The first 5Peaks race of the season is history!

By my standards I did very well. Total run was 15 km for the Enduro class, which is the class I ran. The Sport class was half that, or 1 lap versus 2 laps for the Enduro. The weather was spectacular (sunny and warm with no mosquitoes), and the entire course was sheltered from a strong wind which plagued the start line. The fresh green leaves were just beginning to open on the aspen and balsam poplars. Although I did not see much today, there are loons on the lake as well as all kinds of waterfowl, mule deer, and a lot of other wildlife. There is a really nice section with pristine and perfect white birch. The trails were nice and dry with a little mud only in two places which were at the bottom of hills and easily avoided.

I was very worried. I did not sleep much last night. Got up at 6 AM this morning, had coffee on the road. I had to leave early because Marilyn was a volunteer 5Peaks type person and had to be there to help them out. Last night I got a call from three of my friends who wanted to know where they could bike in Devon. They wanted the paved bike paths so I agreed to guide them and we went about 13 km. At one point I slowed down and removed my right foot from my toe clip and came to a complete stop while waiting for them to catch up. Unfortunately, when I stopped I leaned too much to the left and once you tip over the wrong way with your foot caught in a toe clip, there’s nothing you can do but bite the asphalt. So I banged up my elbow and knee pretty good.

That’s partly why I was worried about the race. I hoped I could finish because if I didn’t finish that would mean I was injured somehow. I went for a couple warm up jogs, testing my popping knee and wondering if I could do this. Before the race my heart rate was through the roof and I couldn’t breathe. After a while I calmed down a bit.

Well to keep a long story short, I believe I came in 4th from the last in about 1 hour and 50 minutes. OK, I just checked the official time was 1:49:36. Not only did I beat my time from Devon last year, but I did it on a course .75 km longer and it is also apparently the toughest course of the year (for the Northern Alberta Series). So I am very happy.

5Peaks was — as always — a pleasure to run and very well organized. They had a very hard time because they set up the booths and registration tables at the end of a lake and they were blasted by the wind all day. The wind kept blowing away the equipment and all the paraphernalia associated with the race yet they managed to cope with it.

Now I have to finish the rest of my day which involves doing the Mother’s Day thing in Edmonton this afternoon. So I will post more about this race (by editing this post) later once I have some results in.

All in all, a wonderful day and I am extremely happy with my results. My next 5Peaks race is also an Enduro of 14 km and it is in Devon on June 16th.