Racing

Howdy to all and happy holidays! For the first time in a while I finally have a story that I'm happy to share with everyone. Yes, as you can see by the picture, and maybe guess from the title of the post, I've finally gotten back onto the racing scene by propelling myself with only my legs :-) Yup, for the first time since September of 2007, I've RAN in a race. Not only did I run though, I ran hard. I ran to the point that I could barely breathe anymore. That's how hard I ran. And it felt great! Mind you, I wouldn't say that I'm at 100% yet, but it was nice to really open up the tap and see what I could do. Of course, this wasn't just any running race. No siree, this was the first Mad Trapper snowshoe race of the 2008-2009 season, of which there are 4 races, all of which I'm pre-registered for. Feel free to head over to flickr and check out the pictures that I took from the event. None from the race course sadly, but I was a little pre-occupied. In case you have ADD and don't feel like reading my entire post, I came in a very respectable 5th place overall with a time of 1hr12mins. for the 10km course. As a comparison, the last time I ran this same course (in the snow), I had a time of 1hr32mins, and was in 14th! Yup, shaved off 20 minutes!! For the full story, please read on.

Hello my friends, thanks for tuning in for another chapter in the ActiveSteve life story, as laid out before you all on the world wide web. This story is about a fun race that I volunteered for last weekend, the Frontier Adventure Racing season-closing Fall Classic, which was held in the whitewater region of Ontario / Quebec, and more specifically, hosted by Esprit rafting. The race was a 10-14 hour race, and the host site is about 2 hours away from Ottawa. Although I would have preferred to actually race in the event myself, I just didn't have the training under my belt. What's that? Why didn't I say I couldn't due to my knee? Well, you'll just have to read on in order to get the full story, won't you? Before you do that though, have a look through the pictures that I posted up on flickr, and take a peek at the custom map that I made through the course of my volunteering.

I'm baaack. Yup, for all of you folks who have been waiting with bated breath for news of the latest actions of one ActiveSteve, here I go again. You'll note that I'm using the vernacular ActiveSteve rather than current usage (in)ActiveSteve. There's good reason for that, as will become apparent should you choose to read this post in its entirety. Not only have I decided to get a little bit of running in on the side, I've also taken up more active volunteering activities, such as the weekend long staged Raid Pulse adventure race up at Lac de L'Argile. I volunteered at another adventure race a couple months ago, but this one was a multi-stage event with a full day of racing on Saturday, a night stage in the middle of Saturday night, and a full day of racing on Sunday. I knew that this time, Thierry would be giving some more active roles than I had the past weekend at the 5 Peaks race, so I had to be in top form. It was a total blast, and read on to find out all about it. I've also treated you to a custom map from the event, as well as a collection of images on flickr. Enjoy, then follow the 'read more' link.

Hey gang! I sincerely hope that everyone's summer is going swimmingly. Mine, despite the minor setbacks related to not being allowed to run, has been fun so far. Even though I'm frustrated with the lack of running, I can definitely take solace in the fact that I do indeed still have my health. As such, I'm still embracing activity and getting out when I can to do interesting things. Such has been the case yet again for the past couple weekends, where I once again threw my hat in the ring as a volunteer to help out at local races. I'll put up two separate posts for you to all digest, and this first one is about the 5 Peaks Trail Run that took place near Farrellton, Quebec. If you're interested in seeing some pictures from the event, head on over to the folder I put up on Flickr. For fun, I also decided to bike back from the event for a little extra training, and since I haven't put up a map in a while for all you keeners, you can check that out as well. When you're done, come on back and read my short tale about the day. Oh yeah, and as a bonus, I have a pseudo update on my knee first.

Yowza! Well, you knew it was just a matter of time before I bit the bullet and strapped on a race bib this summer, didn't you? There was just no way that I'd be able to idly sit by the entire season without at least one try at the glory of racing. This despite the fact that the last doctor I saw told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't only think I should be racing in triathlons, but that I shouldn't race period, as then I'm not 'focusing on getting better'. Bah! I had to try something, if not just for my own sanity. As such, I had registered only a week ago to take part in the Ottawa Riverkeeper Kayak Triathlon. However, after my latest doctor consult, I opted to switch to the SwimCycle event, which means no running at all (the Kayak Tri had a 5k run, which would have certainly kept me injured longer). This event would be a 1.5km swim, followed by a 40km bike, then a short sprint to the finish. My lovely race photographer was on site once again, and got some good shots of the day. Please feel free to check them out, and when you're done, come back here and read the rest of the story. I had my GPS on, but haven't made a custom map with the trail yet. I'm not sure it's necessary, but if I get around to it, I'll link it up here as well.

Well, hot off the heels of volunteering at a weekend adventure race, Jody and I decided to head out for another selfless act of volunteerism. I wasn't scheduled to do any volunteering or racing for the National Capital in the first place, but as usual, plans can change rather rapidly. Truth be told, I really didn't feel like even watching any of the marathon drama unfold this year. This was mainly due to the fact that I'm still unable to do any running whatsoever myself, so I really don't feel like watching others go to it and get their goals. However, when the call for help came out at the last minute at work, I decided to set aside my selfishness and volunteer. As usual, we've got some pictures online, and there's more to my story, so read on.

Hello again! You're probably reading this blog post at about the same time as my last one, so you'll quickly see that I've found another way to avoid the blues of sitting on the sidelines as a result of my knee issues. Yup, I've decided to still be as involved as possible in the race world by doing it the only other possible way: volunteering! I've long mentioned to Jody that I would like to help out at some adventure races and experience 'life on the other side'. AR is a sport that demands a lot out of not only the competitors, but also of the unsung heroes that are the volunteers. The logistics to put on these types of races can be overwhelming, and without the dedication of people who do it just for the joy of helping out, most races just wouldn't happen. With that in mind, read on to see how I tried to make a recent adventure race just a little bit easier for all those involved :-)

Howdy all, well, the time has come to write up my last race report for the 2007 season. Yup, I'm planning to take it easy for the next couple months before heading to New Zealand. Well, not totally easy. I'm hoping to actually do some strength training in preparation for the 4 months of cycling. In particular, I've got to get my legs in solid shape for the huge number of mountains I'll be biking up :-) However, you'll get to read all about that as my trip gets underway. For now, you're here to read about the Frontier Adventure Challenge Canadian Champs race that I just finished over the weekend at Bon Echo. It was a super-fun race, and I'll do my best not to go overboard on the descriptors in this post, so that I can keep your attention. Before I get the story underway, feel free to head over to the folder on flickr for some pictures that I took before, during, and after the race. Sadly, no map this time. I had the Garmin on, but accidentally hit the stop button 14km into the 100km race. Anyway, read on my friends...