Jen Segger's CHALLENGE BY CHOICE

A Focus on Recovery

2012-01-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

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.........

Timing

2012-01-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Today, the world has been hit by the news of the passing away of Sarah Burke, one of best free skiing woman in the world, a true driver in female sport. I never had the opportunity to meet Sarah although we have many mutual friends. She and her husband live here in Squamish and I've followed her ski career and admired her talent and passion for the way she lives day in and day out.

Oddly enough, 4hrs before I read the news on FB today, I was just out running with 2 good friends on some fabulous winter trails. We were having a great morning session. As we climbed towards Tsuga Tsuga, the sun was warming us up and the views of Squamish were incredible. We were talking about how much we loved this town, how lucky we are to live here, to access our trails and to be outside playing all the time. In my head, it was yet another reminder of how much I love life, how fortunate I am to be living out my own dreams and how I do my best to make each day count.
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Snowy Training Days

2012-01-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

What can I say! I'm motivated right now BIG TIME. The Hong Kong 100km is on my mind right now as I leave in 4 weeks time to join my Salomon team mates, Ryan Sandes and Grant Guise, to experience a great trail running event on the other side of the world!

I just put in a quality week of training, 18hrs to be specific with each workout counting. I lost a lot of leg power over the past few months so I have still many hard workouts ahead to get my climbing ability back to a level that I am satisfied with. I'm mixing in some bike workouts as well and these seem to do wonders in terms of keeping my legs fresh.

For once the weather man was right and the snow really did come Friday night as expected. As much as I'm enjoying my ski days on Whistler/Blackcomb this year, it's been incredible having very little snow in Squamish. The trails are busy with mountain bikers and runners so in a selfish way, I've been excited about that. I planned out this weekend to be a great adventure on my feet but when the white stuff fell, plans changed instantly. No way was I NOT going to run outside, treadmill running in my opinion is best kept for sub 45min runs and only when in a desperate time pinch - ie - 5am training sessions or -30 temperatures. Neither of those were the case this weekend so outside it would be.

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The Hemp Fuel Up

2012-01-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

As of December 27th, I went gluten free again, taking out all and anything that was causing me stomach irritations! I'm feeling awesome, no bloating and energy levels are up big time. As I increase my training volume now for the Hong Kong 100km in February, it's time to get back to creative snacks to fuel the workout!

Check out these tasty little power cookies that I made! Adam Hart's www.poweroffood.com website has all kinds of great recipes and these are a long time favorite. Super quick to make, let me know what you think.

Tofino Camp - Registration now OPEN

2012-01-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Don't miss out on the 3rd annual WOMAN'S Running, Conditioning & Wellness Camp on the stunning beaches of Tofino, BC. While I'm currently finalizing the details and looking at adding some new features to the camp, registration is now OPEN!
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Last Blog of 2011

2011-12-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

It's almost hard to re-cap a year when I am already thinking forward and getting excited for 2012. However, I have to look back on my past year as being a successful one. So much happened, so many challenges undertaken, I succeeded, I failed, I learned and overall, it was one hell of a great year! I'm not sure if I can actually write up a blog that will describe it all so I'm going to write this one a bit differently and try to do a highlighted version. My athletic endeavors were interwoven into my personal life and the way the year played out required me to make decisions and strive to finally achieve some balance in my life. I learned quickly that I couldn't stand on every start line or compete 24/7 as I had in the past. There needed to be some give and take and this is a focus that I enter 2012 into with once again. So...let's get into it:
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Salomon S-Lab Sense

2011-12-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

Check out the new shoe that Salomon is about to unleash!!!
iRunFar just did a great shoe review on it! I personally am stoked to try it. I've seen Killian run all last year in it and can't wait to try it!

Hawaiian Thoughts

2011-11-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

Two weeks today and I will have completed my last race of 2012. It just so happens that the race takes me to Hawaii for the Honolulu marathon. I find it very hard to call this a "race" for myself as road running a flat surface is far from my talent. I will stand on the start line with the elite's and it will be yet again, a very humbling experience. My goal is to run a sub 3hr, possibly attainable on a good day. I expect the other woman to run 2:30's. I honestly just have to laugh when I think about this but because I have zero pressure on myself for this race, all I have to do is go out, put one foot in front of the other and hope that the wind is at my back. If we start at 5am, I hope that I will officially be starting my December R&R by 8am sharp!

So why Hawaii? Why a marathon? The true reason is really so that I'd have a good excuse for a sunny getaway to get me through the winter. Usually, my races take me right into the winter months but I structured differently this year. As much as I love a good ski season, I need the sun too. The plan in Hawaii is to race right away and then have a few more days for some SUP surfing and watching Pipeline Masters at Waimea Bay (also something that I've always wanted to see.)

I'd like to thanks the RD of the Honolulu Marathon for being so great in helping me with travel plans and race assistance. This race has a great reputation and I'm looking forward to finally experiencing it.

Once I've wrapped up this one, the rest of December is about fun, skiing, friends and family. 2012 is shaping up to be amazing big and so I will need to be ready, mentally and physically, to tackle it!

Whistler 50miler Report + Off-Season Thoughts

2011-11-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

On a last minute decision, I decided to hit the Whistler 50miler, a new race that replaced the Haney to Harrison this year. Being that it was in my backyard and I haven't run in Whistler for a while, I needed some miles and I thought that this would be a great way to get them in. I have to admit, my motivation for long runs has been down a bit recently (I think its the weather) and with the Honolulu Marathon a month away, I do need some pavement time.

Fortunately, we had great running conditions yesterday with temperatures somewhere around 0 C degrees which was just fine by me. I just hoped that we wouldn't get huge variations as that would make my clothing choice become a problem once it warmed up! Whistler did have snow in the days prior and the Lost Lake area had a good layer on it but it wasn't slick! Race organizers did a great job of sanding down the course so slipping wasn't too much of a worry.

I wouldn't normally choose an event that was in loops (this was 4 x 20km) as I love point to point racing or 1 big circular loop. However, I knew the Whistler course well and I knew that I would get about 1.5 loops done in the dark so it would seem like a new course once the sun came up! I woke up at 3:45am, had a huge bowl of steel cut oats and blueberries and was on the road by 4:30am arriving to the start just after 5am to get my bib #. On a last minute change, Mary Betts stepped up to crew for me for the day when my original crew Jenni Chancey had to catch a last minute flight. Mary was also up at 3:30am to make the drive from Surrey to be there in time! She she stood around the cold for 6.5 hours for me! Ummmm, how do you ever really thank your crew for what they do? Well, you crew for them next time they ask!! Thankyou Mary.

I didn't approach this race with any huge expectations other then I wanted to go sub 8hrs and I didn't want to finish with an injury. Looking at my training log, it's not exactly how you set yourself up for a 50miler (well, not for an A race anyways.) I trained hard the past 10 days, including 1 run from Squamish to Whistler at a very easy pace and then lots of speed work (all focused towards Honolulu.) Any chance that the sun has been out, I roadie it up on my Cannondale to spin and have done a few compu trainer workouts at the Lab. I took Friday off and did hot yoga. The race was Saturday.

So the race itself. I felt great that morning, always nice when I take the pressure off myself and can just run. My friend and great runner Nicola Gildersleeve was racing, she also on a last minute decision. Nic has great leg turnover on the flats and I love watching her run. There were lots of runners who were running their first 50miler which was awesome! 6am start in front of the Whistler Gondola and we were off. The first lap was great! I love head lamp running with just the outlines of Blackcomb and Whistler visible in the dark. I didn't run with a goal pace, I just sort of ran, a few guys in front of me that I paced off of. The second lap was also great and as I came through the transition area, I was delighted to hear Stephen King on the microphone (the voice of Ultraman and Ironman) and I got a surge of energy as I ran by. I saw Mary twice every lap and being that she has crewed for me before, just trusted her to keep the food interesting and have options. I had warm team in my water bottles to drink at the aid stations, other then that, I didn't carry water and food with me at all. I always took a few sips on my "Jenny Super Smoothy" mix and left with things like avocado wrapped in turkey or rice chips or yogurt almonds in my hand.

So, lap 3, a bit of a disaster! About 4km into this loop, I hit the Lorimer Rd train track crossing and came to a hault! Not for the anticipated 2-3minutes but for 22!!!!! OMG - do you know what happens with a 22minute stand still when your body was warm and moving? Well, you go hypothermic in -1 weather, your body cramps and you can't move. There was volunteers there, taking note and giving time credit. No-one though had anticipated a stop like this. Soon, other runners caught up, must have been 8 of us or so. Nicola caught up too, being stopped for 12minutes. When the train finally decided to move again, my body didn't want to. I started running, more like a hobble, and my left hamstring was done! Nic took off in front of me and my body wouldn't respond and chase her. I had to let her go. I had to warm up again. I had to will myself to move. It took me a good 1hr to feel warm and Nic put 4mins on me. I knew that I only had an 11minute window to play with and we still had like 30km to go - it was anyone's race. Nic kept moving, I kept hobbling and tried not to go to a crawl.

I was delighted when lap 4 started - the last one. I was in so much discomfort in my hamstring, I was deep in my pain box! Lots of friends and strangers were cheering me on, that helped tonnes but I could barely manage a smile. I was focused on every single step that I took despite feeling like a snail. It was what I call "ugly running" - nothing smooth happening at this point. When I left Mary at the aid station for the last minute, I had made up 20seconds on Nicola, so she probably had around a 3:40 lead of me without counting the time credit! I didn't pick up my pace, I just tried to maintain, I'd let the cards fall where they would.

Running into the finish chute at the Whistler Golf Club couldn't have been better. DONE. Done for the day, Mary was there to give me a huge hug and Ray my big "sleeping bag" Salomon jacket. Friendly competition with Nicola was great, in the end I took first place with a 6min win. If it hadn't been for her keeping the pressure on me to move, not sure what would have happened. Once the time credits were factored in, I had run a 6:31. Happy with that for sure. My race win I instantly dedicated to Mary Betts - not for her awesome crewing - but for her past year of racing and training! She tackled 2 major races for which I coached her for, Badwater 135 and the Furance Creek 508 bike race. She rocked out Badwater, it was amazing. However, mid race at the 508, she had a huge bike crash on Towne's Pass and her race was over. I look at Mary and how she dedicated herself to her training and how she takes on huge goals and just goes after them. Despite a DNF, she maintains positive as she heals up, already looking to 2012 and some awesome goals. I watch her and I'm inspired. She is driven by determination and a positive attitude. Thankyou Mary for making a huge impact on my life and on my racing!

My clothing system proved to work great for me. I started with a fleece toque on and exchanged that at near the end of the 2nd loop when I ditched my headlamp and grabbed my buff. I've been running in the Salomon XT Tights recently and I love them!! Awesome fit and they don't slide down. I normally would not choose to ever race in a full tight but because I'm loving these tights, I went for it. On the top I wore a light weight tech shirt underneath my Salomon XA II 1/2 Zip Midlayer! I never took off my lightweight Ibex gloves. SOLE socks on the feet.

Thanks to the Whistler 50 crew for putting on a great first time event in Whistler. I hope it continues year after year. I know that train issue will be re-addressed :) Lots of volunteers on the race, thankyou to everyone. Congrats to everyone who raced and even more to so those 1st timers at that distance. I'd like to give a special shout out to my friend and tri-athlete Christine Suter for getting it done out there on her first 50 and to Leslie Zednai - AWESOME work ladies!

A few days of active recovery ahead....then it's back to it!!!

The Yearly 4 - DONE

2011-10-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

With the wrap up of all my major races for the year, I've been enjoying my time back at the studio and reconnecting with all the CBC crew as people return from summer play outside! The Fall has come way too quickly and I wondered for awhile if I would be able to get all of my favourite trail runs in. The alpine just didn't clear very fast this year and it made running up high very difficult. As my previous blog postings reported, I managed to run Rubble Creek (base of Black Tusk) twice and get up to Elfin Lakes several times. Then, 2 weekends ago, Jenni Chancey and I took the window on a sunny Sunday morning to run musical bumps off the top of Whistler and descend down Singing Pass. It was awesome, reminding me once again that my true passion is in alpine running where the views make you stop and appreciate how lucky we are to have an amazing playground around us. This was Jenni's first run out there and she did great! By the time we made it back to Whistler village, the rain had begun to fall and by the next morning, it was full snow up there!

This weekend I made it home to the Island to see my family for Thanksgiving. I had planned on running the Victoria marathon on Sunday then hitting up the 47km Juan de Fuca marine trail on Monday! However, dinner plans required me to change things up so I opted for a Saturday JDF adventure so that I could return back to North Vancouver for a Sunday family gathering. Thanks to Don Peterson for still driving us to renfrew at 5am that morning so that my brother in law Todd and I could run. Don and I run this every year but he'd been a bit sick and wisely had to pass on it this time round. My salomon team mates Rumon Carter and Adam Campbell also had to pull the plug last minute which was unfortunate. However, I was determined that to still get out there, allowing that trail to take me to my happy place! Todd is one of the country's top marathoners, his speed blows my mind! However, Todd had never run over 4hrs, never mind adding in muddy and constantly undulating technical trails to the mix. I don't think he was really aware of what he was in for (why scare him off :) as I wanted him to experience the trail and how awesome it was. Trail conditions were the best that I had ever seen them which, trust me, doesn't say a lot when we are talking about a trail situated in a west coast rain forest. The rain held off until 1 minute after we had reached the car! Todd and I took our time out there, taking a breather at Sombrio (no surf to report) and walking the beaches rather then running them! It was my idea of a great way to spend Thanksgiving weekend and Todd did great. I've promised him a shorter trail run adventure next time, agreeing that him puking his guts out in the car ride home was not exactly considered fun!!! I told him that it was just his body adapting to 7+hrs of running - kind of like how I feel when running a 3hr marathon at max heart rate :)

I wrapped up the weekend with a great Thanksgiving dinner with Norms family and a great reminder of all the great things, experiences and people in my life!

Rubble Creek Off Season

2011-09-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

I decided that I better get a quick re-cap up of today's hypothermic race course before I close my eyes and settle into an afternoon nap! Usually, I spend this particular September weekend over on Vancouver Island, stuffing in as much playtime as I can - running the Juan de Fuca trail, racing the MOMAR Cumberland event and then ending it with 2 days of surfing out in Tofino. However, Friday night my dad came through Squamish so I decided to skip the trip and stay home, allowing me to race the annual Rubble Creek 25km run today.

Backing up for a second.......I ended my last official A race of the year at the end of August with a win at Ultraman Canada. After that, I took August and September to tackle a few personal running epics and to hit my SUP board. I was in great need of a mental break as I had trained right through last winter. Maybe it's because I'm getting older that I'm finding the need for that seasonal break. Anyways, it's been tonnes of fun as I've been able to focus more on my coaching life and my athletes who were tackling their own adventures. I had a great 10 day trip back up to the remote northern coast of BC to co-guide with Norm on a SUP expedition in the Great Bear Rainforest. You really can't top paddling with humpback whales and watching bears for day after day. It's been nice to finally have a few weeks here at home and begin researching 2012 races and adventures. Problem is, TOO much to do!

Fast forwarding now......I've turned into a snail! Long distance racing makes me slow. Not that I was ever a speedster in the first place but when you suddenly start asking the body to go quicker, it simply answers back with "not until you train me to do so." With that in mind, I want to spend some time this winter working on my leg turnover so that I can enter into the new year with that neuromuscular adaptation under my belt!

25km races have never been my distance but I was happy to race today's Rubble Creek run. I ran it a few weeks ago with John and simply put, its just an awesome mountain run. I knew that I would not be moving too fast so I didn't stress the start line when 2 other females blew by me right off the gun. I used a mix of power walking and running for the first 13km or so. I'm out of my beloved Speedcross's right now so I ran in the S-Lab - not a wise choice based on the mud, rain and snow that greeted us! The weather was full on winter as we topped out at the base of Black Tusk. Sideways sleet, my Suunto watch covered quickly in snow. I had an ice cream headache until we began the sheltered 8km descent down to the Garibaldi Parking lot. I ran the first 1/2 of the race with my Salomon Flight Crew Team Mate - Munny Munroe. He had ear phones blasting so it was kind of a nice distraction. Our other salomon runner Adam Campbell was well ahead of us from the start and he went on to win the race overall!

It was just head down, keep moving to get across the top of Black Tusk. I took in 1 gel and was thankful that I had thrown on a trail running vest back at the car. Almost as soon as I started the descent, Mark and I were able to start to open up the stride and get moving. We passed the other females and started to cruise. Staying focused was my key, no need to re-sprain an ankle after a few months of doing so well with it. 30mins later, we crossed the finish line, completely soaked! Holly and Callum were there with hot coffee for me (OMG - best thing ever) and then it was off to soak the legs for a few minutes in the freezing cold river! That was the best 1st place female prize that I could ever ask for!

I never warmed up and I still haven't. I drove home with heat cranked and then threw on my -40 Everest type puffy jacket to walk the dog! Congrats to several CBC athletes who did so awesome out there today well. Updating the CBC blog with all the results!!!

Next up? Speed!

Salomon Sample Sale

2011-09-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Don't miss out on the annual Salomon Sample Sale happening in North Vancouver this Friday through the weekend! See you there!

Running around Mount St. Helens

2011-08-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that summer is going to come to an end very fast this year. I've hardly checked any of my yearly "bucket list" runs off yet and I'm starting to feel the pressure to just got and get them! So what did I do? I got after it this weekend!Saturday morning I was joined by CBC athletes John and B for a quick run up to Elfin Lakes. The trail was clear of snow up until the ridge but the final 3-4km was still pretty white but very runnable! Great views of The Tusk and surrounding mountains - I had my piece of paradise. We ran at a nice comfortable talking pace, stopped for 10mins once we reached the lake and then made our way back down. I'm not a fan of crowds when I'm running so I was happy to be back down to Red Heather parking lot just as all the day hikers were arriving! My spirit feels so alive in the mountains, it was a good reminder of the awesome place that I am so fortunate to live in and the terrain that I have access to!I then hopped in the car Saturday afternoon and blasted down to Seattle, picking up my adventure racing team mate on Nuun-Sport Multi, Aaron Rinn on the way down to southern Washington. The plan? Run the 55km+ trail that goes around Mount St. Helens. I've had my eye on this adventure for a years now and with the great weather window for the weekend and finally a free Sunday to just get out and play, I couldn't pass this one up. On our way out of Seattle, we stopped by good friend Erik Nachtrieb's house to pick up a topo map of the area and some great notes that he had personally written regarding the route. It was a bit of a late night haul as drove another 4hrs to the June Lake trailhead. Exhausted, we crashed hard at midnight in the back of the old subaru and didn't wake until 5:50am after 2 hits of the snooze button. By 6:30am, after a thermos of coffee and my home made gluten free banana bread, we were on our way. The goal wasn't to set a new speed record. Rinn has a big adventure race coming up soon and I was just out to enjoy the experience (nice to just cruise and move as we felt.)We ran the route counterclockwise. The "flat" sections came first (if you want to call them flat) but it didn't matter, once that sun came up, it was hot. Luckily the first 3/4 of the route had lots of rivers as during the last 1/4, we were eating snow as we passed over patches located on the north facing slopes. However, made a great new discovery, grape flavored Nuun when paired with freezing cold ice water and snow is AWESOME!! We saw a handful of hikers during the first half of the run and only bumped into 1 other runner who had started 75mins after us but was going in the reverse direction. Erik's notes were great as we did go off course twice, costing us about 30-40mins total. Ahhh well, no worries, we were having a great adventure! The trail was in great shape, just a few tricky intersections that were either not marked or didn't quite go in the direction that you would anticipate. We stopped at lots of the rivers to re-hyrdate, wet our hats and cool down. Much of the run is very exposed except for the one 1300m climb out of the Toutle River. The great thing about going around Mt. St. Helen's is that the landscape and environment changes continuously. It was super engaging, never really allowing us to get bored or anxious to be down. I also love going around things as oppose to out and backs.It took us 9:45 to go around including our navigational mistakes and stops! I think we could have done it in 8:30 or 8 if we had pushed the pace a bit more. Some of the lava fields get really tedious as you rock hop along. I used the opportunity to test out a new Salomon pack (XT Pro 14+3) which carries more gear and is larger then the XT Advanced Skin 5 pack. I think this new pack would be great for past packing an overnight trail. Hmmmm.....I'm in love with it anyways. I used my XT Wings as well, just wanting to take extra good care of my ankles and ensure that I didn't role. They seem to be getting stronger on a weekly basis. We finished the run by soaking our legs in the river at the parking lot - great way to end the day. Thanks Rinn for a great adventure!

I highly recommend running Mount St. Helens. It was an awesome day on the trails, I'm stoked that we finally did it! During the run I got inspired to tackle a few more trails, let's see what else I can fit in this year!

2012 on the mind

2011-08-14T07:03:00.001-07:00

Can't help it. Just as soon as I wrap up some races from the current season, my mind and curiosity starts to wonder about next year, what cool events might exist out there, what epic adventures I need to plan for and crap, how will I fit it all in?

I'm continually inspired by so many people and so many challenges that people take on. As a result, it's days like today (rainy Sunday's) that I find myself "looking on the net" and "researching ideas" and then usually, signing up for something or buying a plane ticket somewhere. Perhaps I'll sit tight for a while as really, I just want to enjoy some Squampton time BUT, maybe, just possibly, if you have a little suggestion of adventure epicness, email it my way!!!

Ultraman - Swim/Bike/Run

2011-08-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that my last "scheduled" race of the year has now come to an end! I have been so focused for the past 1/2 year, longer actually, come to think of it, considering that I trained right through the winter in prep for the Costa Rica race. This past weekend was Ultraman Canada and I gotta say, it feels like the weight of the world just lifted. I know that sounds a little dramatic but when you are not a good swimmer and you have to go and tackle 10km, it's a little daunting and it has weighed heavily on my mind for the past few months.A few things to note: First, I only just recently learned how to swim freestyle, as apparently doing breast stroke is not the way to race! However, I HATE pool swimming so I made the choice not to swim inside this winter (well, also a time issue as I was busy opening up my new Challenge By Choice Training Studio) and knew that all my training would be crammed into the few short months of lake swimming that were available. I did not have a very successful first triathlon back in June when I hit the Oliver 1/2 Ironman. I had the full panic attack in the water and feared that this would happen again at Ultraman. Second, I also chose to not train at all on roads or on flat terrain for the run. Because trail running is my priority and I had some goals to chase down in the mountains this summer, I didn't want to, nor have time to, run road and hence work on leg turnover and cadence. As a result, my hip flexors took a beating during the 84km run on day #3 of this race and I lacked the leg speed to go fast.

Let me get into what happened during Ultraman Canada:

Mary, Barb and I made the trip to Penticton early on Thursday morning. I had rented us a suite from Chris and Cathy - 2 local triathletes - in order to make sure that I got really good rest and could cook my own meals. After some meetings on Thursday, I got out that evening for a spin on my bike through the beautiful wine region! Good thing I did as my bike needed a bit of a re-adjustment from the travels. Thanks to Mary and Barb for being Crew Awesomeness, I got a great night's sleep, something that I was definitely needing after all of the Tour de France early mornings!Early Friday morning we drove down to Skaha lake so that I could get a feel for the water and put some of my nerves to rest. This really helped. The lake was super clear, flat and calm. Therefore, I was calm, too. There was am Ultraman welcome breakfast, a great opportunity to meet all the other athletes. This was followed by more sitting through meetings regarding the race course etc and how each stage would work. I snuck in a quick 25min easy jog just to loosen the legs in the early afternoon.

That evening, as I started to pack my gear, disaster struck! I realized I had a big hole in my wetsuit - OMG - never had this happened, didn't what to do!! I quickly find out that this is common with wetsuits as they have a lifespan of about 2 years. Hmmm, I've had my BlueSeventy one for about 6. Oooops! And yes, it was totally going into disintegration mode. Luckily Cathy was on the phone to help me with this and within an hour there were all kinds of wetsuits being dropped off for me. Tracey (bless her heart), last year's Ultraman female winner, came right over with a repair kit and helped me patch it!! C'mmon wetsuit - you just got to hold for 1 more swim - undoubtedly the biggest swim of my life!!! JF arrived later that evening too, as he was crew member #3. Being the awesome guy that he is, he had stayed to teach the last few classes of the week at CBC before driving out. JF would be my paddler in the morning and take care of my bikes, amongst a million other tasks! I decided that because we could only ride 1 bike, I would keep to what I was most comfortable on - my Cannondale Synapse (female road bike - awesome machine), and leave the Slice (top of the line Tri bike) as back up. I didn't think that I could hold aero for 270km on day #2 so I had to be smart about this.
RACE DAY - up at 4am - ready for the 10km swim followed by 150km bike! I went easy on my coffee which didn't seem to matter seeing as I still peed 2x during the swim. We got down to the start line at Skaha Beach, where we weighed in, got introduced by the legendary Steven King (voice of Ironman Canada) and took part in a really nice Ohana circle together. The start was super calm which is exactly what I needed. At 6:45am we were off. I started in waist deep water, took a breath and then just began to swim easily out. JF picked me up about 100m from the start and stayed by me for the entire 10km, holding the fastest line down the lake. There was nothing to navigate off of until the 8km buoy so it was critical that he stick to the compass and get me there without making me swim added miles. The lake was a great temperature. I had problems sealing my goggles which sucked but other then that, we just kept a steady pace from start to finish. At the 40min mark I began in-taking calories and liquid. I had pre-made my super Udo's Oil power smoothy and this worked great!! We had an assortment of other food in the boat as I really wasn't sure what I would want. JF would call me to the boat every 20mins thereafter and make me drink! It worked brilliantly and the key was staying on top of this from the get go! I had the best case scenario I could imagine and finished the swim in 3:30. YEAH me - hardest part over! Fears now gone - let's get on the bike and hammer! First things first - make the vertigo disappear before I could sit on my bike!

I spent the next 150km playing catch-up. I wasn't stressed about making up all the time in one go but rather, I just chipped away at it, knowing that if these ladies could all bike well, it would take me some time. My traps were killing me from the swim and I could barely wait for Pierre to give me a massage that night to relieve them. I completed the bike in just over 5hrs (due to a 7min swim to bike transition). This left me sitting in 5th place for women - 10mins to catch ladies #2, 3, 4 and 20mins outside of 1st place.Day #2 - long time on the bike with a 275km ride. Started out feeling great, legs firing well. As much as I didn't want to eat right away, I knew I had to start getting the calories in. My crew were doing awesome for me and I knew that Joni (the next female) was only 3mins behind me. She held this for the first 170km which means I couldn't stop for the bathroom, to apply sunscreen or anything! Finally, on the flat to rolling section from Keremos to Princeton, my decision to not ride my tri bike bit me in my aching butt! Joni passed me and all I could do was watch her ride away with her head down, in great form, as I battled the high winds. I did my best to make up as much time as I could on the 60km out-back section from Princeton to Alison Lake. After 9:45 of riding, I finished 8mins back of Joni but had moved into 2nd place female. Hard to believe that I didn't stop once, NOT ONCE that day, on my bike. I've never ridden 275km without giving myself a reason to stop (and trust me, I had a million reasons why I needed a break). With day #2 rapped up, I was feeling confident. The 8mins Joni had on me on the bike plus the 15mins from day #1 meant that I would go into the 84km run with a 23min deficit to her. Do-able I told myself over and over.
Day #3 - my day!!!! I had been waiting for the run day. The distance was nothing compared to what I am used to running but I knew that my lack of road running and flat terrain would catch up with me. The run started at 6am and I was focused from the get-go! By the 21km mark, I had made up those 23mins on Joni and so now we sat even. I continued to push as hard as I could, aiming to keep any stomach issues and heat issues at bay. By the 50km mark though, I was pretty worked, everything hurt including a bad cramp in my ass (something I had not experienced yet but must have been from the big bike miles.) I assumed, however, that if I was hurting, Joni would be. too. We were all hurting, just trying to push through. I tried to stay in the moment, tell myself that this was my last race for a long time and then I'd be on R+R. It worked to some degree. My crew were on me, motivating, encouraging and putting up with a grouchy runner!!! I have to laugh now looking back at some of things that I said (sorry guys, you rocked it.) Finally, as the finish line came near, I actually missed the turn and if it wasn't for my mom (who had surprised me by coming out to watch on day #2 - thanks mom - that was awesome) who knows where I would have finished!!! Anyways, it was a great feeling to be done and then we had to still wait out the next 23mins to confirm that I had indeed won. It was equally as great to watch Joni cross the line 40mins later - she is a rockstar, an amazing athlete!! She pushed me hard and made me stay focused, so my biggest congrats to her and the incredible athlete that she is!
(with male winner John Bergen at finish line)

I'm really happy with how the race went overall. I had been told over and over that for me, this race would be won on the run. People were right. Perhaps what I am most proud of, though, is my swim. Not the actual swim on the race course (ok I didn't drown, bonus!) but the journey to actually be able to swim 10km. I had put lots of time into the water and had made the effort to get out to Vernon as often as I could to swim with the Sellars and learn!!! I realized once again that when you want something bad enough, you will figure out ways to make it happen for yourself!

I owe some huge thanks to several people for this win. It was a team effort all the way. Mary, Barb and my co-coach at CBC, JF, were so awesome. Thankyou guys for being a part of this journey so that I could accomplish a bucket list item! Hats off to the Ultraman Canada staff - Steve Brown and his entire team. What a great, very well organized and special event. This was an experience of a lifetime for sure! Going back to the swim, thanks to my daily swim partner here in Squampton - Jenni Chancey - who taught me so much each time we went out. I watched her beautiful glide and did my best to mimic that!! Andrew and Ginny Sellars - you guys opened your house to me in Vernon all the time so that I could come and do swim camps with you! Thank you so much for the confidence that you instilled in me, continually telling me that I wasn't as bad at swimming as I felt! Sorry to say though, no more swim camps for a long, long time :) My best friend and partner Norm - words aren't enough - you've always given me the support that I need to chase these dreams. I'm equally as proud of you for how you inspire all of us through Standup4GreatBear and for going after your own race goals. I thought about you out there in the big waters of Hawaii as I tried to move myself through 10km of swimming :) Mom - awesome to have you travel all that way just to drive about and cheer!! You've always been my biggest fan and that means so much to me. And it goes without saying, thanks to all my athletes at CBC and around the world. We've built a great community of people who support one another no matter what each person's goals may be! I know you were cheering me on from back home! Thank you friends and family for the non-stop words and emails of encouragements - that goes further then you will ever know!Without a doubt, a huge key to success and recovery is found in a bottle and by that I mean my Udo's Oil. Smoothy after smoothy, during and post race, this was my magic!!! Thank you Flora for creating just an incredible product that I know is so critical to an athlete. Just ask my crew how many smoothies they had to make for me out there. Yikes!

Visual Realty - thanks for getting me to the start line of this one! With the expense of this race being huge, I often wondered how I could pull it all together!

Lastly, thank you to all my sponsors who support my dreams and goals through racing and adventures!!!! It has been a fabulous year!!

Photo Credit: Leslie Zednai

Pique NewMagazine Article:
http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=Sports&content=Segger+ultraman+1831

Ultraman

2011-07-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

1 week until Ultraman Canada gets underway! I feel more then ready to hammer out the bike and the run. My legs feel ready - they are telling me they want to go and get this race underway! The swimming however, well..... I just don't think that I will ever be ready for the 10km water section. I have though, put the time in and trained hard in the water. There has been many 5am swims. My technique has come so far in the past few months. I'm feeling much more efficient, confident and calmer when in the water. For me, the race will not start until I step out of the water at the end of Skaha Lake and continue on day #1 with the 150km bike section. After that, day #2 brings me 270km's of biking and lastly, 84km run on day #3.

I'm so lucky to have a great crew coming with me - Mary Betts, Barb Sweeny and coach JF will all be there helping me every step of the way! Its a team effort to get through this endurance event.

A special thanks goes out to Visual Realty and Udo's Oil (Flora Health) for all your support to enable me to stand on the startline of this one. I hope to make your proud! Cannondale has provided me with 2 rockets - the women's Synapse 3 and the Slice (now named "La Porsha"). Both bikes have just been in at Corsa Cycles so that my mechanic Pat could make sure they were running smooth.

I'm really excited to get to Penticton on Thursday. I'm healthy, I'm ready. After watching the Tour de France for the past few weeks, I feel motivated and inspired! It's go time starting next Saturday! More to come from Penticton!

Sinister 7

2011-07-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing injury year, I'm thankful to finally have been on the start line of this year's 148km Sinister 7 Ultra. I'd heard such great things about this event and with SOLE as a title sponsor of the race, I was determined to get there and experience the Crowsnest Pass area of BC/Alberta. However, in typical Jen fashion, I'd find a way to make an epic out of this somehow. So.....here is how Sinister 7 and the past few days have gone!

Thursday 7th - I intended to hit the road to Nelson where I would meet up with my crew and friend Randy Richmond for the night. However, delayed by the fact that I didn't want to miss watching the tour de France on tv with the Brackendale crew and enjoying one last americano paired with some "issues" at the the CBC studio (like the floor peeling up due to heat) my departure was delayed until mid-day which meant long ass drive across BC until about 9:30pm! I arrived at Randy's house and crashed hard, drained from the crazy week I'd already had.

Friday 8th - Ok - up early and down to Oso Negro for my long awaited coffee at my 2nd most favorite coffee shop in the world! I discovered their bean back at a Raid the North event and post race, you couldn't get me out of there. Randy and I did some final gear and food shopping and then it was back in the car for another 5hrs or so to Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta. After race registration and pre race meeting, it was back to the campsite for dinner! The winds were howling as we had an awesome chicken dinner tail gate party! Early bed but slept very little - the strong winds were blowing my trusty subaru around all night. Apparently Randy got no sleep either in his truck!Saturday 9th - 5am wake-up, coffee and oatmeal at the campsite. I was so ready to get on this race course and burn off some energy. Travel days make me stir crazy. I was keen to get into the mountains! 7am race start and the energy was awesome. Some 100 + solo runners and over 1100 people on relay teams were ready to roll!

As usual, I seem to re-call very little of the race course. For the first 3 legs, I ran with an extremely elevated heart rate which was very strange given the pace I was running at. I was thinking that perhaps I was fighting a bug or something. I walked lots of the hills and chatted with a new ozzie friend out there. Nice to have the company seeing as on each leg, the relay racers just continued to pass the solo's. It was a little demoralizing in an expected way as they all had very fresh legs. Anyways, I just tried to keep pace with a few of the guys and stay relaxed. I dunked my hat and head at every stream I came across. The Salomon skins pack worked like a charm to keep me hydrated without feeling the weight of the water. Each leg had its challenges but that was fine by me. A hill is a hill and if we all have to go up the same hill, then its all good!!! Randy called out my predicted next leg time as I came through each of the 6 TA's. I was so lucky to have access to my magic smoothy every time as it keeps the body in a good groove. Leg 5 was probably the most challenging for me as the grade of the hills got super steep. Known as the "Seven Sisters" the climbs were relentless. I was so lucky to have some poles given to me by the wonderful Cindy Hartford that my pace increased near the end of the leg. The sun went down and I settled into 2 final legs of running in the dark. Body was feeling ok, not great but more then anything, my #1 priority remained for this race - keep the ankle healthy. I never pushed the downhills and instead just cruised them and watched my footing. I wore the Salomon S-Labs for this race, the low profile shoe turned out to be a great choice. Total ankle stability, I felt great. Leg 7 was my least favorite of the entire race course due to the amount of flat pavement running into town to the finish line. Sorry but just not a fan of that hard stuff. However, it was awesome to see Randy, Cindy and her husband Brian waiting for me near the end. Lots of relay folks still around at 3am in the morning - pretty cool!

Overall, Sinister 7 was a great experience. The RD's put on a fabulous, very well organized event. I have no complaints on how the course was marked - solid from start to finish. Lots of aid stations and great volunteers out there! I highly recommend this event either as one heck of a solo challenge or as a really fun team event. Maybe we will send a CBC team there next time!

I didn't meet my goal of running sub 19hrs so I'm a little upset with that. I know that was very attainable for me to do and I have some personal suggestions on how I can make that happen next time. I finished 1st for the ladies, breaking the course record by nearly 2.5hrs. This put me 8th overall against the guys!

Race Stats and Results can be found here on the Sinister 7 page.
Congrats to everyone out there and thankyou for all the support!

Sunday 10th - I finished at 3am and by the time I enjoyed a shower and post race beer, it was 4am. I had a crappy sleep back in my car until about 6am, waking up every few minutes to hack up a lung. Randy was so great, making me coffee, helping me sort gear and pack up etc and then we went out and enjoy a great breakfast before the awards. However....no time to chill, I had a flight to catch. I jetted from Crowsnest up to Calgary, parked the car, grabbed a new set of run clothes and rushed into the airport to grab a flight down to Vegas!!! It was time for me to crew for the wonderful Mary Betts at her Badwater debut. I was so excited. I arrived into Vegas at 8:30pm, hobbled through the airport, met up with crew members Michelle and Kay and traveled down to Death Valley, CA to meet up with the rest of the team Mary Betts. OMG - long day! It was 12:30am before I got to bed as we sorted through the last bit of logistics of the race.

Monday 10th - Mary had a 6am start time down in the Badwater Basin! For the next 40hours, myself and her crew worked hard to motivate, hydrate, fuel and help her achieve her race goals!!! As drained as I was, Mary motivated me so much that day. I am the proudest coach in the world right now, so rare to get to work with someone for so long and be with them through training, the race and right to the finish line. Mary got the job done as I always knew she would. Having done Badwater back in '08, I knew what she was going through every step of the way. She didn't waiver, she remained focused and driven. I put my shoes on to run with her as often as I could, it seemed to help bring down the leg swelling and once I took a few steps with her, the pain settled. I've got great memories of watching Mary burn down the back side of Towne's Pass at midnight as we made our way to Panamint Springs. I will write another blog soon on my Badwater experience thoughts, feelings and experience.

Tuesday 11th - Mary reached the Mt. Whitney portal at 10:20pm or so on Tuesday after 40hrs of running! We celebrated with her for the few minutes that you are allowed and then descended back down to Lone Pine for late night taco's.
Wednesday 12th - coffee, breakfast and gear cleaning! 2 dirty vans that needed attention. We then loaded up and hit the road back to Las Vegas. What a shocker to go from the middle of nowhere to the lights and crazyness of Vegas - not a good contrast. Anyways, we rallied up and headed out for an amazing dinner at Taos to the Venitian Hotel where Mary treated us to an incredible dinner and dining experience. After saying goodbye to the crew, Paul and I journeyed out to Lake Mead so that come sunrise, I could get a quick little SUP session in before my flight.

Thursday 13th - yup, early it was! The things we do in order to play. I really wanted to hit the SUP board before traveling. Paul and Super K own a fabulous little spot right on the lake, not surprising seeing as these 2 like to play more then me! Paddle, breakfast as we watched the end of the tour and back to Las Vegas airport! By 11am I was in the air, bound for Calgary. Grabbed the car, got some gas and put pedal to the medal with only a brief stop in Canmore to see Phil Villeneuve and grab a coffee. I cranked up the sirius radio that Norm so kindly installed before I left and just enjoyed an incredible evening of driving through the Rockies until I finally reached Vernon at 10:30pm. Exhausted I arrived at the Sellars house and swapped recent stories (them off of BC Bike Race and Trans Alps and my Sinister) before crashing hard!

Friday 14th - Morning swim! Ultraman is 2 weeks away and I have work yet to do. After a great water session, it was onto Kelowna where I'm spending the entire day coaching and catching up with athletes. Thanks to my friends Dustin and Brandy for the house to stay at. Tomorrow JF and I will be riding in the 115km RBC Grand Fondo road race - can't wait!!

So there you have it! Sleep is seriously over-rated! Its amazing what you can do in a day when you don't given in to the closing eye lids! Looking forward to a Sunday wedding down in Washington and then to getting back to life at CBC and all the amazing peeps that I get to coach!

GOOD NIGHT!

Sinister 7

2011-07-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Go time here in Nelson, BC as my support crew Randy and I do the last bit of packing and gear prep before making the final 5 hr drive to Crowesnest this afternoon! After one last spin on the bike yesterday morning and a bit of things to wrap up at the studio so JF could look after things, I was in the car, loaded for 10 days of adventure, as I made the trip Eastward. I arrived into Nelson at 9pm and hit the hay, sleeping until 8am this morning! Yes, on occasion, I do rest!! First things first this morning, down to Oso Negro coffee house for my long anticipated coffee! LOVE LOVE LOVE that place and their great beans and will stop their again for one more coffee for the road in an hours time. Ok, sorry, back to task at hand:

YES - we are on our way to Sinister 7, a 148km ultra race in the East Rockies. Crowsnest Pass is essentially right on the BC-Alberta border. I'd signed up for this race last year and then due to injuries, had to withdraw. However, THIS year, if the ankle holds, I'm feeling very ready to go and have a great experience. The race starts on Saturday morning, 7am. You will be able to follow the race via the "Sinister 7" facebook page so please join. All going well with cell reception, Randy will also be posting to my facebook page and trying to upload pictures when he can.

My personal goals for this race - not role my ankles, do a better job of eating and drinking, take time to look around and see the scenery and run a sub 20hr race with 19 as the main goal. We are going to keep the crewing strategy basic - I've told Randy that as long as there is hot coffee in my little mug I will be happy. I will run with the Salomon Skins Pack and alternate 2 of them throughout the race so that I can minimize transition time.

I will be off the race course sometime early Sunday morning and then I have to drive right to Calgary to catch a flight to Las Vegas! It's Badwater time and I'm honored and excited to crew and pace for my long time athlete Mary Betts who is about to have her first Badwater experience. Mary starts at 6am Monday morning for her 135 mile journey so I will do what I do best, run beside her sleep deprived and share with her every last bit of energy that I can muster up!

Onwards folks, time to hit the car again! We will do our best to keep you updated from the road!

Scorched Sole

2011-07-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

In final prep for Sinister 7 this coming weekend, I headed to Kelowna to take part in the Scorched Sole 50km ultra a few weekends ago. I'd been trying to get out to Dan's race for several years now and after hyping it up to me when he joined us for Team Canada in Costa Rica, I really wanted to make the effort to get there for some trail running in the heat and to support his race. Dan, Tammy and Shirley work really hard all year to design a NEW course every year and the return rate of the runners is super high. This was my second weekend of racing back to backs (after being in Quebec for the Ultimate XC the weekend before that) so I was a bit unsure of how I would feel. I decided that the 50miler wasn't necessary and thought that just having some time on my feet would be great. Kelowna has a surprisingly FABULOUS trail running network and I look forward to returning to the Scorched Sole in the years ahead. Thanks Dan and crew for great experience!
Here is the article that appeared in the Whistler Pique:
http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_Sports&content=Segger+1826

PS - ankle update - I taped up and it held!!! I will do the same for Sinister 7.

Ultimate XC

2011-06-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Experiencing Quebec's Trail Running Scene

I thought that I might have made it out to Quebec's Ultimate XC race last year but due to the nagging injuries that I was having back then, it made no sense to head East. This year however, I was determined not to miss it and my opportunity to see Mount Tremlant on the 58km course. I'd heard it was going to be narly, super technical and that I should be prepared for a long day of running. In the big picture, participation at this race would be great training for the Sinister 7 Ultra in July.

I set myself up for a bit of a training camp in order to tie all my goals together. I've been needing swim time and swim help with Ultraman being only 6 weeks away now. I wanted some sunny weather to ride my bike in and I needed time on my feet for the 148km Sinister. I decided that I needed to head to "Camp Sellars" in Vernon - the perfect place to bike and swim at being that their house is situated right on the lake and in prime road cycling country. It would also give me a chance to catch up with Andrew and Ginny and pick their brains about all things "tri" related.

I packed up the car with loads of gear last Tuesday and made my way out to the Okanagan. Unfortunately, I missed my evening swim and instead, spent the night with my feet up catching up on some coaching. Wednesday was a great day of training as I did a morning swim with Ginny beside me on the SUP board, a great road ride and then another evening swim in a stormy lake with Andrew. This was great for the confidence and for me to practice all those things that I hated about my 1/2 ironman in Oliver. Thursday morning I was up at 5am for a little speed work on the road to flush my legs before driving to Kelowna airport and hopping on my flight bound for Montreal.
Fellow Salomon Flight Crew team mate Phil Villeneueve was there to meet me and drive us the 2hrs to Tremblant that evening. Phil won the 58km race last year and was a huge help in providing me with course knowledge and terrain for Saturday's race. We spent Friday doing some pre course scouting so that I could build the mental image of the route and come up with a bit of a game plan. The number one challenge I was nervous about was how my ankle was going to hold up. Phil warned me of how technical (off road, not really a trail, more like just following flagging) the first part of the race would be. We would then head for about 3km up a river bed bringing us to CP1 at 15km. My dilemma was this: do I tape my ankle from the start to provide support but do I risk getting sand and silt into the tape and then having to race like that for another 40km. Hmmmm

The remainder of Friday was super relaxed as I got to meet all the Eastern Salomon crew. Fun group of people to be around and to learn more about their world of trail running.Following dinner, it was back to the chalet to figure out clothing, pack and shoe choices. I decided after much debate to not tape my ankle and to just hope that if I stayed focused enough, I might get through that initial section and up the river sprain free. I decided to start in the Speedcross and then change into my S-Lab's for the last 43km. I went with the 1 bottle waistbelt to start and then planned to change into the skins pack at the 15km mark when I saw Phil.Saturday came early but being that we were so close to the start line, it was stress free. 5am awaken for cofffee and oatmeal. Back to bed from 5:30am - 6am. Shower at 6:15am, clothes on, out the door, start line for 6:40am. Race start 7am.

Within 30mins of the race, my heart rate had settled and I was cruising. I was only just slightly behind the lead males and was really enjoying the navigation of the flagged out trail while 4 other runners sat on my heels as I led the way through the forest. Suddenly, it was all over as I went over hard on my left foot, my worst nightmare coming true at 6km. I persevered on but my pace dropped by about 30%. We entered the river which was fun (really adventure racing like) but I had to be so cautious. I saw Phil at 15km and changed my shoes, telling him that I was now in for a long day ahead. The one thing though I WAS and COULD still focus on was going to be my calories. I didn't need a repeat of what happened in Australia when I went into pain management mode or this race would end up being 3x as long for me.

Off I went, climbing to to the top of the mountain on some grown over double track trails and descending back down to the 25km mark. Phil told me I was only 15mins back of the lead guys, not bad I thought but it was then that my race took a turn for the worse! The next 20km was a loop from hell. I don't think I could have gone any slower if I tried. There was a very faint trail somewhere beneath the deadfall, leaves and rocks. I ran with another Quebecer but our conversation was limited. As focused as I was, I missed some flagging and made a 20min error off course. Pair this with a fatigued ankle, when I finally hit the 7hr mark, I was still 14km from the finish line! Unreal. I knew that if I had been healthy and un-injured that 7hrs was a very attainable FINISH time for me. Never mind that, I just had to get to the end now. There would be no new PB or record set today. With 10km to go, I saw Phil again, just as we crested up to the top of Tremblant one last time. It was a 9km technical descent down to the finish line and yet again, I managed a 8min error by going off course! WTF was going on!!!! I never go off course - this clearly was not my day. Anyways, I got my head back into the game, told my ankle to smarten up and get me home as I just focused on the finish line.

Despite missing my goal time by over 1hr30mins, I had really enjoyed my time at the Ultimate XC. 1st place is nice but not when it doesn't come with a good performance! I think that is what I am still so hung up on. I had set goals for myself and when they aren't met, I feel like I've really let myself down. My fitness has been at an all time high and I had been ready for this race. Now, both Australia and the Ultimate XC had not gone as planned and I have an ankle injury that is going to need some serious attention. I want to perform, not just run. I'm eager to go back to this race again when I am 100%, I'll be eager to re-test myself!

I flew back to Kelowna on Sunday morning, arriving into Vernon just in time to congratulate Norm on his 1st place at the Kalavida Classic SUP race. We chilled for the afternoon before he left and I remained in Vernon. I hit the bike on Monday with Ginny for a great ride up through Predator Ridge followed by a lake swim and then repeated the same workouts on Tuesday before driving home. My 7 day training camp was complete and I was happy to have been able to put a race in the middle of it.

My plan of attack now is to tape for my future races, including the Scorched Sole 50miler this weekend and Sinister 7 on the 9th of July. I'm busy pumping my Udo's Oil right now to try to help with recovery and I've got a series of exercises to strengthen all the little foot stabilizers from Coach Andrew. I love running more then anything, I just want to be healthy.

Sinister is only 2 weeks out now and I feel confident that if I can manage the ankle, I can have a great day out there!

ONWARDS, the ankle will just have to deal!

My first Triathlon

2011-06-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's funny how many people continuously ask me how many triathlons I've done or what my Ironman time is. Well the truth is, I've never done a tri until the past weekend when I hit the Oliver 1/2 Ironman as a way to finish up a great week of training. I was originally hoping to have climbed Mr. Rainer with my team mates of "nuun Sport Multi" and then hussle back across the border in time to collect my race package. However, after several emails to the race directors asking about a late package pick-up and getting no response, I realized that I might be cutting it a bit too close. So instead, I declined on Rainier and drove Saturday morning to Oliver to check in and get sorted.

I've never had much interest in triathlons purely because I love off-road racing and the freedom of the trails. I enjoy working with tri-athletes though, as the principals of training don't change and the multi-sport world just keeps everything super interesting! One of my athletes was racing this weekend so it was a great opportunity to see him in action and learn a bit more about "tri-athlon" in terms of all the do's and don't do's on the race course. The weather in Oliver was super hot and it was great to get out for a swim and to test some new goggles and to ride a bit of the course. We spent Saturday evening watching the hockey game and then I retreated to my campground for the night, having the greatest sleep in the back of the old Subaru!

5am Saturday morning I got up, ate my oatmeal, banana and dried fruit and then headed over to the TA to set up my bike and get ready. I was feeling good and full of energy. I was in the 2nd wave start at 7:07 with all the women. Now......not being a great swimmer and never having swum with hundreds of people, I was a little nervous. I positioned myself on the far right hand side. However, I only made it out about 100m before a full panic attack set in. All I could see was hands and water flying, people were on top of me. My heart rate went through the roof: it was my nightmare come true. I thought seriously about turning around for fear of drowning. But then, I took control of myself. I started to breast stroke, calmed myself down and did that for about the next 600m. I just knew that I would be out there for a LONG LONG TIME. Sure enough, I eventually got my own water to swim in and I settled down and actually swam. 44mins later (10mins off what I knew I could do) I was out of the water, charging through the TA and onto the bike.

My new Cannondale Slice had only just arrived the week before. Thanks to Dave and the Corsa Cycles team, we had done a few bike tweaks and adjustments to get me comfortable on this fast machine but I had no idea if I could hold aero position for 90km. However, I got on the bike and felt amazing!!! I put the shitty swim out of my mind and then just focused on the job at hand. I had to put time on the bike and start catching people. I had a great ride. I ate and I drank, I climbed the few small hills well and I pushed big gears on the flats. My confidence was up for staying in aero on the descents. I actually didn't even care if I were to launch off my bike, I just wanted to fly!!!! I was about 6mins slower then I thought I would be on the bike but that's ok, it was onto the run. I came up less then 5mins slower then the top females! I'll take it, all things considering.

My pure goal on the run was not too be passed by anyone! I found my running legs at about 5km into the 21km. I felt relaxed, the breathing settled and because there were people all around, I just started to give 'er. My pace increased each Km and by 15km in, I was wishing that I had another 20km to run because for me, that is just when I start to feel good. I really disliked the flat road though...where are my hills?!!! Anyways, I ran strong to the finish, 10mins slower then the winning female but not too far off the other women. Decent.

Just a great way for me to complete a 19 hr training week. Can't help but wonder, had I actually been fresh, how different the race would have gone! I for sure need focus time on the swim though but luckily, the Ultraman 10km will be nothing like that! I've got a great support network of friends here in Squamish who are helping me with this swim aspect.

Thanks to Volker and Jane for a great weekend. Congrats to all the other CBC athletes who hit the Whistler 1/2 marathon too, your excited post race emails were on my mind throughout this race!

Next up? All my attention turns to final prep for the Ultimate XC race in Montreal's Mount Tremblant in 2 weeks time! I'm really looking forward to seeing the extremely tough course that awaits. We also have our Women's Running + Conditioning Camp in Tofino this coming Fri-Sun and I can't wait to meet everyone on the west coast for a great time!

Busy busy, as usual :)

Two Times the Love

2011-05-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Time flies by as always in my world. Hard to believe that our Salomon International trip was 1 week ago. I returned home with 2 sprained ankles but I must say, I am healing very fast and feel positive about the rest of 2011 ahead.

I wasted no time in getting back to training. Thankfully I have this huge race coming up in 2 months called Ultraman and it's going to require some serious time on the bike! Thank you to Cannondale for their sponsorship and coming on board with me to help me along the journey to this Ultraman goal. I am in love with my 2 new rides and look forward to the bond I am building with them already. The bulk of my training will be on the Cannondale Synapse road bike and I will start to build my confidence on the Cannondal Slice tri bike starting next week. Corsa Cycles is just finishing my bike fit. As my ankles heel, riding will be the perfect cross train. I was actually so excited to hit the bikes that I added some extra time onto this past weekend to train in Vernon and Salmon Arm, BC when I was out that way for a good friend's wedding in Kelowna. Awesome riding to be had in the interior of BC and nice mentally to look at some new terrain.I have run a few times since the TNF100km course, each time with the focus on my foot placement. The trails are in great shape in Squamish right now so it really is hard to stay off of them. I'm back to hitting the C3 classes at the studio when JF and Nicola are teaching. Love actually being able to work out with all my clients and I need the strength component as I prepare for Ultraman.

While I am missing the world of adventure racing right now, I think it's a good choice to have that mental break. All things pending how the year goes, I might be able to pull off a race or 2 with my team (nuun Sport Multi) later this year. In saying that, this coming weekend is the annual MOMAR and because I am not race director this year, I am headed to its new location in Burnaby to race with team Raid the North Extreme. Should be a good time, nothing serious, just a play day on the trails.

Next trail race for me? Looks like I'm headed to Montreal in June to race at the Ultimate XC 56km event. Really excited to see this race course - I hear it's super narly, which of course, captured my attention! I will be joining some of my fellow Salomon Canada team mates for this event.

Oh and tonight??? First swim in Alice Lake - ONWARDS!!!!

3 days away from race START

2011-05-10T18:05:00.001-07:00

I've had limited access to internet while here in Oz due to a combined issue with my computer and the hotel connection. My apologies for not being able to update sooner, I am actually posting this blog from a friends computer so.....no pics to go with!

Anyways, I arrived into Sydney after a rather painless flight on Saturday morning. I managed to sleep 10 of the 14hrs on the plane which was great. It has taken me though 3 full days to really get my sleep and energy levels back on par. We are very fortunate to have a great group of people here with the team to make this all happen including Frosty (Anna) and Adam Chase as our managers and co-ordinators. Luckily too we have team therapists Angie and Jamie to keep us healthy with regular massage as needed. In addition, we have full support from Salomon Australia and they are doing a terrific job of showing us their country and providing opportunities for us to interact with different members of their team Down Under.

On Sunday, the crew was really keen to hit some mountain trails so we made a day trip to the Blue Mountains and put some miles down on the actual race course. That was great as it gave us all a sense of what to expect on Saturday. I had hoped for WAY more elevation gain and technical single track but that is not too be the case. This looks like a rather fast course, lots of fire road and minimal single track. However.....for what the course lacks in terrain type, I think it will make up for in stunning views!!

Monday and Tuesday were spent at some of the local retailers and being apart of a fun Corporate Day where everyone got to run in the new Crossmax shoe and have a preview of the new Killian's Quest Video from his Kilimanjaro experience. I joined Adam and Jamie for a really great run yesterday morning down to the Botanical Gardens and the Opera House - no better way to see the city then through a morning run when the streets are quiet, the sun is out and its only the local running crowd. My ankle is slowly healing, thanks to daily massage from Angie, but I decided that this morning I'd join Julia for a swim session cross training workout. Later today we are headed to Manly Beach for an ocean side trail run which should be really nice!

Thursday we are leaving the city and heading back to the Blue Mountains - time to get focused and rested up for Saturday! You will be able to follow the race live at the race website:
www.thenorthface.com.au/100

Oh, and perhaps a huge highlight for me is arriving tomorrow - my friend of over 10 years, Jo is flying into Sydney and joining us for the race as crew! This is so exciting for me!!! Jo recently moved back to Oz half a year ago and there has been a huge void on my life. We've been through everything together, a friendship that has never waivered. Jo has come to countless events with me, given unselfishly to my dreams and helping me succeed. When ever I've needed a late night driving partner so that I could make a race start line by 6am, she was there. She came with the team to Badwater and ran her first 21km. Jo has always given me that balance in my life and I've missed her dearly. I'm so excited to see her here tomorrow and to get a few days to catch up! If only time allowed for me to see her family and friends back in Melbourne......I suppose that will be another trip...........

TNF100k - Last few prep days

2011-05-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

(me at the finish line but not with my official race time -
I just wanted a picture under the banner)

Training has been going fairly well these last few months and I feel like things are coming together well. I did however, sprain my ankle a few week ago during a dusk trail run. I wasn't paying attention and for some reason, went over HARD on my right side. I've tried to brush it off with lots of ice and massage, a protocol that seemed to be working well up until Tuesday. I was flying down a trail, happy as can be during a sunny evening run, when I really messed it up bad by rolling it again. The tendons and ligaments are now fully stretched, I lack stability big time and every little rock that I seem to misplace my foot on lets me know. However, we are now just 2 weeks away from the big 100km race in Australia making last week and this week key training time. (my 1st place finish prize - LOVE it - they must have known I was coming)

So what did I do?? I got a massage on Friday by Laura, went and got taped by Lindsay at SkyHighLifestyles that afternoon and then drove down to southern Washington in the evening so I could camp out and take part in yesterdays Capitol Peaks 55km Ultra. I didn't want to miss out on a final tempo paced run of that length so instead of the RICE principal, I thought that the MICE protocol would be a better (mobility, ice, compression, elevation.)

Perhaps not one of the most brilliant things that I have ever done but I knew that I wanted one last hard workout and some trail distance before this race and it had to be THIS weekend. I had a good run overall, but the 14hours of training during the week caught up to me around 40km. I was pretty tired as I dug deep with lots of self talk to re-find my motivation and zip in order to make it to the finish line. It was a good thing I had gotten my ankle taped as I jammed it about 6 times during the run. I was forced to cruise the downhills so to not twist my ankle. I completed the race in 5hrs12mins, a lot slower then I had hoped but given the circumstance, I won't stress it too much. I finished 1st for women, 2nd overall. Oh, and I think after now re-looking at the race website, I broke the womens course record as well by 10mins or so.

The highlight for me was getting to meet one of my athletes that I am coaching for Western States this year. Jerry Peters, a Washington runner, hit up the 50miler. We ran the first 30km of the course together (having never met before, he just looked "for the girl wearing salomon" - I had to laugh - at the start line.) He has been training very hard and with so much focus, I feel very confident as Western approaches in just over 6 weeks. Congrats Jerry on breaking your 8hr goal time (7:52 is solid.)

Team Salomon leaves for Oz this coming Thursday. We will arrive with plenty of time to rest up and nuke the time zone bug. I ran with my new Lab pack at this race but don't think I will be able to use it in Oz as the mandatory gear requirements are pretty heavy. I'll be bringing both the Speedcross (which is the shoe I just raced in at the Capitol Peaks race) and the S-Lab with me and will decide when I get there which shoe to use.

More updates to come in the final days before we leave. Life at the CBC studio is getting really busy as I try to find that balance between my work that I love and the trails that call my name.

Onwards.........

Adventure Racing Radio Interview

2011-04-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

It was my pleasure to spend some time talking to Mark Arnold of AR Radio a few weeks ago.
Here is the interview that I did on his website, www.adventureracer.ca

http://www.adventureracer.ca/Adventure_Racer/Podcast/Entries/2011/4/5_AR_Radio_Episode_14_-_Jen_Segger.html

Hope each of you has some great adventures in the months ahead!

The Door 2 Trail Tour

2011-04-14T15:27:00.001-07:00

Good times last night in Nanaimo at FrontRunners where the first stop on Salomon's DOOR 2 TRAIL across Canada tour officially started. For the next month and a half, the demo fleet of the new XR Crossmax shoe will be making its way from the West to the East of the country, stopping in various towns so people can experience Salomon's new hybrid shoe.Visit www.salomonflightcrew.com and click on Door2Trail Demo Tour to find the date and location nearest you. There are lots of prizes to be given out, including the Suunto T6 watch that many of us use for training and an entry into the TransRockies 6 day running race. Stop in and say hi to Phil and Munny as the tour moves onwards.

Here, there and Squamish Everywhere

2011-04-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

Had an awesome past week of training. We had some sunny days so I loaded those up with trail time and then I found creative ways to make the rainy sessions a little more fun. I'm now 3 weeks out from my departure to Australia where 6 of us from Team Salomon are headed down to participate in The North Face 100km on May 14th/15th. I'm looking forward to seeing the Blue Ridge Mountains once again, just north of Sydney. Since graduating from University up in Northern Oz, I've been fortunate to return to the country a few times for various races. However, I haven't been back to really explore this particular area so I think its going to be pretty exciting. We will arrive 1 week early to shake out the travel bugs and rest up. More on that race as the final prep week continues.I'm currently using The Chief several times a week to get my climbing legs dialed in. Ted and his crew did such a great job this winter on fixing the trail that it is super FAST now. In fact, I now have to combine routes to #1 and #2 to get my desired workout in. I've been mixing in lots of cycling as well. Between CompuTrainer sessions, teaching spin and then getting out on for my first Friday night Corsa Cycles ride last week, the hours are adding up. We had the first Squamish Trail Running Club sessions as well on Tues and Saturday so that has been nice hit the dirt with the group. Then on Sunday, there was a Tenderfoot Race training run so I joined a small crew and made the 30km run from Brohm Lake to Black Tusk Village a little more pleasant in the rain. The snowy puddles actually felt good on the legs but I think its safe to say, this is going to be a cold and wet Spring.

Onwards.........

Coyote 2 Moon "rained out" Race Report

2011-03-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that my race this past weekend got cut short by 18miles, I had an incredible experience at one of the 100milers that had always been on my "must get to" list.
I flew down late Thursday night, arriving into LAX at midnight, got picked up by Cat, crew person extrodinaire, and made the drive up to Ventura where we arrived at the hotel by 3am. Bruce Grant, a friend and ultra runner from Vancouver, was already long asleep in his room so we just came in quietly and crashed. Friday was a very relaxed race check-in, lunch and some course briefings up in Ojai. The Patagonia running team was there in full force and entertained us with a song and all kinds of strange awards were handed out. This is one of the strangest and most fun events that I have ever been to. Only a few of us are really there to race, most people are there because it's such a fun weekend. Bruce, Cat and I spent the afternoon at the Ojai Coffee Roasting Co (surpise surprise) just hanging out and relaxing. I fell asleep in the back of Cat's pathfinder at 9pm that night.

Much to my dislike, it was a 2:15am wake-up call and to the race start line by 3am. I had originally been slated for a 5am start-time but due to a recent hip flexor flare up in the days prior, I wanted that little bit of extra time in case I had to walk more then I expected. Some people had started as early as 2pm prior the day before and then there was 6pm, 9pm, 12pm midnight, 3am, 5am and then even a 10am for speedsters like Karl Meltzer who would annihilate the course. My goal was to see how far into the course I could get before Karl and Justin Engle caught me. There was 6 or 7 runners in my start time. We instantly began the long trail that climbed up to the ridge. Roch Horton led the climb and I just sat on his heels, settling into things. As we neared the top, I took the lead and that was the last time I got to run with a group of people. I was on my own, in my own world for the remainder of the race.

The race profile was really unique as well. There is one long ridge that we kept running up to and then descending off of again. Picture a spider. We would run a single track trail up (climbs that took anywhere from 1.5 to 2hrs) to a aid station on the ridge, then descend back down another trail (lasting anywhere from 45mins to 1hr) to another aid station/crew at the bottom. It was a great format because you'd constantly see other runners going the opposite direction. It helped to know exactly where you were in terms of placement. It also kept me extremely motivated to try to catch the runners who had earlier start times. Bruce had started at 12am and I was on a mission to find him on the trail :)

I was having the best race that I've ever had which actually amazed and surprised me. I attribute this to the strong base that was built from training and racing in Costa Rica at the TCC end of January. My heart rate was so low and my power walking was strong. The hip flexor issue didn't make a peep, I was eating and drinking continuously, Cat had my check-points down to 3mins and I was just in that euphoric "runners zone". As I came in, Cat had my smoothie ready (ha - I had even brought my small bullet blender down with me on the plane) which was a water/rice milk base with Vega, Udo's Oil, banana's and fruit. I'd leave the aid station with my re-fill of nuun and a turkey/avocado/red pepper wrap in my hand.

Now, I have to be honest, since returning home from Costa Rica and launching the new studio, I hadn't run for more then 1hr at at time. Long work days just wasn't allowing it. I did spend the past 1 month doing a great deal of biking. Teaching 5-6 spin classes a week plus being up in the Lab on the compu-trainer kept building my endurance without the impact of any running. It seemed to have work but I think that the sudden increase in cycling caused the hip flexor flare up (shortened range of motion from running) so perhaps once I hit the trails at C2M, it was able to stretch and lengthen again and made it better? Hmmm.

As the day passed, I just kept moving hard. We had gusts of snow up on the ridge and periods of rain. With each ascent and descent, I put a little more time on Hannah, the second place female, who I later found out had won this years Hurt 100. I was motivated to keep moving. I found Bruce and Howard at an aid station up on the ridge but had to just keep pushing onwards. As night fell and it got dark, the rain began to increase, the fog set-in and it was blowing pretty good up high. I didn't care though. At my last check-point at Gridle Creek where I saw Cat, I grabbed my Salomon Minim rain pants (thank god I put those in last minute) and my jacket (which I had just Nikwaxed 2 weeks prior, this worked like a charm), put my earphones in, my head down and charged onwards. I started to make my way back to Gridle top, a long climb to the aid station. I didn't care how cold I was or how much rain was falling. I was going to that finish line and I planned to be there in 3hrs. I arrived at the CP tent only to be told by Chris, the RD, that the race was now CANCELED due to the bad weather, hypothermic racers etc and I was to head back down the same trail I just took up. AHHHHHHHHH I couldn't believe it but rather then argue, I knew that was the end so I embarked on a very slow descent back to the bottom, taking with me some volunteers and other racers who weren't feeling so well.

As I walked, I pondered what had just happened. Here I was, having a great race, enjoying every step, had put 1hr on Hannah and was on track for breaking the womens course record. I felt awesome! I had 18 more miles to go and that would have been it! I had done all the hard work, there was simply a ridge run to the next CP and then a 1hr descent to the finish line. Devastated is not even a word that explains.

So with 82miles completed, I got some sleep in Cat's truck again until about 8am. We then hit up the Coffee Co one more time before making the drive back to LA. The rain continued to pour all day, never letting up. California got hit with a massive amount of water in a 24hr period, something I don't think they are too used to. However, those of us hailing from the great lands of BC, know all about this rain and so it felt pretty normal. Dress appropriately, wear the right shoes (oh yes, I raced in the Salomon Speedcross and it was ideal) and you will be just fine.

Reflecting back now though, my C2M experience was fabulous. It was fun, the volunteers were awesome, the shwag bags terrific, aid station food well stocked with options, unreal trails and the spirit of trail running was alive! A great weekend away, I highly recommend.

Disappointed I didn't get my belt buckle but none-the-less, had 82miles of fantastic running on a rainy March weekend. I got to spend some time with my good friends Bob + Jennifer, co-founder of Impossible2Possible on the Sunday night. Thanks to Cat for all your hard work once again and giving up a weekend to spend with me in Ojai.

It's now full force ahead as I join my fellow Salomon athletes in May for a trip to Australia to race at the NorthFace 100km.

Coyote 2 Moon 100mile Ultra

2011-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

So here I am, back to one of my most favorite training grounds, California! I swear I’m meant to own a house here at some point in my lifetime, it just hasn’t happened yet! In the mean time, I never turn down an opportunity to come down here to train and race, see some friends, eat some Mexican food and take in a little sunshine!

I’ve looked at this race for a long time now but it never fit the schedule. Coyote 2 Moons is this crazy race where just trying to de-code the race directors emails for the past 3 months has been a challenge. It has a reverse staggered start meaning that we seed ourselves based on predicted finish time with the fastest runners starting last. FABULOUS! I got the last start time, leaving little time for any error. It should be a good time on the trails though, I expect to see runners constantly including the 100 milers who started before me and the 100km runners who will have slightly fresher legs.

My good friend Cat Mills is crewing for me again which is awesome. She always rocks the crew department and having traveled to many of my races including Badwater, she knows what I need out there. Sadly though, we are not allowed pacers. I’ve had so many Californian friends and team mates offer to come run with me but it’s too bad that I’m on my own for this one. Vancouverite Bruce Grant will be running his 4th C2M race so I look forward to running with him out there!

More to come tomorrow after the race briefing. We are headed up to Ojai tonight and then tomorrow will race prep and sleep. I have a 3am start time on Saturday morning!

Dirty Duo Race Report

2011-03-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest on this one. Each year the Dirty Duo race rolls around and each year I enter, I wonder why I do it. With the trails covered in snow and ice here in Squamish, it’s been hard to get any sort of quality mileage and workouts logged since getting home from Costa Rica. My runs for the past 4 weeks have mostly been on pavement which for me, is less then ideal. It’s been a crazy snow year and I’ve been itching to hit the trails. It rains every year at the Dirty Duo race but I suppose that is March running here on the coast. Take it, leave it or just embrace it.

Anyways, my love for off-road running kicks in time and time again, so I laced up my Salomon Speedcrosses and hit the 25km start line. Usually I race the 50km distance but seeing as I have my first 100miler of the year this coming weekend ( Coyote 2 Moons down in California), I figured a little tempo workout on trails was in order. Also, I had a handful of clients running at the race, always motivating, and that got me really stoked.

Obviously, 25km is not my distance. It’s like having a heart attack for 2+ hours for me. Some people are well trained for speed, I’m trained to go long and steady. Anyways, shorter races are so humbling and I admire all the speedsters out there.

As always though, as soon as the race started, I had a good time and just enjoyed the awesomeness of running in the woods. With the 25km distance, it was neat to see all the cyclists as we follow the same route for a good chunk of the time. I was slightly anaerobic off the start (typical for me) and then just settled into a steady state running, feeling really good from start to finish. My goal was to not push. I just wanted to be consistent, not risk injury or push to hard that I wouldn’t be able to recover. I’m happy to report that I executed my plan perfectly. I had the lead up to 2km to go until another female caught me. I think she is an orienteering gal and speed/short distance is her thing. I let her go by and just stayed steady, crossing the finish line 45seconds after her, taking 2^nd place.

Body felt really good the next day and because it continued to pour rain back up in Squamish, I hit the CBC CompuTrainer lab and settled into riding some of the Ironman Kona course. I loaded up on my Udo’s Oil that night and into Sunday, just to aid in recovery.

Congrats to a handful of my athletes who raced (see the CBC Performance blog). Good times on the trails. Although it was nasty and cold out during the run, my gear combination was perfect.

Here is what I used:

SHOES – Salomon Speedcross (big soft lugs provided ideal grip on the wet terrain, roots, rocks and snow)

SOCKS – ankle sport cut SOLE
Tights – Salomon’s Exo ¾ compression
Arms – Salomon sleeves (new out this year)
Upper’s – Salomon nordic vest

I hadn’t been able to find my Suunto T6 watch since Costa Rica so I used the Navigator. Fortunately, I just found the watch yesterday, in time for C2M. I debated wearing compression calves but decided not to wear during the race, and instead, used for post race recovery.

Nikwax Saturday

2011-02-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

It's been great to finally have a weekend here in Squamish. Things at the studio are busy which is great. Each day is an opportunity to learn. Slowly but surely, all those little things are getting done and everytime I get to cross out one of those to-do item lists, I'm happy. With that said, I finished teaching 3 Saturday morning classes yesterday and then came home and hit the laundry room.I've been wanting to start on Nikwaxing all my jackets and gear because Spring will be here before we know it (crazy that it's March already this week.) Squamish is currently getting dumped on with snow so I thought that it would be a good time to take a few of my regular running jackets out of the mix for a few days and get them re-rain proofed.

My pet peeve is being outdoors playing and having gear issues. When you live on the west coast, it's critical to be able to embrace rain and crappy weather! Rarely does it mean that I don't go train, or have an adventure or change my plans. Norm and I were really excited when Nikwax approached us a few months ago. We've both used their products for a long time and love them. Because I end up doing so much wash after being out in the mud, the rain, the snow etc all the time, it's only normal that a fabrics ability to repel water will eventually decrease. In long expedition races, we typically end up in less then ideal conditions for hours at a time. Nothing more miserable then a soggy jacket and heavy, saturated rain pants in addition to be exhausted and hungry as you slog up the side of a mountain. Nikwax helps with the breathability factor of the fabric as well. Check out their website to learn about their products and what they recommend for different sports, fabrics and uses. www.nikwax.com

Over the next few days and weeks, we will be Nikwaxing everything - from jackets to tents to compression stuff sacks in preparation for more rain, upcoming expeditions up north and longer training days outside as the days get longer. Take care of your gear and you will have to replace it less often.

I ran, now I relax

2011-02-07T15:22:00.001-08:00

Cheers from Costa! Thank you everyone for your good wishes and energy to get me through the TCC Coastal Challenge.

Day #6 - 24km

2011-02-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

FINISHED!!!!! Today was the last day of the race and for the first time, I got to enjoy the day. Monica and I set out together with the intent to just run, get it done and enjoy. We were both pretty tired, I know my hip flexors were working hard to get through the beach sections. We finished together and I can't think of a better person to have gotten to compete against. Monica is a very strong female, a pleasure to race against her and call her a Salomon team mate.

All the support crews, friends, medics, family, logistics staff joined in for the run today which made it kind of neat. I am SO HAPPY that I made it through this incredibly wet race with perfect feet - that has never happened to me before after 6 tough days and it is so much more enjoyable when you can walk and not suffer. I got the sock/shoe combination right now!!!! The heat was a killer and it really took its toll on everyone early in the race. VERY proud of all of Team Canada, there is a great vibe here in Drakes Bay tonight as everyone gets ready to party and relax. The running is done.

Post run today, I stayed by the finish line so I could get pictures and give hugs to everyone who crossed the line. Very emotional day for so many people. I'm inspired by every runner here who came and took on this challenge. I know how hard it is to do your 1st stage race and I dont think it ever gets easier. Cheers to all these runners.

Dan, Jude and Stan won spirit awards for their great energy day in, day out. Jen J got the perseverance award. All she wanted to do was run each day, all her feet would allow was day #1 and #6. Team Canada #2 finished 2nd in the team category behind the Costa Rican's. Full result posted soon.

Quick blog, we have cold drinks waiting and its time to R+R. Thanks to everyone for their support to all of our runners. I'll get photos up as soon as I return to San Jose with a stronger internet connection.

Day #5 - 50km

2011-02-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

Yet another big day on the race course. Today though, we left the mountains and experienced much flatter and undulating terrain. However, the distance remained high so it wasn’t exactly a short run. To get to the start line, we took a barge across a crocodile inhabited river and then got underway from the other side. Lots of red gravel roads and then eventually into a mangrove forest before farm-land, more roads and the final run into Drakes Bay. As promised, we arrived into paradise, a beautiful secluded beach near the tip of the country. Very remote, very hard to get to. I feel very fortunate to get to see this place, not touristy, very small and quiet. We will stay here for 2 nights as tomorrow, day #6, is a loop out and back. It should be a very scenic and great way to end this incredible race.

As for results today, Monica and I set off and ended up quickly realizing that we were in for a very long and hot day as we ran together. We decided rather then kill ourselves, it would be best to run this day together. She obviously has the upper hand with a 12min lead but to be honest, my tank was empty today and to battle it out for what would be 6 hours, was going to be very difficult. So instead, we trudged onwards, just getting the miles done, soaking ourselves in every stream we came across and for the first time for me in this race, actually lifting my head a bit to see some of this race course! HA - its funny what you don't see when you are racing. My body is feeling good, zero foot issues, no achilles troubles etc. I'm happy to be back running strong again and its been great having Monica to race against.

Team Canada as a whole also had a good day. Shannon was the second from the team in followed by Dan who near collapsed when he made it to the food tent. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to run this morning after a bad night yesterday where the days sun had hit him hard. The plan today was "just to walk" but he is extremely driven and was determined to meet his goal of a top 10. Jude was in shortly after and I can see her getting stronger each day which is so great. Barb and Mary ran together and Karen also made it back on course today which was so great to see. Kay also ran today's stage and I was so happy that she was in good spirits. A few racers did get lost today so I hope she finds comfort in seeing that "going off course" does happen to the best of us at times. Brad had a good time out there, stating that he had submerged himself in over 27 creeks thus far in the race. I'm trying to catch up with Cindy still tongith. She got the job done but her feet are a mess and I think she struggled today. However, the women is as tough as nails and I'm so proud of her. Toni has only 1 day left to go as well on the Adventure course and we are so proud of her. Stan also ran well today, I think its the seaweed he eats every night. Jen J managed to get her shoes on tonight so she will run the final leg which is great.

So that wraps up today! We are all excited to have a 7am start tomorrow (as opposed to 6am) and to have a "shorter day". It's then swimming and party time!

Day #4 - 37.5km ++

2011-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

So today was the hardest day yet for me and for most others. Up at 4am and it was a 5:50 start. We had huge elevation gains today to deal with. I knew that I would have to go strong off the start and get Monica out of eye sight. Luckily this worked and the hills really favored me. We climbed up to 1000 and then it was hours up on a hilly ridge, up and down, up and down. Thankfully there was a good midst and breeze to help and it was still early in the day. After leaving CP3 and a final water station, it was an ankle twisting descent in a cow pasture, then back into a final climb. From there we dropped all elevation over the course of 1.5km. Steep and narly. Monica caught me ½ way through the descent, she is a solid descender and I have no trust in my achilles yet to just open it up. Anyways, we hit the bottom together and decided to run the remainder 5km of exposed roads and pavement together. We were both totally done, over heated and really nothing left to give. I had eaten a total of 150 calories today, NOT GOOD. My stomach just wouldn’t let me intake anything except for water and fruit. I have no idea how I even survived. Thankfully she was in the same boat and we did a walk/jog to get to the finish, stopping for 2 cold cokes on the way! HA – I can tell you that had we tried to race through the extreme heat, it wouldn’t have been pretty. It was like an oven right to the finish line.

So as I type this right now., lots of people have made it to camp. Not too many smiles until post shower and massage. It’s the same kind of suffering for everyone, regardless of if you are out there 6 hrs or 12hrs. Dan had a great day of running, as did Shannon. Everyone suffered in their own way. Tonil finished the adventure run, yet another day done for her. Jude and Cindy just rolled in together and I just saw Jude jet across camp with a handful of coconuts from some near bye kids selling them. They are both moving strong though, showing me that their training is working. They are getting it done and day by day and its just a matter of moving forward, always with purpose. Brad said he had a good day as well and I think he headed straight up to the food tent. I assume the next bus into camp will have Mary and Barb on it and they always arrive in good spirits.

People’s feet are falling apart and sun burns seem to be the normal. My feet for once are in perfect condition but I got torched today in my legs and arms. I’ve borrowed Mary’s spandex shorts to help with chaving issues and they are working like a charm.
So……we have 2 days left to go. Day #5 will be long but we are done with the mountains and into more rolling and flat terrain. We will end in Drakes Bay tomorrow. The last day takes on a 25km run in the area of Drakes Bay, so we return to the same beach camp once again.

I’m off to take an afternoon nap and try to restore my energy levels so that I can bring something to the table tomorrow. 2 days left to go and I have 13mins or so to try to make it up. Crazy battle.

We will all adventure onwards from Costa Rica.

Day #3 - 49km

2011-02-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, last night in camp we had no internet connection so I wasn’t able to give the debrief. A very hard day, extremely hot once again and it took its toll on most racers. We lost a few of Team Canada members which was very unfortunate. Despite starting at 5:30am, it was a still a 7 to 12 hr running day. Un-relentless hills and some tough downhill’s. We spent lots of time in the jungle, kind of cool cause you hear all the monkeys but really, never see them. We passed by the foot of a HUGE waterfall which everyone says was amazing. Sucks for me because I had my head down, trying to take in as much water, dunk my head, wet my hat and get out of there before Monica could see me, she was only 30seconds behind at that point. While we were supposed to head up and in a river for 5km very close to the start, the medics directed us out of the river accidently and most of us spent 1 hr at least on a steady paved climb! Lots of energy expelled for nothing. Other people near the back did do the river and lost time. So in the end, it was a re-start with times only counting from CP#1 onwards. We spent most of the day doing several epic climbs until eventually, we dropped back down to the coast and ran a 10km beach stretch. Unbelievable, stunning beach with lots of sun tanners and families hanging out. For us runners though, what a different story, It was head down and suffering. The beach had a hard back sand which was great but there was no shade and my lead on Monica was only about 5mins. No time to take a walk break as much as my body begged for it. After the beach we had a final jungle climb up and then a paved road to logging road and then finally arrived at the most gorgeous beach ever, our tent and hammocks set up right along the edge. I managed 3mins on Monica so at the end of day #3, she continued to lead overall by 13mins or so.

It really was a brutal day out there and so here is the update on the team.
Jen J didn’t finish stage #2 due to some really messed up feet and the risk of infection. She was advised by the doctor to not continue. Really hard on her but she has been in great spirits and still hopes to finish running the second day.
Karen Hasty (our token Texan) ended up with an IV around CP#3. She pushed on as far as the body would allow but eventually, it just said no. She is recovering well and it was good to see her with a smile on her face when we got into day. Its hard not to get to run as we all no.

Kay has been a true rock-star out here and during this stage, she along with 2 others went off course and ended up having to take a vehicle back to the finish line. My heart breaks for her as she was running a very smart race, doing everything right, managing the heat and just putting one foot in front of the other. However, these things to happen and I think Kay can say with confidence that she is ready to tackle anything. Its only time until Mary Betts throws another race out there for her to join in on. Kay plan to run the next 2 days after sitting day #4 out.

Chris was also forced to withdraw after an IV was given. He was in pretty rough shape, saying again and again, how humbled he is by this sport. He’s got a great attitude, its just a learning curve to figure out how to do these stage races.
So we enjoyed being into camp #3 and watching the best sunset ever. We got a hard hit of rain that night that made for a crappy and wet sleep on my part. I had hoped to sleep in my hammock but instead ended up with 4 rocks under my back and broken thermarest! HA. Anyways, onwards we go.

Sorry, the connection is not strong enough to upload pics!

Day #2 - 39km

2011-01-31T12:18:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone!
Today was yet another tough day on the race course. Thankfully, things got underway at first light, 6am. What a difference that makes. We left Rafikki and immediately began a grueling climb, taking us nearly 1.5 hrs to cover the 10km distance. From there it was a decent and then into climb #2 - this one, CRAZY MUDDY. We were in the heart of the jungle with mud up to our knees, falling everywhere as we climbed. I lost my shoe once in it too. It was like a suction cup. Chris, Monica and I were together to just before CP2. I should mention as well, the first 22km of today took us approx 3.5hrs to do. It was tough going and unforgiving. You had to keep your head in it, focus and just keep going. Monica (from Spain) is a very strong athlete and we race very much the same kind of race. She put 2mins on me going into CP2 on a cow path - really technical and a total ankle breaker. I played the safe card on this and then lost a bit more time when I had to fill my water in a river. It was so hot that I wasn't keen to take chances. Chris dropped back as the days pace had really caught up. I arrived into CP3 after a taxing road section, Monica put 10mins on me there. Then it was through the mangroves (oooooh, I hate those trees) and finally onto the beach! HELLLLLLO Beautiful Costa Rican beach!!! Amazing breaks, no-one on them, it was surreal. 9km down the beach we went to the finish line. It was pretty much runn-able and hard packed so that was good. I lacked leg turnover and by the time I crossed the finish, Monica had 18mins on me. Regardless, I'm pleased with my performance today. We still have 4 days to go and tomorrow starts with a river run for at least an hour. Tonights camp is in a remote surf town called Dominica. Really cool. The plan for the rest of today is to cheers on the rest of TEAM CANADA #1 and #2 and then watch the surfers with my feet up. Ready for a good sleep as last night was super muggy.

At the time of writing this blog, here is the update. Dan had a great race and came in second for our team today. He is all smiles, body is in good shape. Chris suffered to the finish line despite totally falling apart but he made it and we will sort him out tonight. Cindy was solid as a rock and just had another great day. She is a force out here and I have no doubts that she is going to continue to get stronger each day. Not to mention, she brought a new run outfit for each day so she looks good all the time :) Jude crossed again with a huge smile but we will need to address some foot swelling tonight as well. I'm headed back to camp and will get another blog up tonight!

Thanks everyone for all the goodlucks to the team!!!!

Day #1 - 33.5km

2011-01-31T12:08:00.000-08:00

Only one word needed to describe the first stage here at the TCC race – HOT! No, let me re-phrase that DAMN HOT! Despite having loaded up the bus at 5:30am and making the 3hr drive to Quepos for the start location, things didn’t get going until 10am, right in the heat of the day.

We began with a 8km flat, road run, probably the worst part of the day and failing to keep on hydration here would lead MANY people to constant suffering as the day went on. From there we said goodbye to pavement and hello to a mix of rocky roads and single track. Lots of elevation but nothing compared to what is awaiting us on day 2.

However, it was a day of success for Team Canada 1 and 2. Everyone made it in and survived the 35 degree temperatures. Despite some long climbs, there was a fare amount of rolling to undulating roads that demanded mental focus just to keep an honest pace.

I was about to call the race quits when I arrived at the finish line – a stunning remote wilderness lodge called Rifiki. So AWESOME!!!! The thoughts of cold beers and tropical fruit were sounding really good compared to 5 more upcoming days of suffering. Hmmmmm………decision time. The lodge has a great pool that I think every single competitor immediately jumped into. Great food all day long and loads of beverages available. Camp was nicely set up for most of us from all the great volunteers, what a treat to not have to rig a tent. Cold showers and feet up was the name of the game for us as 1 by 1, people filtered in.

So how did we fare? I’m pretty sure Canada 2 leads the way in the team category. Chris, a late comer to team up with us, was the first of the Canucks to cross the line. He was totally humbled by his first stage race experience, this was clearly not a marathon nor do we run at marathon pace. I was shortly behind him by about a minute after catching up to him at the river cable car crossing, 5km from Rifikki. Cindy Hartford from PG had a solid run, feeling very relieved to have her first day done. Jude had returned for her second experience here and ran a solid day. I think the smile of the day at the finish line goes to Barb Sweeny as she cruised in. Dan and Brad had a bit of a tough go in the heat but ran a solid day we well. Our token Texan’s Karen and Shannon came in together, saying this heat didn’t even compare to Texas right now! And apparently Karen sat on a fire ant hill and had to get spraded down by a hose. Mary’s pace was super solid and she’s mentally prepared for the days ahead, using her extensive knowledge about what these races really entail. Really, day #1 means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Its all about the next few days. Kay and Jen J ran their own races, just as planned – keep moving forward and walk all the hills. I was so happy to get pictures of everyone coming in across the line, I even had a few tears when Kay crossed. What is it with these races? So emotional! Everyone out here giving it their best, just trying to stay hydrated and keep our feet in good shape.

For me personally, well, I’m clearly in for a battle for the next 5 days. Monica from Spain and I ran identical races today. I crossed the line about 2mins in front of her and I had essentially maintained that 2min lead from the minute we left the pavement. I felt good though today, never really allowing my HR to elevate too much more then I could handle and never wanting to push a hard pace to make ground. That is not what today was about! Rather, I used it to see how I responded to the heat and clearly, I need to increase water intake tomorrow. Feet are in great shape going into tomorrow. I wore the Salomon Speedcross and they worked like a charm with their big lugs in all the mud. No blisters (thank you SOLE socks) so I’m happy with the situation as I elevate my legs tonight with my Salomon compression socks on and drink non-stop cups of nuun, water, some tropical juice and a water bottle blended recovery drink of VEGA and Udo’s. It’s a hot and muggy night, lets hope we all get good rest!

More Pics from San Jose Hotel

2011-01-29T17:33:00.001-08:00

Day #1 and #2 - Pre Race

2011-01-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

Some say that the hardest part of any race is sometimes just making it to the start line. I'd say that this is very much true. I sense a bit of relief in our group - the big race that they have been training for so long for has finally arrived. There is nothing left to do but run. Everyone arrived with all their luggage, how often does that happen? Last night most of us enjoyed a few bevvies at the hotels bar during "happy hour" and then went out for a great dinner. Today was relaxing from start to finish. Last minute food prep and passport photocopying, a nap or two, chilling by the pool and then the opening ceremonies. We were entertained by some local Costa Rican dancers and some incredible high energy drums. Then it was the pre prace meeting and route information. Now, there is nothing left to do buy prep the feet and get to bed early. The bus will depart for the start line at 5:30am tomorrow with the race beginning at 10am after a 3hr drive. Day #1 is approximately 33.5 km. It's go time.

A few more places you can gather information daily:
1) Facebook - join the "TCC Adventures and Expeditions" page and Twitter.
There should be updates throughout the day posted here.
2) All the links are below as well but you will find the leaderboard once again at:
www.blog.leadadventuremedia.com

Cool story on the Crocket couple - Dan + Torril from Kelowna. Dan will be racing in the full expedition category, Torril in the adventure.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/news/114397874.html

Enjoy some pics from the last 2 days! More updates to come once I arrive into camp #1 tomorrow. Send all of TEAM CANADA goodlucks and energy. We got a great crew of people ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

Costa Rica TCC Coastal Challenge

2011-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

Seeing the sun is in my very near future and I am stoked. Currently just at the SEATAC airport in Seattle waiting my flight to San Jose. After driving down late night yesterday with Jen J (who is going for her 2nd time visit to this race) we arrived at Erik and Tracey's in West Seattle at 2:30am. Jen J hit the road to the airport to catch a morning flight while I got a few hours of rest on the couch and then got out for a morning run at Alkai to stretch the legs and move. Beautiful part of Seattle to run with a very calming misty fog to everything. I was finally able to focus on the present and leave the stress of the new CBC studio behind.

I must admit, I have not given this race 100% of my focus as things with the studio have been overwhelming and very time consuming. I've kept up with training however and am very happy with how that went. My heat training slipped a bit over the past week and I'm hoping that won't affect performance too much. It's going to be blistering hot and mentally I am prepared for that.

What I have been focused on however is the incredible group of CBC athletes who have been training extremely hard for this event. We are a group of 13 Canadians in total with 11 of us competing. Pretty cool as its sure to make for some great companionship and support as we all go through this adventure together. I am so inspired by some of these individuals with whom I've had the pleasure to coach and work with, some for 8 months, others for several years. When you watch people commit to a goal and then give it everything (no excuses, just hard work, day in, day out) I can't help but be so excited for them and for what they are about to experience. This is a major under taking for some of the runners, having never raced 2 back to back days, never mind 6.

I have split us 11 runners into 2 groups, Team Canada #1 and Team Canada #2. While we are all racing solo, there is a team category as well for a little extra fun. The top 3 runners times of the day count towards the teams time.

I will be arriving into Costa Rica early Monday morning and heading to the host hotel for some R+R, acclimatization and press conferences. The race begins on Sunday late morning after a shuttle to the start line. I know that Tim and his crew have put together a great race course once again that will move us south down the coast, experiencing white sand beaches and tropical rainforests. Taking care of the feet will be critical. Stages each day range from 30km to 50km.

I will be keeping this blog up to date as much as I can. I should have internet access each night for a brief amount of time so I will do my very best to post pictures and keep you up in the loop as to how ALL Team Canada members are doing. The race website will also have current content, videos and pictures. However, I know what its like to be at home and trying to follow someone each day and find out "how they REALLY are doing." I shall do my best.

More to come from San Jose in the morning!

Info to Follow Along at:
TCC Web page and link through: www.thecoastalchallenge.com
Lead Adventure Media: daily updates + video casts
Lead Adventure Blog: www.blog.leadadventuremedia.com

I will sleep on the plane!

2011-01-24T13:20:00.001-08:00

Counting down the days until my Costa Rica departure. It's sneaking up super fast now and I'm getting really excited. Things at the new studio have been incredibly busy but progressive. It's starting to feel like a training playground now and I can't wait to get home and get it fully up and running for the launch date on Feb 16th with the full schedule.

This past weekend I was down in the Tacoma, WA area to write my crossfit exam at CF Rainier. Not ideal timing in terms of having to drive down there and spend so much time in the car but I needed to write the exam. I got lucky when I realized that 4th Dimension Racing was also putting on a winter duathlon in the somewhat same area that morning. Perfect, what timing. I thought this would be great "last intensity" session before Costa race. 2 of my DART team mates (Rinn + Hayes) also made it there so it was great to catch up with them and to see AV. I had never raced duathlon before (this course was 5km run/20km bike/5km run) but it was a good time, a solid workout. I felt really good actually, very happy with my recovery after the short power climbs. I think Rinn and I talked the whole time on the bike as we just maintained a solid pace so no, wasn't exactly pushing max effort which was good. The riding was great and super fun (3 laps.) Roger and his team did a great job with the event! After the race, I chucked a muddy bike back into the car and raced on to CF Rainier, just in time for the review and exam. Then, it was a long drive home that night. The schedule of the day played out like this:
- Up at 3:30am
- On the road by 4am
- Long drive to Tacoma, arrived at 9am
- Race at 10am
- Exam at 2pm
- On road at 5pm to drive
- home at 9am

Lots of preparations yet to do for Costa and things at the studio that still need attention. It's all good, I will sleep on the plane.

Counting down the Days

2011-01-16T21:53:00.001-08:00

Ok, not really. Actually, it's more like several members of Team Canada who are bound for Costa Rica are. I've been so busy with studio prep and trying to stay on top of life that this trip to paradise is just creeping up on me a wee bit too fast. Every time I see a new FB post go up that says "14 days" and then "10 days" I just think O CRAP, there is so much yet to do. Ahhh, STRESS.

So, if you are following the CBC blog, then you are aware that the entire process is way behind schedule. I should have opened 3 months ago. It feels like life has been essentially on hold for nearly a year now. Every week, there has been a set-back with the building. However, we are now getting very very close and this coming week, we will start to move things in and begin the set-up. Really exciting. This is the biggest project that I have ever undertaken and so daily, its a huge learning curve. I've been more challenged with learning how to "open a business" then I ever thought possible. Can't thank all the brilliant and generous people who have shared with me their thoughts, helped me make decisions, connected me to the right people, made recommendations and just listened when I had stress/spaz attacks :) Day by day, we are getting closer. As soon I return from Costa Rica, I will be diving into the studio and getting everything up and going.

I've used my training as way to try to manage a lot of the stress. I've rarely missed workouts although it has meant a lot of early mornings and split up workouts just to get everything in. However, it allows me time away from the computer and phone to just got and think clearly. I'm feeling ready for this race. I started heat training a week ago and that has been awesome. It's not going to be Badwater hot but still, the body needs to be prepared. I've been hitting lots of Bikrams (and really enjoying it) as well as some sauna sessions. The rain here in Squamish is driving me in-sane. We had a great spell of dry trails for a while and that made life so wonderful. However, this week we got a hit of snow and then days upon days of rain. I'm getting out there but it's been hard. However, my golden rule is "you don't skip workouts if you want performance." So, modifications here and there combined with some flexibility and creativity to get the job done.

I'd also like to welcome on board as a new sponsor this year, Nikwax. In fact, the partnership couldn't have come at a better time! With all this rain in the past few days, I'm having some fun prepping my outdoor gear to handle the weather. Norm and I thought this would be a great product fit for us seeing as we spend so much time up on the North Coast, SUP tripping and running our fabulous trails here on the west coast. I've been a long time fan of their products, fully knowing that expeditions and adventure trips can be no fun if your gear, shoes, tents, jackets etc are soaked for days upon end. Ha - I remember doing my 9 day sea kayak guides course out in Clayquot and it rained all day, everyday for that entire trip. Yes - miserable. Had I nikwaxed at that time in my life - NO. Oh, how things have changed.

Back to prep and packing. All the Costa Rica details coming soon.
Adventure Onwards......

First post of 2011

2011-01-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all.

Obviously the big thing to chat about each January is one's "new years resolutions." While I am still trying to sort out the many aspects in my own life that require more attention, work etc, I'm approaching things a little different this year. I'm going to remain focused on all the small things that add up to actually reach a goal, make an improvement etc. At the end of the day, we don't change overnight. Its the daily ins and outs, the what we do's and don't do's that lead to the road to success. I have been reflecting on this now for awhile and it kind of hit me during yesterdays cold morning run. It was simply a flat trail, hard paced run and I returned feeling like I was on top of the world. Why? Because I'm finally running pain free and hence, I'm just enjoying being back out there, doing what I love the most. I can see the results of dedicated training once again. For pushing through and hobbling around for over a year and a half, trying to keep my brain into it, it's finally easy again and re-confirms that when I am out on the trail, I'm in my true element. So far this year, my priority is to take care of my body, show it respect and listen to it. Lots of things will all connect together to make this possible:

#1 - Run technique - 8 months of hard work has paid off. I put the time and effort into re-learning how to run last year. Now, after continuous practice and dedication to it, I'm back running and stronger and better then I have in a very long time. I'm back to climbing hills with power again, something I had lost. Lots of my athletes are now focusing on this in their daily training and the results are looking promising. I will be teaching more run technique clinics here in Squamish and abroad in 2011 as I believe that it makes all the difference. I will continue to focus on developing this aspect of my running. In addition, regular massage from Laura and IMS from Colin as needed. I'm not going to push through things that hurt and end up in a mess again!

#2 - The Gear - now I realize that I am very fortunate to be able to work with great sponsors who help support my dreams and this is something that I never take for granted. I've been with Salomon for over 8 years now. They are a company dedicated to research and development, always working with their athletes to meet the demands of an ever changing industry. I completely believe that different shoes work for different people and that is awesome. For me personally, its Salomon shoes all the way for all my trail running needs. You know that feeling of putting your shoes on at the door and you are just stoked to get out and get going? That is how I once again feel. My feet (and achilles) have re-found happiness in Salomon's Speedcross and more recently, the new XR Crossmax that comes out later this year. When combined with a new midfoot strike and allowance to let the foot flex as it should, these shoes accommodate just that. I realized that for me, the Wings are best for all my adventure racing, providing great protection and good cushion for long races in crazy terrain, as well as for short trail runs. However, when it comes to these 100km + runs, light weight yet still comfortable takes prescedence. I will kick start this season in Costa Rica (6 day run) with the Speedcross. I continue to love my SOLE socks, finding breathability and support in them. Rarely do I get blisters or the kind of messed up feet that I used to during these epic races. This means I can actually enjoy the holiday after the race now :)

#3 - Nutrition - this seems like a constantly ongoing item on the list that needs attention. As a coach, I spend time with people having the "food" discussion. I see the effort that everyone puts in towards their training but what about the other half of the equation? Vitamins, minerals and all the good stuff that your body needs for recovery and fueling quality training sessions. I've found some awesome products on the market that are a staple for me daily. I think that once you are really in tune with your body, its easier to identify how you certain things make you feel and how bad you feel when things are missing or eating poorly. I for sure find it much easier to be at home and eat well, surrounded by all the foods that I really like. Eating on the road is much harder and requires extra effort (usually to pre-pack etc.) I will continue to learn and improve in 2011 but here are few things that I believe have been the keys to success in both performance and overall health for me. What I DO know is that I am rarely ever sick and I typically have great energy levels. I get up in the mornings feeling great and I sleep well at night. Any niggles and soreness commonly go away very fast. I recover well. Each to their own, but here is what I strongly believe in:
Udo's Oil - the good fats, should be a mandatory item for all us endurance athletes.
Floradix Formula Liquid Iron and Calcium/Magnesium blends - as an athlete with osteopenia for many years now and being female, these are critical to good health. Quality supplements are key.
VEGA - love the energy bars, the protein recovery powders, their sports drinks. All their products are made from whole foods and the best of ingredients.
Quality food - in other words, tons of fruits and veggies, lean organic meats, nuts and seeds. I will continue to limit the sugar intake as a personal goal of mine. I plan to continue being creative in the kitchen and finding all kinds of yummy ways to make new an interesting dishes. I love my salads so those are not going anywhere! Ummm, neither is the coffee :)

#4 - Sleep + Rest- yup, I'm getting to bed earlier already and finding it super easy to get up in the mornings despite the darkness outside. I train best in the morning so this makes sense.

#5 - Races + Cool Projects - Mentally I keep focused and am keen to train when I am excited about the events or goals that I have set. Make sure they are your goals and not someone else's. I'm excited to try out some new races this year in neat locations and in various sports. As well, got some great running projects and weekend playtimes in unique settings scheduled. I have a feeling I will be humbled at more then a few of them and that's ok. Forget the ego, its about getting out there, having fun and embracing new experiences. Life is too short for the "someday" approach.

#6 - Train hard, Work Hard - with the opening of my new studio in Squamish, this will have priority over everything. I'm so excited to get the doors open and continue sharing with everyone the knowledge that I have about training and conditioning to assist you with your own goals. It's a great new (scary yet exciting) chapter for me and I have so much yet to learn.

So there you have it. A little bit about what has worked for me, what I will continue to do and use and where some of my focus will be this year.

Cheers everyone to a great 2011 - make it better then good, make it awesome!

Here, there and everywhere!

2010-12-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

November and December are truly the hardest months for any athlete to train through. If you struggle to get out for workouts when its still dark out or hit the double run in the evening, you are not alone. I have been pulling out every single trick-in the bag that I have to keep motivation high and stay on top of my training. The main goal: stay focused on the light at the end of the tunnel and, there really is some truth in that. End of January, myself and 13 other Canadians are headed to Costa Rica for the TCC race where yes, it should be multiple days of hot and sunny runs. Oh, I can't wait.

In the mean time, it's mileage and very focused workouts. In a way, I think opening up my new studio is a blessing in disguise. My daily workouts are more of a stress relief/clear my mind time then anything and hence, I'm getting the hours in. For example, when I can't decide between "telus and shaw" hmmmm, I go for a run. Seems to be working to some degree.

Anyways, just a quick update from here in the Squamish mud puddle:

Icy trails have meant running lots on roads and being creative. I enjoyed a great run last week down on Chuckanut MT in Bellingham with Dan. Trails were clear and dry - it was awesome. Having a nexus card for fast track border crossings is a huge help. With that said, I traveled down yesterday to WA again to take part in the Birch Bay Ghost Marathon. After a big week of training including a great hill climbing session on Friday morning, I was shocked at how well I felt to put in a 42km tempo run! I can feel the effects of the past few months of quality training now. However, I arrived with about 1min to spare to the race start line and just took off running to catch up to the leaders. A 1st place overall was nice but really, it was just great to run in a new area and put some miles down.

Putting the skis on now for a mix of skate skiing and back country! Great to work some new muscles and enjoy training in the white stuff. I'm mixing my days up with bike/run/bike combinations and doing morning runs out on trails with my yaktraxs on and evening runs on the road looking at all the Christmas lights.

My athletes continue to inspire me each and everyday. Lots of new folks starting in January on some pretty lofty 2011 goals so as I write their programs and familiarize myself with their backgrounds, I get pretty fired up. Then there is a handful of my Canadian runners who are working so hard to prep for Costa. We are all in the same boat with the weather so its rather comforting to know that as I slog through a wet run, so are they! And then there are those athletes who continue to be traveling to races all winter long, finding the sunshine and checking off bucket list goals. Very cool. Oh, and lots of friends doing unique running and winter adventuring things that I follow on facebook - it all helps with motivation.

I've almost got my 2011 calendar set. There are some races that have me stoked and some personal adventures that I can't wait to tackle!

And of course it's the Christmas holidays so I'm looking forward to a mix of Island and Ontario time, good friends and amazing family!

Adventure Onwards in the rain, snow, sleet or hail! I'm with ya!

It's not what you know, but WHO you know!

2010-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

If you've still got some Christmas shopping to do (for others or mmmmm, maybe yourself) check out the December promotion that SOLE has released. As you know, I've been using many of the SOLE products for quite some time now because they are designed for performance and they work! Now is your chance to order online from now until December 31st with some discounted prices.

A few suggestions:

Performance Socks - these are my favorites! The ankle length socks rock and yes, stay in place and don't slip down. The extra bit of compression and support that comes within the body of the sock is super comfortable. Great stocking stuffer (which is what my family is getting too :)

Sport Flips - a must have for summer! Flip flops that you can wear around all day and not get sore feet. Coming from a company that specializes in foot beds, you know you are going to get a great flip-flop!

Happy shopping!

Gear of the Year + Cheers to Good Health

2010-11-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and headed out on cold Sunday run. Clear skies though, the mountain tops were all lit up, it was pretty great. We've had a crazy cold snap going on for the past week and I have been living in my Manero Jacket. So in my head I've been thinking that ya, this jacket is my choice for "gear of the year." It's sort of been like wearing my sleeping bag around 24/7. I've been teaching outdoor classes in it, doing my warm-ups and cool-downs and essentially wearing it everyplace I go. It makes me smile, just as a good piece of gear should!

Next, I'm ramping up again with training miles and preparing for the launch of the new training facility. Days are super busy as I try to jam pack it all in, there is no time to be sick (which I rarely am) and I think though, that it is actually my training that keeps me sane. I've started to add the following to my daily diet just to keep up with the demands of being a busy female athlete and always on the go:

- Floradix Formula (liquid iron + vitamins)

- Salus - Calcium + Magnesium

Both of these are available at most health food stores (for Squamish folks head to Health Food Haven) or online through Flora. Being that they are in liquid form, the body can absorb them fast.

Keep Warm, Keep Healthy, Adventure Onwards.......

NEW SALOMON SHOES for Spring 2011

2010-11-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying some fun runs here in Squamish for the past few weeks in the new Salomon shoe that will be launching in Spring 2011 - the XR Crossmax.

This shoe was designed as the "door-to-trail" shoe, ideal to fit the needs of handling both pavement and trail. I had a sneak peak of it at Advanced Week this past spring in France but because it was not available in my size at the time, I wasn't able to get a good feel for it. However, it is quickly becoming my daily shoe of choice as I mix its use between the Speedcross and the S-Lab. The XR is ideal for runs that are non-technical and where there might be some hard pack cement/concrete/trails etc involved. I love the cushion and the fit of the shoe as it allows for the foot to still move through it's natural range of motion on each stride. I'm using mostly on 10km tempo runs and on my speed sessions right now (usually done on double track, non technical trails) and its performing great.

I think the XR Crossmax provides that missing link in the Salomon shoe line up for just a great all round minimalist shoe - adequate for both road and trail. If you run some road, some trail, a mix of both, whatever, you will want to look at this shoe for 2011. Rather then buying just a road shoe or just a trail shoe, this hybrid may be just the answer.

Keep warm out there and keep adventuring onwards.

mmmmm.....Food Thoughts.....

2010-11-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

I got asked last week to share on my blog what a typical day of food looks like for me. So here it is below but one thing to note, I have a very unusual metabolism. I can guarantee that ALL endurance athletes eat way more then this but due to the nature of my races for nearly 9 years which are so long and deplete my body of everything, I struggle daily to maintain race weight. The reason for this is because in a typical 5 - 7 day race, I drop about 12lbs. Then, when I return to regular day life and normal eating my body says "ah ha, I know that you are going to go and deplete me again, I am going to hold on to every single thing that you eat." So to make a long story short, I have to watch every thing that I put into my body despite training days of 2 - 6 hours. On the plus, I am a whole foods eater and really enjoy eating well. I've learned to cut my sugar cravings which has been a huge accomplishment and taking my Udo's Oil (essentialy fats) everyday has really helped. I'm constantly reading up on the whole "nutrition" thing and trying to learn as much as I can. One thing is certain - fruits, veggies and whole foods is the key to success.

Sample Day:

6am - morning trail run (1hr)

8am - coffee + VEGA smoothie (1.5 c blueberries, 1 banana, 8c water, 2 scoop Vega Whole Food Optimizer, 2 tbsp Udo's Oil, 1 handful green spinach) * drink this over 1.5hrs

11am - carrots + hummus, 1 home made gluten free blueberry muffin

1pm - 2hr bike workout (water on bike)

3pm - coffee, apple, almonds, cashews + yogurt

5pm - 1hr swim workout

7pm - massive salad with either chicken, salmon, bison or eggs, beets, peppers, tomotoes, 1/2 avocado, sprouts, carrots, brocolli + home made dressing (oil, balsamic, lemon juice, hemp hearts)

8pm - Bija truffle chocolate (oh ya) + Roobios tea (decaf)

I'm learning to cook more and more too which has been really fun. I've expanded my baking knowledge and am having fun with making gluten free breads, muffins etc. Here are a few books/blogs that always have good recipes to share. Got to be honest, nothing everything I make turns out, I've got lots of learning to do.

Adam Harts - Power of Food

Devon's - Fast Foodies

Elana's Pantry - regular email list

Brendan Brazier's - THRIVE diet

Udo Erasmus's - Omega3 Cuisine

A few of my newest additions:

Kale chips (kale with olive oil and sea salt baked in oven until crisp)

Yam fries (yams in Pumpkin Seed Oil baked in Oven)

Hemp Heart Cookies

Any kind of salad - you name it, it tastes good on spinach!

Quinoa Dragon bowls

Kamut banana pancakes - excellent for ski tour days

Carrot ginger soup

Butternut apple soup

Share with me what you got!!!!

PS _ more cooking and trying things was a 2010 goal of mine. Finally I've started to dedicate time to it and I intend to keep doing this into 2011.....

Here + There

2010-10-30T09:24:00.001-07:00

It's been busy times since my whirlwind of travels and finishing up all major races for 2010. Great to be home and enjoying all things local. Here are just a few quick tid-bits on things:

I got so excited to be home for a weekend finally that I just wanted to get out and support a few local events that were happening. Last Saturday I drove up to Whistler to participate in the Run for Fun Foodbank Fundraiser 5km. Despite a near heart attack on the race course and the pure realization that I am not sprinter material, I enjoyed my old run around the Whistler golf course route. Some of BC's Nordic athletes kept the pressure on me to just keep pushing (yes, I was tapped out.) When did I last do speed work? Hmmmm.....ummm, May I think it was!

Then Saturday I went down to check out the Hallowe's Eve 1/2 Marathon on the north shore. Always get out to run some of the wet and rugged trails in the Vancouver area. Lots of speedsters on the line but it was all good. I finished 3rd female overall and was just fine with that. I didn't have the competitive drive in me right from the start but rather, thought it would be good just to get some miles in on the trails with a bunch of other runners. Heart rate was a little too high for my liking and I felt like crap all day Monday. Laura thankfully fixed me up with a great massage (she continues to save me time after time.)

Yesterday I flew to Toronto for a speaking engagement at the Ontario Land Trust Alliance conference in Peterborough. I presented on a topic that I call "Lessons from the Bucket List." Always great to share experiences that have come from the past 9 years of adventures. I was so fortunate to get to re-unite with some old friends and meet some incredible people. Just I have so much passion for exploring the world via outdoor pursuits, so do these people for the lands and areas that they work hard to protect and conserve. It was a reciprocal kind of inspiration! Way too quick of a trip though.....I fly home today but managed a quick exploration run around High Park this morning.

I'm starting to think about 2011 - please email me with "amazing races that you just have to do once in your life" suggestions!!! I'd love some suggestions. In the mean time, 14 of us are busy prepping for the TCC Costa Rica race end of January. Sunshine here we come - can't wait!

Salomon XT Advanced Skin S Lab Hydration Pack

2010-10-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

After seeing the review of this pack that recently came out on the irunfar.com followed by several people emailing to ask me where they might pick one of these up at, I figured I should just post it so that everyone knows about the incredible pack coming down the pipes from Salomon.

It's called the Salomon XT Advanced Skin S-Lab pack and its probably the most comfortable pack that I have ever used. I got to use it and test it out for the first time back at Advanced Week in France this spring. It's the pack that was designed for Killian for UTMB last year. Put this pack on and seriously it feels like nothing is even on your back. It fits like a glove and has no up/down movement no sideways shifting. The pockets on the front (which come off and are interchangeable) allow for quick access to food, camera, sunscreen etc. It fits just the essentials that are needed for a good day out on the trails. The pack also comes with an emergency space blanket (something I know that we don't always bring but should.) I had desperately wanted to use this pack while running at the Tour des Geants last month but it didn't quite hold the amount of gear required. Anyways, its coming out soon, sometime early in 2011 so sit tight for just a little bit longer.

Udo's Oil VISIT

2010-10-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, several of us Udo's Oil athletes including Christine Fletcher, Adam and Lauren Campbell and myself headed down to Flora health in WA to visit the home of Udo's Oil. It was a great day learning about all the products that Flora makes and then watching some of the oils actually being produced from start to finish. What else can I say but that this company takes NO shortcuts in quality. They are committed to 100% organic production, using nothing but the highest quality of ingredients ALL THE TIME. I was so impressed with what I saw, what I learned and what I got to experience.

We visited the farm where many of the ingredients come from. We got to ask all of our questions, understand the health benefits and really understand how these products relate not only to good health but also to performance! I left with a whole new knowledge base and appreciation for the Flora products. I also discovered the Bija truffels (yes, chocolate can be a part of a good training diet) and I am now hooked :)

I feel so fortunate to get to be apart of the Flora (Udo's Oil) family and represent a company who is committed to health! I've been using their products long before I came on as an ambassador and they have remained a necessity on my daily intake list! I know lots of you are also users and I would love to hear your success stories while using the oils!

Adam also posted a blog on his experience with some great pictures!

SOLE SOCKS ROCK

2010-10-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

I think I'm even more in love now with the latest and greatest socks on the SOLE line up! Since returning from my travels, I've come home to start using a variety of the SOLE Lightweight sport socks. Here are my first impressions:

- they feel like smooth silk on my feet

- they all stay in place and don't slip down (even the low ankle ones)

- ultra breathable and extremely comfortable

- perfect fit

Can't say enough good things about these socks, you just gotta try them. Socks are one thing that I don't mess around. They are critical to performance and foot health. Full stop.

R & R Post Spain

2010-10-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

I am now officially 2 days into my off season. Actually, I have no idea yet on just how long I will take for some R+R and mental recovery. All I know is that it is greatly needed! After 3 major races and 4 weeks on the road I am exhausted! I’m ready to be home, drink coffee’s, see friends and family, relax and dive into some awaiting projects. I think 2011 is going to be a very different year…..

However, I must re-cap my last race in Spain. AR World Championships this year turned into quite the experience. It wasn’t quite the duplication of last year in Portugal but it comes a close second. Here’s why:

I joined up with Team Cyanosis from South Africa. A good crew of guys with similar race goals – we were all gunning for a top 10. The race had promised a more traditional format this year and that appealed to me. Back to how all races used to be as in, the winner would be the fastest team from A to Z. Great I thought, no more of that running/biking around for days not knowing what position you were in, who was still on the regular course, who was short coursed, who had collected more CP’s, who had done bonus loops etc. We could actually race this year with concrete information all the time. Apparently that is not what was to happen.

At the race briefing, we learned that there would be lots of variety to this race. Lots of different legs of varying distance which I thought would keep things moving fast and always changing. However, as the race went on, this turned out to be more complex as it meant teams could opt to start skipping legs hence, you never knew if the team you were side by side with was ranked near you or had already short coursed themselves. Hmmm……..try that for 6 days of racing.

There ended up being so much confusion on the race course including our final ranking. As of today (this is now 4 days post race) we are officially ranked 13^th. Better then the 15^th that we got on Friday! Lots of time credits were handed out including several to us but you wonder if those ever really got accounted for? At one point we came across one of the guys from Team Orion Health who had fallen off his bike and was unconscious down a hillside. We released the SPOT 911 and waited for 2hrs until he was taken away in the helicopter. Thankfully, he has made a full recovery.

Nic, team captain of Cyanosis, recently wrote this and I think it sums up the race quite well:

The race course went through some incredibly beautiful and mountainous countries to the west of Madrid in the provinces of Avila and Salamanca. Highlights of the course were intense orienteering sections, extremely technical mountain biking for the majority of the distance and massive mountain hikes with large glacial valleys. Spanish history was ever-present, with antique villages, old fortresses and even Roman bridges featuring regularly in the race. The down-side for Team Cyanosis was never really knowing what position they were in the field (we guessed at 15-20th for most of the first 3 days out of a field of approximately 60 teams) due to the race rules allowing for time penalties for teams instead of completing some sections of the course. It was thus impossible to keep an updated leaderboard. Cyanosis were racing well in about 12th place after 4 nights, having moved up the field significantly in the last 24 hours, when the team miscalculated a race cut-off threat and enforced dark-zone ruling on the final river paddling leg, and decided to skip a course loop (taking a time penalty instead) to ensure that the team got to the finish before the final Friday 6pm cut-off. In hindsight, Cyanosis could almost certainly have made the full course distance with some time to spare, with a 9th or 10th position the most likely result.

The timing miscalculation has weighed heavily on the team given the original team goal of finishing with a Top 10 position. The result was thus a disappointment for the team, but the race itself remains a wonderful experience that we will cherish. The race route itself was epic and memorable in many ways with various sections sure to go down as favorite memories for many of the team members. In the end, the team has had to remind itself that it is not good results or podium positions that see the team members coming back to compete in race after race, but the life experiences that one has during these events. Whether it is the beauty of the natural scenery and the whole environment, the metaphor of adventure racing being a full life experience in 5 days, the test to see whether you yourself can overcome the physical, mental and emotional difficulties of one of the toughest sports on planet Earth, or the experience of coping with team dynamics in a high-pressure environment for 126 hours non-stop that fulfils your craving for something different, it is these experiences that answers the question: 'Why do you Adventure Race?

My own race course highlights + memories in quick format:

- Night #1 - 14hrs of pure down pour biking in the rain! Nasty weather, being so thankful that I had on the Salomon minim rain pant - this saved me. Mentally I was just thinking "oh great, we got 5 more days of racing in this weather? not gonna be fun." Thankfully it cleared up!

- Day #2 - Falling asleep on my bike at around 3pm. I awoke just as my bike crashed into a pile of thorn bushes, messing up my hand and sending me hard onto the pavement. Blood and bruises.

- 11km vertical inline skate section thinking how the hell can anyone actually blade up this? Hmmm, should have been training with the nordic athletes in Squamish on this one!

- Passing through some really cool Spanish villages and wishing we had time to stop and visit!

- Every single leg that we did was 100% hilly! Yup, I think we covered all the hills in Spain during this one race!

- One too many nights of sleeping in a bivy bag or space blanket freezing uncontrollably and wondering just why exactly I had brought such discomfort on willingly!

- Lots of laughs on the race course with the team, incredible views from high in the mountains and the enjoyment of seeing some old friends on the race course!

So with that, I have some great memories of my time in Spain and overcoming some of the mental barriers that I personally faced during this race. Can’t thank everyone enough, friends, family, my clients and of course, my sponsors, who have stood beside me through a very unusual, busy and tough year! Thank you for your non-stop support!

Adventure Onwards……..just as I will be doing once I recover J

Adventure Racing World Championships - SPAIN

2010-10-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

After nearly 4 weeks on the road, here I am now in Spain. I arrived into Madrid yesterday and met up Team Cyanosis, a great crew from South Africa that I had raced with 2 years ago down at The Bull of Africa. We have joined forces to tackle the race course here in Europe. This will be my last race of 2010 before I return home and continue working on "Project X".

I'm feeling surprisingly well. After 2 major races in a row with only 4 days off to recover in between, I'm holding up. Achilles is feeling the best it has in 1.5 years. Despite some heavy eyelids, I think I will be ok here on the race course. Today we spent the morning doing gear checks and rope work. Saturday evening the maps will be given out and at which point we will begin to pack gear bins and organize. The race starts on Sunday morning 8am in the town center.

Being that this is the world adventure racing championships, I expect the coverage to be quite good. Here are a few sites to look at for live coverage:

Race Website: www.raidbimbache.com

Sleepmonsters: www.sleepmonsters.com

Adventure World Magazine Online: www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com

SPOT Tracker Live Coverage: www.trackme360.com/bimanche

We are Team #15 - Cyanosis (South African/Canada)

Italy Race Newspaper Brief

2010-09-26T14:37:00.001-07:00

This just came out in the Squamish Chief this week. I know it says it in there but just to say it again - "THANK YOU everyone for all your words of encouragement and support. You've made a DNF a little easier to swallow."

I will Adventure Onwards.........

Mojave Desert Hot Times

2010-09-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

So perhaps not one of my smartest planning moves to date, I’ve crammed the calendar a little too much. I returned from Italy last Friday night feeling down in the dumps, frustrated and pretty low. However, there was little time for self pity, I had another race to get to and I had to focus on maximizing my recovery. Since getting off the course in Europe, I went right to my compression socks, feet up and elevated. Hydration, good food, pumping the elecrolytes, Udo’s Oil and just eating LOADS of fruits and veggies, most of which through various VEGA products that I had stocked my car with. Cat picked me up in LA and took good care of me. Saturday morning she gave me an early B-day present to the spa where I enjoyed a full leg flush! I think it worked wonders – THANK YOU CAT – so appreciated. Then it was onto a full day of driving towards Vegas and Bolder City to meet up with my DART nuun Multi-Sport team to prepare for the Desert Winds Adventure Race.

I arrived into Nevada feeling pretty good I gotta say. My lungs were still flemmy and I had the cough but overall, the leg swelling was controlled and energy levels w

ere increasing rapidly (I credit that 100% to the food.) It was nice to be back in Bolder City, the race HQ, right in the heart of the Mojave Desert. We spent Saturday and Sunday preparing for the race and overall, it was pretty low stress. Team Bones was in attendance and we knew this would be our biggest competition – great crew of people who were going to make us work. And sure enough…….that is exactly what happened.

The race started at 8pm on Saturday night despite a whole fiasco of encounters with park rangers who were determined to stop the race. I will re-cap how this race went.:

100km Run/Trek - crazy foot section that involved slot canyons, rappelling and pack rafting. This leg took us about 24hrs to complete.

160km Bike – epic!!!! Super hot to start, loads of climbing, I wanted to die! Night came, temperatures cooled and we went into like a 6hr climb – moving at approximately 2km/hr – ouch!!!!

38km Run/Trek – feet destroyed, this was hilly and hot!! Huge canyon descent, wide open high desert and into a 6km pack raft section.

80km Canoe – 4 of us in 1 canoe!! HA – it was epic! 2 of my team mates we would drop on land to go up and over and down canyons and then the other 2 of us would paddle around and pick up!

How did it end? Well, we were back and forth with Team Bones the entire race!! We saw them lots, we passed them, they passed us. After a mandatory stop and some unusual race situations, it came down to a sprint to the wire in the canoe after 4 days of racing!! This was the most intense finish that we have EVER had in an expedition adventure race. Hard to believe but we crossed the line 48 seconds ahead of them!!!!! It was awesome!!!!

But………we decided in the end to call it a tie – we both would take 1^st place. There were just too many things that happened on the race course (that I won’t go into detail about) as to why we agreed on this. It was great to have that team out there – it kept us all moving forward, focused and competitive. This was an extremely difficult course, worthy of being a world championship event! Congrats to all the teams and to Druce and Robert for putting on such a great event!

As for my health, I say I felt about 75% out there. I struggled a bit in the heat but I think the fact that we got about 7 hours of so helped (ha – ya that sounds low but usually we get way less J. It was great to race with my team mates and friends – always lots of laughs on the course. Lungs are feeling as good as they can I suppose. I was lucky that this race was warm and although we hit some altitude, it wasn’t too cold being desert and all

I now find myself back up in Lake Tahoe, crewing for Norm at a SUP race and then headed out to the coast for a few days. I may or may not be Spain bound for world champs, YTBD in just a few days. Lots on my plate right now with a major project launch which I look forward to sharing with you soon. Have I taken on tooo much lately? Hell ya. Will I get through it? I’ll do my best……..

Adventure Onwards………..

DNF - A first time for everything

2010-09-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Bit of hard one to write about as you can imagine. Let me begin by thanking everyone so much for all your support for this race, both pre and post. The notes and emails that I continue to receive has been a bit overwhelming. I had no idea how many people were following this Italian epic that I chose to undertake, I hope you enjoyed the progress as much as I enjoyed the pain J

The story goes like this………

My original race calendar this year had me racing in Bolivia at a multi day staged TCC race. With the cancellation of that race plus my achilles issues during the summer, I needed to replace some runs and get back out there. This race caught my attention many months ago – it looked like pure adventure, a huge beast to tackle. When the opportunity from Salomon came up to participate, how could I resist. I had never been to Italy and so true to my reason for racing, this would be a great way to see the Alps!

Fair enough, the Aosta region did not disappoint. I can see what makes Chamonix so famous, Mont Blanc so spectacular. These are HUGE mountains, rugged, majestic and extremely difficult. The trails systems is complex and so unique. Hut to hut you can run/hike, drop down into villages, re-supply and then continue on your way.

It was a dream come true for the event organizers to put on this race so a huge congratulations to them. They had designed a 330km circuit that would start and finish in Courmayeur. 7 sections that we would tackle non-stop, sleep when we wanted to and thus control our own pace. Sleep deprivation and strategy was the name of the game for the Tour des Geants and I was stoked to be on the start line of the very first one.

So, I arrived to Italy and realized instantly that this was going to be the toughest challenge that I had ever faced. It was like the Hardrock of Ultras x 2. We would climb over 2,700m approx 25 times. Each ascent was followed almost equally with a descent of the same distance. To sum it up, this race had NO flats, it was UP or DOWN or UP or DOWN! You do the math – it was a hell of a lot of climbing. It was relying on your quadriceps to not fail you and to not blow them out early in the race either.

The race began Sunday morning at 10am. Italian enthusiasm in the town square was so awesome! These people love to cheer! Oh and lets not forget to mention, there was over 1,200 volunteers to support us 350 runners – HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!! Almost immediately from the start, we were into climb #1. I took the lead for the women to start but at about 2hrs in, my fellow Salomon team mate Julia from Germany passed as did Corrine from Italy. I let them go and just settled into my own pace. This was not a race where staying on someone’s heels would be critical. I was content to just move steady, eat and hydrate. Now most of the race becomes a blurr to be honest. There were so many climbs, checkpoints, great views for photo’s and converstations with other racers in broke down English or French. Weather was great, never super hot just perfect for regulating body temperature. I was using trekking poles too and this helped my achilles significantly. I had no issues with it on the race course. I just paid close attention to it on all those climbs and used the guide step to go up.

For the 3 first sections I drifted between 2^nd and 4^th place. Us ladies were ever only about 1.5hrs apart. I was content with my positioning and pace. Now here is where I think I ran into issues. During stage 3, we hit one summit at around 3,300m (approx 10,000ft) and it was clear skies, freezing temperatures and snow on the ground. I was in shorts and short sleeve with just my jacket over top. I climbed this mountain through the early morning hours and hit the top around 5am. I was frozen the entire time. Ann-Marie had fallen asleep on the trail (she would eventually go onto win the race for the females) and as I went by her, she woke up and tagged on. Fine I thought, still along way too go. We then descended together, and I realized “yikes”, these women know how to hammer the downhill’s! I was impressed!

After hours of descending, we reached the town at the bottom. Ann-Marie decided to sleep an I decided to go on in order to maximize daylight hours. Off I went and 30mins out of the base, I went into what felt like a full on heart attack! My heart was pumping, and I couldn’t breathe. Each step upwards was pure pain, like someone was tightening a rope around my chest. I thought it was asthma and so super slowly, pressed on. Ann Marie passed me easily as I crawled my way up. I slept at the next hut and upon laying down horizontally, I began to choke up dark green flem from so deep in my stomach. I couldn’t control the coughs. They were deep and they hurt.

And that is how the rest of my race went. I finished section 3, went onto section 4 and 5 and just really took it easy and slow on the UPS. Any sleeps were matched with coughing and wheezing. At the end of 5 I saw a doctor who advised me to not go on. I struggled with this. I was sitting in 3^rd position. I knew that I had given 100% butI had not give 110% as I always promise to do. Bruce Grant from Canada had caught up at this point and he could see I was in trouble. He said he would stay with me and I could use his inhaler. So with that, on we went into section 6, chatting and moving steady but slowly. As night came and the cold set in and the rain came and we went high again, I began to really think that I was doing damage. I couldn’t breathe! With hours to think about it, I decided to make the call and quit.

However, I still had 8hrs to hike out to a place where I could finish! It was a long 8hrs and I quietly ran with my Belgium friend Cedric and Bruce. I was battling inside my head as to quit or not, and pretty much, how sucky this was!!!! I was loving every moment of Italy. I was racing MY race, doing everything right and really just having a great time! I couldn’t believe that Italy would end like this. I felt like I was letting everyone down. So many people back home following, Salomon and all my friends and family who believed in me so much. This is the hardest thing to wrap my head around.

I know that I made a good choice to end my race. I had given it 100%, it was just not my race to be had. I am recovering well now and feeling good. I will re-look at how I handle elevation combined with cold for future races and adventures so that this does not happen again! Congrats to everyone who started the race and to those who finished – awesome!!!!!

Thank you all for SO much support!!!!! It means more to me than I can explain. I learned a lot from this experience, perhaps even more had I finished! I DNF’d in a beautiful place, I had a great time, I will be BACK FOR MORE ADVENTURES!!!!!!

Last Minute Gear Items

2010-09-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do during any multi-day race is to brush my teeth, makes the hurt seem so much better (kinda like putting on a new pair of socks.) So I jetted over to the "pharmacia" and this is what I ended up with. However, thought I was also buying gum, turns out thats not what it is. Ooops. And this is for sure not organic stuff but being that I couldn't read the labels, I'm probably lucky that I actually got toothpaste.

I will be carrying water in my bladder and then a bottle that I will alternate between VEGA sport (acai flavor) and nuun everytime I fill up.

For the most part, all my food will be real. No gels, no bars. Apparently all the major TA's on course will have bread, cheese and meat! Hmmmm......a little different then we North American's are used to! I have lots of dried fruit, nuts, VEGA bars, oatmeal, cookies and some trader joe salty things packed in my TA bag.

We went to race check-in today and all I can say is that it is SO much easier than an adventure race! Anyways, time to get down to business and get'er done......thank you everyone for your support! Will do my best!

This link should get you right to the leader board and then just hit refresh:

http://lnx.courmayeurtrailers.it/cronometraggio_2010_tdg/situazione_gara_utente_87.php

Adventure Onwards.........

Italy Race Prep

2010-09-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Smooth sailings for getting to Italy. Despite that I had somehow managed to book an illegal sequence of connecting flights (thanks aeroplan points), I made my 45min connection in Montreal barely and arrived to Geneva, Switzerland right on time. Greg from Salomon (our global team manager) was there to meet me and we headed to Chamnoix for a little tour, a little lunch and a great view of Mont Blanc. Stunning!!! It was then through the Tunnel de Mont Blanc (in which I fell asleep) and onto Courmayeur. After checking in to the hotel, Dan Probst and I headed out for an easy 40min run through the streets of the village. Great way to stretch the legs and enjoy the sunshine. Pizza dinner, a huge stomach ache and it was off to bed for a solid 11hrs.

I awoke feeling fantastic this morning, energized and alert. We went through our gear and then headed into the village for last minute things like a sim card for my phone and the mandatory "cup" that we had to carry. After lunch, one more run along the river to the next town over, some coaching online and a coffee in town. We ran into all the North American runners (I think there are about 12 of us in total) which was more than I expected. Dinner tonight was a great salad and a panini (ahh yes, much better.)

So, the race gets underway on Sunday morning at 10am. The live tracking should be really good. This is the same race organizers as the UTMB so lets hope for good course markings. The terrain is either up or down, no flats. My motto - "just keep moving forward." The mountains continue to amaze me, they are so vertical, so rugged!!! I can only imagine what they will be like from the top as we follow the trail around the Aosta Valley.

Enjoy a few pictures!

Tour des Geants - only days away......

2010-09-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's great to finally be at home for a weekend. Although life has been extremely busy, I'm still looking forward to 3 more epics to round out this calendar year. By Thursday afternoon this coming week, I will find myself landing in Geneva, Switzerland. From there, it's onto Italy to participate in the Tour des Geants, a 330km non-stop ultra in the Valle d'Aosta! I'm so excited to participate in this inaugural event and to see the Alps. I was sold on it the day I caught wind of the promo trailer. I haven't raced or visited too much of Europe so I thought that this race would be an incredible way to see Italy. In addition, my race schedule completely fell apart on me as I tried to heal the achilles. Planning and preparing for this race has kept my motivation level high.....yes, I'm eager to hit the trails.

Athletes from around the world will be in attendance! I'm hoping to improve my French while on the race course and maybe pick up a word or two of Italian. This event suits me probably more than any other race that I have attended yet. I love the fact that it is all single track, long in duration and non-stop and I will have to rely on me pushing me. My years of sleep deprivation practice will hopefully serve me well as each competitor plans their own sleep/rest strategy. I will spend some time looking at the maps while I travel to decide on my plan of attack. I'm prepared to suffer however, I think the scenery surrounding me for 3 days will keep me humble, awake and in awe. My inspiration to push through when things get tough will be my new little niece Ela. She has turned over a new leaf for me through her entry into the world! She is strong and amazing. Ela Bella, the Tour des Geants is for you!!!!!

You will be able to follow the race live via this link: www.tordesgeants.it/tordesgeants/index.php/eng/

Back to the gear prep. I demo'd a new pair Ryders glasses during this mornings run which I think will work great. I'm still undecided between the Salomon Speedcross or the S-Lab for my choice of shoes and will most likely have a pair in my gear drop bag in case I need to change it up. Will be using SOLE socks and I'm charging up my Light & Motion "stella" so that I have super bright lights through the night section. I'm not sure on the weather just yet but will probably go with salomon's compression 3/4 tight and the Minim Paclite Jacket. Undecided on which pack to carry so I will throw a few in and decide upon arrival. Food will be a mix of VEGA products with a good mix of "real food" as it is accessible.

I will continue to post from Italy before we get going!! In the mean time, I hope everyone enjoys the month of September - it is by far my most favorite time of the year to be out on the trails. Goodluck to all sea to sky locals who are hitting the "month of pain" - so many great races to choose from. Adventure onwards.........

Great Bear Rainforest Expedition

2010-09-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

I felt very fortunate to be apart of the 1st North American SUP expedition ever! Norm asked me to co-guide with him and together with 5 paddling clients,we headed back up north for a week of play in the most amazing and pristine environment ever. With 2 days of travel on each end of the trip, we enjoyed 5 days on the SUP's, touring around, interactingwith wildlife, other boaters and residents, exploring inlets and estuaries, watching the beginnings of the salmon run, viewing spirit bear cubs, looking for wolves and eating fresh salmon. Essentially, we just took it all in and enjoyed every minute of the trip! Here are a few pics I wanted to share but I think between the 7 of us, there must be several thousand. We plan to run 2 trips next year and space is filling fast already. If seeing the GBR is on your life's wish list, consider doing it via SUP with MountainSurfAdventures next year. Norm also did a blog post for the expedition and included some great pictures along with the daily itinerary.

Cornwall Inlet Longhouse (night #1 accommodations)
Cornwall Inlet on day #2 UNREAL sea life!
Sea Lion Rock Rookery Accommodations for nights 2 - 4. Cameron Cove.

Flip Flop the Comfy Way

2010-09-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago I had very similar discussions with a few people in regards to achilles tendonitis and another person suffering with shin splints. One thing that really helped me along this summer with the stress fracture was making sure that I was always in a supportive and cushioned shoe to minimize impact during daily movement. Funny because I seam to spend most of my days in my runners but of course, it's also flip flop/sandal, hot weather season. With that said, I can't recommend enough the SOLE flip-flop. Super comfortable, they feel amazing. Why is it that we tend to spend tons of money on purchasing great runners for our athletics but then go and buy the $10 flip-flop to walk around in all day? It doesn't really make sense. I fell in love with the SOLE flip flops a few years ago and continue to swear by them. My crew was wearing them throughout Badwater a few years back (and yes, running in them in 55 degrees on pavement from time to time as they crewed.) I know lots of my athletes have already grabbed a pair and are loving them! Send me your SOLE flip-flop stories and tell me why you love'em. I'm keen to hear. Happy flip-flopping.......

SUP Expedition - Great Bear Rainforest

2010-08-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

After much planning and organizing, we've arrived into Hartley Bay! It's great to be back and see everyone since we left here this Spring. Beginning tomorrow, we will set out with our group of paddlers for the 1st commercial SUP expedition in Canada. Last year, Norm and I toured the Great Bear Rainforest with Explore Magazine. After the publication of it a few months ago, we received many requests for people to join us here in one of the most amazing treasures in the world. We are already near full for next year (2011) where we plan to run 2 back to back trips!

We left on Saturday morning to drive all the SUP's and the gear up here, the journey takes approx 17hrs. This morning we boarded the passenger ferry (4hrs into Hartley Bay) where we were treated to an amazing traditional dinner at Lynn + Ernie's. We all ate until we were completely stuffed full of fish, crabs and clam's, thank goodness I can start to burn it off once the expeditoion gets underway! Tomorrow morning we will begin by paddling into Cornwall Inlet and staying our first night at the longhouse.

Cheers to a great trip, an amazing SUP expedition with an excellent crew of people, stunning views and a beautiful coastline. I always learn so much from Norm about this area every time we are here, lucky to get to co-guide it with him. Our guests are in for a special treat and I'm excited to get to explore it with them.......There will be lots of pictures to share when we return from the "remoteness" next week......until then......adventure onwards folks!

Follow the expedition on our SPOT tracker by clicking here.

Gold Rush 24hr Race Report

2010-08-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

HOME!! I put the pedal to the metal in the car after getting off the race course down in California at 11am on Sunday morning. This was my 2nd 24hr adventure race in 2 weeks and surprisingly enough, my body feels amazing. I rested well after the first one (see race report previous from Big Blue AR) and then had a good taper going into Gold Rush. It was great to be back out there this past weekend with my DART team mates. Despite really suffering at altitude during this race, I really enjoyed the course. Tough, challenging and not more than 2 minutes on flat ground at any given time. It was a true mountain race. Check out our team page for the full race report.

As for my achilles? I don't even feel it! It gave me a little bit of grief during some of the ultra steep climbs in the race (thanks Sean and Slater for taking my pack) but it felt great other than that. The true test though was that I had zero stiffness Sunday and Monday. In fact, I even got out for a 2hr run this morning here in Squamish - Elfin Lakes!! I think I'm back and I can't be more excited. I'm really looking forward to Sept 8th when I head to Italy to take part in the Tour des Geants. I've decided to continue training hard this week as next week I will begin my taper (starting with a 5 day SUP trip back up in the Great Bear Rainforest - sweeeeeet!!) So, it was Elfin today, Rubble Creek - Black Tusk tomorrow and then Singing Pass on Thursday! 3 days of all my favorites.

I'm attributing how well I am feeling to a few things:

1) I wore my Salomon compression socks (the exo calves) almost through the entire race. Compression works and I love it!! Hardly any foot swelling (YES - what a change from the days of the "cankles."

2) I immediately started pumping my Udo's Oil post race. In fact, they have just released a paper on the latest study done on UO and its super interesting. I will post soon and/or be sure to check out www.oilthemachine.com as well.

3) I had packed my magic bullet blender with me for the road trip and as I drove, I stopped at the rest areas on I5 to make my smoothies. Lots of fruit, greens, Udo's and Vega protein powder mixed in there. Hydration and recovery all in one - worked perfectly (although I did get some strange looks from the other vehicles - oh well - lets see what they would do to recover from a 24hr race :)

4) I've been taking Flora's CoQ10 since I got off the race course as well - gotta get those antioxidants in asap!

5) for post race and daily summer shoes I've been living in my SOLE flip flops! It's critical with an injury to stay away from those paper thin $5 flip-flops. Being that SOLE specializes in foot beds, I think they know what they are talking about it comes to these flip-flops. My crew ran Badwater in them 1/2 the time, they rock!

6) the aggressive IMS treatment from Colin with the needles and the ongoing massage/soft tissue release from Laura. I'm so happy that both these professionals call Squamish home, hence allowing me access to their specialties.

Lots to catch up and lots of coaching to get back too. My athletes too have been busy. Runner Stacey Shand took 2nd at the Yellowknife marathon last weekend and 3 of my mountain bikers are tackling "Just Another Bike Race" this weekend. Congrats and goodlucks to all......

Tahoe 24hr Re-cap

2010-08-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Like I said, I missed my A race of the year last weekend. However, I still managed a great training weekend by heading down to California to do some adventure racing. Bu mixing the running and biking up, I got a taste of where my injury was at. Post race, I was greeted by good news. Minimal stiffness, quick recovery! Time now to really begin the 8 week ramp up until my next ultra - the 330km Tour des Geants in Italy!!! BRING IT - I'm Ready. Starting to think about my gear selection - Salomon Speedcross or the newest version of the S-Labs?

Tahoe 24hr AR as written in the Squamish Chief Newspaper!

Re-cap write-up in the Whistler Pique.

The Ibuprofen Question

2010-07-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Something that I have often wondered and questioned. Got this from IrunFar this morning.

Ibuprofen and Its Effects During Ultramarathons

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 03:00 AM PDT

Many runners use anti-inflammatory medications (ibuprofen or Motrin, also known as NSAIDs) before, during, and after running to stave off pain. I personally have had mixed results using these medications while running, and do remember quite vividly having intense back pain after Squaw Peak 50 mile race in June of 2001 where I used ibuprofen throughout the race. I didn’t use ibuprofen much during runs after that, and after seeing what happened to Erik Skaggs at Where’s Waldo 100k last year[1], I decided to dig a little deeper into the subject and do some research. It’s a tough subject to gather information on because not a lot of medical research has been focused in this area. Most medical research focuses on “already sick” people and not healthy athletes. There is one specific event, however, where quite a lot of research material was put together from information gathered at Western States 100 in 2005.

Three journal articles were written using the data gathered at Western States 100 mile endurance run. In the studies analyzed, both male and female athletes were selected (54 total athletes): 29 were placed in the ibuprofen group, while 25 were placed in the control (non-ibuprofen) group. Blood and urine samples were collected from participants in both groups before and after the race. In the ibuprofen group, participants ingested 600mg day before race, and 1200mg (divided into doses of 200mg every 4 hours) on race day.

McAunulty Study
In a study by Steven McAunulty, et al.[2], the authors looked at how oxidative stress on the body was influenced by ibuprofen use. Oxidative stress, for clarification, is the inability to detoxify and repair damage to body systems done by the production of free radicals and peroxides. Free radicals and peroxides can cause direct damage to cells and can disrupt normal energy production within cells. When overly abundant, they can cause cell death.

McAnulty looked at certain measurable inflammatory markers (F2-isoprostanes) in the blood and urine and when comparing pre-race to post-race samples, found significantly differing levels of inflammatory makers in both blood and urine in the post-race ibuprofen-use samples. His conclusion was, “Ibuprofen use compared with nonuse by athletes competing in a 160-km race was associated with significantly increased oxidative stress.”

How does this happen and what does it mean?

Kidney cells may be damaged and altered during and ultramarathon as a result of ibuprofen use. There has been previous research that has shown that ibuprofen increases blood flow to the stomach and small intestine and thereby increases leakage of toxins into the bloodstream, increasing oxidative stress. Ultrarunning magnifies this effect.
Post-race blood levels of measured inflammatory markers (F2-isoprostanes) were elevated by 37% above normal in the ibuprofen group, compared to 20% elevation in the non-ibuprofen group. These same markers, when measured in post-race urine, were increased by 138% in the ibuprofen users, and unchanged in non-users. This is statistically significant data that shows ibuprofen was increasing stress on body.
The authors concluded that based on their findings, “we recommend caution in using ibuprofen and other NSAIDs during ultra-distance exercise events.”

Nieman Study
David Nieman, et al.[3] used the same study subjects and samples to analyze a different set of inflammatory markers. I think the most interesting thing that he did was to also set up a subjective pain-rating score for the athletes to use. The 10-point Likert scale for measuring delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) was used for the seven days following race completion.

Statistically significant was the following study conclusion, “Ibuprofen use compared to non-use by athletes competing in a 160-km race did not alter muscle damage or soreness, and was related to elevated indicators of endotoxemia and inflammation.” The measured damage was seen in decreased capability of the kidneys to filter toxins properly (by measuring decreased urine creatinine, a typical test used to measure kidney function), and higher levels of blood inflammatory markers (interleukins, cytokines, and c-reactive protein: all indicators of inflammation and pain).

Dumke Study
Charles L. Dumke, et al.[4] likewise analyzed information gathered from Western States 2005. Previous data collected in other studies measured significant electrolyte disturbances while running and using ibuprofen. Dumke dispelled this information. Ibuprofen use did not, in and of itself, alter blood concentrations of key electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, chloride, or calcium, nor did it affect blood proteins. An interesting trend was discovered, however: longer running times, lower training volumes, and older runner age all correlated with lower sodium concentrations (hyponatremia) at the finish line, suggesting that the longer you are out there and the older you are, the more important it is to pay attention to electrolyte replacement.

Take Home Information:
The studies results in a lot of daunting scientific speak. I did my best to pare it down to an understandable discussion. I think there is some really valuable information to be gained from these articles, and I look forward to more studies being conducted in the future. Probably the most important point that is not discussed in these journal articles is the fact of listening to our bodies, and doing what we feel is right for them. As tough as we may be as ultrarunners, it is always good to hold a healthy dose of respect for the fragility of the human body. What has worked for us in the past may not work for us in the future, and something that we have never used before may just be the magic ticket to get us through our next race.

Missy Berkel is a Nurse Practitioner from Salt Lake City, Utah and has been running ultras since 1998. She is running the Wasatch 100 in September.

[1] http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2009/08/erik-skaggs-hospitalized-for-renal.html

[2] McAnulty, et al. (2007). Ibuprofen use during extreme exercise: effects on oxidative stress and PGE2. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (39)7.

[3] Nieman, et al. (2006). Ibuprofen use, endotoxemia, inflammation, and plasma cytokines during ultramarathon competition. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 20.

[4] Dumke, et al. (2007). Ibuprofen does not affect serum electrolyte concentrations after an ultradistance run. British Journal of Sports Medicine 41.

Revising Training + Remaining Optimistic

2010-07-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

I suppose this is sort of part II to my last blog. Given the nature of my achilles tendon and the almost stress fracture, I've been forced to change my entire 2010 calendar. Having come to terms with that now and accepted that I won't be at the Canadian Death Race this weekend (but sending loads of goodlucks to everyone that is) I've had to think about how/what will be the best way that I can prepare and be ready for this September when I head to Italy for the Tour des Geants - a 300km, non-stop, solo race on full on single track that will take me around the base of the highest four thousanders in the Alps! AWESOME!!

So with my new goal for this fall, I've been thinking about how I can best train given the nature and caution of my injuries that I must proceed forward with. I've been biking 12-16hrs weekly over the past 5-6 weeks so my MTB is strong. I've been on the SUP lots too, so upper body endurance is increasing once again. Last week I was able to test out running and it went pretty good. I did a 20min and a 30min with no pain during or the day after. This week I've done a 1hr, a 45min and another 30min, happy to report zero pain. My confidence is returning slowly but surely. Each run I've focused entirely on quick cadence with a midfoot strike.

Gutted that I had to pull out all my A ultra's this summer, I'm trying to determine what will be best for Italy. I was so looking forward to the CDR and even though I don't think that I have lost any fitness, I know that there was no way that I could go and run 130km without having run in 6 weeks. That would probably just lead to re-injury. So, because I have been multi-sporting, I've maintained fitness and endurance and probably above all else, stayed mentally sane. Team Technu recently asked me if I would come join them in Lake Tahoe for a 24hr adventure race. With not being at the CDR and my weekend suddenly free, I thought why not. This would still give me a solid 24hrs of training but would not be entirely on foot. The run/trek sections will be dispersed throughout the race and it will be a good test to see where I am at. In addition, it will give me some sleep deprivation training, something that I haven't had to utilize since last October at World AR champs in Portugal. So, here I am now in Tahoe. After a 2 day drive down, I'm now prepping my gear and enjoying some California time. The race gets underway tomorrow at 8am. Check out Big Blue Adventure Race.

Unfortunately, I will be racing against my team, DART-nuun Sport-Multi. Having thought that I would be at the CDR, the team had to find another female. However, I will return back to California in 2 weeks time to race with them at Gold Rush.

All in all, I am feeling positive about the progression of my injuries and the rest of 2010 for racing and adventuring. I've decided to not stress over missing the CDR now as there are so many other races to go and tackle out there. I can't wait for Italy and my return to ultra running. I've had so much support from people in regards to this difficult time that I can't say thanks enough. I've recently become an Aunty too, and so despite having a very challenging entrance into this world, little Ela is my newest inspiration. She has put life back into perspective for me so I thank her for that.

I've been ticking some items off of my Bucket List too so I will share that shortly. Some good things do come injury I suppose :)

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, adventure onwards.....

Not EXACTLY as planned....but it's all HOW you view it!

2010-07-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

It’s not with great excitement or awesome news that I get to write this blog entry. The last 4 weeks have been extremely challenging, forcing me to learn patience, set new goals and remember that life does not always unfold as one wants.

I set my calendar for this year with the hopes of checking off some incredible races on my bucket list. I was so keen to turn my attention to some of the great races here in Canada and I gotta say, we have a few. Originally, I thought that the first part of 2010 would be ultra running focused and then I would transition into some multi-sport by the end of summer in order to prepare for world champs and some other team races. Training was going great. After coming home from Salomon Advanced Week in France this spring, I was motivated and just couldn’t get enough of blasting around the Squamish trails. I was thankful to be home after a winter up north. However, my achilles injury from last year decided to return as I slowly pulled out all the cross training (ie – bike workouts) from my training plan with the hopes of being more sport specific. On the plus, training was going great. I was starting to climb with power once again and had really improved my cadence and leg turn over on the flats, something that has always been a weakness for me. Eventually though, I realized that this damn achilles issue has become a life long chronic problem and I could only push through it for so long. I had been in full “management” mode for about 16 months, getting regular weekly treatment and starting off every run in pain. But, when you are doing something you love, it’s hard to quit. I had big plans for this year and there was no way that this stupid injury was going to ruin things for me. And probably, had I not gotten the start of the stress fracture to my other foot, I would have just kept on going at this pace. Healthy to do that? No, not at all. Would I tell a client to stop? YES, for sure. I think my issue is that my pain box always seems to have room for a little more so I had willed myself to keep on going.

So this near stress fracture thing. Ya, what a pain. I won’t go into detail in this blog as to why that happened but to say in brief, my body started compensating as I ramped up my mileage and prepared for the Blackfoot Ultra, my first 100km of the year. Rrrrrrrrr…..I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I had already signed up for Sinister 7 and for the Canadian Death Race as well!! Trust me, this took a severe reality check to accept the fact that no, I wouldn’t be at ANY of these events this year.

Needless to say, I’ve been in a pretty big rut for the past months. Mentally I am struggling big time. When you can’t do something that you love, it’s devastating. I suppose we take our bodies for granted way too often, expecting them to always be 100% and ready to just go. I am healing though and fast at that, might I add. I haven’t run now in almost 4 weeks but I am cross training like a mad woman, biking 24/7, hitting the SUP and can you believe this, LEARNING TO SWIM!!!! Oh yes, that’s right. I’m swimming 4x’s a week now and loving it! Why have I avoided this for so many years? Not sure but I know that it will open up some future doors for me so that I can enter new types of racing!

So I guess that what I can tell you this: I’m trying to find the positives now in this injury. All good things can come from the bad right? I’ve got amazing sponsors who understand. I’ve got an incredible network of coaches, friends and loved ones who are supporting me. I’m staying focused on the road ahead! Things could be a heck of a lot worse, that’s for sure. Just to share some of the positives that move me forward each day:

1) I get to focus even more on all my awesome clients who are racing and adventuring – I get to live through them

2I get to watch lots of friends go out and tackle their own goals – I get to send support to them and reciprocate what so many people do for me

3) I’m learning to SWIM!!! And loving it

4) I’m learning to accept the notion of “change of plans”

5) I’m understanding more of the training systems that my body needs – I can’t just run but rather I must bike and cross train as well. With that said, I’m a multi-sport athlete at heart, I like doing it all!

6) I’m finding all kinds of cool races/events to focus on for the Fall + Winter

7) I’m spending more time on my businesses and the big adventure ahead

8) I’m doing all kinds of bike and SUP training sessions in awesome places, hence, checking even more things off of my bucket list

9) I’m growing as an athlete each and every day

To aid in this recovery process, I’ve started a VERY aggressive IMS treatment plan. It is working extremely fast. I continue to see Laura for massage and soft tissue release. I’ve increased my daily dosage of Udo’s Oil as well as well as Wheat Grass, MSM Joint Formula and am using Traumeel like there is no tomorrow. I am allowing myself more sleep. I’m done with dealing with pressing through injury. While my pain box has allowed me to do so much, I suppose it has been a detriment as well. Team mates know that once I start a race, I won’t quit. However, I want to be an example to all of you out there who are afraid to back off when something hurts. It’s ok to stop and address it. You will be happier in the long run.

So there you have it! That is where I am at in a nut shell. Each day I am one step closer to being back on my feet. I’ve still got lots of great things planned for the summer, not all involve racing but rather lots of great adventures. Come September, I will hit the road for Italy, Nevada and Spain for some epic races. October is filled with speaking engagements. November just might be the scariest challenge that I have ever undertaken.

I must always remind myself that those races will always be there for me to tackle, they aren’t going anywhere. I still got a lifetime to get everything in because what I do is a lifestyle, something that I have entered into by choice because of the happiness that it gives me. Training is not seen as “training” in my world, but rather as a chance to explore, challenge, experience!

Thank you to everyone for all your support, the road ahead looks AWESOME.

Tofino Running Camp Video

2010-07-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jacuqeline Windh who had her camera rolling during the 1st annual Challenge by Choice running camp that I put on in June. Here, she gives everyone a great look at beach running at it's finest and how incredible it was that our camp dates fit perfectly with the Summer Solstice. On the last morning of camp, a few of us set out for one last beach run while others participated in the Edge2Edge marathon.

The Morning Commute - Squamish Style

2010-07-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

STANDUP4COFFEE

Summer Smoothie - Banana H20melon

2010-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

I've been drinking the ultimate recovery/re-hydration smoothie these days. I make it in a 6 cup blender and then just drink it over a period of 4 to 5hrs. Seeing as I usually have at least 2 workouts in a day, I drink 1 cup before I head out for my first training session and then I drink the remainder before my second workout. I feel like this smoothy restores my energy levels and flushes out my body. Here is my recipe, cheers to good health!

3c WaterMelon

1 Handful spinach

1 Banana

2 TBSP Udo's Oil

1 TSP Wheat Grass

3 Dashes of Cinnamon

1 Scoop Vega Protein Powder

2 Sticks Celery

1 TBSP Hemp Hearts + Flax Seed (ground)

Fill the rest of the blender up with water

Coach Jen

2010-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

The journey has been a great one. Half a year ago, I decided to go full throttle ahead with coaching full time and really submerge myself it in. For many years, I only wanted to keep my "challenge by choice" business small. Trying to juggle my own training schedule with working a full time other job and all the demands of life, I wasn't able to handle too many clients. However.....after many requests and some very persistent people, I took some time this past winter to really analyze the direction I was going and the things that were important to me. I decided that coaching/training/conditioning others was something that I really enjoyed and got excited about. Why? Because most people I coach are stoked about some goal that they have set. They are driven to get there, excited about their journey and are ready to push above and beyond their own limitations, to challenge themselves in ways they at one point in time may have thought not possible. This is extremely motivating for me as well. I believe that life is about overcoming challenges, embracing new experiences and not putting off until tomorrow what you could go after today. I LOVE love love, to see people set goals and then embark on the journey to get there.

Coaching for me is like a puzzle, trying to design the BEST program that I can for each person with their individual goals, strengths, weaknesses and time available to train. I enjoy the personal relationships that I get to develop with each of them and when it comes time for race day, I tell ya, I think I am equally as nervous as they get!! I can't wait for Sunday's race reports to roll in and to hear the stories. My clients make me laugh, cry and overwhelm me with a sense of pride.....just getting to share in a piece of their path is amazing. I thank them for allowing me and trusting me to provide guidance, share my experiences and help them along the way.

So CHEERS to all of my clients and athletes who have chosen to challenge by choice! I can't think of a better job to have..........

A Hard to Top Friday......SUP4coffee

2010-06-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Still not sure how we managed to get a group of 11 people together on a Friday morning (does know one work???) to paddle from Nexun Beach to Brittania at 7am. Howe Sound was in mint condition - sunny skies, no wind, flat water. Norm and I were joined by a good crew from our SUP classes/lessons/drop-ins and we figured it was time to paddle to a destination. What better place then an ending location where hot coffee is available - ummmmm Britannia Beach - Galileo.

Everyone enjoyed a warm morning paddle on the SUP's and we got some great pics. We will be making this a regular event so make sure you check the website for all things SUP. Oh and an FYI note, the group was back for 10am and those who decided to work, still had the day ahead to do so (ya right:)

SUP racing in Vernon

2010-06-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

1st annual Kalamalka Classic

Seeing that the summer has not exactly hit Squamish yet, Norm and I loaded up the car with some boards on Friday and took off to Vernon for the weekend. Apparently our timing couldn't have been better as we arrived to the hot and sunny interior on their first day of "good weather" as well. We stayed up on Silver Star Mountain with friends Sheila and Mike and enjoyed the quiet mountain resort this time of year.

Kevin and Michelle from OKSUP were hosting the 1st SUP Kalamalka Classic weekend of SUPing. Although a small crowd, the sport is definetly growing and paddlers from around BC and WA made the trip to Vernon to take part. Things got underway Saturday morning with the Kaloya Crossover - a 5km sprint race that had a 200m board carry through a park at the 3km mark. Good times despite not having a race board. As we've learned with this sport, equipment is everything. All boards have their purpose - some are good cruisers, other better for expeditions and then there is the fast and sleek race boards. Vow to self - get a race board!! Lina took first place and I grabbed 2nd. Cool with me, I've hardly been paddling and was really lacking paddling fitness. It was a great high intensity hammer fest. I hit the lake after for a water run/swim before we enjoyed an evening BBQ with all the other racers.

I awoke Sunday morning with a super sore upper back. Hmmmm, I wonder why. We geared up for the 10mile downwinder, a longer race from one end of Kalamalka to the other. No wind was to be found on race day so this ended up being a 2hr20min ish grind! Can't complain though, at least there was no headwind. I worked hard for the entire time to move my "tanker" through the water. It was great training and I arrived once again at the finish in 2nd place with an exhausted core and upper body. Norm also finished 2nd in both races, loosing to Bo from WA who races 24/7 and has an incredibly slick race board.

Great weekend. Got a tan. Got to SUP with some intensity and paddle a new lake. Met lots of great people. Feel super motivated to get training again on my board and hit a few more races this year.

1st Annual Women's CAMP in Tofino

2010-06-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

What a weekend we just had! It has been my dream for several years now to get a women's training camp weekend in Tofino off the ground and rolling! I was ecstatic to finally make this a reality this past weekend. 6 amazing women from around BC were in attendance and I can't thank them enough for committing to this 1st annual event. Interest from across Canada has already begun and I'm sure next year we will see somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 woman making their way out to the west coast next June.

We kicked started Friday with a run on Uclulet's Wild Pacific Trail - awesome coastal running! After check in at Tofino's Long Beach Lodge (cheers to 5 star accommodations right on Cox Bay in our luxury cabins) the ladies participated in a bare foot running/technique development session on the sands. A salmon BBQ and beach fire (complete with S'mores) rounded out the day.

Saturday at 7:45am we hit the beach and with ultra low tides we were able to link Cox Bay right through Rosie's and onto Chestermans!! In all my years of coming to Tofino I have never been able to access Rosie's beach and see the caves that are there! This was amazing and can only be passed through for about 3 days of the year. A delicious breakfast overlooking the beach followed and then the group headed to Grice Bay for a SUP Paddlefit class with Norm and I. Hot and sunny, everyone worked hard and had a great time on the stand-up boards. And what better way to end a hard workout then with a yoga session! Oh yes, Natalie from Pacific Elements Yoga took us through a great strengthen and lengthen class. After some relaxing back on the beach, the group enjoyed a fantastic dinner inside the lodge's dining room. I ended the evening by sharing with the group the latest release of the Vancouver Island Quest video (thank you kindly 1iOpenProductions).

Sunday morning, some of us enjoyed another beach/outdoor conditioning workout while others chose to race in the Edge2Edge 1/2 marathon in Uclulet or focus on some photography! We enjoyed another private yoga session and some time exploring the town of Tofino before saying our goodbyes and heading to the ferry!!!

THANK YOU ladies for a wonderful weekend. I can't wait to have you all back there next year. THANK YOU to our camp sponsors Salomon, Udo's Oil and SOLE for the goody bags for the ladies. THANK YOU to Natalie for 2 great yoga sessions and the biggest THANK YOU to Norm to putting up with the "ladies" for the weekend, cooking our amazing salmon BBQ dinner, building campfires and introducing everyone to the sport of SUP.

See everyone soon, same place, same time in 2011!!!!!

Suunto T6

2010-06-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've now had a few weeks to play with the newest addition to my training tools, Suunto's T6c watch. I've been using their watches for many years now and I can testify to the quality and durability of them. To be even more specific, I purchased my first one back in 2000 while living in Whistler teaching snowboarding and it continues to work like a charm today (and I've only replaced the battery 1x.) My AR team nuun Sport Multi have been long time users as well.

I'm now having fun familiarizing myself with the T6c. Initial thought that made me very happy: the HR monitor picks up instantly!!! This is huge for me as I can't stand having to go and wet the sensors of other chest straps in order to trigger a signal. I'm not a "techy" person when it comes to computers and electronics. I like things to "just work" and not give me a headache. Suunto's products hence fit the bill :)

If you haven't looked at the Suunto watches before, I highly recommend you do. They are user friendly and perfect for all us outdoor runners, bikers, trekkers, paddlers and adventurists. I'm using the watch in conjunction with the foot pod. Here are the key features that I am currently playing around with:

- altimeter (for hill and altitude performance)

- speed, distance and cadence (for bike or run)

- caloric measurements

- compatibility and easy downloading to my Mac

I'm also just starting to get connected with Suunto's online training log at www.movescount.com

If you are looking to invest in a quality piece of equipment to help you with your goals, then the Suunto watch deserves some attention - long time leaders in the industry and trusted by people around the world for supplying necessary data in an easy to access format.

Happy Training......

Rainier to Ruston 50km

2010-06-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

After a great week of visiting with family and teaching lots of SUP and outdoor conditioning classes, Norm and I hit the road early on Friday morning for the border. ZERO delays and we were through and on our way to Tony's for breakfast and coffee. With no agenda but non-stop rain, we passed on SUPing in the Bellingham area and made our way down to West Seattle where we caught up with Erik from 1iOpenProductions who is working around the clock right now to get my Vancouver Island Quest video finished for it's showing this month. We then ate a fabulous restaurant with our friends Cathy and Michael (who was fresh off from guiding an Everest expedition) and enjoyed some good catching up and stories. Eventually, we rolled into a state park near Mt.Rainier to set up camp for the night and relax!

Saturday morning it was bluebird skies as we drove the 25mins to the start line of the annual Rainier to Ruston Rail Trail Relay. I had my coffee and some grub from Trader Joe's and with no stress walked to the start line for a 10am go. The views of Mt.Rainier were incredible!! Too bad that I would be running from there and towards the ocean town of Ruston. I had signed up for the 50miler but with a bit of an aggravated right foot, I cut it to the 50km. However the 50miler and relay runners had already set out at 7:30am that morning so I knew it was only time until we all crossed paths somewhere soon.

Talk about a course that doesn't favor me one single bit! 40 of the 50km were all paved as we followed an old rail way bed, can you say FLAT!!! The other 10km was dirt path but very awkward and slow to move on due to some lake size puddles that had formed. However, it was just about getting some mileage in so I took it in stride and enjoyed running away from traffic but with lots of entertainment from all the passing by cyclists and other runners. My music was on (but I am SO DONE with whats on my i-pod - HELP) and I cruised. I didn't see too many other racers out there. From the start, I had a 50miler runner in my sites who was moving so that held my attention for the first 25km or so. Steady 14km/hr pace, I was careful to not push above this just for the sake of going faster. My right foot acted up a bit but surprisingly enough, the left achilles felt GREAT!!! Somewhere around 32km I passed the 50miler guy when he hit the wall hard! I knew his pain and encouraged him and his pacers onwards. Over the next 18km I had to stay focused on staying on the correct route as we worked our way into the industrial areas and eventually down to the busy waterfront in Ruston. I lost a good 15mins of time from 32 to 39km as I chose to bushwack through thick grass instead of going up to the road (wasn't sure if we were allowed there or not). Norm and the monkey kept me fed and hydrated at each aid station, my salomon compression socks worked like a charm and I was stoked to finally be down to a tank top and my Ryders sunglasses for a race this year!!!

Final result - 1st place overall (50km)

Overall, I enjoyed the race. If road is your thing, I highly recommend this race for next year! The crew that puts it on are fabulous and really welcoming. You won't see too many inclines along the way so it's a great way to tune up that leg turnover! Oh and I almost forgot....every time you hit an aid station (and there are lots of them) you get to ring the bell as you run through the tressel!

Now it's time to re-focus back in Squamish. This weekend is my first annual (can I say that??) hosting of a women's trail running and conditioning camp in Tofino!!! The weather looks great and I'm stoked to hit the west coast. Ray and I are working hard on my training program for some upcoming races and I will have to give a bit extra attention to this right foot new issue as well.

Congrats goes out as well to so many clients who just killed it at their races this weekend. Kyle my rockstar AR athlete took 1st place in Virginia at a 24hr with his team and Linda from Whistler did incredible in the Oliver 1/2 Ironman. Shannon and Tammy both had great weekends past at the 25km IronKnee in North Vancouver. I gotta say, I'm loving coaching so many wonderful and dedicated people. You all motivate me so much and I can't wait until those Sunday night race reports arrive in my inbox!! Thank you for allowing me to apart of YOUR journey!

Adventure onwards.......

MOMAR Squamish - a great weekend!

2010-05-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

I awoke Sunday morning with just an amazing feeling of "ahhh, it's over, I can relax." This past Saturday was the 4th annual Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race here in Squamish. After 6 months of preparation (including my tasks of race course design and vetting, permits, liasing with land holders and the community) it has all come to an end for another year. Gotta say, I'm exhausted!

However, what a great weekend. I love my involvement with MOMAR each year, it's my way to give back to an amazing sport that has provided me with so much enjoyment over the past decade. There was well over 200 racers on the start line, all coming here to push themselves and experience the great Squamish playground. This year, the course featured some of the classic trails as well as the most incredible brand new trail of 1/2 Nelson. Ted and Steve (the best trail builders ever) have been working non-stop over the winter to put this 3.5km burmy, twisty, smooth and flowy trail in! It's been the talk of Squamish for the past month and I couldn't wait to have the MOMAR racers experience it. The trail got rave reviews from everyone at the after party on Saturday night as well. Steve (owner of Bean Brackendale where I spend way toooo much time each day) was my course consultant. He helped me piece everything together, including a brand new O course made up of trails that no-one had seen before. And of course, I had to put the rappel off the top of Peak #1 in once again. Thanks to Squamish Rock Guides for doing a great job of getting everyone down the ropes!

Congrats to all the racers who came out and took on a solid day of racing! The smiles that I see out there and the "stoke factor" of when you've crossed the line is what it's all about. That makes me excited to start planning for 2011 and providing you with another fun and challenging race course. Race results and pictures are now up on the MOMAR website.

Also, no MOMAR could happen without the MANY volunteers. Thank you to everyone who contributed in some way, shape or form. Deron, Mike and Jamie did an amazing job managing their sections and making sure everything ran nice and smoothly. As always, it's a pleasure for me to work with Bryan (owner and founder of MOMAR) each year!

It was amazing that 2 of my team mates from nuun-Multisport made the trip up from Seattle to race with Dan and Jill on Team Trioba. They stayed around on Sunday to play - we hit the lake for some SUP ing and salmon BBQ ing! Oh, and if you are looking for another sprint race to tackle, the boys put on a great race south of the border at the beginning of June. Check out Trioba!

See you all back for 2011 - you can bet I'm already scouting!

AVOID!!

2010-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today's random thought that I wanted to share relates to the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup. If you can avoid eating foods with this ingredient, your body will thank you in SO MANY WAYS!! Have a read here on a recent article that came out the NY Times. Interesting and humorous!

Now...while you spend the next few days going through your cupboards and throwing out any foods that have this nasty ingredient in it, I'm off to prep the race course - it's MOMAR Squamish this weekend. Good luck to all races. See you out there! I hope you enjoy what I've put together.

3, 6, 9

2010-05-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I'm STOKED to welcome onboard Flora Health, an amazing company that makes a product called Udo's Oil. I've been religiously using Udo's daily since December and I firmly believe that it has played a major role in my recovery of tendons and joints (since the achilles issues) and now daily with my vigorous training schedule. My thoughts on this were further confirmed back in March when I went to France. Being that I was traveling on an airplane and only gone for 1 week, I didn't take my Udo's with me. It's hard to explain but something was "just missing." It was a hard week of training and racing (as Salomon's Advanced Week always is) and there just felt to be a missing link in my body. As soon as I returned home, I was back on the Udo's, putting it into my smoothies daily. Ahhhh......something had returned to "normal."

So Udo's, wondering what it is? Be sure to visit OIL THE MACHINE for all the details but here is a good explanation to get you thinking......

Udo’s Oil is a certified organic, sustainable, and fish-free blend of plant-sourced oils designed to supply the ideal 2:1 ratio of Omega-3 & -6 fatty acids. It contains all the good fats you need, without any of the bad fats you should avoid.

The key to health from fats lies in taking the essential ones in the proper ratio. This isn’t usually achieved because the average western diet is too high in omega-6 and dangerously low in Omega-3.

Udo’s research indicates the best results come consistently from plant oils blended to be richer in omega -3 than omega -6, and in a 2:1 ratio. Udo’s Oil Blends contain the proper 2:1 ratio; fish and flax oils do not.

I know how much my body LOVES and NEEDS this oil and I have been recommending it to all my athletes for quite some time now. I can't encourage you enough to explore Udo's and give it a try. After 1-2 weeks of taking it daily, I am almost positive that you are going to feel that something is "different." Out of all the supplements and extra's that athletes and people need to take, I would for sure put this at the top of your list.

I'm looking forward to the future with this amazing company because I 100% believe in the health benefits of their products. Feel free to contact me if you want more info. Another good place is to head to your local Health Food Store where I'm sure you will be able to track it down :) Oil Up........

STANDUP4GREATBEAR

2010-05-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Norm's 385km is underway! As many of you know, the STANDUP4GREATBEAR paddle is about bringing awareness to STOP the proposed oil tanker route through BC's northern coastal waters. Several months ago, Norm decided to take a stand for something that he is very passionate about - protecting the Great Bear Rainforest, an area that he has worked and lived in for over 10 years now. The goal is to prevent Enbridge from being allowed to move the oil via massive tankers through the GBR. As Norm says, it's not IF there is an oil spill, it's WHEN and HOW MUCH damage will be done (prime example - the oil spill in the Gulf right now. )

Thank you to everyone for showing their support for this cause in one way or another. While I wasn't able to accompany him on his adventure and expedition, I am doing my best to keep things updated from back here in Squamish. There are a few places you can go to keep up with everything and show your support!

WEBSITE: www.mountainsurfadventures.com

BLOG: click here

Facebook: click here

Norm has an amazing crew with him out there. His sister Shannon is on board the support boat, Brian Huntington from the Skeena Watershed is paddling a kayak alongside Norm and MANY people from the various Native villages that he will paddle through are providing support both on and off the water, welcoming him with open arms and helping the team move through this large body of water.

Goodluck Norm and team! We are so proud of you and wishing you a safe journey as you make your way from Kitimat to Bella Bella.

42km the Paved Way

2010-05-02T18:52:00.001-07:00

Well it's official, I finally lined up and gave my 1st true marathon a go (apparently Badwater doesn't count - ha :) We have really been working on my flat leg speed, something that proves over and over again to be my limiting factor when I race. So, finally time to address that issue and begin the road to fixing it! However my coach has been away (yes Ray, leading the i2P group in Tunisia) so I wasn't able to chat with him about this "change/addition" to this week's training schedule! We hadn't planned for it and therefor, no taper was going to happen. I tackled this week full on, deciding that the marathon might not be pretty but it would give me a good tempo workout and force me to stay focused the entire time to my leg turnover. With that said, I continued onwards this week and logged 12hrs of training, including a hard run on Friday morning that ended with blasting up the chief. Obviously not ideal when one wants fresh legs to run on!

However, I lined up at 7:30am this morning amongst all the elite runners, humbled by the field surrounding me. Fast and I mean lighting fast Kenyans who would go on to dominate the race! Needless to say they were out of my sights by about 500m into the run! As the race got going, I was feeling good. It was raining and I was in a tank top so I actually managed to regulate body temperature well. I ran with no music so that I could focus entirely on what I was doing. This sucks for me because in the mountains, I just run and find my zen state and that is how I like to be. Anyways....at the 1/2 way point, I was bang on - 1hr30mins. This was my goal if I was going to attempt for a 3hr time. The best part of the race for me was both times over the Burrard St Bridge - ahhh yes, a slight hill and I could change up the working muscles in my stride (oh yes, and I even passed a few people here.) However, 32km to the 36km was no fun at all. I suffered through, angry that my legs were slowing down despite how much I focused on them. I had a hard time maintaining a good foot strike (got sloppy, heal hitting down) and I could see my sub 3hr slipping away from me. Then, I got some encouragement from the hundreds of cheering people and snapped out of it. I shifted into another gear, cleaned up my foot stride and passed another elite runner. Just as I tell my early morning crew "you can do anything for 6mins" well....I had to tell myself that I can do anything for 6km. With that thought in my head, I tackled the rest of the race and decided to just do the best that I could.

Greeted at the finish line by Norm, Brea and Todd (who also raced the 1/2 and is one of Canada's best) I was just relieved to be finished although my stomach quickly turned to knots. I put down a 3:06 and am happy with that. My average pace was 4:25/km which is not a pace that I usually run ultra's at. I have to respect where I am at and the background that I come from.

I think most of my encouragement today came from the 13,500 other runners out there!!! It was amazing to see so many people who had trained so hard, all go after it and give it their best! Very impressive, very cool. I saw lots of familiar faces out there and that was awesome! Congrats to every single person who raced today, be proud of the journey you have been on (and I hope there is more in the roads ahead.)

And I can't end this weekend without saying that several of my clients had fantastic races as well over the past 2 days. My Jude Ultra won the women's 50 miler at Elk Lake this weekend WAHOOOOOOOO!!!! Kyle Peter took on Miwok and killed it! This was a B race for him seeing as he likes to race every single weekend so we could never do a full taper! Look out Western States! Tammy VH had a great run at the marathon today too and she is ready for Stormy 50miler - her endurance system is taking great form!! And lots of other clients have reported in with solid weekends of training. I'm fortunate to get to be apart of their journeys as well!

As for me.......back to the mountains and trails please and thanks :) Oh, wait, nope, still more flats and speedwork ahead! Right now I am trying to get my Udo's Oil into my system to aid in recovery. My salomon compression calves were amazing while I ran and I think they have aided in my legs feeling good now.

Power and Weight

2010-05-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am fan of the coaching methodology of Joe Friel. As such, I follow his blog religiously. Because I have had this conversation with several people recently, I thought it appropriate to share Joe's latest on power vs weight ratio when it comes to running and biking. It's a tricky subject.....do I drop weight and if so, will my performance suffer? Hmmmm....read on!

When riding a bike uphill or running you are working to overcome gravity. For the bike I’m sure that’s obvious. Riding up a hill means that gravity is trying to pull you back down. That’s what makes climbing on a bike so challenging. Running probably doesn’t seem as difficult because when running there is only a little bit of vertical movement occurring with each stride. While it’s not great it’s happening about 170 times per minute. That’s a lot of times. If the vertical displacement with each stride is only one inch (many age group runners bounce up and down much more than an inch with each step) that means you are lifting your body’s center of gravity 170 inches – 14 feet (425cm) – every minute. If running for an hour you’ve produced 283 yards (257m) of vertical displacement. That’s an 85-story skyscraper you’ve climbed. Huge!

Now imagine that you are riding your bike up a steep hill or running along a flat road as usual, only this time you’re wearing a backpack filled with 10 pounds (4.5kg) of rocks. It’s obviously far more difficult when wearing the backpack. But why is that? It’s because as the mass of an object (you, your equipment and the backpack with rocks) increases, the pull of gravity also increases. That’s why you have bathroom scales – to measure the pull of gravity on your body. We refer to that as your weight. So increases in weight result in your having to use more energy to lift it while riding uphill or running. Notice that there was no change in your power when you put on the weighted backpack; only a change in weight.

Now imagine the opposite. You’ve got a new bike that weighs 10 pounds less than your old clunker. It’s easier to ride up the hill, isn’t it? Or imagine that you’ve been losing excess body fat and your bathroom scales now say you are 10 pounds lighter. What will happen to your running? You’ll run faster at the same energy rate. Again, no change in power; only a change in weight.

Every extra pound (450mg) added to your body and equipment “costs” you about one-and-a-half watts of power on a steep hill climb on your bike and about two seconds per mile when running. A few extra pounds one way or the other directly impacts how fast your race times are.

There’s no doubt that what your body and equipment combined weigh has a lot to do with how well you perform in triathlon. If we can reduce your weight without changing your power you will go faster. Or, conversely, if we can increase your muscular power with weight remaining the same you will also go faster. The best combination is to increase power and reduce weight. Much faster!

Here’s a simple guide for determining what your body weight means to performance. Divide your weight in pounds (kilograms) by your height in inches (centimeters). The typical, high-performance, male triathlete is in the range of 2.1 to 2.3 pounds per inch (0.38-0.41 kg/cm) with high-performance female triathletes generally being 1.9 to 2.1 pounds per inch (0.34-0.38 kg/cm). In road racing the best male climbers are typically 2.0 pounds per inch (0.36 kg/cm) or less. Top female climbers are under 1.8 (0.32 kg/cm). Of course, there are always exceptions such as Lance Armstrong who is about 2.1 pounds per inch (0.38 kg/cm). He overcomes his greater weight by having even greater power.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t excel if above these common ranges. It simply means that you must also have a higher-than-normal power output per pound (kilogram) to overcome the greater weight as Lance does.

Reducing your excess body weight and the weight of your bike and running shoes will potentially pay off with faster race times. But there’s risk associated with such weight reductions. If you lose muscle, especially the muscles that are used for swimming, biking or running, you are likely to be slower. Replacing heavy components on your bike with the lightest (and most expensive) equipment available raises the risk of that component failing during a race. For example, lightweight tires are one of the most effective weight reducing changes you can make since they lower rotating weight. The downside is that they are more likely to have a puncture. A super-lightweight saddle is more likely to break when you hit a pothole. Featherweight handlebars have been known to snap with a powerful rider is climbing out of the saddle. Running in racing flats may increase your risk of injury. Lowering your racing weight provides both reward and risk.

Of course, for riding a bike on a flat road or indoor trainer (regardless if the front wheel is raised or not) and for swimming, mass is not critical. The tug of gravity on your body and equipment is not as great. In fact, a big triathlete riding a bike on a flat course is generally faster than a small triathlete since being big usually means having more power. That’s why if your weight is above the pounds-per-inch ranges suggested above it’s best to select flat race courses when possible.

5 Peaks Golden Ears

2010-04-26T11:55:00.001-07:00

How could I say no to spending a Saturday morning out in Golden Ears Provincial Park? Well, I couldn't so needless to say I made the drive out to Maple Ridge to take part in the first 5 Peaks Trail Race of the year.

The wonderful and speedy Jessalyn O'donnell came over from the Island which was great because we never get to run anymore. We had our support crew of Robin and Sean come along for the ride and to heckle us the whole way there (and back)!

If I am in town, I always try to hit the 5 Peaks races. They are always well marked, solid courses and everyone is out to have a good time on the trails. Those of us who braved it this weekend got a good dose of rain and mud. Actually, I don't think it ever even stopped. It made for a bit of a unique start as everyone stayed huddled in their cars or under tents until right before go time. I thought that this would make for a really good tempo run for me so I shifted my schedule around and did interval work and my long runs early on in the week. I didn't arrive with super fresh legs but they weren't as bad as I had thought either. Lots of the other Salomon flight crew members were out too which was great to see.

It was a 9am start and we were off to a fast start. The boys went out hard and I could just see Adam Campbell up ahead for the first bit and then he disappeared. That boy is seriously fast! It took a good 5km for me to settle into some kind of comfortable pace. Lots of fun river crossings made life interesting. Once we hit the flats, it was game over for me. Stephanie Hamilton from Vancouver slowly pulled away. I let her go, knowing that it was ok, this was my time to work on my weaknesses, which yes, are flats. I don't like them one single bit. However, I have been committing to working on them so I took this opportunity to just keep focused on moving through as best as I could. I felt amazing for the rest of the race. It ended up being a 12km run, not 14km. I had hoped for way more hills and technical downhills as that part of my running is starting to come together once again. In the end, the flats were my nemesis that day and I finished 2nd, 45seconds back of Stephanie. Jess kept the pressure on me from behind (and she is another very talented road runner with speed) so that kept me moving forward at least.

I think everyone who hit the trails on Saturday deserves a congrats. Tough conditions were an added challenge but the coolest thing of all is that everyone still has a great time out there. Gotta love trail runners - just get the job done and have some fun in the mud while you are out there.

The Salomon flight crew stacked up like this for the day:

Adam Campbell - 2nd male overall, 1st for men's 30-39

Duncan Coo - 9th male overall, 1st for men's 40-49

Tom Craik - 13th male overall, 5th for men's 30-39

Me - 2nd female overall, 1st for women's 20-29

Kudo's out to my wonderful client and friend Jude Ultra who had a stellar run, finishing 6th female overall, using the race as a speed workout prior to next weekends Elk Lake 50miler. She did EXACTLY what she was supposed to do out there, this girl is a force to be reckoned with.

After some good Mexican food on the way home, I headed back out for another run on Saturday afternoon with Norm. We then spend Sunday playing on the SUP's and out on our bikes cruising around and seeing friends over dinner. This morning, the legs felt great and I put a solid 2hr20min hilly route down with ease. Next up.......more flats....ahhhhh.....Vancouver Marathon this Sunday! Wish me speedyness and good leg turnover! Why is it that I prefer a 100km mountain trail race over a 42km flat marathon? Anyways.......gotta challenge the weakness.......it's the only way to get better.

Just a great weekend in paradise!

2010-04-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

I think right now I am just riding the high of life and it feels great! Nothing spectacular this past weekend, I didn't travel to somewhere hot or escape to a favorite distant playground. In fact, I stayed put, right here in Squamish (and surrounding area) and just enjoyed my amazing trails, community and the people that also get to call this place home.

The weekend went something like this.....

Thursday/Friday - working on the MOMAR course beneath sunny skies. Evening MTB ride until dark, seeing lots of friends out on the trails, everyone just stoked for late night riding!

Saturday - out on the trails training and only getting 1/2 soaked. Ran all over the place including 9mile, The Rip, The Plunge, Garibaldi area. Put down a comfortable 40km and could see the results of some solid training over the past few weeks. Starting to feel like I am getting into race shape! Saw lots of TOM riders out, everyone prepping for June's big bike race. Followed up the day's training with coffee and friends.

Sunday - a nice sleep in (zzzzz's, until 7am) and headed up to Whistler to collect Jo (my loyal support crew) and we drove another 20mins to Pemberton, just in time to participate at the annual Mosquito Lake 10km trail race. Good times with such a friendly community. Ran with "John and John" as we alternated who led and who determined the pace. Legs were ultra heavy but I enjoyed the push and tapping into my "I don't like to go their zone." Coach has me working hard in this area right now to improve my speed and I think it's working. Enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Wildwood Pemby and then it was back home and up to take part in the opening of Half-Nelson, Squamish's newest and SICKest MTB trail. Ted and Steve have worked so hard for the past 7 months to build this trail and it rocks. TONS and tons of people were out, everyone grinning and just high on life. The passing of good vibes is so contagious. I rode with my friend Karen from NZ who just moved to town. Then, it was off to submit taxes (what a great feeling to hand those in) before enjoying a glass of vino out on the spit in the evening hours with one of my most fantastic friends!!!!

Monday - not sure what the week will hold but I am determined to make it great! I think it begins with a trail run......

I hope everyone also had a great weekend and if you did, make sure you share your stoke with others.......it's cool because passing around good vibes is contagious........

Heat Acclimatization for Runners

2010-04-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

I get asked about training for the heat a lot and so this recently arrived in my inbox, I thought I would share. One difference from this report is that I really experienced NO benefit by moving about in the sauna as opposed to just sitting there and relaxing. So when I am doing heat preparation now, I focus my efforts on drinking HUGE volumes of fluid in the sauna and relaxing and stretching as opposed to moving. Look forward to getting YOU ready for some race in the heat! I've embraced hot weather races (MDS, Badwater etc) and really love it!

Heat Acclimation for Runners

Posted: 09 Apr 2010 03:00 AM PDT

It seems a bit funny to be talking about heat acclimation in April given that many of us are still trying to decide if we should risk running in the snow/sleet/cold rain. However, the Marathon des Sables is currently in progress (temps over 120F/50C this year) and several adventure and stage races in Central and South America are about to get underway. (It’s also the season for the Libyan Challenge, but that event was canceled this year.) All of these races take place in hot environments. A question that often comes up for competitors, particularly if they live somewhere that is currently in the grip of winter/spring, is “how can I prepare for the effects of heat and humidity”?

In the following article I will explain how heat affects running performance, what happens during heat acclimation, and methods of acclimating to the heat, including my own experience with heat acclimation. We invite you to share your experiences with heat acclimation and hot weather events by leaving a comment.

How Heat Affects Running Performance
There is little doubt that exercise performance is impaired in hot environments. While the effect of heat on performance varies with the sport (for example, less effect on cycling than running), there is a great deal of empirical data showing a link between ambient temperature and performance. Various authors have suggested performance impairments of between 1.6 and 3% in marathon times for every 10 degrees above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Below is an interesting table from a paper by Scot Montain and colleagues at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine illustrates the relationship between elite marathoner finishing times and course temperature in the New York City Marathon.

New York City Marathon: Top Times vs Temperature

The effect seems to be less dramatic for faster runners. The following table from a 2007 paper by Matthew Ely demonstrates this nicely:

Effect of heat on slower vs faster marathoners.

Why are we slower in hot conditions? There are a variety of proposed mechanisms, but the one that is most widely accepted is based on cardiac output limitations.

When we exercise, we produce a great deal of heat. One of the principle ways that we get rid of this excess heat is through sweating (evaporative heat loss), as well as conduction and radiation of heat from our skin. To achieve this, our bodies have to send a considerable amount of blood to the skin. This blood is therefore not available to perfuse working muscles and deliver oxygen to them. So a portion of our blood volume is essentially no longer able to participate in oxygen delivery and energy formation in our exercising muscles. The greater the amount of heat that we need to dissipate, the greater the proportion of blood that is diverted to the skin (up to a point – this can’t increase forever).

What is necessary for cooling isn’t the hemoglobin (the red blood cells in blood) but the plasma, which is essentially water with a number of different proteins and electrolytes in it. However, your body can’t separate the red cells (which are the oxygen carriers) from the plasma – they all go along for the ride to the skin.

How We Acclimate to Heat
If it is plasma that is the essential cooling component, is it possible to improve this problem by increasing our total plasma volume? Yes, and that is exactly what happens as we adapt to heat over time. Whether you acclimate naturally to higher temperatures over the course of a season, or in a heat chamber, the most significant change that occurs is an increase in plasma volume. Other things occur as well (such as changes in sweat sodium concentration, resting core temperature and heart rate), but plasma volume expansion is the key. After extensive acclimatization, plasma volume can have expanded by as much as 2 liters!

This may explain why the fittest athletes adapt to heat stress more quickly than the less fit. One of the by-products of endurance training (especially at high intensities) is an increase in plasma volume. So just by training hard, you can derive some amount of heat acclimation. What about specifically training in a hot environment to improve performance in a hot race? There is extensive evidence that it is possible to improve our performance in hot environments by training in similar conditions prior to competition. Several studies have demonstrated performance improvements in terms of maximum work rate, perceived exertion, time to failure at submaximal work rates, and time to complete a specific distance.

In the last few paragraphs we’ve explored a bit about the effect of heat on performance (bad) and the effects of acclimation on this (good). The most meaningful physiological adaptation that occurs is an increase in plasma volume (a lot like adding more radiator fluid to a car). However, there are some other adaptations that occur – changes in sweat rate, changes in sweat sodium concentration and changes in core resting temperature, to name a few. The various adaptations occur with different amounts of acclimatization. Here’s a graphical representation of the times over which an athlete can gain these benefits:

A timeline of various heat acclimation adaptations.

Heat Acclimation Methods and Considerations
The work needed to achieve the benefits heat acclimation is reasonable. Most laboratory based heat acclimation protocols have athletes spend about 1 hour a day in a heat chamber for 7-10 days. Importantly, this needs to occur as close to the time of the competition as possible, as the adaptations conferred by acclimation decay rapidly without ongoing exposure. So there’s no point in spending 2 weeks in a heat chamber a month before the race – the effects will decay in 1-3 weeks.

As previously mentioned, the benefits of heat acclimation decay rapidly if you do not maintain heat exposure. Estimates vary, but it’s possible that you could lose half of the benefit in 10 days without ongoing heat exposure. This raises some logistical problems for athletes living in cold environments who are attempting to acclimate for a hot weather event. To benefit maximally from acclimatization, the heat training sessions should occur as close as possible to the event. That seems pretty straight forward. The problem is that acclimation is quite physically demanding, and most athletes attempt to taper in the week(s) prior to a big race. So, if you want to acclimatize optimally, it needs to occur during your taper – which may cause overtraining, or at least minimize the benefits of tapering.

As with all training, the more specific, the better. When it comes to heat acclimatization this means that your training climate should reflect the competition environment as closely as possible – the same temperatures as well as humidity. Why is humidity important? As anyone who has survived an East Coast summer knows, humidity makes it harder to lose heat via sweating. Training in a humid environment does confer some benefit it you are training for a dry, hot race, but not as much as training in a dry, hot chamber. Interestingly, there is better “transfer” of acclimation if you train in a dry, hot climate and then race in a humid, hot race than the other way round. So, as much as possible, match humidity and temperature of your acclimation phase to your race environment.

What about passive acclimation? That is, will sitting in a sauna at the YMCA get us ready for running in Death Valley? Essentially – a bit, but not much. Acclimatization is vastly greater (and more rapid) is you exercise during the heat exposure. Whether this is again the principle of specificity, or whether it is simply that core temperature rises faster with active acclimation (increased core temperature is probably the stimulus for the adaptions that occur) is not clear.

My Experiences
To address these problems, I worked with the exercise physiologists at Simon Fraser University’s Environmental Physiology Unit. They put together a low intensity heat acclimation program specifically tailored to my needs (the Marathon des Sables in Morocco). In brief, I ran on a treadmill at 50-60% VO2max for 45-75 minutes over 9 sessions. The first 3 sessions were at 95F (35C) and the next 5 were at 113F (45C). In the final (9th) session the temperature was reduced back to 95F (35C). This allowed us to compare my physiological data from the first and the last sessions. Here are some of the data we recorded. I think that you will agree that some real benefits were seen.

Change in perceived exertion after 9 days of heat acclimation.

The Borg Scale above is used to assess subjective overall effort – I clearly felt that the same speed was easier in the heat after 9 days. The “thermal comfort score” below shows that I was bothered less by the heat after acclimation.

Change in thermal comfort rating after 9 days of heat acclimation.

One of the most important ways to prevent heat injuries and to maintain performance in extremely hot environments is to drink adequate amounts of fluid. This seems obvious, but it is actually surprisingly hard to do this if you are focusing on running. I think that one of the most useful benefits (for me – not living somewhere hot) was learning to drink earlier and more frequently. That I learned this lesson is well demonstrated in the graph of fluid balances on Days 1 and 9 below.

Change in fluid balance after 9 days of heat acclimation.

Finally, what happened to heart rate? As you can see below, my heart rate at the same speed and temperature decreased by about 9% – a very significant improvement. Now, it didn’t get as low as what I would expect it to be in “normal temps,” but the improvement was significant, and could be expected to translate into a tangible benefit in competition.

Change in exercise heart rate after 9 days of heat acclimation.

So, in my experience, heat acclimation based on well documented scientific principles can give athletes a significant performance enhancement in hot environments. However, it is important to recognize the effect of acclimation on the tapering period and to plan accordingly.

Film Premiere on Sunshine Coast Trail

2010-04-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hoping I can make it too one of these showings!!!

ULTRA-RUNNING DOCUMENTARY XS-NRG PREMIERES

Powell River Premiere 2:00pm Patricia Theatre 4/24/10

Vancouver Premiere 6:00pm H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Auditorium 5/1/2010

Vancouver/Powell River, March 14, 2010: The documentary XS-NRG follows four ultra-marathon runners as they attempt to conquer the 180km Sunshine Coast Trail on the West Coast of British Columbia, non-stop.

Run four back-to-back marathons? On rugged, mountain trails? With no sleep and no aid for hours at a time? Seems inconceivable, if not downright crazy. Elite ultra-marathon runners, however, call it fun. Running buddies Dave Cressman, Ean Jackson, and the Repta brothers Dom and Wade are among Canada’s top endurance athletes, and finishing this task will take everything they’ve got.

These runners enjoy unusual challenges, but they and the filmmakers also hope to generate publicity for the Sunshine Coast Trail and Powell River, an area attempting to achieve economic growth by encouraging eco-tourism in place of the traditional logging industry. The Sunshine Coast Trail links significant areas of old growth forest and stretches from Saltery Bay ferry terminal in the south to Sarah Point in the world-famous Desolation Sound Marine Park in the north.

The Vancouver screening happens the day before the Vancouver Marathon, and will provide motivation for participating runners and anyone with an interest in outdoor life. 25% of ticket sales from the Powell River Screening will be donated to the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society.

This is film industry professional Angus Mclellan’s first documentary. Mclellan states: On first meeting the runners, I found their energy for the sport inspirational. I knew documenting the Sunshine Coast Trail Run would give a compelling insight into ultra-running culture and the minds of athletes who pursue the sport.

Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased at www.xsnrg.tv (they will be $17 at the door) Documentary runtime 50 minutes, followed by Q&A. Prizes to be won!

My picks for Rainy Running

2010-04-01T12:03:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's rainy season here in Squamish. This means pushing through on a regular basis to get the runs in and keep training. I thought I would share with you my top choices for rainy weather running gear. The minim II paclite jacket is made out of ultra light gore-tex, ideal for these cold rainy trail and mountain runs. I alternate between the Trail III 3/4 tight and the Exo II 3/4 tight. I love the compression of the Exo and it keeps me warmer on chilly sessions. However, the regular 3/4 is extremely comfortable (made out of actiLite and smart skin technology) and gives me no issues.

All these pieces are working checking out!!! Happy trails.......

STANDUP4GREATBEAR

2010-03-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Norm is busy preparing for an amazing journey SUP journey through the Great Bear Rainforest, drawing awareness for the need to stop Enbridge from being able to run their oil tankers right through an extremely fragile and unbelievable ecosystem on BC's North Coast. Having spent time in this area with the people of Hartley Bay and being exposed to their culture and traditional lands, Norm understands that should a tanker leak or sink, this area would be destroyed forever. Read on to find out more about Norm's upcoming paddle. Pacific Wild, First Ascent and Surftech have all come on board to support him on his journey!

Beginning on May 3^rd, 2010 and corresponding with the annual Pacific Salmon migration, Norm Hann will be paddling the proposed North Coast Oil Tanker Route through the Great Bear Rainforest and the traditional harvesting lands of the Coastal First Nations on his Surftech standup paddleboard. The paddle and support team will begin in Kitimat, B.C and will travel south to Bella Bella, over 300kms, paddling and documenting the people and places that are at risk.

The goal of this expedition is to bring awareness to the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline and tanker traffic and its potentially devastating effects to the traditional food harvesting areas of First Nations and wildlife of the Great Bear Rainforest.

The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway project would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands to the Coast via a 1,170 km pipeline. The oil would be transferred to super tankers, transported through the Great Bear Rainforest, past Haida Gwaii and onto Asia. Opening up the North Coast to super tankers creates a very high likelihood of a tragic oil spill occurring. This spill would be devastating and would change life as it is known for the people and wildlife of this magical area.

Norm Hann is a professional guide in the Great Bear Rainforest and has worked closely with the youth and elders of his adopted native community of Hartley Bay. He is an outdoor athlete and stand up paddleboarder. He is excited for the opportunity to expedition along this incredible coast and though the Great Bear Rainforest promoting awareness and action.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS WILL BE MADE TO PACIFIC WILD

FOLLOW LIVE: WWW.MOUNTAINSURFADVENTURES.COM

WWW.MOUNTAINSURFADVENTUERS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Check out Facebook Fan Page: STANDUP4GREATBEAR

On the News Stands now.....

2010-03-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

I must admit, this is just a wee bit humbling and strange to see yourself on the front cover. In fact, I was almost dreading to see what it would come out like. The photographer that I worked with was fantastic which helped put me at ease somewhat. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the number of congratulations coming in by those of you who have already seen it. Thank you for all your support :)

Kili to the Coast for a Cause

2010-03-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

I recently learned about this group of Canadians who are headed down to Tanzania to partake in a 400mile ride in efforts to raise awareness and funds for the FOUNDATION FOR TOMORROW. Check it out. Cyclists will begin at Mt. Kilimanjaro and finish a great distance later at the Indian Ocean, following an old slave route as they go. The funds they raise go directly to supporting orphans in Africa to be educated, attend school and learn with hopes of a brighter future, teaching them how to grow their homeland.

Fundraising and awareness events are currently underway. To learn more about what this ride is all about, visit their FACEBOOK site. Kudo's to Tom and his crew, I'll be updating more on this group as the event get's closer. You can also email Tom Thomas.Scovic@asu.edu directly to learn about making a direct contribution.

Thanks for inspiring us all!

Ending Salomon Advanced Week with a RACE

2010-03-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

(a long way up)
(race start)
(Gripmaster & Phil)
(many a climbs like this that go on and on and on)
(The blogging life when not running with the Exo recovery calves)

What an incredible week we have all had here in Bedoin, France. From 12 athletes three years ago to an amazing 32 this year, I've had a blast running with some of the most amazing and talented athletes from all over the world. Seven fabulous days of testing products and participating in R&D with the global Salomon family, it's been an honor and a privilege. I've been with Salomon for almost 8 years and I can't think of a better company to represent.

Ok, so to re-cap today, our last full day here. While the bulk of the crew headed out yesterday, I think there was around 10 athletes who stayed to participate in today's race back up Mt. Ventoux! I'm still in shock that more than 1200, YES 1200 people registered for this race. It was really great to see the energy and enthusiasm for trail running that exists here. I hope we can keep growing the sport in Canada. It's just so much fun. Anyways, we could choose from the 22km distance of the long course of 44km (originally 50km but got shortened due to the snow.) What was really different about this race is that you did NOT have to select your distance until you hit the 14km mark when the short course went one way and the long course continued the ultimate climb.

So after 7 days of running, doubles and triples and time on my feet, I decided last night that the achilles would survive one more day. I decided this would be a fun day of running, nothing serious. To make sure of this, I put myself at the back of the pack to start (about 1000 runners in front of me) with Gripmaster and KJ. Once we got off though, I just picked my way through the pack, trying to find my stride. I soon lost KJ and Gripmaster amongst the masses and realized this would be a day on my own.

Tough, technical trails, tons of ankle breaking rock as we climbed and descended. The entire 44km required focus but because I was just enjoying my time, I never pushed, but rather chatted away in French to everyone around me and gave my achilles the easy running that it needed. My power hiking on 1/2 of the hills got me through the day, my downhill technical running was horrid as I babied my achilles.

I think this was the longest 44km of my life. There was NO logging roads for those "gimme free" miles but the terrain and atmosphere was fantastic. I enjoyed each step until I ran out of H2O 10km's out! Either way, I crossed the finish line in one piece and in 3rd place. Great to instantly learn that my fellow Salomon team mates had cleaned up in their categories as well. In the men's 22km - Ricky took a fast 1st place, Gregory nailed 2nd and Phil pulled off a sweet 4th. My good new friend Anna Frost killed it too and took 1st in the women's short and Chantal from Reunion Island finished 4th. In the long course, Francois D'Haene won for the men and I squeaked in 3rd.

But here was the real kicker for me. French racing is serious stuff, I was immediately greeted by the Doping Patrol crew and whisked off to get tested!!! HA, 1hr30mins later, 3 L of water and 3 attempts, I was FINALLY able to fullfill their requests!!! You try being super de-hydrated from running for 5hrs and have someone stare at you while you pee into a cup and see how far you get!!!! Let me know :)

Well.....that is it from France. Phil and I fly out tomorrow morning. Thank you to everyone for their supportive emails. This has been a great training camp for me and I'm happy to be back at it now in full force. Au revoir from Advanced Week 2010 and I'll see you on the trails.

Mt. Ventoux

2010-03-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Good crew of us headed up Mt.Ventoux today - a solid 1,700 meters to the summit. My watch crapped out on me en-route so I think we covered over 40km. What a view, what a mountain!

I wore the new S-Lab shoe. The grip was so good that it prevented me from being able to glisade off the summit. Finally, some great pics to share with you of today's running adventure here in France. Enjoy!

R&R day......kinda, sorta

2010-03-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

So....after several really good days here of mileage on the French trails I awoke this morning and went out for an easy recovery run. The achilles was giving me a bit of trouble, so I played the safe card today and ran at my own pace. I know that as I headed out with a few of the British guys I wouldn't be able to hang with them so I quickly headed off for my own peaceful AM run. Their "easy pace" is no where near mine! HA!

Later morning was spent with the foot doctor - aka "podiatrist" who gave me some GREAT insight to my feet and what was actually happening. To make it short, he could see my achilles issue from a mile away and how my body was compensating for it. However, with a few inserts of material here and there, he is going to be able to alleviate all pressure and pain. I am very fortunate to have some custom shoes arriving in the next while to assist me.

This afternoon, 4 of us headed out for our photo-shoot to the Red Sand Forests. Spectacular!! Those photos I can post as soon as they are in my hands!

Phil has also been out and about today with another day of testing and he has some great photos of everyone on his blog! Sounds like another hammer fest with the boys of Salomon!

Tomorrow should be a great day. A crew of us are headed out for a 4-5hr run up Mt.Ventoux. Climbing is in my future to say the least. Off to bed.........