Overview: after looking at the stacked list of starters, I decided that I'd go out and run and run. That's what I did. I had a blast, and I ran well. I finished in 4:43, which puts me in an 8th place. For being uncertain about my fitness level, I am very happy with how the race turned out.
So I was a bit uncertain about my fitness level, but I was also intimidated by the starter list (D. Jones, R. Burch, T. Parr, D. Callahan, D. Bowman, I. Torrence, just to name a few of the bigger names, and on the women's side D. Africa, A. Ortiz., K. Moehl and so on and so forth). So I went into it not really want to 'race' this one. I just wanted to go out, run around, have a good time, and focus on the things that I know I need help with.
One element that I need to work on is nutrition/fueling during the race. My normal approach is this: "carry a water bottle and drink from it when you get thirsty and carry some food if you can, If you get hungry, stop at the aid station and pick out some stuff that looks good. When the water bottle runs out, fill it up at a station." That's fine, and it has always worked out fairly well, but that method, so I've realized, always leads to huge vacillations in energy, which can make it mentally tough to push on at a good pace. I know that I normally hit a wall at mile 18-19 because I run out of glycogen, like everyone else (look at anyone's mile-splits in the marathon: good, good, good, and then bam! mile 19 or 20 the pace starts to slow down and the race report reads, "the last 6 miles were awful." yep. That's when you've run out of sugars.) So I wanted to make a nutrition plan, stick to it, and see how it works out.
The plan: drink water/heed on the 5's, and every hour eat a gel. I brought four gels, which I stuck in my sleeves (biking sleeves that I was wearing) figuring that this race would take around 5 hours and that if I fell off pace I could always grab something at the last aid station. The plan worked - for the most part. I'll try to weave that analysis into the race report.
About 10-15 minutes before the race, I took a gel and drank half a cup of water to get things going (of course I ate breakfast an hour before that consisted of bread and coffee). The race started promptly at 8 am, and the air felt colder than the thermometer read. This was due to the wind, which was biting cold coming from the South. RD, Chris M, counted down and shouted "Go!" The lead pack was off. And I wasn't far behind, but knowing who was up front, I decided to hang back and go out at an easy pace. I knew the leaders would head-out hot, so that a few would burn out (probably around miles 18-22 or so) and that I could pick some off at that point...or so I hoped.
The first climb, which was the first mile or two, was tough because there was red-ice - ice that was hard to distinguish from slickrock until you were already slipping on it. I was running with Erik Storheim, who I ran with for almost the entire race, and fella named Scott from Montrose. We ran together, until the fork in the trail. This fork is leads out to a lollipop loop that is added on to the 33K, which makes the race into 55Ks. It was nice to hang out with them, trade a bit of small talk, and get into a rhythm.
The next climb up to the plateau was nice. In fact, climbing was the only time I really felt excellent all day. Aaron caught up to me on a flat and we talked for a little while. It was good to see him, but on the next climb (up to mile 12 or so?) I decided to push the pace a little since I was feeling good. I caught up to Donny Haubert, and we traded positions a few times. After a protracted downhill section, where I couldn't get comfortable, we made it onto the flats. Erik had dropped me when I had been running with Aaron, and had gone further ahead. I lost sight of him, but I was now running with Donny. My shoes had come untied so I stopped to fix it (LaSportiva Crosslights have the WORST laces, which you cannot change because of the shoe design. That is the one clear design flaw in the shoe.) When I stopped to tie my shoe, Donny blew past followed by Anita Ortiz.
I decided I'd follow them for a bit because it seemed to be a good pace. Additionally, the wind was coming directly towards us, so I wanted to hang back with them to see how they handled it. I knew that Anita was familiar with this course, so I wanted to wait and see what she did. I didn't get much opportunity to chat or see what she did, because on a short climb, I passed both of them. In this section, I really started to feel good. This was sometime between the 13 mile and 17 mile aid stations. My nutrition plan was working: I was fueling, and I was feeling good. The head wind was miserable, and the sandy running conditions made each foot strike soft and energy-inefficient. But I was feeling good and in the groove.
I was just cruising along, when I finally made it into the 'second part' of the race. I caught up to Erik again and there were a few other people that I had caught and passed (the first of the day right around mile 20 or so - no coincidence here). Someone had told me that the second part was tougher than the first, and they were right. I was still enjoying the climbs, but the descents were really rough on me. As I sit here, my knees still feel tight because my quads are pretty sore from having to break and bounce and absorb the shock of that weird slickrock. Through much of this section, I traded positions with Erik and Ben Lewis. At some point Ben fell off our pace, and I didn't see him again to the end. The entire second half was a lot of fun because the terrain is so unusual and the course, while well-marked, was difficult to follow. I should mention that the course was not difficult to follow because of poor marking. The marking was exemplary, the course is just confusing because of the odd and uneven terrain.
Around 11:30 I noticed that my energy was starting to fade and that I could use another gel. This was the only kink my nutrition plan - I didn't take enough gels with me. I think that I should probably do (at least) 2 an hour because the long I'm out there, the more I'm going to need. Next time I'll be ready. But I need to figure out a way to store them so they are easy to access. Any suggestions?
At some point, Erik and I were putting along when a guy in a black t-shirt and black shorts sped past us at a very quick pace. I don't know if he had gotten off trail and was making up for lost time, or what race he was racing, but he looked fast and smooth, and at this point I was starting to feel less than smooth. Erik assured me that the final aid station was somewhere not too distant, and we made it there just before noon. We entered and left around the same time, and Erik told me "if we run 6 and 1/2 minute miles, we can finish at 4 and a half hours."
Yeah. Right. Maybe if I had done some speed work that'd be possible, but I figured I'd cruise along and do what I'd done all day. Eventually I'd finish. Erik powered on and after every hill he looked a little further...and then further in the distance...I finally lost sight of him, but at that point I didn't mind too much. I could (not literally) smell the end, and I was having a blast passing the slower 33K'ers. One really nice feature of this race is that the longer race starts before the shorter race and that the longer race loops into the shorter race so that if you need motivation to keep going you can focus on the next person to catch up to (assuming you can catch up to the 33K'ers). I had a good time saying hi to them and wishing them luck.
Eventually, I made my way down the sinuous switchbacks and caught sight of the Colorado River. A friend of mine was taking pictures, so as soon as I saw him, I hooped and hollered and was in top gear for the final push.
I made it down to the finish for a time of 4:43. I was surrounded by good friends, smiles, and the great, extra warm-feeling of finishing a fun day on the trails. I ran across Ryan Burch and Timmy Parr and I asked about their race - they informed me that I was, to my surprise, probably in 8th place (good guess on their part) - and they seemed generally to have a good day. I waited around for a bit, but my stomach wasn't having any of the food and because I'd stopped moving, I started getting cold. I saw Aaron K, who finished with a wonderful time of 4:59 (knocking over 30 minutes off his previous 50K PR - so he went a few miles longer in a shorter time!). But I didn't want to wait around for too long, so I grabbed a beer and headed out. I drank the beer, my stomach settled, I warmed up, and all was good and right in the world.
In retrospect, the race was well run, the run was tough (especially the descents on the second half - which were like running down uneven concrete slabs), and my nutrition still needs some tweaking. But I can't complain. Given the competition that this small race attracted, I was surprised and overjoyed to break into the top ten.
So thanks to my friends who came out to support me. Thanks to Chris for putting together a rad race, and a special thanks to the volunteers who withstood rain and cold to make this event possible.
When I get some pictures, I'll post them. Cheers!