I don’t throw the word “epic” around much but I’ll be using it with liberty in this post. Everything about the Mad Trapper Bushtakah Snowshoe Night Race/I2P Fundraiser was epic…

The drive. The people. The vibe. The deep soft white snow. The field. The last climb. The potato chips. The brownies. The chilli. The conversations. The stories. The grins. The alpaca. The I2P fundraising.

All of these elements can be summed up with one so very 2013 word – epic. Oh and to top it off – it was a good fun night.

With weather that was not favourable to driving but very good for snowshoe running, a hardy group made their way to the Mad Trapper Ark for a very good night of running around in the snow. As usual, Mike set a very challenging course (I actually found this one more difficult than the Hilly Course), my favourite aspects being the downhills and the run through the field. I must say that hill at the end definitely cracked me – but in a good way!

As always these events are really so much more than about the race… Sure we all want to go out and run our hardest and some folks are even aiming for the win – but it seems to me that people are really getting more than just a race from these events. It is about community and support – the chatter in the Ark after the race was all about congratulating one another and really just coming together for some fun. Yes, the winners are acknowledged but the people who get the biggest cheers and attention are those that did the race for the first time.

It is this atmosphere that keeps me coming out. The race last night really felt like a giant “group hug”. Even more so when people generously opened their wallets to bid on auction items to raise money for Impossible 2 Possible (I2P).

So yes, it was an epic night. Good people. Super atmosphere. Excellent community spirit. Lots of smiling faces. (And my favourite potato chips – ripple au gratin…)

(If you’re interested in checking out the course profile and all of my fascinating Strava statistics, check out my Facebook page.)

The next group hug… I mean Mad Trapper Snowshoe Race is on February 22. Make sure you come out – there will be lots of good stuff (brownies, potato chips, running, smiling, huffing and puffing) – all on an epic level.

Earlier in the week, I mumbled on Facebook about the 2014 Milton Keynes World Cup…. I’ve been thinking about this cyclo-cross race since I first learned of it in late November. This World Cup is a special one – the first World Cup in Great Britain and even more special for me is that it is very close to where my aunt and uncle live.

Somehow a seed was planted in my brain – maybe I should do one last World Cup. After all, my racing ended in 2011 the day before the Koksijde World Cup when I had a rather unfortunate crash. Maybe this race in Milton Keynes would be a fun way to finally wrap a bike racing adventure that started way back in 2007 with some big dreams?

Believe me, I’ve been thinking about this a great deal. At first glance, I was “all in” – sure, I thought, lets go to Milton Keynes and have one last World Cup race – it would be a great way to see my racing friends, visit with my aunt and uncle and it would just be plain old fun. But the more I started to think about it and discuss the race with friends and with Marc, my stomach started to work its way into knots.

Rather than thinking positively of all the things I would have to do to get back into elite racing shape and condition, I started to dread these things. I started to think only of the things I’d have to give up. Was I really committed to make the sacrifices needed to get to the level of fitness and skill I would need to race this race on Nov. 29, 2014? I wasn’t sure. More importantly would I regret not doing the race?

As awesome as it would be to race the World Cup in Milton Keynes, I’ve decided that I’m not going to do it. Today, sitting here in January I honestly can’t get excited about racing at this level again. I remember when I’d watch the elite women race at Catamount and Northampton these past couple of years – I didn’t feel any urges to be out there nor did I feel like I missed the racing. What I do miss is being out on my bike and racing for the heck of it – I miss lining up and just racing. I want to race, but I want to take it down a notch – maybe this is a way of giving myself an “out” or an excuse to not push myself like I used to. I don’t know. What I do know is that when I think of getting ready for elite racing, I think of all the things I’d have to give up and I’m not at this point anymore. When I started this journey, I didn’t feel like I was giving anything up or making sacrifices – I craved these things and loved the process of getting fit, skilled and strong… Now, I’m happy to be out riding and running for the pure heck of it – in a way, I guess I’ve come full circle.

I was not able to attend the Summerstown Snowshoe Race this past Saturday, but thanks to my friend Amanda we have a race and trip report from this rather icy day.

I was asked to write a race report as Vicki was not able to attend the Summerstown race. Since the past year has been a year of 1sts, I thought.. why not!

As it has been discussed, some of the more technical trail was out on the road in getting there. My friends Maude, Renee and I decided that we would try out the 417 and if things got too messy we would turn back. Little did I know that not only did we make the race (just on time, I’m getting to that part of the story), but we had a lot of fun driving down that we passed the exit off the highway. It probably didn’t help that I suggested to mute the damn GPS as it was interrupting our conversations. Thankfully, Renee noticed that something was off and we headed back in the correct direction.

Just as we arrived to the race site, the the clock on my car showed 9:54 and this SOB of a salt truck decided to stop in front of us, and block the car from entering in the driveway! Thankfully with my honking, and one of the volunteers, the freakin’ truck moved. Changing shoes, racing to the start line, we were welcomed with a 10 minute grace period as a few others were running late also. I think we all agreed that our warm-up was the heartbeats of getting ready so fast!

The organizers and volunteers kindly checked us in quickly and we soon settled in nicely and got ready for the race.

The race was fun, challenging and other than the rain at the end, it was beautiful weather. There were many volunteers and people cheering at various parts of the race course. There was some nice rolling hills and some nice hill climbs that reminded me I have some work to do, and there was never a boring moment on the course.  Maude and I were running together until she broke free about halfway in the race and to which I was trying to chase down a fellow competitor. I felt compelled to try and catch up and catch her, but sadly she created a bit more separation which made that difficult. There was even a kind word from the volunteers letting us know that were weren’t far from the finish line.

I think everyone had a great attitude for the whole event. If you have a chance to participate in this event, I would highly take the drive down and join in. The terrain is different than Gatineau Park. More narrow, hard packed and had some technical challenges.  It was also a lot of fun to meet new people and share the fondness in being outdoors. The post brunch with Dave and Lise goes to show why some of us show up to these races. A good workout with great company. You can’t beat that.

Thanks Amanda for this great race report. From everyone I’ve heard from it sounds like it was an epic day in the car and on the snowshoes. Here’s a link to some photos and the report from Spafford Health and Adventure. Congrats to everyone who participated.

Some of you may know that my husband Marc Boudreau has been away for the last three weeks. My favourite guy has been in Belgium racing his cyclo-cross bike. Marc is a guy who loves to race and ride his bike. It truly is his passion and I’m so very proud of everything he has accomplished on two wheels.

It was a tough road and cyclo-cross season for Marc this past year – it is not easy to focus on your training and racing when your wife is sick. But I’m so happy he had his bicycle and his teammates to give him a break from worrying about me. His decision to travel to Belgium this year was a very late one – he didn’t want to leave me unless we were sure I’d stay in a remission.

I’m so proud of Marc. He raced seven races (I think) and had excellent results in each race. It is not easy being called up 51st out of 51 racers and riding your way to 10th place. (Imagine if he could have had a front row start!)

Marc is coming home today and I’m thrilled. While I’m super happy that he has the opportunity to travel to Belgium and race his bike – I find it hard when he is away. But considering all the years that he made sacrifices so I could chase my cyclo-cross dreams, a few weeks alone is really nothing.

Welcome home Marc! I’m so proud of you!

Here are a few photos of Marc from this season’s racing in Belgium: (Many thanks to Romina Tierlinck for the photos.)

Many many thanks to our very good friends Rene and Ann for hosting Marc. Huge thank you to our friends Ignace and Katie for hosting Marc on his last night in Belgium. Big thank yous to our long-time friends for Tim and Jos for the ongoing friendship and open arms. Big thanks to The Cyclery for all their support – these bike racing dreams wouldn’t be possible without this outstanding bicycle shop.

Last year around this time, I was super nervous because I had registered for The Mad Trapper Atlas Snowshoe Race – I stressed over the race and convinced myself I’d be last and everyone there would be uber-athletes… Well, these suspicions were completely way-off – while there were some uber-athletes in attendance, most folks were normal regular put their pants on one-leg-at-a-time people and I had a blast running around in the snow. In fact it was that race that convinced me to attend the Natural Fitness Lab Wednesday night snowshoe runs.

So this year when the dates were announced for The Mad Trapper series, I was in 100% and pre-registered for the three snowshoe races (there was a race earlier in the year but I was away). Everything was running along smoothly until this morning. I woke up this morning with mega-butterflies in my belly. Race jitters and nerves like I haven’t had in a very long time. Weird – I couldn’t figure out why I would be nervous – it wasn’t like I was going to win or that I didn’t know what to expect.

Thanks to the snowshoe running, trail running and skiing, I’ve met some really great people and these friends helped me calm down and remind me that this snowshoe racing is all about fun. The pre-race vibe was typical for a Mad Trapper event – low-key and very chillaxed. We hung out with the dogs, cat and alpacas in the Ark while most people debated what to wear for our impending run in the woods.

Once the race got started it was like old times. The hills that I had blocked from my memory were suddenly back with a vengeance. And the fast fun descents were just as much fun as I remembered them. But one thing was different for me this year. My crazy brain was heckling me big-time. Yes, things like “oh man, I’m so slow. I’m never going to get fit again” and “I don’t know if I can make it” were being said. But luckily I’ve been down this trail before and I think I kind of knew old crazy brain would show up…

So I reminded myself that the only way I was going to get any better was to keep doing these events and to top it off, regardless of what level of fitness I achieve – I’ll always want more. And with these two lessons firmly planted in my somewhat-less crazy brain, I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I took it steady on the uphills (i.e. I walked) and on the semi-flats and descents I let my legs turn over as fast as I could.

My legs ached. I had a sharp pain under my right rib cage. I was breathing as if I was having an asthma attack. But I was smiling. So thanks to The Mad Trapper for the lessons out there today. I needed this time in the woods to push the crazy brain to the background and to remember that is ultimately all about having fun and being out there.