Missing The Fools

The morning started with a loud knocking waking me out of deep sleep. "Oh shoot", I thought, "that is my running buddy... why did I not hear my alarm?" Still half asleep I glanced at my watch (but being half blind I didn't realize that it was way too early for my running partner to be knocking at my door), jumped out of bed, raced downstairs, opened the house door, set off the alarm, had trouble resetting it without my glasses...only to realize that my friend was not there.

The knocking came from a pesky Flicker woodpecker, attacking the side of our house. Yawn. Love the Flickers, but cannot tolerate them destroying our house...so out comes the sling shot (no worries - I have a poor aim, but it helps me get a pebble high enough to scare the bird away). Flicker taken care of I realize I still have an hour before my friend is scheduled to pick me up to meet the fools somewhere on the BP.

I reach Cheryl, who has been crewing through the night, via cell phone. She reports that the Fools are a bit ahead of schedule and she is expecting them around 8:00 at Lynn Canyon. Perfect.

We arrive at Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge well before 8:00. No sign of Cheryl, so I call her up again to find out that she is at the Pipleline Bridge...ahem. I thought the Fools decided last night to stay on the BP opposed to the KK course. Still not quite awake, I ask Cheryl if they had run downriver on the BP. Cheryl, of course is absolutely sleep deprived and I shouldn't ask her any questions at this point. Figure, we'll meet the Fools if we follow the BP upstream.

We set of down the stairs into Lynn Canyon. The morning is crisp and dry. Too cold for the seaon, but at least it's not raining. After a few minutes of running, it occurs to me that if the Fools were at the Pipeline Bridge, they probably were following the KK course. Oops. I call Cheryl again to confirm. Cheryl is ready for bed. I offer her to take a rest at our house before driving home, but she feels awake enough to drive... She confirms that the Fools crossed the Pipeline Bridge...

We turn around and hope to still be able to meet the runners. Hey, I even run up those stairs to the Suspension Bridge. On the other side of the Suspension Bridge, I make the mistake and turn left right away...instead of a right and then a left. We end up following the trail to the 30ft pool until I realize we are wrong...by which time it's too late to turn around and still meet the Fools. Sorry guys. I shall try again later today.

Double Black Diamond

Not much new to report about my running training these days. Hip is still inflammed, so my runs have been rather half hearted and unmotivated. Luckily there is lots and lots of fresh pow in the mountains behind my house... Now, I ski like I run, slow and careful ;-) BUT, yesterday saw me hurtling down my first, second and third Double Black Diamond ski run at Grouse Mountain. Yippeh! Thanks to EJ Powderhound for the hours of training and ActionJackson for pushing me off the ledge!

Tomorrow, the little Jackson's, OverTheHill Jackson (aka Action Jackson), the Montgomery's and this Turtlepace are snowshoeing up to Elphin Shelter in Garibaldi Provincial Park to spend the night. My only concern is the access road to the trail head (seems every year we almost go over the cliff) and how our language student from Japan will survive his first back country trip ever.

Hopefully, running form will return soon.

Shirt Packing Party

Your Chief Executive FA and the past membership chair, Michele, relaxing after 3h of stuffing the 2008 Club Fat Ass no-stink, environmentally friendly, long-sleeve shirts into envelopes for mailing. Thanks to Vanessa for handling the design and sewing of the new Club Fat Ass Wear line. Thanks to Jess for helping with the artwork and the Club Fat Ass Wear labels (so cute) . Thanks Michele for keeping me on track during the packaging.

The red shirt I am holding is the men's shirt, Michele is holding the purple women's shirt. Emails have been sent out to the proud new owners of the shirts either with pick-up instructions or to warn you that the shirts are on their way to your mail box...

Now, I need the poster children to pose. I hear Vanessa and John and Danielle and Ryne are going to strut their stuff.

Back on the Trails

Today is the last day to register for Kneeknacker. If you have been sitting on the fence and contemplating... better get your FA into gear...

Considering that I have barely run since early December - January 1 being the notable exception ;-) - I have decided not to register this year. It is still on my horizon for another year, but I have to be realistic in my goals...and I am just to slow. I had been hoping to use the last 2 month building some ground speed, but a hip injury didn't allow me to run.

I am back (sort of) though. Ran a couple of times for 20 min and as it often goes, it seems to be that moving is helping the hip - or maybe it's just the time. Today will be my first time back in the trails of Capilano Canyon. I have been missing these trails so much...watching Carlos' movie and reading about Rhonda's and Cheryl's plans to run the Juan de Fuca Trail run almost hurt ;-) At least there was good skiing to be had and the hip didn't hurt while on the boards.

Time to put the trail shoes on...

Avalanche and Backcountry Safety

With the recent and repeated avalanche warnings and the high number of avalanche fatalities this year, our family has been talking about taking a back country safety course and avalanche safety training.

Both Action Jackson and I are drawn to back country skiing. As of yet, we do not have any equipment, but it is on our radar... Craigslist watch out! I have a low risk tolerance and like to be prepared...

Can anybody recommend a good general back country safety course and avalanche training in Vancouver/North Vancouver? Are there members out there who would be willing to organize something for other Fat Asses? I have just started my research and not looked at any hands on courses...I got as far as finding a great resource by the Canadian Avalance Centre. Check out http://access.jibc.bc.ca/avalancheFirstResponse/index.htm

Seymour Snowshoe Sleepover

As a child, one of my winter projects always was to built an igloo. Lacking enough snow, I never succeeded beyond lining up a couple of layers of snow bricks. The closest I got was one year, when an unusual 70cm dump of fresh powdery snow caused the government to proclaim an emergency situation and called in the troops. Schools were closed and I was digging a snowcave. It never got big enough to actually crawl into, but I was able to light a candle in it and delighted in my miniature cave.

Fast forward almost 40 years (gasp). One of my goals for this winter was to be up on a local mountain peak at sunrise. Friday afternoon the weather forecast looked good for the weekend and since I am still nursing an injured hip and didn't feel foolish enough to join the fun at the Pure Foolishness I put the word out to join me for an early morning snowshoe hike to Dog Mountain. Over dinner the plan morphed into taking the family up for a winter camping expedition...Ugh, was I seriously considering packing up the gear and the troops in order to avoid to rise at 5:00am on Sunday?



Saturday morning was spent packing up the gear and food for 2 little and two big winter campers. We set out on the trail around 2:30pm. Doug and Troy joined us for the afternoon. The sun was trying to peak through the clouds and there was a 20cm layer of fresh snow - on top of the 4m plus that have already accumulated this winter. Conditions looked good and we were excited.

The hike to Dog Mtn. is long enough to get you warmed up, but not long enough to get you tired. We found a protected little spot with easterly views and rigged up the tent. While it is not a monster tent, it is still pretty big and I wouldn't classify it as a backpacking tent. Luckily, Ean's knapsack is huge and the old man has practised carrying concrete bricks all summer long...

While I set up the interior decorations, complete with thermo rests and sleeping bags, the kids and Ean started to dig a snowcave into a huge snowbank. By the time dinner was ready, the cave could hold 2 of us easily. Macaroni and cheese never tasted so good. And the chicken noodle soup was very warming.

After dinner the skies started to clear and we could make out the city lights below us. While the boys continued to dig, the girls took some photos and got very cold.
By the time bed time rolled around, the cave was big enough to hold all four and featured a little bench and a cooking platform. Wow, maybe I finally get my childhood snowcave.

The night was cold. Very cold. EJ's matt had deflated due to a puncture hole. Anything slightly moist froze solid. We all snuggled up close. Two Fat Asses and two little tushes on 3 thermo rests. It seemed I was working all night to keep warm. Maybe next time (what am I thinking) we should come early and dig a cave big enough to sleep in. If constructed properly, it stays fairly warm in a snow cave.

The sun rose just after 8:00am and we happily greeted the new day. The sky was lighly overcast, so we didn't get to see an amazing sparkling sunrise, but it was special non the less. I cooked breakfast in the cave and pondered how I would like to sleep under a couple of meters of snow....

By noon we were back at the car (we had left a note in it indicating that we were out for the night - so that CFA member and North Shore Search and Rescue volunteer Allan wouldn't have to come out looking for us). It was a challenging outing, not quite painfree, but it left that good feeling of accomplishment!

Photos are here.

Post 50km Recovery

Running 50km on New Years Day with limited training was probably not the smartest thing I've done in a while, but definitely very exhilarating and motivating.

I've taken some time off to recover and get the inflammation in my hip under control that has been plaguing me since early December. Instead of running, I've been snowshoe hiking, working out at the gym, took a Yoga class (the first one in years left me sore in muscles I didn't even know I had) and skied a bit.

Attempts to finally get out and hit the trails again have been very reluctant, but it is time to get serious! Next goal on my 2008 list is a spring road marathon - I have some aspirations for time/PB, which means I need to get on the road, rather than plod along on the trails...maybe that's why my motivation is lacking ;-) Time to dig up that training schedule.