Diet Vista Hike

Today Neil, Chris and I hiked the Diez Vista trail from Buntzen Lake. Yesterday Neil ran the Chuckanutt 50km run in Bellingham USA. As usual the event was wet and muddy! He did well and came in around the time he is consistent with for that event. I was just proud he went and did it considering the horrendous weather conditions. The weather yesterday on the coast was very stormy - heavy rain with thunder storms. The weather forecast predicted a few hours of dryness today which we managed to take advantage of and get out on the trails!  We took it nice and easy which is still a great work out due to the big climbs and rough terrain. We were out there for just over 4 hours and covered about 25 km which speaks to the roughness of the terrain. 

There are several views from the trail as you climb from Buntzen Lake. There were quite a few people on the trail today. We came upon a couple of ladies who had found themselves going around in circles and retracing their steps. Somehow they missed how the trail continues past one of the rocky view points. We suggested they stay with us and we would get them on their way in the direction they were hoping to go. Mission accomplished! 

Here's Chris and I enjoying a peanut butter sandwich once the major climbing was over. It always amazes me how the descent on this trail is so rough and technical. Glad I had the snack to keep my mind and feet coordinated for the descent. It felt good once we were down and on the Lake Shore Trail. Neil and I are both signed up for the 50km Diez Vista trail race coming up in a few weeks which includes this section of the trail. I'm looking forward to a few more outings in the area before the event. 

We met up with Kendall for coffee once we were done and her parting words were "you all need a bath". Thanks Neil and Chris for a good outing today. 

Happy Trails! 

Dirty Duo 50km

Here's Craig and I finishing the Dirty Duo 52 km (course was re-routed and a little longer) than the original 50 km of previous years

It was a beautiful spring day. A little cold at 7:30 am for the early start. There was a small group of us for the early start. I was feeling a little apprehensive until I heard that one of my fellow runners had just returned from Sierra Leon (and completed his quarantine time) working with people living and dying from Ebola. Now that put the entire under taking into perspective! 

We were about to spend the day on the trails, in nice spring weather! How thankful I should be that I can come out and play. I had a bit of a rough start as we ended up running through a cloud of smoke from a close by burning fire of some sort. It made my breathing difficult. Craig and I were running together and he was very patient. He was looking for a good long run and time on his feet both of which I promised him I could deliver! 

After an hour or so I started to settle into the run. I found my airways opened up and I was doing much better. I even had some firsts like actually passing a runner on "Ned's Atomic Dust Bin". It is a downhill mountain bike trail that is super rough and technical. In this event you actually do it 2x's! Yah Ned's! 

Craig was stopping for a few minutes at the aid stations chatting to friends and then would run to catch up to me. After a couple of hours he said "Princess you are speeding up" - he was working hard to catch up to me! Better stay with me partner I replied! 

In this event you have to complete a 25km route and then repeat it for the last 25km's. Repeating anything is not fun but on Saturday Craig and I seemed to embrace the day and we tackled the second loop no problem. I think on some sections I was much stronger on the second loop. My feet started to cramp so I took some electrolyte tablets and guzzled the electrolyte drink at the aid stations and it took care of the cramping. 

The Dirty Duo has many events going on simultaneously. There are mountain bikes on the route and various distances of running. We had a very peaceful journey and didn't see too many people along the way. Perhaps because we took the early start and that we were near the back of the pack. It made for a very relaxing day on the trails. We were proud to complete our first 50 km event of 2015 feeling good and even made plans for dinner that evening where we had some good discussions about the upcoming Vancouver 100 in June. 

Longer days are here with the clocks turning this weekend. Looking forward to more midweek outings! 

Thank-you Heather and the Mountain Madness crew for putting on a great event. I really appreciated the excellent marking of the course especially with multiple events and having different bike and running routes. Thank-you Craig, hope the journey was as much fun for you as it was for me!