Running Tough

Pioneer 8k

2012-01-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2012

This was my 6th Pioneer race, having done it every year except one since I began doing Island Race Series races back in 2006. While I have raced fairly well here a number of times, I have found that coming so soon after the holiday season makes it a tough one. Last year I ran a pretty solid race to PB in 26:19. Based on my strong fall race season, I was hoping to improve on this a bit with a sub 26 min as my goal (3:15 per km pace).

This year Sonja and I arrived early as we were both volunteering and I was kept busy helping with parking until around 10:25am. It was then a bit of a rush to hit the bathrooms and get a 10 min warm up in. I made it to the start line with with only 45s to spare so that was cutting it just a bit too close for comfort. Bob Reid was announcing as usual at this race as it is a Prairie Inn Harriers hosted event. It is great to have such a veteran at the mic as Bob knows so many runners in the community and beyond.

The first kilometer of this race is super fast since it is all downhill and I clocked a 3:01. I had settled into about 10th place and was running near Ben Brzezynski. I was feeling decent and felt that if I could run a similar race in terms of relative pacing as I did in 2011 I should be able to sneak in under 26 min. The 2nd km was flat so my time here should have been close to my overall goal of 3:15 pace, but I was a bit fast at 3:09. I eased off a bit, knowing there was plenty of race left. I did work the uphill through Brentwood Bay pretty well gaining on Ben and eventually catching and passing him around the 3km mark.

Still feeling decent, I hit the halfway mat at 12:49, which gave me a buffer of around 20s get under 26min. Knowing that the 2nd half was more difficult than the first, I knew I would need it. When I saw my next split of 3:20 on a km that should have been fairly fast, I had the first idea that I was in trouble. Over the next km, Ben passed me back again as I struggled to maintain my rhythm and Ian Hallam cruised by me soon after that. I couldn't respond. This km was up a gradual hill and has generally been the slowest of the race for me, but it was still disappointing to be fading. The next split was a shockingly slow 3:40 which was even more discouraging - I knew for sure a PB was not going to happen - let alone a sub 26 min race. I did find out after the race that the turn around was placed too far out, increasing the course length by about 75 metres. I estimate that it cost be about 15s, which would seem about consistent with what it felt like I was running at that point (3:25).

A few hundred metres before the 7km marker, Nick Walker passed me seemingly moving pretty well. Again, I wanted to respond, but just didn't have the ability to do so both physically and mentally. I gutted out the last km, knowing that I was not moving that well, but not wanted to lose anymore positions. Luckily, Shawn Nelson was still too far behind to catch me.

This year race organizers had added a timing mat 100m before the finish line so that everyone could now contend for a Green Jersey sprint award. Generally, I have an acceptable sprint, but not this time, I was just happy to get to the finish line. I finished in 26:48 good for 11th place and first in the M35 category, below my expectations even if you take off the 15s for the longer course. It was the first time since I started running these races that I have not posted a better time at particular race, year over year. I knew the day would come when this would happen, but I hadn't expected it quite so soon.

Congrats to Steve Osaduik for taking the win in 24:46 and Lucy Smith the woman's win in 28:30. Kudos also to Larry Nylen for a PB (despite the long course) and Claire Morgan who ran here 2nd best IRS race based on points.

While disappointing, this race was not my focus for this year so I'll move forward continue training hard and hopefully run better next time. On the plus side, I felt pretty good on the 12k run I did after the race.

Results.

My splits: 3:01, 3:09, 3:19, 3:19 (12:49 4k split), 3:20, 3:26, 3:40 (75m too long), 3:31

2011 Review and Plans for 2012

2012-01-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

My first race of 2012 is tomorrow so it made since to spend a few minutes reviewing my running in 2011. Overall it was a really amazing year for me in terms of running, with more race wins and good performances this year than almost all other years put together. In particular though, lets take a look at the goals I had set myself for 2011 last January:

Qualify for the 2011 World Mountain Running Championships in Albania. This requires that I run exceptionally well at the Canadian Mountain Running Championships in Canmore Alberta so I have a chance to be selected for the Canadian Team. Completed - placed 5th at Canmore to grab the last automatic spot on the team.
To achieve my primary goal, I will need to do as much hill work as my legs will take and race as many hilly trail races as I can fit in. Some of the trail races that I already have plans to do are the Dirty Duo 25K, 4 or 5 Gutbusters (the schedule has not been posted yet), and Kusam Klimb. Prepared well with lots of hill workouts and racing at Dirty Duo and Mt Tzouhalem Gutbusters. Kusam was unfortunately cancelled.
If I could also set a few more personal bests in road races (I'm planning on doing 5 or 6 island race series races) that would be icing on the cake Set PB's for every road distance raced this year except the half marathon. Ran better than expected.
Throw in an adventure race or two to keep things interesting. I'm also keen to try a 24-36 hour adventure race and/or a 24 rogane if I can fit them in. Did two MOMARs, but unfortunately did not manage any other new races.
Start coaching a few more runners and help them achieve their goals. Currently have 4 people I produce a full program four and another group who regularly drops in to Thursday sessions. I've been quite happy coaching and plan to continue.
Stay (mostly) injury free. Was generally healthy although I have been battling a mild groin injury for a number of months.

I'd say that I did well in reaching my goals. Some other Positives for 2011 include.

Set personal bests at the Mile, 5K, 8K, 10K, 12K, and Marathon
Ran sub 33 min for 10K for the first time (32:43)
Picked up wins in 8 races including my first Island Race Series win (Sooke 10k), my first Gunner Shaw win, and my first road half marathon win (Shawnigan)
Managed to get a handle on my plantar fasciitis which is now fully cured
Got to watch some of those I coach set PB's
Got to experience my first international event at the World Mountain Running Championships
Was able to run a respectable marathon with no specific training with only moderate suffering

Of course is wasn't quite all rosy as there were still a couple of negatives for the year.

Had a terrible race at the World Mountain Running Championships in Albania due mostly to the heat. It was unfortunate to race so poorly at the highest profile event I have even attended.
Made a huge navigational blunder at the Cumberland MOMAR which gave our team the lowest placing in several years

Goals for 2012

This year, I'm shifting gears a bit and will be concentrating on longer distances so I plan to add volume to my training schedule and longer workouts overall
Race well at Chuckanut 50 in March
Race well at Boston Marathon in April
Not crumble at Squamish 50 (a 50 Miler) in August
If I could also set a few more personal bests in road races (I'm planning on doing 5 island race series races) that would fantastic
Do at least 1 adventure race. I'm also keen to try a 24-36 hour adventure race and/or a 24 rogane if I can fit them in.
Continue coaching runners to help them achieve their goals. Perhaps add a couple more athletes.
And as usual stay mostly injury free

Lets hope 2012 turns out to be as successful at 2011 was.

Stewart Mountian 10 Miler

2011-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

December 10, 2011

Stewart Mountain is one of my favorite fall races. The climb, which comes near the half way point, is steep and excruciating , but once you get over that, there is a lot of sweet quick trail on the way back. Last year, I fought a tough battle with Trever Ruck to eek out a small victory. And when you are the defending champion, there is a strong desire to not do worse - so I had put a bit of pressure on myself.

The weather was cool, but dry and trail conditions were excellent with minimal mud and water, no snow and only a bit of frost. It was a good day for a fast race. I warmed up with Shawn Nelson and Eric Findley, both of whom are better runners than myself, but nether are concentrating on training at the moment. They mentioned that Stephan Kilshaw was registered to race. I don't know Stephan personally, but knew that he is a triathlete who competes well at the 70.3 distance and is a very solid runner. I didn't know how he was on the trails or hills, but knew that he would likey be quick.

Once we got started, I soon got to find out just how quick. The start was fairly sensible and apparently a bit too slow for Stephan, so within the first couple hundred meters, he floored it and gaped the field and I soon found myself in 2nd place. This is a reasonably long race, so I wanted to pace myself well and decided to not fight to stay with him. I did pick things up a bit so I could keep him in sight though - once you totally lose contact, it is a bit harder to push yourself to come back. He built a bit of a lead over the first few kilometers up to around 30 seconds.

Then we came to a puddle we had to run though. During the Gunner race two weeks ago, the water was only ankle deep, but this time it was up to the knees and damn cold. Up ahead, I noticed that Stephan was walking though the water rather than running as expected. I was a bit surprised at this since it wasn't too deep for running, but once I got into the water myself, I realized why. There was a few milimeter skim of ice that was super sharp. Trying to run through ripped up the knees pretty badly. Stephan got the brunt of it, having to break the ice, but I ended up with a few sharp pieces carving some notches in my knees.

I did manage to make up a bit of ground, but Stephen still held onto a decent lead which he actually opened a bit more on the way to the main climb of the day around 7km in. I usually do well on the climb, but like everyone else find it quite painful, particularly since I always try to run everything. I thought I might catch up on the steep sections, but he climbed well and I made up little ground. Unfortunately, my guts where not being kind to me either as I had the urge to head for the bushes (should have make another pit stop before the race started I think), but luckily it was manageable and ended up subsiding a bit later. On the last cruel single track section before the summit, I was able to make up a bit of distance since he was forced to a hike will I continued to "run."

With the climb mercifully over, I got to open it up on the downhill. Within a minute I had closed the gap to Stephen who apparently didn't like the technical stuff quite as much as I did. I tucked in behind for a bit waiting for a good opportunity to pass which came quite soon. I bombed by, testing to see what he would do. He responded quickly, coming back right away. I continued to push the pace, but did not try any additional moves for several km until a short but steep hill presented itself. I gunned it, quickly gaining a few seconds. I settled back into my race pace once over the top, but soon enough he fought he way back to me. There was no doubt he was working hard to stay with me as I could hear it in his breathing, but he was tenacious and refused to be dropped. I gained a bit of ground on him a couple more times, but each time he rallied back to my heels. It was obvious that this one would be a close victory no matter what way it shook out.

I was cranking it out and digging pretty deep to maintain the pace, but still felt quite strong and was hoping that I had just a little left in reserve. The final 3 hills were coming up on Lower Thetis Trail, and I felt this was likely my last opportunity to avoid a sprint to the finish. My sprint is not bad, but I'd prefer not to leave it to that unknown outcome if I can. Therefore, much like I did for the Gunner race, I hammered it on the first hill, hoping to gain enough time to avoid yet another comeback. This time, it finally worked, and I managed to gain 12 seconds on the final hills, crossing the line in 1:02:22, a full 2:34 faster than last year. It was tough, but I felt it was a very good race for me. There was little doubt, however, that I would never have run that hard if I wouldn't had such stiff competition for the win. Thanks to Stephen for such a hard fought battle - you are a worthy opponent! I'm quite excited about my time, which is just 1 sec slower than the course record set by Jason Loutitt back in 2008 (when I barley ran under 1:07).

Congratulations go out to many others who had great races. I was quite happy to see many of those I coach under Perseverance Running run very well. Andrew Pape-Salmon ran to a strong Master win and 6th overall, and Garth Campbell, Larry Nylen, and Sonja also all ran their best times on this course. Congrats go to Claire Morgan as well in picking up yet another win this year taking and placing in the top 20 overall.

I wanted to post my Garmin data here, but unfortunately, something went wrong with the file.

Results.

Thetis Lake Relay, Gunner Shaw, and Bear Mountain

2011-11-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

In an attempt catch back up on this blog, I'm combining my last 3 races into one report.

Thetis Lake Relay, November 11, 2011

I joined Paul O'Callaghan's Aspire Running group for this fun little event. Each person in a 4 person team runs an approx 5k lap around Upper and Lower Thetis Lake. Our team consisted of Paul, Claire Morgan, Brad Cunningham and myself. We were racing in the senior men's category despite having a woman on the team (we would need 2 for a mixed team). I was running anchor so did a warm up lap while Brad led out for a strong first leg in a bit over 17 minutes. Clair and then Paul followed, also running solid legs before it was my turn.

Despite knowing better, the race environment caused me to head out a bit hard and I had to ease back a bit after a few hundred meters to avoid cracking. While I was moving OK, both legs and lungs felt a little flat and I struggled to find my groove. When Paul handed off to me, our team was in 6th overall place so besides getting a decent time, my goal was to try and gain a position or at least not lose one. There was no one in sight (except other teams on their 3rd lap) until the last few hundred meters when I spotted Stephen Kilshaw just ahead. Stephen was running all 4 laps solo so I felt a little bad about sprinting him at the line, but it was a race after all. I finished in 16:50 which was OK, but I definitely wasn't on form. We ended up placing 5th overall. Another Aspire team of Sean Chester and Ben Brzezynski took the overall win.

Results.

Gunner Shaw Cross Country, November 19, 2011

When I picked up my number 1 bib for this race I knew the expectations would be high for me to perform well at this race. Then when I saw both Shawn Nelson and Shaun Stephens-Whale I knew it would be a competitive day. Shawn took off the line very hard and Shaun and I stayed with him. After a km or so though, I really felt like the pace was too brisk for me. I knew that I needed to back off a bit or end up cracking or fading badly later in the race. It didn't take much of a slow down to make the difference and put me back into a more comfortable racing zone. Soon after I eased off, another runner came blasting past me. It wasn't anyone I recognized, but from the way he was running, I could instantly tell that he was a not an amateur. Later I found out he was Jasper Blake, former Canadian Ironman Champion - no novice indeed!

The 3 of them pulled slightly in front, but never got more than 10 or 15 seconds ahead of me. At the first significant climb of the race, I managed to claw my way back to the group and we were all together after the first puddle. Soon though, Jasper plowed on ahead while Shawn, now feeling his fast start started to fall back. Shaun chased Jasper while I fell in behind. After a few more minutes I passed him, trying to limit the time Jasper was putting into us. I was feeling strong and smooth and was hoping to make it a real race for 1st place.

Jasper had a small fall in the 2nd puddle which helped me close a bit of the lead down. We then were onto the single track section of the course. This is my favorite surface and I rapidly closed the gap and when I saw an opportunity to pass I grabbed it. Course designer, Bob Reid, had added a fun new single track section this year which was great. I managed to gain a bit of time on this section and tried to push hard to take advantage of terrain that was favorable to me. I don't know how much I gained, but I could no longer hear Jasper close behind. Once we were back on the main Thetis trails, I knew I simply had to focus on keeping the legs moving well and not getting complacent.

As I was nearing the final few hills of the course, however, I heard him catching me fast. Fortunately, I had left a little in the tank and as soon as he came abreast of me at the start of the first small hill, I gunned it. I knew that he must have had to work hard to catch me so my strategy was to push the pace before he had the chance to sit on my shoulder and recover. It seemed to work as he didn't respond as I also hit the final two hills hard and gunned for the finish. I stopped the clock at 34:57, 16 seconds ahead of Jasper for my first ever Gunner Shaw win. It was a good battle and a satisfying win and I was happy to see that I had run the same time as last year despite the course having the extra single track. Shaun came in 3rd and Shawn held on for 4th. Melanie McQuaid won the woman's division over 2nd place Claire Morgan.

Results.

Bear Mountain 10k, November 26, 2011

This was my 3rd attempt at this course. In 2008, I went out too hard and faded badly to finish in a weak 8th place. Last year, the course was shortened to 6.5km due to snow and while I ran fairly well to a 4th place finish, I wanted to be able run a good race on the full course. This time, I was handed a number 2 bib so immediately wondered who had number 1. I soon found out on the start line when I saw Jason Loutitt, an impressive runner who recently placed 2nd at the world trail running championships (a 70k ultra race in Ireland). Jasper Blake and Shawn Nelson were also in attendance so it would be another interesting race.

Thankfully, the pace at the start of this race was a little more comfortable than Gunner. Jason pushed out ahead and I did not try to match him, thinking that I would either have a chance to catch him on the climbs or he would be gone. Either way, going too hard and blowing up wouldn't help me.

The main climb started at about 1.5km and I pushed fairly hard chipping away at Jason's lead. I was able to catch and pass him about 2/3 of the way up. I knew that Jason is a beast on the downhills so figured my only chance was gain some time on the climbs. I had a small lead at the 3km marker, but despite my best efforts to move quickly down hill, Jason was able to pass me back after another km or so. I resolved to do my best and hope that Jason (who sometimes goes out slightly hard and fades a bit) would come back to me.

This course is relentless, nearly all of it taking place on the paved trails of the Bear Mountain Golf course. The course is never flat and had numerous corners, getting any sort of rhythm is not really possible. I wasn't feeling quite as good as I had at Gunner, but I was still feeling solid and was able keep the pressure up. At the 5k mark I was 9 sec back and I was able to keep Jason in sight for the entire race, closing the gap on climbs and losing it again on downhills. Jasper was also a factor, just 9 sec back of me at 5k. I never looked back, but knew that I couldn't let myself relax for a second or he would be flying past me.

The last few hills are tough with the final one coming just a couple hundred metres from the finish, but I moved through reasonably well. Unfortunately, Jason never faded (or at least no more than I did) and he ended up finishing 29 sec ahead of me. I posted a 35:52 time, over 3 minutes slower than my best 10k time - this course is that hard! Jasper rounded out the top 3 about 30 sec back - Shawn took 4th. Care Nelson set a new woman's course record in 39:29 and Clare Morgan took another 2nd place finish well ahead of 3rd place Melanie McQuaid. For me it wasn't a win, but overall I was quite happy with a 2nd place and was even able to pick up a little prize money in the process. Thanks to Mark Nelson and Nick Walker at Frontrunner Westshore for another well run event. I'm really happy to see that they have the timing down really well now, with results posted before I even get home.

Splits: 3:19, 4:03, 4:15, 2:56, 3:32 (18:05 5k split), 3:20, 3:59, 3:33, 3:26, 3:29

Results.

Shawnigan Kinsol Half Marathon

2011-11-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

October 30, 2011

I've been considering doing this race for a number of years, but never managed to get there. This year, particularly since I had not raced an event at the Victoria Marathon weekend, I was finally able to make it happen.

Weather predictions leading up to the race called for rain and they seemed to hold true as Sonja and I were treated a steady rain on the drive up. While it wasn't too cold, it seemed inevitable that we would get soaked very quickly. Happily, by the time the race started, the rain at pretty much ceased and conditions were nearly ideal for racing.

The hall used as race headquarters was a building on the Shawnigan Lake School grounds. I'd never been there before, but this private school is quite nice with impressive buildings. I didn't know exactly what the my main competition was to be in this race, but I spotted Shawn Nelson shortly after arriving so knew a win would require some work.

After a minimal warm-up we were on our way. Myself, Shawn, Hugh Trenchard, and Thomas Marrs soon separated ourselves from the rest of the group. The first part of the course had a couple of downhills which I dutifully noted as we would be coming back up them near the end of the race. We moved along at a decent pace for the first few kilometers and while I had no problems matching the pace, I didn't feel as comfortable as it should have at this point in the race. If things didn't get better it would be a long day for me. I noticed right away, based on his breathing, that Thomas Marrs was working quite hard to stay with us and I could tell immediately that there was no way he would be able to maintain that pace for the balance of the race. It may be fun to run with the leaders, but if it compromises your overall race, it probably isn't a good idea. He is young though and will learn to pace himself better I am sure.

Around 4km Thomas fell back a bit while Hugh continued with Shawn and myself for another kilometer or so until the course moved onto the Trans-Canada Trail and headed north. It was around this time that I actually started to feel better and was able to get into a comfortable rhythm where I was working hard, but staying controlled. We ran for about 6km on the trail with a slight uphill grade. While the gravel surface and gradual climb certainly slowed me a bit, I didn't find it bad at all and may have been preferable to the rolling roads in the area. While I set the pace, Shawn held a tenacious grip onto my heels and would not be shaken. I considered trying to put a surge in to drop him, but with half the race still to go decided to just continue to dictate the pace and wait for a later opportunity (assuming I wasn't just hanging on myself by that point).

Around the halfway point, we detoured onto the road and were treated to a significant, but thankfully short climb and decent. Soon though we were back on the trail and making our way towards the Trestle. The Kinsol Trestle was recently rebuilt and opened to the public so it was a treat to be able to run access it (the first time for me). Unfortunately, there wasn't time to take a good look since the race was on. We continued past the trestle for 1.5km before turning back and heading for home. The trail north of the trestle was not as well groomed as the other sections we had run, but it wasn't a big factor.

On the Shawnigan-Kinsol Trestle with Shawn. Photo Credit: Don Carson

It was nice to see many other racers as we passed them heading out to the turn around and I lent encouragement to many and received some in return. Hugh was still running in 3rd, but was a couple minutes back from us so it was definitely a two man race for the win. I was quite pleased that I was still feeling quite smooth and knew I could put in a surge if required.

Soon after passing back over the trestle, we moved back onto the road 3km. Shortly after moving onto the road on a downhill section I noticed that I have pulled slightly ahead of Shawn. I was still feeling strong and saw this as my chance to build up a gap. I pushed ahead strongly on a flat section building spread of at least 20 seconds. I felt that as long as I could hold it together on the final hills, I would be fine. The hills were challenging, but I moved as smoothly as possible, finally rounding the corner to the finish and making a decent sprint. My finishing time of 1:15:20 was faster than the 1:16-1:17 time I was predicting for myself so I was quite pleased, particularly since it wasn't a fast course.

Shawn came in 40s later for a solid 2nd place, with Hugh rounding on the top 3. Care Nelson pulled away from Claire Morgan on the 2nd half to win the woman's race while Sonja ran very well to a small PB and 3rd overall. I ended up enjoying the course more than expected and while it wasn't a fast flat course, it wasn't brutal by any means.

Splits: 3:31, 3:26, 7:06 (missed marker), 3:29 (17:31 5k slpit), 3:33, 3:34, 3:36, 3:33, 3:36 (35:22 10k split), 3:47, 3:26, 3:33, 3:41, 3:36 (53:25 15k split), 3:34, 3:43, 3:30, 3:26, 3:49 (1:11:28 20k split), 3:51 (final 1.1k)

Results

MOMAR on the Island - Enduro

2011-10-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

September 24, 2011

Learning to navigate like a newbie.

I teamed up with Garth Campbell again to race this, our 12th MOMAR together (I have also done 2 solo MOMARs). We have been fortunate to be able to be on the podium for teams of two men quite a few times in the last few years. This race would sadly be different, but more on that later.

We lucked out on the weather for race day since it was pounding rain all night before and surprisingly the wind was also light on Comox Lake. It was the calmest conditions we have ever raced in. This was really great, because it allowed us to complete the kayak section in a record time for us of just over an hour. It wasn't fun and my weakly trained shoulders and arms started to fatigue out during the last 15 minute, but we got the job done.

We punched the first checkpoint around 13th position and rolled right into the run. Most MOMARs transition to the bike off the kayak, but I prefer going straight into the trek since it is usually our strongest discipline. It took a few minutes to get the legs moving properly after being cramped in the kayak, but eventually we were rolling along and passed a couple of teams on the road before turning onto trail and started climbing. Unfortunately, Garth's stomach was acting up and he wasn't able to push quite as hard as he would have liked. Still, he hung in there and we were still able to gain on teams ahead of us as we climbed. I picked up the 2nd checkpoint with little issue and then we moved onto a long gradual climb.

We passed a few more teams and then I was a bit surprised to catch up to Hayden Earle and Roger MacLeod (a team expected to place well overall). They had put 6 minutes into us on the kayak paddling their double outrigger so I hadn't expected to see them so soon. The route turned up sharply and a power hike was in order to get us up. Soon after we caught up to Todd Nowack (now 9 time MOMAR champion) who was briefly checking out another route. We soon established that we were on the correct path and we continued on together. After a bit more climbing we picked up checkpoint 3 and heard from the volunteers that we were not far behind two leading teams (Marshall House & Ryan Pogue and Norm Thibault & Stefan Jakobson). This stoked all 3 of us up as grabbing the lead was now within grasp.

The single track turned onto logging road and it was at this point that we spotted both teams just ahead. We gradually ate away at their lead and were feeling pretty good. As it turns out, I should have been paying more attention to the map and less about the competition. On the map, it showed a left turn onto a another road so when we hit the next intersection that seemed to match the map, we all turned left. Soon though, the road ended in a clear cut and didn't seem to continue. We were all baffled since everything else seemed to match and their was no dead end road shown on the map nor had we seen any other intersection.

Soon we found ourselves in the bush wondering what to do. Todd disappeared while the rest of us were bungling around. I decided to head off in the direction that the road should have gone, hoping to intersect the trail that we needed to take. The going was slow off trail and there were a few swampy areas to traverse. It was frustrating going so slow and not being confident that we were going the right way. Given the limited information on the map, things did seem to match up, but as the time drug on and we did not hit a trail it became obvious that we were not where I thought we were. We finally made the decision to head south and hope to hit a road or trail so we could get back on track. By now more than 30 minutes had passed and we knew our chances of a high finish was over.

We did find a road and then it was time to try and figure out where we were, after a few wrong choices we finally decided to head north, joined by Marshall House & Ryan Pogue and another guy who had also gone way off course. Norm Thibault & Stefan Jakobson headed south with another team of 4 we had also picked up. For once our choice turned out to be correct and after a couple of km, I was able to find where we were on the map and got us back to where we had make the mistake. It turned out that we had all ran passed the correct turn which wasn't a logging road as we had expected, but rather a quad track. The spur we had taken wasn't on the map at all. While the map was part of the problem, we should have paid more attention. An even more disastrous problem was that we barged into the woods without really knowing where we were going. When the road ended, we should have gone back and figured out where we went wrong - even if we had gone back and confirmed that we were on the correct route, it would have been better to risk losing 10 or 15 minutes rather than the 1 hour 15 minutes we ended up blowing. It was a classic beginner mistake that I should not have made - I'm still kicking myself.

After losing that time, we found ourselves way back in the field and it was kind of tough to motivate ourselves to push too hard being so far behind the leaders. Still, we trudged on and started gaining positions back. Once we were back on track, checkpoint 4 was easy to find and we then had a fun single track to bomb down. One and a quarter hours behind schedule, we finally pulled into checkpoint 5 where Todd's girlfriend Kim was volunteering and Sonja waiting to snap a few photos. We gradually got our mojo for the race back as we picked up the rest of the trekking stage checkpoints with only one minor bobble. We picked up a huge number of positions throughout the remainder of the trek and battled our way back to the front half of the pack which was some solace at least.

We finally pulled into town and grabbed our bikes for the single long cycling stage - to my knowledge, having only 1 bike stage was a first for a MOMAR. The mandatory climb started almost immediately and while it started out gradually, it angled up quite a bit towards the top. We both were in our granny gears, but managed to grind it out for the duration, picking up a few more positions as we went. We finally reached the top of the climb in decent shape, except for my throbbing back from being hunched and straining for so long. Now the payoff for all that climbing - tons of sweet single track! It was a lot of fun and pretty much all within my abilities - a couple of sections were rough and punishing. It was all flagged, so navigating was easy as long as we paid attention. I feel we made pretty good time, rode to the extent of our skill level and only got passed by one solo, Ron Hewitson who flew by us near the bottom of the single track. We ended up posting a pretty decent time (top 5) on the bike stage given how much we ride (I have only ridden 3 times on my mountain since the last MOMAR in May).

The final stage was orienteering, in the same area as it has been for the last few years. Our legs were toast and while I navigated fairly well, I didn't hit some of the controls quite as quick as I would have liked, leaving us with a fairly good, but not exceptional final stage. We finally made it to the finish in 6:05:59 (our longest MOMAR ever), having fought our way back to 16th place - actually a bit better than I expected (and better placing and a bit better than some of our early races). Despite making a mistake at the same place as we did, Todd got back on track much quicker and battled back for the win. Hayden and Roger pulling in for a strong 2nd.

Next year, we plan to be back to redeem ourselves.

Results.

World Mountain Running Championshps

2011-09-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2011
Tirana, Albania

As usual, I`ve been falling behind on this blog entry. Therefore, I will have to focus this write-up on the race itself and not too much of the trip as a whole. Overall though, it was a great trip and for those who were wondering, Albania is an interesting county. I will definitely consider returning if I am in that part of the world again. It is very affordable, pretty easy to get around, has friendly people, and at least in the area where we were, was well set up for tourists.

Sonja and I flew from Seattle via Atlanta and Milan in a 20+ hour flight arriving in the afternoon on Sept 8. I never sleep well on the plane, so could hardly stay up for dinner. Over the next two days, I got to meet the rest of the Canadian team (there were a total of 6 men and 4 woman), got a few easy runs in, visited the race course, and checked out the capital, Tirana, for a few hours. The night before the race, there was an opening ceremony for the 30 or so counties in attendance complete with a few speeches and cultural show. It was great to get away from normal life for a few days.

Team Canada: Back to Front, Left to Right: James Gosselin, Mark Vollmer, myself, Kristopher Swanson, Paul Chafe, Adrian Lambert, Kathryn Waslen, Laura Estey, Melissa Ross, and Sonja Yli-Kahila

When race day rolled around, the weather forecast called for high temperatures (33 degrees). This worried me somewhat coming from temperate Victoria. This year, particularly, I don`t think I ever ran in anything warmer than 25 degrees. To make things even worse, much of the course was exposed on dirt roads and the seniors men's race started at 12pm. I had the feeling that it might be a rough day.

Previewing the course - one of the tricky downhill sections

We arrived a couple hours before the men's race started and just as the junior women were finishing their race. I was envious of them only having to do a single lap of the course since we had to do 3. Soon, the junior men were off and it was a furious start with several guys going down and nearly getting trampled. At 11am, the senior woman`s race started, with 4 our Canadian teammates competing (Laura Estey, Melissa Ross, Kathryn Waslen, and Sonja Yli-Kahila). That race was won by American Kasie Enman in 40:39, with Melissa top Canadian in 34th place, Sonja was the 2nd Canadian in 48th place.

Finally, it was our turn, after a bit of chaos on the start line as all the teams were checked in, the field took off. I knew it was going to be extremely competitive since it was the deepest field I have ever competed in. My strategy, especially since it was hot, was to go out steady on the first lap and then try to make up positions on the 2nd and 3rd laps. I held to my strategy, and was about 75% of the way back in the field after the first km or so. I was feeling average to start with and I hoped to be able to build into the race and finish strong. Things got bunched up as we moved from the road to single track, but I didn`t let it worry me too much - there would be plenty of time to make up positions if I had the wheels later on.

The climb now started in earnest and while I ran all of the first part, as it steepened towards the top (topping out at a 40% grade) I decided to power hike. Normally, I prefer to run as much as possible, but this time around I decided to try a new strategy especially given the heat. It seemed to work pretty well, as I was able to power hike past a couple of guys who were try to run. I was hot, but I was not feeling it too bad at this point, and fortunately, water bottles were being passed out about every km along the course - I drank a bit each time, but mostly used it to cool my head and body which definitely helped.

I reached the summit of the hill and started the decent. The first part of the downhill was the best part of the course for me, being relatively technical and each lap I made up time on this section. Unfortunately, it was too short and didn`t last more than a minute or so. After that, it was back onto dirt road, and it was soon after that I started to really feel the heat from the intense sun. It was quickly draining my energy and I soon started to realize that this race was going to be about trying to keep my pace and position rather than trying to increase it. Between roads, there were a couple of steep loose little sections that added a bit of flavour to the course, but most of the downhill section was exposed dirt road. Part way down, I passed James Gosselin, who was one of the favorite Canadians in attendance. He looked OK, but I figured he must of had to pull out for some reason (turned out it was his back).

It took me just over 20 minute for the first lap and I started up again, hoping that getting back into the shade (much of the climb was in thankfully not exposed) would revive me. It helped somewhat, but the sun had already done some damage and I just couldn`t push as hard as normal. I think I may have passed one of two guys on the climb despite the fact that I was not moving fast, but also got passed by one guy. I also picked up another position on the decent, but once back on the road, it felt as though the sun had doubled in intensity. Facing one more lap was quite daunting at this point since I was really suffering from the heat. My pace had slowed by close to 2 minutes on the 2nd lap. Luckily, as slow as I was going, I wasn`t getting passed and had actually made up a few positions.

The course profile - Seniors mens race

I really didn`t want to go up again, but never considered pulling out. I`ve yet to DNF in a race and I wan`t about to start at a world championships! I puttered my way up the climb - hiking much more than I would have liked. The one solace was the those around me didn`t seem to be moving any faster. The downhill was still fun and I managed to pick up two more positions. I suffered all the way to the end, but managed to keep steady against the field, producing a mediocre surge to the finish to in 68th place in 1:05:08. I`m don`t think I`ve ever been so happy to finish a race!

I was the last Canadian in, but turned out not to be in the worst condition. Fellow Victorian, Kris Swanson, went out hard and was in solid position (around 25th) for the first two laps, but then got hit by the heat on the last lap and suffered from heat exhaustion, fading badly (still finishing ahead of me though). Later that day, he had to be hospitalized, but fortunately recovered well. Adrain Lambert was the top Canadian in 37th place, with Paul Chafe and Mark Vollmer coming in 45th and 46th respectively. Team Canada placed 11th out of 17 teams. The race was won by Max King from the USA in 52:06, passing some quick starting Ugandan`s.

This ranks ranks down there as one of my worst races, but I feel it was almost exclusively due to the heat and not because of my lack of training or conditioning. I feel luckily to be able to participate and represent Canada. A huge thanks goes to Prairie Inn Harriers for their financial support in getting to Albania and to Adrian and his family for making it possible to have a Canadian team at all.

Results

Edmonton Marathon

2011-08-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2011

A marathon wasn't previously on the menu for this summer especially just 3 weeks before the world mountain running champs. However, I did have the thought in the back of my mind that it would be nice to do the Boston marathon next year. As most runners know, you need to be able to run a qualifying time based on your age and gender to be eligible to register for Boston. Although I didn't expect that running a qualifying time would be a huge challenge for me, I still had to actually run that time. Due to huge demand last year, the race organizers at Boston have instituted rolling registration dates starting with those individuals who had a qualifying time 20 min or faster than the minimum qualifying time. The first registration is Sept 12 and then two days later, the next group with times 10 min to 20 min below qualifying time are allowed to register. The same process occurs for those 5 min under and those just meeting qualifying time until all the spots are filled up.

Therefore, to be able to register for Boston, I needed to qualify at a marathon before Sept 12. Since I had left it so late, this didn't leave too many options for me and Edmonton was pretty much it. It was to be a quick trip, leaving Saturday, racing Sunday and returning to Victoria that evening. The flight was quick, but between the airport shuttle and public transit, it really took a long time to get to the motel I booked near the start/finish. Since I am still a kid in some ways, I also took the time that evening to check out the water park at the West Edmonton Mall. There they have some pretty extreme water slides including one with a vertical loop. It was so fast, I didn't really know what was happening and then all the sudden I found myself spit out at the end. I hope I'll still be doing things like that when I'm 70.

The marathon started at 7:30 am, so it necessitated a fairly early wake up, but because I was so close to the start, it wasn't bad for me as I rolled out of bed at 6am after a decent sleep. I
had a small breakfast of yogurt, fruit, and a half muffin and walked over to the start line chatting with a couple other runner also doing the race. Since it wasn't a goal race for me, the nerves were not too worked up. All I needed to do was get a decent time (under 2:55) to make sure I could register in the first slot at Boston. And in a worse case situation where I didn't even make that time, most likely I would be able to register if I ran under 3:05. I knew that I might suffer a fair amount because I just hadn't been doing this kind of distance and especially not on the leg shattering road, but I was very confident that I could get the job done.

On the start line chatting with with a few of the other top seeds, I found out there was one Kenyan, Jacob Mengich, who was the absolute favourite with boasting a PB of 2:13:31 - unless he cracked and pulled out, no one would touch him. A couple of the other runners mentioned wanting to run times in the 2:30's. If I was really racing and trained properly, that is where I would like to be. In any case, I planned on running 4 min km and least for the first 20k. This would put me in the under 2:50 range, but also should be a pace that was pretty comfortable for me. After that point, I could also ease back a bit if it felt like I was really going to suffer.

Unlike most races I have done recently, the start of the race was quite measured - everyone knew they were in for the long haul. I soon found myself on my own behind both the lead pack and a chase group - it was looking to be a lonely day out there. Around 8k in, however, I noticed that the first woman was just a few metres back. I decided to drop back and chat for a bit to see what time she was planning to run. It turned out that it was Ellie Greenwood, someone I knew about, but had not met. Ellie is becoming a bit of a legend in the ultra scene over the last couple of years racking up a huge list of wins and course records (Western States 2011, 100k championships, Chuckanut 50k among many others). These are some pretty impressive credentials. She said she was going for a sub 2:50 finish and since this coincided with what I was planning to run it make sense to run together. If I could help her pull off a few more seconds with a pacing assist and still get the goal I wanted for the race it seemed like a win win. Also, running with someone makes a marathon go just a little easier.

The next 15k or so went by pretty quickly with a steady pace average of just under 4min. Halfway passed in 1:23:37, a little ahead of schedule, but not bad. Things were still feeling pretty fresh and we chugged along. In the next few kilometers we reeled in 4 or so guys who went out a bit hard. If you can just run an even split in the marathon, inevitably some people will come back to you. Our pace continued to be on track, but it was starting to get hot (it would eventually get 30 degrees out later in the day). I started grabbing two cups at a time at the aid stations, but it was still a on minimal side in terms of hydration. Because I wasn't running all out, it wasn't a big factor, but it could have been. Since I was also concentrating so hard on getting the Gatorade and water, I managed to miss the gels that were being handed out. Since I had consumed the two items (a gel and shot blocks) by the halfway mark, there was still a long way to go with only a few calories coming in. Luckily, I was OK due to the "comfortable" pace I was running, but it is something to note for sure for the next real marathon.

Our conversation slowly would down as the race continued and was replaced by a few words here and there. At a certain point, the job just needs to get done and there is no extra energy left for chatting. About 35k in, I could officially say that I was ready to be done - I wasn't in extreme discomfort and could still hold the pace with out huge effort, but the legs were starting to hurt and the kilometers seems to be coming at about half the speed that they were at the beginning of the race. It was obvious that Ellie was starting to hurt and was having to really dig in to maintain the pace, but other than slowing slightly on a gradual hill, was able to keep the pace.

Ever so slowly the final kilometers ticked passed, 5, 4, 3, 2, and finally we were on the final kilometer. Ellie must of felt the finish was close at hand so pick it up strongly pushing right to a finish with a 4:18 for the final 1.2 km and breaking the tape just ahead of me for the win and a PB. While I certainly had more in the tank, I was still more than relieved to be finished. The legs hurt quite a bit and I spent the rest of the day doing a bit of post marathon shuffle, but fortunately recovered quickly after that.

Considering my lack of specific training, I was satisfied with the race and result. This was only my 2nd marathon (Victoria 2006) and this time I was able to do 5 min faster with less specific training and much less effort and suffering. Now it is time to put in the proper training and pull together a marathon that is more comparable to my overall fitness level. This may be Boston, but I have yet to formulate my 2012 plan.

Results

Splits:

4:01, 8:01 (missed marker), 4:09, 3:36 (marker was off), 3:35 (marker was off), 4:01, 4:06, 4:02, 3:57 (39:28 10k), 3:57, 4:06, 4:01, 4:03, 3:53, 3:53, 3:58, 3:53, 3:56, 3:59, 3:57 (1:23:37 half), 4:00, 4:03, 3:54, 3:54, 3:57, 3:58, 3:55, 3:50, 4:04 (1:58:46 30k), 4:00, 4:01, 3:53, 3:59, 4:06 (2:18:44 35k), 4:00, 4:12, 3:55, 3:58, 3:59, 4:10, 4:18 (1.2km)

Mt. Finlayson Madness

2011-07-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2011

I heard about this charity event though facebook and it peaked my interest. Not only does the money raised go to some good causes, but it also served an enticing challenge for me. I've always wondered how many summits I could do in a row - the most I'd ever done before was 4 (two from from the front and two from the back). This was the perfect opportunity to test my mettle. The event challenged participants to see how many summits they could do in 12 hours (8am-8pm).

To prep, I packed a whole large duffel with food and drink: bagels, sandwich, jujubes, hard boiled eggs, potato chips, steamed potatoes, bars, gels, carrots, water, Gatorade, etc. I basically didn't know what I would feel like to so I came prepared. I also brought another bag with extra changes of clothes and shoes.

Unfortunately, when I got up in the morning to head out to the mountain, it was raining and looked like it had been all night. Descending on Mt. Finlayson is not fun when it is wet as it is quite technical. I came very close to heading back to bed for a few hours to see if it would dry up, but I decided to go for it anyway. If it was totally miserable, I could always just do a few summits and then head home, but if I didn't go for the 8am start I wouldn't have the chance to go for the full 12 hours.

I arrived with a little spare time and signed up and got my number. It was still raining. Two other runners I knew were also there: Hayden Earle and Rob Goetze so we started out together just after 8am. Since the plan was to go for 12 hours, I knew that being conservative was extremely important. If it didn't feel ridiculously easy to start with then I was going too fast. The first climb took about 26 min and the first descent about 19 min for a total of 45 min. I was soaked within a half an hour and going down the wet rocks wasn't too fun, but the shoes I used fortunately had pretty good traction. Throughout the day, I didn't take exact splits for my climbs since I spent some time eating, drinking, changing socks, etc. and the top and the bottom and didn't record those transition times. I continued climbing with Hayden and Rob for the couple of more summits, completed in a similar time. During the 3rd and 4th climbs, however, first Rob and then Hayden started to slow on the climbs and I grabbed my mp3 player and headed out solo. I continued at that steady pace, making the return trip in 45-50min including the transitions - not fast, but consistent and something I felt I could sustain for the duration.

A few climbs in. Hayden Earle, myself, and Rob Goetze

I had to stop for a few minutes after about half a dozen summits to change socks and apply some moleskin on my left heel which was suffering some rubbing due to a shoe that wasn't tight enough. One thing I had forgotten was moleskin, but a friendly volunteer had some that she gratefully let be have. I was also getting a bit of groin chafing from being so ended up changing my shorts to a dry pair. It helped a bit, but still continued to annoy me.

Garth Campbell joined me for reps 8 & 9 and it was nice to have company for a bit during the long day. Over 40 people did at least 1 hike throughout the day and there were a couple of other full day participants other than myself. Other the the chafing, things were feeling quite good and I wasn't really suffering much so I knew that my pace had been conservative enough for me to survive the day. After 10 summits though, the downhills started to be uncomfortable. The quad muscles used for braking (required a lot on this mountain) were starting to fatigue out and running downhill started to be hurt.

I did some time calculations and figured that I could definitely do 14 summits as long as I didn't totally crack. So with that in mind, I pushed on, knowing exactly what I had to do. I'd been drinking and eating and felt very solid for energy. My times continued to stay fairly consistent although I did slow a minute or two on the descents. On my 12th decent, I went down with Hayden who was finishing his 10th and final summit. He suffered some of the middle reps, but finished strong and ended up doing more summits than most sane people. At that point, I kind of wished I was finished as well. Even though I knew I could do more, I was getting to the point that I didn't really want to. I saw Chris Calendar a few times near the end as he was volunteering for a couple of hours at the summit.

It was a relief to finally be on my last summit. Surprisingly enough, my climbing legs still felt pretty good, and I was able to push the last climb, actually clocking my fastest time of under 21 minutes from the parking lot to the top. Still feeling so strong after so much climbing meant that I probably could have pushed the climbs a little harder and still maintained to the end. I know for sure that if I really wanted to I could actually do 15 more more summits on a dry day, pushing a bit harder on the climbs, and being more efficient on my transitions. Weather I even want to try again is another question...four days out and my legs are still quite sore.

Thanks to Andrew and Lisa for organizing this event. Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate.

Results

A few stats:
11:19 total time on the mountain
14 summits
Horizontal Distance: 56km
Elevation Gain: 5,600m
Elevation Loss: 5,600m

Canmore Challenge (Qualifying for Canadian Mountain Running Team)

2011-07-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2011

This was the goal race of the year for me and I had been working hard on my hill climbing since November. Things had been going well for the most part although the month or so prior to the race felt a little weak in terms of training due to vacations and some low energy weeks. I just hoped that I had banked enough fitness to get the job done on race day.

I drove to Canmore, Alberta, two nights prior with Andrew Pape-Salmon who was also racing. We spent the first night in Banff where Sonja and Andrew's wife, Sara, met us after flying to Calgary. On Friday, we travelled to Canmore and previewed the course. The men's event was 5 loops of a moderately hilly course (plus a short one time handle to the start/finish). I was pleasantly surprised with the course, expecting mostly double track cross country ski trails. Instead, most of the course was mildly technical single track. There was a nice steep kicker hill at the high point of the loop, but most of the rest of the climbing was fairly moderate and the decent was also gradual - nothing too brutal at all. The altitude was a factor though, while not high(1500m+), breathing was slightly more laboured than normal when running.

It was the competition that would really be the challenge. I knew only two of the runners personally. Kris Swanson is a very talented runner who placed 30th last year at the Mountain Running World's, the best ever Canadian placing. I've trained with Kris a couple of times where he has consistently humbled me. Shaun Stephens-Whale is a strong young runner who often runs trail events in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. I have raced against him several times in and have only ever seen his back. I also researched several of the other runners, and found that there was plenty of depth to be found with a number of runners with 10k PB's in the 31-33min range. Placing in the top 5 was not a given at all and prior to the race I was having serious doubt about my ability to get the job done (5th place or better was required to guarantee a spot on the team - a 6th male is picked, but is at the discretion of the Canadian Mountain Running Committee).

Luckily, conditions were perfect for racing with cool temps and no sun. I opted to race with my road flats knowing that the course wasn't too technical and only had one little muddy spot. I almost chose to use my trail flats, which are a similar weight, but don't provide as much cushioning for the downhills as the road flats. Predictably, the race started at brisk pace with James Gosselin leading out hard, trailed by Kris and Michael Simpson. I somewhat surprisingly found myself in 4th place...now just to keep it. The first loop and second loop were both fairly fast and I managed to keep my 4th place and was staying close to Michael. On the 3rd lap, however, the climbs started to get tough. While the legs were fatiguing somewhat, it was mostly the my bodies inability to get in enough oxygen that was the limiting factor. My breathing was quite laboured - likely this issue was a consequence of the altitude. The course design with gradual downhills meant that there was no place to really recover - you had to push all the way. I also found that I'm not a big fan of the 5 loop format and it is just mentally grueling - give me the same difficulty in a single loop any day (or fewer loops anyway).

Duking it out with Adrian Lambert. Photo Credit: Sara Pape Salmon.

Part way up the 3rd climb, Mark Vollmer passed me and soon after so did Adrian Lambert. On the same climb, however, all 3 of us managed to pull ahead of Michael who was struggling to maintain his initial quick pace on the climbs. I don't normally get beaten on climbs, but these were all strong mountain runners so strong climbing is to be expected. I was able to claw back time against Adrain on the way down and we were back and fourth like that for the remainder of the race (him beating me on the way up, and me catching and sometimes passing on the way down). On the final way down, I did the same and thought I would be able nip him before hitting the line, but on the few hundred of meters of double track to the finish, Adrain poured it on and I couldn't gain any time. I was too spent for a full kick to the line either, but knowing I was in 5th place allowed me to luxury to not tying to totally kill myself. I finished with a 59:38 clocking on the 14.5 km course (with 600m of elevation gain). James and Kris completely dominated the field finishing about 3min faster than the next group. Positions 3-6 were all less than a minute apart. Andrew finished a solid 10th overall and was the first master. Sonja and Sara also raced in the woman's 9.2k event (3 loops). They both ran well with Sonja placing 3rd woman in her age group and Sara coming in 5th. Congratulations to the 3 woman who also qualified for the team: Danelle Kabush, Micah Medinski, and Magi Scallion.

Andrew's triumphant finish! Photo Credit: Sara Pape Salmon.

Need....air! Photo Credit: Sara Pape Salmon.

It wasn't my best race ever, but it was enough to get the job done and I raced about as smart as I could have given how I felt so am quite satisfied with the result. I'm excited to be able to represent Canada at the World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albanina in September. It will by far be be the highest level event I have ever had the fortune to participate in. A big thanks to Praire-Inn Harriers for some financial aid to get to this event.

Five of the Six men going to worlds: myself, Adrian Lambert, Mark Vollmer, Kris Swanson, and James Gosselin. Photo Credit: Andrew Pape-Salmon

Sonja, myself, Andrew, and Sara after the race

Results.

Scorched Sole 25k

2011-07-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2011

I decided to pop into this race for the 'sole' reason that I was going to be in Kelowna on vacation during this time and therefore thought it was a good opportunity to try something new. Scorched Sole is primarily an ultra event offering both a 50k and 50 Mile option with the 25k and add-on. I was seriously contemplating entering the 50k as my first foray into an ultra distance (also it seemed a good value since the entry fee was the same for all 3 distances). However, coming just 2 weeks before my goal race of the year (qualifying for the Canadian Mountain Running Team), doing the 50k may not have given me sufficient recovery time.

The weather on race day was fairly warm (mid twenties), but not brutally hot. Some of my extended family members came to watch me and Sonja (also doing the 25k) start and finish the race which was great. Unfortunately, they also got to witness me make the first possible navigational error of the course! Literally 5 metres in, the race course veered left onto single track. Apparently, this had been announced, but I had missed it and didn't notice the flagging and ran right past it. I heard some shouting behind me, but didn't initially know that it was directed at me, but soon I looked back and noticed my error. I went from first to last place with the newbie mistake which was a bit embarrassing. However, it was a fairly long race so didn't think it would be a big factor in the end. It did take me about 10 minutes to work my way back to the front as passing in some areas was tough and I didn't want to over stain myself this early.

I pulled myself up to the leader, Marty Bulcock and we ran together for a little while while the course traveled on the paved road for a little while. We then moved back onto trail for the start of the climb and I soon found myself in the lead. The climbing was moderate and mostly comfortable with a few small breaks here and there. After a few kilometers, I popped out on a logging road. I knew this was coming having studied the map prior to the race and resolved to grind out the rest of the climb (there was over 1100m of elevation gain in total). It was initially quite tough to keep running as the grade was steep and the road fully exposed to the midday sun (the race started at 11am). Fortunately, the grade soon softened a bit and after a while, some clouds rolled in making it more bearable.

Based on my previous results from 25k races, I had anticipated to hit the turn-around in this out and back course at the 60-70 min mark (I found out after the race that we actually covered at least 27k which explains some of this misjudgement). As I cranked away and first the 1 hour mark passed and then 1:10, the climbing started to take its toll - I managed to run everything, but barely. Finally, after about 1:20 of climbing, the turn around point with aid station (also shared with the 50k and 50 Mile courses) came to view. With great relief and happily grabbed flat coke, a couple of chips, refilled my water bottle and headed back down.

I passed Marty after about 5 minutes so knew I had a solid lead. Third place was held by a woman and less than a minute behind I was happy to see that Sonja was forth overall! The downhill was a nice relief from the climbing, but punishing itself since it was so sustained. I pushed fairly hard, but didn't destroy myself as much as I would have if I was in a tough battle for position. The toughest part was the paved section once back on the road since it contained a few small climbs which the battered legs didn't appreciate. I crossed in 2:13:48, slower than expected (mostly due the increased distance and slightly tougher climb than expected). I was happy to be done and had a nice time hanging out at the beach getting massage and taking a dip in the water which waiting for others to finish. Marty finished about 15 min back. Sonja came close to winning the woman's' division passing Liza Pye on the decent, but didn't have enough left to hold her off on the final road section. Fourth overall is a great result though!

I was happy to complete the race, but likely wouldn't do the 25k again on this course as the long road climb wasn't much fun. It was a low key event, but well organized. The announcer had even done research on entrants and know some of everyone's racing bios which was pretty cool. In retrospect, I was happy not to have done the 50k as it turned out to be a tough one with the winner coming in in just under 7 hours (the 50 Mile winner took over 11 hours!).

Results.

Q Track Series - Mile

2011-07-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2010

Since the Kusam Klimb was unfortunately cancelled due to snow this year, I decided to jump into a track race instead. Besides the Mile distance, there was also a 400m and a 5000m. I considered trying the 5000m, but I'd actually been having a low energy week and with fatigued legs and didn't think I would be able to perform to to my potential on longer distances. I've never raced the Mile Distance so figured even if I didn't feel great, I could still set a PB! Four laps plus a bit could be survived even if I wasn't feeling my best.

I was aiming for a sub 4:40 clocking which meant I'd have to run under 70s laps so I started out at this pace. The legs didn't feel fantastic, but overall the pace felt manageable. I pulled slightly ahead of the next competitors, my training partners, Simon Dejong and Jairus Streight and then concentrated on staying consistent. The second and third lap passed as a similar time and I felt as though I was well in control. Things started to feel tough on the last 400m, but being so close to the finish, I was able to dig in and finish strong in 4:38.5 with a slight negative split. Simon kicked hard on the last 400 pulling back some time on me finishing about 10s back and Jairus another 5s back.

All in all, I was happy with the race considering I didn't go in feeling 100%. On an 'A' day, I'm certain that I would be able to pull a few more seconds off. Thanks to Chris Kelsall for his continued dedication to putting on these track events.

Results.

MOMAR on the Mainland - Enduro

2011-06-10T22:05:00.001-07:00

May 28, 2011

For the first time ever, MOMAR moved to Burnaby this year. It was an exciting change after several (very good mind you) years at Squamish, a new venue is always welcome. I had mountain biked on a few of the trails on the mountain in the past, but didn't know the full extent of the trails available. I also heard that also for the first time, two true orienteering maps would be used, which was pretty cool.

Originally, I had planned to race with my normal racing partner, Garth Campbell, but it turned out that he had other obligations that day and couldn't make it. That left me to attempt a solo effort which I had only done once before (Squamish 2009). The difference this time was that there was a kayak stage which I knew would be un-enjoyable for me. Of course, the main problem is that I only ever kayak during these races and lack both proper technique and sufficient upper body strength and endurance to be competitive. In any case, I hoped to be just survive the kayak and then race fast and smart for the remaining stages to pull myself up through the field.

Weather forecasts prior to the race threatened rain, but race day turned out to be overcast and cool, but dry - perfect for racing. I arrived with Sonja (who was volunteering) a little over an hour before race time. This gave me just enough time to drop my mountain bike at transition, fit my rental kayak, look at the map which was handed out, make sure I had everything in my pack, etc. It is always amazing how fast an hour goes by in that environment.

Soon we were all on the water for the mass start. The wind was almost nil so waves would not be an issue which as a plus for sure. Once we got started, it didn't take me long to fall far back from the leading boats. Bart Jarmula was in a surf ski and he took off like a rocket. I also found myself behind most of the double kayaks, some singles, and even a couple of canoes! It was going to be a long paddle...

My cardio system was not particularly taxed, but I knew that my shoulders and arms would not take it if I pushed too hard. In addition, I had decided before even getting on the water that there was little reason to kill myself on the kayak. If I went all out, I could perhaps shave a few minutes off my kayak time, but it would take a lot out of me. Better to stay steady and use that extra energy where I could make it count more on the bike and running sections coming up.

I didn't know exactly how long the paddle would be, but usually they are around 10 km, which Garth and I normally finish in about an hour. I figured I'd be 10 min off that mark so kind of had that in my mind going in. The stage was an out and back in Burrard Inlet, so I knew that once Bart came back the other way, I would have an idea of where the turnaround was. Unfortunately, I didn't see him until 30 min in which meant that it was still a ways before I would get to the turn-around. Eventually it came 40 min in, and I started the long trip back. Because I was staying in control, I wasn't suffering that badly, but just really wanted to be be done (plus the muscles were getting tired).

Finally, the beach came after about 1:20 on the water and I rushed off to grab my bike for the second stage. What a relief to be on two wheels! This stage brought us west on some trails and roads, crossed the highway (where I had to wait briefly for the light), though a few residential streets, and then onto the Trans-Canada Trail (TCT) for the accent up to Simon Fraser University at the top of Burnaby Mountain. I lost myself a couple of minutes by making a navigational error on the streets. I kicked myself a bit since it was mostly because I wasn't paying enough attention, but the damage was done so I moved on. The climb on the TCT was tough, but I managed to ride it and pass quite a few teams in the process (since I was about 3/4 the way back after the paddle I had a lot of time to make up). My legs were feeling reasonable although not amazing, but as long as I could keep going at a steady pace, I'd be OK.

At the top, we had a quick gear check (whistle and space blanket). My check went quickly as I had both items visible in the mesh pouch of my pack so I didn't even have to remove it to show the volunteer. This is an easy way to pick up a minute or two as I noticed a good number of racers rummaging around it their packs for the items. I passed Jen Segger who was racing with a team of 4. As always, she is super positive and encouraged me to go catch the leaders. Sonja was directly some traffic near the Orienteering stage start so I said hi as I biked passed. For the first time ever at a MOMAR, the O course was using electronic timing (you carry a electronic key that you insert into a reader at each control). This was nice, as it allows you to see how you did at between each control after the race and it is a bit quicker to use than a traditional punch.

I elected to pick the checkpoints in clockwise order although either direction would likley have been about the same speed. Navigation was pretty straight forward as there were a lot of features to position yourself with since it was largely urban. I did one bushwhack with another solo racer that probably didn't pay off since the vegetation was somewhat thick and included nasty blackberries. Overall though, I was able to find most of the checkpoints with a minimal amount of wasted time. Some of the checkpoints on the campus itself were a bit tricky as there are many floors which is not easy to see on a 2D map. Overall, though I finished fairly strong with a time of 32:21, good for the 2nd fastest O stage, only 13s behind Todd Nowack.

Then I was onto the bike, pulling out just behind Hayden Earle and Scott Sheldrake. They are both quite competent mountain bikers and I was not able to make any time up on them on downhill sections. The downhill and cross country was fun although I was a bit rusty since I have done a minimal amount of mountain biking since the last MOMAR. I found it to rough in many sections, but not very steep for the most part and I was able to ride nearly all of it comfortably. A the bottom of the hill, Hayden and Scott arrived just ahead of me at checkpoint 9 where I was finally able to pass them as they were refueling at the water station there.

After that, came the 2nd climb of the day up to the top of the mountain. It started out fairly gradually on a power line trail, but then got much steeper once it moved onto another section of the TCT. Finally, it went vertical on the aptly named "Cardiac Hill." I was just able to ride it in granny gear, but it was a struggle. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, and I was on the top again and flying down the side of the road. Then I was onto more downhill single track before heading into the transition area for the trekking stage.

I knew that this stage was one that would favour me. The navigation was straight forward, but the route included a significant climb and what looked to be a technical decent so it played to two of my strengths. My legs were definitely not fresh, but despite this, I was able to hold a solid pace on the climb along side the main road. It got a bit steeper as the route moved onto a service road and steeper still when it went onto a trail. It had been a while since I had seen anyone on the course, but I soon spotted Roger MacLeod up ahead. He was power hiking and looking a little spent. He told me that Norm Thibault was not far ahead just a little bit in front of the first team of 2 who I could just see nearing the top of the climb. I thanked him and pushed on ahead, determined to make up as much time on this stage as possible.

As soon as the climb was over, I picked up my pace and started to hammer the downhill. Before too long, I spotted the team of two (Mike Conway and Dave Viitakangas) who were moving well on the technical downhill. I was able to reel them in, however, and soon passed the guy in back (I'm not sure which was which). The guy in front was the stronger technical runner though and was really pushing hard to stay ahead. I could tell he was reluctant to let me by, but after a minute or two, I politely asked to get by and he let me go. Soon after that, I caught up to Norm, and said hi as I passed and after a couple more minutes I was back on the bike for the last stage. I had managed to do the navigation stage in 18:12, gaining over 5 min on the next place team.

It was then back onto the bike for the final bike stage. It traversed part of the same climb as the 2nd bike climb, but thankfully not "Cardiac Hill" again. I make a minor navigation error which allowed Norm to catch back up. Then a made classic newbie error and ended up following him instead of taking the what I suspected was the correct route. The trail we took ended up getting more and more indistinct and soon we were bush whacking our way through a gully. We were close to the road by this time though and I figured it was faster to struggle though a bit more rather than back track. Luckily, I don't think we lost too much time and were soon back on the proper trail.

I trailed just behind Norm while we picked up a couple more check points with no issues. We found out from Marshall's that the last two check points has be cut due to time constraints. Therefore when we arrived at the bike park, it was time to drop our bikes (after riding a few jumps) and head out to the last O stage. Norm and I found the first control together and then I moved on ahead to grab the next. On my way there, I was surprised to see Bart moving slowly in the same direction - he looked to be hurting for sure. I expected him to still be far ahead - it was a navigation stage though so it was difficult to know exactly where he was headed. I got the next control and was just about to head toward what I though was the most logical control when I noticed that Bart was heading in a direction where there seemed to be no controls. This of course made me question myself and warranted another look a the map. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, there was one control way off to one end...actually off the map itself on the margin! How evil! Bart had apparently missed it and was coming back to get it - I would likely have missed it as well.

My legs were feeling fatigued, but I was able to muster up a decent run toward this far control. On the way back I was surprised to see Todd heading back from the checkpoint. Due to a back injury Todd has pretty much not been mountain biking or running since November, and just days before the MOMAR was deliberating on whether or not even to do it. Like me though, he can't turn down competition easily and knows how to push himself even when barley trained.

Nearing the finish. Photo Credit: Mark Teasdale

I picked up the far control and headed off to pick up the 4 remaining ones as quickly as I could. While I didn't know for sure, I suspected that both Todd and Bart would still beat me, but I wanted to make sure I stayed ahead of Norm and any other contenders. I had a pretty decent kick to the finish to cross in 4:33:55 - good for third place. I was less than 1 min behind Bart and 9 min behind Todd who amazingly still managed to take the win with nearly zero training! Norm came in a few minutes later, and Mike and Dave finished 5th overall to claim the team of two men title. Sarah Seads continued to dominate the solo women with over an hour lead over the next woman.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with my race. I made a few navigational errors, noting huge, but together they probably cost me a few minutes. My fitness was good although I didn't feel amazing I felt consistent throughout and could have kept going at a similar pace for a while longer. I do, however, suspect that I could have pushed myself harder on a few sections, as I didn't feel totally spent after crossing the finish line - guess I didn't want it bad enough! Thanks go out to Bryan Tasaka for yet another well run event. Thanks too to course designer, Gary Robbins, who put a fun one together and too all the volunteers. See you all in September for the MOMAR on the island!

Results.

Mount Tzouhalem Gutbuster - Enduro

2011-06-05T21:27:00.001-07:00

May 7, 2011

Here is a quick and long overdo report. Mount Tzouhalem (near Duncan) is the first of 4 Gutbuster races this year and due to other conflicting races and vacations the only one I can compete in this year. I've always found Tzouhalem to be a tough race due to the challenging climb (all the climbing is pretty much done in one steep accent), but I've always raced well here. Since I am really concentrating on hills and as it was to be my only Gutbuster of the year, even more than usual, I wanted to race well.

I was racing in a new pair of X-Talon 212 Inov8 shoes that I had recently purchased. They are basically a trail racing flat with massive rubber lugs for traction. To keep weight down, there is no rock plate, however, so I was a little worried that they would really beat my feet up on the steep downhill. This turned out to be somewhat of a legitimate worry, but my feet did survived with only minor damage.

My main competition this time around were some regular faces, Shawn Nelson and Sean Chester. To take the win, I knew I had to climb well and build a gap on the ascent as it was likely that both of them would be able to put time into me on the remainder of the course. Thus, I carried through with my plan and started out at a solid pace. Within a km or so the course starts to climb, and first gradually, but soon enough it ramps up. I knew I had a good chance to do well that day when both Sean and Shawn fell back soon after the climb began and within a few more minutes they were out of sight. Now it was time for me to focus and push hard through the pain.

About half way up the climb, the course turns onto single track (from double track) and goes very vertical for a hundred metres or so. I have never before been able to run this section as it is just brutal, especially after coming off of a sustained climbing section. This year though, with the legs feeling decent and the lead in hand, I decided to go for it and see if it could be done. It wasn't a fast run and indeed probably only marginally faster than hiking, but I was able master it this time around. While this accomplishment was encouraging, the climbing was not near over and with one more really steep section just before the cross, I had and to gut it out for another 10-15 min of elevation gain. Luckily, the high point came a little before I expected it to so it was a relief to get some downhill on a logging road.

Soon though, the course veers back onto a some fun single track. It is mostly fairly flat or downhill, but has a couple little climbs here and there to remind you that your legs are toast. Sonja was not racing, but was running the course and it was around this point that I caught up to her. The course had been altered a bit, with some additional single track added near the far end of the course. The wasn't a long section, but probably added a couple minutes.

From this point on the course is primarily downhill with several more kms of nice single track. I was feeling good was pretty optimistic that no one would catch me, but kept the pressure on myself because if someone catches up enough to see the person in front, it gives them extra incentive to push even harder.

Before the final major decent, there is a modest climb that can feel tough on the shattered legs. This time around, I was able to hold steady on it, but was relieved to have it over. Then the punishing downhill begins. It is steep and not too technical so extreme speed is possible if your body can take it. I'm not sure that I was quite as fast as some previous years on this section, primarily because my lightweight shoes did not protect me enough from the rocky terrain and I was able to feel a bit too much through the bottom of my shoes. Soon though I was down again and I noticed that a small section of the course had been removed which was just fine with me. Then just a bit of flat terrain, one more little grunt of a hill and a flat few hundred metres to the finish remained. My shoes performed exceptionally well on a little section of mud that racers had to navigate (overall I was quite happy with them despite battering my feet up a bit).

I accelerated into the finish stopping the clock at just under the hour mark for 59:52, my best time ever at this venue (although with course changes it is hard to figure out exactly). I was pleased with my performance and race execution (and for my first Gutbuster win since 2007) and it shows that I am setting myself up well for mountain running later in the summer. Shawn finished only 40 seconds back so my keeping the pressure up turned out to be a good idea. Sean crashed on course and decided to cruise in after that finishing well back. This left Andrew Pape-Salmon to pick up a podium finish in well run race. Care Wakely continued her dominance of the woman's field with Claire Morgan coming 2nd. I was pleased to see that Antonia Harvey, whom a coach, came in 5th place and only 20 second back from Claire in a cluster of woman vying for podium spots. I expect to see her race well later in the season.

Results.

Times Colonist 10k

2011-05-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2011

To have any hope of keeping this blog up to date, I'd better start writing more and racing less! I'm not sure that is going to happen since it is tough for me to turn down the chance to participate and compete.

The Times Colonist (TC) is the largest single race in Victoria and is even tougher than most races to not do because it is so well known even by non-runners. It is a good race due to a fairly fast course and a deep field. There are always plenty of talented racers to run with. This year saw a course change from the last few years from a modified out and back with a turn-around to a pure loop course. Initially, I thought it would be a bit tougher because of the addition of a climb up Johnson St and a few other little blips that did not exist before. However, upon seeing the elevation profiles of both courses, they are actually pretty similar so overall I figured the new course wouldn't make a big difference.

Image courtesy of Chris Callendar

The start area is a bit nicer this year than in recent years as it is in front of the Empress where the road is much wider. I expect for people farther back it the pack benefited even more from this extra road space.

The 8 am start time came soon enough and off we ran north on Government St. I started to find my pace and the pack quickly spread out. As we turned onto Johnson St off of store St I saw the first km marker. It seemed to come too soon and a quick check at the watch confirmed an impossible 2:32. I don't know how such a large placement mistake happened when even a quick look at the map confirms that the marker should have been another block further along the route. Regardless, I knew it didn't really matter for the overall race.

Johnson St is a long gradual climb up, although coming this close to the start of the race it doesn't seem too bad. I did, however, start to realize that this race was not going to be as good as Sooke River for me. While I didn't feel too bad, I just didn't feel that I had the same snap in my legs or ability to push myself and hard. There was nothing I could do about it though so I resolved to race smart and see if I could still pull off a decent race.

I soon found myself running with local running legend Bruce Deacon. Bruce is a two time Olympian and was Canada's top marathoner for several years in the 1990's. Now a master, he has still held on to most of his speed. Soon we started trading the lead with me gaining on the climbs and Bruce pulling ahead on the descents. We would do this for most of the remainder of the race.

As we turned onto May St, we were treated to a little hill and although I expected it, it was still a bit of a bugger. I continued to feel reasonable, if not fantastic and when I went through 5 km in 16:15 I knew I had a very good chance to get under 33 min unless I really blew it on the second half. I managed the climb up to Clover Point and Mile Zero fairly well slowing only to 3:21 from 6-7 km.

Things started to get a bit rougher for me after that and Bruce pulled a bit ahead of me on the downhill towards Ogden Point. Fortunately, I did manage to keep my pace fairly solid even though it was a little slower than the first 5 km. With about a km to go, Nick Walker went blowing by me, obviously feeling strong. I wanted to latch on and have him help pull me through to the finish, but I just didn't have the ability to change gears at that time. I was just trying my best to not slow down. I managed a weak surge to the finish and closed in a decent 3:14. My final time was 32:43 good for 15th place. Considering that it wasn't my best race in terms of how I felt, I was happy with my time and the personal best. On a good day, I am confident a 32:30 would be possible.

I finished1 second behind Bruce, but somehow managed to get placed ahead of him. Perhaps because the official results are sorted by chip time rather than gun time? Nick was a few seconds ahead and Craig Odermatt just ahead of him. Willy Kimsop edged out Simon Witfield for the overall win in 30:22, about 30 sec slower than he was last year so perhaps it is a bit tougher course. The top woman, Karolina Jarzynska from Poland, ran an amazing 32:54 which I believe is a new course record. Congrats to all though who ran, I know many who had some spectacular races on a great day.

Results.
My splits: 6:31 (2 km), 3:14, 3:12, 3:18 (5 km split 16:15), 3:21, 3:20, 3:16, 3:18, 3:14

Sooke River 10k

2011-05-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

April 17, 2011

Since I just ran the Times Colonist (TC) 10k today, it is of course much overdo that I get this race report up. Sooke River is the last of the 8 Island Race Series races. I have not run it since 2007 where I posted a then respectable for me 35:20. The course consists of some rolling hills so it not conducive for blazing fast times, nor is it super slow like Hatley Castle.

I had a break of 4 weeks without racing and while I had hoped to really get a solid block of training in, dealing with a new house while also trying to sell my condo sucked up the time. My speed and hill sessions were pretty solid, but I didn't get as many longer runs in as I probably should have, I was hoping this wouldn't hurt me.

I didn't have any aspirations that I would be breaking my 10k PB on this race, just figuring that if I could run in the low 33's that would set me up well for doing a sub 33 min at the TC. I went into the race relaxed, but as usual ready to do my best.

Off the line, Nick Walker, Shawn Nelson, and myself quickly separated ourselves from the pack. Within a kilometer, Nick fell back slightly undoubtedly opting to run his own smart race. Shawn and I continued to two abreast for another kilometer or so. It sounded as though he was labouring more than he should have been at this point in the race so he must not have been having a good day. I on the other hand was feeling expectationally strong and was running comfortably. When Shawn started to slip backwards a bit, I put the pressure on to get some distance between us. My 3rd km (with a good amount of downhill) was a pretty quick 3:10 although I didn't know at the time how fast I was going since I opted not to look at most of my splits.

I had a good lead at this point, but continued to feel really strong. The kind of feeling you get only a couple times a year (if you are lucky) so I wanted to capitalize on it as much as possible. Before the turn around, I only had the company of Garth Campbell, Hugh Trenchard, and one other cyclist who were leading the race. When I am feeling good, I like pushing myself so runnign solo wasn't a big deal.

My pace remained fairly consistent to the turn around just before the 5k marker. At this point, it was nice to be able to see the runners in the field behind me. Thanks to all those that acknowledged me even if I couldn't respond in all cases since I was really in the zone. I noticed that Nick had moved into second behind me (perhaps 20s back) with Shawn holding onto third, and Keith Mills nippling at his heels. At the 5k mark, I did look at my watch and was pleased to see a 16:22 split which was better than expected. I knew though that holding on to that sub 33 pace would be really tough on the second half because there was significant hill to climb on the way back.

I hit the big hill hard, really hammering up it and getting onto my toes, trying to keep all the speed I could. I did well on the first steeper section, but had to pull back a bit on the final section or risk blowing up. Despite my efforts, this was still my slowest km in 3:31. We were treated to some downhill in the last couple of kilometers which I managed to use fairly well. Things were starting to get more difficult at this point (as they always do) and I was glad the finish was not far away.

At 9k, I took a look at my watch and noted that I had 3:05 to get to the finish to dip under 33min...not much time, but I decided to try my best. I pick it up a bit and then after the final corner, sprinted the few hundred metres to the finish...32:30...oh maybe I can make it, I'm so close...32:45...almost there...32:55...in the chute...33:00....damn! not quite. I ended up with a 33:01, but couldn't be disappointed at all since it was better than expected. Picking up a win at an Island Race Series was also a nice surprise and quite honestly not something I was sure was ever going to happen since so many of the races are really stacked with amazing runners. Of course, I do have to thank the Sun Run for sucking all the top talent off the island for that event.

Nick held onto 2nd finishing about 30s back and Keith ran well to pull ahead of a fading Shawn Nelson to take 3rd in just over 34 min. Care Wakely took the win for the women, with a minute and a half gap over 2nd place Sara Gross. It was unfortunate that some runners from up island were unable to start with the main race due to a tanker accident at Goldstream. They did get to race in their own heat 30 min later, however.

Thanks to Island Road Runners for another successful event and to all the IRS organizers and volunteers - it was a fun season and without every ones dedication to keep things going, it wouldn't happen.

Results

My splits: 3:20, 3:17, 3:10, 3:13, 3:22 (5k split 16:22), 3:19, 3:23, 3:31, 3:18, 3:07

Here is a video put together my Chris Kelsall. The footage from Garth's bike it unfortunately pretty far away due to the wide angle on the camera.

Dirty Duo 25k

2011-03-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

March 12, 2011

I have been falling woefully behind in this write-up as life has been busy with packing up for a move to a new house Sonja and I recently purchased. I figure if I wait just a few more weeks, the writeup will be only 2 sentences long as that will be all I remember!

A few time a year it is fun to head over to the mainland to race at some different venues. The main premise of the Dirty Duo (and where it gets its name) is due to the face that it was originally envisioned as a combination mountain bike and run event (either as a relay or solo). In the preceding years they have added additional events so a total of 6 are now offered (relay 30k bike, 25k run; solo 30k bike, 25k run; 30k bike; 50k run; 25k run; and 15k run) so it now caters to nearly everyone.

I briefly considered doing the solo bike/run as it would be a good challenge to test my mountain biking skills, but decided against it since I have not been out on my mountain bike in months. However, since the first MOMAR is only two months away, I really need to get out on the saddle again.

I headed over to Vancouver on Friday evening with Sonja (who was also doing the 25k run) and managed to get a reasonable sleep in the night before. Fortunately, it was a 11am start time so a 5am wake up time so common to these events was not necessary (although the 50k, and duo events did start at 8am). The venue at Jaycee House was the same as it was for the Hallows Eve race we had done back in October so I suspected that at least some of the trails would be the same. I spotted Jen Seggar there who was also doing the 25k just as a little prep for Coyote Two Moon 100 Mile race in California the next weekend. Because of this, she was just going to cruise this 25k (she still ended up being 2nd woman at around 2:30).

For me, this was not a A goal race for me, but more one just to experience and have fun. Of course, I always like to perform well and do what I can to race as well I can. Based on previous year's results it didn't seem like a particularly competitive field although you never know who is going to show up at these kind of events. I did know that it was going to be a relatively long day out there since the actual distance was 27k and winning times seemed to be around 2:15.

Unlike Hallows Eve, this race started with a downhill run to the river and then turned upstream. The first few minutes were on road and very wide trail, but after a little while it turned onto some pleasant single track. I started out at a comfortable race pace, but very soon I started distancing myself from the field. I was both relieved and disappointed by this. Being in the lead tends to take a bit of the pressure off since there is no one to chase and you can hold a bit in reserve in case someone catches up (unless you are trying for a course record). On the other hand, running to an easy victory is much less satisfying than winning a hotly contested one. In any case, I hoped to be treated to a fun course.

We soon joined into trail that I had run before at Hallows Eve and the stairs to climb were still there as well. Either I was moving a little slower, or my additional hill training is paying off as they seemed easier this time around. Back on some double track, the course intersected with the mountain bike course and for most of the remainder of the race I was seeing a lot of bikes (passing them for the most part).

I passed an aid station and then started to make my way down to another river. I had examined the map prior to the race, and knew we had to make the decent, but at one point I passed flagging on the left at an intersection and some flagging on the right, there were a couple people around, but it was unclear whether one of them was a marshal or not so I continued along the main road assuming the other way was the return trail. After several minutes of seeing no flagging, however, I started to doubt myself. Since I had a solid lead, I figured it was better to turn around and confirm that I was on the correct route. I'd lose some time, but better to lose 2 minutes and find out that I was on the right path then continue on and risk losing way more. So I turned and after a minute of so of running saw the 2nd place guy (David Smith) coming towards me. He said that the marshal had directed him this way so I turned again and we ran together for a while. And of course, just around the next corner from where I had turned, just 200 metres away was a piece of pink flagging!

We passed through another aid station and then crossed the river over a good sized bridge. Before too long we moved onto single track again and started a bit of a climbing. David dropped back a bit at this point and the trail continued on to rolling terrain for several kilometres. The single track was fun, but went on for longer than I was anticipating. I knew the main climb of the course was still to come so I just wanted to get on with it. Eventually, I passed another aid station and the trail tilted upwards. It was gradual though and not as steep as I had expected. My legs were still feeling pretty good so I ground it out. I was passing a lot of bikes now and also quite a few 50k runners on their 2nd lap hiking up the grade. After about 10 minutes I reached snow level and the trail became a bit slick. Luckily, it was nearly the top and the snow was not a big factor.

Then the descending came and it was a blast! I almost ended up on my ass after hitting some ice at the top, but after that it was great. The course was designed for mountain biking with a lot of rock work in place to keep the trail from getting too chewed up. It was great to run if you like technical stuff and if you have the guts, you could really rip. It was somewhat tough on the body since there were a lot of little drop-offs to navigate. Even on the downhill, I found I was passing some bikers as it was just too technical to be really fast on a bike.

Soon though the fun was over and I popped out back on the road near the bridge. Back across the bridge and upriver on another gravel road - it was a bit tedious, but easy at least. Then came the hardest climb of the day in terms of steepness as the course climbed back out of the river valley. It wasn't too long, but coming around 90 minutes in my legs were certainly not pleased with me! I persevered and was just able to run it all, but couldn't have done much more. After that, it was simply a matter of repeating most of the trail that I had come up on although the last 2 kilometers were different. I was completely soaked by this time as the rain had started falling lightly about an hour in, but I was working hard enough that it didn't matter. The last little hill nearly brought me to to a crawl, but I managed to run it (barely). More than likely it would have been more efficient to hike it, but usually I'm too stubborn to hike when I can run.

After that it was just a bit of muddy flat trail and a final road section to the finish. My watch said 2:05:10, but the official results say 2:03:49. I'm pretty sure they had the timing off somehow (since it was chip timed), it doesn't really matter as long as everyone was given the same relative time. David took 2nd about 9 minutes back and Ross Greenwood took 3rd. Louise Oram edged out Jen for the woman's title. Sonja started the race feeling tired, but picked up the competitive spirit not far in and ended up having a one of her best races ever, finishing 20th overall (out of 94) and was the 5th woman.

This was a well run event. Thanks the organizers and volunteers. Next time, I'll have to take up the challenge and do the bike/run!

Results.

Bazan Bay 5k

2011-03-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

March 6, 2011

Just a quick report before I race again this weekend over in Vancouver at the Dirty Duo 25k. Bazan Bay always attracts a large and fast field largely due to its fast and nearly flat course. It is an excellent course to try for a PB. This year, it was easier for some elites to come over from Vancouver because the start time had been shifted from 9am to 11am to match the rest of the Island Race Series races.

I figured a PB for me was certainly possible since I had been racing well so far this year and I had set a 15:30 as an A goal (last year I ran 15:47). I decided for the fist time in a while not to look at my km splits while I was racing and just race based on how I felt.

Once we got underway, I expected a fast start since there was plenty of talent in the field (including Jim Finlayson, Steve Osaduik, Matt Clout, Jon Bird, Sean Chester, Trevor O'Brien, Andrew Russell, and Craig Odermatt). I was surprised, however, since what we got underway, it didn't seem that fast at all and by the time I passed the 1km marker in 3:04 I was still with the front pack running beside Steve. Even before I have been running competitively, Steve has been a fixture in the local racing community and one of the better runners in the county with an impressive resume. Needless to say, racing next to someone of this caliber is not something I am used to doing and I briefly thought that I must be going way to fast. I pushed the thought aside though since I felt very light on my feet and I decided to continue on and and see what happens.

The second km also went by quite quickly in 3:01 (I only looked after the race) and I was still feeling great. There were only a half dozen or so guys in front of me and I was ahead of some people that I normally only see the back of so I knew I was doing pretty well. The turn around came just before 3km and Paul was there on his bike shouting encouragement to his Aspire Runners. I wasn't expecting it, but after the turn around we encountered some wind on the return stretch. It wasn't brutal, but was still a factor, especially at this point in the race and combined with a slight uphill. I had passed Trevor earlier in the race, but he passed me in the windy section and I tried to tuck in behind him for a bit, but then I decided to put a bit of pressure on him and passed him back. As usual, I just found I don't like to follow although I should learn how to use others to improve my racing.

I stopped feeling great with about 1.5km to go as things started to get hard. I know I slowed down a bit, but other that my dueling with Trevor, I didn't seem to be losing much ground. I bore down and did all I could to keep my pace up. As usual, the last km seems to last as long as the first 4 and felt twice as hard. I don't know what my last 3 km splits are as I missed the 3k marker and the 4th was placed in the wrong location too near the finish. I picked up the pace a bit on the final stretch to the finish, but didn't have a ton left in the tank. Trevor managed to push by me and finish 1 sec ahead. My official time was 15:36, good for 7th place in a competitive field and 7 placements better than last year. Without the wind, I'm confident I could have got pretty close to my A goal of 15:30, but I am quite satisfied with a 11sec PB for a 5k race. I also managed to finish ahead of a few guys that I have never beat in the past so that was a confidence booster.

Despite imperfect conditions a number of other runners had great performances, with Jeremy Lawrence taking over a minute off his 5k time to finish in 17:20 and Garth Campbell posting a 13 sec improvement over his last race here in 2008. Many of my Aspire training partners also ran well, with Sean capturing 5th place overall, Shawn Nelson just behind me in 15:50 and Claire Morgan running as solid 18:06. Jim edged out Steve for the overall win in 14:58.

Results.

Hatley Castle 8k

2011-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2011

People who want to get a good 8k time tend to skip this race as it is very hilly and half on trail rather than road. There are not a lot of PB's set here, but if you don't worry about times it can be a fun course. I hadn't run this course last year so my main goal was to better my 2009 time of 27:56. Since the course is so difficult something in the low 27 min range seemed reasonable since this was about 1 min slower than my Pioneer 8k time.

The day was beautiful and sunny if a bit on the cold side. The sun rarely shines in Victoria in the winter so complaining about the cold wasn't an option. I rarely have temperature issues when racing these short distances anyway as my body produces plenty of heat when I'm cranking it out.

Prior to my warm up, I heard from other racers that the finishing section of the course had been changed to be the same as that of the Royal Roads Gutbuster course. Instead of the final couple hundred metres of downhill on pavement, it now turns onto the grass for a bit and then has a short uphill finish. Presumably, they shorted the second out and back section on the course to accommodate this change, but it was still bound to be slower due to the presence of grass, mud and more corners. Why they changed it remains a mystery since there seemed to be no obvious reason. This course certainty does not need to be any more difficult than it already is.

I did a respectable 15 min warm up (by my standards) with Larry Nylen and prepared myself for the race. Since I knew this was not going to be a PB course, I didn't work myself up too much about it. I would simply do my best and see what happens. In terms of competition, many my training partners where including Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, and Nick Walker. On the woman's side Care Wakely was the clear favorite, but Claire Morgan would likely also run well.

Sean took off hard from the start and I did not even attempt to match him and as a consequence soon found myself running on my own with Shawn and Nick not too far back. The first kilometer marker came too soon and was clearly off by the bit as I passed it in 3:02. The first km is fast, but should not have been that quick and the since the second split came in at 3:41 things didn't seem quite right. I didn't take more notice of the times, however, and set up sights on keeping Sean in sight. On the climbs from 1-3km, I actually managed to pulled him back slightly and was probably only 10-15 seconds behind him at the top of the large hill just before the 3k marker. I hadn't expected to be that close to him at this point so was fairly pleased.

I was feeling pretty good and was able push well during the race. The course is tough though and while it felt like I was putting out a 3:15 effort, I was running closer to 3:30 pace. The hills, turn-arounds, corners, and surface really eat into the pace. At the second turn-around I saw that I had a pretty good gap on Shawn and Nick and unless something unusual happened, I would be able to hold onto second place.

Shawn gradually pulled away from me on the final few kilometers, using his long legs and strong downhill running ability to gain ground. The final grind up the aptly named "Little Bugger" hill always hurts, but I ran it fairly well. There was some mud on the new path to the finish so I had to tread carefully - a fall with 200 metres to go would be embarrassing. I finished in a time of 27:27 just 29s behind Sean. Considering he beat me by 1:09 at Pioneer 8k and 1:06 at Cobble Hill 10k I was pretty pleased with my comparative time. This was my best placing in a Island Race Series so that was also a nice bonus. Shawn was just under a minute back and Nick not far behind him. Care comfortably won with a margin of over 1:30 over fellow training partner Claire. Larry ended up running a solid race and Andrew Pape-Salmon and Kevin Searle also finished well winning their respective age categories. Bazan Bay5k is next and unlike this race, it always results in fast times.

Results.

My splits. 3:02, 3:41, 3:34, 3:17 (4k split: 13:33), 3:30, 3:34, 3:15, 3:34

Cedar 12k

2011-02-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2011

As usual, the season is already flying past with Cedar being the 3rd of 8 races. Being an unusual distance, it is still the one and only 12k I have competed in, this was my 5th running of it having only missed last year since my first time doing it in 2006. Despite a couple of good sized hills, I have generally ran well here posting progressively faster times each year. This year, I was hoping for a good time, but was still suffering from lack of proper sleep as I go though patches where my sleep is less than ideal from time to time. I hoped it would not be a big factor. The last time I race Cedar was back in 2009 when I ran 41:31. This year, I was hoping to somewhere in the 40:xx range.

A number Harriers headed up together since Cedar is about an hour and a half north of Victoria near Nanamio. Besides being saving fossil fuels and being more economical, it is also great for comradery. The weather on the drive up was rainy and it seems likely that it would be a soggy run. Fortunately, by the time we reach the race venue things dried up and would stay that way for a few hours, long enough so that everyone stayed dry.

After a brief warm-up with Sonja, I stripped down to shorts and singlet and tried to stay warm while making my way to the start line. The warm-up had felt average so I was optimistic that the race would be at least average. The main contenders for top placements were Jim Finlayson, Sean Chester, Craig Odermatt, Shawn Nelson, Nick Walker, and out of town elite Rejean Chiasson. Once we were off, I settled into a comfortable pace and soon found myself in 4th place behind Jim and Sean who pulled off the line very hard and Craig who as usual was just out of reach. I was surprised to find myself ahead of Shawn and Rejean whom I had been told had impressive race times.

The first 2 kilometers were a little fast at 3:15 each, but I felt in control so continued on. Soon I found that Rejean had gone out easy as he caught up and passed me around the 2k marker. I briefly passed him back on an uphill section after 3k, but on the next flat section he sped up and was soon well ahead. I was running my own race and knew that trying to match him would have made me pay dearly later in the race. I continued to feel strong and posted strong splits though 5k. The 6th km includes a long gradual grade up that cut into my pace, but I was still able to hit the halfway point at a sub 40min pace. It was quicker than expected, but I knew that it would be tough to maintain on the return since there were more hills on the way back.

Craig was only 10 or 15s ahead at the 6k mark, but as we made our way back he inched ahead. Craig is strong on the hills and I was not able to make any ground up on him on the climbs. For most of the race, I was expecting Shawn to catch up and pass me as it has been some time since I have beaten him at any race. Only once I passed the 10k marker did I actually think I might stay ahead. I paid a little for my initial brisk pace on the final 5k with splits that were a little slower than I would have liked. I didn't feel terrible, but was certainly starting to fatigue.

Keeping the form up around 10.5k. Photo credit: Andrew Pape-Salmon

I struggled though the last few hundred meters on the wet grass field and ran an OK final km crossing the finish in 40:24, overall a pretty strong time for me and my second best points for an IRS race only behind Bazan 2010. As a bonus, I was even managed to get an under elite age group benchmark time for this race although due to the rarely run distance this is much easier than normal. I was 5th overall, 27s behind Craig. Jim crushed the field and the course record with a 37:11 clocking and Rejean finished well for 2nd overall with Sean taking 3rd. Care Wakely took the win for the women in 45:17 just edging out Melissa Ross. Results.

My splits: 3:15, 3:15, 3:17, 3:22, 3:15, 3:28, (6k split: 19:51) 3:21, 3:21, 3:30, 3:29, 3:27, 3:24

Cobble Hill 10k

2011-01-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2011

This race, the second of the 2011 Island Race Series, was a bit of a last minute decision for me. I had already picked out the five races from the series that would get me enough points to qualify for series standings (Pioneer, Cedar, Hatley Castle, Bazan, and Sooke River) so didn't really need to do this one. As usual, however, I couldn't resist the urge to race. Besides, since I would have gone up to cheer on Sonja and other friends anyway, racing made sense.

My training leading up to the race had been going well although my sleep in the couple of days leading up to the race was not ideal, I was hopeful that I could still race fairly well. I wasn't expecting to top my 2010 Times Colonist time on this more challenging course, but based on my Pioneer performance was hoping to pick up a modest course PB of 10 or 15 seconds (last year I ran 33:31).

My warm-up was kind of flat, but I have learned to not give much heed to how I feeling before the race as it seems to have little bearing on how I actually feel on the course. Conditions were a bit cool so I rushed back to the school that was used for race central with a few minutes to spare to drop off my long sleeve. By the time I made it back to the start line a few hundred metres down the road at 10:55, I nearly missed the start since they started a couple minutes early. Perhaps I should not cut it so close next time...

I enjoyed watching a young kid sprint crazy-ally ahead only to and fall well back before hitting 500m. There was also another guy who took off with the leaders who didn't die fast despite the fact that he really didn't look like an elite runner as he was sporting a cotton tee and long shorts. I was quite shocked that he was able to hold on for about two kilometres with the lead group even though his running form looked inefficient and strained from the start. I think this guy was Thomas Marrs and despite his quick start he managed to hang on well and run a very respectable 35:07 for 6th place overall.

As usual I tried to run at my own pace and not worry too much about keeping up with anyone in particular. Logan was ahead along with Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, and Craig Odermatt leaving me in 5th position after the initial sorting out. The first km went by fast in 3:06, but felt comfortable, then we headed down hill a bit on an out and back section. After the 2nd kilometer, I was surprised to find myself closing in on Sean, Shawn, and Craig (Logan had fallen back slightly) and we were soon running together. This is the first time I have ever been in the lead pack during an Island Race Series race so it felt strange. I was thinking "Am I going to fast?", but we were not really going that fast and I felt well in control. Just before the 3k marker, Sean accelerated ahead and I later learned that this race was more of a training/tactics race for him and he could have certainly gone faster off the line.

I half expected to see Shawn go with him as he is definitely capable of putting down a fast time, but instead within a few hundred metres he actually fell back behind Craig and myself. I knew then, that something was wrong and later found out that he pulled out due to a tight chest. Kind of a bummer for him for sure. I ran side by side with Craig up the slight grade from 3km to the turn-around at 5.5km. I was feeling pretty good, but around 4.5km, Craig started to slowly pull away and I felt that I didn't have the ability to stay with him without compromising the later kilometres of the race. Craig is very consistent and always finishes his races strong so I was not too surprised to not be able to hang on (although someday soon I am hoping to be able to do that).

I hit the halfway point at 16:40, on pace for a 33:20 race, right where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, while there is some downhill on the way back to the finish, there are also some rolling hills that cut into your time along with inevitable fatigue that starts to set in. I managed to maintain a respectable pace though the next few kilometres but did lose a couple of seconds compared to my first half. Craig was now more than 30s ahead of me and Sean was close to a minute ahead and with no one close behind, it was really just a race against the clock for me. Paul was at the last corner encouraging myself and others along and telling me to relax the shoulders. I picked it up a bit and was able to close the final km in a decent 3:16, finishing in 33:30, just 1s faster than last year. I had hoped to be a bit faster, but still did run a PB on this course, even if it is the smallest one possible. I the plus side I did place 3rd overall which is my best placing to date in an Island Race Series. Where are the elite runners this year? Overall it was kind of a B race for me - not bad, but not spectacular either.

Congrats to Sean for winning his first ever Island Race Series. He is running exceptionally well this year so I think he will shatter some PB's. Sonja continued her amazing improvements running under 41 minutes for the first time. A 10k time with a 3 in front of it is just around the corner I think.

Results

Splits (some of the markers were off since the first seems too short, the second too long, the fourth too short and the fifth too long)
3:06, 3:23, 3:20, 3:17, 3:34, (5k split: 16:40) 3:23, 3:21, 3:27, 3:22, 3:16

Prarie Inn Pioneer 8K

2011-01-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2011

As I mentioned in my last post, I am focusing on mountain running for 2011 in the hopes of making it onto the Canadian team who will compete in the World Mountain Running Championships in Albania in September. Because of this, my road racing this year becomes less important and I will not be quite a concerned about my times this year. However, I still plan to do at least 5 of the Island Race Series races and I always race at a pretty high intensity. If I end up doing well, it will be a great bonus.

This attitude took a little pressure off the race which was nice. I made a last minute decision to race in a brand new pair of Nike Free Run + shoes I had just purchased. For the last few years, I have been racing in Asics racing flats and they have served me well. However, my current pair is worn out and I think was a contributing factor in my plantar fasciitis which I didn't want to aggravate it any more. Since I didn't want to race in a heaver shoe, I choose to try the Nike's out since they were nearly as light as my racing flats. Since it was only 8km I figured the worst I could suffer was a few blisters. The shoes are exceptionally flexible so you can feel every contour of the road, but still had reasonable cushioning and they fit like a glove. They turned out to be very comfortable and have me no blisters or hot spots. I'll have to run in them a few more times to assess them fully, but so far I'm quite impressed.

I was surprised to be handed a bib with the number 5 on it. Elite bibs are often ranked by the race organizers based on expected finishing position so 5th sounded way too high. Last year I ran a 26:35 to place 19th and year before, I ran just under 27 min and was 25th. This is often a very competitive race and I expected the same this year. However, even with the last minute appearance of two elites (Jim Finlayson and Trevor O'Brien), the field had less depth than normal. Since the elite field was thin, I was able to stand right on the start line. Too bad it didn't help me much though as it seems like I was already 2 strides behind right after the gun. I think many runners jump gun just slightly while I diligently wait and nearly get run over. In a race such as this, it doesn't matter much, but I was shocked at how quickly I fell behind.

The course was exactly the same as every time I have run here and so started with a scorching fast downhill first kilometre. I kept closer to the leaders than usual though as I posted a 3:04 split. By this time the initial sorting out was done and I found myself in about 10th position and feeling strong. If I continued to feel good, I was pretty sure I could pull in a couple of those runner ahead. I moved along well passing the 2nd marker on a steady 3:17 pace. The course then turns right up a hill through Brentwood Bay. I noticed that a few runners in front of me had slowed quite a lot while climbing the hill and as I was feeling strong, I took the opportunity to power up the grade and pass 3 runners. I normally have to be a bit careful not to overstress myself on the climbs in fear that I will not be able to recover once I hit the top, but this time around I recovered very well.

...and we're off! Photo Credit: Kirsten (last name unknown)

I crossed the halfway point at 4k in 12:58 which was a few seconds faster than last year, but now the hard part starts. For some reason, I have usually struggled somewhat in the last 3 kilometres of this race. This time around, my energy felt great, but around 5k, I started to develop a side stitch. It wasn't horrible, but I did have to back off a bit in the hopes that it would subside (it did after about 1.5k). My slowest km was 3:27 when the stitch was at it's worst.

Just as the problem was subsiding, Paddy McCluskey and Colin Dignum caught up to me. Paddy is a bit of a local legend with amazing personal bests in his younger days and now is a powerful Master's runner. I have raced against him a few times and I'm pretty sure he always made it to the finish before me. Paddy looked strong, but Colin was breathing so hard and so raggedly that he sounded as though each step he took might be his last - he was absolutely killing himself! Hearing him and then assessing how hard I was working in comparison gave me the motivation to pick it up a bit. I wasn't struggling nearly as bad as Colin was so there was no way I was going to get him beat me! The last kilometre is pretty much all up hill and I powered my way up it passing Paddy back partway up, but not gaining a lot of time on him. The final few hundred metres of gradual uphill really hurts, but I gutted it out and pushed passed one young National Triathlon member to grab 6th spot in 26:19. I was pleased with my performance, getting a 12s PB and with the exception of the stitch feeling great doing it.

Unsurprisingly, Jim grabbed the win, but Sean Chester ran a PB to place a strong 2nd only 25s behind. The top 5 were rounded out by Trevor, Shawn Nelson, and Craig Odermatt. Natasha Wodak took the woman's title in a strong 27:57. Many other Harriers and friends had great races including Andrew Pape-Salmon, Garth Campbell, Claire Morgan, and Sonja (who smashed her 2010 time by almost 2 min).

Results.

My splits: 3:04 (-13s from avg pace), 3:17 (0s), 3:21 (+4s), 3:17 (0s) [halfway split 12:58], 3:19 (+2s), 3:27 (+10s), 3:21 (+4s), 3:14 (-3s)

2010 Review and Plans for 2011

2011-01-15T20:41:00.000-08:00

I realize that we are are already 2 weeks into 2011 so I am a bit behind the eight ball on this post, but I thought it was still worth getting a few things down about my running in the last year and mention a few things about 2011. To keep it simple I'll post in point form.

Positives for 2010

Set modest personal bests at all distances that I raced in 2010 (3000m, 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K, Half)
Hit the 33 min mark for 10K at the Times Colonist
Picked up wins in 3 trail races (Orcas Island 25K, Hallows Eve half, Stewart Mountain 10 Miler) and 2 relays as part of a team (Oak Bay Half, Thetis Lake 20K)
Raced well at the majority of other races
Trained pretty consistently
Started coaching other runners
Picked up my weekly mileage by a modest amount
Learned to like the track more than I thought I would

Negatives for 2010

Didn't get my road times down as much as I wanted (I would have liked to get into the meaty part of a 32 min 10K)
Had a few bad races near the end of summer probably due to insufficient training
Ended up with a mild to moderate case of plantar fasciitis which I am still battling. It has not greatly affected my running, but is a big nuisance.

All in all the positives certainly outweigh the negatives and 2010 was a pretty great year.

Goals for 2011

Qualify for the 2011 World Mountain Running Championships in Albania. This requires that I run exceptionally well at the Canadian Mountain Running Championships in Canmore Alberta so I have a chance to be selected for the Canadian Team.
To achieve my primary goal, I will need to do as much hill work as my legs will take and race as many hilly trail races as I can fit in. Some of the trail races that I already have plans to do are the Dirty Duo 25K, 4 or 5 Gutbusters (the schedule has not been posted yet), and Kusam Klimb.
If I could also set a few more personal bests in road races (I'm planning on doing 5 or 6 island race series races) that would be icing on the cake
Throw in an adventure race or two to keep things interesting. I'm also keen to try a 24-36 hour adventure race and/or a 24 rogane if I can fit them in.
Start coaching a few more runners and help them achieve their goals
Stay (mostly) injury free

Stewart Mountain 10 Miler

2010-12-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2010

Stewart mountain has always been my favorite of the 3 PIH Thetis events. The large climb right in the middle is tough, but it always seems to somehow energize me for the last half of the race. The course is a part loop and part out and back route and is composed of mostly double track with some single track thrown in. Stewart is generally the least well attend and the least competitive of the 3 races, but usually still attracts a few fast runners. In 2008, Jason Loutitt blasted through the course in just over 1:02, quite an impressive feat.

The snow from two weeks ago had long ago melted, but it had been replaced by a good drenching of rain just a day or two before the race. Things would be wet and muddy, but otherwise conditions were pretty decent with cool temps and only a mild drizzle (it would dump buckets later in the day).

While the race only boasts about 150 finishers, there were still a lot of Harriers in attendance which is always great to see. I had expected that Shawn Nelson would race as it would likely be another relatively easy win for him. He opted to do a workout in the morning instead, however, and must have decided that adding another 16k of hard running might be too much even for him. The main surprise happened before the race even started, when Bruce Deacon signed up at the last moment. Bruce is a bit of a local legend and an amazing runner. He was Canada's best marathoner for many years and went to the Olympics twice. To put his accomplishments into perspective compared to most local runners, his PB at 10,000 metres is 28:46, his marathon 2:13:18. If he was only in half decent shape, he would destroy the field. However, due to injury, Bruce had not raced in over 2 years, so it was unknown how he would do.

Generally, this race starts out much slower than Gunner, but this year was a bit different. Richard Knowlton took off right from the line and established an early lead. Richard is a solid runner, but unless he had suddenly gotten a lot faster, he was going beyond himself and I fully expected that he would be pulled back into the pack (and he was within 5 minutes). I didn't worry myself too much about this sort of positioning - this was a long enough race that jockeying at this point was not important - better to get a good relaxed rhythm going. I started out in perhaps 8th place, but fairly soon moved up to 3rd behind Bruce and Trever Ruck (the guy I just edged out at Gunner). I squeezed by Bruce on some single track and then proceeded to trade first place with Trevor a few times. He didn't want to concede the lead and tended to pull away from me a bit on the descents. Rather than continuing to battle so early in the race, I opted to settle in a bit. There was still plenty of racing to go and a nice tough climb to come. We made our way though a large swamp and creek both of which left me with numb legs for a bit, but luckily they were back to normal in a few minutes.

I kept Trevor within striking distance although by the time we reach the start of the big climb, he may have had 30 or 40 metres on me. I knew this was the time to assert myself and see what I could do - if I could establish a decent gap on the climb and get out of sight, I figured I had good odds at holding the competition off. I opened it up and soon passed Trevor on the first part of the climb. I continued to dig in, determined to run the entire ascent as I have done in past years. It turns up to a vicious grade in spots, so running at any speed is a challenge. There is a brief break before the final push to the summit. I was feeling pretty good on the climb and while I was working hard, it didn't feel quite and excruciating as it sometimes does. Perhaps I was not pushing myself quite as hard since I was leading at this point although I'd rather think it was because my hill climbing has improved.Unfortunately , it is probably the former.

By the time I reached the summit, I had perhaps gained 1 min on Trevor, now it was time to try and keep it. As I have mentioned many times on this blog, non-technical descending is not my strength, but I was determined to give it my all. I felt quite good and pushed hard on the flats and downhills. I didn't hear or see any signs of Trevor until crossing McKenzie Creek where I looked back and saw that he had closed the gap to within 30s or so. Not yet within striking distance though, so I wasn't yet worried. By the time we reached the 3 hills on Lower Thetis Lake, I still maintained close to 30s, but that didn't stop Trevor from keeping me moving. As I summitted each hill, he was at the bottom. There was no letting up, but I managed to come into the finish line just under 1:04:56, 27s ahead of Trevor.

It was a very good race for me (perhaps a A- or an A), my first win at Stewart and nearly 2 min faster than my last clocking in 2008. I have to thank Shawn Nelson for not showing up and allowing me to take the win and Trever for pushing me the whole time to give me a solid time. Adam O'Meara closed out the top 3 and Bruce cruised in for 5th. Sarah Baker won the woman's division, beating out race favourite Melanie McQuaid. Sonja ran to a 6th place finish in against a tough group of woman who all came in within 45s of one another.

There was a victim in the race: my right big toe nail. I have frequently hammered my toes on downhills, but I took it to another level this race. It is over a week later, and the toe is still sore. I think the combination of wet shoes and my hard pace on the downhills took their toll - that nail is gone for sure.

For a ultra-marathoner, this is nothing, but is a nice shade of blue after only 16km

Thanks again to the Harriers for hosting another great event and to the volunteers who make it go so well. The Island Race series is just around the corner now. Who needs an off season?

Gerry Etcheverry also produced another nice video of this race.

Perseverance Running is Born!

2010-12-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of years, I've been thinking about starting to do some running coaching. The idea of helping other runners improve and achieve their goals was appealing. I figured it was something that I would pick up in a couple of years, but this summer I was approached by a runner who asked me if I could coach her. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to see how I would perform as a coach and how I would enjoy it and accepted the offer. Over that last few months I have found it quite enjoyable to work with this runner and I look forward to seeing her progress.

I would like to attract a few more runners so that I can get a nice little training group together. To further these ends, I have launched a new website outlining what I offer: Perseverance Running. I've added a link over on the right side as well.

There are a number of very good running coaching in Victoria some with impressive credintials. However, I believe I offer a few things that many others do not:

A specialization in trail and mountain running
Programs customized for each athlete
Competitive rates
Delivery of a workout plan via a dedicated website that allows athletes to track their workouts and analyze their progress with reporting tools
Tips and techniques specific to trail running and running on technical terrain

For a full listing of what I have to offer check out the Coaching section of Perseverance Running.

Happy Running!

Gunner Shaw 10k (Victoria)

2010-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

November 27, 2010

I've been busy on another project (which I will be announcing here soon) so I've unfortunately fallen behind in posting this, but here it is.

This popular classic fall race always boasts at least a few features designed to get the racers wet. This year would be a bit different though since in the week leading up to the race, Victoria was pounded with some severe winter weather (by west coast standards). Temperatures approached -10 degrees Celsius accompanied by two moderate snowfalls. By race day, the cold spell was over, but the puddles that the race usually goes though were still frozen and so for safety reasons they had to be bypassed. In addition, there was still snow on much of the course and while not deep it was fairly slippery.

In preparation for the conditions, I had brought a couple of options for footwear. After doing my warm-up on part of the course with Shawn Nelson and realizing that things were definitely slippery, I opted to go with my regular trail runners outfitted with YakTrax that I had borrowed. It's impossible to say exactly how much time they gained for me, but they certainly seemed to help quite a lot. They were not perfect though, as most of the snow was slushy and I still slipped around a bit, but on the downhills especially the footing felt quite secure.

Gunner is usually a very competitive race and usually boasts a strong field of road runners. This year, perhaps because of the conditions, the field wasn't quite at stacked, but my usual competition in the form of Shawn Nelson, Sean Chester, and Nick Walker were there. It was great to see Brad Cunningham (who has also recently joined by training group) out running his first race in some time. While I hoped that my footwear choice would give me a bit of an edge there would still be plenty of competition.

I settled into a comfortable rhythm once the race was underway. Shawn really put the hammer down right away and put a significant gap on everyone else, but I was running with a half dozen other guys in the chase group. Over the next km or so I pushed though and found myself running with Sean in the 2/3 position. Unfortunately, by this time Shawn was almost out of sight and that would be the last I would see of him until after the finish. Despite only wearing racing flat and sliding around, his fitness carried him though to the win.

I ran with Sean for the next km or so until we hit the first steep climb of the course. It isn't long, but it does have quite a grade. At this point, I was able to make up a bit of ground as Sean's shoes slowed his progress (he was also wearing racing flats). I still heard someone behind me as I continued on and assumed it was Sean, but I didn't look back and didn't find out until a little later that it was another racer named Trevor Ruck would had moved into 3rd just behind me. I have a suspicion that Trever had not done a race of this type before because 20 min into the race, he asked one of the volunteers how much further it was (they didn't know, but I told him were were just passed halfway). For me, it was a bit of a tell and didn't seem to be the best race strategy, as you wouldn't be likely to ask that question unless you were hurting.

To his credit though, he tenaciously hung on despite the fact that he was obviously working quite hard. I'm sure he also benefited from the fact that we wore cross country spikes which seemed to give him pretty good traction. Once we popped back out onto the main Thetis trail, Trevor decided it was time to make his move and passed me. I was feeling reasonable and didn't let him get far ahead though. There were still a few hills left on the last km of the course and I hoped to be able to reel him in at that point. On the first little hill, I gained ground, on the second I was able to pull close to even. On the 3rd and final hill, I knew it was likely my last chance to make a convincing move. With the encouragement of the spectators on the top of the hill, I powered up there and passed convincingly. I didn't look back once I hit the top and did my best to move with speed on the last few hundred meters. I finished in 34:57, just 9 seconds ahead of Trevor and good for 2nd place overall. I talked to Trevor afterwords and he told me that he thought we were racing for the win. He hadn't seen Shawn out it front since he vanished out in front so quickly. This likely explains while he held on so long - nothing like the motivation of a possible win to spur you on!

The final hill. Photo Credit: Todd Nowack

It was by far my best ever Gunner Shaw race (by next best showing was 7th back in 2008). It terms of how I felt, I would probably rate it as a B+. I felt that I could push well, but didn't have the extra gear you get when you have one of those exceptional days. Shawn won with over a minute on me and Brad cruised into a strong 4th place finish. Melanie McQuaid won the woman's division with a 39:08 clocking while Sonja raced to a well deserved 5th place finish. Thanks to PIH and all the volunteers who make it another successful race!

Results

Gerry Etcheverry also produced a couple of neat video clips:

And one from Carlos Castillo:

Bear Mountain 10k

2010-11-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2010

This race's billing as "Canada's Hardest 10k" has been an effective promotion. The race has been gradually gaining in popularity to the point that it now sells out it's 500 spots weeks before race day. There is no doubt that it is a tough course; one which I underestimated my first time running it in 2008. That day, I went out too hard and suffered for the last half of the course losing a lot of positions. This year, I wanted to run a smarter race and hopefully also better my time of 36:57.

In the days leading up to the race the weather forecast was calling for snow and winds for the night before and morning of the race. And on race race day, we were treated to their correct predictions. On Bear Mountain, there were significant accumulations and it was still snowing and the wind gusting. Sonja (who was also racing) and I were informed by the race organizers Nick Walker and Mark Nelson, that due to the snow, the course would be cut to about 6k. So much for seeing if I could better my time, but that could wait for another year.

Anticipating snow, I had brought a variety of footwear including my trail shoes affixed with screws. I figured they would be effective in providing traction, but I was also concerned about them beating my feet and legs up on the paved paths since they were old and worn out and never meant for too much road anyway. After checking out some of the trails and noting that they didn't seem too slippery, I decided to opt for my light trainers instead. They ended up working reasonably well and I never bailed on the course, but I did lose time having to be cautious on the descents and probably should have gone for the trail shoes.

It was a bit unpleasant standing around in the cold wind at the start, but I knew I would be warm enough once we got started. The first km was had some uphill on the road followed by some downhill on the paved trail that we would use for most of the rest of the race. I found myself at the back of the lead group of 7. Race favorite David Jackson was out in front with Shawn Nelson, Sean Chester, Carlos Lesser, Jason Loutitt, Roberto Mandje, and myself not far behind. Soon enough we were on the "Papa Bear" climb which due to the course adjustment, was the only significant hill of the day. I was feeling a bit lethargic and not entirely dialed into the race right off the start so I hoped that the hill would kick start my body as it sometimes does. As we hit the steep pitches, I really felt as though my additional focus and hills in the last few months is starting to pay off. I was able power up them pretty effectively and quickly made ground up on Roberto, Jason, and Carlos. I passed Roberto early in the climb, Jason mid way up and Carlos near the top. Now the pressure would be on to keep my position on the decent.

We were treated to a face full of wind that nearly ground me to a halt and snow drifts just before descending, but luckily it was short lived. The winding downhills were not too icy, but I slipped around a bit here and there. I tried my best to maintain a good solid pace and took advantage of the downhills as much as possible since it still non technical descents remain one of my weaknesses. Nelson and Chester were now running together and had about 30 seconds on me so they were never too far away, but were also not getting any closer. As we neared the bottom of the descent, Jason was pushing hard and caught and passed me. I know that he is an aggressive downhill runner so wasn't all the surprised, but I was determined to keep close to him. I stayed on this tail and he only had a couple of strides on me by the time we popped back onto the road for a final few hundred metres to the finish. With about 300 metres to go, I decided to give it a go and pushed ahead, he responded, and I pushed a little harder and managed to stay just ahead. It wasn't until I had 50 metres to go did I figure I would be able to keep the position.

I finished in 4th place in 22:33, 21 seconds behind Shawn, and 26 seconds behind Sean. Jason came in just 4 seconds behind me. I was happy with my placing since it was my first time beating accomplished runners such as Jason and Roberto. How I felt during the race itself has to be categorized as average or just slightly above. David comfortably won the race although he inadvertently cut the course since the marking was unclear. He had a large lead and would almost certainly have taken it anyways. Care Wakely won the woman's division in 24:45, narrowly beating out Laura Schwertfeger. Sonja was just outside of the top five with her 29:01 clocking. Thanks to Mark and Nick for pulling this one off despite the best efforts of Mother Nature.

Results.

Thetis 20K Relay

2010-11-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2010

This is my 6th time out for this fun low key event. This year sold out all 600 spots yet again and saw a record 152 teams and solos finish. This is a Prairie Inn Harrier hosted event which attracts a large contingent of members so it is always a great opportunity to socialize and cheer others on.

Last year I raced solo with a respectable 6th place overall finish. This year my fellow Aspire athletes put together a strong team consisting of Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, Nick Walker, and myself. I could be considered to be the weakest link on the team since all 3 of other have personal bests faster than mine for most distances. Because of this, I had put some pressure on myself to pull out a decent race. There was some discussion about weather or not we would have a chance of bettering the course record of 59:30 set back in 2004, but I dismissed it as unlikely because the course has been altered slightly as is now longer than it used to be.

We still would face some good competition however, in the form of a strong UVic team and a team from the Westwood Lake Running Club. Shawn went first facing a fast field and ran exceptionally well cruising in at 15:31 in 1st place. Now it would be up to the rest of us to keep it that way. Sean went 2nd, running well to attain a 16:17 time and extending out lead to over a minute. Nick, only recently back from a trip to Hawaii, came in at 16:40 and passed off to me. I didn't know exactly what the gap to the next team was, but knew that I had to run hard to make sure I didn't get caught.

I took off at a pretty brisk pace and felt the strain pretty much right away. There really is no time where things are "comfortable" when running a 5k - it is painful from the start to the finish. To perform at you best, you need to be right near the lactate threshold for the duration. I was able to move well although I was feeling a bit of fatigue in my legs. I weaved in and out of other racers on the 2rd and 3rd laps as I made my way around Upper Thetis Lake. Soon I was on the final section on Lower Thetis which includes a couple of little hills which I powered up as best I could. At this point, there was no one in close pursuit so I figured we were probably safe, but continued to hammer away. I had decent legs for a surge at the finish, pulling in at 16:29 which turned out to be enough for the win with a cumulative time of 1:04:57. It wasn't my best ever performance, but I felt that I held it together pretty well and was able to finish strong.

Near the finish. Photo Credit: Sonja Yli-Kahila

UVic's Jackson 4 came in 2nd just 1:23 behind so it is good that I didn't doddle out there. Westwood RC came in 17 sec back of UVic so 2nd place was hotly contested. Other Harrier teams did very well picking up wins in solo (Keith Mills), Master men, Senior Mixed and Veteran Men categories. It was awesome to see so many people out enjoying the day (it started to rain near only after most people had finished) and supporting this Harrier race which is a great fundraiser for the club. I will be back to Thetis very soon for the Gunner Shaw on Nov 27th.

Results

Hallows Eve Half Marathon

2010-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

October 24, 2010

This race (and accompanying 10k) are part of the Run the North Shore race series which host over a dozen trail and road events throughout the year. This is the second race I have done as part of this series (I ran the Iron Knee 25k back in 2007). I really enjoyed the Iron Knee and have wanted to run it again in subsequent years, but have been thwarted by scheduling issues. This year, I really wanted to try a new race on the mainland so a few weeks out Sonja and I decided to sign up for this one. I knew little about it except that it took place in Lynn Valley and therefore was bound to have at least some good single track.

The race started at Lynnmour Jaycee House right next to Capilano College. The venue was fine except for the lack of washroom facilities. One stall and two urinals for 150 guys just doesn't cut it. Lack of toilets is a common complaint for runners, but too many races still have insufficient facilities. Yes, we realize that there will often be lines since everyone wants to go at the same time, but having to wait in line 20 or more minutes really isn't acceptable. Fortunately, I got in early and didn't have to wait too long.

Being that I am competitive, I had researched previous winning times and course records for this race. Last year, James Richardson had dominated the field winning in 1:38:18, over 8 min ahead of 2nd place. Simon Driver holds the course record of 1:33:06. Looking at those times and knowing James' approximate fitness level since I have competed against him in previous years, I figured that any time under 1:40 would be a reasonable goal for me. Where this time would place me, I really had little idea since I didn't know who would show up.

As we lined up for the start, I saw Jen Segger who told that she was trying to get some speed back into her legs after several multi-day expedition adventure races recently. Funny how everything is relative, since not too many people outside of the ultra and adventure racing crowd would say a half marathon is short. I also saw Gary Robbins, who wasn't racing, but was there as part North Shore Athletics. He was sporting a crazy Norwegian Ski racing uniform from the 1980's. Many other volunteers and racers were also wearing an array of Halloween costumes that made for some interesting viewing. One day, I'll have to come up with a costume that is good, but still allows me to race at full speed.

Once we were underway, I was surprised to see a teenager in a Steed Cycle jersey, quite literally sprinting ahead. I know that I frequently comment on the crazy guys (usually young) who go out way to hard, but this guy was taking it to new levels. For a second, I thought I must have been in the wrong race as this guy was acting like we were in a 800m race rather than a half marathon! There was no way he was going to maintain that pace and sure enough within a few hundred metres, I caught up to him and passed him as he was clearly already cooked and gasping for air. Soon after though, I heard someone else close behind. As we entered some single track, one of the volunteered shouted, "Looking good, Simon!" Quickly putting thing together, I asked Simon he was indeed the Simon Driver I was thinking about. Indeed he was, I knew then that winning this race would not be easy. I asked him if he was going to try to beat his own course record, but he joked that his goal was only to keep up to me. Runners are generally humble though, so there was no way to know exactly how fit he was.

I tucked in behind Simon as we continued on some flat, windy and muddy single track for km or so before descending down to the river. The decent included quite a few stairs, and I noted this knowing that we would be climbing back up these on the way back. Simon descended well, but I had no problems matching his pace. Once we got down to the river though and started a gradual climb upstream, he really put the pressure on. I stayed right with him for awhile, but I felt that the pace was a little beyond my ability to keep for the full duration of the race. I let him go figuring that I would see what kind of a climber he was when we hit the steep stuff. Either he would be gone or I would be able to close the gap and have a chance to get ahead. He had perhaps a 100m on me before hitting a steeper climb and I honestly I figured that this would be the last I would see of him.

Once we got to the main climb which included many flights of stairs I was surprised to be able to start pulling back the gap. Part of the reason I was able to do well on the stairs was because I was usually taking two steps at a time while he was only taking one. While it is not always possible to do them this way since sometimes you are just too tired, I have found it a more efficient method. While it is harder on the cardo system, it requires fewer legs contractions. After a few more flights of stairs, I was able to finish closing the gap and moved ahead. The climbing wasn't finished though as we still had a long gradual climb on a dirt road to the highest point on the course at 400m above sea level (7.5km in).

When I hit the decent, I had perhaps 200m on Simon, but as I winded my way down the technical switchback trail, he started to close the gap. I am a solid technical down hill runner, so he really had to have been hammering to catch up. By the the time I reached the bottom, he was nipping at my heels. We crossed a bridge over the river and then started up the other side of the river on a double track. I was still feeling fine, but this sort of terrain has also be mentally tougher for me as it is somewhat monotonous. Simon was good enough to tell me what was coming up on the course so that was appreciated. We would soon come up to another moderate climb followed by some rolling terrain and a decent back to the single track we came up on.

This second main climb also had some flights of stairs and luckily my legs still felt good so I was able to move up well and gained a bit of time on Simon. On the subsequent rolling and downhill, however, he did his thing and pulled back up to me. It was a fun decent though with quite a lot of technical sections with roots and rocks. Partway back down the trail intersected the 10k race course and we were soon passing a lot of runners. There was a lot of "On Your Left!" and "Thank You!" being shouted for the remainder of the course. Everyone was very accommodating with the exception of the couple of runners who sported headphones. I frequently listen to music when I am out training on the trails, but in a race you need to be able to hear what is going on around you so I don't think they should be allowed (at least not on shorter events such as this where there are lots of runners on the trail).

Simon stayed right with me on the gradual decent next to the river so it was still unsure who would grab the win. There was one 100m climb left before the final 2km of flat and downhill to the finish. I figured my best chance was to push as hard as possible up the hill. If I could gain 30s or so on him, I had a good chance of being able to hold that off the top. I gave it my all and the legs held out. The hardest part of the climb was trying to ask the 10k runnesr to let me by. My shouts became wheezes as I just didn't have any extra breath to spare.

As I crested the hill, I didn't look back and continued to push hard. The body still felt good and I was able to move well. With 1km to go, I did glace back and couldn't spot Simon. This boded well as it was unlikely that he would be able to catch me on the final 1km downhill. I stopped the clock at 1:36:05 well ahead of my prediction. Simon came in about a minutes later and 3rd place wend to Doug Giles a full 10min back. Tamsin Anstey won the woman's division with a 1:48:39 clocking good for 6th overall. Simon's wife Katrina was second and Jen came in 3rd. Sonja was the 8th woman in (out of 76) in a solid performance. Results. Video.

This was a quite a satisfying win for me as it was one with real competition. It was great to be able to run toe to toe with Simon for most of the race as this does not happen very often on these sorts of trail races. He is a great competitor and accomplished trail runner with many wins and course records to his credit (incidentally he convincingly won the Iron Knee in 2007 when I in attendance). It was morale boost to be able to run with someone of this caliber (even if he was not quite as fast as when he set the course record). Thanks to Simon for being there since there is no doubt that he pushed me harder than I would have gone otherwise. Also thanks to the race organizer who put on a great race (the lack of sufficient toilet facilities non-withstanding) . The course was well marked and marshaled and had a lot of varied and interesting terrain. While I didn't use them, there were also 3 aid stations which is more than sufficient for this length of race.

Goodlife Fitness Victoria 8k

2010-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Oct 10, 2010

The Victoria Marathon/Half Marathon and 8k (and kids race) constitute the largest running event of the year in Victoria (the Times Colonist 10k also comes close). As a runner it is really a treat to participate since I not only get to run one of the races, but also touch base with and cheer on tons of other people. This year saw yet another record field with 14,080 participants signed up for the four races as the popularity of this event continues to grow. It is great to see so many people challenging themselves. I see this as only a positive thing in terms of healthy living. People had better be getting some exercise if they are going to be eating food like the Double Down. I'm sure a vegetable has never been in contact with that monstrosity.

But I degrees. In terms of my race goals for the 8k, they were pretty modest. Since my Lands End 10k was such a disaster and my 5000m track in August below expectations, I didn't know what I would be able to pull off with this one. I was feeling that I was getting back into my groove over the last few weeks, but didn't think I was quite where I was earlier in the year. With that in mind, I figured that anything under 27 min would be decent. My PB at this distance is 26:35 set this January at the Pioneer 8k - I did not expect to better that.

I headed down in the dark with Garth (who was also doing the 8k) for the 7:15am race start. We were running a bit late, but still had a bit of time to warm up before the gun went. I felt a bit flat on the warm-up, but I know this isn't a good indicator to race performance so I didn't give it much thought. Once the race started, I soon realized that the depth of competitors was a little less than normal. I was in about 9th place within 500m and invariably there are always a couple of eager guys who fall back after destroying themselves 1k into the race. This year was no exception as I passed two of them before hitting the 1k marker and found myself in 7th place. The leaders were race favorites Dylan Gant, Kevin Frisen, Peter Corrigan. Shawn Nelson was not far behind and then came was his brother Mark Nelson and Blair Johnston. Within a km I noticed that Mark was falling off pace and I soon passed him. Unfortunately, it was not his day and after struggling for a couple of more kilometers, he pulled the plug.

It was early in the race, but by 2-3k I was pleased with how I was feeling since I was comfortable and controlled. I kept the pace up as much as possible as the course gradually rose to Mile 0. Part way up the climb I managed to pass Blair and I made sure I did it with some authority to dissuade him from latching on to me. The hill did eat into my pace with the my slowest splits being 3:25 for the 3rd km and the 5km (on the way back to Mile 0), but this was expected. I continued to feel strong and was able to keep the pace strong. I know that once we crested Mile 0 again, it is pretty much flat or downhill the whole way back (with one tiny hill with 1.5k to go).

Blair had not gotten far behind though and passed me back around the 6k mark. I contemplated staying with him, but decided to keep my own rhythm and let him put a few meters on me. With one kilometer to go, I felt I had a little bit left and pushed the gas pedal a bit, closing the gap and pulling ahead. I honestly felt that I had him at that point since usually people want to stay with you this close to the finish and if they don't it usually means they can't. He was far from done though and with 700m to do I could hear him coming, I pushed harder. With 500m to go, he was still coming, so I opened it up just a bit more. With 100m to go, he was just a step behind me and the race turned into a full out sprint for us. By the end, he was able to get a toe in front of me and was able to nudge into 5th spot (we had identical finishing times). It would have been nice to win, but I'm happy to be able to have given it my all. Blair was also only 19, so I think being able to almost match his youthful speed wasn't too bad.

Giving it our all at the finish. Photo Credit: Goodlife Fitness Marathon

I finished with a chip time of 26:31 (gun time was 26:33) which was good for 6th place, an age category win and most surprising of all, a 4s PB. I have to thank Blair for the PB, as I'm sure I would not have killed myself like that if there had been no one to try and beat. Peter ended up winning in 24:30, with Shawn coming in 4th in 25:43. Top woman was Kirsten Sweetland in 27:38.

I knew a number of others racing the half and full marathon. I watch some of the top finishers in the half come through and then cleaned up and got a bit of food into me and before heading out on my bike to check out the marathon participants. Sonja was running her debut marathon and I intended to park my bike with around 10k to go and run the last section of the course with her. Unfortunately, I underestimated her speed a little and just missed her. Finally realizing this, I hopped back on the bike and biked madly to catch back up finally finding her with just a couple km to go. Unsurprisingly, she was hurting at this point, but was still running faster than many of those around her. She finished it off and was only around 3 min off her ideal goal of 3:20, pretty good for a first marathon and a windy day. The wind wrecked havoc on the marathon, with times slower than normal and brutal positive splits the order of the day. Of those finishing in under 4 hours, only 6.8% ran a negative split while the average time for the second half was over 10 min longer than the first. I'm glad I wasn't trying to vie for a particular time that day.

Final Results

My splits: 3:11, 3:19, 3:25, 3:22 (13:16 4k), 3:25, 3:20, 6:34 (final 2k)

Cumberland MOMAR

2010-09-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

September 25, 2010

This was the one and only adventure race I will do this year, having skipped the Squamish MOMAR in favour of volunteering. Since I have been almost exclusively been concentrating on running this year with a lot less biking than I used to do (particularly mountain biking) I wasn't sure how things would go on this race. I did manage to get a couple of 3 hour combo run and mountain bike sessions in just to make sure my body remembered what it was like, but it was really a bare minimum of training. My race partner Garth, had been doing a more biking than me, so I hoped that I wouldn't dragging my ass on biking sections too badly.

As race day drew near, the weather forecast was particularly grim. Not only was it calling for steady rain, but also for high winds. Winds can be a huge problem on Comox Lake which can have decent waves even on a relatively calm day. The only apparent saving grace was that the temperature was predicted to be fairly warm with highs of 18-19 degrees. On our drive up the Friday before the race, things were not looking up with rain pounding down and gusty winds. If things stayed that for the race, it would be a soggy one and the already unpleasant kayak would be that much worse with the wind.

Fortunately, we really lucked out and conditions were quite good when we arrived at race central Saturday morning: overcast and mild temperature with only a small amount of wind. We parked our bikes at the transition zone along with our hydra packs, found our rental kayak, picked up our first map, and were soon ready to go. The map showing the kayaking, and mountain biking stages was nearly a formality as nearly all of the this portion of the course was flagged. Only the last checkpoint before the orienteering stage required self navigation and we luckily knew approximately were it was based on last years race.

Stage 1: Kayak

If you have read any of my Cumberland MOMAR race reports before, you know that kayaking is not my favorite thing. Garth finds it equally unpleasant so it is a good thing that we get it over with right away and move onto more enjoyable stages. The winds were calm to start with and we moved fairly well as we made are way west down the lake to the turn around. Once we got around a point, there was a significant headwind, but nothing that caused us too much grief. We were in about 12 place which is on par with our normal performance. Once we turned around and started to head back, we were able to surf some waves which was pretty fun. Surprisingly, we managed to pass and put a couple of boat lengths on race favorite Todd Nowack. Todd is a pretty decent kayaker and despite the large disadvantage of being in a single rather than a double, I expected him to be further ahead.

Unfortunately, while we soon found our way back to the starting area, we were not done yet. We still had 3 legs to go: across the lake and then further east, before turning back to the start area. As we neared the far side of the lake, it started to become unclear where we were to turn. Apparently there were pilings with pink flagging, but we couldn't spot it and others were seeming to have the same problem. There was some confusion on the water with some paddlers starting to move east without going around anything. Not wanting to be passed by a pile of boats, we followed suit. Shortly after making the turn, the wind stared to blow like crazy from the east. Paddling suddenly got very difficult and it was really challenging to keep the cadence up. I also think we were both starting to fatigue at this point. Todd and at least 2 other boats managed to pass us while we wallowed in the water. We finally make our way to the final turn around piling and were headed toward the finish of the stage. The wind was now less punishing and we were able to hold steady for the remainder of the stage. We ended up taking 1:12:28 for the stage, nearly 15 min longer than last year. This was partly due to conditions, but mostly due to the fact that with the marking confusion we actually traveled over a km further than last year.

Stage 2: Mountain Bike # 1

We punched Checkpoint (CP) #1 and then hustled to our bikes. As usual my legs felt like I had strapped 10kg to each one - I expected this though as it is the result of being wedged in the kayak for over an hour. The first part of the bike is just on paved road heading toward the village of Cumberland. This is a good opportunity to get the legs moving again before the real climbing began. We passed a team on the road whom I believe held on to the top placing for a team of 4. We traversed some double track on the for a while before starting our climb up a trailed named "Buggered Pig." We passed a team of two at this point, but soon after were passed by a solo (I think it was Ryan Stuart) although he didn't get all that far ahead. This section of trail is a little challenging when wet as there are a lot of slick roots to pull you around. Still, we fared pretty well getting it done in 23:41 and posting the 3rd fastest time through this section of biking.

Stage 3: Navigation Trek

Time to get off our bikes and onto the running stage. We were supplied another map which had 7 checkpoints we had to collect in whatever order we choose. As navigator, I had to quickly assess the map and figure out an appropriate route. It is always temping to get going right away as other people seem to start running almost as soon as they have the map in their hands. Garth was urging me to get going, but I have found through experience that it is worth the minute or so spent figuring out a decent route rather than running without really knowing where we are going which can cost much more time. At a very minimum, I have to be able to orientate myself to the map or I will have no idea where we are going. I choose to grab the checkpoints to counter-clockwise order starting with a small backtrack to get onto a trail named "Hai Gai" which paralleled a creek. This turned out not to be the best option as the trail is a bit slow to run and there was a better option which had no backtracking, easier running and only a little simple bushwacking. At least I knew the way though and soon we picked up CP #3.

After a power hike up the steep trail I make a error thinking that I was at a different intersection that I was. I soon figured it out though and it should not have been a big deal since there should have been two comparable routes to the next checkpoint, but we were unable to find the trail as it was marked on the map so had to bushwack a bit to get us back on track. It only cost a couple of minutes, but was still a bit frustrating. Just before arriving at CP #4 a racer came running back toward us asking if we had seen a passport (used to record the punches for each checkpoint). Without the passport, your race is pretty much over as you have no way to prove you went anywhere so hopefully he was able to find it. After that checkpoint, the rest of the checkpoints came pretty easily. We started to see a trickle of racers coming the opposite direction although I heard later that most choose the same way as we did. In retrospect, I think a clockwise direction would have been slightly faster as it included more runnable uphill than the direction we took. We made our way back to the transition point in 1:11:54 and we told we were in 2nd place. "Really? - it was a bit of a nice surprise for sure" The only bad news was that we were already 15 min behind Todd!

Stage 4: Mountain Bike # 2

The start of this long biking stage was a grind up the steep road we had just ran down. We saw some other racers coming in, but no one was closer than a few minutes. This would give us a bit of a buffer and we hoped to be be able to hold everyone off for the stage. Then it was onto to some single track before getting to CP #11. Then more single track to CP #12 where friends Adam and Kate were volunteering. By then Todd had gained a few more minutes on us. Unless he made a large navigational error (which was highly unlikely) we were not going to reel him in. No matter though, if we could hold onto a 2nd place finish we would be doing well. The route popped us out onto a logging road which climbed up to the high point on the course. Based on what things looked like on the map, I was thinking it would take perhaps 10 min, but it probably went on 10 min longer than expected. It wasn't too steep, but was all up hill and took some effort. We moved well though and I we both were feeling as good or better than could be expected at this point in the race.

We eventually made it to CP #13 and Garth proceeded to have a bit of a panic attack as he frantically tried to find the passport in his deep pockets. Thankfully, he finally managed to dig it out and the crisis was averted. Then we tacked a new trail named "Thirsty Beaver." It was evident that a lot of work has gone into this trail with tons of boardwalks and logs. Since it was wet, we really had to be careful not to bail, but overall it wasn't as slippery as it could have been. It wasn't particularly flowy with lots of corners, humps and mud to navigate. It was actually a fair amount of work to ride as I don't think my butt touch my seat for the whole ride. I took a minor bail off a boardwalk, but we rode cleanly for the most part. After the Beaver we grabbed CP # 14 then then had a bit of road to do before being through back onto another new trail named "Blue Collar". This trail was faster and flowed well and was really a blast. We crossed through the checkpoint with Adam and Kate again (this time punching CP #15) and headed down the second part of "Blue Collar."

Then onto the road again before hitting the final stretch of single track on the "Crafty Butcher." We had seen no one since leaving the trekking stage, but finally Jeremy Grasby (winner of last year's Cumberland race) caught up to us as we punched CP #16. Jeremy has amazing mountain biking skills particularly when you consider he rides a single speed - how he is able to crank up such steep terrain is quite amazing. We managed to hold him off until getting into town , but I took us a block too far and lost a few seconds while Jeremy went directly to the transition area to the planned urban navigation. I was thinking that our choice to run flat pedals would soon pay off as Jeremy would either have change into running shoes or clomp around in his biking shoes. Either way would lose him a bit of time as long as I could find the checkpoints quickly. As soon as we got to the transition, however, we found that the urban section had been dropped due to racers taking longer than expected so back onto our bikes we went. It took us 1:18:40 for this section of the bike, only 5 other teams did it quicker. Considering I don't think I made it onto my mountain bike more than 10 times this year, I was pretty pleased. I actually seem to feel better, more confident, and more skillful in a race environment than I do when just out riding.

Stage 5: Mountain Bike #3

There was only one more checkpoint to pickup which we were to self navigate too. As previously mentioned we had a bit of a leg up on racers who hadn't done the course last year as the CP was in a similar location. Jeremy had the same route choice as we did and we hit the CP at the same time. We then followed him back to the main road where he made up a bit of time on use by taking a sightly quicker turnoff. The pavement is where the single speed becomes a liability, however, as we popped our chains onto the big ring and powered our way back to him, pulling about even just as we got to the final transition. We finished this bike in 15:45, tied exactly with Jeremy for the fastest time.

Stage 6: Orienteering and Finish

Due to time issues, they had knocked the farthest off CP from the orienteering which I wasn't too upset about since my legs were kind of fried by this time. A clockwise direction seems to make the most sense for this course so we were soon off. I fumbled just a little getting the first CP, but the next came easily. I overshot the 3rd, however, and we had to bushwack back to pick it up loosing precious minutes. Jeremy had done better on this one and I though that he may have had us at that point, but the damage was done and the only thing to do was move on. A couple of the CP were off the trail a bit which took just a bit of scrambling around to find, but were not too bad. To get one on the beach we had to jump down part of the cliff, but it was a good move and then we rushed to find the last one, clearing it pretty quickly before sprinting for the line. It wasn't a clean stage taking us 31:19 (compared to the fastest time of 25:30), but it was good enough to keep us in 2nd place which ties use for our best ever finish and is the highest we have placed at the Cumberland venue which tends to be a competitive one. Our finishing time was 4:53:47 - a mere 32 minutes behind Todd! Jeremy came in about 5 min behind us followed by Ryan Stuart, Norm Thibault, and Roger MacLeod. Marshall House and Brady Fleguel held onto 3rd place in the team of two men after putting in a amazing paddle in their 2 person surf ski (they were nearly 10 min ahead of us). Despite a few navigational errors, it was a good race for us and I was quite pleased at how my body held up even with my poor preparation.

Congrats to all who raced, including Brent Chan and Sarah Newman who pulled of a respectable 6:41:48 and Sonja and Louise Proulx who despite having a major rudder issue and navigation woes still manged to finish under the cutoff. Thanks to Bryan Tasaka who put on yet another great race. There are rumours that a new venue to replace Squamish is coming for 2011 so that should be exciting.

Results

Lands End 10k

2010-09-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

September 12, 2010

Basically I could sum up this race with with a simple "It sucked." I didn't have big expectations for this race as it was just a day after returning from a 2 week trip in Hawaii (which was fantastic by the way) so I knew that it wouldn't be a PB day. Still, I thought I could get a respectable performance in, something around the 34 min range seemed reasonable given that my fitness should still be around 33 min. It was not to be.

Conditions were wet, but luckily not too cold. Things started out OK with an opening km of 3:11 which didn't feel too hard. Jim Finlayson, Mark Cryderman, and Craig Odermatt all took off pretty much from the line leaving me running on my own for the entirety of the race. Apparently the course has been about 150m short for years (which might explain why this was the first race where I broke 35 min). This year they decided to extend it to the full 10k, but didn't adjust the km markers to match. This meant that kilometers 1-4 was short while 4-5 was very long (it's an out and back course so the reverse applies). I knew this going in, but still used the markers and a general guide thinking that each of them would only be a couple of seconds off at the most.

The next 3 km would go by at about 3:20 pace which seemed pretty reasonable. Then I hit the "long" kilometre to the turn around and was a shocked by the 3:50 split. Yes, it was somewhat uphill, but that only account for a bit of the 30 second difference. In total lost 50 seconds on this "kilometre" the way out and back - it seemed like much more than 150m extra, but it may have just been my slow running. Things slowly started to unravel on the way back with all my splits over 3:30. It is slightly uphill, but I was struggling. Effort wise, I felt like I was running 3:20's, but reality told me otherwise. I kept Craig in sight, but he was gradually pulling away from me as I suffered to the finish. The one redeeming thing was that there was no one close enough to catch me as Micheal Lord was still about 2 min back.

Looking better than I felt (near the 4km mark). Photo credit: Andrew Pape-Salmon

I mustered a weak kick into the line finishing the miserable day off with a 34:54. This is the slowest I have run since 2007 and very disappointing. I didn't expect a couple weeks off my training schedule to help my performance, but didn't expect such a disaster. Hopefully, a few weeks of solid training will get me back into form and I can have a decent 8k at the Victoria Marathon. Having two bad races back to back is mentally a challenge though as it calls into question what is going wrong. Is it only a lack of proper training or is it something else? It doesn't help that I have been battling a case of plantar fasciitis for the last month or so. I'm getting it treated and taking appropriate action so far it has not greatly impacted my training. However, it is a nuisance and is painful when I push it too far. I've never had a problem with PF before so I'm hopeful that it will not become chronic.

Congrats to Jim who won in 31:54 (although slow by his standards) and Mesissa Ross who came 6th overall in 37:24. James Lander crushed the half in 1:08:13 setting a new course record and my coach Paul O'Callaghan ran to a strong 2nd place in 1:15:52. Sonja continued her marathon prep with a respectable 1:34:14 on a day where she would run 30km total.

10k Results. Half Marathon Results.

Splits: 3:11, 3:19, 3:22, 3:21, 3:50, (17:04 5k) 3:38, 3:32, 3:33, 3:40, 3:27

Q Track Series 5000m

2010-08-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2010

This was the last of the track series races for the season. My training has been pretty steady over the last few months and after a respectable 3000m in July, I had hoped to perform well. The goal was to run a sub 15:30 on a perfect day and I would have been satisfied with anything under 15:47 (my current PB).

After cheering on two open races in the 5000m (congrats to Richard Bellizz and Lucy Smith for taking the wins) it was our turn. There was a lot of talent on the line and I knew it would be a fast one. There would undoubtedly guys running under 15min so I had to make sure that I ran my own race against the clock rather that getting caught up in a pace that was too fast. To reach my 15:30 goal, I would have to run 74.5s laps (3:06 kms). I knew this would be tough, especially since the wind was pretty gusty.

Once the race started, the field quickly sorted itself out. Trevor O'Brian was doing the pacing up front, with Jim Finlayson, James Lader, and Ryan McKenzie behind. Next came Shawn Nelson, Sean Chester, Nick Walker, Craig Odermatt, myself, Walter Cantwell, Simon Dejong, and Kevin Searle. The first lap wasn't too fast (75 sec), but then the group in front of me started to pull away and I was left out in the wind. I decided it might be prudent to pull myself back to Craig so I could take advantage of his draft and pacing so I pull myself back up. Unfortunately, when I looked at my watch for the next lap and saw 70 sec I knew that pace was just too fast for me and if I tried to maintain it I would pay for it in a big way later in the race. I eased off and slipped back in into the 75 sec range for the next 5 laps or so. Because of the fast second lap, the first km went by in 3:03, a little ahead of my target.

I tried to settle in to a nice rhythm in the for the middle of the race, but it was more of a strain than it should have been. I was now quite a ways back from Craig and far enough ahead of those behind that I couldn't hear them. With about 4 or 5 laps to go I saw that Nick must have been having a bad day as well since he started to falter and fell behind Craig. If I would have been on form on the day, I should have been able to gain ground on him, but around the same time I really started to suffer. Someone shouted that there was a train wreak happening up front and that I should gun it. Too bad that I was in the same wreak, only I was the caboose! My splits dropped to 77 sec, then to 79 and finally to 80 sec. I lost pretty much all of my time in the last 5 laps, the opposite of the way I wanted to finish. I did manage an OK last 200m closing it in 37 sec, but it was of little help to my overall time which came in at 15:54.

My time was just 7 sec slower than my Bazan Bay 5k time and my second best 5k time ever so and all told not that bad considering how I felt. It was disappointing though as I know I should have been able to perform at a higher level. James ended up out kicking Jim for the win in 14:45 nearly lapping me in the process. Shawn also ran well finishing in 15:07 for 3rd place.

While it was not my day, best just to move on and get ready for the next race. Right now, I have to decide what to concentrate on in the upcoming months. Should I stay focused on the shorter distances on the road, go longer, or go back to the trails.

Results

A big thanks to Chris Kelsell on a successful track series - I hope he brings in back next year.

Q Track Series 3000m

2010-07-25T11:08:00.001-07:00

July 17, 2010

This was to be just the 2nd track race I have participated in since taking up running back in 2004 (I raced a bit on the track in high school, but was never very serious about it). A couple of years ago, I raced in a 5000m in windy conditions and had a mediocre performance struggling to maintain form in the last couple of laps. I had never raced 3000m before so I didn't know exactly how it would go. I resolved to try my best to run a smart race and split my laps evenly so as to avoid falling apart on the last lap or two. My 'A' goal was get under 9min, but I knew that pretty much everything would have to go right for me for that to happen.

I was placed in the elite race with quite a few other very solid runners. Simon DeJong, Nixon Kiprotich, Willy Langat, Keith Mills, Shawn Nelson, and Nick Walker were all in attendance. I fully expected to be closer to the back of the pack than to the front when we got to the finish line. Before we began, I got to watch a kids 800m, an open Mile, an Elite Mile, and a open 3000m while I did my warm up on the infield. While track may be more tedious than a road race for the racers themselves, they are certainly more entertaining for spectators and it was great to be able to cheer on everyone.

It was soon our turn and the 7 of us lined up and were off. I expected the pace to be a little faster than it was as I was only slightly behind the leaders after the 1st lap (which I completed in 1:13). Shawn, Nick, Willy, and Nixon were in front of me with Keith and Simon were just behind. After the first lap Keith pulled in front of me and knowing that we are similar speeds, I resolved to sit behind for a little while and let him do the pace making. However, after the second 400m passed at a slightly slower 1:14 (which put me behind my 1:12 goal), I knew that I had to speed up or I would definitely not get close to my goal time. I pulled past Keith and picked up the pace just a bit. I went though 1km in about 3:03, a little slower than I was planning, but not bad either.

The first lap (I'm hidden behind Willy in forth place). Photo Credit: Sonja Yli-Kahila

I was feeling relatively comfortable at this point and felt I would be able to put in a solid effort throughout the race. The next 3 laps passed in 1:12, 1:14, and 1:13 respectively so I was maintaining the pace pretty well. Midway through the race, I was surprised to find Nixon coming back to me. Earlier in the year he posted some good times on some of the Island Race Series races, including a 49:02 at Merville 15k which was over 2 min ahead of me. I understand that he has been injured for a while, however, and not able to train or race at his peak which is really too bad.

Midway though the race. Photo Credit: Sonja Yli-Kahila

With 1km to go, it started to get tougher to maintain the pace as the lactic built up in the legs and the cardio system started to reach its limits. With a concentrated effort, however, I was able to sustain my pace and hit the final two full laps at 1:13, and 1:14. With about a lap to go, I found myself running right in the middle of the group with Shawn, Nick, and Willy running about 80m ahead of me and no one right on my heels. Unfortunately, the leaders were too far ahead to try and catch, but I decided that I felt good enough for a finishing kick anyhow and started to go with 200m left. I pushed hard, right up to my limit, but also trying to keep some semblance of decent form. I closed the final 200m in 34 sec which I was fairly happy with.

My official finishing time was 9:06.7 good for 4th place out of the 7. Willy managed to out kick Shawn who had led for most of the race for the win in 8:48.8. While I was a few seconds off of my goal, overall I was pretty happy with my inaugural 3000m outing as I raced smart. In retrospect, I may have been able to shave a couple seconds off if I had kicked a little earlier since I seemed to have a bit of reserve in the tank, but it would not have made a huge difference. I definitely think that with just a little more training in the bank and a good day I could get under 9 min. Thanks to Chris Kelsall for putting this track series together, its great to have some different options for racing this year.

Results

Mount Doug Gutbuster Long Course

2010-07-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2010

First of all I'd like to hand out a belated congrats to Gary Robbins, who placed an impressive 6th overall in the Western States 100 a couple of weeks back. Western states is the oldest and probably the most prestigious 100 Mile ultra in the world so placing this high puts Gary among some of the best ultra runners in the world. Some 50k and 50 Mile ultras are definitely in my future, but I've yet to convince myself that I want to do a 100 Miler. It just seems really really far - do I really want to run 4 back to back trail marathons? I will never say never though and the challenge does appeal to me.

The Mount Doug Gutbuster was just the 2nd and final Gutbuster that I was able to do this year with the other 3 coming on weekends where I was away or had other races. I didn't worry too much about this race, just resolving just to do what I could. My training has been progressing steadily so I'm feeling pretty confident about my fitness level. I knew Shawn Nelson was yet again racing so an overall victory would be a bit of a long shot even if there we no other top notch guys out, but I hoped to be a little closer to him than I was at Westwood.

Just before the race was about to begin we were informed that there would be a short delay as someone had been sabotaging the course markings. Nick Walker had to run out ahead to re-flag it so he needed a head start. This is not the first time this race has been sabotaged and it is really a shame that some individuals want to hinder other people's enjoyment of this public park. If they have a legitimate concern about the race they should deal with it though proper channels rather than resorting to vandalism. Nick did a good job of resetting the course though and I found it well marked. However, there were a number of racers who took wrong turns although it is unclear if this was due to a lack of flagging or not.

The day was quite hot so I made sure that I was well hydrated before the race began and stripped down to shorts and cap only. There are several exposed sections on the course and it can cook you pretty good when you are fully exerting yourself. Within about 5 min, Shawn and I pulled ourselves a little ahead from the rest of the field. We pushed up the first extended Irvine climb at a steady race pace. Overall, I felt pretty good although my legs felt a touch heavy. I was starting to feel it near the top of the climb and I let Shawn lead for the last 100 meters or so. I dumped a cup of water at the aid station at the top and headed down after Shawn. This decent is quite technical with a lot of loose rock and gravel, but I've done it many times before and knew exactly what to expect. I may no longer be able to match Shawn's overall speed, but I can still descend on the technical terrain a little faster and I was nipping at his heels the whole way down.

Soon enough we were climbing again up to Little Mount Doug. I didn't feel quite as good as I would have liked on this climb and fell a few seconds back. The southern route off this peak is the most technical portion of the whole course and a fall here could be very damaging to your body. I took a few risks that paid off and closed the gap to Shawn again. Unfortunately, as soon as the trail turned upward again, I could no longer match his speed and he bolted ahead and within a couple of minutes he was out of sight.

While the climbs hurt more than I would have liked, I felt pretty strong overall so despite there being no one in sight ahead or behind, I pushed pretty hard. I struggled up the final climb (which only went halfway up to the summit compared to a full climb last year) and was happy to know that there were no more significant uphill segments for the rest of the course. I passed a number of short course racers as I pushed toward the finish. I felt good on the final stretch and crossed the line in 40:44 solidly in 2nd place. I was about 1:30 behind Shawn and 1:15 ahead of the next runner, Nick Sunderland. I was satisfied with my performance although I could have had a bit more power in the legs for the climbs. Once I decide to focus on trails again, I will definitely work on my hill climbing more consistently.

Andrew Pape-Salmon ran an amazing race, placing 4th overall just over 2 min behind me and Care Wakely raced to an amazing 7th overall. In a month Care and Mark Nelson will be racing in the Trans Rockies Run stage race. I expect that they will do well.

Final Results.

VI Spine Relay: North Coast Trail

2010-06-20T23:28:00.001-07:00

June 6, 2010

Despite the "Relay" name, this was an event rather than a race. The VI Spine Relay was set up to help promote the concept of building a trail the entire length of Vancouver Island from Victoria to Cape Scott. This is a similar idea to the Trans-Canada trail and is a quite a large undertaking since it involves getting support from regional districts, municipalities, and land owners up and down the island. It is a fantastic idea though and I wanted to do my little bit to support the VI Spine Trail. Additionally, it was a personal opportunity to experience a part of the island that I have never visited and nearly brand new trail (it was opened only 2 years ago in 2008).

Not wanting to miss out on something new, Sonja decided to join in the adventure. The plan was to drive up to the Cape Scott Provincial Park parking lot on Sat (June 5). The trip took about 7 hours aided by the fact that the roads on the northern half of the island are very good and nearly empty. The last hour and a bit were on a gravel surface, however, making things a bit slower. From the parking area we hiked for 4 hours, covering the 15km into Nissen Bight with small packs holding just enough camping gear for one night. At Nissen Bight we met up with the 10 or so other hikers that had also completed this first section of the relay. The next morning, four of us (Sonja and I were joined by the relay organizer Andrew Pape-Salmon and Jenny Taylor) would tackle the 43km North Coast Trail, the remainder of the hikers would return to the parking area with our camping gear. A big thanks goes out to these hikers were had to carry 2 extra tents, 4 sleeping bags, 4 themarests, several day packs and other gear in additional to their own gear.

The start of the trail to Nissen Bight

We departed just after 7am in sunny conditions, estimating a 10 hour run time. We had a time estimate from some Club Fat Ass members who had recently run the trail and Jeff Hunt, who along with Bob Wall, were the first people to run the trail on the day it opened back in 2008. Jeff and Bob ran the trail in the opposite direction as we were going and traversed the full 43km NCT and the 15km Nissen Bight connector in 11 hours. It didn't sound like a particularly blazing time, but as were were to soon find out, this trail was not one that would be run easily.

Ready to go on the NTC! left to right: Jenny Taylor, myself, Sonja Yli-Kahila, Andrew Pape-Salmon

The first kilometer was on beautiful beach, but was officially not part of the NCT. As soon as we filled our water bladders and bottles up we were on the way. We almost immediately got a taste of what we would see for many many hours. The trail was very rough with many roots, little hillocks and twists, and was extremely muddy. It was tough to run for anyone, and it turned out that due to some injuries, Jenny was not able to run very much and was forced to power hike most the the trail. To her credit, she never stopped moving at a consistent rate for the whole day although it did effect our estimated finishing time. It was not a race, however, so the time didn't matter so much except for the fact that a water taxi was meeting us at Shushartie Bay around 6pm. They would wait, but we didn't want to be too far off schedule just in case.

Running on the beach (this was a nice section)

Do the the extreme roughness of the trail, it was slow going. It took us more than a hour and a half to traverse the first 5 km until the trail popped out on the beach near the Laura Creek Campsite. Naively thinking that was some of the worst the trail would offer, I thought we would be able to pick up some time on the beach and future trail sections. The relief of getting off the mucky trail soon faded though as we were treated to huge stretches of beach (the longest being over 10km) that was anything but easy. With just a few blissful exceptions which had packed sand, most of the rest of the beach was loose gravel and cobbles some on a steep angle. Not too bad to walk on, but very draining to run. Every step takes probably twice the normal energy as the stones under your feet sink and slide around.

Cable car crossing at Stranby River

The kilometers slowly ticked by on the beach and soon enough I was hoping to get back off the trail. There were a few trail sections, but for the most part these were not any easier to navigate than the first section. We got to pause for a bit while we crossed a creek via cable car. This was a fun change, but pulling yourself across is an arm burner. We passed the half way point at around 6 hours. This was behind our expected time, but we hoped that the trail would improve and we could make up some time. Despite how technical the first half was, the second half was more challenging yet. We were on the beach then off the beach so many times that they all blend together in my memory. I'm still not sure which was more difficult, but I was always wishing for whichever type we would currently not doing (I think I just had a short memory).

Down we go!

The weather was good for the morning and early afternoon, but the sky opened up soon after that and it rained steadily for an hour or more. It could have made things miserable, but fortunately it was pretty warm so it wasn't a big issue and it eventually cleared up. I was feeling good during the day as the pace was quite relaxed for me. I did spend some extra energy trying to see how much mud I could avoid. I manged to avoid getting my shoes fully submerged for over 10 hours, but had to do a heck of a lot of jumping, side stepping, and even clambering up and over trees.

For most of the day we stayed in the general vicinity of each other, but we often leapfrogged each other, with Jenny moving ahead while the rest took photos or took a break. We would then run for a bit and overtake her before stopping to let her catch up. Andrew had the most to carry with a full day pack loaded with a first aid kit, GPS beacon, and other safety gear, but he snowed no sign of difficulty.

Probably the most crazy portion of the trail was a section where the trail went on and off the beach in a rugged area. Some parts were so steep ropes were required to aid in the decent. One section in particular had a 15 meter climb nearly straight up. Once on top, you stood on a less than 1 meter wide flat space looking down on an equally steep decent and just across the way another such climb and decent was visible. It was kind of fun with a hydrapack, but this would have been work with a full backpack!

More beautiful runnable trail!

Sonja had been doing well, but after about 8 or 9 hours, she wasn't taking in enough energy. She started to fall behind and I didn't realize what the problem was until a bit later when she finally caught up, but was only moving at half the speed she should have been. Even though we were all getting sick of eating energy bars, I had her eat some more and soon enough she was moving well again. It was a good lesson about making sure you are well fueled - anyone can bonk if they are not careful.

After a second cable car, we were finally on the last trail section of the trail. The map stated a distance of 8km. Not too bad, I figured, even though we were mostly just hiking we were holding a decent pace. Despite this, the trail dragged on and on and really seemed endless. We crossed 5 or 6 swamps that had boardwalks that were thankfully runnable, but the rest was just and muddy and rough as the worst we had seen. Plus, there was also some climbing thrown in. Even though I honestly think that it was closer to 12km, I badly misjudged the time remaining, saying there was only 3km left and then hiking for another 2 hours!

Typical trail section

Sonja started to feel the effects of being out there for more than 10 hours and may have been getting low on energy again. To help us keep moving faster, I took her pack and wore it on the front of my body. It wasn't too bad although it did put a bit of strain on my back after a few hours. The trail stretched on and on but we eventually descended into Shushartie Bay where thankfully the water taxi was still waiting. Andrew had run ahead and arrived 30min before the rest of us. The last section ended up taking a greuling 3.5 hours and the whole trail a full 14+ hours. It was a long day although I felt fairly decent due to the low intensity, my feet hurt from being on them for so long. I'm just not used to being upright for so long.

The NCT had some beautiful beaches and it was great to experience. I think it is more of a hiking trail though as its technical nature doesn't lead itself well to being a nicely runnable. While the Juan de Fuca trail boasts much more elevation gain and loss than the NCT, it is much more runnable and in my mind much easier because of that. In the future, I would like to try the West Coast Trail to complete the Vancouver Island coast trails to see how it compares to the other two.

Andrew's photos can be viewed here.

Westwood Lake Gutbuster Half

2010-06-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2010

I enjoy these sorts of trail races and it was a nice change of pace from all the road races I have been doing this year. I wasn't sure how my legs would feel on this one as did a workout the day before consisting of 6x1km (1min rest) and 4x45sec (1min rest). While I held back a bit knowing that I would be racing in less than 24 hours, it was still not super easy. It would be a good test to see how I fared in a race on somewhat fatigued legs. Even if I suffered on the course, the fact that it wasn't a goal race meant I didn't have a lot on the line.

The course was new this year although it was fairly similar to the the way it was in past years (except 2009 which had quite a different course). I estimate that there was at least 30% new trail that I had never run on before. The main differences were more gentle climbs, more single track, and less road. I quite enjoyed the course as it had a good about of somewhat technical terrain which was 100% runnable.

I knew that I would not walk away with an easy win on this course. The field was strong with Michael Liedtke, Shelby Drope, Nick Walker, Shaun Stephens-Whale, and Shawn Nelson all in attendance. I race against and train with Nick and Shawn so know what they are capable of. I knew for sure that Shawn would be tough to beat unless I was on and he was off. He is a solid climber, good on the technical terrain and downhills, and very strong on the flats. Shaun would also be stiff competition as he climbs like gravity doesn't exist.

The start was pretty fast with Shaun moving at a brisk pace that seemed a little fast to me although the first km or so is flat so it didn't feel too tough. We made our way around Westwood Lake and started the climb. Shaun was still in the lead and Shelby close behind. I didn't want to overtax myself so early in the race so I tucked into behind Shawn who in turn trailed just behind Michael. The trail was a fairly new one and was somewhat technical with a lot of little humps which necessitated paying close attention to your footing. The climb was much more gradual than in years past and I found it quite runnable and enjoyable.

Michael was going just a little slower than I would have on my own and I was very temped to move ahead especially since Shaun and Shelby had moved out of sight, but I continued to hold myself back a bit knowing that there would be plenty of time to expend any extra energy I might have. Finally though, Swawn decided to make a move and I took the opportunity to go with him. We gradually gained on Shelby on the decent from the highest point on the course and by the time we popped out onto the hydro right of way, the 3 of us were all pretty even.

I managed to power past Shelby at the puddle which was good and wet this year, but Shawn was probably 10 seconds ahead at this point. The course descended down and through the creek as it has in previous years. When I got back to the main double track, I was shocked to find that Shawn had gained a massive amount on me and was at least 30 seconds ahead now. This was a bit demoralizing as it seemed as though I was still moving at a respectable pace. I later learned that that the two leaders (and many others) had inadvertently taken the bridge rather than the actual course though the creek. In the end, it didn't really matter that much since I finished well behind the leaders, but at the time it seemed as though I had somehow come to a standstill.

We soon started our 2nd main ascent into the area known as The Abyss. This is a longish gradual climb that makes you work to maintain good speed, but it not too cruel. I moved along pretty well and managed to gain enough time on Shelby until he was no longer in sight behind me. This area was then followed by a good amount of narrow single track interspersed with a couple road sections and clear cuts. I really quite enjoyed the extra single track and didn't miss the large gravel road sections from previous years. We gradually made our way towards Colliery Dam and the course soon intersected with the short course and I soon found myself passing a large number of the short course mid pack runners. After the dam, we had a bit of a grunt of a climb on the paved roads and paths back up and under the highway before moving back onto trails.

At this point there were only few kilometers left in the course. I was feeling the fatigue in my legs now, although my engine still had good power. There was a one more small climb after which there was was about 1km left. I ran steady, but with no one in sight in front or behind me, there was little incentive to kill myself. I did, howver, surged to the finish line and passed a short course racer who thought I was in his race and tried to match me. "I'm in the long course" I shouted as I passed him as only seemed fair to let him know that he was not losing a position. I finished in 1:45:25 in 3rd place about a minute ahead of Nick and Shelby who came in 4th and 5th respectively. Shawn and Shaun obviously hammered the course though, finishing about 6 and 5 minutes ahead of me. I hadn't expected to beat Shawn, but I had hoped to be closer. He is obviously very fit these days and I expect to see him post some impressive times in upcoming races. Overall, I was satisfied with my performance which I would describe as average.

Since the course was enjoyed by myself and everyone else I talked to, I hope they keep it similar in future years. Most people I talked to had solid races including Andrew Pape-Salmon who placed 8th overall, Garth Campbell who performed well in his first trail race of the year, and Sonja who picked up 2nd in her age category. Thanks to Mark Nelson and Nick Walker at Frontrunners Westshore for hosting another successful event! Long Course Results. Short Course Results.

Oak Bay Half Ekiden Relay

2010-05-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

May 16, 2010

My Aspire training group decided to enter a team into this event for the fun of it. I've never raced this half marathon or the relay so it was something new to do. Our team consisted of myself, Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, and Kevin Searle. Besides doing something new, our secondary goal was to break the course record of 1:07:34 set in 2005 by Peninsula Runners. It would be fairly challenging to beat that time (3:13 pace), but if things went well it was possible.

The relay consists of 4 segments of 4.2, 4.8, 5.1, and 7.0km respectively. I was given the 2nd 4.8km leg. I did a short warm-up to the transition zone with Ian Perriman (who was racing on another team) then waited just a couple of minutes until Kevin arrived. He was in 5th place overall behind Jim Finlayson, Gilbert Kiptoo, Philip Samoei, and Mark Cryderman (all running the full course). I grabbed the relay sash from Kevin and nearly dumped my sunglasses on the ground trying to get it over my head (I probably should have just held it in my hand as some others did). I went out pretty hard knowing that I had to post a decent time and wanting to catch some of those in front of me. If we were to get the time we wanted we should be not far behind Jim since he is capable of running a 1:07.

I quickly caught up to Mark and we exchanged pleasantries as I passed. I then set my sights upon the 3rd place position held by Philip. Within a km or so I caught up to him, but he would not let me pass him easily and answered with a increase in speed. We ran more or less together until the transition zone. Unfortunately for him, the increased pace may have hurt his 2nd half as he faded quite a bit. During my run, I was feeling only OK. The pace was fairly decent although a bit slower than my Bazan Bay race in March, but much like the Sun Run I just didn't have the power in me like I would like. The course was somewhat rolling as well which took a bit of a bite out of the pace. I finished my 4.8km segment in around 15:54, not a great time, but not terrible either.

Got to love the cape look. If only I had the speed of superman! Photo Credit: Yan Lyesin

I passed the sash on to Shawn Nelson who ran his 5.1km segment strongly in around 16min. Then Sean Chester took the anchor lap and tried to chase down Jim and Gilbert. Perhaps still feeling the effects of racing on the track the night before, Sean was unable to run at his best, doing about a 24min 7k. He crossed the line at 1:09:01, about a min and a half back of our goal, but it was still the 2nd best relay time posted on this course. Jim cruised to victory in 1:07:06 a time that is quite impressive in its own right and humbling to think that the four of us couldn't run one quarter of the distance at that pace. While it was not my best run, it was fun to be involved in a relay event and since I was not racing the whole course, it gave me the opportunity to spectate and cheer on the other racers.

Sun Run 10k

2010-05-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2010

First of all, a huge thanks to Marice Wilson of BC Athletics for arranging accommodation for a big contingent of over 30 Vancouver Island high performance athletes who made it over for the race this year. We were treated extremely well and it didn't go unappreciated. Also a big thanks to Bob Reid who yet again helped us out greatly by providing van transportation over to Vancouver. Bob's tireless support of the running community never ceases to amaze me.

This was my seventh road race of the year and I had hoped to have a good performance here to cap off a great season where I have set a PB at every race. I ran very well at the Times Colonist two weeks ago hitting my season target of 33 min right on the nose so I wasn't looking to smash that time, but thought it was possible to better it by a small margin.

As the race approached, I had a bit of a notion in the back of my mind that my race might not be stellar since I had some mediocre training sessions after the TC. I just felt a bit off for those workouts and didn't feel as strong as I normally do, but I shrugged it off a bit and hoped that on race day things would line up better. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

Perhaps I should have run more by feel on this race and not looked at my watch, but I succumbed to the urge to check my splits. As it is on a gradual downhill the first km is blistering fast and I cleared it in 2:59. I felt a bit lethargic off the start, but I didn't let it worry me right away as sometimes this happens to me. Often, after a few minutes my body kicks into racing mode and I have a respectable race. This time though, the only thing that got kicked was my ass by this course.

The 2nd km felt OK and I recorded a 3:16 which was still good, but by around 3km I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be a great race for me. It wasn't that I had gone out too hard and was hitting the wall, I just felt sluggish and couldn't muster up much speed in the legs. Unfortunately, some other Island runners were also having tough days. Despite the fact that I was slowing down, I passed Mark Nelson around 3.5km so he was really having a tough day, but I got passed by a few other runners around the same time. On the climb up to Burrard Bridge I pushed a bit and managed to pick a few runners off, but I really wasn't feeling that great. My 5k split was 16:33, which was actually only slightly off a 33min pace, but since it also included a fast first kilometer, it was really not a good time. Paul O'Callaghan was there encouraging the members of our little training group and it was great to have him there. I only wished that I had had something left for the second half of the race where I was supposed to pick it up.

Like his brother, Shawn Nelson was also not having a good day, and I passed him at about 5.5km. This would normally mean that I was running really well since Shawn is currently running strong, but not this day. Things did not improve in the ensuing few km and I really had a hard time keeping my pace. I was doing about 3:25 km's which was at least 6 sec slower than I wanted. I was passed by a few people including Sean Chester who was having a reasonable day at least. I would have liked to respond to some of these guys coming by me, but I just didn't have it in me. Mentally it was also tough to keep the pressure on at this point since I knew I was not going to PB, but I didn't give up my any means. I still tried to hang on for a non-embarrassing time. My 8-9k split was embarrassing, however, clocking in at a 3:40, slower than any of my 10k race splits in quite a while.

I did at least muster a decent push to the finish, out kicking a young guy to cross the line in 33:45. This was 45 sec slower than at the TC just two weeks ago, and a even a couple seconds slower than Sun Run last year, where I also raced poorly. I'm not quite sure what went wrong as it was not a pacing, bonking or cramping issue. I just felt flat. Perhaps a fairly heavy spring racing and training schedule has caught up to me. Despite quite a few people not running to their potential, there were a few solid performances by island athletes including Sonja who ran a small PB despite not feeling that great, Michael Lax who ran well considering he has been laid up by injuries for quite some time, and Ian Hallam who ran about the same as in the TC. Results.

It was disappointing, but not a big setback by any means. Regardless of the outcome of this race, I had already planned to take about 2 weeks off of my big training sessions to give my body a bit of a break before refocusing on a new goal. My next goal will be the 5000m Q Track Series race on Aug 21st so I foresee a lot of brutal track sessions in my future.

Splits: 2:59, 3:16, 6:45 (2k - 3k marker was incorrectly placed), 3:33 (5k split 16:33), 3:24, 6:50 (missed 8k marker), 3:40, 3:18

Times Colonist 10 K

2010-04-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

April 25, 2010

This was my first real goal race for my new training program that I had started in October. The goal was to run sub 33 min. I knew this was obtainable since I had been having solid races so far this year. However, I knew it wouldn't be easy since that time would equate to my best ever race (bettering my 15:47 performance at Bazan Bay 5k). Paul gave me an easy week before the race with only a single track workout on Tuesday and 4 easy days after so that certainly helped my legs recover. His advice for the race itself was to get into a good comfortable rhythm after the initial rush off the start line and then to hit it hard at the 5-6 km mark to finish strong. He also said to not look at my splits when racing and just go by feel. This would be different for me as I have been checking my watch for years at every km marker and sometimes adjusting my pace based on what I saw.

This year the TC boasted yet another record field with over 13,000 registered. The numbers are getting such that I'm thinking they may have to start adding in wave starts like at the Sun run and other large events. It's great to see so many people being active, but I do find it interesting that those in the mid-pack find it enjoyable to be essentially stuck in a crowd for 10k. If I were a 1 hour 10k runner, I don't think I would enjoy that too much. If I want to be in a crowd, I'll go to a concert or to the Olympics, but that's just me I guess.

As usual, the the field for this race was strong with 6 fast Kenyans and a good number of strong local athletes including Simon Witfield, Scott Simpson, and Steve Osaduik. I figured that there would be several runners going under 30min and perhaps as low as 29min. There was also a strong woman's field with Karolina Jarzynska (Poland), Lisa Harvey, Kristian Rody, and Lucy Smith all expected to do well.

There was bit of commotion right off the start as a photographer who was standing directly in front of the runners failed to get out of the way in time and ended up colliding with as least one runner. I suspect that he learned his lesson - you may as well be in front of a heard of charging buffalo!

The first km is on a slight uphill grade which luckily feels much better coming at that point than it would at 9km. It felt fast, but I knew it would have to feel fast if I were to get my goal time. I was soon running in the vicinity of Shawn Nelson, Nick Walker, Mark Nelson (names you have undoubtedly seen me write many time recently since they seem to race about everything and are right around my speed). Ian Hallam was also running near me as were a couple other guys. We continued to move quite quickly in the first few km and while I was not labouring too much, nor did it feel entirely comfortable. I was hoping that I was not going to "overcook it" too early as Paul had cautioned me against. I did ease off just a bit and Nick and Shawn moved ahead slightly, but I continued to run hard.

Mark had fallen back somewhat after about 2km and Ian fell off at around 4km so I found myself running on my own and would remain so for the remainder of the race. I hadn't get looked at my watch, but decided to seek a peak at the midway point just to see where I was. I was a bit shocked to see it show 16:17 (a 32:34 pace) quite a bit ahead of my goal. At this point, I figured that I was either going to have an amazing race and shatter my best time or I was soon going to suffer. In the end it I ended up doing a bit of both.

I pushed well up the hills from 4.5-6km and later found out that I had done these about 10 sec faster than I had last year. There is a long downhill section from 6-7 km where I picked up some time and ended up passing a guy who was fading. I was still feeling reasonable at this point and felt in control, but around the 8km mark I really started to feel the effects of my brisk pace. It also didn't help that I developed a mild side stitch as well. I didn't hit the wall, but was definitely struggling to maintain my pace. Up ahead I noticed that Shawn was also suffering and fell behind Nick - if I had anything left I'm sure I could have overtaken him, but the well was empty (I had indeed overcooked it). As I approached the finish line I saw the clock count up towards 33 min and did my best to sprint the last 100 meter hoping to get just under, but instead hitting it exactly. Unlike last year when I was able power through the last km in 3:15, this year I puttered through 8 sec slower.

While I was officially 1 sec off my goal time, overall I am quite happy with the time if not the race itself. I am pleased with my fitness level and think if I had a really good race in terms of pacing and how I felt I might be capable of taking off close to 30 sec.

Kip Kangogo ended up winning in 29:35 and Scott Simpson running a very strong race to finish as the top Canadian in 30:00 even edging out Simon Witfield by a few seconds. Karolina Jarzynska crushed the woman's field finishing in an amazing 33:25 just steps behind me. Congrats to all others club members and friends who finished the run - there were some solid performances. Thanks too to all who called my name while I was running - I appreciate it even if I don't always acknowlege the support when I am focused on the job at hand. Results.

Splits:
3:13, 6:26 (missed 2k marker), 3:17 (16:17 5k), 3:21, 3:21, 3:21, 3:15, 3:25, 3:23

Merville 15k

2010-04-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

April 4, 2010

Merville is an interesting distance as there are not too many other 15k races out there. Everyone thinks about distance races in terms of 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, etc. Without a race calculator it is difficult to know what a 50min 15k really means so no one ever asks about your 15k time. Never the less, Merville is a pretty fast course and I opted to do it rather than Sooke River 10k which would be too many 10k's in a short time (I'm doing the Times Colonist and the Sun Run).

We took the Harriers club van up to Merville (just north of Courtney). Besides myself, the van carried Sonja, Willy Langat, Nixon Kiprotich, Gary Duncan, Fawn Whiting, and Julie Van Veelen. The weather was decent on the way up, but as we approached the race area, a light rain began to fall. As the 11am race time approached, the rain intensified and with 20min to go, it was pounding down. It looked as though it was going to be a pretty soggy one, but fortunately it let up just before the race started and only fell lightly for the duration. Still, my shoes were completely soaked just getting to the start line 1km away and by the end of the race, everything was drenched.

Willy and Nixon sped off as soon as the race began which I expected as they were the fastest in the field and were gunning for a 48-49min finish time. For a short time, Chris Barth also moved out ahead, but soon dropped back. Nick Walker, Shawn Nelson, Mark Nelson, Hugh Trenchard and myself moved together for the first couple of km. It seemed like we were doing about a 3:20 effort, but our splits were close to 3:30 and this was a bit concerning to me since I was hoping for something in the 3:24-3:29 pace range. Although it isn't that obvious, the first 2km are a slight uphill grade so the times were correspondingly slower. Soon enough though, we got some slight downhills and flats that erased any earlier slowness and we posted some faster splits. I was feeling good at this point and the pace seemed quick, but comfortable. I was pretty sure that I was going to have a better race than I had at Comox.

Nick started to pull ahead well before the 5km maker and Mark fell back somewhat leaving Hugh, Shawn and myself and to run together until 5km. At this point Hugh started to drop off the pace although his overall performance is very commendable considering that he ran over 200km last week. I'm not sure that I will ever run that much in a week. Prior to my new training program, 200km was my monthly mileage!

Shawn tucked in behind me as we continued and I pushed a quick pace, never letting off. Since I was feeling strong, I was hoping that I would be able to put the pressure on him, and a couple times he did back off slightly, but he always battled back. We started a long gradual climb around 9km and I really dug in to keep as close to goal pace as possible. The plan worked pretty well and we only slowed to 3:40 on a kilometer that was entirely uphill. I was hoping that wasn't pushing too hard as it seemed as though I might have been running this race more like a 12k than a 15k. I did know that the last 5km was primarily downhill, however, so figured that I could still mov decently though there even if I was suffering.

Around 10km Mark caught up to us showing that he must have been having a tremendous race. I guess Shawn decided to put the pressure on his brother as he took off right after Mark caught up. I took chase and Marked dropped back a bit. I was still feeling quite strong and Shawn and I moved together for the next couple of km. Once we started the decent back to the finish area, Shawn decided to put the hammer down and encouraged me to go with him. Even though I still felt good, I just didn't seem to have the speed in my legs to keep up. This is still likely my weakest link in road running - gradual downhills. Although I still move OK, I just don't seem to go quite as fast those around me. Something I need to work on. Soon after Mark passed me and while I ran with him for a bit, I still had a tough time trying to match him.

We rounded the final corner before the finish line and Mark had 10-15 second on me. It was about 700m to the finish and I decided it was now or never and put a massive surge on. I rapidly gained on Mark who heard me coming and responded with a sprint of his own. For a moment, I thought that I was going to be able to catch him, but with about 200m to go I hit the wall and just couldn't continue the sprint. I loped into the finish and stopped a the beginning of the chute. Unbeknown-est to me, the actual finish line was actually 3 meters further along and I burned up 4 seconds getting there. It was not a big deal, but kind of annoying anyway.

My official time was 51:20, quite close to my optimum goal of around 51 min. Despite losing two positions late in the race and only coming in 6th overall, I was very pleased with my race and especially in how I felt. It was one of the better races I have ever had and the best one I have so far this year. I also placed 1st in my age category and set a 12k PB along the way. Willy won overall by a narrow margin over his training partner in 48:57. Tina Connelly convincingly won the woman's division with a 55:24 clocking which was good for 14th overall. Results.

Congrats go to all the Harriers crew who I came up with. The colours were all gold and silver with age category wins by Willy, Nixon, Sonja, and myself, and second place performances by Fawn, Gary, and Julie.

My splits:
3:30, 3:29, 3:23, 3:16, 3:21 (16:59 5k), 3:23, 3:25, 3:30, 3:32, 3:40 (34:29 10k), 3:29, 3:29, 3:22, 3:25, 3:06

Comox Vally Half Marathon

2010-03-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2010

I hadn't originally planned on doing this race since I haven't been focusing on the half distance. While the mileage in my training schedule is sufficient it does not include that many long runs, nor does it currently include any hard tempo runs. Right now, it is all about the track sessions generally with intervals between 150m and 1 Mile. I have a difficult time not racing though and doing Comox would allow me to complete 5 IRS races and get ranked for the series. It's funny how a points system convinces me to want to get that ranking even though they don't mean that much since most of the best runners don't complete enough races to get placed in the overall standings. Anyway, I figured that I could pull it off despite the lack of specific training and given the strong season I have had so far, a PB was certainly possible (I ran a 1:15:21 here last year).

Sonja and I headed up with some other Harriers, Julie and John and despite my missing the first turnoff to Courtenay we still arrived with plenty of time. Given the distance, I only did a short warm up and arrived at the start line with just a couple minutes to spare. Sonja was worried that I would miss the start which would definitely suck, but luckily that has not happened to me yet.

The first few km went well and I posted some good split times. They were sub 3:30 km which was faster than my goal pace, but I knew this part of the course was fast and if I wanted to get my goal, I had to bank a few seconds here. Right away I found myself running on my own with Craig Odermatt, Jonathan Withey, and Neil Holm slowing pulling away from me and no one close behind me. This would be the situation for the remainder of the race and I think this may be been the most alone I have been during a road race.

While I've known a number of people who have had very good times on this course and say that it is fast, it is definitely not flat. From 6-12km, the course consists of either a slight or moderate uphill grade or rolling hills. There is nothing crazy, but it definitely slows your pace and wears away on the energy. Once I started the climb, I began to feel the strain. This was not good as I was less than halfway into the race. I still managed to keep my pace reasonable, with the slowest km clocking in at 3:45 (the entire km is a gradual climb), but I knew then and there that it wasn't going to be a great race for me. As I neared the turnaround I saw the leader David Jackson well ahead of the competition on his way back. When I finally made it there myself, I found that there was no one close behind me as Keith Mills was at least a minute back. Unless I totally blew apart on the return I would be able to maintain my place.

The return downhill was a welcome relief and I was able to pull back a portion of the time that I had lost on the climb. Unfortunately, around 14km I got a nasty side stitch that threatened to really take the wind out of my sails. I'm sure it cost me a few seconds, but luckily it subsided quickly and didn't return. Another annoyance started to creep up in the form of a hot spot on my right foot. I was wearing a pair of light trainers that I had worn for up to 16km with no issues before, so I found it a bit of a shock to be having problems this time. It continued to worsen for the remainder of the race and I knew that I'd have a nasty blister to contend with later, but pushed though the discomfort anyway.

The final few km were tough and my split times were unremarkable compared to what I did on the way out. I was not falling apart, but certainly was not feeling strong like I recall being last year. Despite this, I did notice that I was closing the gap on Neil. He was much closer to me than he was at the mid point in the race so he must have been suffering as well. I focused on pulling closer to him, but just couldn't make it happen. Last year, I hammered to the finish closing the last 1.1km in 3:39, this year it took me 3:52 which shows my relative condition. Despite a less than stellar race in terms of how I felt, I still managed to come in a respectable 1:14:46 which was 35 seconds better than last year and a modest PB. On a good day, I certainly think that a sub 1:14:00 would be possible and perhaps even faster on a flatter course.

Finishing up in discomfort. Photo credit: David Brown

David easily took the win in 1:08:25 and Care Wakely won the woman's division in 1:24:16. This year was more competitive than last year since my time would have given me a 4th place finish in 2009 rather than the 7th I received this year. Sonja ran well getting another large PB and a for the first time ever in a IRS, a first place in her age category! Results.

My splits:

3:21, 3:28, 3:24, 3:28, 3:29, (17:09 5k) 3:36, 3:38, 3:45, 3:37, 3:37 (35:23 10k), 3:37, 3:35, 3:29, 3:20, 3:32 (52:56 15k), 3:27, 3:35, 3:38, 3:39, 3:39 (1:10:54 20k), 3:52 (1.1k).

Bazan Bay 5k

2010-03-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

March 7, 2010

I've been quite negligent on updating recently and am now two races behind on my blogging. Some home renovations and family visits have sucked up most of my free time. Fortunately, a 5k is a quick race to do a report on.

Bazan is always a competitive race, being the shortest of the Island Race Series and bringing out the speedy National Triathlon team members in force. In fact, the top 5 spots all went to triathletes. I'd been hoping for a good performance here as my training has been solid and focused largely on speed sessions. I posted a 16:02 here last year so a time under 16 min was certainly in the cards. I hoped to get around 15:45 (3:09 pace) so went into the race with that in mind.

Conditions were about perfect for racing with no wind and cool temps. This year, the timing was also better in that the shift to daylight savings didn't occur until the next weekend so we were not robbed an hour of sleep like in previous years.

I found myself behind around 25 racers by the first km marker which I went though in 3:04. I wasn't particularly worried as I knew as long as my race went well many of those guys would fall back since there was no way they could all maintain such a pace. I decided to ease off a bit to try and settle into my goal pace of 3:09 for the next km or two before going hard for the last 2 km.

Although it didn't seem like I was losing ground to the guys in front of me, I was rudely shocked when I saw the 2nd km split of 3:16 which as 7 sec too slow. I had to kick it up or I would never be able to meet my goal time so I put the hammer down and started catching up to those in front. I passed a few in the next km (3:07) and even more in the next km which I did in 3:09. It felt good to be able to power though and catch many of those who were struggling to keep their pace. Paul O’Callaghan was on course encouraging us so that was great.

Unfortunately for them, both Shawn Nelson and Eric Findlay were both hurting from 3-4km and I managed to move ahead of them. I started to pay for my quick pace on the last km, however, and had a tough time maintaining my speed. I lost a few seconds, but still managed to post a 3:11 on the last km and had a decent kick into the finish even though there was no one close enough to catch. I crossed in 15:47, good for a 15 sec PB and a new personal points record (824) . I think I could have taken a couple of more seconds off if I had paced myself more evenly, but I did feel strong so I know the speed work is paying off for sure. I was 14th overall which meant I had passed around 10 guys after the first km.

The local two time Olympic medalist, Simon Whitfield won in 14:36 with his training partner Kyle Jones just 2 sec back. Top woman was Magali Tisseyre in 17:03. Keith Mills continued a strong year running 16:03 and Sonja ran under 20min for the first time ever.

Sadly, we later found out that a runner had collapsed from a heart attack at the 1km mark and later died at the hospital. Unfortunately this happens from time to time, but I'm sure that running extends peoples lives much more than it shortens them.

My splits were 3:04, 3:16, 3:07, 3:09, 3:11. Final Results.

Orcas Island 25k

2010-02-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2010

Strictly speaking this race had nothing to do with my goals this year (which are to improve my 10k road time). However, a few months ago when a group of my fellow Harriers were planning this trip so I decided it would be a fun weekend and signed up. I would do no specific training for it, but given my current training volume I figured I could pull off a 2 hour effort without suffering too much.

The timing of this race was unfortunate though as the ferry that normally operates between Sidney and Orcas Island (in Washington State) does not run at this time of year. This meant that, despite Orcas being less than 50km away, we had to take BC ferries to Tsawwasen, drive to Anacortas and then take another ferry to Orcas for a total distance of 270km (and about 8 hours). Fortunately, Sonja and I did have great company in the van with our other running friends so that made the trip enjoyable. We had rented a large house which was located about 20 min drive from the race start which turned out to be a quite spacious and was equipped with two kitchens and held the 10 of us quite comfortably. You definitely know you are with a group of runners when it comes to bed time though - the late night owls burned the midnight oil until 10:30! Of course we all had either 25km or 50km to race the next day so a good rest is important.

The PIH Orcas Island Team. Left to right, Front to back: John Catterall, Carlos Castillo, Jeff Hunt, Garth Campbell, Carolyn Goluza, Kathleen Birney, Paul Birney, Sonja Yli-Kahila, myself, Sara Pape-Salmon, Andrew Pape-Salmon, and Jeremy Watts

The Orcas Island race is a low key event, but is quickly gaining in popularity and boasted a field of around 350 runners in both distances this year. Its great to see so many people out for a race where it was all about the challenge and accomplishment of doing it since there was no prizing of any sort. Since this race attracted a completely different field that what I would see here on the island, I didn't really know what to expect in terms of competition. Based on my experience with some other trail races around this distance and looking at the time from previous years, I expected that I would likely be in the top few spots as long as I had a decent race and a win might be possible.

25k Course Profile

25k Course Map

Given the distance, a warm up was not required and after some brief directions by the race director (follow the orange tape and signs) we were off. Very quickly, I found myself running with two others up front and within a couple of km the 3rd place guy fell behind. The other guy, Aaron Coe, showed no signs of slowing down though and I soon realized that if I was going to have a chance to win, I would have to push very hard indeed. He seemed comfortable and while I too was running within my means, it was not slow. After a few km of gently rising trail next to a creek we reached Mountain Lake and ran along the shore for a short while. I had studied the map quite thoroughly before hand so I knew the big climb up to Mount Constitution was coming very soon. This would be a tough climb of about 500m in a short distance. Normally, I do well on the climbs, but as so as we started this one, I knew I was in trouble. The legs felt heavy and I just didn't feel strong even on trails that were not that steep. Aaron took the lead and I struggled to stay in contact, but he was just a better climber that day and I watched him gradually pull away.

I know how to push myself and dug deep to keep moving although my pace seemed quite pitiful at times. I kept Aaron in sight until half way up the climb, but then he disappeared and I would not seem him again until the finish line. Although I almost slowed to a hike a half a dozen times, I manged to keep a running stride for the whole climb. I got a bit of a reprieve after the false summit and there was only a bit more climbing before the summit. The view from the ridge was amazing, but I was in race mode so stopping to check it out wasn't in the cards. I was damn happy to get there as I knew that while there would be some more climbing, that was the worst of it and I could get some recovery on the next descent. I asked one of the volunteers how far the lead runner was in front of me.

"five minutes"

"Damn!" I thought to myself, how could he have put that much time into me so quickly. I didn't panic though as just resolved to try my best to catch back up on the downhills and hope that he slowed on the second half of the race. So I hammered the downhill as hard as I could and while it wasn't technical, navigating the switchbacks on the trail was a bit tricky since I had to slow and for each corner and then accelerate again on the straights. I made good time, but saw no sight of Aaron. The next section consisted of a number of moderate climbs that gradually brought us back up close to the height of Mount Constitution. While my legs where a bit burnt out from the first brutal climb, I thankfully felt much better on this section.

Soon I came to a T intersection. Expecting to see the usual orange tape, I look left and then right, but saw no flagging. I started to panic just a little and started doubting if I had somehow missed a turn off in the last couple of km. I was pretty sure I hadn't though and then I saw a arrow drawn in the dirt pointing right and towards what appeared to be a significant descent. I knew from the map that we should be descending soon and this fact plus the arrow promoted me to take the right. I figured I had a better than 50% chance of being right, but I was definitely nervous for a few minutes until I finally spotted another flag further down the trail and could finally breathe a sigh of relief. If I had chosen wrong I would not have known for sure until the next intersection which was at the bottom. That would have been the end of my race as I'm not sure I would have been able to muster up the effort to climb my way all the way back just to end up finishing poorly anyway.

Heading downhill. Photo Credit: Garth Campbell

The descent was long and much more enjoyable than the excruciating climb. When the trail finally stopped losing elevation, I knew we had just a couple more kilometers to traverse on a pretty flat trail next to Cascade Lake. I could definitely feel the fatigue in my legs, but I kept moving at a reasonable pace. I didn't envy the few 50k racers I saw were were just turning onto a trail to the 2nd of 4 climbs of the day. The run around the lake was uneventful although I was surprised when we didn't get routed around a lagoon as the map had indicted. I wasn't about to complain about it though. I crossed the finish line at around 1:55:00 fully expecting to see Aaron there, but when I didn't spot him I asked about where he was.

"You're the first"

"What? How did I beat him?"

The answer came about two minutes later when he crossed the line and told us that he had taken the wrong direction at the same unmarked intersection that I had trouble on and he had lost several minutes getting back on track. It was bad luck for him and I told him that it was not the way I like to win. The reality is that this happens to the best of us though and I've taken wrong turns quite a number of times on trail races. The race director indicated that the intersection was well mark before and someone must have removed the flagging. This also seems to happen a lot during races although its never clear if it is being done as a joke, someone maliciously trying to sabotage the race, or just a person innocently trying to clean up the trail and not realizing the flagging is there for a reason.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came a few minutes later when Scott Jurek came across the finish line in 3rd place. I hadn't seen him on the start line and didn't expect him to be there at all and certainly didn't think he would be running the 25k. For those who haven't heard of Scott, he is one of the best known ultra runners in the world and is practically a legend in his discipline. His resume includes 7 straight wins at Western States 100 Mile Endurance Runs, 2 Badwater Ultramarathons victories, and well as numerous other 1st place finishes and awards. He was also very friendly and was introducing himself to the other competitors after he finished. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to chat with except for a few words, but it was pretty neat to be racing against such talent. Despite coming in ahead of Scott, I can hardly claim to be the better runner. For one, I heard he is just coming back from and injury and/or surgery and second, I'm pretty sure 25k is not his best distance. Since he seems to excel at distances of 100 Miles or more, 25k is probably just a warm up. He obviously has outstanding endurance and is able to maintain a steady pace for a very long time, but may not be as fast at shorter distances.

Jeff Hunt and Scott Jurek. Photo Credit Andrew Pape-Salmon

After the race I really felt the effects of the downhills as my inner quads were quite sore for a couple of days. This is likely a result of pushing hard and not enough training for descending recently. Despite the win, I would rate the race as a average one for me. Andrew Pape-Salmon ran well to place 6th place finish, Sonja was 3rd overall woman, and Sara Pape-Salmon and Kathleen Birney finished their first ever 25k. Unfortunately, Jeff Hunt had some cramping issues and had to drop out of the 50k, but Carolyn Goluza and Carlos Castillo both finished well.

Andrew and myself

Cobble Hill 10K

2010-01-30T23:25:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2010

Since I am already behind in posting this, I'll skip most of my usual preamble. My training has been going fairly well although I was a bit concerned that the extra volume would leave my legs fatigued for the race. Fortunately, while my legs were heavy the day before, they ended up feeling good during the race. I had slept well the night before, but woke up feeling pretty groggy and during the drive up felt much more like crawling back into bed than running 10k. I had a bit of coffee and once we were under way I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt.

While some people claim that Cobble is a fast course, I don't find it particularly so. It is not overly difficult, but contains quite a number of small hills that soak up the seconds. Last year I posted a 34:20 here, and this year anything less than that would have been quite disappointing. Ideally, I would be able to get a time around 33:30 (3:21 pace) , but I would have been satisfied with a sub 34 min time.

The first 2 kilometers of this course are fast with a net elevation loss so I wasn't worried I was going to hard when I posted two sub 3:15 splits. There is a turn around just before the 2km marker for a short out and back section, and I felt comfortable while making the turn and then pushing hard back up the hill. I passed Mark Nelson on the climb and set my sights on Ian Hallam, Eric Findlay, and Nick Walker who were running together a little ways in front of me. Around the 3km mark, still feeling strong, I decided it was time to bridge the gap and quickly managed to pull even. I knew what times these guys usually run and thought that if I could hang in there with them, I would be doing well. Kilometers 3-5 are mostly a gradual climb and hills still being my friend, I set the pace for a short time. Soon we also reeled in Swawn Nelson who was slowing somewhat.

My 5k split was 16:42 which I was quite pleased with as it set me up nicely for a solid PB as long as I could avoid falling apart in the last half. Unfortunately, I started to feel the fast pace around 6km and Ian, Eric, and Nick slowly began to pull away. I could have dug deep to hang in there with them, but that may have lead to disaster since there was still 4km. Instead, ran my own race and concentrated on keeping the rhythm going. I continued to run with Shawn and keep my effort and pace pretty steady for the next couple of km. I actually thought that I would be able to drop Shawn since he seemed to be struggling a bit, but around 8.5km he put a surge on that I had difficultly responding too. I tried to power though the last km in an attempt to close the gap and managed to hammer it into the finish line for a final 3:13 km, but couldn't quite catch up.

My final time was 33:31 good for 10th place (and a surprising 1st in the M3034 category) and a 10 sec PB over my 2009 Sun Run time. Better still, it was a respectable 49 sec improvement over my 2009 time on this course. AP Balliargeon-Smith from the National Triathlon Centre won in just under 32 minutes, edging out Kenyon Nixon Kiprotich and Sean Chester. The top woman was Magali Tisseyre coming in around 36min. Other notable performances go to my girlfriend, Sonja, who took a whopping 1:30 off her best 10k (particularly impressive on this course) and Jeff Hunt, who also set a PB and seems to be getting faster all the time.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the way things went. My PB was not huge, but considering it is not a particularly fast course and it is still early in the road season, I feel I am well on my way to posting a sub 33 time in April at the TC and Sun Run. Final results.

Full splits:
3:12, 3:14, 3:25, 3:19, 3:32 (5k split: 16:42), 3:22, 3:21, 3:25, 3:27, 3:13

Screw Shoes

2010-01-17T23:26:00.000-08:00

I recently made some modifications to an old pair of Brooks Cascadia's. I cannot take any credit for coming up with this idea as I have seen it in magazines and online a number of times. However, generally the idea behind adding metal screws on the soles of running shoes seems to be to improve traction on ice and snow. Most of the time in Victoria, there is thankfully a lack of such frozen substances on the ground so it may not seem as though it would be particularly useful. However, I got to thinking that if it works on ice and snow it may also work to improve traction on wet rock, roots, logs, bridges, and mud all of which can be found in abundance here.

Once out on the trails, I found that my idea was correct and traction was greatly improved on nearly all surfaces. Traction on roots, wooden bridges, and logs was excellent. Grip on wet rock was also very good although it was still possible to slip on very smooth rock. Grass and mud traction was also improved, although if the mud was deep, it didn't help as much (I suspect that only long spikes would work in this case). The only real disadvantage that I found was that when running on hard surfaces such as pavement, the shoes were a little more punishing on the feet, but I did manage to mostly alleviate this by removing screws in the heel strike area where there is high impact. The only other thing that might be an issue is that they improve traction so much that if you don't happen to be wearing them, you might get over confident and end up biting it bad.

Making the modification was pretty easy. I just purchased some 1/2" sheet metal screws with 1/4" heads from the hardware store. Specifically getting this type of screw is important since most of the improved traction comes from the ridges on the screw heads. I used a small bit to pre-drill some holes in the high points in the sole and then added the screws by hand. I'm sure you could just use an cordless drill to add them without pre-drilling but I didn't have the proper bit at the time. If you have thinner soles, 3/8" long screws might be a better option to make sure they don't stick through into the inside of the shoe. Also, if you have gel or air packs in the shoes, it is obviously important not to puncture them.

Prairie Inn Pioneer 8K

2010-01-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2010

Pioneer is the very popular first race of the Island Race Series. I'm quite surprised at the level of competition that shows up for this local race. Thanks for the stellar field can largely be given to Bob Reid who manages to recruit many elite runners from the island, the mainland and beyond. It probably also helps that there is a small prize purse and it is the now part of the Timex BC Road Running Series. Other than the Sun Run and Times Colonist, this is likely the most competitive road race in BC. Thanks to the race director Randy Jones and all the volunteers who made this 31st running of the Pioneer another great success.

This was my first road race since I started my new training with Paul O'Callaghan and therefore my first real test to see if the plan was working for me. I was feeling optimistic about my running, but I didn't have any expectations that I would be setting a huge PB. I did however, want to at least better my 2009 time on this course (26:57). If I could also go under my 8k PB of 26:45 that would be a satisfying result. Based on this, I planned to try to go for a 26:30 (3:19/km pace) and see how things went.

I arrived about an hour before race start which normally gives sufficient time to get a race number, use the facilities, and have a short warm up. Unfortunately, I spent a good amount of time waiting in line for the bathroom so my warm up was a truncated one. In my experience though, I have not found a relationship between my performance and my warm up. Sometimes, I have not warmed up at all and felt just fine and other times I have done a full warm up and under performed. The body definitely does take some time getting the systems running well during intense exercise, but I find the the adrenaline at the beginning of the race more than compensates for the lack of a full warm up.

Most of the first kilometer is downhill which leads to an extremely fast time. I managed to avoid the flailing arms and legs and passed the first km in 3:01 in around 25th place. Only in my dreams could I run an 8k at that pace, but I wasn't particularly worried about going so fast since it is largely on account of the downhill start. Shawn Nelson passed me near the 1km mark and knowing the speed he is capable of these days, I didn't attempt to respond. Around 1.5km, I saw Craig Odermatt take a nasty tumble on the pavement. He was apparently tripped up by somebody, but with the assistance of another runner (Shelby Drope) he was up and moving again soon. He momentarily fell back a bit, but soon enough bombed on ahead to a strong finish.

The second km passed in a another quick 3:13, but I knew some slow sections were on the way so having a few seconds in the bank was good since I didn't feel I was over stressing myself doing so. There is a fairly long hill through Brentwood Bay that makes it difficult to post a good time on the 3rd km, but I moved well and passed Shelby and gained slightly on the other in front of me. I ran on my own not really gaining or losing ground until around 5km when Nick Walker caught and passed me. He often seems to start out a little easy and then finishing the latter half strong. I considered trying to tag onto him, but instead elected to set my own pace. I reeled in another runner at 5.5km who was fading a bit. A few hundred meters from the turn around I spotted the leaders Steve Osaduik and Richard Mosley coming back and running neck and neck.

By the turn around I still felt like I was able to maintain a strong pace although 6-7 km was a slow 3:27 despite seeming just as fast as the others. Around 6.5 km I spotted a runner heading off the road into the bushes. Apparently he really had to take a wiz although it seems like he would have been able to hold if for 6 more minutes. It definitely cost him a few positions. The final km is pretty much all uphill since it is the reverse of the opening km. Last year, I recall really struggling to keep my form on the last km so it was encouraging that I felt much better this time and was able to maintain a good rhythm.

As I rounded the final corner to the finish, I took a look at my watch - 2o sec to make it under 26:30 - I ramped it up and mounted a respectable kick, but was not quite able to get there in time instead finishing in 26:35. This was good enough for 19th place in a strong field and more importantly was a 10 sec PB (and 22 sec improvement over last year). Not a huge breakthrough, but definitely heading in the right direction. I was also encouraged by how comfortable I felt (relative to other races). Steve managed to out kick Richard for the win in 23:35; a time I would be ecstatic to get with a minute of. It was great to see a large number of other Harriers and runners that I have come to know over the years. I'm looking forward to a great year. Final results.

My splits were: 3:01, 3:13, 3:27, 3:20 (4k split 13:01) 3:21, 3:25, 3:27, 3:22

On a more serious note, the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti got me reflecting on just how fortunate we all living here. We have the luxury of being able to participate in an activity that only has value for our own enjoyment (and ego) while so many others could only wish to have enough resources to meet their basic needs. This should help to put things into perspective next time you have a bad run or race.

Gunner Shaw 10K, Vancouver

2009-12-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2009

A big thanks to Bob Reid, who again organized a large group of Harriers to head over to the race at Jericho Beach. I'm going to keep this report somewhat short so you can read some background on the race from my report last year if you are interested.

The conditions this year were quite different than last year which was very wet. This time it was cold and the ground was frozen. The puddle was removed from the course because it was frozen and was too risky to run on. It was quite sunny, however, so by the time the race started it was quite comfortable and many (including myself) just ran in a singlet. I had hoped to utilize my newly acquired spikes on this course as there are a couple of slippery areas. However, my heel was still too tender to give them a try so I went back to my trusty Brooks Cascadias.

The Harriers had brought over pretty deep field including Sean Chester, Nick Best, and two visiting Kenyans: Nixon Kiprotich and Willy Langat so I knew that it would be a fast race. I also expected that there would be a couple of Vancouver guys that would place well. I wasn't concerned about placement though as my goal was to simply better my time from last year. I figured this wasn't unreasonable at all considering last years race was mediocre for me.

The Prairie Inn Harriers Team (mostly in red). Photo Credit: Linda Wong

I positioned myself near the front of the field of around 200 racers in a place where I thought I would go out in the top 10. However, when the race started the runners (some of who were doing a single 5km loop) took off like a shot and I found myself well back from the leaders in perhaps 25 place or so. Not only was I too far back, I was also was boxed in for the first few hundred meters and found myself fighting for position. This was a bit frustrating since I knew that I was faster than most of these guys and should have been further up. I lost a bit of time doing this, but fortunately it wasn't too long before I was able to pass most of these quick starters. Within the first 2 km I had moved into 6th place and was feeling pretty good. I saw another runner ahead who ended up being a guy named Jordan Maywood and I was able to bridge the gap to him. I thought that since I was able to catch him fairly easily, I would be able to drop him before too long. I've got to give Jordan a lot of credit though as I attacked on at least 6 occasions, but he refused to budge.

Last year there were some really muddy sections that were tricky to navigate without spikes and while this year it was better I still had to be careful in a couple of areas. We went through the first lap in 16:55 and I was still feeling solid despite working hard. The course has a section on sand and this year the sand portion had been lengthened by a couple of hundred meters. Last year the sand really killed me on the second lap, but things felt better this year around. The 4 leaders (Nixon, Nick, Sean, and Willy) were quite far ahead by this point. I ran strong during the second lap, but it was as usual taxing. Near the end of the loop there is a small section of trail with some puddles and mud. Jordan was just ahead of me moving into that section and with his spikes he was able to power through it quickly. He also put on a good surge which I was just not able to counter well enough. He hit the line 9 seconds ahead of my 6th place 34:21. I ended up being 1:42 faster than last year which I was pretty happy with although with a slightly different course and different conditions it is tough to tell just how much better the performance really was. Nixon won in 32:06, just seconds off of a course record and Nick continued his impressive season just 13 second behind. The top woman was Rachel Ruus, coming in 17th overall. Final results.

Many other Harriers had great performances with the majority of them placing in their age categories and it was great to have some many avid runners to share the experience with. It's always a fun trip so I expect to be back in the future. I'm not racing again until Jan 10 at the Pioneer 8k. It will be the first real test to see how my new training regimen is working so it will be interesting.

Training Update

2009-11-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

It's now been five weeks since I started training with Paul O'Callaghan so I thought I'd give a brief update. So far I have only done 3 of the 10 Milers I mentioned in my previous post. The Thetis Relay replaced the one of them and last week it it coincided with a rest day so the rest day won out. This will happen from time to time since the rest day changes each week with the 7 day on 1 day off schedule. The last time I did the Broadmead 10 Miler, the weather did not cooperate for the 2nd time and the driving wind and rain was pretty unpleasant. It was tough to keep myself warm enough. Run wise, It was decent however, as I took 3 minutes off my first time there despite wasting some time figuring out the route (it will take a couple more tries before I have it all memorized).

On Sat, we usually have a interval session on grass and these sessions can be pretty tough. Yesterday we did 12x30 sec uphill with about a minute rest jogging back down. While 30 sec doesn't sound like much, if you go full out, it becomes pretty tough. By the end of the last few repeats, I started to feel a little nauseous and that rarely happens to me. For the first time, I also wore spikes which really made a huge difference in traction; particularly since the grass was wet and muddy. Unfortunately, the right shoe wore my heel raw so I have to figure out what is causing that. After the repeats, we were supposed to hammer out a 1 Mile interval. The first couple of hundred metres were fine, but I could really feel the effect of the hill repeats and it became a struggle to keep the legs moving particularly up the little hills.

Overall, I've been pretty happy with the program although the increased mileage has caused my shin splints to flare up a bit. They are still in control, however, and only a minor annoyance. Of a little more concern are some issues I am having with my right heel which has been causing me some discomfort at the beginning of my runs and sometime during the run. It is not bad enough to affect my training, but I want to make sure that it doesn't become a big problem. I've been seeing a physiotherapist and have seen some improvement. Hopefully, it will be history in a couple of weeks.

This week the training enters a new buildup phase with 3 quality sessions per week rather than just the two. There will be a track workout on Tue, the 10 Miler will move to Thurs, and Sat will continuous to be a grass interval workout. The track workouts should be interesting as I haven't done a lot on the track before. As long as I can keep the injuries at bay, I think this phase will start to pay off starting in the new year.

Yesterday, I also checked out the Gunner Shaw race at Thetis. I've raced this one for the last 4 years, so for the fist time, I decided to volunteer and was given a Marshaling post at the north end of Lower Thetis Lake. It was actually pretty interesting to see the race from a different perspective than I normally do and it was good to give a little back to the running community. All of the races are totally dependent on volunteers so its good to pitch in sometimes. Congratulations to Jason Loutitt who took the win and a big kudos to my training partner, Shawn Nelson, who ran to fantastic 2nd place finish in a strong field. His improvement year over year, is quite outstanding. I guess the new training is really paying off.

Thetis 20K Relay

2009-11-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2009

I think I mentioned this in my post about the relay last year, but I am still (pleasantly) surprised at how popular this event is. There are no race numbers, you time yourself, and there is minimal prizing or post race food so it is great that it sold out for the second year running with over 600 registered. I think one of the main reasons it is so popular is that there are not many other local relay running events. This race allows you to get four people together to run around both Thetis Lakes, and your teammates can cheer you on while you are doing your leg. The distance its modest (under 5km per lap), the terrain relatively forgiving, and taking place on Remembrance Day, has no other races to compete with. All in all quite the fun little event which the Prairie Inn Harriers have put on for 13 years now.

With so many people in the event, parking is an issue unless you arrive pretty early. Sonja and I did not, and ended up having to hoof it a little ways. Not a big deal, but it didn't leave a ton of time before the race started. Conditions were great for this time of year, dry and mild, so a shorts and a short sleeve were all that was required. The first year I did the relay back in 2005, it was only a couple of degrees out and the rain absolutely pounded down. I remembered being completely soaked within minutes and freezing later while waiting for my teammates. It is still stands as the worst conditions that I have raced in.

I've done this event 4 times with various teams, so this year I decided to try it as a solo. This would also fit in well with my training program as I had a scheduled 10 Miler anyway so I traded that tempo for this race. The trick with a solo effort (besides the possibility of getting bored with 4 laps of the same trails) was not to go out too hard initially. Most of the runners would only be doing a single lap so trying to keep up with people I normally would run with would be quite unwise. There were 7 other solo racers, with Jeff Hunt being the fastest. Jeff is a experienced ultra runner and I thought that pacing him for the first lap would be a good way to make sure I didn't go out too hard (I didn't actually end up doing this, but it was a good idea anyway).

"Ready Set..." Photo Credit: Sandi Heal

Once the race began I quickly got into a comfortable rhythm. I rarely wear my heart rate monitor in a race, but I decided to use it this time. It turned out to be a good tool to have, particularly on the first lap. Even though it felt comfortable, the heart rate started to creep up steadily so I tried hard to keep it in the low 150's (under 90% of my max). I ran with Jeff for the first couple of km, but then he had to pull off to tie a errant lace (I'll give you tips to avoid this next time Jeff:-)). I passed a few single lappers who had gone out too hard and felt strong going over the 3 small hills near the end of the loop. I finished the first lap in 17:25 feeling good. It was great to see so many people cheering on myself and others at the transition zone. It really does give a little energy boost when people shout your name as you pass them so thanks to everyone who cheered us on!

My goal for the day was to try to keep the laps steady (or even slightly speed up with each successive lap). With this in mind I kept what I thought was the same pace as the first lap, but unfortunately held back a bit too much finishing that one in 17:59. Seeing this I pushed harder on the 3rd lap, determined to get my time down to around 17:30. I started passing runners on their 2nd lap and from here on in, I ended up saying "On your left!" quite a lot. Pretty much everyone was great at letting me by although a few still got confused about what left meant. Clocking in a 17:36 got me close to the first lap speed and I was feeling quite good so with a single lap left, I ignored the heart rate monitor and pushed the pace. The final 3 hills hurt and forced my pace down, but I hammered out the flats and downhills quite well. With a hundred meters to go, I didn't feel totally spent, so I sprinted in for a 17:27 lap and a 1:10:27 total time. This was good for a win in the solo division and 6th place overall. While I probably left a little bit in the tank since I didn't feel as drained as usual, I was still generally pleased with my performance and how smart I ran the race. The Senior Men National Triathlon Team took first place in a blistering 1:01:34 (15:23 average laps). Final Results. It was great to see some many Harriers out and I hope this little event continues on for many years to come.

Checking my splits with race director Bob Reid. Photo Credit: Sandi Heal

I'm going to continue to concentrate on my training for the remainder of the year although I will be heading over to Vancouver in early December to run the Gunner Shaw XC race there.

New Training Program

2009-11-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted anything is a little while, I figured I was due to get something up here. As I noted in my previous post, I decided to hire a coach this fall and start a more regimented training program. I decided to go with Paul O'Callaghan who is a former Irish international runner with some stunning racing history and personal bests. He qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games and has competed in a total of 6 World XC Championships. It made since to me that someone with such a stellar running career would know something about what works and what doesn't.

I'm now on my second week of the new training program. The basic program calls for 7 days on, 1 day off. The idea of having a rotating day off is to avoid your body from getting used to have the same day off each week and therefore starting to anticipate getting that break. At first I was a bit worried that having to run so many days in a row since would leave me constantly fatigued and unable to get quality workouts in as I was used to running only 4-5 days a week. However, once I saw the schedule, I realized that it wasn't going to be too bad. While it calls for a lot of days in a row, only 2 of the days are hard workouts, the rest are generally pretty easy, with some days with only calling for an easy 20 minute run.

The main hard workout is the now somewhat infamous "O'Cal 10 Miler." which usually consists of a hard hilly tempo one in the Broadmead area. The first time I did this route, the skies opened up and dumped on us the entire time so we got completely soaked - quite the nice initiation! I was eased into the course though as Paul had Jairus Streight show me how to navigate the route and we ran at a fairly relaxed pace. Last week we did the 10 Miler on the last 16k of the RVM Half Marathon route. At this time, I ran with Eric Findlay, Sean Chester, and Shawn Nelson, all of whom are currently faster runners. We went out pretty hard and after about 15 minute I wondered if I was going to be able to survive the hectic pace. I stayed close to all 3 of them until around 8km when I relaxed just a bit. Once I got into my groove, I was actually able to feel pretty strong for the remainder of the run. I finished around 58min which is pretty solid for a training run for me. Having others to chase during is definitely going to help me in the upcoming months.

This Wednesday there will be no tempo run for me. Instead I'm going to be running the Thetis 20K Relay solo for the first time. Getting my pacing right so I don't die on the last lap is critical.

Royal Victoria Marathon 8K

2009-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2009

Here is a quick race report just to get something up here before I head to Salt Spring Island for the weekend. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event and there were a record number of participants doing either the 8k, half marathon, or full marathon.

As I mentioned in some previous posts, due to some vacation time over the summer, my training, though remaining generally decent was not as consistent or intense as it usually is. This coupled with the fact that I hadn't run a road race since the Times Colonist in April left me wondering what sort of performance I could expect. A PB seemed unlikely, although if things went really well it was possible. My best 8K came last year at the RVM where I ran a solid race in 26:45. I figured anything in the 27-28 minute range would be decent, anything better a bonus.

The race started at 7:15 so about 20 minutes before, I did a short warm-up which felt reasonable although not amazing. I made my way through the crowd of runners to the front of the starting line just a few minutes before the gun. After the countdown, the usual rush of overexcited runners blasted off. By the first turn (about 400m), the race favorite, Scott Simpson, was already way ahead of the main pack and was moving at an incredible rate. I heard that he may have been trying to beat the course record of 23:23 set way back in 1989. Unfortunately for Scott, he may have gone out too hard as I later heard that he pulled out at the 4km mark.

The first 2km didn't feel that comfortable for me. My breathing was more laboured that it should have been this early in the race and it felt like I was working a little too hard. Fortunately, this soon passed and I started to feel fairly good once we neared Ogden Point. I somehow missed the first km marker, but hit the second at 6:35 for an average of around 3:17 - probably a little fast, but not unexpected for the start of this race. On the long gradual climb up to Mile Zero, I was feeling strong and made up some significant ground on some of the runners in front of me and passed several. I didn't know most of the runners around me, but Shelby Drope wasn't far ahead and Mark Nelson was just a little ways further. I figured that if I could reel in one or both of them I would be doing well.

I completed the 3rd km in 3:23 which good considering it is primarily uphill. I lost a couple of seconds on the next km, probably partly due to the turnaround. I briefly caught up to and passed Shelby before the 5km mark, but on the downhill (where I still struggle to maintain as fast as pace as others of my caliber) he caught back up and ever so slowly pulled ahead over the next few kilometers. A guy running in toe sock shoes (basically just a thin cover over the feet) caught up to me around the 6km mark and we worked together for a little while. The pace was holding steady at around 3:24 for the final km which was good since it meant that I hadn't burnt myself out too early.

I seasoned veteran, Kevin McGinnis, from Washington State ran with me for the last 2 km or so and his encouragement did help me get a little bit more out of my body. He said, "go for it, I can tell you have a lot more in you," and it was definitely true that I didn't seem to suffering as much as normal at this point in the race. Thanks to him, I picked up my pace more than I might have otherwise and powered towards the finish. I started to reel in Shelby for a while, but he sprinted with a few hundred meters to go and I just didn't have enough time to catch him. A hundred meters out, I looked at the clock and saw that it was nearing 27:00, but wasn't quite there yet. I sprinted at full speed trying to get in under that magical minute marker. Based on my chip time I did it, getting a 26:59 (although my official gun time was 27:00 even). My time was good for 11th place overall (3rd in my age group) which was very similar to last year (where I was 10th and 3rd respectively).

Although I was 15 seconds slower than my PB, I was satisfied with my race. For some reason I just wasn't as psyched as I usual for this race and a few times out on the course I didn't push myself as much as I could have. Still, this race shows me that I am basically the same fitness level as last year (and as fit as I have ever been). This is good news to me as I plan to take my training to a new level this winter and next spring with a coach and proper program and now know that I will be entering into that training in good shape.

I knew a good number of people running the half and the full marathon so it was great to stay and watch them finish their races. Most of the people I know ran well with many PB's - congrats to all! Final results are here.

My spits were: 6:35 (2km) , 3:23, 3:24, 3:26, 3:24, 6:48 (2km).

On another note, check out Sonja Yli-Kahila's new running blog where she writes about her racing and training experience from the non elite perspective. You can read about her RVM half marathon race there.

Are you the Ultimate Althlete?

2009-10-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail from the promoters of a new event to be held in Oregon next June. Billed as"The Ultimate Sport Competition", the concept is to find the best athlete in a wide variety of mainstream, emerging, Olympic and extreme sports. Some of the sports include riding, swimming, skiing, surfing, climbing, and skating. It sounds pretty cool and would be something I would love to try although I don't think I have quite the range of disciplines to make it happen. I'm sure you don't need to be great at all the sports, but you probably need some level of competence in all of them. I'm not going to look too good eating coral on the surf board I'm afraid. Top prize is a very healthy $100,000 US though - that would be pretty sweet. Check it out here.

Cumberland MOMAR

2009-10-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

September 26, 2009

The second of two MOMAR races this year, this one turned out to be very popular. With about 360 racers entered into both the Enduro and Sport courses, it was a record field. Unlike the first race this year in Squamish where I entered as a solo, this time I again partnered with Garth Campbell. Together we have finished 10 MOMAR's and have had a lot of fun. We have also managed to find our way onto the podium a reasonable number of times. In addition to be able to share the experience with someone else, there is a distinct advantage to racing in pairs due to the presence of a kayaking stage. Double kayaks are faster than a single and unless you are a strong kayaker (or own a surf ski) the kayak stage will prove to be a challenge. Since neither Garth nor I have been in a boat since last years Cumberland MOMAR, we really needed all the advantages we could get.

Garth and I headed up to Cumberland the night before with Alison Sum (who was racing solo for the first time) to check in. We also met up with Roger MacLeod who was staying with us at a condo on Mount Washington. I hadn't really gotten myself too excited about the race, but seeing all the other participants and getting a general description of the course in the race package always gets the blood pumping again. Besides being a large field, this was also a deep one. Race director, Bryan Tasaka, always releases a racer list prior to the event. Not only is it nice to see who we know, but its also useful to scout out the competition; and this one was going to be tough. With the exception of Todd Nowack, who is still in Norway, nearly all the top finishers of the last couple of years were on the roster. I counted no fewer than 10 solos or teams who could conceivably take the overall win. The great thing about these races is that uncertainty. Unlike a road running race, where the overall favorite almost always wins, MOMAR's are much harder to predict. Squamish winner, Bart Jarmula was in attendance, as was 2nd place finisher Gary Robbins. Other talent included local Jeremy Grasby who is a very talented mountain biker and adventure racer John Markez. In the teams of two men, our main competition would likely come from Norm Thibault & Graeme Cockshedge and Jay Latiff & Jeff Riemer all of whom are very strong cyclists. With all the talent on hand we figured a top 5 finish would be very respectable.

Up at mount Washington, we did our final gear, hydration, and fuel preparation and then turned in. I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep, but luckily slept well (although not enough) until our early wake up before 6am. After dropping our bikes off in Cumberland, we headed to Comox Lake to get our rented kayak ready and wait for the map release at 8am. Conditions were cool, but sunny and most thankfully not windy - quite perfect for racing actually. Every one of the 3 other times we have raced at this venue, the wind was whipping up white caps on the lake and making an unpleasant kayaking stage even less enjoyable.

Once we got our hands on the map, we could quickly get a good idea of what the course would look like. It started with the predictable 9km kayak stage (the same as last year). This was followed by a unmarked 10km trek with a big climb where we had to find 6 checkpoints on our way to the bike drop location in Cumberland. A suggested route was marked on the maps, but we could take whatever route between checkpoints we felt was appropriate. We would then get on our bikes for a 20km cycle on a marked route which would include gravel roads and single track. We would make our way back to the bike drop location again, hop off our bikes, and do a small run in town picking up 3 checkpoints. Then we would get back on our bikes and have to pick up a single checkpoint on an unmarked route on our way back to Comox Lake. The final stage was small orienteering course. I was happy about having the orienteering last as that means the teams would be well spread out and there would not be the major traffic jams we had last year. I was also glad to see the bike course was shorter than in Squamish. I had only been on my mountain bike maybe 4 times since that race so felt I might be a bit rusty. Garth had been out a lot earlier in the year and had improved so I hoped I would be able to keep pace.

Before we know it we were out on the water and paddling. If you read my post from last year, you know that kayaking is my least favorite of the disciplines in this race so I didn't expect much difference this time around. However, it actually wasn't so bad this year. We did a little better job at drafting some of the other boats, kept pretty well in sync with each other, and put forth a solid even effort. This in conjunction with calm water, allowed us to take over 6 minutes off of our 2008 time - not bad for not training at all. We came out of the water in 58:56, good for 13th place. Altough I didn't notice it until after the race was over (thank you adrinaline) I did manage to rub a by back raw on one side with the kayak seat.

Not in sync here! Me working hard and Garth posing for the camera:-) Photo Credit: Tony Austin

Garth had some problems with his pack not being adjusted properly as we begin to run and had some choice words to say about it. Luckily, it was minor and only took a few seconds to remedy. Both our legs took a bit to get going after being stuffed in a kayak for an hour, but once the blood got moving it wasn't too bad. The course was mostly flat until checkpoint #2. After this, though, it headed sharply uphill. We had the choice to take the recommended trail that headed steeply up hill or a road which looked to be a little less steep. Since we are both strong hikers, we chose the trail. The map was a little confusing at the next intersection, but we ended up taking the correct route along with a good sized group of other racers who were around us at that point. We managed to push ahead of most of the group except Gary Robbins, who predictably was moving fast. He didn't get far though, as at the next intersection he was running around looking for checkpoint #3 thinking we were already at the top (we were not even close). Gary is an amazing athlete, but navigation is not he strong point. He even admits that he can't navigate himself out of a paper bag so even though he soon disappeared in front of us again, I thought there was a good chance that we would see him again.

It was a long grind up to the top (around 500 meters of climbing in total) and then things got a bit confusing again. As is frequently the case, the map didn't seem to correspond to what we were seeing. We lost a couple of minutes trying to figure it out, and the group that we had left behind caught up. Soon though, we all figured it out and started to run down the hill toward where the checkpoint had to be. We got there, punched in and pounded our way down the gravel road. We passed Hayden Earle heading up on what apparently ended up being a better route choice, but you just never can tell unless you know the area. As running is our main strength we managed to get ahead of most of the group we around at checkpoint #3; only Gary got away. Checkpoint #4 also did match with the map particularly well, but fortunately we found it right away. We chose to take the recommended trail to checkpoint #5 which was easy to find, but almost certainly ended up being slower than an optional road route. After a steep decent, we saw some teams thrashing around in the woods near a creek. Apparently, they were looking at a checkpoint that was there. However, it must have been for the sport course because it wasn't one of the ones we needed to get. After this, the rest of the navigation to the bike transition was straight forward.

Heading for the first transition. Photo Credit: Tony Austin

Norm Thibault and Graeme Cockshedge were just behind us as we came into transition, but they must have changed shoes quickly and so beat out out by a few seconds. While we didn't need to change shoes, we had tried a new strategy of leaving one of our fluid bladders at the bike so we didn't have to haul it for 10km on the trek. While it took a few moments to put away, I think it paid off as not having that extra liter on the back make a difference. The first leg of the bike was a gradual climb up gravel roads. It wasn't too tough and we were moving relatively well. After checkpoint #8 we moved onto single track. It first it wasn't bad, but soon it became a bit rough and difficult to get any flow on. Jay and Jeff passed us as they are very strong on the bike. A bit later Kristenn Magnusson and Justin Mark also got ahead. A trail named "Off Broadway" turned out to be the most technical of the day. I managed to ride it all, but with white knuckles the whole way. Surprisingly though, for the most part, I felt quite good on the single track and not rusty at all. It seems as though you don't need to practice much to keep from losing skills.

After the descending, it was time to go back up. A steep climb on gravel roads was following by pleasant little hike a bike section. Unfortunately, Garth was feeling a little nauseous on the climb which held our pace back a little, but as usual, he toughed it out. Kristenn and Justin were just in front of us for the whole climb, but try as we might we couldn't reel them it. She is one fit woman! Then it was time for "Bucket of Blood," the infamous trail that has often been used in these MOMAR's. This year, it was somewhat changed as logging had taken place and I think it was a bit less challenging because of that. We make one small deviation from the marked route at one point, but it didn't cost us much.

Back in town we dropped our bikes and were handed the urban navigation map. There were three checkpoints which were all on the main street. It was pretty straight forward except for one checkpoint which was hidden in a tree which we fortunately were able to find pretty fast. It was definitely to our advantage to have running shoes on at this point though as most racers wearing clipless didn't bother to change them for such a short stage and were clomping around. Then we were back on our bikes to find one checkpoint in the woods before heading back to the beach. The map was again a bit off on its classifications (at one intersection, the main road was shown as a trail), but we managed to take the correct route and found checkpoint #20. Then onto the paved road for a couple km quad burner. We didn't know exactly where we were in the field, but we figured we must be in the top 10. It was time to see if we could improve that with a solid orienteering stage.

It took me a minute to orientate myself to the map. We were lucky in that it was the same map as last year so that helped me to get into the scale (which is larger than typical). At our way to the second control we caught up to Kristenn and Justin again and we proceeded to help each other out for 5 or so controls. We all did well, finding the controls quickly and then moving in the right direction to the next. At one point, I did take a minute to get my bearings again, but soon got back on track. With two controls to go, Garth and I moved ahead a bit while Kristenn and Justin ended up getting a little off track and we managed to get the last two smoothly.

We headed for the finish really having no idea where we had placed. We ended up 6th in 4:40:11, only 3 minutes behind Gary who had led for much of the race, but struggled on the orienteering. Jeremy won overall, crushing all the competition on his single speed steed - quite amazing to see what he can do with that one gear! Local knowledge of the trails helped him a lot though I'm sure as his trek time was ridiculously fast. It may have been the closest finish in MOMAR history as the top 4 teams came in within 2.5 minutes of each other and the top 8 teams all came in within 17 minutes. Norm and Graeme had a strong race coming in 2nd overall. The solo woman's title passed to Genevieve after being dominated by Sarah Seads for a couple of years. Roger raced to a solid 9th finish and Adam Lawrence and Brent Chan came in well under 6 hours. Alison raced well in her first solo and will surly be back again.

Somewhat fresh after the race: Photo Credit: Aimee Asselin

Overall, we had a very solid race with minimal mistakes and we even managed to set the best time on the orienteering stage (a first for us). Other than additional training there we couldn't have done much better. At 12 minutes behind the winner, time wise it was the closest we have even been to the podium. There had been rumors that this may have been the last ever MOMAR, but thankfully those rumors were laid to rest. Next year, there will be the same two venues, with what I'm sure will be brand new courses. I can't wait! Final Enduro Results.

5 Peaks Butzen Lake Half Marathon

2009-09-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

September 19, 2009

Now that I am two races behind in my blogging, I thought I'd better get something up here. The 5 Peaks race series is a well known Canadian trail race series with races in 4 provinces. I'd heard good things about the Butzen Lake race and I've been itching to try some new trail races this year so I decided to give it a go. The the race offers 3 courses (an 11km Sport, a 15.5km Enduro, and a Half marathon that is a combination of both the Sport and Enduro).

It rained a decent amount the night before the race and as morning came it was still drizzling lightly. It looked like it might be a soggy day on the trails. Fortunately, by the time the half marathon started, the rain had stopped and it gradually improved over the next couple of hours. By the time I finished, it was clear and sunny.

Perhaps the distance scares people away, but the half marathon had a small field with only 35 finishers (the Enduro had 150 and the sport 237). Based on previous years results, however, the small field didn't always lead to slow times. Last year, the winning time was an incredible 1:55:09. I knew that I would not be posting such a time, but based on times posted by other runners that I know, a finish in the 2:15-2:20 range was reasonable.

It is sometimes nice to go to races where I am less likely to know many of the racers. Although its great fun to socialize at local races, there also tends to be a bit more pressure to perform well. I generally know how I compare to many of the local runners and don't want to be behind someone who I normally would beat - definitely an ego thing. At destination races, I feel less pressure and just go in with the attitude that I will run my own race and do the best I can.

I moved off the start line at a comfortable pace, this wasn't a 5km race so I knew that I would have plenty of opportunity to use up my energy later in the race. A Burnaby resident, Paul Shewchuk and I quickly distanced ourselves from the rest of the field. We continued to run together for the first couple of km. He told me that the upcoming climb was a tough one as he had run in in training previously. I had expected as much as the profile shows a big climb from km 2-4.5. Paul was keeping up with me, but definitely seems to be working harder than I was. He was also a powerfully built guy with a large upper body. This extra muscle certainly would be useful for other tasks, but packing all that bulk up and over a mountain takes a lot effort. As soon as the big climb started, my first impressions were confirmed, and he soon started to fall back and I was left to run the rest of the race on my own.

The climb on the Diez Vistas trail was quite tough although there was a small reprise about half way up. I really wanted to run all of it, but the last 0.5 km or so just became too steep for me to tackle and I was forced to power hike for a few minutes. Eventually, the summit came though and breathed a sigh of relief as I knew that there were no more large climbs in the race. I was soon treated to some of my favorite type of trails. It was all technical single track that requires all of your attention to pick a good line, but still allows you to move at a good clip. The only downside on this day was that the roots and rocks were wet which made some of the steeper descents a little risky. On a dry day, this trail would have been even better to run on. I estimate that I may be lost a couple of minutes by having to be more cautious on the descents.

About 30 minutes into the race, I decided to drink some of my Gatorade (I had brought 300ml each of water and Gatorade in my fuel belt) and just about had to spit it out. It had fermented (probably due to electrolyte tablets that I had put into it a while ago) and I had failed to check it before filling my bottles. It is amazing what new lessons you learn even after years of racing! I manage to choke down perhaps a 100ml of the Gatorade throughout the race, but since it seemed to not be agreeing with my stomach I dumped out the rest. Luckily, it would not prove to be a big factor for me.

After the fun decent, the course moved onto a wide fairly flat trail that made its way around the east side of Buntzen Lake. I was feeling pretty good and continued to pace myself well. I still had the whole sport course to do so didn't overdo it. I completed the Enduro course in a respectable 1:26:03 and make my way onto the sport course. After a little while, I started to pass sport course participants who had started 1 hour later. I think I confused some of them who didn't know about the half marathon race and couldn't figure out where I had come from.

The course description for the Sport course indicates that it has a total elevation gain of 630m, but this is definitely a gross over estimation (as is the 978m figure given for the Enduro). There are a few hills on the Sport course, but nothing with more than 50m of gain and I estimate probably no more than a two hundred meters total. Having said that, however, the 50m hill still felt tough as the legs were starting to fatigue at that point. As I passed the trail that the Enduro racers used, the number of racers on the trail increased. I was tiring as I made my way around the north end of Butzen Lake, but having already done this section before, I knew exactly what to expect and paced myself accordingly. Contrary to what I normally experience when repeating the same sections, it actually seemed to go faster than the first time around.

I had a bit a water still left in my bottle so with 1km to go I decided to go ahead and finish it up. While trying to extract every drop from the bottle, I got careless and caught my toe on something. Before I knew it I was on the ground and my bottle went flying! The damage to my body wasn't significant, but it was kind of embarrassing especially since I had navigated all the technical terrain with no issues. I pickup myself up quickly and made my way to the finish crossing the line in 2:18:01. Paul came in 2nd place over 18 minutes behind. My time was within the window I had thought reasonable, although I had hoped to be a little closer to 2:15. Overall though, I was content with the way the race went, especially considering my training has been a little inconsistent over the summer. Sonja also ran to a solid 4th place finish in woman's division. Final results are here. I would recommend the Enduro course to those who like to run single track as it really has some fun stuff. The Sport course is less interesting and is comparable to running around Thetis Lake (just longer).

Juan de Fuca Epic

2009-08-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

August 22, 2009

First of all I'd like to thank Jeff Hunt for organizing this event. While some people may have still run the trail in their own little groups, it was a lot more fun to be involved in a bigger event. A total of 21 runners (16 would do the full distance) came out to test their mettle against the 47km character building Juan de Fuca Trail.

We met at Thetis Lake parking lot at the unreasonable time of 6am. The plan was to car pool and then head to China beach where most runners would start. Adam Lawrence joined Sonja and myself and we arrived shortly after 7am. After some logistical planning, it was decided that all the runners doing the full distance wanted to go from China Beach to Botanical Beach. This meant that we needed to make sure there was at least one car on the other end so we wouldn't end up stranded. Fortunately, Shawn Nelson's parents were kind enough to offer to drive Sonja's car to Botanical Beach where we would use it as a shuttle after the run.

Once that was taken care of, I barley had time to strap my hydra pack on before the group was off. Jeff and Shawn bolted so fast, it took me a couple of km to catch up. This was the 'easy' part of the trail being predominately down hill from China Beach to Mystic Beach and was only somewhat technical. However, this was a long run and the pace did seem pretty brisk, but I didn't want to fall back so soon so I kept up.

The three of us ran together for a couple of km before Jeff fell back slightly and Sean Chester moved into 3rd place. Sean is a very strong runner, but tends to specialize in track rather than trails, I wasn't sure how he would far on such a long technical trail. He also didn't look all that prepared, as he was sporting running flats, was carrying a 1.5 liter pop bottle, and didn't seem to have any nutrition (he did in fact have some stowed in his shirt). That being said, I really didn't know how I would fare either. I was just one week back from 14 days in Norway where I didn't do any running. In an attempt to get back to my normal trailing, I had punished my legs a bit in the days before this run so they were not feeling as fresh as they could be. Also, I don't routinely do runs longer than about 2 hours, so 6 hours was going to be a interesting challenge. Last year, Garth Campbell and I had run from Sombrio Beach to China Beach (29km) in around 3.5 hours at a fairly cofortable pace. Based on this time, I thought it was quite reasonable that I could cover the entire distance in 5.5-6 hours.

For the next 10km or so while Shawn and I ran together, Sean continued to catch up and then disappear again. Eventually he decided (quite prudently I might add) to fall back a bit and run with Jeff. I commented to Shawn that we did seem to be moving quite fast and in my mind I was pretty sure it was too fast for me given the distance and difficultly of this trail. However, I ignored the that logical part of the brain and pushed on ahead swapping the lead with Shawn from time to time. When we hit the halfway point, we were just over a 5 hour pace. If we could hold onto that, it would be an amazing time. I was feeling pretty decent although the climbs set up quads burning within the first hour. And climb we did, the section between Bear Beach and Sombrio Beach is very tough consisting almost entirely of steep climbs out of creek valleys and steep (often technical) descents into the next one. While no single climb is huge, they all add up and become quite relentless. This mixed with roots, rocks, stairs, and mud are what make this trail so very difficult.

As we were descending to Sombrio, I felt my left leg cramp up slightly. It was not major, but with about 20km to go this was not a good sign. Even though I was drinking Gatorade with some extra electrolytes tabs mixed in, I needed to make sure that I got some more electrolytes into me soon or things could turn ugly. I'm not particularly prone to cramping, but am certainly not immune either and know how debilitating they can be. Fortunately, I had brought some extra electrolytes tablets with me so as soon as we hit the beach I consumed one. Shawn's parents met him on the beach and acted as his refueling station and we kind enough to give me some sports drink as well.

Much of Sombrio Beach consists of smallish to medium rocks which are not really much fun to run on especially as you begin to tire. We also found ourselves running too close to the ocean where the rocks had more slime on them. Just as I was thinking it might be better to move up to a drier area, down I went. The fall itself wasn't bad, but the rocks there were covered with barnacles which cut by left hand and right wrist up. It was nothing too serious, but did bleed nicely.

At this point I was definitely starting to feel the effects of going out so hard on tired legs, but I still thought that I should be able to hang in there at a reasonable pace. We were soon back on the trail, but after a relatively short time, I ended up with a rock in my left shoe that needed to be removed. As soon and I bent down to untie the lace, my whole left leg cramped up. It was the worst cramp I have ever had, but luckily I was able to shake it loose and continue on fairly quickly. I took another electrolyte tablet right away and hoped they would kick in soon.

While I was dealing with the cramp, Shawn had pulled out of sight. I started to try and pick up the pace in the hope of bringing him back into sight, but I soon realized that I was spent. The legs were tired and the energy was low (the cramping and fall probably hadn't helped either). With about 15km to go, I realized I was now going to be in disaster avoidance mode. I could no longer sustain a fast pace at all and was forced to hike pretty much all uphill sections. Even many technical sections that I would normally be able to run with no problems became difficult to navigate in my weakened state. The run had ceased to be fun at this point, but despite the fact that my body didn't want to run at all anymore, I forced myself to slowly run the easier sections. My km splits were down to around 10min when they should have been more like 6 or 7min.

As Botanical Beach started to get closer, there are more and more boardwalks on the trail. This would sound like it would make the running easier, but they are still tricky as they are permanently wet and slick. Running on them is hazardous and at one point I went down hard on my ass. This caused my whole body to seize up for a moment, but luckily receded quickly. Given the pitiful pace I was able to sustain, I was expecting that Sean or Jeff may well catch up. With about 4km to go, Sean did just that, blasting by me like I was barley moving (well I guess I was barely moving). He said that we navigated the last 10km in under 1 hour (it took me close to 90min). I finally managed to make it to the last 1km section up the access road to the parking area and surprised myself a bit by actually being able to run it even though it was all uphill. I finally hit the finish at just under 5:51.

While the last couple of hours were not the way I wanted it to go, I wasn't that unhappy with the time itself as it was within the window I had expected. Next time, however, I should do a better job of pacing myself. Shawn had also slowed and suffered a bit on the last section, but still managed to get an awesome time of 5:28, bettering his time from last year by about 45 min. Sean put 8 minutes into me in 4km finishing in 5:43. Next time, I'd like to finish more like that. Carolyn Goluza set a very solid woman's time of 6:50. These times my not seem too fast for a distance only 5km more than a marathon, but if you have run or hiked this trail you know why it takes so long. All times are available on the JDF Epic site .

Norway

2009-08-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

August 2-16, 2009

Since it has been nearly two weeks since my return, I decided I should get something onto my blog about this trip. Todd, Kim, Sonja and I spent the better part of the two weeks car touring around, car camping and hiking. We landed in Trondheim (where Todd and Kim are living for a year) and went west and south making it as far down as Bergen. In lieu of a full write up of our travels, here are a few of my impressions about Norway (in no particular order).

- Much of the scenery is spectacular, often rivaling what we have here in Canada

- The vertical nature of the mountain in some areas is awe inspiring. You can find places where it goes from a flat valley bottom straight up over 1km (and I do mean strait up!)

- While it is not a tourist destination for North Americans, it is very popular of Europeans and Asians

- It is very expensive. Most things are twice as much as here in Canada, some are more. How would you like to spend about $30 on 1 liter of motor oil or close to $1,000 on a winter jacket? (I'm not making it up).

- Amazing waterfalls and streams are everywhere. There were so many great ones that after a while, a waterfall that would be the destination for the day here, wouldn't even warrant a photo - Norwegians are generally polite, but somewhat reserved

- When buying food there, selection and more importantly quantity is limited. What 4 liters of milk? Forget it, 1.5 liters is the biggest they sell. How about a kg of peanut butter? Nope, better get used to 350g jars.

- There was surprisingly little wild life. The most exciting thing I saw was a fox, but it was actually in town. While hiking in the mountains, we mostly saw livestock (cows and sheep) and not anything wild

- Norwegians are avid hikers and cross country skiers and have set up an amazing network of trails and hiking/skiing hostels (where you can sleep, buy food, take showers, etc - all for a fee of course).

- Likely a result of their outdoor enthusiasm, they also seem to be fitter than the average Canadian

- The selection of interesting cars (particularly small wagons and hatchbacks) it much more extensive than it is here. There are also diesel options for many models. Diesel Toyota Yaris, check, Diesel Ford cars and vans, check.

Here are a few photos. You can find many more here.

Mount Doug 11 km Gutbuster

2009-07-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

July 26, 2009

This was my last Gutbuster of the season as I will miss the Mount Washington race because Sonja and I will be in Norway for two weeks doing some traveling with Todd and Kim. We have actually been having a summer here so I knew this race was going to be a pretty hot one. The course summits Mount Doug 2 times and Little Mount Doug once. While most of the course forested, there are significant exposed portions, many of them on the climbs where overheating is the most likely.

I had taken my normal one day off before the race and had taken it a bit easier during the week. I race way too often to do proper tapers, but I do like to go into races with relatively fresh legs (particularly one with significant climbing involved). Since I was pretty well rested I expected to have a decent race unless the heat got to me too much. I've suffered in the heat in past years, but more recently it seems I have been able to take it better.

While the field was fairly small for this race, there was still fairly deep talent pool. Jason Loutitt was in attendance again and ended up taking off even sooner than at Royal Roads. He was out of sight even before the main start of the first climb. Kelly Guest was also running, but he had just finished a hard 1.5 hour cycle to the start line so was not going as fast as he normally would. The first climb up Whittaker and Irvine Trails is challenging and was hot near the top. I felt reasonable on the climb and managed to make the summit in 3rd place just behind Kelly.

We descended from the lookout on a trail composed mainly of bedrock. It is quite technical, but I feel pretty comfortable flying down it when it is dry. A fall here could really hurt though so you have to be extra vigilant. I managed to pass Kelly and was just ahead of Shelby Drope by the bottom of the decent. The next slightly uphill segment to the base of Little Mount Doug is also technical with a lot of rocks and roots. I have run it many times before with no issues, but this time I caught my toe on something and found myself careening off the trail right into a large patch of blackberry bushes. I uttered some sort of profanity and I extracted myself and got back onto the trail just ahead of Shelby. Luckily, It was a minor incident that only cost me a couple of seconds and left me with a few minor scratches.

After a short, but intense climb to the top of Little Mount Doug we were treated to quite gnarly decent complete with a good dose of loose rock and dirt. After this, I was expecting the course to descend all the way Mercer Trail as it did last year, but the course had been changed and that section short cut. Unfortunately, with my head down and my mind expecting to follow the same route, I completely missed the turnoff. I am generally competent with navigation during trail races, but I have screwed up a few times in the past. It is never fun to work that hard and then blow it all by not paying attention, but it a reality of trail races sometimes. I knew I had made a mistake before too long as I didn't see any course flagging, but since I didn't know exactly how far back the cutoff was and I knew I would get back onto the course before too long, I continued on. Unfortunately for them, Shelby and Kelly followed me. I apologized as it sucks to be led astray even if they also missed the turnoff.

The blunder cost us six positions which was of course discouraging. I decided not to give up though and challenged myself to see how many positions I could earn back. One the first part of the final climb I reeled in Ben Kingstone and Mark Nelson and managed to get some more time on Shelby. Kelly, however, had moved ahead and gained a bit of time on me. I also caught up to Lowell Rockliffe, but he managed to hang in strong during the final climb. It hurt a lot, but we ended up pulling almost even with Nick Walker and Kelly. The final decent is yet again technical with loose dirt and I again moved well managing to get ahead of all three. The final couple of kilometers is fairly flat, however, so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to hold out against the speed of Kelly and Nick. I was feeling really good though and I cranked the strides out. Nick nearly caught me near the finish though, but I managed to stay ahead by 2 seconds.

I finished forth in 46:28. Based on the times of Shawn Nelson (who ran very well) and Michael Liedtke I would have most likely ended up in 2nd place had it not been for my navigational blunder. Kind of annoying, but at least my fitness felt strong. In the typical pattern, Jason blew the field apart, winning in under 42 minutes. My time was actually over 2 minutes faster than last year even with my mistake, but because the course was a bit shorter it was difficult to judge if I was actually moving faster or not. Final results are here. My next race will probably not be until 5 Peaks Butzen Lake on September 19, so I will actually have nearly two months break - this may well be my longest break since 2006.

Half Monty and Hurricane Ridge

2009-07-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

July 18-19, 2009

This is a quick report from last weekend. On Saturday, I took place in the 5th running of the Full/Half Monty Trail Race. This is a very low key Club Fat Ass event. The event takes place at Gowlland-Tod Provincial Park starting at the McKenzie Bight entrance and the course follows the main trail south through the park, going over Jocelyn and Homes Peaks. The course turns around at Cabeb Pike and traces the same course back to McKenzie Bight. Total distance is close to 25km round trip and includes a good amount of climbing and lots of moderate difficultly technical terrain all on single track. For those who like trail running, this is a really great place to run. The Half Monty does one out and back, the Full does it twice to make 50km.

I had run this exact course a couple of times in the past and this time I just wanted to run it as a race to see what time I could get. So far the event has not attracted any elite level runners so the course records of around 2:30 was readily attainable. The conditions were hot and I suffered a bit on the way up to Jocelyn Peak although I was still moving pretty well. I managed to recover somewhat on my day down to Cabeb Pike and I cooled my self down with water, which the race organizer, Carlos Castillo, was kind enough to leave at the turn around. I felt good on the way back, but on the final climb back up to Jocelyn, it was tough to keep the legs moving. I was able to run all of the course though which I was happy about. Despite some fatigue in the last few km, I moved well to the finish, posting a time of 1:56:57 which I quite please with as it was over 2min faster than my previous best time. It was too bad there were not a few more runners out as that would have made the event a bit more exiting, but I think everyone enjoyed the challenging terrain and great views. Carlos has a short write up here.

On Sunday, Sonja and I got up at 5am to join over 30 other Prairie Inn Harriers on a running trip over to Hurricane Ridge on the Washington Olympic Peninsula. The main run too place between Deer Park and Observation Point (about 12km) . Some people (including myself) also added another hour+ on some other trails. The vista were spectacular as is evidenced by these photos.

You can see the rest of my photos here. I spent most of my time running with Jeff Hunt who kept moving well really well for the entire day. Jeff has a great write up on his blog so please have a look there if you are interested in more details about our trip. I didn't know how the legs would hold out after the 2 hours of punishment I gave them the day before, but they felt pretty decent. Fatigue did catch up to me after about 1.5 hours though and the final climb that Jeff and I did was pretty tough. After a quick stop at Hurricane Ridge itself, we returned to Port Angeles for a late lunch/early dinner before heading back to Victoria. Thanks to Bob Reid for organizing the event - it would not have happened without him! All in all it was a great running weekend for me, with nearly 50km of challenging trail running completed.

Royal Roads 13km Gutbuster

2009-07-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2009

Royal Roads is probably the easiest of the 5 Gutbuster races as it does not have as many sustained climbs as the other courses and less technical terrain. However, this is not to say that it is easy as it still includes a ton of small climbs (some of them very steep). This year, Royal Roads Running club redesigned the course making it longer and adding even more hills. The official distance was 13.8km and although I never really trust measurements given for trail races, it was about 2km longer than last year.

My last race was the Kusam Klimb which felt like quite some time ago (although it really was only 3 weeks ago). My training has been steady, but not intense in the last few months. I didn't expect anything amazing from this race, but hoped to still put in a respectable performance. How I would place would be mostly dependent on who else showed up. The Gutbuster races usually seem to attract a good number of talented runners and I expected nothing less for this race. I spotted Jason Loutitt on the way to the start line so knew who was likely to take the race.

The legs felt pretty good during the warm up I did with Sonja so that was an encouraging sign. For the first time in quite a while, I decided to wear my heart rate strap for the race. I didn't expect to really use it to pace myself, just more for interest sake to see what kind of heart rate I can sustain for an hour.

Once the race was underway Jason stayed with the lead pack all of about 300 meters before accelerating away. I could have tried to match him, but not without killing myself after a km or two. The course included a large number of small, but steep climbs, the first being only a few hundred meters in. Shortly after the climb, Jason quickly disappeared and wasn't seen again.

I was working hard, but feeling in control. During the first couple of kilometers I took a look at my heart rate and was surprised to see it edge over 170 on one of the climbs. Since my maximum heart rate is about 175, anything over 170 is getting into a range that I can not sustain for very long. Despite the fact that I felt in control, I did need to be careful not to push too hard so soon. I took it down just a notch, hoping I could maintain that effort for the remainder of the race.

I was in second place behind Jason for the first few kilometers. However, Shelby Drope and Shawn Nelson were not far behind and slowly pulled ahead of me. Knowing there was still a lot of racing left, I choose not to pace them and instead kept myself moving at a manageable effort that I thought I could hold for the remainder of the race. They would either have enough endurance to push to the end ahead of me or I would reel them in the second half of the course. I was a bit surprised at both their speeds. Shawn is a talented runner, but I have generally been a bit faster. I've seen Shelby at a few Island Race Series races and he tended to go out pretty fast and then fade somewhat. His fitness seems to be improving fast though and he held strong in 3rd place just in front of me until the half way point (Shawn was in 2nd).

The short course veers off to the finish line at the half way point. I had assumed that Shelby was doing the long course, but when I didn't seem him after the courses diverged I realized that he was only doing the short (which he solidly won). Nick Walker was close on my tail at this point as I expected he would be. He tends to start fairly conservatively and then speed up considerably on the later parts of races. I was holding steady, but he was speeding up. We ended up running a few kilometers of single track together before hitting some wider trails where he was able to use his greater speed to pull ahead.

Unfortunately for Shawn, he was having some sort of side ache problem and Nick and I passed him a after the halfway point and it looks like he had to pull out. It was too bad for him as it looked like he was having a great race. While I couldn't match Nick's speed once the trails opened up, I was still feeling pretty decent and continued to move ahead at a good rate. Most of the additional distance in the course this year was made up in a large loop up past a gravel pit and out toward the the edge of the University grounds. While not particularly difficult, this section drug on longer than expected. Then on the return we had to climb up the side of the gravel pit. Its not a big climb by any means, but was steep and composed of loose gravel which made running up it quite a challenge.

After some more downhill we moved onto the last major climb. Nick had perhaps a 45 second lead on me at this point. I didn't expect to catch him, but still kept the pressure up to make sure that I maintained my position. Most of the final 2km were on gravel road with some little diversions onto single track. The final run to the finish is on an uphill grade just to make sure everyone had enough climbing on the day! It is a good thing that I kept my pace up as Michael Liedtke was moving fast. The final results say he was only 4 seconds back, but the timing must have been off by a bit. I estimate that he was actually 10-15 seconds back. Not that time really matters much in a trail race anyway.

I crossed the line in 1:00:38 in 3rd place, about a minute behind Nick and a full 6 minutes behind Jason who must of flown on his broom to post such a smoking fast time. Harrier, Andrew Pape-Salmon ran strongly to a well deserved 7th place. Care Wakely won the woman division in 1:10:50, just 5 sec ahead of 2nd place. Overall, I was happy with my race and felt like I held together well for the entire distance. My time was about 9 min slower than last year, but I feel this is sole result of the increased length. My average heart rate ended up being 163 (93%) and it peaked out at 173 (99%). Final results are here . for the Mount Doug I hope to see a good crowd out on July 26thGutbuster - probably my favorite race in the series.

Hornby Island #2

2009-07-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more videos (I had to split them to get them to load).

Picking up the pace on Mr. Toads Wild Ride Trail #1

#2

On "No Horses" #1

#2

Gary Behind the camera on "The Way" #1

#2

That should be enough running video to bore everyone!

Here are a few photos as well.

Helliwell Provincial Park

Sunset

Evening Light

Mt Geoffrey