Golden Gate Dirty Thirty Race Report

Saturday was the GGD30 – a 50k that is no small feat. It’s almost all on technical singletrack and the climbs are pretty severe with the downhill being the same – or way too technical for my talent to be able to make up much time.


Andrea, Chase and I met up that morning at a glorious 4:45 to drive to the park together. The weather was supposed to be pretty hot so I was a bit concerned, but I had read that possible thunderstorms could occur as well. I was hoping for some cloud cover later in the day to help get through the heat and we got more than we bargained for.

We checked in with the RD just in time to have three minutes before the start of the race. The RD went through some basics and one of them was a description of the first part of the course – you basically run up a quarter of a mile on dirt road and then hit singletrack – for me and all my ‘strategery’ it’s a place to try and get ahead of others because you can’t go off trail to pass and if you don’t move quickly you will be stuck in a long line of people trying to get up the hill. So when she said go I carefully weaved through some people and then was abruptly stopped – as was everyone else – while the line made its way up the mountain. In retrospect it was probably a god-send because I have a tendency to go out too fast anyway and it forced me to take my time up the first hill, but it sure was frustrating for awhile. I immediately lost Andrea and Chase – I think I should have voiced my thoughts while the RD was speaking, but never thought of it until I realized no one was behind me. I wouldn’t see Andrea until mile 26 or so – and Chase I didn’t see until the car at the finish.

The trails were pretty technical – if there weren’t rocks there were roots or both for that matter so I found myself looking down a lot more than normal – boy there were A LOT of people wearing Hoka’s. I was behind a skinny legged woman for the ascent, actually we traded places for the better part of the race and I just kept moving forward. When we got to the top of the hill we were on doubletrack and that helped space out everyone a lot more but eventually you went down into a creek bed that you crossed 11 times and were slowed to a walk again while people made their way along the trail.

By the first significant downhill we were spread out evenly enough that I wasn’t freaking out that someone was going to come barreling down the mountain behind me – or that I was holding anyone up from doing what they needed to do. I was feeling pretty good when I reached the first aid station and skipped it altogether because I more or less had what I needed. I figured I would use the 2nd and 4th aid stations and be fine between and that plan worked out well. Both stops I was pretty much almost out of water.

After the aid station there is a long somewhat gradual climb up a jeep road – Andrea and I ran the majority of it both times when we pre-ran the course so I reminded myself I could do it, but I think I did get to a point closer to the top where I walked. The weather was still fairly cool, but I took this time to take off my wool shirt since the terrain was a bit more forgiving. When you reached the top of the hill you were again on singletrack and doing more climbing so it was always a walk/run combo. I had managed just under a 13 minute mile pace at this point so I was happy with that, but I knew there were two really significant climbs coming up and I wanted to do what I could to keep up the pace without bonking. My goal was to go sub 7, but I knew it was probably going to be a stretch. It was nice knowing we had run the course so I knew where we were for the most part at all times and what was coming up – I had something to look forward to as I went along and I knew which trail was next. When I reached the 2nd aid station I knew it was one of the two hardest climbs of the race so mentally I felt like I was prepared. I refilled my water and started the climb up the coyote trail. There are parts of this section where you are just scrambling up the face of a rock and have no choice to look up in order to find the next trail marker, because if you don’t, more than likely you will go the wrong way. Clambering to the top I was watching my pace fall and thought I could make up some time on the various downhill but I was going to have to push it.

Up and over the top of the trail I was able to shake my legs out and start running – nothing fast enough to make up all of the time lost, but I was cutting some of it off. At the next junction the race became the ‘unknown’ – Andrea and I had not run this portion of the trail but I knew it was also labeled as a ‘most difficult’ trail so I figured it was going to be more of the same as what we’d just gotten over and it was, but a bit more of it. At some point there were, I think three people behind me. Jokes were made here and there and I said more than once they should feel free to pass, but no one made the move to do so until we were on the downhill. One of the guys passed and then almost promptly bit it, so I think it may have spooked the others into taking it easy. There was a girl behind me and I tried to chat with her, but it didn’t seem she was in the mood to do so, so I put my head down (further) and continued to run.

We got to aid station three and I grabbed two chocolate chip cookies, two nutter butters and a piece of banana and was on my way. It was more uphill – rocky steep uphill so I tried to eat the quickly melting chocolate chip cookie and the nutter butters but ended up putting one of each into a pocket for later. I was eventually passed by the girl that was behind me previously and she said someone at the aid station said one more climb up Windy Peak and another shorter climb and we were there. I kind of just thought to myself – I guess it depends on what your definition of a climb is – and kept going. The horseshoe trail took a lot out of me mentally. I hadn’t been on it – it was a steep climb and I was alone – in my head. I was wishing for company through the majority of the run, but it was about then that I really wished there was someone who I could commiserate with so I could just get it out of my system rather than singing that old tune “All By Myself”.

I reached the top of this climb but knew there was more to come up a jeep road to another trail filled with, you guessed it, climbs and descents with roots and rocks. I ran as much as I could – trying to take some time off my pace, but 11 minute miles were all I think I could muster. We finally got through the snowshoe hare trail and were back on the jeep road we previously climbed so I was thankful to be able to run down it and shake everything out.

At the bottom of the road was the 4th aid station – and the last station with food. I took a small cup of coke and another piece of banana but nothing else really caught my eye. Incidentally I did think I fueled pretty well for this race. I did the typical Clif Bloks, Endurolytes as well as two Lara Bars – the cookies and banana’s and I think that about covered it. Physically I never felt like I was bonking, mentally I had my downs so maybe I still need to work on it.

We made our way to the next singletrack and the final big uphill, and by this time there were clouds and the threat of rain. I was thankful for the trees when it did start spitting, but I was also very thankful for the relief of the rain to cool things off. You reach a point where there is a marshall that tells you .7 to the top of Windy Peak – and at the same time it sounds good, it’s also the LONGEST .7 miles, because its slow going, and you are seeing people coming down and one guy said at one point ‘oh you’re there’ and I thought to myself ‘thank god’ but quickly realized I wasn’t almost there because it still took forever. So when I saw Andrea on my way down and she asked how far it was to the top – I froze. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t want to do to her what that guy had done to me and I really couldn’t judge how far it was. I can’t even recall whether I did actually give her an answer.

Heading down the mountain you see everyone on their way up and boy I wonder if we all looked as worn out as I saw some people. I can imagine we did, but there’s got to be some relief seeing people descend, knowing it doesn’t go on forever.

By the time I was at the bottom of the hill – again running along the creek, it was raining pretty bad – I pondered stopping to get my rain jacket but never made it past thinking about it. Unfortunately there was another short climb, some guy saying you had 1.7 miles to go, only to be told by another guy about a mile later that you had 1.5 miles to go – or so it seemed, maybe I was actually running that slow.

I basically zoned out and did what I could to book it down the hill. I was fairly close to passing another woman but didn’t do it when I really had the chance, I passed another on the way down but I still can’t figure out whether she was a 50k’er or a 12 miler. When I got down to the bottom there was another woman in front of me that I could have passed, but I don’t like to pass people in the last few yards of a race – it just seems a bit tacky.

When I stopped behind her I heard her tell the people taking the bibs that she didn’t finish the race, she was pulled by Search and Rescue and never made it to the start of the next climb up to Windy Peak. They asked me if I finished and I said I did and handed them my bib tag. I then saw E and Hoyt and gave them a hug – that’s all I was really looking forward to. We went to Chase’s car to get my stuff and I went to change and when I went back out Chase was at his car saying they pulled him because of the weather and lightning.

After looking at the results online it seems there were a lot of people they pulled going up Windy Peak to the top and they pulled others from somewhere else further into the course for the same reason. I was lucky enough to get in and out of there without having to deal with any of it.  I saw Andrea when she was done and we chatted for a bit and then E and I drove home.

Today is Monday, and I’m still sore from the downhill, I’m supposed to run tomorrow but I’m thinking if it’s not slow and flat – I might not be able to do it. I love running, and I love the challenge – this is one of the biggest challenges so far, as well as the longest I’ve ever been out on trails running. I’m hoping it helps prepare me for the 50 miler and I’m sure the experience will, but this race wasn’t much ‘fun’. Running with someone during the long runs for the past few months has really been a good time and I want to figure out how to make them more fun, even just a little, whether I’m with someone or not. I don’t take pictures, on this type of run I didn’t look around much. I’m missing a huge part of running these things and I want to figure out how to have a mixture of both. It makes me sad just thinking about it. I’m not going to dwell on it – or try not to at least – I’m just going to make a mental note of it and do what I can to change it.

Week 10 in Review

This past week was my highest mileage week so far.  It had originally started out as a 65 mile week but ended up being 56 - another 10 or so short of the original goal, but good nonetheless.  I battled with just overall tiredness early in the week - due to what I don't know.  My eating has kind of been hit or miss and there was a bit of heat one day and some rain another so that pretty much accounts for all of it.

I've been about 95% on trails for this entire training cycle.  Last Saturday was a departure - E Hoyt and I drove up to Idaho Springs to (somewhat) avoid the rain/snow that was coming down around our house.  We ran on a paved bike path - it had a few good ups and downs in it so I'll take them, but pavement is starting to make things ache in odd places.

I ran at another trail near our house during the week that had some pretty good climbs but the week was capped off with the race preview run for the Golden Gate Dirty 30.  Andrea and I ran the majority of the course.  This was our second attempt and we weren't so directionally challenged this time.  Nor were we water pump challenged either.  E explained how those things worked and so we weren't concerned about running out of water any longer.  Here's a photo to prove it:

Courtesy of Andrea's Cell Phone

Water eventually did come out and we were on our way again...There are some pretty serious climbs for this race - and the downhills don't supply a lot of 'easy running' to make up time.  I tripped twice and had to catch myself with my hands one other time, and I wasn't even going that fast.  Andrea as well as another new running friend, Chase, will be running the race as well and I had high hopes of a sub six hour finish in order to get into the DT360 club.  I have since been educated on the trails for this race and will be extremely happy with anything sub 7:30.  My double A goal would be sub 7.

This is a photo of one of the 'Most Difficult' trails we will be encountering.  There are two described that way by the park, but we only ran one this past weekend.  We've got to keep some element of surprise, and I have to leave at least a little bit of unknown in order to not just talk myself out of the race completely.  

Courtesy of Andrea's Cell Phone



We ran somewhere around 24-25 miles in 5 1/2 hours - my Garmin chose to quit on us a few times so I'm not quite sure where we ended up but looking at the map its a good estimate.  Fueling went really well - although I did have the typical 16 or so mile - ok ready to be done, but I don't know if that is because I had to pee really bad, I didn't eat enough, or the terrain not really giving us a break was to account for feeling that way.  Either way I ate something and then went to the bathroom and started to feel a bit more human again.

We were lucky to have perfect weather - well what we would consider perfect - for both test runs, and I can only hope its like that for the actual race because I don't know if I can take an 85 degree day.  It's the last race before the 50 Miler, and yes it is still going to be the '50 Miler That Remains Nameless' until I get closer to it.  I don't want to jinx anything. 

It sure has been a fun training cycle though - my body has held up extremely well.  I don't think I ever thought I'd get this far with this much mileage - maybe slow and steady in every form is what I should have been doing all along.

The Last Three Weeks in Review

I think it's three - it might be four.  There was the week of Desert RATS - that resulted in a somewhat poor showing at the race, but with circumstances being taken into consideration - it wasn't all that bad.  The week after that - although it was to be a cutback week resulted in me becoming extremely sick, losing 7 pounds and only managing 10 miles for the week.

The next week was Greenland Trail 50k and again considering the heat - I'm pretty happy with the performance and a 50k PR of over an hour.  Obviously the courses aren't even comparable so its silly to call it a PR, but its the fastest I've ever run that distance so I'll keep it.

This past week was just another build week - or higher mileage one.  It was intended to be a 60 mile week but with a few miles taken off here and there it ended up being less than 50.  I guess that's quite a few less than 60 but I'm feeling it out as I go.  I also introduced a day of hill training to try and get the legs to fire a bit quicker and easier on the uphills, but something tells me that might have left a lot less in the tank for Sunday's long run at Golden Gate Canyon State Park.  Andrea and I had intended to do 22 miles, but after getting lost on course, her possibly breaking a toe, no place to refill our hydration packs even though it's advertised there is drinking water in the park, and storms looming - it ended up somewhere between 17 and 18 or so miles.  I had my garmin but satellite reception was sketchy and we were out there for quite a long time even without counting the many gazings at the trail maps to try and figure out where we were and where we were going - so that was definitely a 'time on your feet' run.  I'm thinking it will be better to move the hill workout up to Tuesday so that it doesn't have that big of an effect on the longer weekend run.

This week is another attempt at the 60 mile range and then a cutback before a vacation with E and Hoyt and the Golden Gate race.  I had visions of making it another sub 6 50k but I was brought back to reality awfully fast during the test run this past weekend.  I'm now thinking anything sub 7:30 would be a great time and will put me even closer to where I need to be for the 50 miler.

Nine more weeks of training with five long runs in there - it's starting to get closer...

Greenland Trail 50k

Saturday E and I drove down to Larkspur to run the Greenland trail races – he was doing the 25k and I was doing the 50k. This race is known as a fast race – the course isn’t very technical and overall the elevation gain isn’t much. I’d studied the elevation profile and results from years’ past and thought I could maintain somewhere in the 10 minute mile range for the distance.


Watching the weather report leading up to the race, it was going to be a hot one, and a day before the race, the RD sent out a weather warning for everyone – it was supposed to be in the 80’s that day. I was hoping the heat would hold out until the last lap, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

This wasn’t an all out race for me – it was still a training run to get in the distance, but I did want to put forth some effort. It was a time for me to concentrate on how I felt before and after I ate something, experiment with eating things I haven’t before and it was also a test for which shoes I would be wearing for the 50 miler. I won’t be wearing the Montrails – overall they did a good job and they were fine for this race, but it’s not enough shoe for me so I’ll more than likely be sticking with the Scarpa’s or perhaps the other version of Montrails I have.

The course was a loop course with one loop being just under 8 miles. I would do the loop four times. This isn’t a good set up for me, because I start thinking about how I would like to stop after the first second and third lap. I need an out and back, point to point or lollipop loop because it’s really tempting to stop and this time was no different.

The 50k racers started at 7am with the 25k people starting at 7:30 and the 8 milers starting at 8. The male and female winners of this and the 25k killed this course regardless of the heat and I was looped by them all. The female winner of the 50k passed me before I was done with the third loop. She was crazy fast.

I had looked at the entrant list before the race and thought perhaps I could come in around 13th or so overall female. That turned out to be right about where I was – I finished 14th female and 6th in my age group, which isn’t too shabby I think especially with a few things I had to deal with during the race. But I’ll get into that in a bit. I’m just going to break this down into the four loops – I had my garmin but it wasn’t showing pace, just elapsed time and heart rate. I also wore my ipod and listened to it for the first time – I think it actually helped me zone out and I’m going to think more about using it for the 50 miler.

Lap One - 1:14ish

We started right around 7 am and the course was on double track up for 5 miles of the loop and then you headed back down, hit the turnaround point and started heading back up again. At the start I turned on my ipod and just started running – I watched my heart rate and kept it in check, dialing back when I needed to. I had my 2 liter hydration pack with me along with Clif Bloks and the intent was to bypass all the aid stations and then at the third loop E would trade out that pack for my 1.5 liter pack that I had frozen overnight, and by that time would be mostly unfrozen but still had cold water and that is almost how it worked. I kept a pretty steady pace for the first lap – ran the entire thing and finished somewhere in the 1:14:00 range. I passed a few people in this lap and at this point it was just the 50k racers. I did try to hold back on the pace a bit because banking time always enters my head especially when I know it’s going to be hot, but this time I managed to hold back for the most part – I’ve learned banking time doesn’t work for me all that well. Getting closer to the turnaround point you start seeing the leaders coming back out and it’s always interesting to see them. I counted the females that I saw and was right about where I expected I would be at this point. In this lap I took one endurolyte and also ate Clif Bloks twice.

Lap Two - 1:21:30ish

Heading back out to the course it was hot already, and there was also a headwind to contend with. It was nice because it helped cool me down a bit but I’m not a fan of wind – I slowed down the effort a bit to keep my heart rate in check and just put my head down and ran. I ran past the aid station at about mile 3.5 of the loop and started the biggest climb of the race, it was an effort but still pretty mild as far as climbs go. I noticed at this point I was leap-frogging a guy who it seemed couldn’t really decide on a pace and I tried to ignore it and just run my race, but I would see him A LOT during this race. When I reached the top of the climb for the second loop and started heading down he passed me and I let him go. I figured I’d see him again. Getting closer to the end of the second loop I thought – gosh had I stayed with the 25k I would be done now and then thought I didn’t feel so hot and maybe if I saw E, I’d just go ahead and call it at the second loop. Thank god I didn’t see him – I don’t have a DNF at this point and I really don’t want one.



Lap Three 1:30:00ish

I reached the turnaround point and passed the guy I was leapfrogging because he used the aid station, and started on the third lap. Again I was in the wind and it did not feel so great. Getting into the third lap I started to feel the front sides of my shins start cramping and I started to freak out a little and remembered typically the reasons this starts happening – not enough water, not enough salt, not enough electrolytes and perhaps running at a pace that is above what I should be doing, so I slowed it down, ate some margarita clif bloks that have extra salt and told myself I would stop at the aid station to get some pretzels or something with salt. The cramps went away so I believe I did everything right. I just plugged ahead and used anyone in front of me as incentive to keep moving – the people I was catching were the slower runners of the 25k who were on their second lap but it still helped with motivating me to press on. Getting closer to the aid station, I knew I had to get water and so I started undoing my pack and had the guy fill my hydration pack with water – it was empty by this time although I don’t think I realized it. I grabbed some pretzels and headed up the climb again. I was passed at this aid station by one woman – which is never what I want, but this race had become more of a ‘get through it’ than a race. Cramping has never really turned out well for me so I was a bit freaked out and just wanted to be able to finish the race. I didn’t want to let her go, but I did.

I had caught up to the guy from the second lap and once again I passed him on the uphill and we continued to leap frog for a bit until the downhill where he passed me again. Going into the end of the loop the lead woman passed me and I just giggled and kept going. I cannot imagine running the pace she ran in the heat, much less in general for that long of a distance. It’s an admirable talent – I was happy to see she had a hydration pack on although I don’t know if she wore it all four laps. I’m always in wonder when I see people without them, especially in those kinds of conditions – there was no way I would have made it with just a handheld.

Lap Four - 1:19:00ish

Going into the turnaround point for lap four I saw E and he had my stuff ready I took out my bag of bloks and my ipod and dropped a few of the bloks and probably cussed a bit louder than I realized because I had headphones in, when I turned around and headed over to get my hydration pack for E one of the race people had grabbed the bloks and rinsed them in a cup of water – he handed them to me and I stuffed them in my mouth. I said a few words to E and then kept going. The leap frog guy was pretty far in front of me and I figured he was gone and I was then passed by two other women and that was annoying but I said I’d stick with them and try to catch them on the uphill – at one point they started walking and right when I was about to pass them they started running again and they stayed in front of me for the rest of the race. I had passed another girl before the aid station and thought I just wanted to keep her behind me, but really had no idea where she was, I did think I had dropped her but when I got to the aid station, she was only a few feet behind me. I grabbed a half of a banana and then started heading uphill again. I’d never eaten a banana on the run before so this was either going to be an experiment that worked, or one that didn’t. Miraculously I’d caught up to the leap frog guy again, and managed to pass him on the uphill but it was so hot even I wasn’t running anymore but I kept my pace as high as I could get it and would jog when I felt ok. I ended up passing quite a few people on this lap – probably people who didn’t reevaluate their plan when they saw the heat and paid for it towards the end. I reached the top of the climb and started downhill – knowing there was only about three miles left, but really had no idea of where I was – I think I had probably zoned out too far. I picked up the pace on the downhill but knew there was another uphill portion that I just wanted to get through. I think it was right about here the girl I wanted to keep behind me passed me and again I pretty much just let her go, I didn’t know what was going to happen if I pushed it – I think I should have tried, but whatever.

I reached a point in this lap and then just started running – as fast as I could manage and in looking at my splits, who knew I had it in me. I didn’t want anyone to catch me but more than anything I was ready for the race to be over. I was running towards the orange tent of the turnaround point and then realized that wasn’t the finish. You had to go past it a ways to the finish and I wondered whether I had enough in me to keep going at the pace I was going. I had no idea who was behind me but I just knew I didn’t want the leap frog guy to beat me. I crossed the finish line in 5:24 – a 10:27 or so pace. I saw Eric gave him a hug and told him I had to get out of the heat because a wave of nausea had come over me and I really didn’t want to get sick. I found a banana and he brought a chair over and I sat and took my shoes off and rested for a bit. When I felt like I was ok we packed up and drove back to Conifer.

I feel pretty good about this race – I managed to deal with issues as they arose – I figured out things I can eat during a race that will be helpful for the 50 miler and I ran my own race to an extent. I’m still learning when I can push things and when I can’t – the unknown factor of whether it will work one race to the next kind of puts me in a more conservative place than aggressive and I think I’m ok with that right now. Taking into consideration I really didn’t want to do the last two laps and at one point thought I might not be able to – I executed well with the circumstances. I know how I fare in the heat and add on to that the headwind I managed to stay calm. E looked at the temp in the car when he finished his second lap and it was already in the 80’s. When we left the race it was 85. The fact that I didn’t just implode was a huge accomplishment and its just helping to build on what I need to keep doing this. I really couldn’t have asked for a better performance given the elements so I consider this race a great success.

I’ve got 10 more weeks until the 50 miler and in between there quite a few more long runs and another 50k race that is a lot more difficult than the one this past weekend. I’ll evaluate my goals for that one as it gets closer, but right now I think I’ll do ok.

Happy Belated Birthday Moogie

Saturday was Hoyt's 2nd birthday - hard to believe he's 2 because it's gone fast, but boy his personality is starting to show his two years.  This morning when I dropped him off at daycare - a comment was made from one teacher who was moving the older kids to another room and commented on 'the babies' and then said they weren't actually babies.  I commented that he was two going on 20 and another teacher said 'at least 14'.  I think that probably explains him to a T. 

I look at him and know he's two but sometimes there's a look that makes it seem like he's been around forever, or at least at another time, and has knowledge of the world he's willing to share - if he only had the words to use.

I watched him today for awhile when I went to pick him up interacting with the other children, because I wanted to figure out what kind of person he was going to be.  Everyone wants an uber-smart, cool, popular kid - at least I think they do.  That tri-fecta hardly ever happens, but there's always hope.  There are, I suppose, downfalls to having just one or the other - if he's smart, will he be bullied?  If he's popular, will he be the bully? 

So far, he's an observer.  He stands just on the fringe watching, thinking maybe he'd participate in what some of the others are doing, but he remains on the fringe.  His favorite teacher agreed he's an 'intellectual' so maybe he'll be the uber-smart guy. 

Regardless of where he ends up, so far he is such a joy, even in the moments when you have to take a pause to collect your temper - and to remind yourself he really is only a child.  He's our one and only, and a package of the two of us - he's our perfect package....

Happy Birthday Hoyt!

Desert RATS Trail Running Festival 25 Mile Race Report

I don’t really know where to start with this report. There are a lot of details to it that seem important, but perhaps they are really just inconsequential to the event.

Friday E Hoyt and I left for Fruita – we were camping at a campground near town and a few miles away from the race start. The plan was that I would run the race on Saturday and that Sunday Eric would run the ½ marathon.

Friday was pretty uneventful, we got to Fruita, set up the camper hung out with Hoyt and then went to packet pick-up. Picking up the race packet is typically where the nerves start to set in for me, and it wasn’t really any different this time. I tend to get intimidated by people who are there and I think at the moment when I asked whether they had an extra small shirt and the woman with tattoos kind of looked at me up and down – I felt like I was in the wrong place. There have been plenty of scenarios like this one at different races – it’s my own hang up, but I have plenty and this race wasn’t any different.

We went back to the campground and hung out – ate spaghetti and then I started munching on Oreo cookies. Yes, this is the way I carbo load the night before. I did notice I was peeing an awful lot, which always makes me nervous because in the times it’s happened in the past, the race hasn’t always gone well, but I equated it to the 4000 feet in elevation loss and the fact that I was trying to be diligent about drinking water. The race was to be a hot one towards the finish. The weather sites said 69 or so about when I was expecting to finish – I would say it was at least 7-10 degrees hotter than that, but it could have been I was just tired and ready to be done. We put Hoyt to bed around 8 and then I tried to go to bed too a little before nine. I don’t know if I actually slept any, I did get up to pee when E came in to go to sleep, but around 10:30 we were both woken up by Hoyt coughing. As a side note here – late last year Hoyt spent about 6 hours in Children’s Hospital with severe croup and there is no mistaking the barking cough that comes along with it, and that is what Hoyt had this time as well.

He started coughing non-stop around 10:30 and woke himself up – he was crying and couldn’t breathe and Eric and I decided to take him to the clinic around 11pm. We were doing what we could to be pre-emptive with what could possibly happen. The clinic checked him out and his breathing was clear, pulse oxygen level was good and heart rate was fine. They gave him a breathing treatment that immediately calmed and all but stopped the cough and we left the hospital around 12:30am. They advised us to get a hotel for the night so we did, and the race was questionable at that point. I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep at all and didn’t know how he was going to be through the rest of the night, but he coughed perhaps twice in that time and when the alarm went off at 4:15 I was up and getting ready.

There will be a lot of people that might think this was a dumb decision, a selfish one perhaps. I don’t have a lot of room for argument against either of those opinions. I weighed the options of what I thought would happen and decided it would be ok to run. E didn’t want to wake up Hoyt so I went to the race alone and afterwards would meet him back at the campground. E had decided already that he would not run the half on Sunday – he didn’t want to put Hoyt in any more risk and we would have had to shell out quite a few more dollars.

I got to the race and sat there for awhile inside the truck, watched people walk by, marveled at how warmly they were dressed, I told the RD I was there, got in line for the porta potty and went back to the truck. I got my stuff ready and then got in line for the porta potties one last time and lined up with the rest of the racers. I had everything I needed with me – my 2 liter hydration pack, clif bloks and some endurolytes.

The strategy was to bypass all the aid stations and it worked really well. I had not a lick of water left when I was done and in all honesty I could have probably used more calories so perhaps one stop at an aid station would have been good, but regardless I got to the finish. The race started on a dirt road for the first mile – going up and then moved to single track for the majority of the race. I concentrated on keeping my heart rate in check and practicing certain trail running tactics, using my arms on the uphill, leaning forward on both the up and down from the ankles and just staying within myself.

During the first few miles I ended up behind a girl that was pretty good on the uphill, but not so great on the downhill. On top of that, she liked to do that whole farmer blow thing, and didn’t really have the whole thing down, so on more than one occasion I ended up getting some of what she was putting out if you know what I mean. Passing wasn’t always a possibility, in between watching my own footing, predicting where she was going to go, and trying to find a place to pass I think I wasted quite a bit of time on that one. I eventually got out from behind her and her nasal passages but then almost immediately was met with another woman behind me who, if I didn’t know better, sounded like she was about to pass out she was breathing so hard. I did my best to ignore it, but it wasn’t happening and I asked her on a few occasions whether she wanted to pass me, but she declined.

I would drop her on an uphill but eventually she would end up right behind me for another long stretch. She referred to herself as an amoeba at one point and that she was stuck to me and boy wasn’t that the truth. We did have an enjoyable conversation but she had some weird breathing habits – another enjoyable thing about trail running. The miles ticked by, the scenery when I was able to look up, was great on the southwest side (I think) but eventually you got back to the side where you could see the freeway and that wasn’t all that special. It was getting significantly warmer than at the start and Fruita isn’t known for its tree cover.

By mile 19 when the last long stretch of uphill was in front of me, which was jeep road and pretty darn ugly, I was ready to be done. It was around here I got a text from E with well wishes, although I didn’t get to reading it until a point where jogging the uphill just wasn’t an option and I was ready to be done. I knew that around mile 22 or 23 it started in the downhill direction and just tried to focus on that, but those last miles couple of miles to get there took a lot out of me emotionally and physically. I think I had hit the emotional wall, and was pretty darn close, if not there with the physical wall as well. I questioned my decision to run the race, I was sad that I had left both E and Hoyt – sad that there was going to be no one at the finish to say good job and I was sinking pretty low.

Without going into detail I know a few people whose relationships have ended because one person got a bit too involved with their love for running. I told myself I didn’t want to be that person, but I think with the decision I made that morning I was walking a fine line. Another odd occurrence happened as I was standing in line for the porta potty. It was a giant coincidence that I ended up in front of two women who happen to know someone that I don’t necessarily ‘know’, but am familiar with through forums and blogs, and she was also running the race. They weren’t speaking too kindly of her and I think I thought about that situation more than I would have liked to as the miles ticked away. Women aren’t kind to each other over the long run, regardless of what they might be saying to your face. It was just another level of sadness and a low point.

Around mile 24 I reminded myself that trail races don’t have anyone certifying the course, there is no reason to, and that there was a really good chance this race could be over the 25 miles it was touted as being. It was. .78 miles past 25 the race was over, and I was finished as well. I crossed the line, went over to the shaded side of the truck and cried for about five minutes. I then pulled myself together and drove back to the campground and E and Hoyt. We packed everything up and drove back home.

In retrospect 3 hours isn’t enough sleep for a 25 mile trail race, I can stop at an aid station regardless of the time it might take to pick up an orange, and I’m not good running in the heat. Those are just a few takeaways from the race and I’ll put those in my back pocket. Ultimately regardless of what I wanted to accomplish, I finished the race in 4:45 and added miles to my training. It was merely a training run for me so I put in a good effort, but it wasn’t a do or die performance. I’ve got quite a few more weeks until I run the race I’m training to run so I’ll let it be that and only that and move forward.

Training Week 5 - Review

Well this week was kind of a taper of sorts - since this weekend we are going to Fruita to do the Desert RATS run. I totaled around 43 miles with the long run being a little over 15. All the miles were done on trails which is great, I was feeling pretty tired during the week but the long run seemed to come together. Sunday I opted out of a 10 miler to hang with E and Hoyt and this week will be shorter runs with the culmination on Saturday at the race.

In regards to the race itself - its more of a training run, but I'm going into it thinking I'll put forth a strong enough effort to do well, but not too strong that I can't run the following week, since it's scheduled to be another 50 mile week.

I'm excited to race - I haven't done that since Tucson, unless you count the snowshoe race which I guess I don't even though I did really well.

The clock is ticking but the miles are as well and I still feel really good...