ULTRARUNNER CARTOON VIDEOs- Too funny

These videos  crossed my desktop and I thought I would share.  Too funny. Gotta watch.
 "I AM AN ULTRARUNNER":

THE WINTER WARRIOR :

Heather

Love finding new trails.

BEAUTIFUL, Sunshiney day !
Long run, where to go....
Well, I found some trails on an adventure run with Jim this summer. I was excited to show them to my running friends today.  I love showing, and being shown new trails.

THE ROUTE

Depart from Anmore, some road, up past Aspenwood school, to powerline road (turnaround of DV 50 km) .We head up a trail and cross a river. Thank goodness for the ropes cuz the rocks were icy and super slippery! Hands were pulling me across, feet were doing very little.  I apologized for the ice and water, but thankfully my friends are tough and looked at it as an adventure. Off to some cool mountain bike trails, singing "deck the halls" , shot out into a pretty open trail.  We hit a road they recognized and up they went... behind the mountain, and up towards Cypress lake, up thru the snowline.  Part way up we took a single track trail down- back toward Buntzen , academy trail, and back home. A beautiful  3 hr circuit I must do again!  

MORE  PICTURES BELOW:

And all this before noon !!

And all this in my 'back yard'

Life is good !

Palm Springs Cold Adventures

After Jims  stay at the hospital (hey, it was all inclusive), I thought I would take him down to Palm springs for a REAL holiday.  It was Short and Sweet, but  little did we know, we would hit their 'winter condition warning"

Oooh,  high of 17-18 degrees  Celcius  (low 7-9) , 30 mph winds.  They knew we were Canadian cuz we were the only ones in shorts!

So instead of whining about the cold weather, we took advantage of cool things to do in the cool desert.

Cold Weather in Palm Springs Positives:

Beautiful sunrise's

Great weather for running, hiking, and SHOPPING!

Cheap hotel that includes breakfast (that carried me till dinner). Cheap food, big portions.

Cold weather forces us to ' Howard Hughes' hole up in the hotel... and hang out in the hot tub!

Adventures and Highlights

Visit to dessert interpretation center... as dark looming clouds crept in. Cool Ironic views.

Hike up to canyon.

Palm to pines highway drive. Windyfun

Shopping at Palm Desert- too lavish for my budget!!! but really nice art shops. Saw some scary looking plastic surgery/ botox mishaps.  

GREAT  10 mile run along ARTSMITH trail;

- Desert trails,

-Oasis

-Beautiful views of Palm Desert below

AND BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS IN THE DESERT !!

Now thats special. I don't know when I will ever see that again!

But to get that rainbow, we had to go thru some  wicked rain and wind- can't even hear what I have to say below;

And, isn't that just life.... you  can't have rainbows without a little rain.

Heather

Phantom Phun

Phantom 24 Km Run : North Vancouver

After volunteering at Fat Dog 100, I was given the added bonus of a free entrance to this run.  Both events are put on by Mountain Madness  http://www.mountainmadness.ca/races.php.   Volunteering rocks!

I showed up just for fun,

And as you can see from the pic below- I definately had Fun ! ``runners high`` or what!

Fun HILLS , beautiful run along the RIVER , MUDDY technical return, and a sprint to the finish!

I enjoyed the MUD so much, I took a dive to really get into it (involuntary)

 I practiced 50km pace, taking the hills slow at the start to keep my HR down and prevent calf cramping.

As this is a 24 km, I was passed a LOT...so I picked it up the second half.

I could not believe how much gas I had in the tank the last 4 miles.

2 hours in I was ready to race!... but it was over by then- too funny! Finished in 2:28

I will definately take this approach for my next 50 km though.

The race is reccommended;

It is well marked.

Great volunteers.

Diversity of terrain

Enough aid stations

Upbeat atmosphere
At about 1.5 hrs in I had a lovely visit with girl representing ``save our skin`` . She was so nice, but I never got her name. She beat me in the end- thanks for that final push !

I liked that (other than top 3) results were not posted at the race...so could feel like I had a good run, based on how I felt, and not how I placed.

YUMMY post race food! Potluck. -wish I had some of their recipes.

The soup was sooo good! Best I`ve had in a long time.

  - Thank you Don Scott for not posting the horrible pic you took of me literally inhaling the soup- this one much better.  

It was a great fall  reunion with many runners I met over the summer.

I look forward to doing it again next year.

WHAT ABOUT JIM ...

He sends me off to the race, telling me `they are calling for freezing rain and hurricane force winds!`Funny. 

The next day  : JIM  takes me on an 8 mile `recovery run` to  scope out some cool new trails in the heart of Belcarra forests, ending with a beautiful oceanside run.  Its so nice to run with my husband again! I love his sense of adventure.  Half way thru the run, I`m hurting, but I had to tell him `` you`re fun !`` .  Its amazing how quickly he is getting back into running. I had a hard time keeping up with him.

Heather

Morning Running poem- The world flows by

This morning I opted out of a great hard training session with my usual group for an easy adventuresome run with my husband Jim as he recovers from illness.   His first long run on the trails : -10 miles! 2 hrs+ . Yeah baby!! and all because it became an adventure finding new trails!  Thank goodness I had my watch telling me we when to turn around cuz we could have gone forever!

I dropped him off, refueled at home ( best aid station ever! -running toilets and everything!) then kicked in a faster 7-10 miles. As the sun shone  thru the trees, I was so enthralled with the beauty of it all that I thought up this poem :

Morning Run


Air is crisp and clear,
Like no one is here
- Till I run by


Dew on leaves twinkling,
As if its winking
- As I run by


Sun filters through trees
As if to guide me
-So I run by


‘In the now’ is a thrill
Like I’m standing still
-And the world runs by


Heather V

I missed out on a good hard training run, but appreciated an adventure run.  It really did feel like I stopped running, and the world flowed by me.  It was beautiful today.

Heather

Getting Excited for Next Year!

Three sucessful 50 km 's this year.  Husband almost dies (but lived). Oldest daughter in university, youngest in middle school and competing in figure skating. Its been a busy year.

I took 3 easy weeks hiking/easy runs with my husband.  I enjoyed eating and drinking whatever I want and 'relaxing'.  Not suprisingly so, this has gotten boring quite quickly.

So now what?
Thankfully, I have a great running group. As my husband is out of the loop (for now), I thought I would just do the same old local races . But my friends have better plans! yaay! I am so there!
1. I LOVE the team/ friend/social aspect of runs- so much more fun than running a race alone.
2. I need a new challenge to keep me 'honest' with myself. 

"My Best friend is the one who brings out the best in me" - Henry Ford

So my plans for next year are :  tentatively....

March 19- Chuckanut  50 K
Apr 30- Capitopl peaks 50 mile - my first run exceeding 50Km and a gague for the death race.
May 15 - Tenderfoot Boogie possibly.. 50 mile or 50  km . May be too close to 50 mile above though.
July 31 ish - Canadian Death race- 125 km, ...17000 ft elevation gain . I'm so scaaaared!!!/Excited!!
Sept- Frosty mountain 50 Km. I have a bone to pick with this race. Haven't  ran the whole thing.

Its starting to look like an addiction.  Like, 50 km isn't enough? I'm looking for more to satisfy my running 'fix' !
Heather

First time the Wheels Fell Off

THAT WAS A FIRST
It wasn't even a race... just a nice long Sunday run with the gang.

45 minutes into a 3 hr run, hitting the second hill of ... Calf cramps! quad cramps! out of breath! WTF??

I felt fabulous otherwise (energy level etc), except that when I asked my legs to push me uphill... there was NOTHING there, like no blood was getting to my muscles.

LOSER!

I bowed out, told the gang they would probably spend the rest of the run waiting for me. I went back downhill and ran relatively flat to finish out a 2 hr run.  Hard to believe someone can feel like a loser only running 2 hours- but I did.

WHY??

Literally depressed at my performance, I spent 1/2 the day trying to find an explanation.  The flu a week earlier ? Recent speedwork? Spending hours on a ladder?.

... Probably all of the above

TAKE HOME LESSON:

So I ask myself :

"Why am I running if I end up mad at myself cuz I wasn't up to par one day?" 

After much introspection I remind myself: 

 " I run for fun, for health,  for adventure, personal accomplishment and socialization."  

Sometimes the fun gets lost in the seriousness of training.

Race season is essentially over, so why not cross-train,  take the pressure off and go have fun!!!

I think I'll go buy some snowshoes... Look up a cool hike , ride my bike,  and maybe even take a dip in the pool.
...And eat cookies : )


Heather

RETURNING to this post I reealize how I need to chllax. I am back at it with the gang and am catching up.   Why?
STRETCHING!!!
MASSAGE !!!
ROLLING !!!! ON the roller
AND I'm back doing  core exercises.
I am BACK on the WAGON!!!! the running wagon that is.  Yeah baby !!