My 2011 Race Schedule!

Something I really took an interest in, in 2010 was running. I went from hating it, to signing up for the Vancouver Marathon, and then to loving it. I was able to get 7 races under my belt last year and a lot of good experience for my first year in the sport. I’m stoked for 2011. I’m going to take training and nutrition more seriously, and I have 15 races I hope to be able to compete in:

(Some dates aren’t official yet and I’ve guesstimated)

*UPDATE: I’ve decided to update this post throughout the year with race results. Updates are in blue.

Dirty Duo 25km – March 12
Distance: 25km
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: n/a
Notes: Will be the first race of the year and first time doing this race.
Result: 2:49:46.  18/ 38 males.

This was way tougher than I thought it would be. I had a terrible cold the week leading up to the race, but felt relatively good on race day. Weather held off for the most part but rained a good amount near the end. Overall, this course was a blast, but I’ve realized I’m nowhere near ready for an ultra race. Since I wasn’t selected for Knee Knacker I was considering signing up for the Diez Vista 50k next month instead. After seeing how spent I was after this 25k I’m reconsidering.

5 Peaks Trail: Golden Ears – April 23
Distance: 14km
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: n/a
Notes: I did 2 of the 5 Peaks races last year and fell in love with trail running. This year I hope to do all 5.
Result: 1:12:21 – 22/100 Males, 5/16 Age group

The weather could not have been nicer! What a day for a trail run. The course was nice and dry, and the only killer part was the massive hill of about 300m of elevation gain over 1km distance. This was the first race where I tried to push myself to have a decent placing, rather than just run to finish, or to improve on a previous finish. The result was 5/16 in my age group, and a 5:11 min/km pace. I’m very happy with the result, and am only 2 spots out of a top 3 finish. I know its a small field, but this time last year I would have never thought I could possibly place in my age group in any race. Now I see if I keep training hard it just might happen at some point. Really looking forward to the next 5 Peaks race. After next week’s marathon is over, I’m going to switch my focus to trail running for the summer (along with learning to how, um, er, swim since I have my first triathlon in May).

One scary moment when I rolled my ankle. “F#@$!” I yelled as I immediately wondered if I had just ruined 5 months of training for the Vancouver Marathon with 8 days to go. Luckily the pain subsided after about 5 – 10 minutes and I don’t have any major post-race swelling or soreness. I also have a massive blister on my heel which came out of nowhere. I’ve logged over 400km in my trail shoes and never had an issue before today. Hopefully its not a factor for next week.

Vancouver Marathon – May 1
Distance: 42.2km
Previous time: 4h 14min
2011 goal: 3h 30min
Notes: Shaving 45 minutes off my time in one year may seem ambitious but I only trained for 4 months (minimally) for this race last year and started as a total newbie runner. My goal was only to finish. I’ve come a long way in the last year and given my current fitness and plans to train hard this year I think I can  give sub 3:30 a decent shot. I’ve also since learned the power of anti-nipple chaffing technology.
Result: 3:29:56 – 332/1824 males, 57/210 Age group.

This one has its own, long post here.

North Shore Triathlon – May 21
Distance: Sprint (~26km)
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: To finish and get a taste of what the triathlon is all about.
Notes: This will be my first tri. I expect to have a horrible time as I’ll probably have no clue what I’m doing (and likely not even a road bike).
Result: 1:36:02, 154/ 173 Males, 12/ 13 Age group.

Brutal. Just brutal. Out of 285 participants (men/ women all ages) I managed to finish 273 on the swim! My boss gave me some swim lessons 2 days before the tri and got my stroke count-per-length down from 27 to 18, but man I really really really suck at swimming. Almost called her quits after 2 laps when I was gassed, dizzy and embarrassed. Ended up resting after each length, and only survived by doing a back-stroke for half the time.

Aside from the swim, the bike went ok (considering I have a 1980s rusted-out hybrid bike) and I did well on the run (48th overall). The triathlon is indeed a fun event, and I will give this race another go next year, and likely give an Olympic distance a shot. I decided I will NOT be doing the Vancouver triathlon this Sept as its an ocean swim and I would likely drown at this point. Am comfortable that if I take a swim lesson or just practice over the next year I can get my time down to under 20 minutes on the swim and do fine in this event.

5 Peaks Trail: SFU – June 11
Distance: 9.8km
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: n/a
Result: 56:07 – 22/99 Males, 5/18 Age group. <- Amazingly, the exact same placings as the Golden Ears race

Another fun 5 Peaks race. The course was short but had 600+ m of elevation that was killer. Wasn’t in top form since I took most of May off to rest after the Van Marathon, and the Canucks Playoffs have increased beer consumption and decreased training a lot as well. Overall, happy with the result, but I still really want a top 3 age-group placing in one of these races.

North Shore Knee Knackering Trail Run – July 9
Distance: 48km (“The race as a whole has some 16,000 feet of vertical climb and descent.”)
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: To finish in one piece
Notes: This would be my first foray into the ultra (longer than marathon) distance. There is a lottery however as only a limited field is allowed to run each year. This one’s a bucket list item.
Update: Wasn’t selected in the lottery. Really disappointing as I was probably looking forward to this race most of all. More fuel for next year.

Seek the Peak – July 16
Distance: 16km
Previous time: 2h 45min (2009), 2h 17min (2010)
2011 goal: 2hr
Notes: In 2009 this was the first race I ever ran (with no training). Super fun race from Ambleside to the peak of Grouse.
Result: 1:50:59 – 34/149 Males, 8 / 36 Age group

I was aiming for a sub-two hour time and somehow managed to get it handily. The weather was rainy, very very rainy. I continue to improve and surprise myself with results. My time up the grind was a new PR of 45 minutes, and was great because that’s the only time I’ve done the grind this year. Not sure what else to say about this one.

5 Peaks Trail: Mt. Seymour – Aug 6
Distance: 11.7km
Previous time: 1hr 35min
2011 goal:  1hr 05min
Notes: In 2010 this was my first ever trail race. Should be able to shave 30 min off that time.
Result: 55:10 – 20/90 Males, 3/15 Age Group

My first age group placing! This race was was postponed by 2 weeks because of the snowpack still up on Seymour and the course had to be shortened down to 8km. It was no walk in the park though. The amount of snow that was still on even the revised route made things interesting. The lakes up on the course, that last year were nice blue water surrounded by green grass were, this year, still frozen and surrounded by the white stuff.

Overall, I had an ok race but felt I could have done better. About halfway through the race I decided eating 3 tacos AND pasta the night before the race was probably a poor choice. KidSport North Shore, who I volunteer with, had a table up at the event to raise some awareness for what we do, which was really cool.

The series results for the first two 5 Peaks races are posted and I’m in second place with 22 points (but well behind the leader of our age group who has beat me HANDILY in every race so far and has 30 points). After this race he should be at 45 and me at 35. If I can take second for the series in my age group, I’ll be really happy with that for this being my first year of ‘serious’ running. Whistler is next and it sounds like a fun course!

5 Peaks Trail: Whistler – Aug 20
Distance: 10.6km
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: n/a
Result: 1:15:29 – 18/ 125 Males, 7/ 18 Age group

A persistant snow-pack up on Whistler forced this race to be moved over the Blackcomb. It was another gorgeous day for a 5 Peaks race. The course was spectacular, with awesome views throughout – just not much of a chance to enjoy them!

There were clear skies and it was hot, even at the 6,000 ft of elevation at the start line. Being in Whistler, and this race offering prize money, I was expecting a larger field than normal and was not expecting a strong placing. However, I managed 18/125 of the men which was a big surprise.

The trail was great. Some out-and-back but it didn’t seem to cause much challenge in passing the oncoming traffic. Some stretches of snow but not too bad, and one very technical section. The course was TOUGH, and about 8km I was gassed and left walking up most of the hills. I kept expecting to get passed by other racers but it never seemed to happen. I love these races so I’m glad to just to be able to run them, but an 18th overall finish was great for me.

Vancouver Triathlon – Sep 5
Distance: Sprint or Olympic
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: To get a taste of an Olympic distance triathlon
Notes: Depending on how the North Shore tri goes in May, I may only do a Sprint distance or nothing at all. This race is tentative.

Did not register

Coho – Sep 11
Distance: 14km
Previous time: 1hr 05min
2011 goal: 1hr
Notes: Easiest of the runs I plan to do. Enjoyed this course a lot last year. Sub 1-hour would be sweet.
Result: 1:01:52, 4/17 age group – 34/453 overall (incl. women)

Perfect weather for a race along the seawall. I improved by about 4 minutes over last year but fell short of my goal (gasp!). Wasn’t too surprised given I hardly ran in the weeks leading up to this race. Really would have liked to snuck in under 1 hour – next year I guess. Pace of 4:25 was my fastest ever for a race.

5 Peaks: Buntzen Lake – Sep 24
Distance: 15.5km
Previous time: 1hr 28min*
2011 goal: 1hr 30min
Notes: *Course was altered and significantly flatter than it was supposed to be due to flooding of the lake. Hope to be able to do near the same time this year on the harder course.
Result: 1:17:53 – 17/76 males, 3 /8 age group

The final 5 Peaks of the season. It was picture-perfect weather up at Buntzen. The course was the same as last year and I managed a 10 minute improvement so I was really happy about that. Managed to place in my age group again which was great, and finished the enduro series 2nd overall in my age group. Really looking forward to this series of races next year, they are always so much fun.

Okanagan Half Marathon – Oct 9
Distance: 21.1km (Possibly will do the 42.2)
Previous time: 2hr 08min (2009), 1hr 41min (2010)
2011 goal: 1hr 30min
Notes: I’ve done this race 2 years in a row so it’s a good benchmark of improvement on my half-marathon distance. May have the urge to run a full marathon so we’ll see. In 2009 I did this race with zero training and bad shoes and killed my back/knee/ankle. With a year of running under my belt was able to have a way faster time in 2010. Hope to keep that improvement going in 2011. Not sure if 1:30 is too ambitious though.
Result: 1:37:15 – 56/472 Mens, 12/84 Age group

My goal at the start of the season was 1:30 for this. After the 5 peaks races ended my training really stopped, and I never actually followed any half-marathon training plan which I would have needed to do to reach that time. I went into this race having run just once in the 10 days prior to the race. I was also in Kelowna visiting family and had a few beers the night before the race and ate a big red-meat dinner which I’m sure did me no favors. In short, I really didn’t put what I needed to into this to have a crazy time like 1:30. Still, I set a new PR for the half, so I can’t complain about that!

Race day conditions were perfect. Nice and cool and sunny.

Hallow’s Eve Trail – Oct 22
Distance: 21.1km
Previous time: 2h 10min
2011 goal: 2hr
Notes: This is a super fun train run. Last year I was going to dress up but decided not to at the last second. Got to the start line to find everyone in awesome Halloween costumes and felt lame for not dressing up.
Result: 2:08:01 – 8/13 Age group

Same deal as the Okanagan half – I was severely undertrained going into this race. I had probably put in 4 runs total in the 3 or 4 weeks leading up to this race, one of those being the Okanagan half itself. I didn’t push myself on this one, which may be a first for me in a race. This is a super fun race and I had my Mario costume on which added to it. The costume made carrying gels a new challenge (no pockets) and I also ran this without liquid and relied solely on the aid stations. I just went out to enjoy this one, but still managed to shave a few minutes off last year’s time.

I also think this will be my last race of the year. I had planned on running Phanton in a few weeks, but my body (and I think my motivation level) needs a break.  

Phantom Trail – Nov 13
Distance: 24km
Previous time: n/a
2011 goal: n/a
Notes:  Last race of the year, I’ll probably be winding things down and won’t have any time goals for this.

So we’ll see. Will I be able to do every race? Probably not. Will I reach every one on my goals? Probably not. But I sure am stoked to give it my best shot!

This post is one in a series about my personal running; training and racing. For other posts like this, click here.