Club Fat Ass North Shore Enduro Trail Run

Hello!

My running mojo’s been gone for months now. But I’m hoping with the nearly-here summer I’ll get that mojo back. The summer … and joining in with some running groups.

And so, with a can-do attitude, I went along to the Club Fat Ass North Shore Enduro event this morning in North Vancouver, BC. The Club Fat Ass people are a fun, relaxed group to run with and they put on a lot of cool events.

And look, here they are this morning at the gazebo at the Lower Seymour Conservation Area in North Vancouver. I’m the little head right at the back. We’re about to start.

Their North Shore Enduro is a six hour event with numerous course options. And there’s absolutely no need to run for the whole six hours!! I did one of the ‘Lynn Peak Loop’ loops. This gave me 13.7km and 897m of elevation gain. Yeah! A good solid workout.

But more than the workout  I loved being back running the Lynn Valley trails – my favourite trails in North Vancouver. I’d been away too long. The majestic trees in Lynn Valley always give out some kind of spiritual energy. And I soaked all up. All that lovely woodland chi.

Here’s me at the top of Lynn Peak.

And there was still snow up there.

For a new season’s running, I got some new shoes: Brooks Cascadia. I last ran in Cascadias two or three years ago and today reminded me of how much I used to love them. They went on my feet fresh out the box this morning. And they were great! They were comfy and grippy and responsive. They did the job just nicely on the rooty, rocky, wet, snowy, steep North Shore trails.

So, after finding contentment in the woods today I can’t wait for my next trail run 🙂

Here’s a link to my strava if you’re interested in the route.

Have a great Sunday you guys! Enjoy every moment.

Dirty Duo 50K race report

I’ve been away from my blog for a wee while, but am back again to tell you about my 50K race last weekend on 6th March. It was The Dirty Duo 50K on the rugged North Shore trails in North Vancouver, BC. It’s a trail running and mountain bike race.

The categories are

• Run 27K
• Run 15K
• Run 50K
• Relay-one person runs 27k and passes on to the mountain biker who does 30K
• Duathlon-run 27K then mountain bike 30K
• Mountain bike 30K

I ran the 50K as training for my 100 miler. There is no better way for me to get in the miles and have lots of fun and enjoyment at the same time. There was so much encouragement between all the runners and bikers. The 50K has 2 slightly different loops, with a lot of the running on technical single track. There is a total of 3300m of elevation gain. I know these trails well and love them.  Here is a link to a map of the route.

What I took away from this race:

• I finished feeling strong -yee ha! there is no better way than this to tell me my endurance training is working.
• I practiced my nutrition. I carried Cliff Bars which work really well for me. At the aid stations I drank a little coke and ate a few chips. My stomach was fine.
• I have decided what shoes I am wearing for my 100 miler!  I got some Altra Lone Peak 2.5’s recently and wore them on this 50K. Teamed up with padded socks and some vaseline my feet felt great. My feet were pretty wet for much of the 50k but I didn’t have any hot spots. I have just bought some “2 Toms Blistershield” from Amazon, to try out on my next long run. Krissy Moehl mentions the stuff in her book “Running your first Ultra.” She has used it with success. Avoiding blisters is hugely important in long ultras!

Here are some pics from the race. I carried my iphone and took a few pics along the way.

My next race is the St Patrick’s day 5K in Vancouver, BC on Sunday.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Friday Fun

My right hamstring/IT band discomfort had been playing up lately, also niggles in my Achilles. I had been running mostly on the roads and flat trails the last couple of weeks and I knew my muscles would feel better getting onto some hilly terrain. What better than the BCMC trail on Grouse Mountain straight up and down the mountain starting and finishing in the brown and green vegetation with a trip to the snow in the middle. It wasn’t a run but a hike and it was great to be climbing again and giving my lungs and legs a great workout. There was time to stop for a cup of tea. I wore my newish Icebug Zeals and, wow, the traction on the steep compacted slippy snow was amazing. I didn’t have to take out my Yaktrax or poles.

Here are some pics