My Running Week in Photos

Lake Minnewanka - C-level Viewpoint

Monica

Mount Inglismaldie

Riding the coal train - Lower Bankhead

Swingin' - Johnson Lake

Johnson Lake

Sulphur Ridge line: as seen from Mount Rundle

Asphalt sucks. It was short.

Mount Rundle

Tail end of 7 hours

Angela cruisin' Lake Minnewanka

Nikki and Monica

Single track

Mike

Spring Break-Up!

Buh-bye Ice

Shoreline

It's Cold.

Quad Soak.

Refreshed!

Happy Nikki!

Anticline

Nikki, Monica, Mike - 20k in the middle of nowhere

Nikki, Monica and Me

Dry Creek

Over There!!

River Run - Bow and Cascade

Five Finger Fun

Home Sweet Home :)

A Weekend by the Numbers: 2 days, 3 runs, 1 Moose and 3 Moms

It's a good thing I like to run in the mountains. Training for a 100 Miler takes time, energy and motivation. It's crunch time: I'm squeezing in some back to back long runs and just getting time on my feet. For me, there is no program, no pace charts, no structure - I'm just running and recovering and repeating. That's it. I'm trying not to focus to much on the details, I'm just getting the miles in, on terrain specific to my race and enjoying the ride. If I had of given it some more thought, I wouldn't have changed a thing. How do you train for a 100 Miler? I don't know - it's a work in progress. I'll let you know in 4 weeks, but I think I've put in the miles and I know I can get it done.

My friend Kamren is training for his first Ultra and he's picked the 125km Death Race for his debut. He put together a wicked tough run on Saturday and got in 70km for the first time. He hurt a lot for the last 20km, and was asking the question: "if I hurt this much now, how on earth am I going to run 125km?!?" Naturally, the answer isn't straight forward and every day is different. But, he's getting his homework in - he's running long and his body is still getting used to that. Your body adapts, it changes, it gets stronger and it recovers more quickly. How you feel on any given day can depend on so much: did you sleep well the night before? did you eat enough during the run? did you take your electrolytes? did you pace yourself? what kind of terrain are you running? is your pace too fast? what about your head game? how are you feeling? what kind of mood? are you having fun? These are all things I'm still working on and it's an ongoing process. Everyone is different. And every run is different! That's the cool thing about ultras: the equation is always changing. What works, what doesn't, what you can change, how you can overcome. I'm still learning - but I've figured this out: an ultra is largely mental. While the physical stuff is really important, your brain game, your attitude, your mind can get you to the finish line.

Anyhow, enough of the rant - it's hard stuff to put into words and I've never been good at putting my thoughts into words. What about the run you say?

Run #1: the run was great! We started with a power-hike up Sulphur Mountain and then circumnavigated Mount Rundle for 56km. I felt pretty lousy for the tail end of this run - just plain old tired, but the mind was good. After the run, the same thing. Phew. Done. Me So Tired.

3 boys: Kamren, Mike and Clint

Kamren gets his Grrrr on.

This is how you suck it up.

Bighorn Sheep - far nimbler than us

Spray Lakes Road above Canmore

I got up early and made the drive from Banff to Kananaskis Country. I headed to Kananaskis Village so I could go for Run #2, before going for Sunday All-U-Can-Eat Mother's Day Brunch.

I love my Mummy and I love food. Happy Mother's Day special lady.

You mommy's out there continue to impress me - and you do something that I admire, even though I've never had any desire to do it: have kids and THEN put up with them. Go Mommy's! You have my utmost respect.

I'm a lucky girl because I have the best Mummy in the world. My mom was a runner as well, not a long distance girl, but a sprinter. Now her legs don't work so good and I think about her lots on my runs. I wish she could see all of the beautiful scenery that I get to see daily. At least I can share my pretty places with the help of the blog!

I've also got the bonus of another mom - my dad's been remarried for 25 years now and that patient and generous lady took us on as teenagers. Oh wait - there's a 3rd wonderful mom in my life, Keith's mom Rennie. These ladies are good people, giving, supportive, non-judgmental, loving and genuine. They sure are great Mom's.

So, Run #2. After spending Saturday enjoying completely dry trails all the way around Mount Rundle, I was surprised to find a whole lot of snow in Kananaskis Country. It was seriously bonkers.

There weren't ANY dry trails to be had. In fact, there wasn't any running either. I post-holed for 2 hours through crusty snow until my shins bled. Note to self: soft and fluffy goooood, hard and crusty baaad.


It was me and the bunnies out on the trail and the bunnies were definitely traveling faster, lighter and easier than me.

Silly Bunny.

There was an amazing amount of moose tracks, more moose footy prints than I've seen all winter! Actually, come to think of it I haven't seen ANY moose tracks all winter. In Banff, we have a healthy population of elk - but moose are not common in our area. Moose are frickin' huge and they scare the hell out of me. Shortly after I took this photo, I ran smack dab into a moose.

Needless to say, when this female moose came running out the woods, it scared the crap out of me! Trust me, she's bigger than the photo looks. I found myself a big tree to hide behind, pulled out my bear spray and pulled off the safety and held my breath.

Mama Moose - Happy Mother's Day lady and thanks for not charging me.

Eventually, she got off the trail and just disappeared into the woods. Moose are the color of the woods. I swear. You never see them with their 3 shades of brown. Eventually, I got brave, snuck out from behind the tree and continued post-holing, looking furtively over my shoulder, with bear spray still in hand.

There's humor where you least expect it.

I was almost late for brunch, because post-holing through shin deep snow always takes you longer than you think. I don't know how far I went, but I was tired and ready for some serious eating after my 2 hours. I did some damage to the buffet and it was delish.

It's not often that I get to Kananaskis, so I decided to do Run #3. A "bonus lap" on the shoreline of Barrier Lake, up to Jewel Pass and Barrier lookout and back down. Don't worry Mom - I left a note in my car on the dashboard with my destination and departure time "just in case." My mom has taught me well - you've always got to let somebody know where you're going. Either that, or I just let the criminals know how long they have to break in to my car before my impending return. I took my wallet just in case. :)

I'm so glad I did this bonus lap - I got half dry trail and half snowy trail, but it was significantly better than what I had earlier in the day. I ran the whole thing - but I lollygagged and took lots of photos. It was beautiful out there!

On the top of the mountain, I had a rare Canadian Wildlife sighting - even more special than the moose. Honestly, could this day get any better? There were 3 of them - music blaring and beers in hand, having a true Fubar wilderness moment. Head Bangers. They were true blue, Kenora-dinner-jacket-wearin', weed smokin', rock and roll listenin', Pilsner drinkin', Canadian Head Bangers. Rock on dudes. I salute you. Thank-you for making my day even that much better, eh? But no thanks, I don't need the beer - maybe another day. :)

When you least expect it, Fubar.

On that note, I hoped you enjoyed my pretty photos as well as the most significantly disjointed blog post, ever! And remember: there's humor where you least expect it.

Ciao Bella!

This expression always reminds me of a time in my life when I was a free moving, free living, roaming, traveling girl. I didn't do the normal backpacker thing, I spent almost 2 years traveling and working my way through Europe. The one time during my trip when I came close to running out of money, I headed to Greece. I figured it would be better to run out of money on an island, in a pretty place and I would find myself a job as soon as possible. It all worked out and I found employment and a great community of travelers in Rethymnon on the big island of Crete. I lived a few blocks away from the harbor and the beach and had just enough money to subsist on.


One of the memories I have of this wonderful city, was being verbally "checked-out" by the Italian men while walking the promenade on the beach. What they would say when they saw a pretty girl walking their way is "Ciao, bella!" I think it translates to: "Why hello, beautiful!"

I would hear this every day while strolling in town. Instead of this "compliment" having the intended effect of flirtation, this young Canadian girl would cringe inwardly and skulk nervously away every time. A little culture clash.

My time spent in Italy was a little more limited. I spent a couple of beautiful spring days in Torino, which was first time in Italy and a very accidental trip. I had gotten on the train in France and ended my day in Italy. I spontaneously got on the first train that pulled into the station and rolled into another world a few short hours later. I was overwhelmed to say the least, but it was all serendipitous - Torino was magical, the people warm and welcoming and the food divine.

There was also a short trip to Venice and a few days of getting lost in this one-of-a-kind place. My favorite cheap pastime was hanging out in the Piazza San Marco and people watching. As well as a not-so-good experience in the port town of Brindisi (known as Sleezy Brindisi in the backpacker world), these 4 experiences pretty much sum up my quality time with all things Italian.

Until now.

Naturally, I'm heading straight for the mountains, instead of the cultural centres of Rome, Florence and Naples. We'll have to save that for another trip. For this adventure, I'm heading to the Aosta Valley where I'm going to get the ultimate 330km mountain tour. I've signed up for the Tor des Geants a brand new race in the Italian Alps, starting and finishing in Courmayeur.

I've spent some time in Chamonix, which I think of as the "Banff" of France. Courmayeur is another mountain town on the Italian side at the base of Mont Blanc - only 30 minutes from Chamonix through the infamous Mont Blanc Tunnel.

The Tor des Geants is a one-of-a-kind format. Essentially, the race looks like it's a "supported fast-pack". There's aid stations, sleep stations, food stations, but you have to be self sufficient and carry all of your gear. It's one stage only, but you have 7 days to complete it. The winner will be the runner who completes the race in the shortest time, making his or her own decisions on when and how long to stop for rest and food.

The list of friends who have signed up is growing, so it's going to be a social extravaganza. The bottom line is: it's going to be awesome.

So, Ciao Bella Italia! I can hardly wait to meet your beautiful acquaintance and get to know you and your sweet mountain places just a little bit better.

Yamnuska!

When you leave Calgary and drive from the plains to the mountains, you've probably seen Mount Yamnuska.

"Yamnuska" is the popular name for the mountain guarding the Bow River's exit from the Rockies. This Stoney Indian word means 'flat faced mountain'. It is this 'flat face' that makes it so easy to recognize and a familiar sight if you are a Calgarian. Being born and raised in Calgary, Yamnuska has always been symbolic to me: it's the Gateway to the mountains. The Gateway to the Promiseland. Hallelujah, praise the Yam. When you've driven the Trans Canada highway as frequently as me, you know Yamnuska well. I love this mountain. But mostly, I like to look at this mountain.

I'm not the only one who has been enamored with Mount Yamnuska. Whether you're a climber or an artist, or a just a lover of great big mountains: Yamnuska is enchanting. There are books written about it. It's revered, respected and it's a playground for many.

The Yamnuska mountain range is even movie star famous, having been in numerous movies shot in Alberta including Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt and Open Range with Kevin Costner. More recently, it was prominently featured in Brokeback Mountain in the "naked cliff jumping scene" - Yay for Yam - and Heath Ledger's butt!

There's a whole lot of obsessed local climbers that love the challenges of Yam - local climbing legend Sharon Wood climbed all 34 routes from the original Yamnuska climbing guide. Will Gadd completed a seven-year-old project to establish a new free climb up the most daunting buttress on Yamnuska, the Canadian Rockies’ famed adventure crag. He even made a movie about it: Yamabushi! However, we did not get to see Will Gadd's naked arse in this movie.

Though I've driven by a gazillion times, I haven't been up Yamnuska since I was a kid. It's a very achievable and a very popular scramble. I've met some new girly friends this past month and not only are these ladies fun and fantastic, they actually LIKE to run really, really, really far! Suzie and Monica also like to bag peaks, climb and scramble and I had been looking forward to taking a little "run" up Yamnuska all week.

We had a picture perfect spring day for our trip up Yam - fresh snow, blue sky and lovely. Spring has sprung on the front range - the leaves are coming out and there are crocuses and other flowers making their brief spring appearances. Suzie and Monica were awesome company and were gentle with me: they didn't force me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with while scrambling up the side of a mountain. We ended our day on a patio in Canmore, to cap off our perfect spring day.

The day after our scramble, I had a long run planned and I was also looking forward to spending some time with friend Petra Graen. This gal I met many years ago at the Death Race, see each other sporadically at races, but haven't spent any time together on the trails. Well, we got 6 hours of quality time and Mike joined us for 4 hours of runnin' and chattin'. Petra was gentle with us - this lady is capable of going reeeal fast, but I made her run Leslie speed instead. That's the perk of being the tour guide - I get to be the pacer!

I also managed to squeak out a quick trip to Calgary to visit my Mummy and Keith's Mom and ended up squeezing in a 2 hour run on the trails of North Glenmore. I love it that you can get lost in a city park. Soft trails, incredible scenery, wildlife, the Elbow River, the Glenmore Reservoir and silence - all in the city.

When I drove back to Banff in the early afternoon, I drove past Yamnuska - the unofficial portal to these great mountains I call home - and shouted out loud: Yamnuska! I also promised to not let 27 years go by between visits. I'll be back. Probably sooner, than later. In the meantime, Yamnuska will always make me smile as it welcomes me back to the mountains.