I got up at 5 to make sure I would be completely ready. Prerace prep the night before basically consisted of me throwing clothes into one of my bins, making Orange Jello/Cool Whip salad to contribute to the stock of food after the race, and printing some maps.
I ended up taking my single bottle belt with the extra pouches since the longest stretch between aid stations was like 5 miles. Theoretically that's a one bottle distance if I'm drinking at max capacity.
There had been some messages about parking being tight, and I coordinated to pickup another runner (LuvPre) from the Runners World forum. Got to his house a bit late at around 7, and after some phone calls for him to guide me in. :) Thanks to his Garmin Nuvi, we finally got to Landsburg Park in Ravensdale around 7:30, with the race starting at 8:00.
Parking really was pretty tight, but we got the last spot in the main lot, by the start. Got out and picked up our bibs (made of cut up old bibs, cool) and then wandered across the street to the two portasans available and made a pitstop. Walked back, set up my fuel belt, and then dropped off my fee ($5, I gave $10 (It supports a food bank, why not)) and a box of food and soup for the food bank. Saw Bruce, Betsy, and Matt as we were getting set up in the parking lot. Also saw another Berner puppy, owned by the winner, I believe. (I think they're good luck. :)) Saw Katie and chatted with her and Bruce as we walked over the bridge and lined up for the start.
Weather was in the low to mid 40s with a wonderful mizzle (misty drizzle).
For the sake of the race report, please note that AS 1, 4, 5 are the same (staffed), and AS 2, 3 (unstaffed) are the same
START TO AS1 (5.85 miles) :
The start was just across the Cedar River from the finish, on a power line trail that parallels the river and the trail the rest of the race was run on. We all gathered together just inside the entrance to the trail as pigtails gave her race briefing. Then, after an informal "3, 2, 1, GO!" we got started. It was the oddest start I've had in one of these smaller races. It was absolutely packed. the trail was a narrow packed gravel access road, and there were around 100 runners. The first half mile felt like a 'big city' race, until we all sorted ourselves out. I started super slow, just taking my time to get warmed up and settled in. It was going to be a long day, and while breaking 5 hours would be great, I was just going to let it settle out how it would. I ran with Katie and Jessica for a short period until I realized that I had misheard their time goals, and realized I needed to speed up a little.
I realized I had forgotten to start my 'normal' watch at the start, and started it just as Garmin chirped at mile 1. I wanted to use the watch to track splits between, and through aid stations. We ran out through the gate, across the parking lot and back across the little bridge, where someone directed us to the left, past the finish, and onto the Cedar River Trail.
The first leg of the Cedar River Trail is packed gravel lined with trees. A surprising number of houses are within a stones throw of the trail, which felt odd sometimes. This first leg was spent just getting the kinks worked out, and starting to get my rhythm. Average HR for this leg is 149 bpm, right at my original goal for effort, and average pace is 9:20/mile. Pretty comfortable. The mizzle shows no signs of breaking, and I'm soaked through by the first couple of miles.
AS 1 is a shelter staffed by a couple of wonderful volunteers. I had told Val I was going to try not to to pull a Carkeek and spend a lot of time at the Aid Stations. I get through this first one with a bottle refill, a handful of M&Ms and Gummi Bears in 8 seconds. :) Not bad. :)
I did manage to spend some time with another runner during this leg (another former Army guy)(bugger, don't remember his name), but he was shooting for 9/mile and sped up after we chatted for a while.
54:43 total time for this leg
AS1 TO AS2 (5.4 miles):
Shortly after the aid station the Trail transitions from crushed gravel to asphalt. I personally think this felt better, and that I wasn't dumping so much energy in the gravel. I felt like I was able to get more efficient again. What sucked is that at about the same point the mizzle converted to a real rain. A "my compression shorts shed water if I wipe my hands off on them" kind of rain. I was on the edge of getting cold in this stretch. If the rain had kept up it might have gotten unpleasant.
Also, M&Ms may not melt in hour hand, but they do stain. :)
Probably because of the rain, and the change after a few miles to running close to one of the local highways, this was a REALLY long stretch from AS1 to AS2. For some reason I thought the next aid station was going to be closer (probably because I thought AS3 was at the turnaround).
I finally hit a stretch where I couldn't see anyone else in either direction and was able to step to the side of the trail and make a pitstop (ahhh, men... the world is our restroom. :) ) before we lost tree cover.
I would classify this leg as being the hardest of the race. The rain and the cold were a big deal, and for some reason, I just had some serious motivational/head-space problems. I think I just hadn't run long enough to beat my legs and my brain into submission yet. I passed a Tavern (not yet open) on the freeway at around mile 9 and thought it would be a really good place to get out of the rain and make a phone call to get a ride :). Go figure. I think that except for the brief chat in the last leg, running this solo, while getting passed by clusters of chatting runners didn't help, either. I picked up some interesint tips about directing a race listening to some of the conversations though. :)
Finally hit AS 2. It was a very welcome pair of water blue jugs and a gallon Ziploc bag full of Snickers and PayDays. I refilled my bottle, grabbed one of each of the candy bars and got back on the move. Not as fast as the first aid station, but 23 seconds for self serve ain't bad. :)
48:20 for this leg. I've sped up a little, average pace is down t0 9:17/mile, avg HR is up a few ticks to 151
AS2 TO TURNAROUND TO AS3 (4.9 miles):
A few hundred yards after our aid station is an aid station for the Team in Training gang. One of their volunteers gives a cheer as run by. I wonder what race they were training for?
The Payday bar is super yummy, and the Snickers isn't bad either. Certainly better than the Hammer Gels and GU. The last hammer dose I took gave me some stomach rumbles, but nothing that continues. Time to check the expiration date on the bulk bottle.
I've settled in, starting last leg, behind a pair of rabbits. A gentleman in grey a few hundred yards ahead of me, and a gentleman in a red Marathon Maniacs shirt (who looks vaguely familiar, like he runs around Lake Union, and I've seen him) a few hundred yards ahead of him. We've spent miles 'together' with no change in our distances. :)
Shortly after the aid station the rain switches back to mizzle, and I start to warm up again. Something must have changed in the terrain, because I find this stretch much easier, and speed up just a little.
See the leaders after their turnaround. LuvPre is 4th I think, Bruce is next. I tried to cheer for one of the leaders and got the same squawk that I got when I tried at Seattle last year. No more cheering for other runners. I just switched to a thumbs up and stayed there for the remainder of the people I crossed paths with. That and maybe a "Keep it up" or "Kickin' ass"
My first rabbit starts slowing down (or I'm getting faster) around mile 12. I get my half marathon split (2:01:26), and then I catch up to my first rabbit. We run together through the turnaround (13.7 miles down!), and since he mentioned some intestinal distress (he was hoping the turn around was in a park with a restroom) I give him some of my wet wipes and then we parted ways.
I manage to catch up with my other rabbit at AS3. It turned out to be Stevie Ray Lopez from the RW forums. And yes he does run around Lake Union sometimes. We chatted briefly at the aid station, and I left while he was throwing something into his bottle. 33 seconds at the aid station. I don't remember what, if any, fueling I took after I refilled my bottle.
48:01 for this leg, 9:15 is average pace, and HR Avg is up to 153.
AS3 TO AS4 (5.4 miles):
Through the final part of the last leg, and the beginning of this leg, I get to see the other people still headed out. Betsy, and Katie, and I think Bob Dolphin. Lots of groups again in the second half of the group. I pass a number of the clusters of runners that passed me earlier in the run during this stretch too. Soon enough I'm back just chugging along. I think I passed a couple of people this leg as we headed back. It felt faster, even if it took just as long. Probably that whole "returning feels faster" thing.
The rain is still coming down in the same place as we head back. It's at least as wet as the first time, but I'm warmer this time, apparently and it doesn't bother me. It's much wetter after 3 hours of rain and there are more puddles and stuff to avoid.
I recall managing to pass a handful of people on this leg, including a guy pretty close to the aid station. The goal of getting back to the aid station helped keep me moving. I took a bit longer at this aid station. I wasn't quite as mentally organized, and it took a whole 52 seconds. I managed to almost fill my bottle with Gatorade and not water, and snagged a pair of Snickers that I never ate, and a handful of snacks and got back on the move. One of the volunteers asked if I was continuing on through to the 50K or downgrading. I said I was still doing it. "Way to go, daddy-o!". :)
49:30 for this leg. 9:17/mile average pace, 155 bpm average HR.
AS4 TO TURNAROUND TO AS5 (4.9 miles):
The "best" part of the extra section for the 50K is the hill right at the aid station. It's not huge, but it's short and steep and it's at 21.5 miles into the run. The I'm pretty sure it's a very light continuous uphill to the turnaround. The outbound leg was quite possibly the longest 2.5 miles I've ever run. It was just brutal. Despite knowing how far out it was, and where I was thanks to Garmin, I was convinced the turn had been moved at least 3 times. :|
figured the turn had been moved.
The run out was actually quite pretty. We paralleled a lake for a nice section of the run. The only thing 'odd' were the steel underpasses/tunnels. Kind of creepy, and I wouldn't want to be a woman running this trail at night or in the evening. Saw Bruce headed back the other way about halfway through.
When I finally hit the damned turnaround I though I'd cry. I told other runners the distance to the turnaround for the next half mile. Hopefully I wasn't too annoying. I know I would have appreciated it from some of the other front runners. Because of this, I called out the distance to oncoming runners for the first half mile as I came back down. Hope it helped, and wasn't too annoying. Made a pitstop just after I hit Marathon distance. Marathon split was 4:06:02. Not bad considering I was supposed to be taking this 'easy'. Just goes to show what those damned Seattle hills can do to your time.
Chugged my was past a couple and their dogs and hung a right at the aid station without stopping. My bottle was still pretty full, and I just wanted to get done. I was starting to get tired, and feeling my thighs, glutes, abs, and lower back. Apparently I should have checked in, because someone called after me to get my bib number. I shouted it back and kept moving. Doh!
49:37 for the leg, give or take. Average pace is down to 9:25/mile and Avg HR is up to 156, where it will stay.
AS5 TO FINISH (4.7 miles):
A few miles ago I had determined that I was pretty close to done, and managed to convince myself to gut it out to mile 27, and then I could walk for a few minutes. Just after the aid station (~26.45) I passed Katie walking her marathon in. Apparently her Plantar Fascitiis had flared pretty badly. She actually mention removal of the foot. :| Out and back course means you've got to finish it though. :) (98 starts, 98 finishes for this race!) She came in a bit after me looking pretty trashed.
Just around a curve from Katie and Gamin chirped for mile 27, and I walked for the first time. My lower back was starting to go, and I was tired. It felt good to walk, but I tried to keep it to about a minute, and them moved back out at a trot, trying to focus on correcting my posture and run more upright instead of hunching over, which helped my back soreness, and seemed to help get my speed on the run legs back up.
I alternated running and walking for the rest of the race, doing the math in my head to try and finish under 5 hours since that seemed to be in reach. The run walk variations were pretty organic, but I did try to keep the walks to no more than 1/10 of a mile, and then run the rest of the mile. When that didn't work it was 1/10th walk and then .5 or .75 run. Whatever kept me moving and would hopefully get me in under 5. I ran the last half mile, and when I started to recognize the last quarter mile or so, I was able to dig a little and go from 10:30/mile for mile 31 to 8:35/mile for that last little bit.
47:49 for the last leg, Pace Average down to final of 9:32/mile. HR evened out at 156. Course measured out officially at 31.15 mile (just a tick long 31.07 is the 'real' 50K distance)), and Garmin measured out 31.24 miles.
Final time: 4:58:10 (9:32/mile) @ 156 bpm (83% MHR)
Bruce had stuck around and cheered me through the finish, and took the few pictures I have from this race. Including a cheesy staged finish picture. :) I almost fell over on him after I stopped running. He grabbed me to keep me from tipping over, and then I decided it was a good idea to keep moving for a bit. Stopped at the car and changed into dry clothes, then got some soup and snacks while waiting for Betsy to come it. I was getting cold and my legs weren't appreciating that, and LuvPre had been remarkably patient hanging out and waiting, especially given that he finished like 2 hours before I did, so we finally got in the car and headed home.
Great race. I'll run it again, if Pigtails does it again.
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