Deeper into Training; Lake Sonoma 50 and Western States 100

This weekend I linked up with a running group from the Auburn, CA area and ran 36 miles on the Western States course (an Out and Back from Drivers Flat/River Crossing up to Foresthill and back). Last weekend I ran the Lake Sonoma 25 mile training run and the weekend before that I ran Way Too Cool 50K. I'm feeling really strong and loving all of the miles on the trails I've been able to get in. Feeling a little bit tired but not too bad. For the past 4 weeks I've been getting about 60-70 miles per week in.

This weekend's 36 miler concluded Phase I of my Western States training and also marked the peak for my Lake Sonoma 50 training. I'm beginning a mild taper which pretty much means I'll be running quite a bit but cutting the long weekend runs down a bit. The week before Lake Sonoma will be filled with a lot of rest. Phase I's focus was to build a really solid running foundation that would handle high mileage as well as speed work/hill repeats, a bit of cross training and allow me to be prep'd for Lake Sonoma.

I had incredible luck with Ultra lotteries this year and got into Way Too Cool 50k, Miwok 100k and Western States (I know, I should buy a real lottery ticket!). I decided to run a fast Way Too Cool but not really taper, race Lake Sonoma, use Miwok 100k as a training run and ultimately focus 100% on Western States. I'm looking forward to Lake Sonoma. It's a TOUGH course but I am eager to give it my best shot and hopefully break 10hrs. I'm looking to run a smart race and run the last 15/20 miles hard. This race will be mostly some mental training for Western States.

Overall I'm feeling solid and looking forward to going to deeper into the belly of the Western States training beast. Oh yeah, let's talk a little about gear... I've been running mostly in Hoka One One Stinson trail shoes (i have 2 pairs that I rotate) and Altra Superior shoes. The combo has been excellent so far. I've been trying to figure out my hydration technique for WS so I've been running w 2 20oz Amphipod handheld bottles and occasionally using my Salomon S-Lab Hydration Pack. I've also been using a hydration waist pack w my 2 handhelds which seems to be an ok combo as well.

Also, if you live in the Bay Area or are visiting the SF/Marin area be sure to stop by the San Francisco Running Company. It's an awesome new running store w great/knowledgable guys running the shop and excellent gear, shoes, fuel, etc. 

Back on the Trail

...to where? I don't think anyone knows but it's not about the destination... it is about the journey. Any true runner worth their salt (and we know how valuable salt is in running) will tell you the same. Signing up for races or having a running schedule that you can stick to is a beautiful part of running. Even on your way to a finish line you know it is not the end. It allows you to tune-in and subsequently tune-out (or maybe i should call it, "hit the zone") whether it is on a single run or extends through a stretch of time and multiple runs/races or training.

In November, I started thinking about races for 2013. I put my name in the lotteries for the Western States 100, Miwok 100k and Way to Cool 50k.  I also set my alarm and signed up for the Lake Sonoma 50 Miler when registration opened. The stars must have aligned for me for 2013 because I got picked in all 3 lotteries! Having all of these races on my race calendar for 2013 is electrifying. I have set long and short term goals and it provides fuel for every run.

One of my favorite long term goals for 2013 is to try to enjoy all of the training runs and workouts. Running is something that I love to do and in training for races in the past I have sometimes felt that "getting in workouts" has stressed me out. I believe that enjoying the process, the journey, and not getting stressed out over having to do certain workouts will allow me to be better prepared and actually train smarter and run harder than before.

Being back on the trail is more of a mental thing than anything else. I feel free, clear headed, strong and ready to tackle challenges.    

Dick Collins FIRETRAILS 50 MILER Race Review

On October 13, 2012 I ran the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler (I fell off the blogging wagon for a bit so I'm writing this at a later date)... "Firetrails" is an awesome ultramarathon that is run on an out and back course through the East Bay Hills in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I live in San Francisco so I woke up at about 5am and sped out to the East Bay to check in and make the 6:30am start. It was totally dark out so the starting/parking area was a bit messy... I decided to go without a flashlight because dawn was breaking around that time and didn't want to carry the extra weight.  I didn't realize that this would limit my toilet options to one bathroom... the park has other port-o-potty style bathrooms but no lights. There was a huge line for restroom and luckily I got in and out just in time. A few unlucky runners started a bit late.

As I made my toward the start, I heard the count down and as I reached the start we were off! Oops... i forgot to tie my shoelaces :) ...ok now we were off. The first few miles are alongside the Lake Chabot bike trail before the course climbs up into the hills for a few rolling miles before dropping into the valley. "Firetrails" is one of those legendary races that attracts true ultrarunners; it is an ultra marathoners ultramarathon. Many seasoned runners made for a great day on the trails. People were friendly, competitive, respectful and working hard.

We pressed on through magnificent redwood groves in Redwood Regional Park and started back into the hills. The aid stations are great at this race. They are well stocked, manned by great volunteers and nice distances from each other. I ran w two 12 oz Amphipod handheld water bottles. One for h2o and one for GU sports drink. I also carried my own GU's and Picky Bars. I started fueling early and felt good through the first half of the race. I definitely felt like I had energy to burn. My race strategy was to pace myself through the first half, hit the turnaround somewhere between 4:30 and 5hrs and then go back hard for a negative split. I was hoping to finish as close to 9hrs30min as possible. I hit the turn around at 4:55 and started back up the long climb to Grizzly Peak. I felt very strong through the climb but once I got to the top indigestion hit (this was about mile 30 or so).... i need a port-o-potty something fierce! This slowed my roll for about 5 minutes coming into the aid station which had a restroom. Spent a few more minutes in there and then got back out on the trail but not feeling much better. I think I over did it with the Picky Bars early in the first half. They are solid food and have about 200 cal per bar. I pushed on at a slow pace trying to get my system right. Finally after another 8 miles or so I started to come back to life. I grabbed my headphones from my crew and started the descent into Redwood Regional Park. All of a sudden I was back! With about 12 miles to go I kicked into gear running about a 9 min/mile pace. I was feeling great. I motored on through the last 10 miles, rocking out and enjoying my comeback. I crossed the finish line in 10:03. I was pretty spent, a little bummed about the indigestion but feeling good about the comeback in the end.

Overall Dick Collins Firetrails 50 was an awesome race! Julie Fingar (race director) does a great job putting this one together. Thanks Julie and to everyone who volunteered their time.  

Tamalpa Runners HEADLANDS 50K Race Review

As I was running downhill to Stinson Beach on the Matt Davis Trail my foot caught an old steel peg that used to hold a wooden stair in place. I was airborne going head first towards a tree. Everything slowed down. Was this my life flashing before my eyes? If so, I wasn't seeing anything? I had time to contemplate how this was either going to end. Result A) me unconscious on the trail of the trail or B) couple broken bones. I somehow turned my body a bit and ended up giving the tree a body check (hockey style) with my left shoulder. Naturally, the tree did not budge and I let out a huge unintentional grunt as my body crumpled around the trunk of the tree. I hit the ground and began to slide down the hill. Luckily, I was still conscious and a pleasant fern lent me a hand to stop my downhill slide. I scrambled back up to the trail and up onto my feet. I ran a quick diagnostics test over my body and to my surprise everything felt in tact. I was able to carry on, amble along, hobble on downhill the hill. Eventually my hobble turned into a trot and into a real stride.

Now, let's rewind about 25 miles.... It was a fantastically foggy morning at Santos Meadow just up the road from Muir Beach. Great running weather. Everyone was shivering as they picked up their bibs, chatted it up with old and new running buddies and prepped for the 31.5 hilly (7,300' up and 7,300' down) miles that lay ahead... even Dean Karnazes was shivering. 

Off we went at 8am heading south towards San Francisco. We ran along alongside highway 1 until about where we started our first big climb out of Muir Beach. This section of trail is phenomenal. The views are exceptional and it is just flat out excellent single track along the coastal cliffs. The average pace was decent and people were cool with passing and sharing the trail. We wound our way up and down towards Rodeo Beach where we encountered the aid station 1. All of the aid stations were really well stocked and manned. The volunteers in this race were fantastic!! (Seriously, Thank you!) I was able to easily navigate each aid station which in some races can be harder than navigating the trail. Prior to the race, I armed myself with some GU Roctanes and my new favorite running fuel, PICKY BARS!!! These things are seriously awesome, dude (you'll get that joke later). They have a great carb to protein ratio (4:1 yo!), go down easily and taste good too (No Gluten sucka!). They provide excellent sustained energy (no highs and lows). I highly recommend them. I was really diligent about my fueling on this race and it paid off. I felt really good the whole time (well most of the time). 

(That's me running up out of Muir Beach.)

After the Rodeo aid station I pressed on up the Miwok trail (a trail that I train on a lot) heading north towards Mt. Tamalpais. It's always fun racing a course that you're familiar because among other things you know how to use every inch of it to your advantage. This stretch of trail is challenging but I know where I can really push myself but I tried to remember to save some energy for the last two steep technical sections. I loved flying down the Old Springs Trail into Tennessee Valley (always a fun one) where you could hear the cheers of the volunteers and spectators at the aid station. We climbed out of Tennessee Valley back on up the steep Miwok trail. For some reason this where I began to pass most of the people I passed during the race. After you make it up to the ridge it is sort of rolling hills that turn into downhill to Muir Woods where you connect with the Dipsea Trail to climb Cardiac Hill. I think knowing this part of the trail helped me push through the rolling and keep a solid but comfortable pace. Cardiac Hill took its toll on me and I was happy to reach the aid station at the top. I snagged a couple PB&J squares, chugged two cups of water, re-upped my GU brew supply and took off on this relatively flat couple of miles to the steep technical downhill section of the Matt Davis trail which takes you to Stinson Beach. I was eating my Picky Bars towards the top of most major climbs or during the rolling hill sections to recover from a climb and to fuel the larger muscles you use when going downhill. I waited to the half way point to have my first Roctane which gave me a great kick because I am not a regular coffee drinker (anymore). I had a very small cup of coffee the day before to get my digestive system used to the caffeine (this helps!). 

As I pressed on the rolling trail and was feeling really strong. I was pushing my pace, starting to play with that redline zone. The trail turned into its steep technical downhill through the trees towards Stinson Beach and I was moving with it well... or so I thought. I had a few passing conversations with fellow runners as we whipped through the turns and then BOOM! I hit the tree. I was back on my feet but moving along again at now a much slower pace. I tried to shake off the blow. I made it down to Stinson a bit rattled but moving ok. I turned back up the Dipsea trail to start the last steep technical stairy (with one 10ft ladder) ascent up Steep Ravine Trail. I really started to feel the mental affect of the crash on this part. My race mentality got knocked out of me and was laying there somewhere back up on the Matt Davis trail. With a little help from some motivating fellow ultrarunners I made it to the top of Steep Ravine in no kind of record time. At this point my back was tightening up a bit (something I have never really felt before while running so I attributed it to the "tree-check") and the feet were ready to stop. I cruised down the last 3 miles to the finish. 5:44 was my official time which I felt pretty good about considering the crash and I'm training through this race for the Dick Collins Firetrails 50. Overall, I had a fantastic day and really enjoyed running the Headlands 50K. I will be back to do it again! Thanks Tamalpa Runners!

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