Miwok 100 km

Miwok was everything I expected it to be; beautiful trails, views of the Golden Gate Bridge (above), and gorgeous ocean. Not to forget, great people and fantastic aid stations (thank you volunteers!) It was great seeing so many familiar faces at the race start; people who I recognize from either the ultra magazines or from blogworld.

My friend, Angela, from Calgary. A kick-ass runner who I met at the Western States training camp last year. We were both loving the sunshine, especially as Calgary had just been blitzed by a severe snow storm the day before!

Beautiful trails that go on forever!
Local wildlife - turkeys!
Hmmm, just smell that ocean air.
Miwok is a fantastic race and makes me want to spend more time in California! The trails are fun. I knew it would be a hilly course but it wasn't as bad as I expected. My lower legs were paining me partway through the race so I popped a couple of Advil at the 80 km mark and that seemed to do the trick. I ended up feeling pretty good for the last few kilometers and even broke out into a full-on sprint for the last 500 meters and finished by leaping over the finishing line. I'm not sure who was more astonished; me or the race officials! I think the sprinting also helped to flush out some of the lactic acid as I had no stiffness at all afterwards which is pretty amazing, especially considering I was scrunched up on planes the next day, flying home.

Many thanks to Tia Boddington and all the people who make Miwok work like a well oiled machine. And congratulations to the winners: Anton Krupicka in 8:02 and Kami Semick in 9.10 hours. I did it in 14:33 hours and wasn't quite at the back - there were about 50 people behind me. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to get into Miwok again and who knows, maybe I can knock some time off that 14:33!!

Victoria

I just came back from a long weekend in Victoria, BC and what a lovely place! I've wanted to go there for a long time so was super happy to visit for 3 days. Victoria is a lovely little city and is nestled next to the ocean with a temperate climate. The cherry blossoms are out and all the gardens are full of tulips and daffodils so it was lovely to see it in springtime.

I know quite a few folks who are from the west coast so went armed with lots of beta as to where to go, what to do, where to eat etc. My favourite restaurant was the famous Rebar Restaurant. I've seen their vegetarian recipe book but had no idea that they were a restaurant and that they were located in Victoria. Lucky me! The food was fantastic and it doesn't cost a fortune to dine there. In fact, I ended up eating most of my meals there, working my way through their menu, because it was also super healthy and nutritious! Of course, I visited lots of the local coffee shops inbetween, just to keep things in balance! If you find yourself in Victoria, a visit to Rebar should definitely be on your list.

So, after an eating/coffee shop tour of Victoria, it's been time to get back on track. I have Miwok coming up in 8 days. Yikes!

Race report: Tarawera Ultra (100 km)

After being welcomed to the race by director, Paul Charteris, we set off amongst the redwood forest. The starting point for the Tarawera Ultra is Rotorua, one of the most famous towns on the north island of New Zealand known for its thermal hot springs, boiling mud pools, geysers and maori culture. A place not to be missed!
The great thing about this race is that it appeals to lots of different runners; there's a 60km, 80km and a 100 km - you can opt to do any of these as part of a team or run it solo. As daylight breaks, we pass by the beautiful Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake). If you're planning on being in New Zealand in March of 2011, then put this race on your calendar!
I loved the first 60 km of running through the New Zealand bush. I didn't get many photographs and missed capturing how beautiful it is so you'll have to take my word for it.
Whenever I go over to visit, my Dad ends up driving me all over the country so that I can race. The last race I did in NZ was another point to point but was a mountain race so there were no spectators. The nice thing about the Tarawera Ultra is that crew and spectators can drive down to the aid stations to watch. My Dad drove his car down bumpy, dusty forestry roads into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, just so that he could check that I was still doing okay. He did this all day long and then waited for me in the dark to cross the finishing line! Seeing his face as I crossed the line was something I'll never forget! Huge thanks to Paul and the volunteers to making this race such a success!

Made it!

It's hard to believe, but it already seems like an eternity since I was in New Zealand! Funny how that happens once you return from holiday and get sucked back into "normal life". It was a good trip, fun to see family and I'm glad to say that I survived the Tarawera Ultra!

I haven't done a huge amount of mileage so far this year so was pleased to make it to the finishing line, even if it did take 14.40 hours to get there! Maybe the kiwi kilometer is longer than those in Canada?!!

Anyway, I'll try to put a race report together soon. Kudos to Paul Charteris and his merry band of volunteers for putting on such a great show! Thanks Paul.

NEW ZEALAND HERE I COME!!

Only one more day to go and I'll be on the plane to "down under". I'm really looking forward to seeing my family, especially my Dad, as it's been a couple of years since I last went home. Hopefully it will still be nice n' warm by the time I get there (they're just going into early autumn).

I'm also looking forward to getting spanked in the Tarawera Ultra 100km. Oh, I think that's gonna hurt!

Wish me luck.

Racing

Every other week I've been going into Calgary to race in a cross country series hosted by the Calgary Roadrunners. The trail races are about 8 km and are a great way to see parts of Calgary that I never knew existed! They only cost $10 and are the best way for me to get some speedwork under my belt as I'd never run that fast by myself or with friends; the Calgary folks are speedsters so I'm guaranteed to get a lung burner! Afterwards they offer soup, bread and coffee and everyone brings a dessert so it also gives me a good excuse to do some baking every couple of weeks!

Skoki

The Skoki area at Lake Louise is beautiful at any time of year and it's made the perfect venue for my weekly long runs. Skoki Lodge sits nestled some 14 km from where I leave the car so it gives me a nice 28 km round trip on pretty hardpacked snow. There have been times when I punch through but most days it's fairly solid. People ski into Skoki Lodge for a weekend and are extremely surprised to see anyone running in for the day!