9 Months, 8 Races Later

I'm back! Now before I start making excuses for essentially abandoning this blog, I'd like to say this...I love running again! It's true. For awhile (hmm, like most of 2014-2016) I didn't, which really sucked because running has always been my thing, my go-to happy place. Except when it wasn't. Those times when my hamstring throbbed after every run and my stomach revolted during every race just left me feeling sad, frustrated and empty.

But I kept on running (and occasionally racing) partly out of habit but mostly because I thought I could force happiness. It didn't work - shocking, I know! However, things have finally turned around. My hamstring is nearly back to normal and I am getting some speed back in these old legs thanks to Coach David. (I never expected to be posting some of my fastest times at almost 40!!?)

I've done eight races since my last blog entry and as I have neither the memory nor patience to write that many recaps, I'm going to be lazy and simply add a few pics and words about some of them.

Sun Mountain 25km
I think my face says it all: I love this race! This photo was taken just past the halfway point of one of my all-time favourite trail running events. Put on by Race Director extraordinaire James Varner of Rainshadow Running, the Sun Mountain 50km was my first ever ultra (and blog post!) and will forever hold a special place in my heart. I have been to this race four times now, having also run the 50-mile and 100km distances, and always had a blast. I thrive on these trails and this course has been kind to me. This year, I was second woman and sixth overall. So much fun!

Photo credit: Glenn Tachiyama Photography

Leona Divide 50km
My first big race of 2018 and the kick-off to our California road trip. I lucked out with great weather and a beautiful course, consisting mostly of the Pacific Crest Trail. My favourite takeaway from Leona Divide is running almost 40 kilometres with this amazing gal. Not only an incredibly talented runner, but also an absolute sweetheart and it was wonderful to share the trails with her. We were both aiming for a sub-5 hour finish and decided to work together to make it happen. Even if my stomach hadn't started turning during the final 5 miles of the race forcing me to drop back, I would still have been rooting for Emma to take the win. She's just that nice. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to catch the 1st place lady but finished strong in 2nd and I was about 5 minutes behind her in 3rd. (Three ladies in the top 10 - woo hoo!!) We both easily broke 5 hours and made the list of top 10 fastest times ever.

Photo credit: Rudy (Emma's man)

Interior Running Association (IRA) Races
I'm pretty sure at some point I said (with a sneer) there's no way I'd ever go back to road racing. Well, never say never. I've done two IRA road races this year (the Oliver 10km and Blossom 10-miler) and enjoyed them way more than I was expecting. Shifting focus from 50-plus mile events to mostly 25- and 50-kilometre races means racing shorter distances more often and at a faster pace. I find both of those things kind of scary, but that's probably why it's good for me to do them. It's also nice to occasionally be social (as an introvert I struggle with this) and to support the local running community. Plus, there are good prizes like wine!

Photo credit: Vlad Zamecnik

Dirty Feet 20km Tunnel Run
This is always a fun end-of-year race to do. Phil and Grace Hiom of Dirty Feet have it dialed in terms of putting on a well organized and attended event with a fun, low-key vibe. I've done this race at least three times and what makes this one memorable is that I decided to run to and from the race, almost doubling the distance. My intent wasn't to be heroic. Quite the opposite actually. As you can see from the photo below, conditions were not ideal and since I hate winter driving, I decided it would be safer to run to the race.

Photo credit: Phil Hiom

Frosty Mountain 27km

I don't know why I didn't do a write-up for this one - it was my best race of the year! Maybe that's why. I think bad races are easier to write about because inevitably something funny and/or embarrassing happens that you're going to want to share with a bunch of random strangers on the Internet. Good races are just plain boring. On this occasion, though, I'll take boring.

A former coach used to encourage me to "go Kamikaze" in races, but it's just not in my DNA to go all out. My self-preservation instincts are too strong. I've probably done more than 100 races over the past two decades and can recall exactly three times when this crazy competitive drive kicked in and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. Anyway, Frosty was one of those times when I decided to go for it. I had a perfect race, winning outright and setting a new women's course record. (My father-in-law is still in disbelief that I, a girl, could beat ALL the boys. Every time he brings it up, it makes me smile.)

Photo credit: Daryl Spencer

Mighty Quail 100km

Frosty might have been my best race of 2017, but the Mighty Quail 100km was by far my favourite. I didn't run it, but instead helped organize it, along with Dave and our friends Andrew and Magda. It was probably one of the most stressful and satisfying things I've ever been involved with and I am so proud of what we created. Find out more at: www.mightyquail.com.

Photo credit: Aaron Barry Photography

Since the theme of this post seems to be love, friendship and gratitude, I'm going to wrap things up by thanking my husband Dave for his support through all my racing highs and lows. I think my struggles with running and injuries have often been harder on him as I have a selective memory and forget the really bad times. I'm pretty sure all he wants is for me to retire from racing and yet he knows how happy it makes me when things are going well so he's willing to stay up late scrolling through event calendars with me and planning all our holidays around my race schedule. What a guy!

I'm also grateful for my wonderful friends who put up with me even though I often can't do anything with them because I'm going for a run, recovering from a run or going to bed early because I have to run in the morning. And they refrain from making piggy noises when I eat twice as much as everyone else at the table!

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!

New 10k PR!

I've run a lot of 10k races over the years and usually finished in the 40-42 minute range. My prior PB was 40:29 at the 2005 Vancouver Sun Run and I'd always wanted to break 40 minutes. Well, I finally did on Sunday at the Interior Running Association's Oliver 10k with a time of 38:36 and I'm absolutely thrilled (which may be hard to tell because I'm pretty reserved, but trust me, I'm a happy girl).
Now I realize that my time isn't that impressive compared to many, but the fact that I hadn't been training for this race and had run 2 hours the day before and was still able to take nearly 2 minutes off my PB gives me hope that the hard work I've been doing is paying off.
The Oliver 10k is a flat, out-and-back course on an asphalt and gravel path alongside the scenic Okanagan River Channel. It lends itself to fast times and conditions on Sunday were nearly perfect with some sun and a nice gentle breeze. (I say that now - at the time I may have referred to it as "a wicked headwind" as we rounded the turnaround point.)
It was a fast start - ridiculously so on my part - as I had foolishly lined up at the very front of the pack and felt some pressure to go hard so as to not piss off faster runners who were behind me. The path is narrow with room for only 4-5 people abreast and there were about 160 participants so when I looked back, I saw a brightly coloured mob that would steamroll me if I didn't go hard or dive out of the way. I chose to go hard and when I saw my splits for the first couple of kms, I was fairly confident I was going to die. I thought there was no way I could maintain this pace and live. But somehow I did. I definitely slowed down a bit, but I managed to settle into a pace that was only mildly uncomfortable and stuck with it.

Somewhere in Egypt, there's a camel missing its toe!

I ran alone the entire race, which is probably for the best because I can't seem to have oxygen going to my legs and my brain at the same time so I'm not much of a conversationalist. I finished 9th overall and was the top woman so I received a lovely gift basket with Hester Creek wine, crackers, cheese, etc. Mmm...such a treat!
My next race is a 50-miler in May, which I am very excited about because it's in my old hometown of Victoria so I get to visit some dear friends that I haven't seen in awhile and also because if I post a good enough time there, I'll qualify for the national trail running team and that is one of my main goals this year.

2010 Willis Greenaway Half Marathon (Summerland, BC)

I know, it's been awhile since my last post, but it's summer in the beautiful Okanagan Valley so I've been spending a lot more time out playing in the sunshine than I have sitting in front of a computer. Rest assured, though, I have kept up my run training and I'm still on track for the Winthrop Marathon in September. In fact, after this weekend's Willis Greenaway Half Marathon, I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at with my running.

Here's a re-cap of the race:
For once, I did a proper 15 minute warm-up and I definitely think it helped get my legs going. (I tend to be a bit sluggish at the beginning of a run.) I went out harder than I usually do but still within my HR zone (170-175). There was one girl ahead of me right from the start and she created a big enough gap that I never did see her again. I was comfortable as the second woman and settled in with a group of runners that kept a similar pace to mine. Around the 5k mark, I was passed by two women, one of whom I recognized from other races and know to be an amazing runner with lots of Canadian age-group records, which made me think: “shit, I went out too fast!” We chatted for a bit and then she and the other girl sped up. I held my pace with a 175-180 HR, but kept them in sight. Around the 10k mark, two men flew by me on a long downhill. (Note to self: Must practice practice downhill running because that’s often where I get passed.) This would be our order for the next 8k: 2nd place girl, boy, 3rd place girl, boy and then me and there was no one behind me as far as I could see.

I was still feeling pretty good at 18k, but wasn’t really motivated to kick it…until I simultaneously caught third place girl and she told me to “go for it” and then saw the 2nd place girl walk through an aid station. So, I decided to see what my legs had left in them and picked up the pace to close the gap with 2nd place girl. The final 2k of the course are flat or downhill and shaded, which gave me a mental boost and I passed the other guy with about 1k to go and didn’t let up until I crossed the line.

Overall, I'm very happy with how the race went. I finished in 1:35:14 — over two minutes faster than last year — and placed second amongst the women and tenth overall. I’m still a ways off of my half marathon PB (1:30:02), but this is a tough course so I think it’s a satisfactory result.