Ready for anything

Working outdoors, I learned a long time ago that you must be flexible; trees fall, rivers flood, ice, snow, wind…you can’t control the weather (although I sorta do on Tuesday nights). You must always have a plan B, and sometimes need a C and D. The 5 Peaks Season finale trail run at Buntzen Lake last Saturday had us even working on a plan E!

The waters were high all summer at Buntzen Lake and we were watching. Up until two weeks ago we were still running with plan A, but trail maintenance on the Buntzen Lake Trail took us to plan B. We added a little woop-de-doo to the map (and one more hill) and were good to go; that was until the day before the race when the crew showed up to mark the race route and found the floating bridge was no longer floating (without the floating bridge we had no access to the Enduro loop and the first loop of the ½ marathon route…yah, a bit of a problem). Plan C was quickly put into action re-routing the Enduro and ½ marathoners. Due to the extra distance required to re-route the runners to the other side of the lake, we would not be using the infamous Diez Vistas Trail, instead we would be using Lakeside Trail (not as steep, but making a much faster course). With the rain still coming down, and the water levels getting higher, the wheels were already put into motion for a back-up venue, plan D.

The rain stopped Friday afternoon, and plan C it was. The crew arrived at 5:30am and started the race set-up by our headlights (I will take a dark but clear sky set-up any day over rain). I was surprised and thankful to see a familiar but very tired face pull up with the trailer, you are a rockstar Marky!

Set-up was smooth and racer check-in was very civilized. The ½ marathon started at 9:00am, the Children’s Challenge at 9:30am and the Sport and Enduro races exactly one hour after the ½, and just like that 444 racers crossed the start line, it makes me a bit giddy to think about how on schedule we were!

By late morning it felt like summer all over again, the long sleeves were off, sunglasses on, and then it started to smell like summer…the end of season barbeque was underway. While the racers enjoyed their grub, the final points were tallied and the overall season awards were presented.

For the enquiring minds out there, thanks to my new and very techie friend Paul, here are the unofficial distances from Saturday’s course:
• Sport Route: 7.5km
• Enduro Route: 15.9km
• ½ marathon: 23.4km…so it was a ½ marathon and a bit

I would like to congratulate all of the racers for a fantastic season and would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all of the fabulous volunteers who make this series what it is.

Cheers everyone!

Woo-hoo!

I am feeling pretty good about myself. As today is the last full day of summer and still being 6 seconds short of my summer goal of a sub 50 on the Grouse Grind, I gave it one last try.

Oh yeah baby, 49:41! Doing the math that is an overall 5.5% summer improvement, and I took 57 seconds off my time from 12 days ago!

So what was different from grinds prior? Pilates last night, a good night’s sleep, shutting off my lizard brain, bringing music and my ego. I would like to thank my mostly masculine playlist: Aerosmith, The Trews, Matt Good, Jesse McCartney (I know what is wrong with this picture), Theory of a Deadman, Metalica, Nickelback, Tommy Lee, Finger Eleven, Sam Roberts and last but not least, Pink.

I guess it’s a sub 45 next summer.

Tell me how you really feel

I like a little audience participation in the classes that I teach. Periodically throughout a class I will ask everyone how they are feeling, hoping for a “woo-hoo” or a “yeah”, Some classes are quite vocal on their own and require no coaxing at all, while in others it can be a little like pulling teeth.

There is a chalkboard in my Studio where I post motivational quotes, fitness facts, random thoughts and announcements. This is how it looked yesterday morning

I guess I was told!

Back to the Grind

The theme of my week has been goals.  Earlier in the summer under the influence of only adrenaline, I set a goal of completing the Grouse Grind in under 50 minutes.  Brave, enthusiastic, unrealistic…me and my big mouth.

July flew by as did August.  I did think about my goal now and again but there never seemed to be enough the time to make the four hour door to door trek (not to mention how busy it would be as well as the heat).  When I compiled my list of things to do on my end of the summer vacation the Grind was on the list (as was cleaning out my closet, it is now a work of art and I am not proud to say that it no longer contains any velour, bling or camo).

With school back in session last week and still my on my vacation (yes, I totally planned it that way – yay for being self-employed) Conny and I headed to up Grouse Mountain.  We had perfect grinding weather, mild temperatures and cloudy, and the trail was pretty quiet.  My June time to beat was 52:36 (which I was pretty impressed with at the time, so again why do I go and open my big mouth?) and I was determined to beat it.  I started out fierce and maintained a good pace for the climb. When I popped out of the trail and hit the clearing I was able to quicken my pace into a slow run to make it to the Grind Timer…

…50:38, not quite the goal although a 3.7% improvement.  Could I have gone any faster, I guess I could because I was able to quicken my pace on the rocks, I did exchange pleasantries with other grinders, I could have passed a few people a little quicker than I did, and I didn’t throw up at the end (kidding).  As Tuesday curling is no more, I was able to re-attempt the climb again on Tuesday.

Tuesday was beautiful, sunny and mild and I had my game face on.  No messing around this morning.  Conny set a quick pace for me and off I went.  There were no pleasantries (I resisted the urge to comment on the flip flops that I passed) in fact I was a bit of an animal up the stairs, calling to the left or the right three or so stairs before I was even ready to pass (I did say thank-you as a I passed).

I could see the top and looked at my watch, it read 48:41, I went back to one of Conny’s funny stories where she actually timed out a minute to make a point…a minute is a really long time when you say nothing.  So with just over a minute remaining before exceeding my goal time, I hit the last set of stairs in my beastlike fashion, but as I came out of the trail this time my run to the Grind Timer was pitiful and non-existent…

…50:05…SFM!!!  Ok, a 4.8% overall improvement but short of my goal by 6 seconds. As summer doesn’t officially end until next Wednesday, I am not sure where I will pull these 6 seconds from (I did think that I may vomit this time) but I will keep you posted.

September goals, better late than never

Today for many marks the start of summer detox.  Summer detox is not about alcohol, ok maybe a little, it is about being back in the organized chaos of the school year.  For those who thrive on schedules and routine it is your time to shine.  For those who don’t, you are already counting down the days until Christmas break (67 including weekends, holidays and non-instructional days).

Over the years for whatever reason, let’s call it a near death experience, I have evolved from a planner to more of a somewhat organized go-with-the-flow-er.  I still do function with the help of my calendar but if it doesn’t appear on the calendar it doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to happen.

Regardless of how your home functions, if you are a mother with school age children, between early mornings, packing lunches, shuttling to and from school, afterschool activities, meal planning, BB12 and bedtimes, your last week was a bit of a gongshow.  So now with almost a full week under our belts, our confidence is coming back, and we are able to sit back and decide what the rest of the month holds.

Being that it is the 13^th of the month it would be very easy to write the rest of the month off and start fresh in October, but then Thanksgiving and Halloween are upon us so why not wait until November, but is there really any point in starting then because it gets dark out so early and really December is just around the corner and you will be way too busy to start then…ENOUGH, we are starting today, no excuses!

So what are your goals for the rest of the month?  If you don’t like the word goal, change it to focus.

Over the summer I started watching the 100 Mile Challenge that was filmed in Mission last year. The premise of the challenge is to eat only foods grown, produced and sold within 100 miles of your home.  After only watching the first half of the challenge, I was hooked.  Mysteriously my pvr stopped recording the show once I started questioning the diet of my household (I have since found the episodes online so I will pick back up from where I left off.  I really hope that Randy Hawes redeemed himself, because the way he behaved could not have done anything for his political career).

Although we don’t consume much junk, I am guilty of using convenience foods (not of the drive thru variety, but of the freezer isle variety), and I know that I can do so much better.  This month my goal/focus is going to be spending more time preparing and cooking the food that my family eats, and using local and seasonal food.

While I was at the Haney Farmers Market a few weeks ago I picked up a guide to what is in season in our area, did you know that ostrich is in season from May to October?  I also picked up the high summer issue of Edible Vancouver, which is a great little magazine about local food, wine (incase you weren’t already aware, there is some fantastic BC wine out there) it contains some great recipes (two of which, blueberry lemon loaf and roasted tomato and red wine sauce, I will be trying my culinary hand at this week) and also has an excellent source guide.

Martha Stewart I am not, and nor do I want to be, so don’t expect me to be making my own “dunc-links” sausages anytime soon. But do expect me to be stopping by Pier 1 and picking up that very cute apron I saw that I didn’t have a reason to buy last month, because now I do.

What are your goals/focus for the rest of the month?

Dressing for running success

You know when you are growing your hair out and you reach that in between point, it’s so long that it no longer has any shape or style but too short to put in a pony? That’s kind of the way the weather felt today, miserable and rainy like fall, but with a mild temperature, not quite summer, not quite fall. It’s a bit of a running wardrobe nightmare.

Decisions, decisions, shall I wear a running jacket or would I be better in a vest? Shorts, capris or pants? It’s just way too much to think about. I try to keep my running closet pretty simple, granted it is a little on the larger side, but it is what I do for a living, would you wear the same suit to work everyday?

Here are the Keri Cawthorne running wardrobe must haves:

Tank top: These are more like a long sports bra, and one of my essentials. I can usually be found in the Power Y Tank, it just works for me; I don’t have one in every colour but damn close.

Shorts: Until last year I only wore a clam digger length (just above my knee), but after I learned to love my hamstrings (we all have an area we love to hate) the inseam of my shorts has become less conservative as have the colours (I would still never wear white, and I don’t think that anyone over 30 should either). This year I added a couple of running skirts to my rotation (cute and practical).

Hat: A staple any time of year. And don’t forget to wash your chapeau on a regular basis, it gets stinky as well.

Long sleeved technical shirts: These are for colder runs. I have several thin long sleeved shirts as well as a few thicker ones for winter runs. By the end of most runs it will end up being tied around my waist.

Running jacket: I am not a big fan of the running jacket, let’s be honest most of them are unflattering and ugly, but it is a necessity piece if you live in a rain forest. I have one running jacket which is designed with night running/crappy weather in mind, it is fluorescent yellow (I am not kidding, I glow when I wear this), it has one role and that is to keep me safe, so far so good. I also own a black running jacket, it is flattering and very Lulu, it does reflect but I only use this baby on the trails. My running jackets are water resistant but not water proof. Like my long sleeves, it is also usually found tied around my waist by the end of the run.

Pants: I only have two pairs of pants and they are only worn in the dead of winter. Last year we had a bad winter so I pretty much wore them everyday (I was the guy with two suits). Running pants MUST have a drawstring. Last year I added a running crop pant, like running tights but shorter, they sit just above your calf, not to be confused with spandex shorts (which are a total no-no, unless you are a male and wear them under your running shorts for Pilates class, in that case I thank you).

Vest and t-shirts: I have no use for either, what do I do with them when I get too warm? Two t-shirt exceptions to this rule are my Hellbent H2H team t and my San Francisco ½ marathon t , the rest you will find in a local thrift shop with the tags still on.

Now that you have the wardrobe basics, how do you decide what to wear? If you follow one simple rule, you will never go wrong, are you ready?
Dress for 10 degrees warmer than it is currently outside.
If it is 5°C (I work in metric) outside, dress as you would for 15°C, if it is 15°C outside, dress as you would for 25°C, if it is 25°C outside, go swimming instead. Rain usually confuses everyone, but stay true to the rule.

This morning was 12°C, it was raining pretty heavily and I was going for a road run, here’s what I wore:
1. Florescent yellow running jacket, where I live there are no sidewalks so I literally run on the road.
2. Yellow Power Y Tank, if I got too warm and tied off my jacket I can still be seen by cars.
3. Crop pants, went for a snug fit because of the rain and I hate having cold, red quads.
4. White ball cap
5. Pink running gloves, they are very cute and my hands get cold when they are wet.

What are your running wardrobe must haves?

Love, love, love

There are some things in this world that I can’t resist, especially when they are not only cute, but equally practical.  I give you my new Lululemon Women’s Brisk Run Gloves in senorita pink….

I saw these gloves a few weeks ago and liked the new feature of the slit on the thumbs so that I can easily slide my thumbs out to answer my phone, return an email or maybe take a picture. Although keeping my hands warm is a bit of an issue (I was designed with a tropical climate in mind but live in moderate oceanic climate where it mostly rains from October to July), I really didn’t need another pair of black running gloves. So as practical as they were, I was able to resist (unable able to resist Journey Jacket in heathered charcoal/citron and Run Fast Crop in black).  But when I saw them in pink, yes I pretty much drove 70.4km (round trip) in mid day construction traffic to buy them.

Had to share.

The Chief

It’s kind of funny, my running group runs all year long but our big yearly event is our end of the summer hike. It was decided earlier this year and then solidified a couple of weekends ago when we all drove by on our way to Whistler, that this year we were going to hike the Chief in Squamish.

The Chief is pretty spectacular to look at. This granite monolith (defined as a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument) that towers over 700m/2297ft and is a popular destination for rock climbing and hiking. There are three summits/peaks, and decided that we would hike to the first summit/peak (the others are similar heights just varying views).After picking up our Timmy’s and bagels for the road, 29 of us headed out to Squamish to conquer The Chief. The weather was fantastic, blue skies but not too hot. We arrived at Shannon Falls about 8:15am parked and paid for parking. I was really excited to find out that there were real bathrooms (the toilets flushed). It doesn’t take much to make me happy does it?

We reassembled and headed up the trail. First stop was to check out Shannon Falls, a quick double back and we were on the trail to lead us to The Chief. I had done some research prior to the hike and from what I understood from other hikers was that it wasn’t as tough as the Grouse Grind but it was longer. Even with a pack that weighed almost 30lbs (I had enough water and snacks fopeople) it did feel like an easier hike, that was until we reached the first ladder.

I had also heard about the ladders, there are only two ladders, the first is not a big deal, the second is a ladder and then a chain to hold onto to bring you up to almost the summit and is a bit of a bigger deal. Once you hit the first ladder the terrain changes from trail to rock and you start to see and to feel like you are on a monolith! Really going up was not an issue, but once I was up I started to stress a bit as to how I was going to get down. We all have our own fears, one of mine is heights but as the Lululemon manifesto states “do one thing a day that scares you”…I am good for the rest of the week!

When we reached the top to say that the view was breath taking was an understatement. Seeing the neighbouring mountains and the waters of Howe Sound was simply fantastic. I was quite nervous at first, but after sitting for a few minutes and taking it all in I had my monolith legs and was able to stand and take a few pictures. Once everyone had made it up and had done their photo ops, it was time to head down and deal with fears five through eight.

I am not a fan of steep rock, I guess I can blame it on my mountain biking days, I always feel like I am being drawn to the edge. About this time we ran into JP from Salomon, too scared to stop walking I was unable to stop and chat – how embarrassing! At a snail’s pace, I made it back down to the chain that led to the ladder (addressing fear six: turning around to grab the chain, fear seven: walking backwards down the rock holding the chain and fear eight: finding the right foot placement in the narrow ladder while holding onto a chain). By the time that we hit this point it was starting to get busier on the trail and there was a short line-up of people waiting to get up the ladder (for those who wondered why we had to start off so early as The Chief would still be there at noon, this is why). With all of the witnesses watching me descend this was clearly not the time for any tears or high drama, I put on my game face, sweaty palms and all and climbed down like a champion. The final ladder (fear eight) seemed like nothing at all after that.

Once we hit the trail the short line-up of people heading to the top turned into a steady stream (once again why we started off early and not at noon), this made coming back down the trail a little tight and tricky in some spots. It also seemed a whole lot steeper coming down (I guess I am used to the gondola at Grouse Mountain)! With all of the stop and go I had plenty of time to spot a pair of sandals (the Velcro Dad kind) and a pair of Pumas going up to the Summit, obviously they had not done their research.

We rejoined the group at the bottom next to the creek that comes from Shannon Falls. Although I was not as brave as some I did go for a knee deep paddle. I kid you not, the water was so cold that it hurt! Perhaps if I had gone in a little deeper my quads wouldn’t have screamed quite as much the next day.

Looking back now, really the ladders weren’t all that bad. The hike took us a total of three hours (including stopping at the top and the paddle at the bottom). Would I do this hike again? Absolutely, but not in the rain.

What I will miss most about summer

I love summer, I love everything about it and right about now I am feeling a little boo-hooey.  The mornings are cooler, the nights are getting darker sooner and the leaves are starting to fall.

Here are the top 20 things (it did start as 10) that I will miss about summer:

20. Floating in the pool.

19. My tan.  Even though for most of the summer it was in the shape of my sports bra and running shorts.

18. Being able to see the Lake when I am teaching on Monday evenings.

17. Berries, berries and more berries, and being able to pick them from your own garden.

16. Running skirts.  They are too cute to only be worn six months of the year.

15. Big Brother.  Sorry I’m not sorry.

14. Naptime outside.

13. Flowers.  There is nothing like the smell of honeysuckle to get me through a road run.

12. Leaves on the trees.  Life in the country gets pretty bare in the winter.

11. Lack of routine and schedule.  I am not the planner that I used to be, really.  I love seeing where the day takes me; sometimes it may not be anywhere.

10. Driving with the windows down and the music loud (the music is still loud in the winter but the windows are closed).

9. Flip flops.  I could still wear them, but they aren’t conducive to those who spend hours on end in a hockey rink.

8. The golf course isn’t always open, which adds an additional 7 minutes to my commute to the lake.

7. Having a clean car inside and out.  Trail running is not a clean sport.

6. My body doesn’t hurt quite as much.  I don’t care what Dr. L says.

5. Adventure Thursdays.

4. The patio, any patio.

3. Impromptu happy hours.  They never need a reason in the summer.

2. Finishing our morning trail runs with a swim in Hayward Lake.

1. My summer partner in crime.  Most parents are excited about their kids going back to school, me not so much.

Guess who’s 1?

Today is a special day. Today ironmountainmovement.com is 1 year old!

I have never considered myself very techie, so when the wonderful people at SmarttNet handed my website over to me I felt a little like a new parent…mmmmk, so what do I do now? Fortunately for me, my website did come with a hands on tutorial, a reference guide and plenty of techie advice when I needed it, but the thought of linking pages, inserting images, Google Analytics frightened me to death.

And then there was the blog. Really, what did I have to say (apparently a lot) and would anyone read it (there is evidence that a few of you do). I found out quickly that the only way that my blog would work for me was if I quit worrying about what I thought everyone wanted to hear and was just myself. So what started out as my official running diary (I hated the word blog back then) still does document my running and races, it also is a place where I can write about health, fitness and wellness and even rant a little as well.

As Conny and I discussed last night on our way home from spin class at the Sheep, life is about living and learning from our mistakes, not regretting but instead handling the situation differently if it happened again, and that is what I have done with my blog. Being new to social media (and I was a total rookie), I have had to learn where to set my boundaries, because when you write something, it is pretty much forever (and really, you don’t need to know and nor should you care that I had a handful of chocolate chips after eating a lunch that was completely null and void of any nutritional value).

I have also opened the door to other forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. For me this was a pretty big deal because until very recently I was quite a vocal anti-Facebooker, I have eaten a lot of crow on this one, which has only re-affirmed “never say never” people. It also re-affirms boundary setting. I am still surprised at some of the things that people post and also at the horrific spelling errors (I don’t understand why Facebook does not have spell check on status updates but it does when you comment on some else’s update) on Facebook.

One of the things that I enjoy most about my website is the comments that I receive not only from my clients but from people outside of the lower mainland, please keep them coming. It’s always interesting to see how people found the website (I now love Google Analytics), the most unusual one to date came last week when someone searched “Ted Bundy Summit Park” (I had mentioned this in my Sprint to the Summit post)…yikes!

The past year has required patience, nurturing and a whole lotta courage. What seemed to be such a scary thing a year ago is now a part of my day which I look forward to. I would like to send out a HUGE shout-out to my Mum (my editor) and her 17th century English, one day this will be a paying gig you know.

Happy birthday ironmountainmovement.com, lemon drops for everyone!