(The Chief, the venue for Saturday's finishing effort)
Monday, 2010-05-03: 4miles + 1 barefoot (40min) Headed out in the evening while I waited for my girlfriend to finish up her physio appointment in West Van. It was unbelievable windy along the water which made this jaunt both pleasurable and painful depending on which way I was running. I finished up with a mile of barefoot on the grass and a basic core workout on what was a beautifully sunny evening.
Tuesday, 2010-05-04: 8.10 (1:02) PR’d my customary pre-work ‘Lonsdale Loop’. Felt great throughout the run and especially climbing the hills. My right calf stiffened up slightly during the day but nothing unexpected. Frantically rushed around after the run and barely made the bus to work.
Wednesday, 2010-05-05: 19 miles (3:15) This was an encouraging run for me both from a physiological and psychological perspective. I had the day off work and as such, I headed to the mountains for some intimate one-on-one time. Without much preparation or thought, I jammed 4 gels in my pocket and filled my handheld and caught the bus to the base of Grouse Mountain. From there, I hit Skyline and worked my way descending to Lynn Headwaters. I then decided to head up small Lynn-Loop and initiate the climb up Lynn Peak. Surprisingly, this was my first time up Lynn Peak (ever!!) and I am most certain I failed to reach the top after conversing with a friend later. Perhaps for the best... the descent was rocky and technical and my right calf was just not into it. Nonetheless, I progressed forward seeking the satisfaction of a more familiar summit. With that in mind, I went up Powerline via Mystery Creek. Much better, I reached 1200 foot peak in a fairly casual 21 minutes flat. By this time things had warmed up considerably as it was near mid-day and the shirt came off rather quickly. I then just relished the varying descent down Baden Powell and Old Buck, eventually making my way home. Total vertical gain for the run: 4421 feet; total descent: 5039.
Thursday, 2010-05-06: Off. After a massage from Leah at Moveo last night, my legs were slightly tender. I decided to take the day and hopefully conserve a bit for the weekend.
Friday, 2010-05-07: 8miles (1:04) Went out in the AM before work and basically just shook out the legs on a fairly flat run. I threw in a bit of speed work at Loutette about half-way through the run. Much to my delight, the legs reacted well. With the now early rising sun, it is light enough to run through the trails at Loutette on these early mornings. I am sure I will be frequenting this location a lot more in the early mornings; it is perfectly abandoned, I have it all to myself.
(a view from the top)
Saturday, 2010-05-08: 19miles (3:30) (3346 vertical) + 6 miles (1:00) (2000 feet vertical) This was a fantastic day of running and one that I am sure spurs envy in a lot of other runners. I headed up to Squamish with Nicola at 6:00am. The plan was to meet up with Jen Segger, accomplished endurance athlete, and to have her take us through some of the local trails in Squamish. This was a real treat as I had not run in the area for about a year. We ended up running what were approximately legs 2 and 3 of the STORMY course, with some minor detours of course. It was a beautiful day in what I can only describe as a picturesque setting. The views at the top of ‘nine-mile hill’ were spectacular with snow-covered peaks engulfing us 360 degrees around as the rising sun crested the mountains. The descents were forgiving in their terrain and seemingly endless in their length. But not in that, will you finish already, kind of way. On the contrary, I was dreading their conclusion as we peek-a-booed in and out of the sun through some amazing singletrack. We finished up the run with Jen Segger (19miles (3:30)) as she had to be on her way. Nicola and I decided to cap the morning off with a summit up the renowned Chief via the Stawamus trail. It was a little populated for my liking as we side-stepped and scrambled our way to the peak. The trail consists of massive step-ups and intermittent stairs as you cover the 2000 feet of vertical. We stopped at the top o-so-momentarily to take in the view and then jumbled our way down, brushing past many individuals working their way up and down. A quick stop at Zephyrs for some wicked grub, and we were back in Vancouver by 1:00.
Sunday, 2010-05-09: 6+ miles (1:00) + 16miles (2:48) Legs felt surprisingly peppy after yesterdays solid effort. I headed out in the morning with Meredith for an easy 6 plus miles. We cruised around simply enjoying the absolutely spectacular morning; we also managed to fit in some errands while out and about. Bonus! I then hit the trails on my own for an extra outing. I wore the INOV8 X-Talon 212’s for the first time (just received them on order from the US). Weighing in at a feathery 212 grams, I felt alert and stable as I worked my way along some fairly technical terrain. They also felt surprisingly responsive on the more subdued fire-roads despite their large lugs. All in all, a great shoe that I look forward to putting in some serious mileage on to see how they respond. Again, running shirtless in the forest for the entire effort (quick digress: as I ran by a family out for a walk, a little girl asked her mom “why I was naked?"... I could not help but crack a smile). Indeed, a perfect way to complete a solid and especially enjoyable week of running.
Miles: 87.1 miles
Time: 14 hours
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