The total distance between Woss and Sayward is around 70km. Given that to get to Woss, I ran 28k and then 47k the following day, I knew that I needed to cover the 70k in 3 days instead of two.
Therefore, I only ran 15k the first day out of Woss. At that point, 15k to me felt like rest day. I kept my pace fairly slow too.
I believe it was a wise choice. I’m not sure I wanted to find out how my body would have reacted if I had done 35k the day after doing 47k. Although I like to push myself, I know exactly when to take it easy. There was a point in my life, though, when 15k was not easy and I was unable to comprehend running distances above 30k.
Above: Going the distance. Photo by IMS FotoGrafix.
The next day after the 15k, I ran 25k. Then, the day after the 25k, I ran 30k to get to Sayward. However, because I felt good after the 30k, we took a 1 hour break and then I ran an additional 10k to get a head start towards Campbell River.
I knew that any injuries on this long run would signify either the end of the run or a significant delay in the completion of the run. My ultimate objective was to complete the run without injuries and therefore shorter days were a necessity.
Covering upwards of 30km or 40km every day can take a serious toll on the body and therefore it’s best to mix in some shorter distances.
Above: Long but not too steep hills can also be a challenge. The true victory is being able to conquer those hills and know that I did it. 🙂 Photo by IMS FotoGrafix.
One thing I can say about this stretch of the road is that there are some MASSIVE hills. In fact, if you think the Malahat is a huge hill, then you will be surprised by the length and height of some of the ones I encountered there.
Although the hills were huge, the beautiful scenery would often distract me from the fact that I was doing a long climb as I ran to the top. The surroundings definitely made it a pleasant experience.
Below is an image by IMS FotoGrafix showcasing just one of the many beautiful sights along the way 🙂
You know how gyms often have TVs situated in front of treadmills and ellipticals in an attempt to make people’s cardio sessions more enjoyable? This is sort of the same kind of thing, except that I got to see the natural beauty of that part of Vancouver Island, listen to the birds sing and breathe clean air.
The benefits of running up Island are that in addition to the amazing sights, the weather is not too hot, there is far less traffic to deal with and less pollution than in more populated areas.
I was really excited about getting to Sayward, knowing that Cambell River would be far less than 100km away. 🙂