May 15 Training Run Report by Patricia Jensen

I am becoming good friends with Environment Canada…especially on the few days leading up to our Sunday runs. Weather for Sunday was mixed: 40% chance of showers in the morning followed by rain in the afternoon. Good, I thought. Well, in the middle of the night, I woke up to pounding rain on my roof. Not so good, I thought. I tried to go back to sleep, but two words kept floating through my head: snow and mud.

Well, needless to say, I was feeling somewhat better when I left Deep Cove and drove to Grouse Mountain under an overcast sky. A good crowd of about 60 people joined in at the parking lot for our good morning greeting.

When it was mentioned that Glenn had kindly and selflessly ran up Mountain Highway with a backpack and shovel to dig a route for us the day before, great cheers were heard. I told everyone he was too tired to make it for today’s run 😉 Kidding aside, I stressed that the road leading to the top was indeed completely clear of snow until the actual ski runs.

After reminding everyone to bring extra clothing and a change of clothes for the ride down, we took off.

As expected, it was wet, muddy, and a little humid in the trail portion of our run. Lots of laugher and talk was heard. Once on the “road” we passed a few mountain bikers and dog walkers. We greeted snow just past the quarry and it steadily increased until I was looking up, way up. What a sight. Snow banks towered along the sides of the road. But as Glen promised, no snow on the road.

When we got to the switchbacks on Grouse itself, we came around a corner and we saw just how deep the snow really was. The “road” stopped and we were suddenly on the ski run. We scrambled “up” until we reached the lodge.

The good thing? Well, my shoes were very clean…unlike the muddy runs of the past. The legs still looked like they crossed over a few mud puddles though.

Hope everyone had a great run, and have a good week. Remember to recover as our mileage is starting to bump up. Hydration is important, during training as well as throughout the day, especially now that the weather is warming up (well, that’s what Environment Canada said!).

Patricia Jensen
Run Leader