Race Report Lumberjack 100 miler

The Lumberjack 100 miler is a wonderfully affordable and low-key run held in Port Gamble on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state. I had trained pretty hard for about 2 1/2 months after being reduced to cross-training due to an injury. I knew that this was a very short build up in training for a long event like this, but I finally wanted my first kick at the can at the 100 mile distance. My plan was to train hard, monitor my body for signs of falling apart and sign up last minute if it didn't. I knew that my friends Sean and Meg were going down to run the race and that our friend Dikesh and Sean's wife Nancy would be there to support them. I also knew that I would have to run eight 20 k loops to successfully complete the 100 mile race. Furthermore the course is historically very muddy and this year was supposedly muddier still. In all honesty though only about 5% of the course was bad with mud pits reaching the middle of my shin, puddles that should be called ponds or just a real slippery sloppy mess. Everything else was very manageable. I didn't know though that Meg's parents -Gary and Afona- would be at the race with their RV and would -along with Dikesh and Nancy- form an absolute rock star crew and a stellar home base for the 3 of us who ran the race. I was expecting to rely on aid stations and my drop bag alone. Coming in after each lap I was cheerfully welcomed by our support crew and subsequently helped with all my nutrition, hydration and gear needs. It was such a wonderful treat since I never had a crew before.

The RV also came in handy on the eve of the race when there was a real proper storm rolling through the "campground" (i.e. the puddle of mud forming the start / finish area). Dikesh and I stayed dry with the others inside the RV and didn't even have to bring out the tent we were planning on using that night. What a mucky mess that would have been. The course for the race has about 450 m of elevation gain for each lap for a total of about 3600 m for the 100 miler. It's a nice rolling course with a mixture of service roads and single track. An incentive of the event is the fact that you will be credited with a 50 mile or 100 k finish if you complete four or five loops of the course even if you were originally registered for the 100 miler. On the flip side this also makes it tougher mentally to embark on another loop rather than drop down in distance I suppose.

Before the race I made a real effort to wrap my head around the mental aspect of running 100 miles on a looped course which is historically not my forte. I went into detail on this in my pre-race post.

I will spare you the play by play of the race. Everything just went off without a hitch. My body held together, I was in very good spirits all day, we didn't have a drop of rain during the entire event, I had a spectacular group of people helping me out on-site and I knew that I had lots of people rooting for me from afar. How can you possibly quit or be unhappy under these kind of circumstances? Exactly. You can't.

Here's a little photographic evidence of my physical decline:

Before the start with the Vancouver delegation
Karl, Meg, Sean and me

Navigating through the mud pit after 40 k / 2 laps.

No sitting down for me ... yet.

Fine. I'll sit. Just a minute though. After 60 k / 3 laps.

Running into Meg and Sean after lap 5/8.
Showing some signs of wear after 100 k.

Fresh as a daisy. After lap 7 / at 140 k.

Walking it in with Afona inquiring about Sean's whereabouts. DONE.

Just to then be "heckled" - I mean congratulated-
by the two veteran Ultrarunners Karl and John.

3 things that worked out really well

1. Gaiters

I seriously don't know why more people aren't wearing them. They keep the debris out of your shoes that would otherwise tenderize your feet and lead to hot spots and blisters. No disadvantages aside from looking dorky, which I can live with.

2. My home brew drink mix

I drank a total of about 3 liters of the mixture during the race and it took care of my electrolyte needs and a good chunk of my caloric needs too.

Here is the recipe:

Equal parts Tart cherry juice, coconut water and water

1 squeeze of lemon plus 1-2 pinches of salt per bottle

3. Motivational notes

I had the idea to ask some of my friends and family to write some motivational or funny notes that I could read in between laps during the event. This strategy worked out really, really well and I was looking forward to reading a couple of them after each lap. If it weren't a looped course I could have put them in my pack and read them along the route. I had told everyone beforehand to send the messages to my wife and she and my daughter made them into some real nice playing card size flash cards. That way I never saw any of the messages before I ran the actual race.

Motivational notes from my daughter Lara

3 random facts

1. There were 2 spots on the course were there was a cacophony of frogs croaking all through the night. One was just after the start of the loop and the other one was in the middle were there wasn't any visible body of water.

2. The drive down from Vancouver -or Bellingham for that matter- going through Whidbey Island and taking the ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend is seriously scenic. I will definitely go back to explore the state parks along the route more.

Deception Pass State Park on the way to the ferry

3. The 100 mile finisher belt buckle is pretty sweet. Not like I care about things like that - or maybe I do.

Hard earned bling

Happy Trails,

Marc

Seven reasons why I will finish my first 100 miler

Well, technically it should be eight reasons with the first one being that I really enjoy running. Since it is to be expected that this pure in the moment joy will be greatly diminished  during the course of a 100 mile footrace, I want to focus on the seven additional reasons that will keep me going when all I really want to do is stop. All but two of my races to date went somewhat smootly. Both of my rougher experiences came at the 50 mile distance. One was due to a combination of mostly heat related factors such as chafing, stomach distress and overall fatigue and tightness. The other time I was just hosting a pity party for myself for no particular reason other than the fact that I didn't feel like running another 1 1/2 loops of the four loop 50 mile course just to prove that I can finish it. Although I did finish all of my races to date, I didn't always deal with adversity too well mentally. One might argue that picking an eight loop 100 mile course (the Lumberjack Endurance run in Port Gamble, Washington on April 8th) was not a smart idea with my dislike for looped courses, but then again ultrarunning is about overcoming adversity right?

So here are the seven reasons why I will finish the race and dare I say have fun doing it:

1. I will remind myself to be in the moment at the first sight of self pity and loathing. "Steady breath, shoulders relaxed, get out out of your head, notice your surroundings, smooth out your stride".

2. Speaking about smooth strides. The closest I ever came to having a mantra is: "Easy, light, smooth, fast" ... I adopted that one from Caballo Blanco of Born to Run fame.
The whole paragraph goes something like this:
“Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don’t give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go. When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooooth. You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.”

3. I have been a fan of the sport of ultrarunning for a number of years now. The 100 mile race distance is made out to be this mythical beast of self discovery. I am finally ready to find that out for myself. A quote that very closely corresponds to this idea comes from William James who to the best of my knowledge was not an ultrarunner, but rather a 19th century American philosopher.

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

Wouldn't that be something?

4. More self talk. It will go something like this: "If I quit now it's back to the drawing board. It will take a lot of time and dedication to get back to being this close to finishing a 100 miler in the future. I did everything right to get myself to the startline healthy and fit enough to have a realistic chance at finishing the race and supposedly if you're not feeling like heck at one point or another during a 100 mile race, you're not doing it right."

5. I will also remind myself that I owe it to my family to take advantage of this opportunity. They supported me along the way and put up with this crazy hobby of mine. Plus, they granted me the time to come down here and run myself a race. I should honour their generosity by doing my absolute best.

6. I owe it to anyone who is injured and would love to be in my shoes if they could. I have a few running friends who have been sidelined by long injuries. I should honour them too by doing my absolute best.

7. I want that danged 100 mile finisher's belt buckle. Societal pressure is real. I'll likely never mount it on a belt, but that's not the point ... or is it?

Keep an eye out for my next post on this blog "x reasons why I did / didn't finish my first 100 mile foot race".

Actually. I'll finish. I'm strong. I got this. See what I'm doing here?

Here's the actual post: Lumberjack 100 miler race report

Happy Trails,

Marc

Running the Wonderland Trail in 3 days

"The Wonderland Trail is an approximately 93 mile (150 km) hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. The trail goes over many ridges of Mount Rainier for a cumulative 22,000 feet (6,700 m) of elevation gain. The trail was built in 1915. In 1981, it was designated a National Recreation Trail. An estimated 200 to 250 people a year complete the entire trail with several thousand others doing shorter sections of it. The average time taken to complete the entire trip is 10 to 14 days." Source: Wikipedia

This write up is not intended to be a trip report, but rather a collection of useful links and information for anyone planning to tackle the Wonderland Trail in 3 days.

The trail has 3 major trail heads that are car accessible and somewhat evenly spaced. If you are willing and able to finish the adventure in 3 long days you will be able to stay in front country campgrounds and you will not have to apply / compete for back-country campsites. You do however need a national park pass for your party. You will also need a kind soul who is willing to move your vehicle and the camping gear around the mountain as you run. Each day will require approximately 2-3 hours of driving - longer if your timing is off and you get stuck in a lineup upon re-entering the national park.

We decided to do our circumambulation of glorious Mt Rainier in a counter-clockwise fashion although the opposite direction seems to be somewhat more popular. Two main factors influenced this decision. The climbs are steeper and the descents slightly more gradual on average if you choose to go counter-clockwise. Personally I don't mind steep climbs and my knees and ankles appreciate a slightly more gentle grade on the descents. Also, starting from Mowich lake in a counter-clockwise direction makes for a longer and tougher first day followed by 2 slightly shorter and easier days.

Our itinerary:
One Day before the start of the adventure:
We drove to Mowich lake from Vancouver B.C. with a short stop for some grocery shopping along the way. Upon our arrival we went for a short hike. The road to Mowich lake is gravel for the final 24 km. There are some sizable potholes, but you will not require an all wheel drive vehicle. Just take it slow and you'll get there eventually. We were lucky enough to be traveling in a camper van and we just slept in the van in the parking lot. I am not sure whether or not this is technically permitted, but it seems to be fairly common for people to spend the night in their vehicle. The camping spots at Mowich lake are non-reservable and are allocated on a  first come first served basis. I would have felt bad if we had pitched a tent and taken a spot from a hiking party that had no other option, but to tent.

Nice day for a run. Crossing the South Mowich River.

Day 1: Mowich lake to Longmire (Cougar lake campground)
53.8 km 2726 m of elevation gain according to Strava
Cougar Lake campground is right along the Wonderland trail a couple of kilometers past Longmire.

Tahoma Creek Suspension Bridge.
Watch for missing boards (unlike me).

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground.

Day 2: Longmire to Fryingpan Creek Trailhead
44.2 km 2379 m of elevation gain according to Strava
When following the Wonderland trail you reach the Fryingpan Creek trailhead after the long descent from Panhandle gap. This is the highpoint of the Wonderland Trail. Make sure to check snow conditions and consider crampons.

One of the Reflection Lakes.

From Fryingpan Creek the trail parallels White River road for about 3.7 km before one reaches the White River campground. This campground is non-reservable however and we therefore decided to stay at the Silver Springs Campground just outside the National Park. It is about a 15 min drive from the Fryingpan Creek trailhead. We had to make a reservation for 2 nights since our stay was on an August weekend. Upon our arrival at the campground a custodian also informed us that he was about to give our spot away to another camping party since we had not informed them of our late arrival (the reservation was from Fri to Sun and we arrived around 6 pm on Saturday).

Snow remnants around Panhandle Gap.

Glorious views upon reaching Summerland.

Day 3: Fryingpan Creek to Mowich Lake
approximately 44 km 2850 m of elevation gain according to Strava
The Strava file is missing the first 3.5 - 4 km of the day (from Fryingpan Creek to White River due to a user error aka me forgetting to start the recording).

Spray Park. So worth it.

We opted for the Spray Park alternative route on our last day back to our starting point. This adds a fair bit of climbing to your day, but gives you a chance to experience another glorious stretch of alpine scenery. Due to the high elevation, snow also lingers here until later on in the summer. This was also the busiest stretch of trail since we came through there on an early Sunday afternoon in mid August when a lot of day hikers are out and about. Overall traffic along the trail was not an issue at all. Everybody we met was happy and respectful and it never felt too crowded overall.

We drove back home almost immediately after finishing the run. I was very grateful however that I was not the designated driver, since I was very knackered after running just under 30 hours in 3 days.

Singletrack paradise. Spray Park.

Water availability along the trail
Water along the trail is relatively frequent. Most back-country camps have a water source nearby. I carried two water bottles and a small filter with water treatment pills serving as an emergency backup. If there is an extended dry period / drought things might look different though. The longest stretch without water was the climb out of Box Canyon (where there is an actual water fountain by the road) to Indian Bar campground (12.2 km).

Reaching Indian Bar ... and Water.

Useful links and additional information
The Wonderland Trail is relatively easy to follow. Mostly there are signposts at any intersections or campgrounds. The only place where I got slightly tangled up was while crossing through the White River Campground. It's essentially a straight shot and the trail starts gaining elevation and disappears into the forest  after you pass to the right of a wooden patrol cabin. You will still want to carry a map to help you get your bearings when you are second guessing which way to go. I personally carried this National Geographics map and my friend used some of the more detailed maps taken from the Hiking the Wonderland Trail book by Tami Asars, which is also an excellent and complete resource if you are interested in embarking on this adventure. It contains a wealth of information and maps even though all the trail descriptions are for travel in a clockwise direction. A third option could be to use these printable topographical PDF maps (full disclosure: I have yet to test these personally).

Here is a link to a trip report with stunning photography to get you psyched about visiting Mt Rainier.

National Park Service info on Mt Rainier and the Wonderland Trail. Closer to your departure date you will also want to make sure to monitor both the weather forecast, road closures and trail conditions to find out about washed out bridges, lingering snow and other problems.

More lodging options aside from the car campgrounds and the 2 lodges within the park.

Here is a nifty custom Wonderland itinerary planner that let's you choose a starting and end point and the number of days you are planning to be traveling.

Happy Trails,

Marc

Lessons from a Year of Running: Resisting FOMO, redefining FKT's

A few of my 2015 races kind of got away from me. In hindsight I would say I probably did too many of them too close together or at least my expectations were too high in too many of them. Looking back on my year in running, I had the most fun while just relaxing and being out for fun or to catch up with friends. Exploratory runs in the back country while trying to bag a peak or explore a new to me area rank equally high. There were occasions in the past where just relaxing and having low expectations actually produced excellent race results, but for some reason I was not able to reproduce that this year. I am mixing up two things here though. Running is fun or at least it should be and for me personally it is - most of the time. Setting goals and working towards accomplishing them can also be fun. Mostly because it is satisfying to achieve a goal that seemed out of reach and inch ever closer to ones' full potential as a runner. There are other times though when training can seem like a chore, even though running is still fun if that makes sense. I guess the idea is to make training feel like play time and have the results take care of themselves.

Racing = Kinda fun ... sometimes (Photo credit: Elaine Fung)

I think part of why I was trying to do too much in the past was the fear of missing out or FOMO and the fact that racing is being hyped and talked about a lot. "What races are you planning to do next year?" "Who's going to run -enter name of event here- next year?" or other questions are very frequent and can lead even the most even-keeled runner to feel like they should get on board and commit to more events.

 I had a couple of ankle sprains this year and as of late I also had to take some time away from running due to injury. Having said that, when I get out on the trails lately, I am having the best time ever. I am really enjoying each and every outing immensely. I have no immediate goals, I am signed up for zero races and I hardly ever wear a watch let alone a GPS these days. I just go out to play and have fun with or without company. I can not remember a time when I enjoyed myself more while running and  that's saying a lot.

It is the season for race registrations and goal setting again though and I have spent a good deal of time mapping out events that I am interested in for 2016 and beyond. A few of those races have opened their registration already. I am just not ready to jeopardize my carefree adventures in the forest by committing to a race.

Exploring: Usually lots of fun (Photo credit: Carlie Smith)

I will judge my year 2016 in running by how many smiles it brings to my face rather than by how many finish lines I cross. I will let the results come to me or not. I will have some great adventures and miss out on others without fretting. I am also going to borrow a term from my friend Andy and aim for setting as many Funnest Known Times (rather than Fastest Known Times) on the adventures I embark on as possible. I will race and I will have goals again soon. I just don't want them to own me along with my training and my mindset. I'm gonna own them this time. I will resist the urge to run a new longer distance this year, because if I am being honest with myself, I don't want to. Sometimes I am simply feeling like I should do certain things since it is a natural progression for many ultra runners. What it all comes down to is really that I will do what I want (which includes finding balance between adventures and family life) and not get sucked into things that I think I should be doing. It sounds shockingly simple, but at least for me, oftentimes it isn't.

Have fun. Run free.

Marc

The Price of Admission

Besides a couple of minor scars that I accumulated through childhood and adolescence, I managed to make it to the 4th decade of my life relatively unscathed. Since then though I seem to be making a habit of periodically breaking a bone or spraining an ankle. I hear that most accidents happen at home or work, but I have not yet managed to bang myself up significantly in either place. Play however, is a different story. I am afraid that this development goes hand in hand with me leading a more active lifestyle than I used to.

My mishaps themselves have not been the result of reckless behaviour however. I broke my clavicle when going over my handle bar while biking at approximately walking speed. I broke my hand when slipping on the downhill portion of a wet run and wrapping my fingers around my hand held bottle. Most recently I broke my pinkie while running an interval on a high school track. I tripped over a protruding piece of a football sled after stubbing my toe on it. The ankle twisting business just happens at random points during runs and the mishaps often seem to go in spurts. On the plus side, I never injured myself in a race or missed one, because of being sidelined.

There have been times when my typing was slightly more efficient

It has been suggested to me on numerous occasions to play it safe and modify my running, biking and exploring ways. My response is usually this: To me the injuries are the price of admission to the lifestyle that keeps me happy, balanced and sane. Although I'd be more than happy to gain access at a discounted rate for that matter. So as I am typing this with a surgically repaired pinkie wrapped in too many bandages, I am happily resting up and mapping out new adventures for 2016 and beyond.

Stay healthy everybody.

Digging deep in the face of mediocrity

As part of revisiting my Gorge Waterfall 50 k race experience I had to concede that my mental fortitude -or lack thereof- might have been the biggest limiting factor to finishing stronger.

It seems to be easier for me to prepare physically for a race than it is to prepare mentally. I usually ask myself on race morning: "How much are you prepared to hurt and suffer today?" I think it is a good question to ask and it prepares you for the fact that there will inevitably be some discomfort involved while trying to race to the best of your abilities. Even if you are mentally prepared though some discomfort will sneak up on you during a race. How do you manage not to be dominated by the pain and exertion though? I suppose you also need to answer the question: "Why should I make myself hurt in the first place?" There are two types of physical discomfort during a race. One is the kind of pain that you are trying to avoid as much as possible such as blisters, bruises, chafing and such. Then there is self-inflicted pain which comes from pushing your limits and racing hard.

Having a time goal can be a good motivator, but this is somewhat tricky to establish a realistic finishing time on an unknown course especially if you are having issues early on in the race. I am not the kind of person to get super competitive with the racers around me either, if I don't know them that is. If I know them, the race is on.

Everybody loves stories about perseverance, but the vast majority of them seem to focus on contenders or champions even if they might be the underdog of the narrative. It's somewhat easy to imagine what drives athletes in these situations: Winning, earning prize money and qualifying for an event or competition among others. What about the rest of us though? The folks in the middle of the pack who punish themselves tremendously to finish 112th instead of 129th? What are we supposed to use for motivation? If you have ever volunteered as a course marshall or at an aid station in a race you might have also noticed that the slower the participants are the more fun they seem to have.

Even though my primary athletic pursuit is trail running, I am an avid reader of Bicycling Magazine. I remember now retired pro cycling veteran Jens Voigt writing about his relationship with pain and discomfort and claiming that he treats pain as his favourite enemy. He relishes the opportunity to get to know and control it better every time he encounters it. It's a great little article and you can just substitute "run" for "ride" as you see fit. The idea is the same. After re-reading the article I am wondering if I spend enough time getting acquainted with physical discomfort in training. Probably not. I am afraid I should though. It's the best thing I can think of in order to prepare for race day. On the plus side: It is generally accepted that training super hard all the time is not what you want to go for for best results as well as for staying injury free.  So luckily I don't have to face my newly crowned favourite enemy every day. Maybe a couple of times a week will suffice.

I re-discovered another article on pain and suffering which delves deeper into the science of things.  I enjoy the reference to former pro cyclist David Zabriskie's habit of adopting a superhero persona in his mind while competing in time trials (and quite successfully at that too). A good portion of the article deals with the thesis that a so called "central governor" in the brain is what determines how hard we can go. This governors' job is to tell us that we cannot possibly go any harder while preserving some reserves in order for us to not collapse on the spot. There are great reserves of strength and stamina to be found if we manage to override the impulse to back off that is sent out by the brain. If you feel motivated now to go out and run or ride yourself to pieces, don't blame it on me though please.

If you still haven't got enough of reading up on the subject, here are three more great articles on pain and perseverance from irunfar.com:

• Peak Performance and The Selfish Brain on irunfar.com
• Cramps and how to deal with them from irunfar.com
• Navigating the pain trail from irunfar.com Part 1/2
• Navigating the pain trail from irunfar.com Part 2/2

I especially like the concept put forth in one of the articles that our brain is like a board of directors which decides on the severity of a threat to our health and well-being and therefore lets us perceive the intensity of our pain signals accordingly.

After taking the time to look at the issue of digging deep, suffering and racing hard a little closer, these shall be my strategies to push myself hard and finish strong in future events:

Re-focus on form. This time I am not talking about the Caballo Blanco mantra of "Think easy, light, smooth, fast". That one works better for training rather than racing for me. Instead I will try to remember to tighten up my form when I start spending too much time in my own head or when I notice that I am getting sloppy.

Steady breathing, relaxed jaw and hands, arms pumping, cadence high, spine straight and long, shoulders back. Check, check, check and check.

As for developing an alter ego or super hero persona for races for myself, I think I will stick with trying to be the best version of myself. This might sound tacky, but I think it really touches on what will keep me going. There are a lot of people that are less fortunate than I am. They might be physically or mentally unable to pursue their passions. I am blessed to be able to run and live my life to the fullest for the time being and feel therefore obliged to not waste this opportunity. My mantra shall therefore be: Be the best you can be, always. This rule is great because it can be adapted to any situation. For example if you are racing hard and moving well, but you come across another athlete who is injured or in distress the logical consequence for me will always be to put my own ambitions on hold and and help out as needed. A good way to figure out what my best self would do is to ask myself how I would hope for my kids to react in the given situation. The idea is to try and see yourself from an onlookers perspective. This will usually help to make it easier to figure out how to act in a given situation.

The other day I happened to notice a runner on the seawall wearing a shirt that read: "Ride hard. Smile often." This reminded me of reading an article about the positive effect that smiling has on the brain. A lot more reading can be done on the subject. Go ahead and google it if you like, but it comes down to what is expressed in this quote by Thich Nhat Hanh:

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

Since my primary athletic pursuit is running my mantra shall henceforth be known to be:

Run hard. Smile often.

I will furthermore try to be aware that goals have to always be re-evaluated or adjusted. If the goal of finishing the race under a goal time fails the event doesn't have to be a write off all together. If that happens I shall not fret, but try to focus on finishing and having fun in the process instead.

Having devised this ingenious strategy I also have to say that racing to ones' full potential in terms of speed might not be for everyone and I respect anyone who emphasizes fun and camaraderie over pushing their limits. As for myself, I will test my boundaries for a little while longer and see how far I can take my fitness or how far my fitness can take me. I also see the need to plan adventure runs and other events and training runs that focus on connecting with fellow runners. As with everything else in life I am striving for the ever elusive balance.

See you out on the trails,

Marc

Guest Post: Conquering North Shore Trails - beginner's perspective

This is a post written by my wife Angie and her thoughts on running our beautiful North Shore trails. Enjoy the read:

It's always a bit intimidating to get out there into the great unknown. So many reasons not to go for that run, I've tried them all.

But my partner is a serious runner and he offered to take me, so sheepishly I put my shoes on. I've had those "pearly zooms" runners for about a year now, but they still look brand new. Well, I guess it's time to get them a little bit dirty. Oh yeah! It's so happening! No more excuses.

On a trail now and so far so good. I'm keeping up, even hopping over some logs. Hey, I'm running and it feels good! Then the first incline comes, hmm, start feeling my lungs, then the next one. I'm trying real hard, but I'm not moving much. Marc runs circles around me, finally  he starts hiking next to me, as I'm still "running"! That's when you know it's bad, BAD! So I get a little angry:

"You do your fast intervals," I order my significant other, I'm walking this hill...and the next one, and when the trail finally evens out, because it just has to, then I'm gonna break into my stealth mode shuffle: the stride so short and the feet so close to the ground, you'll never know if I'm moving at all!

Made it home somehow. Suffice to say, it was a humbling experience. In my mind I run much faster, and so the reality check was a bit unnerving. And demotivating. Big time.

But then a sunny day came. And a sunny crisp day during wintertime in Vancouver is a treasure. I knew I had to spend it well, and the only way to accomplish that, I felt it in my heart, was to hit any of our rain forest trails and let my feet take me where they may.

Decision time: I'm not a fan of disappearing into the woods alone. Didn't work out so great for Red Riding Hood, why should I push my luck? Oh, but I really wanted to do something brave, and my rain forest guide, aka the owner of this blog, aka my husband had to work that day, so I resolved to go it alone.

The plan: stick to the trails you know, listen to your body. Ten minute climb, some shuffling on an even terrain, then pummel down the hill all the way home and feel good about yourself. Probably won't last longer than 30 minutes, so no need for snacks or water. Will take my cell phone though...because you never know.

OK, on a trail now looking for a turnoff. I know there is another path veering off to the left, but can't find it. I keep going on thinking it's further ahead. Oh, but it's getting steeper. Ten minutes into the run and I'm walking already. And I also realize that I'm way past the turnoff, but I'm just too stubborn to come down. I know I've been on this trail before and I want to find out where it goes.

I get kicked out on a road, which I cross looking for a continuation of my trail on the other side. Hey, there's a sign: Trail Permanently Closed, Do Not Use. I'm sorry, but that's the only trail I can see, so I'm taking it. Doesn't look too bad at all, and after I climb over a big log, I'm all of a sudden on a trail I do know, and I realize that I already did my "big" climb. Hey! Not too shabby. A rush of confidence enters my bloodstream: I can do this, and it will be longer than half an hour!

Once my breathing slows down and I settle into some sort of a rhythm, I finally start enjoying myself. It's almost always like that. Those first 15 to 20 minutes of my runs are always devoted to this tug of war between me and my body:
Body: "What are you doing to me?"
Me: "I want you to run."
Body: "The pace is too fast and terrain is too steep, I'm not trained for that."
Me:"Just do it."
Body:"Sorry, no can do."
Me:"OK, fine, what can you do?"
Body:"Let me get some oxygen in and we can negotiate."
An unspecified period of laboured breathing and not much moving passes.
Me:"How about now?"
Body:"Sure, but next time, don't take this multivitamin on an empty stomach before you go out. I'm gonna make you burp this for the rest of your run."
Me: "Duly noted."

And finally I'm running and it's not just one big discomfort. I'm starting to feel the inklings of joy, and I grasp the potential for happiness that exists in this free, light movement through nature. And there is so much to look at as the sun illuminates the forest: the cedars. the firs, mosses, ferns, bubbling creeks, roots and rocks. Yet at the same time the images before my eyes are so unobtrusive, not demanding my engagement, that it's possible to let the mind wander, well, after some automatic eye to brain to feet communication is established first of course. I relax, it's so peaceful here.

Thirty minutes into the run I take a picture of myself at a trail sign: to prove that I have made it this far, but also to help my husband guide me home in case I get lost on the way back and need directions. I do make it home no problem though. I mean, I trip over a root and barely save myself from falling flat on my face, and once I hit the road close to home, I lose all the grip on the black ice and have to really slow it down to remain upright, but none of this matters. I make it home in one piece, and it's been an hour.

I do a few stretches, because I'm just that motivated, drink some water, and I'm really looking forward to that hot shower. But before even the first drops hit my face, I'm already as happy as can be. Why? Because I "braved" it out there on a crisp wintry day, and that feels mighty fine.

Inspiring the next Generation of Trail Runners ... maybe

My daughter is in 4th grade in elementary school. Her teacher stumbled across this blog and asked me if I would like to come to school and share my passion for trail running with the class and maybe take them out for a little dash through the forest. I happily agreed and then it dawned on me that I should probably be able to share some of the reasons why trail running is awesome and why the children should get into it. The more I thought about my presentation the more I came to realize that the children's reasons for running are vastly different from my own. I personally didn't get seriously into trail running until a few years ago.The kids don't look at running as exercise. It's part of their everyday play along with doing monkey bars, squatting, hiding, bushwhacking, scooting and biking. Too often our adult exercise is highly structured, scheduled and more often then not measured and analyzed. It's the exact opposite of what kids do. Once you take the playful nature of their pursuit out of the equation and turn the run or hike into a structured activity the child's motivation will usually flat line. That's the thing though. If done right trail running can induce the feeling of freedom and playfulness. In essence it should feel like recess. Trail running is my moving meditation at times or my exploration at other times. It's my time to be with myself and work through my everyday issues or just to find the perspective to let go of them. Sometimes it's my time to socialize with friends, explore the mountains or push myself in a competition.

While looking for ways to communicate these feelings I remembered this video featuring Adam Campbell and it really sums up everything I could possibly try to explain to the kids. So I decided to share it along with some personal pictures to hopefully motivate the children to give exercising in nature a second look.

The kids were awesome actually and they were very involved in sharing stories about their favourite places in nature and we found out together that humans are pretty well equipped to run long distances due to the fact that we can cool off by sweating and we have big butts (glutes) to power our strides while running, although these muscles are pretty useless for walking. I would like to tell you that I converted the whole class into nature lovers and explorers, but I am not sure if I managed to reach that lofty goal. That's just the thing with parenting. You never know what will inspire your children and what's essentially just a waste of your time and effort. In the end the best I think I can do is to just keep exposing them to the things I think are worth pursuing and hope some of it sticks with them.

Here are a few of the pictures I shared with the kids with the subtitles indicating the comments to go with them:

I run because I am not very good at other sports.

I will visit the classroom one more time to actually take the children for a run or hike. Maybe that'll inspire a few more of them to choose spending time in nature over spending time in front of the TV or with other electronics.

And if all of this doesn't get them on board maybe the fact that burping and snot rockets are perfectly acceptable during trail runs will. You just never know.

Running Free-ish

I just finished reading Running Free by Richard Askwith. The author references the ages of running repeatedly throughout the book. Essentially these ages are tied to your motivation to run or exercise. Are you in it to stay healthy, shrink your butt, become faster or to enjoy the sheer joy of running and the connection with nature (the one outside the door as well as human nature). As I was reading the book I had to ask myself what motivates me and I have to say it has to be a combination of the above mentioned factors. There are usually a couple of races a year that I really train for in earnest. I like to pick a target race in spring, because it keeps me honest and focused through the rainy and dark month when hibernating seems oh so tempting. These are the times when training principles like specificity (tailor your training to the demands of the event you are training for) or the 10% rule (don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% over the previous week) are somewhere in the back of my head. I might not have a written training schedule, but I do try to follow some cycles of progressively increasing mileage week over week with easier weeks roughly every four weeks. I also want to believe that I have a chance of bettering some of my past race results before focusing entirely on other sources of motivation.

Through much of the summer my focus shifts. Between work, the kids being home from school and holidays I am happy to keep some kind of weekly regimen going. Often times the majority of my workouts will consist of running or biking to and from work. Whenever I do have more than just the odd hour for playing outside I will try and bag some peaks or have some adventures. I love these activities as they motivate me to go out and explore places that I otherwise might not try to get to. These outings offer a welcome change from my regular running routine. The terrain usually requires me to hop, pull, bushwhack, scramble my way to my destination. Split times and pace are pretty useless indicators of performance on those occasions and more often than not I end up with my upper body being sore the next day rather than my legs. The change of scenery and general spirit of adventure of these outing help to keep things fresh and interesting. I am signed up for my third consecutive Frosty Mountain Ultramarathon this September and I intend to keep up that streak. For me it's a great indicator of what kind of fitness my random long run adventure summer routine has left me with.

Another big motivator for me is to meet and share the trails with like-minded people. Especially those long and wet workouts seem to go by a lot faster if you have someone to share them with.

Coming back to the book, the author seems to have the ability to find beauty and joy in each and any of his runs and rambles around his home regardless how grey, cold or wet the conditions. This is one of the things I aim to get better at myself. I'd like to tell you that my regular weekday runs involve gliding along in a meditative state while being totally present and alert to my surroundings. More often than not I start my workout -which I have been looking forward to- just to then be preoccupied with chores, blogging, my next workout or a million other things that pop into my head.

I really want to work on being more in the moment on and off the trail. How so? For starters I will ditch my GPS watch whenever I can (unless I am training of course). I will also incorporate some conscious breathing into my day (you can call it meditation if you like, but for now that's too big of a word for me). Whenever I notice my attention wandering to all the wrong places during a workout I will acknowledge the thought and try to let it go. Now that sounds relatively easy. I don't know if you ever tried though. It sure doesn't come easy to me. The best starting point I can think of is actively focusing on my surroundings rather than the incessant stream of thoughts in my head.

What motivates you and how do you manage to stay present or get in the flow as they say?

Now if you would excuse me, I shall attempt to bag a peak before going to work.
Have fun out there,

Marc

10 Reasons to love the Frosty Mountain Ultra

Everybody has their favourite event on the calendar each year and for me that is the  Frosty Mountain Ultra trail race, which has been  held in Manning Park BC since 2008. I will be going back for the 3rd consecutive year this September.

Here are the top ten reasons why I love the Frosty Mountain Ultra (and you can too):

1. Frosty is one of the most scenic courses you'll ever find anywhere with seemingly endless Mountain views. It's wonderful to be in a wild place like this.
2. The location is perfect for either driving in from Vancouver for the day or spending the whole weekend in beautiful Manning Park. The 8 am start time helps with that too.
3. The event has a great grass-root feel about it which I love. It's actually quite amazing how the race director Gottfried and a couple of dozen volunteers are able to pull off a quality event like this.
4. There is absolutely no cell reception in the area, so you will not be able to check your tweets, texts or Facebook as you make your way across the course or reach the finish. Nothing could be more relaxing.
5. My schedule allows me to do a lot of my training during school hours. It's tough for me however to do any kind of structured training in the lead up to the Frosty Mountain race due to the fact that my kids are off school throughout the summer. So there is very little pressure for me to do my best. I just show up and do the best I can with some run commuting, random long runs and peak bagging missions for preparation.
6. Making it to the finish before the veggie burgers run out is a good motivator (legend has it that this has happenend in the past).
7. Any race distance can be humbling, but there is also a realistic chance that you bump into somebody who just completed the Pacific Crest Trail which is a 4270 km trek from Mexico to British Columbia with the northern terminus close to the race start at 20 Minute Lake. Now that really takes self propelled long distance travel to the next level.
8. It's a "Goldilocks" course in terms of technicality. Not too easy, but no crazy ankle eating terrain either. Make no mistake though. There is lots of climbing and descending to be done.
9. It's a great value with the ultra distance costing $ 60 for the early bird registration.
10. There is a challenge for every ability level with a flat and fast 13 km, a one mountain 27 km option and a 50 km two mountain ultra distance.

Don't take my word for it. Check out the Frosty Mountain Ultra homepage and register for this awesome trail race.

See you in September in Manning Park.

Marc

Sun Mountain race report - My first 50 miler

So here I was at the starting line of the 2014 Sun Mountain 50 mile run. The first Rainshadow Running event I would participate in, after hearing so many great things about the organization, the different events and how they are all very awesome and unique. This was also to be my first ever 50 mile race. I wasn't going to have any excuse either if things didn't go so well. I knocked off all my long runs and training weeks as planned. I knew all my gear and had plenty of familiar race food either on me or in both my drop bags along the way. There were two things on my mind leading up to the race though. Would it be hot on race day in the Methow Valley? I hadn't trained much in the heat simply because it was much cooler at home in North Vancouver during my winter and spring training runs. Having to run longer than I ever had before by about 30 Km was also intimidating to say the least.

The morning of the event was cold enough for the water on the side of the road to have frozen over. There was not a cloud in the sky though. Racers would have a chance to experience running in the near freezing cold at the beginning of the race, scorching heat towards the end and everything in between.

If you like single track, wild flowers and wide open spaces you will looooove the Sun Mountain race. The course is advertised as fast with just over 7000 feet of climbing over the 50 mile distance. There are indeed a lot of runable sections in the course (which will leave you knackered due to a lack of change of pace). Beware the finish though. One of the toughest climbs of the race is coming in the last 10 kilometers of the course with the finish line teasingly in sight in the valley.

Events and thoughts throughout the race:

• Sharing the first half hour of the race with James
• Hearing about the lady two places in front of me who allegedly saw a bear and wondering how I could have missed it
• Arriving at the first aid station (at just under 11 kilometers) in about an hour flat and wondering if that might be too fast
• Marveling at the seemingly endless sea of wildflowers and crossing a number of cow gates
• Running by a vastly unimpressed cow in the bush and hearing a bunch more mooing just below
• Sneakily passing Michel as he steps out of line for a moment
• Arriving at the second aid station after about 2 hours and still wondering if my pace should be more conservative
• Catching up to Mike on the first bigger climb and running with him on-again off-again for the next 35 odd kilometers
• Stopping to sit down on a ledge to fix my sock and empty my shoes just as Mike catches up to me again
• Enjoying the energy and help at the 3rd aid station while sorting out the contents of my first drop bag
• Merging with the 50 k runners and being happy to have some more people around me again
• Chatting with Carlie and Mike as we gradually climb and wonder when it might get steep enough to warrant a walking break
• Having to find a bush to enjoy a few minutes of solitude and to work on my isometric squatting
• Keeping it steady until just before the 5th aid station where I run out of fluids
• Receiving an absolute rock star treatment at aid station 5, including a refill of my hydration bladder and bottle
• Realizing 3 minutes later that I was so busy stuffing my pack with the contents of my second drop bag, that I actually forgot to have any food at the aid station
• Wondering if the curled up checkered pile I nearly stepped on was one of them snakes I heard about or just a turd - deciding not to check though
• Trying to convince my stomach that continued food consumption is necessary if continued swift(-ish) forward movement is desired
• Soaking my new favourite race accessory - my arm warmers - at the fountain on sun mountain
• Also feeling smug about keeping my watch covered with the other arm warmer, only checking for time elapsed once at every aid station, at least until after the last aid station (this is a habit I will most likely continue since it keeps me from checking how much time elapsed every 5 minutes)
• Realizing after passing the last aid station that there is one more long steep climb left (should have done my homework better before the race)
• Realizing the climb is longer yet after reaching a pump which I mistook for the peak
• Still keeping it together on the way down the mountain and on the road back to the start finish area
• Coming to the trail that my kids were covering for their 1 k race the day earlier
• Starting to tear up as I realize that I am less than 1 kilometer away from finishing my first 50 mile race
• Crossing the finish line, high fiving James and spending the rest of the day (and most of this week) feeling pretty good about myself

I had the pleasure of spending three nights in Winthrop for the race with my family and friends and I loved the Methow Valley, the vibe and venue of the race, the happy volunteers, the flawless organization and my overall experience. Thank you to everybody who helped to make this event happen and congratulation to all Sun Mountain participants.

This is 2013's official race video, which is pretty much what got me to sign up for the madness in the first place. Once you watch you`ll see why.

Sun Mountain Race from Steven Foreman on Vimeo.

My plant powered journey into endurance - The top 5 things I have learned so far

Welcome to the new weekly UltraVeggie blog. If you just happened upon this page feel free to read up on what it's all about.

I had completed a handful of  road races in the past, but my adventure in long distance running began in earnest when I signed up for the Knee Knacker back in 2012. Here is the essence of what I learned during racing and training since then:

1. Keep your nutrition simple

There are a myriad of choices for performance nutrition out there. Many of these products taste overly sweet and artificial though and they also often contain a lot of additives and are basically high fructose corn syrup in disguise. I found that I do just as well if not better on simple plant products such as grapes, raisins, dried fruit and baby food pouches (or homemade pureed fruit or vegetables). On outings longer than 4 hours, such as peak bagging missions, I  will usually also pack a mix of raw nuts and dried fruit and maybe an apple, a banana and a wrap or a sandwich.

If you have more time and energy to invest into your endurance nutrition here are some more ideas:

Chia pudding, which contains dates and soaked cashews as a base and can be modified or amplified with blended fruit, berries, coconut water (instead of water) or even some coconut or MCT oil. There are plenty of recipes out there that can be modified to your liking. The one that I use is loosely based on Brendan Brazier's recipe from Whole Foods to Thrive.

Make your own fruit and nut bars with as much or as little liquid as you like to change the consistency.

My electrolyte drink usually contains:
1/3 water
1/3 coconut water (an excellent source of hydration and electrolytes)
1/3 apple or tart cherry juice
Electrolyte powder or lemon and lime juice and salt to taste

Overall I am trying to stick with all natural, easily digestible foods that provide me with quick energy for my endurance nutrition. At aid stations in races this means choosing fruit or potatoes and water to supplement your own food.

I was able to adhere to this strategy, during my last ultra, the 2014 Diez Vista 50k. I felt really good throughout the race and finished strong, which has traditionally not been my forté.

2. Don't leave your recovery up to chance

Since it is often tricky or even impossible to know beforehand what kind of food will be available at the finish line of a race (or even after a long workout), make sure you have some wholesome choices waiting for you to kick-start your recovery.

3. Don`t go it alone

One of the nice things about endurance sport is that it gives you a lot of freedom in terms of where or when you can practice, but training by yourself all the time can get boring and stale. Try joining a group or finding a few like minded friends to boost your motivation and enjoyment.

Easier said than done? A good place to start is your local running, bike or outdoor store. Check their message boards or website and talk to the staff. There are plenty of local clinics, group rides, runs or other outdoor activities.

In Canada MEC has extensive online event listings and so do Impact and Get Out There magazines. Many local races and events will also host free training sessions. Check what your local Rec Centre has to offer or search the web for Clubs in your area.

Joining Meet Up or Facebook groups can be another good option. Before you know it you will develop a network of workout buddies and friends to share your athletic journey with.

4. Make your post race shower a lot more pleasant by applying the personal lubricant of your choice liberally to all areas prone to chafing

Don't learn this one the hard way. Long, hot and / or rainy workouts can cause chafing in all the wrong places.

I am personally happy with good old Vaseline (although I would love an alternative from a local ethical small batch company), but there are plenty of pricier purpose-designed products available at your local running or bike store if you so desire.

I also noticed that many of my technical garments perform differently depending on conditions such as temperature, rain and humidity.

5. Race

Stay focused and motivated by challenging yourself with a specific event to train for every now and so often. You don't have to be fiercely competitive to sign up for a race. Whether it is a Gran Fondo, an orienteering challenge, a cyclocross race, a local 5k, an ultra, a triathlon or an adventure race. Every event has its unique vibe and meeting other active people and amazing volunteers who give their time to make everybody's day special never fails to make me happy. There also seems to be a special kind of supreme effort that your body reserves for the occasions when you pin on a bib. Compete or just finish, chances are you'll love it.