Island Race Series: Sooke 10km

The final race in the 2013 Island Race Series is the Sooke 10km. Put on by the S.T.A.R.R. Sooke Trail and Road Runners, and an excellent club.  I spend some evenings training with this club when I worked in Sooke a few years back. I really enjoyed it the time with the close community of runners.
This race starts from the local High School and winds it's way up and around the Sooke River Rd. to close to the Sooke potholes. It is quite hilly and there never seems to be a flat spot on the race. It is a truly beautiful place to run. You can hear the river in stretches while running through large fir trees and ferns that surround the road as it cuts through the temperate rain forest.

  For me, the first 2-3km were fast, I tried to push the pace to see what I had in me. But, in fact, I was flat. I had no spark and I just held on for the rest of the race the level that I could hold steady. Time to re-group and get ready for the rest of the summer.  It was a nice finish to the race series!

Up next; I'm just putting my summer calendar together. More to follow soon.

Big Boy

It is time to let the big bike go. I'm more into cross-country and this bike hasn't been ridden in months.

2008 All-mountain full suspension bike, great for all types of trails. Size Large. 6" front suspension Marzocchi Bombers, 6" rear suspension with handlebar mounted lock-out. Full avid juicy disc breaks. $2799 New! Great shape and ready to rip. 

http://victoria.en.craigslist.ca/bik/3755455242.html

Island Race Series: Merville 15km

The second from last race in the Island Race Series is the Merville 15k. A small hamlet just north of Courtenay is country roads and small rolling hills. It has one general store which is also the gas station post office and grocery store.

I enjoyed this race!  This race is hosted by the "River Runners" from Campbell River, another 20min up the road. Well organized and delicious food at the finish.  The course wraps around a large rectangular piece of forest and ends just past the Start.

Merville 15k Map and Elevation - the pointer is on the highest elevation point

I felt like the pace needed to be pushed in the first few km as nobody was making the leap. It was right after an athlete said "It feels like a training run" that something clicked in my head that I should push the pace. So, I jumped out in front and lead the race for the first 7km.  It was at the start of the big long hill that Nick passed me and it stayed that way until the finish. I felt alright, but probably went out a bit to hard at the beginning trying to crack the psyche of the group.  Mark Cryderman of Campbell River was catching me though the race, but in the last 3km I just put everything into the final push and it payed off. Race results here. 

Next and final race of the Island Race Series: Sooke 10km. 

Trail Running with Injinji toe socks

A very inspiring video by my friend Darcy of Canada's top Ultramarathoner Adam Campbell.  All shot in the trails around Squamish, BC. I use the toe socks and they make me blister free.

Core Strength Class

At the same location as my LifeMark Sport Medicine Clinic - A 30min core strength class on Wednesdays April to June. FREE!

Check www.drvinge.com for more info

Island Race Series: Comox Valley Half Marathon

Yes! A half marathon this early in the season... perfect timing to test out endurance at race-pace over the long distance. The race put on by the legendary Comox Valley Road Runners. They always have a huge collection of athletes and many in the top rankings of the race.  The race went off without a hitch and many volunteers were out at every corner cheering and supporting the runners. I found that there was an exceptional amount of loud shouts at the 15km mark, perfect to get amped for the final push.

Read a good article here about the race. The temperatures were a bit low, in the 5 C range, and made it challenging to warm up before the race. But, with no frost bite or other serious problems everyone had a successful race.
I encountered a serious psychological brick wall about 3km from the finish. I had hammered it and pushed the pace from the 10km mark up until that point and then I slowly fizzled out. I had put in the work to get a finish time I'm happy with, but that leaves more to be desired for the next half-marathon.

Next up, Merville 15km.

Island Race Series: Bazan Bay

A blistering pace with a crowd of nationally ranked athletes, this race turned out to be a drag race! As you can see in the image below it looked exactly like this from the start!

Oh, wait, sorry that is not at all what it looked like. Not sure where that came from...ahem. But, this is image below is from first 100m into the race.

Well, Ok, that is not it either. But, that is what it felt like how fast we were going. It is a bit of a mix between the top and the bottom picture and you get an idea of how the race went.   I was still feeling a bit sore from the low-back injury I sustained two weeks before. But, I wanted to see how fast I could go. While waiting for the starting gun to go off, I was able to see all the top athletes who have located themselves in the Victoria and Vancouver area. The entire National triathlon training centre was participating, along with former national level runners, age group record holders and a few serious off-the-couch competitive athletes.

The course is flat and fast, not really any hills to speak of except a gradual decline-incline at the 2.5km turn around point.  It was lightning fast from the get go and after tale of the tape nine runners finished under 15min! I was in the top 25 and very happy to be there. I had a great race and enjoyed myself immensely! A new PR.  See results from 2013 here.

Next race, Comox Valley Half marathon!