#sq50

Saturday I attempted Squamish50, and DNF’d. This was such a crazy experience. From getting lost, damn pink ribbons! 😜To twisting my left ankle on a loose rock. I think my ankle is fine, just very tender. My bestie @peachiev wanted to try this super dooper technical course with numerous uphills, 😂 and invited me along. So I jumped in with no doubt. I don’t regret it, these types of experiences hit me the hardest, not only bc of the humbling experience but bc it pushes my limits and gives me the opportunity to over analyze and plan better for next time! We are going back... unfortunately, I am somewhat out of a few races to allow my ankle to heal. In addition, I realized I am worse than I thought and need to back off a few events for now. Never easy to let go, def going to take it a little (just a little) easier. On an awesome note 📝 I spent some needed time with my bestie. It has been awhile since we spent time together, just enjoying the present. McDonald’s after DNFing was pretty f’ng awesome 😂 plus our awesome shenanigan fun in Canada 🇨🇦 Can’t wait for next year! 💕 Thank you for letting me tag along 😘😍💕🙌🏾 #ultrarunning #ultra #running #sq50 #squamish50 #50miler #dnf #shenanigan #besties #whatarefriendsfor (at Squamish, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1aO3vSgEL5/?igshid=v5m8b1p3h5f4

Ready or not here we come! #SQ50 #besties #shenanigans #shenaniganfun #britishcolumbia #vancouver #canada #squamish #bibpickup #running #trailrunning #trail #trails #whatclimbing #werunning #50miler (at Squamish, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1QA_tFAF0C/?igshid=ex6xrojlb24q

It’s #medalmonday ........ So let’s here it friends. I want to know what medals you all earned this past weekend. . . . Mine is not from the past weekend but instead from the one before when I successfully completed one of the hardest #ultramarathons of my life, the #sq50 (#Squamish 50/50). For those not familiar with this race, you #run 50 miles the first day, assent somewhere around 11,500-12,000k feet and descent somewhere around what feels like 20,000k. You then wake up and run a 50k (30 miles) the very next day with another 8,500 vertical feet of climbing and who knows the decent but it’s a lot more. The trails are in some ancient rain forest in #britishcolumbia and the entire race you feel like T-Rex 🦖 is going to come out and eat you at any point in time. At some points, you almost want that to happen 🤣 This race will test your physical and mental limits like no other around. The good news is, when you finish, you get this fancy medal on day 1, this fancy hat on day 2, and both days you get a hug from one of the kindest, most badass, epic humans on this earth, @garyrobbins .... To date, this, along with my @spartanrace #deathrace finishers bib are my two proudest finishes. There’s just something special about finishing something that seems so impossible on paper. . . . So now it’s your turn to share a story. Tell me about your medals and your proudest race finishes. Shout it out loud you badass, because you so freaking deserve it 👊🏻💪🏻 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm-4JtegIlf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=110hxq8vcemha

In a world that seems so full of hate these days, find and surround yourself with the ones the believe in you, support your dreams, and do the crazy right by your side. 📸taken the morning of day 2 right before the 50k start of the #sq50 (Squamish 50/50) (at Alice Lake Provincial Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm17oRRA_If/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1va4mackar19k

14 hours is a long time to do anything (Ch. 10) . 14:11 – mile 51 . Pure elation. I genuinely felt Gary meant it when he said he was super proud of me. I’ve volunteered at a couple of CMTS races where we briefly chatted about Barkley, video games, and the spelling & correct pronunciation of my name. . But as I caught my breath and noticed the smiles from familiar faces and strangers alike, I thanked Gary for putting on another great race and for his training tips during the seminar I attended. He congratulated me once again and moved to hug the guy I passed two blocks back, a minute and a half after I finished. . A warm hug from Carissa (behind every good man is a great woman!) who had my chair all ready for me, a high-five and finish line pic from Jennifer, and congratulatory smiles from Sarah. . Alanna and Colin came by to also welcome me to the finish with a congrats. I asked Colin how long it took for him to finish and he was pleased to say just over 11 hours. . It was the only time all day I nearly puked. 17:00 . Carissa and I returned to the finish line to congratulate Rosie who came in with just less than an hour to spare. As darkness fell for runners, headlamps in the distance sparked cheers from the few remaining folks waiting for loved ones pushing to finish under the 17 hour cut-off. . At the 16:59 mark, a couple of lights appeared in the distance and a couple came in just as the clock ticked to 17:00. They would officially finish as we cheered them in and started packing up our stuff. I couldn’t make out their faces though I remember seeing their shadows and how extremely excited they were to finish. . I later checked the results page and noticed that it was Simon and Erica, the Filipino couple from the start of the race. I smiled when I saw the online results as I wondered how their day had went and now I wish I would’ve walked up and congratulated them as the final finishers. . Maybe I’ll see them when I decide to sign up for that ultra at Mount Pinatubo and we can reminisce about this race. . 📷 by Jen . #letsgo #enjoyeverystep #runblog #sq50 #squamish50 #run #runfam #trail #trailrunning #trailrunner #ultra (at Squamish 50)

14 hours is a long time to do anything (Ch. 7) . 9:36 – 36 mi . An hour from Quest, I became bothered by a twinge in my left foot. “Of course”, I thought, my body is protesting the choice I made to move forward and telling me it wasn’t a good idea. . Occasionally while I pushing off, I would feel something ‘light up’ in the arch area. I immediately thought it was some sort of stress fracture and wondered if this was going to be what stopped me. . I slowed down considerably trying different ways of moving forward to avoid the pain. I’d end up compensating by putting more weight on my right side and pushing off less with each step from my left. . More than a few runners passed me and as I heard, “Alain?” I turned to see Linda, looking comfortable, casually running a slightly inclined part of the Climb Trail. I mentioned the foot thing and that I’d be ok. She wished me all the best and didn’t miss a beat as she rounded the switchback and out of sight. . Without any rush, I continued feeling sorry for myself up to the top of Angry Midget and wondered if I’d break my foot going down the dry and dusty trail. . To my surprise, descending didn’t lead to any pain and I actually ended up catching a couple of bodies that passed me on Climb Trail. Except for Linda. There was no catching her and I’m sure she sped up if only just slightly to keep it that way. At least that’s the story I put in my head at the time. . I exited the trailhead and onto the gravel road 500m from the Garibaldi AS. . 10:55 – mile 39 . Leaving Garibaldi AS, I put the foot pain out of my mind since it only seemed to bother me going uphill. With a little bit of purpose, I picked up my pace descending Down Another Man’s Gold and down STP, familiar & runnable trails. I was counting down the miles not only to Farside, but now to the finish with the pendulum swinging to feeling better after a shitty hour previously. . 📷by Brian McCurdy . #letsgo #enjoyeverystep #sq50 #myfirst50miler #run #runfam #ultrarunning #trailrunning #runblog #runitfast #runsteepgethigh #runaddict #runstagram #instarunners #wearetherunners #pnwbc #explorebc (at Squamish 50)

14 hours is a long time to do anything (Ch. 6) . 8:20 – mile 33 . I was greeted with a warm welcome coming into Quest. Seeing a large cheering crowd was encouraging and telling me that I wasn’t at the back of the pack. I caught Carissa’s smile and she clapped while leading me to my chair under some shade. Waiting for Rosie not far behind, Alley and Jenny also helped with aid and encouragement. . I knew I wasn’t all there. I was questioning my ability to get through the toughest part of the course as tired as I was. . My legs were felt done having matched the longest distance they’ve ever gone. The chair slowly sucked me in minute-by-minute, and the bottoms of my feet were begging for relief. I nearly forgot that I needed to refuel and get going again. . Carissa gave me a plate of food and asked if I wanted to change clothes. I declined at first but I think I was just trying to be polite. All three then figured a gear change might be what the doctor ordered. . Like a well-oiled pit crew, Alley grabbed a clean singlet and Carissa grabbed my back-up shoes & a pair of socks from my drop bag. Jenny pulled off my Fresh Foams while I saved her from fainting by pulling off the socks myself, knocking over a cup of coke as my inner thigh cramped up. No that wasn’t a broken blister, puke, or #2 accident, Mel. . I changed into clean gear and still seeing the glazed look on my face, Alley brought me back to reality reminding me of Climb Trail ahead and to eat all the food. I took a deep breath and nodded in even though I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. I kissed Carissa, told her I’d see her at the finish line in a few hours, stood up and made my way to the Quest AS exit. . To wake me up, Jenny cooled me down with a cold sponge on the back of my neck and a second one up & down my arms. I would put this technique to good use while helping out at Farside (Farther side?) on Sunday. . I put on my Canadian-flag Buff which I like to proudly wear crossing finish lines. A few more chips and before I knew it, I was on my own again headin' up the road to Climb Trail. . #letsgo #enjoyeverystep #sq50 #ultrarunning #trailrunning #runblog #runfam #trail#running (at Squamish 50)

14 hours is a long time to do anything (Ch. 5) . 4:00 – mile 17 . I was pumped coming into Corners the first time. Eric, Linda, Curtis, and Elaine from Van Run Co greeted runners coming out of the flowing downhill trail looking to stock up with drop bags at the ready. I remained on course nutrition-wise taking a Gu gel every 40 minutes, every third one having some caffeine, while also putting down a Clif bar every 90 along with some Gu Chews and beef jerky. . I refilled food supplies from my drop bag that Sean hooked me up with and filled one flask with Nuun and the other with just water. Took a couple more minutes to help myself to some chips, coke, oranges, and bananas from the AS table of delights, clipped back into hydration vest, and continued on down the flowing trail eventually meeting-up to where the faster runners crossed the slower ones just starting the loop. . 4:13 – mile 18 . It’s here where I heard “Alain!” as Colin came around the corner and noticed me about to start the climb. “Shaun is right behind me!” I gave him a half-ass smile and said “Nice! Go get it!” wishing I were directly behind them both instead of now realizing I were about an hour back. I had also just kicked a big rock into someone’s Achilles and was already feeling a bit bad about that. Altogether it took a bit of the wind out of my sails and I felt like walking trail that I could’ve easily run. . 4:32 – mile 20 . I met Ali from Bellingham when she passed me on one of the climbs during the loop between the Corners aid stations. I think she noticed my head down and moving slowly up and commented, “Are we there yet?” I smiled and said, “20 more minutes” fully knowing that in 20 minutes we’d still be nowhere near there. . We'd rubber band out way through the ups and downs, and though I got ahead before the second Corners stop, she'd eventually pass me up Galactic. . 5:30 - mile 24 . I left Corners a second time, aided and encouraged by Sean, and walked up the gravel road to the Scheisse trailhead. . 📷 by Sean . #letsgo #enjoyeverystep #run #runfam #trail #trailrunning #runblog #sq50 #squamish50 #trailrunning #ultrarunning #runblog #myfirst50miler #runstagram (at Squamish 50)