5 Peaks – Mount Seymour

I was really really nervous leading into this race. It was my first time tackling a 5 peaks course and I knew that the mountain course was going to be hilly and that it was going to be tough. True to “pre-race form” I spent the week before the race psyching myself out, convinced I’d be too slow, that I wouldn’t be able to tackle the hills, everyone else would be an elite runner and I’d be miles behind.

Finally it was race day and time to head up the mountain. Since this one was local I didn’t have to get up at 5:00 am to head to Whistler – that was a bonus. I’d also picked up my race package the night before so I didn’t have to be there until about 8:15.

Arrived at the mountain at 8:15 and got in line to pay for parking. As I was waiting I scoped out the runners and, of course, decided they all looked faster then me. Then I hit the bathrooms and headed over to the race area to get ready. There were a ton of people, music, booths with stuff, tons of stuff going on. Finally they called for the elite racers to line up for the race start. I looked over and Devin was standing ready to go at the front. Went over to wish him luck and then it was time to get in line.

Made the mistake of seeding too far back. I was convinced that I’d be slow so I seeded in the 4th wave. Devin seemed to think that was too far back and in the end he was right (he’s almost always right). The race started and off we went, around the corner and almost immediately down the first hill. The trail was more technical then I thought it would be (and WAY more technical then the Whistler Valley trail). Tons of rocks, pretty steep, you really had to watch your footing. A guy in front of me went down with a sprained ankle and was out of the race. We kept going and the downhill felt pretty good. I passed a few people, was passed by a few. Before long the trail came out at the road and we were heading down to the next trail. I remembered driving up the hill past the section of road and was starting to get nervous about the giant hill I knew was coming. We turned back into the woods and were on the trail. It was flat for a few minutes and then we were into the climb. Surprisingly the climb felt really good! I was so busy concentrating on where to put my feet and not tripping over a rock that I didn’t have time to think about the pain of the hill climb. This was where the seeding became an issue. A lot of people stopped to walk/hike the hill and the trail was so narrow it was impossible to get around them. A few times it would widen and I’d pass a couple of people but it bottlenecked a lot. It didn’t take too long to hit the top of the hill and then it was into the flats for awhile. I loved the trail, loved the challenge of it. It was fantastic. I knew we must be getting close to the end so I tried to push it a little to get past a bit more of the crowd – at this point it felt like I’d been on the course forever. Finally we were out of the trees and there was a gravel hill in front of us and I could see the lodge at the top. That last hill almost killed me – it was REALLY tough, but it didn’t take long and we were crossing the finish line.

In the end it felt pretty good BUT I didn’t have the same runners high that I usually have after a race. I think that as partly because it was hard to get in a rhythm when people kept stopping to walk. That was too bad, I would have liked to have pushed it a little more. Next time I’ll focus more!

Stuck around to watch the enduro course finishers. I was regretting slightly not having done the long course. I felt pretty good, pretty energetic after the short course and I think that adding another 5K and more hills would have been tough but doable. Devin finished well – 3rd overall – if I can train myself to run that fast I’ll be exceptionally happy.

It was a great way to spend the morning – I’m looking forward to the next race!