We Red Deer about 6 a.m. on Saturday. The race started at 10 a.m. and we had to be there about 9ish to pick up our race kit and learn the instructions for the race.
We weren’t sure how long it would take us to get to Canmore. There was no traffic on the road. We arrived in Canmore about 8:30 a.m. That gave us plenty of time to refuel with a snack and more water.
Kathy had ran this 5 Peaks race last year so she knew what she was getting herself into. I was slightly nervous because of the little running I have done since the Calgary marathon three weeks ago.
Weeks ago, I decided I would not go all out for safety and sanity reasons. This would be simply a fun run. Get my head back in the game. Enjoy the scenery. Work my ass off on those hills. And have fun. Fun. Fun.
After picking up our race kit, I tossed my Garmin and iPhone into the truck of the car. This would be the first time I ran without my Garmin for a race. I knew if I wore it, I would be checking my split times and trying to calculate my finish time. I was running for fun not for time so why bother psych myself out? It was a good move.
Our race kit was sweet. In it was a sample pack of Kicking House Kick Ass coffee, tiger balm, a gel and Wigwam trail socks. Loved it!
The Sport runners started 15 minutes before the Enduro (10.5k) group. We started with a bang. We ran straight up this massive winding hill. By the way I was gasping for air, I knew I should have warmed up or done some stretching.
The first 3 or so kilometres were tough. There were a lot of crazy hills. I tried not to mind other runners pass me and just enjoy the run. I knew eventually my breathing would settle down and I would find my rhythm. Even though the first bit was challenging, I was surprised when I came across the half way mark so quickly. I say, quickly, but I have no idea what the time was.
In my head, I kept saying I had to finish under an hour. I really wasn’t sure what it would take me. I haven’t done a trail run in ages. The route reminded me a lot of the Lacombe race that I ran last October. I loved the fresh mountain air.
I was also bloody hot. It was a brisk morning in Canmore. It slipped my mind completely that I would be warmed up within no time after the race started. But for some stupid reason I wore my green MEC jacket. I wanted to tear it off and toss it in the bushes. Instead I tied it around my neck. I’m not a fan of tying sweaters and jackets around my waste. They are always a hindrance.
After we reached the water station, we ran a single trail for a good 2 kilometres or so. I let a couple people pass me from the get go because they seemed to be a in a big hurry. I found myself behind these three women who had a solid pace. I kept up with them through the entire single trail part. Once we hit the open trail again, I chatted with one of them about the route. The woman from Calgary said she runs the entire series every year. Lucky!
The last kilometre or so was pretty tame. We were on the open trail so you could pass people if you wanted to. I think a lot of the runners were spent so there wasn’t much passing. We reached a large hill before the descent and half kilometre to the finish line. I power walked up the hill before running a strong finish.
I felt great. I couldn’t believe it was over already. I wanted to run more. I had no idea what my time was. I didn’t care too much. Kathy was a minute or so behind me and I saw her cross the finish. She had a great race too!
We checked our results online. For some reason, my official time was not posted with my name. My bid number #4039 had a time of 36:38 (95 out 223 runners, 17 out of 49 in age group) but my name and city were not listed. I fired an email off to the timers and they sorted it out straight away.
Fun experience! My legs felt good. My head is back in the game. I want to do another trail race. Pronto. Loved it. I do regret slightly that I didn’t run the enduro like I had originally intended to do. Next time!
We saw some others from Red Deer and Lacombe after the race. Kathy is posing with Bill K in the picture above. I took lots of other pics but something happened when I downloaded them. They disappeared. I am not making this up. Drat.