13 Miles and 4,000 feet in the Gowland Tod Range

Yesterday I decided to do a training run on the Half Monty course in the Gowland Tod range. You couldn't ask for better weather with temps in the low 50's, bright sun, and light breeze, conditions were perfect to run the 25 Km's from McKenzie Bight to Caleb Pike and back.

I grabbed a 16oz water bottle after filling up on my new love; corn tortillas filled with avocado, grilled onions and peppers, tomatoes, and black beans with some lime and cilantro (rocket fuel). I quickly drove to the McKenzie Bight access and set off on my lone 25km journey along the east ridge of the Saanich Inlet. My legs felt great and I had tons of energy which I quickly utilized to run to the top of the first major climb. It is about a 3 km climb of nearly 1500 feet. The climb is gradual and just about perfect for taking small light steps on your toes. Within about 20 minutes I found myself at the Squally Beach overlook, a beautiful spot with views from Saltspring Island to the north and Mount Finlayson to the south. My legs felt great and were spinning up the trails with little effort. My breathing was smooth and controlled and I could tell it was going to be a great run.

The next 5 km of trail snakes its way up another 800 feet or so and weave in and out of cool refrigerated canyons. The final push to the top of Joselyn Peak was smooth, I even passed one of my students that I got into running. He was so focussed on his run, and his music was so loud, that I don't think he realized it was me as he zipped past in the opposite direction. His form was great and he was really moving. I suggested he become a trail runner almost a year ago. I could tell he would take to it and I thought it would definitely be a better addiction then his current love of that cleverly named poison we all know as "energy drinks". It was great and inspiring to see someone I influenced, running 10 km away from anywhere, zoned out, and floating along the trails weightlessly.

I hammered up Joselyn and started my run towards Holmes Peak. I had never ran beyond that point before and so I got confused and took a trail that lead me on a side ridge and I set off in the wrong direction. When you are flying down a steep hill sometimes several Km's can scream by before you realize your error. I should have realized the mistake when the trail began to fade away and large portions were submerged. I popped out on a road and located myself on the folded map I keep in my pocket along with my emergency T.P. I talked to some hikers and found where I went wrong. I had to run up the 500-700 feet I just ran down to pickup the the main ridge. I now lost 30 minutes of time that should have been spent heading toward Caleb's Pike. I gave it one final push but with the sun dipping low on the horizon and 11 Km of tricky trail running left I had to opt out of the full 25 Km and settle for 21 (I will nail the 25 next time).

I turned around and ran the correct trail back up the ridge heading back towards McKenzie Bight and as I was approaching Joselyn again I felt a terrible pain on one of my tendons or bones on the bridge of my left foot. That was the first time I ever had an injury there. Each step began to be quite painful. I gritted my teeth and found a pace and stride that minimized the pain. I ran out of water at this point but with only a few more km's of rolling trails along the ridge I would be entering my final descent in a few minutes. It was now getting cool as the sun finally faded below the ridge. I tightened my shoes and decided to just power my way to the car. I leaned back and let my legs spin under me and gravity did the rest. Within a matter of minutes I was off the ridge and to the main bridge. The last Km or two was good and I felt strong other than the foot. I really could have ran another 10 km if I had more time and my foot wasn't killing.

I saw my car a little over two hours after setting out on my lone attempt at the Half Monty. I was super happy with the first half of my run up to the point where I took a wrong turn. I ran strong and powered up the hills effortlessly and never had to stop at all. Just 3 weeks earlier my run was more power hiking than running. All my hard work on Mount Doug and my hill repeats are paying big dividends. I can't wait to run peaks in Utah and I am so motivated to whip this wimpy body of mine into mountain running shape. I can't wait to be on the summit of my first major peak run this Spring! My foot killed for all of the drive home and I expected to see swelling and bruising when I took off my shoe but there was absolutely no sign of injury. I iced and popped some ibuprofen and within a couple of hours my foot felt great. I have no idea what the problem was and I still can make it hurt if I apply the right pressure to it so I am taking today off to make sure it is OK and will start running again tomorrow.

Anyone who knows me well knows I am a sucker for good Synth music. Most of the synthpop faded with the 80's and though Depeche Mode has hung around the majority of bands that saw popularity in the 80's are long gone. There has been a small group of artists that have continued to make this genre of music even though there is little money and a small following. I like that these artists are still making it for the love of the music and it seems a little more pure because it isn't influenced by labels etc and is generally underground. Fans of this music are scarce but I think it is a great genre and very runnable with endless sounds and directions each band takes their sound. While running yesterday I had a song called "Forget" by B! Machine in my head. It is a cool song with simple electronics and baseline and the vocals are really unique. I have loved the song since 2005 and it still gets plenty of play. I have been on a B! Machine kick lately (all though just a short one a lot of his stuff is a little melancholy) and that is why it was in my head, it really had nothing to do with my run or thoughts during the run it was just playing in my mind as I hammered out the 20 K. It might be a bit out there for most people but I dig it. Enjoy!