So, apparently I only ran about 20miles. I'm not sure how to convert this to a reasonable distance, because a large portion of the run was very technical, how much further it makes the run I have no idea, nor does it really matter. But with a total time of 4 hours 51mins that makes for about 14.5 mins per mile, aka dirt slow! What an awesome run though.
So I ended up starting up the BCMC trail which more or less parallels the famous Grouse Grind trail but has much less stair climbing and more rock/root climbing. Needless to say my first mile took about 35minutes, not the best way to warm up legs. At this point it wasn't raining very hard so it wasn't as unpleasant as it could have been. Close to the top I took a small wrong turn and ended up running up the lower Ski run up the snow but that was exactly parallel to the trail, once I reached Mtn Hwy, or the road that ends at the Chalet I headed down the road for a bout 5mins but soon ran into a young black bear(3.5k mark), which incidentally we had run into last Sunday. Evidently this was its eating area and was unfazed by my presence, despite talking and ringing my bear(dinner) bell at it for 10minutes. It started to rain pretty good at this point and I was getting cold so I decided to concede the road and I climbed up the snow bank and cut through the bush across the small creek between Seymour and Fromme. I was a little annoyed that the bear couldn't share the road but in all fairness I was interrupting its snack time, in its home, and cutting through the bush is fairly easy when you are on 4-5ft of snow.
From here I ran the dirt road for about 3k, then headed into the Mtn Bike trails which skirt Mt. Fromme and continued around the base of the Mtn up the west side of Lynn valley for a couple of kilometers until you reach a big'ol cedar tree about 4 meters across(2hr point). This section of trail is really gorgeous despite the fact it was absolutely dumping rain at this point(which is why I didn't take a photo). Before heading down for the creek crossing I bagged up my phone and earphones just incase I fell into the drink, and off I went down to Lynn Creek. Compared to last week the creek was less shockingly cold, I think because I was sporting calf sleeves, however the after effects were the same; feeling like you are running on stumps then a strange very warm feeling in the feet and lower legs. The creek actually looked really cool with the pouring rain and mist hanging over, taking a minute wasn't really an option however! The creek woke me up a bit which was good because it was a bit of a slog to the base of the Lynn Peak trail, the rain was really coming down in Lynn valley, the trail was a muddy mess and was drenched head to toe and barely warm enough. I didn't want to go into my bag and put more clothes on because I was hoping to save the dry clothes for the bus ride home from deep cove. I figured I would start warming up more as I started the climb up Lynn Peak. Taking the upper trail along Lynn creek isn't exactly a walk in the park either so despite my legs feeling pretty decent, it was mentally quite tiring.
One of the reasons I ended up deciding not to go all the way up Seymour is because I severely underestimated the technical difficulty of the Lynn Peak climb. I had done this trail as a hike once before but didn't remember how difficult it was. It isn't extremely steep at 16.2%, decently long at 731m elevation gain, but the real issue was that the first 1/3 or more was essentially a rock garden, with everything from pebbles to large rocks, and the rest was very 'rooty' and combined with torrential rain it was challenging. Fortunately my legs actually felt much better than they did on the climb up Grouse, now that they were warmed up, but my thoughts were on the descent and how mentally sharp I would have to be not to slip and split a knee open. I reached the peak look-out at exactly 3 hours and took a couple of minutes to take in the great view of east Vancouver and Burnaby as the cloud cover was just above me and the clouds seemed to be breaking down the Seymour valley. After gathering myself I started the descent, eating a fruit leather to help with the mental alertness and kept a close eye on all the rocks and roots on the way down. Due to the level of technicality on the trail there was a lot of jumping and stomping around so my legs were pretty beat up by the time I reached the bottom, which made the well groomed path a welcome change from the trail-head down to the Twin-Bridges crossing of the Seymour River and to the turn off linking to the Powerline trail. Through this easy and mostly downhill section it was nice to be able to open up a bit and stretch the legs out so I ended up getting going pretty quick for once on this run!
Although I was moving well over the gravel path section I was also getting mentally prepared for the climb up Seymour. I had decided I would only go up the Powerline trail and turn off at Mushroom but I knew the climb would be tough anyway. To add to the difficulty my stomach had begun to turn because I was not being diligent enough with my water intake. Something about being rained on seems to make me think less about taking on water internally. Due to the lack of water the fruit leathers were not being digested properly and starting to give me problems. Fortunately as I descended to the Seymour the sun came out and it immediately turned into a beautiful day. The climb was fairly uneventful just about a 300m grind, and knowing it was the last major climb made it mentally easier than the others. I am also familiar with the rest of the route so I felt as though I was on the home stretch. I had one more stop however at 4h15 because I ran into an irresistible salmon berry patch. Although they were still a bit tart, after 4+ hours of running they were heaven, and the brief stop actually settled my stomach for a little while. From there I cruised in to deep cove feeling pretty good energy-wise despite not being able to eat much in the last hour due to stomach problems.
Reaching Deep Cove in the sun was a welcome sight and I promptly removed my shoes and calf sleeves and headed into the ocean to soak my legs, but after seeing some kids swim out to the dock I couldn't resist diving in myself. Unfortunately a cloud came and foiled my ability to dry off or warm up afterward. Critical mistake! After a paper towel dry, and getting changed I was pretty much shivering uncontrollably so I bought a large tea and drank it before it could even steep. Anyway, I survived in the end and am super stoked about having a pretty epic run.
Lessons learned:
1) Do some kind of warm up before a 850m climb at 30%
2) Do not expect a grazing bear to get out of your way
3) Make-shift calf-sleeves (from butchered compression socks) work great. My longest and most technical run yet and my calves felt great after(aka not terrible). Also good insulation for creek crossings.
4) Do not rely on thirst to cue hydrating when its pouring rain
5) Always stop for fresh berries
6) No matter how inviting the Ocean is, take a quick look at the cloud cover.
Looking forward to the next long run, I think I will pick a faster route next time so I can cover a few more miles and get some turnover.
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