A Return to Sun Mountain

What a weekend! Dave and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on Saturday, which is pretty amazing especially considering that we were "living in sin" (as my dear Grannie B would say) for over four years before getting married and because my previous relationships were more likely to be counted in weeks rather than months or years so hooray for us and hooray for love. Marriage is the best endurance event ever! Okay, enough of the mushy, gag-inducing stuff...


Gettin' hitched at the finish line of the Peach City Half Marathon.

Dave and I also had the opportunity to run Rainshadow Running's Sun Mountain trail races in Winthrop, WA this weekend. Sun Mountain was my first ultra way back in 2010 so it holds a special place in my heart. (It also prompted my first ever blog entry.) That year, Dave and I both ran the 50k race and had planned to again. However, after a quick recovery from the Vernon Dirty Feet 50k two weeks ago, I made the last minute decision to run the 50mi this year. (Dave ran the 50k again and not only shaved over 17 minutes off his previous time but also took first place!)

Having just re-read my 2010 race report, the most striking differences between the races would have to be the weather (cold and wet in 2010 and hot and sunny in 2013) and my attitude towards walking hills. I seemed really bummed out about it three years ago coming from a road running background when you just don't walk...ever. Now that I'm a trail running veteran (ha ha), I actually look forward to some power hiking breaks as it's a good time to get in nutrition and stretch out the hamstrings.

It's also interesting to note that I'm still using the same Nathan hydration pack which now is stained and has holes in the mesh pockets where hungry mice have nibbled through to get at my gels, but is still totally functional.

Tiptoe through the tulips...or lupins!
Photo credit: Glenn Tachiyama

I've done five 50 milers now and Sun Mountain has been the best one for me by far. I felt calm, relaxed, strong, in control and happy the entire race. I'm kinda a spazz so for me to achieve any one of those emotions for more than five minutes at a time is remarkable but to experience them simultaneously for seven hours and 19 minutes is virtually unheard of.

My stomach didn't act up. Heck, I didn't even make a single pit stop in the bushes. Everything just went really smoothly. Within 15 minutes of crossing the finish line, I was downing pizza and beer - a pleasant and welcome change from my usual post-race nausea and vomiting. 

The only negative thing I can come up with (and it wasn't easy to do) is that I felt a bit lonely out there. I didn't see another runner from the 50mi race after about 35k in and, other than a handful of 50k runners who passed me late in the race, I was alone out there. Fortunately, the course and views were exceptionally beautiful and there were plenty of bright and cheery volunteers and wildflowers along the way to distract me.
 

She'll be coming 'round the mountain (Patterson) when she comes...
Photo credit: Glenn Tachiyama

Huge thanks to James Varner and Candice Burt of Rainshadow Running for another memorable day on the trails! Full results for the Sun Mountain races can be found at Ultra Signup.

I'm taking a bit of a break from running now before I begin my preparations for the IAU World Trail Championships in Wales. Bring on the bon bons and soap operas! :)

Going, going, gone!
Photo credit: Glenn Tachiyama

The North Face Dirty Feet 50k Race Report

If someone asked me to design a race course that not only played to my strengths but was also stunningly beautiful, I don't think I could do much better than The North Face Dirty Feet 50k course in Kalamalka Park near Vernon. With long, runnable climbs and fun, flowy descents that were more interesting than technical, this race was perfect for me. I even encountered a big brown bear along the way - how cool is that?!

With the 50k race starting at 7am, Dave and I decided to drive our new VW van Betty White up to Vernon on Saturday to camp out. This was partially for practical reasons and partially because we wanted an excuse to take BW on her first road trip.

Our drive up valley went smoothly and we tootled around a bit once we got to Vernon trying to decided where to camp for the night. After checking out a few forest rec sites and one rather unappealing private campground, we ended up at the lovely Kekuli Bay Provincial Park located on Kalamalka Lake.


Here we are...Dora, Dave, me and Betty White

We relaxed for a bit, had an early dinner and caught up with our friend Neil who was doing the Dirty Feet 25k race (along with Dave) and was camping nearby. Then we set multiple alarms for 5am and went to bed. I had an okay but not great night of sleep, which isn't uncommon for me before a race, and awoke before any of the alarms went off. Getting up at the crack of dawn isn't so bad when the day breaks as beautifully as it did on Sunday.

As I dug into a steaming bowl of oatmeal, I admired the clear blue skies and listened to the cheerful chirping of some little birdies. It was very peaceful and I had a good feeling about the day. Having recently had a couple of blah weeks of running when I struggled to mentally and physically commit to my training, I wasn't sure how I'd make out in the race, but in this one happy moment, I knew that it would be okay. Whatever happened.

Once BW the VW was all packed up, we headed to the race site. We were running a bit late so I had to forgo my warm up. Oh well. The race started with nearly 4k of gentle climbing so I bypassed warm altogether and went right to hot and sweaty. I went out with the lead men at what I felt was quite a conservative and comfortable pace. By the time we started descending, I was in third place and held that position for the duration of the race. (I finished the race in second overall so either I got by one of the lead men without noticing it or someone dropped out. I'm still not entirely sure what happened.)

The 50k course was two laps of the 25k course and there were two substantial climbs per loop followed by sweet, single-track descents. There were few flat sections of the course - it was very rolly polly, swirly twirly and tons of fun! And the views - wow - just amazing! Every direction you looked, it was picture worthy. (See for yourself on the BC Race Review website.)
 

Photo credit: BC Race Review

Photo credit: Furlan Fotography

Fortunately, much of the course offered some shade because it was hot..really hot. I'm guessing high 20s and maybe even in the low 30s. I had packed along some salt pills and thank goodness I did. I think I would have been in serious trouble otherwise. Even after taking all my salt tabs and as much eLoad as I could get my hands on at the aid stations, I still felt pretty dehydrated.
I wasn't even close to a negative split for my two laps, but I felt like time flew by on the second loop and before I knew it, I was cruising down the finishing chute and then, after a brief stop to grab some food, I continued down to the lake for my first - brief - dip of the year. Ahhhh...so refreshing!

Now I don't want to cherry pick my races and I don't expect to love every trail I run, but it feels really good to find a course that you're excited about on a day when you're feeling good and conditions are favourable. That doesn't happen every race so I really value the times when everything falls so perfectly into place.

For more info on the Dirty Feet trail series (plus all that good stuff like results and upcoming events), go to their website: www.dirtyfeet.ca.

Off to the Races

I hadn't intended to do the Oliver 10k this year, but when our plans to go away for the weekend fell through, I decided that it was a good opportunity to support a local race and catch up with friends involved with the Interior Race Series. Knowing that the top three runners in each age group received a bottle of local wine had nothing to do with my decision to race...really...

Since the course included pavement, gravel and grass sections, I decided my new Hyper-Track Guides from The North Face would be a good choice, and they were. (My shoe review can be found here.) I was disappointed with my time as it was a lot slower than last year, but I still managed to finish as the top woman and took home a nice wine and cheese basket so I can't really complain. Results here.

I was also planning to run the Ratter trail half marathon down in WA, but I've been having some left hip/glute/hamstring issues so I decided to take the weekend off from racing and volunteered to sweep the course instead. (Dave ran the Rattler 9mi and finished first! Results here.) This is a fantastic, low-key event put on by my friends Alison and Sam Naney from Methow Endurance and I'd highly recommend checking it out.

I have a couple of races planned in the coming weeks: The North Face Dirty Feet 50k and Rainshadow Running's Sun Mountain 50k so May is going to be a fun - and busy - month with lots of time spent on the trails. (And the highway as we head out on our first road trip in our new VW van "Betty White".)

Happy spring running!

Diez Vista 50km Race Report

To run or to race; that's the question I've been asking myself since reading Ellie Greenwood's recent blog post about her experience at the Two Oceans marathon in South Africa. In it she says, "...I needed someone to help me 'race' rather than accidentally lull into just 'running'."

Her statement has made me consider my approach to racing (or is it running?) and it was on my mind at the Diez Vista 50km this past weekend in Port Moody. Leading up to this race, I wasn't very excited about it and I think it was mainly due to my uncertainty of the unknown, namely the technical sections of the course, which a number of people had warned me about.

I know I'm not a strong technical runner. It's something that I've been meaning to work on, but as often happens with things we don't like, it's just easier to avoid doing it, so I generally choose less technically challenging trails for training and racing because that's what I'm comfortable with and do better on.

Fortunately, the worst of the technical running made up less than 10% of the total course and there were plenty of long climbs, which I love. In fact, after the first ascent, I had a slight lead on the other top ladies but any time gained going up was quickly lost on the downhill that followed as they blew by me like I was deadfall.

As uncomfortable as I was through this rocky, rooty, slippery section, it was impressive to see how quickly - and agilely - other runners were tackling this treacherous terrain that was so much harder than anything I've ever run before. It was inspiring!

Once that bit was done, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and focus on making up some ground on the gently rolling, runnable terrain. The next 25k or so was quite enjoyable and I was able to cruise along comfortably and enjoy the scenery.

There is one substantial out-and-back section of the course that allows you to see where you are in relation to other runners. Dave (who was having a fantastic run and finished the day in third) passed me along here and told me the other women weren't that far ahead. Sure enough, I saw the top two women a few minutes later and then arrived at the turn-around point myself.

It was at this moment, I determined that I'm a runner, not a racer. Google's definition of "race" is: "to compete with another or others to see who is fastest at covering a set course or achieving an objective." I have no desire to compete with anyone but myself. I was happily running my own race and wasn't interested in chasing anyone down.

I race because racing allows me to push myself harder than I can or will in training. And I like the people I meet. And the new places I discover. And the post-race snacks (and beer!). Those are the best parts of racing for me.

Before the race, I told Dave that my objective was to finish without spraining my ankle (again) and, miraculously, I didn't. To place third and crack the top ten overall was a nice surprise. Full results can be found at ultrasignup.com.

Kamloops Dirty Feet Race Report

My race report from the Kamloops Dirty Feet trail half marathon has been posted on the TrailRunner.ca website. Click here to read it.

And they're off! Photo credit: Phil Hiom (Dirty Feet)

New Shoe Reviews

I've just posted reviews of two new shoes: The North Face Single-Track Hayasa and The North Face Hyper-Track Guide. Go to the Reviews page or click here to read them. Happy Spring running!

Where's Waldo...I mean Stacey?

The Phoenix Marathon

Phoenix marks my tenth - and fastest! - marathon. I've come a long way since my first one way back in 1998 when I struggled along the Vancouver course for 42.2 very painful kilometers. At the time, I was out-of-shape, under-trained and overwhelmed. I was miserable for most of the nearly five hours that I was out there, but once I crossed that finish line I felt like a rock star - a tired, aging rock star, but still a rock star. A lot has changed since then, but my love/hate relationship with the marathon remains.

The Phoenix Marathon was my first road marathon in awhile. Having convinced myself that road running leads to injury, I've avoided it like the plague and embraced the trails, which seem to agree with my lopsided body much better. But always in the back of my mind I knew that I would end up at the starting line of another marathon hoping to have that perfect race when everything just falls into place and running feels effortless.

I came close to achieving that this weekend. There was a brief stretch mid-race when I felt pretty crappy and had to slow my pace a bit but I quickly recovered by taking some salt and fluids and then was able to push hard to the finish. Other than that little blip, everything went smoothly. (Instead of a detailed race report, I've decided just to throw together a few thoughts that came to me while running the Phoenix Marathon.)

In the past, I have had both public and private race goals - the former more modest than the latter. Now, I am more honest with my goals and don't mind sharing them. My goal for this race was a sub-3 hour marathon. And while I missed it by 6 minutes and some odd seconds, it was still a successful race. I was 13 minutes faster than my previous best marathon time (which shouldn't even count because it was run way back in 2005 when I was just a kid!).

I know some people think I'm disappointed at having "failed", but I'm not. I've decided that if you meet every goal you set, then you're probably not aiming high enough. To be achievable, goals should probably fall somewhere between realistic expectations and dreams.
 

That's me on the right, beside the BMO bear.

I do believe that I'll run a sub-3 marathon one day, but I'm in no hurry to sign up for another road race. As far as marathons go, this one was fast, well organized and relatively scenic, and I may do it again next year. (Boston 2014 is another one I'm considering.) But even with all it had going for it, it didn't inspire and excite me the way so many of my trail runs do.

It's almost with a sense of relief that I'm exchanging my pretty, white road shoes for their rugged, mud-covered trail equivalent and going to find some dirt to play on...