Comfortably Numb 25K

I ran the Comfortably Numb 25K trail run yesterday, here in Whistler.

I ran it pretty well off the couch, as I hadn't trained too hard in the last two weeks. I figured as long as I drew on my experience, I could tough it out and run well.

I forgot to set my alarm before I went to bed, so I awoke with a start, realizing I had to throw my stuff in my pack and get out the door fast! I only had time to throw a pamplemousse in my bag, and head to catch the special bus to the start. Race time was at 9am, but I had signed up for the 7:30 bus.

I got to the start with everyone else, and had quite a bit of time to stretch, and get in racing mode. I listened to the same music I listened to before my Hong Kong races, so I was feeling good.

There were a number of racers, but not too many people were lining up near the line. I stood about in the second row. We started the race on an uphill, and I jostled for position with some fast looking runners.

I ran with them for about 5K, sitting in about 6th or 8th place. Were were the chase pack, running after a guy who was way out in front. Were were battling single-file in the woods. But then I made a tactical error...I tried to pass a few of them and break their spirits on a long uphill, but ended up breaking my own. After that, I was too tired and couldn't keep up to the peleton's pace. I would run the next 15K or so on my own.

Throughout the race, I fell four times, including one major tumble where I rolled off the trail and into the bushes a bit. The course was tough...many rocks and logs, steep hills. The falls broke my spirit, and frustrated me quite a lot.

I got passed twice from the 5K mark to about the 22K mark, then about five more times from 22K to 25K. I could barely put one foot in front of the other...I have never felt that drained in a race! I just tried to keep the forward motion happening, but that was tough. I was in survival mode from 23K on, hoping there weren't too many runners behind me because I was incapable of putting up any sort of fight. I ended up getting 15th, with a time of 2hr18:35. I was 23:06 behind the winner.

I finished strong, buoyed by Carmella who was there to cheer me on with a sign! Once I crossed the line though, I collapsed onto the grass, and began to hyperventilate, and almost began convulsing. I had left everything on the course, and didn't have enough energy to stand up even. A friendly nurse asked Carmella if I was having an asthma attack, then moved in to help me. The nurse told me she was going to shadow me for awhile to make sure I was OK, and then she guided me to the food table. I almost fell over a couple more times before I got there.

I have never felt that way after a race before, and have never been the dramatic one before, but yesterday I was. For the rest of the morning while we were watching the other racers come in, talking race talk with other racers, and scanning the draw prize table, volunteers kept asking me if I was alright, wanting to make sure I was recuperating well.

Here are some pics that Carmella took. There should be more official ones posted on the site later, but there aren't any there at the moment.



Here I am looking haggard after the race. I am standing on my own at least!



Here's Ben, who is one of Carmella's friends that I met recently. He was fast, and got 8th. I was trying to keep up to him for the first 5K, but was unable too. He was super fast on the steep techy down-hills, and looked strong.



Carmella and her sign! I was happy to see it as I neared the finish line.




I come across the line, with my draw-prize haul.





Wait! The draw prize stuff must be displayed! I scored a small biking backpack and a visor, called THE SUPERVISOR! It is quite super.



I reenact my dramatic finish, collapsing on the ground. There's a smile on my face this time, and I have my free stuff with me, including the SUPERVISOR. Otherwise, it was likely similar, except I couldn't breathe last time!

All in all, a fun race. I need to train more so I can avoid the finish-line collapse, and I must buy some trail runners so I don't slip all over the trail, falling into the bushes. But a good time, and I'm happy with my 15th-place finish. There were 106 finishers.

Emphatic Victory

I played Settlers with Emily and Derek last night. We branched out and played the SeaFarers version. While I'm always happy to play the standard version, Emily's been hankering for something a little different.

There are many different board set-ups you can create in SeaFarers, and each one has a different number of points needed for victory. Our scenario required the winner to reach twelve points.

At the end of the game, I had 13 points, (even though I only needed twelve) including Largest Army, Longest Road, and one Victory Point. The rest were cities and settlements.

It was a quite decisive victory. Emily finished with 7 points, and Derek with 6.

I marked my victory and the others' point totals on our new score board. For the time being, I am in the lead!

Er in the Bike Park

Erik and I hit the Bike Park yesterday. It was my first day on the mountain of the year, and Er's first in about three years. We weren't sure if he biked with me in 2005 or 2006 last time.

We got a bike from my old bike shop, and were given a good deal. Then, Er bought a day ticket and I bought my seasons pass. Then it was time to hit the hill!

We started at about 10:30, and had the bike returned at about 5:30, so it was a solid day of riding. Here are some quick pictures.



We started the day on a green run, then halfway down I decided Erik was ready to hit some wood bridges, much like this one. Er ended riding off the bridgework, auger-ing into the dirt, and losing confidence.



We found ourselves at the Intermediate Skills Centre, where we worked on Er's bridge skills. Observe the mountains in the background.

Erik does well on this bridge. It ends in a teeter-totter, so you must have confidence that the end part of the bridge will tip down, so you can ride off. Er is looking strong!

Just after I took the previous picture, Er rode off this bridge too. He is battered, both physcially and mentally.

Erik demonstrates his crash, recreating the way the bike drove off the workwork. He didn't have time to get his arms out to break his fall, so his helmet did that instead. It's probably better that way, because a lot of riders break arms and separate shoulders when they try to break their falls with their arms and hands. Smart, heads-up crashing Er!


Erik shows excellent form in the woods. We rode a number of trails, including tight and twisty ones, rooty ones, jumpy ones, and wide fast ones.


Erik dominates the wall ride on Crank it Up. This was our favourite trail of the day; it had lots of jumps, features, and berms. This wall ride was one of three in a row. Solid freeriding Er!

I also hit the wall ride.

We came across this bear lounging on some remaining snow. He was happy to relax on the snowpack, as it was a pretty hot day. After awhile, he lumbered away looking for berries. He didn't look like a fully grown adult, so he was probably just beginning his first spring on his own.

Er closes out the day by washing his bike, as per his rental contract. The woman on the left was spraying him quite a lot, and Erik showed a lot of restraint by keeping his hose pointed at his bike, instead of her.

We pose at the end of our full day of biking. Erik's skills progressed through the day, and we did every blue trail on the hill. Like the last time he was here, Erik showed a lot of endurance and rode all day even though he was tired. Another good day in the Park Er!

Today we went to the Pemberton 4 x 4 rally. My roomate Derek was driving in it, so we went to watch him. There are no pictures from it though, but it was pretty fun.

Carmella and my friend Jess went with us. We sat in the sun all day, and got pretty tired. There were 50 trucks registered, and today was the last event, where the drivers drove around a course that had jumps, mud bogs, and lots of turns.

I'm tired and am going to maybe fall asleep for a bit. I will drive Er down to Vancouver later tonight, possibly after a Settle.

Bruce and I

So I've been to the gym twice in the last few days, and it's felt good. I bought a ten-time pass, so I'm somewhat commited.

I'm going to get super ripped like Bruce Lee.

Here were are in Hong Kong.

Race!

So I entered the Whistler Valley Trail Run today. I wasn't going to do it, as I wasn't feeling race-ready.

Then yesterday I was at work, and decided I need to get out there and race, whether or not I'm in racing condition. Racing will help me get in shape and back in a racing mindset, and this race could be a small step toward the larger goal of running a successful marathon in October. There was a 10K course and a 5K course. I opted for the longer route.

I looked at the results from past years, and was happy to see the race wouldn't be too competitive. There were no staggeringly-fast times posted by elite runners, so I figured it would be a pretty low-key and friendly race. This atmosphere would be perfect for where my fitness and training is at the moment.

I ran the inaugural Whistler Valley Trail Run back in 2004, and it was a disaster. That race was a 5K. I got to the starting line, and looked about. There were few serious-looking runners there, so I figured I might have a shot at a high-placing finish.

About 500m into the race, I overtook the leader and began to lead the race. This was the first race I had been winning since the Field Day races in primary school. I was excited!

I was running well, but had trouble finding the proper route. There were no marshals, and very few markings on the trails. Since I was leading, I didn't have anyone to follow, and there were no rabbits on bikes to help out either.

I heard voices and cheering, sensing I was getting close to the finish line, and was still feeling extremely fast. I looked at my watch and was impressed with my blistering pace. I approached a fork in the trail, looking forward to breaking the tape for my first racing victory.

Turns out I took the wrong turn, and kept running into the woods when the rest of runners figured it out and exited the woods, running towards the line and finishing as they should have. Confused, I emerged from the forest quite a ways away, coming at the finish line from the back. I would get a DNF because of this mistake. I was very frustrated and irritated.

My pace was so fast because the race wasn't actually a 5K, but was measured very poorly and was actually something like 3K. I remember the race organizer telling everyone over the mic that she was sorry about the race problems, but it was all about the children, right? (The race was in support of some child's charity.) This comment was successful in frustrating and irritating me more. I was in a foul mood.

Because of the past blunders at this race, I was a bit nervous going into this 5th edition, but as I was running I saw there was caution tape everywhere, marshals at all junctions, and arrows along the route in chalk. I had no problem knowing where I was supposed to go.

The race was really fun because I was up near the front for almost all of it. My favourite moment was about 2K in. There were two fast guys way up front, and a pack of about five of us giving chase. I found myself leading this dense group of runners from a wide trail onto singletrack that led into the woods. I felt like I was in the Olympics or something, leading the chase pack against the leaders. I was feeling like a superstar and it was awesome.

In the end, I believe I got 4th. Results won't be up for a few days, so I'll post when it's official. I had a really good race, and was able to pick off runners throughout the course. There was a runner in a blue shirt in front of me, and I was able to stay in contact with him for the whole race, and then took him with about 2K left. I finished strong, and was happy with my performance.

My time was 42:03 for 10.24K, which isn't bad considering it was a trail run with a tonne of climbing and numerous hairpin corners. I'm happy with this time, as it tells me I'm right where I should be at this early stage in my training. I'll be able to break 40 mins soon enough, on a paved, fast course.

Now, I'm going to nap. I had a late night last night, and then put in this stellar performance early this morning. I deserve a good nap, even though it's sunny. I've accomplished a lot, and it's not even noon.

I wish I was in Bali again.

So I'm bored at work, and I wish I was in Bali again. I sure could go for some time on a surfboard again. I was reading and surfing pretty much every day, and eating fantastic Indonesian food.

I was thinking last week where my ideal vacation would be. Part of me wants to go back to Bali because the waves were good for me, and I really liked it there. But part of me wants to try something new.

I guess it's a moot argument because I can't see myself affording a similar vacation anytime soon.

I will post this pic instead of going there again.

Comfortably Numb race

I just registered for the Comfortably Numb trail race here in Whistler. It's a 25K race on a biking trail with the same name. I ran it back in 2004, and now I'm going to make a return appearance. The trail slithers through the forest, and there are big trees and moss everywhere. It should be awesome.

It happens on Saturday, June 27th.

I don't know what my time was back in 2004, but it wouldn't have been very good because my training partner at the time was having a rough go (I think it was her ankle), so I stayed with her and finished when she did.

I'm going to race it this time. I'm not expecting much though, just looking to get back into race mode, and get some inspiration to keep training. Whistler has a fast running community, which isn't surprising because running is so pleasurable here; I don't think I can expect to perform in the standings like I did in my Hong Kong races.

I'm still hoping to run the Royal Victoria Marathon on Thanksgiving this year, which is 42.2K. Training for The Distance will be the hardest part, so I will be able to guage better after the Comfortably Numb race if I'll be able to stay focused enough to stick to a program.

I must maintain focus! Carol, you must make me another sign.