Coming into the Big Trees 50K this Sunday I had no expectations. Having paced Sarah for 12 miles of Miwok 100K, getting little sleep the previous two nights, and a capricious foot, I decided to just go out there, run my best and not worry about the time. This attitude proved to be key and I am going to work to adopt it going forward.
I wasn't even planning on doing this one until a week ago. I decided I should have a hard run to cap off these few months of training before going to Utah and Europe where I'm planning to take it easy.
So I got up at 6 a.m. (after going to bed at midnight due to coming back late from Miwok the day before), and headed out to Joaquin Miller park in Oakland. At the start line I was treated to running into Jenny, an old friend from Caltech who happened to be running the half marathon, as well as Myles, a friend from running.
It was going to be a hot day, so I packed extra Salt Sticks, put on lots of sunscreen and wore a white shirt and hat. And as always, I carried my 3.5L capacity Camelback. Also, taking a cue from my previous race where I got dehydrated and cramped up, I started my morning with a chicken soup (running days are the only times I eat normal canned soup nowadays, after going on a low salt diet - it's a good excuse!), tea, orange juice, and 1L of Gatorade.
Unlike my previous race, the Woodside 50K where I really wanted to break 5 hours, I toed the line relaxed. I told myself that I want to feel good for the first 1.5 loops (the total course is 2.5 loops) and then I will push it on the last loop. So I took off at a leisurely pace, letting folks pass me easily.
After a short flat section, we came to a steep uphill, where I powerwalked and passed a few people. Then came the first downhill. And the downhills for me are very important for a few reasons. First, I'm really good at them and they're ridiculously fun! The more technical, rocky, and rooty, the better! When I'm feeling good, I can just fly down. Second, with my current strategy of walking/taking it easy on the uphills, I blaze the downhills to make up the time. Third, the downhill lets me gauge how I'm feeling this day.
So the first downhill came... and I flew!!! Yes, this is going to be a good day after all. I don't know how well I will do, but I'm feeling good and it's going to be fun, so that's what matters.
The next section had a progression of uphills and downhills. I caught a bunch of people on the downhills and was blazing fast enough that I wouldn't see most again even when I was walking the uphills.
One particularly fun one was so steep I couldn't even see down it until I was all the way on the edge. Without hesitation I flowed over the edge, letting the roots, rocks and bumps guide me, like a stream flowing down a mountain. Nearing to the end of it, I let myself pick up speed until and all out sprint through the short flat section that followed.
SO MUCH FUN.
Had fun running with a couple of half-marathoners. I kept passing them on the downhills and they would pass me on the uphills. We'd just wave each other through, and exchange a few words as we passed each other. Blazed through the aid station with just a water refill.
Then came the long exposed uphill leading up to a long exposed ridge. It wasn't hot quite yet, but I was sweating. I knew I was going to be passing there two more times and it was going to be rough.
Second time around my downhills were still blazing - a great sign - but the heat was starting to take its toll. My uphill progress on the exposed ridge slowed down. I caught with a fellow 50K-er named Micah. The first 50K-er I saw. We ran, or more precisely shuffled along, on the hot, exposed, uphill fire road for a while. I enjoyed having his company through the tough section.
Then we ran into Myles under a tree. Looks like his stomach was having some issues and he needed calories, so I handed him a Stinger stroopwafel. And shared some water with Micah from my ample 3L bladder. Given my cramping experience at the last race, I was taking extra care to stay hydrated and making sure I had plenty of salt. I was taking salt practically every 30 minutes, a large amount for me. But it proved to be the right thing - I didn't cramp the whole time.
As we neared a large intersection, I didn't see any ribbons. Then a guy holding a bunch of ribbons in his hand motioned us in a particular direction.
WAIT A MINUTE!
Is this this guy taking down ribbons?!?!?! Both Micah and I panicked a little bit. The guy claimed he was from the aid station, trying to put the ribbons back up after somebody took them down. Eventually I believed him, but was skeptical. It was a pretty shitty feeling knowing that there are some people out there actively trying to fuck us over for no reason.
Luckily his advice did indeed take us to the aid station. I was happy to know that there were folks out there watching our back as well. I passed Micah around this time and was on my own again, going back to the start line for my final loop. Blazed another scree-y downhill on the way down - a good sign. More ribbons were taken down close to the end of the loop, so that was a little bit distressing, but I found my way back.
Jenny already finished her half and helped me refill my water. I was getting really hot and starting to get less coherent. I knew the last loop was going to be very rough. But there was no option but to go back out there, which I did.
And it was rough. The heat made even the easiest uphills difficult, and the tough vertical uphills excrutiatingly slow. My breaths would get heavy and shallow even if I increased my effort just a tad. And the downhills weren't so blazing anymore as my muscles started to get trashed from the heat and exertion. So I focused on moving forward and drinking water. This was getting annoying too because I just kept getting air in along with the water and burping. It made me feel bloated. But I was peeing often and clear which meant I was well hydrated.
I didn't see a single 50Ker for about 7 miles or 1.5 hours, until catching up to Melanie around the second aid station. The guys there were super nice and refilled me for the third time. Melanie took a few shots of Pepsi. I decided that sounded temping and took a shot myself. Only to remember my burping issue. DOH!
Well, at this point I knew what was coming up. The 4 miles of hell on the really hot exposed uphill fired road on top of the ridge. Here we go again. At this point it became about grinding it out and finishing. While it would be nice to get under 7 hours, I just wanted to be done and be out of the heat.
I was completely alone on the ridge. That is, without other runners. I passed people here and there, but at that time it was like we were of different planets. My cheerfulness that was with me for most of the race was fading quickly. I stopped making eye contact and focused on just moving forward.
And so I chugged along, uphill after uphill. Thinking the next uphill was the last one... only to be met with one more... and again, over and over, until I groaned with exasperation upon meeting yet another. And eventually I made it to the aid station. Another runner, Carl, was there gearing up for the last 1.7 miles.
I had plenty of water and didn't need anything else. So after chatting with the awesome aid station folks for a minute, I took off for the final stretch.
And ran into the finish in under 7 hours. There one of the Tims (the two Tims that run InsideTrail) congratulated me on being third.
THIRD?!?!?!
Holy shit, I placed. My best placement ever by far. How did that happen, with such a slow time? Victory by survival. The top time was only 5:55. Looked like many folks who would normally be faster than me dropped out or were slowed down by the heat and various problems. My preparation with pre-hydration, and not pushing the pace initially really paid off as I picked off 4-5 people in the second half.
I enjoyed chatting with the few other folks that finished. I felt a sense of camaraderie with them as we were the few that stuck it out and overcame adversity. One of the Tims placed #10 at Miwok the day before, so it was fun hearing his account. I ate lots of watermelon and enjoyed not having to move.
The next day my legs felt just fine.
I think this marks a turning point in my running. I felt prepared and experienced on the trail. I knew how to take care of myself and came in with a good attitude. And I did really well.
Now that my downhills are really good, I'm going to focus on getting stronger on the uphills. While being able to blaze downhills helps a lot, it's being strong that makes a runner. Thinking about it mathematically, we spend a lot more time on the uphills then downhills. So getting 20% faster on the uphills will make me significantly faster than squeezing out another improvement on the downhills. If I can improve my uphill, flying downhills will give me the edge.
I'm excited about Angeles Crest 100!!!
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