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.

It has taken me a couple of days to recover from Sunday’s exuberant activities, and for this I am thankful. On Sunday I participated in the Natural Fitness Lab Winter Challenge – this was a morning of skate skiing, classic skiing and snowshoe running, organized by Dave and Lise. When I first saw this event posted on Facebook, I was wary – very wary.

It sounded like a day for the super skiers and snowshoe runners. Surely not a day for the-always-offsetting skiers and kind-of-walking-not-really-running snowshoers… Boy, was I wrong. On Dave and Lise’s urging and convincing that the event was all about participation and bringing people together, I signed up (but not without recruiting a few friends as well).

What a a fun morning. I got to ski in a location I’d never skied at before. Yes, Lac Philippe is worth the drive (even from Barrhaven). And even better, I got to ski with my good friend and I got to hang out with the super fast folks for a bit as well. The trail was excellent and I am now committed to returning so I can make it all the way to Lusk Cabin. In between the skate skiing and snowshoe running, the gang went out for a classic ski, but since I only have skate skis, I was lucky to hang out with another good pal. We chatted up a storm and got ourselves ready for an hour of snowshoe running. This final leg was quite excellent – a great trail (#73) with some crazy ups and super fun downs – a great hour of running/walking/shuffling/smiling.

At the end of it all, my legs were trashed, my lungs were burning, and I was smiling. There are a few stand-outs from the morning: great people, excellent location, and good weather – but most of all what stood-out was the reality that no one cared if you were fast, slow or in-between – what mattered was that you were out doing it.

This is just the spirit and vibe that I’ll be carrying with me into the New Year. Thanks Dave and Lise for getting a great gang of folks together for a fun morning of fresh air and smiling.

So that pity party thing – just wanted to let you know – it is over and done with.  I realized (thanks in no small part to you) that I have no reason to feel defeated and sorry for myself. In fact, I’ve got it pretty darn good. The new medicine (Remicade) is working (knock on wood). In fact I’m a “normal” person these days – I can eat pretty much whatever I want, I can go out without stressing over bathroom access, and I generally feel darn good.

These past few weeks have been really good. I’ve been getting in a lot of time on my snowshoes and have started to get the groove with the ski lessons. I haven’t been skiing as much as I would like but there is lots of time to get out on the skis. The Monday night ski lessons are going well – I even went out last week in the crazy cold… (Though I’ll never go out in that kind of cold again….) I find that getting out for one hour walks/hikes on the snowshoes in the deep snow is a darn good work-out – breaking trail and walking through deep snow is a good way to get in a good work-out without feeling super exhausted. I did try running in the knee deep snow… can’t do this yet (makes me super impressed with the guys who are running at the front of the snowshoe group on Wednesday nights…).

As you can tell, I’m a big fan of snowshoes. I even signed up for the next three Mad Trapper Snowshoe Races. Now don’t worry – I’m not going to get all stressed out and crazy brain before these. These are really just participation events for me – the fast runners take off and then it is like a Wednesday night snowshoe. So if you’re thinking of signing up and coming out to the Mad Trapper races but are feeling nervous – don’t be. (Besides I’ll be there so you can always run slowly with me!)

That’s really the news from here. Just plugging along and I’ve finally got my head on straight. Maybe it’s the time of the year but I’ve finally realized that I need to be thankful for how I am feeling right now and not fret over how I used to feel when out running or skiing (because honestly even then I always wanted to be faster…).

I hope you’re ready for the holidays and are going to spend it with your loved ones. I’ll be hanging out with my family – my favourite guy won’t be there (he’s in Belgium racing his cyclo-cross bike). Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing over the holidays, be sure to take a moment to sit down and take a deep breath and enjoy all that you have. Merry Christmas and if we don’t chat before the New Year – Happy New Year!