tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56152882548430591962024-03-05T00:01:21.078-08:00WSGMRTWasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-6444726337202120862011-07-19T09:59:00.000-07:002011-07-19T10:00:49.199-07:00Western Freakin' States, Baby<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's about time I got around to posting a report from Western States, especially now that the Vermont 100 is history. Guess I'll have to get that post going as well. Enjoy the read - Jim </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Prerace</strong></span> - So way back in December I got lucky (or unlucky) enough to draw out in the Western States Lottery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1600 people vying for about 275 slots….in June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided then that since I got into WS, that this would be perhaps my only opportunity to attempt the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, four 100-mile races in 11 weeks. Western States, Vermont, Leadville, and Wasatch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those not in the ultrarunning know, the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run is the oldest 100 mile race in the country (38 years).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s kind of the unofficial 100 mile championship since all of the really fast burners show up to race each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Figure it’s the Boston of 100 mile events.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, Aric Manning, Alicia Kirkman and myself ventured out to Squaw Valley, CA the Thursday before the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the opportunity of staying in a house with the Pearl Izumi Ultrarunning Team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These guys are fast, I’m not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun to get to know them, hear how they prep for a race, their strategy (mine was to finish in under 30 hours, theirs was to win).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got to the house, Nick Clark, one of the PI team, told me that I was picked for 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> or 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> place on the Irunfar website in a reader poll.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG7IA9aUAiMaCZV7cOp5NmzL2LPWRQHXoE9P23FRO4AulCCfGg9v-1GlCsSXbhdoPJRqX88yw5deDFBmejEdZQ5BrbRLUyYm38ZxUQDkXHqo8jtIYjvEFCnDtpRZnzRqPtTtmJs7jrgY/s1600/irunfar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG7IA9aUAiMaCZV7cOp5NmzL2LPWRQHXoE9P23FRO4AulCCfGg9v-1GlCsSXbhdoPJRqX88yw5deDFBmejEdZQ5BrbRLUyYm38ZxUQDkXHqo8jtIYjvEFCnDtpRZnzRqPtTtmJs7jrgY/s400/irunfar.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Needless to say, I was greatly amused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously whoever did those picks clearly does not know how fast I run, or don’t run.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday was pretty uneventful other than a short four mile run in the morning and the race check in hoopla.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave in to the WS hype and spent way too much money on shirts and other paraphernalia that I really don’t need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought a couple of shirts for my crew and pacer as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I actually got a decent night’s sleep Friday night, roughly five hours worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unusual for me prior to a big race like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually toss and turn all night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Must have been the cool mountain air and the sound of the river rushing just outside our window.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Race day</strong></span> - Saturday 5am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Race start at the Squaw Valley Ski Area base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first 3.5 miles were all uphill, mostly on a service road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hit snow at about three miles and had pretty much continuous snow for the next 10-12 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of the snowpack was anywhere from 5-10 feet deep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It was interesting to follow the course markings. Since there wasn't a "trail" we went from ribbon to ribbon, sometimes able to make a straighter line than the ribbons did. It was kind of easy to miss ribbons too if you weren't paying attention. </span>We finally left the snow for the most part at the next aid station (15 miles).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next several miles found us cruising a trail along French Meadows Reservoir, a completely new portion of the course since access to the higher country was blocked by snowpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t a big fan of this section, too many rollers, couldn’t get a good rhythm going and I didn't feel quite right. I couldn't put a finger on it, but just not my A game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally got into Duncan Canyon and back on the original WS course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully all would be right with the world now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was still running on a sub 24 hour pace, but I figured that wouldn’t hold unless I got really lucky.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So Duncan Canyon goes by, Mosquito Ridge, Robinson Flat, Miller’s Defeat, actually most of the day was pretty uneventful, I just cruised along, kept drinking, eating etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Just enjoying the run. </span>When I got to Last Chance I knew that the infamous canyons section was next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We h</span>ad a really steep decent to a river, cross the bridge and then went up over 1600’ in the next 1.25 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holy crap that was steep!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I arrived at the Devil’s Thumb aid station pretty well worn out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That climb took a lot out of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But time to continue on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michigan Bluff at 55 miles was the first place that crew were allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alicia met me there and I changed packs, shoes, socks, sat for a couple minutes, said goodby and took off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next aid would be Forest Hill at 62 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forest Hill is the biggest, most major aid station on the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You run through the middle of town, everyone is out watching and cheering, plenty of parking for crew, generally a good vibe going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alicia met me here again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I managed to get to Forest Hill in 14:09.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little slower than I wanted but oh well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still on pace for a sub-24 hour finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Forest Hill I picked up my headlamp, a long sleeve t and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t sure how cold it would get at night, but I figured a long sleeve t would be good enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dardenelles, Peach Stone, Ford’s Bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t remember too much about any of those except I was slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down to a walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In every 100 mile race you have a slow patch, for whatever reason your energy is low no matter how much food or drink you’ve had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just have to push your way through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next aid station I remember was the Rucky Chucky river crossing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>normal years you wade across the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the water level is high, they put you in an inflatable and row you across.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got there at around 10pm, and the area was lit up and reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could hear the rapids upstream but couldn’t see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I half way expected to hear some people singing “It’s a Pirates Life for Me”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had plenty of people helping you down the steep path to the water’s edge, put a life jacket on you and loaded you on the boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I went across there was some young kid rowing and he had us across is about six strokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He pulled hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made it to the other side, unloaded and started up the dirt road to the Green Gate aid station (80 miles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I met both Alicia and Aric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aric was going to pace me the rest of the way in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point I was still in shuffle mode and had about six miles to go to the Auburn Lake Trails aid station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had heard that this was the party station, and it was somewhat noisy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat down here and immediately got a little chilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aid station was in a low spot and so was I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat down and one of the medical staff treated me to a wonderful shoulder massage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I downed some chicken noodle soup, some of the most horrid tasting coffee I have ever had (I mean it was really, really BAAAADDDD), and told Aric to wake me in 15 minutes and was promptly out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>14 minutes later I woke up and got up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must have been what I needed because I basically ran nonstop for the next four hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That coffee must have been rocket fuel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that the next aid station I remember was the Highway 49 crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lot’s of good vibes there, especially since there was less than ten miles left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No Hands bridge was beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An old railroad bridge over the American River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One last climb up to the bluff where Auburn was and I hit the road for the last mile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I was getting excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No sub 24 hour finish, but a finish nonetheless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turned the corner and could hear the announcer at the high school stadium that was the finish line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down one last path, and into the stadium and on to the track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you hear your name being announced, people cheering and clapping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alicia met me part way around the track and videoed me as I crossed the finish line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sure felt good to be done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Aftermath</strong></span> – Immediately after you finish you can have your blood drawn and a urine specimen taken for research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I opted for that and had the blood test results in a few hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the result showed is that I was a little dehydrated (to be expected), but not bad, it showed that I fueled and hydrated just fine during the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My CPK, a measure of muscle cell death, was somewhat high (also to be expected).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shoes – I wore my La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0’s for the first half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were very grippy and perfect for the snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I almost felt like I was cheating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were slipping and sliding all around me and I just motored on by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did go down on the snow three times, but nothing serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wore a pair of Hoka Mafate’s for the second half of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great on the downhills and rocky sections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saved my feet. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fueling – Once again I did a primarily liquid diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots and lots of 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Endurance EFS Liquid Shot, probably 5000 calories worth, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>plenty of chicken noodle soup, probably 400 oz. of water with Hammer Fizz tablets thrown in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little bit of fruit such as melon and cantaloupe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For electrolytes, I relied on the sodium and potassium in the Liquid Shot and the Fizz tablets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Must have been ok, because I took very few Succeed! Tablets and never had any issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My weight stayed consistently two pounds below my check in weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a good thing. The only downside to this kind of diet was that by the time I was at about mile 70, I was getting pretty sick of vanilla flavored gel. It took some effort to keep downing the stuff every 30 minutes. But it works.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Observations – Overall the race organization is outstanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They treat you like rock stars at every aid station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have your own handler every time you come in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their goal is to get you across the finish line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenery was beautiful, but I’ve run other courses that were just as scenic, if not more so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did have a lot of fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to hang with some elite runners for a couple days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to see other runners that I don’t see very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I met new friends, including some that are doing the Grand Slam as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a couple of friends that made the trip with me and helped me out, then drove home while I slept in the back seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, very worthwhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure I’ll get the chance to do it again, but who knows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would given the chance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the stats – </span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time – 27:59:27</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Place – 222<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> out of 310 finishers, roughly 350 starters, 34<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> age group (50-59) out of 59 finishers. Not a particularly good finish, but a finish nonetheless.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Calories expended were roughly 12,500 and calories taken in were roughly 6,000.</span><br />
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</div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-31203577108316517232011-06-13T10:41:00.000-07:002011-06-13T10:41:52.490-07:00Goats Can SwimSo this report isn't about how knarly some trail race was, how pretty the scenery was, how much vert, or any of that stuff. This goat swam, biked and ran and managed to complete the Boise Half Ironman Triathlon.<br />
Sally is a friend that I’ve been bugging for years to do an ultra. She’s always put me off saying that they’re too difficult. Meanwhile, she’s been doing lots of marathons and tris, and last year did her first full Ironman. Finally, last year she agreed to do an ultra, but the catch was that I had to do a tri. Hmmm, didn’t really see that coming, but I agreed. Then she asked what distance I wanted to do. Since I run ultras, it really didn’t seem right to do a short little sprint or Olympic distance tri, so I told her I’d do a half Ironman. I figured doing that would make me expend enough effort and require enough training to qualify for an ultra level effort.<br />
Last November we decided to do the Boise Half Ironman as our tri. That meant that I had plenty of time to get back in the pool swimming laps and to at least figure out how to stay upright on a bike for 56 miles.<br />
Training for this silly little race began back in December. The first time in the pool had me worried. No upper body strength at all. Technique from my swim team days was there though. Within a couple months, I knew the swim wouldn’t be an issue. Check that off the list. I started attending a spin class once a week and stationary biking on my own at about the same time. Finally bought my own road bike and started using that to ride into work once a week. Ok, check that off the list. I’ll survive 56 miles, but it won’t be pretty. The run? 13.1 miles? Big deal, I’m training for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning this summer. Check that off with no worries.<br />
I was intentionally going into this race cold, I did no other tri's prior to Boise. I think I wanted to add the unknown factor and see what it would do to me<br />
So, Friday my lovely wife and I drive to Boise. We manage to check into our hotel and find the race check in. I was expecting the water temp in Lucky Peak Reservoir to be in the low 60’s. Then I saw this posted at check in.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DC6Xy9bgy5iLU4-zJycXFC1csei29brjKTL-SDJDdMJuYgpttp8OJVB_ZsizLlcmv4E38hUGpGxkNWbFxzw9PNw5FtYvNKMlUww-v9an1MMi7RPyx4gkAdBazXQU3rr4VZyACQippVk/s1600/Boise+water+temp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DC6Xy9bgy5iLU4-zJycXFC1csei29brjKTL-SDJDdMJuYgpttp8OJVB_ZsizLlcmv4E38hUGpGxkNWbFxzw9PNw5FtYvNKMlUww-v9an1MMi7RPyx4gkAdBazXQU3rr4VZyACQippVk/s320/Boise+water+temp.jpg" t8="true" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Holy crap! 53 degrees? That’s way colder than the average tap water. That’s way colder than I was expecting. Wow! I was not looking forward to the swim at all. Here's a nifty little link on cold water survival. <a href="http://www.ussartf.org/cold_water_survival.htm">http://www.ussartf.org/cold_water_survival.htm</a><br />
We met Sally and John, her boyfriend at check in and she was even a little worried about the water temp.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwoKH1uGVmvYnDmenfgUpOUavTHLUCLc7ljN8o2mSSkR7fRM_a-wHaZPncv5fkCGAmAhArZNYXWvSAE8r45vVjVE-U7AdzBkbtPLVhu7IfrUe1Bw8Q0tWTrMHY7wRzgtrKr0gS80wT1U/s1600/100_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwoKH1uGVmvYnDmenfgUpOUavTHLUCLc7ljN8o2mSSkR7fRM_a-wHaZPncv5fkCGAmAhArZNYXWvSAE8r45vVjVE-U7AdzBkbtPLVhu7IfrUe1Bw8Q0tWTrMHY7wRzgtrKr0gS80wT1U/s320/100_0023.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T2 on Friday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anyway, we did pizza and brews for dinner, went back to the hotel room to get my transition bags set up. That’s when I discovered that I had left my wetsuit, my tri shorts, and my goggles at home. Damn! Now what? There was no way to do the swim without a wetsuit. I looked online and found a dive shop that rented wetsuits and was open Saturday morning. So, Friday evening I head out to REI and bought tri shorts. Sally had an extra pair of goggles she let me borrow. And the next morning my wife and I camped in front of the dive shop until they opened. They just happened to have a tri wetsuit in my size. Thank goodness, the race is on. Now it was get back to the race HQ to catch the shuttle to the start, drop off transition bags, and generally start to get nervous about the whole thing. The nice thing about this race was the noon start. That meant I had time to go into a full on panic then figure out a solution and get another wetsuit, etc. It also meant that the day would warm up a little bit to help offset the cold water (dream on). John hauled our bikes to the T1 area for us. Lucky Peak is about 15 miles east of Boise and 1000’ higher, meaning the bike ride would be a net downhill. Nice.<br />
The swim start was in waves rather than a mass start. This meant that my wave didn’t actually start until 12:09. So we had to stand there sweating in the sun in our black neoprene wetsuits until it was our turn to jump in the water. We all herded on to the dock by the boat ramp and jumped in. The water was refreshing for about 0.2 seconds, then it took a couple more seconds to catch my breath. The cold literally took your breath away. Every time my face got water on it, my chest would tighten and I had a hard time breathing. While I was treading water waiting for the start my thought was that this swim would not be a good thing. How was I going to survive for 40-45 minutes in this cold of water, let alone swim decently.<br />
So the gun goes off and it’s a mad dash out into the lake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7wQ1Ft2atzH1ahNXZrvM12I18yMQ2KTMQbFIn59aMpT7eCrdoC7WsexztdyL45VJwOh0DJQiSa6w7T46sFc40XG86smhxRrbP1uAOQrDu0Hh7tDNvj7otYugwh-Oi3nfVbsaBS3A9BM/s1600/100_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7wQ1Ft2atzH1ahNXZrvM12I18yMQ2KTMQbFIn59aMpT7eCrdoC7WsexztdyL45VJwOh0DJQiSa6w7T46sFc40XG86smhxRrbP1uAOQrDu0Hh7tDNvj7otYugwh-Oi3nfVbsaBS3A9BM/s320/100_0032.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My wave start, I'm somewhere in that thrashing mess</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The course was triangular, with the first leg being about 850 meters. This looks like a long ways when you’re used to swimming in a 25 yard long pool. Nonetheless, I took off. For roughly the first 2/3 of the first leg, I was borderline panicked. Every time I put my face in the water to swim, my chest would constrict and I had a hard time breathing. I discovered that rolling over and doing backstroke really helped. Kept my face out of the water and I could make good progress. Finally, my face got used to the cold, my chest loosened up, I warmed up and I rolled back over and started really swimming. That’s when I found out that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. In fact, I started motoring past people at a pretty good clip, I felt good and had a good rhythm going. The remainder of the first leg and the last two legs went very smoothly and I actually finished the swim a little quicker than I was hoping. I wanted a time with a 4 in front of it and my swim time was 40:18. I was happy. When I stood up to exit the water though, I was so dizzy and disoriented I almost fell over twice. That was weird. I still had to make my way up the boat ramp, run a hundred yards to the T1 area and get ready for the bike. Needless to say, my T1 time was a very slow 8+ minutes. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSC36zEciRe6W-xS8I6tpER0sigGqznsOauZvXvt7k7V0DRMHijeusUiqz4PM4JAi-w_PPo57YMxa8udpI4WZG1RTshvhp9PRKJUpGKzFWe-Gzbw0Ep96Kf_-rd-7hwN7sLoyAuLIYAiY/s1600/100_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSC36zEciRe6W-xS8I6tpER0sigGqznsOauZvXvt7k7V0DRMHijeusUiqz4PM4JAi-w_PPo57YMxa8udpI4WZG1RTshvhp9PRKJUpGKzFWe-Gzbw0Ep96Kf_-rd-7hwN7sLoyAuLIYAiY/s320/100_0045.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goat skin on and ready to go</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The bike ride was actually the most boring part of the race. 56 miles, a little over 3 hours in a saddle and my ass was sore. We did have a screaming downhill start off the dam. I hit 30+ mph, but I still had people flying past me probably doing close to 50 mph, maybe more. Too scary for me. Sally went flying past me at about the 32 mile point. She started the swim 20 minutes after me, so she was that much further ahead of me. Sigh! Getting old sucks, can’t keep up with the kids. Ideally I wanted to go under 3 hours for the ride. Realistically I knew I wouldn’t. I did manage a 3:04 for the ride and was happy about that one.<br />
My T2 time was a little quicker, about 3 minutes, but the same thing happened as I got off my bike and started walking. I was a little dizzy. I managed to get to my spot, rack my bike, put on my running shoes and head out on the run, but it didn’t feel good at all. I thought it would end up being a sufferfest. It took me about a mile to start to feel good about the run and then I discovered that I had some legs. The other thing I noticed was how slow I seemed to be running after the speed of the bike. The run was the best part of the day for me. 13.1 miles in two loops and I pulled a negative split by about a minute. It felt really good just cruising on that course. I think I made up around 100+ places during the run. I know I was passing all sorts of people. Some of them looked pretty rough. It’s like the run got rid of all the negative thoughts I had been having during the day, even thought it wasn’t trail, I was in my element. Sally had left T2 about 10 minutes before me and by the time I hit the second lap I had gained several minutes on her. She ended up crossing the finish line about a minute before me, but still kicked my butt because of her swim start time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEs5GFEsf9vZ74DxC76OPKWSm3sYKlEqjLvbRBiR4ZZ4QNNdK1Vc3fujXP-9888qX-yis9hxKCArkKQxv4topuqLdd4gjhXLgC9v8kGIDiztxxDwNMDvITPDRgYI_jgqdOWFm_cLNgK-A/s1600/100_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEs5GFEsf9vZ74DxC76OPKWSm3sYKlEqjLvbRBiR4ZZ4QNNdK1Vc3fujXP-9888qX-yis9hxKCArkKQxv4topuqLdd4gjhXLgC9v8kGIDiztxxDwNMDvITPDRgYI_jgqdOWFm_cLNgK-A/s320/100_0053.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#999 Sally Shadle nearing the finish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qL0NxRzffOWu_EzrgfEPc7UjHes2d6B219IbVygpC9ep21M1uYhT72Ci-gDE_NTD7mvQR1DtkaxHGFbDpY7qvtmdNVfY4IHRIWCAHMK5WriW9ThjpAudHhxENWdDpYZj9w_CA_q-Ffg/s1600/100_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qL0NxRzffOWu_EzrgfEPc7UjHes2d6B219IbVygpC9ep21M1uYhT72Ci-gDE_NTD7mvQR1DtkaxHGFbDpY7qvtmdNVfY4IHRIWCAHMK5WriW9ThjpAudHhxENWdDpYZj9w_CA_q-Ffg/s320/100_0055.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me nearing the finish, #270 is in my age group and I managed to outsprint him to the finish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, how was my first experience with a tri? I actually had a good time. It was something out of my element, new and different. Would I do another one? Probably. This race forced me to expand my exercise options beyond running. I think the biking and swimming has definitely helped my running fitness. <br />
It was fun to do the event with Sally and catch up. My wife and I have known her and her family since she was 14 but haven't seen her for several years. She’s grown into a wonderful lady and an amazing athlete. But I’ll get her back. She has to do an ultra distance run now!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVvTgZQY9hq1XmYv7__GsR7qiolMl0URP8KR7MUiinGHRzgAKYT42meWF_d2bCo2uaYTbPuzbSgTny6ud9ghzswpbpHwvUjfkse59AUshNGzisl5j2-ieIYvi55kJiefLjxNOll4GLAI/s1600/Sally+and+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVvTgZQY9hq1XmYv7__GsR7qiolMl0URP8KR7MUiinGHRzgAKYT42meWF_d2bCo2uaYTbPuzbSgTny6ud9ghzswpbpHwvUjfkse59AUshNGzisl5j2-ieIYvi55kJiefLjxNOll4GLAI/s320/Sally+and+I.jpg" t8="true" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally and I the next day feeling much better</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stats-Since this was an official Ironman event, the competition is much stiffer than a more local half distance tri. Having said that, I think I did reasonably well.<br />
<br />
James Skaggs<br />
<br />
BIB AGE STATE/COUNTRY PROFESSION<br />
252 53 MARRIOTT SLATERVILLE UT USA Engineer<br />
<br />
SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL RANK DIV.POS.<br />
40:18 3:06:29 1:54:58 5:53:15 573 32<br />
<br />
LEG DISTANCE PACE RANK DIV.POS.<br />
<br />
SWIM 1.2 mi. (40:18) 2:07/100m 599 34<br />
BIKE 56 mi. (3:06:29) 18.02 mph 750 48<br />
RUN 13.1 mi. (1:54:58) 8:46/mile 573 32<br />
<br />
TRANSITION TIMES<br />
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 8:18<br />
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 3:12<br />
There were 1420 athletes that finished. There were 74 in my age group.Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-20402656995494158782011-06-10T07:24:00.000-07:002011-06-10T07:24:18.280-07:00Old Dominian 100Old Dominion 100M run in VA. To say the important thing, it is the second oldest 100 miler in the country, in it's 33rd year of running. It came about as a follow-up of Western States 100 and has the same beginning as a horse race. The challenge the RD's put out was to not only finish a 100 mile trek, but to do it in one day, under 24 hrs. The organizers are not runners - it is a family in it's 3rd generation right now (well, 2nd, but the youngsters are already in it), and the aid stations, as well as most volunteers are not runners either - just local family who have houses on properties through which the run goes, and they set tables out (very often and very much appreciated, I must add) with water, coke and a few small items. I liked how simple it all was. I only ask for water and ice at the race anyway, because I go on gels, and only on Power Gels, so I never rely on AS for anything else. The price was absolutely right too - $135, I believe it is the cheapest 100 besides Cactus Rose and Rocky. Can't beat that. To stress one more point, as I said above, the run has to be completed sub-24 hrs, and while they extended the finish time to 28 hrs at some point (not sure when), the buckle goes only to those who make it in 1 day. And now I know even more - what a sweet buckle that is! It is a real silver buckle, just like WS provides to sub-24 finishers, and to my knowledge it's the only second 100 to do that. I might be wrong, please correct me (Tahoe?). All this said, there are a handful of things I also knew. The race fell off the Earth (a.k.a. competitive running) somewhere around 2001 due to 9/11, and the OD Memorial came to replace (and Vermont started a few years earlier too), and due to various reasons I have no clue about the participation was down to a dozen of finishers some years. Now that we have 100M races popping like blisters on our feet during a long haul, some do have shortage of runners. I kind of felt responsible to bring attention back to "old and true" (nothing wrong with new stuff). And, it fell well into my wounding-down the season. It listed about 14,000 feet of elevation gain (plus same for loss) and I think it is about 80% done on either rural country asphalt roads or gravel roads. The hills are nice, rolling, through beautiful area East Coast style, reminded me of my days living in NYC and hiking/backpacking Upstate NY (my true background to taking this trail ultrarunning thing), and it was lovely. The smells of blooming tress and flowers were overwhelmingly awesome. The hospitality of volunteers was unmatched - they learned your name and as they moved their help around (or simply you moved in circles around their AS's), you've been called up on very personally.<br />
Now, because the event is put on by regular folks, names of runners are unknown to volunteers (besides "repeat offenders"). It was cute to be asked at the sing in if I ever run a trail, ever donw a night run, and have an idea what to eat when I do this thing. I just smiled. You also don't know who else is in the race until you show up - and get a print out of participants. Only 7 female were listed this year, but the total was the biggest in a decade, 70 runners. I came with a goal of 22 hrs and, obvioulsy, a belt buckle. I collect belt buckles you know:) I knew only a handful of folks - and I mean a handful: Keith Knippling, Greg Loomis, Dan Brendan, Bedford Boyce and Levy Rizk. Levy and I scouted the first/last 7 miles the day before the race and were glad we did.<br />
Usually the weather plays a huge negative role at OD100, but we lucked out so much, I have no words. Some did complain on the heat, but for this newly-Texan, 80's and humidity way below 50% felt a paradise. The race starts at 4 am, but it goes through the town of Woodstock for 3 miles and then ventures on a road up, so lights are not necessary at all. Then the grey starts coming up. The field spread out some, but still kept close. After 7 mile AS you hit long steep-ish downhill and make a loop on half-trail and half-road for Boyer. Besides this little thing (about 2M on trails) first 32M are all road-run. I wore my old road shoes, to get rid of them was about time (2 years old?). Actually, come to think about it, the whole thing can be easily done in road shoes, in fact, trail shoes are contra-indicated. I was smack on time on my predicted splits, and despite running roads, was extremely happy. I felt awesome, I didn't breathe any hard at any point, I was hydrating and eating gels on cue, I ditched my old shirt (ran first marathon in it, 9 years ago) at AS and was running in a sportsbra for cooling effect (Texas teaching), and I was listening to my music. Talked to an "Alabama" guy (who happened to be Dink Taylor) just past mile 25, I think, told him how I always happen to have some serious thing happen to me in the last 20 miles or so (like, rolled both ankles at RR, broke tail bone at Cactus, explosive pooping at WS..). What an idiot, jinxed myself! Was passed a few minutes before 20M AS by a woman, and learned from volunteers we are 1-2. She pulled away. I could care less, besides, it was mile 20, for God's sake, who races that early! Had some stomach loose, visited woods couple of times, hit Immodium, was ok after. <br />
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Came to mile 32 spot on, changed into my Fireblades (trail shoes), re-supplied and took off, happy camper. Passed a few guys, was told Linda (that turned out to be woman's name) was 5 minutes on me, could care less. There was a long ATV climb, and when we got to a motor-biked in AS, water was sparse to offer. But I was peeing fine and did ok to manage one bottle per person request. Kind of got a bit tired of those ATV rocks, and also started feeling weird pain in my right lower shin, right above my ankle. Thought may be it's my shoes too tight. I never had my shoes tight before, but who knows, I had no other ideas. Kept plugging away and passing a guy here and there, was a nice ridge stretch, hot and open and with a bunch of flies, but nice smelling blooms. Finally came down some road, passed Levy and entered mile 48 AS (same as 32, it was a loop) while Linda was getting tended to by her spouse (or friend). Could care less. Got ice, re-supplied, took off on a 4.5M climb on a road. <br />
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Linda caught up with me in a mile, I was rocking my best music selection, hopefully she didn't think I am a nut case. Dancing, you know. Depending on music, either swaying hips (pop) or throwing fists in the air (rock, hip-hop). She didn't say much (I pointed to a sign to a house with wedding and proposed we should stop by there). I think she mentioned she doesn't do well in heat. I was just running my own race, and yes, I did think that I might come back to her if I still feel good, and if I don't catch her - it means she is a better runner, that's all. Besides the ridge before, that was the only open section. Everything else was in a shade, so I felt great in this regard. There was a line on the road saying "50M", and I was there at exactly 10 hrs - not even funny. And it was exactly when I thought I should be there. Got to the top of the hill at mile 51 - and suddenly that pain in the shin got unbearable. Had to step aside, loosen up laces (still thought it was the cause). Felt some relief (now I understand the swelling started, so yes, there was a relief). But shortly after, as the downhill started, I couldn't run from pain. My mood dampened. Took Ibuprofen. Not much help. Took Aleve. When course goes up, I am fine, strong and almost don't feel anything. As soon as we go down (and road at that) - I am in tears. Still think it's from shoe laces and simply an aggravation, like an anterior tibialis tendonitis. You don't stop for tendonitis. So I went on. By Elizabeth Furnace, mile 75, the pain is really, really bad, and I am loosing the ground on Linda (I was given updates). I weighed in (same exact number as at the start, good thing) and yelled out for a duct tape. The woman came in and asked "What's wrong, I am a doctor". I said "I am a doctor too, I need duct tape". The RD Ray was there and later at the finish said it sounded very funny. I don't know, I wasn't much smiling. I taped my leg and walked out. We entered a bitch of a climb, but it was only bad last mile (straight up). The whole 6M section was on an extremely rocky trail (worst Massanutten memories imaginable), but when going up, I was so full of energy and almost no pain. The other side was a completely different story. I left Elizabeth Furnace still on predicted split, but all hell got loose here, past the top of the climb. It was very steep and very rocky way down, and it just got dark a few minutes ago (just about 9pm, I put headlamp on), and I couldn't put any weight on my right leg without crying, screaming and remembering every mother of God (and many, many more choice of words I could come up with in English). I actually made a cane out of a stick and basically hopped down on one leg. At the bottom the un-manned AS ran out of water. Sucks for us. Another 2 miles up the road was a regular AS, but I was in pain and on a "get the F* done" mode. Just got water. Another trail section, up and over Veach Gap. Again, my climb was awesome, gave me hope, I was just so pleased of how strong I felt and how well I took care of myself. On the way down I repeated the crying and swearing - but no stick. It was a somewhat "milder" trail downhill with "fewer" rocks. We wandered more on roads after that, and I even tried to shuffle some mild mellow decline parts (besides flats), calculating and re-calculating what is possible to still come under 24 hrs. That was all I could focus on. Ran many parts with a guy Juan on his first 100 - when he finally left me at 93, he was done in 22:40. At mile 93 a nice volunteer enthusiastically told me the next 4M are almost all downhill. I knew that (repeat beginning course back) and I still almost killed him:) I tried to run, then gave up and hobbled. It was way too steep for my leg. Left ball of the foot developed a mother blister due to putting all that weight and pressure on only one leg, and walking downs. At this point I had no leg that could take any pressure (right or left). Took me 1:05 to make 4 miles downhill. At last AS (which didn't have water, and I kind of wanted it) I almost quit. I was positively sure I will not be able to make last 3 miles at all, in any time. And I couldn't scream (it does provide mental release when the anger gets out) - we were in town, and people are sleeping in their homes! So, I just walked and cried quietly. 50 minutes total. The last 3/4 mile is on a gravel horse track, a really cruel joke - you can see the finish line, but can't go straight to it. I was in so much pain, I knew even if another woman comes from behind with 2 feet to go, I will let her go. It didn't matter anymore. But - it was a guy who came up on me mid-way, and asked if I'd like to run in together. I looked up and said "Do I look like I am eager to run?". Sorry, I can be very moody like that. I walked through the finish line in 23:11:23, good for 29th overall and 2nd gal, a bit over an hour later than Linda (who ran a great, consistent and strong race). Would I have caught her? Nothing is a garantee in life, but everything is possible. All things considering, I am thrilled with physical aspect of this race. <br />
<br />
Below is a synopsis from the VA Happy Trail runners:<br />
<br />
<em>The 33rd Old Dominion 100 was an epic year with great weather, a packed field, and fantastic volunteer support. Neal Gorman won in 16:16.47, Linda Gaudette was first woman in 22:03.22. Of 68 runners from 15 states, 54% were awarded the silver, sub-24 hour buckle. 72% finished under 28 hours. Neal, Eric Grossman, and Jeremy Pade lost 25 mins due to missing course markings heading into Elizabeth Furnace. Karsten Brown was second in 17:20, Eric third in 17:40, Jeremy fourth in 18:10, followed by David Ploskonka in 19:14 and Keith Knipling in 19:25. Sean Andrish finished near 22 hrs. Many other VHTRCers finished the challenging course. Bobby Gill photo credit.</em> <br />
The travel was really bad. The pain was getting worse, the swelling, hotness and redness on my leg, I couldn't walk a step...the airport people are the best, wheeled me around, put me up with no folks so I can elevate my leg, people giving me Ibuprofen, flight attendants giving me bags of ice, the first pilot announcing I am a "bad ass". I had to keep apologizing that not all 100's end up like that, it is really not a bad thing to do. I don't think they believed me much, I did a poor job explaining we are normal...well, kind of... <br />
I hobbled to a doc for x-ray Monday morning - no serious fracture. Got to MRI - and yes, indeed, a hairline stress fracture about 2 cm on the anterial/medial side of lower part of tibia (about 1 cm above distal end). There is also some soft tissue trauma, hematoma and tendinitis. Seems that the soft tissue was giving more pain than bone crack itself.<br />
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Bottom line? As an event, it is awesomely organized, very pretty and really historically important - both for American history and for ultrarunning history. For me, personally, roads just don't do it. Nor super-rocky trails where running is imapred (at least somewhat). I like to glide mindlessly. I am still glad I checked this run off my list, and I still recommend it. You can run a great PR on the course, if you will take good care of yourself. I am thrilled to have done just that - take awesome care of myself, the whole day long, even as the pain become excruciating, I never lost sight of my hydration and fueling. Body-wise, I felt great. Like, better than many other 100's by a long shot. And that's with 45 mpw. Speaks volume of wisdom: patience, pacing, taking care of yourself, and experience, along with weight workouts (yes, those helped). My muscles are not sore. And while I was fitted for a boot to not have me walk around much, if you know me, I ain't wearing it. I will, though, keep my leg wrapped, elevated, iced and not run on. It's an off-season time. Lets the other challenges begin.Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-1782596540702720212011-05-16T08:29:00.000-07:002011-05-16T08:29:08.335-07:00San Diego rocking mountains!PCT 50M race. 100% single track. Mountains. Long climbs and long descents. Wild flowers. Thin dry air. Back flashes down memory line. Larry with me whole weekend. Lots of sun. Great people...It was a weekend to stand out for sure...The truth is, this was the most perfect weekend in every and any way you could possibly imagine, and I don't even know where to begin. Pardon my random rambling...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As I was hugging the RD John "El Cubano" Martinez at the finish line, grinning ear to ear, I kept repeating "South California always treats me nice". And it does. In 2005 I won and set a CR at SD100. In 2007 I came back to crew and pace my friend Adrien to a heck of a 100M finish. In 2008, while I DNF'ed at Angeles Crest 100 due to a hip stress fracture, I made a clear mind decision to move to TX to be with Larry. Then last year I had a perfect race at Leona Divie 50M. Later same year I was back to have a great time at SD100, and even though that particular race wasn't all that great, the day worth running at these mountains was awesome nevertheless.<br />
<br />
I was rocking it. I was rocking this weekend from the moment the plan of it had started to emerge. Some time few months ago Larry and I figured it would be nice to pick a race out of TX we can go together to. I scouted, and pointed at SD 50. Don't ask me how, I just did. My nicest friend Eman agreed to watch after Stephen. I booked pretty cheap tickets and we got a motel practically next to the start, which was also next to a family diner (a-la 50's style) we had late lunch/dinner at and to the grocery store where we bought a pint of ice cream, which we ate the night before. We arrived early, we picked the car, we drove fast, we had crap load of time to go on the course and check it out - oh, my, it was beautiful!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoFtbyZ9N9m3acAQk2uQp3at5moRVNAExABWG_y45cWBpC0AwXg2-ZRciQ9znacmCnjZcfKl1chPnD3fmAzlgkbf0O8HnLKGGa0Qz4NTGfaEgeajCd8pSQsvzgnXBCG8MYBI2cbk-HIE/s1600/collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoFtbyZ9N9m3acAQk2uQp3at5moRVNAExABWG_y45cWBpC0AwXg2-ZRciQ9znacmCnjZcfKl1chPnD3fmAzlgkbf0O8HnLKGGa0Qz4NTGfaEgeajCd8pSQsvzgnXBCG8MYBI2cbk-HIE/s320/collage.jpg" width="264px" /></a></div><br />
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A couple of weeks before Larry created a race profile. I taught him to have a race profile and a pace chart taped to his water bottles, ever since he first met me back at Jemez 50 - exactly 3 years ago...yes, lots of anniversaries on this weekend too, besides this, 1 year since our last trip for a race together (MMT100) and 10 years since my very first 5k race, which got me so hooked...but I digress. PCT50 didn't have a profile on the website, so Larry compiled his knowledge of maps and made one himself. And then figured his paces. The night before he asked me if I want to look and adjust mine - I was busy cooking dinner. So, I looked over the shoulder and threw some times to AS, fairly approximately. "How about on the way back?" he asked. "Whatever, same would work, add a couple of 5 minutes extra". As I told at the Hill Country runner's meeting that Tuesday, my plan was simple: 4:45 out, 5 hrs back. The family wage was on too! I was to finish no more than 45 minutes behind Larry. I actually had no clue what his time goal was:)<br />
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It is nice to fly West for a race. We gain 2 hrs of sleep, so by the time alarm went off at 4 am, we basically felt like we overslept. 1 drop bag at mile 22.5 (same as 27.5), the rest of the gels stuffed into skirt pockets and bottle pockets (24 total), 2 water bottles, 10 S! caps, 3 NUUN tablets, 6 Ibuprofen. What else does a woman need when running 50 miles? We went off exactly at 6 am and for the first time in a long time, my watch actually showed 6:00. That's weird:)<br />
We climbed from the start. I jogged a mile, then went into powerwalking mode. Methodically, with short shuffles, letting people pass, rocking my music softly on a background. I don't listen to music very loud. They sing in English, I have also some Danish hits, and a few Russian songs. I've had same music for years, only this past week adding 2 more songs, and I hardly understand words of 80% of the songs (in any language), so it's a background, that's why it's never loud. Just tunes, whatever they sing:) It is already light out, but as we ascend, higher and higher with every step, we pop above the morning fog and the clouds - and it is WOW, really. We are running on a narrow single track carved on a side of a mountain, above the clouds, surrounded by smells and views of wild flowers blooming and by peaks of other mountains beyond the clouds. I let out a yelp. I laugh. I don't think I had been that high emotionally in a long time. Total complete utter happiness. Soon the sun rises and blinds me as we run East, and I have to drop my eyes down to be able to see at least a foot ahead. WOW. This is so worth the trip already...<br />
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I don't know anyone, and as I run, I don't care of my location in the field, but then again, I hardly ever do. Not in the first half anyway. I am having flashbacks into 2005 and SD100, which I did with my ever-best running partner and friend Gail and one crazy guy who agreed to help, David, and this 50 miler is run on the same course (the other two 100M races I had been to were on other variations of the trails). Funny, it's like body memory. Almost down to the step. We reach first AS, I look at my watch, and I am, like, to the second. 1:14, fill bottles, out to climb more, on the rockiest part of the trail.<br />
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I remember these rocks, I even remember how I described them to Ronda (who in a year of 2006 broke my CR at SD100, ha!), and I remember this relentless climb. I become a metronome. I powerhike. "I was born to powerhike" - is my mantra. Utilize, capitalize. These two weird words follow me through the whole race. I am capitalizing on my ability to hike without been winded or tired, never even take an extra breath. A handful of guys jog pass me, but at the same time I had out-walked a handful of others. May be some of them are early starters. I am happy, singing along with my tunes and rocking my surroundings. I am spot on a gel per 25 minutes, an S! cap an hour, and drinking. The only thing that remotely bothers me is my heel spur, which I never resolved after I treated the PF back in January, so I get "snarly" and wonder if this is a good time to learn how to run "forefoot striking". Kidding. I am in a camp which says whatever running gait you are born with - stay with it, don't change. The pain is rather bad, but I promise myself Ibuprofen 3 hrs in and put it out of my mind.<br />
We get to the next AS, and I hit my 1:30 split like I was born to do so. I laugh.Next section is short, and it goes in a cover of trees. How did this knowledge suddenly popped into my mind? I don't know, but this is exactly how it is. A nice smooth single track under tall trees the whole time, gently rolling up and down. I stop to pee, spook a girl behind (I don't move far away for such a small task) and pick up the pace again ever so slightly. Is this happy feeling planning to end any time soon?<br />
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Dale's kitchen has a small spur down to AS, and I reach it in 45 min. I don't know what time it is, when I race I only look at the "minute" part of the watch, so I can be gel-ready and on a lookout for an AS. A volunteer asks me if I want ice in my bottles, and I say "only if fast". Seems that there was a line for ice, so I grab my stuff and get out. I am like that, if it takes more than a minute - it is not needed. A few guys yell out my name as they leave, and I "pick them up" on a next downhill. I apologize as I move by, and make sure to ask how we know each other. Steve readily recites: LD50 last 2 sections, SD100 first 2 sections, I was the guy taking care of my feet at an AS...I remember! Have fun! I was born to run downhill! Thus I have a new mantra. I can't help it. I am a downhiller. I don't speed up, and I don't put any effort. I glide over the trail. I leap. I let it flow. I am super-naturally happy.<br />
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We cross a small wooden bridge, and I remember how in 2005 I had stomach issues here, Gail met me just off the highway, I whined, and she told me to switch to ice and water only. The trick I use ever since - and tell everyone. It works. It is not an AS yet, it's about a mile and half of practically flat terrain, which I dislike strongly, but I run. I was not born to run, that's for sure, but it's a running race, so nobody gives me an excuse for that:) Graham Cooper runs towards me. Yowser! Is he that fast or am I that slow? Apparently, I had no clue which mile I am at. Really. Honest to God. I also realize I am out of gels and am very surprised. I had calculated meticulously - every 25 min on the way out, every 20 min on the way back, 2 gels from an AS table for a short out-n-back section to the turn-around. When I arrive at AS, fill my bottles and grab gels from them, and leave, they shove me a card (playing card). That was to be what each runner has to drop inside a box at the turn-around 2.5M down the trail, in the middle of nowhere. I am at Penny Pines? You mean I am at mile 22.5?? You just made my day! If you thought I was crazy happy before, realizing I am about 5 miles further than where I thought I was just sent me sky-rocketing. I am rocking it!<br />
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Someone says I am 2nd gal, someone else says I am 4th. I don't care but do look who comes back from the trail as I am heading out. After a few I lost count. The race had an early start. Everybody looks strong. How do I know? Why would I care? I only know I am running behind a girl wearing a scarf Russian style, and I am liking her, this tiny little woman. I see Larry coming back and scream "Hey, baby!" and stop for a kiss. He didn't look that good here, and I worry, but don't let it bother me. He is running his race, I am running mine. And I am rocking it.<br />
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As we approach turn-around, (just a chalk arrow and a box), exactly at 4:47 into the run, the "Russian scarf girl" stops and asks "Are you Olga?". While we chat I almost forget to drop my card - but I don't. She is Iris from Calgary, and is a friend of Leslie from Banff whom I know (virtually), so we are thrilled about this! As we talk, I slowly pull away without noticing, because I am so damn happy. I am dancing (imagine how it looks when you don't hear the music I have in my headphones), I am yelling insanities and as I pass guys on the hills ("Com'n, folks, stay with me!"), I can't wipe smile off my face. As I enter back Penny Pines, one of my newest additions, J Lo's On the floor, came up on tunes - and I turned the volume all the way up. I had never done it so loud! But I was rocking this song, my mood, the mountains, and the people. I got my drop bag, and as I drink my V8 juice, I keet dancing, then tell the girl getting my bottles filled (yelling over the loud music in my ears) "Isn't J Lo hot?". Hopefully the runner's crew friends didn't call mental institution. I stuffed the gels into pockets (which was a few too many, and my skirt kept riding down on me) and jumped out of the gates. <br />
I need to ride this happiness, I decided. Not push up, not speed up, just cherish this feeling. I hit a small pocket of a "low", one and only in the whole day, and I shook it off. It was hot, low 70's, high and dry, completely open to the burning sun, I was drinking every drop, and I was running. Unbelievable. Back to Todd's cabin on the spur, I see a girl coming out of AS. I get down, wait for my bottles, and a runner say "Hey, Olga, I don't know if you are racing, but there was a girl just leaving...". I exclaim "I am now!" and everyone laughs. I get out, but pull a notch back in my effort and settle in. It is 18 miles to the end, too early to race somebody's race, and I bet the girl is going to make a mistake (she had that look) - she will decide to put a distance on me and will exert herself. If I do my own thing, I will be where I have to be...<br />
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I run and hike next section very mellow, just riding what the course dictates. I see the girl as we enter the AS. Another volunteer asks me questions if I am coming back to SD100, I am telling him about my plans for OD100 - and take off, passing the gal (and a handfull of guys) behind at the AS. Only one man gets by and dissapears. A few hikers come towards (there are lots of them all day long, every one of them nice and chatty and polite), and they are showing me 2 fingers and saying "go get it". Am I second? 2 more ahead? It sounded like there was a female close, and I strain my eyes to look on the hillside ahead - and don't see anyone. I tell myself to calm down one more time. Run your own race, honey.<br />
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There is a pretty substential climb here, and I suddenly feel at first a cramp coming, and then my right calf tightens and cramps, sending wave to my hamstring and to my butt. Left side joins. Ouch! It somehow doesn't scare me. More like - really, both sides, full leg cramp? For the most part it becomes dull, and only siezes when I eaither jump over a rock, or step off a ledge sharply, and I, for some reason, play my medical profession and picture muscles and tendons and "yo, here is the origin of a lateral head of bicep femoris, ai, here is soleus...". I drop my emergency NUUN tablet into one of the bottles and sip on both water and NUUN (latest studies proved that cramps develop more of dehydration than of salt depletion). Despite that whacko developing, I am still happy - and still running. My legs, muscles in them anyway, feel great. I surprise myself how much of that flat ridge is runnable - to me! - that late in a race! May be I was born to run after all? Then, a heaven, a downhill, long strong downhill. I was born to run down - I enter last AS, Fred Canyon.<br />
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A woman runs to me and asks "Are you Olga?" Well, yes, I am. "Your husband said you'd want ice and water and you'd want it fast and furious!". Well, yes, indeed, thank you. I laugh. This is so awesome. Can you freakin' believe it? They fill my bottles "per request" as I swallow my gel - I also caught another handfull of guys here, and I get out before they blink. And catch that man who passed me at the last AS. Aha, here is a lesson, buddy. Nobody passes me in the last thrid of the race without consequences:)<br />
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I am still cramping wildly the whole backs of my legs, and still running, not crazy fast, but steady. I make a (second for the race) pit stop, and hug the steep slope of a mountain, on a narrow trail, with a steep drop on my left, eyes glued to the single track. Suddenly a voice says something, and I flip - look ahead (nothing), look behind (nothing), the voice says something again, I make a head turn up over the shoulder - there is a dude hanging on a tree above the trail taking photos. Really? I almost fell off the cliff? I laugh and go on. I remember this section so well, from 2005, before the asphalt road, how I screamed in desperation here, and there are only 4 miles left after that...<br />
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There are not all down, those last 4, and I allow myself to walk some inclines, and even some parts of flats. I do simple math and think: 9:35, and I will be at even split. This is awesome! Can I smile even more? Here is a rock 1.5M from the finish line, Larry and I hiked up here yesterday, I am 9:15 in. Here I can see the highway I need to cross under. I push the button and find "Eye of the tiger" song. I never skip my music. I feel the need now. Can I beat 9:30? Under the highway. It's 9:27. May be not...Skip button. Find Eminem's "Not afraid" now, quickly! My other newest addition! I am rocking it, I see the finish line, I see Larry running frantically to take a picture of me, and I am running right past the dudes with the clock with my Longhorn fists up! And I keep dancing, music blaring. I am not afarid! I don't want it to stop, none of it! I bet folks thought I was obnoxious. I was simply thrilled. 9:29. 5 minutes negative splits. And I am still rocking it!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tiTP9R5qHAiwP9Jh9uzEqacoS7hTg5FbNmZDGvebtuAEkUJNnspeYQM8rXoJ_u1CirT1aNk9Oz_rlGEvp9NHufJsmCYdzAKHBEo_rtFf9pKqmyTkuaqP4UQWhpkjlUTBVTN8jGGKR1s/s1600/finish1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tiTP9R5qHAiwP9Jh9uzEqacoS7hTg5FbNmZDGvebtuAEkUJNnspeYQM8rXoJ_u1CirT1aNk9Oz_rlGEvp9NHufJsmCYdzAKHBEo_rtFf9pKqmyTkuaqP4UQWhpkjlUTBVTN8jGGKR1s/s320/finish1.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
But wait! A man turns to me and says I am first woman. Really? You are joiking, right? He shakes head. I turn to Larry - is he serious? Yes, indeed. I am in utter disbelief. Really? Can this day get any better?<br />
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Larry ran an amazingly smart race. He took it easy, never played testosteron games, ate and hydrated, and chased a bunch of guys down in second half. Only in the last 15 miles did he face the demons with stomach distress, which prevented him to "capitalize" on the downhills, yet he never gave up and placed 9th overall. He finished in 9:06 - which means the family wage win is still mine! Just kidding. The sweetest thing was that stop for a bit at the last AS when he told volunteers I will need help very fast ("unlike me" were his words) and he also told them I will most likley be the first female. I guess my husband has more faight in me than I do:)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqKMFmDgqcS9XCs76AM-Z4TYE5cx6z6cLlqXGgsVg31xe8R992Qy7bcEjXgaljsHJfhrLOtRBboQmu6LD7e7yWZyRFsCDHi6PHJQe8pqxjlzAOfilOljaQGKjENEZeOjFuSo6XmifyVo/s1600/Larry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqKMFmDgqcS9XCs76AM-Z4TYE5cx6z6cLlqXGgsVg31xe8R992Qy7bcEjXgaljsHJfhrLOtRBboQmu6LD7e7yWZyRFsCDHi6PHJQe8pqxjlzAOfilOljaQGKjENEZeOjFuSo6XmifyVo/s320/Larry.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div><br />
The great times didn't end, and the luck never stopped. We drove back to San Diego and got a room in downtomw Hilton - for $94, while still wearing race clothes, having salt all over my face, pigtails in my hair and dirty legs. A great treat! I promised to clean up nicely. We ate at Pei Wei and my fortune cookie read "This week your lucky day is Saturday. Enjoy the fun" No kidding, heh? We slept in - and had a huge breakfast at a diner at 6am. We slept some more. We ate more - like 20 lbs of food. We flew back with no hussle. Stephen was great. Life was beautiful. I am going to miss this weekend:)<br />
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About the course: it was marked immaculately, and hard to get lost when running PCT all the way. It suits all my strength. I haven't been to the mountains since last Tahoe race in July, and I missed it so dearly. I love mountains. the attitude and mood I had was a clear indication where I belong. I didn't need to force anything out of myself. The whole time I couldn't believe how far I was, it felt I just set out for a morning jog. By the time I was leaving last AS it was still not any close to what I experience when I run here. My legs are not sore, and while I am going to loose a few toenails (I always do, having to do with my "special" downhill running, and I don't care), and my foot has a pretty big bruise due to the heel spur, there are no blisters (thanks, Drymax!) and no foot issues (thanks, Crosslites!). I need to email Powergel company to get them sponsor me - love this gel, never an issue with a stomach! I wore Tejas Trail shirt - it was light, cute, had a pocket on the back for empty garbage, and I felt an urge to represent my home state. I sure hope I did:)Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-17119500553680562972011-04-21T07:45:00.000-07:002011-04-21T07:45:02.002-07:00A Grand (Canyon) WeekendSometimes running isn’t about the races or the training but about where you are and who you’re with when you go for a run.<br />
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Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon and do a rim-to-rim-to-rim run again. This would be my fourth time doing a double crossing. I also had the opportunity to go with a group of running friends from the Ogden area. I can’t think of too many other things I would have rather done than do a run in this spectacular place with a bunch of friends. We had a great time. Doesn’t get much better than that.<br />
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<strong>Prologue</strong><br />
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We began planning this adventure last year and all sorts of people said they were going. What I’ve found out is that when the date gets closer, most people end up dropping out and the group ends up being two or three people. This time we had ten total runners that did all or part of the journey. For several, this was their first visit to the Grand Canyon as well as their longest run ever, by a long ways. Since I had done this run a few times, I became the defacto tour guide.<br />
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On Friday afternoon, most of us were able to get in a view of the canyon with me pointing out where we were going. There were several “wows”, “what did I get myself into”, “this is kind of scary” comments, but everyone was still up for the run. We agreed to start at 4am so that we would hopefully avoid most of the heat of the day in the inner canyon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpeD2hJ3EGl9Z4ST2rRh1OxbH5tWfP5L_n_f0nmzaqrRJ9Uxzz3NARWPEaghcXcK1CL7Oq5hQyGDf5L-C2qUEGReAQjpz9VzDp5UJP-qFjI61Ik-rHZ4SP7vB1eow1kcqavFxPwng1S0/s1600/100_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpeD2hJ3EGl9Z4ST2rRh1OxbH5tWfP5L_n_f0nmzaqrRJ9Uxzz3NARWPEaghcXcK1CL7Oq5hQyGDf5L-C2qUEGReAQjpz9VzDp5UJP-qFjI61Ik-rHZ4SP7vB1eow1kcqavFxPwng1S0/s400/100_0131.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The last supper</div><br />
<strong>Journey</strong><br />
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We ended up starting at 4:20am on Saturday morning. The air temperature was about 32 degrees but there wasn’t any breeze. Generally a pleasant morning and we were excited. Since it was dark, no one could see the trail from the rim, let alone the canyon. One of our party went down the trail a ways so she could get pictures of the headlamp train coming down.<br />
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After about an hour we came to Indian Gardens. This is about half way to the river and is a campground, water stop, etc. We took a short break to refill on water, eat a little something, take some pictures, marvel at the scenery. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRWuMlbeDOR9zafKWGz3XkndZOlJhh7zldRvkoTkw_DJXRqh9qip41pipHG-YwoZGrTsQUN2enZS-m90f_-4Qx-YdeOqJ4PrejJa5DwLjuUocqypcWuMH-9j_QVQVv001jNnOY0jvdes/s1600/100_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRWuMlbeDOR9zafKWGz3XkndZOlJhh7zldRvkoTkw_DJXRqh9qip41pipHG-YwoZGrTsQUN2enZS-m90f_-4Qx-YdeOqJ4PrejJa5DwLjuUocqypcWuMH-9j_QVQVv001jNnOY0jvdes/s400/100_0138.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">According to this sign, we’re all going to die if we attempt to hike to the river and back in one day</div><br />
After that we kept going down and down and down. Finally we saw the river and began the short run to the silver bridge. Along the way us guys had to stop and throw rocks into the river trying to hit a large boulder. It’s a guy thing. We trotted across the silver bridge and a few minutes later came to the Phantom Ranch. Here we stopped, filled up on water, ate some, took a break and let everyone catch up. Everyone agreed that this was an awesome place to go for a run.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCkvJq6iuykzlLGlAbJirYR2D16WeIyGMaoq9AIvlbWLH3VYj0yi9RLsXK6ukwLfuKL0FrkyziaPQFi9TEOywP7TNDBUkOgZM2Xurl_5DU42nQYobvgLTrThyphenhypheneAO4mQEBpDFyUTsjtY0/s1600/100_0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCkvJq6iuykzlLGlAbJirYR2D16WeIyGMaoq9AIvlbWLH3VYj0yi9RLsXK6ukwLfuKL0FrkyziaPQFi9TEOywP7TNDBUkOgZM2Xurl_5DU42nQYobvgLTrThyphenhypheneAO4mQEBpDFyUTsjtY0/s400/100_0156.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The motley crew at the Phantom Ranch</div><br />
We began the run up Bright Angel Canyon as the sun was just hitting the upper walls of the canyon. The run up was pretty uneventful, just going along, marveling at the scenery, enjoying every minute of it. Eventually we got to Cottonwood Campground. Last year I did this run the same weekend and the water was on. This year it wasn’t. A few people were concerned, but I mentioned that the caretaker house was just a mile or two up the trail and the water was always on there. Sure enough, when we got there, the water was on and we were all able to tank up. By now our group was starting to spread out and I went most of the way to the north rim with a fellow R2R2R runner from San Francisco. I got to the north rim by 12:30pm. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UGrx3UJhAbMpTlhhush0zB9QEanJDlLlMWXVkd8TAumw4QwcQYhlzAv4-GXwPVKhuWWbPXDf6KncW-UvTYqnLQ9AYKOGi0oj7dYso9yQVpLKraWJxiisq5lkNM4Cr_IW-jsTdex3lVA/s1600/100_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UGrx3UJhAbMpTlhhush0zB9QEanJDlLlMWXVkd8TAumw4QwcQYhlzAv4-GXwPVKhuWWbPXDf6KncW-UvTYqnLQ9AYKOGi0oj7dYso9yQVpLKraWJxiisq5lkNM4Cr_IW-jsTdex3lVA/s400/100_0194.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Speedgoat at the north rim</div><br />
Felt great and took about a 30 minute break waiting for the others to show. A couple of the faster guys in our group had already headed back down. Eventually I decided to head back down because I wanted to get back to the Phantom Ranch before they closed at 4pm and buy some lemonade. So Jerome (the runner from SF) and I headed down. We had to push fairly hard to make it before closing and we managed to do just that. When I walked into the Ranch, I was the last customer. I put down a $20 and told them I wanted to buy as many lemonades as I could. I ended up with eight and as each runner in our group came in, I handed them one. That was some good stuff. I ended up spending two hours at the Ranch waiting for people to come through. Jerome and I finally took off for the south rim at 6pm with a few of the others following a few minutes later.<br />
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As we went up the Bright Angel trail and the skies got darker, the frogs really started to croak. Huge sounds echoing off the canyon walls, but coming from these tiny little frogs about two inches big. The bats started to come out as well and would fly extremely close to us snagging bugs. We made it to Indian Gardens a little after 7pm, took a short break and pressed on. I was still feeling very good other than getting hungry. I was out of food and worried about bonking. I’ve bonked before going up this trail and it’s not fun. Next was making it to the 3-mile resthouse. That took us 45 minutes and based on that I told Jerome that it would take us another 1.5 hours to get to the top. We must have picked up the pace because we made it to the 1.5-mile resthouse just 35 minutes later and 35 minutes after that we were coming out of the canyon. So, after some 17 hours in the depths of the Grand Canyon, I was finally out. I ended up waiting at the trailhead in my car until 12:45am when the last person finally made it up.<br />
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Aftermath<br />
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As friends finished, several swore they would never do that again, it was the hardest or worst thing they had ever done. However, by the next day, most were ready to go again. Some of us spent Sunday just hanging out enjoying the scenery, watching the California Condors and eating, rather than driving home. It was a nice way to relax and relive the experience.<br />
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For me, doing this run was a reward for the training that I do as well as a break after directing the Buffalo Run. Doing it with a bunch of friends just made it that much more special.<br />
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I was a little worried about how I would do given my seeming lack of running, but I think the biking and swimming I’ve been doing more than made up for it as I felt great the entire day. I wish I had taken one more 1st Endurance flask for the calories. Next time. <br />
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I wore my La Sportiva Crosslites and they worked perfectly, but I think they’re ready for retirement as the coolest lawn mowing shoes on the block. I know I’m ready to go again. Maybe try some different trails next time.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUOc2Obc-rcbechbrOHeUCyogg0mQ0YjFB-RRAPDs6PKpff6DFhQknnh4PMFurvUIkrUQ4HFO3Zi2bA6qvy2-NqBRDf9wUq-rOza6AIvk06DIAkWXe0Ypq_eLybeCehiDbnH3pK3JwWc/s1600/100_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUOc2Obc-rcbechbrOHeUCyogg0mQ0YjFB-RRAPDs6PKpff6DFhQknnh4PMFurvUIkrUQ4HFO3Zi2bA6qvy2-NqBRDf9wUq-rOza6AIvk06DIAkWXe0Ypq_eLybeCehiDbnH3pK3JwWc/s400/100_0213.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-82099174231587032882011-04-12T10:50:00.001-07:002011-04-13T10:34:39.996-07:00Umstead 100 by Beth and Larry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVz6zhIe0XbJLxR7cUJcj5tPdhQkd42z5foXeYBO8VtluUgjyAAz45TSylKL1xLOgNdcTnCe4ifJQAs4cq0bKTMtoDr9D4XEiNIlS7dAnYWOhEb6yLtKTf4fmujDg4KJztCmpVkNX7HSA/s1600/umstead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVz6zhIe0XbJLxR7cUJcj5tPdhQkd42z5foXeYBO8VtluUgjyAAz45TSylKL1xLOgNdcTnCe4ifJQAs4cq0bKTMtoDr9D4XEiNIlS7dAnYWOhEb6yLtKTf4fmujDg4KJztCmpVkNX7HSA/s320/umstead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Based on what we had heard, we thought the hardest thing about Umstead would be successfully navigating the entry process. Wrong!!<br />
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Umstead is in eastern North Carolina and consists of eight 12.5 mile loops on a crushed granite path. We selected it because the smoothness of the trail wouldn't affect Larry's tendency to get double vision at night. We had heard that the course was much easier than Rocky Racoon, which we recently ran too. The 8000 ft. elevation gain over the course of the race came in a few climbs each loop that were much longer and steeper than those at RR, but certainly do not compare to the mountain 100s that we are used to. They tricked you into wanting to run them, which caught up to us as the loops added up. <br />
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Beth's goal was first to break 24 hours and maybe even set a PR while Larry's goal was more ambitious, wanting to see his first sub 20 hour finish. The weather cooperated as we started in the dark and low 40s. The sun popped out during the afternoon, but didn't exceed the low 60s.<br />
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Despite the recent rains, the trail was dry and hard packed and in many places felt no different than pavement. We both wore our Wildcats and didn't change shoes or Drymax socks the entire race. (thanks LaSportiva and Drymax!) Neither of us had a single blister. <br />
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Beth missed her goal of setting a PR, her lap splits were fairly close and she ran her fastest 100 in 3 years, finishing in 23:27.<br />
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In order to reach my goal, I had hoped to run the first 50 between 8 and 8.5 hours. That came and went without a hitch. The wheels began to fall off soon after. I didn't think I had gone out too fast, as I felt comfortable the first 50. Maybe it was the lack of a good taper or just too many races recently. At the end of the 5th loop, a sub 20 still looked possible, but by 75 miles that dream was long gone. The quads and hip flexors simply stopped working and I have to attribute it to the constant running with no real uphill walking breaks. The remaining 25 miles morphed into a sufferfest as it took 8 hours cover the distance. Not only did I not break 20 hours, but that 14 hour last 50 miles also prevented me from setting a PR, finishing in 22:19. I was very disappointed, but hopefully a lesson to be learned on other future "easy" 100 mile courses. Perhaps taking a lesson from my wife's steady pacing would be in order!Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-10213179051982746212011-04-06T20:47:00.000-07:002011-04-06T20:47:04.054-07:002011 Goat SkinsThe Speed Goats will be wearing Patagonia skins this year. The design has been finalized and we'll be sporting them on the trails soon!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuMJjw7oCfqBulnka0XuznWt-gl9C8Yl06LBcQ4H9cZqWVhFeNz-Z8-UFbyszuW7LXb0_89IzCjaCE6O-CiZm_NMKKnLLixHDmQNisALI8yhW_1DC2tKId_6aPAmxSnANorZX4alavt0/s800/skins2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuMJjw7oCfqBulnka0XuznWt-gl9C8Yl06LBcQ4H9cZqWVhFeNz-Z8-UFbyszuW7LXb0_89IzCjaCE6O-CiZm_NMKKnLLixHDmQNisALI8yhW_1DC2tKId_6aPAmxSnANorZX4alavt0/s1600/skins2011.jpg" /></a></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-16253474082352541272011-04-05T13:53:00.000-07:002011-04-05T13:53:01.859-07:00A little different race report<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a little different race report. I won’t have any results, breathless blow by blow accounts of the men’s 50K race, even though it was pretty exciting. You can read that stuff in Ultrarunning. This is from the race director’s side of the fence. Also, no photos, I was too busy to take any.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prerace</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I usually begin planning for the Buffalo Run shortly after the previous race ends. As I put away gear, inventory leftover food before taking it to the rescue mission, and generally clean things up, I make notes of what went right, what went wrong, what needs improvement. I talk with my wife, my volunteer coordinator, friends who ran the race and will tell me the unvarnished truth. The planning really goes into gear about November. By then race registration is open, I can gauge how many are going to enter based on previous year’s entries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the year, I place my order for shirts. I also start going to sponsors to see if they will sponsor for the next race. I also start going to new sponsors to see what I can get. I really dislike the sponsor hunting part of directing. I’m not good at hitting up people or companies for free stuff, even though it’s for my runners. I also never hit up for money. Since I treat this race as a business, I feel that it should be able to make it financially on its own without outside financial help. What I look for from sponsor is stuff I can put in goody bags or raffle prizes to give away. Stuff for runners. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually in January I start buying any gear I need. Over the years I’ve purchased most of the gear I need for the race. Renting is way too expensive, and I don’t like to rely on borrowed gear other than water jugs. Buying gives me more control and I’m a control freak with my race.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February sees me beginning to figure out how much in supplies I need to buy, food, expendable supplies, more equipment, etc. Since I’m an Engineer by training, I try to calculate what I need. For example, how much water does a runner consume in a 50K on average? 20 oz.? 40 oz.? Multiply that by number of runners, how many times they go through an aid station, etc. How many bananas does the average runner eat during a 25K or 50 mile? I had no idea a couple years ago. I have a better idea now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Based on the leftovers from the previous year, I know what food stuff to buy. I know after this year that granola bars are not a big hit, but Oreo cookies are (both were new this year). GU? I bought one per person for this year. I need more as I ran out. Cheeze-its are good, pretzels are not. Potatoes are always in demand, ramen noodles for the night. Hot broth. Sports drink. All of tis needs to be figured out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I buy food as far in advance as possible, but end up buying the fresh fruit and bread just a couple of days before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I start prepping aid stations supplies about three weeks before the race. I divvy up stuff like utensils, first aid kits, canopies, cups, etc. I put everything into plastic storage bins to better organize and then label with the aid station location. Makes it a whole lot easier when the volunteers show up to get their aid station supplies. They can grab and go.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Race Week</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Wednesday I have my lovely wife’s horse trailer packed with the first load to take out to the island. The park lets me store the stuff in the maintenance shed for a day or two. BTW, I’m getting a utility trailer this year to store and haul my race stuff in. the horse trailer is not nearly big enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday I haul the load out, unload and then go out to mark the trail. This takes most of the day. I would love to find someone to mark as well to save time, but that’s hard to do. Meanwhile, race check in is going on at Striders Running Store. They are gracious in allowing me to do check in for two days prior to the race.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Race Day</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday found me out on the island bright and early with a crew for setup. This year we had to setup in a hurry and the weather was horrible, driving wet snow while trying to set up canopies. Not fun. Meanwhile 100 mile runners were starting to show up, so I’m directing parking, unloading supplies, organizing aid station stuff. Pretty wild. I was lucky enough to have my son and son-in-law to help plus a couple others as well. We still didn't get done in time. I'm setting up Thursday next year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At noon I sent the 100 mile runners up the hillside into the snow. I had already sent out the Elephant Head aid station crew with their stuff, so no worries there. Shortly after the start, I sent out the drop bags for that location. Meanwhile, we continued to finish the setup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All afternoon Friday we worked to finish setting up, sending out other aid station supplies and personnel. Finally about 5pm I was able to relax a little. Everything was running reasonably smooth, runners were starting to come off the White Rock trails and head over to the Mountain View trails. Since I had some time I took a drive over to the Lower Frary aid station just to see how things were going. Quite well at that point. I went back to the start/finish and saw that people camping for the night were showing up and things were going well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 6:30 or so I drove back over to the Lower Frary aid station. I was going to pace a good friend of mine for about 12 miles through the early evening. Meghan usually heads up my Elephant Head aid station and does a great job, however, she wanted to run the 100 this year. The chance to get out and run for a few miles through the night was welcome. A great stress reliever and bonus, in all the years I have been out to the island, I had never run out there at night. It was pretty cool. The stars were out, it was kind of cold but a pretty good time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got back to the start/finish at about 10:30pm and things were quiet. People were finishing the first half and heading out for their second trip around the course. By around 3am, everyone had either passed through the half way point or had dropped. The front runners had passed through the start/finish for the third time (70 miles) and were well on their way to a finish. I managed a short nap, but then back up and working. Finally at 3:30am, the men’s winner (Dan Vega) of the 100-mile event crossed the finish line. About 30 minutes later Karl Meltzer finished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At about 4am, I found out that the remaining goody bags were in the main tent and needed to get delivered to the main gate so runners could check in there. Out to the main gate I went, then in to town to WalMart to pick up a few more supplies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shortly before 5am, 50-mile runners started showing up for their race. By then, I had the services of the volunteer trail patrol and they handled the parking duties. At 6am on the dot I sent out about 110 50-mile runners. As they trotted up the first hill, there were a few 100-mile runners coming down. No major collisions, thank goodness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the main race day was getting into gear. Volunteers started showing up, my lovely wife got there with our daughter and grandson (the highlight of my day). Meanwhile, 50K runners started trickling in to the race headquarters, 100-mile runners were coming off the White Rock trails (70 miles in) and heading east to the Mountain View trail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 8am on the dot, I sent out roughly 200 50K runners. After that, the 25K runners started showing up and at 9am I sent out almost 400 of them, many attempting their first trail run.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The remainder of the day was a mix of harried answers to the many questions of runners, making sure aid stations were manned and supplied, getting drop bags back, handing out awards and just making sure things ran as smoothly as possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last runner, a 50-mile runner, finally crossed the finish line at 7:30pm, one hour after the cutoff, but because I’m a nice guy, I didn’t pull her earlier. She was doing fine, just slow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At around 6pm, we began the laborious process of tearing stuff down, just as the weather started to turn again. We originally had a volunteer crew that was supposed to show up just for tear down. One person showed. That made the teardown process last a little longer and we didn’t get off the island until around 9pm that evening.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aftermath</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a lot of mixed feelings about this year’s race. I didn’t feel it was nearly as well organized as it usually is, and for this geeky Engineer, that bothers me….a lot. It was lots of little things that happened that shouldn’t have, volunteers that committed to being there and didn’t bother to show, or left early. Not enough volunteers to begin with. A park vehicle that I paid to rent was taken away from me mid-race and that really put a dent in getting drop bags back in a timely manner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year’s race grew by over 200 entrants from last year. I only had 150 runners the very first year. It’s no longer a quaint little trail race. It’s hit big time status as far as trail races go. I’m not sure that’s what I want. I never thought that this race would grow to the event it has. Almost 800 runners signed up? Wow! I do know that with the event being as big as it is now, the way it’s managed must change. I need to find capable, competent, people to help me manage it. I have to structure the volunteers differently. My attention to detail has to increase. I have to start planning much earlier than I ever have. So, lot’s of stuff to do over the next 12 months. Anyone want to help?</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gear</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I always include a gear report with my race reports, here it is. For the first part of the race on Friday I wore my La Sportiva Raptors. I figured I’d wear them since they would probably keep my feet a little drier during the little storm we had. For my pacing duties and the rest of the race, I wore my La Sportiva Crosslites. I love these shoes, light comfortable, almost like slippers. Never wore my Nathan pack or used any 1st Endurance products, but I did get some buffalo stew and one of my homebrews for lunch on Saturday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim Skaggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RD Antelope Island Buffalo Run</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RD Mountain View Trail Half Marathon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RD Antelope Island 100K</span><br />
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</span>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-21329117058276819582011-04-05T08:57:00.001-07:002011-04-05T08:59:28.963-07:00A Mountain Goat in GrasslandsGrasslands 50M was exactly what the name says: Grasslands. This land is grass, short shrubs, sand, sand, more sand, and heat in the open. It was a complete and utter suffer fest…<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/corina-cervantes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-2387" height="77" src="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/corina-cervantes.jpg?w=300" title="corina cervantes" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All photos are curtesy of Carina Cervantes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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I was feeling flat all week. Whether I am burnt out with hard training, or just with hard life, I don’t know, but my workouts were lousy even for a taper week. I was not excited to go race at all. But when I showed up at the start to get my package, and everyone was so thrilled and happy, and even though I felt lonely, quite a few happen to say hello…well, you know, I felt guilty for my negative emotions and decided instead of going for a crappy race to put in a great training run. It’s all about attitude… <br />
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The race is 1 out-n-back correction trail and 4 various size loops. All I knew is that every loop is about a mile shorter than the previous. Yeah, I wasn’t into it…but I was ready to go. I was in a pleasant frame of mind…until I got off course a mere mile and half into the run. Now, I have to admit, that those horse trails were perfectly marked and color-coded, but it was dark at the start, I was looking down and running in no-man’s land: 4 guys far in front, and everybody else quite far behind. So, I ran off to some lake, asked fishermen if they saw anyone, turned around and caught on a bunch of trains of runners mid-field. While I didn’t care much (common, it’s only took me 3-4 minutes!), the adrenaline still pumped and the heart was too fast. I told myself to calm down. Not the first time happened, not the last time for certain…<br />
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Before the race RD Kevin said it’s going to be upper-80’s and in the open will feel like a 100F. At 2M in I took my shirt off. I never – NEVER – raced with no shirt. Now, I learned to run on training runs in TX wearing only sports bra, but this is only when nobody I know would see me. It was a race! I could care less – I needed to let my body breathe and cool off. Speaking of breathing, thankfully first 3.5 hrs we had mostly clouds and a breeze!<br />
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But back to the course. Once on a first loop, the warning (I wish I knew before signing up) were sand, sand and more sand. Fine sand, dust, coarse sand, an inch high, a couple, ankle deep…into your shoes, can’t run, hard to walk…am I on California beach???<br />
<br />
<a href="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/sand.jpg" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2388" height="200" src="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/sand.jpg?w=224" title="sand" width="149" /></a><br />
<br />
But, I was out for a training run, and although I knew I am running up front, I was calm and quite positive, asking names of guys around, taking out my map at various intersections to make sure I am on correct color-coded loop, looking for markers, opening and closing the horse gates (which were so high up, I either reached standing on my toes, or couldn’t no matter what and crawled under). And I kept plowing forward.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/horsegate.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2389" height="200" src="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/horsegate.jpg?w=224" title="horsegate" width="149" /></a><br />
<br />
At 11:30am the sun burnt up the clouds, and the heat came full force. Soon after I reached an AS I figured was roughly soon after half-way, and a volunteer, commenting on my being first female said some name and “she may still catch you”. Now, I may not be in a race, but I surely hate the idea of being passed by anyone in second half. At that time, despite feeling every small muscle from my anatomy book due to sliding in the sand, I was feeling rather strong and moving well. Second big loop was done, and it turned out to be a whole mile further in a distance than I thought – 31.1M instead of 30! Amazing how little I was prepared – and how little can get you excited. I went on loop 3, more sand – and the running was over…couldn’t. Zapped. Done. But the powerwalking was still good…apparently, since I pulled up on a few guys. What meant even though I am falling apart, others are not fairing any better (I know, it sounds bad, but it does help to keep moving). I did run big parts, so it was not all lost. And my mental state was pretty serious - get it done, and get it done soon! Last 3 miles on that one-before-last loop a guy I caught up with took off, running on testosterone (well, he did look strong, he was just hanging out with his struggling buddy). He wasn’t getting chicked, my man Steve. That was ok. I came to loop’s end and saw him there, and exhaling “last 9M, 2 hrs” left ahead. <br />
<br />
And – the energy didn't magically appear for that final "kick". OK, I said, I powerwalked whole Palo Duro, I can make it with 9 miles. I was baking, dehydrated, hot, with chills under my skin and goosbumps under my hair. When Steve passed me once again, I told him to go ahead. Mentally, I was still ok, but in true ultrarunning style things change in a second. I was walking and telling myself: 8 miles left, 7.5, 7, 6.5…I remember distinctly being happy when number 6.5M came up…and literally a few seconds later I repeated 6.5M left – and was horrified. It seemed like an eternity. That I will never ever be able to make it that far. Amazingly, I started to add running bursts, in 20 seconds or so at first, then a bit longer. But the mind was done. I came to the last AS to see Steve again and told him I hate him for being able to run so well so late. Refilled my bottles with ice and water – and left before him. Of course, he caught me in a minute, than we walked together through like a mile stretch of sand. And then I was jogging. Then he was. I was walking faster, he was running stronger. We played leap, and eventually with 3 miles left I let him go. As he disappeared, the dark clouds of dehydrated fried mind came over. I was an emotional ball on the verge of tears. I didn’t want to be passed. I was afraid to look back. I never asked at any of the AS if anybody of the ladies was close, because I was petrified I would have to race – and now was mad. Getting passed in the last 3 miles would break me. I was vividly picturing if that happens. I wanted to cry and couldn’t – no water, no energy. I wanted a hug. I wanted to be home. I was telling myself, now that the last 50M course in TX is done, I don’t ever, never have to run another ultra here. Heck, I may never run another ultra, period! Then I thought I might be looking like zombie. I felt like one. I had my mouth open, eyes with blank stare, face unmoved – a photographer would have been thrilled. Somehow I was still throwing in lots of short runs. There was so much angst and pain in me, when I popped up, I hardly realized I am a bit off the other side where I had to be. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/trail.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2390" height="224" src="http://mountainrun.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/trail.jpg?w=300" title="trail" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
I finished about 40 seconds behind Steve. While I was congratulated and given something into my hands, I couldn’t speak, smile or react. It took me quite a few minutes to say I am ok. Apparently, I won and was 5th overall (officially 4th since one guy ran as a bandit and was DQ'ed) in time of 9:52… I think I am still not reacting properly. I think my neurons short-fused and fried. <br />
There was a lot of filth and dirt in my clothes - and in my shoes - but I do have to give a shout-out to La Sportiva shoes and Drymax socks – with all the sand and dust and sand, no gaiters and no changes, I had not a single blister (and I've seen a few at the finish line). The built-in protection in the shoes and technology of the sock was flawless. <br />
My dry report doesn't do justice to a race and it's organizers. It was done perfect, the single track was great, the marking awesome, and volunteers were angels. I really, truly loved how it was done. I am just not a heat runner... I am surprisingly not sore at all, in any places - while it was challenging to run on sand, the softness of it prevented from DOMS. I was kind of traumatized by the burning heat and sinking sand during a 50 miler:) <br />
<br />
One more thing to add. Racing in Texas at anything above 50k is all about surviving skills, not the speed. Being fast is all good when you go 3-4-5 hrs. Then it's about taking care of yourself, knowing your body, drinking and eating and taking salt...and in this part I did as good as possible. May be that's why I survived the quickest:)Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-82949544735921038872011-03-29T12:21:00.000-07:002011-03-30T07:24:55.223-07:00Salida Trail Marathon by Steve Pero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12ujONhigHr-KPTESUNUkgMAua9IEYhTu9j1lLuNFFt3mpJy39AEJirv0N9Qajm4t2FNY8H9LNTY9er50RLmOFR3R9Wo6nQNnSdxstd2tsldlYW6ftR4o19j1rS5ScGP1Nv2whsRlHpU/s1600/Town.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12ujONhigHr-KPTESUNUkgMAua9IEYhTu9j1lLuNFFt3mpJy39AEJirv0N9Qajm4t2FNY8H9LNTY9er50RLmOFR3R9Wo6nQNnSdxstd2tsldlYW6ftR4o19j1rS5ScGP1Nv2whsRlHpU/s400/Town.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Town of Salida, Colorado</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Salida Marathon</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">was one of many things....it was our first race of the year, which is always difficult, is at altitude and I've only been here for 8 weeks, not nearly enough to be racing up over 9000' and it was also what will most likely be our shortest and fastest race of the year! All negatives, but this turned out to be an extremely positive experience!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfq1O3Uau7FcPdVL0M9yre57Sc2LbFMuZ5K074xchsuj2uyB80BzQg06GYPvOgFdRoXxYPC0HZG4Bb4DEd7QBlc6yO9RQw0hJVERufuRDoCdpXe-9WgPP4nHHqTFiAvxCVQYffLYiYV8/s1600/Start.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfq1O3Uau7FcPdVL0M9yre57Sc2LbFMuZ5K074xchsuj2uyB80BzQg06GYPvOgFdRoXxYPC0HZG4Bb4DEd7QBlc6yO9RQw0hJVERufuRDoCdpXe-9WgPP4nHHqTFiAvxCVQYffLYiYV8/s400/Start.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Runners gathering for the start</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">First of all, the race just gets better the further into it you go. It begins in the small town of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salida,_Colorado">Salida, Colorado,</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>which is about 4.5 hours north of our home in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.jemezsprings.org/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jemez Springs, NM.</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">The running surface starts as an asphalt road for a few miles, which then becomes a dirt road (this has been all uphill, btw), which then becomes a steeper uphill trail to the turnaround and highest point at around 9100' and a little over 10 miles. You then go back down for a bit, take a left onto a jeep road at 13 miles, which eventually becomes a rugged, gnarly and rocky downhill road, some sandy trails, then the final downhill, twisty, turny trail named Li'l Rattler down to the finish. So instead of it's real name, I think it should be named the Salida "it gets better 'n better" Trail Marathon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyfjRRGT2_rUMjWyrN56BjAkDgnphqrP9g6z0UraBiZaILRujGcObALDJIX5AsXfrrvkk-77TEtlicFqMQMqvntz7QkEMJAEOPiDqbWjEqSEB4DVtZfePBu8Vub7Eo-60Dgsg_YOkbDk/s1600/Collegiates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyfjRRGT2_rUMjWyrN56BjAkDgnphqrP9g6z0UraBiZaILRujGcObALDJIX5AsXfrrvkk-77TEtlicFqMQMqvntz7QkEMJAEOPiDqbWjEqSEB4DVtZfePBu8Vub7Eo-60Dgsg_YOkbDk/s400/Collegiates.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the many nice sections, this around mile 9</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">As for my race, I decided to start out at a brisk, but comfortable pace. I wasn't sure how I would react to the altitude at a racing pace having just moved here from NH just 8 weeks ago, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I knew from past higher races, that I'd have no trouble running down, just on the ups...and the only real issue I had was from around 7 miles to 13 miles when it was up higher than where I live and have been training. My breathing was real heavy and my legs felt like jelly...so I just went with it and did what I could. One thing this did do was allow me to really crank the pace on the downhills and catch many runners who had gone out too fast early on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs92QfpmbZWal5laT3IBKkkGYDZGr1_d8Ra1R59v-HrvMPhnHyXVPIiJW2-ykP2RufMtPc8-Nui3zaGLVjW9gI4NMadBDUH_85PcM3KawhG-WlxMkgDqF24nuNwShuYFdiel254BQN54/s1600/Getting+gnarly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs92QfpmbZWal5laT3IBKkkGYDZGr1_d8Ra1R59v-HrvMPhnHyXVPIiJW2-ykP2RufMtPc8-Nui3zaGLVjW9gI4NMadBDUH_85PcM3KawhG-WlxMkgDqF24nuNwShuYFdiel254BQN54/s400/Getting+gnarly.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">But not all of the course was nice smooth road</span></b></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJmvhMS82FY8BbHq3BwGQr2YKBeEDdimu2brGeDn5BwGj6VOL2xkq0tBzHvN577-yZc8oapfX6HqAlS4wnHJCgyZlKdrfSosCZAGj21q7cicAr0lbsnZNwNN5191Zvo_4yRPDne4jJWo/s1600/Hunter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJmvhMS82FY8BbHq3BwGQr2YKBeEDdimu2brGeDn5BwGj6VOL2xkq0tBzHvN577-yZc8oapfX6HqAlS4wnHJCgyZlKdrfSosCZAGj21q7cicAr0lbsnZNwNN5191Zvo_4yRPDne4jJWo/s400/Hunter.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hunter Swenson from Los Alamos, running his longest race</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">I did get to spend some trail time with Hunter, who I had just met at the pre-race checkin. Hunter is a local<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos,_New_Mexico"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Los Alamos</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">runner who I hadn't met yet and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jason Halladay</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">introduced me and Deb to. Hunter was pushing the ups a little harder than I could handle, but I soon re-caught him around mile 18 on a beautiful downhill section of the course. I just told him to keep drinking and stay ahead of the gels and he'd be fine. Before I moved on down the hill he took this photo of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zdF3kkdDA4Bup1pm53hEKKMxkzTcHSyBkU8D6yyXG9KNo7UjBWF9s9hvFX8VhKPS8henrE8v5-4Hxm3-EBJMWz6sDBsBniSLYUTrD9rcczLfzKH1kkeuE2-bxPikvYU0sXZTkVRMHtM/s1600/Me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zdF3kkdDA4Bup1pm53hEKKMxkzTcHSyBkU8D6yyXG9KNo7UjBWF9s9hvFX8VhKPS8henrE8v5-4Hxm3-EBJMWz6sDBsBniSLYUTrD9rcczLfzKH1kkeuE2-bxPikvYU0sXZTkVRMHtM/s400/Me.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Photo of me with Salida and the mountains in behind</span></b></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is around mile 18</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Just after passing Hunter on an extremely steep and rocky downhill section, my toe caught something and I did a good Superman impression, actually flying with my arms outstretched, but tucked them under me as I landed, remembering the broken arm I got 11 years ago. It's always a shock to faceplant on flat terrain, but on a steep and rocky downhill, it always messes with your head. I got up as quickly as I could, knowing runners would be coming down behind me and made sure nothing was broken. My arms, hand and knees were scraped up with the palm of my left hand taking the full impact and I scraped a good chunk of skin off of it. With blood dripping down off my hand, I started to walk, then jog and within a few minutes could start running again....but I don't think I dared to fly down like I was again in the race.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvGqyA5tk_FIGpQvKbZ8ll1QQbjwc3qZnnGkYqCle0bHomVLmpz6252A-Q7VYhMdL9o7mdAVoKnQvcQaLM-YkjzjEbrS2j-4OC06GjUChMS8hwPhQUEdF07sd-lu_OwmYrVNf8oq5SG8/s1600/Nice+trail%252C+mountains%252C+mile+16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvGqyA5tk_FIGpQvKbZ8ll1QQbjwc3qZnnGkYqCle0bHomVLmpz6252A-Q7VYhMdL9o7mdAVoKnQvcQaLM-YkjzjEbrS2j-4OC06GjUChMS8hwPhQUEdF07sd-lu_OwmYrVNf8oq5SG8/s400/Nice+trail%252C+mountains%252C+mile+16.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Right around this corner, I played Superman</span></b></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DBu6Wc0nIQ9XChHoLg2SMhggPlX8csR7EHBHSsSJPI9PBzEf04RVy49bmWXOs5_fUYFZ8wCZNC0y1UMXfR1YW894Aow_Y4k5z6UcQ733RcHN9mFUxyX-XMXDsSNsrVE1K4fk_hBYrjQ/s1600/Gnarlier.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DBu6Wc0nIQ9XChHoLg2SMhggPlX8csR7EHBHSsSJPI9PBzEf04RVy49bmWXOs5_fUYFZ8wCZNC0y1UMXfR1YW894Aow_Y4k5z6UcQ733RcHN9mFUxyX-XMXDsSNsrVE1K4fk_hBYrjQ/s400/Gnarlier.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Or maybe it was here....</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">From this point on, I felt great.... catching runners and just flowing down the hills. My goal was to run under 5 hours and if I could keep this pace up, it would be close, but should get it done. I always wonder what surprises would come and at one point in the last 5 miles when I was sure I'd cruise in for that sub 5, we hit a steep and sandy uphill on a hot section. I walked by several runners just bent over at the knees alongside the trail. The warmer (60 degreeish) temps in this canyon section and steeper trail had gotten to them. I had run out of water and the previous aid station (20 miles) only had Gatorade, which my tummy doesn't like, but I took a half bottle with the promise that there was another aid station 3 miles out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLJcR-d7KICLnHAiIKflloJK8cs0H4MPFORGOe9EHgc_ELHal4_CjESLrFnTY-Q803pxptc5Je-AIGSRn8qCnNtFlzsmf91OHlvQTppsSFEZdpOY4OeGd-YkLSS4OAc26EoSAhWrtRGg/s1600/Sandy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLJcR-d7KICLnHAiIKflloJK8cs0H4MPFORGOe9EHgc_ELHal4_CjESLrFnTY-Q803pxptc5Je-AIGSRn8qCnNtFlzsmf91OHlvQTppsSFEZdpOY4OeGd-YkLSS4OAc26EoSAhWrtRGg/s400/Sandy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the sandy sections in the canyon</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">What was working really well for me was the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.firstendurance.com/efs-liquid-shot.html"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">First Endurance EFS wild berry liquid shot</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">. It tasted better than the vanilla to me and was watery enough that I didn't need any water to get it down...I just had one flask with me today, which had 400 calories and some electrolytes. I never did sweat much during the race, so didn't need to take any electrolyte caps.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAy4xnpXbyD6UhJEQHxtaCJKhFUscqoRl4eebme7tgzau4oApk4J8CbXiFlnpQqQDTar9xG0zQ2y7Y2LYK2HrWme_peelUgi40a554LhD-WqStr3u6cVLUVbrEkBqYq49Y1ijFyzU86I/s1600/Last+aid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAy4xnpXbyD6UhJEQHxtaCJKhFUscqoRl4eebme7tgzau4oApk4J8CbXiFlnpQqQDTar9xG0zQ2y7Y2LYK2HrWme_peelUgi40a554LhD-WqStr3u6cVLUVbrEkBqYq49Y1ijFyzU86I/s400/Last+aid.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ahhh, finally some water!</span></b></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mile 23ish...</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">At 23ish miles and near the top of the "S" hill up above Salida I reached the final aid station and yes, she had water...delicious water. The woman that was manning the aid station handed me the bottle and I drank a good half of it right there, knowing that I wouldn't be drinking much more....had to start cranking again to see if there were any more runners I could pass.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4CJ_XDnd3Mc8pUfooPxxUU6A5OUKzvHSXESRTFBsygOclirhZHJO0G8uQ4UAg8nvKA1KHLp6Fwd691xeSUgVTv8zVr77hXjhRprjXcs4tcb_TjRPiQisAncxoIhv5hy2Axyc-ToVjfk/s1600/Closing+in.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4CJ_XDnd3Mc8pUfooPxxUU6A5OUKzvHSXESRTFBsygOclirhZHJO0G8uQ4UAg8nvKA1KHLp6Fwd691xeSUgVTv8zVr77hXjhRprjXcs4tcb_TjRPiQisAncxoIhv5hy2Axyc-ToVjfk/s400/Closing+in.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is what running down to the finish looked like on Li'l Rattler</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">As I made my way down the hill and around the corner, I was able to pass several runners who were just getting it done. In the distance I saw<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006053/index.htm"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tom Sobal</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">struggling a bit and stepped the pace up a bit. I knew Tom had won the over 50 division last year and is a legend in trailrunning, snowshoe racing and burro racing, but also knew that 55 year old<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Steve%20Bremner"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Steve Bremner</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Colorado Springs</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">was probably enjoying his first beer by now... We had maybe a mile to go and Tom stepped aside to allow me to pass on the final narrow single track and at the bottom by the railroad tracks I pushed the pace some more, about as fast as I could manage now, passing yet another struggling runner. I then heard footsteps and with about a 1/4 mile to go and just before the turn under the bridge, Tom went by me like I was standing still....I tried to react, but the legs just couldn't turn over any faster. I pushed down the hill under the bridge, but ran out of real estate...crossing the finish in 4:52. Goal accomplished, but why does there always have to be something that you wished hadn't happened? ;-) It would have been sweet to re-catch Tom and outkick my fellow senior runner to the finish line, but it's just too early in the year for that kind of stuff for this 59 year old runner. And yeah, it will be nice to run next year and maybe be the first over 60, but there was a 62 year old runner just 1 minute and 2 places behind me...so next year I might have to do some hill repeats with the Los Alamos runners before returning here. ;-)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Shoes -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/530"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">La Sportiva Skylites</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Fuel -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.firstendurance.com/efs-liquid-shot.html"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">and water<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Weather - 30's-60's and sunny, slight breeze<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Altitude - 7100' to 9100' and back<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Attitude - Felt great, it was a good effort for race #1.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://debpero.com/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Deb</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">said her race was a fair one, but considering the fact that just 9 weeks ago she was in a serious truck accident, she's lucky to be running at all. She always has trouble going out quickly and needs a long warm up, which is why she does so well in 100 mile races. Here she had to get going right from the start to avoid the tight cutoffs at every aid station, so she pushed it a bit and ended up in a little deficit at mile 18 and it took her until mile 23 to feel like a runner again. Once she regrouped, she was able to get running again and brought it in just over 6 hours in first in her age group... according to the RD, Jon McManus, but looking at the results it shows a woman ahead of her at age 54, so we don't know what happened. There seems to be many misprints in the results, so maybe this is one of those. Regardless, her race was a success considering the accident. She figures she lost a good 30 minutes during her down period.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinel55AQ9TKrEdxC1Ys8yYb5DQ2jnA7iCAHE0Tg5gxkGS3acPRkrYoPd76uSiCKc4pySL13CeHkaihZgKs4l3sokd49EozZ9JBi2-CAYQA9OmgWgNtlaFnrdcSDRDypLOyRT_yP1Lbcb8/s1600/Deb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinel55AQ9TKrEdxC1Ys8yYb5DQ2jnA7iCAHE0Tg5gxkGS3acPRkrYoPd76uSiCKc4pySL13CeHkaihZgKs4l3sokd49EozZ9JBi2-CAYQA9OmgWgNtlaFnrdcSDRDypLOyRT_yP1Lbcb8/s400/Deb.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Deb getting it done...</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">So #1 of the year in the books...and it went well for both of us considering. After many years of racing in the East, it is going to be fun running against most of who are Coloradans, or so it seems. Maybe in a few more months my lungs will cooperate a little better in the thinner air.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">For results go here:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/run-through-time-photos/2011-Run-Through-Time-Race%20Results-Marathon.pdf"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/run-through-time-photos/2011-Run-Through-Time-Race%20Results-Marathon.pdf</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">For the rest of my pictures I took during the race go here:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/ultrastevep/2011SalidaRunThroughTimeMarathon"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">https://picasaweb.google.com/ultrastevep/2011SalidaRunThroughTimeMarathon#</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">We were thinking of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.collegiatepeakstrailrun.org/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Collegiate Peaks 50</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">as our next race, but May is so heavy with miles planned and our first big race being in June (San Juan Solstice 50 miler), that we are reconsidering and just going to stay home and train. We have the wonderful</span><a href="http://mountain-trail-series.blogspot.com/"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">MTNRNR</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">series to run every weekend and also will be sweeping the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.highaltitudeathletics.org/JemezMt.htm"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jemez 50</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">mile, which is about 40 miles and that would be the weekend after CP50, so possibly too much. We've moved up to #'s 18 and 20 in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://hardrock100.com/">Hardrock Hundred</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>wait list, so we're still hopeful for that and will train as if we are in the race.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">So with that the race schedule is:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">June -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://web.me.com/grayj923/San_Juan_Solstice_50_Mile_Race/Welcome.html"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">San Juan Solstice 50 mile</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">July -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://hardrock100.com/">Hardrock</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(hopefully) and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://karlmeltzer.com/speedgoat-50k/">Speedgoat 50K</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">August - nothing (yet)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sept -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.wasatch100.com/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Wasatch 100</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">(Deb) and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.bear100.com/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Bear 100</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">(Me)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Oct - Nothing planned yet, but hopefully a Grand Canyon R2R2R<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Nov - I turn 60, so will find something ;-)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">So that's it and until the next post....Happy trails!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Steve and Deb<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJ9rwMTBMloLt41iOLtodXRZWJ2HGV_qIVfCYxMPwesE6qQ_hafDr8lZAHe3O1HaKMAeWcwMLKOKRujQFIPqtKE6D3AsyIdyfb8fjVcnAy6FrufSL6vwMOFW7dfnVrCv95xUCp6eY68U/s1600/After+the+fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJ9rwMTBMloLt41iOLtodXRZWJ2HGV_qIVfCYxMPwesE6qQ_hafDr8lZAHe3O1HaKMAeWcwMLKOKRujQFIPqtKE6D3AsyIdyfb8fjVcnAy6FrufSL6vwMOFW7dfnVrCv95xUCp6eY68U/s400/After+the+fall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><b>This is me the next morning on a hike with Deb and the dogs....</b></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>....all bandaged up from the fall.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-77849239647375526712011-03-29T12:19:00.001-07:002011-03-30T09:03:22.030-07:00Orcas 50k by Monica Ochs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqazxz5z5_zUtylVHUjg2CJc-Q0ej9pbAVKcYk-6t_y0jk8ZJlST3xy20ezu9MhFVOJe14SJ1n_hR19ShPT-pCGZWQXtOUyA3tvsWHXFLCvSIhJPvcP9ZYZJxj3jP6l1_ne2hPGohV-sny/s1600/IMG_1900.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqazxz5z5_zUtylVHUjg2CJc-Q0ej9pbAVKcYk-6t_y0jk8ZJlST3xy20ezu9MhFVOJe14SJ1n_hR19ShPT-pCGZWQXtOUyA3tvsWHXFLCvSIhJPvcP9ZYZJxj3jP6l1_ne2hPGohV-sny/s400/IMG_1900.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574864405039266098" /></a><br /><br />It has been two weeks since Orcas 50k and I am off on a plane tomorrow morning to Austin for a marathon so I suppose it is time to do a little Orcas recap! James knows how to put on a race!! It actually feels more like a party. Good friends, beautiful trails, delicious food and drinks, and a few little hills thrown in just for the heck of it! I was worried this 50k would be a suffer fest considering I have not felt like myself ever since Colorado in August. I have been dealing with shortness of breath even running with very little effort. I also started a new job in January so my training has not been up to par. Well, it ended up working out well. I took it easy and considered it would be a good run to begin my WS training. I certainly felt my lungs working, especially on the power line trail but it was a normal working. Not a wheezing, feel like I am going to die, working. The day was beautiful (check out <a href="http://www.pbase.com/gtach/orcas11">Glenn's photos</a>) and it felt like home reconnecting with my trail running buddies. My time was way slower than in years past but that is what my plan was. <a href="http://orcasisland50k.blogspot.com/">Results</a> here. If you are ever looking for a race with views from Canada to Rainier, 8000 some feet of elevation gain, and great amenities check out this run! It is a perfect season opener!Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-76838115117551556972011-03-29T12:16:00.000-07:002011-03-30T09:09:27.695-07:00My story of the 2011 Mountain Mist 50km (by Robert Youngren)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My story of the 2011 Mountain Mist 50km</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlyp0yy6-FxnArrf9rFOQ5uKJGtj_lqbuphWUpDG36IcIPqX4DhyphenhyphenGbcyjHLDklEg84zRiXGheCgd4wheYN58s88MGtdHUIsRNkhvi1hqX4zmm8OeKIuCuNFht8qvPc-LTw9lDj89GD90/s1600/mmt50k_2011_fisheye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlyp0yy6-FxnArrf9rFOQ5uKJGtj_lqbuphWUpDG36IcIPqX4DhyphenhyphenGbcyjHLDklEg84zRiXGheCgd4wheYN58s88MGtdHUIsRNkhvi1hqX4zmm8OeKIuCuNFht8qvPc-LTw9lDj89GD90/s320/mmt50k_2011_fisheye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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What possessed me to focus my training on the Mountain Mist 50km this year? I can’t really pin my reason on any one thing. I think that regularly training with several like minded folks really helped make my decision easy though. Late last summer I began to join the guys at work for their Tuesday Lunchtime Track Beat Down. I struggled mightily at first as I hadn’t done any structured speed work in years, let alone set foot on a track since my collegiate track running days. But I couldn’t resist, I was feeling burned out of my routine and wanted to do something different, train with some other folks, work to improve my speed. So after taking on the 335 Pinhoti Trail last May and half-heartily scrapping by the Lean Horse 100 Mile in September I went back to basics. Cut my weekly mileage back significantly, cut down the length of my long run and began to do more speed work and tempo runs.<br />
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Over the weeks that followed I saw my short distance speed coming back and even raced some of my fastest 5 kilometer races in years! What really capped off my decision to train seriously for Mountain Mist came after I set a personal record (my first personal record in over a decade!) in the half marathon in November. I was now really confident that I’d gotten my speed back now it was time to incorporate a little more distance and start getting my trail legs back.<br />
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Thus began the semi-weekly ritual of Track Tuesdays and Thursday Trail Tempo runs. My workouts on the track and trail steadily improved. On the weekends during the Mountain Mist course training runs I’d focus on pushing the main down and uphill sections at race pace or faster; just to build confidence. So by the time January 22nd rolled around I was ready to go!<br />
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My pre-race goal was to prove that I could get back to the sub 4:20 performances which I’d run four times previously. That was it. My personal best at Mountain Mist is 4:11:13 (2002) and I’d run 4:16-4:17 three times. I knew that today’s Mountain Mist 50km course has changed significantly* since 2002 and that a sub 4:20 would be on par with my previous bests.<br />
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Race Day<br />
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With the crack of a rifle shot, 308 runners began their journey of 50 kilometers from the Monte Sano Lodge. As we surged forward in the chill January air, I felt a huge release; it was as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Weeks of hard training and nightmares were now past; it was now go time, a wonderful opportunity to see what I could do. This year the trail conditions were optimal (in my opinion). There was about an inch of grippy snow on the ground (in most places) that provided pretty good traction and, most importantly, the normally muddy ground was frozen solid which made for a very hard and fast course. At any rate, for the lead pack this was going to be a road race today! <br />
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Thirteen years ago when I first ran this race there were 132 finishers and the race field wasn’t nearly as competitive. As a result, back then, the first mile on the road was typically an easy warm up jog before we’d get down to work once we hit the trail head. So much has changed. This year, that first mile on the road I felt like I was running a 10km and I was in a huge pack of runners! I knew I didn’t want to be caught behind a bunch of folks when we hit the narrow, single track, trail so I went along with the craziness and tried to stay near the front of the pack.<br />
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Once entering the woods onto the snowy single track it became clear that the pace wasn’t going to let up any. Ahead, the top three runners, David Riddle, Josh Wheeler and Hal Koerner were already almost out of sight. There were a couple of unidentified runners following hot on their heels and then a large chase pack of mostly my local training buddies: Eric Charette, DeWayne Satterfield, Blake Thompson, Tim Vincent… On the icy decent down Walnut Hill (Cold Springs Trail) I took the middle line while most took the typical right line and so I ended up briefly ahead of our group, with Eric still out a bit ahead of us. Across the closed road the chase pack had thinned somewhat, ahead I could just catch a glimpse of the 5th or 6th runner, then Eric and I believe David Rindt. <br />
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The steady climb up the Mountain Mist trail seemed to pass by very quickly, I felt pretty good (far better than I did at this point last year when I was woefully out of race shape) as we emerged back on top of Monte Sano. The next couple of miles are perhaps my least favorite part of the course as we follow flat, mountain bike trails along the top of the mountain; initially heading away from the first aid station and then, after a hair-pin turn, heading right back to it. On the other hand, this is a good place to pick up the pace as this is some of the easiest mileage we’ll see all day! <br />
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I passed through the first aid station at O’Shaughnessy Point (6.72 miles) right at 47:30 (7:04 min/mile) along with seven other runners. Without even stopping at the aid station, I began the treacherous decent down Warpath Ridge where I’d fallen a year ago during the race and sliced open my knee! I had no such issues this year as I made pretty good time dancing down the steep, rocky incline; moving ahead of Eric, Tim and David in the process. DeWayne, Blake, and others were not far behind as we cruised down the easier part of the beautiful ridge line trail heading towards the Power Lines part of the course. As we continued the gradual, rocky descent, Eric and I talked about how his foot was mysteriously numb and chuckled at how a group of local runners had gotten lost in this section a few weeks ago at a trick, upcoming, intersection. I obviously jinxed myself because all of a sudden I looked up to see orange tape in front of me indicating, that yes, I too had led our small group off course and onto the Red Lizard Trail!!! Doh! Luckily we caught the error immediately, but not before an amused DeWayne blasted by us; laughing. (Unknown to us at this point, but strongly surmised as I write this, two of the runners that were ahead of us are believed to have made this same wrong turn and continued downhill on this trail. Looking back at the race splits, we observed these two runners checking into the previous aid station a minute or so ahead of us and then checking in to the next aid station behind us; we never passed anybody. The second fact was all the side trails had orange tape strung across the trail. To take a wrong turn you had to physically pass through the tape; the tape I saw on that side trail was indeed broken!)<br />
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Finally back on course, now in the back of our thin pack, we emerged onto the dreaded Power Line section of the course. Historically this has been one of the muddiest sections of the course. Normal mud is bad, but this is red Alabama clay and when you mix in all the grass along the path you can end up with adobe bricks on your feet by the time you reach the turn off of the Power Lines! Thankfully the ground was frozen solid and we made very quick time through this section.<br />
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Off the Power Lines and into the woods once again the trail begins to roll up and down leading to Goat Hill (a.k.a. “KT” or “9 mile hill”). David surges ahead on the climb with me and Eric trying to follow in his wake; just behind us DeWayne, Blake and Tim. This is first really challenging, extended climb on the course and I’m surprised to feel pretty good all the way up. I don’t try to push it, or surge, just stay steady and by the time we top out and make the turn on to Goat Trail we’ve gained a bit of ground on David and Eric and I have separated a little from the rest, though we’re all within a minute of each other a this point. <br />
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Goat Trail is a nice, gradually level to downhill section that is normally quite rocky and often times a bit tricky. Today with the added snow it seems faster and less technical. At any rate, we make good time here and I begin to really warm up. I started the race wearing two long sleeve layers: a light weight first layer and a thicker, mid weight, outer. Eric suggests I can probably remove the outer layer now and give it to his girlfriend, Ann, at the next aid station. Great advice, I didn’t realize how much I was sweating until I finally, struggling, got my outer layer off. I immediately felt a lot cooler, but that was a good thing. While I was trying to get my outer layer off, Eric had surged ahead, David Rindt just ahead of Eric. A short time later I arrived at the Three Benches aid station (11.94 miles) at 1:28:48 (7:26 min/mile). The last 5.22 mile section took 40:44 (7:48 min/mile) and felt pretty good, not too fast, not too slow; just right (I still had a long way to go!) I see Ann at the aid station and hand her my outer layer (a bit sweaty, sorry Ann!) and quickly speed out of the aid station and onto the circuitous Keith Trail. <br />
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As I work my way along the trail that circles around the back side of Golan Heights and Panther Knob, I gradually close the distance on David; Eric is still well ahead but not out of site completely. Not far behind me now is DeWayne, and just in earshot behind him are Blake and Tim. So we’re still a loose group at this point. After a mile or so out of the aid station I catch up to David and decide not to go around him. I was really chomping on the bit to go by, but I knew how far we had to go still and knew my best bet was to bide my time until the next aid station. So I throttled back a bit and just enjoyed the company as DeWayne closed the gap as well and Blake and Tim drew closer; Eric was almost out of site ahead of us.<br />
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Soon we were past where the Keith trail turns into the Logan point trail and in no time we were making the turn, uphill, to the Stone Cuts. David pushed up the hill which I was thankful of as I really felt a bit too slow at this point; Tim and Blake had caught back up to us. We topped out on the climb and began the traverse over to the Stone Cuts. I noticed the pace began to pick up once again as David led the way. We turned into the Stone Cuts and carefully worked our way through the narrow rock passage ways and tunnels; there were quite a few icy spots that had to be traversed. As we exited the last tunnel and turned to go up a short steep hill to leave the Stone Cuts I spotted Eric at the top of the climb. We all pushed up the hill and over the ridge line and began down the steep rocky Stone Cuts trail that would take us down near the Three Benches aid station, thus completing the circuit. Shortly down the hill there is a blow down across the trail. I decided to use this situation to my advantage and so when David zigged to the left to go around the blow down I hurdled the tree and made my pass. I accelerated down the rest of the hill, gradually gaining ground on Eric. David and company were just a short distance behind me. <br />
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We cruised through the Sinks Trail and back up to the Mountain Mist trail at a pretty good clip. Eric was just ahead now and the rest of the gang was right behind me in talking distance. We crossed the closed, barricade road and began the climb up the Cold Springs trail to the third aid station, Fearn Avenue (17.27 miles). On the last pitch up to the aid station we passed by a couple of friends, Jennifer Carter and Kim Susor, taking photos of us. It was nice to see some familiar faces! Eric was now just ahead as we all entered the aid station at roughly the same time, 2:12:23 (7:40 min/mile). The last 5.31 miles took 44:10 (8:19 min/mile), looking back now I was right in feeling that this section was a bit “slow.” But no matter, the Mountain Mist veterans all know that the race starts after Fearn so everything you did up until this point is simply “window dressing.” The hard work was about to begin! Anyhow I had my first fault of the day, as I tried to open a zip-lock baggy containing my First Endurance E.F.S. powder (to refill my bottle with) I tore the baggy open and the powder went exploding everywhere! Doh! Oh well, I managed to get some powder in my bottle, refill with water quickly, grab a GU and I was off; just in time to witness DeWayne climbing over the orange gate at the road for his 17th time!<br />
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I knew what was coming next, but knowing didn’t make it any easier. Like a switch being thrown, DeWayne tore off down Tollgate trail with Tim following close behind; Eric was just ahead of them at this point. I knew this was decision time, to I go after them or do I maintain pace. I knew to run a really fast time on this course one has to take chances, to risk it. As Turnus shouted in Virgil’s “Aeneid”, “Fortes fortuna adiuvat” or “Fortune favors the bold”, I shouted inwardly and decided to roll the dice! <br />
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Our pleasant 7:40 min/mile pace suddenly turned into sub 7:00 min/mile pace as we charged, recklessly, down the old rocky, rail road bed alignment. It was now DeWayne ahead with Eric just behind followed by Tim and then me (now recovered from my aid station mishap). I believe David and Blake were just behind me but I’m not exactly sure how far back. As we turned off of Toll Gate Trail onto High Trail, Tim pulled over to let me by. I thanked him and wished him luck (for all I knew I’d be seeing him again shortly if I imploded!). Just a quarter mile along the gradually descending High Trail, I caught and passed Eric. Eric passed on some encouragement as I went by: “Go get him!” I just kept my head down and tried to keep the legs spinning, trying to keep the gap between me and DeWayne from growing. As we neared the end of High Trail I realized I was closing a bit and as we turned off onto Bluff Line Trail we were together. DeWayne nodded and we, together, hammered down Bluff Line Trail, still at a blistering speed (it sure seemed like it to me!). The steep, technical trail suddenly leveled out and we relaxed slightly, even chatted some, as we cruised the remaining mile into the fourth aid station at the Land Trust Parking Lot (21.01 miles) in 2:42:21 (7:43 min/mile). The last, mostly downhill section (3.74 miles) was covered in 29:58 (8:00 min/mile) which isn’t bad considering how technical most of the route is, and on tired legs.<br />
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At the aid station I grabbed another GU (for later) and kept on, with DeWayne following right behind; nobody else was in sight behind us. We’d broken contact and aimed to keep it that way, so we pushed once again along the rugged Rail-Road Bed Trail (like running on a rocky creek bed!) for the next mile. The first part of this trail doubles back along the trail we’d just come off of (Bluff Line) and I glimpsed Eric passing by, above us. Shortly after we saw Eric, we were hammering along and I tripped on a rock and crashed face down onto the trail! I wasn’t hurt at all as the bottle in my left hand took most of the impact. Unfortunately for me, the valve in my bottle was opened and a freezing jet of watered down E.F.S. jetted into my face! Ha! I yelped in surprise and scared DeWayne. He asked if I’d hurt my knee and I said no that I’d got my face soaked by my bottle squirting in my face! We both busted out laughing and got back to running along the technical path.<br />
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It was eerily quiet as we cruised along the rest of Rail-Road Bed and into Alm’s House Trail. I truly didn’t even feel like we were in a race at this point. We were just two good friends running along at a good clip on yet another long training run. That was pretty cool and calming for me as I knew what was in store for us just ahead! All too soon the calm was over and storm began as we made the sharp left turn onto the infamous Water Line Trail. DeWayne pulled over to the side and encouraged me on saying that had rather have me go ahead at this point that he just wanted to survive the climb (that DeWayne, always making excuses! ;) ). I think he just hoped I would burn out on the climb so he could pass me a bit later! Regardless, I was still feeling pretty good so shuffled steadily up the easier, initial incline. I pulled a little bit ahead of DeWayne on the lower part of Waterline and increased the gap a bit more as the runnable trail suddenly turned into a Class 3 scramble uphill! This is the reason they say nobody runs all of Waterline trail! I was red-lining; my heart beat a wicked time in my chest as I scampered slowly up the steep, slick ascent. I felt like I was barely moving, legs moving through molasses, but I was getting close to the “top” now and just kept pushing, up, up, UP! At last I made the turn off of Waterline, but all the veterans know that the climb isn’t over; it’s just not as steep! I don’t dare risk a look back as I slowly shuffle up the remaining hill (actually the end of Bluffline Trail). <br />
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The night before the race, at the pre-race dinner and briefing at the Monte Sano Lodge, DeWayne gave all those in attendance a very heartfelt, motivational speech; a pep talk. In DeWayne’s speech he compared running the Mountain Mist 50km to hiking to a nearby pond to fish as a youth. That the trip to the pond filled him with joy and promise just as the early miles of the race would hold for us all. However, on the route back from the pond DeWayne had to cross a fenced field that held a Brahma bull. He knew he’d have to be quick on his feet to avoid being gored by the bull. This danger symbolized the struggle and pain associated with the back half of the Mountain Mist course, that you’d better leave “some in the tank” to make it through unscathed and to the finish (home). Don’t pace yourself properly, you might end up gored by that Brahma bull!<br />
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So it was with DeWayne’s motivational speech whirling around in my head as I approached the fifth aid station at Monte Sano Boulevard (25.04 miles); the Brahma bull just out of sight behind me!<br />
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I rolled into the aid station right at 3:19:20 (7:57 min/mile), the last section (4.03 miles) took 37:00 (9:11 min/mile) which wasn’t bad considering that killer climb up Waterline! As I entered the aid station a couple of friends informed me that I was in 4th place! What? I’d passed nobody but the people in my group since the beginning of the race when there were 5 runners ahead of us before the first aid station. I thought I was in 6th place, at best! What’s more, that Hal was “only” 5-6 minutes ahead! Well, I knew of Hal, his reputation as a very strong ultrarunner, so I doubted I’d be catching him… All I could worry about was bull behind me and of achieving my pre-race goal of breaking 4:20. So for only the second time today I refilled my Camelback water bottle. This time I was more careful dumping my First Endurance E.F.S. into the bottle and topped it off with water. With 3:20 and change on my watch I was out of the aid station and onto the Natural Well trail heading for the finish!<br />
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I’d been keeping up with my calorie intact fairly well up to this point, but knew I needed a little kick so I dug around in my short’s pocket for the GU I’d previously grabbed. As I fumbled around, I had to slow up a bit. As I did so I risked a look back and was shocked to see (well, not really J ) that the Brahma bull was in sight and charging my way! I finally found the gel and forced down the gross Strawberry & Banana flavored GU (faintly remembering that I’ve had bad acid reflux issues while consuming bananas while running) and kept on running.<br />
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I still had a minute’s gap, or so, on the Brahma bull as I began the dangerous descent into McKay Hollow known by the locals as “Suicide Drop”. This trail, even in the best of conditions, read: dry, is a steep, rocky, rooty, narrow strip of trail where a miss step could potentially throw you into the rocks ahead of you (if you’re lucky) or off the side into oblivion (if you’re not so lucky). Unfortunately I was feeling the irresistible urge to relieve myself just as I began the descent; hardly a good time when you’ve got a raging bull at your heels! As quick I could I stopped and relieved myself, all the time looking back up the trail for the beast! My business done I turned to continue my descent but not before I caught a glimpse of the bull! No time to think about it, I charged down the trail at a somewhat reckless, though comfortable pace. This was the last downhill on the course so I tried to make it count. Surprisingly it really wasn’t that slick on the rocks, what snow there was provided pretty good traction, plus my Inov-8 X-Talon 212s provided superior traction everywhere else (best trail shoe I’ve ever worn in my 20 years of running). (*Ok, full disclaimer, I do get a pro-deal on Inov-8s but that’s only recently, I’ve been a Inov-8 user for several years now.*)<br />
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Alas even all good down hills must come to an end and soon Suicide Drop was behind me. I crossed McKay Creek and headed up stream, up out of McKay Hollow on the remaining section of Natural Well trail. I didn’t dare look behind me, but I didn’t have to; I could hear the bull grunting, and making noises behind me; he was close! I pushed up the slick incline to the intersection with McKay Hollow Trail as best I could. I was now on a fairly runnable part of the course and decided to take advantage of it. Despite being called “Slush Mile” this section is not quite a mile and today, thankfully, it was not slushy. Normally this section is a muddy mess, but with the sub freezing temperatures, the ground was still fairly solid though things had begun to thaw out a bit in the late morning sun. As I sped on, I looked across the hollow towards where I’d just come from and sure enough the Brahma bull was, less than a minute back and moving quite well! I resisted the urge to really take off as I knew I had one last bear of a climb ahead, the infamous “Rest Shelter Hill”. <br />
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The relatively flat “Slush Mile” was soon over and the trail turned to the left and UP! I half heartily shuffled up the lower, steeper section of Rest Shelter Hill. After the first steep switch-back I began to walk a bit. Mistake. The Brahma bull was closely quickly, just a switch back behind me now! I tried to remain calm and just looked up ahead and focused on getting to “Kathy’s Bench.” Some of us call the bench that is about a 1/3 of the way up Rest Shelter Hill “Kathy’s Bench” because it is my better half’s rule that whenever she’s coming up the hill that it’s okay to walk until the bench, but after that you MUST RUN the rest of the way up! I’d conquered this evil hill again and again during training, but this was race day and I already had 29 miles in my legs! Didn’t matter, I knew what I had to do. My only shot of holding off the Brahma bull was to be able to run from Kathy’s Bench to the top of Rest Shelter Hill!<br />
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After the 3rd switch back the trail is a bit less steep, but no less rough and washed out. I did attempt to shuffle and soon I arrived at Kathy’s Bench, marking the 4th switch back. I could still hear the grunts and groans from the bull behind but I tried to put that out of my head as I began to run from the bench and up the trail. I kept running and kept climbing, surprisingly I didn’t feel too bad; the relentless training perhaps was paying off! With every uphill step, the grunts and groans of the Brahma bull grew less and less and soon I couldn’t hear the beast; still, I dare not look back! After what seemed like forever I could finally see the Shelter at the top of the trail. I was close to the end now. I passed right on through the last aid station (29.49 miles) at 4:01 and change (on my watch) without even stopping. I only had 1.6 miles left to go and the remaining distance was mostly flat, easy double and single track trail.<br />
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I began to run as hard as I could from the last aid station, it was tough! My legs were a bit tight, but soon I was back up to a speed somewhat resembling a run. I hoped what leg speed I had left would be enough to hold off the bull. As I approached “The Horse Shoe” section of the South Plateau Trail (where the trail does an oxbow bending away and back against itself) I was shocked to see somebody running just across the bend from me! It’s Hal! No way! I was also quite mad as I felt already beaten up enough and now I had to try and catch him! <br />
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I dug deep and accelerated somewhat, but I was rapidly running out of race! Once on the other side of The Horse Shoe, I risked a look back along the course and thankfully I couldn’t see that Brahma bull! I now turned my attention to the runner ahead, out of site at the moment. I continued to run and run. I passed by the old 30 mile marker and knew I only had less than a mile to go (the finish line is closer than it used to be) so if I was going to make the pass I’d better do it soon! Now I’m crossing over the bridges on the trail which indicate I’m getting closer and closer to the end of the trail. Where is he? Around another bend in the trail and there he is, but it’s not Hal, it’s young Josh Wheeler. We’re maybe half a mile from the finish now! I can actually see the Monte Sano Lodge and finish line at this point just across the bluff. I really pour it on now and make the pass just before we split off the South Plateau Trail onto the connector trail to the North Plateau Trail and finish. He doesn’t even put up a fight when I run by but instead tell me good job, I try to encourage him on as well saying that we’re almost done now. I make the final turn onto the North Plateau Trail and down and up one last dip in the trail and then there is the Lodge and finish line right ahead! I’ll admit I got a bit emotional as I sped the remaining distance to the finish; probably even whooped out loud in excitement! <br />
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Amid the cheers from my friends at the finish, I crossed the line for the 13th time, arms out stretched over my head, in 4:13:57 (8:10 min/mile). The last section (6.06 miles) took me 54:38 (9:00 min/mile) and I was spent! I sat down on the low rock wall just past the finish line to catch my breath. Josh finished just 29 seconds later.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57ROO-1xYeVjOkdAoy8h935brEuWWyNWpGuzeACY13cnrRN-LI6etPiXUdheBXzOtcdry9_p5cuPHHJGIKx9qBAy-RjirE0o5S6Oigq66LmR6sZ8asrVbl6SgGJ4t1mr0pbEBt4ZjBN0/s1600/mmt50km_2011_finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57ROO-1xYeVjOkdAoy8h935brEuWWyNWpGuzeACY13cnrRN-LI6etPiXUdheBXzOtcdry9_p5cuPHHJGIKx9qBAy-RjirE0o5S6Oigq66LmR6sZ8asrVbl6SgGJ4t1mr0pbEBt4ZjBN0/s320/mmt50km_2011_finish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>But what of the Brahma bull? A scant two and a half minutes after I finished, the Brahma bull, hard charging as ever, grunting and groaning flew across the finish line! Whew that was close! <br />
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But what of the loose group I’d been running with the first half of the race? Twelve minutes later, the next finisher emerged; it was anybody’s guess who it could be. It was Eric, but David was hot on his heels along with Tim and wait there’s Carl Laniak? And what? Erik Debolt and James Falcon? Where did they come from? All finished within a minute and a half! Wow! My good buddy Blake finished just seven minutes later, a huge improvement on his best time at Mountain Mist.<br />
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But what of my better half? Not even 28 minutes later, Kathy raced across the finish line in 4:56:58 to win the women’s race! This was her 4th victory among her 13 finishes!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ3bAqpsAMYfgSZq3TxaTThE_tR_FUjanxyIoZDUau7DrYt8X5q1XVX8VDPNPYJd1heQ0VbkKeWwQbwFq42udilbNqQRsSRbudRfeeORKGp9DH8WG9NZUyL64shMqlIAfYN6m5ZMOLsk/s1600/mmt50km_2011_kathyfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ3bAqpsAMYfgSZq3TxaTThE_tR_FUjanxyIoZDUau7DrYt8X5q1XVX8VDPNPYJd1heQ0VbkKeWwQbwFq42udilbNqQRsSRbudRfeeORKGp9DH8WG9NZUyL64shMqlIAfYN6m5ZMOLsk/s320/mmt50km_2011_kathyfinish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Epilogue<br />
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I’m extremely pleased with my performance this year. To me this was my finest Mountain Mist race ever; not technically a personal best, nor my highest placing, but still a much more satisfying race than any of my past (yes, even the two Doubles I’ve done don’t compare). It is a wonderful feeling when all of your hard work pays off, you have perfect race day conditions and everything just “clicks” during the race execution, physically and mentally. So what’s next? My solid performance this year has restored my confidence in my ability to race this course fast. I honestly feel that I am capable of posting even faster times at Mountain Mist given proper training (which I know how to do), satisfactory race day conditions (a crap shoot), and proper race execution (less of a crap shoot). My real Achilles heel is mustering up the proper motivation; I’ve simply got to want to endure the rigors I know that are required for success at this (or any) race. I’ll find the motivation, if nothing else some motivation might be the fact that I’ve earned two bronzes and two silvers at Mountain Mist and it sure would be nice to earn some gold before I get too old and slow!<br />
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*How the course had changed since 1998 (when it was measured with a wheel to high accuracy):<br />
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Alright, if you’re still reading at this point and really want to learn how the course has changed significantly then read on (don’t say I didn’t warn you, i.e. this is a bit of a rant!) Okay, if you’re still reading you might want to whip out your trusty Monte Sano / Land Trust trail map to be able to follow along a good resource is:<br />
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<a href="http://www.briartech.com/msonesht.pdf">http://www.briartech.com/msonesht.pdf</a> <br />
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This map at least shows how some of the trails USED to be to illustrate some of my points. Another good map is at: <br />
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<a href="http://www.sorbahuntsville.org/images/MSanoColor11x13.pdf">http://www.sorbahuntsville.org/images/MSanoColor11x13.pdf</a> <br />
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This map is a bit more up to date (including the completed Family Bike Trail).<br />
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Okay, now to the significant changes to the Mountain Mist 50km course that I can think of since I first ran it in 1998 (in order of mileage point on the course):<br />
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1. The first significant course change since 2002 came in 2005, about a year after the Monte Sano Lodge was rebuilt. Before 2005 the race started and finished at the main pavilion in the picnic area. Since 2005, the race has started in front of the Lodge and finished behind it making the starting line a bit shorter to the initial trail head and shorter to the finish from the last aid station. To compensate for this change, at the start runners run out the gravel road towards the picnic area parking lot before turning back on the park road and head for the initial trail head. This compensation alone, I believe, covers the change in venue for the start and finish. Okay so no net gain yet.<br />
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2. The next significant course change occurs at the end of the Mountain Mist trail. In 2002, after the second switch back up the final climb on the trail, the trail turned straight up and achieved the South Plateau Trail very rapidly. Today the trail has been re-routed to follow a more gradual route out towards O’Shaughnessy Point before it arrives at South Plateau Trail, this change alone probably added almost 2/10 of a mile. You can see on the map that the end of the Mountain Mist trail cuts up to the South Plateau Trail quite a distance from O’Shaughnessy Point. Anybody who’s been out there lately knows that the Mountain Mist Trail goes almost all the way to O’Shaughnessy Point.<br />
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3. Okay, now we’re getting really warmed up! Next significant change is the route from the end of the Mountain Mist trail to the 1st aid station at O’Shaughnessy Point. The route in 2002 had us follow the South Plateau Trail (CCW) to the intersection of the Bog Trail, Bog Trail to Fire Tower Trail, then South Plateau Trail (CCW) all the way to the aid station. Today the first part is the same but instead of running on Bog Trail we immediately take a hard u-turn onto Family Bike Trail and follow this trail to the Fire Tower Trail, right on FTT then left back onto FBT out to the aid station. This change was put in place largely because of the fact that the West side of South Plateau Trail that runners run on the way to aid station #1 is also the same section runners run the opposite direction from the last aid station to the finish. So there was a hassle of having to re-mark that section of trail after the runners past through the first time. Now anybody who’s run on the FBT knows how swooping, back and forth, that trail is, it’s never direct. The old route was much more direct so I’d argue that the new route is probably longer though I’ll admit probably by not a whole lot, but still, definitely longer.<br />
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4. This next course change I may not count as a significant difference between 2002 and 2011 until I get some more clarification because this change may have come before 2002. Okay from O’Shaughnessy Point through most of the Goat Trail I believe the course is largely the same. Sure the exact route through the Power Lines has changed from time to time but over all that’s a wash. The biggest difference is the change in the location of aid station #2. The old route had us on the Goat Trail until perhaps a ¼ mile from the Three Benches when we took a sharp right off of Goat trail onto a connector trail to Keith Trail. At the intersection of the connector trail and Keith Trail was the site of aid station #2. It was decided that it was too difficult to get the aid station back in there as it all had to be hiked in, thus the aid station location was changed to Three Benches. Well that single change right there added A LOT of distance. Just look at the map. That connector trail cuts off quite a bit! <br />
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5. Next change comes at the end of Keith Trail where, really, the trail just changes names to Logan Point Trail. Anyways, in the past at the “intersection” you continued straight ahead and the trail cut very straight and steeply downhill on a well washed out section of trail, the trail followed a natural fall line so it was pretty beaten up from erosion. Several years ago the local mountain bike club (SORBA Huntsville) rerouted Logan Point Trail off the fall line to follow a more gentle, switch backing descent to the East that eventually reconnects to the old route. This bypass made the trail significantly longer, perhaps by at least 1/10 of a mile (though I’d bet it’s more).<br />
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6. Okay, to be honest, not ALL the course changes have made the route longer, in fact there is one I can think of that has shortened the course. This change involves the location of aid station #5 at Monte Sano Blvd. The South Monte Sano Trailhead and parking lot is a very new addition, perhaps only in the last few years. The old aid station was across the street from where it is now right where runners come out of the woods on the West side of Monte Sano Blvd, from there runners proceeded down Monte Sano Blvd and entered the woods at the gate marking the end of the Natural Well Trail. Today the aid station is in the parking lot across the street and runners drop down on a connector trail (Trough Springs Trail?) onto Natural Well Trail and continue. Tough to be sure, but I’d say the new route is a touch shorter than the old route, but perhaps not more than 1/10 of a mile.<br />
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So, as you can see, there have been some significant changes to the Mountain Mist 50km course since 2002; I’d say enough to add perhaps 3/10 – 6/10 of a mile on the course (depending on when #4 occurred). <br />
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So what is the solution? What am I trying to say? Well, first off I don’t really care if the current course is longer than in the past as long as the current course length is closer to 50km. However, this course was wheeled in the past and largely agreed upon that the 1998 course was accurate, not certified but definitely pretty darn close i.e. within 1/10 of a mile or less. So these changes have obviously then made the course longer than 50km. The solution then is simple, first let’s actually quantify the actual length of the course and if it’s long, shorten it. <br />
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Possible ways to shorten the course:<br />
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1. The easiest change would be to cut out running to the picnic area parking lot and back on the park road like we do now. Just start the course straight out to the park road and take a right! I think that simple change would restore the balance quite effectively. The downside is that the road section is needed to help spread the field before the inevitable bottleneck once runners reach the trailhead. However, there is quite a log jam at the trail head already and I doubt cutting out that section of road would really make it any worse.<br />
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2. Ways to shorten the course aren’t quite so easy because the ways the course has changed involve physical changes to the trails we run. About the only place possible to effect any course shortening, without changing the character of Mountain Mist, would be to shorten the route from the end of Mountain Mist Trail to the first aid station (this assumes that option #1 is not exercised). I bet we don’t need to run all the way to Bog Trail, we could run to the start of the Gravel Road and take a left on the end of the Fire Tower trail and pick up the existing route from there, or use the other side of FBT from there (which snakes around a bit more and is longer) to get to O’Shaughnessy. This change would shorten the course and still avoid running on the West side of the South Plateau Trail (to avoid the issue of having to re-mark that part of the course).<br />
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<div style="clear: both;"></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-76187930087612851402011-03-29T12:15:00.001-07:002011-03-30T09:10:14.208-07:00Race Report: 12 Hours of Moab by Chris BoyackThe 24 Hours of Moab is a race with a lot going on. In addition to the 24 hour event (which is run as a team relay or solo), there is a 100 mile race, 12 hour team or solo, and a 6 hour "fun run". The course is a 5.4 mile loop around a giant mesa about 15 miles north of Moab. While the course wasn’t extremely difficult, it was definitely harder than I expected. The first and last parts of each lap were rolling to flat dirt, about equal parts road and trail. With a few stretches of deep sand to keep things interesting. The middle half of the loop was a long climb on bumpy slickrock, with a short flat stretch, and then a long descent on slickrock.<br />
I hadn’t raced an ultra since the Leadville 100 in August of last year. I hurt my foot in September and ended up logging a whopping 200 miles combined total over October, November, and December while letting it heal. I started training again on January 1st not really knowing what my first race would be, just playing it by ear. While I had only averaged 45 miles per week so far this year, I had been getting in some solid long runs and soon felt the need to scratch the ultra itch.<br />
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This race appealed to me for several reasons. I was able to sign up for it at the last minute, and with the loop format I would be able to drop out at any time if any of the old injuries flared up too badly. The nice thing about a timed event like the 12 hour race is that there is no DNF. There is not a set finish line, so you just run for as long as you can – then your total miles within the 12 hours determines your placing. Moab was also close enough that I was able to keep the time away from home at a minimum. I was treating this race as a rust-buster type of training event. I took a couple of days off before the weekend, but didn’t do any other special training or tapering for it.<br />
My goals were pretty simple, they revolved mostly around the 50K and 50 mile intermediate splits. I hadn’t done a run like this in so long I wasn’t sure what I could expect from myself. I figured I would run solid through 50K, then cut back and coast through 50 miles. Anything on top of that would just be gravy.<br />
I normally race in La Sportiva shoes, but decided to go with my New Balance MT101s for this race. Mainly because I’ve had so many problems with my heels and I wanted to cut the back of the shoes to relieve any potential rubbing or irritation. I’ve done this to other shoes in the past, but it is a huge pain. Major surgery to remove all the glued-in plastic at the heel. The 101s are so light and thin, and the heels are just made of foam without any plastic. It was a simple job to just slice out a section. I then glued some fabric over the holes and covered that with duct tape. Ghetto for sure, but wanted to give myself any bit of help that I could.<br />
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I didn’t feel particulary great on race morning, but not too bad. It was cold out in the exposed desert for the 7am start. For the first 15 miles I struggled quite a bit to find my groove. It felt like my legs were disconnected from my brain and just not getting the signals I was sending. I held back, which was the right thing to do, but maybe it was a little too much. I should have just relaxed and let my legs do their thing. On last Monday’s run I had stepped hard on a sharp rock in my VFFs right in the center of my forefoot. That pain dissipated after a day, but still remained very tender to the touch. Well, I managed to nail that exact spot 3 times on the first lap. Geeeze!! Needless to say I wasn’t too happy about that. I felt a huge blister forming on the ball of my left foot, my heels were hurting, and my shoes were full of sand. In short, I felt like crap and I was barely any farther along than what I would consider a normal daily training run.<br />
I do have to say, for not feeling that great, I sure seem to know how to be consistent. Every time I run a loop course I seem to peg a certain lap time over and over again. Even on this course which had all sorts of variety and alternated direction with each lap I ran the first 4 laps (20+ miles) at 53 minutes each with a heart rate average of 148 for the first two, and 154 for #3 and 4.<br />
After those laps I made a 2 minute stop to reload my pockets with gels and then ran a bit harder for the next 10 miles with lap times a couple of minutes quicker and my heart rate averaging 157 and 160. That really seemed to be the sweet spot for me and I felt a whole lot better in that section. I pushed fairly hard on the lap where I averaged 160 and hit the 50K split in 5:09. Not setting the world on fire, but pretty good for me.<br />
Once I passed the 50K mark, I rewarded myself with a 5 minute stop to change socks and dump about 4 pounds of sand out of each shoe. The feet were feeling ok, and the heels were limiting me a bit – but I couldn’t complain about how I felt in general.<br />
The next 3 laps were all 61 minutes as I coasted along with a heart rate average for that section in the 140s. I didn’t really run by my heart rate, but seeing the averages now matches up pretty well with the effort level I was putting in. I had run everything up to this point and crossed paths with <a href="http://pittbrownie.blogspot.com/">Brownie</a> at around mile 35. He let me know I was in the lead for the 12 hour race (there were so many runners on the course for the different events it was hard to tell who was doing what). While that didn’t exactly light a fire under me – ok, maybe a bic lighter – it was enough to make me decide to keep on running through mile 50.<br />
I haven’t run all that many 50 milers and at mile 45 when I saw the clock and realized that I could tag what for me would be a really good 50 mile time I pushed a bit. The start/finish area was full of people and music. It was fun to be announced by name coming in and recognized as a solo racer. I felt good and popped right back out on the course without filling my bottle knowing that I would hit 50 miles before the unmanned water station on the far side of the course and could fill up then.<br />
Onward I pushed, smoking my legs in the process. My iPod shuffle really let me down in this final stretch. I need to make a real playlist rather than just letting it decide. Typically, I’m always skipping songs or hitting repeat on one that I like. I have a rule on long runs where I just let it play and take what comes, though. So I was hauling down the trail listening to Celine Dion singing some lullaby song in French. I’ve never even heard that before, where did that come from?!?!? Despite the sucky music I hit 8:44 (a 35 minute PR) for the 50 split and rewarded myself with my first walking break – which lasted for the next two miles! Not a smart pacing strategy for a 12 hour race, but I was more interested in my own race-within-the-race at that point and was happy to have that time in the bag. I now knew that I could run 50 miles based on a couple of month’s worth of 45 mile weeks. Not ideal for sure, I hope to go a fair bit faster in the future, but I think I definitely outran my training on this one and was happy to be in that situation for a change. I’ve certainly under-performed relative to my training on many occasions.<br />
After the 2 miles of walking which included the main climb, I started back to a walk/jog combination for another mile and then was able to resume an easy jog for the rest of the lap. With the fast first half of the lap and very slow second half I ended up with a 1:15 lap time. I put in one more easy 1:15 lap for good measure and then pulled the plug at just a hair under 60 miles in 11:05. That total was enough to make me the overall winner of the 12 hour race. Not what I set out for, but I’ll take it!<br />
I hung out for a while cheering runners and waiting for the awards ceremony, and heard the quote of the day. A little girl that had obviously been waiting for many hours in the cold while her dad was running the race shouted at her mom, “I hate waiting for daddy to run!”. The mom shot back, “Well, I’m sure daddy hates running 100 miles too!”. I had to try hard to keep from busting up at that exchange. Hanging out there for a while gave me a first-hand appreciation of those that wait on and support their runners during events like this. I love my family too much to put them through that kind of torture…Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-59140837796897231942011-03-29T12:11:00.000-07:002011-03-29T12:14:32.207-07:00La-la-land, or a lesson to run your own race and always trust your body.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFnrmmTBlsnGQFDfELzDyHDjWkCcikPzOrzLSbGQRb-t78MJIQfGeVMXH6v2fl_M8_2hdfr7QZyPDx9eHDY1nuCfgLGfUmMfgHvXVgFOsjob__bKoxTCWmbUPt2fp5g0kgdN_ryx-Peg/s1600/finish.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76sFBS792PsHZAPoKyz42qI0wS9KsjMQmHO3QstFhJt9DBNkthEDkvpZDZeGWVZbZ3L2XSsa2QO8qzSQ4vxBI5vSSc_lHJ_2Oi1XB7kc2JXfuzJQA8SZ1_6sVeelUgdvW64Sag8LUxdU/s1600/start.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589582103544217042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76sFBS792PsHZAPoKyz42qI0wS9KsjMQmHO3QstFhJt9DBNkthEDkvpZDZeGWVZbZ3L2XSsa2QO8qzSQ4vxBI5vSSc_lHJ_2Oi1XB7kc2JXfuzJQA8SZ1_6sVeelUgdvW64Sag8LUxdU/s320/start.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><div>There was an <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/phys-ed-what-really-causes-runners-high/">article</a> in NYT that one of our runners pointed out attention to - and sent a link to Hill Country list. Even if you don't bother to read it, here is a sum up: "In a groundbreaking 2003 experiment, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that 50 minutes of hard running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle significantly increased blood levels of endocannabinoid molecules in a group of college students. The endocannabinoid system was first mapped some years before that, when scientists set out to determine just how cannabis, a k a marijuana, acts upon the body. They found that a widespread group of receptors, clustered in the brain but also found elsewhere in the body, allow the active ingredient in marijuana to bind to the nervous system and set off reactions that reduce pain and anxiety and produce a floaty, free-form sense of well-being. Even more intriguing, the researchers found that with the right stimuli, the body creates its own cannabinoids (the endocannabinoids). These cannabinoids are composed of molecules known as lipids, which are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier, so cannabinoids found in the blood after exercise could be affecting the brain." The response was pretty cool. While some can relate, a few of runners (at least of those who responded) don't have a clue on being high front. To me, this paragraph made complete sense. As I say, once an addict is always an addict:) But, in all seriousness, I call it "zen", or running in La-la-land. Don't take me wrong, I get to work when I run, and I breathe hard, and I hurt. However, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't get "high" off it. To tell you the truth, I get high even from the gym workouts or hard core yoga sessions, but nothing beats running, the repetitive motion of it, the simpleness, the rhythm... A week before the race I invited Larry and Harrison to join me in North Texas (Stephen flew to Portland for the weekend). To make a change in room accomodation, I called in the rmorning of - and found out the hotel had never gotten my Expedia reservation. 3 hours and numerious phone calls later, we were set - only to start driving after work and discover I left my iPod at my work place. I burst into tears. Of course, nothing is the end of the world, and I ran races music-less, but I planned on it that way, and today I didn't! Larry to the rescue - he said he needs a new shuffle anyway, and pointed out to Best Buy off the road. Since I had my laptop with me, he downloaded the music (we even did some selection while I drove and he combined the playlist) - and I was saved! I was ready for this race. I was at the weight I like to race at, I had solid fast workouts, I just ran a marathon I was happy with, and I was looking forward to the hills. This race is built as toughest trail race in Texas - and so it was...if only I knew in what way. I had a goal. I studied the times, and Mariela seem to "own" the race for many years, finishing between 10:30 and 11 hrs. Not to disrespect the girl who raced there over 10 times, I figured I'll go for sub-10. Why not? It's a personal challenge, not a fight. There were usual suspects at the start line, like we never parted from the previous race, and we all laughed. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZY_sHrNicjPcGRhVub-HmFn_EgjMaY2_lKUwEnxyrtkpxC9w_uLTOS2vt_4WjvTsyTihslxVyIzGDpjyqYqKy_vaGhV6GYjC_z59aY_qWH3vODnsV2OQS56TJz660llLO7FGUX8ROya7/s1600/start.jpg"></a>But as I lined up at the front line with Scott and Brian, I tried to crack jokes how others should join us - yet there was a weird gap behind. I don't deal well with pressure, not at all. And it sent me bolted off the start, running behind these two guys up some gnarly steep hill...and another one. Before I knew it, in 5 minutes flat, I had a metallic taste in my mouth and burning quads filled with lactic acid. What the heck am I doing??!! And where did these hills came from? The "meet the Crosstimbers trail" had begun... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOTgSd-cz-bRaw_pkDdAFYrfzV_WLujg4KeLgzqh6kIiIQrGATiE2lFJfjIuYCkJANGcQiGlwCgUA3BZx0kgVbLKe8eiHzTehhWl0YFkCqiwvArma7TnpXIqXreXf5LB4JxVOfH5ppLd5/s1600/CIMG0009.JPG"></a>Stolen from other blog I heard the rumors, but you really never know what hit you when you're at this beautiful Lake Texoma side trail on the border with Oklahoma. Oh, My God! There was no rhythm. The ups and down were super-sharp (I should have believed when reports said "pull yourself up with hands"), the technicality of the trails exceeded any expectations. Roots, roots and more of them. High up, downs as sharp and steep as ups - not to mention the race was made up of one 12.5M trail run out-n-back twice, so you get to experience everything both directions. And it was humid - for now just that. I was throwing salt pills in my mouth like a kid who eats candy after a Halloween. And I was still cramping. Every time I pick a root, jam my foot or step sideways, my calf would go nuts. I was petrified of falling and not being able to get up. Somewhere half-way through that first "out" section a few guys passed me, and each mentioned "oh, it's not good to get by you". I joked, but I wasn't sure at that time. I kept thinking about that "high", my la-la-land, and I couldn't find it. I pushed, trying to meet my standards, and I wasn't enjoying it much, despite the incredible beauty of the trail - and majestic views of the lakes. I was mad at myself, and couldn't shake it off. I was ready to quit...was I not recovered from a marathon? Was I not trained for the hills on the trails? Should I have NOT run hard 15 trail miles on Saturday before? Is the fact that I was proud of "running every hill on the road" overtook and made me mistakenly run hills here at the beginning? Why did I not listen to my senses and didn't start further back and easier? All this was going through my head, as in the last mile the trail went through the dense woods with long runnable stretch - and I found it. My Zen, my la-la-land. And it all fell in together... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-YLZgwxITWgJb_6479kyJhhb-JWLB5rAKCqDir__ctt_AGsDcQTvVDS09t_rLbxtOgaq7tXeUmvfeycNBwb-7d5Ssr0kySb_2XlxLRuXKrwnAoVNbRVEPDcachJraE1d0pYne-K4ve2f/s1600/25M.jpg"></a>Race photo Larry and Harrison were waiting for me with crewing duty, filled my bottles and gave me gels for the next 12.5M stretch back. I wanted to share how tough this trail was, but got my own treatment - nobody asked me any questions, never let me open my mouth and I was sent back. So much for love:) I was mad, but I was laughing at the same time. Learned from a champ, he did. Swallow it, sister! My gate opened up. There were 2 girls right behind, in fact, one passed me shortly after the turn-around, and I told myself: I can only take care of me. There is nothing I can do about other people's race, only about my own. Breathe, eat, drink, and trust your body. Trust that it knows the pace, it is strong, trust your own training, trust that it knows what to do, when to walk, when to run, don't think. Don't think. That's my motto. La-la-land. This is my best running. Let my body do the "thinking" on its own. And I did... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsOowUOCw2i_mxin9hk6jRQUnhLuk2y2ZTaqWiia0evRmqb80ruzgTGo0h2KGeMw_cThJHu820JL9mMdWq7GZ-Rg-_fSl-N8iy__u9DxYV_Bd4cLzxLQojZWIMR4mHongTBxJEc_11ocP/s1600/IMG_0139.JPG"></a>The humidity was high, and my skirt was being pulled down, funny how it was. But I was running strong and smiling. I won't bore you with details. Larry and Harrison met me at 25M, and then at 37.5M. During these times I clicked guys who passed me, one by one, and slowly pulled away from the girls. Larry was mentioning later how AS volunteers were surprised seeing me ahead of many who were running in front at loop 1, and that I looked strongest and happiest. One aid station volunteer actually asked me why am I smiling. Steady. La-la-land. I ran my first split in 2:30, and the next 3 splits were done all in 2:45. Talking about trusting your body! I drunk and ate ice like a maniac, the only thing I used at AS, besides 2 cups of Mt. Dew. I popped salt and gels and downed 2 bottles per 40 minutes easily. My calves finally stopped cramping around mile 35 or so, but they felt sore - so funny, like they were tired of cramping. The sun came up high on 3rd section, and it was hot, but the clouds rolled in on the last one. I could care less about time - I lost my math skills. I was trusting my body to do what it knows how to do. Somewhere with an hour and half to go, I had finally decided to pay attention to the watch - and was able to calculate that 11 hrs was within reach, although I still had to work for it. I could picture Larry saying proudly "Yes, she is like that, never fades. Yes, if I know my wife, she'll go for sub-11 because she likes round numbers. Yes, she will pass everybody she can and will hold them off". I was so happy he was there to share it with me. And work I did. I made myself run every time I could find a place to run. I was working hard - la-la-land and all. I was still sneaking peeks to the lake and dreaming of jumping off the cliff into cool waters. And I was NOT giving up my position! Harrison came around the corner, and I knew I have one last downhill. "Run" I yelled, and followed his steps. 10:51. I wished to cry - but was laughing instead. I obnoxiously came to break 10 hrs, but instead worked my ass off to go sub-11. I cracked jokes and couldn't stop smiling. I won female race and came 4th overall. I deserved every bit of that fame at the finish line - toughest little trail race in Texas. The Lake Texoma trail at Crosstimbers 50 chewed me up and spat me out - but I held my own. Something to be proud of... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlH7twSZikPtpMiQNwj-ZhUp__7Wx_Snfo9qExGcQCLQQ2U5BxqLzB0oEEn_eu0_p8UhfSYdyxuC9_brDWcqHGQ804xtJcPbq_6Lx1MziWdi_6oF_fTcWSdekmypTHrAHN3qzNdZ-BVQsY/s1600/finish.jpg"></a>I was crippled and crying in bed last night, and Larry jokingly said "So, why do we do it?". For those 15 minutes of happiness. And for 11 hours of running in La-la-land... <a href="http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A95FD721791F?source=pw980">Photo tour - great views!</a> My gear – my trusted La Sportiva Skylites! Knowing this trail didn’t have much in terms of wet rocks to slide on, the smooth ride of Skylites provided best fit and close touch for better navigating the twisted trails. It was like running wearing only socks – who need barefoot? </div><br /><div></div></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-56679707432427199802009-05-12T06:03:00.000-07:002009-05-12T06:07:58.969-07:00Spy Photo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDcrxT4uC3WXUWlqn8ocG_ShiWjmPWZMmTSQN3YnCiOM4XD1S0BvndIQW2jtd4cFks1CNi0FVbK5T8o4kFyUv25CiaP2ESh-rluKjoex6NqA96b4Nh5mzt-lo5CslF_CUEOniNwQjoSU/s1600-h/sspx0638.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDcrxT4uC3WXUWlqn8ocG_ShiWjmPWZMmTSQN3YnCiOM4XD1S0BvndIQW2jtd4cFks1CNi0FVbK5T8o4kFyUv25CiaP2ESh-rluKjoex6NqA96b4Nh5mzt-lo5CslF_CUEOniNwQjoSU/s320/sspx0638.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334922782284609650" border="0" /></a><br />The goat skins are in! Look out for these shirts on a trail near you. Good luck to the Speed Goat runners at MMT this weekend - Amy, Deb, Mike, and Bedford (and to Steve keeping everyone on track)! Also Mark at Jemez, and Tom in Ogden. Have fun, guys! BaaaaaahWasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-78143669159843778792009-04-20T06:54:00.000-07:002009-04-21T10:51:01.504-07:00DRB 50K is Rocket Fuel powered!Yesterday was the 13th running of the DRB50K trail race in Milton, Ma. This trail race is one of the gnarliest, rooty and rocky trail I have run. It is a mini Massanutten. The climbs are relentless and because of the rocks, running fast downhill is a challenge. The origin of DRB is that is was run that first year as an obvious alternative to the Boston Marathon. The Don't Run Boston 50K is a really good run that has become a reunion of friends.<br /><br />In this 13th running were myself and my wife, Deb, both Wasatch Speedgoats. I have run 12 of them, having lived in NM for one of the running. No one has run as many. I also "was" the course record holder with a 5:38 time run back in 2000, this year two younger and faster bucks learned the course and blew away the CR by 22 minutes, running 5:16! It was a great day to run with temps in the upper 40's and full sunshine with a nice breeze on the hilltops to cool you off after a long climb.<br /><br />I ran the race, finishing 5th overall in 6:16, only 38 minutes slower than my old CR and at 57 years old, without a doubt the first senior finisher. The next oldest guy up front was one of the CR breakers at 49 years old. Deb at 54 was the only woman finisher, so therefore was the first woman finisher. Both of us ran times much faster than we had been averaging over the years, so it was a great day!<br /><br />Now about my race....being a true Goat, I wore my <a href="http://www.wasatchspeedgoat.com/bc/shop.php/SEARCH-1/search_results.html?st=la+sportiva+trail+shoes&search=Product+Search">LaSportiva Fireblades</a> and other than a small stone bruise on my forefoot, these shoes performed magically. Many places you run straight down what some would call a cliff face and these shoes stuck like glue, never did I worry about slipping. I had absolutely no blisters and feet looked great after the finish.<br /><br />I also wore my <a href="http://www.wasatchspeedgoat.com/bc/shop.php/SEARCH-1/search_results.html?st=nathan+packs&search=Product+Search">Nathan Pack</a>, the Elite2V Plus 2 bottle waist pack, which worked great. I liked and wore Nathan packs before I was ever on the Speedgoat team, so need to gloat over the product here. Without a doubt, Nathan makes the best packs for running, as is evident with the amount of Nathan packs at the race.<br /><br />But what I really want to scream about is one particular product that made my day. Let me first<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY2V_cLcZJR9-lde-aes2G3zRfBYciDDCq0h_asuCvvsj_dY1kLf3UO_c6EOvwKG6ByLM2_aSE6jWw1p-IuM1qLPQ_PMlBAIZ5pXnOwJEu_9hD-gpKwkqVymn8qF-JXk82rpBd1c_YLk/s1600-h/EFS_LS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY2V_cLcZJR9-lde-aes2G3zRfBYciDDCq0h_asuCvvsj_dY1kLf3UO_c6EOvwKG6ByLM2_aSE6jWw1p-IuM1qLPQ_PMlBAIZ5pXnOwJEu_9hD-gpKwkqVymn8qF-JXk82rpBd1c_YLk/s320/EFS_LS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326781070015196914" border="0" /></a> explain that I am prone to stomach issues and absolutely cannot eat anything solid, I need liquid fuels and just the right amount. Too many calories? I'm sick....too sweet? I'm sick. I am known as Steve the barfer because I am always getting sick during and after my ultras. It has become par for the course with me and I expect it, it's just a matter of when, not if I get sick.<br />Yesterday was magical and I owe it all to <a href="http://www.firstendurance.com/nutrition/control/product/%7Eproduct_id=EFS_LS">First Endurance Liquid Shot</a>. I very skeptically decided to give it a try and was expecting to be tossing the gel flask into the woods after the first sip.<br /><br />After an easy start, following my HR and keeping it under 80% of max, I started at mile 9 to push and try to move away from those behind me and gain on those ahead of me. This always causes stomach issues, but I had to try....this was, after all a race and i was the course record holder. After coming into the first aid station at mile 13, we do a small 3 mile, but tough loop, climb straight up for 1.5 miles and then run back down on some of those tough and rocky trails.<br /><br />On this loop, I decided to drop my pack and just hand carry one of my Nathan bottles. I also grabbed the 1st Endurance liquid shot in the other hand and put a regular gel in my pocket because I expected that the shot would be too sweet and I'd need some calories. As I walked out of the aid station, I opened the flask and took a sip. Hmmmm, that's pretty good! Within 5 minutes I was cranking up the hill and caught a runner at the top, then blasted down the other side, running this section (3 miles) in 36 minutes, catching 2 other runners in the aid station. The aid station volunteer said to me "You're back already? That was fast!" I mentioned to him it must be this rocket fuel I was using. From that point on, all I could think of was the Rocket Fuel! Every hour, I pulled out the flask and took a good sip and within minutes felt like I was buzzing, flying along. I want to mention that there is no caffeine in this, so it wasn't that.<br /><br />To wrap this up I just want to say that this is "the" best I have ever felt during an ultra race. I never bonked, never felt tired, never cramped and most importantly never had the slightest nausea at all. I ran this race like I ran it the CR year in 2000, running just about all the hills, never even thinking of wanting to walk. I wanted to catch more runners and almost did! The difference between 2000 and 2009 is then I barfed after I finished and was walking in a cloud during, just on the verge of bonking. This year I felt energized all day long....and never got sick.<br /><br />First Endurance, thanks for a great product, I feel like I have gotten a lease on life in my Ultrarunning. A new start...<br /><br />Steve PeroWasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-60989000484233751722009-04-15T20:57:00.000-07:002009-04-15T21:19:11.764-07:00Training for an Ultra - LOL<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NsoAQwhKKm0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NsoAQwhKKm0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="388" height="244"></embed></object>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-43946572922418355302009-03-25T12:00:00.000-07:002009-03-25T12:24:04.246-07:00Speedgoats sharpen their hooves at Chuckanut and Rucky Chucky<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HNlsm9xOARzaSq-J5ujv8vXI-vLMAUq5hLj6L4riRC-2TcqIPQlVko089RDV_LEjo-nBhvBg4OpOn2XVfZkchHSVD33uOxPv1Sc2ZSdxnSelJJkc7lU7G0iXhPfTBFheJ5haIRIj3oo/s1600-h/rucky-chucky-50k-2009-08.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HNlsm9xOARzaSq-J5ujv8vXI-vLMAUq5hLj6L4riRC-2TcqIPQlVko089RDV_LEjo-nBhvBg4OpOn2XVfZkchHSVD33uOxPv1Sc2ZSdxnSelJJkc7lU7G0iXhPfTBFheJ5haIRIj3oo/s320/rucky-chucky-50k-2009-08.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317202746267004082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Close to the Rucky Chucky River Crossing</span><br /></div>Last weekend, Speedgoats Monicha Ochs placed 6th in the Chuckanut 50K while Peter Lubbers placed 4th (1st AG) in the Rucky Chucky Roundabout 50K. Both races feature mountain trails--perfect for the goats. You can read Monica's report on her <a href="http://monicaochs.blogspot.com/2009/03/chuckanut-50k.html">Run for Fun</a> blog and Peter's report at his <a href="http://runlaketahoe.blogspot.com/2009/03/sub-5-at-rucky-chucky-50k.html">Run Lake Tahoe blog</a>.Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-42349525536778732042009-03-20T09:04:00.001-07:002009-03-20T13:04:55.808-07:00Bring on Summer!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3309106866_9d4e6d254c_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 237px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3309106866_9d4e6d254c_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3570/3369943249_145d68bbe5_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 237px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3570/3369943249_145d68bbe5_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Okay - today is not even the first full day of spring, but it's time to preview what the 'goats will be wearing on the trails this summer.<br /><br />Thanks to new sponsor <a href="http://www.golite.com/main/home.aspx">GoLite</a> (Goat-Lite?) we will be very stylish and cool in the mountains this year!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/2886963334_25eaf04c38.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 295px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/2886963334_25eaf04c38.jpg" alt="" border="2" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">Scruffy Goats of Summer<br />Chris, Tom, and Sandy at the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://karlmeltzer.com/speedgoat-50k/">Speedgoat 50K</a><br /></span></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615288254843059196.post-20739772665158830862009-03-19T18:46:00.000-07:002009-03-20T08:42:17.743-07:00Wasatch Speed Goat Team BlogWelcome to the world of goat runners, the <a href="http://www.wasatchspeedgoat.com/">2009 Wasatch Speed Goat Mountain Racing Team </a>has built a blog to keep you up to date on the latest industry news, team updates, race results and gear reviews...All 25 goats will be posting their training and race experiences through out the 2009 season, stay tuned!!<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Scrape on!!</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">If your board at work go ahead and play a little:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf">Goat Dash</a></span><br /><br /></div>Wasatch Speed Goatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769848782732170231noreply@blogger.com