What a strange winter! I normally do a big trip abroad over the holidays, usually involving trekking and a bit of altitude. But this year I spent the holidays in Toronto nursing a bum knee where it was unseasonably mild, and then tried to make the most of what little snow we had back in Vancouver.
In late-December, I had managed to posthole through a tree well on a run to Kennedy Falls, which caused a strain and possibly a very minor tear to my MCL according to my physio. It felt okay to run on flatter terrain, but hurt to walk or extend my leg, and I had to stay off very technical terrain for a few weeks and cut back my training volume significantly.
The good news is that I was still able to skate ski without any pain at all, which allowed me to take a 3-day camp lead by fellow Flight Crew athlete Munny at Whistler Olympic Park. In total, I was only able to get in 5 days on skis throughout January before the snow disappeared for good.
My knee was feeling better by early February, so I was finally able to get in a few good runs and start doing some training on the Diez Vista 50k course. I resumed doing my speed work, along with some strength training (although not as much as I should be).
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- Big cedar en route to Kennedy Falls.
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- Kennedy Falls.
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- Powder day on the skinny skis.
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- Biathlon training at WOP.
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- Group run to Norvan Falls.
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- Group run with Fraser Street Run Club.
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- Beauty day on Mt. Seymour.
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- Above the clouds on Dilly Dally.
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- Where’s the snow?
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- View from Diez Vista trail.
I’m excited to have recently become a Hillsound Equipment ambassador, although the lack of snow made for a short season on the trail crampons! Adam and I had fun doing a presentation at MEC on our run on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, giving us a chance to relive the adventure.
Final Stats for December:
- Distance Run: 137 km (down from 329 km)
- Time-on-Feet: 20 hrs (down from 44 hrs)
- Ascent: 4,725 m (down from 10,689 m)
Final Stats for January:
- Distance Run: 132 km
- Time-on-Feet: 18 hrs
- Ascent: 4,312 m
Final Stats for February:
- Distance Run: 222 km
- Time-on-Feet: 31 hrs
- Ascent: 8,561 m
Starting in March, I’ll be leading a new trail running clinic for North Shore Athletics which will keep me busy in between training for Diez Vista 50k coming up quickly in April, my first race of the season.
I’ve got a couple of other little pains here and there I’ve been working through as well, including a lack of mobility in my right ankle (not the same ankle I hurt last year) which is most likely a compensation injury from my knee. So while I will be targeting Diez Vista, I’m also trying to keep things in perspective as it’s going to be a big season.
Check out more photos from the trails on my Instagram account!