The First Half
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Only 2 weeks left until race day!
People are starting to see the results of all their hard training and
the end is in sight. I met with about 10 people at Cleveland Dam
and we arranged for the carpooling to the start at Eagleridge.
They, like myself, had elected to run the first half of the course
instead of the first 3/4. I like to start my taper early so I can
come into the race with rested, fresh legs.
Craig and I gave some last minute
instructions and then we were off. A lead group of Patricia,
Colin, Scott and myself went ahead of the main pack but soon we had
split up with Scott and I taking off. This was my first time back
to the Eagle Bluffs since last year's race and I soon remembered why.
Its bloody hard work! The weather was again quite hot but at least
the views at the top were spectacular. At the top we ran into
Debbie and her gang who had left Eagleridge earlier than the rest of us; we
exchanged brief greetings but we didn't stop long to enjoy the sights.
Back into the cover of the trees Scott
and I continued at a a decent pace. It was weird to encounter no
snow whatsoever on this section. This is the driest I've ever seen
this section of the course. Even the mud was a non-factor, you
could actually run over it without getting your shoes sucked off as is
usually the case.
The downhill into Cypress Bowl was a
nice respite from the relentless climbing. Colin had caught
up to us by the time we rolled into the parking lot. Scott and I
continued on after a short stop while Colin refilled his
water. More climbing followed through the Hollyburn ridge
section until the nice downhill started. I needed to stop at the
Hollyburn Ranger Station to refill water as Colin blasted by
us.
From here Scott pulled ahead of me
trying to catch Colin I assume. I had tweaked my knee somehow,
not seriously, but enough to decide to coast the Hollyburn Chute
instead of racing to catch up to Colin and Scott. I ran into
a few hikers and runners coming up the Chute but otherwise enjoyed
a nice relaxing decent to Cleveland Dam. I came into the Dam in
2:59; Colin was there in 2:53 and Scott was somewhere in between.
Scott and I were only doing the first
half so we said our goodbyes to Colin who was running back to his
house in Lynn Valley. We stuck around for a few minutes,
rehydrating and cooling down as other runners started to trickle
in. They all appeared to be doing the full 3/4 and all
resisted the temptation to stop; Jamie was looking strong and grinning
as he ran by, making the 4.5 - 5 hour run look like an "easy"
outing. I however was glad to be done as I've come into these last
couple of runs on tired legs and was now looking forward to my
taper.
I urge all runners to only do the last
1/4 next week and not the last 1/2. You will gain more by resting
the legs and coming into the race fresh than trying to get some last
minute training in. Unlike your college exams you can't cram for
this race; if you haven't done the groundwork over the last few months
its not going to happen in the last two weeks. Begin
your taper now if you already haven't and start preparing mentally for race
day. All your hard work is about to pay off so train smart; you
don't want to over train or get injured in the last couple of
weeks.
Stay fit, stay healthy!
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