Hares and Hounds Run

The Hares and Hounds:

The Lazy Trail Runner

Tom

Stefan

Linda

Kevin

and Me

The plan:

Meet @ Panorama Park for the car drop

Drive to "End of the Line" coffee shop 

Take off in reverse order (slowest to fastest) and run to Deep Cove via the Knee Knacker course 

Distance:

8 miles approximately

Car Ride:

The car ride to the coffee shop was interesting (wish I had my camera), we stuffed in Kev's car which meant Tom was riding in the back of a station wagon curled up like a little cinnamon bun - we had to fight to keep Coo off of him.  

The conversation was all about TIME.  How long did we think it'd take each of us to finish.  There were various strategies discussed;

Some had researched Knee Knacker times and then there was the "Iron Knee Theory" (half your iron knee plus 10 minutes). My theory was to be close to Linda's time because I have a similar pace and make sure that I calculated at least 1:30 per km slower then the dudes.  

Times decided. Rules set. And we were off. 

I'm going to rip the band aid off now... 

I went the wrong way. Right out of the gate. Instead of making a hard right and heading straight towards Lynn Canyon suspension bridge I headed left in towards Lynn Headwaters park along the road, crossed the bridge and took the Lynn Connector towards Rice Lake - WRONG - what a silly little bunny I was.

I realized my mistake pretty quickly (it meant 15-20 minutes of extra running) and was bummed for a couple minutes because it meant I'd definitely be passed and I would probably not be passing anyone (unless they also made a wrong turn).  I didn't let it get me down, it was a great day to be outside and I had Tom/Duncan/Stefan manhunting me from behind, that is enough motivation to keep running fast if I do say so.

Eventually Tom and Duncan zoomed by me as I approached up the Seymour Grind and Stefan cruise by well I was climbing the Seymour Grind - its scary when you hear them begin to approach from behind... I was wishing for some turtle shells like they have in mario cart to shoot at them as they passed.  Tom even shouted positive thoughts..."you can still pass us - come on!"  My thoughts were still more focused on where I could get those turtle shells.

I had so much fun running this little challenge and I was really excited once I reached the end and heard the crew was already scheming for version 2.  I tried to persuade the them to head by to the start and to rerun it so I could redeem myself but my pleading fell on deaf ears.  It was coffee time - I get it.

Lessons learned (I don't want to share all my secrets - but here's a few):

Don't forget your watch.  This is not the run to be one with nature.

Bring bananas, mushrooms and stars - you'll need them

Oh and know the route.  DON'T GET LOST. Getting lost not only means losing, it means you have to take the piss at coffee. 

Can't wait for version 2.0 and to redeem myself.  Thanks for organizing Duncan it was an awesome time!

Wish me luck!

I received an email late today, which I just replied to. And now I can't sleep. It's like I've committed to my worst fear.

Have you ever had a nightmare that you are being chased and you can't run? Have you ever watched the TV show Mantracker? Have you ever heard of the Hare and Hound hunts?

Well that's about to happen to me. Here is part of the email I received today:

"Since everything else in this city/country is taxed ... how about taxing our bodies tomorrow? me and tom are going to run headwaters to deep cove without the friendly banter of normal runs. can save that for coffee after. the idea would be to run yourself into the ground with a little help from those assembled.

this is how it could work: you FAIRLY judge the time you think you could get from headwaters to deep cove. then we put the times in order and set off in reverse order at assigned intervals. so you be da hares and me and tom be the hounds who go last. if we catch you then you're forking over for our coffee and bacon sandwich at the end ... unless..... unless you beat your time estimate by at least 30 seconds (that will keep you motivated to push even if you get passed). otherwise... if we don't catch anyone then we fork over for the coffees at the end.

feel free to invite anyone else you want. if they're faster than me and tom then they get to be the hounds. be good if we all had rabbit ears and a couple of deputy dawg hats...

dc"

So now here I sit...waiting to be their hare.  Wish me luck! 

Coo & the Chicks

We received our first snow fall of the year today!! And I wasn't about to let a little snow get in the way of a little adventure I had planned. A couple of my girlfriends and I had arranged a 22km run from Grouse Mountain to Deep Cove.

We had special guest join us at the last minute - The Lazy Trail Runner - himself Mr. C. He wrote a funny post on his blog about the run - check it out here - but I still wanted to share some of my favorite pics from the day.

Me, Claire, Carolyn and Dayna

Chicks on run; Baden Powell Trail

Photo credit: Coo - definitely has an eye for photography as you'll see

Watch our for the bridges they are slippery! (PC: Coo)

Love this shot, a little bit of popping green amongst the prefect white dusting (PC: Coo)

Technical downhill section - Coo, Me, Carolyn & Claire

And LOTS of uphill climbing which Coo crushed

The lovely ladies - stopping for a photo shoot

Coo smokin' the hills

(PC: Coo)

Stunning shot of a river crossing - (PC: Coo)

Me climbing the Seymour Grind

checking out how far we'd climbed

Cruising down towards Old Buck (happy to not be running up Old Buck)

Taking a moment to enjoy this absolutely perfect day, fresh snow dusting the trail + sunny

Right near the end at Quarry Rock Deep Cove - The gent that took this shot for us proceeded to tell us..."don't worry girls you are close to the end of the trail and by the looks of it you'll "smash" this next section.  Good on ya!"

Go Bananas

I made these cookies to bring for the girls at the Haney to Harrison Relay. They are bite-sized cookies that do not contain any added sugar, dairy, flour, or eggs - woopie! Because they are not overly sweet, they make a wonderful everyday cookie & taste wonderful with almond milk, tea, or hot cocoa. No sugar crashes post snack attack with these puppies! Oh and did I mention they are SUPER easy to make...

Healthy Bite Sized Cookies

Ingredients:

1.5 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut oil, warm (or olive oil)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
3 tbsp coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened (I don't use this)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl mash the bananas and then mash in the vanilla and softened coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, chocolate, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. The dough is very loose and does not hold together well, but don’t worry about that. I took a couple tsp of the dough in my hand and gently formed a ball and squeezed it together as much as I could. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes until bottoms are golden. Let cool for about 20 minutes to set. Makes about 17 bite-sized cookies.

Nutritional info: (Approx. per bite, makes 17 bites): 59 kcals, 2.8 grams fat, 1 gram protein, 2 grams sugar, 1 gram fibre.

i like.

"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not."

-Dr. George Sheehan

Phantom Race 2010

I made a last minute decision to race the 19km Phantom Race this past Saturday. It is the last local trail race of the year and the course covers many of my favourite trails on the North Shore so I figured why not.

Here's all the gory details...

My girlfriend and I decided that since neither of us had trained or specifically planned for this race we would stick together and run for fun.

The race started off well we were chatting away & the first few clicks seems to float by. It was the moment we hit our first climb that I realized my legs were completely shot...they felt like DEAD weights and even using everything inside me I just could not run up the hill. I walked up the hill trying to convince myself maybe I just needed to warm up or maybe it was just this hill. Even as I walked up (I can't even call my pace a power hike) I felt my heart rate was maxed out.

After a steep downhill I thought my legs might be waking up...I was wrong. When we hit the next slight up hill, my legs felt worse than the first up hill - was that even possible? I asked my friend to leave me but she said she was happy to stick it out with me, even though the hills were absolutely killing me. We hit twin bridges and checked our pace it was looking like we were still moving at a pace that would allow us to finish in around two hours and I just kept telling myself to push through, that I would have to start to feel better. Using this flatter section of the race I tried to regroup my legs, my lungs and my emotions, telling myself it would all be over soon and that this WAS what I came here for...or was it??

I focused on convincing myself to smile (I think that even just smiling can spread goodness in your body) and enjoy the stunning forest, rivers and scenery that surrounded me.

Upon reaching Homestead hill I again tried push myself to run yet again (I KNOW I can run this hill), but the legs weren't there, it literally felt like it was taking every ounce of my energy to walk up the hill let alone run it. I tried to pull from one of my favourite quotes: LEARN TO RUN WHEN FEELING THE PAIN: THEN PUSH HARDER. Even this didn't work.

We reached the top of the hill (thank god) and were running to the 12km mark (also the start and finish area) my girl friend looked at me and said "do you want to keep going?  You could pull out at 12km if you weren't aren't feeling it"...The problem is I know I can run that trail and I am stubborn, so I told her to leave me and that I'd battle through & see her at the finish line.

Running on Varley Trail felt like I was moving so slow, I seriously felt like I was running backwards. I hit the Lynn Headwater aid station and could barley muster up a friendly hello for the volunteers working it.

I continued on along Lynn Loop trail, seriously I think I must have been delirious because my main motivation to keep running was that I thought I must have been in dead last place and I was fearful the sweepers would be passing me soon.

Climbing the Lynn Loop hill felt more like a death march, I honestly felt light headed, as though every ounce energy was gone and like each leg weighted over 200 pounds. I suffered through it reminding myself that I've done this before, that I've run much longer in the past and that it was almost over...I finally reached the top of the hill, where the terrain turns more technical and rolling, I think this is where I got "half" of my first wind.

I finished the last few km's much stronger then the rest of my race but was still not feeling anything like I should have.

Reflection:

1. Do I think it was a nutrition issue?  No, I ate well leading up to the race including the morning of and during the race I downed lots of fluids and gels.
2. Was I hung over? NO!!! Seriously people
3. Did I have enough sleep? I think so - I actually slept well the night before. I went to see Warren Millers Wintervention which was EPIC! can not wait to hit the powder this year - my snowboard is already in the shop getting waxed.
4. Did I taper? No - this is probably what did it. The week leading up to the race I race H2H relay on Saturday, did a trail run Sunday with Brad, went for a seawall run with friends on Monday night, hit up a brand new intense gym class on Tuesday, suffered through a major hurt session with Pricey and Clint on Wednesday and did Yoga on Thursday.

I honestly think this race reminded me the importance of tapering and REST.

In the end I finished in 2hour 17minutes - Most importantly I finished.  I battled through the worst I have ever felt on a trail race and made it to the finish!

After refueling and some shopping I headed to the Commodore Ballroom to check out two fantastic bands; Ra Ra Riot and Wintersleep.

K

SUGOI Sample Sale 2010

~ Shopaholic Alert ~

SUGOI Factory Sample Sale
November 19-20th

Where: 4084 McConnell Court Burnaby, BC, V5A 3N7
When: Friday 19th November from 1pm-9pm
Saturday 20th November from 9am-3pm

A huge mix of samples and factory seconds. Entry is $2 by donation or bring a canned food item for The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Sale items include; running/cycling jackets, tights, pants, shorts, Race + Recovery socks, bike jerseys, bibs, vests, triathlon swim suits, arm warmers, gloves, hats and other clothing specifically designed for racing, training, layering, and casual wear.

I went last year & speak from experience, this is one of those sales that you don’t want to miss.

There were even items for $1 last year - woop woop!

See you there!

Haney to Harrison 100km Relay + 28 Chicks = Fab Times

Haney to Harrison Race Day.

Saturday, November 6th. 

Alarm goes off at 4:15am.

I was prepared - for once.

Friday night I had packed all my food for race day including; cookies for the team (freshly baked on Friday evening) and oatmeal for breakfast (cooked and ready to reheat) complete w/cinnamon and blueberries oh my!

My bags were packed and my race clothes were laid out.

4:53am text from Kath "I'm leaving my house - see you in 5"

Katherine and Amanda arrive at my house at 4:57am right on time, we made a quick stop to pick up Jess and then maked a quick stop at the 24hr Tim Hortons.  

Note: Tim's attracts a unique crowd at 5am on a Saturday morning

We had three teams entered into the race; "We Run Like Girls," "We Run Like Girls Too" and "We Run Like Girls Three".  We drove to the start line to meet up with our leg 1 runners; Ang, Steph and Emily after a short scheming session about the race, we wished them good luck and the runners were off. Game on!

Above: The girls of leg 1

Below: The girls of the early morning legs

Also spotted at the start line-

We headed to the first exchange point at the start of leg 2 - my leg. Distance: 13.51 km (Very undulating to flat).  I did a quick warm up and was tagged in at around 7:15am, still pitch black out and much earlier then I normally run.

I'll admit I hadn't reviewed the course map or elevation chart prior to running, I knew that the leg was tough and that it was rolling hills - that was enough info for me. Overall I felt pretty good during my run, I haven't been doing a lot of distance running but I have been trying to focus on shorter more intense runs. Its honestly all I've had time to fit in. This definitely helped me during the race. The hills were not super steep or long but I was consistently running up or down, the intensity training helped me fight through the lactic build up & burn ;) My run was really enjoyable and I even managed to "almost" high five one of the blue man group (also known as the Chachie Brothers relay team).  However I missed and in doing so almost fell into a ditch...awesome! But I think recovered nicely and I don't think too many people saw.

This was my first time being involved in a relay team like this and I learned some good lessons: 

1. Only go to Tim Horton's at 5am on a Saturday if you are in a pack.  Safey in numbers.
2. Be ready at the exchange area at least 10 minutes before the "expect" change over - I wasn't totally ready for the initial pass off from leg 1
3. Neon yellow shirts aren't always a bad thing, I have accepted this color in addition to Pink for running - saved my life from cars during my dark run
4. You need to scan the chip on the table at the exchange point
5. Pay attention to the road, and only hand out high fives when safe to do so
6. Don't forget to find your team mate as you approach the finishing area of your leg...don't run past them
7. I love relays!
8. Being on an all GIRLS team kicks butt
9. Be prepared for the unexpected i.e. The Chachie Brothers relay - ok so maybe I had been warned to watch out for the Blue Unitard wearing sprinters but can anything really prepare you for this:

Apparently this team decides which leg they each run on the eve of the race via. a drunken poker game - might be an interesting poker game to get in on next year...or not.

In the end I netted out with an official time of 1:06:16 including my terrible transition points. That works out to a pace time of 4:55/km and was good enough for 14/105 women for this leg. Woop Woop.

After my leg we headed back to Harrison Hot Springs Resort, warmed up in the Hot Springs and then heading to the finish line to cheer on our remaining team members as our teams finished the race.

"We Run Like Girls" ended up coming in 4th place in the open women's category with a total relay time of 8:15:43.  Way to rock it ladies! Here are two shoots of my relay team-

After all three of your teams finished the relay we of course put on our real game faces for a finish line photo shoot like any respectable chick would.

After the photoshoot we headed to the local pub for eats & drinks and then headed to the legendary "barn party" which is just too debaucherous to write about on this blog but I will say it was one heck of a party! (I didn't take any photos.)

Here are some more of my favourite shots from the day

Above our adorable volunteers and below our cheering squad

The girls were all smiles all day! 

*Fantastic setting*

It wasn't all ladies, all day - I spotted my friend Ward + Pricey came to crew for us too! lucky boys ;)

Stacey and I below 

(I'm slowly (and secretly) poaching Stacey (Pricey GF) muah haha)

Thanks again to my friend Leah for bringing together so many great ladies and for organizing a fantastic weekend! You did a wonderful wonderful job. (This is Leah)

Last fun shots

 Good bye Harrison ~ see you in Whistler 2011