tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23821084.post-72693384621188584662009-06-23T19:43:00.012-06:002009-06-24T09:35:36.970-06:00<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">If you don't live here (Calgary), I am sorry and I don't mean to rub this in your face or anything, but check out the pictures from my Saturday training run with my buddy Bryon.<br /></div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190271-798046.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190271-798036.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bryon Howard and me at the 9100 feet summit of Mount Allen in Kananaskis</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It has been a long-time goal of mine to complete an ultramarathon, and I am very happy that I was able to accomplish my goal 2 weeks ago by finishing the Northface endurance challenge 50 miler ultramarathon which was an amazing experience.<br /><br />After the race, my knees were swollen, achillies tendons very sore, my quads were trashed and my toes are black and blue and I will lose 3 toe nails. A long, restful recovery is required and I am happy and satisfied that I have achieved my goal.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NOT!!!</span><br /><br />Instead, I went and signed up for a <span style="font-weight: bold;">90 MILE (146 km) ultramarathon called the </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.sinister7.com/">Sinister 7</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>in Crowsnest pass in 9 days from now! YA!!!! Bring it on!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190320-798103.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190320-798089.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">me running (&amp; lost) following an animal trail trail</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The Sinister 7 solo race starts at 7:00 am on Saturday morning, July 4. The <strong>146km course</strong> will take me through the most rugged, remote and beautiful terrain in Alberta's stunning Rocky Mountains. With over <strong>5,050m (15,150 feet) of elevation gain</strong> across the course, this race will punish those who are not prepared. <p class="pbox">The <strong>Sinister 7</strong> is open to solo runners or teams of up to seven and racers have 27 hours to complete the grueling event. The course is split into seven stages, each featuring a geographic and historic highlight of the area. The race's name is inspired by the treacherous Seven Sisters Mountain that looms over much of the course. </p></div> </div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190276-798158.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190276-798142.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">my buddy Bryon sitting at the summit</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I actually think I can leverage the Northface race and use it as a training stage for the Sinister - the two races are about 4 weeks apart. I spent the last 2 week in active recovery from Northface, and I felt like I could put in a really tough 2 day training weekend before tapering for the Sinister race. So, last weekend my buddy Bryon and I headed out to Kananaskis to fast hike / climb Mount Allan. Wow! What a hike. It was straight up for 2 hours to the 9000 foot summit. the views were breathtaking!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190262-798345.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190262-798331.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">There was a bit of climbing, but not much, and not very technical</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">ON the way back down, we got off track and ended up on the other side of the wrong ridge and followed a mountain goat trail to a water fall where a heard of big horn sheep were crossing. That was a really incredible sight. We ended up making our way back over the ridge by following goat trails and eventually made it back to our hiking trail. It was a really cool day.<br /></div> </div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190288-750203.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190288-750190.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div>Then on Sunday I climbed Moose Mountain to the fire lookout station at the top. It took me 4.5 hours for the 30 km round trip and 8000 feet of elevation gain/lost. Now it's rest and recovery time and I feel ready to tackle the Sinister.<br /><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190293-750384.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190293-750372.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div>I was looking at the solo race results from last years Sinister, and the winner completed the race in a blazing 17 hours! the next finisher was almost 21 hours, then 22 hrs, 23 hrs and the remaining finishers were all over 24 hours. 50% of the starters were able to finish the race within the cut-off time of 27 hours. YIKES! I think my goal will be to just be able to finish this in less than 27 hours. This is going to be TOUGH.<br /><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190291-750453.JPG"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/P6190291-750435.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bryon Howard</span><br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------<br /><div style="text-align: left;">In other news, we are still making progress on WiTHiN - the expedition boat. The portlight and hatch holes have been cut-out and we have started preparing the edges which is a very time-consuming job! Each of the cut-out holes have to be de-cored, filled with micro, then reinforced with 20 layers of unidirectional carbon running around the perimeter of the hole with a final layer of bidirectional carbon to cap it off.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/dad19d984a3c234d-750150.jpg"><img src="http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/uploaded_images/dad19d984a3c234d-750134.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><br /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23821084-7269338462118858466?l=www.adventuresofgreg.com%2FHPB%2FHPBmain.html' alt='' /></div>Adventures of Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13034776472994551697noreply@blogger.com1