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!

FIRST POST OF 2013!

It's been a while since I have posted!!! October was the last time. I guess I never got around to writing a Phantom Run (24km) race report which I ran in November! So what's been going on since then....

I got into WESTERN STATES 100!!!! I must have horseshoes up my butt because I think I had a 7% chance of getting in. Last time I got into ws100 I ran my way to an automatic entry by coming 2nd at Mountain Masochist in Virginia. I thought about entering another Montrail Ultracup race to get a spot but wasn't keen on spending the money to travel somewhere in the U.S so I just simply took my chances. I am totally stoked to do it again. I think it was all a blur the first time so I look forward to having a better idea of what to expect.

Here's a few photos of what I have been up to (ski shots are by Peter Watson)

Shauna and I at the top of Dam Mtn on Grouse.

Sarah, Alexa, Shauna and I in Garibaldi Provincial Park

The holidays were filled with a lot of family gatherings (which I love), lot's of running, tons of amazing food and some skiing! I went winter camping for the very first time. What an experience that was! Peter and I managed 2 days (1 night) up in Cerise Creek off the Duffy Lake Rd.

Good morning!

On the skin in to Cerise Creek

Amazing camp spot chosen by Peter.

 

 

Shauna, Joel, and I near Mystery Creek during the Mountain Madness Clinic run.

The Mountain Madness Clinics started up again. I love being a volunteer leader with this group. I have been leading off and on for many years and there's always new people to meet and familiar faces to see. I usually end up converting at least 1 runner per clinic into an ultrarunner, so clinic members beware!!! This year Heather has a 50km training clinic and it's a great way to volunteer and get your long runs in with some great people!

Next up for me is Orcas Island 50km which is next weekend! I did it last year and had a blast. Shauna and I are heading down and considering the cheap lodging is already full, looks like we'll be tenting it. Good thing were great cabin mates from our time spent together at Transrockies.

Now that it's back to consistent training/racing, I am sure you'll be hearing a lot more from me :)

Nicola

AROUND THE LAKE GIV'R TAKE 30km RACE REPORT

Coming into the finish!

Around the Lake Giv'r take is one of my favorite races of the year. It consists of 30 glorious kilometers up, down and around Cultus Lake, where the race starts and finishes. The race is organized by a few folks from the Vedder running club and they do a hell of a good job. The entry always includes a great hoodie and the volunteers all bring food for afterwards. The food is really what makes the race as there is delicious warm soup, meats and cheese plates, and enough home baking to feed an army! I am such a sucker for home baking so maybe that is the reason I really love this race. I have done this race twice before and have been fortunate enough to have won and taken home the greatest prize ever: A hand carved walking stick.

Kerry, myself, and Dirk, the overall winner post race!

As per usual, it was a grey rainy day but I was very excited to get out running. This is a race I always go balls out and give it my all. The course begins with a short loop  around the residential area near the water which spreads the field out before we get onto the single track trail. At this point you head straight up and climb steeply for a while. I usually run this entire section as my hiking skills on steep trails is just not fast enough. Today was no different and I ran whatever I could. Peter was right behind me pushing the efforts, however he was hiking steadily while I ran. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the road before we get to go downhill and I am always incredibly relieved and ready for some fun. I had Peter pushing me from behind and stayed motivated to run fast through this section. We leap frogged with a guy who was very strong on the short uphills here but we would quickly pass on the downs. Eventually we got out onto a flat gravel section and Peter said "have a good day" and then I was all alone.

To make a long story short, the 2nd half was awesome and if you are not climbing your going downhill. There are only 2 longer climbs of about 10 minutes each and everything else is undulating and fun. I managed to catch all the other women who were doing the relay and pass a few more guys doing the solo. In the end, I finished 1st female and 2nd overall behind my good friend Dirk. I was a bit off my old course record but could not have gone much faster on the day. I had such a blast! Dirk you are one fast 46 year old mofo! I salute you!

I was stoked to add another hand carved stick to the collection. Thanks again to the Vedder running club organizers for putting on another fantastic event. Rain or shine it's always fun. Thanks to all the volunteers who cook up the best spread of post-race goodies! This is a race to put on your fall list for sure.

Gear:

- 1 ultimate direction handheld bottle (my favorite)
- La Sportiva team shirt
- La Sportiva crosslites
- Defeet socks
- 3 cliff gels (vanilla)
- La Sportiva Headsweats Hat

See you in the trails!

SUMMER LOVIN'...HAD ME A BLAAAST!

The weather we are having in Vancouver/BC is just craziness. It's reminding me of my time in Australia where I woke up to sunshine everyday. Even though this streak is coming to an end later on this week, I can look back and say that I have taken full advantage of it.

Lot's of changes have occurred/or not occurred over the last couple of months- the biggest one being that I decided after 2 days of massage therapy school to "drop out".  Yup, it only took 2 days in a classroom to realize that this is not where I should be. I followed my guns and have no regrets. For some reason, I only saw going back to school (again) as a means of closing a lot of doors versus opening new one's and it's hard to want to be somewhere with an attitude like that. I wouldn't say that is my attitude with most things so I took it as a sign that it wasn't meant for me at this time.

Some of the fun things I have gotten up to lately are:

- Howe Sound Crest Trail: Five years ago, I began a journey with the love of my life and we decided back then that our anniversary was the day that we first did this run. It also happens to be one of the first long adventure mountain runs I ever went on. On this day, the weather was terrible, and there was not a view to be seen. To this day however, out of the 5 times I have done this route, this one is by far my most favorite. Sometimes it's not about the views, but about the adventure and I definitely got my fill of it that day. Peter and I do it every year (usually with some close friends) on Sept 16th to celebrate our anniversary (corny I know).

- Coliseum Mountain to Burwell: A week after doing the HSCT, we made out way up coliseum and over to the peak of Mount Burwell. It was a foggy Sunday morning and it was hard to believe that there was no one on the trail. As we climbed higher and higher it was hard to tell if we were going to be rewarded with any views at all. As we got above the trees however, we got above the clouds and were blessed with the most amazing view I have ever seen. All we could see were pillows of clouds with peaks popping up out of nowhere. Slowly the cloud burnt off and this underworld was revealed. It was just THE BEST!

Juan De Fuca: I had a few days off for the thanksgiving weekend and decided I wanted to head out for an adventure (what else is new?). I called up my friend Jenni and asked if she wanted to go run the JDF. As someone who likes to get out and play as much as I do, Jenni excitingly obliged. We drove up Saturday and set up tent in the parking lot. After a good night sleep, we were off and 47 beautiful km's later we were at the finish. Peter asked me what the favorite part of my run was and I had to say the sound of the waves crashing. There is something so calming and about being next to or near the ocean. To top things off it was a bluebird day and the trail so heavenly dry, as usually it is very muddy. We hitchhiked back to our car and the mission was accomplished.

There have also been some amazing mountain bike rides and climbing adventures thrown into the mix.

I have taken advantage of every lake swimming opportunity that has been presented to me since I have been back from my travels. I had this huge sense of disappointment weighing on me because I didn't do more of this while I was away in NZ/Aus. I passed up so many opportunities on some of my adventures there because I wasn't prepared with a towel or a bathing suit. Now, I just don't care and deal with being wet or just go dipping in my skinny. This way, I have no regrets!

I have been so inspired this year by so many people (especially you mom!) and it has really driven me to get out there! Keep it coming!

As Brooks says- Run Happy!

Nic

LOCAL FKT'S

My boyfriend and partner in crime, Peter, has been working his ass off the last couple of months getting our local running shop, North Shore Athletics, back up and running.  It went into receivership a few months ago and to make a long story short, he worked there for 10 years, there was a hiccup with the owner, Peter left, just shy of a year later the store went bankrupt, and eventually was bought by new owners (Kintec) who hired Peter back as the manager (smart owners!) and kept the NSA name.

I think he and his co-workers have done an amazing job thus far and it is so great to get back in the place where my running career began. Peter has thought up a few neat ideas and one of them has been the local FKT's.

What is an FKT you say? Well, FKT stands for 'fastest known time' and essentially it's a speed record. There is an official website where people can post their FKT's for well known routes such as the West Coast  and Juan de Fuca Trails. Together, we have decided on a few local routes that we love and have posted them on a white board in the store. We have 5 routes right now but we do foresee this list growing in the future. This is totally done on the honor system and meant to be something fun for the running community to take part in and perhaps mix up their speed training routines. I should also mention that there are spots for both Female/Male and Masters Female/Male FKT times. There are also descriptions of the routes in the store where you can get exact start and finish locations for each route.

Peter and I have always run together but in the last couple of years that has fallen off as he took an extended break from running after completing the Western States 100 in 2010. We used to do the majority of our speed work together an often got into a cat and mouse kind of game together out on the trail. Since his leave of absence from our training partnership I have done little to no speed training and it's so nice to be doing this again. However, I am not very motivated by intervals at the track so these FKT's are a pretty fun way to get in some speed/tempo work. We threw down the first Short Lynn Loop one's today but both of us are recovering from being sick so I think these times might be a bit soft....good starting point for some challengers!!!!!

I look forward to seeing these times fall and to see who comes out to challenge them!

See you in the trails...

DNF: MEET YOUR MAKER RACE REPORT

All I can say about this experience is: AH POOP!

I had a pretty relaxing week leading up to the race and was excited to run the first ever Meet Your Maker 50 miler in Whistler. After reading the course description I just couldn't imagine not doing it. Peter was also doing a leg on an NSA/Kintec relay team so we both would get to run. We packed up, drove to Squamish and did a climb up the Chief, which was really nice as I hadn't been climbing in forever. After that we went up for package pick-up and got to chit chat with some friends before the pre-race dinner at Merlin's Bar. Totally tasty. Then quickly off to bed.

Morning came way too soon with a 4am alarm and a 6am start time. The start was a bit chilly and was eager to get going. I started out with Kathy McKay and Marieve Legrand but quickly backed off the pace just a tad as I new this was going to be a long day. Within no time Kathy was out of sight and I wouldn't see her again until I watched her come into the finish, 1st female! Before long I was running with Marieve and we stayed within eye sight of each other for quite a long time along Comfortably Numb. I love Marieve, she is such a rockstar and it is always such a pleasure to be running with her. Comfortably Numb is one of my favorite running trails. I ran the entire thing hoping that it wasn't going to tire me out too much.

My body felt a bit off from the get go. My quads felt tight and I developed a pinch in my groin which I could feel all the way along comfortably numb. At this point my mind started to get a bit negative but I brought music which seemed to defuse the negativity. I reached the 3rd aid station at base 2 of Blackcomb and saw Peter where he aided me by filling up my camelbak as I darted off to the porta-potty. I didn't say a whole lot to him as I wasn't in the best mood and quickly left. I felt pretty bad as he had just ran 30km and I didn't even think to ask "how was your day" until I had left the aid station. I moved pretty well up Blackcomb and ran everything that I could. There was quite a bit of hiking which helped alleviate the groin discomfort. You start the climb with a straight up grunt up the ski hill which then switches into a gradual and mostly runnable climb up the gravel access roads. Once we got to the 7th Heaven chair we started hiking up a beautiful single track trail which then switched into a stunning and scenic rocky train that took us all the way to the Peak to Peak chair. There were so many hikers but they were all so incredibly polite. They'd see me coming and yell "runner" and then step aside so I could pass. Every single person I saw did that. It was unreal. Then I got the most warm welcome into the aid station as everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs.

I was pretty stoked to be at the top (in 2nd place for the females) and after a quick stop at the aid station I eagerly boarded the Peak 2 Peak gondola. There was one other couple and a family of 4 in their with me and I think they must have thought I was pretty weird as I kept moving (mostly stretching) the entire time, while everyone else sat down and relaxed. I had been wondering how the following descent down Whistler was going to feel after having stopped running 15 minutes prior and I can tell you, pretty much from step one- it felt awful. The trail was very steep and with every step it felt as though someone was stabbing the sides of my knees. Now, I love downhills, they are why I run and I was pretty disappointed to be in so much pain. I was forced to walk a bunch of it and spent the entire timer wondering if I should continue on. I got to the aid station at the bottom of the hill and quickly told peter that my knees were in a lot of pain. He suggested I stretch them and keep moving. I had been stretching my ITB and hips on the gondola but that didn't seem to do a whole lot so I think I just grabbed some water, food and fled. Peter told me it was only 8km to the next aid station so not too far.

After about 1 km the pain went from pretty painful to debilitating and I could no longer run. In hind sight I should have gone back to the last aid and called it a day but I was hopeful that maybe I could massage it out and it would come around. In the end, it never did and I just walked it out to the next aid station, which ended up being 12km instead of 8km. It's a shame because that section of trail really suited my running style. It was hard watching everyone go past and asking what was wrong. I definitely had a few teary moments but in the end, what could I do. I dropped out with only 19km to go but it was a pain I could not push through and I am not one to resort to pain killers. At the beginning walking didn't hurt and I was enjoying the hike but by the end of the 12km, I could hardly walk without pain. Thankfully Peter had been told about my state and came out to find me on the trail so I had someone to walk with for the last km or so.

In the game of utlra running-you win some and you lose some. Some days your body feels great and some days it doesn't. I could tell I was probably still fatigued from Transrockies and the training I did after it as I kept nearly biffing it repeatedly in the first few hours (a sign of fatigue). I was still totally stoked to have run 60km because the terrain was just stunning and so fun. I would most definitely come back and do this race again and would recommend it to anyone. It is a challenging course and the finish times are much longer than most 50 milers but the trails and the scenery are next to none. AND you get to ride in a gondola (which I am still debating whether or not that is a good thing)!

Huge congrats to Kathy for such a steller performance. I am so impressed and inspired by your achievement considering you had also just raced transrockies and it was your first 50 miler! Congrats to everyone else who was doing this as their first ever 50 miler- you chose a gooder! Thank you to the race directors, volunteers, and NSA/Kintec for the entry. There were so many amazing volunteers out on the course marshalling and manning aid stations. There is no doubt that I will be back!

See you in the trails...but maybe not this week :)

DAY 6: VAIL TO BEAVER CREEK

Shauna and I celebrate our 2nd place finish!

 Finally, the last day has arrived. I am not sure how the body just keeps going and going when it's tired and sore but some how it does and mine just felt better and better the closer we got to day 6. All we had was a supposed 19 miles, which as it turned out got extended to 23. I remember this stage well from 09' even though it ended up being a tad different this year. I remember feeling good and running a lot of the hills.

We started with 3 miles of road from Vail to the trail. The start was changed because there was a Grandfondo happening at the same time. When we finally reached the trail it was just as I had remembered...a ton of switchbacks and many of them runnable. I love this section and had a blast hanging on behind Shauna for the first while. We were moving pretty good and I was thinking how 3rd place would have to be moving pretty good to catch us today. But then I thought I saw another open women's team behind us. Once I could get a better look, it was just a guy with a pony tail! We eventually got onto a steep trail that climbed straight up for quite some time and it seemed like a the aid station was getting further and further away. It was supposed to be at 7 miles but one guy's GPS said 9. something and we still hadn't seen it. I was out of water at this point and getting hungry and really just wanted to see it and be done with this climb.

We hit it moments later and refilled out packs and away we went. We had seen 2 of the open mixed teams there as well and after asking what the hell they were doing way back here, they said they got lost and took a detour. I remember noticing a fork in the trail where if you weren't looking up, you would've easily missed the flagging to go right, which is exactly where they got off track. Unfortunately for them, the trail went straight down and they had to climb all the way back up!

Again, I loved the downs....just always so fun, especially single track! This next section was rolling and flat at times which was a bit mentally challenging but we soldiered on, walking when we had to. Then we descended a very narrow trail which was very rocky and you really had to pay attention as it would've been very easy to roll an ankle. After passing through a small tunnel, we ended up on the road again, where we would remain for another 3 miles or so to checkpoint 3 in Avon. The road sections were hot and all I wished for was some cushioned runners at this point! I was still feeling good though and we ran pretty much everything from here to the finish. I just wanted this thing done and knew that it would just drag on if we didn't run in it. Shauna had no issues responding and we finished this stage in the same time as the day before. A big hug at the end signaled the finish of 6 long amazing days together.

Jenny and Pam celebrating their win at the finish. Nice outfits ladies!

Shauna was the best partner I could have ever asked for. Her laid back personality makes her really easy to be around and we shared a lot of laughs out there on the trail. I pushed her and she pushed me but for the most part, we just worked together. There was never any drama- simply good times. The finish banquet was fabulous and it was amazing getting to sleep in a real bed again!

We drove for 2 days and got home on Tuesday night, just in time to see the birth of my brother`s son. I can`t believe the timing! Thanks Jess for waiting for me.

Carston Mathias Gildersleeve!

Thanks again to the guys at La Sportiva who were so generous over the course of the week. It was great to meet the guys behind the scenes as well as some of my other teamates who came out and raced as well as volunteered. TRR is such an amazing event. I know I said I`d never do it again while I was running but now that it`s over and I totally want to go back.

It`s great to be back on Vancouver soil and back running in the sick single track on the North Shore Mountains. It`s nice to be able to run up hills without feeling like my lungs are going to explode!

Next up: Meet your Maker 50 miler in less than 2 weeks time if the body allows for it!

See you in the trails!