Canmore Spring Thaw

Charging down the TransCanada highway to Canmore at 8:30 in the morning, wondering what kind of weather hell is up ahead. The mountains are cloaked in a grey amorphous mass, looking very ominous. But no need to worry. By the time I passed the Exshaw exit, much of the cloud had cleared out of the valley and just a few great gobs of grey were clinging to the surrounding peaks.

It was chilly this morning at the Nordic Centre in Canmore. At 9:30 it was a mere -2C, but the sun was out and things were looking pretty good. After getting my racing kit, and hanging out in the Day Lodge watching the construction, it began to warm up nicely, although by race time it was still only 2C. But no breeze, which makes a big difference.

This is a smaller race, with only about 500 runners. There was talk after about setting the limit at 450, just because of space considerations - narrow trails and parking, and a place for the post run festivities.

I started well back in the pack, reasoning that having every one in front of me would keep me from going too fast out of the start. Even so, it was hard not to be impatient.

There was nice little climb from the start, past the parking lot. Then a nice drop from there to the Spray Lakes Road. Then a long climb of about 40 metres over about 1.2 km or so. That was interesting, as I could feel it in the calves and started to worry about stamina.

Over the top at the two km marker, a quick drop of about 40 metres, and a nice long level run to the three km marker, just before crossing the south end of the reservoir by the power station. But then a steep climb on a muddy goat trail through the bush, with lots of up and down spots on pretty uneven gravel and mud. Could have been a real ankle breaker. One guy in front of me almost did what I feared most doing in that stretch, and that was tripping over a rock or tree root, and falling flat on my face. Lucky for him, he recovered. It wasn't the nicest surface on which to do a face plant.

This part of the trail paralleled an overflow dike, and at about 4.4 km, we had to cross it and head back to the south end of the reservoir. The crossing was a bit perilous. The sides of the dike were steep and muddy, and it was a scramble to get through. Best thing to do was to just charge down and up, and avoid the lineup taking the slow climb down.

Here was something really cool: there were little signs along this part of the trail, pointing to the various peaks surrounding the valley. Nice touch, especially with all the spectacular scenery.

Back at the reservoir, we turned a hairpin and headed north again. The 5 km marker was right there as was a water station. For me that was a turning point of sorts. Cup of water and I found my speed. I started passing a fair number of runners who I had up to then been pacing. Only one charged past me near the finish line.

The climb up from the Spray Lakes Road to the parking lot was not nearly as challenging as it looked, and from the top I turned it on a bit all the way to the end. I think the timer at the line was about 46:20 or so. I forgot to stop the timer on my GPS for about three minutes after crossing. Enough time to find a cup of Gatorade to chug.

This was a really fun race, and it turned out to be a beautiful day for it, too. Next time I gotta take a camera.

Today's run:
Distance: 8.06 km. Time: 49:16. Speed: 9.8 kph. (from my GPS. I'll double check against my official time when they get it posted. I'm pretty sure I was over 10 kph)

Weather: Partly cloudy and 2C, with just a slight breeze.

For sure wanna do this one again next year.