Banff Winterstart 5 Miler–Race Report

This weekend the Husband and I set out to Banff so that I could run the Winterstart 5 Miler on Saturday night.  The Husband was right in the middle of working night shifts and he managed to get one night off to come out to the mountains with me.  After he finished work early Saturday morning and had a bit of a nap we hit the road.With the race starting at 7 pm I was in a quandary about what and when to eat.  A twitter friend suggested small meals.  I had oatmeal in the am.  When we hit the road around 2:00 we popped by Starbucks so I could grab an eggnog latte (maybe not part of the meal plan but boy is it yummy) and a cheese and fruit box.I had a couple pieces of apple along with a couple pieces of cheese – just enough for a little snack.Soon we were at the Banff National Park gates!  It was a gorgeous day…After checking in to our hotel we made our way to the Elk & Oarsman for a late lunch/early dinner.  I really wanted pasta with tomato sauce and chicken.  Thankfully they had that option on the kids menu.  Yup…33 and ordering from the kids menu!Beer is carb loading, right?  And yes, I know.  The Husband and I are totally matchy matchy with our striped sweaters over white t-shirts.  That was not planned.  I ate maybe half of my pasta and maybe half my side green salad.  It wasn’t amazing, but it hit the spot.I then had to make a quick stop at the packet pick up to change my race registration into my name.  I missed officially registering for the race but I managed to find someone selling their spot on the Calgary Road Runners website.  The host hotel, the Caribou Lodge, was decorated for the event with brightly spray painted running shoes.  After taking care of everything we want back to our hotel, the Fox Inn and Suites, to relax before the race.  Our one bedroom suite was awesome.  A huge and comfy King bed……with a sofa, TV and kitchenette attached.  It was perfect for us since the Husband was on night shift time and was not ready to sleep at the same time as I was.  Anyhoo, back to the race report.The sun set, it was about -6C and it was time to get ready for the race!  I layered up but I planned to wear my Run: Swiftly long sleeve tee, my Team Tri Life jacket (which is crazy warm), tights, Smartwool socks, a toque and gloves.  I also brought along a bottle of water to sip on and a gel to eat 10 minutes before go time.Before I knew it, it was time to line up for the race!Winterstart is an out and back course.  You run 1.5 miles out of town, turn right to run up Tunnel Mountain for a mile, then turn around and run back.  I really wanted to run a sub-11:00/mi pace and to run that hill as best as possible.  I had to walk a couple of times but I felt pretty strong overall heading up.  I tried to take advantage of the downhill and wanted to keep going strong to the finish line.  I had a couple of walk breaks in there, but overall not too bad.  It was going to be tight to come in under that 11:00/mi goal!  I tried to pick it up over the last 1/4 mile…and when I crossed the finish line my Garmin said 54:45.  Sweet!  The Husband found me and we made our way to the after party in the parking lot of the Caribou Lodge.  I didn’t go in search of food too much, but I did find a post-race beer!We hung out with some teammates for a bit, then went to the Chili’s in our hotel for a bite to eat.  The good news is my stomach felt great on the run so what, when and how much I ate obviously worked.  Unfortunately my stomach was not interested in any more beverages or food after the race so it was off to bed for me.  All in all it was a really fun weekend in Banff and I really enjoyed the race.  It was a nice little weekend away!As for the official results…

54:47 (10:58/mi)
Overall 1051 out of 1410
F3039 243/330

Banff National Park Long Ride

We are now entering new territory….longest bike rides ever! This weekend called for 140K (87 mi). Phew….that’s a long way! Kelly, Tara and I met up in Harvie Heights, just between Canmore and the border of Banff National Park on Saturday morning. The plan was to ride along Highway 1, past Banff, then out on to the Bow Valley Parkway toward Lake Louise. Then ride back!

It looked liked it would be a gentle climb with some good uphills at points along the way out, then downhill on the way back. The weather has been off most of this week, with plenty of rain. Luckily by the time Saturday rolled around the sun was out. It was warm without a cloud in the sky. The sky was the most amazing blue ever. We were definitely lucking out on the weather!

The ride out from Harvie Heights to the turnoff for the Bow Valley Parkway was gently rolling and I loved the ride. Even though we were riding on Highway 1 the shoulder was definitely generous. I was surprised that it took us 26K to get to the Bow Valley Parkway. Had it really been that long? From there on out the bigger climbs started. Predictably I wasn’t able to keep with the girls on the climbs. Sigh…I know the girls are strong climbers but it started to get to me that I couldn’t keep up.

The original plan was to ride all the way to Lake Louise but it was becoming readily apparent that my calculations were just slightly off. We were about 7K from Lake Louise when we hit 70K on our ride. Somehow or other 140K was enough to wrap our brains around, but 154K seemed like just a bit too long. Plus we had to be back in Calgary by 5:30 pm and the timing was starting to get tight on that. I also expected the ride back to feel a bit easier than it actually did. Wasn’t this supposed to be downhill? On the plus side we got to see some wildlife! We passed a deer, plus some elk!

The last 20K of the ride was tough. I was so ready to be off my bike! I was tensing up between my shoulder blades and my lower back was starting to ache. Were we there yet? I know my legs could go further but the mental aspect is mostly what seems to get to me. I’m really going to have to work on this…

Finally we were at the gates to the park…just a couple more kilometres to go! 5 hours and 142.5K later and we were done! Unfortunately we were out of time though and had to head back to Calgary right away, so no opportunity for a brick run. This bike was a good learning experience though:

• While a ride may take 5 hours of active time, you are actually out there for much longer. Today it took about 6.5 hours including stops!
• While I do like drinking Infinit on my rides I need to bring along some solid food as my stomach starts to get growly. Kelly carries sandwiches of turkey and cheese rolled in a corn tortilla. I think I may try something similar.
• I may not be a fierce climber but I am learning that my power comes on the flats. We all have our strengths and weaknesses!
• Ironman training really is a roller coaster…

Best of Banff – Part II

Wow, it turns out that between the running and all the walking I did on Saturday I was sore!!!  Oh well, Sunday arrived, the skies were reasonably clear so it was time to ride.  We headed out to the Bow Valley Parkway, the more scenic highway that connects Banff and Lake Louise. 

I rode this last year with my friend James the weekend before the Lake Stevens 70.3.  The scenery is amazing out here, plus the ride is a lot of fun.  The speed limit is fairly low along here and the ride is a fun one with some hills here and there, plus a net elevation loss on the way back.  Last year I rode the entire parkway and it was about a 3.5 hour ride.  This was a little more than what I and my riding partner were looking to do, so we parked at Johnston Canyon.  Along the way to Johnston Canyon we spied some elk!  Apparently there was a bear out along the way too, but we didn’t spot it.  The road was in pretty good shape – patches of gravel here and there, but definitely rideable.  While there were patches of sunshine here and there, there was also a pretty wicked wind coming out of the west.  It also looked like it was storming around Lake Louise.  After riding for about 40 minutes there were teeny tiny flakes of snow in the air.  We made the decision to turn around rather than risk getting caught in a possible storm.   The net downhill on the way back sure was nice as it only took 28 minutes to get back to the car!  And with that it was time to head back to Calgary…  We did manage to spy some goats on the way, but they were a little camera shy…

Best of Banff

This weekend, for no reason in particular, it was off to Banff!  As the snow flew during the week I eagerly watched the weather forecast and it looked like things may clear up and pave the way for a beautiful weekend.  Luck was on our side as we drove toward the sunny mountains on Friday afternoon.

I woke up on Saturday morning to this amazing view from the top of Tunnel Mountain:It was a bit chilly out, but the sun felt great.  Time to run!  The joy of staying on Tunnel Mountain is that you get to start running downhill, but there will be a big uphill waiting for you on the way back.  Oh well, we’ll deal with that later.  I ran down Tunnel Mountain to the Bow River.  I crossed over to the other side of the river and made my way down to Bow Falls. Bow Falls is a popular spot for the tourist busses to go, but this early in the morning it was so quiet and peaceful.  I took a moment to stop and appreciate the views, then move on.  I ran up a narrow road between the Banff Springs Golf Course and the Banff Springs Fairmont Hotel.  Out on one of the fairways were elk grazing.  I kicked myself for not having my camera with me so I just stopped and watched them for a bit.  Luckily when I was back later in the day there were a few elk out in the same spot.From there it was back towards town.  I had forgotten to pack a brush so I ran up Banff Avenue towards Safeway to pick on up.  Then it was time to run back to the hotel – the Hidden Ridge Resort.  I’m not sure what people thought of me as they drove past – running and carrying a brush, but at least I was able to combine running with an errand!  Running up Tunnel Mountain was a bit tough, but definitely rewarding.  Long run of just over an hour, complete.

The afternoon was spent walking in and around Banff, just exploring a lot of different pathways and seeing the sights.  It was a beautiful day out…and of course you know I wore the Garmin to track how much walking we did.  Over 6 miles!  Here are a few more pictures from the explorations around Banff… Prairie dog. A young buck. A bear, guarding the fudge… Incoming storm!Outside the Fairmont, the statue of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne.  "Since we can't import the scenery, we shall have to import the tourists."I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Johnston Canyon and the Ink Pots

A few of us had kicked around the idea of going cross country skiing on Sunday.  That was a good idea…until we had warm temperatures almost every day here for two weeks straight!  The snow for cross country skiing is not great at the moment.  Couple that with a forecasted high of 13C (55F) and there you go.  No cross country skiing!

But there was no way we were wasting this amazing day though!  A few of us opted to drive out to Banff National Park to hike through Johnston Canyon and on to the Ink Pots.  This is probably one of the most popular trails inside the park for hikers, so this is actually a great time of year to go out there.  One advantage of this being a busy trail is that you are less likely to encounter wildlife, but I’m not a huge fan of super crowded trails.

The roads out to Banff are perfectly clear, but as soon as you pull into the parking lot there is snow all over the ground.  The safest way to hike there right now is with traction – Yak Trax, MICROspikes or STABILicers.  The trail is covered with packed snow and ice the entire way.It isn’t a very far hike to the lower and upper falls.  The frozen falls are absolutely amazing!  We spent quite a bit of time at the upper falls goofing off and taking pictures.(at the lower falls) (at the upper falls)

Along the way we also saw some other amazing sights, including a set of falls that we were convinced we could see Cookie Monster in.  Can you spot him? Eventually the catwalk and trails around the falls end and you continue up and up through the trees on packed snow to the ink pots.All of a sudden it opens up and you are in a meadow by the ink pots, surrounded by mountains.  Amazing!The ink pots are pools of mineral water that stay at a constant 4C year round with quick sand at the bottom of the pool.  I found that my pictures weren’t able to fully depict the amazing colours of the pools, but I tried! My friend even grabbed a photo of me…taking a photo of my shoes! We hung out around the ink pots, eating lunch and taking a ton of pictures.  We were the only ones there the entire time we were up there!On the way down it was a lot busier around the falls!  There were a lot of people out there without traction on their shoes and I have no idea how they were doing it.  We even saw a couple of people crawling on all fours to make it up a slope, so I had no idea how they were going to make it!  These are the Rocky Mountains and it is early March and there are still winter conditions out there.

That being said, this was a fantastic hike!  I don’t know if I’d want to tackle the crowds out here in the summer.  The extra bit of solitude and the amazing winter scenery made for an incredible experience.  Combine that with sharing the day with a couple of amazing girls and it was a day that will be tough to beat!

7.64 mi with 4,035 feet of elevation gain
~4 hours with plenty of picture taking stops, but not including lunch at the ink pots

Fun in the Snow!

This weekend I continued to get out and enjoy the great wintery outdoors here in Alberta!  It was a busy one too, one that required fitting workouts in around life it seemed.  My brother, sister-in-law, niece and I decided on a spur of the moment trip out to the mountains.  Before we could leave on Saturday I had to knock out a one hour run.  So I could get the run done early I opted to run around my neighbourhood.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I am not a huge fan of running the sidewalks around my neighbourhood at this time of year.  Not everyone does a great job of shovelling the snow and often it compacts into a big icy mess.  A light dusting of snow had fallen overnight so I grabbed my Yaktrax.  It was –8C (17F) out, so I opted to wear two long sleeve tech shirts and a jacket.  It was such slow going on the run thanks to me being unsure about my footing.  Yaktrax are great in the snow, but aren’t for running on ice.  Every once in awhile I’d hit a snow covered patch of ice and it would be pretty slippery.  I was a good 1.5 to 2 minutes slower per mile than I normally am.  The run went well despite being really slow though.  I only slipped and fell once!  As soon as I finished running it was time to hurry up and shower and head out to the mountains!

My niece was pretty excited about going out to the mountains.  We stopped off in Canmore for lunch at my favourite brew pub, the Grizzly Paw.  I tried something new on tap, the Unity Brew.  It was a dark rye IPA style beer that 11 microbreweries from around Alberta had gotten together to brew.  All proceeds sold at the Grizzly Paw go towards go towards charity.  Drinking beer for charity?  No problem!

After lunch we headed out to the Ice Magic Festival at Lake Louise.  The festival is a major ice carving competition, with each team getting 15 – 300 lb blocks of ice and having 34 hours to transform it into a minimum 7 ft high sculpture.  This year the theme was Podium Bound - Spirit of the Competition.  I would have loved to see how the sculptures turned out in the end, but it was neat to see the teams in progress too.  Everyone had a sketch so you could see how the finished product was supposed to look.

It was a really fun winter wonderland kind of weekend out in the mountains.  Good times!  We hung out in Banff overnight, checked out the shops on Sunday morning, then grabbed some lunch before heading back to Calgary.  Once I got home it was “hurry up” time in an attempt to finish off the rest of my workouts though!  I still had a brick and a swim on tap.  I hopped on my bike for just over an hour for a workout with plenty of single leg drills, lots of high cadence and then rounding out with some low cadence sets.  By the time I was done I had to make a critical decision.  It was either brick run or swim time.  I needed to leave the house in 20 minutes in order to make it to the YMCA with enough time to swim.  It didn’t give me enough time to change, run then change again so I skipped the run and just went straight to the Y.  Even still I was pushing it to get my workout done in just under an hour.

The swim was a really good one though.  Angie has suggested that I feel free to add paddle work to my workouts in the warm up or cool down.  I found that concentrating on high elbows with paddles makes me really think about taking that into the rest of my swimming.  I got my 2000 m workout done, showered, grabbed some pizza from Mitillini’s on the way home and that was that!

Talk about one full and action packed weekend!  I hope all of you had a good one too!  I’ll be trying to catch up…I have 275 posts in my Google Reader..!!