Progression Of Sport - Slacklining Competitions

I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I know a damn thing about slacklining cause that'd be the equivalent of me trying to teach you the fundamentals of Sepak Takraw (apparently you can kick each other in the nuts if you can jump high enough) However, this past weekend in Salt Lake City I was forced to do a double take as out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of trampoline style flying moves, that were being performed on a ONE INCH wide piece of nylon. Without question I sat my rump down and took it all in.

As it turned out I was watching the finals of the highest cash purse competition to date in the slacklining world, $2500 awarded over top three at the 1st Annual Gibbon Games. Two of the competitors I caught on film were an 80lb fourteen year old, and the 2010 World Champion. As you can see it was pretty crazy stuff, and any sport that features an "Atomic Butt-bounce" is pretty alright in my books.

From an outsiders perspective looking in, the first I'd ever really heard of slacklining was also in Utah, before the 2006 Primal Quest expedition race. Given that we were about to embark upon a 700km - 9 day (for us) race I didn't dare step up and try it out, and given my recent successes at cracking bones I'd say I made the right choice. A few of our friends did however give it a shot and the one thing burned into my memory was hearing this guy in the cowboy hat describe how it had taken him weeks of relentless efforts to figure out the basics, yet now (then) people were putting together the basics in under a day. Five years later almost to the month and I wonder if anyone could have envisioned the sport progressing this fast, this far, or more importantly in this specific direction? Pretty cool to see but now the question beckons, what's going to happen when the slacklining world begins to see cross over from the gymnastics world vs the now dominant climbing scene, AND is there any possible way that this sport is yet ready for spandex??

(Slacklining finding its roots in 2006)

GR

Funny Fridays...on a Sunday

The Sexy Scooter Song

Gotta thank Chris Downie for the forward on this one. Highlight sexy dance moves happen just over one minute in. I'm sorry...but not really,



I'm always on the hunt for funny vids to post. If you have something you think would work in here please drop me an email at robbins.runner@gmail.com and I'll be sure to properly thank you if it makes the cut.

GR

White River 50

I had been told that the White River 50 miler was one of the absolute must attend races of the year here in the Pacific North West, ranking right up there with James Varner's Orcas Island 50k in Feb. In the end it certainly did not disappoint as I got to catch up on a lot of old friendships, and forge some new ones as well.

My scooter purchase has continually proven to be the best $500 I've spent in recent memory and I had a bit of fun chasing some of the runners around the course. Here's a short vid that I set to FFD, which I personally think makes it a bit of fun to watch. Congrats to everyone who participated, and hats off to the organizers for what appeared to be a flawlessly organized event.

Funny Fridays will be posted on Sunday afternoon: Also, there won't be a Funny Fridays this week, I know, I know, huge sigh by seven people right. Personally I'm flying down to my first ever Outdoor Retailer in Utah and nothing has readily found me this week that's worth posting. Have a great weekend playing in the sunshine!



GR

Pure Life Pursuits & UltrAspire

Here's me backtracking to follow up on what I've posted on FB & Twitter but had forgotten to mention on here.

As of July 1st I have a new distribution company called Pure Life Pursuits Distribution (the website is pretty basic right now but it does all I need it to for the time being) and as of August 1st PLP is the official Canadian national distributor for the exciting new line up from Bryce Thatcher and the people at Elite Creators, called UltrAspire.

If you haven't heard of Bryce Thatcher specifically, here's all you need to know. He started this whole hydration pack thing way back when with the birth of the Ultimate Direction lineup. He followed that up by taking over the pack designs at Nathan and growing that company by 1000% in seven years...yeah that's the right number of zeros. Basically any innovations that have come into the hydration world over the last decade are more than likely directly attributed to Bryce's ingenious ways. Now he's producing his most progressive and refined lineup to date, under his own brand called UltrAspire.

UltrAspire already have some big ultra running names associated with the brand, such as Krissy Moehl, Karl Meltzer, Joe Grant, Duncan Callahan, and Matt Hart. Input from athletes such as these, combined with Bryce's own mountain speed record running history, ensure that each and every design is thoroughly thought out, impeccably tested, and tweaked to perfection before it makes it to market.

I was excited by the premise of this brand in March. Got further stoked when I saw the first version of the samples back in May, and nearly lost my shit when the final samples made their way to me just a few short weeks ago. Bar none, this stuff is honestly the best I've seen from any brand to date, and I'm exceptionally excited to be working with such an incredible group of people.

The first few packs will be available this fall with the majority of the line up available before years end. The official market launch will happen this weekend at the OR in Utah. If you happen to be there, be sure to swing by and check it all out. Fellow Canadians can expect to see this in stores by late fall and I'll be sure to update our Twitter feed along the way with any new developments.

To sum up how I feel about all this in two simple words: WOOO HOOO!!
GR

Marathon Swimming

NO, not me. NO freakin way man, but I did get to crew for a friend of mine who just completed the 9km Bay Challenge swim route from Sandy Cove to Kits Beach in Vancouver, on July 24th.

The Bay Challenge is a race that originated in 1931 to celebrate the opening of the outdoor 50meter Kits Pool and they had 33 swimmers that year. I'd never even heard of it until Wade Repta mentioned it a few years back. When he put out the all call for a crew I jumped all over it (insert single legged jokes here) and recruited my girlfriend and a good buddy along for the boat ride.

In the end we had a rare sunny day and perfect temps to enjoy being out on the water all morning. Pics attached and massive congrats to Wader for completing the route in 4.5hrs!

Wade Repta Swims The Bay

GR

Funny Fridays

Quite a while back I posted the infamous Louis C.K. clip of his appearance on Conan O'Brien (everything's amazing and nobody's happy). It was amazingly accurate and funny all at once and an instant online hit.

On Tuesday of this week a friend posted a nine minute version of this same comedian's stand-up routine, and I found myself laughing out loud while at the same time feeling quite guilty about it at times (thanks Emily). I actually love it when a comedian can do this to me, but as such I have to give the earmuffs warning on this one. If you're easily offended, skip it. If you're under age and have never in your life heard an f-bomb (or worse...much worse), get on outta here. If you take life a wee bit too seriously and like to find things to complain about, feel free, but consider yourself warned. However, If you like offensive humor and need a good laugh then click away...



GR

Electric Boogaloo

(sick rhymes, sicker moves yo!)

The above has virtually nothing to do with my posting. In fact it has exactly 3.02748% to do with anything, ever, in the history of mankind. But damn they gots moves! Anyone else actually remember this stuff?

Anyways, personally life is rolling right along and overall things are great, HOWEVER, things were made even gooder (yes I love that word) after a recent acquisition of a new toy. I like to think of it as a problem solver, which is how I justified the $500 purchase. ($500.99 to be exact...ya know if ya sold it for $1 cheaper you could say it's under five hundred all in right? Anywho)

Problems that needed solving:

-the whole being sidelined all summer bit was getting old. Older still was the loss of the ability to 'walk' to accessible locations such as the coffee shop (sweaty mess if actually sunny), grocery store (backpack full of groc not conducive to crutching any actual distance), dog walks (dogs get bored and actually start gnawing on my one good stump)
-unnecessarily driving a 30 year old car around town. I love my car. I go to Seattle/Tacoma in it twice a month to see my beautiful girlfriend, but it's almost as old as I am and as such it enjoys lengthy breaks. Driving five minutes to spend ten minutes looking for a parking spot was getting old in a hurry
-loss of ability to freely move any real distance outside of a car, such as bike paths, trails, walking, etc. Beyond fitness, training, and racing, what I have missed more than anything throughout this process is the simple daily ability to get outside, cover some distance, breath some fresh air, and take in some sunshine
-an eventual 12km commute to my soon to be office for Pure Life Pursuits Distribution in Vancouver (oh yeah, I need to back track a posting on this one as I only mentioned on FB & Twitter, opps)

SO. After the better part of five hours of online research into what might work best I placed an order for the Super Turbo 800 Watt Elite...and it arrived just the other day. I have named her/him, Damiano Cunego or DC, because during the recent Tour De France I thought this was the coolest name of any of the lead riders, though Canada's own Ryder Hesjedal comes in a very close second.



GR

Montrail On A Roll - Hot New Shoes For 2012!

I'm salivating! The new 2012 Montrail catalogue just found its way to me and on top of the plenitude of rad new colors, there are THREE brand new shoes, AND the debut of the long awaited OutDry on five others. Oh, and I have to ensure that I mention these won't be available until Feb 2012.

The highlights are definitely the three new kicks. Starting off with an even lighter version of a Rogue Racer called the Rogue Fly 

Then The Badwater, which is being billed as a neutral, cushioned, hybrid.

and the third newbie being the Bajada in which Mr. iRunFar ran to a successful 31st placing at the Western States 100 last month in a time of 19h24m. Neutral, cushioned, and superior traction.  

Check out the full 2012 catalogue below and let the countdown to Feb begin!

We will return to your regularly scheduled program after OR in Utah in a few short weeks...until then here are some pics of the newbies plus the latest colours for the MM:

Rogue Fly

Bajada

Badwater

Mountain Masochist

GR

Funny Fridays

Three quick ones to throw your way this week. Starting with how NOT to use a rowing machine, followed by the incomparable Will Ferrell, and finally just a friendly reminder, in case you'd already forgotten...or tried to.

Good Cop, Baby Cop from Will Ferrell

GR

Funny Fridays

About a year and a half ago I started posting funny Friday videos during the off season as a way to absolve myself of any blogging 'duties'. Well, my off season arrived early this year, and as such I give to you The Tololo Song! (via Laura Houston)
Try singing this one to pass the time during your next race, training day, or commute to work...



Best of luck too all the local Knee Knacker 50k runners tomorrow and all the current Hardrock 100 mile runners who started way too early this morning! Oh yeah, and Sinister Seven as well. Big weekend of racing. AND Badwater on Monday...huge weekend!
GR

Damn Sunshine

What the hell weather gods? I thought I was pretty clear in my request for apocalyptic style weather patterns for the next eight weeks or so. I mean, how disgusted am I today. Not even a singular locust besieged North Vancouver residents this past long weekend. Happy Canada Day, Schmappy Canada Day I say. Independence Day, Schmindependence Day. How can people celebrate while I'M suffering like this?? I dunno really, but I'm sure Karma will certainly even things out eventually.

As the sun shone bright above and I realized that outdoor enthusiasts were sure to be hitting the trails en mass I figured the best place for me to hang out would be the local ER. I crutched on down there and grabbed a seat.

"Can we help you sir?"

"No, I'm fine thanks."

I sat there for three hours just waiting for the first athletic person to be dragged through the ER doors writhing in pain so I could point and laugh. When it became evident that no one was quite as hardcore as I am and they couldn't even break a singular bone on a beautiful day, I decided to go for a spin around the ward and garner as much personal attention as I could.

"Can we help you sir?"

"No, no, I'm fine thanks. Just fine. Just me and a JONES FRACTURE crutching on through your ward. Maybe you've heard of them before. They can be quite deadly ya know, and apparently I'm one of only 6% of the population who have survived not JUST ONE, but TWO of them. Yeah I know. I'm pretty bad ass right."

"Sir there are people in here with real issues. Can you please get out of our way"

"REAL ISSUES! HA! Maybe you should google your shit Doc. JONES FRACTURE. Spelled with a J!"

Eventually security escorted me out and instructed me to go play in traffic or something.

"Well I WOULD IF I COULD WALK DAMMIT!"

Some people.

Anyways, I ended up having to crutch on home and I had forgotten to pack my sunglasses forcing me to squint the entire time. I know, I know. Nightmare weekend right. Well get this. By the time I'd crutched the ten blocks I'd also sunburned my cranium. Seriously, why does the universe hate me right now? I contemplated heading back to the ER to get some ointment but since I'm so hardcore I figured I could tough it out.

Thoroughly disappointed in my apparent inability to thwart the good times of other active people I headed on down to Deep Cove and started throwing rocks at the stand up paddle boarders. Unfortunately my dog thought this was a game and I ended up having to stop cause people thought this was FUN. Gawd I HATE fun and anyone who is able to have FUN while I can't.

As a last ditch option I rented a kayak and paddled around shouting obscenities at anyone on the water sporting a smile.

LIFE SUCKS! Don't even try to sympathize cause you can't. I'd say, "I hope you had a great long weekend but I'd be lying through my teeth. I hope it rained on you, even if you were indoors."

If you took a word of this seriously please click here

Life is pretty awesome,
GR

Funny Fridays - Canada Day Edition

Some great video links that are too good not to share. Thanks to everyone who posted. Though you may have seen em all already, most are worth a second look.

Enjoy the 'top ten' +1, and whether you find yourself celebrating Canada Day today, Independence Day on Monday, or both if you happen to swing both ways (not that there's anything wrong with that), enjoy your weekend.























GR

Why I Hate X-Rays Version 6.0

BECAUSE THEY ARE ALWAYS WRONG DAMMIT!!

(June 28th, 2011)

Much like the first time I went through this, the fracture has gotten worse before it decides to get better. Yesterdays six week out x-ray is virtually identical to the six week out x-ray that I had in mid December. I'm struggling to accept what this all means, even though it's pretty clearly laid out in front of me.

-It'll be September before it's even probable for me to take two steps in succession without metallic assistance
-I knew 2011 was a wash but now my 2012 racing season will be impacted as well
-I'll end up missing out on my second straight attempt to return to The HURT 100 in Jan
-I'll spend this entire summer on crutches and at least 7 out of 10 months completely sidelined
-There are no guarantees that this will follow the exact same trajectory as the initial break and as such the new BEST case scenario is 3.5 months on crutches, or another eight weeks

This was going to be a much more composed and polished blog posting in my head but it's morphed into an emotional based release instead of a sensible assessment of the overall situation. I wanted to touch upon the frustrations associated with the complete disconnect between mind and body and how these x-rays always manage to completely blindside me, but in the end I just need to get this out, accept it, and begin to move on.

Don't take this personally, but I hope it rains on every single runner, biker and outdoor enthusiast for the next eight weeks straight (uhhh, this is meant to read as a joke, if you take it personally or seriously and feel the need to slam me for it than by all means join the party below) and that we then somehow get an Indian Summer unlike anything the Pacific Northwest has ever seen before. I'm totally fine without the racing, but if I do not get at least one adventure hike/run to a mountain summit before the snow starts to fly again I may just lose my mind.

PS: Do me ONE FAVOR if you feel inclined to leave a comment. Please don't make it one of sympathy or pep talk based, as I'm way beyond that side of this already. I greatly appreciate people taking the time to leave a comment at all, but may I respectfully request the following or nothing: A link to something that's funny or entertaining. Whether that's a story, a video, a picture, a personal blog posting or whatever. If it's made you laugh or smile at some point than feel free to pass it along.

I'll leave it at that, and lookout HURT 2015, WS 2016, and UTMB 2017, there'll be no stopping me once I completely regrow all of my bones in a yet to be proven, properly tested (or in fact designed) exo-skeletal compression electrolyte infused infrared calcium depositor (patent pending)

GR

Distractions

I got back into a kayak for the first time in over a year yesterday. It was the best thing I'd done in...well it was the best thing I'd done in five weeks to the day to be exact.


GR

Predictive Of Failure

I haven't even logged into my blog since the day I posted my video almost a full month ago, and now that I'm here I'm struggling with what to say and how to say it.

It's been a long month, period. The entire process has been much more difficult than the first time around and the numbers can crush my spirits when I think about them...by the time I hopefully get off of these things again I'll have spent six of the past nine months on crutches, and that's the best case scenario. That fucking sucks. No matter how I attempt to spin it, it's just upsetting for me to think about. Given that I was on these things for three and a half months the first go around, and I am already four weeks in this time, I should ideally have less than six weeks to go, but as before it's one x-ray at a time right now, and again that's the best case scenario. I am currently refusing to process the worst case scenario.

(I'll specifically reference these xrays below)

Did I have surgery?
NO

Why the hell not? Am I stupid?

I automatically assumed that once my foot faltered for a second time that surgery would be the best course of action. I think the majority of people believe the same thing. We're programmed to. As a general rule we are taught through many mediums to place surgery ahead of natural healing. To place modern medicine ahead of naturopathic/eastern medicine. We look to pills to solve everything in today's age and 'putting a pin in it' is not the instant solution everyone believes it to be.

I sat down with my surgeon for over an hour on Thursday May 19th, having already booked in for surgery the following morning. He had me slotted for a fifteen minute consultation, assuming I was simply signing the paperwork and going about my day. I had questions. Lots and lots of questions. I was not afraid to have the surgery, it's a fairly straight forward procedure, I just needed to know if the potential benefits of the surgery made sense. I wasn't about to have a screw put into my foot without knowing the facts, and here's where an additional frustration lies...

Everyone seems to think they know what's best for you without even having the slightest insight into the nature of the problem. A Jones Fracture is not 'just' a broken foot. It's one of the most complex single fracture lines you can sustain within your foot, and as such no matter what course of action is chosen recovery is quite difficult. If one more person tells me to take a calcium supplement I'm going to impale them with a crutch, upload their picture to every social networking site on the planet, tag them with their own name and many additional four letter descriptors, and threaten to eat their children a la Mikey Mike, Hall Of Fame, Tyson (I've had a bone scan and it's come back as 100% good)

I spoke to the surgeon for a solid hour and not a single answer provided to me was conclusive. Most were 'ifs' and 'maybes' and 'most likelys' but the words that were never uttered no matter how the questions were phrased were:
SURGERY IS YOUR BEST OPTION

Surgery 'can be the better option for some people in some cases', but conversely that also means that 'non surgical healing can be the better option for some people in some cases'.

My thoughts when I broke my foot again in Hawaii was that I would obviously miss Western States on June 25th, but with surgery, six weeks sidelined, and a few months back on my feet I might just be able to make the starting line of UTMB in France on August 26th (yes in hindsight I now know how ridiculous this was). The estimated time line presented to me for recovery from surgery was 10-12 weeks. THREE MONTHS! That's what I just went through without surgery...why am I not hearing any benefits here??

Will the foot be conclusively stronger?
No guarantees

Is the recovery time significantly shorter?
No

Is it any less likely to refracture again?
No guarantees

I drove home (don't ask) and was completely uneasy about the whole thing. Surgery was now twelve hours away and nothing felt right about it. I did a bit more research and when I found a few specific studies around elite soccer players suffering from Jones Fractures my mind was effectively made up for me:

The return to play following a Jones fracture continues to be an enigma for the competitive soccer player. Caution and patience must be applied since re-injury to this area is common. Potential types of re-injury include a fracture with deformation of the screw, incomplete bone healing or non-union and compensatory injuries to the foot from the altered biomechanics. There are inherent risks with competitive sport and the athlete should understand that the Jones Fracture, even when repaired can create significant disability...

one must remember that this fracture site has a characteristically poor blood flow. Consequently, its healing rate may be slower than other types of fractures and the new bone may not reach peak strength until much later post-operatively...

Also, the traditional guideline of letting pain direct activity progression is not infallible because the athlete may be pain free or there may be only very minimal pain prior to re-injury. There are also many adjacent joints and bones that may generate a pain response due to disrupted mechanics or contact from the screw head

And Another Report

          - out of 15 people who had surgery there were six treatment failures: four refractures and two symptomatic non-unions
          - there was a higher proportion of elite athletes (division I or professional level) among the failure group (83%) compared with those without complications (11%) - return to full activity, especially among elite athletes, before complete radiographic union was predictive of failure

PREDICTIVE-OF-FAILURE 

And this was WITH SURGERY!!!

I called off the surgery immediately. My summer was over anyways. My racing season was a wash. There was no rush. I needed a few days to come to terms with it all.

Hadn't I been counselled with 'pain as my limiting factor'? Wasn't I told that I should be good to go? Could all of this have been prevented? Would I have even listened at the time and really slowed down anyways?

There was a lot weighing on my mind, and none of it was made any easier by feeling like I was repeating my story to people every five minutes. I know the questions were coming from a place of genuine concern and caring, but I just did not want to talk about it. How could I when I was still so uncertain on so many aspects of it myself?

By the end of that first weekend I was confident I'd made the right decision. Knowing what I'd gone through the first time round had given me slight insights into what might and might not work. Back in late December early January I had an immediate healing response once I introduced regular acupuncture and ultrasound. As mentioned in a report above, lack of blood flow to the area is the number one complication in the healing process. I immediately referenced my friend Kim Graham at Thrive Total Fitness and began getting acupuncture 2-3 times a week. I unfortunately had no luck in attempting to land an at home ultrasound device this time around.

I had viewed enough x-rays of my own foot by now that I was certain what I'd seen in Hawaii was not quite as severe as what I'd seen way back in September, and then on my follow up xray in December. On top of all this, my foot itself looked completely different. The first time around the swelling continued right into my HURT trip, ten weeks out. This time however there was very little swelling initially and virtually none within the completion of the first few weeks. I requested a follow up x-ray here in BC on May 31st.

The x-ray on the left was taken two weeks post fracture in Hawaii. The x-ray on the right, SIX weeks post fracture in Oregon (travel insurance is your friend)

You don't have to be a Doctor to clearly see that although I definitively re-fractured the exact same line of my foot, it is not as severe as the initial break was. There is still some integrity to the initial healing process.

A few things can be taken from this, as reiterated by my own Doctor/Surgeon (and I should clarify that he's been great throughout this entire process). Given that the x-ray on the right was taken six full weeks after my initial injury and had yet to even begin to adhere to itself at all, there was serious question as to if I would in fact be able to naturally heal the bone. It's actually quite common for people to not gain union of this fracture through natural avenues and THEN surgery becomes the only real option. Some people still do not gain union of this bone even after surgery. It's a shitty situation no matter how you slice it. 

So What Does It All Mean?

-Because I have recovered from a more severe version of this already there is no reason to believe that I won't be able to do so again. I WAS on the right path to a full recovery if I'd only been counselled slightly differently from the start

-PAIN is NOT the limiting factor in a full recovery from a Jones Fracture, TIME is

-Once I do get back onto my feet running will be seriously limited for an extended period of time. Vive le bicyclette, but Lance is going down

-The world is a nicer place when you're on crutches, people actually care, but I'd still toss em tomorrow if I could

-If The Canucks lose in game seven at home I'll join the looting just for the hell of it. Put in your pre-orders now but keep in mind it will need to fit into an average size backpack

-I think they should cancel Western States this year because of all the snow and roll over all 2011 entrants into 2012

-UTMB should be postponed until at least December so as to avoid a possible mudslide like last year, PLUS covering the course in the winter would be way cooler...and I only mean that literally

-WHAT the hell is Jersey Shore and WHY the fuck are they on TV? Seriously? I just got cable for the first time in over two years

-There are no shortcuts in life and Lebron James epitomizes what's wrong with our way of thinking in North American society. No professional athlete wants to take the time to build a franchise into a winner anymore, everybody wants weight loss and happiness in a magic pill or potion, and the majority think that surgery is an easy fix. It is not.

It's one day at a time right now, one foot in front of the...err...one foot in front of, uhh, itself I guess? Over and over and over again...

PS Here's the song you should definitely have in your head on your next run. You're welcome

GR

Break Two, Take Two: Hawaiian Heli-Rescue

MOMAR Burnaby Course Preview Video

Whether you are still on the fence, or already signed up and ready to go, here's a little insight into what you can look forward to come race day on May 28th...

GR

Deep End - Capitol Peak 50m Race Report

Having read most of Geoff Roes's race reports I'd have to say we couldn't have two more polar opposite takes on ultra running.

Geoff's typical report: Ran 100miles in eleven hours, felt challenged for eight minutes, managed to pull through

My typical report: Ran 50miles in fourteen hours, felt good for 43.7seconds, why do I do this to myself

Geoff: I found the meaning of life and everything in between

Me: I forget how to spell my first name and am no longer sure of if I have a middle name

Geoff: I got paid another $3,000 for my win

Me: I owe $500 in two parking fines and a speeding ticket

Geoff: I think I'll run another 50miles in training tomorrow and race another 100miler in six days

Me: If I get through 10miles of total training this week I'll be amazed. Where are my crutches, I might need them again

I already forget where I was going with this, if I even had a point to begin with. If you want stories of winning races while running backwards it's probably best to migrate on over to Geoff's blog right away. If you want to read about someone who nearly dropped out of a 50 mile race no fewer than fifty times than feel free to continue. (for the record, not only is Geoff a great guy, his father Don is pretty damn nice guy too)

Eight Months

That was the last time I ran anything even remotely close to 50miles. My 215km East Coast Trail run near the end of August was the last time I ran any real distance. Shortly after that I was injured and couldn't run for more than twenty minutes. Then I took a five week work stint in Northern Quebec jumping out of helicopters, and I ran a total of 1hr in those forty days. Upon my return to BC in Mid Oct my body felt great. I had twelve solid days of running, capped off by one 15mile/25km-3hr mountain run up The Black Tusk near Whistler. Then I flew to Oregon, then I broke my foot, then I spent three and a half months on crutches, then it took six weeks longer before I could even come remotely close to running, then I ran a half marathon, then a twenty miler, then a 10k, then on the Wednesday before the race I ran 21miles and I put in a total of 48miles on my feet in the six days leading up to the start, in an attempt to get my first 100mile week of training since August. Obviously I thought this all through, followed the 10% rule, and did it all by the book...ahh yeah, here was my rationale:

Western States 100 is on June 25th. Capitol Peak 50miler was on April 30th. That's exactly eight weeks. If I couldn't get through a 50mile race that was basically in May, how in the hell did I intend to make it through WS in June!? It was time for a test, period.

(Photo Credit Glenn Tachiyama) (This is ~1/3 of the way into the race and I was getting all the test I could handle and more)

My goal going in was a) just to finish and b) to attempt to finish top three. I like top three. I don't like fourth, fifth is better than fourth sometimes, but fourth is better than sixth, and sixth is better than seventh but nowhere near as nice as fifth. Second is up for debate. You win second great, you lose first not so great...where the hell was I?

GO!

I figured with Rod Bien and Adam Hewey both in race season shape that the top two placings were spoken for, but that didn't mean I couldn't play with the fast kids for at least a bit off the start...I started off too fast, and I knew it, but for the first time in a long time my mind and body were not in agreement on the speeds we should be running. Mind = Faster, Body = NO, Mind = Faster, Body = You Must Be Kidding Me, Mind = Faster, Body = I'll Puke, I'll Shit, Or I'll Cry, But One Way Or Another You Are Slowing The F Down!

Conversions

My watch rolls kilometers. The race was in miles.
1k-2k-3k-4k, "We're rolling right along, still feeling strong"
5k-6k-7k-8k, "Good stuff, only 42...? Only, ahh, err, hang on a second here...hmmm"
I KNEW I had signed up for a 50miler, I just hadn't bothered to really think about what that meant in my terms.
"Uhhh, so, carry a one, multiple by twelve, subtract a seven, add three, divide by six, YOU'RE RUNNING 80KM TODAY! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME GARY! SERIOUSLY ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"
"Calm down, calm down. You got this."
"72 KILOMETERS TO GO! SEVENTY TWO FUCKING KILOMETERS TO GO...GAWD I HATE YOU SOMETIMES!!"

Rod had decided he didn't want to share his gels with the rest of us and he went about playing in the mud solo off the start. Adam left me for dead 1/2 way through the first major climb. I don't know what I said wrong but he definitely kicked mud on me, intentionally, as he passed by and disappeared over the horizon. I was left with a group of three that slowly dwindled to one. Gennadii Tertychnyi is a Ukrainian born, Washington resident. He is a mountaineer and ran the race the year before. He said he forgot to eat, anything, and he couldn't understand why he slowed to the finish. He placed 7th last year. He has circumnavigated the entire 93mile Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, self supported, in 28 hours. He thought it was slow. I did not. I was later told this is probably an unreported Fastest Known Time. He spoke with a thick accent and I struggled to understand much of what he was saying to me. He was a very nice guy, but I wanted him gone. I was third, he was fourth. I hated fourth which by default meant that I hated him being there. I knew I was pulling him along, and to make matters worse he was eating when I was eating. He was using me as his on the fly teacher.

"Hey Gennadi. This is the part of the race where I usually lay down and do ten minutes of power yoga. I have terrible form though and it's embarrassing so I'll just go on ahead a bit and do it solo. You hang out here and work on your downward cat or something. It'll help your finish time, I swear."

I appreciated being pushed. It kept me honest when all I really wanted to do was lay down and die. I seriously faced lows in this 50miler that rivaled some of the lows I've faced in 100milers. It was a torturous reintroduction to the ultra running world and my only saving grace was that I stayed on top of my nutrition for 90% of it.

Just over half way there is a turn around on an out and back. Rod already had 15minutes on us but Adam was less than two minutes ahead. I knew we weren't catching him. I felt like I'd been in survival mode for hours already, but that didn't mean I couldn't play with his mind a little...

"Hey Adam! Man you look SLOW today. You hurtin? You look like you're hurtin. I'm just sayin, you look really, REALLY rough right now. You know we're only half way through this thing right? I think you can still choose the 55km distance if you call it at the next aid station. Anyways, I'll see ya again in a few short minutes when I catch up to ya. Don't slow down and wait, I know I can close the gap, I mean, man, if you could only see yourself in a mirror right now. WOW, you must really be hurting! NICE DAY EH!"

Adam might claim we simply exchanged smiles and 'nice job' comments, but he's a liar.

I knew I would not see Mr. Hewey until the finish line.

My girlfriend was also running the 50miles. On the out and back I had finally managed to gain a gap on my Ukrainian shadow. Then I spotted my gf and stopped for a sob session,

"My EVERYTHING HURTS! Wha-wha-wha. I want my Mommy. Wha-wha-wha."

"Well think of Dolphins and Butterflies and you'll perk right up honey!"

"Dammit here comes Borat. I gotta go."

I thought I was gonna drop outta this thing no fewer than six distinct times. Then I had a flashback. Circa 2005. A younger, less lean, much slower version of myself, albeit with a full head of hair...hmm, which would I choose...was in conversation with a close friend.

"I've never made it through ANY race, of ANY distance, without wanting to drop out at least once, most often twice, and sometimes I just lose count altogether."

YES! I said this! I meant this! This is my truth that I had somehow forgotten. Racing sucks. I still have no idea why I subject myself to all the unnecessary pain but I do, and I'M GOOD AT IT! YEAH, I wanna drop out! I'm doing something right out here today!! Woo Hoo, I hate my life right now, do dah, do dah, I hate my life right now, do dah, do dah, day!

Aid Station 8 (Thanks Owen for your help)

Fifteen miles to go. Almost all downhill to the next and final aid station. Gennadi and I entered and exited together. I had long since lost the mental capacity to decipher what he was saying to me so I simply gave him a smile and threw my forearm into his shoulder. He smiled back like he thought I was being friendly but I was actually swinging a left hook with all the power I had remaining in my body at that moment and I came up short. He was taller and bigger than myself and I figured I had no choice left but to attempt to outrun him.

Half way down the thirty minute descent and he was still hanging tough.

"That's IT! Seriously, I'll break my foot again if I have to but this is ending NOW! I'm NOT going into the final eight miles in a head to head battle."

I opened it up and was thankful to gain a gap within a minute. I then capitalized on this and started re-routing as much flagging as I could while on the fly. Usually I carry a spare roll in my pocket for instances just like this but it must have fallen out somewhere over the first 42miles.

The final eight miles were a mix of pure physical fatigue with slight injections of adrenaline from the realization that I was actually going to make it through fifty miles of running. I was going to finish my first ultra distance in over eight full months. I was going to finish third. I was going to e-mail my foot Doctor and say "Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah" Since he had said I'd be lucky to get through 10km within eight weeks. I'd been off crutches for twelve weeks and back to running for six weeks. This race was more of a mind bender than a Rubik's Cube once you attempt to remove and replace all the stickers on it...yeah, don't act like you haven't done it too...but now I could spot the finish line. I'd made it...and my reward for doing so...I get to run 100 miles in eight more weeks...DOHHHHHH!

*This was only my second ever 50mile course, having run the Mountain Masochist 50m in 08 & 09, and I must admit, this distance entices me like never before. It's not 50k, it's not 100miles, it's somewhere in between and as such has its own set of rules. I'm looking forward to pursuing more of these in the future*

Thanks to the RD John Pearch for a great day out and an immaculately flagged course.
Full Results

GR

Win FREE MOMAR Entry + 10 Q's With One Of Canada's Top Adventure Racers

Todd Nowack is a Victoria based, Mind Over Mountain Adventure Racing sponsored athlete. On July 23rd he'll be captaining a co-ed team of four racers against the most challenging endurance event in North America in 2011, Raid The North Extreme.

Tell us a bit about your racing history. For those who don’t know, where did you get started with it all?

Like many other adventure athletes on the west coast, I got into adventure racing with the MOMAR and have kept going ever since.  I was an avid mountain biker and was just getting into trail running and various other outdoor pursuits when I was asked to team up with the infamous ‘Snot Sisters’ to be a ‘Booger Brother’ in the Cumberland 2005 event.  We ended up winning the team-of-4 co-ed category and that race got me hooked.

How many MOMAR races have you done to date and how many of those have you won?

I have done all the races since the Cumberland 2005 MOMAR with the exception of 2009 when I was living in Norway. This makes it 12 total races with 7 overall wins: 2 solo, 4 with teammate extraordinaire Gary Robbins (Editors Note: I DID NOT add that but I will leave it in since it has a nice ring to it) and 1 with Natasha Dilay (only team-of-2 co-ed to ever take an overall title).

What was your favorite MOMAR experience and/or course to date?

‘Three-peating’ in 2007 at the Cumberland MOMAR with yourself. We had won the previous two races of the year and had lots of pressure to win as no racers had ever won all MOMARs in one year. Winning that race was definitely a highlight but the feeling of being completely dialed in during that race still hangs with me.  I think that was the first time where we both really knew exactly how hard we could push, when to back off, and how to flow from control to control while being efficient. I still have memories of us ‘running’ through the town of Cumberland like scarecrows with cramps everywhere, our legs stiff like pencils, and our arms and back stuck like the Tin-Man from Wizard of Oz while Brian is yelling at us that we could sit down and have a coffee and still win.  Memorable times.  Favourite course would have to be one of the incarnations in Cumberland. The single-track riding is phenomenal, the area is beautiful and the community is fantastic! (Another Note: I swear I did not know that would be his answer, and I did not add it after the fact myself! PS Couldn't agree more Todd)

Will we be seeing you lining up for our first ever Burnaby MOMAR race?

Yep. I will be there racing solo and looking to have yet another great time and experience.

Have you ever raced an expedition race like RTNX before?

I’ve done two other expedition races (RTNX 2007, and the Baja Travesia 2007).  I’ve also done some 24 hour and 36 hour races, and some orienteering ‘Rogaine’ events.  I have yet to have success in expeditions with brutal 20+ foot swell kayak conditions in Baja that wiped out several teams including leaving us unranked due to abandoning one of our kayaks and gear.  In RTNX 2007, we had some really bad luck with tearing our inflatable kayak open (even though we were being extremely careful and watched other teams literally drag their boats over sharp rocks) this situation delayed our paddle by many hours pushing it into the night where I ended up suffering from hypothermia after my body temperature had dropped by 3 degrees due to being exposed in our open cockpit kayaks.

What did you learn from these previous experiences that you feel you can apply towards your next shot at this format of race?

Eat lots of pizza and drink lots of beer to make sure that you have a good spare tire to keep you warm in times of need.  Seriously though, I think these races come down to fitness, experience and a bit of luck.  Had we been able to make it out of the swell and get to the checkpoint in Baja (which was literally right there) we would have continued ranked and placed close to the top.  RTNX would have been the same had it not been for a piece of rusted rebar that was sticking up out of the beach and virtually invisible.  Either way, luck would not have it.  For this coming race, I’m going to bring all the fitness and experience I have, stay out of trouble and race smart.  I’m done with this bad luck stuff ;)

Tell us a bit about your teammates?

Pete Cameron and Leanne Mueller are a very strong and experienced adventure racing couple based out of Ontario that have partaken in numerous races over the years and are always contenders in any event that they enter.  I met them at Raid the North Extreme in 2007 and had the pleasure of racing head-to-head with them during the final stage of the race.  In 2009, we had teamed up to race the biggest race of the year, Explore Sweden, but due to some technical issues, were not able to race together.  So, it seems fitting that we are teamed up again.  While I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting our fourth member, James Galipeau, I have only heard good things about him, one of which being that he is a team strongman (able to take extra gear, pull others, put his head down and never stop).  The great thing about this team is that we have three solid navigators (Pete, Leanne, and myself) who all have proven race navigation experience and all of whom we can count on for pre-race mapping work, route choices, race time decisions, etc; this is an incredible advantage .  I have never been in this situation and cannot say how incredible this will be knowing that we can trade off navigating when the mind begins to crumble after countless hours of no sleep and physical hardship.

How is the rest of the field stacking up this year? Where would you place yourselves, and what are your racing goals for RTNX?

Being that Primal Quest is no longer and there are no other large events going on in North America, RTNX has virtually sold out with a great number of strong teams signing up which is awesome to see. Compared to 2007, the field will almost be double. In terms of our placement and goals, a great thing I learned from speaking with my teammates is that we all really have a similar approach to racing; we race against ourselves and where we end up at the finish is where we end up.  As long as we all put in our best possible effort during the entire race, I don’t think any of us would care what place we came in. That being said, of course were shooting for first. J

Rumor has it you were injured throughout the winter. How has your training been going lately, and describe for us what a typical week of training might look like right now?

I have been suffering with an ‘upper body injury’ (insert NHL pun here) that I am still recovering from. While I’m still not 100%, I keep in shape on my bike commuting long distances, rolling my kayak down to the beautiful waters off Brentwood Bay to partake in long paddles, and doing lots of walking and hiking off-trail through the forest to simulate expedition racing conditions. I’ve been playing it on the safe side and not running much so I’ll have to see how I fare on my legs on the new MOMAR Burnaby course.

What’s one piece of advice that you have received or learned over the years that you would pass on to new and aspiring adventure racers?

Learn how to navigate. Join a local orienteering club and get to the point where you can run while reading a map and navigate on and off trail; this is a very rewarding experience and will enhance your outdoor pursuits. Don't train, just get out lots, compete here and there, and have fun! I've never trained a day in my life J

Great stuff Todd! Thanks for your time and best of luck at the race this summer. I know I'll personally be glued to my computer looking for live updates and cheering you guys along.

NOW, to be entered into the FREE MOMAR entry, which can be claimed at either of the 2011 venues,

Burnaby May 28th

Cumberland Sept 24th 

Simply leave a comment below. Thanks for reading, good luck with the draw, and I hope to see you out on course during the first race in exactly four weeks time!

GR

10k PB - Really? (Vancouver Sun Run)

I ran my fourth ever 10k road race this past Sunday, and all of them have been over the same Vancouver Sun Run route. The good part about this is that I got a true gauge of fitness, though against a comparative time from five years ago. (my only road racing experience is 10k x4, 21.1k x5)

My previous Sun Run times
2004 42m18s
2005 37m51s
2006 36m36s

2011 36m07s

Don't bother trying to verify this online as I ran under an alias to fill in for an injured runner on a corporate team. In all honesty, had I had any idea that I might be fit enough to run The Sun Run a few months ago I surely would have signed up, and planned a better 72hr pre-race regime. In the end I got an email at the EXACT RIGHT minute on Friday night.

Following The Peterson Ridge Rumble 20miler on the previous Sunday I had a terrible week of running. I wasn't particularly sore, I just possessed almost zero energy reserves and I didn't even attempt a run until the Wed night, where I did a 10k mountain run as part of The Knee Knacker group. That went very average but the following morning's 10k run was the worst I'd had in weeks. I decided to sleep for over ten hours on Thursday night, and I was pleasantly surprised to bounce back with a very solid 21k technical mountain run on Friday afternoon.

I was suffering from a runners high, I got the invite, and I said YES immediately. Sure, I thought, I'D LOVE TO DO THE SUN RUN ON SUNDAY!

An hour later I was wondering what I'd agreed to. The very next morning I tacked on an additional 15km, 5 Peaks course scouting run, and ended up heading to bed on Saturday night wondering why I was so dumb sometimes.

(Seabus to the race start on Sunday morning)

I figured since I was running under an alias there was ZERO self pressure around a time being associated with my name, in fact I told the alias runner that he'd better buy me some beer or he'd be in for the slowest 10k time of his life.

(sneaking into the fast people starters chute)

(over 50,000 people lined up and ready to rock)

Even when the gun went off I was still saying to myself that I might not be racing the thing.
"Just run smart. Just enjoy the day. Just savoir being back running again."

I opened with a 7min flat 2KM split.
"Ok, ok, I guess we're racing this thing after all"

2KM till 4KM: 10k road runs SUCK!

4KM till 5KM: Why are so many woman ahead of me!??

5KM: Who put this G-D BRIDGE HERE, WHY is it so steep, and HOW is that girl passing me making this look so easy!

6KM till 7KM: Is there an ally-way that I can divert into, disappear from this race, walk home, and never think about this type of thing again?

7.5KM: Adam and Lauren Campbell SCREAM at me and jump out from the sidelines. It's enough to scare the shit outta me an hence triggers my fight or flight response and helps to propel me faster

8KM: The guy in front of me is old enough to be my Father. WHY THE F can't I catch him!

9KM: ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ANOTHER BRIDGE!

The wheels really did start to fall off as I hit The Cambie Street Bridge. You can virtually see the finish line from here yet my legs started to quiver. I had a vivid mental image scrolling though my head.

If you did any time in Boy-Scouts you'd undoubtedly remember the cars that you used to make out pre-packaged blocks of wood and race against other Scouts on a pre-made track. (I have a whole other story here for a future posting)
Well all I could picture was that I was in one of these blocks of wood and my two front wheels were hanging on by a thread. The singular pin wasn't driven in deep enough and the wheels were now an inch off the frame, a fraction of an inch from falling off altogether. I reached out, pushed the wheels back in place, and duct taped over the 'lugs'. Of course while I was doing all of this in my head the people around me promptly dropped me.

I crested the bridge and could see the finish. I figured the 'duct tape' would hold and the runners I'd been suffering with for the better part of the last five kilometers had all left me for dead. They had easily opened up a 100+ meter lead over me. As I came down and into the final finishers chute I looked off in the distance and watched the clock click over 35minutes. Early on I had allowed myself to believe in a sub 36min finish, and now it was all laid out in front of me.

I pushed harder than I had in the last five years, period. Since I had found myself in this exact same scenario in fact, during my 2006 running of the race. I got tunnel vision, both figuratively and literally, as I was pushing as hard as my battered body would allow. I caught and passed every runner that had left me for dead on the final bridge, but I didn't even care. I was fixated on the clock. I was staring through the finish line and hoping beyond hope that I could still crack 36minutes.

35.52 F@#K
35.53 ME
35.54 SIDEWAYS
35.55 I
35.56 CAN
35.57 TASTE
35.58 BLOOD
35.59 DAM-
36.00 IT. I
36.01 WASN'T
36.02 EVEN
36.03 CLOSE

In the end they took gun time anyways and my official time was 36m07s. I'LL TAKE IT! I mean I am truly, truly, ecstatic with that time given the circumstances. I think I have a 34mXXs in me before the end of the season though, and the funny thing is, I really liked the whole experience and I plan to do another one soon.

Last I heard, our corporate team won! Sweet.
GR