Rene Unser, Endurance Athlete & Coach

Dreams Come True - An Evening of Inspiration!

2012-02-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I presented an evening of inspiration for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, through Global Fitness Centre. This event was one of the Charity events we host for our Get it Back Give it Back program, which is a weight loss and lifestyle program. Global Fitness offers this opportunity to 60 participants who have 20lbs or more to lose within our community. I am lucky enough to play a role as the Fitness Director of the club and through my experience as an endurance athlete and coach!
I have never done anything like this before, however I hoped that my message would come through and inspire people to turn their dreams into goals and to pick themselves up when they fall down... no matter how many times!
I shared my story of how I went from running 20min per week here and there to doing my first 10km... to a 1/2 marathon... to a half ironman... to a 5 day trail running race in Thailand etc...
I used running as a metaphor for any 'dream' and was my example as it pertained to being part of my 'dream' which was to complete the Gore-Tex Trans Alpine Run in Europe. (8 day stage race running through 4 countries in the Alps)
I first talked about the difference between a dream and a goal. In summay drove home the message that dreams are goals without legs. Unless you put the 'legs' to your goals, you will never arrive at your dream. I then shared examples of my journey and the many times I endured setbacks and ultimately the importance of picking yourself up when you fall along the way. And how I learned that suffering is temporary and that giving up lasts forever. I shared a very pivitol point in my life I learned about perserverence in a race in Thailand and the gift it gave me...

Although I was really nervous before the event, I was really happy I did it. Public speaking can be difficult when you open up your life and share some of the more intimate and grounding moments to a room full of strangers. What I didn't expect is how inspired I would be! The room was full and people were so engaged and grateful... I believe I really did make a difference with my presentation and inspired people to put legs to their goals. It was awesome!

We followed up with a Cardio Interval class to support the Heart & Stroke Foundation and we jacked it up!! The energy and effort blew me away! The inspiration didn't stop there either. The following day I received beautiful letters, thank yous and invitations to offer my inspirational talk and slideshow in other venues.

I just want to thank everyone who came out to support an amazing charity and to hear me speak. It was a good first guest speaking experience and I actually look forward to doing it again :)

Here is the link to the slideshow I shared on me and my running partner, Sarah's, journey across the Alps in 2011.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/qt6me8VI It might take a bit to load, but I hope you'll find it worth it!

ALPS - HERE WE GO AGAIN!

2012-02-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

It all happend really fast. Last week on Valentines Day to be exact! Sarah and I received word that a local business would sponsor our return to the Alps so we could participate in the 2012 Gore-Tex Trans Alpine Run. I think I speak for both Sarah and I, when I say that we were both overwhelmed with gratitude when Western Financial stepped forward with their offer of support. It was one of those moments for me, where things just stood still. I know that sounds cheesy, but this is a really unique opportunity. What's more is for us to be in alignment with a company who's values are to support local athletes and give back to their community has really inspired us!

After discussions with Sarah and Trent, (and hopping up and down like school girls) I talked to my Dad & Mary about our opportunity before accepting it. I wanted to run a few things by them first. #1. I didn't want either of my parents to feel like I was putting this event before the importance of supporting our family during Mary's battle with cancer. This is still my number 1 priority. #2. I wanted to see if they wanted to get involved and if we could turn our journey back to the Alps about more than just running and fulfilling our dream again. Sarah and I hoped for their support to reach back out to businesses like Western Financial and other families who are going through a battle with Cancer. To help other families make their wishes and dreams come true too! So we proposed a Cancer campaign and together, we hope to raise awareness and funds for the BC Cancer Society. I guess I also felt it would be really special for my family to look back at these moments and memories of us all working together to make a difference while Mary fights. We're stronger for Mary and for the cause if we go at it together...

Western Financial has been gracious enough to support us and we want to pay it forward! So not only will we embark on our journey back to the Alps this fall. We are going to organize some fun, creative and healthy ways for our community to get involved in our training and support a great cause. So stay tuned for dates on our climbathon and run to Naramata!

I do want to mention, however, a friend of ours who we met in the Alps last year has also played a big role with inspiring our choice to support the cancer society. Mike Fitzpatrick and his friend will also be racing in the Alps this year as team MitoCanada and will be raising money for a very special cause as well. Check it out and please support is you're able. Thanks Mike for the inspiration and setting such a fine example. We are all really excited to follow your thoughtful and generous footsteps!

Now as for the race this year... we are PUMPED!!! The route is different. It starts in Germany again and spends 4 days in Austria and 4 days in Italy. The route is 50km further with the same, 50,000 feet, elevation. We feel like we're ahead of the game already with ou trainin (relative to last year any how) and excited about building new memories and embracing such an incredible offer. Thank you Western Financial!

Fish Taco Fridays to Black Mountain Bliss Sundays

2012-02-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend of both training and social/family activities. After missing a full training weekend last week, I crawled back (slowly) to 65km of running this week and close to a 13hr total training week.
Friday was a really great day for me. I spent the morning and part of the afternoon visiting with my Dad & Mary at the cancer clinic while Mary received her 2nd chemo treatment. We received some great news that her lymph node has shrunk and it seems her cancer has not spread any further and is holding it's ground. So while she isn't cured, this was a fire works delivery of positive news and I think we are all feeling grateful :) I am just really happy for the quality time I had with both of them and I really have to say how inspiring it is to see Mary tackle her chemo and her illness with such fire, positivity and strength. I really admire her...

My Dad and I went out to get lunch and we ended up at Original Joe's to surprise her with one of her fav's: fish tacos! We took the opportunity to snag a photo :) That night I had a great spin session with one of my fellow fitness instructors from Global (Jordan Cheyne) who lead us through a challenging and fun endurance real ride and then I taught 45min of balance, core, strength and stability work following his ride.

Saturday brought me a new experience in my life. After fitting in a brief trail run behind the house and hanging out with Carter/Trent in the afternoon - I was off to the ballet! My boss, Darcia, treated us to a beautiful dinner at the Yellow House before hand. It was a lovely night and once again, feeling grateful for the gift of time that I got to spend with her, Stephanie and Marlene. And the ballet was beautiful!

Sunday's was great! Morning run with the PACE pep's and then family time. I was pretty bagged after the run and for the rest of day. So we stuck close to home and had lots of snuggle time and watched a movie. The greenway was to icy this morning so groups had to improvise and our group did just that! We ended up having tour guide Sarah Macleod take us all around Black Mountain for 33km and 2500 feet of climbing. It was a really great weekend with a good mix of recreation, family and friends.

Bummed Out ~ Lessons in Setbacks

2012-02-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my son was sick with the flu. So naturally, instead of the PACE run, I stayed home on Sunday to take care and snuggle up with him. That was an easy one for me... being a Mom comes before being a Coach. :) This weekend, I have been battling a very random (and very painful) upper back and neck injury. It started on Friday morning and just felt stiff, like I slept wrong on it. Friday night I hardly slept and Trent had to help me up on the middle of the night to even use the washroom. So again, naturally, I took Saturday off and put my training session to the side so I could focus on the PACE run the next day. I did hot/cold contrasts. Used a lacrosse ball to roll any tender and sore spots on my back/neck while standing up-right against the wall. Had Epsom salt bath. Even took some prescription ibuprofen. By last night I was actually able to ly down and roll in supine position. I thought it was getting better and went to bed optimistic.

2hrs later I woke up in pain again and this continued all night. On and off, not being able to get comfortable or lift my head off the pillow. I finally sent the PACE team a text at 4am, letting go of the fact that I would not be able to join everyone again this Saturday. I felt frustrated and pissed off. Mostly because I don't want to let anyone down who signs up for a clinic and/or who I am coaching. I also have strong values in that I need to walk the walk, as a coach, in order for my athletes to learn and trust me. So not getting out there with them to support them really bothered me. Then I realized that my staying home IS walking the walk. And that listening to my body is exactly what I ask each and every one of my athletes to do. And if their back/neck felt as mine did - I wouldn't hesitate in prescribing rest, other alternatives and be the first to rearrange their training schedule to account for this setback. I get that we need to feel reassurance that moving forward, any missed session wouldn't be the end of the world.

At the end of the day, I see the lesson for me as a coach: to continue to walk the walk and that sometimes will mean you walk alone and not be out with your athletes. As an athlete: to accept the things I cannot change and focus on getting better. The sooner I take care of things, the sooner I get back in the game with everyone.

It doesn't mean I am still not looking out my window at the two t's this morning and wondering how everyone is doing or missing the company and camaraderie. I trust that everyone is also learning their intended lesson in training today and taking them one step closer to their goals...

Motivation and Meatballs

2012-01-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

Some things are so good they just have to be shared! I had the type of week where there were some things I think are worth sharing... from overcoming a week of very low motivation to an amazing meatball recipe I improvised!

First off, this was a rest week for me and although I found myself feeling ready for it, rest weeks always make me feel more tired. So it was somewhat challenging staying motivated this week.

Classes at Global went well and I loved having our Get it Back team in my Tuesday Body Power class. We also had a fantastic workout with our team Thursday morning at Global Fitness in the cage. And I was so proud of them for all coming back to the club Thursday night for the obstacle course. It was an exciting and high-energy night! Sarah met me at Global so we could squeeze in a run together and it ended up being the best way to break up my 12hr work day.

Wednesday's PACE run was great! I just loved observing how much fun everyone has and all the smiles and laughter that fills the PACE scene. Plus, it dawned on me that all the hours and miles I spent running with Sarah last year not one of those runs were on the road. So this was officially our first road run together... yea - maybe a bit too cheesy for some, I get it.

Friday I was determined to take the 'day' off. It felt like a long time since I just putzed in the house and detached from anything fitness related ;) It put into perspective just how busy I am these days... so I stayed in my PJ's until 4pm when I started to gear up for Spoovie Night. After a great 2hr spin we went to Original Joe's for a beer and dinner. Again, feeling fortunate for the good friends I have in my life...

Saturday was all about Carter!! He had a ski race (3km loppet) at Telemark. He woke up in the morning and wasn't feeling 100%. He said he still wanted to do the race though. When we got up to the hill he checked in with his coach about being torn to do the race and not feeling well. They talked about it and decided he should give it a go. Well, we had some tears right before the race and cold, cold fingers :( Carter did his best and finished the race... but our poor little guy had super low energy and just wasn't himself..

So we went home right after his event and he was on the couch for the rest of the day. Poor guy missed one of his best friends sleepover birthday at Big White too :(

My run on Saturday was short and it took a lot to get me out the front door. I had a 45min window to either procrastinate or get outside and get in a workout... it wasn't a great run but I focused on the fact I did get it out when I really wasn't feeling the jam to run.

Sunday Carter woke up with full-on flu. So I missed the PACE run that morning and snuggle up at home with him. My Mom ended up coming over in the afternoon and took a "snuggle shift" so I could get my run in and I ended up seeing Karen Christie out with the doodles. So we had a great 2hr run together. I can tell you that I wouldn't have stayed out that long had it not been for the company.

So aside from feeling less than spunky this week and poor Carter getting the flu, I hit my training targets of and I ended up improvising this meatball recipe from a new cookbook I got for Christmas... they were awesome!!!

Italian Meatballs
1/2 lb of lean ground beef and ground turkey mixed (I mixed them although recipe calls for just beef)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (I used Panko japanese style)
1/2 cup of fresh grated parm cheese
1 tbsp fresh basil (or to taste)
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup of dehydrated onion (I used dried onion soup mix)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Broil on baking sheet lined with tin foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Gently combine all ingredients and roll into meatballs and place on prepared baking sheet
Broil for 7-10min or until they become brown and fragrant.

Enjoy!

Inspired to Dance!

2012-01-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

This week at our Get it Back Give it Back team meeting, we shared highlights from our week. It was very inspiring to hear from the participants in our team (Stephanie and I are their personal trainers in this weight loss and health program that Global Fitness sponsors - www.globalfitnesskelowna.com) who started to make significant changes to improve their health. Things such as not drinking or even sniffing wine all week. Being active 7 days in a row! Removing all the sugar and white flour foods out of their diets or doing a cupboard sweep and taking all the temptations like chocolate, chips, pop, cookies etc... out of their reach.
For me, my chosen highlight was Saturday morning when my son Carter (who is 10yrs old) just out of the blue went running into the snow downtown and started to twirl around with his arms out like he was flying... it hit me as one of the 'dance like nobody is watching' moments and I immediately grabbed my phone and took a photo. He was so happy and smiling and just care-free...

What I didn't realize in that moment was there was going to be a much more significant meaning behind Carter's spontaneous action...
After spending a great family day together, I had plans to attend a celebration of life for a very close and dear friend of mine... Heather Tommy. Heather was one of the first athletes on the P.A.C.E. scene. Her vibrant smile, friendliness and outlook on life was contagious. We instantly became friends. This past September we lost Heather in her battle with cancer. I was fortunate enough to see her the morning before she passed, as I was away in Europe when she got really sick again and flew back the evening before she passed. Well, to make a long story short... that evening at her celebration there was a beautiful slide show presented which did such an incredible job of capturing who Heather was... who she loved... what she enjoyed and how she spread this larger than life energy to everyone around her. The last song in the slide show was "I hope you dance" by Lee Anne Womack. In a blink of an eye I realized the true meaning behind Carter's spontaneous 'dance' in the park that morning... and not only did it make me cry - it made me smile. A touching reminder to live each day like Heather did. To the fullest and not put off making memories or creating experiences or living your best life. Maybe I even like to think that was Heathers way of sending me some of her 'sunshine' that morning...

Too often we can all get caught up in such a narrow focus and lose sight of the true importance of life. This is reminder that I can never hear too often and like Carter & Heather... I am inspired to dance!

Jim Cuddy

2012-01-23T21:31:00.000-08:00

Jim Cuddy was awesome!!!!! Not only because of the music but because I got to go with some of my favorite people :) My Mom, Carter, my brother Ken, my BFF Stephanie and her husband Ian.

This was Carter's first concert ever so just that element alone made it a highlight moment. He was very excited and totally embraced the experience. We sang together and he hugged and snuggled up with me in-between songs. It was really great. The other highlight was that Carter got to meet Jim Cuddy at the end of the concert... it didn't come without him waiting patiently though. By 11:30pm (on a school night) his patience did pay off...

p.s. Mommy met Jimmy too!

It was a great night and we all created some special memories together...

Power of Rest

2012-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

Rest weeks can be so funny. At the start of the week I often find myself going 'ahhh, thank goodness. A rest week.' You know you need to drop some mileage and overall volumes and you're generally tired (if your last few build weeks were effective). However, it can be difficult mentally to allow yourself that much rest or a break in training because we tend to panic and think irrationally like we are going to lose all the fitness... or we compare our week to what we hear others doing and lose faith in our game plan. So my goal this week is to stick to my recovery schedule, embrace the rest and know that when I enter into my next two build phases that I will get that much more quality and progression out of them and most importantly - ward off injury and potential burn-out before my first 50km arrives in March.
This past week was probably the first solid training week I've had since Europe. I have been getting lots of fitness since then, but nothing really too structured. I managed 55km (of running) and almost a 13hr training week. I also hit the bike/trainer for 3 spins and managed to fit in some yoga, my fitness classes, a ski and snowshoe. The best part of my week, however was I had some really fun moments with friends, the PACE crew and family!

This was one of those magical moments. After a family ski at telemark, Trent took Carter and me out for lunch downtown. After lunch Carter just started running around, laughing and smiling and I had to capture that 'Dance like nobody is watchin' moment.

Early morning bread & butter loop with the PACE Crew

Arrival upon Sunrise - So Cool!

The third lap had the 'coach' suffering a bit. My hip flexors were so sore from my ski the day before that I had to just take it super easy. Alana hung in there and kept me company. It was great we had some laughs together and she promised not to tell anyone that she had to piggy back me part way... ;)

We had an amazing dinner with Glenn, Cindy, Karen & Scott on Sunday. Cindy is such an incredible cook and her and Glenn outdid themselves with clams, chicken stir fry, rice and a delicious salad. Oh! And we also got to taste test Glenn's infamous kettle core popcorn!

7 View Points at Knox - A Hilly Run with P.A.C.E.

2012-01-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today was kick-ass! It was the first endurance training run with the Chuckanut 50k group on the PACE scene. I was leading one of the 50k groups and our focus today was elevation. So I told my athletes not to worry about distance and just focus on being out for 3hrs and to prepare to climb, climb and climb some more.

I wanted to make it as fun as I could so I choose a route that has 7 of the nicest view points (in my opinion) at Knox Mountain. I also hoped that this route would bring enough variety to the route and that some people would be on trails they have never been on before.

We ended up covering 20k and approx. 3700 feet. A solid first outing for this group of endurance athletes. They kept me on my toes as I lead and the amazing company made the time breeze by!

I took photos at 6 of the 7 viewpoints... the photos do say it all.

Get it Back Give it Back Interview with Castanet

2012-01-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.globalfitnesskelowna.com/media/blog/news/Global-Fitness/2012/01/12/21:Giving-Up-Weight-Helping-Others

Ice, Chmice! We Made Do...

2012-01-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Sarah, Stephanie, Nathan, Carrie and I headed up Hell Hill just after 9am this morning. We were all game for a 22km trail run and I was looking forward to finishing with approx. 3400 feet in my legs. Only once we got moving we realized what bad shape the trails were in... they were full of ice! By the time we sauntered over to the actual Two T's section of the loop I was starting to second guess our big plans that day and thought that risking two loops in this terrain would probably be a bad idea. So instead we picked apart the sections that were clean and did hill repeats along the way on any manageable area.

Today was such a great day to be out and the company was so laid back and fun that none of us got too worried about it and we just did the best we could with what we had. I decided to shift the focus of the run to elevation and it made it easier to let go of the distance or time expectations of the workout and go with the flow. It would have been frustrating and dangerous to push the pace or distance on these trails today.

We still got in 2.5hrs on our feet, although stats from my new watch tell me only 2hrs of that was moving time. Okay, maybe we were a little TOO laid back :) but we did get almost 2500 feet which is half of the elevation for Chuckanut and we are still 10 weeks away. See? There is always a silver lining... if you go looking for it.

We got in some great views, did some bum sliding down the hills and of course, finishing with these two love birds topped the whole run off. Carrie and Nathan were happy the whole run and it was nice to be in such positive company. "Positive Attitude Changes Everything" in case you hadn't heard that before... (P.A.C.E.)

Movie + Spin = SPOOVIE

2012-01-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

Last night we launched the start to another spoovie season. This marking our 3rd consecutive year. Sponsored by Kelowna Cycle and Global Fitness Centre, every Friday at 6pm we play a different movie and people can spin for 1.5-3hrs, depending on the length of the film, for only $5.00. It is a great way to get in a long endurance ride this time of year. Mind you, having said that - our spring-like weather this year is making outdoor rides still very feasible.

We kicked off the first night with Indiana Jones. It was Carter's big spoovie debut on his new road bike. He texted David Nelson on his way to school that morning... 'Hello fellow Felt Brother. Will you be at spoovie tonight?' The two of them texted back and forth on my blk berry... guess someone is growing up!

After about 40min on the bike, Carter and his buddy grabbed the blankets and hunkered down in a 'fort' with exercise mats and watched the rest of the movie and had snacks.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supports this event. Looking forward to going for a beer and nachos next week!

Good People (like P.A.C.E.) Run!

2012-01-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

This is so cool!! I logged into Good People Run tonight and on the homepage they have one of our P.A.C.E. photos with the P.A.C.E. team. (Photo credit goes to Michael Hintringer Photography)

http://www.goodpeoplerun.com/index

When I first saw the photo I actually thought: 'Wow! What a beautiful place to run.' Then I realized it was my team and the location was in our stompin' grounds. And the next thought was how proud I was to be part of this organization (Good People Run) who are passionate about showcasing all the incredible places to run in the world and connecting like-minded athletes with the opportunity to learn more about trails, running, training, locations etc...

If you haven't signed up for this 'service' yet I strongly recommend it. And while you're doing so, please join the P.a.c.e. sports fitness group and I hope to see you out on the trails or sharing your favorite places to run soon!

SNAP Okanagan - P.A.C.E. Yourself

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

SNAP Okanagan - P.A.C.E. Yourself

Fine Finish to 2011...

2012-01-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

I had such a great week on the fitness front! I spent it recreating with some incredible people and my body feels really strong, is recovering well and ready to 'offically' start training for my goal of 6 ultras in 6 months this year.
Monday was boxing day and I scheduled myself to teach a class at Global Fitness Centre. So I headed down to the gym just after 8am and taught a spin class to those dedicated folk who couldn't wait to burn off some turkey, stuffing and pie and beer and wine and ..... I took no mercy and put them through a hard 45min interval session. A great way to start the week!!

Tuesday I connected with 'fitness' on a different level. I had to work at the club until 3pm and then I spent the remainder of the evening gearing up for the ultra seminar I was hosting the following day. So although I wasn't physically active, it was just as much fun putting the last minute touches on the content for this event. Plus it was my one rest day of the week!
Wednesday morning I headed out into Crawford with my friend and fellow PACE teammate, Ian Tanner. We wanted to do a long, slow run. 2.5-3hrs. We ended up hooking up with friends and PACE athletes, Karen Christie and Erica Abbie for the last hour of our 2:40hr run. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day in the snow and near perfect conditions!! Such a great crew to spend the morning with and these three can run! They're a tough bunch, let me tell ya. We logged almost 20k and 2000 feet and my body felt really good. This was the longest run I have done since TransAlps.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137093765

The Ultra Seminar went really well that night. Despite the fact that I had a few 'public speaking' moments in the beginning and couldn't find my words... suddenly started to sweat... felt my face get hot... (deep breath) and just had to settle into things. Despite the fact that I have been talking in front of people since I was 18 didn't seem to factor into just how nervous I was in the beginning. It was settling to know, however that everyone in my house was not only my athlete but my friend. I had 16 keen, fit and eager people in the room... ready to challenge and conquer the 'Ultra'. It was a very inspiring night!

Thursday lead me back to the club for another full day in the fitness industry. Lots of exciting stuff on the go at Global and my day breezed by! It helped that I knew Trent and I had a 'date night' planned at Knox Mountain at 3:30pm. Nothing says 'love' like hill repeats! Evano and his dog joined us for the 1hr 15min hill session and then Trent and I went for Thai food before meeting our son, Carter and having a mellow movie night.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137388469

Friday was another amazing day in Kelowna. The skies were blue... the sun was shining and it was FAMILY SKI DAY!!! Trent, Carter and I headed up to Nordic for a x-country ski. With our pockets full of gummy bears we enjoyed a great 11km ski and visit out in nature. It really was a perfect day!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137683131

Saturday was New Year's Eve and I really wanted to get in another long, slow distance run. So Karen and I made plans weeks prior to run 'early' so our husbands could ski in the afternoon and Jay & Carter could play. Saturday was a cooler morning at -5 but still a really pretty day to be out on the trails. We ran from my house again and headed into Crawford. I really wanted another 2.5-3hr run and hoped for approx. 20k because I knew combined my three runs this week would be the equivalent of Chuckanut 50k which would be my first Ultra in March. And voila! 2hrs 45min later we were home and close to 20km. Best part (besides the awesome company - thanks Karen!) - again, my body felt amazing and my energy level the rest of the day was 100%. All very positive signs heading into another heavy ultra training year for me.

LAST RUN OF 2011

Today I will be busy working as a coach off the trails and will be writing out programs for my athletes. I hope to get on the trainer for a spin and do some yoga as an active recovery day before heading to the movies with Trent and Carter. Mission Impossible here we come!! If this last week is any indication of how amazing my year will be in 2012 than I am one lucky gal and in store for a year of gratitude once again!!

The Gift of Family & Friends

2011-12-24T16:03:00.001-08:00

"It came without ribbons! it came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!" - Dr. Seuss

I just had one of the most awesome Christmas holidays ever! It started off with a really good cup of coffee at home, on Christmas Eve, with our friend Mike who we met while in Europe this year. Mike came to Ktown on Friday night to surprise Sarah and I and to take part in the P.A.C.E. charity trial run we hosted at Crawford this morning. It was so good to see him and I think Sarah said it best: 'it felt like it was just yesterday we last saw and talked to him.' The first of many great 'gifts' this holiday season - the gift of reunited friendship!

The gifts kept coming too! On Christmas eve we headed over to Crawford to meet an an incredible crew of people who came out to run with PACE and support the Kelowna Food Bank. P.A.C.E. leaders, Andrew Corcoran, Ian Tanner, Trent Marshall, Stephanie Swaisland and Karen Bowen were out in full force, ready to take the lead through the snowy trails. We had two groups that headed out for 1hr 30min session and with the snow lightly falling it really was a magical Christmas Eve morning. Thanks again to everyone who came out and brought items for the food bank to those less fortunate than us this time of year.

This year was a rather special year for my family. Mid-November my step mom was diagnosed with Cancer. I haven't blogged about this at all, as it is a personal and rather emotional area for me and my family and not something that neesd to be shared in detail across the world, however my blog (aside from my goal to motivate and hopefully inspire some people from time to time) is a place that I go to look back on my life. To help me remember and cherish some of the 'Ah-ha' moments, as well as have a timeline to some of the pivotal and more challenging moments. So in an effort to still respect my parents and their privacy while honoring my values I will just say that this Christmas was truly a 'magical' one for me. I know many people have loved ones who are either battling cancer or have family and friends who are no longer here to share the holidays with.... making the holidays a rather sad and/or difficult time. I am so proud and feel so lucky to have a family who embraced this holiday season. My parents, who have been divorced since I was 12yrs old, gathered with their spouses, my brother, Carter and Trent and me to create the true meaning of Christmas... 'togetherness.' For two days we all hung out and shared the role in the kitchen... hung out in our pj's... played games, sang songs, watched movies and cherished 'time' with one-another without judgement... without moments from our past... staying present and embracing the simple gift of family. My parents (all 4 of them) are really special people and I can't tell you how amazing it was to celebrate the holidays undivided this year. It was not only the best gift of the season for me... it will always remain one of my fondest memories.

Mary & My Dad

John & My Mom

Trent and I got out for a run behind the house, before returning to the house where Mary taught me how to make her ancient Chinese secret: won ton soup! Carter, my Dad and Uncle Kenny had a monopoly tournament that lasted almost 4hours! It was the most intense (in a fun way) game I have ever seen :) I will have to get the photo from my Dad and add it at a later time.

My Mom and John cooked a beautiful turkey dinner on Christmas Day and we once again, all ate way too much! While some people hit the malls for deals today, I went into the gym to teach a spin class for those members of the club who wanted to stay in touch with their health and fitness over the holidays :) It was a fun class and I worked them HARD!

With a new year on the horizon my mind is buzzing with inspiration and more endless possibilities that await my athletes, my family and me. Making the most of each day and the gift of 'time' is my 2012 slogan... what's yours?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rene

December - A Busy Month for P.A.C.E.

2011-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

We wrapped up another year of trail running, cycling, adventure, travel, fitness, friends and awesome memories with the P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness Christmas party on December 9th. This year I decided to forgo hosting at our house, in an effort to have more people attend and to mix things up a bit. So we went to Rusty's Steakhouse and Pool Hall. Over 55 athletes (and spouses) joined in on the festivities. We had a beautiful buffet dinner, draw prizes from our sponsors: Valhalla Pure Outfitters, Udos Oil and Icebreaker. Our good friends and fellow athletes, Sandy & Sarah from Your Gym Bag also stepped up and donated some amazing product and gift certificates to show their support and love of P.A.C.E. We watched a slide show and shared some laughs from over the past year and then continued the night with a mixed scotch doubles pool tournament. P.A.C.E. pep's love to give back and everyone who came to the party brought non-perishable items to support those less fortunate this time of year and we brought the donations to the Kelowna Food Bank. Thank you to everyone who came out to help us celebrate and for making 2011 such a remarkable year. I am truly blessed to call the trails my 'office' and 'work place'.

We also wrapped up the 'Maintenance & Core' clinic with a super FUN and if you were in Trent's group... a hammerfest, run at Knox Mountain Park and then we went for dinner and drinks at Baxters Pub. Over 35 people took to the trails this fall and ran sessions ranging from 1 hour 15 minutes to 3 hours. A great bunch of dedicated, hard-core athletes who strapped on their headlamps for a mid-week endurance session. Core videos were sent each week encouraging athletes to do some 'homework' at home. Thanks to everyone who came out and trusted their heath, fitness and running goals with the PACE team this winter. You did it! You hunkered through 8 weeks of dark, cold and snowy weather and your body will be thanking you when you embark on your goals starting January... feeling that much fitter and strong!

With the week before Christmas, I have been busy working on my training plans for the PACE scene for 2012. Locations, speed workouts, long run specifics and combo workouts. I have lots of new ideas to apply some pretty cool training principles and to keep making suffering fun! I am also going to be holding an ultra seminar for my 2012 ultra running athletes. My vision is to hold a workshop and teach them all about the energy systems... rest, recovery... building their training plans and more. It will be an intense 2 hours but I know they can handle it and more importantly, their success is so important to me that I want them to have as much information going into the new year as possible. I don't want my athletes just listening to me... I want them to understand the purpose behind what they're doing. To be able to make good choices on their own and get the most out of their time and efforts. So this is taking up some time right now too as I get organized.
I also just finished retaking my NCCP level 3 coaching courses. Although I already took my level 3, the NCCP has recently changed the way they offer their cert's. So with 7 new modules I figured I owed it to my athletes to re-take it and see if there was anything I missed or could learn that would be new or perhaps even motivating. So I have been busy on Monday, Tuesday nights or full days and weekend sessions. I am glad I did it, although I didn't learn anything 'new' it did give me some new perspective and was a positive refresher.
P.A.C.E. is back on the charity scene this week and offering a community trail run on Christmas Eve. We will have 3 different groups with varying fitness levels and experience, from A, B and C, allowing more people to participate and to hopefully collect more donations for the Kelowna Food Bank. For details, visit the facebook event page.

The last and one of the most exciting things for me this month is I have been hired by RBC to work with them and another cycling coach from Vancouver to coach RBC athletes on their journey towards the Whistler and Kelowna Grand Fondos. I assisted them earlier this year in with setting up some training rides and putting them in contact with a couple of my fellow friends/riders, as I wasn't able to take on any of the coaching with my commitment to the Alps. The great part is that I am in a position to help out in a much more involved way. I am really excited and feel very fortunate for this opportunity. So it looks like I will be 'back in the saddle' a lot more in 2012. It feels good and it will be great to mix up the runs with some riding from both a personal and professional/coaching perspective. I will be flying to Vancouver in the new year to meet the RBC team and fellow coach. I am one lucky gal...

Click for video link

January will be here soon and with so much to look forward to, I can't wait to get it started! On January 11th I will kick it all off with P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness Season Starter Clinic and it just blows my mind that over 20 athletes will start their training towards a 50k ultra. I can still remember when it was just a few of us. And then a few grew to 5. And then last year we had about 7 or 8. I love how the trails are motivating people to live their life to the fullest... to believe in themselves and see themselves achieving such goals and (again) how lucky am I that I get to be including in their journey...

Six Ultras in Six Months? Sounds Good to Me...

2011-12-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I took the plunge last week and signed up for some races in 2012. Seeing as I have technically lived the 'dream' and been to Europe for the Transalpine Race this year, I wanted to set some goals that would still challenge me and more importantly inspire me to a similar training year as this one. When I look back at my season, what really stands out to me is all the amazing training runs I did, people I trained with, PACE workouts I was motivated to create for my athletes and overall sweet, sweet, memories that were created while out on the trails.

So I have decided to run 6 ultras (50k) in 6 months. Starting with Chuckanut in March. I have ran the Chuckanut a couple times already and I know, for me, it is a good season starter. A way to stretch the legs, endurance and take my fitness up a notch heading into spring. It has never been my 'best' work as far as speed is concerned. It's a tough one to train for because it is so early in the season, however it's a nice ultra to set the pace and simply finish with 50k under your belt.

I am pretty excited (and a little nervous) to tackle the Yakima Skyline Run. This race takes place in April, in Washington. The kicker is that it has double the elevation gain as Chuckanut. So the ol' 'fake it till you make it' strategy won't work here. Even if you're tough, there is more potential to injury yourself or have prolonged recovery time which ultimately takes away from why we race in the first place... because we love to run! My plan is to shift focus early this winter and start building more elevation before Chuckanut because I won't have time in between races and the 5000 feet in Chuckanut won't cut it. So this will be a challenge in itself, because it is still fairly early in the season and I foresee some cold, snowy, long and slow climbing days in my future ;)

May is a no brainer! Sun Mountain in Winthrop is where it's at. I can't talk enough about the event that James Varner from Rainshadow running puts on. I anticipate a large group from Kelowna next year, will also attend. The buzz is out in the k-town trail running community. We had a group of 10 go this year and we loved it!

June's race will be Beacon Rock, also put on by Rainshadow Running. I just have to check this one out! On a clear day this race offers views of the Cascades... Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. I am sure this will make up for the fact that it is a loop course. For the record, I have avoided signing up for any looped races but something tells me this will be worth it. And depending on the post-race party... one loop might be enough to hunker down and just have a beer and enjoy all the awesomeness that surrounds a trail race finish line.

July I hope to make it into Knee Knacker. It's a lottery... so we'll see. If not, it might be Five in Five... instead of Six in Six ;) Then again there is this other long time goal of mine to run the Rock Wall Trail in Kootenay National Park. So this would be a great substitute!

August is Angels Staircase. I did the 25k this year and hope to have the legs to try the 50k in 2012.

I have not been running much more than 2 days per week since Europe and it's time for me to start to buckle down and build back into 3 days... 4 days... you get the picture. I got out the last few weeks and had some beautiful training days. I am feeling excited to get out there and work towards my goals. AND totally inspired by the 15+ P.A.C.E. athletes I am coaching this year as they build towards the wonderful world of ultra!

Ultra Info Night - Training in More Detail

2011-12-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Last night I held a information night on "ultra running" at Valhalla Pure Outfitters. It was the first time I have offered a 'specific' night like this and I was really nervous. Sometimes just putting yourself out there can be a bit stressful and I have to admit that I struggled with how to fit so much information into 1hr.  I ended up going with a generalized overview and choose topics that I felt would give people the most considerations when deciding whether to run a 50k or when in choosing what 50k to run. It also helped that each athlete shared one area they wanted information on before the lecture started, which helped me cater it a bit more as I went.
At the end of the hour, I felt like I didn't have enough time to fit in all that I wanted. Especially with respect to the training aspects, so I thought I would blog about some areas in further detail for a point of reference for those interested. I appreciate those people that were taking notes and have already sent me positive feedback on the session.

I am going to use Chuckanut for my example as it seems many of the people attending last night have this on their bucket list for next year.
Chuckanut is a good choice for a spring ultra, as it is considered one of the faster courses where ultras are concerned. This is a positive choice for those living in areas such as Kelowna where our winters are cold, snow is a factor in the hills which makes our traditional bread and butter runs more challenging and it is harder to get motivated to run in these conditions. It does take a bit more creativity when designing a training plan, though.

The other benefits to the Chuckanut is that the total elevation is less than many other ultras and comes in at approx. 5000 feet ascent, 5000 feet descent, it has a nice gradual start on greenway like trails for 9km before starting the first climb and the next 32km of trails (and there might be a little climb called 'chinscraper' that I promise will leave an unforgettable memory whether you have the legs to run it or a forced to a humble hike, at this point in the race). It is not a race I would consider technical, in comparison to many others I have ran, although does have some sections that will require some extra attention and advanced technique to blaze through... or otherwise slow your pace and proceed with caution. The post race pot-luck is awesome and the setting in Fairhaven Park is spectacular. And what I noticed last year was more top ultra runners than I have ever through imaginable at one event. If you subscribe to Trail Runner Magazine, you would recognize the many cover shot athletes... which is pretty inspiring.

Your training plans should be created as specifically as it can to resemble the race you are preparing for. So knowing the race profile is important, In this case: Flat'sh 9km. 32km with approx. 4500 fee.  Flat'sh 9km. ) you go back on the same trail you started out on)
16 weeks is often a safe amount of time to prepare a beginner for an ultra. And depending on other goals, fitness base, running base etc... doing some cross training can can be a great way to build your engine and work on your aerobic capacity. In order to increase endurance and your overall preparedness, however, running 3 to 5 days per week is necessary. Anything less than 3 times per week will not build sports specific muscles or provide the aerobic adaptation required for over distance training. As your event gets closer, however it is wise to hone in on the specificity of running and focus on fine-tuning that sport in a gradual, safe periodized manner.

For a beginner runner, you should run no less than 7hrs over 3-4 days per week as you prepare for your ultra. This complimented with other aerobic building activities or strength training will be enough to ensure you finish the ultra and remain injury free. Depending on your base and experience, however running upwards of 20+hrs is not uncommon. Just remember that these hours don't have to be accumulated with consequitive days of running and for a beginner or someone prone to overuse injuries, they would benefit from spacing their runs out.

As mentioned last night, there are many different ways to train the many different systems required while running an ultra. We went over speed, up/vertical intervals, race pace workout, strength, endurance, intervals (more pertaining to flats), and over distance which is typically the bulk of the training, especially for beginner ultra runners. An important consideration to remember is the longer your runs are, typically the more time you need to recover. And when it come to 'racing', for every mile you race, you should take one day for recovery. Again, this is a loose recommendation and it becomes difficult to 'generalize' specifics when every'body' is different. Rate of recovery, fitness base, experience, genetics, age, goals (to win vrs. to finish) etc... many factors play into building the right training recipe for each individual. Which is why I explained I don't offer cookie cutter programs.

So while I can't offer necessarily a sample training program that will work for everyone, I can provide a rough example for a beginner who is running 3x's per week to prepare for Chuckanut:

1x tempo runrepeated work efforts ranging from 1 to 10min of moderate to high intensity with rest intervals built also built in. Used on varying terrain. (although often flat is best) Goal to improve you anaerobic threshold. ( so you can work for longer periods of time at higher effort without lactate building in muscles) After the first few months, this can also be replaced with some weeks of up/vertical intervals which can vary depending on your goal outcome from 5sec intervals to 20min or longer.

1x endurance run 30min to 1hr of low intensity running. This should be performed off-road with varying terrain. And again, depending on the builds in your program you can benefit largely by making this run a middle distance run of 1.5-2hrs but this would depend on you base and allowing a gradual overall build in each specific week.

1x over-distance run where your minimum time is 1hr and upwards of 5hrs. This run needs to have a gradual, periodized build with applicable rest weeks formatted into the equation. Taking into consideration elevation gain is key and time is more important than distance. (as discussed in more detail last night) Your over-distance runs are done at an easy effort as building time on your feet and building your aerobic capacity is more important than speed. It doesn't really matter how fast you are if you can't finish the race. Enduring is always the number 1 goal.

It is also a good idea for beginner ultra runners to take the day off, after their longest run of the week. While back to back runs can be a useful tool for the experienced ultra runner, even with back to back runs, you need to ensure that you "back" off your training every 3rd week (depending on your periodized program) to ensure rest. For those more experienced runners and those who have built a solid base, running back to back is a useful tool for getting used to running on tired legs and can be a positive way to reduce total time out per run.

So as you likely see, it isn't as easy as it sounds to prescribe a training plan to group of individuals who are at different fitness levels and experience. I hope some of these guidelines further benefit some of you when trying to put together your weekly/monthly workout plans. No matter how awesome your training plan is, however it takes motivation and a commitment to follow through and prepare for an ultra. There is no faking it and choosing one ultra from the next can make a big difference, as not all ultras are created equal. So research your race and ensure you know what you're getting into before you choose a particular one. Use the profile to get creative with your workouts and try to simulate the race as much as possible. And email me if you have any specific questions, as I am happy to help where I can.

Kick in the Butt (by my 10yr old)

2011-11-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I had a full day planned with family and Christmas plans. So I knew if I wanted to get a 3hr run in, it meant getting up early and leaving the house by 7am. Not a big deal. Waking up at 5:30am to get a training session in early wasn't something new to me. However this weekend, I totally blew it by sleeping in! By the time I dragged my butt out of bed, made an espresso and actually came to 'life' it was past 8am. In my mind, my 'workout window' was over. I didn't have time for a 3hr run anymore. And before you know it a million other things I could do starting taking precedence. That is until my 10yr son called me.

My husband went up to Sovereign with our son Carter this weekend for a Nordic camp. When the boys left for the weekend, Carter was so excited! He was looking forward to a weekend filled with skate and classic skiing, ping pong, snowball fights, games and a social wonderland with his buddies. Only what he didn't realize is how the first time on the skis and doing 1.5 full days of skiing and activities/training... was going to hurt! I got a phone call Sunday morning from Carter. He sounded discouraged, tired and unsure if he could handle the ski race that was ahead of him that morning. He told me how much his shoulders hurt and how he didn't get any sleep and before you know it was talking himself into a tivy. So I immediately implemented 'Pep Talk 101' and talked him back up! Within 1min we had an excited, pumped up and ready to roll boy back in the game!

Carter (on the left) with his skiing buddy Cameron

When I hung up the phone I felt SO inspired! If my 10yr old could suck it up and get his tired/sore body moving, then surely I could still muster out a workout that morning and get my butt out the front door! And who cares if it wasn't the 3hrs I originally planned. It was better to do something than nothing. So I dug out one of the most grueling hill repeat workouts from my coaches kit and hit the pavement over to Gordon hill. I only had a 40min window left, so I wanted to take full advantage of it... and let me tell you something. I laid the boots to that hill!! I had a great, quality workout with "feel good" purpose and the best part - I was motivated by my 10yr old.

I am so grateful for that phone call. I was so proud of Carter and happy to get in a such great workout! And by the time Carter got home, he forgot how tired he was and just wanted to help make gingerbread man and homemade tree ornaments!

Carter still in his Icebreaker, helping Maria with cookies

Mary and me busy goofing around, uh, I mean making ornaments!

It Starts by Creating New Perspectives

2011-11-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wow! Is there anyone else out there who can't believe another year has gone by this fast? I can’t think of a stronger motivator to “not put off tomorrow, what you can do today!” I guess now we just need to remember this on the nights the couch is calling, or work gets in the way, or heaven forbid we’re still using things like ‘laundry’ as an excuse to not exercise.

I have to tell you all what a great year 2011 was for me! I experienced so much growth and built so many amazing memories! Now, I’m not gonna lie to ya.. it took effort and I have never worked this hard at it. I had undergone major surgery last November and had 6 long weeks of down time, to reflect on all sorts of things in my life. What I came up with was a new perspective and a desire to chase all the endless possibilities that one with good health is privy to. It may not sound like much, but it created wide open views and put me on the hunt for adventure. It also gave me the drive to chase after a dream I’ve held for 6 years… to complete the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run. An 8 day stage running race through the Alps.

It would take much more than physical training to accomplish this. I would need a serious time management make- over. In fact, the time management issue scared me more than the race itself. Of course, when I look back at my year now… I am really proud of myself. Not only for chasing my dreams and finishing the TAR… for finding a healthy balance with my time. (Gawd, does it ever feel good to write that!) Yes, I managed quality family time, as a mom, wife, daughter, sister and with my commitments as a coach, fitness director and my own selfish training time. I guess one could say this was actually my 'greatest' accomplishment this year.

So for all those parents, career driven folks and or just poor time management pep’s – there IS hope for you yet! If I can do it… anyone can do it! It simply starts with creating new ‘perspective’…

2011 Gore-Tex Transalpine Run Slideshow

2011-11-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally finished putting together a slideshow for the race this year. It was my first 'project' and approach at creating something like this. The process kinda reminded me of how training can sometimes go... when I first started, it was fun and exciting. I was motivated. Then as it became work and took up a lot of time (15hrs total) I got less motivated and it was really hard to see the project through. There are many angles one can take when choosing to express an experience like this and I choose this one. Hope you all enjoy! (oh, and yes, it is 12min long... maybe better over coffee in the morning!
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/qt6me8VI

Time to Run Again!

2011-11-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

Another week is slowly passing by and I can't seem to hunker down into any sort of workout routine, so-to-speak. I am keeping fit and doing a variety of activities... I teach three fitness classes at Global Fitness Centre and I am out running with the PACE winter clinic participants, however it is really sporadic and I can't seem to find a balance these days.

Since the Alps I have only been running 1-2x's per week and trying to fit in some cycling. (either outdoors or in the gym) I set pretty loose goals for myself the past month which is to try to find 1hr per day for a workout. And the 'hour' can look like anything: yoga, hike, run, bike, gym workout, core etc... but maybe the goals are too loose because I haven't been able to stick to this. Some days I honestly just don't feel like it. While others I am motivated and then can't fit it in. I think I need a bit more 'direction' is the driving force I need to really get myself back on track. Not that the time off a structured workout plan hasn't been enjoyed or needed by me. I do feel like the past two months of cross-training, REST and flexibility has been very positive for me. I just feel like I am now ready to get back into the swing of things and want to start training for something again. (not necessarily a race)

Motivation - hiking in Palm Springs

SO! Something tells me that it is time to make some new goals. I have lots of people ask me what's next. Up until now I haven't wanted to think about anything else. I am still so satisfied, content and enjoying basking in Sarah and my accomplishment that I haven't wanted to rush out of that feeling. Recognizing I can't bottle it forever, however, tells me it's time to move on. Plus, I am starting to feel antsy and like its time to put some serious consideration into my 2012 season and almost more importantly, how I can make the most out of what is left of 2011. Although I don't have that feeling that I need to 'top' anything or make it bigger to be better.

I do have a few ideas mulling around and so far my inspiration is to spend more time in the mountains. That doesn't mean it has to come in the form of race... although there are some pretty epic mountain events that are still out there waiting for me! For now... I think I will sit down and write myself a new program based on some tangible short-term goals. This should help lead me happily and healthy towards a new year.

Winter Maintenance Trail Running & Core Builder Clinic

2011-10-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday October 26th we launched the winter trail running clinic with P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness. It appears we have another incredible group of people who have chosen to train with the P.A.C.E. team. It was great to see some more new faces and always humbled by the amount of returnee's.

Our cheesy garage shots

The concept of this clinic is simple... maintain the endurance fitness we have all worked so hard at all season long. Not only will it help us have a head start on our spring race or fitness goals, it is a proactive approach to staying injury free and running stress free over the winter. Well, that and let's face it... it's nice to have some additional motivation and social support of a group this time of year.

The other focus is core conditioning. Each week I email out a video filled with balance, core, hips and/or glute work for athletes to work into their personal schedules. It comes with guidelines and goals each week, so athletes are encouraged and motivated to spend some time working on some strength.

Aside from the 'training' aspects of this clinic I think the best part is we get to run at night with our headlamps!! I love night running and how strong you feel on the hills and the excitement of being out in nature when it's dark. I am really excited to be out running this year too because last year I had to undergo major surgery which had me in the hospital for 1 week and off ALL activity for another 5 weeks. It was a hard way to start the New Year, coming off 6 weeks of inactivity and recovery as my real focus during that time. As I reflect on that time in my life I see how far I have come. How hard I worked on building my endurance and strength back this year and more importantly I am reminded on just how important a 'positive attitude' really is. For those of you who don't know what P.A.C.E. stands for... (letting my cheesy side out tonight) "Positive Attitude Changes Everything." A friend of mine helped me with the meaning when I first went to register for my business name and with each passing year even I can see more and more, the truth that meaning holds. Not only for me... but those I coach too. It's incredible how our outlooks and attitude can alter our performance and/or training outcomes. And really, more importantly, our quality of life.

2011 Hallow's Eve Race Report

2011-10-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

It's funny... I forgot we were even down in Vancouver last weekend for a trail running race. The weekend was so epically filled with amazing experiences and company that it wasn't until we got back to our hotel Saturday night that I put any real thought into the race.

This year marked the 5th consecutive year for PACE to hit the trail running scene on Vancouver's North Shore as approx. 25 athletes took to the gnarly, rooty, wet and super-fun single track trails of the Hallow's Eve Trail Race. This event is hosted by North Shore Athletics and I have to say what awesome support they get from their community for this event. Their volunteers out on the course are so full of energy and excitement, not to mention how well marked the course always is and well stocked the aid stations are. What is even better is all the proceeds of the race also go towards North Shore Special Olympics. So you get to enjoy doing something you love to do while giving back and making a difference with a local charity.

Some of the PACERs arrived on Friday night while other made the trip on Saturday. Those peep's that came down on Friday night meet for nachos and beers in the pub by the Holiday Inn North Shore to make plans for the following day. It has been tradition to hit the grouse grind, loiter with coffee while we gear shop and eventually hook up at TanPoPo for all-u-can-eat sushi the night before the race. Well, those who are not taking the race too seriously the following day, anyhow.

We enjoyed a nice hike up the grind, chatting and just enjoying some quality time with friends. At the top we checked out the grizzly bears before grabbing coffee and taking the tram back down.

After a full afternoon of lunch (love the Red Burrito) and hitting all the rad gear shops we hooked up at Tanpopo for a dinner and a little team meeting. Another tradition started 5yrs ago that has stuck. Something about filling up on all that sodium that really enhances the performances the following day! Or maybe it was the cupcakes...

Usually I am not wishy washy about race entry. In fact, if anything I am the keener that signs up right away for races as I find it more motivational. However since the TransAlps the last thing I have thought about is 'racing'. I have been active and riding my bike, coaching some of the PACE runs and teaching my fitness classes but I didn't really want to get in 'race' mode for Hallow's. When we were picking up our race packages on Saturday my husband Trent and I decided that we would just make it a fun event and run together. Make it a hot 'date' if you will. So Sunday morning we took to the races, uh I mean, date scene and had the best time ever! We ran hard but didn't kill ourselves at race pace. We chatted the whole way and really made it fun. Jeanette ended up on our 'date' for about 3/4's of it as we all fell into a similar rhythm and it was great for me to get to spend time running with her too, as I missed much of this season's clinic being away in Europe and she was one (of a few) person I didn't get a chance to know very well. Which is another reason why the weekend was so great for me. I got to spend some quality time with athletes outside of the "PACE" norm. A.K.A. coaching scene.

All'n'all, I was very proud of everyone who raced that day. We had a pre-run meeting on race strategy where everyone made their game plans and then had the opportunity to execute it. After 10 weeks of speed work and endurance runs, I already felt proud of all the focus, commitment and work that went into getting to the race. We had some podium finishes and some people who were experiencing their first trial races. Some PACERs just wanted to finish off their season with a training run and kept it light and fun, and others ended up meeting up at some point and through friendship stuck together and finished together. It was all around a really great weekend and such a positive way to finish the PACE race season and head into 'Maintenance' mode! Thank you to all the participants of the 2011 Run Amok Trail Running Clinic and to those who made the road trip down to Vancouver for the Hallow's Eve weekend. I appreciate you for choosing PACE and for trusting me and my team with your trail running, fitness and health goals!

Fall Trail Running Clinic a Wrap!

2011-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

It has been an amazing fall running season on the P.A.C.E. scene. Over 40 athletes took their trail running goals to me and my team to advance their off-road running skills and fitness. We covered over a dozen different locations in the local Kelowna and West Kelowna areas as athletes built their endurance up to 1.5hrs (15km training crew) and 3hrs (25km training crew) Saturday mornings. Not to mentioned the challenging speed work and interval training the groups did every Wednesday evening. These workouts consisted of track sessions, time trials, hill climbs, combo sessions and more. And let me tell you... this group was getting faster and fitter with each passing week!

Last night we had our clinic wind up party. Athletes arrived dressed up in their halloween costumes and were given glow sticks as we headed out for a night trail run in Kuipers. It was incredible the amount of thought and effort that went into some of these costumes and if you can believe it... Nathan even ran with a guitar and serenated us along the way. The hills were bright with headlamps and colorful glow sticks as we had one last fun and social outting together as a group this clinic.

The party continued after the run with an incredible pot-luck dinner. The variety and amount of food was unreal! Thank you to everyone for your contributions. Whether it was somethin made from scratch or picked up on your commute to our house from work - the spread was really out of this world and there was something for everyone. Butter chicken, curries, ribs, spanakopita, tomatoes & balsamic, salads galore, fancy jell-o squares, the 'best cookies in the world' (according to my 10yr old), sushi, breads, casseroles... and I could go on!!

We held our annual 'triva' game and this year I got flack for making the questions too hard, however the more questions you got right, the more entries you had into the grand prize which was a free clinic give away! Karen Christie took the title of 'teachers pet' as she scored high... with 18 out of 20 questions, although I thought everyone did a great job and my favorite part was hearing everyone share something interesting they learned about their fellow trail runners this clinic. We ended up with two grand prize winners this year... Brian had his name drawn with only one entry in the bucket and as a newbie to the PACE scene we aree excited to see Brian suffer in future clinics. He just has to leave his "Teva's" at home next time. And long, long, long, time P.A.C.E. athlete Alison Campbell-Urness was the 2nd lucky winner of the night!

Whether people won one of the prizes or not, I think the best prize of all is the outstanding group of people that continue to train on the P.A.C.E. scene. New friendships are always made. Goals are always reached. Fun is always had (even when training on Hell Hill). The community P.A.C.E. has created is so much more than fitness and trail running. And this is largely influenced by the P.A.C.E. team who are all such dedicated, talented and passionate group of people who choose to share their experience and consideration within the P.A.C.E community!

So as we wrap up another fall clinic, on behalf of me and the P.A.C.E. team, thank you for all the adventure, memories, sweat, tears, friendships, fitness and health gains with us again this season!

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Getting back into the swing of things this week went pretty great. Carter was excited to meet his teacher and see his friends. His first day back to school the kids just ran over to him, yelling his name and hugging him. It was so nice to see and I was just so damn happy for Carter to experience that.

I, too, had a warm welcome back at my first trail run with the PACE crew on the Saturday run. It was great to see everyone and be back out coaching. Despite only 5hrs sleep and some serious jet-lag, I enjoyed a nice 1.5hr run with the awesome gals in the 15k C group. I received the same warm welcome from the staff and members at Global Fitness Centre on Monday morning and was happy to be back at work.

I scheduled myself to teach a CSI (cardio strength interval) class Monday mornings on the fitness schedule for the fall. I wanted to return from the race and have different fitness goals and work on strength and have some fun, rather than jumping right back into running. What I forgot was how hard these workouts are! As I was teaching the step portions and strength exercises all I could think was 'sure you can run across the Alps but a 1hr cardio/strength step class is going to kill you!' I also scheduled myself for a 1hr total body strength class on Tuesday mornings. Back to back suffering of a new kind ;)

I dusted off my road bike this week, did a few more classes at the gym, was back coaching and running with on the PACE scene and I was generally feeling pretty good. The jet-lag was getting better everyday and we were no longer waking up at 2:30am for salami and cheese buns :) By Saturday we were all feeling pretty much back to normal.

Sunday I went for a MTB ride in Crawford with my friend Tannille. We had a great ride!! Some good climbs and fun descents. We were 10min from home and bommin' down a smooth single track trail when I went into a corner a little too hot and all I remember is my tires sliding out from under me! The trails were wet and slick from all the rain from the night before and then I just remember landing hard on my hip and banging my head. Sigh... I get a little excited on my first MTB ride home and WHAM!

We finished the ride with an espresso and icepack on my hip. I guess I will implement action 'more-rest' this week as even negotiating stairs hurt. Ah, who am I kidding... I can barely walk! Ah well... you don't get raspberries and bruised hips by staying home so I guess I'll take the bike ride and crash over the alternative but I will be paying for it this week.

Hiking in the Dolomites! Passo Pordio - #1

2011-09-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

If you put ONE place on your bucket list to travel to in your lifetime - it has to be the Dolomites! We loved it there!! We found a guesthouse/hotel in Canazei, Italy on Friday Sept 16th. Up until this point, we hung out at the beach and hunkering around Riva Del Garda and the surrounding areas (including Venice) for 4 nights, while we recovered from the race. During this time I had zero motivation to run! I was quite happy with our daily walking quota and beach life. Now, if I had a bike to ride, I could have been convinced otherwise, but my body wasn't interested in running!

We parted ways with Sarah in Venice (boo!) and we continued on to Canazei. The area is know as Val Di Fassa and is basically ski town after ski town for miles. Our pension was right beside one of the trams, at the base of the Dolomites.

We did two big hikes while in Canazei. The first hike was called the Passo Pordoi. It was beautiful! I can't even put words to how lucky I felt to be there. To be surrounded by these massive, beautiful mountains and to be out there with my family enjoying them together. It's just something you have to experience for yourself to truly understand.

Trent hiked from town all the way up to the pass. Carter and I took two trams and hiked to meet Trent at the town.We had packed a lunch and found a nice place to sit and fuel up.

Trent proceeded to hike up and we took one more tram to meet him. From there the three of us hiked to the top. It was over 10,000 feet and had a hut at the top where we had hot chocolate.

We had good weather for most of the hike, however the top was clouded in and there was a bit of rain.

We decided to decend with Trent, past the 3rd tram we took up. Carter did amazing! Our total time out was 6hrs and had lots of time on our feet. He handled the fixed rope sections very well and was careful of his footing with lots of confidence. We talk about everything, play games and it is incredible to see our 10yr old accomplish things like this at such a young age. We are so proud of him! And what makes it better is how much he actually enjoys it :)

Now, to keep it honest, there was some gripping and groaning on the last 45min hike back to the two trams. It was hot and Carter was done. Done. But he buckled down and got it done and we were back to smiles and joking on the tram rides down. Not 1hr later he was bouncing around, full of energy and had totally forgotten about how tired he was. Trent and I on the other hand... well, lets just say it was pizza and wine night! (that's how they recover in the Dolomites) ;)

GORE-TEX Transalpine Race Summary: Stage Four

2011-09-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

STAGE FOUR Galtur Austria to Scuol Switzerland
39km

This stage would be an important stage for Sarah and me. It was the ‘hump day’ of the TransAlps and more importantly would mark more than ½ of our total distance and elevation. After today, we would have covered a 27k day followed by what is close to running 3 Ultra’s in a row. Something neither of us have done before.

The day started out hot and humid again. So hydration, electrolytes and salt would be a key factor. We planned to eat every 30-45min and take our salt and anti-fatigue capsuals every 1hr. (Sarah used salt only) At this point, we weren’t eating much from the aid stations and mostly eating gels, luna bars, honey stinger gummies, shot blocs and wafers. It wasn’t until the last 3 stages that we started to hone in on chocolate cake from the aid. We also brought out own electrolytes that we added to the water at the aids.

The stage had a long gradual, runable climb right from the start. It went through town and soon hit double track trails. I was feeling a little heavy in the legs from the previous day, so needed a bit more time to warm up. So Sarah and I ran/walked and used our landmarking tactic again until the base of the first big climb. The day went steady and we were in and out of aid stations. Timed our bathroom breaks and assisted eachother with holding poles or gear while we fueled.

The climb leading into the 2^nd last aid station was beautiful. Switzerland – here we come! The mountains were breathtaking and we were already up quite high. However, from the second aid, we had the biggest and steepest climb of the day and a climb that would take us to the highest point of the race so far and over 9000 feet.

Coming out of the aid station we had a lot of runners around us. We tucked in behind some hikers and started our slow, hard, death march. The ascent gained elevation quickly as there were some very steep sections and I could feel my head start to hurt and my stomach turned. This section took us about 1hr and despite how awful I felt, I just put my head down and got it done… literally one footstep at a time. I found new strength that hour. And for as slow and sick as I felt, I still managed to pass people and never got passed once. Sarah tucked in behind me and I just stayed focused on the task ahead of me. Reminding myself that it won’t last forever and as soon as I get to the top, a descent would follow and I would feel better 15min down the other side again.

At the last 100m of this climb you had to allow space between the person ahead of you or else you would find your head up their arse! And the very top was a rocky section that required a scramble. At the top you were greeted with cheers and rescue team. They had trail mix and were taking photos. It felt so good to get up that last section and to start our descent.

The descent was just as steep as the climb for the first 200m. Then it lead into the funnest switchback descent of the day. Tight corners and Sarah and I felt like you were skiing, as we planted our poles at each corner and turned into the next section. After a long, long, long way down the switchbacks opened up to a straight descent which lead into the alpine. I took the trail closest to the fence, which was a mistake because it was live and sure enough, my leg brushed by it and I got an electric shock! I turned back to yelp and warn Sarah, and in the same moment this dude, dressed in all white Salomon compression running clothing, too got electrocuted. Only he bounced off the fence and the slipped in cow shit and fell down, slipping down in it. Sarah and I were so embarrassed for him and speechless. We slowed down enough and Sarah asked if he was okay… he jumped up and ran away from us saying something in Italian we couldn’t understand.

The rest of the stage brought smiles. We both thought there was another major climb, and were relieved to pull out the profile to see only descending. As we came into the last Aid of the day, we were running on a flat/down section with HUGE swiss alps on our right. I got a little teary as it was so beautiful! Then an elderly couple sitting on a bench threw their hands up and say ‘welcome to Switzerland!’ It was surreal. Did we actually just run through 3 countries?? Did we really make it this far already?

We were pumped and were ready to get the last descent done. It was, again, the steepest descent we have had so far. It went from double track trail, to side camber bumpy grass, to steep trail to steeper road. I had to look down every so often to see if my muscles were still attached to the bone because it hurt so much! And it was long! We passed a few mountain bikers who pulled over to cheer everyone on. ‘Hoop! Hoop! Hoop! ‘ and ‘Zuppah! Zuppah!’ they would cheer. Sarah and I couldn’t help but notice that they took off their shorts and shirts and were tanning in their Speedo underwear. We laughed and commented how we’re getting closer to Italy J

This was the stage where Sarah and I held hands for 1km before we finished. We had a long ‘moment’ as we ran into the finish line that day and were so happy and proud. We finished with a 10^th place in the women’s category again and were ready for our ‘rest’ day.

GORE-TEX Transalpine Race Summary: Stage Three

2011-09-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Shruns Austria to Galtur Austria

Stage 3 brought rain but a happy stage for Two Canadian Girls on the Run! With the cooler temperatures, we had a steady day which lead us to our first 10th place finish.

The night before, Wolfy (the Race Director), switched the stage due to lightening storms, high winds and foul weather. The original route would have taken us up a ridge. It would have been awesome!! Instead we still had 43km and 2673m ascent and 1773 descent ahead of us. Another marathon for day 3.

Sarah and I were arriving late at the starts and getting really poor positions every morning. And with 10min to the start I had to use the 'washroom'. Poor Sarah, I left her standing by the start gate and ran into a local hotel to use the washroom... only to get a major mouthful by the owner for using the toliet w/o asking. I felt awful and was poliet and stood there to hear her out and apologize, however I kept looking at my watch because I didn't want to be late for the start!

Call it a warm up, because I ran back to Sarah and we ducked under the tape in a better position. We pushed a bit harder today off the start and up a steep, steep, start. It helped us avoid a lot of the bottle neck going into the single track. To summarize the day, there was a lot of flats and runable terrain. We didn't run any of it super fast, but we were steady and we landmarked the whole day. "run to the tree." Or "lets run to that bridge". There was still a lot of climbing, but less descents and a really muddy technical section which people walked. I got out front, picked good lines and Sarah and I flew past people like they were standing still! we made a lot of time up in that section. We also honed in our aid stations and spent less time screwing around and got in and out. We worked really well together!

Sarah and I ran in an icebreaker top and shorts all day. The only thing we added were arm warmers and a vest at the summits. I couldn't believe how well icebreaker worked. People around us had gore-tex pants, jackets, long sleeves, you name it! We were in bare minimum and the icebreaker insulated us and kept us perfect! It was awesome!

Stage 3 was the first stage we actually looked at the results. We didn't have time or interest the first few days and we were suprised to see our 10th place finish. It was really motivating! We once again focused on our recovery and our 'crew' took great care of us. I think this was the stage that Trent even hand washed cow shit off my shoes. That is LOVE!! Just for the record, there was a lot of cow shit on the first 4 stages. A lot! It got everywhere... and I thought for sure I was going to get sick from the shit that got on my hose at one of the aid stations. yuck!

GORE-TEX Transalpine Race Summary: Stage Two

2011-09-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

Hirschegg Austria to Shruns Austria
53km / 2481m ascent / 2913m descent

For those of you who have done Knee Knacker, Stage 2 of this year's Gore-Tex Transalpine run was comparable. It had 3km more and 2,000 feet more descent. And it was at altitude and a bit more technical, but these are small differences :) Other than we had ran a stage the day before and still had two more 40km stages to follow...

We had an early start and Trent got up to make us coffee. The guesthouse wouldn't make us breakfast early and we tried to drive around the night before to get food, but we were too late after the pasta party. So our breakfast was power bars and ensure plus. Not ideal on such a big day, but it was all we had.

The day was once again warm and humid but Sarah and I planned out our electrolytes and salt replacement for the day. Today was all about keeping it steady, but not putting too much intensity into things this early. We knew this day was going to be long - but we needed to keep the pace easy and have fun. So that is exactly what we did! There were 3 big, hard climbs in the day, so we decided to pace easy on the climbs and hike and then run flats/downs. The views were amazing and the day actually went by quite fast. We took our time and hoped by keeping some intensity OUT of the longest stage would pay off in the later stages to follow. We ended up passing 3 womens teams in the last 10km!

I felt great again on stage 2 and Sarah bounced back strong. The pace was so managable that I really enjoyed it. A highlight was right before the last big climb, Trent and Carter surprised us at the last aid station. Carter jumped out and ran with us. Trent and Carter took our poles, got us food and it was so uplifting!!

Sarah lead the pace on the last hard climb and she did a great job on keeping it steady. We chatted on the way up and it reminded us of the grouse grind. you could see the 'light' at the top, but it was still a long ways up :) We took the downhill easy again today. Sarah didn't want to push anything with her tendon too early in the game. We also took it easy into the finish where we received our TAR Buffs!! The day was 8.5hrs and we both felt great afterwards.

Trent and Carter were waiting at the finish to give us out flip flops... take our packs... mix our recovery drinks and get us into some cold water. That often meant a nearby water fountain where athletes would sit and put their legs and lower bodies in, while drinking beer. They offered non alcoholic and alcoholic beers at the end of every stage!!

GORE-TEX Transalpine Race Summary: Stage One

2011-09-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

I realize this is after the fact, but I didn't have time to blog about the first few stages of the race and I don't want to forget some of the highlights, so I am going to do a summary from Stage 1-4.

Stage One: Oberstdorf Germany to Hirschegg Austria
27km / 1806 ascent / 1497 descent

We had a late start in Oberstdorf... 11am the offical gun went off to mark the start of the 7th annual Gore-Tex Transalpine Run. It was a very hot day and I was so surprised to see how humid it was. It reminded me of the stage race Trent and I did in Thailand in 2005. I had planned to take Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes and Anti-Fatigue capsules every hour during each stage. These came in handy with temps and humidity like we experienced already on day one.

The stage rolled out on pavement through town. Cow bells were rung and the locals were lined along the street cheering us on. The first portion of the run was flat to undulating and had a few small climbs before hitting the first aid station and then proceeded with a huge single track climb out of the alpine and into the backcountry. Sarah and I had a very simple game plan for the race. Conserve the first 4 days, reasses on our 'rest day' and then see what we had left to finish with. So the first day was paced out easy and we just settled into making it fun and no pressure.

It was cute, a runner from Germany asked Sarah if we lived in the part of Canada where you can catch Salmon with your hands. Of course, Sarah went into the 10 step process and these two talked 'salmon catching' for the next 5 minutes along the trail. Sarah and I were cruising along and having a steady first day and both feeling great. Unfortunately, Sarah got taken out by someone on the first descent and she shit the bed from there. I felt so bad for her! Her stomach was off, her heart rate was high, so we just walked and jogged when she could. We still had another climb/traverse, big descent and then about a 1000 foot switchback climb before our final descent for the day. I think it was about 2hrs 45min into the stage when Sarah had her fall and she endured 2hrs of sufferin after that point. I just tried to support her and stuck by her side until we crossed the finish line, talking her through it and trying to motivate her. She did a great job on pushing through it and although we finished with a slower time than expected, it marked a strong start to our partnership. We just had to work on putting the first day behind us and focus on the next day because it would be the longest day of the whole race. It was about recovering and resting. Trent and Carter had our recovery drinks ready. Change of clothes. The ice baths scooped out and drove us to our beautiful guesthouse after the stage.

They handed us sausage at the finish line and there was a spread of beer, drinks, pastry, cheese and more! We soaked our legs, ate some food and then went back to our guesthouse to rest before the pasta party. Every night they have a pasta party where we get fed so much amazing food, they hand out leaders jerseys and do the race briefing for the following day. They also show a slideshow of photos and videos from each stage.

A Community Finished TAR Yesterday

2011-09-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

I can't say that "I" finished the Transalpine Run yesterday. It wouldn't be truthful. I need to say "WE" finished the TAR yesterday... 'WE" being every single one of you that reads and follows my blog and has supported me in one way or another along the journey. After posting my blog on Day 7 I was overwhelmed with the amount of comments and faith and support that I received. It gave me the confidence and energy I needed to put that horrible stage behind me and carry on to finish what I set out to accomplish.
I choose a career in the fitness industry and coaching because my #1 passion is to help others. I put more credit into my abilities as a coach and fitness professional than I do as my abilities as an athlete. Not to mention it has always been more rewarding for me to help others than making my own gains. So when I received all the feedback and support from my melt down blog on Stage 7, it reminded me of the most important thing in my journey. You see, when a race is over, it's over. You can't take the race with you in life. You can take the experience and memories but you can't 'bottle it'. But people last forever. Sarah, my partner. Trent & Carter, our support crew. My friends and family who where there for me when I hit bottom. New friends we have met during the race. These are the things that matter the most and that I will have in my life forever.

So that is my cheesy job on saying 'thanks' to you all :)
Now on with Stage 8 report:

The morning started off well. I woke up with a fresher feeling in my legs and although not rested, I could tell they had 32k and another 6000 feet in them. Besides, after reading all the comments from back home I had renewed energy. Carter fired up the iPod and we jacked out the pitt bull on the way to the start. I had three simple goals for the day:

1. Finish.
2. Negative Split - climb moderate but save something for the descent and 2nd half;
3. Stay Positive! "Positive Attitude Changes Everything", right? (P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness)

Off the start, Sarah had some fire in her legs again. You know, I want to give credit where credit is due here. Sarah had a very strong week and climbed much stronger than I did most days. She is one hell of a runner! And an amazing parter. I feel very grateful for her for many reasons. It's one of those things in team racing. You each have different strengths and weakness. You each have moments that require more attention or energy. And this is just during the race and not even touching on the committment to the training or investments that go into getting to the start. However, Sarah climbed the mountains well this week and the last stage was no different for her. I was afraid of putting too much out there on the climb because it was still 6000 feet in 11k and I just couldn't endure another shitty day. I was prepared for some low moments, but not another 6hrs of it. So I just put my head down, got into my own head space and climbed on my own for the first few hours. Sarah was in my sights the whole time; however I tried to find people around me to distract and motivate me. I was very fortunate when a mixed team from Holland got behind me after the first aid station and talked to me the whole rest of the climb! They were so nice and spoke English very well. The guy kept saying to me 'You climb well, yea Rene Unser from Canada?' Okay, I was NOT climbing fast and he was being polite but it was a 'gift' It distracted me and got me to the top. I told him to email me if he brings his
family to Canada. I hope he does, cause I want to thank him for making that climb go as fast as it did.

From the summit Sarah and took off. It was a beautiful single track ridge that lead into the alpine. It reminded me of home - crawford trails. Gift #2 - familiarly. We ripped it up! Calling each other 'Jo-Jo and Flow' from a poster we saw at the top. It was fun again :) I had to make another pit stop but got 'er done fast and remembered my poles this time :)
Gift #3 - Most of the day was shaded! I dipped my visor in creeks along the way to stay extra cool, but unlike the previous day - the shade made the temps manageable. Phew!

Sarah and I had a strong 2nd half and we finished in the shoot with champagne, finishers medal an embrace that defined a lifetime bond and respect for one another that we would forever have. Carter ran in with us too, so I grabbed him and hugged him so tight!

We got our finishers shirts from the pasta party that night and celebrated with our new friends. It was a positive finish and I was so elated with my experience overall.

Today as I reflect, and put the race behind me I move forward with new perspective. You see, we grow through struggle. It's not when times are good or you're feeling great that really matters. These moments are important in life because they motivate us and make our journey more enjoyable, but it is the days where you have to fight that really have a higher meaning. Where you have to accept help. Where your fears get turned around and you overcome diversity. I am a better mom, athlete and coach because of day 7. What I thought 'broke me' actually made me stronger.

On the last stage (8), I took a community on the run with me. Everyone that helped me get to this point and encouraged me to fight for the finish. Sarah, my partner and friend. Trent and Carter - my family and crew support. Our fellow Canadian friends and competitors and everyone back home. Our sponsors - Valhalla Pure Outfitters, Icebreaker, KC, Udos Oil & Sherwood BMR and I hope you all enjoyed being along for the run as much as I enjoyed taking you. I finished this epic event thanks to all of you.

Stage 7 Breaks Me

2011-09-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

I feel kinda bad blogging about todays stage when it wasn't a very good day for me and I haven't had time to blog about the other amazing days, however I am rollin' out with the report on the current day while it is fresh.

Yesterday's stage (6) Sarah and I had a really strong day. The temperatures and profile were in our favor. Plus some of the teams were hurting from the previous days hill sprint so we took advantage of it and pushed and pushed and pushed ourselves to gain a 6th place finish in the woman's category. It was awesome! Probably the most beautiful stage of all we have seen so far too.

After the stage yesterday my body was done. I had a hot bath, did some cold contrast, laid in bed and then off to the pasta party. I was falling asleep at the table. I was concerned that I may have just left it all out there and that I could pay for it on Stage 7 and sure enough I did pay today. Deeply.

I went to buy new poles before the race started and the pole expo was packed up. Luckily Trent found someone to lend me some because mine were either left or stolen at the hill sprint day. We got to start in B gate for the first time (Sarah was super excited) but unfortunately, my legs weren't up for the fast runners of that gate. In fact, after 1.5hrs my legs were still not there and I was run/walking everything. Walking ups, downs, I felt so tired and my legs had nothing in them. It was a very hard place to be in for such a long and hard stage ahead of me. over 7000 feet and 37km. Trent and Carter met us at the first aid station and as I came around the corner, i pulled off the trail and knelt down behind the fence and started to cry a bit. Yes, very embarassing to admit.. but I was exhausted and suffering already so much i really wasn't sure if I could get through the day. Trent gave me a wee pep talk and I carried on, only to feel much the same until aid 2. I tried so hard to just put one foot infront of the other and not think too far ahead. With 3000 feet behind us and a 4000 foot straight up 5km at the 2nd aid it was all I could do to march up the 2 track road. Trent again, reminded me of how important my goal of finishing this race is and how hard I have worked. Carter gave me some gel and Sarah and I hunkered up what would be the 'death march' of the day.

This climb was unreal. It would take us to the highest point of the race, over 10,000 feet. With my fatigue being what it was it made for a very difficult and exhausting summit. Beautiful, it was - but the terrain was relentless, rocky, sandy and so steep! The cool part was there was a tuba player and drummer playing music as we nearned the top.

It took us almost 4hrs to get to this poin of the race. Painful... Sarah was great and was patient with me all day. As we started to descend, the sun came out and it very quickly got HOT. We had a 16k descent with a mix of single track, double track and roads. I rolled my right ankle going into the last aid and ran out of water. My suffering just got worse and it really was the hardest thing to keep going past this point. And to top it off, it only got worse. The heat was starting to upset my stomach and part way down the double track, I had to pull over cause I had the scoots. Well, when I finished (2 female teams passed us during this time) I started to run down to catch up to Sarah and realized I forgot my poles where I went to th washroom. So back UP I had to go. It was demoralizing... I actually looked up and thought about leaving the poles there, but they weren't mine! If mentally I wasn't low enough at this point, with 4km to go, I rolled my other ankle. This one hurt much more and it was right before 3km of loose rocky dirt road. Did I mention it was hot? I had the scoots? Both ankles hurt? I was bascially a melt down waiting to happen and it literally took everything in me to keep going. We passed one of the womens teams and had 2 other teams in our sights running into the finish, but I couldn't even run the little hills leading through town. I felt terrible, like I let Sarah down today and coming into the finish, I just kept going until I was a block away.

I turned down a street, fell on some grass, under a sprinkler and cried. I was exhausted, embarassed, frusterated, tired, really tired, hot and there was this part of me that thought "I can't finish this. I can't run tomorrow if it is going to be as awful as today... I just can't do it again." Just for the record, I debated sharing this in my blog... it is embarassing and it was a very low experience for me. But it was my day. And now for the first time I am somewhat afraid of running tomorrow. I don't know what I will do if I am faced with the same experience on the last day. finishing today was the hardest running accomplishment of my life. We did still salvage 11th place and moved up to 8th overall... but I paid for it again. Having said that today marked another day where lots of teams dropped out.

We started this journey with the goal to finish... even if it meant we walked. So I will dress up tomorrow, say a little prayer and just do the best I can to get the job done.

Germany to Switzerland in 4 days

2011-09-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really know where to start. We have not had internet access in any guest houses since now and it hasn't been convenient to pack up and head out to add our posts. Not to mention, this journey is exhausting and just taking care of my recovery, some time for Carter and getting ready for the next day has been all I can seem to fit in.

We just finished Stage 5 - the 6km, 3300 foot hill sprint stage from Switzerland. It made for a hard day, as we just completed 4 of the biggest stages, not only of this years's Transalpine Race, but what they claim is the hardest is their 6yr history. I woke up with some well used legs and sore knees for the first time. Sarah and I fit in a warm up jog because the stage started uphill right from the centre of town. My calfs burned 1/2 way up the climb and I just tried not to stop and to push myself up as best I could. I hit a moments today where I could feel the legs have reached their max and no push would make them go faster. I think the next 3 days will bring the start to some more serious suffering.

'Mountain MacLeod' on the otherhand climbed like she was fresh and just set a pace infront of me. We didn't realize it until after our stage that teams could start together and split up and they would take the difference of our times. Had we known that - Sarah could have set out and made up some time for us. Ce la vie! We made it up in 1hr 7min and had a beer and pasta at the top. We finished in 17th o/a today, I think - but it wasn't a deal breaker for us as only minutes were lost at best. And despite some solid stages, we are competing for a certain finish and continue to run for the experience and make it as fun as possible.

It is nice to have some time off today. Each day we have finished late, showered, stretched, went back to the pasta part and not home until 8:30pm - 9:00pm. Bed and up to do it all over again. I hope to recap some of the early stages soon.

Aside from the race Europe is amazing! Our guesthouses have been perfect (thanks Michael and Suzanne) and we are eating very well. So much cheese, meat, gelato and pasta. The boys are keeping busy and getting out to hike or Trent is fitting in some runs early in the morning or afterwards - but they have mostly been busy looking after us. You have no idea how hard it is to be support for a stage race until you have done it... I am grateful for my boys and they are doing an outstanding job. Packing up every morning, unpacking at the next stage town. Getting food. Grabbing our recovery food and clothes and having it ready at the finish. Trent has been taping up my feet every morning and cleaning the cow shit off my shoes at the end of the stages or washing our clothes. Carter has been patient and excited and ran in with us on day 2. Handing me canadian balloons (thanks Urness') and getting us food etc...

Tomorrow we leave Switzerland for Italy. The weather is suppose to be nice and warm again and we are told we have some of the nicest views to come yet!

Oberstdorf Germany Update

2011-09-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

On the drive from Fuessen to Oberstdorf on Wednesday I could barely keep my eyes open! I was nodding to sleep in the back seat but the drive was less than 1hr so it didn’t really give me a chance to settle in. By the time we found our guest house and packed our stuff in I was awake again.

We walked around and found a pizzeria for lunch. After lunch we drove to (one of many) a tram where we hiked at the top. Our hike as about 1.5hrs and it basically climbed had a bit of flat and climbed again. Trent went all the way to the ridge and Sarah went part way up but Carter and I turned before the approach to the base of the ridge. I didn’t want to do too much but at the same time I didn’t want to miss out on anything. It was so beautiful! There we were… in the ALPS! We hiked past cows with big cow bells around their necks and so many people. Kids of all ages and adults of all ages… they were all so happy!

We enjoyed a beer at one of the café’s and hiked down the steep paved road instead of taking the tram. The tram cost us $20 euro ($30 cdn) for the three of us to go up and it would have been the same to go down. We headed back to our guest house and then took Carter for Schnitzel! He has been waiting since we arrived and it was so good!!!! I had it too and we finished the day with schocolate gelato J

I slept much better for the first time since arriving, however I still have diarrhea. And Thursday morning when we woke up at 7:45am (breakfast is at 8am) I felt like shit. I went to bed with a headache and woke up with a headache. I forced myself to eat a bun, salami and cheese (yes, plates full of meat, cheese, fresh bakery bread and buns is what they serve) and then I went back to bed.

We were all going to take another gondola up and hike/hang out at altitude, but I could barely make it back to my room from breakfast. (plus it was raining) So I knew I needed rest and I was running out of days till the start of the race to get any. So Trent took off in the rain and hiked up over 5000 feet to the Neddlehorn Peak. He had a great day and despite getting wet, he was elated when he returned at 3pm.

I stayed in bed and slept on and off until 11:30am. Carter was so good. Poor guy… he played his iPod touch, read and snuggled with me. Then Sarah, Carter and I walked into town for lunch. I started drinking water with Gatorade that morning thinking it might help to bring my electrolytes up. We walked around again for almost 3hrs. The time just goes by so fast when you’re here because there is so much to see and it is so beautiful. We stopped at a bakery, picked up some apple strudel and cheesecake and headed back to the guesthouse.

By 5pm we were on the road again and went to register for the race. How exciting! We didn’t see many teams, but there were posters and volunteers all over the Oberstdorf Haus where this took place. We got some sweet schwag too! A Salomon bag, race shirt, visor, sunglass case and food. They gave us our ID tags and race bibs. We paid a $50 euro deposit because they have the race chip on the back of our bib numbers. They also give you a sheet with a list of emergency numbers on it for each country we will go through. Lastly, a set of maps for each stage that we much carry with us every day.

We went for dinner and then back home to our guesthouse by 8pm. I still was not feeling well, with headache and diarrhea. Trying not to get too worried, but with only 1 day and 2 sleeps away from the start of the race and knew I couldn't have a morning like this where I couldn't even get out of bed. I went to bed and just hoped for a good sleep and to wake up feeling better.

Fuessen, Germany ~ Castle Enchantment

2011-09-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Oberstdorf, Germany on Wednesday morning. It is a very cute little town on the edge of the Alps. We are staying in a guest house near the core of the town in an old farmhouse that has been lived in for 3 generations.

My first two nights in Fuessen I was not feeling well and spent the first night in the toilet and the second night just up with an upset stomach, so I didn’t get much sleep. We wanted to do a little run on Tuesday but with such little sleep, I didn't want to get worn down more and would settle for the castle tour instead.

The tour was beautiful! We ended up hiking and walking around for about 5hrs because from castle to castle we had to hike up steep roads and trails. Plus we added a few extra detours to get the legs moving. It was sorta like Disneyland… everything cost too much money and people were everywhere (!!!) but it really was interesting and breathtaking.

We also went to a ski hill just beside the castle where they have all these zip lines, adventure courses, bungee trampolines and luge runs. Carter and I paid $3 euro each to ride the course – it was awesome!!! Families just hang out and do all these activities, drink beer, have coffee and relax. There was also hang-glider after hang-glider that were soaring off the mountains above. So cool!

We headed back to the hostel for dinner at 6pm. By 6:30pm we were all pretty tired again so we did some reading (internet was down) and were all in bed by 9pm. I felt a bit better but didn’t sleep much better. My stomach still rumbled it kept me awake but I managed to stay out of the toilet. Sarah and I set our alarm for 6:15am to get our legs moving and I was hoping a bit of exercise would help me sleep at night! We did a beautiful 50min run in the town of Fuessen… it was the best road run I have EVER had! (and those that know me know I avoid running the road whenever possible) Cobblestone streets, quiet roads, beautiful views and mountains all around us. They have these cycle/walk paths that go all through the town and it’s no wonder so little people have to drive – they make it so easy to commute.

We got back to the hostel, had breakfast, showered and hit the road to Oberstdorf...

Up... Up... and Away! Germany... Here We Comeeeeeeeeeee!

2011-08-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I don’t quite think it sank in that I was actually going to Europe… let alone that I was going on vacation with my family and to do an 8 day trail running race with my friend and running partner, Sarah.

We departed Kelowna at 12pm and arrived in Toronto after a pleasant 4hr flight. We meet up with Sarah at the Tim Horton’s line up outside our connecting gate 15min before boarding our flight to Munich, Germany. It was great to see her! She had been in PEI the week prior to us leaving, so we chatted on the phone a few times and mostly tried to organize ourselves via text/emails with the time change and hectic schedules.

We were delayed in the airplane for 1.5hrs, as some dude wasn’t on the plane but his luggage was. Sarah and I basically chatted and got caught up. It was great! Carter had the window seat and Trent was happy in the middle seat. I normally don’t sleep on airplane or public areas very well, for that matter, so I took some gravol this flight as I was so afraid of starting the race still jet-lagged. I ended up sleeping for 3hrs which wasn’t a lot by any stretch, but it was more than I was counting on.

When we arrived in Munich is was approx. 2:30am Kelowna time and 11:30am Germany time. We got our rental car ( volkswagon touran) and Trent fired up the GPS! We were on our way to Fuessen Germany which was approx. a 2hr drive from Munich.

It was now finally starting to sink in… the views were beautiful and with each mile we drove we saw more and more beauty. We ended up going through a little town and ate at an Italian pizzeria. It was unreal! Sarah, Carter and I ordered pizza and Trent had spaghetti.

We pulled over a few more times to sight see and stretch the legs and let’s be honest here people – to wake up! If it wasn’t for the scenery we all might still be in the Munich airport, sleeping in our Volkswagen!

When we arrived at the youth hostel, there was a sign that said no check in until 5pm. The weather was overcast and kinda cool. We changed into pants and drove into downtown Fuessen where we walked around for a few hours. It is such a cool little town!

We returned to the hostel at 5pm, checked in, made our beds, had a shower and then had dinner. They were serving potato dumplings (the kind my Auntie Theresa makes – yum!), curry soup and salad bar for $5 euro each. We were all starting to bonk at the table and the jet leg was at its peak. So we kept busy and decided we would try to make it until 8-9pm. Listening to all the families and Dutch speaking people made it easier and fun.

We are all sharing one room. (Poor Sarah) And we have 2 bunk beds in tiny roomJ it’s cute but tight. Trent and Carter got the top bunks and Sarah and I are taking the bottom. Tomorrow it’s time to be a tourist and check out a local castle and go for a hike. It’s time to get our legs moving before the race. Both Sarah and I had a rough week as far as how we felt and our training in general last week… so we’re both feeling pretty stale and need to get the blood flowing!

Sarah knitting in our hostel room & Carter reading on the top bunk

Let the Countdown Start! 8 Days to TAR!

2011-08-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

With 8 days left to go before the start of the TAR, no matter how excited I get, it is getting hard to keep perspective on our training and trust that we are prepared what lies ahead of us. This past week my workouts have been less than stellar. I have been tired, my hip flexors have been tight and I really haven't felt much like running :( It likely hasn't helped that I have been reading other blogs from people who are also preparing for this race and seeing that they have been running up to 270km a week and using repeated marathons and ultras as preparation. Sarah and I took a very different approach to our training, so I can only hope that we have taken the right approach for us and it will be what we need to see the 8 days through. I am sure a quick reveiw on my training log will gap the lost perspective and put my mind back at ease.

I also know that our motivation with triple once we get to Germany. The views alone are something to be celebrated and with each day I know we will want to push on, not only to finish each stage, but to see what is around each corner... what views will be waiting... what terrain will be calling... what unforgetable memory will be awaiting us. Not to mention we are the power of 'TWO' and Sarah and I have a great partnership! We will be stronger together and I have faith in our ability to work as a team.
On my run this morning, I found some peace and solitude.... that and traces of my fellow fuzzy running partner...

I felt much better after taking yesterday off and sleeping in the past two mornings until 6:30am. That extra hour has gone a long way! I also started to pump the Cold FX this week, in an effort to build my immune system before all the germy air travel we have ahead of us. I reflected on a lot of things this morning during my run. Mostly people and everyone who has somehow contributed to supporting our dream of TAR. There has been a lot of community and family support.

There are lots of people to thank and I will cover more on all the people who have helped us in our journey, but to start with the Hintringers played a HUGE role in helping us book all our accommodations along the race week. Hours were spent on the phone, internet and putting together a well organized package for us to take. This really doesn't touch on how much work and time they put into this for us, however we are very grateful!!

Even Coaches Need Coaches

2011-08-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a quick thank you blog to Ian Torrence of McMillian Running. With 8 weeks left to go on our training, I decided to write Ian for some feedback on the program that I had developed for Sarah and I to follow for the Alps race. Up until this point, I felt like the program I wrote was working well and we were covering all areas without injury and getting stronger. I simply wanted feedback to ensure we were getting the most out of our training the last few months leading into the race and from someone with as much experience in both coaching and running, as Ian.
I was overjoyed when I saw how similar his program suggestions were to mine. At the end of the day, taking Ian's suggestions, meshing them with my beliefs and personal coaching style, Sarah and I moved forward the last few months of our training with ease when it came to planning the workouts and executing them.

As an ultra running coach, it can be difficult to learn new things and continue to grow. You have to keep putting yourself out there and experience races, new training tactics and read a lot, as there are few and far between training couses. Even the best coaches, sometimes, have to reach out to thier peers for advice and support.

And on a personal note, I remembered just how great it feels to have a coach! And most importantly, motivated me to continue to be the best ultra running coach I can be... to continue to make a difference... inspire success and fun.

Thanks Ian!

Taper? Already?

2011-08-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am sure if you would have asked me even a few weeks ago if I was ready to taper I would have told you 'hell ya! But to be honest with you, now that we are less than 2 weeks away, I feel like I could really use another month.

Now I am sure some of that is simply because with such a daunting task ahead of me, I may never feel like I have done enough to prepare. And over-analysing my training really doesn't help because there are always gaps or areas you 'coulda, woulda, shoulda'.

I set a goal of 12hrs for last week, seeing as I totally blew my training the week before Angel's Staircase. Monday I fit in an easy 1hr 20min run to recover from the race on the weekend. Tuesday I met my friend Karen for a 1.5hr run with 3min hill repeats in the middle and I followed it with a 4hr run in Crawford with Sarah on Wednesday. Karen met me again on Friday morning for another beautiful early morning trail run and she pushed me up and along the hills for a total of 1.5hrs. Saturday was a family day...

Karen Christie

We had an early morning start as Carter was doing the Kids of Steele Triathlon. We were downtown for body marking by 7:10am and had his bike in transition by 7:25am. His race started at 8:45 and he did great! We LOVE watching Carter in his races and we are so proud of him! He is at the age where he just wants to hang out with his friends after he finishes and after a quick hug from us, he is all about the cookies and coke in the area marked for 'athletes only.' Trent and I gazed through the fence and saw him talking post-race stories with his fellow triathletes and clanking their coke cans together in celebration. The days of hangin with your parents after a race may be long gone... :)

It was also my Mom's 60th birthday. So we all had breakfast together, then I took her to the spa and we met my brother at the Kelowna Golf & CC for 9 rounds of golf before meeting back up with Trent and Carter at Mama Rosa's for dinner and vino. It was a great day!! I missed the first run of the fall trail running clinic and I hate to miss when I will be away soon on holidays but today was an important day for Carter and my Mom. So I was grateful to give my family all of my attention and have a day off running and work.

Sunday I kinda blew it though. I went out for my last scheduled 3hr run. Only to return to home after 45 min. I felt very unmotivated. I was distracted with my thoughts and I couldn't stay focused on my run. I kept thinking of all the things I need to do before I go like work and packing. Plus my energy level was really low. So I shut it down and I locked myself in my office until I had enough work done to satisfy my mind. Trent was great. He knew I was pissed at myself for blowing off my run when I have been so strict with my training and so close to the start. So he offered to run with me at Knox before our company came for dinner. Now anyone who knows Trent knows he hates the heat and it was 32 degrees and mega humid at 2:30pm and he was offering to get my butt out there to get some more time in. What a guy! Well, we did suffer in the heat (knox can be brutal this time of year) and my left ear still feels like fried bacon. LOL But we pushed through it. We ended up hiking sections we might otherwise run but it just allowed us to chat more and we had a really great time together. And he knew I would feel better finishing my last build week with the extra hours on paper and his support that day wasn't lost on me.

GORE-TEX Transalpine Race Summary

2011-08-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

Follow this link for an amazing overview of what Sarah and I have in store in less than 2 weeks. I like the line where they say the views should make up for the hardships in the course... that is what we're betting on!

http://gotrail.blogspot.com/2011/08/7th-gore-tex-transalpine-run-off-to.html?spref=fb

A Little 'Fun' Inspired by Michael Hintringer Photography

Angels Staircase Race Report

2011-08-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

The PACE crew headed back to Winthrop, Washington last weekend for another Rainshadow Running event put on by race director, James Varner. This would be my 3^rd RSR event, with the first being a few years ago in Cle Elum and Sun Mtn this May.

Two of these three events I have ran with my friend from Salt Lake City, Shelley. Trent met her husband, John in 2003 while on a climbing expedition in Argentina and we have all remained friends ever since. Every year we try to bring our families together and have since meet all over the world in places such as Costa Rica, Moab and McCall Idaho.

There were 6 PACER’s, including myself that came down for the race and they brought their families too, so it was just awesome to have a mini holiday with everyone outside of Kelowna and around recreation. Alison, Karen and Hayley ran the 25k (along with Shelly) and Andrew and Kevin were up for the big task of the 50km!

Andrew at the start of the 50k, after running Knee Knacker 50k 4 weeks earlier

We arrived Thursday and spend a relaxing day with our Salt Lake friends. I had a pretty rough week, with my body deteriorating after our 45km Saturday run the weekend before. So I had decided to just dial it all down and have some faith in what my body was telling me. I ran Tues, Wed & Thurs, but reduced volume to 1hr runs and took out any speed work. By Friday I was starting to feel a bit better, but had resolved that after the week I had, I needed to just cool my jets on race day and get the time on my feet without digging a hole (i couldn't get out of) this close to the Alps.

We had an early rise on Saturday – 3:30am. We were out the door by 4:20am to pick up the others and head to the race start. It was approx. 50min to the start and we rolled in with just enough time to pick up our race bibs and get in a last minute ‘bush’ stop before the race started.
The trails were spectacular! It gradually climbed… and climbed… and climbed. Passing waterfalls, and eventually winding up a steep switchback into an open meadow before the final step ascent to the summit of the 25k turn around point. I took a celebrex by the meadows, as I was starting to feel nauseous, dizzy and head achy. And my back ached. I was such a dummy… took way too much water and finished with ½ a bladder full of fluids. Nothing like carrying all that friggen weight up and bringing it back down. (sigh)

Now, I am not gonna lie to you guys… Karen was right ahead of me and then when Alison and Shelly all asked to go past me on the climb, it took everything for me to not jump on their heels and turn the day into a ‘race.’ But I had a game plan and I really wanted to stick with it. So I continued to hike and jog some sections of the climb, but kept my heart rate low and legs happy. I wanted to use this race as practice for stage one. What would my pace feel like if I knew I had 7 more days ahead of me…

Well, the girls all summited approx. 12min ahead of me. It was an out and back, so I first saw Alison, then Karen and then Shelly. Hayley was just behind me on the climb, although I didn’t know that until I doubled back on her. I decided to take photos on the way up and I stopped for some photos on the way down and had a pee break.

Shelly on the descent

I was pretty relaxed and didn’t feel any race pressure or need to pick up the pace yet. In fact, I figured I wouldn’t really start to push the downhill until after the aid station and just past the big waterfall further down. So I just paced it and enjoyed it until then. At that point, I had passed Shelly but not seen Alison or Karen, so I figured they had enough of a lead on me and without hammering the down I didn’t think I was going to catch up. But with approx. 1.5km to go, I did catch up to Alison. Karen was already in and I believe came in approx. 3min ahead of me. So I ended up making up pretty good time on the way down but regardless, I finished strong, happy and not at all depleted. I ran my ‘stage’ and felt really good about it.

Karen ended up taking 3^rd female. I finished behind with 4^th and Alison was right behind me in 5^th. Shelly and Hayley both did amazing. Shelly has a mostly road running background and climbed the piss out of that course! And this was Hayley’s 2^nd trail running race and 1^st race in the mountains and at altitude. Wow! the boys did amazing in the 50k too. Finishing in under 8hrs and placing in their age categories as well. As a coach, it was a very rewarding day for me and I was so proud of everyone. The race wouldn't have been as much fun without sharing the trail with my friends that day!

The highlights for me this weekend weren’t actually the race though, despite how awesome the terrain and views were. (oh! And the signature Jimmy V Beer at the finish) It was the company and quality friend/family time I had. It was a reminder of just how busy I have been trying to fit the training in and the one area that was on the backburner was my ‘girlfriend’ social time. If it wasn’t on the PACE scene, it didn’t really happen. I missed it and really enjoyed this quality down time.

Having said that, I only ran 6hrs in total, including the race last week… so my original plan to peak and then start a gradual 3 week taper would have to be changed. Instead, I headed into this week with a 12hr running goal and 2 week taper. We’ll see how that formula works. So far, so good!

Thanking our Sponsors

2011-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Smith gave us an opportunity to tell our story and more importantly thank our sponsors this week in our local paper!

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/news/127556498.html

There's a Time to Surrender

2011-08-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week was suppose to be a build week, after reducing volume and total run days to 4 and approx. 10hrs last week. Unfortunately, my body went 'kaboom!' after our long run last Saturday and it has taken me all week to recover. Although our overall volume was reduced, we still did a long 5.5hr run on Saturday up to the KVR twice and covered what would be our longest training run yet: approx. 45km and 5.5hrs/5000+ feet. The last 45min of the run my body just started to break down. Sore knees and my pelvis just ached... deep ache around my scar. When we finished I just felt a bit tight, but I wasn't tired. I ended up sitting pool side at Carter's swim meet the rest of the weekend and I think that contributed to the rigamortis I felt leading into the start of this week and that has carried through... ugh.

Flat, easy run on the greenway Wednesday

I did see my Chiropractor/A.R.T. practitioner, David Urness at Valleyview Chiropractic and Massage this Tuesday and once again, he worked his magic. David has played a very positive role in keeping my injury free, not only this year, but for the last 6yrs. It seems there is some tightness in my lower back that is manifesting down into my pelvis, obliques, adductors etc... I also saw Sarah again this week and she too has not only supported me as my partner, but professionally as a massage practitioner. She basically spent the whole hour on my back and butt... yep - we any holes in our 'bonding' experience are now filled.

Glenmore Highlands Run Tuesday

Sarah and Tammy at the first look-out on our double KVR day

So this week I have learned to surrender. It hasn't been easy though because my mind is saying 'go time' and my body is saying 'don't even think about it Unser'. Yet, what is on 'paper' so naturally over rules listening to you body. When the program says 'build' that is what you want to do and before putting too much thought to it, it is the fear of missing out and convincing yourself that if you don't follow it that you will somehow lose fitness or not 'be ready.' But what I really needed to do was just take it back a notch until my body recovered. Not listening could potentially dig a hole I may not be able to climb out of this close to the race. .

So I surrendered! I let my fears go and just listened to my body. Formed a new game plan and I still ran Tues, Wed and Thursday - but took out the speed work and kept the sessions to 1hr. I also did yoga this week and used massage tools at home. It also dawned on my that with time being so tight these days, I have been totally neglecting to stretch. Silly thing to do and I have no doubt has also contributed to the mess my body feels.

It was a very busy week at work. I have deadlines at Global and PACE. A new fall schedule is about to go out at the club that needs to be finalized, as well as I had the summer PACE clinic wind up on Wednesday night and the NEW fall clinic starts next Wednesday and our departure day for our trip is coming up fast.

So as my story goes... I will miss out on a build week and have to approach the alps with more rest. Something tells me that during the 8 day journey this might just work out in my favor after all.

Udo's Oil - NEW Sponsor

2011-08-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

I arrived at work last week and two huge boxes were sitting outside my office. 'Refridgerate' was posted all over the outside of the boxes and when I opened them up - they were filled with Udo's oil, cook books, research and information on the product and it's benefits.

A lady by the name of Jennifer Robertson joined the summer P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness Trail Running clinic. She is a very energetic, positive, happy athlete who loves the outdoors and couldn't wait to moving out on the trails. Just over 1/2 way through the clinic she approached me to see if I was potentially interested in sponsorship from Udo's Oil. The first thing that popped into my head was the Chuckanut 50k this year. Scott Jurek and Chrissy Moehl, who are both sponsored and use Udo's were at the race and Chrissy is the race director. Well, we had samples in our race packages and Udos toques, along with similar information that was sent my way. So I had recognized it but honestly, had not put much thought to it since Chuckanut.

As I have researched it more and now had just over 1 week to implement it into my meals I want to say how excited I am about it! First off, it actually tastes pretty good. I have tried it on it's own and will pour it over fresh fruit or veggies. Actually, I pretty much add it to all my meals now as I really want to see if I can benefit the most from it.

Udo's Oil has omega 3, 6 & 9 giving me the good fats I need without adding the bad fat. The website is great and the information is easy to read and understand: http://www.oilthemachine.com/About-The-Oil.html I am hoping that with the increase in mileage that I have added on my plate this year preparing for the TAR, that this will not only help keep my healthy, but also aid in recovery which is one of the key ingredients to success with a multi-day race.

So both Sarah and I are fortunate to benefit from this opportunity and are looking forward to providing our readers and my fellow PACE athletes with feedback as we train with less than 3 weeks leading into the race and during.

Thanks Jennifer and Udo's for the opportunity to be part of the Udo's experience!

Rest Week - Hooray!!

2011-08-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's rest time again! Not only does that mean a break from the large volume of training, more importantly it means more time for family and an opportunity to get caught up on any other areas that take the back seat on our build weeks.

The long weekend was the end of our 2nd build week and 16hrs of training. It was also Carter's 10th birthday! Sunday we celebrated with a kids party at the beach (this is tradition people) and Trent and I planned a dinner party in the back yard with Carter's close friends and family. Other than gifts, we requested that people bring a story, photos or something for his memory box to share about their connection and friendship with him.

Carter was so excited, that when everyone went home that night, he grabbed the box and brought it into our bedroom and sat on the bed and read every single entry out loud to us. Carter was so touched by the stories and time/effort that went into the photos etc... and he said it was the best birthday present he ever got!

I didn't have to 'run' that day - the long haul birthday planning felt like a marathon by the time I went to bed :) The next morning I headed out to the trails behind the house and my friend Karen Christie ended up joining me for an early 6am run. It was a beautiful morning... 10 degrees! It felt so good to run in the 'cool' air and my hands were even cold for the first 30min of the run. Centre of Gravity was happening in Kelowna this weekend and we saw some of the party favors in the neighbourhood as we started our run...

This dude was so passed out... snoring like a bear. When I came back 2hrs later, he was gone and the sprinklers were on.

Then I saw he just moved two lawns over and was drying out in the sun (passed out again)

The 2hr run felt great and it only took me 45min to warm up opposed to 1.5hrs like on Saturday. Karen and I put the pace on and managed to tempo the last few kilometers too for a 17.5k outing. We got in some good hills and more importantly, a great visit and solid workout.

Tuesday was great to take off running and we had family in town visiting so I did some yoga in the morning and got caught up on work and had extra hours for family.

Wednesday Sarah and I went to Knox for a 2hr speed workout. Man, that girl can run!! Vrooom! We pushed each other and got caught up on training talk, gear talk, travel plans and just life. We soaked our legs in the lake after the run and then both headed off to work. Today was another great day and Carter and I hung out and had games night. He always kicks my butt in Monopoly and anything on XBox.

We have some running planned for the weekend and hopes to get our longest run in yet on Saturday with 40-44km. It's been strange not running so much, unlike the last rest week where we could both give a shit whether we ran... we were SO ready for a break. I think that's a great sign and we're both feeling strong overall. More importantly, injury free so far. (fingers are still crossed)

Smith Creek Loopy Loo's

2011-07-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today the PACE scene hit Smith Creek on the westside for our training run(s). The 25k would venture out for what would be their longest run of the summer clinic. Everyone ran very strong and steady and did a great job on a rather relentless trail. Smith Creek is one of Kelowna's nicest mountain bike areas. The trail gradually ascends on single track and offers a mecca of fun twists and turns and bridges and logs and well, you get the point. It's a fun mountain bike ride! But it is also a really fun trail to run...

It challenges you because most of the ascent is all runnable. So it's just a matter of time before your legs start to ask for forgiveness. There are some of the most beautiful views and I will go so far as to say one of the best descents in Kelowna. We managed to make it up to the top (the extra loop, don't remember what they call it) and then we repeated the top section again before coming all the way back down.

The 25k group did a great job! 3hrs, 21k and 2600 feet later we returned to the cars. The 25k group were off and likely on to enjoy a post run coffee... :) The 50k group, rehdyrated, refueled and headed back out for another 2hrs. Sarah had taken a bit of spill early in the run and banged her leg. Once again, this girl showed her 'tough as nails' attitude and continued on to complete the 5hr training run. We also shared the 2nd outing with Tammy, Andrew and Kevin. All three of these runners are so strong and positive. It really does make a difference when you surround yourself with people like this on the trails. I was inspired as I witnessed Tammy take a bump in her training today and manage it so well... right to the finish. This is another 'tough as nails' ultra runner who sets a humble example of work ethic and passion. The boys were on fire and tore up that descent. In fact we didn't even see Kevin until the last 400m of the trial where he was waiting for us :)

All in all, another great training week so far! Today actually marked the the most amount of weekly running I have ever done in my life. Today marked 15hrs this week, in total. I am really proud of myself. I wasn't sore at all from Hell Hill the previous day. The only thing I noticed is it took me 1.5hrs to warm up again. I am seeing this more and more. I guess the good thing is that I do warm up and have stronger 2nd half of my runs.

Sarah and I took our training to the next level today too. We stopped into Valoroso on Sutherland for some Italian Pizza... we figured we owe it to ourselves to get our tastebuds prepared, as well as our legs...

Hell Hill Legend

2011-07-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Andrew Corcoran set the bar high this weekend at Hell Hill. As many people know Hell Hill was first introduced on the PACE scene 4yrs ago. Since then we have been using it as our long hill climb and descent workouts. Doing 3-6 repeats has been the 'norm' over the years and it was early this spring while doing a group run on the PACE scene, it was suggested that Sarah and I should do 10 repeats to help us prepare for the Alps.

Well, we never did discuss this '10 repeat goal' since then... until this Wednesday. After the time trial, I asked Andrew if he was going to join Sarah and I at Pin Cushion for repeats. I said our goal was 7 repeats, 3-3.5hrs and approx. 6000 feet. Due to the commute and time restraints, Andrew said he thinks he will go to Hell Hill early instead. I joked 'yea, and do those "10 repeats"... LOL Well, later that week Andrew posted on facebook that he was indirectly challenged to do 10 repeats at Hell Hill.

And here, ladies in gentleman, was the start of great suffering... a new PACE Hell Hill record and possibly a legend that will be told time and time again... (Okay, maybe that is stretching it just a bit... but anyone who has done a few repeats will appreciate the bar that Andrew set today and the speedy time he completed the repeats in.)

I texted Sarah the night before and we decided to go to Hell Hill instead of Pin Cushion. Andrew got started at 5am and was done just before 8am. Sarah arrived around 7:30am and I was miss lazy bones who arrived at 8am. So I never saw Andrew or talked to him... he was gone before I arrived. Sarah and I bumped into each other at the 1/2 way mark and Sarah was coming down her 2nd repeat and I was 1/2 way in my first. She quickly informed me of Andrews accomplishment and that he did it in 2hrs 47min! Right there I knew I was doomed... in my mind I thought 8 would a honest days work, but NOW I knew it had to be 10... any less and I would never forgive myself.

Sarah and I were cursing his name as we passed each other on each repeat. During Sarah's 5th repeat, she actually stopped to tell me she was going to go find some flats to run for awhile... only 15min later there she was coming back up on her 6th repeat and confessing she too was in the for long haul, after all.

It was hard. It was actually just hard to get your head wrapped around. The bottom piece of the climb is very steep. So after a quick descent, you turned and immediately went lactic as you hunkered up this section. Both Sarah and I commented on how our repeats got slightly slower as we went on. My descents, however, were steady and the poles helped a lot on the climbs.

I had 1.5 laps to do on my own. Andrew was gone... Sarah was gone... I paused for a second to think "nobody would know. you could just go home now and save yourself any further torture.' Of course, I would never live with myself so I continued on until the 10 were complete. At the bottom, I looked up and considered going up ONE more repeat. For 20min more, I could have the record. That would be way easier than starting over from 1 and building to 11 again. But once again, my evil thought was replaced with reality. One more repeat may have got me the record, but it also may have lost the respect of two friends...

So, as the legend goes... the Three Amigos share the 10 repeat record at Hell Hill. Andrew holding rights to the first person to accomplish it and with the fast time. (insert deserted western town music) But the question now remains... who will ever return to that hellish place to face the pain and suffering that would be required to do 11...

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-07-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

It was a bit daunting getting back into the training routine after our rest week/Dirty Feet race. The DF race was a bit depleting for me, so it was more mentally a challenge to get energized and motivated for a build week.

In retrospect, taking the week off running completely really wasn't the best idea in this circumstance. It reminded me of how I felt after BC Bike Race last year. After our 8 day stage race was over, we got up the next day and even though we were tired, we could have rode again and not really felt 'worse.' But the race was over and we made our way back to Kelowna. Then the next day and the next day and the next day only felt worse. Our bodies crashed and the fatigue of the race week caught up with us. I think this is the best way to describe how Sarah and I felt after such a high mileage week, going into 5 days of no running or exercise at all.

My build week, however was a positive return to running overall. Monday I taught a 45min interval spin class and I was surprised how much juice the legs had after racing the day before. Tuesday brought a 2hr interval workout at Knox. Some climbing on either end of some 4min intervals on rolling terrain at 10k race pace. I was consistent with my efforts and happy about that. Wednesday Sarah and covered just over 15km in 2hrs as we climbed up Crawford and down. Neither one of us felt super peppy, but we were able to run a good portion of the hills and the sections we hiked were steady and strong. Thursdays rest day was well appreciated and Friday was a short, easy 30min road run. Mostly to just mentally get the legs moving and 'started'. This is one of the biggest challenges for me with stage racing is just starting each day. Once you get moving and are approx. 30min into the stage, you buckle down and get it done until the next day again.

Saturday and Sunday's long runs were awesome! Saturday the PACE crew met at Boulder Trail off Lakeshore Drive. The PACE team gathered their groups and set out on the trail which basically ascends and then descends. It is a beautiful single track trail with beautiful lake and city views. I was leading the 50k group which was a smaller group that day and our goal was to climb up to Divide Lake and back.

The climb took us under 2hrs at a steady hike for most of the 4500 feet. Once at the top, we decided to go a little further to the communication towers and then started the 12km descent back down. We were out for 3hr 15min and we were happy with the 'stage' resemblance of the day.

Sarah working on her tan...

Sundays training run was so much fun!! The Fat Dog 100mile was cancelled due to snow this weekend and I had a few friends who I was also coaching for this race and I felt bad when I heard they wouldn't get to put their fitness to the test. So I called my friend Alison to see her thoughts on making up for it with something local and somewhat epic... I suggested the trail run from Kelowna to Naramata.

Alison had done this run with the 'goats' years ago so she had some familiarity with it. It was going to require some logistics and unknowns, but that just added to the enjoyment and reward of getting to the finish.

Karen Christy, Sarah, Alison and I met at my house at 6:30am. Trent drove us to the trail head, maps, camel backs, snacks and poles in hand we started our epic journey around 7am. Sarah and I went into Valhalla Pure Outfitters the day before to purchase the poles we want to bring to Europe and wanted to practice on the run that day.

I can see why more and more ultra runners are running with poles... they were amazing! We purchased the black diamond distant trekking poles which are so light, collapsible and easy to run with. I ended up keeping mine out and using them all day! I am so glad we got these poles for Europe and I recommend any distant runners/hikers to look at this user-friendly, compact set of light weight poles.

The trails to Naramat were quite over-grown. So we endured lots of walking through dense brush and our legs took a beating and scratching from the thickness and volume we had to endure. The runnable sections were beautiful, as were the views. There was a few places we could refill and treat our water along the way, although the girls were all fine with what they packed and I ended up the only one who took creek water.

The company was amazing. I ran with 4 very fit, strong, steady and positive friends. We made light of all the bear scat and took turns with our signature 'bear calls' as we kept a sharp eye out for any fuzzy friends that were out there with us. The run is quite remote and we referenced the map a few times to stay on track.

The last hour of our run as really hot and we were all still managing a steady pace and energy levels, but the bushwhacking was started to get to us a bit more. It's a shame we didn't have more resources to clear this route. Its a runners paradise and hikers dream! It showcases our valley like no other and the route we took covered 30k and 4000 feet. With many off-shoot options to add both elevation and distance!

Alison set a blistering pace to finish our 5hr traverse and Trent was this angel that popped out behind a tree to inform us of our last 400m to an air conditioned car with fresh cold water :)

We spent a good portion of the day at the lake, where Alison's husband, Dave and Trent were hanging with the kids and Grandma Simone. We went into Naramata (the whole 2 blocks of if) for some greasy chicken fingers, french fries and ice-cream before driving back home to Kelowna. The boys rode their road bikes in what proved to be the hottest part of the day... 30 degrees!

The whole week really was a good week and Sarah and I satisfied ourselves with approx. 13hrs. Seems like so little compared to the 40hrs we are guessing it will take us in the Alps but then again we are counting on the beer and gelato to give us the extra energy we will need down there!

Dirty Feet Vernon - Race Report

2011-07-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 16th we headed down to Vernon for the DF trail race. It was the first race Sarah and I have done together. We were both off all week and had ran approx. 2hrs the day before to try to get our legs to come back. We had finished the prior week with 16hrs of running/hiking, so we were just out on Sunday for a training run.

Carter, Trent and other pacers were also down for the event that day. Not to mention, our family supporters and cheering squad, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Mary made the drive too! Carter ran the 5km distance. He has ran every single dirty feet race since their first event last September in Kamloops. The first two 5km races Trent and I ran with him. Then the Kelowna race he decided he wanted to do it solo and he did a great job! So this race would, again, be on his own. It is so cool to see him have the courage and sportsmanship to do this at 9yrs old. (okay, okay, there might be a wee part of me that is having a hard time letting go of the fact that as he gets older he needs me less and less) I am actually very proud of Carter and for such a little dude he sure gives me enormous amounts of inspiration!

Trent is someone else close to me that inspires me on a daily basis. In fact, simply by example my husband inspires me to believe more in myself... set goals that matter to me and to always just do my best. It was hard to learn he struggled that day and shit the bed and had lots of cramping. I so wanted him to have a strong race... but it doesn't always go as we plan. And it is always more important to get involved and finish than anything else. It was super cute to see Carter run back to wait for Trent so he could 'finish' with him.

As far as things not always going as planned, it was much the same for me that day. Sarah and I set a very conservative pace for the first 6km but my legs just exploded at the 6km mark and I never recovered from it. It was too bad because Sarah felt good and it was our first example of running only as well as the weakest link. Just because I shit the bed didn't mean I gave up or stopped pushing or trying. I still gave it my best, it just ended up hurting more and I felt like I was walking/hiking 1/2 the course that day.

None of that really matters though. The best part of the race for me was the support, patience, encouragement and attitude of my TAP. Sarah didn't once make me feel bad. She didn't run way ahead of me. She communicated well and offered me enough space to focus and grit through it, while also pacing us the 2nd half of the race to a 2hr 20min'sh finish. We did average a 3:45min km pace the last few k's to the finish which almost put me down, but I was inspired to push and finish strong with my partner.

So it was a great day after all. I was grateful to be surrounded by the constant reminder of how much I love to coach, as I witnessed my athletes finishing and/or shared race chatter post-run. I left the race that day feeling 150% that Sarah has my back and I was inspired to try to be 1/2 as supportive and patient if the shoe should ever be on the other foot in the alps and to once again have my parents present and showing their interest and support in our passion to trial run really meant a lot.

Bowron Lakes

2011-07-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... rest week! After a 16hr training week I was ready to give the legs some down time... so how about a canoe trip on the Bowron Lakes?

Actually this trip has been in the works for almost 1 year. We wanted a special way to celebrate my Dad's 60th year and Carter's 10th. I don't recall who came up with the original idea, but regardless, my Dad, brother, Trent, Carter and me set sail this month on our quest to see the west-side circuit of the Bowron Lakes. I think I was 13yrs old when my Dad and I canoed down mission creek all the way to the lake. We actually joked about how it took us 22yrs to get back in the water together :)

Half the fun was the drive down. It's a long way and I think it took us approx. 9hrs with stops, although thanks to Mary we had home-made samosas to eat and lots of car snacks. We stayed in a cabin at Bowron Lakes Lodge. Which I am writing about to remember to never stay there again. Never, never. It was very dirty, damp, old, not well maintained and basically a 'I don't give a shit' abandoned business. Not that you go on a trip like this for luxury accommodations, but you would expect what they advertise on their website to stand up to what you receive.

We soon got over it because we didn't have time to piss around with finding a new place so Trent made hot chocolate and tea for everyone and we sorted out our gear and food and went to bed.

The morning brought an early orientation and we started our way on Bowron Lake by 11am.

The first day we ended up paddling for 5hrs. Our intention was 4hrs, however the campsite we were banging on having space ended up being full. It was a bit deflating to be honest. We had all had enough 'boat time' and were more than ready to dock up, set up camp, have a beer and hang out. It was another 45min to the next campsite, so we all dug deep and made our way...

As it turned out - we couldn't have been luckier! Our initial disappointment turned into one of the best parts of our trip! We had a beautiful campsite, with both an outdoor and indoor cooking shelter. Spacious camp sites AND we had a friggen bull moose come right through our camp !!! He swam across from the other island and into a swamp behind our campsite.

We made a family vote to take a camping day the next day. The mosquito's were SO bad... and the weather that day wasn't great. Raining on and off and the lake wasn't very settled. So we weighed our odds and decided that a family day of camping was just as good as time in the canoe. And it turned out to be another favorite part of the trip. We moved our camp down to the 'prime' spots that were occupied the day prior. We had a relaxing breakfast, played monopoly cards, swam in the lake and just hung out. It was awesome!

The following day we set sail and boogied back to Bowron Lodge in approx. 3.5hrs. A much fast return but just as spectacular!! It was actually a very rewarding and enjoyable day in the boat.

We came off the water and decided to take the long drive home. It did put us home one day earlier but we were all pretty tired as we didn't get home until 11pm. I think for me, what I thought was going to be a rest week, turned into a rest for my 'legs' but not so much from a sleep perspective. I did, however get a lot of quality 'down time' and it was wonderful to share this quality down time with my family. I was really proud of my everyone. We all took on a natural role and did our share of work, cooking, cleaning, tents etc... I think my Dad and Carter were so cute too. They are two peas in a pod and such good little buddies!

At one point or another we were all out of our 'comfort' levels though and as I am sure you can all appreciate it can create some 'tight' family moments... but you know what? We were all very supportive and accepting and figured things out together. At one point Carter just wanted to sit in the tent to avoid the mosquitos and I so felt for him. I think this trip may have tainted him for life! He did, however suck it up and did a great job on dealing with it. And it wasn't just a few here and there... they were everywhere!! Nasty.

None of us are rushing out to buy a canoe anytime soon, however the family voted it was a positive and fun family holiday that we were all happy we did together. Nothing like the basics to bring the best out of everyone! And thank GAWD I am such a tom-boy being out with all this testosterone!

Coast to Mountains

2011-07-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

Two Canadian Girls on the Run hit the road for their first road trip last weekend. Sarah and I both had to work on Friday so we didn't arrive at our hotel in Vancouver until 9:30pm on Friday night. First thing I did was go 'tuck in' Stephanie and Erica who were running Knee Knacker 50k the following day. Knee Knacker is a 30mile trail run from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove and covers a total of 16,000 feet up/down. Not only does the distance and elevation make this race a challenge... it is on some seriously technical terrain that can either take your mind of the pain in your knees and quads as you focus or make tired legs turn into carnage if you can't pick them up in time ;)

(an example carnage... yes, our poor Stephanie did take a fall with 1hr left to go. She cleverly wrapped her cut hand in her arm warmer and carried on to STILL get herself a PB this year! Way to go Steph! Then I drove her to the walk in for stitches ;)

Sarah and I ran from the Grouse Grind on Saturday. We hunkered up the grouse to get some quality elevation in a relatively short amount of time. Then in an effort to avoid all the perfume, jean skirts and cowboy boots that the tourists wear on their journey up - we took the BCMC Trail down to the Baden Powell where we continued towards HWY MTN before turning back. Our goals was two-fold. To get a 4.5hr training run in while coaching and supporting our k-town crew who were out running the race that day.

We decided to test our TransAlp gear and wore matching Icebreaker shirts and shorts. (insert cheesiness here)

I am so impressed with the quality, durability and comfort of Icebreaker. Their products live up to their marketing campaign... 'Merino - A Miracle Fabric'. Not only that but I have finally found a pair of womans shorts with a liner that is comfortable and actually stays 'in place'. So I bought 3 pairs for Europe. I figure it's all I need... I can wear each pair more than once because the merino does not stink and the materials dry so fast. (yes, I have tested my 'no stink' short theory and they were still good to go after 3 long runs in a row) These shorts are my new favorite and I think everyone should run in comfort like this. Especially for endurance runs of 2-6hrs!

Sarah struggled on Saturday in the sense that her body was 'off'. Having said that, this girl is as tough as nails and still pushed through a long day and lots of elevation without giving up. We covered 5500 feet and none of it comes easy when running the north shore. I was impressed with her ability to hunker down and work through it. It was a potential 'typical Alps Day' for us. When one person feels awesome and the other person struggles for whatever reason. This is what really tests a partnership and requires the most amount of work on stage races. Its not when things are going well that is matters most. It is when the wheels come off and how well you support each other and work through it together.

It helped that we got to see Erica, Stephanie and Jennifer out on the race course and to run with each of them for awhile and see how they were doing... offer some support and encouragement before we finished our run and drove to the finish in Deep Cove. Andrew was already done by the time we got there so we listened to his play-by over a infamous doughnut and then watched the others as they came in.

We later celebrated over a burger and beer at a pub in Lynn Valley.

Sarah and I had to detach from the relaxation of the pub to continue our training journey that weekend. Our next stop was Hope. Yes... (ugh) Hope.

After stocking up on pastry, pepperoni, pb&j and chips - we laid out our gear and got our snacks ready for an epic day 2 in the mountains at the summit of the Coquihalla. Another early rise would earn us one of the most rewarding and bonding experiences of our Trans Alp partnership yet...

My husband and good friends David & Alison met us at the base of Needle Peak and we hit the trail before 7:30am. We were blessed with blue bird skies and near perfect conditions as we made our way to the summit of the NP. David and Trent lead by example as their mountain goat like reflexes made the scrambles look effortless. Lunch at over 7000 feet was the highlight and the descent was fun with 'ski like' conditions on our way down.

We refueled and then crossed the hwy to take on Yak Peak next. This climb proved to have more challenges once we made it up the forest trail. Well, let me clarify... Dave, Trent, Ali and Sarah were all very relaxed and took on what I felt was 'challenging' with ease. We made it to the base of the summit before heading back. There was so much snow and conditions weren't safe to continue, so we had a snack (a.k.a. lots of chocolate) before making our way down.

It was another good day with over 8hrs on our feet and close to 6000 feet elevation. Both Sarah and I felt good energy/muscles wise and the best part of the whole day was the company shared along both trails. Oh! And the post hike creek-pops and chips that Alison brought. Only a true mountaineer remembers to pack salt and beer for post summit celebrations ;)

Ready for Rest

2011-07-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

One more week and then Sarah and I are taking a week off running. We have been steady holding a solid base and last week and this week growing off that base and are feeling ready for a bit of down time. Not to mention so many other things get put on the back burner that we need a week to check back into reality and some of our responsibilities.

This week we had 3x middle distance runs back to back and a day rest before two big training days coming up this weekend. We are heading to Vancouver so I can coach the P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness athletes on their Knee Knacker races and Sarah and I can get a training run in using the grouse grind for some instant elevation. Then we head to the mountains for day of hiking and with the goal of another big day focused on elevation.

The weather in Kelowna has quickly reached over 30 degrees daily. Tuesday I went to Knox for 1hr before shutting it down. I forgot my trail shoes so I wore my 'gym' shoes and didn't want to be out longer without the support. Mind you that excuse came in handy with the 33 degree afternoon! (smile)

Wednesday morning my good friend, pace athlete and fellow trail running buddy Karen Christie met me down the road at 6am so we could get our run in before the HEAT of the day. We had spent a beautiful morning covering 15k in 1.5hrs and ran from Southcrest over into Crawford and back.

Karen set a great pace and gave me a good push that morning!

Then that night I went back out at 4pm to mark the time trial for the P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness workout at 6pm. I just hiked and flagged the course for another 6km and I couldn't help but feel guilty that I was about to make my athletes run their time trial in this heat! I did have a cooler full of ice water, cupcakes, cookies and chips for the finish. Junk food surely made up for it...

Time Trial Course in Southridge

I missed my 3rd run today because of time management. Work, Carter is out of school and in a soccer camp so organizing and juggling all of this was just too much. I am good with it. I have always put my family first and I never look at a missed workout as a negative when it means more time with my loved ones. Besides, I think Sarah and I have a sufferfest weekend planned... I'll take the extra energy with me.

Bread & Butter

2011-07-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend was filled with more 'bread and butter' training sessions. We refer to the b&b workouts as those routes that guarantee quality workouts and are often well used routes. Staples, if you will. Well, to be honest, after this weekend I am so ready to move on...

Friday was a merry-go-round workout. I parked at Watson Raod elementary school and ran the Glenmore Highlands for 11km, then did the two tits workout, only added on extra hell hill climbs and dilworth climbs to get my total of 28k, 4000feet and 3hr 40min. Been there done that workout and it probably didn't help that we originally planned to go up to Needle Peak and because of the low levels of snow decided the night before to stay here. You just can't replace a day in the mountains with the two t's and compare them. The positive is that I did get very close to recreating the first stage of the race!

(view from highlands looking towards two t's and hell hill)

(view from two t's looking back at highlands)

Saturday proved to be a positive back to back day for me as I set my goal on 6 repeats at Pin Cushion. This too was close to recreating another stage at 24km, 5400 feet and 3:40hrs again. Mind you the best part of my day being out with the PACE athletes and coaching. Everyone did a great job on this challenging trail which ascends 900 feet in 2km, making the up/down repeats not only physically challenging but the trail is loose, rocky and technical. I opened up the day for clinic participants to invite friends or family and I too invited our good friends Michael and Suzanne. They were awesome and came out with their packs on and hiked back to back to back... repeats too. The other highlight of the day was the Inspiration Tree. I asked everyone to bring along an item that 'inspires them' and we tacked things on the tree so we could be reminded with each repeat.

I would have tacked all my runners at the end if I was able... they all inspire me for different reasons.

Sunday I got my butt back out the door early and did 17km and 1hr 40min in Crawford. I felt good again and was pleased with my ability to maintain a nice tempo pace on the flats and run/hike as strong as I did on the climbs. I picked a flatter route today as I wanted to 'run' my legs and loosen them from all the climbing of the previous day. I started out with stiff quads but it went away after 20min. I was shocked to come across a camp fire that was not put out. If anyone can remember the devastating fires of 2003 you would understand. Not to mention this is now my neighborhood and community up here. I called my husband and he called the fire department. They came and put it out. Here is a photo of one of the logs. I hate to think if there was a strong wind this morning...

And aside from training our weekend was busy with fun family time. We had a Canada Day party, a wedding, Carter was in a swim meet and we managed to find some down time to watch a movie and hang out together on Sunday. It was a well needed family day and we took advantage of it!!

Mega Training Weekend - Sunday Report

2011-06-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, Sunday came and went like a blurr. It was one of those days where when you wake up in the morning you have no idea what was about to lie ahead of you...

First of all, my husband was working crazy hours all weekend... so my training was worked around a very supportive and key member of 'Team Canadian Girls on the Run' - my Mom. Without her help this weekend I wouldn't have gotten any training in. Sarah called in the morning to say she wanted to run the 25k Scorched Sole Race that was in town. The time-line just didn't work for me, so we simply did our own training. I had a 2hr window, so I headed to the 'two tits' (I know, I regret ever starting to call it this 6yrs ago because the name has now just stuck - see photo below for a [rather lame] view shot)

The Two T's is basically one of the more challenging city routes we have in Kelowna. It is a pieced together 11k loop that has approx. 1700', however you can easily add another 600 within 9-12min with 'Hell Hill'. (another name that has stuck for the past 6yrs) My husband and I pieced together this route when we lived in town and trained for Chuckanut in 2006. Because it's lower, there is less snow in the winter and makes for a good bread and butter route. There are steep pitches, rolling sections, technical descents and some spectacular views:

My knees were really sore on the first descent, but after 30min the pain went away and didn't come back. (phew! It would have been a long walk) I felt good. I didn't feel peppy, but I felt good. Way better than the day before... good enough that I could have gone for another 5hrs if I would have had the time. As it turned out, I crammed in 15k, 3000' in 1hr 50min. It was going to have to be good enough.

I went to the race finish to try to catch Sarah and Alison finish, but I had just missed them and they were standing in the lake cooling off their legs. Hjalmar was still out on the 50miler and by the time I inquired into the results and who was in so far - it looked like it was going to be a much longer race than expected for most runners.

Sarah and I were out late into the night waiting for Hjalmar to finish his 50miler and we were so proud of him when we saw him coming down Boulder Trail!! It was emotional for everyone - what a huge accomplishment. Sarah and I will definitely carry forward his strength, determination and fight into the Alps this fall!

Mega Training Weekend - Saturday Report

2011-06-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Two Canadian Girls were busy getting in the miles this weekend! After Friday’s mediocre performance, I was hoping that Saturday would feel better.

Sarah and I set foot just after 6am with the 50k group, but had to loop back after 1hr to pick up the 15k training group. We lead the 15k group on another beautiful and fun 1hr loop before we set out for another 3hrs to make up our 5hr training session. It is normally harder to piece runs together like this with the stop/go, but we really enjoyed the company and pace of the first two groups and it actually broke up a long session nicely.

Sarah was running really well and I could feel my body was working a little too hard for the return I was getting and sure enough, I ended up shitting the bed around 2.5hrs, making the next 2.5hrs a run/walk game. Sarah was awesome and I found having her in-front of me and just holding a steady pace kept me moving. We circled back to the cars after 4hrs and despite how rough I was feeling – I knew days could feel like this in the Alps and quitting wouldn’t be an option. So we refueled and headed back out for another hour to complete 5hrs, 5000f and 35km. I was able to push to get it done, however my body felt it post run. (achy knees, hips and feet) The past 2 weekends I had run back to back 3-4hrs totalling 50 to 55k in two days and finished with energy and no aches, pains what-so-ever. Yet, today I felt like I ran a 50k at race pace. Ugh! (insert time for recovery week)

Since my surgery last November, my left side has been some-what of an issue for runs over 4hrs in duration. It is a work in progress and is improving but stands to prove it is not yet back to ‘normal.’ I did have a treatment on Friday and had my hip/back adjusted and some A.R.T. (which felt GREAT btw) but it might have been a bit too much so close to the weekend training.

Saturday was, however, a very positive day for Sarah and me. We both know that we are not always going to feel good at the same time and that any given day we will need to lean on each other. I am okay with feeling tired and have learned this is just something you have to stick with and get through. Sarah was awesome and very supportive and we did ‘get through’ the ‘stage’ that day.

After a 1.5hr nap, some espresso and ice packs, I took my Mom, Grandma and son out to the movies to refuel for tomorrows run with popcorn and sour patch kids…

Foo Fighters made it all Better

2011-06-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Headed out on the trails behind my house tonight for a 'light 1hr run' before Sarah and I attempt our Mondo-Training Weekend. As soon as I started to move, my legs felt done. There was zero POW and very little energy. My workout ended up being more of a walk/run and I decided to just use the workout as a scouting run for the workouts I coach under P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness and hunker on the higher trails behind my house. I had a A.R.T./Chiro treatment today and I think between that and the smith creek hill hammer-fest Sarah and I did on Wednesday my legs were just not willing to cooperate.

Not all was lost. I listened to the new Foo Fighters album on my ipod (which I LOVE) and cruised around for 1hr, walking guilt free when I felt like it and taking in the beautiful views and terrain that is a short 5min jog from my house:

When you feel shitty on your workout like I did tonight, it's easy to question your training. "Am I doing too much? Not enough?" Even as a coach, I can get side-tracked or insecure or doubtful with our training and/or choices. Let's face it... outside of the training program, an effective coach is also that voice of reason who puts things back into perspective for us when we get a little spazzy. Just because I coach others doesn't mean it is easy to coach myself... in fact, if anything I would say I am harder on myself when it's all said and done.

Mind you, I don't dwell on things and after this blog entry I will move on to a glass of wine and some spaghetti. I recall from BC Bike Race that just because I didn't feel great one day didn't mean that the next day was going to be the same. And I never did have two days that felt like shit back to back. So I am going with this theory and staying positive leading into my run tomorrow. Also remembering my motto for the Alps... 'One Step at a Time'. I didn't say all the footsteps had to be fast or look pretty...

Smith Creek "Feel the Love"

2011-06-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so first of all, I want to acknowledge that there are often photos taken of us that we wouldn't DARE post or share because they just don't show our best sides... well, I am taking one for the team. Not a very flattering photo but I promised myself to keep my blog real and that sometimes means the good, bad and ugly... so look past the cheesy chick in the red icebreaker top to the sign we're pointing at :)

Today was a tough training day. Both Sarah and I showed up feeling a bit lethargic from our previous week and we knew Smith Creek pretty much climbs (although gradually and undulating) the whole way to #14, which was our goal today. I set the pace to start and just tried to find a runable effort and tried to sustain it for as long as could before having to hike. As it turned out, Sarah and I ended up running almost the whole way up! I kept thinking... "I don't think I have reached the top this fast on my MTB."

Anyhow, we did the full loop and backtracked on the descent and were out for 2.5hrs today, 20k and approx. 2000 feet. I was quite thrilled that we were able to run so much of the climb, making it a rather challenging outing today. Having said that, we took advantage of a situation on the way down to practice our 'stage finishes'... of course, the only thing missing is the beer in Sarah's hand...

We have another big weekend ahead of us and despite all the hours we're putting out there these days, I am really enjoying the training and looking forward to it!

Mr. T's Triathlon

2011-06-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a great day! Carter had his first triathlon of the season in Vernon... and so did the remainder of the Ogopogo Triathlon Club Carter is part of and I coach with 4 other experienced and talented coaches :)

We had a slight set back on our way to Vernon, as there was a bad accident and we got stuck in traffic. We weren't sure if we were going to make it in time. Trent rode his bike from home out to Vernon and we met him there. My Dad and Mary were there to support too...

Of course, it all worked out and all the kids had a great day! The rain held off and we even had some sun. Carter had a good race and said that the water was so cold it was choking him and he had to keep his head above the water. He had a bad side stitch, but pushed through for a 6th place finish and more importantly - cookies, doughnuts and watermelon from our sponsors that day :)

It was a good family day and we hung out well into the afternoon in Vernon and then made our way home. It was a great father's day too - although we did celebrate father's day the day prior by renting canoes and getting some practice on the lake before our trip to the Bowron Lakes!

As far as my training went on Sunday... it didn't. I wanted to ride for a few hours or even just get out for 1hr on my feet, but I just elected to call it a family day. To be honest, I was actually pretty tired from the weeks training. 10.5hrs of running, 80k and 12,000 feet. It was a good week and had some hard back to back days in there. Recognizing, however the fine line between moving on those days I am tired and resting... because in 8 days I am guaranteed to experience the days I don't want to move!

Elevation Profile Proves Motivational

2011-06-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I planned on running Pin Cushion MTN this morning for 3hrs. PCM, has approx. 900 feet and 4km return trip. So our thoughts were 5-6 repeats depending on how long it would take us per loop. Well, I felt horrible... and I mean horrible, but I had to call Sarah last night and let her know that I just wasn't up for a 6am start. I started to feel run down on Thursday and it has felt like my weeks just keep getting more and more crammed. More and more scheduled and just too fast paced for me. I was worried that another night of only 6hrs would be the straw that broke the camel's back. So I elected to sleep in and do my repeats later in the day. Unfortunately, Sarah was on a tight schedule herself on Friday leaving her less options. I will say that a sign of a true partner is one who understands, supports and doesn't judge. Sarah was all this and more, which allowed me to feel good about my choice.

I ended up sleeping for 9hrs and woke up feeling recharged. I didn't actually get out of bed until 7:30am! Although I was still quite lazy and needed to detach from responsibilities and just take the morning to veg.

I found my way to PCM by 11am and the first thing I did was pin Stage 5's elevation profile up on the trunk of a tree. I had planned 3hrs of running/hiking up/down repeats and figured I might need a little motivation to meet my 1300m goal for the day...

So every repeat I could see it coming down the last 20m and it did indeed remind me of what I am working so hard for.

I wore my La Sportiva Raptor trail shoes and I am just so friggen impressed with these shoes. My first 4 laps went by with dry skies but my 5th lap it pissed and these shoes gripped the rock and trail with no issues. PCM is rather technical with roots, rocks, large jagged sections you have to boulder over and lots of scree/baby heads. The Raptors kept my feet feeling secure and going fast.

Trent rode his bike from home and met me there for my last repeat. The push was good and it was my fastest ascent time of the day.

The best part of it all was going for lunch with Trent and my brother Kenny at Bliss Bakery afterwards though. Red Curry Soup, espresso, fresh breads and home made PB/Choc cookie. Training for the ALPS also consists of hitting coffee shops post-runs.

Run Details: 3hrs, 1350m, approx 20k

Too Busy Training to Blog

2011-06-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Training has been going pretty good... I just haven't had time to blog about it!

Sarah and I have been running together 2-3x's per week which has been great. We are starting to figure out each others strengths and it is allowing us to strategize for the race a bit more. Just working on running our own pace when we're together and not running 'to impress' one another was the first step. It's like there was this unsaid 'I don't want to show my partner I suck' going on subconsciously. We quickly figured it out on the first run and it has been smooth sailing since then.

We booked our flights on the weekend. That was a huge step!! Ready or not... here we come!!

Team: Two Canadian Girls on the Run

Gore-Tex Trans Alpine Run 2011

Long runs on the weekends are 3-4hrs back to back and 20-30k distances. We have built into 5 days per week and one of those days is sometimes more a 'hike' just to be conservative and avoid injury at this point. So I think our weekly mileage has been around 65-80km, 10-12,000 feet and 9-10.5hrs Gawd, that sounds like a lot on it's own but it really isn't yet. We still have a lot of building to do considering we will have 250km, 50,000 feet and likely 40hrs of running on race week.

I am feeling pretty good these days and despite some workouts where the 'jam' isn't there I am still feeling committed and there has been no sense of wavering. I have approached each week understanding it's purpose and taking it one workout at a time. I notice it is often taking me well into 45min or 1hr to get warmed up on most of my runs. The positive part of that is the heavy feeling does go away and I get into a nice rhythm and some speed in the later part of my runs... finishing with 'legs' feels good.

Dreaming of Gelato every post run... life is good!

Valhalla Pure Outfitters - The Gear is Here

2011-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

I love Valhalla! I am so happy and feel so lucky that they opened a store in our community. Not only do they have a wide range of every kind of outdoor recreational gear you can imagine - the staff is awesome! Every time I go into the store it makes me feel like Norm from Cheers...

I am surprised that I still talk to some people who haven't heard of this gear mecca. The owner and staff have done such a good job at building a business that appeals to people of all levels, abilities and interests. Not only that, but you really get a sense that the owner and staff care about people. Through the quality in product... the variety and diversity in branding and most importantly in the good, down to earth, active people they hire! The staff is knowledgeable and experienced... just ask Jim about his last trip or google his gopro footage! They also do a great job on providing an environment where one can just go and loiter and talk about trail running, paddling, rock climbing etc... It is the kind of store where dreaming of snow in the summer is not only acceptable, but encouraged! Those backcountry ski types are pretty hard core...

Now this is just my outlook on the shop and based on my experiences. Since then I have had the good fortune of getting to know the staff better and meeting the owner over a beer and a burger. I'll say it again - the backbone to this business comes from a grass roots guy who loves recreating, racing and exploring just as much as the rest of us. He ended up turning that passion into a store where he can give back and help support people's dreams. Like Sarah and me. It is our dream to go to the Alps. And thanks to Valhalla, (and our other amazing sponsors Kelowna Cycle & IceBreaker) our dreams are going to come true this year.

Which is why I feel so lucky to have Valhalla's support and sponsorship as we venture into this epic and insane 8 day running race. Being in alignment with business or people with similar values as mine are a key part of my business so you can see how easy it was to develop a partnership with Valhalla. They were in 100% alignment with my #1 philosophy in life: 'treat people the way you want to be treated.' and Valhalla has done just that!

I started this post to just tell you how much I love the new pair of La Sportiva Raptor shoes and IceBreaker shorts I picked up today, but it turned into my traditional "I love you man!" kind of blog...

Two Canadian Girls on the Run

2011-06-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well today was Sarah and my big debut! It was the first time we actually went for a run... just the two of us. Can you believe it! We have also coordinated our schedules so moving forward we will be more in tune and have made some mountain plans for this summer.

Today's run went very well and Sarah is such a great person to run with. We talked the whole time and had a steady 1.5hr run. She is one strong cookie on those hills!!

We have a big weekend coming up. Friday, Saturday and Sunday training days, so it will be interesting to see how the body runs by Sunday!

Another 'funny' photo from Michael... we feel the inspiration!!

Michael Hintringer - Local Talent

2011-06-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last month I hired professional photographer and friend, Michael Hintringer and his wife Suzanne to take some updated photos of the pace team and Sarah and I as we prepare for our long journey this year.

They did an incredible job and I really felt like they did a great job as assessing my vision prior to the session and the outcome exceeded my expectations! Not only that, they have a remarkable way of making you feel comfortable and at ease as you try to recreate yourself for the camera. I am so happy and impressed with their professionalism, creativity and passion for people and their business. It was one of the best investments I have made for my business and I will seriously consider making annual updates or asking Michael and Suzanne back to P.A.C.E scene for some group shots at a later date.

Thanks to my good friends and talented professionals! xoxo Rene

They did this photo for fun for Sarah and I to keep us inspired for what's to come in approx. 12 weeks...

More photos can be viewed via facebook. I will update my website soon!!

Hunger Awareness

2011-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

I love working for Global Fitness Centre! I had the best day yesterday with my fellow teammates attending a hunger awareness day at Bankhead Elementary. We brought our bagged lunches along with over $400 that our club raised by hosting a Hunger Awareness Day the previous day.

Giving back feels SO good and I am grateful that I work for an employer and business that really cares about helping the community get fit, stay fit and live a healthy lifestyle. This was the 4th charity event we either created or jumped on board with so far this year and I am already planning the next one for June!

I wish I was feeling more motivated for my fitness yesterday. Other than my morning Yoga ritual, I couldn't find time to fit my run in and with a busy week ahead of me had appointments and other things I have been putting to the side, that needed to get done. All doesn't feel lost though after attending such a positive event!

The Purpose Behind 25

2011-05-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I hit the road for a 25min road run yesterday. Yep, exactly... 25min isn't going to cut in for the Alps, so why did I bother!? Well, let me tell you...

I am trying to set the habit of a 5th day of running as I build conservatively towards the race in September. So today wasn't about speed. It wasn't about endurance. It wasn't about anything more than starting to create the habit... mostly mentally. Getting my mind wrapped around running 5 days a week and gaining focus.

I was humming and hawing about even going, so the fact I put foot to pavement meant that my mission was accomplished and now I could move on to the bigger workouts of the week!

For anyone out there who only has 20-40min and doesn't bother 'running' or 'exercising' because they don't think it's long enough - you might be shooting yourself in the foot. Habits are created by taking action and seeing things through. Sometimes the duration is less important and just following through will carry over into future fitness habits and success. Or for those of you who are sedentary, starting with 20min will get you out the door and you may be surprised that you want to stay out longer, once YOU put foot to pavement!

Century Ride Starring Carter Fortney

2011-05-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Century ride was awesome this year – great KCU representation and I must say the KITS look HOT! Of course, my ‘report’ consists solely of how proud I am of our 9yr old son, Carter. Carter rode the 56km route this year on his Kona MTB. Taking him approx. 3.5hrs! He was overjoyed and very proud of his accomplishment.

He was decked out in KC gear all the KC gang congratulated Carter and asked him about his ride and this made such a positive impact on Carter, as he truly felt included and part of the KC ‘team.’ Which is a huge part of what motivates many of us to continue to ride. Trent and I were very grateful that Carter got exposure and to experience the ‘social and supportive’ side of doing events like this at such an early age. So thank you to everyone who spent some time talking and including Carter yesterday.

Of course, he still had some gas in the tank and managed to be the ‘prize runner’ for Lisa and play soccer with the kids for over 1hr when we got home last night. (Trent and I might have been on the couch) Mind you, for those of you that have seen the size of this kids legs know that it was no big deal for him. Legs of steal!! (insert toothpicks with bulging ankles and knee caps) Ahh… to be young again!

Best part – he loved it and says he can’t wait until next year. Kudos to Lisa for acknowledging the kids and making an extra effort to announce them and prize them. It’s the little things in life…

Speaking of the little things... I want to take a moment and thank our family for their unconditional support. This weekend my Dad and Mary offered to ride with Carter so Trent and I could do the 100k. The weekend before, my Mom slept over (!) so Trent and I could get up early and both lead PACE groups Saturday morning. My parents love to spend time with Carter, so I know they are always willing and excited, however the 'little things' allow Trent and I to balance our time, work, family and do the 'big things' like BC Bike Race or Gore Tex TransAlpine Run. Cheers to family!

It is something we don't ever take for granted and appreciate the support that having our parents live in the same community provides us. We enjoyed home made lamb burgers at my parents campsite after the ride, and a shout out to David and Sue who also rode with Carter and feed us post-ride :)

I also want to say how proud I am of my Dad & Mary who started cycling last year. Mary has made leaps and bounds around conditions that would otherwise hold someone else back. She is pushing through and found new passion via the saddle of her bike. My Dad too, has found a new love in cycling and giving back to his health. I am just happy that they have found a sport that they both love doing so much and can spend time doing it together. xo

Ol' Stompin' Grounds

2011-05-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

For the PACE training run today, we headed to Glenmore Highlands. This is where it all began for me... where I first ventured into the wonderful sport of trail running. At the time, Trent and I were only dating and I recalled many a 'date nights'... spending our Fridays doing a long run, then going for Vietnamese food and beer. It was a very pivotal point in my life, really. I found distance running and road riding as I was going through a major change in my life and discovering myself, you could say. I also found a husband and best friend :)

Anyhow, I am grateful for my journey and I guess trail running really was more significant to me than I even realized back then, as discovering this sport really did change me. Since then, I have invested the most significant amount of fitness time to trail running, among all the other activities I enjoy and building a dream career where I get to do what I love and help others.

So it felt good to be back in my ol' stompin' grounds with Trent and my friends. We had a near epic day too. It was really good! I forgot just how great the trails are out towards McKinley and Clifton. Sarah and Trent turned back to complete a 3hr training session and I stayed out with Hjalmar, Andrew and Roberta and Jennifer. Roberta and Jenn are training for their first 50k and it was a privilege to be out there for 4.5hrs and witness them make their way through it. There was mist, rain, sun and socializing in the air! It was a really nice run today.

This week started off strong. Tuesday I headed back to Glenmore and did a fast, steady 1:15hr tempo run on rolling terrain and I couldn't help but think "why couldn't have I felt this good two days ago at Sun Mountain!?". But it didn't really matter and it just went to show that that is how it will be in Europe too. Ups and downs. Good and bad. Regardless... I need to JUST RUN.

Wednesday was Paul's Torture Tomb Climbs. I managed 5 repeats again and put 1000m in the bank and approx. 2hrs on my feet. Thursday I only had time for yoga and I really wanted to just sneak in 1hr on Friday and get that '4th day' of running in... but it didn't happen. Carter wanted a play date and with that I had some Monopoly to play!! (we LOVE Monopoly in our house) My Mom and I did go out for a walk last night and all 'n' all, spending time with family made me forget that I even planned on running. Life is good!

Tomorrow we head to Armstrong for the 100k century ride. I haven't done the full ride in 3yrs. I have been riding shorter distances with Carter or my parents while Trent does the 100 every year, but this year Carter is going to aim for the 54k with my parents and Trent and I will get to both take part in the 100. So two long days back to back and I will ride or run on Monday to make up for the Friday run I missed. Not all is lost!

Sun Mountain Race Report

2011-05-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

After raining until 4am, we all wondered if the skies would be kind during the race and Mother Nature mush be a runner because they did! The temperatures were cool and perfect, allowing everyone to still run in shorts/t-shirts. I peeled the gloves in the first 10min.

Mel was the only early starter at 7am. Those crazy 50milers need to suck it up while the 50k and 25k runners had a cushy 10am start. Mel had already been running for 30min by the time I got out of bed :) We carpooled from the campground and met up the 50kers: Erica, Alana and Karen. I was so excited for them as it was their first 50k. They have been working hard for months to make their dream come true and I just couldn't wait to see them cross the finish line that afternoon. I knew they were ready physically and I was doing the ol' coaches check list in my mind as I watched the three of them huddle together for the race briefing... yep! All training areas checked, I took a deep breath and had faith this would be a good day for all three.

My personal expectations were low when it came to the 25k race that day. I was prepared to push as hard as my body could, taking into account the build week and the last 2 days in particular. I anticipated my legs to be tired and was building off a 12hr week... making the finish of today's run 14.5 - 15hrs in total. But I will admit... there was a little part of me hoping to feel fresh enough to do well in the race and if the day would have gone based on how I felt in the first 15min I would have ripped it up!! Unfortunately... the only time my heart rate stayed under 1:47 was those first 15min. After that, I struggled to keep it under 160bpm. That's just the way it goes sometimes and despite how much it hurt, that was actually what I needed. I need practice working through the rough days on my feet and not giving up as I get ready for the Alps.

To spare writing all the boring point to point details, Trent and Ashlee ended up catching up to me after 30min. And passing me after 35min. LOL!! Actually, we ran/hiked together for a bit but that little Ashlee took no prisoners and found an awesome rhythm and eventually pulled away from me. Trent... he was ahead of me the whole time, but just enough so I could see him and he could encourage me from a distance. He might of even dropped a few 'come on Unser, you can do it. What do you think stage 3-8 is going to feel like!' If it wasn't for Trent yesterday I probably would have hiked and just toned it down to a manageable pace and settled for a longer time out. Instead his encouragement and little words of wisdom and support keep me on the painful push and despite the fact I was NOT moving fast... I was moving faster and pushed through the pain faster than if he wouldn't have been there.

Trent and I sauntered in together in approx. 2hrs 20mim and once my heart rate finally dropped out of the 160's (max HR is 172) I hugged Trent and thanked him with the cheesy 'you're my best friend... the best coach and I love you so much. Thanks for your support and not giving up on me today.' Yea, yea, I know... barffy for some of you, but when you're exhausted and gave it all you had, you don't focus on your race time - you think about what got you through it. And for me it was Trent, the beautiful views and trails that day.

Ian & Ahslee ripped it up!!! I was so proud of them and happy they felt so great. We never did catch Ashlee and I think she kept a good 7min lead on us. Awesome! Glenn and Cindy ran the 25k together and it was great to see them finish together too. The next in was Miss Mel... in an impressive 7hr 13min 50mile time. Another friend/athlete I was so excited and proud of yesterday. 2nd female in her first 50mile race and finished smiling as usual. The three amigos came in close to one another next. Alana, Erica and then Karen. All three battled through their first long journey in the woods... otherwise known as an ultra. It is hard to express what I felt for them as I watched them cross the finish line and unless you have ran this far and in particular, remember your first ultra, don't know that I can. I guess for me, it was a combination of reflecting on all the early morning runs, the sacrifices it takes to be away from your family and for a period of time prioritize the hours needed to get yourself to the physical and mental point where you're ready to endure such an accomplishment. I was relieved that they all did so well as I wear some of the responsibility as their coach and the training plans I prescribed for them. Most importantly... I was just proud as their friend and without knowing each one's details... knew what it took to get through it.

James Varner did a great job on the race. Markings were well done. He started on time. Choose incredible routes. Had the BEST and I mean the BEST post-race venue I have ever had the pleasure of being part of. Beer... fancy pizza(s), and a bluegrass band which was unreal. It showed how much pride he takes as a RD and wanted to give back to his participants that day. The post-race party and atmosphere was not lost on the Kelowna Crew and we enjoyed it... drinking beer, eating pizza, hanging out and socializing with someones foot forever tapping to the grassroots bluegrass music. The rain stayed away long enough for everyone to finish and then we carried the party back to the KOA.

Pot luck BBQ... wine... beer and race stories, jokes and one of the best nights of the weekend! The rigamortis was setting in for the 50k girls with each passing minute and not even the wine seemed to loosen them up. LOL Everyone might have been exhausted from either their race or the multi-days of recreating that weekend... we were all overjoyed and grateful for an incredible weekend with great people and good health.

Washington Training Weekend Part II

2011-05-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

I love camping. Well... I should rephrase: I love camping in my parents motor home. Cowboy coffee... bacon, eggs and toast and all in the comfort of a 27'' home.

Ian, Ashlee, Trent and I hit the trails at 10am for a MTB ride. Day two of our training weekend here in Winthrop. We decided to pre-ride some of the trails that would be in the trail running race the following day, up at Sun Mountain. The weather was a bit cooler, but it was still quite muggy out.

We ended up out for 2hrs on various trails all around Sun Mountain. The trails here are super fun. Nothing technical, however lots of single track and windy, twisty, rolling trails, which if you hit at high speed can make things a bit more challenging and mega fun! The views, again, were spectacular! It really is paradise here... I can't believe we have never been here to recreate before. We are already planning out next trip in August.

My energy was good today, although my legs lacked any sustained 'POW!'. I climbed steady and got into a rhythmn, but I didn't feel the 'jam'. I just hunkered behind Trent and it reminded me of BCBR where days would go by and we would just do what it took to 'get it done' and kept plugging along. It really was a fun day today and I thoroughly enjoyed the trails. On top of that, I got in another 2hrs and build another back to back day into my weekend.

I have been back and forth all day on if I should run the 50k tomorrow. I feel like I could plough along and would have not problem getting it done, despite the fact that I have done nothing even close to tapering this week. I have just two concerns: 1) My ankle is doing much better but not yet 100% and to top it off, I rolled it while running on Tuesday and it feels a bit tight still. I can't jeopardize a set back. 2.) Recovery. I don't want to spend the next two weeks recovering from 1 race when I need to work on building hours and back to back weekend sessions with the limited time I have left till the Alps. So needless to say it really is a common sense decision and I just have to let the ultra dream go this time.

We walked around the old western town of Winthrop in the afternoon and shopped, drank coffee and ate ice-cream. It is the coolest place with old Saloons etc... then we all met up at our campsite for a pot luck spaghetti dinner and more wine/beer. The benefits of not taking a race so seriously... no taper, you recreate as you please and can indulge in the cheap wine and great brew of the area!

Washington Training Weekend

2011-05-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

I originally signed up for the Sun Mountain 50k back in January when Sarah and I first committed to the race in the Alps. In fact, I originally signed up for three 50k's until I realized what I actually needed was shorter back to back training days this time of year. So needless to say, I am passing on the 50k this weekend and instead, aiming to turn the weekend into back to back semi-long days.

Unfortunately Sarah was unable to come this weekend, as it would have been our first training block together. Luckily, I have other amazing training partners and friends along with us this weekend who are inspiring and motivating me with my training and Sarah is highly motivated herself and is hitting the trails back in K-Town to do her own version of suffering :)

Like our first day here. 6 of us set out from the campground and rode from Winthrop, through Mazama and up the Washington Pass Hwy. What a friggen climb!! We rode for a total of 4hrs, 5500 feet and 100km. It was an amazing day to be on the road bike. Bright sunny skies, good company, steady pace and snacks at the Mazama coffee shop before making the last 25km back to Winthrop.

Trent and I both commented that in all the places we have been riding and have seen via the saddle of our bikes, the Washington Pass Hwy hit the top 3. With views of the East Cascade Range, a fairly favorable grade, wicked descent and awesome paved roads - we were in heaven. Not to mention, we lucked out in that they still had the hwy closed and were just in the process of completing their blasting and road clearing in hopes to open the hwy the following day.

We hammered the pace line back on the way home and in some sections pulling 46k +... I got to the exhaustion point of my workout. This was my longest ride this year, so despite the fact I knew I would be tired the next day - I knew this was exactly what I needed. The challenge to even get started the next few days and to try to create stage II, III, and IV in the days to follow.

A dip in the pool, Mexican food, beer and good friends finished off the near perfect day. We have plans to go out to Sun Mountain for a mountain bike ride tomorrow and then the trail race on Sunday. Gotta keep thinking 'Alps'... 'Alps'... 'Alps'.

Another Salty Year

2011-05-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

This was my 3rd consecutive time doing the Salty Dog 6hr enduro Mountain Bike race in Salmon Arm. My first attempt as a gong show. I was so worked up the night before that I didn't sleep... I felt sick to my stomach and really my nerves were just shot. I wasn't exactly what you would call a 'mountain biker' 3yrs ago. I was someone who wanted to be a mountain biker and hung out with friends who were mountain bikers but I was a really poor rider and didn't spend much time on my bike and hence, saw little improvements. Trent and I signed up for a 100 mile mountain bike race called the Cascade Cream Puff in 2009 and the Salty Dog would have been my first bike race ever. Well, I got in two laps and on my third lap wrapped my rear derailleur on a stump and I was done. Probably a good thing because I was so spazzy in the first place that year. And Trent broke his ankle 2 weeks before the 100 mile race so we never did end up going and I barely touched my bike after June that year.

Despite the rough start to the race scene, I came back for more punishment in 2010. This time Trent and I signed up for an 8 day stage race called the BC Bike Race. So I set my goal on the solo event and Trent and I rode our laps together to try to simulate what riding together would feel like for our upcoming race. Thanks to Trent and our friends David and Monica Nelson, I actually did learn to ride a MTB in spring of 2010 and Salty Dog 1 year later was a totally new experience. I didn't start out so spazzy... didn't carry 3/4 of the race jitters forward and was focused on my goal of 6 laps. Which Trent and I accomplished. I finally felt like a 'mountain biker.'

This year was a mix of both years. I got a new bike and only got two rides in before this year's Dog. I was feeling a bit nervous about the course and didn't sleep well the night before. Woke up with some anxiety around the descent and generally was feeling a little 'off'. Trent rode the first two laps, then I rode the next two laps. I started off spazzy again and my heart rate was off the charts. But I did manage to settle into the ride, despite my heart rate not coming down much. I rode hard and gave each lap my honest effort. The descent was a non-issue and I thought how stupid for me to get worked up over it when it all ended up going so well. It just came back to me and I descended well and with very little time on my brakes, felt fast.

When I finished the two laps I was ready for a break and Trent headed back out for two more. In the meantime, I had been riding around with Carter. Watched his 1hr Salty Pup race and laid on the blanket and snuggled, ate watermelon etc... and without realizing it, got my head out of the race a little too much. Not that it was a bad thing... but when Trent came in on our 6th lap, I didn't feel like going back out again. So he didn't hesitate and went out for his 5th lap!! I was so proud of him and as it turned out, thanks to him sucking it up for us - we came 7th in our category.

All'n'all it was a fun family day and I enjoyed doing the team for a change but recognized that pre-riding the course is important to me and needs to be a priority for future years if I want to be competitive. It will help calm my nerves and get me focused prior to the event. For this year, however, I was proud of Trent for carrying the load and doing such a great job on 5 laps. Proud of Carter for his 3rd year and this was the first year I got to watch his race because we weren't out racing. And just generally happy to get some fitness in and build off my week and a hard 3hr training run the day before in Wild Horse Canyon with the PACE group.

Good friends and fellow riders to hang out with and of course, the traditional ice-cream stop on the way home :)

Every Footstep Counts...

2011-05-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

My new mantra for the Alps... 'Every Footstep Counts'. Why do I feel so drawn to this new mantra for 2011? Because I can't yet wrap my head around the 262km and 15,000 meters our feet will cross the first week of September. So I am breaking it down, so-to-speak, to the barest form of forward motion I know, which is just putting one foot in-front of the other.

And on a day like today, just getting my feet moving is proving to be a challenge. I'm tired! I dropped Carter off at school and drove directly to Quarry Park to pre-run the PACE workout before their session tonight and to get my training in. I forgot the workout at home, so I drove home to pick it up and went back. Then I realized I forgot my watch and without that I can't gps distance, so I had to go home again. On an already wavering morning, this was almost enough to say 'screw it' today. Instead, I decided to just chill for an hour, have another coffee, drink water, refuel, do some work and then reassess.

So needless to say, when I do go back to Quarry Park this morning (and yes, I WILL get my ass down there eventually) my perspective is that every footstep will count. Some days I just have to focus on moving and less about the other training tactics that fill my mind. I know that it is not an option for me to skip many workouts from now to September 1st. Further, I know there will be things that will come up that are more important than 'I feel tired' as a reason to miss... like family events, illness, work etc... so I need to just 'SNAP OUT OF IT MARTHA!' and do like Nike says... 'Just do it!'.

118 Days to the Start of the TransAlpine Run...

2011-05-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

It's go time!! With only 118 days left before we toe up in Oberstdorf, I am starting to feel a little anxious. I had a great week of training, which gives me some confidence, but watching the trailer can't help but psych me out a bit here and there.

Friday morning Sarah and I went for an amazing 2hr mountain bike ride. We got in a decent amount of climbing and just enjoyed a really warm, bright beautiful morning in Crawford. Saturday I squeezed in just over 4hrs and 36km on the trails. This will be my longest training run before Winthrop 50k in a few weeks. I didn't feel great on the run and hit some low points around 2.5hrs, but I was running with Andrew and Alana and they were so supportive. We stuck together and it was a steady pace and good company. Thanks to Andrew for dragging my butt back out for the last 6km!!

Today is Mother's Day and I feel so loved and celebrated. I totally slept in, had coffee in bed and Carter was so excited to give me his gift. Then we went to Bo-Hoe for breakfast with friends, David & Alison and their family. It was nice to be included and spend the morning with them.

Then Carter and I went for a 45min trail run/hike in Crawford and down to the soccer field and played soccer for an hour or so. We spent the night out with my dad, step-mom and brother last night and we are taking my Mom out for dinner tonight. It has been a weekend of gratitude for me. So many of my favorite things with all my favorite people!

I managed to get in a 13hr training week this week and got through my long run Saturday on tired legs, which makes me so happy too! And 4 runs this week... which is a bit of a bump, however I feel necessary and like it was well received from my body.

Salty Dog 6hr race is coming up next weekend. Trent and I have raced solo category in the past, but this year we are just out for the fun and so we're doing it as a team. The following weekend in training in Winthrop!! Looking forward to Sarah and I getting in some back to back days together and hanging with the other PACE pep's and our friends.

Fitness before Beauty...

2011-05-06T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last night my son had his spring concert at his school. I was so excited! Carter has been talking about this concert for the last month and he was so pumped for Trent and I to see it. He even went as far as to write out a map of the gym, with the stage, props, seating arrangement etc... and marked which seats we need to sit in!

It came down to a 45min window for me to decide whether I would go for a tempo run on the trails behind the house or take a shower and look at least, presentable at my son's concert. Well, I have never been much for wasting time on things like doing my hair and yesterday was no different! I opted for a quick run (better than nothing!) and an even quicker bird bath ;-)

Luckily we got there just when the line of parents was forming... because I knew if we didn't get the right 'seats' Carter would be disappointed! So we found our spots and sure enough, we landed right smack dab in front of him!

The concert was amazing and I have over 25 photos to prove it. Carter stood tall and sang each song proud and nailed every single arm swing, leg kick, hand slap, jump up, he needed to do. He was beaming :) And so were we.

When we got home, I took off my flats and looked down at my feet... I guess I should have made the run 40min instead and maybe that way I wouldn't have forgotten to clean up the ring of dirt that was around my sock line still from the run!! Wouldn't have mattered if I wasn't wearing shorts... ah well, there is a sense of pride knowing that fitness came before beauty yesterday and a little dirt ring here and there never really hurt anyone...