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Bike with wife photos - snowshoe trail Waterton park

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Bike with wife!

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30km route photos!

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30km route photos!

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30km; 1000m gain

So I set out to accomplish what I had planned at the beginning of this week: I wanted to cover 30km in the mountains with over a 1000m of gain. This route was KILLER! By the end my legs were jello...I could only jog on flats and gentle downhills. I ran two loops that would fly by my house so I could have my own “transition area” and load up on more fuel before I headed out on the second portion of my run. The first loop was on the North side of my home and it consisted of MTB trails, quad routes, and all-purpose trails. It included climbing a DH route that I didn’t know where the start was but since I knew the finish I decided I would climb it during my run route to find the beginning! That is what killed my legs. There were portions of this down-hill course that I needed to scramble to get up. When I got to the top of it I got to fly down the ATV trails that lead up to it and loop back towards my house. The second loop consisted of running to a mountain range south of my house; climbing up the mining roads and then climbing MTB trails. The plan was to climb up to the top of the “school of rock” down-hill mtb trail and then at the midway mark of the down-hill portion take a left and climb to the top of the “sooper trooper” down-hill course and follow that all the way to the bottom of the mountain and run back home. By the time I got to to the top of sooper trooper my knees were trashed. I could barely descend. Anything under 8min/km pace hurt too much so I had to really slow up unless it was a flatter section. When I go to the bottom I had to basically run back home which was hopefully going to be 6km to make the 30km. I ran / walked all the way back to my place and realized I was 2.5km short of my goal so I decided to power-walk up the hill behind my place and then run back down to get over 30km.  Up to the 22km mark I was feeling good. Something agitated my knees though which makes me think I was over-extending when I was descending the “school of rock” course. Something to keep in mind for next time. I am registering in the Grizzly 50k in Canmore, Alberta. It will be my first Ultra and I think the route I just made and survived is a great training run for it!

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Yesterday was my first outing since the weekend in Canmore. My knee was still sore from the hike so I thought mountain biking would be a better option.  It was raining but there were breaks in the clouds so I decided to go for it. I was originally going to do a new route where I combine two routes I have done previously. This was going to be a ride where I measure the distance and elevation to prepare to run it on the weekend.  Halfway through my ride the clouds combined to make a large storm cloud. It started POURING. Then it started HAILING and followed by thunder and lightning. I knew I had to get home so I changed my route and took the quickest route down. I was riding carefully down a section called “pineapple express” and thought I was going to manage my way down while getting pelted with hail. A section of switchbacks came along. I made the first switchback which was a sharp right corner and as soon as I leveled out I was on a steep section that was pure mud. I put my legs down and tried to stabilize but I just slid as if I was skiing into the next switchback. I tried to bail off my bike but I couldn’t do it fast enough. I hit the switchback and flew right through it. I flew over the handle bars and landed on a pile of rocks about 10 ft below the switchback. I knocked the wind out of myself. I moved my right arm first and it was fine. I moved my right leg and it was ok. My left arm was wedged in some rocks and I pulled it out but I could move it. I could already see a bruise forming on my forearm. My left leg I was worried about. My ankle was caught in some rocks and my quad took most of the force. I could move my ankle but I could see it swelled up immediately. Finally I moved my leg and was relieved nothing was broken but just very sore. I got up and started walking my bike down using it as a support the entire way. It took me a long time to get back. Once I got out of the MTB trail I slowly rode my bike down the mining roads and into town and got home. Today I am much better. I iced my leg all night and had a good night’s sleep. The weather is unpredictable in the mountains so BE CAREFUL out there! I am just hoping if I ice and rest all week I can go for a long run this weekend.... I have planned to run the first two legs of Sinister 7 combined for quite some time and have found the routes on Strava. If things have not healed completely I will wait until the following weekend.

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Weekend in Canmore PT 2 Hiking Heart Mountain Heart mountain is a great hike and introduction to scrambling. You can summit and descend in under 3 hours which makes it a good choice if you had a late night previously. The day before there were 3 of us but today we were only 2..... my other friend and colleague decided this type of lifestyle just wasn’t for him and he headed back to the city. I am happy he came but it is doubtful if I organize another outing like this that he will show and that is ok as well. Heart mountain begins on Heart Creek Trail. You follow this trail until you reach a sign across a bridge and you follow the direction pointing east. On the sign it is written by somebody underneath “this way to the scramble” so you know where to go. Once you get to the beginning of the scramble there is another sign indicating this is were things get tricky. Heart Mountain is mostly loose rock, steep hiking, and scrambling (on all fours). It was a lot of fun. My friend Adam loved the sections where you needed to actually climb. You realize how many different ways there are to go up the mountain once you are more comfortable with scrambling. When reading up on the hike online there were a lot of mixed reviews as people said it was WAY too difficult / scary and shouldn’t be called a hike it should only be called a scramble. From what we experienced there are multiple ways up and depending on the route you may not need to scramble at all. There are also ways up from the East and West side of the mountain so perhaps the other side has an easier option. Either way I think if you take your time, have plenty of breaks, and discuss the routes you are going to take up and have agreement it is very doable and fun! Once you summit you hike the ridge and go down the other side for a longer adventure but we did not have time. Will do it again down the road but I still have two more summits to do in Canmore before I start repeating old ones!

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Weekend in Canmore PT 1 I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while. I had arranged to meet up with some friends and colleagues that I used to teach with at a school up north. We met in Canmore as it was right in the middle of where we were all situated now. This weekend’s plan was to introduce these guys to mountain biking and hiking. So rather easy riding for me but I was just happy to have them out here with me! We rode at the Nordic Center and mostly focused on the green loops and a few blue descents. One of our mates was a true “city boy” and could not get over the fact that there was a small possibility of encountering wildlife. He let this ruin his experience. Combined with the lack of any cardio fitness he was fed up and put his bike away after 30 minutes. My other friend however LOVED IT. We rode for an additional 1.5 hours and after we were finished he immediately said he would be doing it again. The seed was planted! The next day was to be a summit hike which will be in another post.

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York Creek Plane Crash Hike This is a really cool hike if you are ever in the Crowsnest Pass. The hike says it is 7.9km both ways but this is actually incorrect. You still need to hike up to the beginning of the trail head which is about 5km up York Creek Road. This hike is on the south side of Coleman. It makes use of all the ATV and snowmobile trails to get there. Once you get to the top you have amazing views of Mt. McLaren and have the option to make that summit as well. The plane crash site follows an additional trail once you are at the base of Mt. McLaren. This hike isn’t very steep. There are many short steep sections but overall its not bad. The length however is what gets you. Please keep this in mind and bring lots of water and snacks. We met a family on our way down that wasn’t even at the “true” trail head yet and it was 3:30 pm. I mentioned they still had 8km of hiking to do both ways but they seemed to not mind. They didn’t have water either and their kids were wearing jeans and sweatshirts and it was almost 30 degrees! What I enjoyed about this hike was that we spent 4.5 hours out in the elements. It gave me a taste of what it would be like to do an event where you are out in the wilderness for up to 12 hours. It is making me excited for next year. I have a friend who just completed his first Ultra 100k and now I am super motivated. Also KUDOS to my sister-in-law. She is visiting from Korea. She has never done a hike like this and handled it like a champion. She also had a blast so I am grateful. I told her she may be the first Korean to see this plane crash site!

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Wedge Mountain Hike Had a pretty good Saturday! Woke up early and met a friend and we went and rode the “school of rock” trail on our bikes. Got back and ate lunch and decided to do this hike that I have been curious about for a while. Wedge mountain is North of Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass. The area has been a victim of excessive off-road vehicles and most of the trails have been washed out. I read about this on the hike descriptions but I also heard it was doable in an hour or so which made it appealing anyways! From the pics you can see you start out on a double-track trail and you climb that for the majority of the hike. There is an actual single-track hiking route but it is almost completely grown in so it is hard to see while climbing up. I ended up taking it on the way down which was interesting. From the top you get a great view of Crowsnest Mountain and the valley. When the double-track reaches around the backside of the mountain it eventually goes to a “traditional” hiking trail with some scrambles towards to the top. The wind was strong which was good because it is HOT.  Glad I got to do TWO activities in one day! I have been having some stomach issues and its preventing me from running..... I blame this 30-day plant-based challenge I am trying. Apart from the stomach issues I feel great. I believe it is because of the excessive amount of fibre required for this diet and the fact I just switched immediately rather then making a more gradual transitions between eating styles. I believe it will clear up. I am hoping to meet up with a local “adventure” group on Monday where they basically make their own routes towards summits and try to run as much as possible so I hope my body figures out how to manage this new diet by then or I am afraid I won’t be able to make it :(

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Had a really good weekend!

This weekend was the sole survivor foot race in Crowsnest pass and I registered and did the 10K. I actually had a really good race I almost did it in under an hour with 300M of climbing! It actually gave me a 10th Place finish. Usually I finish mid pack so I’m pretty happy😀😁

Following the race I headed it out to a campground called Castle Falls and saw an old friend I used to work with overseas and I brought my dog. It was his first camping trip. For whatever reason I didn’t bring a foam mattress or anything so I slept on the gravel in my tent with my dog. We actually had to share a pillow it was pretty hilarious.

Today even though the legs are sore I went for a bike ride. I found the trail Super Trooper which is quite famous in Coleman. The Climb was actually a lot more interesting than other ones it was mostly single track and it had good views the whole way up. The Descent was very flowy there are lots of berms and drops and jumps and right at the end there was a fallen tree that I almost smashed into luckily I slammed on the brakes!

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Had a FANTASTIC weekend! This weekend was the Sole Survivor Foot Race in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. I registered and did the 10k. It was a very fun race based off the mtb trails at Powder Keg Ski Resort. The route had 300 meters of elevation gain with lots of flow. It started with a climb up some switch backs and after 3k there was a route that had a nice down hill. After that it was about a 4k climb to the top of the ski hill over more switchbacks and a few steeps and once you got to the top it was a full on attack to the finish at the bottom of the ski resort! I actually managed to finish 10th overall. I have been having good luck with the trail running lately. I find I am a good climber. Most of my passing was done during the climbs! I guess my big build is good for something?! After the event I went and met a good friend at Castle Falls campground passed Beaver Mines, Alberta. This campground is very remote and BEAUTIFUL. It is on the way to Castle Mountain ski resort. I brought my dog. It was his first camping trip. He did really good! A little over stimulated so he got pretty worn out. I was in such a rush to get out there that I forgot to pack a foam mat to sleep on. My dog and I slept in our tent on gravel as the softer camping spots were all taken. We also shared a pillow. I bet we looked hilarious! Today I went for a mountain bike. I wanted to find the downhill route called “Sooper Trooper” based on the mountain trails in Coleman. I used the trail forks app for my navigation and was able to find it! The climb actually wasn’t that bad (well the route I took anyways there are several ways to get there) and it had some beautiful views. The actual downhill part was a blast. Technical but not to the point where I was scared for my life! I am hoping to find people to ride with at some point but the people here are very experienced so I want to make sure I am either at the caliber of the weekly group ride participants or until I find somebody who is in the same boat as me.  Either way this weekend was totally awesome and I am pumped for the next one!

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Hiking Saskatoon Mountain

It was so hot yesterday that I had to wait all day to go out and do something physical. There is a mountain behind my house called Saskatoon Mountain or sasky Mountain and it is part of the seventh leg of the Sinister Seven Ultra. The trail that the ultra is on is different from the traditional hike so I decided to do the traditional hike at about 7 p.m..

The hike is quite steep for the most part but once you get to the top it’s got some nice trails and some beautiful views. I was using the trailforks app to ensure that I was on the right Trail as some of the hiking trails are marked up with this app not just the mountain bike trails. Near the top the trail on the app goes right and it goes down towards Kananaskis way… This part of the trail had not been used in a long time most of it was filled in it was very thick so I made sure that my bear spray was strapped on and that it was easy to access in case I needed it. Where it Forks right on the app it actually goes straight in real life as well but it was already getting dark so I didn’t want to keep going then be tracking back in the dark.

The hike was so steep it was pretty hard on my calves! I think good training for Mountain running or ultra-running would be doing multiple hikes in one day and making sure your jogging on any of the flats and the descents and power hiking with your hands on your knees going up.

I got a 10K Trail Run next weekend and I’ve done it with my mountain bike. It’s basically a 5-km climb and then a 5km descent over some pretty decent trails!

Oh and that’s part of my 30 day vegan challenge I made chickpea Burgers last night and they turned out okay even though I was missing some ingredients that held them together.

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30 Day Vegan Challenge

My little sister has been a vegan for 10 years. She has also done some body building and fitness training during this span. She is very healthy. She has always asked me to give it a try and now I am on day 2 of her challenge. The reasons I went for this is because I stumbled across a few health articles about how bad meat products are (yes they get you all the amino acids and proteins but they also have a lot of fat and other potential hazards associated with them) All processed meats cause cancer; as well as red meat. Poultry is full of hormones and other junk. Anyways I have been exercising a lot but have not been watching what I have been eating and as a result I haven’t been feeling as good as I feel I should be. I lived in Asia for two years (Korea and China) and during those years I didn’t watch what I ate but the food available was much healthier. There are no microwaveable food. Processed meat and cheese is very hard to find. I mostly ate rice, noodles, and vegetables and SOMETIMES meat but mostly when I went out for a meal because cooking at home just made more sense to use what was available in local markets. During those years I felt quite good overall. I think that I want to feel like that all the time! Here is what I ate yesterday: - Whole grain bagel with peanut butter

- salad with tofu, peanuts, cucumbers, and Italian dressing

- a soy-based patty with another salad. Snack: Triscuits (some are vegan please look online)  Today: - stoked oats (oatmeal mix with flax seeds) with a banana

- a salad similar to yesterdays

For dinner I am planning to make a chickpea burger: I ate this burger a lot during university and I found the recipe to make the patty and it doesn’t seem all that difficult so I am going to give it a try! I am not saying I am going to go completely vegan. But I am going to give this 30 days an honest shot. I miss cheese already. If results are good I am going to keep going with it or severely cut back on my animal based products so I can still have the benefits and fill my cravings when they reach their maximum. Scott Jurek is plant based and he is one of the original ultra runners. Charlie Engle is a vegetarian and he has had some major accomplishments too. There are quite a few ultra runners who are plant-based . 

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Sinister 7 ultra!

I am not running this event. I volunteered and I got to see what a great event this is. There are three hundred soloist runners and they have 30 hours to cover 161 km. Over a short distance that seems like a slow pace but I bet after 15 or 20 hours and that’s a hard Pace to maintain. That’s 5.3 km every hour for 30 hours. Piecewise that would be just over 11 minutes per kilometer. You do want to be going a bit faster than that though because you need time at your Aid stations and you switch shoes and get hydrated and maybe even take a rest.

I went and watched the start this morning. I helped with the Friday registration with The Soloist runners.

I managed to get a pair of new trail running shoes for 50% off. This is the advantage of having big feet sometimes they don’t sell the big shoes and they go on super sale!

I was also given a bag of stoked oats so I’m happy to try those as I’ve heard they’re really good!

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Sinister 7 ultra! I am not running this event. I volunteered and I got to see what a great event this is. There are three hundred soloist runners and they have 30 hours to cover 161 km. Over a short distance that seems like a slow pace but I bet after 15 or 20 hours and that's a hard Pace to maintain. That's 5.3 km every hour for 30 hours. Piecewise that would be just over 11 minutes per kilometer. You do want to be going a bit faster than that though because you need time at your Aid stations and you switch shoes and get hydrated and maybe even take a rest. I went and watched the start this morning. I helped with the Friday registration with The Soloist runners. I managed to get a pair of new trail running shoes for 50% off. This is the advantage of having big feet sometimes they don't sell the big shoes and they go on super sale! I was also given a bag of stoked oats so I'm happy to try those as I've heard they're really good!

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First ride of the summer!

There is some pretty gnarly mountain biking in the Crowsnest pass. We have just moved here finally from Wabasca and this is going to be our home from now on!

I am using an app called trailforks which allows me to see all the trails in the area. It even marks all the trails is either a green blue or black run just like at a ski hill!

After doing a fair bit of climbing I got to go down a run called School of Rock . This run had a lot of technical features they were Bridges drops jumps gaps steeps and berms!

The one thing you do really well with this trail system is they allow a second route to go around all the technical features. I am not comfortable enough on a mountain bike can’t to be hitting any of these crazy things but I’m very appreciative that I can bike around them and admire them!