Monthly Summary - April 2010

Here's April 2010:

Swim: 3,390 yards
Cycling (outdoors): 0.0 miles
Cycling (indoors): 2:35 (hours)
Run: 252.85 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 8 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 47.5 hours

Wow, 252 miles on my feet. That's huge for me. About 100 miles more than any month since I started the blog in 2007 and I never even barely approached those numbers prior to the blog. And the best thing is that I feel pretty good. Yes, I'm tired and really really excited to take today completely off. And I definitely have some aches and pains that sometimes make me wonder when it's all going to fall apart, but for right now, at least, I feel like I survived uninjured and am ready to keep going.

Swimming and cycling were the big losers in April, but running has to be my priority. Whether or not I'd like to get out on the bike, it's not easy when Saturday and Sunday are dedicated to long runs and recovery (plus family time). I did manage to do yoga every week and get in some strength sessions as well. I need to keep both of those in the mix.

Other than a great race on April 4 at the Sycamore Canyon 30K, April was all about training. I had awesome runs in Malibu Creek State Park and Joshua Tree. Doing trail work on the AC100 course was pretty fun and I met a bunch of great runners.

This weekend is a huge one for west coast racing. Good luck to all my friends racing Miwok, Alcatraz, OC Marathon, Wildflower, Ironman St. George (no offense, but thank goodness I decided not to race there!) and anywhere else!

Onward!

Dreaming about AC

Last night I had my first AC100 "anxiety" dream. I think this was one of my first ever dreams about an upcoming race. I woke up at 4AM and remembered it pretty clearly...

The race started and I was running with a female co-worker who is not a runner in real life. I remember running on forest trails similar to the ones we worked on last Saturday (which happen to be at the end of the race). The next thing I knew we were at the turn-around point (there's no such thing at AC which is a point-to-point race). Flashforward to later in the race when I was running on those same trails again and thinking that I was coming to the end of the race. But when I looked at my watch, I was around 12 hours into the race. Even in my dream I knew that was way way too fast to be approaching 100 miles. But I also felt it was too slow for 50 miles, so I was pretty confused.

When I got to the "finish" I found out that I'd only done 50 miles and still had another loop. And strangely my co-worker was already there hanging out and getting ready for her second loop. I started talking to her and found out that when she got to the 25 mile turnaround, I was fast asleep in a chair there. She thought I'd slept for a few hours! I didn't remember falling asleep, but I also didn't remember getting from mile 25 to the point just before 50. The last thing that happened before I woke up was I refilled my handheld bottle of Infinit and shoved three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into a pocket before heading off for the second loop.

I wonder if my body is telling me I need to get some more sleep??

More AC 100

(photo from examiner.com)

In yesterday's report of the AC100 trailwork, I meant to go into a little more detail about the chances that the race is actually going to happen this year and why it might not.

In case you don't know, the race was cancelled last year after wild fires absolutely ravaged the Angeles National Forest in the weeks immediately before the race. The trails were wrecked and the access roads were all closed. In fact, the fire was still roaring in some parts of the forest on race weekend. You can see the aftermath of the forest in this dizzingy video if you can watch without getting too nauseous:



The full article from September 16, 2009 is here.

The Angeles Crest Highway, which goes from Wrightwood (start of race) to La Canada Flintridge (end of race) and is the main (only feasible) way for emergency vehicles, support and crew to get to runners was also closed after the fire. And if the fires weren't enough, heavy rains in January caused flooding and mudslides.

The fires are obviously out by now and we're getting to the end of the rainy season. A lot of the barren landscape has seen regrowth, but the park and access roads remain closed. Sections of the Angeles Crest Highway are also still closed.

Obviously, there are a lot of things that need to happen before we can race: First, the rain needs to stop (that should happen soon, but we are scheduled to get more this week). Then the rest of the roads and access roads need to be repaired and opened (CA's budget issues aren't gonna help that effort) and finally, the trails need to be repaired and certified as safe by the US Forest Service. Unfortunately, there's no real timetable for any of that.

When we met for the trail work on Saturday, Hal, one of the race directors, addressed the issue. He is optimistic, but cautiously so. After all the work he's put into the race over the years, he wants the race to happen. They've got all the volunteers in place and have arranged for aid station support and goodies. It's really just a matter of waiting. Fortunately, I'm prepared to wait. I've got a lot of training to do!

AC100 Trail Maintenance Day

One of the requirements for all runners participating in the Angeles Crest 100 is to spend one eight hour day doing trail maintenance work. If you live south of Fresno, you have to do the trail work on the AC100 course during one of their organized trail work days. If you live somewhere else, you can do it on any trails.

I think it's a great idea. The trails can always use some help, and that's especially true for the AC100 course this year after the devastating fires last year and the flood damage over the winter. It was also a great way for me to see a section of the race course. In a "normal" year I would be out training on the course, but the trails have been closed since the fires, so this was my first chance to see some of what I'll be in for. Finally, it was a blast to get meet a bunch of people who are planning to run the race in August. As it turned out there were a lot of really experienced ultrarunners out there yesterday, including Jorge Pacheco (2008 Ultrarunner of the Year and former race winner), Guillermo Medina (9 time finisher and former race winner), Tom Crawford (2010 Leona Divide 50 winner) and a bunch of others. Everyone was really cool and approachable and more than happy to share advice and tips about Angeles Crest and other ultrarunning information. I also met a few people who will be racing at Bishop in May. They raced there last year and talking to them got me really excited about the race.

So, early Saturday morning, I got up and drove out to La Canada Flintridge to meet up with the group and spend the day working on the trails. There were about 30 people out there. The El Prieto trail is right near the end of the 100 mile course. We grabbed shovels, axes, mattucks and mcleods (I definitely didn't know those words before Saturday!) and hiked out along the trail.

I've never been out on this trail before so it's hard for me to tell whether (or how much) it's worse than before the fires. But people who had been there before were shocked at how bad it looked. Creek beds that used to be pretty narrow were 20 feet wide and trails that were recognizable were all broken up and rutted. You could see where flood water had chosen "new" paths down the hillsides. And it was easy to see some damage like charred trees, fallen trees, washed out creek beds and broken dams.



A group of five of us stopped about a mile in to even out a small beat-up section of the trail. A larger group kept moving towards the end of the trail. This section was all torn-up and didn't much resemble a "trail".

After an hour or so of working on it, we had a really nice looking trail:


After we finished there, we just kept moving out along the trail, stopping periodically to "fix" sections that needed repair.



Doesn't it look pretty after we worked on it:


This is me trying to look like a good trail maintenance worker. No time for smiles!


Eventually we met up with the group that went to the end. We spent a while clearing out a section around a small creek crossing, including removing some of the bigger rocks in the middle of the trail and marking the sides of the trail with rocks.




I think we actually finished up a little early. There was only a limited part of ht trail that the Forest Service allowed us to work on and with all the hands we had, we got it done quick. After we finished up, we all hung out at the trail head and had some cookies and drinks. It was a great opportunity to talk more with my fellow runners. It was hard work, but a really rewarding day.

Since I knew I wouldn't be able to do my usual long run on Saturday, this week was a planned "light" week. But I still needed to go out today and get some in a bunch of miles. My usual trail running friends had other plans, so I went out for a long one on my own. I wanted to be done early, so I could spend the day hanging out with Elizabeth and the boys. I parked at Sunset and Mandeville at 7am and ran up Old Ranch Road (stopping to say hi to "Bird" the horse - I now "know" a horse, a dog and a girl named "Bird"!).

I took the trail up to Sullivan Ridge Road (check out the early morning fog) and from there ran to Mulholland, stopping at Nike Station to refill my water and catch my breath.



At Nike Station, I ran into a group of four runners. I overheard them talking about Bishop, so I introduced myself and started talking with them. It turned out, this was another really accomplished little group of ultrarunners. I ran with them down Westridge. The two guys I mostly talked with, Scott (10 time AC100 finisher) and Jeff (multi-100 finisher, including AC100) were really nice. They both ran the entire backbone trail (68+ miles) last weekend. The other cool thing is that all four of them will also be at Bishop in May. So I went from only knowing one other person who will be there, to knowing a whole bunch. Excellent. After getting to the bottom of Westridge, I went back up (mostly on the single track, which really kicked my ass and showed me why we usually run up the fire road and down the single track!), then went back on Mulholland, Sullivan Ridge, Sullivan Canyon and back down to Old Ranch Road and to the car. Phew. I'm listing it in my log as 21.5 miles, but it felt like further than that.

I finished up with a pretty nice "dirt tan" on my legs!


I got home and we spent the early afternoon walking around in Santa Monica with the dogs. I'm feeling pretty creaky tonight, but hoping to recover for a nice long one tomorrow morning... Wish me luck!!

Desert Running

My goal for last weekend was to run 40 miles - 20 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday. I ended up with more like 36 (19 and 17). Is it OK for me to say "only 36"?*

Elizabeth and I decided to take a little mini-vacation to the desert for the weekend. Coachella was going on and, even though we wouldn't actually be going to the festival ourselves, friends were headed out there and we had a place to stay and invites to a few parties. My goal - other than to have a fun, relaxing weekend with my wife and friends - was to find two good, long routes to run. Preferably off-road. I found them.

Saturday, I got up and drove to Joshua Tree National Park. It's a bit of a haul from Palm Springs, but you do get to drive through the windmill fields:


Mostly I was just excited to check out a National Park. I was also interested to see desert "trails" as opposed to the mountain trails I'm used to around here. I did my research and wanted to run the Boy Scout Trail - a 16 mile north-south there and back in the northwestern part of the Park. I entered the Park through the West Entrance and parked near the south trailhead.


The only snafu of the day was at this point. It was 9am by the time I got to the park. A smart runner would have started running with the sunrise to avoid the heat and sun. Oops. Whatever.

I was a little worried about getting lost out in the middle of the desert. Thankfully, the Boy Scout Trail is well worn and marked.


I only really went "off course" once. I took Billy's advice, and as soon as I thought I might be off the trail (evidenced by a point where my choice was a 12 foot jump from a rock or scrambling up a rocky hill), I back-tracked instead of forcing my way ahead further into the unknown!

(this is where I decided to turn around, the drop-off is right through the middle)

The terrain is crazy in the Park. Starting from the south, you go through a Joshua Tree "forest" and end up in an area where it's rocks, sand. other weird cacti and scrub. And the rocks are pretty much the most colorful things out there. But the whole Park is beautiful. Probably because of how stark and lonely it is.


From the south trailhead, the way "out" starts pretty innocently. The ground is pretty hard-packed dirt. But before long, the hard pack dirt trail becomes a fine, loose sand. And you're running on that for a long time. It wasn't long before I was looking for harder sand to run on and then I was looking for sections of rocks. And after about four miles of relatively flat running, the trail starts a long descent to the northern trail head. I got to the turn-around point at Indian Cove (the north trailhead), dumped the sand out of my shoes and sat for a couple minutes.


The way back (heading south) is much harder. Not only was I over an hour in, it was getting hotter and all the descending to the turn-around was now an ascent out of it. Climbing in the hot sun, without shade, on loose sand. Sweet!


That's another Joshua Tree. Maybe my favorite one of the day. What made this one different? Probably nothing, but this was about 2.5 hours into my run and the heat was probably making me a little silly about these things. "THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE EVER!!"

Since the Boy Scout Trail is only about 16 miles, I wanted to add on a few, so before I got back to the car, I took one of only two trail spurs I saw and headed off on the Willow Hole Trail.


Life seen on this run (in order of frequency): ants (millions, big ones), lizards (tons, all sizes), flying bugs (some), birds (a few), people (only 7), hare (1 with gigantic ears).

Running the Boy Scout Trail is a challenge, but not because it's particularly technical or hilly. It's mostly because of the loose sand and the heat. There's no water, little shade and once you're in, there's not any option for getting out.

Saturday night we never even left the house. No Coachella parties. No Coachella live music. Just eating and relaxing. My kinda night.

My original plan for Sunday was to spend another morning on the trails. After Saturday's run, I was feeling dehydrated and tired, but my legs felt fine. And after 3+ hours in the sand on Saturday, I was longing for a bit of pavement. I decided to run from the house to the local trails - the Goat Trails off Palm Canyon Drive. It was about 5 miles each way to my target trail entrance. I took off very slow and easy. Straight ahead here (what I wouldn't have done for a little of the snow teasing me from the top of the mountain):


The Goat Trails I ran Sunday were somewhat similar to Joshua Tree, only without the Joshua Trees.


One big benefit though is that these trails are a lot closer to Palm Springs and have more wildflowers.


Being closer to civilization was a huge thing on a day when I wasn't sure how much I had in me. I wanted to stay out there, but was happy to know that I wasn't ever too far from "rescue"! About half-way through Sunday's run, I found a little shady spot behind some rocks and rested for a few minutes.


The Goat Trails aren't any more challenging than Joshua Tree, but they're not as straightforward. I didn't bring a map, figuring I would just wander. And that's what I did. It wasn't ever a case of being "lost" (because I always felt like I knew how to get "back") but for most of the time in the trails on Sunday, I had no idea where I was. The trails are well worn, so it never felt dangerous, and it was exciting to just take whatever turn-off seemed "right". One example was on my way back when I noticed this sign and decided to take the trail for a little bit:


I left the trails in a slightly different place than I entered and headed home on the roads. When I got to the house, I collapsed on some nice, damn grass in the shade under a grapefruit tree. Heaven.

The rest of Sunday was thankfully spent eating, hydrating and reading the newspaper by the pool. Not a bad way to end the weekend.

On another note, I swam on Friday for the first time since Oceanside. It wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it would be.

*That's how crazy sh*t's become around here now. "Only 36" for a weekend? I used to be psyched with 36 for a week. I blame you - you know who you are - for totally skewing my perception of reality.

Run #1 - Apr 15
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 1:03
Course: Westridge
Conditions: Beautiful morning! Sunny, 50's

Run #2 - Apr 15
Distance: 4.25 miles
Time: 33 min
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Evening, clear, mid-50's

Swim - April 16
Distance: 1,600 meters (1,750 yards)
Time: 32 min.

Run - Apr 17
Distance: 19 miles
Time: 3:18
Course: Joshua Tree National Park - Boy Scout Trail +
Conditions: Sunny and hot, high 70's

Run - Apr 18
Distance: 17 miles
Time: 2:51
Course: Rancho Mirage streets, Goat Trails
Conditions: Sunny and hot, low 80's

Strength - Apr 19

Bishop, Here I Come!

For some reason I had a really difficult time pulling the trigger on this race. I've known all along that I want to do a 50 miler this spring/early summer, I knew there were no others anywhere within driving distance that I could do and I'd heard good things about this race. Every day for the past two weeks, I opened up the race website but just I couldn't do it. Until today that is. Now it's all set. On Saturday, May 15, I'll be racing the Bishop High Sierra 50.

Surprise, surprise, the Bishop High Sierra race is near Bishop, CA, in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra Nevada. It's a pretty hilly course, with 7,800 feet of vertical gain (though the North Face 50 was a couple thousand feet more than that I think). Here's the elevation profile:


After a five mile warm-up, you get a 16 mile climb! Yowza. But the good news is that it looks like once you get to the mile 22 marker, you're done with nearly all the climbing. Then from mile 23 to 38, you get some rollers with a couple short but steep climbs. Finally, there's a 12 mile descent to the finish line that is either going to be a whole lot of fun or a whole lot of pain. There are two other "interesting" things about the course: First, it's at elevation; half the race is above 7,000 feet. And second, supposedly there's very little tree coverage, so the sun and heat can definitely be a factor. I'm not going to be able to do much preparation for the slightly thin air, but I'll do my best to be prepared to battle the heat.

Here's a map of the course in case you're interested or familiar with the area and have any pointers for me.


With that race on the calendar, I'm pretty sure my racing schedule leading up to Angeles Crest is all set. (Fingers crossed on AC - they still haven't announced whether or not that race is actually happening.)

Indoor ride - Apr 12
Time: 30 min

Strength - Apr 12

Run - Apr 13
Distance: 6.9 miles
Time: 54 min
Course: Weho/Bev Hills
Conditions: Sunny, mid 50's

Run - Apr 14
Distance: 5.8 miles
Time: 43 min
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Sunny, mid 60's

Yoga - Apr 14

Weekend Running

A relatively big week of running (55 miles), capped off by two fantastic weekend runs with friends.

Saturday, I was up before 4am to meet Jimmy and Lukas for a 14 mile run on the Malibu Creek trail race course. The race is in a few weeks and Jimmy was leading a group training run later in the morning. He had to go out and pre-mark the course with chalk, so Lukas and I joined him.


It's a really challenging course with some pretty sick climbs and one long quad-killing descent. Officially, it's about 3,200 feet over the 14 miles! The course is also beautiful, with varied terrain (single track, woods, fire roads, rocky mountaintops) and great views in all directions.




The craziest thing about the run was that after finishing the first loop, Jimmy and Lukas went back out to hit it again. Massive props to them. The race doesn't fit into my schedule this year, but I'd definitely consider it for the future. It's actually the same course as the Bulldog 25k/50k in August (the 50k is two loops - crazytown), but that's the weekend before Angeles Crest, so that's not happening this year either!


One nice thing about starting a run at 5:30, is that even a 2.5 hour run is done by 8! That left me plenty of time to meet Loren and Charlie for a delicious breakfast in Los Feliz, take the boys to the dog park and get in a nice, long nap!


The plan was to back Saturday's run up with a longer one on Sunday and hopefully get in close to 35 miles for the weekend. I met Billy, Jimmy, Colin, Kristin, Nina and Dana at 9 (thank goodness for sleeping in!) in Palos Verdes to run a loop that Colin and Kristin had mapped out.

(photo from Billy)

We ended up with right around 20 miles (34 miles for the weekend), on a fun course all over Palos Verdes, with all kinds of different running surfaces and some fun climbs and descents.

(photo from Billy)

And again, beautiful views:

(photo from Billy)

We had a great, long "brunch" (is that what a call a meal that lasts from 1 until 4?) in Redondo Beach, refueling and talking - mostly running, of course!

You can read Billy's excellent blog post about the run here.

It's still strange to me that I've gone from someone who trained almost entirely on my own to doing a majority of my long training with someone else or a group. I've found some fantastic people to train with and it makes otherwise ridiculous things, like six hours of weekend running so much more manageable and enjoyable! And to think, my training is mostly done with people I've only met within the last year and this weekend's runs were with people I'd never even heard of just a few months ago! Thanks all!

Run - Apr 10
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 2:35
Course: Malibu Creek
Conditions: 5:30am start, sun and clouds, 50's
Total climbing: 3,284 feet
Notes: With Jimmy and Lukas

Run - Apr 11
Distance: 20miles
Time: 3:27
Course: Palos Verde
Conditions: Overcast, high 50's
Notes: With Colin, Kristin, Billy, Jimmy, Nina and Dana

My back - MRI images

This morning I got to go on a run with a couple old friends. Assaf and Jay flew into town last night and stayed at our place. They're headed down the coast for a surfing weekend. But before they took off, we went on an easy run around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to get to some trails or even to the beach for the run. Whatever. It was just fun to run and hang out with them. I told them about my up-coming re-do on my 2003 back surgery. Being doctors (and friends), they both wanted to help me find the best doctor to do the surgery and wanted to see the MRI.

So after the run, they spent a few minutes looking at the images from my January MRI and showing me how to read them. I'm fascinated by MRI's and MRI images and decided to post a couple images below. If you think you'll be grossed out, just stop reading now, but if you're psyched to see something pretty neat, keep going. There's no blood or guts or anything like that.

This first image is a side view. You should be able to figure out the orientation, but the white line going down the right hand side of the image is the outer edge of my back. The whitish-grey "lump" that I circled is the ependymoma (a type of tumor related to the central nervous system). To me, the thing looks pretty big. Assaf explained to me how it's possible that, despite its size, I am not having any symptoms. Something about being blessed with a generous-sized spinal canal and being lucky about where the tumor has grown in relation to the location of the nerve roots.


This image is from the top, looking down at a cross-section. The fact that an MRI can do this is amazing to me. Using 3D rendering, it's able to "see" vertically down the inside of my back at all different points. The below shot must be a mirror image, because the outside of my back is at the bottom, but the "left" side of the image says it's the "right" side of my back.



The next step in this process is for me to figure out who will do the surgery and when it's going to happen.

But that's no fun. Instead, let's think about all the running on tap for the weekend. I'm very excited for that!

Run - Apr 6
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 42 min
Course: Home from Culver City
Conditions: Evening, clear, mid-60s

Indoor bike - Apr 7
Time: 40 min

Run - Apr 8

Distance: 7.5 miles

Time: 1:04

Course: Sullivan Ridge

Conditions: Sunny, clear, 60's - beautiful morning!

Yoga - Apr 8

Run - Apr 8

Distance: 3.5 miles

Time: 34 min

Course: Neighborhood

Conditions: Sunny, clear, 60's

Notes: With Assaf and Jay

Sycamore Canyon 30k (Full Race Report)

Three races in three weekends. No tapering, not much time for rest.

Going into Sunday’s Sycamore Canyon 30k, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My races at the L.A. Marathon and Oceanside 70.3 had gone fine and I felt like I’d recovered well from both, but I hadn't tested my speed in either of those races. My plan for Sunday was to push the pace a bit. I had no idea how my legs would react.

The short answer is that the legs were great! As I posted yesterday afternoon, I ended up 2nd overall with a time of 2:38:XX. The guy who beat me absolutely crushed the course – as he should have, given his incredibly sick running resume. I went out pretty hard, figuring I would dial it in when I needed to, but that time never really came.

Race morning started with a meet-up and photo-op with a bunch of my new running friends from Twitter and the blogs. All smiles here before we hit the trails:

(left to right: Stuart, Andrea, Dave, Billy, me, Emil, Kristin, Colin and Andee)

(photo from Billy)

(photo from Billy)

This race had such a different feel than the chaotic starts at L.A. and Oceanside. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been moving towards doing more trail racing and less tris or road races. The smaller size and relatively relaxed starting atmosphere and attitudes make for such a happier race start.

I didn’t know much about the course, but I did know there would be some pretty tough climbs:

I also knew that there was some single-track near the beginning and I didn’t want to get stuck behind anyone. So my plan was to go out from the start pretty hard and get in a good position for the single track. And that’s what I did. Right from the get-go, I was near the front. A few guys in front of me missed an early turn from the fire road to the trail and at that point, I couldn’t see anyone in front of me.

The first climb started pretty much at that turn-off and I charged right up the hill. I was still in the don’t-get-caught mode. I knew I was pushing harder than I normally would have but I also felt strong and wasn’t worried that I was “ruining” myself. After a short, but steep, single-track section, there’s a switch-backy (nice word!) fire road that continues up to the top of the first peak.

(photo from Stuart)

While climbing on the fire road I could see two runners in front of me. Pretty far in front already and quickly getting further away. I didn’t know what distance they were racing, but I knew that catching them wasn’t in the cards. After cresting the first climb, you get rewarded with a long, fast descent all the way to the first aid station at mile 5.5. I noticed a few guys catching up to me and then they caught, and quickly passed, me. John and Garrett were running the 50k (fine, let them go) but the third guy was in the 30k (don’t let him get too far ahead). But pretty much right after they passed, the dude running the 30k bit it pretty hard. As I ran past him, I checked on him and he made it clear that he was OK and I should continue on. So I did and ended up tucking in behind the two speedsters in the 50k. At one point I looked back and saw that the guy had gotten back up and continued running. There was no one else in sight behind us. The aid station at the bottom of that descent is also the turnaround for the 18k race. We were about a half-mile from it when one dude came flying back up the hill. He was crushing the 18k. And that meant there was probably only one guy in front of the three of us. But was he running the 50k or 30k??

By that first aid station, I decided that I would hang with John and Garrett for as long as I could. I could tell that they are “faster” runners than me, but this was the first 50k for both of them and, for yesterday at least, their 50k pace wasn’t too much of a push beyond my 30k pace. Keeping up with them took me just a little out of my comfort zone, something I normally hesitate to do, but something I should definitely be doing for “short(er)” races. Especially when I'm feeling good.

With my handheld still relatively full and the temps nice and cool, I didn’t stop at the aid station. Right after the aid station, the course starts climbing up the La Jolla Canyon trail. This is the same trail from the start of the Point Mugu 18k I did last September. That only means that I know how rocky and steep it is! John, Garrett and I generally hung together through this climb, but near the top, Garrett fell back and John moved a little ahead. At the top of this climb, you run through this awesome meadow:

(photo from Stuart)

It’s pretty flat and the ground is even so it’s a great time to push the pace. John and I were back together and Garrett caught us during this stretch as well. Garrett reported that the 30k dude who fell wasn’t too far back and that definitely kept me moving. The three of us were talking about the one guy we thought was ahead of us. They thought he was a well-known local in the 50k. So… that would have meant that I was in the overall lead! I’ve never been in that position before. And damn, it felt good. I even started thinking about my "victory" tweet and blog post...

The end of this section is the same rocky, steep section that we went up after the aid station. Footing is a tricky, but we weren’t slowing down (much). At the aid station, I chugged 2 cups of water but didn’t want to take the time to refill my handheld. I figured I had enough fluids to make it to the end without running out. And I was still concerned about being caught from behind. I jammed out of the aid station without Garrett or John, who were taking an extra few seconds.

John ended up catching up with me on the climb back up the Ray Miller Backbone trail.

(photo from Stuart)

I was running most of it, but also taking walk breaks whenever it was steep or the particular section was a long climb. This climb is a bunch of switchbacks so I could see that there wasn’t anyone besides Garrett behind us. I was psyched to reach the top of the climb with no one in sight.

From this point, it’s about 2.5 miles down and then a half mile on a flat fire road to the finish. I didn’t think anyone would be able to come from nowhere and catch me now. It was just a question of whether I was first or second.

I finished nice and strong and my very first question was: “Was I first or second??” The answer, as you know, was “second”. The obvious follow-up was “By how much.” I was relieved to hear that the winner had 100%, entirely, undeniably kicked my ass. He beat me by 23 minutes. He beat the course record by 11 minutes! I ended up talking to him and he casually mentioned that he would be running the London Marathon in a few weeks and perhaps the Belgian 100k national championship and some 24 hour European championship. I was curious about him so I looked him up online and found his running resume (same link as above; I added link again for emphasis). He is definitely the real deal – 2:24 marathon PR, 6:55 100k PR and 140+ miles in 24 hours. Hot damn! There is never shame in not winning, but there is especially never shame when someone like that dude is the winner!

Here's proof that I came in second:

(photo from Zhi)

After I finished, I hung out at the race and talked with Andrea, Billy and Stuart and some Coyotes, including Zhi.

(photo from Zhi)

And we saw Dave, Colin and Kristin come through for the 50k turnaround. The 50k’ers had some guts to get to the “finish line” and turn around to trudge back up those climbs! I found out later that John won the 50k. I stuffed my face with M&M’s, chili and chips. Close to enough to tide me over until the awesome s’moree with the Cooleys.

It was a great day. And not only because I had a good race. It was a perfect day for racing. I had a blast hanging out with the Twitter peeps and Coyotes. And as a lot of people have said before me, Pacific Coast Trail Runs puts on a fantastic race.

No more races on the schedule this month. In fact, at this point I’m not signed up for anything until Angeles Crest. I’m looking at a few options, but it will be nice to get back to just training for a few weeks!

Indoor bike - Apr 2
Time: 40 min.

Run - Apr 2
Distance: 12.5 miles
Time: 2:03
Course: Westridge, Dirt Mulholland
Conditions: Night run, clear, low 50s

Strength - Apr 3

Sycamore Canyon 30k - Apr 4
Time:
Result: 2/ OA, 2/ AG
Conditions: Overcast, 50's

Run - Apr 5
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 39 min
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Pouring rain, low 50s