Life is Wonderful :-)

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy again, and there is even more to come! Firstly, we had news that whilst Andy had been successful in the job interview which would take us to North Carolina, visas to enter and work in the USA are extremely difficult to get hold of nowadays and it could potentially have taken up to 12 months before he was granted a work visa. Needless to say, whilst this was disappointing in some respects, it was also a relief as it now means that we are staying put in Calgary with no intentions of going anywhere - that is unless our permanent residency application to stay in Canada is refused!

With knowing that relocation in the next couple of months is no longer a possibility, I've been scouting around for events to compete in, which for me is often risky business as I usually end up entering things on a whim. The good news is that I have managed more self-control this time and the only thing I have actually signed up for is the Blitz Duathlon in September over in nearby Bragg Creek. I've never done a duathlon before – my main sport is and always has been running – but I’m always willing to try new things so a 7km trail run, followed by an 18km bike ride and then another 3km trail run to finish off doesn't seem too far beyond my reach.

By October, the cross country season will have started again, so other than Toronto Marathon on October 19^th, my focus during the winter months will be the cross country and I’m hoping that this will once again provide some motivation during the cold, dark winter months, and set me up nicely for a good spring marathon which will be either in Red Deer or London, UK.

With not doing quite so many races at the moment, both Andy and I are spending a lot of time helping folks at the new Mahogany Running Club, as well as volunteering to help out at other local races when possible. Having been asked by a friend if we would like to assist at the Moose Mountain races in a couple of weeks, we're both looking forward to having another day out in Kananaskis, this time offering support and encouragement to other runners whilst resting and recovering from my adventures at the Iron Legs 50 miler.

Since making the decision to do Iron Legs 50 miler rather than Edmonton Marathon, training has been going really well and my mileage has increased considerably, peaking at around 120km for the past couple of weeks. Believe it or not, I've never really done much more than that anyway, not even when training for ultras, as I find that excessively high mileage doesn't really work for me and I tend to feel tired all the time and take longer to recover from training sessions.

Last weekend, I was fortunate to be invited to run with Joanna and a couple of other friends over in Canmore, and with the temptation of fabulous company and the opportunity to go on a proper mountain run, I jumped at the chance.

Summer hours at work are a distinct blessing and by Friday afternoon, I found myself running/scrambling up Heart Mountain near to Canmore with Joanna. I’d been warned that it was a steep climb and having done a little research the night before, I discovered that it stood at around 7000 ft and it looked like there was going to be some easy to moderate scrambling involved across rocks and scree. 

Heart Mountain - taken from public domain on the internet!

Joanna is an awesome runner and especially so when up in the mountains. She made the climb up Heart Mountain look so easy as she glided up the mountainside, and yet she still waited for me to check that I was ok. It was certainly rocky and it was definitely steep, but the views on the ascent were amazing, even with the Trans-Canada Highway down below. 

Despite the steep climb and the drops off to the side, I was pleasantly surprised not to feel wobbly legged when looking down, and in all honesty I was in my element as I clung to rocks and the occasional tree trunk whilst climbing over the steeper sections.

Heading up the scree of Heart Mountain (picture thanks to Joanna)

 It was pretty windy up there too but thankfully not too cold, and whilst the sun wasn’t exactly shining, we had splendid views in the opposite direction with a sea of mountain peaks stretching out for miles into the distance.

Summit of Heart Mountain at 7000 ft - Picture thanks to Joanna

It took probably around an hour to reach the summit, and after signing the summit book, we made our way through the trees, following the ridge that would enable us to complete the Heart Loop. I felt like I was reliving my childhood again and for pretty much the whole run, I had a big smile on my face.

Heading out of the trees, we faced the steep rocky section that would take us back down the other side. We made pretty good progress heading down and I think it’s safe to say that we were both having a marvellous time. I had no doubt that come the following morning, my legs would be paying the price from today’s adventure, but I was enjoying the moment far too much to be worrying about how trashed my quads would feel the next day.

Heading back down the ridge of Heart Mountain to complete the loop -
a steep and rocky descent!

A final couple of km through thick, dense trees brought us to the valley bottom and back to the car, and whilst we had only covered around 10km in 2 hours, I found it one of the most exhilarating runs I have done for a while and was truly thankful to Joanna for asking me along and being a great guide.

If Friday completely wowed me, then Saturday blew me away as 4 of us completed the 52km run from Sunshine to Shark Mountain via Assiniboine. 

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is located in British Columbia although the nearest town is Canmore, and with an average altitude of around 6,500 ft, it is the highest park in the Canadian Rockies. It is a true wilderness area - wild and remote and only accessible  by foot or helicopter. It has stunning scenery although the dominant feature is Mt Assiniboine which stands at over 10,000ft and is known as the Matterhorn of the Rocky Mountains.

I really didn’t know what to expect on this little jaunt, and whilst I already knew Joanna, I had yet to meet Emily and Sean. I admit I was a little nervous about spending a full day in the mountains with a couple of strangers – despite my silliness at times, I am actually quite shy – but I needn’t have worried as both Emily and Sean were absolutely brilliant.

Three outstanding (and very patient!) people - thank you to Joanna, Sean and Emily :-)
(Top of Wonder Pass)

The day started pretty early as we grabbed a coffee and left Canmore shortly after 7am for the half hour drive up to Sunshine. The plan was to catch the 8am shuttle bus up to the trail head, but everybody seemed to have the same idea with the earlier bus being a complete sell out, so it was almost 9 before we actually boarded and made our way up the private road for the start of our run.

The plan was to do a point to point run, starting from Sunshine and finishing at Mount Shark where we had left the other car. Heading via Assiniboine, we would encounter emerald green forests, crystal clear waters, alpine meadows and some beautiful mountain pass trails, covering a distance of approximately 52km in the process.

About an hour or so into our run and just some of the fantastic views :-)

I could go on and on describing all the finer details about our 8 ½ hour run but I'm pretty certain that I would run out of adjectives to describe what a remarkably beautiful run this was, especially when words simply cannot fully describe the true feeling of actually being there.

For the best part of the run, we were at around 7,000 ft and whilst I wasn’t struggling too much, the altitude was certainly having an effect on my breathing - even the slightest of inclines felt like we were attempting to run up a sheer cliff. I got a little dizzy and headachy at times, but drinking plenty of fluids and not rushing helped my body to cope with the extra demands I was placing on it. 

Using up some vital energy ;-)
Top of Wonder Pass

The route itself was amazing and varied – single track trails across alpine meadows blanketed in brightly coloured flowers , thick dense forests, glacial moraine from thousands of years ago, turquoise blue lakes and crystal clear waters where we refilled our water bottles, and all with mountains towering around us as we ran through the valleys and up the passes. We even got to taste wild strawberries – tiny little things they were, but full of flavour and certainly appreciated as we got towards the end of the run and started to run out of steam.

Mt Assiniboine from the lodge (about 3 hours or so into our run maybe?)

Marvel Lake and yes, we were heading down there and much further beyond!

It was a truly wonderful day, made all the better by the company and the surroundings, and after tasty poutine once back in Canmore, I certainly headed home feeling extremely tired but suitably relaxed – perfect preparation for Iron Legs!

The next couple of days, my legs were extremely achy from all the steep ups and downs, but I still managed to get out for a run and even sneaked a speed session in with our good friend Alan – 4 x 1 mile reps doesn’t half hurt when you’ve been practising more for a long trail race! 

With another long weekend looming and having extra time off work, Andy and I made the decision to go camping again last weekend, and so headed over to the Okanagan region in BC with Wilson and Brandy in tow.

We’ve been to BC numerous times but never to Kelowna and the surrounding areas, but we knew that it was renowned for being hot and sunny – perfect for vineyards and fruit growing, whilst surrounded by rolling hills with plenty of hiking trails and plenty of lakes for swimming and water sports.  It reminded us of being in the Mediterranean to some degree.

Kelowna, BC - a little like Spain and other places in the Med

Being there for just 2 nights wasn’t really enough and there are still plenty of things to go and see, but I did manage a little trail run with both the dogs which they absolutely loved, followed by a nice hike with Andy and the dogs to a thermal spring high in the hills overlooking Kelowna. Photos on the web indicated that we were in for a treat but on arrival, it looked like the area had fallen victim to either storms, a landslide or some other unfortunate disaster, and we were greeted by lots of fallen trees and the springs hidden beneath them.

En route to Angel Springs - Kelowna BC

It was hot and it was very dry, and we certainly had some fun with the dogs at one of the local beaches alongside the lake, but in all honesty, whilst it was a beautiful part of Canada, it made me realise how much of a mountain bird I am. It was great to get away for a couple of days though and to have a change of scenery, and with Iron Legs now just a mere 10 days away, I am starting to get the nervous anticipation I usually get before a big race.

Rolling hills, vineyards, scorching weather, beaches and lakes - Kelowna BC

I’m no mountain goat and I certainly won’t be on the podium - I’m not even sure whether I’ve done enough hill work to prepare for 50 miles in the mountains with around 15,000 ft of ascent – but what I do know is that I’m going to give 100% effort to do the best I can and hopefully get to the finish line before the cutoff time.  Andy will be out on the course supporting where he can, and I know that friends that aren’t running themselves will be a welcome sight at the aid stations – that alone will help me to keep going.

For now though, I have another trail race this weekend – race 4 of the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series at Fish Creek Park. It may only be around 10-15km, but it’ll allow me to have one last blast before the real challenge the following week, and I have to say that I’m pretty excited.