Hong Kong Racing......

My first 100km of 2012!

Having never been to any part of Asia before, I was more then excited when the opportunity to go to Hong Kong came through my inbox in December.   I had just entered a rest period for a few weeks but with the thought of running at the Vibram 100km Trail Race in February, my down time was cut short. I resumed training in January, giving myself 6 weeks to prepare as best as I could in our Canadian winter weather.

I wasn’t sure what to expect in Hong Kong but I was eager for the experience. I left Vancouver on an afternoon flight last Monday and arrived into Hong Kong on Tuesday evening.  I managed to sleep most of the 13hr flight but the time difference and jet lag definitely took its toll.  Grant Guise from NZ and Ryan Sandes from South Africa, my two other Salomon team-mates had already arrived.  It was great to see them again and catch up on their past year of adventures and races.

The Salomon Hong Kong crew greeted and welcomed us with open arms.  Many thanks to Joseph and Fai who spent the week with us, translating, taking us all over the race course, introducing us to various types of Asian cuisine and making us feel very comfortable in their country. 

Wednesday we participated in a Salomon demo event where many of the locals had the fun testing out various S-Lab products. It was great to get out for a run with everyone on a near by trail, stretch the legs while making some new friends, many of which were also racing in the HK100.  Everyone was so friendly and keen to get to know us.  That evening we were taken to a restaurant where I experienced for the first (and last) time ever, duck feet among many other “interesting” foods.  I tried to embrace the culture but I must say, I was missing my big green, leafy salads back home. However, when in China, do as the Chinese do! It was a lot of fun and we got some great photo’s from that night’s dining experience .  Grant didn’t think it was too funny when I took the chicken head and put it on his plate though!     

Fai was kind enough to spend the day with us on Thursday in a taxi, driving around to some of the different check points so that we could get an idea of the race course.  It was great to learn that we would be well outside of HK city and into the mountains.  The fog and smog still hadn’t lifted yet so it was hard to see exactly where we were. I enjoyed the fresher air out in the mountains.  However, spending a whole day of driving in a taxi was a bit tough and we were all feeling a bit queezy by the time we got back to the hotel.  That evening we spent some time at the Overlander store for a press meeting and where Sylvain from Salomon HQ in France did a presentation on shoes and bags.  Nice to see the familiar faces once again from some people we had run with the previous day.  Being in city central for the evening was my first experience of “busy streets” and the huge population on Hong Kong Island.  Just walking around was over whelming for me. The smells of so many different foods, roads filled with buses and taxi’s and lots of people all trying to move about. WOW – I’d never seen anything quite like it.

Detoxing

A note from Flora couldn't have come at a better time.  I'm traveling home from Hong Kong today and despite the amazing experience that I've had hear (full blog on that to come soon) I will need to get on top of recovery from the race ASAP but also, my body could certainly do with a little cleaning out. The pollution here in HK is like nothing I have ever experienced. All week long, both Grant and I complained of a headache.  It wasn't so bad out on the race course as we were away from city central and in the mountains, but still, I'd hate to see what the pollution has done to my insides. Pair that with the havoc that I just placed on my body for running for 13hrs, I don't think its  healthy combination.  Anyways, I'm going to get on with taking the new Flora Essence Herbal Detox tea as soon as I get back.  I get lot's of questions on "detoxification" but here is something that I know is quality!

Cheers to good health!

Prepping for the HK100

I got the call back in December to see if I wanted to run the Hong Kong 100km in February. Having never been that part of the world before, I was all over it. I looked at the race website and was stunned. The trails looked super awesome, really hilly and beautiful.  Maybe some running on beaches?  Sweet.

What I forgot about was how difficult it can be to train through the winter months here in Squamish.  We get our share of snow and ice and rain. Rain is one thing - I have no issues running trails when its sopping wet out, that is in my blood, I'm from Vancouver Island after all. Ice, well that just plain sucks but I use yaktraks and have since my Whistler days.  They work wonders and hence, I never worry about slipping. I think it's the snow that gets to me. While it looks so pretty when it's falling, it's another story when you have to run for 4hrs in it back to back weekends and all week long.  The issues arise for me when after several weeks of snow running, my hip flexors start to scream at me and I begin to loose my normal run stride.  I don't get all stressed out about distance traveled but rather, I train based on time and feel. Snow running is just slower and that's how it is.  However, with a big race looming at me, I want to be sure that I don't start to run incorrectly and get injured. So.......instead I booked a flight south and made my way down to San Fran.

It was a spur of the moment decision 2 weekends ago to head down to Marrin Country on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge to stay with my nuun-Sport Multi team mates, the VG's. They are all about play (I think we tend to call it play rather then training) and I hadn't been to visit them there since they left Seattle. Well, they have a totally sweet set up down there with amazing trail access.  Seeing sunshine this time of year isn't half bad either. In fact, I work up to a lemon tree in front of my window so I was pretty stoked!

Jen and RVG had planned some great play days for me.  They alternated between work and hanging out with their 2 awesome girls in order to show me around their new playground. I arrived Thursday evening and by Friday evening we had hit up a 1hr crossfit workout, a 3hr run and and an hour+ of mountain biking. Jen took me to Tennessee Valley which was really neat as I had run through that area when I did the Miwok 100km quite a few years ago. Stunning views of the ocean and dry single track through the headlands, it was pretty awesome. The run allowed me to work on some sustained climbing which was greatly needed.  

Saturday morning, RVG and I got in an hour of mountain biking at the crack of dawn as we commuted back down to crossfit for another session. Then, it was onto Fairfax where we rode some sweet singletrack. Fairfax was a total bikers town and the vibe was awesome.  Lots of coffee bars and the most incredible grocery store that I have ever seen (it was filled with crazy gluten free foods - I didn't know where to start.)  We followed up the bike with a run up Mt. Tam which was incredible.  It was a perfect day with good friends doing all the stuff that we love to do.

Sunday, had to make my last full day of training count.  RVG and I drove to Mill Valley and parked. We ran the stairs of the Dipsea race course and continued that route up and over to Stinson. It was amazing, cool race that I'd love to come back and do someday. Then, we ended up on the Miwok course again before looping our way onto the Ben Johnson Trail and down into Muir Woods. Stunning redwood trees in true Northern California style, what an incredible area!  We finished our run back in Mill Valley where we met up with Jen and the girls for some playground time.  This run allowed me a great 4hrs of sweet running. I tagged along with Jen later in the evening for one last 10miler and another 90mins or so of running.  

16hrs of training in 3 days and I'd say it was a successful trip to San Fran. I can't wait to get back there soon.

This past weekend it was Rainshadow's Running Orcas Island 50km race. I had forgotten how beautiful the Orcas trail network was and I HIGHLY recommend you get there and check it out. Miles of sweet, smooth, buttery single track and phenomenal views of the San Juan Islands from the top of the mountain.  I was fortunate that my good friends Paolo and Jenni would come down with me to crew for the weekend. We were joined by Nicola Gildersleeve so it turned out to be a great girls weekend away.

Clear skies and perfect weather were the race conditions. I was stoked to get to run another 50km of awesomeness 2 weeks before Hong Kong.  Long story short, I did exactly what I needed to on the race course, finishing 3rd. I wanted to have a good run but not push too hard. I didn't want injury and I just wanted to feel good. Congrats to Pam Smith who took 1st, finishing 11mins in front of me and too Shawna Tompkins for 2nd place. Shawna and I shared a great deal of time out there together which made the race even more enjoyable. I think we are going to team up for some cool adventures this summer as our take on trails and trail running seems to be the same!

So that's it!  I'm working hard to get things in order at CBC for while I'm away.  I'm putting the final touches on training and will be working on my descending over the next few days. Can't wait to get Hong Kong and experience all that this race has to offer!

A Focus on Recovery

My mindset is changing this week as the Hong Kong 100km gets closer and as I get excited for the big season ahead. I know there are some things that I need to start addressing.  My training hours and run miles have been ramping up significantly over the past few weeks and its critical that I keep on top of everything, body, mind, nutrition, sleep, injuries etc.  Maybe after 10+ years of racing and training, I'm finally wising up a bit (at least I'd like to think so :)

These last 2 weeks have forced me to train through lots of snow and slush. Mentally, I can take it as really, I have no other choice. But during my runs, I can feel little twinges here and there in my calves, knees and hamstrings. I'm so grateful that RMT Di Adams of www.diadams.com has come to my aid, taking an active role in the massage that I so desperately need.  I've been seeing Di off and on for a few months and she knows how to work amazing wonders. I'm fully putting all my trust in her and the knowledge that she has to treat my body.  I got a bit slack with massage ever since Ultraman finished, telling myself that it was my off season and that I didn't need it on a regular basis. Well, as I sit here tonight working, I know more then ever how much better I feel and how well my body responds.  With that said, I'm ready for the week ahead now as I've planned a great training camp in San Francisco for the weekend.  Di spent lots of time today working my low back and tibialis anterior. It's feeling so good tonight, I can't wait to run tomorrow!  The achilles drama continues on and off but I have a game plan for tackling it once again - its' called torture IMS.


I'm committed to using my foam roller as well and really, I have no excuse not too! We have 10 of them at the CBC studio and I stare at them daily.  I'm on it now from this day forward and will be saving an extra 10mins at the end of my workouts to lengthen out.  I'm testing out a new yoga mat too made by Vernice Vita Yoga Mats.  Ummm, who ever thought that a yoga mat could be so comfortable? Well, I'm thoroughly impressed already so that alone gets me stoked to get my stretching game back on.  And for me to say that, you know it must be cool!

Exactly 1 year ago today, I was racing through the heat and beauty of Costa Rica at the TCC 6 day staged race.  During my time there, I fell in love with a post run drink of coconut water provided by the locals, straight from the coconut!  It was the ultimate recovery drink.  We obviously don't live in the tropics but I'm really excited to have welcomed aboard for 2012, Coco's Pure Coconut Water.  Great taste, pure coconut water, I'm loving it!  I've long known the amazing nutrition that comes from the coconut so I'm really excited to add it to my daily recovery routine.  Coco's Pure will also be a sponsor at my 3rd annual Women's Tofino Running + Wellness Camp this year so 16 amazing woman will get to incorporate this great product into their camp recovery!

I've also gotta address sleep.  I used to function on 5hrs, maybe 6 a night. Times have changed and I'm loving and needing 8+hrs now. I'm striving to make this happen each night now by getting off the computer earlier and drawing a cutoff for responding to emails.

Nutrition and fueling is going really well and I will write a full blog on this soon. Have been 100% off all gluten/grains etc and have never felt better. The stomach issues have long subsided and energy levels are up.  Why did I wait so long once again? I've been reading and researching and things are making much more sense now  I'm having fun playing with Manitoba's Harvest "Hemp Flour" but oops, my coconut energy bars were a total flop this past weekend! I will have to work on that one before I post my recipe.  

More to come.........