Reach the Peak and Whistler...

Reach the Peak Uphill Race (run/snowshoe)


Saturday morning was gorgeous and I had decided to try out the reach the peak race. It is a neat little race where you begin at the ocean in deep cove and finish at the peak of Mt Seymour with a little there and back to Dog Mountain.
http://www.runthenorthshore.com/qs/page/7040/3696/-1
Let me back track to Friday evening,..I had been out with a friend and home before I found out I no longer had a ride. Since I live about 6km from deep cove, instead of trying to find a ride to the start of the race I figured I might as well run to the start and use that as my warm-up….it was a little tougher than I thought but maybe in the end that was the secret to my success???..
It was a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun was shining (yes, even in North Van the sun comes out once in awhile) and the temp was just ideal. I had no intention of doing well as I was not sure if my body and energy systems were quite recovered from the Baja Adventure race. I just figured it was a nice morning and I was most likely going to go hike somewhere anyways so why not race? I took off with the top guys and quickly let them go and found myself a steady pace. I ended up being close to two other nice men for the entirety of the race. I felt pretty good through the trails and managed to keep my snowshoes off for quite a while compared to others. Once I did put the snowshoes on they felt a little awkward at first (hadn’t worn them since the Cypress Yeti race) but eventually got used to the extra stuff on my feet. I reached the Mt Seymour Cross Country trails feeling quite good…maybe jus t a little hungry. Hadn’t really drank anything yet…which is prob not the smartest thing but I tend to forget to sometimes….I’m working on it. Once to the parking lot there were a couple of people cheering and some snacks available. I smiled drank some energy drink and moved on to the Dog Mountain section. It was nice to finally get some speed. This section is rolly and so there was some opportunity to run. As I got closer to the turnaround pt some of the top guys were on their way back…it was nice to know I wasn’t that far behind. At the turn around there was an incredible view of Mt Baker, Van, Tantalus range, the island etc. I did a quick 360, got my pic taken and then headed back. I was feeling super good and ended up passing one guy before reaching the finish line. It was a fabulous race! Oh and a bonus, I ended up finishing as the top female and in the top 10. YAY! We then went to a pub for awards, food and drinks.


Whistler

Chris and Billy were nice enough to drive me all the way to Squamish. They dropped me off at the Greyhound and I caught a bus to Whistler from there. I met a nice man, Rob, and we chatted the entire way to Whistler. That night Ali and I attended the Big Air competition (wow, a huge crowd watching these amazing athletes clear a gigantic jump).


Afterwards we headed to the opening of the BraveArt show, some fabulous artists doing their thing live….it was inspiring. The village was a little chaotic with people everywhere.



Sunday morning

Ali and I headed up Whistler Mountain. As we headed up the chairlift checking out the runs I was thinking that it will be an early start to beers on the patio….the hill was a sheet of ice…ahh…fortunately we managed to find some good snow, bump into Graham and have a blast for the rest of the day. As the temperature rose the snow became softer and the sun kept poking out…Needless to say the snow conditions proved to be interesting but thank you to wonderful company and a most beautiful place I had a blast. We finished off the day with nachos at Blacks and dancing to the John Butler Trio band… I had an adventure in itself getting home. Who doesn’t order extra buses on Sunday of the Telus festival? That’s my little rant. I got home safe and sound (eventually…. and in the process got to hang out with a good friend that otherwise I would have missed…so all was not lost…just some shuteye time before Monday at work…I can deal with that).





Live, Love, Laugh,…DREAM!