World Mountain Running Championshps

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

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

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, sandwiches, 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 during 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)

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

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

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

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.