Bust a Gut!

Lynn and Lisa post race...they don't look tired at all! Should have done the half marathon...

Way to go Team ELM! A whole crew of ELM participants were rippin up the trails at last Sundays Gutbuster Trail Run in Nanaimo's Westwood Lake. Congrats to Lynn, Lisa, Kathy, Pascale, Andrea, Leo, Scott, and...who am I missing?! Check out the race times online @ www.gutbustertrailrun.com

The 8.6k course was very kind with mere hills and no crazy mountains to scale. Of course, the climbs were still hard work and the course designer managed to get us on 2 summits in the short course! There was a fantastic mix of terrain including soft packed single track, technical stretches with big logs to climb up and over and rocky outcrops to grip to on the way up and down. More than a few of us were crushed 4/5s through the race when we came to a logging road thinking we were on the home stretch..."Pace yourself! 2 more BIG climbs ahead!"...what??? Well, those helpful volunteers weren't fibbing after all. 2 BIG climbs later we were finally on the last steep descent leading back towards the lake and race central. A short sprint along the laketrail took us home and we all finished by running past the cheering crowd at the finish. Way to Go!!!! Yummy post race goodies and a dip in the crazy warm Westwood Lake made for the perfect finish to a good hard workout. Racing is the best form of speedwork out there! I must say entering more races this year has prepared me better physically and mentally for the demands of such high intensity efforts.

The word on the trail is trail racing is FUN! Everyone agreed that yes, it was hard, but man it was FUN and they are looking forward to next years race series! But you don't have to wait that long to race in the trails...the annual Perseverance Trail Run is coming to Cumberland this fall on October 28th, 2007! Go the the elm website for details... http://www.elmhealth.com/PerseveranceTrailRun.html


Lynn, Kathy and Me pre-race...

Me, Lynn, Lisa and Kathy Post Race!

Hasta luego...
S