Two weekends ago, I ventured off to Vancouver Island to take part in my very first running race of my entire life! It was part of the "Gut Busters" series that they have during the spring/summer at various locations around Van. Island. The weather for the race was pristine and looked very much like the photo to the left. The setting was so beautiful on the Royal Roads University lands, near Hartley Castle which sits only several hundred meters up the hill from the ocean. Breathtaking.....
Little did I know how literally that saying would apply!!!
I decided to do this race as a precursor to the 10Km Sun Run in Vancouver (which I now won't be doing as I'm in Calgary for work. Boo!). I had run many times in the university endowment lands at UBC during my geology degree and thought that the race would be a nice change of pace from running on the roads. WELL, they named it "gut buster" it was for a reason!
This race had about 25% flat, trail running and the remaining 75% was up, down, up, down, rocks, mud, trees and more up/down stretches. It was totally unreal and I quickly changed my plan of attack to "JUST KEEP MOVING!". This race pushed me to the limits of my body and surprisingly my lungs were the hardest hit. I had been expecting fatigued muscles but it was my lungs that were unhappy. Easy as it pinpoints exactly what I need to improve upon.
At each station on the run, I announced that I was the caboose for the 6km, proudly bringing up the rear and everyone was very supportive. At one point in time, the trail doubled back on itself and every 2nd or 3rd person going the other direction was cheering me on, offering words of encouragement and support. I felt like I might have cried if I wasn't concentrating on keeping my momentum going! The race coordinator actually ran with me part of the way and distracted me from my personal hell (at that moment is was the worst) by telling me stories about the military use of the lands and how he and his wife went from couch potatoes to marathoners in only a couple of years and they are both in their 50's!!! Thank you Mark!
Sorry Dad, my beautiful white running shoes are no longer. I will add a photo of them at the time of the mudbogging. I had forgotten that I had tied the remote for my Jetta and the ignition key to my shoelaces...hehehe...they were really dirty!
Although I was as red as a lobster and so at the edge of myself physically that it took everything within me to hold it together to finish, I'm hooked and want to do more! I have started walking up the viscous North Vancouver hill just out my back door...someday I'll be running it and won't be the caboose anymore!
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