Summer in a Snap!

SUMMER IN A SNAP

Summer 2011 is now over. Here is a summary in a few quick snapshots.

This summer was very slow to start- pretty crummy weather till about August, but we managed to squeeze out a few adventuresome weekends  around B.C. in spite of it all.

 I managed some great training this summer, but was disappointed as I was not able to apply it to 'my first 50 miler'.  I trained for two of them, but never ended up making it to either one !  (funerals, etc). I could imagine how disappointed someone would be who put all the training time in for say, a 100 miler, then ends up not going. Oh well.

RUNNING IN THE ROCKIES (Invermere, B.C.)

           

PLAYING IN PENTICTON

                               

                Long, flat, dry, hot Run .....

                                                      Skaha Lake. Memories of this should get me through the winter.

LOCAL HIKING AROUND BUNTZEN (Polytrichum, and Diez Vistas)

CARPENTER LAKE

(and a great 4X4 drive on FSR to get there)

Brothers...

                                      Super peaceful -no boats, few people

 

Waterfalls - love them                                                                                Picnic on a quiet FSR road

Burke Mountain Dennett Lake

I don't know any trails on Burke mtn... but my friend Marc does!

So, he leads the adventure.

UP

Up the gravel road we go... up, up , up.

Then we shoot off to check out some old Burke mtn cabins- many still inhabited. I can not believe people packed the wood and supplies this far up a mountain! years ago. Much respect!

  BEAR !

Then the BUSHWACKING began !.... we went over logs, thru brambles....questioning our location, but frequently reminded with flags and signs we were on track . Picture on the left was ALL that I could see for a good hour ! It got pretty boggy too.

 

So, this was all I could see- but my 6 ft 3' husband thankfully could see ABOVE the brambles to guide us.

I was seriously doubting my husband, and Marc, who was going on MEMORY  alone (from some odd 30 years ago! omg) but as we crested the top, and came around to beautiful Dennett lake- IT WAS ALL WORTH IT !!!!

DENNETT LAKE !

Jim even went for a swim !! It was BEAUTIFUL!.... not a picknic spot due to the black flies, but totally worth the trip.

BACK HOME:

You would think it would be SMART to take the SAME route back! but noooooo, my husband decides to try a different way... and his friend is keen to do the same. I've been outvoted. grrr...

Well, lo and behold, the trail back was much nicer, with less bushwacking. We went past some cute lakes (including twin lakes) and thru yet more mud.  Its so fun running round the mountaintop!

SKI HILL? 

Yup, apparently there used to be snow on Burke mtn, and my friend Marc, has fond memories of learning to ski at the ski- hill here. Hard to believe now. The old lodge was burnt down, and there is only a little evidence of a ski hill. As usual, there is garbage left from what I assume is 'stupid teenagers'. We popped out onto harper road and booted down the gravel road.

.

Views from the 'ski hill'  and sign  prooving it existed.

 

BACK HOME

Marc took us down the 'elevator'  even had buttons ! loved it ! Great single track home

Thanks Marc for the wonderful adventure!

... I wish I had my GPS watch with me, but I figure we did a loop harper road to the cabins, up the southwest side of the mountain, to Dennett, then back down the much better marked trails on the north side of the mountain to harper hill again. 

Heather

KNEE KNACKER 2011

LAST year I had something to PROVE- I wanted to make a 'time'. Mission accomplished !

...but in my efforts to run fast, I was frustrated with the difficult course and was angry for half of the run.

THIS year I had something to PROVE- to HAVE FUN! and actually ENJOY the course.                                               

 GPS of the course-horseshoe bay to deep cove:

KNEE KNACKER 2011 RACE REPORT

To stick to my mission,  I showed up at the start line with NO watch.

As usual, I start cramping up at the start of the run... then after encouraging words from Peter Watson, I wind down, relax, and loosten up. Thanks Peter!

The first 'hill'.

Me= fun !

Dirk= Funner

Sean dude (in yellow) = Funnest ! Great attitude!

THE FIRST HALF (0- 25 km)

Up Black Mountain:

"Yaay, the scree slope, my favorite part" I announce, and subsequently got a lot of groans from the guys behind me.  I cautiously climb the boulders as earlier I dislodged a very large rock that bounced down the switchbackes, picking up speed. People were diving into the bushes to avoid injury. Ooops,...

Hitting the top (and probably a 170 heart rate), the expansive view is magnificent on such a clear day! Got a bit of vertigo there- not good when climbing on a cliff so eyes went back to the ground.

To Cypress and Hollyburn:

SNOW !

I was so worried about the snow reports, I actually had a nightmare that I was lost running in the snow. Why did I worry- the snow offered a new level of FUN !  It took mega focus to watch my foot placement.  I saw a guy shoot one leg down a 'post hole' with the other one still on top of the snow- Ouch. Another poor soul "ran though" a puddle, only to sink in thigh- deep ! So I went around that  'puddle'.

Hats off to the trail maintenance- they really had to dig deep to get to a bridge. We even had to climb a rope to get back up on the several feet of snow. Golden shovel award.

Sipping, sliding, and skiing- omg, the 'skiing ' down the hills in trail shoes was a blast! I must admit, by the time we hit hollyburn chute, after over an hour of running in the snow, the ankles and back were getting pretty fatigued.  It was such a pleasure to finally hit dirt.

THE SECOND HALF(25-50 km)

Cleveland dam to Seymour Demonstration

Pretty much a blur to me.  I just remember going up/down , up/down. Power hiking on the hills, running wherever possible.  I did go off course a couple of times, but quickly re-routed thanks to hollers from other runners.

Amidst the blur of running off the miles, what stood out most on this section was all of the enthusiastic volunteers! Plus there were so many people I have gotten to know from the great trail running community, I felt like I was circled with friends!

Thank you JENNY for keeping me company, and pushing/pulling me (and sharing chips after ) .
Thank you dude in the Stormy shirt (waving in pic above) for the company while you catch me/lose me (and repeat)


Seymour Demonstration to Finish

5 hours in, I got my first sense of woosyness/weakness and started to question if it was ;

        a) my nutrition,

        b)a psychological barrier to cross as I haven't  trained past 5-51/2 hours (racing excluded)

To address (a), I popped a gel, and grabbed a cookie and chips from the aid station as I was craving fatty stuff at this point for some reason. To address (b), well, I just kept running to see what happens-what else can you do.

6 hours in, I got a second wind! I actually started feeling better that I did in the middle of the race .  It actually freaked me out a bit, wondering if I was  losing my mind ! The descent into Deep Cove was a blast- Waaahoooo! flying down roots, steps and rocks. Ripping across the bridges. Weaving in and out of people and dogs like its a videogame. I even ran all the last hills, which was pleasing as last year I could barely run this final section at all.  I owe it all to the great training runs with my friends.

I Cross the finish and see my time: 6:45  !

 

Only 2 mins slower than last year  AND I had FUN !

Considering the hours of snow running, and how great I felt after, it was a good  'pat on the back' for my spring training.

My Stats (for future reference, cuz I'm a freak, like many other trail runners )

Position :  Overall at 1/2 way point:  76th     position at finish  51st/205 . 12/67 women, 4/26 age. 

Pleased, as there were some amazing athletes attending.

                                                                           AAAHHH the post race soak in the OCEAN!

Water: 3.5-4 L

Coke: 3-4 cups

Food:

Carbopro- 2X200 calories=400 cal

Gels- 2                             =200 cal

Fishy crackers (for variety)= 100 cal

2 cookies                          = 100 cal

Handfuls of chipsX2          = 100 cal

Total - 900 on run + 300 breakfast bagel = 1200 Calories (about 170/hour)

Heather
Some pics from the race. $ for purchase went to North Shore Search and Rescue- great idea! Its neat to see the VARIETY  of terrain we got to run through in one day- SNOW, SINGLETRACK& GRAVEL ROAD .

Jim's Comeback Race

9 Months Post Pulmonary Embolism.... Not many people would go into a 50 Km race- But Jim did!

4 Months of Running ....Not many people would be ready for a 50 Km race- But Jim was !

He trained hard, got his nutrition downpat and was feeling confident.

Jim decides to do "SCORCHED SOLE" in Kelowna. He heard it was  "EASY"  previous years.

BUT,

The race director this year decided to make it much more difficult- giving it about  a 2850 meter elevation gain, in the Kelowna desert heat, with no cover!  Thats about 400m more gain than Knee knacker.

MY VERSION OF SCORCHED SOLE FROM HOME I Wait....

7 hours in I'm expecting a   finish line call... no calll. Hmmmm. Finally, 10 hrs  pass and I get a call from his training partner who just crossed the finish line without him. Now I'm worried. At this point I would rather be running the race than waiting!  Apparently, elites who take 5-6 hrs to finish  a race took 7-8 to finish this one.

And wait....

I get random calls from other friends they dropped down from the 50 mile to 50 km as the trail had so much bushwacking it was difficult to run in. They saw Jim at an aid station, sitting in a chair  with reports of  back spasms. They figured he planned to DNF.

"Thats what she said"- Being married to a Physio, one would think he would work on his CORE. But nooo, he did not.  Apparently he was running great till it broke down on him, then every step hurt. Chair!

Impatience is a virtue?

Jim waits in the chair for about an hour and 1/2  with a group of people also thinking of DNF'g . He was told he had to wait until takedown to get a ride back. He is not a patient man, so he got up, and  gutted it out to the finish line.  Everyone was suprised to see him cross 11 hours later!!

JIMS SCORCHED SOLE RACE REPORT:

It was HOT,

It was LONG,

It was STEEP

It was a lot of BUSHWACKING.

A lot shorter than my race reports!-. A man of few words.  He did later say how beautiful the area was, so he did manage to enjoy the journey :-)

IN THE END

Jim was proud and happy that he finished and he served as an INSPRATION to me. If he can gut out 11 hours in a 50 km with only a few months of training ... could I pull off a 50 mile ???

I ask : "So, has this turned you off from 50 Km's forever? "

His answer: "No, eventually I will forget and go in another one"
Don't we all. ....Dont' we all !


Heather

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

In Life, there are NO endings, only NEW BEGINNINGS !

Grief;
Grief is like a long, winding tunnel whose entrance is closed behind you, and the only way out is through.
But to get through, we need to find that light at the end of the tunnell. 
To me, that light was to free myself from those who have left this plane, and pay more attention to the people and life I have HERE, NOW !

so, all that deep crap aside,
I missed  my first 50 mile race I have been training for !!  Was it a waste? not really.

" WE MAY TRAIN AND PEAK FOR A RACE, BUT RUNNING IS A LIFETIME SPORT"
Alberto Salazar

Oh yeah baby!
In the meantime:
I have been enjoying 'coaching' my husband back into his 4 hour runs (now 7 months post pulmonary embolism- pretty good eh!) .  He has been Heart rate training and he enjoys finishing 'refreshed' instead of trashed.  His old  approach was 'run till ya puke'. Mr. All or nothing.

It has also been nice doing SPEEDWORK... since I am doing the Westcoast renowned Knee knacker, I better get some kick in my step!  This last weekend I did a 4 hr Sat run, then  ran a 5K  Sunday mothers day run - Lungs were great, I tried to talk to people I met encourse, but no one talked back... but the legs were slow.... really slow. Will finish this story on my next blog.

Heather