Myke LaBelle

new website

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in here in a while but i'm moving.... hahaha

check it!

www.mykelabelle.com

Insert dirty mustache photo here:

En-route to Chuckanut

2011-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

So the training has begun for my first ultra in almost a year a half. The training runs are still short but are coming along quite nicely. Coach Noa has been keep a watchful eye on my progress to ensure everything goes smoothly (this is why she is a wicked coach!). The body is feeling good. No real glute problems anymore which I believe it contributed to a healthy diet of yoga and Dr. Salmon digging her fingers into me a couple times a week. I haven't really chat with anybody about what to expect at Chuckanut other than it is a very runnable course at the beginning and at the end with the mountain running in the middle.

I have been feeling really inspired lately. For reasons I can't really explain other than I wanna complete the races I set out a few years ago to complete. Western States and Badwater, primarily. I was cruising on youtube the other night watching some footage from Western states and came across this video. What I was impressed by was look at Geoff Roes pace that he is running at (remember he has just ran 158km, climbed some 15 thousand feet and descended another 22 thousand).

A little update...

2010-11-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well I'm not gonna lie, I haven't been doing much running since the GoodLife Vic Marathon. My glute has been bugging me but its getting a lot better and Dr. Salmon got me into a great pair of orthotics (which I wasn't too pleased about but they have made a world of difference). I've also been doing some yoga and have been attempting to do some boot camp classes at Body Dynamics Headquarters next to lululemon on Johnson street. I hate going to the gym and this seems appropriate for myself. I've also been looking at races for next year and below is a list of the the ones I'm planning on doing. The Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache, Alberta and the New York City Marathon are my two big ones. I discovered last night as I was applying for the lottery that I have a half marathon time from this year that gives me a guaranteed entry (Thanks Oak Bay Kool Half Marathon! haha).

Thursday November 11: Thetis Lake Relay

Saturday November 27: Gunner Shaw 10k

Saturday December 7: Stewart Mountain 10 miler

Sunday January 9^th 2011: Pioneer 8k

Sunday March 6^th: Bazan Bay 5k

Saturday March 19^th: Chuckanut 50k (Bellingham, Washington)

Sunday April 24^th: Capitol Peaks 55k (Olympia, Washington)

Sunday May 15^th: Oak Bay ½ Marathon

Sunday June 4^th: The Great Walk 63.5k (Gold River to Tahsis, BC) OR North Olympic Discovery Marathon (Port Angeles, Washington)

Saturday June 18^th: Kusam Klimb 23k (Sayward, BC)

Saturday June 25^th: Scorched Sole 50miler (Kelowna, BC)

Saturday/Sunday August Long Weekend (July 31^st to August 1^st, 2011): The North Face Canadian Death Race (Grande Cache, Alberta)

November 6^th: New York City Marathon

They are colour coded for Coach Noa's sake and Black represents my goal races, Dark Blue represents my B races so races I don't taper for but race, Blue is a training race and Red is just for run!

GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon - Oct 10th, 2010

2010-10-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

What a day....

Starting at 6:45am I headed to lululemon to set up some cheer stuff and cheer the half marathoners on. Very inspiring and really got the juices flowing for the adventure that was going to take place. Looking on the map of the course, the marathon did seem a little daunting. I hadn't done a long run longer than 2 hours where I got 28km done and was fatigued for a few days afterwards so I knew I was going to have to be extremely aware of what my body was telling me and my pace.

I started back with Lindsay Cristante and Erica Summers (two of my clinic athletes) and we got going at a pretty quick 4mins per km pace. I slowed down to adjust and made the right hand turn up Johnson street. Outside of lululemon and Body Dynamics HQ were tons of my coworkers and other supporters with cowbells and it was awesome to see them! but this was only 2km and I had 40km more to go. I knew with my lack of training, my walk breaks would be crucial and keeping hydrated and fueled would prevent my body from breaking apart. Heading into beacon hill park I settled into a comfortable pace and got through that section pretty comfortably. We hit the 10k time mat and this was the first major check for me. I was just over 43 minutes at 10k and knew I was probably going a little to quick. I had planned on doing a 1hr30min half and then go from there so I adjusted my pace. Heading into Oak Bay I saw some of my former clinic members (Jenny and Carrie) and one of my clinic athletes wife Claire all cheering me on which was amazing. Heading down from Oak Bay towards the water, you could feel the wind and cold coming off the ocean. It didn't bother me but I was glad I had arm warmers on. I caught up to a fellow from Portland, Oregon and we chatted briefly about the race course and he asked which were the worst hills. I said the one coming up (leading up to the golf course). So we cruised along and running along beach drive was awesome! So many people out cheering!

I hit the half way mark at 1:30:20 (officially) and felt pretty good. My tight calves were feeling like they might cramp up but I was drinking enough fluids and taking in my gels adequately enough that I avoided any issues with cramping. The last marathon I did in Kelowna I cramped up like there was no tomorrow from 25k onward. It was pretty cool running along beach drive seeing the athletes who had turned around already on their way back. After I turned around at Exeter it was like I was reborn. My energy was great and I just maintained pace and the kilometers just started ticking off. I saw so many people on the way back that I knew and it was great to cheer them on. Of course I stopped at the aid station on beach drive, went to the bathroom. Drank some gatorade and carried on. Just before the climb to golf course I came upon a guy who look like he needed some help. So I asked him how he was doing and he was cramping badly, so I gave him a salt pill and some water and carried on. I noticed he was wearing track spikes... without the studs in them of course but I can't even fathom how destroyed my body would have been after 5k of running on the road in spikeless track shoes. Cudos to you bud! So as I ran up the hill I was reminded of the guy from Portland whom I had told the hill up to the golf course on the way out to the turn around was the hardest hill. I was definitely wrong. The climb from the Oak Bay Marina to the golf course on the way back was pretty damn tough. I came over the top to hear the DJ playing some awesome music, but I also heard some angry yelling. Maybe I was going crazy at that point but it sounded like some old guy yelling from the golf course at the DJ... who knows. I came to the crest of the hill and saw Mike Suminski and my coworker Steph (she was dressed with cowbells and a toque of a cow) and carried on with a good level of thankfulness that these guys were out there.

Turning off beach drive was tough mentally. Winding through Oak Bay was a bit difficult as my energy was a little low, but I caught up to Mathias and he said he was feeling the same low-energy feeling. Cruising through towards Dallas road, I caught up to Rob Mackay, one of our lululemon ambassadors as he was doing the marathon as a training run gearing up for the Haney 2 Harrison 100k. I keep up with my fluid intake, my gels and my walk breaks. I took a few extra because I was feeling some light little twitches in my calves, so I did it to avoid cramping. Finally getting onto Dallas road was a amazing. It was getting hot though. And I began to climb from Ross bay and I thought this was a tough little hill, it kept going for what felt like eternity, which in reality was probably 3 minutes. I got to Dallas and Douglas (around 38 - 39k) and realized a sub 3hr was not likely today but It would be close. So I continued at my pace and came down to the final aid station where I knew some of my coworkers from lululemon would be. Of course I had my moustache 'Carl' on for the event and was no more than 5 feet away from Sheryl before she realized it was me. My manager Paula I could tell 'loved' it. So I carried on towards the finish line and was just enjoying the run. I finally saw the finish line and heard the voice of announcer Steve King (who is from my hometown of Penticton) and crossed the finish line with a gun time of 3 hours 1 min 16s and a chip time of 3 hours 58 seconds. Pretty stoked about my performance given that I had two long runs before hand. One being 90 minutes and the other being 2 hours and no speed work.

I headed back to lululemon after wards and my Chiropractor Kristine Salmon from Synergy Health Management was there giving free treatments. She loosened up my calves, hamstrings, and hip flexors and just hung out for a bit before the awards ceremony and then enjoying a fabulous turkey dinner. I would say this was a successful event for me (all things considered) but I'm happy to be back training and happy with a good solid race under my belt. This was my longest race since the Stormy 50 miler in august of last year so it was nice to be out there and enjoying the event. As for the Marathon it self. Best. Marathon. Ever. Sorry Kelowna, but this marathon course is epic and awesome and all things of the sort. I would recommend this race to everyone, just make sure you get some hill training in!!

So Whats next? well here it is...

Thursday November 11: Thetis Lake Relay

Saturday November 27: Gunner Shaw 10k

Saturday December 7: Stewart Mountain 10 miler

Here's a photo for the photo album...

Myself (equipped with moustache) and Dr. Salmon post-marathon

Life happens...

2010-09-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written in here in real long time and I actually removed my blog for a while. This year has been an important one. Numerous life changes and accomplishments all of which were non-running related. I've had many conversations with athletes and friends saying what a roller coaster 2010 has been. From injury, to lack of motivation to just being so busy, the running could not happen. I am fortunate enough to plowed through most of the year unharmed and finally finished my undergrad degree in Political Science at UVic. I changed jobs, now at lululemon on Johnson street, although still very much apart of the Peninsula Runners family (did you really think I would leave those guys completely? heck no, they're like family to me!).

As new opportunities arose, I had to take them on and found no room for running; however, now that I'm done school, the motivation, time and ability to run has come back. My goal: The GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. I'll be the first to say, don't expect any sub 2:40 performance from me as this is simply a race of reward. Go out, have fun, walk when you want, and soak in the environment of 13 000+ athletes out there working their butts off. So I may continue to blog after this... maybe but I will definitely continue to run and as the title is called, accept that life happens and be flexible to whatever it throws at me.

TC10k - Sunday April 25th, 2010

2010-04-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

I posted this yesterday but I thought I would add this little preamble today. I have been struggling to find my hammer. Yes my hammer. My hammer is what I have when the runs get tough, earlier (in the morning) or or just down right ugly. I lost it probably sometime after being sick and having my Achilles injury. I had no real consistency in my training and I had no motivation to get out the door and hammer out some long runs. So I decided to get my hammer back, I went for a little run...

Well this would be the first race I've done in a real long time. It help put a lot of things in perspective for me. I knew I needed to race and I had to accept the likely suffering that would ensue. I had planned to just run 40 minute 10k and call it a day but after the start of the race, I thought why not see what the old body can do. Well being sick with some chest cold or something, and not having any sort of consistency in my training I think today was a bit of a rebirth for me.

I found the race was great and the pace wasn't anything unmanageable for me (3:35min/km); however, around km 4, things fell apart in a big way. I start feeling my chest cold and a nasty side stitch began to annoy me. I was feeling great (not pushing the pace) up until this point. I kept trying to fight it but the body was not having any of it. I got to the aid station, walked (ugh) and drank some water and began running again. The rest of the race was a disaster needless to say. I crossed the line in 35:59 and went straight to the medical tent to get checked out after I was feeling a quite light headed after the race. I got the opportunity to meet a good chunk of the Kenyan runners who destroyed the race in the tent and their coach Mike, also from Kenya which was amazing. After the race, I was definitely a little upset, but this is the fire I need.

I've scraped my race plans for the year and just gonna get back to the basics of why I run. Its gotta be fun and today proved it can be. For the first 4km I was having a blast, for the last 6km it was brutal. However mentally challenging and possibly detrimental to my health this race was, today I rediscovered why I love to run.

Gunner Shaw 10k - November 28th

2009-12-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I write my race reports as soon as I complete the races.....

So Tyler and I headed to Thetis lake for another fall cross country classic and it was a wet day. So wet in fact, I had to decided what clothing and shoes would retain the least amount of mud and water. So I went with my Brooks Element Sprinter short tights and my Nike Free's and a White (Yes, white because I love to show how much mud I can kick up) Peninsula Runners shirt. I had heard so many good things about this race and just never got around to doing until this year. My training leading up to the race however was anything but consistent or meaningful. School was busy this semester and that dug into my training big time.

So we charged down this road and took a sharp corner and immediately I settled into a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar pace. My body was basically pulling a "wtf?!" moment. For two reasons really: the first was 10k pace felt like I was running to save my life, the second was my legs werent too happy they were racing, at least just yet.

The first few km's are pretty easy going until you get into the real trails. Then there are some sections of straight up and straight down leading to the first "puddle." I ran right into and the freezing water stung at first but then it was all about getting out and get running again. Once I left my legs were sluggish and it took a while to get going again. I heard a male voice scream "F@#$!!!!!" going into the water, I knew exactly who it was: Tyler.

The course continued over various terrain and I was definitely starting to feel it. I kept pushing hoping to avoid getting caught by Tyler but I was pretty sure he was close by. I reached the second puddle and it looked more like a swamp with a tree fallen right in the middle. It was waist deep and climbing over the tree was entertaining. I exited the puddle and carried on to lots of mud and trails that had turned into creeks. It was AWESOME! Continuing to push I looked back and thought I saw Tyler and figured I really had to push. However It turned out not to be him so I tagged on and we pushed it to the final three hills. They were nasty, the first one was pretty good however my shoe lace had come undone. After reaching the summit of the second one however I was ready to barf. The Third one was brutal and with about 800m to go I just wanted to finish. Coming around to the final few meters I wasn't sure how we would be finishing. The bunting was set up in the lake so I figured we must be finishing on the sand. Nope. We ran right through the water and to the finish. Total time: 36:27 in 14th overall.

Thetis Lake Relay

2009-11-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

Man oh man, 5k's hurt... A Lot.

Kamal, myself, tyler and new found Lief put together a team for the thetis lake relay today. We came in 4th o.a, and 3rd in the 20 to 29 a/g. I think we were around 1:08 for our total time and props to the boys for an awesome performance.

But why is it that I'm soooo tired and require a nap after a 5k, yet i'm usually ok after an ultra? Not running hard enough, most likely the answer...

Until next time...

My dream race

2009-11-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Frustration

2009-10-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in my American politics class today when two representatives from NO 2010, came in to our class to talk about protesting against the Olympic games and supporting government involvement in support other social policies such as affordable housing and free speech.

Now let me get this out of the way, I am a huge supporter of the Chart of Rights and Freedoms, and would defend it to the grave, but what these guys were arguing is bull*#@&!!

First of all, they argued that VANOC and the City of Vancouver have free speech zones and are imposing on the right of freedom of speech. As unconstitutional as this may same, it is constitutional. We have "freedom of expression" in Canada first off, not freedom of speech, and these protesters are still being allowed that right along with their right to protest, however none of this is being imposed on by the government. Just moderately maintained. For example, how would you feel if you were a bi-athlete from Germany, just spent 8 years of your life devoted to qualifying for the Olympics to have you event overrun by protesters (guys jumping in the pools in Athens in 2004, along with a excommunicate priest from Ireland nearly tackling the lead male marathon runner at the same games), or being potentially harassed or injured by this protest groups, which have not shown that they can protest peacefully. Such cases were protesters entering into the finance minsters office and vandalizing it, protesters cursing at the Governor-General greeting her as "your royal F*#&in' highness." I can see why the RCMP and the Canadian Armed forces are concerned about the security at the Olympics.

Secondly, they argued that the torch relay is costing tax payers over 150 million dollars to run. This is true, it is costing us that... for a once and a life time experience. What people don't realize in a country where being completely united is a huge issue, where it is easier to fly to Europe then it is to fly 3 provinces over, a simple thing as a torch representing pride and achievement is very symbolic to every Canadian and can unite us under that common vision. That we can be proud of our country, its athletes, its representatives who make this such an amazing place to live. Its not about the money, hell I would have chipped in a couple hundred bucks had they asked. Its about National unity.

Thirdly, they argued about corporate sponsorships and government tax payer money going into the games. Well I don't know the exact numbers, but think about how much these corporate sponsors are pitching in to promote and support the games. Without them, we as tax payers, would be left with ALL the burden. It seems like whenever a group is opposed to how the government spends the money that we so graciously hand over in income taxes, protest groups always go to the "spending tax payers money" because its easy. Personally, I think when the government uses the money for something illegal or stupid (examples: buying illegal drugs, inside deals which involve conflicts of interest or frivolous spending) then we can argue, but when a government spends 300 million dollars on a torch relay, to send a symbol across our nation to promote our unity in pride because Vancouver will be hosting the world, again its not about the money, its about national unity. Governments provide us with numerous social programs (I would argue they could provide more and inject more money into existing ones) but we live in a pretty incredible society.

The Olympics are supposed to be an event free of politics, war, and oppression. Its a celebration of sport and pride. I would argue the 99% of the people who will be in Vancouver during the Olympics will have no run-ins with law enforcement, like most people do every day. Its that 1% who decide that "their rights" are being infringed upon who create the problems. As previously stated, I am a firm believer in the Charter and everything it stands for, but I cant stand for people arguing that their charter rights are being infringed upon because the government had told them where to protest and God forbid requested that they behave appropriately for a single month in their lives. The 2008 Olympic games in China were different. China's human rights and environmental record are no where near that of Canada and they enforced these rules but its because who wants to have the world watching and see chaos with protesters. The way I see it, its like being a really great party, everybody is having a blast, and one or two people decide that they don't like how things are going or the music being played and have to protest and screw it up for everyone else. If your unhappy about the Olympics, then protest that. Don't show up and protest the environment, or low income housing, or a money spent on a torch relay and screw up the games for every one else. These issues are being addressed, they are extremely difficult issues to tackle. Poverty is another issue that governments (believe it or not) are trying to tackle. Since I have been volunteering at a downtown Victoria organization, I know this first hand.

People, lets be united and welcome to world to Vancouver in February regardless of what may be politically brewing. Show our athletes some support, who for the most part live in poverty while training to become representatives of our great nation. As for those who protest, be thankful you live in Canada and were given that right to protest, some nations aren't as lucky as we are.

Stormy 50 Mile - August 8th

2009-08-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Where to begin.....

I'm having a hard time writing this post. I don't know why, I was out there for almost 8 hours.

Friday afternoon, Lori Herron picked me up and our other friend Jean Francois-Gagnon and headed up to Nanaimo to catch the ferry over to the mainland. I was my first time ever out in Squamish and the North Shore area. Beautiful. We got into Squamish and went straight to the start area to see if our race packages were picked up by Moe "The Eagle" Beaulieu. Moe is a household name in ultra running. We watched a few of the 100 milers head out on lap 2 and then went to our hotel. We got into our rooms and chatted for a bit with Moe and then it was lights out at around 10pm.

After lights out, I stayed up and got all my gear ready. Gels, Eload, Succeed S! caps and Amino, Sportshield and Bodyglide, Blistershield in my Injinji socks and got my drop bag ready as well. I was in bed by 10:30ish, set my alarm for 4:50am and stared straight up at the ceiling. This is gonna be interesting I thought....

4:33am came. I know because I stared at my clock until it changed to 4:34am. God it was early but my nerves and excitement were bursting. I got up and got changed into my race clothing (singlet and shorts) and gathered all my gear. I listened to some music (Fanfare for the Common Man - Thanks Coach Davies for that one). Got ready and ate some Sportbeans and a bagel and drank some water and got my two handheld bottles filled: one with water, the other with Eload. Lori and Moe went in his Jeep and Jean and I took Lori's car to the race start. We all gathered around the starting area, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and subduing our pre-race jitters. I looked around and saw a lot of talent. Hassan Lotfi-Pour (Canadian 100k team member), Adam Lint (USA 100k team member, 2nd place at White River 50 in '08), Ellie Greenwood (Pro), and Tracy Garneau (Pro).

Start to Perth Road Aid Station (0 to 8k)
At exactly 6am, we headed out into what I would describe as an event surreal to the senses. Running thru the streets or Squamish and the small downtown park trails we all started jockeying for positions. I found myself behind Adam Lint and Tracy Garneau and a few runners on the relay teams. Hassan and Mike Palichuk caught up to us and we all started chatting and joking around. Hassan and Adam took off and Mike and I ran together going into the first aid station at Perth Road. I left the station without stopping but got about 15 feet and thought I should probably drink some Gatorade. To my surprise It was edge sport drink. I'm sure the product is good for others but for me, it tasted like chemicals or something. So I left with Mike and we continued on up the dirt road towards Alice Lake.

Perth Road to Alice Lake Aid Station (8 to 15km)
Mike left me in the dust with his downhill running abilities and I soon discovered that this race would ultimately be won by the ability. I caught up to Tracy Garneau and passed her but looked down at my watch to see just over an hour. I hadn't taken a walk break yet so I did. She passed and asked if I was okay. My stomach was starting to act a little funny and it wouldn't take the Eload I had in one of my bottles. I had trained with this drink for weeks before this race, yet I couldn't fathom the idea of drinking anymore. So I continued to run with Tracy and we made our way around Alice Lake. Truly a sight to be seen in the area, it was beautiful. We made it onto a pavement section of the course and my legs were not liking the firm surface. we quickly dropped into a trail section of the side of the road and zig-zagged our way to the second aid station at the north end of Alice Lake. I got my bottles re-filled and took off. My stomach bothering me quite a bit.

Alice Lake to Edith Lake Aid Station (15 to 27k)
After Leaving the station I was getting desperate. I needed to find a bathroom, lucky for me I carry toilette paper with me on my runs. I told Tracy I was ditching and that I would catch up. After a few minutes in the bush, I headed back out and charged towards the mountain. I started up an incline dirt road which took me to Dead end loop and rock n' roll hill. Awesome trails to run on and was a blast. I managed to catch up to Tracy at this point and continued to work with her. She was struggling a bit with a hip injury but we chatted and worked together to get ourselves to the Edith Lake Station. After my pit stop, I was still having troubles getting the Eload down and I had forgotten to implement my nutrition plan. So I carried on trying to balance it out and got to Edith lake and emptied the bottle of Eload, ate some watermelon and carried on to Perth road for the second time.

Edith Lake to Perth Road Aid Station (27 to 39k)
I don't remember a thing from this section other than diving downhill trying to keep Tracy in my sights. Lots of downhill and technical parts to the trail. We Cruised along and continued chatting and working together but Tracy was beating herself up mentally. I tried my best to keep her positive but I know how difficult it is to do that when your hurting. She's tough, I mean she did win the H.U.R.T. 100 mile in Hawaii earlier this year and was top female at the same race two years previous in the 100 mile event. We got to Perth and she was contemplating dropping out. With the help of an aid station volunteer we managed to get her to push through til at least we saw her drop bags at the Powerhouse station at 50km.

Perth Road Aid to University Aid Station (39 to 42k)
Short section but all pavement. My legs were really not liking this but I managed to press on. Keeping Tracy with me. I had already learned a lot from her but felt dropping her would haunt me. I had never covered the distance and the only logical thing for me to do was stick with her and see how I felt at 50, 60, and 70k to go. We got through our first marathon in 3 hours 10 minutes.

University to University Aid Station (42 to 44k)
No way this section was only 2k because it took forever! Straight up a logging road and then up some more. After reaching the top, we headed down a super technical downhill section to be caught by some relay teams. I got to the aid station to realize I was almost out of gels. I grabbed some and refilled my bottles knowing soon I would have the luxury of being able to change socks, shoes and refill my pack with gels and other stuff.

University to Powerhouse Aid Station (44k to 50k)
En route to Powerhouse Tracy and I were talking about nine mile hill. Technically, we would only cover 6 miles of it but I had heard it was nasty. We arrived at the power house aid station in 3:57 (not a bad 50k time I thought). Tracy and I hadn't seen any other 50 mile solo runners in ages but continued to work together and got to Powerhouse ready to tackle to climb.

Powerhouse to Nine Mile Hill Aid Station (50 to 60k)
After refilling with food and water, and drinking copious amounts of flat coke we departed and made our way to the nine mile hill climb. We would climb almost 1600 ft over 6k but I wasn't surprised with the difficulties of nine mile hill. I actually found for the most part it was very runnable with parts that were not so runnable. There was a water drop half way up the climb where I refilled my bottle and washed my faced. It was so refreshing to do that after 5 hours to get all the salt and sweat off your face. We continued up and passed over the most amazing river turquoise river I have ever seen on probably the sketchiest bridge I've ever stepped on. We got to the top, and I figured Tracy was still lead women; however, she informed me that Ellie Greenwood had passed her. After stopping at the aid station and finding Mike Palichuk only 2 minutes ahead of us we pressed on up Lava flow hill to the actually summit of the climb.

Nine Mile Hill to Powerhouse Aid Station (60 to 72k)
Cruising down the mountain we passed an old rusted car and cruised along and we caught Mike and Tracy with her phenomenal downhill running ability took off. I found this section really challenging because I'm not as strong running on technical switch back downhills like most of the North Shore trail gang is. After coming out of the tree with Powerhouse station in range I tried to keep Tracy in sight. I got to the station and refilled my bottles, reloaded with gels and set out again. Tracy had left a few minutes before I did but she mentioned she was cramping up. I left for the next aid station, knowing that this would soon be over.

Coming into Powerhouse (72k)

Powerhouse to S&M Connector Aid Station (72 to 75k)
This section and the remainder of the run would be really challenging for me. I tired and running uphill was challenging. After Tracy left I had lost a lot of energy. I see how in 100 mile races the importance of a pacer. I carried on walking the up hills and trying to keep Mike at bay. I got to the S&M Connector Aid Station and saw Mike right on my heels and the volunteers told us 4 miles to the finish. Yeah, right...

S&M Connector to Climbers Parking Lot Aid Station (75k to 79k)
4 miles my ass. This section between the two aid stations took me almost an hour. I carried my Nike+ Sportband with me and the section was at least 10k. I got to the climbing walls and saw some climbers who looked at me like I was a freak or something... weird. I looked at my watch and saw 7 hours and 30 minutes. I knew the finish must be close so I started pushing myself to get to the finish with a sub 8 hour clocking. I got to the Climbers Parking Lot Aid Station and the girls informed me that there was less than a mile left.

Climbers Parking Lot to Finish (79k to Finish 80k)
I hammered this section. Kinda had too. I was surprised I was running at this clip 7 and half hours into this event. I looked at my Sportband to see 3:55min/km. I thought "you gotta be kidding me" but I was feeling good. The trail was in the forestry service park which led to the finish line at Brennan park. I rounded the corner and saw a lady with a megaphone standing waiting. She yelled "Runner coming." Immediately, I knew I was finished and the race announcer began to talk and the finish banner was clear, even with my piss poor eye sight. I crossed the line in 7 hours 48 minutes and 26 seconds (Officially). My Sportband read 92.14km in the end but that doesn't matter.

I learned a lot that day. My strengths and weaknesses were showcased and my preparation thanks to Coach Noa got me to the finish in one piece. I was asked by my friend Heather Hollman who is currently biking across Canada en route to Chiropractic school in Toronto If I found this race harder or easier than Kusam Klimb. This was still easier. I met a lot of great people and Tracy, Ellie, Adam, Hassan and myself all chatted after the race. Ultras are incredible not just because of the race but the people who race, volunteer and put them on.

Thanks to Peninsula Runners, Syngery Health Management, Brooks, Coach Noa and the awesomeness that is ultra running.

Until next time...

My mom always said I had nice Feet

The Great Walk 63.5km Ultramarathon - June 6th

2009-06-07T15:45:00.001-07:00

Where to begin...

Wednesday night before the race a few friends and I got together for a beach campfire down in telegraph bay. The night was enjoyable and I went home around 11pm to wake up the next morning to find my feet covered in Sand flea bites. Gross, I know. I panicked for a bit but nothing really happened. Friday morning, my feet were incredibly itchy and I had a race the next day. I got some medication for the bites but nothing was guaranteed to get rid of the problem by the next morning. Last year, two days before the Scorched Sole 50k I had my I.T. band flare up and I could barely bend my left leg while on the plane ride to Penticton. So I tried to keep positive and not think about the issue with my feet.

Jeff Hunt picked me up from Peninsula Runners and we left Victoria shortly after 2:30 on Friday and headed for Campbell River for dinner at Boston Pizza. After a quick dinner we left for Gold River. We arrived in Gold River shortly after 8pm and checked-in at race registration and headed out to check out the first major climb of the course which would comprise the first 13k. Jeff and I were both amazed by the steepness of the terrain and came up with a game plan. Run only the flat sections and walk the uphills to conserve our energy for the remaining sections of the race. After returning to the registration center to drop off our bags which would be forwarded to the finish line, Jeff and I got out gear ready for the morning and got ready for bed. We decided earlier to not bother with a hotel or tent since we would only be getting 3 to 5 hours of sleep anyway since the race started at 4am so we slept in the back of his car. We each got to spoon our own wheel well and neither of us got the greatest sleep. 2:30am came quick and we quickly got ready and caught the shuttle bus to the start line. I was amazed that I was not dying from waking up so early. We chilled out by the start line for about an hour, chatted with people and around 3:50am Jeff and I headed to the start line to be close to the front. We quickly chatted about our race strategy again and I wish several people good luck included Randy Duncan, Jacquie Farris and many others. The countdown began and the race started. I had joked earlier a bunch of times with people by saying, "what are we getting ourselves into," after the race started I gave an energetic cheer and ran off with Jeff, but I was reminded once again... What am I getting myself into.

0 to 13K: It was pitch black and the head lamps became our best friends. Many chose not to use them but I found them super useful. After running about 400m, we came to the first hill, and of course, we walked. People passed us and looked at us funny and one guy even said "walking already?" We knew people thought this was weird and probably stupid but it was for the best. Jeff and I kept cruising and walking and we could see people pass us and then we would catch them on the flat sections. By the time we got to the top it was pretty much light out and this is where the real race began for me. I asked the girls at the 13k aid station where the leaders were. 20 minutes ahead. My stomach sank.

13k to 35k: I immediately guzzled my gatorade and looked at Jeff and said "Sorry buddy, its business time." He smiled and said "get go 'em." The course continued to climb for another 2k to the Bull lake at around 1950ft above sea level. In the first 15k my altimeter told me we had climbed 1600ft. During this descent of treacherously steep grades, I had an amazing experience of being able to run through the clouds. Yes, through the clouds. We had climbed high enough that during the darkness of the night I didn't realize we had gone through the clouds. It was so thick I could only see about 20ft in front of me. Pretty amazing I thought. After the 13k aid station, we descended 1600ft to the next major aid station I can remember at 22k. I asked the guys there how far ahead the leaders were, they figured about 10 minutes for the first place and 5 for second. I quickly departed after giving my hamstrings and quads a quick stretch and headed for the next aid station. After reaching the next aid station, I figure these splits must have been wrong. I had no visual contact with anyone in front of me and began to lose a little hope of catching anybody. At 27k, I was still back and not making much time up, or at least I thought that. I got to the 34.5k aid station and was told I was about 1 minute back of 2nd and 5 minutes back of 1st.

35k to 50k: I began to charge ahead, I was really starting to feel all the downhill running in my legs but all I could think about was catching these guys. I passed 2nd place pretty quick after the 35k aid station and wished him well but kept charging forward. I got to the next aid station at almost 39k and saw 1st place about 300m ahead of me. This was perfect I thought. I didn't really need to push much harder to catch him now but the pace I had been going at for the last 2 hours was now entrenched in my legs and they felt the need to maintain that pace. After all, it still hurts just as bad no matter what speed you go, so you might as well run fast (right Coach Noa!). So I kept moving forward and caught the 1st place runner Jesse from Coombs, who is 28 years old and had only run as much as 24k as his longest run before the event. Good on him for being to maintain the lead for that long. I continued to surge forward not wanting to deal with a battle towards the end of the race for the win. I got to the 44k aid station and re-filled my hydropack with water and drank some gatorade. One of the guys at the aid station said to me "well I hope you have enough your legs for the next 700ft." Sweet, this should be fun... not. All the pavement and the downhill running had really thrashed up my legs at this point. I began my walk/run assault on the hill. I had some how managed to avoid any treacherous emotional and mental lows by this point, but this was most likely the most challenging section of the race for me. I had a hard time getting gels, water and salt caps down during this next section and felt like I might barf for most of the way up the climb. I didn't think it would be a problem but I had filled my hydropack with bottled water the night before and at the aid station had filled it with tap water (its what they had and I couldn't be too picky). Its amazing the sensitivity you can have during an event like this. The taste of tap water didn't bode well with my stomach, but I had to keep drinking or risk dehydrating myself. I got to the top and was given a warm welcome to the un-opened aid station at 50k. The worst of the race was behind me... or at least I thought.

50k to Finish: I knew the remainder of the course was downhill with the final 4k being flat. However, topographic maps lie as did the one on the website. It would technically be downhill but not downhill enough to really give tired and beaten legs any chance to function without severe pain. The next few sections became run/walk for survival sections. 3 to 4 minutes of running followed by 30 to 40 seconds of walking was all my legs could handle. My stomach had stabilized itself and my energy levels were fine, but my legs were toast. I struggled through this next section and began to think, maybe someone is starting to sneak up on me from behind. I got to the final aid station at 59.9k where I grabbed some gatorade and the aid station volunteer kindly gave me some coke which I was so greatful for. I continued on realizing I had only a short 3.6k to the finish. After leaving the aid station there was a section about 1k long which was straight and covered by tree canopy, pretty neat section I thought. It felt like an eternity to complete this section and once I got to the end of the straight, I took a quick glance behind me... I saw someone. Crap. I realized I had be caught. I began to push hard forward, but I was in brutal agony. I looked behind me again and saw someone in a dark grey or blue shirt. I figured it was either Randy Duncan or Jeff. I kept pushing and now was just barely outside of Tahsis. I took the left hand turn into Tahsis and got a warm welcome from the fire department, RCMP and paramedics with lights and sirens going off. I took another right hand turn figuring I was done but continued down the street for 200m, running for my life and the win figuring someone was close behind. I took the final right hand turn to the rec center and pushed it to the finish in hopes not to be caught. I finished in 1st. I was destroyed and exhausted but extremely happy with my win. After leaving Gold River at 4am, climbing 3250ft and descent another 3500ft, covering 63.5k I had arrived in Tahsis in 5 hours and 13 minutes and 59 seconds.

Post Race: After finished I still figured some one was right behind me. I waited at the finish, talked to the local reporter quickly, rang the bell to signify your personal finish, and awaited the individual who had pushed me to the edge of my pain threshold to win the race. 5 minutes had passed, no one. 10 minutes, again no one. 20 minutes after I had finished 2nd place came in. The irony is there was no one behind me, I just thought there was..... After the race, I waited to see Jeff come in at 5hrs and 55mins which in any other year would likely have given him the win. It was a perfect day for a race and the strategy we had was bullet proof. Both Jeff and I were ecstatic with our performances. It was truly memorable.

During the race this is what I managed to consume: 12 gels (GU and Carbboom), 8 Succeed S!Caps sodium pills, 1.5 litres of gatorade and probably about 100ml of coca cola.

As I sit on my couch with my quads still smashed up I can only think about those who got me to the win that day. My coach Noa, Dr. Jamie Grimes, my family, friends and Brooks running and of course Peninsula runners. Without these people, I would not have been able to accomplish this. As for the Sand flea bites, they never bothered me on race day. I had told Coach Noa on thursday, that something seems to always happen to me a few days before a big race. I called it fate.

The Great Walk: I would highly recommend this race as a good ultra for first timers and veterans. The Aid stations were definitely geared towards the walkers, but they had the basics (water and gatorade) all you really need. They were great to those faster people and got us on a 15 passenger van at 1pm back to Gold River (they close the highway between Gold River and Tahsis the day of the race) which was greatly appreciated. The question of whether I will go back next year... well I will have to wait and see...

Bazan Bay 5k - March 8th

2009-03-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

So this was totally a last minute decision to run the race but I'm glad I did.
I had been dealing with a bit of a knee issue caused by an over stretched hamstring from yoga so I wasn't 100% sure about running. But running flat and uphill didn't bother it so this flat, and fast 5k course was perfect. So after an awfully early wake up (it was daylight savings time) my coworker and friend Sarah picked me up. The day was beautiful except brutally cold. Sarah and I got there, got registered, and headed out for a quick 20 minute warm up and check a bit of the course out. I'm glad I did because the finishing area can be a bit tricky. (Photo, half of sarah and myself getting ready to race). So as we stood on the line, I didn't really know what to expect which was probably for the best. The horn went off and we blasted off. I felt pretty good for the first 300m but i realized I needed to push harder. The one thing I have learned about 5k's is their supposed to hurt, badly, and for the majority of the race. I started in the third row of athletes and but I think this definitely helped. Mentally, i find it difficult to gain a lot of momentum when i'm constantly being passed by people. When i'm passing people I find I can push harder and pick people off. Today was one of those picking days. After the first km (which was a 3:07 split). I decided to surge up and start going after people and not stop until the finish. from 1k to 2k the split was 3:17. A lot slower than I would have hoped for but I was feeling good and gaining tons of ground. I missed the 3k marker but 2k to 4k was 6:39. Enroute to the turn around I got a glimpse of the leaders (Simon Witfield and Scott Simpson were leading). After turning around I just began to cruise my way, maintaining pace and keeping relaxed. I was really starting to feel the effects of the shorter distance but I was loving every second of it. It was weird for me because after the Pioneer 8k I hated shorter races. But after training with Coach Noa for a little over 4 months now, the improvements I have seen are incredible. Back to the racing. As We took the turn to the finish I started my final push towards the finish. I was hurting but managed to fend off those behind me who were trying to gain ground and went about Sean Chester. Trying to beat Sean was an all out kick battle for me. We ended up finishing with the same time. 16 minutes 19 seconds. Last km was 3:14 for me. I felt like barfing after the race but it was a good type of "feel like i wanna puke." I have to say that training with Noa is the reason I have seen these types of improvements. To give you an idea about what i mean. I felt this good and feel like I ran this well on a 80km week, with a 25km run the day before and a 15x1km repeat workout on the track the thursday before. Also this is officially about a minute personal best for me on a certified 5k course (I ran 16 minutes falt at the Peachland Canada day 5k in '07 but its not "accurate", even though the race director assured me it was).
Alright back to reality for the week. Training and Schoolade. I have a bunch of papers and stuff to do this week but i'm thankful that in less than a month, i will be free of all this. I would like to give a shout out to Tony Austin for letting me steal these photos for my blog. Tony, you take awesome photos!! Elk/Beaver is coming soon....

The Agony

Pioneer 8k - January 11th

2009-01-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

So Coach Noa thought it would be a good idea for an ultra runner to run an 8k as a fitness test. Well I jumped on it without hesitation and figured "oh yeah, my ultra training will transfer somewhat decently over to the 8k." Well I was in a for a treat.
Heather and I headed out to Central Saanich to find the race which turned into a little bit of an adventure but her quick eye spotted one of our customers from the store behind us, so we just watched where he turned and soon enough found the place.
After a quick warm up I did some strides and my "Runners prayer" before the gun, and we then we were off. It honestly felt like I was running a 400m race. I felt like I was maxed out from the gun. I immediate got a stomach stitch but kept pushing forward. My goal for the race was not to get beat by Cheryl Murphy or any of the other women. And trust me, in this star studded, olympic athlete field, this was a prety lofty goal. I passed the lead female around 500m and began my charge forward. I caught up to Nick Walker and we ran together for pretty much the entire race. Mark Nelson passed me around 4k and I tried to go with him but I was toast. I was toast at 1k so I basically was just hanging on. At around 5k, I ask nick what our time was. 16:40. Great I thought, this is perfect pace. I was hurting beyond anything comprehendable but I figured it was just about gutting it out. After the turn around at 6.5k and could see the remainder of the field and the lead females who werent that far behind me. I kept pushing along with nick and he threw in a surge which got us caught back up to Mark Nelson and Chris Barth. After turning down the road towards the final portion of the race with the little uphill, I realized "maybe my ultra training is really working" I felt great cruising on the uphill and I had passed Nick and Chris and was hunting for Mark. The final 150m's is all uphill and Mark and I gutted it out and literally killed each other for the fight to the finish. Mark ended up taking it by a second. 27:23 was my finishing time. 28th overall and 4th in my age group. I saw Coach Noa after the race, gave her a big hug and told her "Never, ever, make me do that again!" She laughed and said at least not until next year. After the race was over I had some downtime to really think about how I felt about it (hence why this blog post is a little late). I realized how difficult it was but how much fun it was at the same time. I'm not sure what my next race is but I hope its long and with lots of trails :-)

BMO Okanagan International Marathon - October 12th

2008-10-17T15:37:00.001-07:00

So it was long overdue that I finally run a full, road marathon. I thoroughly enjoy it. Despite all the hard and testing times of the race, the marathon is a beast worth conquering. I have to say that I struggled the most in this race than any other, mentally, physically and certain emotionally. Here is what happened.
I arrived in kelowna around 7am, one hour before start, and did my warm up run and a light stretch before heading to the start line. I ate my usual blueberry bagel and cream cheese enroute to Kelowna and drank some water as well. I headed to the start line and had to hop the fence in order to start near the front, but people were ok with that.
0 - 10k: I ran this pretty quick I must say, I ran with Kevin Masters who finished 3rd in the half marathon until the half marathon turn around at ten k. We were moving pretty quick and were hitting average of 3:45min/km.
10 -21.1km: so after the half marathon athletes turned around I was all on my own, and the wheels kept turning but I felt great and I felt like I did in all my training runs, relaxed and composed. Running down the hill to the cross over area was tons of fun (i love running down hill) but once i got to the bottom we were told we had to cross the mass of runners to the other side of the road. I felt bad because I had to complete cut this girl off in order to do this, I also missed the water station. Cruising down to the industrial area I met up with a guy and we chatted for a bit and then parted our ways when i turned to do the quick out-and-back to the half way marker (21.1km in 1hr 17min 34s) which is a half marathon personal best for me. Too fast? I think so.
21.1 - 32km: Still feeling good and relaxed, I continued at my normal clip. At around 25k I felt a little twinge in my right hamstring, I thought it was just my muscles playing games, but it was ultimately a sign of things to come. About 2 minutes later, the worst and most painful cramping I have ever experience came for a visit and decided to stay. I was starting to suffer and watched my lead, which i held for 27km come and go. I was passed again by 2 other guys at around 30k. I stopped at the 30k aid station to stretch my legs out, but no luck. My hamstring just cramped up everytime I tried to stretch my quads. I know turned into survival mode and the ultra shuffle I learned very well from my experiences at Kusam Klimb and the Juan de Fuca trail were now being put to good use. Running down the hill I loved in the first lap so much was brutal. If I didn't extend my leg completely out my hamstring would cramp, on the other hand when I extended my leg out my quad cramped. There was no winning this battle. Nutrition and hydration were now my priorities. I took many S! caps (which have saved my butt in the past, and i still strongly believe in them) didn't do anything; The gels: nothing; The gatorade: nothing. I hit 32km and realized the clock read 2hrs on the nose. I figured I could cover 10k in less than an hour. But I was hurting, bad.
32 to 42.2km (the Finish): Finish this beast I had started was now my priority. I had to put away my prospects of winning, or qualifying for boston, just finish. The last 10km was a walk/run strategy. Run for as long as I could without cramping up, then walk for 30 seconds. It was emotionally draining doing this, because I knew I could finish this stupid thing so quickly, but my patience got a good workout that morning. I walked through all the aid stations, guzzling gatorade and water. I finally saw the lake with less than 2km to go, and I was in heaven. The soft wood boardwalk of the leg was very forgiving to my legs, but as soon as I hit the pavement, my right leg cramped so bad I had to just endure it for the 30 or so seconds it was in spasm mode. I finally saw the finish. The finishing arc was a blessing, crossing the line in 4th overall in a time of 2 hours 54 minutes and 6 seconds. Not want I feel I have potential for, but I was happy with a sub 3 hours performance and a time that will send me to the Boston Marathon.

My Thoughts:
The Marathon is a beast. The pounding of the road, the fast pace, its an ugly and destructive race. I did 3 ultras this race (elk/beaver 50k, scorched sole 50k, and Juan de Fuca 47k) and this was far more difficult than those. Mind you, the beauty of the trails takes your mind off the pain. I have to say I have a lot of respect for this race, it beat me up brutally. It was a huge challenged but very satisfying to complete. I highly recommend if you've ever thought about doing one, be prepared, do the training, its a journey. You get to know yourself pretty dam well out there.

My Plans:
Well i'm gonna take some time away from running. Get my head back in a good place and maybe do some fall cross country races around Victoria. I got a lot on my plate over the next few months so i'll be busy. I get to see Andrea on November 6th, which will be awesome. I got tons of school work, which is not awesome. But thats life!! Until next time!

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail - August 23rd

2008-09-04T10:00:00.001-07:00

This was a tough trail. Period. I've run some pretty gnarly trails in my short life but in terms of overall difficulty, this is number 2 (Kusam klimb is still number one).
I got picked up By Jeff Hunt and the Jackal at 5:30am to carpool out to the Trail head at China Beach. We assembled for a group photo and grabbed our gear and got ready to head out to the trail. 17 of us would hit the trail, 9 would attempt the whole 47k. We started off with Bob Wall leading the way with a somewhat suicide pace and by the time we got to Mystic beach, we broke apart into different groups. Jeff, Shawn Nielsen and Raf lead the fast group (or the "Record Breakers") and myself, bob and Rob Mackay were in the slower, more social group. I was injured for most of june and all of july so my training leading up to this wasn't anything worthy of testing on this trail. The day went on without a hitch. Slow pace but it was enjoyable. I honestly can't remember much of what happened because i'm half stupid. All I can remember is that the gels tasted terrible, the S! caps saved my ass from barfing, and the streams were awesome for dunking my head into for cooling off. A new record was set by Shawn Nielsen, clocking a 6hr 15min run, one hour faster than the previous record. My group finished in 7hrs 48 mins, which is pretty good on this trail.
All I can really remember is how good that coke and Mike's hard lemonade afterwards tasted and thinking of how good a bowl of soup would taste. I got home, exhausted, talked to Andrea on the phone telling her how stupid this sport is (yet, I love it all!!)

Kusam Klimb - June 21st

2008-07-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

So this post is long over due but i've been crazy busy with school... ok i've been lazy. This is going to be a short post so i'll keep it short and sweet.

The weekend began with Jeff Hunt and I heading up to campbell river picking up a guy named buddy en route. We got to Bob Wall's house where we would spend the night and set up our tents and got out gear ready for the morning. I never thought I would get a good nights sleep the night before a race in a tent but I slept like a baby. 5am wake up time, quick breakfast and clean up and the four of us hit the road at 5:30. We arrive in Sayward around 6:20am to grab our race packages and got ready to roll. Looking up at the mountain was daunting enough let alone knowing that in less than an hour i would be grinding my way up it. The race began right at 7am and off we went down 2.5k of flat paved road, then we swung let to a slight incline (and i really mean slight) and thats when i knew my legs were toast. Since i've only been doing this ultra crap for a season now my base is slowly catching up but my recovery time from races is still lagging. That first small incline to the trail head just about killed me. Unfortunately, I had 5000 feet to climb in 6km still to go. I maybe made it up about 200m of the trail before i was reduced to walking and my quads, calfs and hamstrings were beat. My right foot went completely numb (as it did at Scorch Sole) but this time it was of more concern to me. Feeling crappy and literally beat, it was now a test of mental strength. Jeff Hunt caught up to me and we both laughed about how literally insane this race was. He looked strong but was hurting (but then again EVERYONE was hurting). Jeff looked at me and jokingly said "I'm never signing up for this again!". So we carried on up the Mountain and Jeff dropped me and I got picked up by Bob and company, I hitched on to them but my foot was bugging me even more. But we just kept going and going. We hit 3000 feet and i couldn't believe it. I figured we were getting close to the summit, but no, we were a mere 500 feet over half way. This is where the trail got extremely steep and I can remember holding on to a tree root, looking up and seeing bob about 50 feet in front of me (well basically over my head) and all i could see of him was his butt and his shoes. The incline of the trail was at least 50 to 60% maybe even steeper at parts. We finally hit the snow and lucky for my the trail flattened out enough to give my foot a rest and get some running in to make up some time. This whole running for 5 seconds was a bad idea. It just wasted energy that i should have used else where. Since I figured the trail had flattened out we must have been at the summit. Wrong again, This was probably the third time I thought i was at the top. We continued on the trail (which was called Bill's Trail, named after some sick and twisted minded dude from Sayward who built the trail) where it eventually got covered in snow. This is where the race got fun (finally!). It turned from a leg grinder into a sledding adventure. I of course didn't come prepared for this so i scratched my butt on the snow really badly. Finally we could actually see the summit and once we got to the top, Bob and I enjoyed the view and then began the downhill trek home. Well when you think about how steep this mountain was going up, it was the same going down. Except they have ropes for you to hold on to going down on your butt if you sled (my butt was too sore already) so i just dug my heals in and fell countless amounts of time and it was soo funny. I dont know why i was laughing, probably out of frustration, but this was fun. Bob left me behind and after finally clearing the snow got onto some runnable trail where I met up with bob again. We got to the aid station on the Stow Creek Watershed and grab some watermelon, gatorade and some candies. Of both Bob and I had done races in the past couple of weeks so the downhill became the next taxing issue on our bodies. Both our quads were fried and the long, slow downhill was painful. I was thinking to my self "ok, scorched sole had 10k of downhill and it took me about 40 minutes to do including the stop at the aid station, this is 10k too so it should take us like 45 minutes". Again I was wrong. It took us an hour and 40 minutes to go ten k. The downhill, the hundreds of creek crossing and these humps on the trail (i wanna call them dried out stream beds) kill us. Theres an aid station at 5k and 3k to go and the trail in between those aid stations felt like it was 10k. We finally got back onto the road and made it for home. Both of us were in agony and just wanted to finish the run. We finish in 3 hours 33 minutes and 23 seconds.

lessons learned:
1. Dont run an ultra a month before this race haha
2. Where some longer shorts or compression shorts so I dont get butt burn
3. Figure out whats going on with my foot, it probably has to do with my tight muscles
4. This race was the toughest I've ever done, physically and mentally, but once I backed off and realized I wasnt going to win, it was very enjoyable stopping to check out the views.

Scorched Sole 50k

2008-06-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

So this was the race I was gearing up for since January since i recovered from my foot injury and bronchitis. It seems so distance ago that I was in the worst shape of my life and yet just a few days ago I complete something that most of my friends and family think is either impossible, crazy or a mix of the two. I have to say a few thanks my sponsors Peninsula runners (i work at the store so i get tons of encouragement from everybody there), Gray Taylor and the team at Brooks for the gear they supplied me with, and Synergy health management for taking the time to work on a beaten body.

The Race: I arrived in kelowna to pick my buddy chris up at a camp ground he was staying at. He was tired, the rain the night before and the partiers kept him awake all night. We arrive at the starting area well ahead of time to give us enough time to get changed, go to the bathroom, check in and do whatever else. Pretty easy at ultras checking in... "Hi i'm Michael LaBelle"... "Hi Michael, your number...... 88, here you go!"..." Thanks"... no chips, no swag, no t-shirts to fumble around with, just a number. So I put on my cascadia's and Injinji toe socks and the rest of my Brooks gear and headed to the start line for the pre race announcements. It had rained hard the night before so apparently it was wet towards the summit (I was in for a nice surprise... should i say surprises) So the race began, and the 50k journey over 12 000 feet was now underway. What I had been training for all year was now being put to the test and it was all in fate now.

0 to 10k: I felt pretty good to the first aid station at 5k no real issues just mostly uphill. The real drama began after the 5k aid station enroute to the summit at the 10k aid station. It was wet and i mean like knee deep pools of water and mud. My right foot had a really weird sensation where it felt numb but i stopped to feel it and it wasn't. It started to annoy me and i thought it might have to do with my tight achilles i was feeling. But i soaked both my feet and the sensation went away. There was a fair amount of hiking up to try and conserve energy but i felt i could do this since second place was no where to be seen behind me. Prefect, I thought, I can run my own race now) I got to the aid station at the summit feeling good and glad the what i thought was major climb was behind me.
10k to 17k: I turned around and headed back down into the backside of the course with most of the switchbacks. Lots of tight turns, mud, water (parts of the trail for sections up to 30 meters of creek running, there was no trail, and it was stupidly steep. I was starting to regret how much effort I put into the first climb since it was obviously much easier than this. but I knew i still had a while before i would be going the other way along this trail. i got to the 17k aid station and my nutrition plan was going smoothly. I had my watch set to go off every 35 minutes to remind me to eat and take salt.

17k to 25k: This section was fun! tons of rolling hills, tight turns and it was nice to be able to grab food at 25k. I spent way too much time at this aid station, 2 minute 45 seconds to be exact. I should have been there like 30 seconds, to empty out my pack, fill it, had someone else fill my water bottle, and grabbed my ipod.

25k to 34k: So the second loop basically does the route in reserve. so as i did part of the first section again, my legs were feeling some of the downhill, especially my hamstrings. I was walking a bit of it to try and regain my legs and they did come back. the ipod helped me keep my tempo up. By this point, i had over salted and food just didn't taste good, but i choked back a few gels enroute to 34k. I got to the aid station and realized I hadn't peed yet (this is important in ultra running as a good indicator how well hydrated you are). I figured that the salty good tasting gross and the fact I hadn't peed yet was because i had taken in too much salt (3 S! caps and i was putting in half a scoop of gatorade mix in my bottles at every refill) so i switched to water for the climb.

34k to 40k: This was a very trying 45 minutes of climbing up a mountain for me. This is what ultra running is all about: walking. I was probably able to run for maybe 3 minutes of the whole time it took me to scale up the backside. It honestly felt like it was never going to end. I saw a few people on my way up to help keep me motivated but I was the pits. I totally wanted to drop out but I knew i had to keep pushing on up the mountain. there were section i was almost on my hands and knees, others with calf deep pools and mud. I knew once i got to the top that it was 10k downhill to the finish. I could feel the cramping coming on, but for a weird reason I didn't take a salt cap. I just keep pushing. My gut went sour so i chewed on some ginger which tasted terrible at the time but i was thankful i did it. I saw a guy taking pictures on the way up and he told me i had about 10 minutes to the summit, which was the best news i had heard all day. I got to the summit and was relieve to know that the worst was behind me. I had a piece of watermelon, a cup of coke, and headed down to the finish.

40k to the finish: As i started down the hill the Marshalls informed me the guy i had pass taking photos up the hill about 10 minutes before still hadn't seen second place. So I put my ipod on, cranked the tunes, took a salt cap and cruised down the mountain to the 45k aid station, where again I spent way to much time at. After that I was heading down the hill and i got tired of listening to music so i started putting it in my pack and WHAM! i clipped my foot and landed hard on my left side, scarping up my left leg, knee, elbow and back. It took me about a minute to get going again and i felt sluggish and i could feel my quads were mashed. As the finish line became in sight, I was more than stoked on my accomplishment of not only completing this grueling event but I had won it! I cross the finish line in 4 hours 29 minutes and 43 seconds to set a new course record by 23 and half minutes! (even more stoked). It was over yet it didn't seem so long. The climb didn't really kill my legs, the 10k of downhill running was the reason my legs hurt so bad. I spoke with a lot really neat and cool people afterwards and congratulated other runnings as they finished.

So lessons I took away from scorched sole:
1- I need to try different nutrition things, gels seem to be a little to heavy, will try hammer perpetuem and carbo pro and carbo pro 1200
2- no amount of uphill running can prepare you for these climbs once you have 30k in your legs, but hill training definitely helps
3- be quick at the aid stations, as you get closer to one, think "what do i want/need", grab what you need for enroute, get someone else to fill your water bottles and eat while you wait for them.

Other than today, i went for a 45 minute run and my legs felt fine, my quads are sore and my left foot hurts like hell. I'm getting my upper wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and I'm seeing Dr. Grimes at Synergy on thursday. I have decided I wont be doing White River because of money and sponsorship reasons. I will run the Esquim alt 8k (since brooks sponsors it) I have given a lot of thought, and i'm going to do the Stormy 50 miler for sure now, and I also will make an attempt at the 100k distance in November at the Haney to Harrison 100k. As for now, just more recovery and essay writing before Kusam Klimb. Until next time!

Elk/Beaver 50k

2008-05-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

So the elk/beaver 50k went well (i finished at least) but i now truly understand how ultra running can be so addicting. Never once did i feel like i was "racing" even though the pace was being pushed the whole way, and the atmosphere of the athletes is incredible. Most are their to see old friends and meet new ones, and the support i got from all the vets was awesome. Here the race report..
Lap 1: 0 to 10km - felt pretty good, settling into a good pace was a bit difficult, i felt like we (there was two other guys i was running with) were pushing the pace. time for lap one was about 41 minutes
Lap 2: 10 to 20km - felt even better, started eating my shot bloks and maintained pace. time through 20km was 1:22
Lap 3: 20 to 30km - felt good until about 25km went my stomach said hello and my gut began to turn but i managed to get through 30k in 2:05
Lap 4: 30km to 40km - i have never hit the runners low before, but i believe on this day, i was at my lowest point i've ever felt. physically i felt fine (i think) but emotionally i was destroyed, a guy a met the day before who i had passed earlier in the lap who was in the 50 miler (Glen Pace was his name) caught back up with me and got me running again, and got my miserable ass to the 40km aid station in 2:55 for 40km.
40km aid station: i felt terrible and i wanted to die. I've never felt so crappy mentally that i wanted to just say "screw this, i'm going home" but part of me wanted to keep going. So i drank some gatorade and coke (which i had neglected earlier) and my troubles of being stuck in a valley suddenly came to end. I was also informed on my way out of the aid station i was still leading the 50km (the two guys i was running with for the first lap were in the 100k!!!) so i quickly left the aid station to find the second place runner Rob Mackey had entered just after i left.
Lap 5: 40 to 50km - so as i began my final assault on the last lap of the elk/beaver 50k, my stomach had settled, the tunes on my ipod were blasted, but being that i was too concerned about racing and not about what my nutrition plan was, the neglect of gatorade, S! caps and coke was coming back to haunt me. My legs were cramping pretty bad, but i managed to tough it out long enough to catch up with Glen again, and ask him one of the most popular questions asked among ultra runners "Hey, you got any salt caps?" he gave me two and off i went, trying to maintain my lead. the cramping subdued and but now a problem occurred. I was out of fuel, i hadn't taken any fuel on the 4 lap because i couldn't stomach anything and my waist pack with my Carbopro felt like it weighed 40 pounds. So as i was pounding away, Rob finally caught me at 47km mark, leaving me in the mud (literally). He cheered me on, and took off, after being passed i took in a gel and the cramping came back and i had to walk/run the last km but managed to finish 3 hours 50 minutes on the dot.

So the Lessons i learned:
1 - eat
2 - dont just drink water
3 - eat
4 - take salt caps at least once an hour, and drink an electrolyte drink
5 - eat
6 - dont have too much fiber the morning of the race
7 - coca cola can be your best friend
8 - whens the next race?

I went for a run today (Sunday, yes i know its the day after) but i needed to flush out my legs, and it was greatly appreciated. For now, i'm gonna take a few days off and relax. Thanks to everyone and Carlos for putting on a great race!