Some call me crazy or stupid or just nuts, I like to think I'm ambitious. I originally was planning on spending Saturday with my cousin from Fiji but since she cut she trip short and was leaving earlier, I did a last minute sign up for Buckin Hell. For those who don't know that that is, it's a mountainous trail race that happens on some of the most difficult trails on Mt Seymour with a total elevation gain and loss of 2650 meters.
Was it a smart move? We'll let's find out.
On Tuesday night after signing up, I couldn't sleep that night all excited about the race and when I finally did fall asleep, I had some nightmares. One of which I was on the ground at the start line still getting my supplies ready. For some reason I needed to pack snowshoes, a couple boxes of gels and whatever else the race package included. No wonder I was struggling to get ready, the only thing missing was the kitchen sink. While still packing by bag, Gary was counting down to the start. That's when I woke up in a panic, not a good sign at all.
The following morning I felt sluggish, but never mind that I had committed to doing Mountain Hwy to Grouse and back. I lucked out, Tamara was driving out from my neck of the woods so we were able to carpool, both of us excited that we got to use the carpool lane. It's the little things that matter. I wasn't planning on telling anyone what I did the night before but since she told me about her weekend plans to run White River, I had to tell someone. The excitement was killing me.
We got to the bottom of Mountain Hwy by 6 where Gareth was waiting for us, we hiked up to the water fountain and waited around for Sean, supposedly he was there, Gareth saw him drive up. So we hike up some more, but knowing that he must be somewhere we when back near the fountain we went back. Sure enough he was there, he though he would be smart and park near the fountain but since the gate would be locked soon he had to go move it.
I had a time goal in mind, 2:15 up and 1:15 down, for a total time of 3:30. This year I've been timing myself from when I leave the car to when I get back to the car no matter what happens. Not sure how much time we wasted looking for Sean but Tamara, Gareth and I were at the Grouse lodge just over 2 hours, quicker then expected. Sean only did out the the gravel pit and back. We all refueled up and trotted downhill with the usual jog/walk downhill until about 5k from the car where I started falling apart. At least I was able to maintain a solid walking pace all the way to the car and put in a time of 3:46, about 25k with 870ish meters of elevation gain. This probably was my fastest time for this sort of terrain.
Got home around 10:30, showered and made myself a BBQ chicken warp with lots of hummus and spinach, too lazy to cut up onions but otherwise a very satisfying meal. Still buzzing from the evening I was not able to fall asleep and it was another night with minimal sleep.
We got to the bottom of Mountain Hwy by 6 where Gareth was waiting for us, we hiked up to the water fountain and waited around for Sean, supposedly he was there, Gareth saw him drive up. So we hike up some more, but knowing that he must be somewhere we when back near the fountain we went back. Sure enough he was there, he though he would be smart and park near the fountain but since the gate would be locked soon he had to go move it.
I had a time goal in mind, 2:15 up and 1:15 down, for a total time of 3:30. This year I've been timing myself from when I leave the car to when I get back to the car no matter what happens. Not sure how much time we wasted looking for Sean but Tamara, Gareth and I were at the Grouse lodge just over 2 hours, quicker then expected. Sean only did out the the gravel pit and back. We all refueled up and trotted downhill with the usual jog/walk downhill until about 5k from the car where I started falling apart. At least I was able to maintain a solid walking pace all the way to the car and put in a time of 3:46, about 25k with 870ish meters of elevation gain. This probably was my fastest time for this sort of terrain.
Got home around 10:30, showered and made myself a BBQ chicken warp with lots of hummus and spinach, too lazy to cut up onions but otherwise a very satisfying meal. Still buzzing from the evening I was not able to fall asleep and it was another night with minimal sleep.
Fast forward to Saturday morning.
Another night of not good sleep but a little better then the last 3 nights, I was really worried. I packed everything I needed the night before so all I needed to do was to eat some food, get ready and leave. I ended up with some last minute leftover from last night from Ming n Sings. I got hungry after my proper dinner of a baked potato and spinach salad. It was an awesome breakfast. I marinated myself in coconut oil, I figured if I cougar or bear gets a hold of me I should at least me tasty and headed downstairs to leave.
Now there was a problem the morning of the race, my front passenger tire has a slow leak, so I wasted some time pumping up the tire, good morning warm up. If you didn't know I use a standard bicycle pump. It seemed like a bad start to the day, I was at least smart that I picked up my bib on Thursday just in case I would be running late.
I was able to get to the start line about 30 minutes before the start, so nothing to worry about. I had a plan with a finish time between 12 to 12.5 hours and you know about plans, they rarely go as expected.
My plan was to start slow and stay at the back of the pack, I was the last person in and out of the first aid station but I was way ahead of schedule, like 20 minutes ahead.
By the time I hit the second and third aid station I was ahead of a couple people and playing leap frog with about 4 others, Katie, Kelsey, Murray & Bassim. We kept this up all the way up to the fifth aid station. Still way ahead of schedule, I was in at around the 5 to 5.5 hour mark. At this point I really slowed down for the out and back to Brockton Point, thinking I was going to burn myself out.
When I finally got to the turn around point, I give the post a nice long hug, thanked the volunteer for spending the day up there and started my decent. Just minutes after I was heading down, I saw Holly, first time since I passed her somewhere on lower Seymour. I told her she was moments away from the turn around.
After seeing Holly, my brain started shutting down and basically said, not matter how slow we go, we'll be faster then my target time and let my legs do all the work. I started bombing downhill knowing it's not good for me and lucky for me I caught up to another racer within minutes, Kathleen, she was running her first ultra distance. She was wanted to let me pass but I told her I'd just follow.
I got into the the aid station at 33k with her and I did a change of socks and started chit chatting with the volunteers. I was still so ahead of schedule that I just didn't care anymore. Before I even left the aid station, Holly caught up to me and I was able to use her to pace me through parameter trail. But once the trail opened up where I could get some speed without hurting myself. I ended up passing Murray and Kathleen, and bombed all the way to the next aid station.
Actually Murray and his speed demon wife will be running Squamish 50/50 so I might have a friend the whole time. His pace was awesome and I could probably play leap frog with him all day.
From there it was a quick sprint down to the top of Seymour Grind where I yelled out, "Hot Dog Man!!" There was this guy dressed up as a hot dog at the top of Seymour Grind all day. He put a smile on my face every time, I saw him a total of 4 times. Thank you Hot Dog Man for your awesome attitude.
I finally slowed down again because I was heading into Severed Dick. I've never taken this trail and was scared, so I protected myself by going slow. I didn't want to know how this trail got it's name so I figured slow was good.
Once I got to the last aid station I spent some time chat chitting with the volunteers before starting my climb up Old Buck. This was the first time in the whole race I had any problems. I started to push way too heard in the first couple minutes and felt like throwing up, but I quickly slowed down to let my food digest. In that time, I learned Holly was determined to catch up to me. She did at the top where Old Buck and Baden Powell meet. I decided to stick with her until Quarry Rock, where I slowly turned on the magic.
Until now I really was treating this more like a 100miler. Never really pushing the pace. I slowly speed up until I got to the finial downhill where I just kept getting faster. I meet Jennifer working as a volunteer at the trail head, I said hello and told her thanks for coming out. Once I could hear the music at the finish line I was going at an all out sprint, I high-fived Gary while in a mid air jump at the finish line. I don't think I've ever finished so strong. Finishing time 10 hours 18 minutes. If someone took a picture of my finish I would love to see it.
If I can sum up the race, I had a blast and got a huge confident boost for Squamish but I'm not any less worried about the challenge ahead of me.
This race would not have been so awesome if it wasn't for the volunteers that helped out, it was a pleasure to talk to you all. All the participants that were on the trial, it was fun to get to know the few of you that I did and thanks for letting me use you as pacers. A special shout out to Hot Dog Man, you made my day.
So let's recap what when right and wrong so I can make sure Squamish is just as fun.
What went right:
What when wrong or should of done:
To everyone running Squamish, I look forward to seeing you there.Another night of not good sleep but a little better then the last 3 nights, I was really worried. I packed everything I needed the night before so all I needed to do was to eat some food, get ready and leave. I ended up with some last minute leftover from last night from Ming n Sings. I got hungry after my proper dinner of a baked potato and spinach salad. It was an awesome breakfast. I marinated myself in coconut oil, I figured if I cougar or bear gets a hold of me I should at least me tasty and headed downstairs to leave.
 |
| Part of Dinner Number 1 |
Now there was a problem the morning of the race, my front passenger tire has a slow leak, so I wasted some time pumping up the tire, good morning warm up. If you didn't know I use a standard bicycle pump. It seemed like a bad start to the day, I was at least smart that I picked up my bib on Thursday just in case I would be running late.
I was able to get to the start line about 30 minutes before the start, so nothing to worry about. I had a plan with a finish time between 12 to 12.5 hours and you know about plans, they rarely go as expected.
My plan was to start slow and stay at the back of the pack, I was the last person in and out of the first aid station but I was way ahead of schedule, like 20 minutes ahead.
By the time I hit the second and third aid station I was ahead of a couple people and playing leap frog with about 4 others, Katie, Kelsey, Murray & Bassim. We kept this up all the way up to the fifth aid station. Still way ahead of schedule, I was in at around the 5 to 5.5 hour mark. At this point I really slowed down for the out and back to Brockton Point, thinking I was going to burn myself out.
When I finally got to the turn around point, I give the post a nice long hug, thanked the volunteer for spending the day up there and started my decent. Just minutes after I was heading down, I saw Holly, first time since I passed her somewhere on lower Seymour. I told her she was moments away from the turn around.
 |
| The Turnaround Point |
 |
| The Lovely Volunteer that Battled Rain, Wind & Sun |
 |
| The View Up Top |
 |
| Heading Down Past the Chair Lift |
 |
| Hello Vancouver |
After seeing Holly, my brain started shutting down and basically said, not matter how slow we go, we'll be faster then my target time and let my legs do all the work. I started bombing downhill knowing it's not good for me and lucky for me I caught up to another racer within minutes, Kathleen, she was running her first ultra distance. She was wanted to let me pass but I told her I'd just follow.
I got into the the aid station at 33k with her and I did a change of socks and started chit chatting with the volunteers. I was still so ahead of schedule that I just didn't care anymore. Before I even left the aid station, Holly caught up to me and I was able to use her to pace me through parameter trail. But once the trail opened up where I could get some speed without hurting myself. I ended up passing Murray and Kathleen, and bombed all the way to the next aid station.
Actually Murray and his speed demon wife will be running Squamish 50/50 so I might have a friend the whole time. His pace was awesome and I could probably play leap frog with him all day.
From there it was a quick sprint down to the top of Seymour Grind where I yelled out, "Hot Dog Man!!" There was this guy dressed up as a hot dog at the top of Seymour Grind all day. He put a smile on my face every time, I saw him a total of 4 times. Thank you Hot Dog Man for your awesome attitude.
I finally slowed down again because I was heading into Severed Dick. I've never taken this trail and was scared, so I protected myself by going slow. I didn't want to know how this trail got it's name so I figured slow was good.
Once I got to the last aid station I spent some time chat chitting with the volunteers before starting my climb up Old Buck. This was the first time in the whole race I had any problems. I started to push way too heard in the first couple minutes and felt like throwing up, but I quickly slowed down to let my food digest. In that time, I learned Holly was determined to catch up to me. She did at the top where Old Buck and Baden Powell meet. I decided to stick with her until Quarry Rock, where I slowly turned on the magic.
Until now I really was treating this more like a 100miler. Never really pushing the pace. I slowly speed up until I got to the finial downhill where I just kept getting faster. I meet Jennifer working as a volunteer at the trail head, I said hello and told her thanks for coming out. Once I could hear the music at the finish line I was going at an all out sprint, I high-fived Gary while in a mid air jump at the finish line. I don't think I've ever finished so strong. Finishing time 10 hours 18 minutes. If someone took a picture of my finish I would love to see it.
 | |
| My Reward at the Finish |
If I can sum up the race, I had a blast and got a huge confident boost for Squamish but I'm not any less worried about the challenge ahead of me.
This race would not have been so awesome if it wasn't for the volunteers that helped out, it was a pleasure to talk to you all. All the participants that were on the trial, it was fun to get to know the few of you that I did and thanks for letting me use you as pacers. A special shout out to Hot Dog Man, you made my day.
So let's recap what when right and wrong so I can make sure Squamish is just as fun.
What went right:
- just about everything
- no food issues, except for one minor niggle
- awesome attitude, never once was I upset or frustrated
- no issues with feet or legs really dying, always change my socks every 25-35k, it's like you have brand new feet
- masking tape on nipples, only hurts when you take the tape off unlike bloody nipples, where you scream and cry for a long time
- eating to hunger and drinking to thirst
- not worrying about pace or time for the first 2-3 hours
- spraying water on my hot head
What when wrong or should of done:
- I should of ran with waist pack and handhelds
- A little chafing on low back, didn't even really notice it
- should of kept eating even a little on the home stretch
- after eating slow pace to let food digest
- spent less time in the aid stations
- Figure out if I'm carrying my camera for Squamish
- FIGURE OUT SLEEP ISSUE, probably the most important.
Peace out, Brown Dude in the Forest
