Runner Leana

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2014 CRR 12 Mile Coulee XC Race Report

January 27, 2014 By: Runner Leana

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day for a cross country race!  Check out that blue sky!

12 Mile Coulee XC Race Report

In fact, we hit double digits on Saturday.  With it being so warm out it was the perfect day to race in shorts.

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Seriously…racing in shorts in Calgary in January?  That is insane!

12 Mile Coulee was a two loop course.  Thanks to the warm weather we had been having the snow was a bit of a mess in parts and we could see the tundra poking through in places.  It is amazing how different the ground conditions have been from race to race.  We started out by running along a long ridge with a couple of fun downhills along the way.  My Kahtoola Microspikes were awesome for helping me run down the icy hills, although I still need to trust them and my body more so I can fly down with the same abandon that my friend Karen does!

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image via Calgary Roadrunners

I had some company for the beginning of the race, a lady named Maria.  She decided to make me her pace bunny!  I noticed that she was wearing an “In Training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2014” shirt so we chatted Ironman and training for a bit.  Having her behind me pushed me, but I was worried I was going to fizzle out so she passed me and moved ahead.  We were now running through the coulee and it was so pretty!

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It was a little shaded through here so there was a nice chill coming off of the snow.  I really appreciated that as I was feeling a little overdressed in long sleeves when I was out in the open.

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As I ran through the trees eventually homes started to come into view so I figured I must be nearing the end of my first loop.  That meant I’d get to pass a very special volunteer…my husband!  Neil was helping out with course marshalling duties and he was stationed right at the bottom of the big hill to the start of our 2nd loop/to the finish. He cheered me on and I got a kiss, then it was up the hill and on to lap two.  I definitely lost some steam on the second lap and walked a bit more.  The downhills were still really fun though!

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image via Calgary Roadrunners

When I passed Neil before my final hill to the finish I figured a quick photo was in order.

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Then it was time to climb that hill and finish this race off!

Official Stats

Measured course length: 4.77 mi (7.68 km)
Elevation gain/loss: ??  My elevation readings on my Garmin have been wonky lately!
Time: 1:07:23
Overall: 61 out of 63
Women 30-39: 7 out of 7

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Screen Shot 2014-01-25 at 3.44.51 PM

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Comments

  1. 1

    Nikki Scott says

    January 27, 2014 at 5:51 am

    You guys are so lucky with all your beautiful sunshine in the winter! I love that one pic of you, so cute!

  2. 2

    Andrea says

    January 27, 2014 at 6:09 am

    You are adorable and look like you are having the BEST TIME! Love it.

  3. 3

    Krysten says

    January 27, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    That course looks fantastic! GREAT Run girlie!

  4. 4

    Rose says

    January 27, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    That looks like so much fun! Congrats on a great run!

  5. 5

    Crystal Rhyno says

    January 27, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    WE should all look so happy when we race! You look like you are having a fabulous time! Nice legs :0

    • 6

      Runner Leana says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:45 pm

      Thank you Crystal!! I really was having a great time! 🙂

  6. 7

    cowgirlruns.com says

    January 27, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    What perfect weather we had on Saturday! I went out for a quick run, but did my long run on Sunday. Poor planning. Brrr!
    You look so, so happy running!! 🙂

    • 8

      Runner Leana says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:33 pm

      Oh no!! At least you got to take advantage of the nice weather for a bit on Saturday!

  7. 9

    Erica Gorman says

    January 27, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    You look like you had a blast! Good job!

    • 10

      Runner Leana says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:35 pm

      Thank you Erica!!

  8. 11

    Krista @ Read. Bake. Run. Repeat. says

    January 27, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    Great job Leana and those are some awesome race photos, way better than mine yesterday lol! I can’t believe it was so warm in Calgary, warmer than here!

  9. 12

    Angie says

    January 27, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    What a beautiful course! It looks like a fun race. And shorts in January! Fantastic.

    • 13

      Runner Leana says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:36 pm

      It is unbelievable how nice the weather was on Saturday. We are about to dive back down in to more seasonal temps this week now though!

  10. 14

    ajh says

    January 28, 2014 at 12:14 am

    You look like you’re having a ton of fun – what a great way to race!

  11. 15

    Fair and Freckled says

    January 28, 2014 at 12:53 am

    Shorts with snow on the ground is amazing! Looked like a great challenging course 🙂

  12. 16

    Tina Fab says

    January 28, 2014 at 4:14 am

    great course. and a good challenge!! i am a tad sad that i have YET to do an XC race…of course i have had to work for every one! bah!! soon….

  13. 17

    Janelle J says

    January 28, 2014 at 4:38 am

    Congrats, what an awesome race!! Trails are really intriguing to me, but running in the snow takes it to another level! What was the temperature? I think I would have been freezing!

    • 18

      Runner Leana says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:39 pm

      Thank you!! It was 12C or 54F on Saturday. Unusually warm here at this time of year!! It really didn’t feel that cold running on snow thanks to all of the lovely sunshine!

  14. 19

    Organic Runner Mom says

    January 29, 2014 at 3:08 am

    Wow this looked like a fun race!!! Plus it must have been so nice to have some warm weather! I just love trail running and its always an adventure when you have to throw on your microspikes!

  15. 20

    Nancy Lane says

    January 29, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    Hey I was reading your blog because I am an avid runner.. I love your stuff! I thought you may be interested in a new fitness line that is hitting the market at the end of Feb. A friend of mine is a sales representative for their company and she let me check out a sample. It’s two women that are in the workout industry who developed fitness apparel based on a need. The clothing line is coming out at the end of Feb. and what they have created is a sweat proof pocket for your smart phone that sits on your side. I had the opportunity to try them and they are incredible, the material is fantastic.. I swear I looked two sizes smaller and they are so functional with the smart phone pocket on my hip. I could not even feel that it was there and it was compressed against my leg so it did not bounce. I am a business owner and I always need my phone on me but carrying it around is always problem. The company is called Fit Plus Wear, http://www.fitpluswear.com Functional Fitness Clothing with a PLUS! These pants are revolutionary and a must have for anyone that’s active! I hope you check them out! Keep up the good work on your blog, loving all the information!

who is runner leana?

6 x Ironman Finisher, 11 x 70.3 Finisher, geeky engineer and recent MBA grad.

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