Last weekend we went on a getaway to Invermere to celebrate my sister in law’s 30th birthday. The plan was to get in a couple rounds of golf, eat at some cool restaurants and spend time in the hot tub. Basically, just enjoy a nice relaxing weekend.
Sounds like the perfect time to do my longest run ever, right?
Starting Off Strong
We left Calgary late on Friday and didn’t actually arrive in Invermere until about midnight. However, as it was a special occasion, we weren’t going to just hit the hay. A 30th birthday is a big deal, so we started the celebration off strong. Lots of laughs, a beer and three hours later we were off to sleep. My head didn’t hit the pillow until after 3am.
The next morning, we woke up around 9am and went out to the Kicking Horse Café. It was a really nifty little spot with great coffee and sandwiches hot off the press. After brunch we went in to Invermere to look around a few places then back to the hotel to get ready for the first round of golf.
Only I wasn’t golfing… I was heading out for a 30k run.
The Longest Run
Researching ahead of time I found a 25k path that connects Invermere to Fairmont. It is all paved and reported to be quite busy with bicycles, hikers and runners… a.k.a. lots of noise to alert wildlife of people in the area. Although I had bear spray, I didn’t want to wander into the forest solo and risk sneaking up on something.
What I failed to consider was the chilly April weather. Even if the path I chose is normally very busy, brisk shoulder season temperatures tend to deter tourists who aren’t looking to layer up for a trip to the mountains.
To compensate for the lack of noise on the trail, I decided I should try to make my own sounds. This consisted of periodically clapping and “singing”. Let me tell you, attempting to string together a melody while wheezing up a hill, not easy. I am guessing any nearby bears were probably pulling the Simon Cowell… “it’s a no from me”.
One way or another it worked and all I saw was a couple deer prancing away through the trees.
The Struggle
I planned out the run so that I wouldn’t end up too far away from my car at any time. This meant running out and back twice. When I returned the first time and opened the car door to grab more water and snacks, the urge to just climb in and drive off definitely had me for a minute.
But somehow I convinced myself to turn around and do it all over again.
As I continued to climb up and down, up and down, up and down, my legs gradually turned to Jello. By the last 5k, hiking up a steep hill actually felt better than running down a long gradual slope. Heading down, I could feel my legs pounding the pavement with each step and the risk of tripping on my own feet reached max danger levels.
Despite my exhausted state, I was flying high when I finally crossed the imaginary finish line. I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment that I had pushed through the pain and made it to that 30k mark!
The Aftermath
While my mental state was feeling groovy, my body was tired and sore. Turns out staying up until 3am, not eating a proper lunch and drinking minimal water is not the recipe for success.
I managed to get myself back to the hotel and take a power nap before the group left for fried chicken dinner at Ullr Bar (highly recommend). Although this fried chicken is top tier 10/10 quality, I was so tired that I didn’t really get excited until the plate was in front of me.
Only then did I realize that the thing missing in my life was calories. Having burned about 2,000 on my run, this chicken did wonders and I felt about a million times better.
A Lovely Weekend
The rest of the weekend was a great time. The mountains were beautiful, I played my first round of golf for the season and we did hit the hot tub a couple times.
It feels awesome to have this run checked off my list. And I gathered some good takeaways (food, water, sleep) to help me finish feeling less like a zombie next time.
Practice makes perfect!
