Yakima 50km Race Report

I met Leslie Gerein 4 years back at Transrockies. Her and her wonderful hubby Keith were doing it together. The following year I went and stayed with her in beautiful Banff, Alberta and ran my butt off in the 4 days I was there. I was training for Western States and a weekend away with amazing women who loved to run was just what I needed to keep the stoke alive during what seemed like a very long training season.

The start. Photo By: Seth Wolpin

 Leslie messaged me a few months ago and told me she had signed up for the Yakima 50km (which she did the year before) and had a van full of ladies coming down. Having already signed up for four 50km races already, I was a little hesitant. However, not long after James (race director) invited me down and I just couldn't refuse. My co-worker John had already signed up and it wasn't long before there were 5 of us making the trip down to Ellensburg, WA.

Tons of wild flowers. Photo by: Seth Wolpin

A long and winding road! Photo by: Seth Wolpin

 We set out at 6am Saturday morning and made a mandatory pit stop at Avenue Bread in Fairhaven. Oh my, they make up the most amazing English muffin breakfast sandwich. My favorite is the Italian but I am sure they are all wonderful. We rolled into Ellensburg around noon and checked into the prestigious Motel 6. We got some groceries and then went to the start line to check out what lay ahead of us tomorrow. The wind was blowing but the sun was shining. We ran into Shauna who had driven down with Salt Spring Dave (who filmed the event) and we enjoyed a beer at a picnic table.

The concierge at our motel recommended we check out the university campus, so we took some time to walk around there. We then sat down for a nice pasta dinner and before long were passed out in bed!

The temperature was pretty nice in the morning but I still started with my wind breaker on. I took it off within a mile or so but I would use it later on in the race and am glad I wore it! After a 10 second count down we were off to do a little 400m out and back to spread the group apart as the trail narrowed quickly after we crossed the bridge. Immediately we started up the first climb. I was happy to see that there were some running breaks amongst the power hiking. After feeling so beat up (energy wise) during the Diez Vista 50km, I began to hit the Iron Supplements (Floridix) hard. I could totally tell the difference this day as running felt a bit more effortless like it used to. There were 2 women ahead of me and I couldn't help but want to catch up! Shauna was also right behind me and we ran pretty much 30 seconds apart until the 25km turn around. Part of me just wanted to run with her so I had someone to talk to but I just settled for doing my own thing. However, we did run together for a bit after the 2nd aid station. I got to chatting with the girl who was leading (Alicia) and turns out she is from Vancouver and we knew a lot of the same people, which was pretty cool.

Johnny O, our fearless leader!

The amazing Mark Grist!

The scenery was spectacular! Beautiful wild flowers and views of the winding Yakima River down below. With so many hills around I really had no idea where I was going as I looked off into the distance. The terrain was very rocky which made it quite technical in parts. The hills are steep and it was hard to just let the legs go on the downhill. I guess that is why I am feeling it today! Having rolled my ankle really bad a couple of years ago, I didn't push it at all on the descents. Rolling an ankle would have been pretty easy on parts of the trail and it just wasn't worth it to me to risk that.

Shauna on one of the many descents!

 There was a lot of sage brush and it almost felt as though I was dancing in between it as the trail tightly twisted and turned. We were told to watch for ticks and rattle snakes and luckily I saw neither. There were 5 aid stations, 1 every 5 miles and the volunteers were amazing. All were super cheerful and willing to get you whatever you needed. What else can I say? The climbs were tough and often when you thought you were at the top, it twisted and winded even higher. I seemed to always be around a few people so I was never alone for that long. Racers were all super respectful as they stepped aside for those in the lead and everyone was cheering each other on. Whenever someone told me I was the first lady I couldn't help but think about the white house.

The wind got a little crazy and at one point it was so strong my hat flew off my head. Shauna a few meters back didn't feel a thing! I was in my own gust of wind bubble. I kept a pretty steady pace the whole race and overall felt pretty good. I ran where I could and power hiked everything else. Out of all the Rainshadow races I have done, this is at the top of the list. I like that the hills are steep so your forced to power hike (I'm so lazy right!?) but there was enough running to mix things up. Time just seemed to tick by and I loved that we got to finish downhill. I finished in a time of 6:21 and James awarded me with a hug and a wicked framed print of the race logo. Very stoked! Then it was on to beer and handmade pizza from the hippies! Both went down very well.

Thanks to La Sportiva for providing me with the best shoes! Again, the crosslite worked like magic and I had no foot issues! 

The aid station personnel were amazing!

Where we had the post race festivities!

I finally got to catch up with Leslie and Nicki from Banff and cheer on my friends who came in shortly after me. Everyone in our crew did super awesome.We left when the kegs ran dry!

That night we all went out to a steak house and then crashed pretty hard as I was beat! Sunday was super mellow and pretty uneventful as we made the trip back home. On the way home we stopped back off at Avenue Bread for my favorite breakfast sandwich (for lunch), Trader Joe's, and Edelaine dairy for a soft serve cone. So good. For the most part I feel pretty good but my quads are definitely sore!

Mark with not one but two eggenues (breakfast sandwiches)!!!!

 Next up, Vancouver Marathon which takes place a week and a half from now. I haven't done it since 05' and I will not be tapering so it should be buckets of fun (insert sarcastic smiley!). No honestly though it should be fun to get out for a fun day with a lot of people and see what these legs can do.

Run Happy,

Nic

TURNING 29...

This passed Sunday I turned 29! Yup, only one year left in the 20-29 age category and then winning my age group will become much much harder! I must say that 28 was a good year. It had it's ups and downs but I learned a lot. For the most part I listened to my heart and can't be happier with where I am right now.

The weekends festivities were fun. On my actual birthday I went for a great 23km run from Grouse to Deep Cove with one of my best friends, Shauna, and my boyfriend Peter. Right before I was about to leave home she suggested I pull out the pink spandex. I did that and raised her a Victoria Secret Lingerie outfit over top. It was silly and I had fun with it. The day was beautiful and we saw familiar faces all run long. We did a car drop in Deep Cove earlier on in the morning as I wanted to jump in the ocean and then grab me a Honey's Donut. Yum! The dip in the ocean was cold, very cold but there is something about dunking myself in water on my birthday that makes me feel reborn and ready for the next year ahead. I love it.

Shauna and in the headwaters, Photo by: Peter Watson

Peter and I at Quarry rock. Photo by: Shauna C

The short and sweet of the rest of the day is I went shopping, which I never do, at a shop called Anthropologie. I first discovered this store in Palm Desert a few years ago and was stoked to find out there was one in Vancouver. However, it would be a couple years until I actually made it out. Boy, was it worth it! I just feel like the clothes there were made for me :) I never seem to have trouble finding anything to buy. We were going to drive but because it was such a beautiful day we took public transit and it was really nice to rely on the good ol' seabus, skytrain, and bus all day. After our one stop shop, Peter and I took the bus over to Main street to have dinner and drinks at The Foundation which is this brilliant vegetarian restaurant that serves up world class nachos. The nachos are perfectly layered with tons of cheese, black beans, and corn. I highly recommend trying this place out.

The next day we took it pretty easy as we were heading up to Squamish in the afternoon to do the first 1/3 of the Garibaldi Neve Traverse with our good friend Mark Grist. Of course, I made sure to stop off at the Zephyr for a coffee and muffin before we began this mission. We dropped Mark's car off at Garibaldi Park and drove ours to the Diamond Head trailhead. It was a gorgeous evening and we took our time getting to the Elfin Lakes hut. Once there we made dinner and played crib. Last time I was there we slept on some benches because it was full. This time there were only 2 other people, which was really nice. It wasn't long before we were in bed as we had a 4:30am wake up coming the next morning. I slept pretty good however my watch got messed up when I was setting my alarm the night before and my watch said it was 3:30am when it was really 4:30am! It's a good thing I am a morning person and I was able to roll out and up pretty easily. I forgot to bring breakfast so I shared a few granola bars with Peter.

Mark and I as we start the day. My his pack is much larger than mine! All Photos by: Peter Watson

Park Rangers are all tree hugger's at heart!

We began in the dark with our headlamps lighting the way. I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day with blue bird sky's, and it was. Mark was leading the way as our tour guide as he had done the Traverse twice before. Peter and I were both Neve virgins. The snow was perfect for skinning, we barely sunk down at all.

The 5km flat lake section. It felt like it was never going to end!

We had a 3km hike out in ski boots!

Finally back at the car!

The adventure for me was epic. The scenery was beautiful. I can't really put into words how beautiful it truly was. We really could not have asked for a better day weather wise. What made the adventure epic was the last 8km where we switch backed our way down to the parking lot. The trail was narrow and very icy. To me, it was survival skiing at it's finest and it was the section I hated the most. However, it did make the trip that much more memorable. My feet have a few sores on them from all the friction back and forth in my boots but overall they held up pretty good. My muscles are a bit sore but hopefully that eases off as I am running the Yakima 50km this weekend.

I am really looking forward to all the new adventures that are coming my way. So far, 29 is looking pretty good.

See you in the trails!

Nic

DIEZ VISTA 50KM RACE REPORT

The week leading up to this race my legs were feeling DEAD. It was weird to because I hadn't done a long run that past weekend and took it REALLY easy the week leading up to the race. Nonetheless I was going to run no matter what fully knowing that it was probably not going to be a "RACE". This was going to be my 4th ultra of the year which is the most I have ever done this early on, let alone perhaps in a calendar year. I guess that explains the fatigue I have been feeling?

Berry Young and I coming into the finish. Photo: Peter Watson

I started out relativity fast with some of the other leading ladies but it become apparent on the first hill that my legs were just done. I pulled back the pace for the rest of the race and just ran in a place that made me want to continue. In fact, at one point I almost dropped out but then I saw my friend Barry Young, who I finished Chuckanut 50km with and kept going. After the half way mark I was walking most of the climbs and Barry and I chatted away as we ran.

Dennis B breaking through the "finish tape" Photo: Peter Watson

This one goes down in the books as not a great race (obviously) but it was awesome "mental" training. There are for sure going to be a lot of low moments in Western States 100 come June and I am that much more prepared to put one foot in front of the other and just keep moving. There are always lessons to be learned from Ultras and I continue to learn with every one I do.

Dennis B and I at the finish. Photo: Peter Watson

 It was so awesome to be surrounded by familiar faces all along the course. The course was so well marked and the post race BBQ was delicious.

Congrats to my co-worker and good friend Dennis Begley who decided out of nowhere to sign up for his first ultra. He had done but one 10km event before taking on this challenge. Having struggled with some ITB issues 6 weeks before the race, Dennis bravely toed the line and finished!
His courage and will to get the job done definitely kept me motivated while I was out there. No matter how much I wanted to stop (mentally) I knew he would be out there hurting much more physically.

Thanks to La Sportiva for making awesome shoes (the Crosslite is my go to) that keep my feet in great shape all ultra long!

See you in the trails!

CHUCKANUT 50KM

I have done this race two times before and although a lot of people slam it for its boring flat/gravel start/finish, I have a special spot for it.Wit that said, it is not a race I would do yearly like the Knee Knacker but it creeps onto my calendar every couple of years. My two previous times were 4:55 and 4:35. I significantly bettered my first year time simply by running all the hills, even chinscraper! Having done a 50km race the weekend before I knew my time would be slower but I was more concerned with how my body would feel.

Photo by: Glenn Tachiyama

 I started out fairly conservatively. Shauna and I were chatting away for about 15km before we parted ways. I managed to run most of the first climb but I could tell my legs were tired as they just felt fatigued. They felt great though on descents and flats! I felt like I crawled running up the logging road. I was happy once I got to the ridge and was able to pass a bunch of people on the technical section. I like this course because it's fast and your not out there for hours. At this point I knew there was just chinscraper to go and then it was all downhill and flat to the finish.

Chinscraper wasn't so bad but this year I just didn't have it in me to run the majority of it. I was stoked to be on the final descent but just like in years past the bathroom gods called and I had to answer. I am not sure what it is about this descent but I have had to go to the "little girls room" on this section every time in this race. The flat section was a challenge. I had essentially just emptied myself and took my last gel with 10km to do. It wasn't long before I needed another one but I had no fuel left. I just tried to focus on running strong and getting to the finish. The km markers seemed to tick away very slowly. Luckily this guy, Barry Young, came ripping passed me and I hung on for dear life. I ran with him for about 8 km and if it weren't for him I would not have pushed myself that hard, so thank you! I finished 10th or 11th female in 4:45. I was still really stoked on how my body felt and glad I was able to push myself in that last 10km. I still managed 1st in my age group! The female course record was broken by 8 minutes or so which is just insane! Kudos!

Photo by: Glenn Tachiyama

 My legs have felt pretty tired this week but I'll take it easy until the weekend. Looking forward to a weekend without any races planned. Next race is Diez Vista on April 6th.

Run Happy,

Nicola

DIRTY DUO 50KM

I decided to volunteer as a leader for the Dirty Duo trail clinic. I have been volunteering off and on for the Mountain Madness trail clinics for years and I really enjoy doing it. I always meet some amazing folks who easily fall in to my trap and become ultra runners! This year Heather added a 50km clinic option and the runs got up to near 40km. Good times were had!

The start at Jaycee House!

 I decided to sign up for the 25km distance option as Chuckanut was the following weekend and I had signed up for that back in January. However, at some point I changed my mind, sent Heather a text, and Bada Bing Bada Boom it was done, I was now doing the 50km. I had been saying to myself all week that i was going to just take it easy but then I just decided to let be what will be and if I feel good, I am going to run. And run I did!!!

About to head up Homestead. Photo by: Chris Thorn

Peter and I ended up running together for the first 3/4's of the first lap. At some point coming down ned's his foot slipped, he got a cramp and we parted ways shortly thereafter. We never talked about running together, it just happened and it was nice having his company. He was doing the real Duo and I never saw him again until he crossed the finish line.

I felt really good all day and I was stoked on this feeling. The only glitch of the day was when I rolled my right ankle 3 consecutive times within  about a 3 minute span coming down ned's on the second loop. Each one just seemed to weaken it for the next one. I had to pause a few times and wince away the pain and watch as 3 of my friends (doing the 25km) rolled passed me. However, I knew that if I could just make it down ned's the rest of the run would be fine. Eventually the pain subsided and I never felt it again. I also caught up to my friends on the climb up homestead and this motivated me to push a bit harder. I thought I must be feeling pretty good if I am passing people who are only doing one loop! At some point I saw Graham Archer from Kintec and he told me Ryne Melcher was only 5 minutes ahead. I eventually caught up to Ryne (who's goal was not get chicked) with about 2 km to go and just started hammering. It was by far the fastest I had run all day and I was just loving it. I came into the finish in a time of 4:40 and first female.

The finish line!!!! Photo by: Don Scott

Thanks so much to Heather Macdonald and Mountain Madness for putting on this event and for hosting such a wonderful training clinic. The post race lasagna, cobs bread and salad were just what the doctor ordered. Also, the drymax socks are so comfy and Peter and I had a wonderful feast at Tommy's Cafe thanks to the GC I got as a prize!

My shoe of choice ALWAYS is the La Sportiva Crosslite! I decided to randomly run in this Lululemon skirt which was actually pretty comfortable, however it needs more pockets and my long sleeve top is a $14 merino wool shirt I got at Costco 4 years ago :)

Next up, Chuckanut 50km next weekend! Interested to see how I am going to feel!

Run Happy,

Nic

The Yeti Snowshoe race- Whistler

This blog is a bit over due but here goes!

The Congo line near the end of the first lap

 On March 2nd, I drove down to the Callaghan XC Ski area, with 2 lovely ladies. The 3 of us work for MEC and we are the title sponsor of the series and wanted to represent, set up a both, and hand out some warm hot chocolate for finishers. I also decided I would run too!

It's been many years since I have snowshoed let alone snowshoe raced. In fact, one of my first ever trail races was on snowshoes. I remember it well. I was signed up for the 10km and didn't realize it was 2 loops of 5km so when I went through the first loop around 45 minutes I was excited to stop! However I was a bit shocked when the announcer congratulated me on finishing my first loop and wished me good luck for round 2. Needless to say, I was done and stopped at 5km! Yup, got that dreaded DNF out of the way pretty early on in my career :)

Top 3 ladies overall

For some reason though I was excited to be back on snowshoes. The 3 of us finally found our location up in the Callaghan and set up our booth. With 10 minutes before the start I hurriedly changed into racing clothes and put on my snowshoes. It was a rather intimate crowd as there were only about 50 people there. The gun went off and we darted off the line. Immediately I was reminded how hard it is to run on showshoes. The reason I never do it anymore is because most of the time you can get away with yak trax and it just feels way more natural for me. I embraced it though and just worked hard. The weather was awful and cold but that made me work all the harder so I could stay warm.

Me and the Yeti. Thanks for the Piggy Back!

At some point towards the end of the first lap I found myself in a congo line with the leaders. I guess they were slowed by all trail breaking they had to do. It was nice being at the end of the congo line :)

The 12km course has been shortened to 9 so te 4.5km loops went by pretty fast. There were a few girl about a minute back from me but they finished their day off at the 4.5km mark. By the middle mark of the second loop I knew I had this one in the bag and just aimed at getting my butt to the finish as fast as I could so I could go get warm and drink hot chocolate :)

All in all it was a ton of fun. The only sad thing though was that the yeti was not out for us to chase. Apparently he fears the rain! Thanks Yeti series for a great day and for all the schwag!

Running Happy at ORCAS ISLAND 50km!!!

"RUN HAPPY" is a line I had on one of my favorite Brooks t-shirts and it is for sure my mantra for 2013. I did Orca's Island last year and was gearing up for it this year as my first race of the season. In all honesty, I was not looking that forward to it and I am sure it's because last year I started really fast and felt mediocre the entire way and just felt like I had a pretty lack luster finish. All this on top of the fact that James had made the course harder this year!

I'll digress by stating that James Varner puts on hands down the funnest races ever. The races are always challenging and are centralized around a big party. The thing I love almost more than the running is the sense of community and fun James brings to his races. I know that going to a Rainshadow Running event = GOOD TIMES!

With that said, I changed my mind set, and focused on running happy, meeting new people, seeing old faces, and having a hell of a good time. I was heading down to the race with my good friend and running partner Shauna. We knew we weren't going to make the 4pm ferry and the next one wasn't until 7:10pm so we took our time getting to Anacortes. We arrived around 5pm and decided to go check out the terminal cafe. Now, I have to digress one more time by saying that a road trip with me is always an adventure. Now by adventure, I mean, a lot of random acts of in-saneness happen. Within minutes I had successfully cause random act of in-saneness # 1: locked my keys in the car in the ferry line-up.

CRAP! I address the issue as I realize it right away and I can see the keys laying perfectly on the dash board. Shauna and I have a very relaxed attitude towards things and instead of freaking out, we calmly approach the first employee we see (wearing a safety vest).

"Excuse me, do you know where and who I can call if I locked my keys in my car?"

"Your lookin' at him"

(Elated smiles cross both Shauna and I's faces)

"I do this all the time and so far I'm batting 100%"

"Are you serious, you can do this?"

"Ya, I have this special pump that I use, works every time"

So we figure out that this guy is the man and his name is Les. He grabs his special tools and we make our way back to my car. Within 5-10 solid minutes, Les has my car opened with the alarm sounding. I don't even turn it off as it's providing the perfect music to do a happy dance and parade around like I just won the lottery. After checking to ensure I have the keys we make our way back to our intended destination...the ferry terminal cafe. As we walk by Les, we catch him saying to his colleague "I'm still batting 100%" whilst wiping the dirt off his shoulda'.

The ferry was quick and dirty and before we knew it we were on Orcas Island. Woot woot! The was a live band playing at the Island Hoppin' Brewery which is a new brewery in town and we quickly made our way there. I had a Kolsh beer and Shauna had a smoked Amber Ale that smelt like smoked salmon (in a good way). The band, the pine hearts (or something similar), we playing and it's a mix of folk and blue grass, the kind of music you can't help but dance to. Since we arrived late, I settled on some rapid bobbing with my feet firmly planted on the ground. We ended up in some awesome conversation with a few different people who would become very familiar over the course of the weekend. Shout out's to Jim (you know who you are) the amazing volunteer at the top of Mt. Constitution!

Around 10pm we left and made our way to Camp Moran where we had intended to tent it. However, when we arrived, a party was still happening in the cafeteria area and James was still handing out bibs. We picked ours up and inquired about any openings in any of the bunk houses. Initially we were told no but minutes later we were told there were....wonderful! Somehow, things just have a way of working out. We get the headlamps on and find some beds and go to sleep.

I rose in the morning but not to my alarm as I had anticipated. It did not go off at 6:30am like I had planned. Rather, I got up at 7am but no big deal. Shauna and I went and ate some oatmeal in the 'caf' and relaxed as the early starters set off. I swear almost half the race began with the early start. Before long it was our turn.

Right from the get go I sunk in to a conservative pace with my pals Shauna and Pat. After a couple miles of single track we were spat out onto many miles of uphill on a concrete road. I tried to keep it easy but ran the entire hill and stopped once to take a picture with Shauna as the view was spectacular. For the most part, the course seemed to be almost the reverse of last year which I really enjoyed. I ran with shauna for approx the first half of the race and was in such a great mental and physical space. Eventually we did part ways and I scurried off ahead. I continued to pass people and kept a consistent pace for the remainder of the run. Even though I was pushing a tad harder in the 2nd half, I was still in a very happy place. I should clarify one thing, running happy doesn't mean I am just dogging it. Running happy to me means that I am in such a place where I don't wish that I wasn't running or have thoughts dropping out.

I had no idea where I was in the pack the entire day, and on this day, that wasn't my concern. My goal race is Western States 100 at the end of June and I want to be peaking and do my very best on that day. I finished the race in 5th place in 5:54, which was about 20 minutes slower than last year. The course did have 1500 more meters of climbing than last year and last year I didn't enjoy the race very much because I went out to hard and suffered the whole way.

The post race food was amazing = lasagna, soup, sandwiches, chips, cake...and LOT'S OF BEER.

After a quick shower and change, Shauna and I went for an equally as fast trip into town to check out some of the galleries and shops. Before long it was dark and we were back drinking beers and listening to the awesome band play all night long. We met some awesome new folks from the island and danced the night away. Love this race. As always, I highly recommend this event to anyone and everyone. It's not easy but it sure is fun! I even got a hand painted Rainshadow Running trucker hat which is the only one of it's kind!

Next up is Dirty Duo 25km and Chuckanut 50km in March.

See you in the trails!