Phantom 19km Race Report

For the past 2 years, I have volunteered with Peter and the Phantom Race, which takes place in the Lynn Headwaters area. This race is put on by the lovely Heather Macdonald of Mountain Madness trail events/clinics. There are 3 distances to choose from- 12km, 19km, and 24km. This year, very last minute, I decided I would run it.

I decided upon the 19km because I just like the route better than the 24km. This race is not a cake walk and has it's fair share of hills, however, none too long. The weather was perfect- not too cold. I wore a long sleeve wool top and shorts.

I got there 20 minutes before the event started because I had to pick up the keys to the moving truck we rented for our big move to Squamish. I was really excited to run and after the gun went off, I darted out full of energy. I lead the female race from start to finish however, I always had a girl on my heels. I was a bit under the weather and my body was not feeling 100%. Often, I will do a race and everything just clicks and I hardly feel any fatigue in my legs. Other times, specifically during this race, that was not the case but I still managed to push through and keep the others behind me.

My favorite part of the run is getting the satisfaction of reaching the top of Lynn Loop. The trail from here is simply fun and uber technical. No matter what the state of my body is, I always have the energy to just giv'r through this section. I saw my buddy Rajen on this section and that gave me a big boost of energy. Before I knew it the race was over. I finished in a time of 1:50, 1st female. I stuck around to cheer on all the other race participants and chow down on all the yummy food that people brought. The save your skin foundation was out in full force and they brought, as per usual, their homemade ministrone soup, yum!

After that it was back home to pack up our place as the big move happened last weekend. Another blog on that to come soon.

Thanks again Heather for putting on such a fabulous race. The volunteers were amazing and it was nice to see Peter, who was manning an aid station, along the way. What's up next? I am not sure...other than a lot of Squamish exploring. I just got my new ski's and am just waiting on the boots and bindings...Can't wait!

See you in the trails!

THE FLAPPER

I had once considered massage therapy as a career but after speaking with a few, many had stopped doing some of the activities that they loved because of how it would affect their hands. Now I get it...



I was totally stuck on this one boulder problem at the climbing gym and tried relentlessly (and repeatedly) to solve it. I noticed a mean callus forming on my pinky finger but just kept going. After my final attempt, I ripped this gnarly flapper and kind of freaked out a bit, like I was expecting it to start gushing blood or something. Of course, it never did and I had to sadly call it a day. Bouldering takes a lot of patience, more than I have with myself when I am playing. You have to rest and recover from each pump. I just wanted to keep doing it over and over and sometimes, you just have to surrender to the rock (or fake rock in this case). Humbled once again.

See you in the trails!

You know your a trail runner when...

This scene is from the garage and if I had taken this picture yesterday, you would've thought that metal rack barfed up about 8 pairs of trail shoes. I am sure our landlords think we're nuts. I have so many pairs of the same shoe that I don't even know which one goes with which. I always tell myself to mark down when I got them (inside the shoe) but I have yet to make that dream come to fruition. Maybe it's a form of hoarding! And these are just the trail shoes!

Alright, time to go dig through and find a not so old looking pair to take out into the trails today!

The Big Move

I was reading a blog post by Tom Craik on his RUN NOW blog. yesterday. He's discussing how he feels on his runs when he isn't training for a goal race. He quotes:

"Run Now" is my mantra on so many occasions, but this morning, while climbing a new route up Grouse, I had an epiphany that some recent restlessness, and lack of present-minded running, came from having no racing goals. I'd been racing and training so much it had become a way of living. About three quarters of the way up it came to me that I was enjoying myself immensely and hadn't thought about my running plans for the coming year. I was so focused on "Running Now" that I was able to just be there."

It is no surprise that I have been feeling this exact same way over the last few months and just like Tom, is has been nice just running, without any goals or expectations other than to ENJOY and run in the here and now.

On another note- I have some exciting news...


(The mighty Chief- it's going to be in my backyard- not a big deal)

A month or so ago, Peter and I decided to move up to Squamish! We are both super excited. Reactions have been mixed but anyone who is outdoorsy seems to be supportive. I get asked "Why?" a lot. That answer seems to be pretty simple (1) World Class Rock Climbing (2) awesome cross-country mountain biking (3) equally as awesome mountain running (4) Closer to ski touring which I am going to start this winter! O' and can't forget my favorite spot- The Zephyr Cafe...and many more. I am excited to explore somewhere new. Peter and I have both lived in North Vancouver all our lives and I think change is a good thing. I am excited to be apart of a smaller community and meet new people.

Now that we are coming closer to the move-out date (Nov 15th) I am starting to notice just how much I do love Lynn Valley but the good thing is- it's not going anywhere! It will be exciting to come back and visit and have our friends come visit us. We have a 2 bedroom apartment in Valley Cliff so if anyone wants to come up, we've got a spare bed!

As for work, I am going to train clients 2 days a week in North Vancouver and start helping Jen Segger with her project X on the other days! This is a really exciting opportunity and the timing could not be more perfect. New Adventures here I come!

See you in the trails.