I knew we were heading towards Oak Bay, where we'd do a jaunt before heading back towards the ocean. We'd stay in Oak Bay until around the 16.5 km mark.

As this was an out and back course (mostly), I tried to remember where the hills were, as I'd be tackling them on the way back. I remember being told that this was a flat course-- while not hilly, it still definitely had its share of hills, and I cringed each time we headed downhill, as I knew that meant an uphill on the way back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One hundred meters to the finish

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

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

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

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

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

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

Landsend Half-Marathon

2010-10-03T20:53:00.001-07:00

September 12, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marathon Training

2010-08-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The other days will be easy runs or cycling.

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

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

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

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

North Coast Trail

2010-07-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Calories consumed: ~3000 during the hike + breakfast

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

Westwood Lake half-marathon

2010-06-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Squamish MOMAR

2010-06-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

May 22, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crossing the river...

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

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

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

Vancouver 10K Sun Run

2010-05-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2010

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

TC 10km

2010-04-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

April 25, 2010

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I'm doing the Sun Run next weekend, we'll have to see if that race turns out any differently...

Merville 15 km

2010-04-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

April 4, 2010

So my question is -- where are all the fast female runners? and especially where are all the fast 30-34 year old females? I know they are out there. I've had occasion to race against them in the larger races - but this year in the Island Series races, the very fast 30-34 year olds have not been present. Now, not to discredit the women in my category -- there are some strong runners out there - but when I think of fast for a woman, I think of a sub-40 minute 10km, a 1:30:XX half-marathon and a 60 minute 15 km. When I compare the depth of the field between the male and the female racers, the men are much more competitive. Are the women not as interested in racing, is it something that hits women when they get a bit older (the 35-39 category is usually larger and more competitive than 30-34), do women get caught up in doing other things in their early thirties (again the 25-29 category is also more competitive), or are women simply more interested in pursuing the larger races and training more specifically for key races?

I don't know the answer to my questions - but while it's exciting for me to be placing well in my age category this year, I know that there are many women that could blow me out of the water, and that things could totally change next year, and I could be back to being a ribbon-girl. So, I will enjoy it while it lasts, all the while trying to keep getting faster to try and keep ahead of the herd.

Now to Merville -- I ran this race simply to get a 5th race in this series, so I could place in the series standings. While the series standings do not really mean that much, as most people don't run 5 races, and many of the faster runners run less than 5, I had a hard time running only 4 races - if I am that close to being ranked, might as well throw in a 5th race. I picked Merville because I hadn't ran a 15 km in 3 years, so it would be an almost certain PB, and because it gave me a bit more rest before two 10km races I would be doing at the end of April and beginning of May (TC 10km and Sun Run in Vancouver).

I woke up Sunday morning, after a mediocre night of sleep, and dozed most of the drive up to Merville. Merville is a small community north of Comox, and to get to the start, we had to drive along a short dirt road. Ahhh - small farming communities. The race route meanders along country roads and the race runs in a loop that forms a square with a tail (a short section that is repeated at the start and end of the race).

The drive up wasn't too bad, but just before we hit Merville, it started to rain, and the rain increased in intensity as we neared Merville -- by the time we got to the start of the race, it was pouring down. Luckily it wasn't windy -- on Friday, the Island had been pelted with a wind storm that had wreaked some major havoc in a few areas. So, while I would have preferred no rain, rain was definitely preferable to wind.

Due to the outside conditions, and the fact that it was a longer race, my warm-up consisted of a run to the start line with Shane and Craig Payne. The start line was about a 1km away, so it gave at least a few minutes to get the blood pumping. As I was running towards the start line, I realized that I had forgotten to take a puff from my inhaler -- I hoped it wouldn't affect my race too badly. There was a gaggle of people all crowded around where we thought the start would be - but no one was certain where the start actually was. There was no banner, and we couldn't even spot any kind of line in the dirt. Just as the minutes ticked towards the 11am start, the race director then came out and lined us all up -then soon enough we were off.

Right from the start, it felt hard. I started off at a pace that felt somewhat fast, but again, I wanted to try and keep up with those just in front of me. Julie and Kathy Rung (in the 35-39 category) was just ahead of me, and Charlene Waldner and Kirsten Arensen (also 35-39) were just behind me. The competitive part of me kicks in, and based on past performances, I don't want to get too far out of where I think I should be. But, within a km, I was hurting bad, and had to ease off a bit. Charlene passed me, and for me it was a hanging on battle. I just wanted to stay close to Julie, Kathy and the man and woman who I didn't recognize, but who were just ahead of me. My body felt tired, and my breathing felt laboured -- I also struggled to get enough deep breaths in. 'This was going to be a long race,' I thought, and it had only just begun. I only hoped that I would be able to hold on.

The first couple of kms are a slight uphill, and there's a few small dips and hills in the next few kms, with a slight rise all the way to about 10km. From 10-15 km it's largely downhill (slight grade). As we passed the first few km markers, I kept my position - struggling not to fall back. I was glad this was a longer race - because if it had been a 10km race, I'm not sure I could have pushed that extra bit to keep a faster pace. I heard footsteps just behind me, which motivated me to keep going - trying to keep ahead of what I thought would inevitably be someone who would pass me.

Prior to the race, I had once again checked out the race calculator, and based on my 5km time, it stated I should be able to run a 1:04:20. This would be a 4:17 pace. Okay -- that would become my A goal - realistically I was gunning for maybe around a 1:05 - which would be a 4:20 pace. Then, of course there was the ultimate goal of getting a PB, which put me at having to come in under 1:12 - which I didn't think should be a problem.

Normally, I don't check my watch much during races. I like to run by feel - I worry that if I check my watch and am off pace, I could get discouraged -and even if I'm running faster than my intended pace, I won't necessarily slow down, because I think 'I'm banking time'. I know the ultimate strategy is to run races by doing negative splits, but thus far I've never done that -- I might start off a bit too fast - but am usually able to hold it together, and still run respectable times. I haven't yet ever totally blown up from starting a race too fast.

At the 5 km marker, I checked my watch - it read 21:21 -- which I thought at the time was right on 4:20 pace, but as my mind was in race mode, my math was a bit off, and I was actually a bit ahead of 4:20, which would have put me at 21:40. I thought to myself 'okay I haven't fallen apart yet, now comes the hard part of trying to keep it together for the next 10km.' Mentally I had broken this race into thirds, and was happy when the first five km were done -- I only had to run two more of 'those', and I would be done.

The next five kms of the race continued to feel hard. But, I was managing to keep up with Julie and Kathy. To keep myself going I was telling myself - 'keep your feet up, kick your bum, keep the turnover'. At around the 7 km mark, the unknown male and female (who I think actually was Angela Plamondon) put on a bit of a push, and inched past Julie and Kathy. I continued to hold on. Close to the 8km marker, the gradual hill started and my legs actually felt pretty strong, as I pushed on the uphill. My race started to turn around at this point - although I was still struggling somewhat. I passed Charlene somewhere around kms 8 and 9. It was also at this point, that I started to feel low on energy -having eaten breakfast more than 4 hours ago. I'd taken a gel with me, exactly for that reason. Normally I wouldn't take a gel on a race of this distance, but carried one with me, since I thought I might get low on energy. I sucked on the gel, and it seemed to help. I caught up to Julie at the 9km marker and we exchanged grunts of how hard the race was feeling.

The second water stop came just after the 10km marker, and I grabbed a water to help get the gel down. This is where my race really started to pick up momentum. I felt like I had more energy, and my legs were finally able to push. It was nice to begin to feel strong. This was all helped by the fact that there was a lot of downhill in the last 5 kms. I love downhill -- I get to these sections in the course, and think to myself' 'work the downhill' 'just let the legs fly and do the work'. I'm usually able to get pretty good momentum on these sections.

In the last section of the race, I was also able to catch and pass Kathy, and inched my way towards a couple of men who had been running just ahead of us. I was able to pass two other men as we neared the last two kms. At this point, I heard a set of footsteps moving fast behind me. I figured it was a man, from the heaviness of the footsteps, and eased into my rhythm as he passed, commenting on the great downhill. Then, I decided to try and stay with him for the last 1500 meters. He was moving at a pretty good pace, and I was actually able to hold onto him. I think he heard me, as he started to really push the pace in the last km. As we rounded the last corner towards the finish line, he looked back at me, and I knew he wanted to drop me. We had about another 600-700 meters or so to go. I pushed on, got right up next to him, but then started to wane a bit. However, out of somewhere I got one final blast of energy, and I was able to rush past him and actually made a pretty good kick towards the finish line. I came in at 1:04:22 -- right on time! I couldn't believe it. While I was struggling during the race, I was having visions of finishing around 1:08, and hoping I could at least hold onto a 1:05 finish. Despite having a rough race for the first two-thirds, I was actually able to hold on to finish with a good time. Wow -- that felt awesome.

Julie, Kathy, Charlene and Kirsten Arensen all came in within the next minute - it's interesting how we often seem to cluster together. Shane had a good race - feeling good throughout and coming in at 51:20, which also was a several minute PB for him.

By the end of my race my shoes and socks were soaked, and I definitely felt the heaviness in my feet. Maybe there is something to racing flats - I've often wondered if they actually help you go faster- can they actually take time off of your finish? Maybe, but either way, the wet runners were definitely heavy to run in!

My final splits were: 8:46 (kms 1-2), 4:19; 4:03; 4:14; 4:20; 4:18; 4:22; 4:24; 4:42; 4:18; 4:15; 4:13: 4:12: 3:55 and I came in first in my age category and was the 5th female overall. Tina Connelly, a masters runner, was the first female overall, in a time of 55:24 -under the elite benchmark for her age.

The final results are here.

Comox Valley Half-Marathon

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2010

My race race at Comox was exciting for me mainly because I achieved something for the first time that I wasn't sure I would ever achieve. When I first started racing, I was excited when I would place in the top 10 in my age category and get a ribbon. I was usually in the lower half of the top 10, and getting into the top 3 for the medals seemed out of reach. Prior to this year, I'd never placed higher than 5th at an Island Series race and that was a good achievement for me. This year, I made it into the medals for the first time and then at Comox I actually placed first in my age category! I was absolutely elated! It was great to achieve something that I wasn't sure was possible, just 3 short years ago.

Okay - now to the race. It started with an early rise and a just under 3 hour drive up to Comox. I was feeling tired on the drive up, and wondered how I would be able to perform. I had an energy drink just before the start, hoping it would give me some needed energy.

The race got underway, and I started off feeling good. I had three goals: (C) PR - faster than 1:38:24; (B) 1:35;XX and (A) 1:32:34 (the time the race calculator said I could perform, based on my Bazan Bay 5 km time). Realistically I was aiming for around 1:35 -- this would still be over a 3 minute PB, and what I thought was possible, given that I hadn't done a lot of specific training for this distance. A finish time of 1:35 would be a 4:30 pace.

My first 5 km went by fast -and I was pushing it faster than my intended pace (splits were: 4:15; 4:18: 4:15; 4:14; 4:20). I was trying to stay with two other women in my category - Julie Van Veelan and Leanne Blackwood. I thought I was pushing it a bit fast - but I usually get caught up in the fast starts. Overall, these first 5 fast kms helped my overall time. I began to slow for kms 5-9. These kms involved a few rolling hills and a larger climb from kms 7-9. Then there was a downhill down to the turnaround just past the 10km marker. By this point, I had passed both Leanne and Julie and was still ahead of Angela Plamondon, a very fast masters runner. However, Angela caught up to me just before the turnaround, and then sped off for the remainder of the course - she had a good strong finish!

I was still feeling pretty good at this point- and the hill hadn't even felt too hard - I had actually expected the peak to be further than it was. That's always a nice feeling when running uphill. But, while it was shorter on the way back, it was steeper, and this hill hurt. My pace dropped to 4:39 for my slowest km (but not slowest split, as the last split was actually just over 1km). At the top of the hill, there was a water stop. I was starting to feel thirsty, and went to grab a cup of water -- unfortunately, it broke in my hand. So, then I tried to grab a gatorade, but dropped it -- so I was not to get a drop into my mouth.

The next kms were fun, as we descended downhill for several kms 12-16 kms were fast for me (4:12; 4:06; 4:12; 4:13). I was able to stride out, and moved fast down the hill, as my lungs got a bit of a break while my legs kept it rolling. At around 16 km we were back to the rolling hills, and my legs were starting to tire at this point - as my body also tired. I had to keep focused - I felt that I'd run a pretty good race up to this point, and didn't want to lose it in the last 5km. My last kms were all closer to 4:30s, and I had to dig deep to hold on. I watched as Angela slipped further away in the distance, and I tried simply to not slow too much. After km 18, it's pretty much straight to the finish line - no more turns. Each km I passed, I told myself - only X more kms, no problem, just keep pushing. This helped me, and I was able to focus on the finish and keep my legs turning over.

Thankfully, I was able to hold on, and the finish line neared closer and closer. I came up to the bridge that was about 500m from the finish line - there was a slight rise, and then I tried to bring it in. There was no one right in front of me - so there was no one to push me, but me. I was able to kick it up a notch, and actually had a nice strong finish -- much different than the year before, when I had struggled across the finish line, and had nothing left.

My final time was 1:32:28 -- actually surpassing my A goal -- so I was very pleased. It wasn't the easiest race, and I had kms that ranged from fast, to slower - with a range of 33 seconds between my slowest and fastest km splits. But overall, I was happy with my performance.

In the past, I had found that I had never been able to perform quite up to the calculation of the race calculator for the longer distances - so I wasn't expecting to come in around 1:32:XX - but I guess something in my training has gone right, as all my races this season have gone well. Hopefully it can continue.
My km splits were: 4:15; 4:18: 4:15; 4:14; 4:20; 4:34; 4:29; 4:39; 4:31; 4:25; 4:28; 4:28; 4:12; 4:06; 4:12; 4:13; 4:31; 4:36; 4:34; 4:27; 4:41.

David Jackson was the first male, Care Wakely came in again as the first overall female, and Shane PR'd, despite having a mediocre feeling race. Overall, I was 7th female, and 77th place overall, while Shane was 7th overall. Lots of lucky 7s! :-)

Bazan Bay 5 km

2010-03-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

March 7, 2010

I'm again more than a week late for my race report - but life has been more than hectic lately with lots of things going not, including a small home improvement project, that is not really that small: redoing the flooring in our condo -- putting in laminate. We've had some great assistance- but it all still takes time.

Now to the race. This was my third race in the Island Race series, and for once I wasn't too nervous going into it. I hadn't raced 5km in 3 years, so I knew that at the very least I would be able to get a P.B (personal best). It was nice going into a race knowing that I had improved my speed enough over the last three years to know unless somethihng serious happened, I would get the coveted P.B.

The night before the race, Shane and I were looking at the race calculator, which provides predictions on how fast you should be able to run a race at a given distance based on your performance at other distances. I plunked in my time from the Cobble Hill 10km and the result I got for 10km was just over 20min. Wow - that seemed fast, I thought. This then got into my head that I could run a 20min 5 km! I hadn't been nervous, but now thinking about this new goal, nervousness started to creep into me.

The morning of the race I felt extremely groggy and tired. I had a bit of coffee to try and perk me up, fit in a very quick warm-up and then soon enough the race was on. Right from the start I felt good. My legs weren't tired and I felt like they could hold a good pace. I had passed the first km marker on my warm-up, so I knew when to expect it. For kms 2-4 we ran along Lochside Drive, right next to the ocean. It was a beautiful location, which I had no chance to appreciate. By about km 1.5 the group I was running around had settled into place. There was one man who I was running around, and he would pick up the pace for a bit, and then I would pass him for a bit. Just after the turn-around (just before the 3 km marker), he passed me for the final time, and my goal was simply to stay as close to him as possible. I was still feeling pretty good, and the run was not feeling taxing yet.

Soon enough we were at the final km. This is where the race started to hurt. My body was starting to feel the race and wanting me to slow down. But, I was determined to push on - my racing partner was still just ahead of me, and I had kept with him as he had passed a number of runners. The last 500 meters included two turns - with the last one following about 200m until the finish line. While this is not actually a long distance, that 200m couldn't come soon enough. Coming up to the finish line, I heard someone call out 'Go Sonja, you can get under 20 minutes!'. Wow, I thought -- so I made a final push, and passed a few runners right near the finish line. As I looked at the clock, I saw 19:50 flash before my eyes. I was ecstatic! This was beyond my expectations, and I was so excited to get under that 20 minute mark -- one of the big milestones. My previous time at the 5km distance was 22:43.

My official finishing time was 19:52, and I ended up being second in my age category. Making these achievements is what makes racing so fun and addictive. As long as I keep improving, it will be difficult to stop racing. My splits were: 3:50; 4:02; 4:00; 4:02; 3:57.

The overall winner of the race was Simon Whitfield -- I never actually saw him, and didn't even recognize him when I watched the leaders after the turn-around. He finished in 14:36.

Shane also had a pretty good race, and finished in 15:47 - a P.B. too and just after his goal time of 15:45 for that race.

Next- the Comox Half-Marathon this upcoming Sunday -- hopefully all goes well. Yesterday I ran 3 X 1 mile at the track, at half-marathon pace -- but my miles ended up being close to 10km pace (6:40 per mile). It felt good, and maybe one day this will be my half-marathon pace!

Orcas Island 25 km Trail Race

2010-02-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2010

This was not only a race, but it was a whole weekend event, filled with sunshine, laughter, good food, and most important of all a great group of runners. The idea for heading over to Orcas Island to run a trail race arose many months previous, and the grand master organizer Sara Pape-Salmon began making preparations for the trip and rounding together a crew of interested runners. It sounded like it would be a good time, so I signed up for the 25 km race (there was also a 50 km race). We decided to rent a house and spend the entire weekend.

Due to logistics, we had to spend almost an entire day driving and ferry-ing to the Island. This meant an early morning rise for Shane and I on Friday. There is a ferry route between Vancouver Island (Sidney) and Orcas Island (via Anacortes), but unfortunately, it was not running in the winter, due to low traffic. As a result, we had to go along a convoluted route - across to Tsawwassen (Vancouver), down through Bellingham to Anacortes and then take another ferry to Orcas Island.

Time spent in travel: Almost 3 hours in ferries, about 3 hours driving, around 1 hour 15 min in ferry line-ups, and close to 1 hour waiting to get through US Customs (paperwork and lines were involved when one in our group tried to cross into the US, who was neither a Canadian nor US citizen). Luckily, it was great company and the conversation flowed easily -- plus we had challenging puzzles, super exciting loops through Bellingham, a fantastic healthy grocery store and stories about dating to entertain us along the way.

We arrived at Orcas Island in the early evening, ate some dinner, chatted some and prepared for the race the next day. I was absolutely exhausted. I had come down with a minor cold the day before, and although I didn't feel very sick, it had completely eaten up my energy. I only hoped that it wouldn't end up affecting me too much in the race the next day. As a result I headed to bed before 9pm!

Saturday morning, and I felt pretty good -- I had been able to get a decent rest, although I was still somewhat apprehensive about the race.

This is the most casual race I have ever been to. There's no proper timing (timers simply record your time as you cross the finish line), no awards, and a very laid-back atmosphere. The 50km racers headed off 15 minutes before us - three of our group were in that race (Jeff Hunt, Carolyn Goluza and Carlos Castillo).

Orcas 25 km Course Map

Orcas 25 km Profile

Next, it was our turn. Shane, Andrew Pape-Salmon, Sara, John Caterall, Jeremy Watts, Kathleen Birney and myself lined up for the start. There was some brief comments by the race director and then with barely a countdown we were off! The first 5 km or so were spent on a singletrack trail that had slight undulations up and down as we weaved around to Mountain Lake. Then the climb began. I knew that I would do a lot of hiking on the climbs. I wasn't feeling horrible, but my energy was definitely somewhat depleted, and I tried to simply stay steady and keep my pace going forward. A few people passed me as the climb started, but I wasn't too concerned. I hadn't gone into this race to set any kind of record and I wasn't expecting a high placing. I simply wanted to go out and enjoy the run, which definitely took the pressure off. The trail was beautiful, and while the forest was dense, the view wasn't very special - it looked very brown, not lush and green, as I would have expected during this time of year.

The climb was hard and went on for some time, but I was actually surprised to see the top as soon as I did. I reached the top in 1 hour 5 minutes. Near the top I jockeyed for position with another female runner and a male runner. On the sections that headed downhill, I was able to pass these two, but as the trail turned up again, they outclimbed me.

At the peak, the view was absolutely outstanding! It was a beautiful clear day, and we could see mountain ranges in the distance and the town below. Absolutely fantastic. I even slowed my pace somewhat to take it all in.

Next, we were in for some massive downhill. During this section, I was able to pass both the male and the female again. As I passed the male runner, he said "Ahhh, to be young again", I replied "Yes, but you'll pass me back on the uphill", and I fully expected that he would. This section had a lot of zig-zags, and I had to check my speed at each turn, as the trail turned 180 degrees down in the opposite direction. The trail was nicely maintained, but I found this amount of zig-zags really broke up my rhythm.

The next climb then began, and I was feeling better as the race went on. This climb was about 170 meters. It went by mostly in a blur - near the top, I was surprised to see John Caterall in front of me, as he's a stronger runner than I am. Soon after passing him, we reached the top. However, as I was running up to the intersection, the woman in front of me was yelling 'there's no ribbon' -- 'which way do we go?' The rest of the course had been well marked, with yellow ribbon and signs marking our way. Later, we learned that someone had torn down the ribbon at this intersection. About 5 of us milled around for a bit - there was sign to the left that pointed to some cold springs, and a sign to the right that pointed to Cascade Lake. One man of the group started to head down to the left, and I was pretty certain that this was the correct direction.

Prior to the race, Shane had been studying the map pretty intently, as he mentioned that it's always a good idea to have at least some sort of concept of where the race goes. Thankfully, I had followed his lead, and had a pretty good look at the map. I knew that after the two climbs, there was a steep descent that headed down to a lake. So, we decided to trudge down towards Cascade Lake and hoped that this was the right way. The path was steep, and there was no ribbons for quite some time. As we descended I decided that if this wasn't the correct way, I wasn't going back up -- I didn't have the energy to hike back up. But, this would not be required, as about half way down, we saw some yellow ribbons! Good, now we could continue along in confidence.

Soon after this point, I passed the female who had led up the climb. I got my downhill legs going and began to really hammer it down the hill. My legs took a lot of pounding, but I had fun going fast downhill.

Finally, the ground levelled out and I knew that I was almost done. I crossed a street and headed out around for the last ~5 km around the lake. Contrasting to the first 5 km, the loop around the lake was actually relatively flat. It was a beautiful loop, with only a few slight uphills. I ran this section entirely by myself and I had no idea where I was in relation to those in front or behind me. Soon, I began to hear the fiinish line -- now I really knew I was close. There was a small section on the road, and then one final uphill section -- finally down on the grass to the finish line. Time: 2:20:55. I was extremely happy with this time and with how I had performed, despite coming into the race a bit sick.

I later learned that I came in as the 3rd female overall -- wow - this was fantastic! I definitely hadn't expected this, but was elated with the news. Many of the other racers from our group also had outstanding races. Shane came in first (after the leader took a wrong turn), Andrew came in 6th overall, Jeremy had a pretty good race, Sara and Kathleen enjoyed their first 25 km races and came in sooner than expected, and John had a decent performance. In the 50 km, Jeff unfortunately ended up having to drop out as he was not feeling well, but Carlos and Carolyn had pretty good races. After the race, there was not only regular post-race munchies, there was also wonderfully tasty vegan soups with all sorts of toppings. Bonus points for that!

Enjoying a laugh after the race.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend -- and could only have been made better if the ferry between Sidney and the San Juan Islands had been running. But at least the company for the travels made it enjoyable. Overall a fun course, to which I would definitely return!

Back Row (left-right): Garth, Carolyn, Kathleen, Paul Birney, me (Sonja), Shane, Sara, Andrew, Jeremy

Front Row (left-right): John, Carlos, Jeff

Track workout - February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Ok -- I still have the Orcas Island race report to do - but I wanted to do a quick write-up on my track workout tonight. It was a brutal workout -- made even more difficult by the fact that I had ran 20 km yesterday (1 lap easy and 1 lap hard around Elk/Beaver Lake).

So the workout tonight: warm-up, then 4 X 400 meters w/ 30 second rest in between; 2 minute rest; 2 X 800 meters with 1 minute in between; 4 X 400 meters w/ 30 second rest in between. I started the first 400 meters too fast. I got caught up in the speed of the group in front of me, and tried to stay with them, rather than running my own pace. My legs burned and I thought to myself 'this is going to be one hard workout' -- I wasn't sure at that point that I was going to make it. My first lap clocked in at 1:25. I was almost certain I would peter out.

The next 400s I slowed down my pace and my legs started to adjust to the speed. My laps were all about 1:29-1:30. It hurt, but I was happy that I had so far been able to keep consistent. Next, we had a 2 minute rest, which I thouroughly took advantage of. Next, came the 800 meter repeats. These I actually found easier than the 400 meters -- sure the ace was a bit easier, but even coming into the finish I didn't feel quite as fatigued. Both of my 800 meters were 3:07 -- pretty cool to get both right bang on.

I was worried about the next 400 meters. I started my first of the last 400s. My legs felt really heavy after the 2 minutes of rest. But, amazingly I was actually able to keep the pace I'd set on my first round - bang on at: 1:29. My next 3 came in at: 1:30; 1:28; and 1:30. I was so amazed that I kept on my pace with my first series of 400s. My last 400 repeat, I was sore, tired and breathing hard. I hadn't had time to fully recover before starting the last repeat -- but I kept in mind that this was the last one and to try and push it as hard as I could. Sometimes it really is amazing what you can push through and what you can achieve -- even through the pain.

It was interesting to see the comparison with a set of 800 meter repeats that I had completed the week before. On the previous Thursday, I had ran 7 X 800 meters - but there was a horrible wind, and my repeats averaged around 3:15 - almost 8 seconds slower -- crazy what wind can do.

So, there's a bit of a training update. My next goal race is the Comox half-marathon in March. I'm hoping to have a PB race. I have a short 5 km race in between - and then a few 10 kms in April and May.

Happy training!

Cobble Hill 10km

2010-01-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2010

This is the second race in the Island Series - a somewhat undulating course with a few climbs and descents, but nothing too steep. Originally, I had not even planned on running this race. After Pioneer, I thought that the next time I would race on the road would not be until March.... but, Shane decided to race it, and I have a very hard time sitting out of a race, if he's running it. So, sign up I did. And, it turned out to be a very good decision.

Going into 2010, I, like many runners, had made a few racing goals for the new year and new season. I hoped to better my time on distances I had already run. My ultimate goal time for a 10km for this year was to get under 42 minutes, which would be over a minute and half improvement over my personal best from last year --- I hadn't realized, how quickly I would reach my goal...

Going into this race, I still didn't quite know where I was at in terms of fitness. I had an indication from Pioneer, that my speed was improving, but it was still too early to tell exactly how much. Based on my Pioneer time, the race calculator indicated that I should be capable of running a 42:30 10km. This seemed fantastic in itself, as my previous best time had been 43:33. However, my realistic goal was to get under 43 minutes at Cobble. Since I don't like feeling disappointed, I usually try to go into races with modest goals - which I believe I can meet (although the more challenging goals do dance around in my head).

The morning of the race, I woke up feeling very lethargic and sleepy. I wasn't yet in the mood for racing. But, the jitters would wake me up soon enough. Shane and I arrived an hour before the start, but due to the bathroom lines, I barely had time for a warm up run -- I ran to the start line (about 300 meters away) and then got a few extra minutes in before it was time to line up for the start.

With barely a countdown 3-2-1-- we were off before I knew it. There was a bit of positioning at the outset, but after a couple hundred meters, things got more or less sorted out, and I was able to establish my rhythm for the race. The first kilometer flew by pretty quickly and easily. The course then made a sharp left turn as we headed towards the 2 kilometer mark, as a course marshal was madly yelling 'Don't cut the corner! Do NOT cut the corner!', as racers ran by, some cutting the corner (running on the dirt path beside the road), others making the turn on the road. The difference in time probably would only amount to less than a second, but the marshal certainly was trying to ensure that everyone ran the course as measured.

After the turn, the road headed somewhat downhill, before we turned around and came back along the same road. As I neared the 2 km marker, I was thinking to myself - 'OK, just 8 km to go, just pretend that you are starting the Pioneer race...' I felt pretty good, and was happy that I was keeping up with Julie - but it was still early, and there was still enough time for anything to happen. We turned back onto the main road, and then hit the 3 km marker -- the past km had been somewhat uphill. The road continued slightly uphill all the way until the turnaround. The grade was slight though, and the going felt harder, but I didn't really realize that the road was slanted somewhat up until we were running back down later in the race. I passed Julie, which surprised me, but I was sure that she'd be right there passing me back soon enough (unfortunately, she was forced to stop and walk for part of the race, as she wasn't feeling well).

Around this point, Buddy Bandhar and Kevin Spahn passed me -- both stronger runners than me. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with Buddy, but I tried to stay somewhat close to Kevin. We ran towards the turnaround (I had completely missed the 5 km marker). Soon after the turnaround (around a loop in the road, rather than simply around a cone), we hit the 6 km marker. I remember the next km being pretty downhill- which gave me a bit of time to let my legs go, but give my lungs a bit of a break.

The course then made another left turn onto another side-road, and wound around, with slight uphills and downhills along a well-treed road. We hit the 8 km marker on this loopy road, and hit the 9km marker as we headed back to the main road. Although I felt pretty good throughout the race, the last three kilometers started to wear me down. I tried to keep myself focused and to stay with those running around me. I was pleased that up until that point, I hadn't had many people pass me, and I'd stayed pretty close to the same people throughout the entire race.

Then it was the last kilometer. From kilometer 8 or so, I'd been duking it out with one guy - as we passed each other back and forth. Heading into the final km, I was in the lead -- but really had to keep myself going, to stay ahead. As we rounded the final corner, I saw the finish line and tried to give it one final push towards the end. However, just 100 meters from the end, the guy who I'd been duking it out with passed me with a final surge. Then, just as I was about to cross the finish line, one other guy stepped right in front of me. I was happy that it wasn't someone in my age category, but I did feel that it was somewhat rude to step in front of someone right at the last moment. But maybe that's what the competition is all about...

However, I was absolutely elated at my time. Heading up to the finish line I saw 41:52 -- wow, I was about to get under 42 minutes! I couldn't believe it. My final official time was 41:58 - just getting under 42 minutes! Wow, I'd already met my 'A' goal for the year --- I guess I would need to take another look, and make some revisions to my goals. I certainly hope that this is an indication for how the rest of the year was going to go -- it had certainly started spectacularly. My splits were: 4:00; 4:04, 4:14; 4:19; 8:43 (kms 4-6), 4:02; 4:15; 4:16; 4:04. Final results are here.

Many other Harriers had great races at Cobble as well- and Shane had a 10 second PB, also winning his age category. (I actually got my first medal from an Island Series event -- silver!). It was great to see so many familiar faces, and to see so many others have fantastic times. The post-race was also laudable - the food was plentiful and diverse, and I had lots of options to choose from! Overall a great morning -- and even the rain held off for us. Next weekend, I'm off to do a trail race on Orcas Island -- a bit of a different beast, but it should be a blast!

Prairie Inn Pioneer 8 km

2010-01-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2010

So, I've just finished another race, although I have yet to post an entry for this one. Now, I'm two races behind!

The Pioneer 8km was the first race of the season for me and for many others. It's organized by the club I belong to: the Prairie Inn Harriers. It's a nice wake-up call following the holiday season, which involved much relaxing and eating. This is an exciting race, as it has brought out some big talent in the last few years, and a huge turnout for a local race. It's fun to watch, even as a participant because since it's a loop course, you get to see the frontrunners on their way back to the finish. This year was no different, as Steve Osaduik and Richard Mosley, the previous year's winner, were contending for first place.

Going into this race, I was totally unsure of how I would do. I'd changed up some things in my training plan since September, and I was excited, but also nervous to see if it had made a difference. I'd added 2 more days of running to my schedule, started doing a few speed sessions on the track and started going to a hard spinning class once a week. I was hoping that I could get a PB, and ultimately I wanted to get under 35 minutes (my previous PB was 35:12).

I arrived early for the race, as I was helping out with registration. It was fun to see the runners arrive and the hall get busy, and witness the excitement of the race begin to fill the air. About half an hour before the beginning of the race, I nipped out for a quick warm-up, did my last bathroom break, and quickly stripped down to my racing attire - just barely making it to hear the countdown. Then we were off.

The first kilometer was super fast, as it's all downhill. I ran the fastest kilometer ever for me in a race, clocking in under 4 mins. The second kilometer continued along Wallace drive, as we made a right turn, and began a slight climb up to Stelly's X-Road, the road where we'd started the race. The climb is definitely noticeable, but not too steep. I was surprised at my placing in the race, as I was near two of my colleagues from the Prairie Inn Harriers, who are usually much faster than me, Camie Bentham and Julie Van Veelan. I hoped that I wasn't going too fast, and would end up tiring out on the last kilometers. I missed the 3rd kilometer marking, but knew that as we turned the corner onto Stelly's X-Road, that we were nearing the 4 km marking. We approached the 4 km marking, and there was a large clock showing the time. I read 16:22 and thought to myself - oh no, I'll have to work really hard to get under 35 minutes. I did the math wrong in my head, which is easy to do when you are working hard and focusing on running. In fact, if I could keep up my speed, I was on my way to a personal best.

I was surprised that I was still holding onto Camie and Julie, but I decided to run with it for as long as I could. Another Harrier woman, Sandra Mullen, went blazing by-- I was impressed by her speed, and thought to myself that she would be hard to catch.

The 4-5 kilometer is mostly downhill, and provides a nice little rest for the legs. Just as we were about to make a left turn onto Wallace road, Steve and Richard were heading into their last kilometer, neck and neck. We were soon past the 5 kilometer marker - only three to go. I did a bit of going back and forth with Julie, as we had slight undulations in the road, up and down. We were nearing the 6 km marker, and the last turnaround before heading back. Here, the race was getting hard for me, and it took all I had to keep charging ahead. At this point, a young guy, probably 20 or so, passed me, running strong and calling to his friends - obviously out more for a fun run than a true race.

Then, we were on our final stretch. After the turnaround most of the rest of the race was uphill. The last kilometer is entirely uphill, and I was really working it hard at this point. A woman who I thought was in my age category passed me at this point - but she had the strength to climb the hill and out-run me - I just didn't have it in my to catch her. About 500 meters to go, I heard 'GO Sonja, pump those arms' and it was the extra boost I needed to keep pushing. Then, I made the last turn towards the finish line, which was still about 300 meters away - all uphill, slightly steeper. Julie and Camie had pulled away from me slightly by this point and were about 10 seconds ahead of me. As I ran towards the finish, someone else called out 'GO Sonja, catch Julie, she's just ahead of you'. Again, this extra motivation was great to keep me going and not let go before the finish. I crossed the finish line, gasping for breath -- with the time reading 33:40. A huge PB for me! I was ecstatic, this was much better than I'd even expected. It was 1 minute and 32 seconds faster than my previous best time at this time, a year ago. Fantastic! My splits were: 3:52; 4:05;8:27 (kms 3 and 4); 4:10; 4:18; 4:21; 4:25.

Steve Osaduik ended up outkicking Richard Mosley, winning in the time of: 23:35. A lot of other Harriers had great races and there were many PBs to be had. Overall it was a fantastic day. The weather was nice and cool, the atmosphere was great - as there were quite a few spectators and cheers along the way (including from my parents who came out to watch the race!), and the course was challenging, but fun (as much fun as can be had when you are working hard, and gasping for air. I was very proud to be part of such an awesome club, for organizing such an outstanding event.

Stewart Mountain 16 km

2010-01-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

December 12, 2009

So, this race report is VERY overdue - but the month of December somehow ran away from me and before I knew it, the new year had begun. I have my first road race of the season on Sunday, January 10 (Pioneer 8km), so I wanted to get out a quick report about Stewart Mountain before then.

The Stewart Mountain 16km race was my last race of the year, and very happily, the racing year ended on a good note. This was the last race in the three-race series that occurs at Thetis Lake. It's a great race that starts near the main beach at Thetis Lake and winds its way to Stewart Mountain, up and over, and then back again, totalling 16 km.

Leading up to this race, it had been very cold for Victoria, with temps below freezing for a couple of weeks. Most of the puddles on the local trails had frozen over, and I was concerned that this race might turn into a skating event, as we slip slid over all of the ice. The race director, Bob Reid, even decided to bypass the puddle that we were originally intended to run through because it was completely frozen over and too dangerous to try and cross. Days before the race, there was a report of a huge ice patch at the top of Stewart Mountain that we would need to manoever around on our descent, which would make the way down tricky and potentially dangerous. I thought "this might just turn out to be an epic race, after all..." The descent from Stewart Mountain was noted to be icy, steep and covered with loose rocks and leaves. With all of this going on, I was beginning to think that this would not be a PR setting race, but actually slower than last year.

I arrived at Thetis Lake on race day, not in the mood to race. I was feeling pretty casual about the run, and thought I would just go out there, enjoy it and see how things go. I went for a quick warm up, and headed to the start line. Then we were off. I tried to get into a rhythm as the masses started off. As the pace was slower than at Gunner Shaw, the first km's felt very comfortable, as we rounded up and around the trails around Lower Thetis Lake.

Throughout the entire race I ran around fellow Harriers: Louise Proulx and Ben Kersen. We went back and forth a few times near the beginning, and then I took the lead for most of the first half of the race. As we ran towards Stewart Mountain, I was surprised at how good the footing on the ground was. The ground was pretty firm, from being frozen, and although there were a few icy puddles that needed to be avoided, for the most part the footing was good. This made the running quite enjoyable. I actually felt good during this race, and like I was running at a fairly good pace. As we neared the base of the mountain, I heard reports that I was the 5th or 6th woman overall. This was exciting, as I don't often have the opportunity to be this high up in a race.

Soon, we were at the base of the mountain, and the climbing began. I ran part way up, but soon enough began hiking. I've found that at a certain point, running up a climb is no faster than power hiking, and hiking saves your energy for when you need it later on. So, power-hike I did. There were quite a few people around me, and you could hear all of the grumbles about the climb, and thoughts of amazement of the leaders who actually run up this entire thing! I was able to intersperse a few running bits on the flatter sections. Then, we were directed off of the main wide trail onto a piece of single-track that wound up to the top of the mountain, up a VERY steep incline. This is where Ben and Louise passed me. I had expected them to pass somewhere along this section, as I knew that they were both stronger climbers that I was. The climb was taking it out of me, and I was glad to reach the top. I broke into a wide grin and a jog at the top, as I 'posed' for the camera, as Adam Lawrence was taking pictures of the suffering runners.

Me at the top of the climb.

Photo: Adam Lawrence

Then, the fun part began. The reports of the treacherous conditions were over-rated, and I let my legs go as I flew down the other side of the hill. I LOVE the downhill sections - and can usually make up ground on people when moving downhill. The second half of the course was more downhill than the first, which is nice for tired legs. However, Louise was also a master of the downhill, and I couldn't quite rope her in. I went back and forth with Ben a few times as we descended the hill, but then on the flatter sections, he ran away from me.

I was feeling pretty good about my race, and my legs were happy to keep pushing as I winded my way back towards Lower Thetis Lake. I could see Louise just a bit in front of me, and seeing her not too far away motivated me to keep moving. I enjoyed the run back, and spent a large portion of it running by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the few single-track sections, but was also happy in the knowledge that I was getting close to the goal. Then, came the final hurdle -- or three hurdles -- the final three short, but steep hills. By this time, my legs were done and it took all I had to keep moving over these hills. I conquered one after another, and then set my legs in motion towards the finish line. I could hear someone running close behind me and I was determined not to let them pass me in these final few hundred meters. I pushed hard, and luckily was able to keep whoever was chasing me at bay. I finished in 1:27:50 -- good for 7th woman overall, just beating the 8th place woman by 5 seconds. I bettered my time from 2008 by over 5 mins. The final results are here. Eric Findlay won the race in 1:06.:14, just beating Nick Walker by 3 seconds. The first female was Jessalyn O'Donnell coming in at 1:18.08

Overall, I had a fantastic race. My legs and body felt good, and my breathing wasn't too laboured. I had received another long-acting inhaler from my doctor to try, which I was to take every day as a preventative measure, and it seemed to be helping. I'm still planning on getting tested for asthma, but it could take weeks or months before I am able to get in to see a specialist to have the lung-function test completed. But, for the moment, I'm happy when I can run and not feel like I am totally straining for breath.

Gunner Shaw – Vancouver

2009-12-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2009 - Gunner Shaw – Vancouver

As I mentioned in my last report, I headed over to Vancouver last weekend to race in the Gunner Shaw cross-country race in Vancouver. The Lion’s Gate Road Runners host this race every year, and there is an inter-club challenge between my club (the Prairie Inn Harriers) and the LGRRs. Each year the LGRR send a contingent of runners to the Gunner Shaw Race in Victoria, and PIH sends runners to the race in Vancouver.

As the race starts at 11:00am, it’s an early start from Victoria. This year a group of about 20 PIHers met at 6:00am, to catch the 7am ferry to Vancouver. This means waking up much earlier than I would like to, but as it’s a once-a-year event, I can’t complain too much! We headed over in two vans, the ‘Harrier-carrier’ and a rented van that was able to accommodate all of us.

This is the only ‘pure’ cross-country race that I have ever done, and it’s a fun race, as it takes you over various terrain. There are two small hills, some grass, sand, mud, pathways and lots of twists and turns. It is two loops and is 9-10 km in total distance.

We arrived at Jericho Beach, where the race is held, 1.5 hours before the start of the race. This gave ample time for all pre-race preparations, as well as lots of milling about. It was a beautiful sunny, yet cool day. The temperature was close to 5 degrees, but with the sun shining, it felt much warmer. The race usually goes through a shallow puddle that is a couple of hundred meters long, but it was completely frozen over this year. For safety reasons, we would be diverted around the puddle, as the ice sheet produced skating-like conditions, and going over it would produce many falls.

About 30 minutes before the start of the race, I got changed into my race attire (it was warm enough for a t-shirt, and many others even donned singlets), and went for a short warm-up run. Then, it was a quick group photo, and the race began.

The beginning of the race is always a gong-show. It’s very crowded at the start, as everyone jumps to get ahead. I tried to get into a comfortable rhythm, and enjoy the race, as much as I could. The race starts on the grass, and loops around a treed area before it makes its way towards the beach and the first few sand patches. The sand is always a pain to run over, as it sucks you right in – slowing down your movements. There’s a rise over a small hill, and then onto the main sand section, which this year was extended to about 300-400 meters. This might not sound like much, but when you are running on soft sand, it definitely feels long. When I finally emerged from the sand, my legs felt like jello, and it was a struggle to get them moving again. Then it was on to more grass, through a small ravine, and over, up and around, as we ran on grass, over bridges and on various trails.

There are two steep-ish short hills, and on both loops, these hills totally took it out of me. I would reach the top of the hill and just be totally out of breath and wheezing. It really caused me to slow down, which was frustrating. I felt like the hills shouldn’t affect me that much. However, there are also some really nice downhill and flat sections that are on trail, where I was able to get my legs going well, and I enjoyed striding out and feeling strong.

On the first loop of the course, I passed a few people, was passed by a few others and tucked in behind a woman from the LGRRs. I tried to stay on her tail, but the hills hurt me, and she was able to pull away enough to get a sizeable gap on me. After the first loop, I came past the finishing line, and my legs felt heavy- I wondered how the next loop would go.

The second loop was slower than the first loop by about 80 seconds or so. This time, I ran on the lower part of the sand, near the water, and it was much easier, as the sand was more hard-packed, than in the higher section. The terrain was more forgiving this year than last year, as the cold weather had frozen the ground. This made the grassy sections easier to run on, as they weren’t muddy, wet or slippery. There were still a few sections that were a bit dicey – as there were icy patches. There’s a small, yet steep down hill, that almost led me to fall, as I slipped on some ice. But I was able to keep my feet moving fast, and I was able to avoid a slip and fall. Near the end of the loop, there’s also a section that winds through blackberry bushes, and it had some small puddles that had frozen over, and caused some swift footwork to avoid a slip or cold feet. Other than these few sections, it was a faster and easier race than the previous year.

Overall, the second loop went fine, although I felt that I had more in me to push, and was held back by my wheeziness. It felt easier to take deeper breaths during this race, but I was still wheezing a lot, especially after any climbs. My favourite sections were where I could stride out. In these parts, I felt strong and as though I actually had some speed in me. As I neared the finish line after the second loop, many of my fellow PIHers had already finished and were standing near the finish line cheering the rest of us on. It was great to hear so many people cheering for me, and gave me some extra energy to push to the line. My legs allowed me to push a bit more than during the first lap, as I headed towards the trail that led to the finish line. Ahh – my body sighed in relief, as I finished another hard race. My finishing time was 45:40.

Many Prairie Inn Harriers had fantastic races, and our club was on the podium for almost every age group, with our men and women topping the podium in many age groups. Members of PIH also had 5 of the top 6 spots overall. I ended up being 4th in my age group, just out of the ribbons. I was 97th overall, which coincidentally is exactly the same placing that I was last year. However, my time was about 2.5 minutes faster this year. Shane ended up 6th overall, and first in his age category, as all those ahead of him were young guys in their 20s. Here are the final results.

After the race, there was a nice spread of pizza, bagels, soup, mandarin oranges, bananas, and tasty juice. I also enjoyed a lovely warm shower, to wash off all of the dirt from the race. Then, shortly after the awards, we headed off to catch the 3pm ferry back to Victoria, after a satisfying morning in Vancouver.

Gunner Shaw - Thetis Lake

2009-12-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

November 28, 2009

This will be a relatively short write-up, as I'm heading over to Vancouver to run the 'other' Gunner Shaw race tomorrow morning. Bruce 'Gunner' Shaw was one of the founding members of the Prairie Inn Harriers running club, and was an inspirational runner and individual. He also lived and raced in Vancouver, and for that reason has races named after him in both locations.

The Victoria Gunner Shaw race takes place around Thetis Lake, which was one of 'Gunner's' favorite places to run in Victoria. Bob Reid established the run to honour his friend, and it has become one of the most popular cross-country races in Canada. This year it attracted around 430 runners, all ready to get wet and muddy - an unavoidable part of the race.

The race course was tons of fun this year. The race started under a cloudy sky, with light rain falling. We started off the race up a road, and then soon headed on to the trails. It had been extremely wet and rainy the past few weeks leading up to the race, so I knew there would be lots of puddles and streams everywhere- and there certainly was. While, I had fun tromping through the water, not even trying to keep my feet dry - my lungs certainly did not.

I had a difficult time getting enough air into my lungs, and I was wheezing the entire race. I generally work hard in a race, but this felt different than simply pushing yourself. I felt that I was breathing harder than I should have been based on my effort, and I was not able to take a deep breath -- all of my breaths felt shallow. So, I think I may have EIA - exercise induced asthma. Either that, or something is going on - because this definitely did not feel 'normal'. I will be getting this checked soon, so hopefully I'll have a definite answer for the cause of the wheezing, and maybe even get a solution that would allow me to push even harder.

Other than my breathing difficulties, I enjoyed the race. The course was a mixture of wider, easy trails, single-track more technical trails, a few hills, lots of water, two puddles and a finish in the lake. Bob had added a second puddle to the race this year, since the previous puddle had been partially filled in. In order to get us wetter - Bob went looking for a larger puddle, that would ensure we would get wet. This puddle was about thigh height and even had a log in the middle that required you to climb over. The puddles weren't too bad to tromp through, except for their smell and the feet that burned with cold for some moments after you got through.

There was also a new single-track section, which was TONS of fun. Many of the runners who participate in this race don't run trails much, so some are more tentative on the more technical sections. For myself, this was the most fun part of the course and I was able to pick up the speed on the windy trail, as I bounded over roots, logs and rocks.

Then end of the race featured the three ' bugger' hills again. Although short, they are steep and definitely a challenge at the end of a race. But, I was happy to see them in a way, as it meant the finish line was nearby. After the three hills were over, there was a short downhill section, and I let my legs fly - allowing me to pass a few people. I love the downhill sections in a race, as I usually tend to pass people on these parts. It was great to have it at the end of the race, as it allowed me to pick up a few placings. :-) The race ended in Thetis Lake, as we ran through the lake near the shoreline. The water was frigid, but by that point I really wanted to finish the race, so I ran as much as I could through the water. My finishing time was 47.05, and I was 6th woman out of 49 in my category of 30-39.

While the race wasn't a disaster, it was somewhat frustrating and disappointing, as I felt I could have performed better. Either way, it was a really fun course and extremely well organized with great volunteers. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen! Hopefully I'll have better luck with my lungs at tomorrow's race!

Running through Thetis Lake at the end of the race.

Photo: Tony Austin

PIH - Thetis Lake Relay

2009-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2009

This is the third year that I have participated in the Thetis Lake Relay. It's a fun event that transforms an individual sport into a team event - with teams of up to 4 people completing 4 laps around upper and lower Thetis Lakes. The total distance is approximately 20 km (each lap is just under 5 km). This year I entered with a team of 3 other fast PIH women: Julie Van Veelan, Camie Bentham and Claire Morgan. I was looking forward to the event, knowing that we had a chance of placing. It's amazing how popular this race is - there were 149 teams with 600 people participating. It's great to see such a low-key event (where everyone is responsible for timing themselves) see so much interest.

About a week before the event, I went for a run at Thetis Lake in the pouring rain. It was an incredibly soggy run, and there were puddles everywhere. If the day of the Relay was anything like this one, I thought, it would be one wet run.

Luckily, the day of the Relay was beautiful. I woke up and was amazed to see the sun shining outside. Shane and I got to the race just barely in time for the start. I wasn't running until the second leg, so I wasn't pressed for time, but as Shane was running solo, he barely had enough time to register, get into his running attire and down some liquid before the start. 5-4-3-2-1- and they were off. I jogged over to see the start, and then I headed out for a warm-up run. I'm not always consistent in doing a warm-up before a race, but I usually do them before either a short race or a hilly one. As I'd been battling some tiredness in the past few days, I was curious to see how my body would feel. I did a 15 minute warm-up and didn't feel too tired. I had just enough time to make it to the start line to see Julie bounding along the beach to the transfer point. Then, I was off.

I knew that out of my team, I was the slowest runner, but I hoped to be able to push hard and have times not too far off of theirs. Immediately, my breathing became laboured, as I pushed to get into a rhythm. One young boy passed me during the first few hundred meters of the lap, but shortly thereafter I passed him back, as he had slowed down quite a bit.

I enjoyed the first half of the course. The trail winded around, with a few small undulations up and down- it wasn't too mucky, although there were definitely a few muddy sections. I kept pretty consistent with the other racers around me as I rounded the lakes. I passed a few people, but wasn't passed by anyone else during this first section. I knew these trails fairly well, but I was still surprised to see the half-way mark sign. At that point I thought that for sure I was further than half-way. I already felt tired, and think I went out too fast, as I didn't feel that I would be able to sustain that pace for the rest of the loop. It's a short loop, but it still provides the possibility of a start that is too fast to maintain- especially since the last part of the course is the hardest.

As I rounded my way past Upper Thetis Lake towards Lower Thetis Lake, I knew that the three bugger hills still lay ahead. While these aren't particularly large hills, they are steep and definitely take something out of you at the end of your race. During this loop, I had managed to pass a few people, slowly decreasing the gap between myself and them. It was fun to spot someone up ahead that I thought I could pass, and try to narrow the gap and finally pass them. Near the end of the race, I had been running near one other woman, although I hadn't been able to pass her. As we crossed the last bridge, I gave a little push and made my way past her. However, next came the first of the three hills. The first one nearly took it out of me and I felt like I might vomit. The woman who I'd just passed ran past me up the hill. On each of the subsequent hills, I would catch up to her on the downhill and she would make up some distance on the up hills. After the last hill, there was a nice amount of sustained downhill. I was able to let my legs go as I descended, and made my way past her just at the end of the loop. I ran onto the sand and knew that my loop was almost over. I passed onto Camie, and made my way to the side to catch my breath.

I was pretty happy with how I'd run - finishing in 21.22 - and I was especially elated that I hadn't felt too tired during my lap. After finishing, I headed out for a second lap, at a more controlled pace. It was interesting to watch the other racers from a non-racer perspective. I was surprised that during my cool-down lap I still managed to pass a few people. It was interesting to observe my competitive spirit - even though I wasn't racing, if I observed someone up ahead who I thought I could pass, I would pick up the pace to get by. Even going at a slower pace, the three hills at the end still took it out of me. I was happy to see the beach up ahead, as I finished my run.

I went and stood in the lake for five minutes, as I waited for Shane to finish his race. He came by in just over 1:10, good enough for first place in the solo category. Then, we waited to see Claire finish it off for our team. Overall our total time was 1:21:08. Good enough for second in our category of Senior Women. It was a fabulous day - no rain, fairly mild, and not too muddy on the trails. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I was happy to have raced a solid race with such other speedy women.

Now I have a couple of weeks off of racing, and then three in a row to finish off my racing season for the year: PIH Gunner Shaw, Gunner Shaw in Vancouver and PIH Stewart Mountain.

Training - and the importance of sleep

2009-11-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

This fall I decided to get more structured about my training. For the past few years, I have been active most days: running, biking or using those horrible machines in the gym. However, I did not have any kind of training schedule - my workouts just fell into place, without much thought. I increased my running from 1-2 days a week to 3-4 days a week, but again this was done haphazardly. I had a speed session that I completed on Tuesdays, runs on the weekends (usually about 1 hour in length), and maybe one other run thrown into the mix [in the winter this was often a shorter run on the treadmill, in the summer I was more consistent about doing another run on the trails].

Last year, I saw some good improvements in my running, and achieved personal bests in almost all of my races. But, in the last 8 months or so, my training has not been regimented and my speed has not changed. My desire to build my speed motivated me to get more serious about my training, mix things up a bit and develop more of a program to guide my training.

Now, I'm no expert in developing training plans, but I did some searching on the Internet for examples of plans, thought about the goals I want to achieve, and based on this, started putting something together. The essential elements of the plan are: to run more often, to specifically include recovery days of easier running, and to include 3 good efforts each week: one speed session, one tempo run (of at least 1 hour in length), and one long run (at a consistent effort, not too easy).

Taking this step has re-ignited my passion for running and gives me hope that if I can stay consistent in my training, I can become a faster runner.

In the past, the one element that has hampered my training is tiredness. This is something that we all struggle with at some point (unless you are one of those amazing individuals who only needs 4-5 hours of sleep). Myself, for optimum performance and strenght I need about 9 hours of sleep each night. However, this is sometimes difficult to get. When I was younger, I used to be very structured in my sleep regimen, and my frirends knew not to call me after 9pm, as I would be in bed. However, in recent years, my sleep schedule has lost its structure, my body has lost its ability to always sleep well - thus resulting in less than optimum sleep. After weeks of sleep depletion, my body begins to break down, and I am no longer able to push hard on my efforts and my runs feel like a waste of time. Although I am going through the motions, I don't feel like it's having any benefit. Running becomes a struggle.

I've been going through one of these bouts lately, and it's always frustrating. I want to put in a hard effort, and nothing comes. I'm hoping that I can get over it soon, and get back to my rested state. I'm running the Thetis Relays this afternoon - so we'll see how I feel. Hopefully I'll be able to push hard throughout.

We all know that as athletes sleep is essential. We need to feed our bodies well through good nutrition and proper rest. However, while we usually are better at feeding our bodies, sleep and rest often don't get the full attention they should. Life often gets in the way and sleep gets pushed off - or because of stress, our bodies can't fully relax. It's a lesson that I'm still trying to learn. While life will continue to get in the way and push on my sleep needs, being cognizant of what my body needs to perform well (in terms of sleep) and trying to stick to that as much as possible will help.

Here's to a good night's rest for everyone!

Knee and Salt Spring Island

2009-10-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a quick update on my knee and some recent runs.

After the finish of the half-marathon, my knee was super sore. I was worried that I might have pushed it too hard and might be out from running for awhile. I went for a walk that afternoon with a friend and was limping around, as it was too painful to bend my knee. However, luckily, it didn't take too long to recover. Sunday and Monday my knee was still sore, but by Tuesday, I was able to join my regular running group, the Prairie Inn Harriers, for their weekly workout and did not feel my knee much. I was extremely happy. I have also been trying to focus on the exercises that I have been given to do to strengthen my body, which are supposed to help with my knee. The exercises are mainly glute strengthening exercises - various types of squats, deadlifts and leg lifts on the floor. I also do hamstring stretches, as my knee pain seems to be connected to a tight hamstring in the opposite leg. When I do the exercises consistently, I definitely feel stronger and I don't tend to have my injury issues creep up. It's a good reminder to keep at them!

Last weekend I headed over to Salt Spring Island with Shane for a weekend of relaxing and some running. I did two runs while over there - up Mt Maxwell and on the trails around Ruckle Park. Both were fun, and it was nice to run in some different locations.

The run up Mt Maxwell started on a small, narrow goat trail, which really was not made for running. Luckily, pretty soon it opened up a bit, which made the running more enjoyable, but then started to head straight up the mountain. There were not a lot of breaks, mostly sustained climbs, but mostly the grade wasn't too steep, and the entire ascent was runnable. Although there were a few sections that definitely got the heart rate elevated. About 2/3 to the top, there was a small lookout, which had a nice view below. The climb up to the top took about 24 minutes. At the top of the mountain, we had a beautiful view of the ocean, and the village below. It was super windy though and the wind was whipping the clouds around - it was cool to watch them move so quickly, opening up new views every few seconds. The run down the mountain was mostly pretty enjoyable. However, we had to be pretty careful, as there were lots of roots and rocks that were pretty slick from the rainfall that morning. The only unfortunate part was that right at the end of the trail; there were tons of stinging nettles and we both got stung quite nicely - I tried to avoid them, but didn't quite make it.

The next day, we headed over to Ruckle Park to run some of the trails over there. Being a Provincial Park, I expected the trails to be relatively easy - but boy was I wrong. The trails ended up actually being quite technical, with lots of roots, rocks and logs to jump over- the trail also zigzagged around and up and down. Although there was only one sustained climb, there were lots of little ups and downs. The run started off right beside the ocean, and it was beautiful and comforting to be so close to the water. On the way back, the trail headed through the interior of the forest, and up and over a hilltop. My hip flexors were sore from the run up Mt Maxwell, and they were definitely feeling it on all the climbs. On the way back, we ran about 500 meters on the road back to the parking lot, past an open farming lot that was open for visitor viewing (there were also a few old buildings on site). We stopped to check out the turkeys and chickens that were walking around. I hadn't seen turkeys that close-up before - they are definitely interesting looking critters, with all the lumps on and around their heads. Overall, it was a pretty good run - the technical aspect of the run definitely slowed things down, but it was still enjoyable. The loop took about 1hr10min.

Now back to more regular training. I'm going to try to fit in some regular longer runs, with more elevation, as I feel that I haven't been doing enough hills in my training lately.

RVM Half Marathon

2009-10-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2009

I decided to start a blog about my races to share them with others and also as a way to track and record my racing experiences.

This was my first road race since the TC 10km in April 2009. Throughout the summer I ran several trail races, but didn't venture into any road races. I prefer running and racing on the trails, although I still enjoy road races, as they are a better indicator of your progress. You can definitely determine whether you are slower or faster and analyze all of your splits.

My decision to enter the RVM Half-Marathon was based on my previous performance at the Comox Valley Half-Marathon in March 2009. I had a pretty good race there and took off over 5 minutes from my previous road half-marathon two years earlier. It made me excited to try and do better and get closer to what my potential should be (based on my best time in a road race). I thought that if I could train well, then I could take off a few more minutes. However, my training over the summer wasn't as dedicated as it should have been. While I ran throughout the summer, I don't think I did enough hard or long efforts to make much improvement.

The entire Royal Victoria Marathon weekend was very popular this year and had the largest number of entrants ever. The Half-Marathon was capped at 5,400 and sold out relatively early. It would be a packed race. While most of the races that I do are smaller - it's fun to participate in these larger races occasionally, as the crowds cheering you on combined with all of the racers really gives you a boost.

The RVM Half-Marathon starts very early in the morning: at 7:30am. I woke up in the dark and arrived downtown before the sun was even rising. I got there even earlier than I otherwise would have, as I arrived with Shane Ruljancich , who was running the 8km race, which started at 7:15am. I ended up having time for a short warm-up, and then headed off to line up for the start of the race.

We had the 5 second countdown and we were off. The first kilometer was like running through a maze, as I weaved through people left and right. This is pretty common for me in a race -- as I'm never one of the fastest runners, I situate myself somewhat back from the start line. While I try not to go too far back -- the start does get crowded, and I usually end up passing people in the first kilometer.

Nevertheless, the first km went by relatively quickly - as we rounded the backside of the Legislative Buildings. The second km would be harder, as we had a slight uphill up Johnson to Cook street. But, then we had a nice downhill for the next km, down Cook street to Beacon Hill Park. As we hit about the 5km marker, and entered Beacon Hill Park, I felt my knee start to twinge a bit. This unnerved me, as I've had issues with my knee, which have caused me to drop out of a half-marathon before (I barely hobbled back to the start line in 2003), and had led me to take 4 months off from running completely, just two years ago. I tried to stay positive, visualize finishing the race and telling myself that I am strong and could do it.

As we ran through Beacon Hill Park, my knee started to really ache, and I began to get a bit worried. I tried to run on any bit of grass I could, and by the time we were exiting Beacon Hill Park and heading back onto Cook Street, my knee was feeling better. It was nice to head out of the Park and almost be at the 9km marker. I hit the 10km marker at 45:19, which was ahead of schedule (to run a 1:38), but I was feeling good. I had actually decided not to look at any of my splits while running, and just run by feel. It might not have been the best strategy, but I just wanted to enjoy the run, and see what I could do without thinking about it too much.

Around the 11km marker, I saw the leaders, as they headed back from the turnaround. It's always impressive and inspiring to see the lead runners - they looked so strong and so fast. It's a great motivator to train and try and reach whatever your true potential is.

As I headed towards the turnaround, I was amazed at how strong I still felt. The kms were going by relatively quickly, and I was enjoying the race. As I ran back towards the Ross Bay cemetery, it was surreal to see the streams of racers behind me still heading towards the turnaround. That's one fantastic side of participating in larger races, to see how many other people are also taking part in the event and know that you're not alone in your pursuits (and pain).

The hill up to Clover Point is a bugger in any race - in the half-marathon it's just at the 16 km mark, when you are already sufficiently tired out, and running up that hill took all of my energy to keep up my pace. But at least I knew that it was the last substantial climb. There would be a few more blips, and a lengthy, gradual climb up to Mile Zero, but that was it. I was happy to see the 16km marker, as I knew I just had 5 km to go. My legs were definitely starting to feel it, and I wasn't able to push as much as I wanted. I could feel my splits getting slower, but had a hard time pushing my legs to go faster. It was a bit frustrating, but I just kept going.

We had a nice downhill section from about 17.5 - 19 km, and it was great to allow my body to roll down the hill. Usually at about the 18km marker in a half-marathon I tend to really feel it. I have had a hard time, and have struggled at this point in the race in the past. This time, while my legs were feeling tired, I wasn't as exhausted as I had been in previous races. The last few kilometers were hard, especially the little climb up to the Coast Guard station, but overall I felt pretty good. As I headed into the last kilometer, I tried to give it all I had. I always find the last kilometer of this race difficult, as it zigzags back and forth to the finish. You think that you are almost there, but then you have yet another corner to turn.

Finally, the finish was in my sights. I ran hard, hoping to see the clock read close to 1:35 -- but I looked up and saw 1:38. This was a bit disappointing, as I had felt like I could have beat my previous personal best time at this distance, but at the same time, I met my ultimate goal, which was to be under 1:40. I hit the finish line at 1:38:39, fifteen seconds slower than what I'd done at Comox.

Although I didn't get a PB, it was a pretty good race, as I felt pretty good throughout the race. I was able to deal with my knee pain, and was ecstatic that it didn't overcome me, and allowed me to finish the race in good form. Plus, as I had felt relatively strong, I knew that I had it within me to do better. This race gave me the motivation to work harder and really achieve the best that I could. My overall placing was 11th in my category (out of 424), and 72nd woman overall (out of 2965).

There were lots of great performances in all of the three races at the RVM -- 8km, half-marathon and marathon. It was fabulous to see so many other Harriers, and other familiar faces. Lots of top 5 placings in various divisions and races. Shane had a respectable race, and finished 3rd in his category (for the 8km). Jon Brown won the half-marathon in 1:04:57, and the female winner was Marilyn Arsenault, who ran a blazing time of 1:15:39 - breaking the female course record. It was an absolutely beautiful day for racing -- Congratulations to everyone who ran! The full results for the half-marathon are here.