Feed aggregator

The last six weeks have gone really well. Though I've wanted to blog a bunch and I have numerous postings written in my head, the untold story of being a race director (especially of multiple events now) is that you just generally spend a lot of time working on your computer. Given that I've never held a desk job or anything remotely close to a job that forced me to sit down for any extended period of time, it's been quite the adjustment. I have found that spending so many additional hours working online has effectively quelled my blogging and other 'online for pleasure' ways...ummm, that can be read many, many different ways...being online now for five, six or seven hours a day is effectively three, four, or five hours longer than I'm used to. The motivation to then sit in front of a screen afterwards is lacking to say the least.

March was a great month of training. With a late push of 123 miles in the final week I ended up with a 402 mile month.

I raced the Chuckanut 50k to a 10 minute PR in the middle of this. Though I was pretty happy with my 4h02m run time, as I was shooting for sub 4hr, I just didn't have my climbing legs with me on the day. My leg turnover held up throughout the race on the faster stuff, my descents were solid as always, but my climbing legs evaporated within the first mile of the first climb and I just had to slog it out and stick with it. I found myself with a pack of runners with about ten miles to go and in the end I finished 14-15 minutes ahead of this group, as the climbing was effectively behind us. It was rewarding to have felt terrible very early on and yet to have stuck with things and plodded through to a respectable result. A result that I can actually celebrate, especially when DNF thoughts nearly overwhelmed me from miles 7-15. I wasn't having my absolute best day but to fight it out and still be satisfied with my overall result made it very rewarding.

Last weekend, the week following my 123 mile effort, I managed to shave five full minutes off of my Diez Vista 50k course record from 2010. A race report is imminent...I hope.

From my last blog posting up to here, in pictures;

How much is that doggy in the fence?
Another day atop Dam Mountain. A favorite local route
The Green Room
A weekly endeavor, Dam Mountain ascent
Sometimes in a slightly different light,
you end up seeing things in a completely different way
A section of my new race The Cap Crusher 8k/13k
Ben Gibbard at WWU
Awaiting our annual training terrain melt out
The logo for our new race held on 03-23
Running on Chuckanut with Linda
A three bridge training run
Linda on the more technical bits of Chuckanut
BCMC a weekly route for me
As much as running in the rain can be challenging,
it also leads to some of the most beautiful runs
Colinoba birthday scavenger hunt in Seattle
Cougar Mountain outside Seattle
Logo for our next Coast Mountain Trail Series Race,
Buckin' Hell on May 18th
Happy Pi Day!
My Chuckanut PR
Happy Saint Paddy's Day from the Diez Vista trail
Another Dam ascent
Starting line of Cap Crusher
No gold
Dam Mountain
Grouse Mountain Snowshoe Grind,
ie Dam Mountain
Cleveland Dam with The Lions in the distance
A surprise gift, the new glow in the dark Canadian quarters!
Hiding on a trail in Squamish
The Dream Wizards are responsible for all that is great in
the Squamish trail networks
View from Survival Of The Fittest course in Squamish
Dam Mountain
A 50k PR on a training run
Dam Mountain with Adam Campbell
A city turned upside down in the ocean
Happy Easter!
Squamish
Roxy testing her new gear
Linda with sunshine coming out of her bum
Logo for Coast Mountain Trail Series race,
Survival Of The Fittest 13k/18k
View of Garibaldi from Stump Lake in Squamish
Congrats from Salomon West Van on DV CR
A new course record
Coming up quick!!
A trot in Stanley Park
Where the sun eventually broke through
How to get noticed at Whole Foods
A walk in the city after an all you can eat sushi
night entertaining friends from out of townWe fly out for Japan and UTMF in just four days time!!

GR

Is anyone going to New Jersey for 3 Days at the Fair? I thought we could share expenses. Sandi [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

So who won the big prize? Patrick Campbell Health, Wealth, & Happiness 519.212.8499 ... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Bill. Devious events are underway to return the HH and remote. Note to all: A North Face water belt was also left behind. It was great to see a bunch of

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

ClubFatAss posted a photo:

I got into trail running about six years ago when I completed a half marathon and was looking for a race to keep me motivated.  Based on distance, I found a trail race called the Iron Knee and said to myself “that looks pretty good.” Silly me!  My first trail run included the infamous power line trail in North Vancouver and I bonked about a kilometre from the finish.   However, I completed it and actually enjoyed it.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed running on both trails and road and last year, I completed two marathons.  Growing in confidence, and inspired by my friends’ stories about destination marathons, I completed the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge in January; a half-marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.  Running 50km seemed like a natural progression.  If I could run 39.3 miles in two days, surely I could complete 31.1 in one!  So, I signed up for the Diez Vista because I figured I had enough time to recover then ramp up my training.

Knowing I would be out on the course for a long time (somewhere around 8.5 hours?), my biggest concerns were how to:

1. Be comfortable, bearing in mind that it could be cold at the start and hot in the afternoon
2. Tough it out mentally.

To address the first concern, to be comfortable …

• I dressed in layers so I could peel them off if needed
• I packed a running cap and gloves in my drop-off bag.  However, I should have also packed socks and shoes because it rained during the first half and my wet shoes felt really compacted.

To address my second concern about mental toughness:

• I joined the Mountain Madness trail running clinics.  Three other runners  in the clinic had signed up for the same race and we ran extra mileage when needed.  I also ran back-to-back runs to build up my weekly mileage.
• I went for a long orientation run (six hours) to build confidence and give me an idea of where I was on the course; this actually backfired a little as I bonked and doubts started creeping in.  However, it was good experience because I learned that I had to force myself to eat regularly even when I didn’t feel like it.
• I kept telling myself I can complete it if I go slowly (If I feel good, I can ramp it up at the end right?)

Race day came and I felt great.  I couldn’t train anymore so my goal was to finish and enjoy the experience.  I saw lots of people I knew at the start line, which doesn’t often happen with a road race, and everyone was so relaxed and supportive of each other.  I think those new to trail running would be surprised to find that many people who seem like buddies may have just met each other only once before but shared a laugh on the trail.  The sport attracts and breeds the nicest people!

Running down the Diez Vista was slow because it was quite technical.  I took a nasty spill a few months ago and haven’t gotten back my confidence so I was a ‘Princess’ tip-toeing down.  The next aid station had a big sign that said “Suck it up Princess”, so that made me laugh and put a smile on my face.

I was worried I wouldn’t beat the cut-off time based on my long orientation run but ended up with an hour and a half to spare so I took my time at the aid station and enjoyed the hot and salty chicken broth.

For my non-running friends, I tell them that the hard part was climbing the “FU George hill” (which I describe as the first part of the Grouse Grind) after running for 6.5 hours because it’s something they can relate to.  In truth, running the out and back section along the power line to the cut-off point with its large rocks, rolling hills and exposure to the elements was the hardest to run mentally.

Did I finish?  Yup!  Did I enjoy the race?  You betcha!  Would I do another one?  Sure!

Alice L

This morning I accomplished a run I’ve wanted to do for some time, to run the spine of Lake Mountain north to south.   I started at about 3 a.m. in the Ranches in Eagle Mountain.  I parked my car in front of the house and was off, climbing up to the ridge. The first several miles are pretty easy, a nice ridge road on top, but above Reformation Canyon, the road ends and it turns into a bushwhack.  The best and fasted route is to just stick with the ridge tops, going up and down.  To the summit, the main ridge is on the Eagle mountain side.  There is a lower ridge on the Utah Lake side but well out of the way.

It was great fun going up and down the ridges.  Because of the fire, the ridge tops now are very runnable, no more thick scrub and spider webs.  You can make good time, but I took it easy, enjoying the night and doing plenty of sight-seeing.

Once I reached the true summit about about 7,750, going further, somehow I took a wrong turn.  I was puzzled that somehow I missed noticing the main road….well that is because I started running on the wrong ridge, that would have got me to the right place, but no road and much steeper down.  I figured things out, came down to the main road, ran up and found the right series of roads.  With all the towers up there it is pretty confusing which is the right road, but now I know.  I finally connected to the ridge road to take me all the way to Soldier’s pass, about 18 miles.

Dawn arrived and the light reflecting off of Utah Lake was pretty amazing.  Eventually the road descends into a short canyon on the south end.  There was a shooter there that made me nervous with his handgun, but he noticed me and I ran by.

Once I hit Redwood Road, about the 20-mile mark, I turned and started running home on the pavement.  I went about 8 more miles, and with just six more miles to go, I called home so I wouldn’t be late for the birthday activities.  It was a wonder fun.  Here is the video and photos:

 

Hey Pierre, I left behind a Nathan handheld at SW today (duhh). Unfortunately the remote for my truck is in the pocket. Hopefully I can get it back at some

Overtapering (oh-vehr-tay-pehr-ing) – A period of excessive rest, often accompanied by voluminous alcohol consumption, brought on by a planned 50% reduction of training volume. Side effects include endless fidgeting, restlessness, deep fears of loss of form, sunburns, phantom weight gain, engaging in pointless activities like jogging across parks to make Strava art, ordering drinks served in pineapples, and a complete inability to focus until race day.




See you in Boston! I am #712 if you want to follow along...

We like to keep it positive around here (sickeningly so, some might argue). But there’s a dark reality of distance running that, if it hasn’t smacked you in the face yet, might be just around the corner.

I’m talking about when you have a race so bad that in the lowest moment, you tell yourself (and completely believe) some variation of the following theme:

As soon as I get through this, I’m going to quit running. For real, this time.

I’ve personally retired from running a good three or four times in my head. And I’ve heard the same from many others, including my podcast co-host Doug, who emailed me after a 50K last month with his own version of the “I quit” story:

… I fell apart. 3 miles of some of the lowest running moments I’ve ever had. Thought very seriously about dropping, quitting the streak, and taking the rest of the year off from running.

Even when it’s only the outcome of a race that’s so disappointing (as distinct from the physical pain) the urge to hang up the racing flats shows up as a way to forget about the failure.

When I was training to qualify for Boston, my mindset with each race I entered was, “This is the one.” But five times in a row, it wasn’t — even when I ran a PR each time, it wasn’t good enough to get to Beantown. That hurt, and the pain once prompted me to take six months off from any running at all.

And yet, we always find our way back.

Doug is running a 50-miler this weekend, just three weeks after his disaster. And I qualified for Boston on attempt Number 6, after Number 5 left me injured and more disheartened than ever.

So what it is that brings us back every time we say (and mean) that we’re done? What is it about running for us, football for Brett Favre, and hip-hop for Jay-Z? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Perhaps it all makes perfect sense: Maybe, just maybe, if running weren’t sometimes so painful as to make us want to quit, we wouldn’t do it at all.

That’s our topic for this episode of NMA Radio; I hope you enjoy it.

Click the button below to listen now:

Download audio file (nmaradio10.mp3)

Or:

• Click here to download the MP3 file (you may need to right-click and “save link as”)
• Subscribe to the show on iTunes

If you like our podcast, please do us the huge favor of leaving a review on iTunes, because that’s how we’ll know to keep making more episodes!

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

• The 30-Day Juicing Challenge (2:00)
• Pros and cons of cleanses (13:00)
• When a race goes terribly wrong: Doug’s story (17:35)
• How stay motivated after a bad race: Matt’s Lessons from Boston (30:30)
• Should you take a break from training? (40:00)
• Wrap up and Announcements (49:00)

Links from the show:

• 30-Day Juice Challenge
• Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
• Running on Juice
• Jai Lifestyle (Rich Roll’s health product company)
• NMA Radio Episode 9: Ultramarathons
• Moving Forward, Broken Ego and All
• Stumbling on Happiness
• Zen Habits
• What Do You Say to Yourself When It Hurts the Most?
• Finding Ultra
• Eat and Run
• The Power of a Running Mantra

** Only 28 entries remain - 147 of 175 have been claimed - see who is registered: http://www.runrace.net/findarace.php?id=13278PA&tab=a3&whosreg=5055

*Updated as of April 8th

XC Races

• March 17th – Victoria XC – Pro City Racing
• March 24th – Hammerfest XC – Arrowsmith Club
• April 7th – Duncan XC – Cowichan Cycles Cartel
• April 14th – Cumberland XC – UROC
• April 21st – Cobble Hill XC – Cowichan Valley Cycling
• May 5th – Port Alberni XC – Alberni Valley Riders
• June 9th – Campbell River XC Finals - River City Cycle Club (new date)

Downhill Races

• April 21st – Cumberland DH – UROC
• May 19th – Duncan DH – Cowichan Cycles
• June 2nd – Port Alberni DH – Alberni Valley Riders
• June 22nd/23rd – Port Alice DH Final – Nitro (2x points)

Marathon Races

• June 15th – 12 Hrs of Cumberland – UROC
• TBD – Sproat Lake

Enduro DH Races

• May 25th – Women’s Enduro
• July 21st – Hartland – Pro City Racing
• Sept 15th – UROC
• Oct 6th – Hammerfest Enduro – Arrowsmith MTB Club
• Oct TBD – Pro City Racing

* Dates subject to change due to weather or other unforseen circumstances

Last day for online sign-up, but you can register in Dunedin before 08:45. See you soon!