COVID has messed up a lot of people’s plans. For me, I lost pretty much all of my contract work – so I decided to go back to school, taking a 4-month nautical course at BCIT in Vancouver. That means I am not at home on Vancouver Island, with all of my usual running trails to train on. Lucky for me that North Vancouver backs on to the mountains!
So, while I am studying in Vancouver, the Lynn Valley is my go-to destination.
From the parking lot here, I can access routes including the Baden Powell trail (a 50 or so km east-west route), or head down the Lynn Canyon to the suspension bridge and all of the trails there, or up the Lynn Valley (including up Lynn Peak).
The weather has been mostly great for April – enough rain (and snow-melt) that all of the creeks are flowing, but also some gorgeous sunny days, too.
As I come back from injury, I have been working to rebuild lots of things: strength, agility, and endurance. The 10-minute video below shows my first long run in years, heading up the valley. I was out for over five hours – some hiking (and stops to film) but most of it running. Most importantly, I felt great throughout the whole thing – and that is the real sign that your running endurance is good: not only that you make the distance, but that you are feeling good, too.
I had hoped to tack on to the end of this run a climb of Lynn Peak, too: I felt good enough to do it, but I was just running out of time. So, as I mention at the end of this video, I resolved to come back and summit it the next day. (Long back-to-back days are just as good for endurance training as single long runs – often better, because you are setting out on tired legs). I did hit the trails and bagged Lynn Peak the next day – a short video of that day will be coming soon!
My Keep it Moving solo expedition run is set to take place in late May, and the short film will be released towards the end of 2021. Find out more by exploring this site, or by signing up for updates here – I will never spam you or share your info!
Keep It Moving 2021 