ODE TO MY RUNNING FRIENDS

I thank god for my running friends;


- they push me farther, push me harder, they keep me going,, and get me out of bed in the morning.
- they wait for me when I'm weak, and encourage me when I'm strong.
-they listen to me when I have issues, and talk to me when they have theirs.
We all accept each other for who we are. There is no make-up nor 'masks' - we are who we are... people running through the trails, running through the paths of our lives . 

We just keep moving forward, leaving the past behind us, and looking forward to the future.

Heather V

WHEEE AT IRON KNEE !

IRON KNEE 2011

Last minute decision to do this 'just for fun' with friends- and boy am I glad I did !

IRON LEG
That is how my right calf felt running up the first long, slow incline.  It cramped up big time and slowed me to a walk to try and get feeling back in my foot. Seriously thought of DNFing... but it was only a mile in !
I have renamed this hill F-U Peter hill !
Don't know if it was his idea, but he announced the new changes in course, so the messenger always gets the blame.  Apparently he has big shoulders and can take it.

IRONED OUT

By the time I hit single track about 30-40 mins in, everything was feeling natural again, loostened up, and I got my legs back... and started to ENJOY the trails.  Can you say WAHOOOOO !

I've run most of this during Knee knacker, but the 25 km prior made me a bit delerious, and it wasn't nearly as fun flying down the hills with the  fresh legsI had  on this race.

IRON KNEES

They felt solid. Strongly  march up the last hill  (reading fun motivational signs en route ) and by an hour in I was in my groove! Had a blast running down to Deep Cove... roots, rocks, stairs, all on fabulous single track.  I was warmed up and ready to rock!...  I was happy with my 5th place finish  (2:24) considering my slow start. 

THE IRONY (ha ha, thats a good one. The Irony of the Iron Knee... I crack myself up)

All that 50 K/50 mile training kept me fresh till the end .  However, I  felt that if I had another 10-20 Kms I might have done better. Too funny! Maybe I should warm up for an HOUR before a 25 Km ? All that endurance training was beneficial anyways as I felt great  and enjoyed another 2 hrs of yardwork after .

The race finished in Deep Cove beach where we got to enjoy a beautiful sunny day with friends.

 

I would DEFINATELY do this race again. It was a well organized and  well marked FUN course.  I seriously plan on doing this race again !!

Heather V