Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Report

This past weekend was a big weekend in my running community, the Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon and ½ Marathon was on Saturday and the Scotiabank ½ Marathon was on Sunday. Originally I was to Rock ‘N’ Roll the marathon, but injury (there I said it) sidelined my final four long runs so instead I Rock ‘N’ Rolled the ½ marathon.

Wanting to beat the dreaded Seattle rush hour traffic we started our trek Friday morning. We arrived at our hotel with only one extra loop around the block (Seattle has lots of one-way streets), checked in, freshened up and went in search of the Expo where we would pick up our race packages. Before leaving we asked our concierge (or at least I thought he was) how to get to the Expo and he said that there were things to do in town other than the marathon, like the Avatar: The Exhibition…huh?

Unfamiliar and a little frustrated with the city’s public transportation system, we got back in the car and fought rush hour/Mariner tailgate party traffic to Qwest (pronounced “quest” for idiots like myself) Field and the Health and Fitness Expo.

The Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Series is the most organized racing event hands down, yes, even more organized than mine. We posed on the red carpet, checked in, changed races, changed corrals, picked up our schwag, all in less than 10 minutes, giving us plenty of time to take in the rest of the Expo.

The official race shirt was a little plain, I was also disappointed because it is navy blue. Race Organizers around the world, nothing goes with navy blue other than navy blue. If you want people to wear your race shirt go white, black, red…anything that you can pair with black pants, black and navy blue don’t work.

There was plenty to see and sample at the Expo; protein bars, juices, pain relievers, recovery drink and deodorant. No Sugar Ray sightings this time, but you never know who you might see.

Continuing with the Rock ‘N’ Roll theme, we decided to have our pre-race dinner at the Hard Rock Café. We sang a little Britney Bitch, harmonized with Spandau Ballet and hair tossed with White Snake. The food was good and our waiter rocked.

You would think that being in Seattle with a Starbucks on nearly every corner, finding an after dinner decaf wouldn’t be an issue. We were shocked to find out that Starbucks closed at 9:00pm and that they only brew decaf in the morning.

We moved from coffee withdrawal to pre-race breakfast. We hit Walgreens and then found an IGA right in the middle of downtown Seattle. It was like it was meant to be; bagels, fruit, plastic cutlery, even single serving sized packages of almond butter, we were good to go. With the bagels divy’d up we headed back to the hotel and retired to our respective rooms.

Attaching the timing chip wasn’t nearly as stressful as it was in Vegas, even after a glass 2 glasses of wine. I laid out my race outfit and everything that I would need for the morning and was in bed for 10:00pm.

I don’t think that I could have possibly had a worse nights sleep, it wasn’t a noise or comfort issue, it was just me. And with slightly less than four hours of sleep it was time to get up. Thank goodness for coffee and Visine.

We had heard that some friends that were also racing left their hotel at 4:30am. Why so early we thought? The race started at 7:00am, we were less than 20km away (most of it freeway), so we met in the lobby at 5:50am took a couple of pics and piled into the truck with our anonymous driver, a little over capacity.

At 6:20am we were a mile away from our exit, and the freeway came to a complete stop. Hmmm. We could see other vehicles unloading their runners who were now walking down the side of the freeway and down an embankment to join a sea of other runners who were also walking. We were well over capacity, had no idea where the start line was and were under the watchful eye of Washington’s finest, we decided it best that we stay in the vehicle and follow the map and the traffic.

The race started at 7:00am and we had only just exited off the freeway.

At 7:25am we finally made it to the racer drop off point. Leaving only a PBOP (ask Colin) we left our patient and anonymous driver and joined the sea of people, who were also late to the start line. Along a couple of walkways, under an overpass and we were exactly where we had seen the sea people from the freeway…SMF!

Through a McDonalds parking lot, an industrial area and finally we could hear the music. We wished each other well, sang a verse or two of “Life Is A Highway” and instead of going out with corral 8, instead we joined corral 30.

My race plan was simple, hydration/walk breaks every 30 minutes and a PB.

With so many people ahead of me, I spent the first hour weaving, stop-starting, with no real pace at all. I had been running along the edge of the roads/freeways/train lines so by 1:15 the outside of my left foot had started to bug me, and not from my injury either, it was from the camber of the road. I tried switching the side of road that I was running on, but it didn’t help much.

Running along Lake Washington was quite beautiful and made for a great distraction. There were so many encouraging spectators along the side of the road with fantastic signs.

• Best signs: “Chafe now, brag later” (that seems to be my running story lately) and “It’s not sweat, it’s your fat cells crying”.
• The worst:  at the 5km water station read “It’s not too late to turn back”. Placed  at the 18km point of the ½ marathon or the 40km point in the marathon it would be ironic and somewhat funny, but at the 5km water station…fail.

The 9.2 mile mark was the ½ marathon/marathon split. I knew I easily had another 4 miles in me, but another 17? After 8 weeks of second guessing my decision to pull out of my marathon training I was finally at peace with it, and happily veered to the left with the rest of the ½ marathoners.

Just past the 10-mile marker we were able to see our first glimpse of downtown Seattle and also when I ran up on a familiar smiling face. I knew that several of the ladies from Lululemon Coquitlam Centre were running the ½ marathon, but thought that the chances of actually seeing one of them in the crowd of 28,000 was pretty slim. It was so awesome to see Mariah. We chatted for a few minutes and then started talking time goals (nothing like doing math to get you through those last few miles), Mariah’s time goal was in our grasp so away we went.

As we entered into the downtown core the streets became lined with cheering spectators. I had lost my GPS satellite in a tunnel earlier and wasn’t sure if what I was reading on my watch was completely accurate but I knew that the end was very near. We passed along a road that I recognized only by smell of the hotdogs from the day before (they smelled so good the day before, today they made me feel nauseous). We as we rounded the corner I could see the finish line, I love that feeling.

After 13 of these, you would have thought that I would have already learned everything that I needed to know, turns out that lucky 14 taught me a few new lessons:

1. Don’t expect to PB when you show up to a race 52 minutes late.
2. Stick to black bottoms unless you want to look like you pee’d yourself…why did I have to relearn this lesson?
3. It is what it is. Forget about what could have been or what you think should be; appreciate what you have, what you can do and do the best with it…no regrets.
4. Carry ID. Even free race beer requires picture identification.

Congratulations to my running family and everyone who ran this weekend, we rocked! Big woo-hoo for Barry completing his first ½ marathon. So proud of Conny, Colin and Soraiya for running the full meal deal. Thank-you to all of the volunteers for keeping us safe, fueled and hydrated and also to my family for putting up with me especially since May 3rd.

When our group ran the San Francisco Nike Women’s ½ Marathon in 2009 we made a pact to run one destination race per year. Although this trip did require entering another country and three hour car ride I am going to say that it was more of a road trip than a destination. Who’s up for a night run in Vegas, say December?

Rock ‘n’ Roll Flash Mob

Check out the flash mob from last weekend’s San Diego Dodge Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon…

If there is another planned for Seattle, could someone please send me the choreography video? I am Dance Dance Revolution champion at my house.

Vistas 2011

It has been said that good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. Whether or not I learned from my own experience or Daryl’s, thankfully I did not attempt to defend my title yesterday at the Vistas Race (retiring as a champion, even if it was in my own mind), returning this year only as a spectator.

When I arrived at the race Starbucks in hand, because that is part of spectating, I met fellow runner/last year’s race winner at the finish line, also with coffee in hand and Conny’s hoody over his arm.

There was a strange yet wonderful smell coming from the food area, I would have to wait to find out what it was until the racers came in because RACE FOOD IS FOR THE RACERS AND THE RACE VOLUNTEERS. This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, hence the boldface and caps. Food is ordered and purchased for a race on a per racer basis. If you have ever been one of the last few racers to come through a finish line only to hit the food tent to find scraps and mushy pieces of fruit that nobody wants, and hear from a non racer how good the chocolate chip cookies were or how juicy the watermelon was, you know exactly what I mean. Rant done. One of the main reasons why I bring my own coffee to spectate (that and also because Starbucks is much better).

The sun was shining and music wasn’t half bad as Colin and I waited for the racers to cross the finish line. Here they come…

Although the age categories were wide, top finishers did receive medals this year.  Race results have now been posted here.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Vistas 2011 run.

Happy Trails

For the past three years I have been running the event.  Yesterday I ran in the event.

Instead of the usual 3:45am wake up, it began at the much more civilized hour of 7:00am.  No pukey feeling in the shower, I puttered, reconsidered my race attire several times after seeing the frost on the ground, made breakfast and was ready to go when Chris arrived to pick me up at 7:45.

We caught up on the week’s events, ailments and sang a little Bon Jovi (because that’s what we do) on the drive in.   There were no line-ups at racer check-in which gave plenty of time to find the rest of the gang as well as a fairy toilet.

At 9:00am the 5 Peaks Golden Ears race began.  Not wanting to get caught in the bottle neck at the first couple of creeks and the first hill I seeded myself at the back of wave 2.  I learned a long time ago and the hard way that the rocks in a creek can be very slippery, so I don’t tippy toe across, and for crying out loud we are trail runners…less than 3 minutes into the race my feet were soaked and FREEZING, woo-hoo!

I didn’t really have a running strategy for the race.  I am not breaking any records, although I did have a time goal of 1:40, it was more about having a good run on some of my favourite trails, and they were in fantastic shape.

It always takes me a good 20 minutes to set my breathing and pace, so by the time I crossed Golden Ears Parkway I finally had “Wooly Bully” out of my head and was more than ready for the steady uphill grind along Mike Lake Road.  With the exception of the farting noises that my camelback was making due to the sweat/bounce combination everything felt great.

It was nice to see some familiar friendly faces on the course, Kirk, Rob T and at the bottom of Incline Alaia who didn’t mind a sweaty hug.  ‘Incline’ has it’s name for a reason, a 1.2km section of trail with an elevation change of just over 150m (FYI – it  was once used by loggers as a route to skyline huge logs down to Mike Lake from the trailhead).  With fresh legs this is something that I run (a walk with a bounce is still a run), yesterday it was a hike, but a great opportunity to catch up with some running friends.

My legs felt like jello coming down Switchbacks but quickly recovered before hitting Eric Dunning and winding back down to Mike Lake Road.  I am much stronger going up than I am coming down, and it was nice to catch and pass several runners on Menzies Trail that had blown by me on the last section of downhill.

Over the waterfall, which was not nearly as deep as it was a couple of weeks ago and then down Lookout Trail.  I was not looking forward to this section because of the loose rock, thankfully this time I did not bounce down the trail on my backside.

Across the road (thanks Sue for stopping traffic and the rest of the volly crew for your encouraging words) and then into Spirea Trail (or as Conny calls it spider diarrhea).   I checked my watch at this point and thought that it might be a bit tight (not too tight) making my time goal, but knowing how close I was to the finish line, I felt pretty confident that I could do it.  A sharp right onto Secret Trail, I love this part, this section of the trail is like a trampoline and I always feel like I bounce down it.   The poor guy behind me bounced a little too much and launched himself off right of the trail with a huge yelp.  He was up as quick as he went down and I gave him a 10 for sound effects!

I passed the 1km to go sign (and it was 1km to go) and heard a familiar voice at the bottom of the trail making a whole lotta of noise.  As I rounded the corner I saw Rae aka Fabulous Photographer crouched at the side of the trail shooting pics and cheering us all on as we made our way along the final stretch.

I crossed the last creek a little slower than the previous (I was not about to make it this far unscathed and blow it 3 minutes from the end) and made my way along the beach for towards the finish line.

Up the last hill (thanks Brian and Mum for the cheers) and through the finish line to the high five and hugs from my running family…I have so missed that.  Official finish time 1:36:01.

So how was it running in the race that I used to run?  At first glance it was a little weird and there were a few awkward moments but when I looked a little closer, I realized that yes it was a 5 Peaks race, but it wasn’t my race.

A Running Nirvana

Surprisingly, I am feeling pretty good this week. I usually spend two or three days after a ½ marathon on light duties, taking the stairs backwards and “oof”ing each time I sit down or stand up…toilets are the devil.

Last night I broke my own rule of no running for a week, and ran (gently) with the Intermediate Running Group on an undulating route through Kanaka Creek. I got a bit of a tongue lashing from my quads on the downhills and the twang at the behind my knee magically disappeared when Conny said that there was nothing back there that could possibly twang….silly me.

On Saturday we move back onto the trails until the end of summer and I couldn’t be happier. I love the trail running season, and being able to run in the events as opposed to running the events is something that I really missed and am excited to get back to this year. So with five trail races and one adventure race already on the calendar you would think that I would be satisfied. But the urge to Rock and Roll again has not gone away mad or just gone away, so today I added one final race to my summer schedule

“First Half” Half Marathon Race Recap

Yesterday I ran the “First Half” Half Marathon for a fifth time. However, there are only timing records of me running four times, when they say attach the chip to your ankle, don’t be an idiot and put it in your pocket.

I picked up my group’s race packages on Friday, and although I was assured that it would go smoothly, it did not. To make a long story somewhat short, one of the racers that I was picking up for became injured but had transferred her registration to another runner, no big deal. When the runner came to pick up the registration instead of being given the injured runner’s race bib (which is also the race timing chip), she was given mine. Even after it was pointed out several times that it was the wrong bib, she was told that it didn’t matter and to take it. Needless to say when I arrived to pick-up my package and it had already been given to someone else, I was left with the injured runner’s bib. It was eventually worked out the next day, but the whole mess was unnecessary and could have been easily avoided.

I was also a bit disappointed in the souvenir race shirt. The website promised a dark blue shirt for men and light blue for ladies…it’s orange/salmon and fits like a ¾ shirt. I guess when a race sells out in a matter of hours (even after the system crashes minutes into registration with it resuming days later at an unspecified time) you really don’t need a great race shirt to advertise and draw future registrations.

Poo-pooing aside, all was not completely lost on Friday’s travels, D and I had a fantastic lunch and our barista at Starbucks was a Mitchell from Modern Family look alike, my staring may have creeped him out a bit.

6:00am Sunday came quickly and I had made my morning as stupid proof as possible by getting everything ready and packed the night before. Conny and Colin picked me up at 6:45am and we headed downtown.

We arrived with plenty of time to check our bags and find the rest of our group. Looking around at the other racers I felt and looked completely underdressed, I was even offered a garbage bag to start the race in. The forecast had been calling for rain all week, but had since changed to sunny/cloudy/few showers, but mostly dry for the hours that we would be racing. There was nothing else to do other than to own my choice in clothing and go with it, in the words of Soraiya, it is what it is.

I lost my group while lining up at the start line, so was relying on my Garmin for pacing during the first few kilometers. I may have gone out a bit fast, the mile markers may have been a bit off, but by 2km I was already tired of doing the math, I had a cramp, my gait felt clunky and my foot hurt. Each time I have done this race in the past, for whatever reason, I always felt like it had beaten me. Not today, I made a race changing decision, enough with my splits and stressing about maintaining them, today I would enjoy this race, running the seawall listening to my music. I also decided that the only attention that I would pay to my watch would be for walk breaks. Was this really me?

By the time I could see the Ocean from Beach Avenue, my stress level had come down, my pace was comfortable and my gait was much more relaxed. Sometime before I reached Coal Harbor I was actually enjoying the race and realized that my choice of attire was perfect, down to the running glasses, I was neither too hot nor too cold, everything was just right.

I was true to my word and didn’t even check my chrono when I hit the half way point; still a runner, I did do a quick set calculation and knew that I would have to stay at my current pace if I wanted to sneak in under 2 hours (looking at my splits now I wasn’t far off, at 56:04 I was at 10.51km).

Somewhere between 15 and 18km (and while on a walk break) I finally saw someone I knew, Brian. He was also aiming for a sub 2 so I figured I was still on track and for the next 3 to 6km I would catch and pass him while he was on his walk breaks and vice versa.

Up the last little hill and into the final stretch I still felt great. There may have been a few moments where fatigue started to set in but I didn’t let it get in the way of my mantra “today I enjoy”. As I rounded the last corner I heard someone yell that I would finish in under 2 hours, and I went as hard as I could. Official finish time 1:59:16; a personal best for this race, and for the first time I felt like I had beaten it. We all got finishers medals, and oooo, I love a good medal.

As in previous years, the race food was top notch, fruit, bagels, yogurt, juices, warm soup from Whole Foods and fresh coffee. As we grazed I found out that I wasn’t the only one who had enjoyed the race, so many personal bests in our group, inspiring stories and great moments.

Congratulations everyone on a great race and day. Big thanks to the volunteers and race organizers for a successful event and to the sun for chasing the rain away.

Resolution Run Recap

Happy New Year!

This morning I ran the Resolution Run.  The route was great, but it was not closed, meaning that when you crossed a main intersection (and there were quite a few from start to finish) you had to use crosswalks at traffic lights, and there was the possibility that you may have to stop and wait for a walk sign…in a race.  The rules of the race were made clear, but while stopped waiting for a light to change, someone did not follow the rules, Benita and I even called him out, I don’t think he cared because he didn’t stop.  I call disqualification.

The route wound its way up a bit of a hill and through a residential area (no traffic lights) where we were free to cross the roads without delay.  I am quite sure that the residents of Willowbrook wondered why there was a sea of orange jackets and two red shirts running through their community on such a chilly January 1st.

As I made my way towards the finish line, my speed training sure came in handy, because there were a few traffic crossings that I had to sprint to make.  The final approach to the finish line was a victory lap around the Safeway parking lot which drew plenty of cheers.

Congratulations to race winner Colin “Quarter-Turn” McLean!!!

How’d I do? 5km, 24:32:27 (a PB), 2nd female across the line, 7th overall (could have possibly been 6th, but due to the cheater we will never know), and you will have to take my word for it because it was not a timed event.

Big thanks to all of the volunteers who kept us safe and on track, to Starbucks for the finish line coffee and Doris and Granddad for the full English breakfast they made for us after.

How did you spend your New Years Day?

my once a year "bucket of fat"

H2H Recap: We ran like hell!

1 near death experience, 2 support vehicles, 3 cans of Palm Bay, 4 kinds of sandvitches, 5 very public displays of nudity, 6 cell phones, 7 tribal necklaces, 8 legs, 20 status updates, 100km of laughter and 0 umbrellas! Although Saturday was the last Haney to Harrison race we didn’t let it spoil our fun.

According to Chris, with only 8 seconds to spare (I take full responsibility this time for cutting it close, I am sorry again) and the timing chip tightly wrapped around Chuck’s little neck, our official clock time adventure started at 6:00am. With the race underway, the cat let out of the bag, we headed to Starbucks picked up coffee, distributed treats (our team always eats well) and made our way to first exchange.

The darkness didn’t seem to hinder Chuck at all. Right on schedule, he slid through the exchange and out onto leg 2. We honked and cheered him up the big hill and then made a quick detour to use the friendliest of all toilets, there was even enough time for a very efficient shower. We saw Chuck again before he hit exchange 2, if I didn’t know any better, I would say that he had run this leg a time or two before.

Daylight came as we arrived at exchange 2. After stopping for a quick visit with our fabulous volunteer Dianne, Chuck slid across the table in record time (I knew he had it in him) and headed out onto leg 3 with perfect running form. Each leg of the relay comes with a positive and a negative, the negative of leg 3 is the 7km steady climb, the positive is when it’s over. We gave Chuck his space on the road and stopped to cheer him on at Jason Voorhees Lake (it totally looks like the quiet, serene lake at the end of Friday 13th part I…you know how that ended), he seemed happy to see us and some exposed body parts.

While waiting for Chuck at exchange 3, we witnessed an epic wipe-out…out of nowhere a guy on a BMX charged through the exchange, we cheered, he went into a huge catwalk and totally lost control, he skidded across the parking lot one way, the bike the other, got up without making eye contact, picked up what was left of his ego, straightened out the front wheel of his bike by kicking it and was gone…it was kinda funny if you find that kinda thing funny.

Unlike BMX guy’s slide, Chuck’s slide through exchange 3 was not as smooth, and he did not look very happy about it either. The second time was a charm and Chuck headed out on leg 4. After making a stop to pick up the most fantastic sandvitches (I know it is spelled incorrectly, it is spelled exactly the way my lovely Grandma pronounced and how I will always lovingly refer to them) and visiting the infamous Safeway washroom, we gave Chuck a cheer on the course and assisted him with some water issues, that’s why they are called support vehicles. Water wasn’t the only issue Chuck was having on leg 4, as Chuck slid through the transition, he did so with a nasty chafe, y-ouch!

4 down, 4 to go, Chuck crossed the railway tracks and onto the country roads of leg 5. Good thing that it was Chuck running this leg because there were dogs EVERYWHERE. About 7km into the leg his little calf started to cramp up. He’s a toughie and he finished leg 5 off strong and made his way out onto the prettiest leg of them all, leg 6.

What’s not to love about leg 6, the hills roll and at this time of year the leaves on the trees are brilliant orange. While on this leg, Chuck made a quick pit stop at the Deroche Store, in case you are ever in the neighbourhood, they have a friendly toilet. While cheering Chuck along, we were treated to some full frontal nudity from another team…one of those moments where I had to check with my teammates to confirm what I had just seen.

Another smooth exchange and Chuck headed for what seemed like a second time onto leg 7. This leg also has a nasty climb, and at the top of the climb the infamous “flash point”. Oh, the things that this section of road has seen. Also at the flash point were the blue men, did you see the blue men? NOTHING left to the imagination. I was told that one team nearly got into a head on/off collision because their driver was so distracted by their costumes.

Chuck raced into exchange 7 and out onto his final leg with considerably less clothing than we had anticipated. Looking strong and fearless, he braved the really big dog and random comments from the peanut gallery. We raced ahead and parked the vehicles with the aid of some very helpful signs, to meet Chuck at the finish line. Looking as fierce as he did when he started the race, but missing a very powerful piece of jewelry, Chuck proudly crossed the finish line with a time of 8:47:05 and the crowd went wild!

Chuck and the Hellbent Milfs and Mullets would like to congratulate all of the Ultra racers and teams “good for you!” We wish to thank all of the fabulous volunteers (special shout out to Dianne) and race organizers, the Bluemen, Team tight-ass, Andy the waiter for the napkins, Primus, Advil, friendly/unfriendly/fairy toilets from Ridge to Harrison, Facebook, the side of the mountain not falling down, Muscle Eze, my little pony and the other one, Paul and Mr. Golden Sun.

more photos

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!

Revisiting Sprint To The Summit

You may recall that last month, whilst visiting Utah, I participated in the Sprint to The Summit 2010, a12km trail race. I am happy to report that my left shin has since healed (I do hope to keep the scar as a race momento) and the race results along with the race photos from the actual Summit have been posted.

Unless you are a fitness supermodel or you are being coached through a running photo shoot with Raeanne Fabulous, chances are that most of your running pictures are less than flattering. Even if you think that you have mastered the art of the finish line photo (chin up, chest out, shirt down) you can still easily blow it (exhibit A, my finish line photo from the Green Thumb ½ Marathon earlier this year…add to the list ‘close your mouth’). That’s why I am a big fan of the before (oh crap!) and after (woo-hoo) shots.

The fantastic volunteer who was at the Summit and manning the water station was also taking photos, and snapped my picture before I knew it as I passed by.

Funny, I remember being in more of a crawling than upright position!

I always enjoy doing smaller races because they are more personal, this race in particular. Instead of doing the same old boring age group categories (20-29, 30-39…), the organizers stayed true to the whole Utah back country theme, and organized us into age divisions named after wildlife indigenous to Utah:
• Young bucks
• Grey fox
• Mountain lion
• Black bear
• Master moose
• Senior speedgoat
…yes, I was a mountain lion…it’s better than being a cougar or a moose right?

I was pleasantly surprised at my placing, for most of the race I thought that I was 3rd last. So how did I do? I placed 26th out of 44 other racers and 2nd out of the 6 mountain lions!

Thanks again Summit Park for hosting such a memorable event, a true highlight of my time in Utah.

« Previous Page — Next Page »