philrunshills

As most who are reading this likely know by now, I recently had a really good race out at the North Face Endurance Challenge at Blue Mountain, Ontario. I went out there with some high expectations for myself and I feel pretty good about my performance, finishing the 80km course in 6hrs42min and winning the race. This is the second 80k I have started and the first I have finished, so I am quite pleased with the result, especially that my time was much faster than I expected.

I’ll give a little recap of how it all went down on my end..

With the race scheduled to start at 5am on Saturday morning, and being a good 8hr drive from Montreal, I took the day off Friday to make my way out there. The village at Blue Mountain is owned by Intrawest (Whistler, Tremblant..) and is thus very commercialized, so arriving there on the eve of the race was kind of a weird experience, with all sorts of things going on and myself being a bit overwhelmed and anxious. I picked up my race package and walked around on my own for a while before deciding to shake off the nerves by heading for a short run to get to know the trails. It was nice to see that the course was nice and runnable (not too steep) and I was excited for the next day, but still had quite a bit of the pre-race jitters going on. One of the things that was making me a little nervous was that I hadn’t planned on anywhere to sleep, and since I was alone at an expensive resort I didn’t want to pay for a hotel just to wake up at 4am! I had half-planned to sleep in my car somewhere, and so decided to grab some food, a coffee for the morning and a newspaper crossword to keep myself busy, and proceeded to find a spot to park my car so I could lay out for the night. In the end I parked in the event-specific lot, about 1km from the start, and was pleased to see one other runner prepping himself to sleep in his pick-up truck. Nice to know I wasn’t alone! So I went ahead and got my camp mat laid out, failed terribly at completing the crossword and crashed around 930pm. Sleep was on and off but mostly pretty comfortable, and I woke up before my 4am alarm feeling surprisingly fresh! (I had spent the previous week getting up earlier and earlier every day to get used to it) I slowly got up, ate a boiled egg and some pita and peanut butter, and headed over to the start area to warm up.

I find it a bit of an eerie experience to have a few hundred people lurking in the dark before a race, obviously nervous about what’s to come and trying to shake off the sleep. It can be difficult to focus on racing when you’re barely even awake. Nonetheless I prepared with a bit of jogging and dynamic stretching, keeping myself away from the crowd and doing my own thing. I am always tempted to watch what others are doing and compare myself to them, and I find it helps to just go off to the side so I can focus on my own preparation, take some deep breaths and relax a little.

With 5am around the corner we lined up at the start, headlamps on so we can complete the first part of the race in the dark. This is actually one of my favourite parts, where you literally can only focus on what’s right ahead of you, running with headlamp tunnel vision, and makes it feel more intense to me.

From the start I was ahead of the others and just settled into a comfortable pace, fresh legs allowing me to easily jog up the first climb to the top of the ski hill, and very quickly finding myself all alone on the course. Basically that was the last I saw of anyone in the 80k race, other than those I crossed on some out-and-back sections, allowing me the luxury of just running my race the way I felt confident, but also giving me that itch that somebody would eventually catch me.

The race consisted of 2 40km laps, and the first one went by quite quickly. I was feeling really good just carrying on at a steady pace and finished the 1st lap in just under 3hrs10min with an average pace of 4:40/km. The end of the loop is straight downhill on a ski run, basically just trying to stay in control while destroying the quads, before heading back up the main climb. Although altitude gain/loss in not a huge part of that course I won’t lie that I struggled starting the second loop. The downhill sucked out all the strength in my quads and I was forced to hike a good portion of the uphills over the following 5-10km. I really thought I was going to lose the race at that point, began doubting myself and came close to quitting. It’s crazy the games our minds can play on us when things get tough, and it took a lot of effort for me to calm those doubts and keep pushing on. I really had to convince myself that all this was normal and that everyone was likely hurting, that I was just having a few bad moments and I could recover from it.

I managed to push on, helped by all the awesome volunteers and spectators at aid stations who always put a smile on my face, evidently with less ease than on the first lap but even more determination. There was the constant thought that runners behind had just paced better on the first lap and would soon catch me, but I resolved to just keep going at the best pace I could muster, knowing it was all I could do to have my best result. Obviously I would have been bummed to be passed after so much time in the lead, but all I can do is the best I can do!

In the end I completed the second lap in about 3hrs35min, slowing my overall pace to about 5:04/km. This was more than enough to win the race in a fairly respectable finishing time. More importantly it has given me the confidence that I can actually do these races, dealing with both the physical and mental demands. When I went through the harder parts of the race I started beating myself up, saying I was no good at this and I just wasn’t cut out for ultra racing. The physical part of doing these races is pretty straightforward, can be trained in very concrete ways, but the mental aspect is so much more difficult to prepare. That’s really what gives me the most satisfaction in the end, knowing that I struggled through intense psychological barriers and overcame them. You can definitely see the satisfaction and relief as I cross the finish line!

Reflecting back on the race, although I am happy with how I did I know I can do much better. I have a lot of work to do but I am quite confident that I can eventually reach a point where that second lap time approaches the first, and maybe even make both faster. With more experience running this length of race I can only imagine how much stronger I will get. This is really exciting to me as I move forward with racing, feeling like I can eventually enter some bigger races and challenge guys that I’ve been reading about and idolizing for the past few years. I don’t know where my limit is but I am more motivated than ever to keep training and be the best I can be. I really feel like I am finding my stride in this sport, and it looks like good things are coming!

It has been too long!

I got a little disenchanted with writing about running after last August’s injury at the Squamish50, and thus fell off the blogosphere for a while. A whole heck of a lot has happened since then, lots of things have changed with work, moves and other parts of my life.

One of the biggest changes is that I no longer live in BC but have relocated to Montreal. A combination of circumstances and work opportunities led me to return, not to mention the desire to be close to friends and family back home. It has been a wild ride and has been tough to deal with the loss of mountains for running, but I have maintained a high level of training and get out to local trails as often as possible. I will try to write a post with lots of photos about the trails here in Montreal. For now, I have to say that although the breadth of trails doesn’t quite meet my needs or wants, I am still finding a lot of enjoyment from running on Mont-Royal and exploring hidden gems. There is definitely more to discover out there than I previously assumed, and this has really helped me keep enjoying myself training from home.

So before I go any deeper into training, I should mention my goals for the summer! I decided this winter than I would focus on a small number of “shorter” ultras and really aim to perform at a high level. Having been so disappointed with injuring myself in Squamish last year, and with some added incentive from Gary Robbins to make the trip back, I decided to sign up for the Squamish 50 Mile race in August. This is my main objective and, realistic or not, I am going for the win. I expect the field to be very tough but I don’t see why I can’t at least try! Anyways, in order to prepare for that race I decided to run another 50 miler 5 weeks earlier, the North Face Endurance Challenge – Ontario. Again, I am in it to win it!

So with lofty goals comes the need for hefty training, and it would seem that living in a city like Montreal, with few hills even in sight, doesn’t quite offer the ideal opportunities. But really I have found a way to combine a good mix of road running, trail running, stair climbing and cycling that seems to be paying dividends. I get out to the mountains in the States whenever I can, usually the Adirondacks (New York) or Green Mountains (Vermont), and get to test out my legs on super tough trails that beat me up every time. The last couple days I was lucky to make it out to the White Mountains in New Hampshire, a good 4.5hr drive that was well worth it! I hadn’t been hiking there in a few years and was excited for a couple of big days, which leads to the subject of this post, FKT’s, short for ‘Fastest Known Times’. Basically these are unofficial speed records for trails, which these days can be verified with GPS tracks. Anyone can go run the trail anytime they want and upload their GPS data to show what they did. Since I don’t get out to those parts often, I figured it was a good opportunity to tackle some FKT’s, at the very least to give myself some motivation to push my limits.

The first day I decided to do the Carter-Moriah traverse, which consists of ~28km including over 2000m elevation gain. I was actually going to take this one relatively easy, preparing for my second day, but once I got to the trailhead decided I felt like going all out. It was a super steep, technical and most beautiful trail, and I loved (almost) every minute! I won’t lie, I pushed through some serious pain and had a tough time psychologically for certain periods, but I came out of it in just under 4hrs. I was actually wondering if I missed a section of the trail because I took a whole 16 minutes off the previous FKT!

Although I was sore, tired, blistery and all that jazz, I still decided to tackle the Pemi Loop on my second day. This was a ~50km adventure with over 2700m of climbing, also largely on very rugged terrain that doesn’t lend itself to running! My swollen ankles and bruised underfoot can attest to it. Combining the difficulty with some 30 degree heat and little water access sure made this one a doozy, and I paid for the previous day’s effort. The FKT for this trail is 6:10, and I was actually ahead of the pace until almost halfway, but eventually ran into a wall of pain. My sore feet, my tired muscles and the need to ration water forced me to dial back the pace and I though more than once of cutting the loop short when the opportunities came, but I still pushed on, drank out of a dank pond, channeled some serious determination, and finally hobbled my way back in 6:43. Although it was kind of disappointing, I was super proud of myself for moving forward when I was given the chance to quit, and I look forward to getting back out there with fresh legs!

Anyways, all that to say that things seem to be going pretty damn well, and I think I have discovered an extra little notch in my motivation for the next couple months. Looking forward to testing out the old legs in a race!

And the inevitable selfie…

Ok Bye Now!

“This can’t be happening. Truly this just can’t be happening right now.”

After so much training and preparation, hours upon hours of running, thinking about running, feeling beyond ready, it’s so hard to believe that it can all amount to nothing come race day. These thoughts were taking hold immediately after the start of the Squamish50 this past Saturday. My first couple steps made it evident that something was wrong, tightness in my hamstring, a pulled muscle, right as I was embarking on my main goal for the year. With a pretty mellow start on flat terrain, I hoped I could “run it off”, or get to a point where my muscles warmed enough to get me through the challenges ahead. In many cases I’m able to make that work for me, but something felt different about this one, and doubt permeated my thoughts. Regardless, I decided to stay with the front pack, and honestly, other than the pain from the pulled muscle, I felt absolutely amazing. Running through the first aid station at 10k, I gave out a little holler and smiled as big as possible, in a way trying to fool myself and others into believing that all was well. With our minds having so much power over our bodies, I just hoped that somehow a positive attitude would make my leg better. Turns out my tactics didn’t pan out (I’m gonna take this one up with the author of “The Secret”), but friends who saw me at the first couple aid stations sincerely thought I was doing great!

After 12-13k, we were in a small group of 6 in front, making our way up the day’s first climb still at a relatively slow pace, everyone saving their legs for the big challenges ahead. I went to the front, trying to convince myself that everything was just fine, that I’d be able to push through to the end. Maybe the pain was all in my head? The expectations I had for myself, the pressure I felt to perform, to push my limits, to say “no” to quitting – these feelings were so strong in me that I could ignore the messages my body was sending me. Only for so long though. Cresting the top, and making our way down the other side, it became evident the muscle was only getting worse, my stride becoming more and more laboured, and my confidence dwindling.

I knew at that point that my race was not going to end well, but determination kept me going and I managed to stay in the lead group until about 30k, at our third aid station. After filling a water bottle and grabbing some food, I took off to catch the group, who all seemed to have run right by, but on my first few steps I almost fell down, my hamstring muscle no longer accepting the stretch required to accommodate running. I think my heart-rate jumped 30 beats as I was freaking out, and I managed to get moving at a slow, awkward gait down the trail. Basically from then on was a blur, trying to come to terms with the reality of the situation while convincing myself that i could go on and finish regardless of the result. This got me through to the 45k mark, at the top of the day’s biggest climb, at which point I was barely able to walk anymore, and runners were passing me every so often, many showing concern and asking if I needed help. Luckily I came upon a course marshall at the top of the technical part of the descent, and after stopping for a few minutes I decided that I could no longer go on. This was such a hard decision to make, but given the pain at that point and knowing it was only getting worse there was no other option. The next few hours were sort of devastating for me as the endorphins stopped flowing and the disappointment settled in. I spent the rest of the day at the finish line watching people reach their goal, which was heart-wrenching for me at the time given my frustration. Of course it was inspiring to see many of them cross the line, but it was a battle with my inner demons not to feel jealous or to beat myself up about having to sit and watch. Luckily I was surrounded by some great friends who supported me all weekend, both emotionally and physically as I limped my way around, and I am so very appreciative of them!

In the end, it would have been a much smarter decision on my part to call it quits earlier in the race – it I might have avoided some of the pain I am dealing with now. This is easy to say in hindsight, but hopefully I can also use the experience to be smarter in the future. After consulting a physiotherapist this week, it seems I have an acute proximal adductor magnus strain, which basically means the upper interior of my hamstring muscles are badly damaged. At this point I am still getting sharp pain while walking, and just about any movement causes at least some discomfort. My physio seemed confident that I should recover pretty quickly, which is encouraging, but right now it sure is hard to rest so much!

Anyways, I have a lot to take from this experience and I’m now able to see it with a positive light, which I can definitely say was not happening on Saturday!

• As far as racing goes, I’m actually very excited to recover and find another goal later this year. Considering that I was able to keep up for so long even with an injury makes me curious to see how I can do on fresh legs. I really think that with more experience and being smarter about taking care of my body I can challenge for the win. It helps that I received some very encouraging words this weekend from someone who really knows his stuff. Sometimes it takes another’s faith in you to rediscover faith in yourself.
• The people involved with the race – directors, volunteers, runners and crew – are all amazing. I won’t spoil this with sappy accounts of people being great. Everyone was just awesome, generous with their time and their good spirits, and they are what make the event special and a big reason while I’ll be back next year.
• I have really cool friends that are super impressive. Danielle, Elyse, Katrina, Rachel and Todd all completed the 50k and did really well! It was actually really interesting to watch the race, crewing at aid stations, and seeing all the people challenging themselves. I wished I could know all their stories as I’m sure many of them would be really inspiring. You could see how big a deal it was as many started crying as they crossed the line, and I came close to tearing up on a few occasions!

Well that’s all I have to say for now. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I have supplanted my disappointment with a sense of pride. I know I did everything I could in the moment and there is no point in having negative feelings. I’ll learn from this, take care of myself both mentally and physically, and I’ll be stronger in the end. The wins will come, but first I’ve got to nurse my bunged up leg!

Holy moly the race is in less than 5 days!! My first ultra race (the 100k was just for fun..) is coming up very quickly, and I’m super excited and nervous about it!

This coming weekend I’ll be competing in the Squamish50 50/50 race, which consists of a 50 mile course on Saturday, followed by a 50 km course on Sunday. If you think this is ridiculous, I totally agree. The longest running race I’ve ever done before this is a half-marathon (21km), but with encouragement from a few friends last Fall I impulsively decided the entire 50/50 was going to be my goal. I didn’t really have much of an idea what that would entail, but the challenge was appealing. I still am going into this blind in many ways, and can only hope that my training will carry me to the end and allow me to compete with some of the frontrunners. However, I’ve discovered that the majority of the stronger guys opted to run the 50 mile alone, allowing them to focus on performing at their best in the one event, rather than having to save some energy for the second day. That alone will be a disadvantage for me, and I’ll have to keep it in mind while I’m trying to keep up. At the same time, I am likely to tackle the 50 mile as a race apart, pushing myself to attain the best result I can, and hopefully having what it takes to make it through the second day. The main reason for that approach is I am so very excited to see how I measure up against some of the stronger runners and I think I’ll be disappointed if I hold back too much, especially after so much anticipation. Go big or go home!

As far as my expectations go, I am thinking around 8hrs will make me happy. I’m not sure where that would place me at this years race – past years would see that time in the top 3-5, but this year’s field is really strong and deep so it’s possible many people will be breaking the 8hr mark. With a highly competitive field I’ll just have to focus on running my own race and not worrying too much about where I am compared to others (easier said than done…). With such a long difficult effort you can really pay the price for not pacing yourself in the first half so it’s important to keep a level head and not get carried away. Gaining a couple minutes pushing up a hill early on can easily cause you to lose several minutes later on, especially considering that the biggest climbs come over halfway through the race. I’m gonna need to little angel on my shoulder reminding me to relax! Speaking of taking it easy, it’s time for a reality check. In some ways it’s actually sort of funny to think about doing well in the race when I’m going into it feeling so uncertain about my ability to even finish without limping through the last 20k. So much uncertainty and doubt, and at this point there’s not much else I can do to be better prepared. All I really know is that this Saturday I’ll be running a beautiful 80km with about 3350m of climbing and descending, and I’ll be down right giving it all I’ve got! And no doubt at times where I am hurting most I’ll have you guys on my mind, pushing me to take it to the next level.

There’s not much more I can say right now. It’s time for me to go do a little recon mission so I can get to know a few of the course’s less familiar trails. I’ll be sure to write a detailed race report in the following week. Wish me luck!

Sooo some of you might already know, but I actually won a race! Woohoo! I made a sort of last minute decision to enter the Bucking Hell 15k last weekend, as I was feeling pretty strong and eager for a little test. There was also a 50k going on at the same time, which I would have liked to try, but prior engagements made it difficult for me to devote that much time and energy. I’ll have to wait until next year to give that one a shot!

The race had about 800m of climbing and some technical descending on a tough mountain bike trail, which proved to be a big advantage for me. It seems I’m actually pretty good at running down hills and managed to take quite a big lead because of it. My main competition at the beginning was a young guy who looked like he was a track and field runner, and I had a feeling he’d be quick on the uphills, a feeling that was confirmed over the 1st km or so as he pushed me a little out of my comfort zone to keep up. Luckily I noticed pretty quickly that he had some trouble with the technical parts, and made a point of pushing even harder in those sections so I could get a gap and maybe hurt his confidence a bit (sounds so cuel doesn’t it?). I was really happy that after 2-3km of mostly uphill I couldn’t see him behind me anymore, and that gave me even more of a boost as I settled into my pace and just kept pushing until the end. I have this thing that goes on in my head when I get in front, kind of like paranoia. As soon as I get a lead, running through the forest knowing people are behind me, I start getting all these thoughts that I’m being chased down and I’ll be caught at any second, sometimes to the extent that I hear someone behind me (Sus made a good point that it’s likely just a squirrel or other small animal.. but I swear I’m hearing someone!). The upside to these crazy thoughts is that I keep pushing myself as hard as possible until the very end, which in this case allowed me to win the race by over 8 minutes and set a new course record! It sure felt great to be on top! The whole course record thing is kind of irrelevant since it’s only the second year, but hey I’ve gotta have something to be proud of, and who knows maybe it will stick for a little while!

Anyways, I had a really fun time, received a sweet new growler and free fill from Bridge Brewing, and was lucky to have Susanna there at the finish line, as well as my great friend Brandon who came to meet us for the awards presentation, straight from San Francisco! It’s much sweeter to share those moments with close friends so I am one lucky guy! The win also gave me a little confidence boost before my next race, which is now in just under 3 weeks – the Squamish 50/50! I’ll have to write another post to convey my thoughts about race preparation and goals, which I’ll do this coming week. Lots on my mind with regards to my approach to the race and I still need to figure some stuff out.

Just as a little trail-related side-note – later that same day, we went for a hike up to St-Mark’s Summit on the Howe Sound Crest Trail, a nice out-and-back that takes about 3-4 hours plus time spent enjoying the scenery up top. It’s super quick to get to and the rewards are great! We were lucky to be there with a bunch of mischievous whiskeyjacks who were keen on eating food out of our hands and off our heads, and the previous time I went we got a spectacular display of bald eagles circling right above us. If anyone in Vancouver is looking for a quick, beautiful hike I suggest driving up to Cypress ski area and giving it a go.

 

So it looks like I’ll be attempting my first ultra distance in 2 days. Some people call it the Vancouver 100, and it basically follows a trail called Baden Powell from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay, and then back again. Another name for it is the Double Knee Knacker, because it is an out and back version of the Knee Knacker trail running race which does the course only in one direction, and I say “only” with a slight bit of irony. I really don’t know how I will manage in trying to complete a technically challenging 100km course, with about 5000m of climbing, but the uncertainty is part of the thrill of doing this. The most comforting aspect of this experience is that I’ll be running alongside a good friend of mine, Marcin, who is currently training for the Fat Dog 120-mile race in August. He helped expose me to the trail running scene when I moved out last fall, convinced me to sign up for the Squamish 50/50, and is not only a great training partner but also a great friend. It will be really nice to have him by my side, and although it will also be his first 100km effort, he has more experience than I do and will likely be a great help with regards to nutrition and pacing. That being said, our plan is not to crush the course. We will be taking it at a relatively mellow pace, doing our best to minimize the risk of injuries and maximizing the likelihood of finishing the whole thing. He has had some injury issues over the past month and there is a lot of uncertainty about the way his foot will hold up over such a long distance. I am also very unsure how my knees will deal with the 15-20 hours. With that in mind there is a possibility that we’ll have to cut it short, and although I really don’t want to quit, there is really no shame in only making it to 50 or 75 kms. The truth is I’ve never even run a marathon and have no clue what I’m doing running that far! The explanation probably lies in some combination of not knowing what to do with my time and an innate need to beat the hell out of myself. Or maybe I have learnt that the more I’m intimidated by a challenge, the more rewarding will be the experience. Either way I’m just going to head out and have a good time on some beautiful trails for an entire day.

Anyways, I’m gonna go bake myself a loaf of banana bread, a little comfort food for the trail. Hopefully it’ll give me the extra boost I’ll need to make it all the way, and in a few days I’ll be writing about completing my first 100k run. I’ll try to take lots and lots of photos, and will write up a little report on the experience toward the end of the week.

Oh yea I went on a sweet hike with some friends in Saturday, up to St-Mark’s summit. Here are a couple photos.

Well I just feel so damn good right now. A little endorphin high I believe. Just came back from a tough training with Mr. Gary Robbins where I really had to kick it into gear and push my limits. There’s nothing like a tough training partner to make you go beyond your abilities, and I’m very lucky to be able to hit the trails with him. He has several years of ultras in his legs, holds all sorts of course and trail records, and is aiming to break the Wonderland Trail record (150k around Mt Rainier) in just over 2 weeks, so let’s just say he’s not easy to keep up with! We both went into today thinking of going easy, but as things often go we started pushing the pace more and more as the run progressed, and ended the last few km’s at my threshold and a little blurry-eyed. I haven’t done that in a long time and it will be a huge benefit for me if we can make it happen more often.

Though the past couple weeks have been a little hectic, training is going well and I am feeling stronger every day, and I’ve been lucky to have so many good friends and family visit. Last weekend was Todd and Katrina’s wedding in the Squamish Valley, and they brought together all sorts of amazing people for 3 days of hella good times. So much catching up, dancing, laughing, crying, enhanced by flowing kegs and bottles of tequila. I went into the weekend with few expectations for quality training, but still managed to get out for some decent workouts, and even had the opportunity to take a bunch of friends on a run up around the Four Lakes Trail at Alice Lake, as well as a grind up Debeck’s Hill and down Rigs in Zen with Matty Park. It’s sort of hard for me to explain the feeling of running on these trails so I felt lucky to be able to share the experience with others. Everyone seemed super stoked about the run and definitely enjoyed a little dip in Stump Lake afterward! Thanks to Sus, JJ, Tom, Sarah x 2, Nate, Claire and Jesse for a great time! My photos are a little blurry (they must have been running too fast..) but you can still see the smiles all around.

Now that things have chilled out a bit on the social front, I’ve been getting some really good runs in, logging 70k in the past 5 days (including a day off) with some good speed and one day with lots of climbing (over 2000m up and down in 25k). I’m really starting to see the training pay off, making it easier and easier to run longer miles and reducing my recovery time to allow for consecutive days of good workouts. There is a still a heck of a lot of room for improvement, but I’m really happy with where I’m at, especially since I have a little bit of a challenge ahead of me in 9 days… (Details to come)

While I finalize some plans, I’ll leave you guys with a few photos from some recent runs.

Well that was hard. Really hard.

I’ll start by saying that I am proud of my placing during yesterday’s race. I finished 5th, behind runners that I consider to be of a very high caliber and look forward to competing against over the next few months. Placing aside, I am quite happy with how I ran my race. I went out hard, and paid for it. Starting out a race with 8km of almost straight climbing hurts a lot, and my lack of experience and appropriate training showed over the second half of the climb. That being said, I feel really proud of how I persevered, fighting off thoughts of self-doubt and quitting and bouncing back with an effort that allowed me to compete at a pretty high level. I can’t count the number of times I thought “hey maybe I can just walk for a while” only to respond with “shut up and keep running”. Sometimes I don’t know what it is that keeps us going in such situations, but there’s something to say about inherent competitive nature, and maybe a little bit of masochism.  Ultimately it’s this perseverance that makes competition so rewarding, and no matter the final result, anyone who makes it through such an event having responded to fatigue with further effort deserves my praise and congratulations.

Now that I’ve patted myself on the back, I’ll go ahead and say it. I can do better. I started out hot on the heels of the two frontrunners, sticking with them for about 3 kms, and then had to back off as I quickly felt my quads reaching their limit. In the end I might have paid the price for pushing too hard in the beginning and eventually got passed by two other runners. I tried to stick with them, but my legs were screaming with pain and I just couldn’t muster the strength to keep up on the last sections of uphill. That was definitely the hardest part for me – over halfway through, trying to run up dusty hot trails and slowly losing sight of those I was chasing. I was at my limit and nothing could be done about them getting away from me. Over the course of the race I kept thinking “damn I should have a trained harder”. My fitness just isn’t up to snuff at the moment, but at least I now have a pretty good idea what to work on in order to achieve better results. I’ll definitely be doing a lot more interval training and uphill speed work, along with some more biking to build my quad strength. If I can work on these things and keep having fun on the trails I am very hopeful that better results will come my way. After all, it’s been less than 3 months since I started training after my knee injuries and I’m much farther along than I could have expected, so I’m very excited to see where I can go from here!

Anyways, I should really take the time to mention how awesome the race organization was at SOTF, and would like to thank the whole team for putting on a very successful event. I’d especially like to thank Gary Robbins for offering me the opportunity to run this race, and for becoming a great training partner and friend. But most of all I want to thank Susanna for putting up with me while I spend so much time training, for pushing me when I need a kick out the door and for being there with me on race day – I definitely ran faster in anticipation of seeing her at the finish line!

Feel free to check out my strava file and results from the race. I don’t have any photos from the actual race course, but here are a few shots from before the start and at the end.