Sun Mountain 50K
April 11th 2009
Winthrop, WA
The winter started out with a bang in December in Washington. Then it was warm and very little snow or winter weather hit the mountains. Along came March and the mountain snow came in feet, day by day. The race director for this race advertised beautiful views and dry weather. I was sold and wanted to check out the east side of the North Cascades. The heavy snow pack and continued cold weather in March caused the course to be reduced to a 3 loop figure 8. He did not settling on the course route until Thursday evening prior to the race. The original proposed course looked extremely fun, so there was some disappointment in the change. Despite this I was excited and off to Winthrop, Washington I went for the weekend to run 50K.
I booked a little cabin at The Virginian Resort in Winthrop. It was one of the only hotels in Winthrop that would take dogs (more advertised boarding area for horses). So I left on Friday and made the 4 hour drive to Winthrop. The registration was from 3-8pm at the Old School House Brewery. The owners of the brew pub are ultra-runners as well. I usually have a beer and burger on Fridays. I have tasted many burgers in the Seattle area and I am here to tell you that the Old School House Brewery burgers are extremely great burgers. An exciting start to the weekend and the really great Patagonia race shirt was a nice treat too. This helped counteract the race director having trouble setting the course. It was a nice drive and it was a nice day in Winthrop on Friday. Some clouds, mostly sunny and middle 50’s.
The temperature in the car on race day said freezing, the proposed forecast called for low 50’s with clouds, and when I woke up the sun was coming up and there were a few clouds. I went with shorts and a short sleeve shirt with a hat and gloves to start the race. The race started at the Chickadee parking area by Sun Mountain. This is also the cross country ski trail heads, so there was a nice shelter to stay warm in before the race. There were still patches of snow in the shaded areas, which the race director and wonderful volunteers had covered with straw. Prior to the start of the 10K, 25K, and 50K, came the start of the 1K (kids run). We all watched as they sprinted off and then with a variety of running forms, and red faces, crossed the finish line to our applause and cheers. The race debrief came next with the general thought being; just take the 5 extra seconds to read the signs and always look for the orange tap and you will be fine. This was a little longer than average briefing but it was a course that had no real map, and was announced more or less about 36 hours prior. After that we started, and before I go any farther I will say the course was very well marked and very easy to follow.
Part 1 of the figure 8 consisted of a run single track short run along a lake and then a gradual climb up towards sun Mountain lodge. Then you crossed the driveway of the Sun Mountain lodge and started down hill towards the aid station that was the middle of the figure eight. The first part ran nice and the traffic being of the 10K, 25K, and 50K worked itself out smoothly for me on lap one. I felt strong in lap 2 in this section, but was needed to work hard on lap 3 especially in the uphill sections.
After the aid station you start part 2. Part two starts with a run on the road for short distance, followed by a jump of a guard rail, then climb up an embankment, and finally climb up and down a small ladder over a fence. This is so much fun that you get to do in 6 times throughout the whole race. Now part two was shaped like a lollipop (race directors words, not mine), which conflicts with my figure 8 visual, but that is okay. The stick of the lollipop is up to start and has one gate in the fence to go through (it was a really simple gate thought and not a problem). Then just after you start on the making the circle for the lollipop, you have a really super nice and on lap 2 for me super fast side hill traverse on a 4x4 road. Not sure how far this went, but it was warm and it felt slightly down hill. After that really nice side hill though, came the longest climb up to the ridge on a 4x4 road. What goes up must come down; so after a short ridge run came the downhill back to the road. Then after the aid station you continue the climb up the road to the start of the part 1 again.
My overall thought are that this was a wonderful the race even with the multiple loops and can only imagine it will be even better when the originally planned course will be used. The terrain was open even when you are in the trees you can see the world around you. The area around Winthrop, WA is full of history and a different kind of beauty from that of the west side of the Cascades. I left this race with a wonderful feeling, mainly because it was my best race yet at 5 hours, 38 minutes. It was also the best I felt through a 50K race and that is a great feeling. Some days you got it and other days you don’t, At the Sun Mountain 50K I had a good day.
Shoes: Montrail Nitrus
Shirt: Arteryx short sleeve poly
Shorts: Nike
Socks: Injinji toe socks (my first race and only second time wearing these type of socks and I really like them and feel they added to my foot stability and keep my feet feeling good)
Water bottles: 1 Ultimate Directions and 1 Nathan hand held
Hydration: HEED orange (1 before the race and 2 in each bottle to start race), during the race keep 1 bottle full of Nuun and the other full of water at the aid stations
Food: 4 Hammer gels, 1 pbj, M&Ms, chips, 2 slices of boiled potato
Sitka Sunrise
Sometimes it pays to walk the dog
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Orca Island Fat Ass 50K
Orcas Island Fat Ass 50K
General Thoughts: Painfully Wonderful Views: with 7000 feet of overall elevation gain the race makes you work hard. When not climbing, you are running along a beautiful lake, past some waterfalls, within an amazing forest of trees, or along a ridgeline with spectacular views.
Friday: Orcas Island is one of the San Juan Islands. The San Juans are a chain of islands just below Vancouver Island, BC. The islands are accessible by ferry, small plane, or other forms of water transportation. I attempted to make the ferry leaving at 3:30pm on Friday from Anacortes, WA. The car in front of me got on, but I did not. So, now it is time to wait for the 5:45pm ferry. While waiting, I had a chance to do some more investigation of the island I was traveling to. Orcas island is home to 5000 year around residents. Orcas Island was home to numerous farming communities in the 1900s. It is comprised of the five communities Deer Harbor, Doe Bay, Olga, Orcas Landing, and West Sound. I arrived on Orcas at about 6:45, so it was dark and hard to see. But as I drove to my destination, Moran State Park (Race Headquarters), I notice the interior of the island had small farms and fields. I continued to drive and some of the roads take you right along the oceanside or along lakes, beautiful. I arrived at Moran State Park and went into race Headquarters. The race headquarters is the Dining Hall of the State Parks Kids camp. Dinner was being served, and some people were coming out of the kitchen. On the far end of the hall was a TV with some ultra running movie being viewed. The room had small groups of men and women chatting, and an occasional beer could be seen along with the bottles of water and food being consumed. I registered and then went to the T-shirt table. This year the race director had visited every local Thrift/Goodwill/Value Village store he could and grabbed old shirts and sweatshirts of every kind and color. The Orcas Island Fat Ass logo was printed on them and in a heap on the table you picked the one you wanted. After picking my shirt it was time to go check into Doe Bay Resort and Hostel. There is an option to stay at the camp with most of the other runners, but I was late on registration and the camp was already full, so I went with the Hostel. Staying at the hostel was no different than staying at the camp, except for having to drive the 5 miles to the race. Doe Bay had a much better view in my opinion too. I picked my bed and warmed up my homemade calzone from my Thursday night cooking spree. I went outside by the ocean for a while and took in the stars and the almost full moon. It was relaxing, which is good.
Saturday: After an okay sleep, Paul a fellow hostelite had a cold and smoked. His snore was weird and loud. But I was wide awake by 6 am with a race start time of 9am. So I got dressed and left for the start. I had pre made some breakfast burritos and ate them. I got some coffee at the dinning hall at camp. I watched the early start of the 50K at 8 am, chatted with a few people, and just waited for the race to start. The day started around 32 degrees. It was cool with a little fog hanging around everywhere. The forecast called for high 30, low 40’s with sun. The first debate of the morning for me was to wear running pants, or just shorts. In the end I chose pants, and feel like it was neither a great choice nor a poor choice. The race started at 9am. After having chatted with a few people who had done this course before, the general verdict was this: “Hard, I don’t know why I’m back I said I would never run this race again”. My thoughts, “Oh great, well let’s just hope I make the 7 hour and 30 min course closure time, maybe I should have started early.” Off we went. The race in my mind comprised of 3 different 10+ mile sections. Section 1 takes you from the camp to the southern boundary of the park. It winds through forests, past streams, up and over some small hills. Then it climbs up almost to the top of Mt. Pickett. This section finishes by taking you past Cover Falls, Rustic Falls and Cascade falls. It then dumps you into camp for the first of 2 full aid stations. Section one is a good warm up for the rest of the race. A short ways into this section I ran into a guy I had run with before on the Tiger Fat Ass course in early January, and then saw again at Bridal Trails, Chandler. Chandler and I were running at the same pace and so we just made it more or less a team effort. The clock said 2 hours as we entered the camp at what says mile 9.7 on the race map. Overall I felt good the first section, but I did get a little warm is sections, but then it was nice and cool in other sections. I took my vest off and which helped keep me more regulated temperature wise.
Section 2 starts out and you parallel the park road heading west then drop in by Cascade lake and run along that for a while. Then you hit the west boundary of the park and the climbing starts. The first section of climb takes you up what I think is a trial only for this race. It was more of a minor scramble for a few 100 feet than a hike or run. Then after that little gem of an up hill comes the power line trail. This in my opinion was the worse climbing section of the race and you roughly go from 400 feet to 1900 feet high. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot, and I felt pretty good on the climb. The reward for the climb was an awesome gentle down hill run on the north end of the park through a beautiful forest. It was the best running part of the course and possible one of the best trails I have ever run on. It dumped you next to Mountains Lake. It was a very beautiful and fun part of the course. I felt pretty good until I got about half way around the lake. I started to feel my legs get a little tighter. I was following Chandler and at this point just kept my feet going so as not to lose him. I knew I could make it, but I needed to be pulled by something. We went around the lake and entered the water only station mile 19.4 at about 4 hours and the start of section 3.
Section 3 starts with the 3 miles up to the top of Mt. Constitution (2407ft). The first 1.1 miles of the climb is where most of the vertical gain comes in. I took the lead from Chandler and felt good after grabbing some water, and a moment to rest. The climb seemed to go fast and then you have a ridge line run up to the top of mountain. On this ridge line run was the most spectacular view. Across the sound you could see snow caped Mt. Baker and other mountains of the Cascades. The sun was out, and it was a great view. The view left me with refreshed sense of energy and excitement. I felt like stopping and taking it all in for a good look, but just said, “I will come back and take it in another time, I got to finish this thing.” At the top of Mt. Constitution is aid station number 2, I took some more fluids, ate PBJ, and of course some M&M’s (gotta love them). Then we took off to finish this race. So down we went onto the steep, long switch backs till we came back to retrace part of the trail from section 2 in the other directions heading towards the top of the power line climb. I felt good and pushed the pace as best I could, but mostly just taking it at the pace I felt comfortable with. Once we finished that part we started the final descent towards Cascade Lake. Chandler took the lead and we powered down the hill. The quads were burning up by the time we made the lake and we had picked up a friend of Chandler’s and a runner I had run with before, Alan. Those two picked up the pace and I did my best to keep up. It was hard and it felt like a kick one mile too early. The lake was beautiful and after a while Alan took off for the finish and Chandler and I held it together to finish with out anyone passing us at the end. We came in at an unofficial time of 6 hours and 36 minutes. It was a beautiful day, with amazing views, and a respectable finish.
After the race, it is a great atmosphere. There was food, beverage (1 keg of Sierra Nevada, 1 keg of PBR) and a blue grass/folky band called Southern Skies. After I showered I hung around a while and met some of the other runners. Then it was time to call it a night.
Sunday: Time to head home. The sun rise was amazing. The ferry ride home smooth and the drive home was uneventful. Overall a great weekend, great race, and great memory.
Race Gear and Nutrition:
Shoes: Montrail Nitrus
Running Pants: Brooks
Running Shirt: REI Long Sleeve poly spandex blend
Socks: REI
Vest: Sporthill
Hydration drank from one Nathan Handheld and one Amphipod handheld: Before the race a Hammer Nutrition H.E.E.D. Started with H.E.E.D. in both bottles, at 1st aid station filled one with water and one with NUUN Lime, at water station filled one with water and one with Nuun Orange Ginger, At top of Mt. Constitution filled one with Nunn lime and one with water.
Nutrition: 6 Hammer Gels (Vanilla, Banana, Chocolate) carried in the pouches of my handheld bottles and on my Amphipod waistband case, 1 PBJ, 2 hand fulls of pretzels, 2 salt tabs, 2 chocolate covered coffee beans, and of course hand full of M&M’s at the last aid station.
General Thoughts: Painfully Wonderful Views: with 7000 feet of overall elevation gain the race makes you work hard. When not climbing, you are running along a beautiful lake, past some waterfalls, within an amazing forest of trees, or along a ridgeline with spectacular views.
Friday: Orcas Island is one of the San Juan Islands. The San Juans are a chain of islands just below Vancouver Island, BC. The islands are accessible by ferry, small plane, or other forms of water transportation. I attempted to make the ferry leaving at 3:30pm on Friday from Anacortes, WA. The car in front of me got on, but I did not. So, now it is time to wait for the 5:45pm ferry. While waiting, I had a chance to do some more investigation of the island I was traveling to. Orcas island is home to 5000 year around residents. Orcas Island was home to numerous farming communities in the 1900s. It is comprised of the five communities Deer Harbor, Doe Bay, Olga, Orcas Landing, and West Sound. I arrived on Orcas at about 6:45, so it was dark and hard to see. But as I drove to my destination, Moran State Park (Race Headquarters), I notice the interior of the island had small farms and fields. I continued to drive and some of the roads take you right along the oceanside or along lakes, beautiful. I arrived at Moran State Park and went into race Headquarters. The race headquarters is the Dining Hall of the State Parks Kids camp. Dinner was being served, and some people were coming out of the kitchen. On the far end of the hall was a TV with some ultra running movie being viewed. The room had small groups of men and women chatting, and an occasional beer could be seen along with the bottles of water and food being consumed. I registered and then went to the T-shirt table. This year the race director had visited every local Thrift/Goodwill/Value Village store he could and grabbed old shirts and sweatshirts of every kind and color. The Orcas Island Fat Ass logo was printed on them and in a heap on the table you picked the one you wanted. After picking my shirt it was time to go check into Doe Bay Resort and Hostel. There is an option to stay at the camp with most of the other runners, but I was late on registration and the camp was already full, so I went with the Hostel. Staying at the hostel was no different than staying at the camp, except for having to drive the 5 miles to the race. Doe Bay had a much better view in my opinion too. I picked my bed and warmed up my homemade calzone from my Thursday night cooking spree. I went outside by the ocean for a while and took in the stars and the almost full moon. It was relaxing, which is good.
Saturday: After an okay sleep, Paul a fellow hostelite had a cold and smoked. His snore was weird and loud. But I was wide awake by 6 am with a race start time of 9am. So I got dressed and left for the start. I had pre made some breakfast burritos and ate them. I got some coffee at the dinning hall at camp. I watched the early start of the 50K at 8 am, chatted with a few people, and just waited for the race to start. The day started around 32 degrees. It was cool with a little fog hanging around everywhere. The forecast called for high 30, low 40’s with sun. The first debate of the morning for me was to wear running pants, or just shorts. In the end I chose pants, and feel like it was neither a great choice nor a poor choice. The race started at 9am. After having chatted with a few people who had done this course before, the general verdict was this: “Hard, I don’t know why I’m back I said I would never run this race again”. My thoughts, “Oh great, well let’s just hope I make the 7 hour and 30 min course closure time, maybe I should have started early.” Off we went. The race in my mind comprised of 3 different 10+ mile sections. Section 1 takes you from the camp to the southern boundary of the park. It winds through forests, past streams, up and over some small hills. Then it climbs up almost to the top of Mt. Pickett. This section finishes by taking you past Cover Falls, Rustic Falls and Cascade falls. It then dumps you into camp for the first of 2 full aid stations. Section one is a good warm up for the rest of the race. A short ways into this section I ran into a guy I had run with before on the Tiger Fat Ass course in early January, and then saw again at Bridal Trails, Chandler. Chandler and I were running at the same pace and so we just made it more or less a team effort. The clock said 2 hours as we entered the camp at what says mile 9.7 on the race map. Overall I felt good the first section, but I did get a little warm is sections, but then it was nice and cool in other sections. I took my vest off and which helped keep me more regulated temperature wise.
Section 2 starts out and you parallel the park road heading west then drop in by Cascade lake and run along that for a while. Then you hit the west boundary of the park and the climbing starts. The first section of climb takes you up what I think is a trial only for this race. It was more of a minor scramble for a few 100 feet than a hike or run. Then after that little gem of an up hill comes the power line trail. This in my opinion was the worse climbing section of the race and you roughly go from 400 feet to 1900 feet high. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot, and I felt pretty good on the climb. The reward for the climb was an awesome gentle down hill run on the north end of the park through a beautiful forest. It was the best running part of the course and possible one of the best trails I have ever run on. It dumped you next to Mountains Lake. It was a very beautiful and fun part of the course. I felt pretty good until I got about half way around the lake. I started to feel my legs get a little tighter. I was following Chandler and at this point just kept my feet going so as not to lose him. I knew I could make it, but I needed to be pulled by something. We went around the lake and entered the water only station mile 19.4 at about 4 hours and the start of section 3.
Section 3 starts with the 3 miles up to the top of Mt. Constitution (2407ft). The first 1.1 miles of the climb is where most of the vertical gain comes in. I took the lead from Chandler and felt good after grabbing some water, and a moment to rest. The climb seemed to go fast and then you have a ridge line run up to the top of mountain. On this ridge line run was the most spectacular view. Across the sound you could see snow caped Mt. Baker and other mountains of the Cascades. The sun was out, and it was a great view. The view left me with refreshed sense of energy and excitement. I felt like stopping and taking it all in for a good look, but just said, “I will come back and take it in another time, I got to finish this thing.” At the top of Mt. Constitution is aid station number 2, I took some more fluids, ate PBJ, and of course some M&M’s (gotta love them). Then we took off to finish this race. So down we went onto the steep, long switch backs till we came back to retrace part of the trail from section 2 in the other directions heading towards the top of the power line climb. I felt good and pushed the pace as best I could, but mostly just taking it at the pace I felt comfortable with. Once we finished that part we started the final descent towards Cascade Lake. Chandler took the lead and we powered down the hill. The quads were burning up by the time we made the lake and we had picked up a friend of Chandler’s and a runner I had run with before, Alan. Those two picked up the pace and I did my best to keep up. It was hard and it felt like a kick one mile too early. The lake was beautiful and after a while Alan took off for the finish and Chandler and I held it together to finish with out anyone passing us at the end. We came in at an unofficial time of 6 hours and 36 minutes. It was a beautiful day, with amazing views, and a respectable finish.
After the race, it is a great atmosphere. There was food, beverage (1 keg of Sierra Nevada, 1 keg of PBR) and a blue grass/folky band called Southern Skies. After I showered I hung around a while and met some of the other runners. Then it was time to call it a night.
Sunday: Time to head home. The sun rise was amazing. The ferry ride home smooth and the drive home was uneventful. Overall a great weekend, great race, and great memory.
Race Gear and Nutrition:
Shoes: Montrail Nitrus
Running Pants: Brooks
Running Shirt: REI Long Sleeve poly spandex blend
Socks: REI
Vest: Sporthill
Hydration drank from one Nathan Handheld and one Amphipod handheld: Before the race a Hammer Nutrition H.E.E.D. Started with H.E.E.D. in both bottles, at 1st aid station filled one with water and one with NUUN Lime, at water station filled one with water and one with Nuun Orange Ginger, At top of Mt. Constitution filled one with Nunn lime and one with water.
Nutrition: 6 Hammer Gels (Vanilla, Banana, Chocolate) carried in the pouches of my handheld bottles and on my Amphipod waistband case, 1 PBJ, 2 hand fulls of pretzels, 2 salt tabs, 2 chocolate covered coffee beans, and of course hand full of M&M’s at the last aid station.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Bridal Trail 50K
Bridal Trails 50K
Got one word for you to describe this run: MUDDY!!!!
The race starts at 3pm in the afternoon and is held at Bridal Trails State Park in Kirkland, WA. The Park is an oasis of trails that are primarily horse friendly in the urban area of Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmond just off of I 405. So it wasn’t pure mud.
The rain had held off most of the day, but at start time the temperature was in the low 40 or high 30 and it has begun to lightly rain. The run consisted of 6, 5.2 mile loops. The terrain is flat for a trail run course. No major up hill and only a few rolling ups and downs. The event has a 5 mile, 10 mile, and 50k solo, pair, and team component to it. The 5 milers started first. Then comes the release of the 10 milers. Then the 50k start. It was a little chilly and damp waiting for the start, but not it was a shared cold anticipation with the other runners. The race starts with enough light, but by the start of lap 3 a headlamp and a handheld were a must.
Lap 1 and 2 the light was sufficient for me to pick my way around mud holes, horse nuggets, rocks, and roots. It was a good chance to make some mental notes about where the hazards were. The start of lap 3 the lights came out. I tried to use my headlamp on my head as I usually do, and hold my hand held. The mist and the drops from the trees were messing with my eyes, so I put my headlamp around my chest and found this to be the best. The amount of moisture in the air really diffused the light, so seeing was limited at best. I started the 3rd lap trying to avoid the mud as I had on the first two laps, attempting to keep my feet somewhat dry. As the lap continued, I found this futile and just went straight for the mud. On lap 3, I did run into a runner who was wearing his diabetes yellow running shirt. He looked like he was in trouble. I asked him if he was alright, but he wasn’t. I gave him a Hammer Gel and asked if he wanted me to run with him at least 2 times. He said the gel would help and he would be okay. I left, but it was hard to not think about it the rest of that lap. I didn’t see him on the fourth lap, so I think all is good. Lap 3 and 4 the mind wanted to stop, but I keep the podcasts (Geek show at this point) going in my ear and just kept going. The start of lap 5 felt better and I started listening to The Mediocre show. It was a 2 hour podcast and I figured I would have them with me for the rest of the way. A little over a quarter of the muddy slog through ankle to shin deep mud, I caught a group of 3 guys and was able to keep a comfortable pace with them. The start of lap 6 I felt good. Just enjoyed the slog through the mud and kept the feet churning. I finished with an unofficial time of 5 hours and 15 minutes.
There are a few things key to running: Clothing, shoes, fuel. Each person has a temperature, a foot tolerance, and a choice. I figured I would just share mine after each run or adventure to let you know what is out there and what I like. You may want to try it, and you may not.
Shoes: Montrail Steaks worked well and I like them.
Pants: Brooks running pants some guys wore tights and some wore shorts. I prefer pants in these temps and raining conditions. I had some issues with the waistband tie and need to maybe have a size smaller pants.
Shirt: REI long sleeve polyester and spandex combo shirt
Running Vest: Sporthill vest that is wind resistant in the front. It has been a permanent fixture in cool weather running for me over the last 2 years.
Socks: REI running socks
Gloves: Manzella Sprint gloves
Hat: Halley Hansen beanie
Underwear: Jockey sport boxer briefs
Drink: I drank Hammer Nutrition HEED (High Energy Electrolyte Drink) before the race and in Nathan hand held water bottle I carried. After lap 2 I added a NUUN hydration tab to my water (Orange Ginger flavor). I drank water for laps 4-6.
Fuel: I used Hammer Nutrition, Hammer Gel (flavors: vanilla, espresso). Some M&M’s, PBJ sandwich quarters, Bagel with cream cheese quarter from the aid station during the run.
Got one word for you to describe this run: MUDDY!!!!
The race starts at 3pm in the afternoon and is held at Bridal Trails State Park in Kirkland, WA. The Park is an oasis of trails that are primarily horse friendly in the urban area of Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmond just off of I 405. So it wasn’t pure mud.
The rain had held off most of the day, but at start time the temperature was in the low 40 or high 30 and it has begun to lightly rain. The run consisted of 6, 5.2 mile loops. The terrain is flat for a trail run course. No major up hill and only a few rolling ups and downs. The event has a 5 mile, 10 mile, and 50k solo, pair, and team component to it. The 5 milers started first. Then comes the release of the 10 milers. Then the 50k start. It was a little chilly and damp waiting for the start, but not it was a shared cold anticipation with the other runners. The race starts with enough light, but by the start of lap 3 a headlamp and a handheld were a must.
Lap 1 and 2 the light was sufficient for me to pick my way around mud holes, horse nuggets, rocks, and roots. It was a good chance to make some mental notes about where the hazards were. The start of lap 3 the lights came out. I tried to use my headlamp on my head as I usually do, and hold my hand held. The mist and the drops from the trees were messing with my eyes, so I put my headlamp around my chest and found this to be the best. The amount of moisture in the air really diffused the light, so seeing was limited at best. I started the 3rd lap trying to avoid the mud as I had on the first two laps, attempting to keep my feet somewhat dry. As the lap continued, I found this futile and just went straight for the mud. On lap 3, I did run into a runner who was wearing his diabetes yellow running shirt. He looked like he was in trouble. I asked him if he was alright, but he wasn’t. I gave him a Hammer Gel and asked if he wanted me to run with him at least 2 times. He said the gel would help and he would be okay. I left, but it was hard to not think about it the rest of that lap. I didn’t see him on the fourth lap, so I think all is good. Lap 3 and 4 the mind wanted to stop, but I keep the podcasts (Geek show at this point) going in my ear and just kept going. The start of lap 5 felt better and I started listening to The Mediocre show. It was a 2 hour podcast and I figured I would have them with me for the rest of the way. A little over a quarter of the muddy slog through ankle to shin deep mud, I caught a group of 3 guys and was able to keep a comfortable pace with them. The start of lap 6 I felt good. Just enjoyed the slog through the mud and kept the feet churning. I finished with an unofficial time of 5 hours and 15 minutes.
There are a few things key to running: Clothing, shoes, fuel. Each person has a temperature, a foot tolerance, and a choice. I figured I would just share mine after each run or adventure to let you know what is out there and what I like. You may want to try it, and you may not.
Shoes: Montrail Steaks worked well and I like them.
Pants: Brooks running pants some guys wore tights and some wore shorts. I prefer pants in these temps and raining conditions. I had some issues with the waistband tie and need to maybe have a size smaller pants.
Shirt: REI long sleeve polyester and spandex combo shirt
Running Vest: Sporthill vest that is wind resistant in the front. It has been a permanent fixture in cool weather running for me over the last 2 years.
Socks: REI running socks
Gloves: Manzella Sprint gloves
Hat: Halley Hansen beanie
Underwear: Jockey sport boxer briefs
Drink: I drank Hammer Nutrition HEED (High Energy Electrolyte Drink) before the race and in Nathan hand held water bottle I carried. After lap 2 I added a NUUN hydration tab to my water (Orange Ginger flavor). I drank water for laps 4-6.
Fuel: I used Hammer Nutrition, Hammer Gel (flavors: vanilla, espresso). Some M&M’s, PBJ sandwich quarters, Bagel with cream cheese quarter from the aid station during the run.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Fat ass 50K or Something
Saturday morning and I wrestled with the big question: Go snowboarding or go for a run? I had plans to go snowboarding on Sunday, so I opted for the run. I went to Tiger Mountain with the intention of running with Hootz for a few hours. As I am driving past the frontage road on the freeway I see alot of cars and realize "Oh shit the Fat Ass 50K is scheduled for today!". So, next comes the second big question of the day: Run 50K or Run alone (well with Hootz)?
Answer: Run with the group, only because with the current snow pack on the mountain, the run was not going to be 50K long and it was pretty informal.
Result: 5 hours of trudging around on Tiger Moutian in snow and only covering 17 miles. Post holing through a midlayer of ice crust. Meeting some nice people. It was alot of fun and interesting to say the least.
Sunday: Snowboarding was a little harder with 5 hours of running on Saturday, but man was it worth getting onto the mountain and getting some turns in. Alpental is a great area. Snow conditions were okay. Some short finds of powder, lots of moguls, and some nice terrain.
What's next: Well I am working on my formal calendar of running events. I think I may run the Bridal Trails run on Saturday in Bellevue/Redmond area.
Answer: Run with the group, only because with the current snow pack on the mountain, the run was not going to be 50K long and it was pretty informal.
Result: 5 hours of trudging around on Tiger Moutian in snow and only covering 17 miles. Post holing through a midlayer of ice crust. Meeting some nice people. It was alot of fun and interesting to say the least.
Sunday: Snowboarding was a little harder with 5 hours of running on Saturday, but man was it worth getting onto the mountain and getting some turns in. Alpental is a great area. Snow conditions were okay. Some short finds of powder, lots of moguls, and some nice terrain.
What's next: Well I am working on my formal calendar of running events. I think I may run the Bridal Trails run on Saturday in Bellevue/Redmond area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)