6 Mile Run 10 Mile Hike

I run this morning on the bike trail north of Wasilla with my Valley Renegades friends.  It was so nice just to see Terri and Becky again.  I have so rarely been home that I never get to see anyone anymore.  I misunderstood the meeting place though and ended up starting 20 minutes late.  Terri said Gorilla Fireworks.  I parked there for 20 minutes then realized there was a tiny "Lil" written above the Gorilla sign. So I drove about a half mile up the road and there was the real Gorilla Fireworks.  But Becky and Terri were walk/running so I passed them as they were coming back at my 2 1/2 mile mark.  I kept on until I reached 3 then turned around.  They still beat me back to the cars but not by very much.  It was quite hot but there was a nice cooling breeze blowing.  I felt much better than I did last week on that 5 mile run.  I have been gone dip-netting and other things so this was the first time I've had a chance to run since that run to Wolverine Creek.  I feel quite recovered now.

Actually tomorrow I should be running the Rio de Janeiro Marathon.  But I found out too late that I need a visa to go to Brazil.  So I had to cancel that trip. I learned an important lesson about international travel though.  I doubt I will make that mistake again.

This afternoon I went up to Eklutna Lake and hiked all the way to Bold Creek.  It was a beautiful day with a few short showers to make it more interesting.  It has been quite a while since I have walked all the way to mile 5 and back.  I always seem to turn back at mile 3.  So it was nice to get in the 10 mile hike for a change.

Eklutna Lake

5 Miles

Today I got out and ran to Wolverine Creek, up the hill, and back.  I could tell I was really still quite tired from the Northwest Passage Marathon and the 4000 mile drive to and from Yellowknife that went along with it.  Those hills seemed impossible!  It was a little discouraging, but at least I got out and did a nice 5 mile hill run.  It was a beautiful day too.

Wolverine Creek

Northwest Passage Ultramarathon

I made it.  Very slow of course, but I made it all 50 kilometers of the Northwest Passage Ultramarathon.  There were only 3 of us who decided to tackle the 50K and the other two were much younger, stronger, faster, and men!  So of course I was the last person to drag myself across the finish line there at Arctic Watch.  There were 4 who did the marathon and 4 who ran the half marathon.  It was interesting because each runner had an ATV driver following along with a shotgun to chase off polar bears.  They also carried extra clothes, water and anything else we wanted for support.  It was the best supported race I have ever run!

It was a tough one though because it was on rough gravel and loose rocks and was up and down many hills.  At the end there was an 8 mile stretch on the sea ice of the actual Northwest Passage.  Then we were back on dry land for the last 2 miles. I liked running on the ice because at least it was flat.  But as the snow melted, there were small rivers of melt water that we had to either jump or wade through.  That was some really bone chilling water and my feet were soaked the whole time I was on the ice. I took about 9 hours to complete the course and was a bit worried that people might be getting tired of waiting for me.  But at least I did finish.  I'm so glad I had the chance to do it.  My week at Arctic Watch was really wonderful in every way.

My finishing picture from the Northwest Passage 50K