So what better thing to do after your first trail run than immediately sign up for another? Taking a recommendation from another trail running colleague, I signed up for the Hallow's Eve 10K race in North Vancouver, BC.
Once again, a test drive out to the race location was a must as this downtowner had never been to this part of North Van before. After some wrong turns and a quick hop out of the car to brush back some bushes to reveal a sign indicating the name of the building that was indeed the start and finish for the race, I was ready to find my way on race morning.
Since the Buntzen Lake race, it was obvious that I was in need of two things:
1) Some professional attention to my shins and knees.
2) Real trail running shoes.
At Buntzen Lake, I spent some post race time visiting the sponsor tents and exhibits. One of the tents was sponsoring a free gait test, complete with a treadmill for performing the test. I waited my turn and then met Adam, a pedorthist with an interest in trail and ultra running. A quick assessment of my gait revealed definite pronation, especially on my left foot. After a discussion of my results, I made an appointment to get a full exam the following week.
A few weeks later, I was in possession of two pair of orthotics. At first, wearing them felt like two rock solid eggs had been jammed under my feet, but after a short time I got accustomed to the inserts. Better yet, I was already noticing a change for the better in post run shin pain. I also got a pair of trail running shoes with some serious traction capabilities - the soles look like knobbly SUV tires.
I was ready for my next trail race. Then it rained. Yes, I know, October in the Lower Mainland and I am surprised it was raining, just what was I thinking? But rain and trail race can only mean one thing - mud.
On the day of the race, it was pouring. But it wouldn't do to have a trail runner give up on a race because it was raining. Just getting from the car to the building where the racers were waiting for the start was an exercise in getting soaked. An umbrella was considered; however, that too did not seem to be in the spirit of a trail race.
The race started for both the 10K and the half marathon distances. We made our way up a road some ways before hitting the trail. Passing a cemetery at this point of the race made me wonder if this was a portent of things to come!
I was pleasantly surprised at the relative flatness of the trail at this point. Nice soft winding trails through a densely forested area. Then we came upon the first set of stairs. Running up a hill is one thing, but running up stairs is a very different experience. I quickly found myself walking up stairs. This was followed by some up and down bits and again some stairs, only this time lots of them. Phew!
The other interesting part of this race was the trail marking. At the 5 Peaks race, the trail was marked with little wooden 5's staked into the trail borders every 50 metres or so. For this race, the trail was marked with coloured ribbons. Unfortunately, the start of the race was a bit noisy so I wasn't too clear as to what colour of ribbon we were to follow and about halfway into the race I noticed a variety of coloured ribbons tied to trees along the course. OK, I thought, they just ran out of ribbons. But then I saw a sign indicating that a completely different race was going on at the same time. Uh oh. Had the people I had been following been part of the other race? Where would I have to go back to if indeed this was the wrong route. Ack! Luckily, this period of self-doubt was quickly ended when I came across a course marshall who assured me that I was on the right course. The rest of the run was less dramatic, but definitely tiring. I definitely enjoyed the last section of the course as it was all downhill. Fully soaked from the rain, but in one piece, I finished the race in 1:15.
After this event, it was time to do some road racing again.
No comments:
Post a Comment