On this weekend last year, I had taken part in the Barkakoo 55km Ultra at Chickakoo. It was an extremely snowy day on a tough, hilly, technical course, and I ended up finishing first overall in nine hours 4 minutes. It was a fantastic event and I absolutely loved the tough, challenging course, so much so that I had every intention of going back again this year.
The race was this weekend but I hadn't registered this year, simply because I wanted it to be just as tough as it was last year. Up until last weekend, we had had no snow whatsoever, and I didn't want to run the course on clear trails in mild weather. And then it came. On Tuesday this week, we had our first proper dump of snow with around 15cm falling locally. The organisers of Barkakoo shared photos of the course, and it looked just like last year. I now really, really wanted to go back again to do it all over again, but I didn't feel like I was in a racing mood so I grudgingly gave it a miss.
The heavy snow earlier in the week did mean that I ended up at the indoor track for my speed session this week, which happened to be a kind of time trial where I had to run as far as possible in the hour. The track was pretty quiet on Tuesday night and I found I actually enjoyed the change of scenery, managing to cover just under 8 miles in the hour. I was pretty happy with that, and it once again made me hopeful that with another six months of marathon training, that sub 3.15 may be in my reach.
At the track - how far can I go in an hour?
It was Thursday before I finally managed to get outside properly for a run, and the snow was still present when I headed out after work for an easy 10 miler around the local lake. With being dark by 5pm, I was looking forward to seeing the Beaver Moon that everybody had been going on about, and maybe even catch a bit of the lunar eclipse. Unfortunately the skies were partly cloudy, and whilst the moonlight was still filtering through and lighting the trails with a silvery light, the clouds were obscuring the views that I was really hoping to see.
I still had a great run though, managing to stay upright despite the snow and ice, and I got back home feeling happy about how the run had gone.
Night of the Beaver Moon
Saturday was the 50th running of the River Valley Park Run, and with wanting to get to the park run far more frequently during my marathon build up. we ended up heading to Edmonton early on Saturday morning to take part. It had gone quite chilly the past few days and it was once again snowing as we headed north to the city. We would be filming the park run today in an attempt to promote it via my YouTube channel, and with not wanting to run fast or hard today, I made the decision to take Wilson and April with me. Tillie seemed keen to join us, but having stood around waiting for the start for around 10 minutes, she did start shivering and so we put her back into the warm car where she was much, much happier to wait patiently for our return.
The River Valley park run is never cancelled due to the conditions and in previous years, I have taken part when the temperature has been at -40 Celsius. It wasn't that cold on Saturday, but it was snowy and icy which made it pretty dicey running with two crazy pups. I found myself having to walk some sections whilst trying to restrain Wilson who was eager to race the other pups in attendance, and with the filming, I already knew it would be a much slower run that normal. We ended up finishing in just over 30 minutes as the snow really started to come down - park run number 9 completed for me, and number 3 for the pups :)
Doggy park run - River Valley :)
I actually had 25km on my schedule for Saturday, so later on in the day after another visit to yet another dog park with the pups, I headed back out for another 20km on my own. I once again went around Telford Lake where I encountered some hefty snow drifts that were around 2 feet deep. It was a slog running through them and it really sapped the energy out of my legs, but i was happy to get the miles done and I was feeling very happy and content, and looking forward to hitting the trails the following day.
Come Sunday, I had another 10 miles of easy run to do. I really wanted to head out to the Devon trails to get some hills in but we had an appointment at 3.30pm and I wasn't sure I would get back in time. It usually takes me well under two hours to do my usual 10 mile route out in Devon, but given the snow, I suspected it would take a little longer. I ended up driving out there anyway, and sure enough, the snow was soft, deep and hard work, and with 1600 ft of ascent, my legs were definitely buggered, especially after yesterday's slog through the snow drifts.
Snow covered hilly trails but a fabulous run :)
Despite being a hard run, I really did enjoy the run and the trails looked so pretty covered in the snow. It was pretty quiet out there too with very few people, and I only saw a couple of red squirrels chattering away as they scurried up and down the trees trying to find food. I did wonder whether the cross country skiing trails would be groomed and in use but it looks like it'll be a couple more weeks before they will be ready, so I was able to enjoy the trails to myself, being able to run wherever I liked.
It has been another great week of running with around 80km of running completed. I still have a long way to go in terms of getting some pace back, working on my strength and flexibility, and of course loosing a few pounds so I get back to my racing weight. That will come though, and I just have to be patient.
This week has also been good in that I now have more of an idea of my race plans for next year. My current itinerary looks like this right now:
February - Frozen Ass 50km
May - Red Deer Marathon
June - Rundles Revenge 50km
July - Outrun Backyard Ultra
Then in October, I am hoping to do another 100 miler, and maybe a 72 hour or a 6 day event at the end of the year.
It helps to have races scheduled in as it feeds the fire and passion I have for running with having goals. I think the backyard ultra will likely be my A race as I really would like to qualify for Team Canada again - but we shall see as there will no doubt be lots of competition and I do think the bar will be set high.
I have also released another video on my channel this week - just a simple, feelgood video of a trail run with the pups back in October. This coming week, we should be releasing the park run video if we can edit things in time, and then we have lots of others in the pipeline.
The pups of course continue to keep me smiling and happy, going for walks and runs, and enjoying their evening and bedtime snuggles. Life is certainly good right now, and here's hoping that it continues that way.
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