Orcas Island 25 km Trail Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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