Monday, July 7, 2008

Seek the Peak

Yesterday Nicole and I took part in Seek the Peak. It is a 16km route that starts from Ambleside at the seawall in West Vancouver and ends at the chalet at the top of Grouse Mountain after gaining 1000m of elevation.

The event can be run as a relay and there are 4 different stages. We decided to register solo and run the whole thing together. The first stage was only 3.5km, which we ran. When we got to stage 2, which was 6km, we starting walking more, mostly because it was through the Capilano Canyon, which is so beautiful and we were really enjoying ourselves. I really want to go back and walk around some more. I loved the narrow canyons and deep, clear water.

The third stage started at the base of the Grouse Grind. We finished the grind in 58 minutes, which is our second fastest climb this year so far. It was great! I was wearing my running hat and it really helped to get in the zone and climb. With my head down, the visor blocked out everything that wasn't a step or two away and then all there was to do was to keep marching on.

The clouds were really low and so as we neared the top it started to get misty. It was very refreshing. Once at the top of the grind there was only one more stage to go! We followed a route marked by little pink flags over trails, dirt roads and sometimes uneven grassy areas to the very peak of Grouse mountain and turned around at the Peak Chair. As we headed down we realized we were very close to finishing in under 3 hours and although we hadn't felt the urge to rush and had no time goal, this seemed like a good opportunity. We were almost back and came around the bear area and both grizzlies were right there! But we had no time to stop! It is so cool to see those animals. They are huge. Only had time to glance over our shoulders as we ran through a mucky, uneven meadow and back onto the trail. Just down and around the corner and we crossed the finish line together into the little plaza area at the top. Hooray!

We agreed that this race is at the top of both our lists. The scenery was fantastic, it's a big challenge, you get to see bears, and Grouse Mountain is a fabulous place to be. :) We went inside the chalet and before catching the tram back down to the parking lot we shared a veggie panini and a huge plate of poutine. I was home by one and then barely an hour later Luke and I were out the door and heading to Buntzen Lake for Loranda's birthday. Busy!

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