A Day of Snow - Alger Alp 50k

The alarm went off promptly at 8:30 which meant time to get up and get ready for Alger Alp 50k. Already knowing what the forecast was for the day, I decided to look out the window to verify my suspicion, yes it was raining. What a great morning for running. 

Soon the weather was about to change. Within the hour of me waking up and walking out the door, I watched it go from rain to snow. I was a little surprised as there was no snow in the forecast but was delighted to see it snowing as running in the snow is more fun then running in the cold rain. Upon arriving at the start the roads were lightly covered in snow and the weather was showing no signs of slowing up. I got my bib, chatted with some friends and attempted to stay warm and dry before the start of the race.

We were off into the white wilderness not knowing exactly how the day would turn out. Knowing the course really helped as I settled into a pace to sustain me for another 5 laps. The snow on the first lap did not slow me down much but I was anticipating the later laps to be more hazardous after all the foot traffic. The fresh powder on the first two laps were comforting to run on. As the laps went on, trails through the snow formed on the logging road section. They were nice to run on.

At the end of the first lap, coming around the backside of the lake, I suddenly heard a crack and felt all this snow fall on me. The runner I was running with at the time, froze as did I.  We had no idea what to do. The thoughts racing through my head when it happened were; run, stop, fetal position. You have absolutely no time to react. A tree branch had broken loose and fell right at the edge of the lake. We were very lucky that it was a small branch and that it had missed both of us.  This was the first time that a branch had broken off from a tree over my head. All of this snow was burdening the trees and shrubs along the trails which caused them to lean over the trail and many to crack. 

By the time the third lap rolled around the snow was beginning to slow up and turn to some light rain/mist. The sky too was beginning to get brighter! At this point of the race, my gloves were soaking wet causing my hands to go numb. At the beginning of the third lap I struggling to decide if i should take off my sopping wet gloves that were not keeping my hands warm any more and bear the cold or to leave them on in hopes that they may help a little. Just as you turn off the trail leaving the park, I decided to take the gloves off and leave them there at the intersection since you return there to finish the loop back to the start. This was probably one of the smartest ideas I made all race. As my hands were so cold, I pulled out an old trick. I slowed to a walk and slid my hands down along my hips to warm them up. I have done this many times in the past and it has worked beautifully to warm up my hands. This is something to keep in mind if your hands ever get cold.

My hands were so numb at the end of the third and fourth lap, I made it my mission to find a way to warm my hands up. I noticed the grill was going and quickly ran over to it and asked politely if i could place my hands over the grill. The answer was yes and so I did. My hands were less than a inch from the grill and it felt like it was off; that is how numb my hands were. Not good at all when running as you need them to carry your water and eat food. After several minutes I acquired feeling in my hands again. While getting my hands warm, I changed my shirt and jacket as it had stopped raining and was drying out. As I was leaving the aid station on my fifth lap, Candice offered me a pair of her gloves and some hand warmers for the next lap. I could not turn down the generosity of the race director and a really close friend. Thanks Candice.

On my fifth loop things were getting sloppy and icy as snow was packed down from all the foot traffic and muddy as all the snow was melting. The melting of 3-4 inches of snow can do havoc with a trail, especially with 50+ people running on them. I slowed down on this lap as I helped a fellow 50k runner, a newcomer to the sport, through his fourth lap. It was fun to help him out. It was also nice that the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. After getting him back to the aid station, I set off for my final lap. This lap was uneventful except for the fact that there was finally a view from the top. Yippee!

Finishing the race was a great accomplishment for me. This was my longest run since running H.U.R.T. 100. I had been suffering through one injury after another and it felt good to be back out there running again. My body (IT Band) was telling me it was not necessarily ready, but mentally I was ready for a new chapter!

Thank you Candice and all the volunteers who helped put on this race, I had a blast!

Ow Canada! - Cap Crusher

The weekend of the 23rd started off as a early one. We were up before the sunrise only to hop in a car and drive north, to Canada. We were on our way to run the Cap Crusher, the first of four races in the new Coast Mountain Trail Series that Gary Robbins and Geoff Langford have started.

The Cap Crusher has both 8k and 13k races with 3300 to 4200 feet of elevation change.  Heather's and my choice of torture for the day was the 13k.  The course was filled with a lot of technical trails, elevation change and scenic views. You could not ask for more from a race course.

Race morning was a cold one as we all stood around trying to stay warm before the start. We all knew we would be fine once the race started, but that didn't stop the shivering beforehand. The view from the starting line was breath taking as we stood by the Cleveland Dam and looked up at the surrounding mountains. What a great location for the start of a race!

We were off at 9 am sharp into the unknown as neither Heather or I had run in the Capilano Canyon before. We crossed the dam and entered the trails. It was time to have fun and enjoy the trails. Right off the bat we were heading up hill on some steep technical narrow trails. I knew I was in for a tough race, as I should have already known that as it is Gary Robbins race.

With in the first couple of little climbs I realized two things. First, I was going way too fast for my level of conditioning and second, I was already mentally lost in the maze of trails. I adjusted my pace and was able to settle into a groove and take in the new scenery around me. The trails reminded me a lot of the stuff I train back home in Western Washington.

Somewhere about half way through the first loop we popped out on to a wide gravel bike path. I had remembered that Gary said you would pop out onto this path and be on it till you hit a aid station and turn around. This was a nice change of pace, as I needed a little time for the legs to recover. You were not on the gravel for long as you were pointed back into the woods after the aid station and heading back towards the start.

Toward the end of the first loop, we were sent to this little view point to look up at the dam. As I made the turn to the view point, the  course marshall warned me that the it was wet and slippery. I acknowledged him and thought to myself, I will be fine. Lo and behold, I slipped coming back off the lookout. Oops, I should have slowed down.

There was a nice big stair climb right before the start and finish line, which you ran through and headed out for a second loop that was shorter and different then the first. 

As I continued on the second lap I was slowly catching this guy in front of me. I had let him go early in the race and found myself slowly catching him. Right around the time I caught up to him I started to recognize some of the trails and realized we were almost back to the dam. I got in front of him right before the last climb as we both settled into a hike up the hill. On the other side I made a few risky leaps and jumps to open up a little lead and was able to hold him off to the finish. I was happy with the outcome of the race, however I could not believe that there were so many stairs. I had never witnessed so many stairs located in one location.

After the race, Linda Barton took Heather and I up Grouse Mountain (BCMC trail). We had a blast hiking up, seeing new terrain and hitting the snow line. where spikes were needed. The views from the lodge were spectacular as we looked down at where we had just run the race. Thanks Linda for the hike.

The next day Heather and I went up to Squamish and ran the first preview run of the Squamish 50 mile course. It was the last 23k of the course. The weather was great, our packs were full and we had directions; it was destined to be a great day. We took off with the rest of the group and settled into our own pace, which was slow and steady. This would be the only time to enjoy the scenery as come race day it would all be a blur. We both agreed that the trails and views were fantastic. The Squamish course is beautiful and I can not wait to see the rest.

Thank you Gary and Linda for being such great hosts and thank you Gary and Geoff for putting together a great weekend full of running.

FYI : If you want to see a suspension bridge and do not want to pay 30 dollars to go see one, you should go see to Lynn Canyon which is free and a fantastic view of a water carved gorge far below.

This Little Light of Mine

This was a great little run held at the Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center in Bellingham, WA. The distance for the race was 5k, not a common distance I race.  The neat thing about this run was the fact that it was held at night. The night element added a unique factor to the race.

Arriving at the start, there was a good sized crowd waiting, anticipating the start. Many of the runners were wearing a Magicshine headlamp. These are some of the brightest headlamps on the market.

The instructions were given, jokes were made, and we were sent on our way. As we set off, I could tell that this was going to be fast and hard. I got off to a good start and was up towards the front which is where I was expecting myself to be. As we entered the second turn the top 4 or 5 guys missed white arrows and line of bright orange cones leading the way to the trail entrance. I got a good laugh and entered the trail first. Not too much later I was passed and settled into a comfortable pace. I tucked in behind a guy and tried to stick with him for the rest of the race. I did just that but was not able to catch him by the end.

The great thing about the course is that you never really knew where  you were. It would make a left and then a right and go up and down, only to confuse you and make for a challenging course. The course would swing you by the start finish area as you think you would be finishing but only to swoop you away. You never really had a sense of how far you had gone or how far you had left to go. It was a blast.

The course was tough and had me red lining most of the time. I am not used to a race that took such a short burst of energy. My last short race was in 2009 at the Tulip Run in Mount Vernon. It was fun to get out there and challenge myself on a shorter race again.

What a night! The course was great, my headlamp was bright, and I had a blast pushing myself.