Bridal Trails 2010

Bridal Trails January 9th, 2010
First 50k of the 2010,and as you can tell by my blog, first 50k since april. No I haven't stopped running, I have continued to train, but have added mountain biking, and rock climbing back into the list of activities I enjoy. I helped a friend by crewing and pacing part of the run this summer at the Mountains to Sound race. I was signed up to race the White River 50 mile but had to drop out due to mental ultra I am currently running ( I enrolled in Doctoral school to earn a Doctorate in Education). The mental ultra takes me back to MN 2 weeks in the summer and coincided with the race. So I think I may find a race in MN/WI before those two weeks this summer. I also took a two week road trip through California. When I say through, I mean almost top to bottom. Drove the I5 down from Seattle to San Diego, then Drove Hwy 1 all the way back along the coast till Oregon. So I was a different busy.
So back to bridal trails, the 5.2 mile, 6 loop race was a ton of fun and without the rain the course was very nice, but still provided some really nice muddy spots. Having lived in Washington for more than one year now, I have become friends with some fellow ultra runners and it was good to see them all at the race.
As I am just formulating some of my running plans for this year
Objectives for the race were pretty simple: Stay hydrated (which can be an issue for me), run comfortably, finish around 6 hours, and have fun.
Results: I stayed hydrated (I took a potty break on every lap), every lap felt good, finishing time was 5 hours, 10 minutes, lap times were nice and relatively consistent, and I had a blast. I ran with some friends for the first half of the race and then I just found a zone and kept going. I have a lot to learn and a lot of training to do, but it felt good.
Gear, Hydration, and Energy:
Asics running short
REI running visor
Petzel Tikka XP 2 was my headlamp and I loved it. I started with it is spot light mode and that was okay, but then flipped up the diffuser and loved it. Other runners even commented on the light it put out over the whole trail. I know some runners can run without lights, but I am okay with lights.
REI long sleeve running shirt
Montrial Hardrock 09’s
Mountain Hardware gaiters (I got blisters on the upper part of my ankle where the gaiters close around the leg, never has happen before. Not sure what to do about that)
Drank one bottle of HEED from Hammer before the race started
Ran with one ultimate direction water bottle (filled at aid station on each loop) bottle 1: started with HEED from Hammer, bottle 2: water, bottle 3: NUUN, bottle 4: water, bottle 5: NUUN, bottle 6: water
After race drank one bottle of Recoverlyte from Hammer
One hammer gel at the start of each new lap, peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters at each lap

Next Race: Orcas Island 50k February 6th, 2010