ItstheMusic SPORTS!
Yes its that time of year again... Summertime - when "the livin' is easy" and Ultra-running is high on the agenda. Well, really its the same year round but summer is definitely my favorite running season by far. Long hot days and short cool nights. The usual plan is hopefully to have shed most of my winter hibernation weight in the spring and be fit and healthy enough to run the local PAUSATF races and reconnect with the community of friends I have made over the past 15 years. This year I had a very late start to the season that normally begins in early February with Jed Smith 50K. This year my first race was Ruth Anderson on April 17th. Usually I run the 100K which I even managed to win last year due to a lack of sufficient competition. And usually the aftermath is some sort of foot or ankle injury due to the abuse from the 14 repetitive loops around Lake Merced in San Francisco. This year I had just gotten back in shape enough to run the shorter 50K which definitely helped on the injury front. The reason for my late start, what that I had just spent the past 5 1/2 months trying to recover from a left knee injury that put a quick end to my fall racing season last year after a 100 miler in July and two weeks later av 50K which ended in a foot-race the las 2 miles of the race that escalated into an all out sprint with Matt Anderson at the finish - for which I should know by now is the best way to get injured - i.e. sprinting.. Injury is what we all as ultrarunners dread and try to avoid at all costs. More often than not, when they occur, we usually push them aside as part of the "ordeal" and if they allow us to continue running, deny the injury until it becomes worse and eventually forces us to stop. 2009 Knee Cap (Recap) I spent most of the late spring and summer of 2009 doing just that. My left knee was experiencing joint swelling and stiffness after only a few miles of easy jogging. This was not good when my maintenence runs are typically 6 - 10 miles and longer weekend training runs are 15 - 25 miles, and all of the races are 30 miles or more. My training runs were not too much of a problem initially. After about 6 to 10 miles the knee would get stiff, but there was never any pain. I did a few longer runs without the swelling getting any more serious. At the end of June I was set to pace "Kap'n Kirk" Boiseree at Western States 100 miler for the 40 miles from Forest Hill to the finish. I had gone for a 30 mile training run with him a few weeks earlier and everythings seemed "OK".
I had signed up for Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler back in Jaunuary, which would be held in three weeks (July 18) so I was naturally a little concerned about my knee possibly blowing up at some point during this much longer run. Based upon my 40 mile jog at States, I decided I would at least start the 100 miler and play it by ear. If things went badly I would just drop. Race day arrived and I got through it without any knee issues although I did crash and burn at mile 75 for a couple hours due to a bad decision on how much water to carry to Mount Rose on the night time out and back... I had some negative experience with my camel back the year before on the 30 mile race, where I got light-headed everytime I stopped breathing in order to suck water out of the bladder. The altitude was having some affects on me that year so I did have the desire not to use the camel back if I didn't have to. Big mistake. Due to a shorter than needed recovery at Tunnel Creek after the second Red House loop, which for some reason wiped me out. I had some serious nausea and vomiting shortly after dark - heading up the trail for the 9 mile trek to Mt Rose. I ended up drinking all of my water and ran comletely dry half way to Mt. Rose and my Pacer (Keith Blom) and I had to walk the last 4 miles to Mt. Rose which took almost 2 hours. I then spent an additional hour and a half sitting trying to recover. Ugly turn of events since I ended up losing my age group to Davey Crocket who passed me while I was stopped at Mt Rose aid station. I was still pretty happpy coming in under 30 hours as the Silver buckle is stunning.
My goal for Skyline as it is every year is to get in under 5 hours which for the past few years hasn't been a problem. It took a a few years of running Skyline to break that barrier backin 2003. Initially I was not as well-versed running ultras. It took several years before I finally figured out my salt requirements which were well beyond "normal" and frequently had aid-station volunteers concerned for my well being like the time I casually mentioned I had to take 5 S-Caps in an hour of climbing up Devil's Thumb back in 2005 Western States in order to not become hyponautremic. Most people think 2 per hour is "high". So my requirements, which greatly depend upon my exertion level and temperature and humidity, gereatly exceed the norm. I does make sense if you consider how much I sweat. Which is the reason I hate cold weather running. Due to limited evapration in cold weather, my sweat soaks through my running gear and I easily get chilled. I then litterally shut down from the cold and have to stop. At least in warm weather I can spalsh water on myself and slow down to cool off. In cold weather speeding up would in theory help me warm up, but in fact makes me sweat more and then slowing down just makes things worse. So at Skyline the first half being uphill I like to start out conservatively to have some legs left for the downhill 2nd half. The climb up to Skyline Gate was particularly tough due to the recent 100 miler, and I welcomed the ensuing rolling downhill return. Traversing the French Trail through Redwood Park is amazingly beautiful and one of the main reasons I love this course. There are some pretty challenging steep short uphill sections throughout the redwoods which I had some extra difficulty running up. Finally out of the woods the climb back up to Bort Meadow really reminded me again I had recently run 100 miles. But after Bort the next 5 miles were pretty much all downhill to the final aid station 3 miles before the finish. I always look forward to this section since I am stronger here as can keep a good pace on flat / downhill sections. I tend to make up for lost time on the uphills here as well and frequently catch stragglers which gives me incentive to push and keep up the pace to the finish. A couple miles into the long downhill after Bort Meadow I caught up with Matt Anderson and Tom Riley who I had run with briefly at the beginning of the race. They had pulled ahead of me on the initial climb up to Bort Meadow Aid station 6 miles into the race. We had about 6 miles to go before the finish and I was hoping to let them pull me along so I could maintain a good pace. We ran the single track together for a while but then they began to pull ahead of me again on the next short uphill a couple miles before the last aid station before the finish. At the last aid, Stan Jensen mentioned Matt on Tom were a few minutes ahead so I left there with a purpose of trying to catch them again. When I got back to the paved bike path with only 2 miles left to run, I caught site of them again. Matt and Tom had decided to finish together and were kicking back a bit. I caught back up with them and ran with them for a bit but decided I wanted to push this last section (traditional tactic opn this course) and have a strong finish. So as I tried to leave them behind, Matt would follow my lead and pick up the pace as well. I would pick it up and Matt would follow. This went on for a bit and eventually we dropped Tom who had a different game plan and wanted to stick to it. Matt and I were basically having a foot race at the end of a 50K. With less than 1/4 a mile to go we were running what had to be sub-6 minute mile pace. With just a hundredd yards to go I gave up on further challenges and relegated to finishing a few strides behind Matt in 4:52:03. I found out afterwards that Matt had just turned 50 this year and he knew I was in his age group. Apparently he wanted to place 1st in the division. Not a problem as I still got my PAUSATF 1st place 40 points. That wasn't to make a difference in any case since that race would be almost my last PAUSATF race of the season because of that final reckless sprint. Afterwards I was feeling pretty good in spite of the hard push at the end. But that preception didn't last The following week I went for an easy trail run and after only 2 miles - SHARP PAIN ! I stopped and walked it off for a few yards and then started running again and again - MORE SHARP PAIN ! ! OK... this is NOT good. My left knee now really hurt. Not just imflamation any longer. Full on "You IDIOT! you sprinted at the end of a 50K two weeks after running a hilly 100 miler on an injured knee" pain - and after a very short run. I ended up cutting short my run and walking about half of it back to the truck. Very unhappy now. Uugh! And so the story goes. I spent the next couple months trying to figure out what was going on. Trying to rest while still maintaining my strength and fitness level. But due to only limited improvement in my knee, I ended up missing my remaining races in August and Septembber. And when the next important PAUSATF series race came up, Dick Collins Firetrails 50 miler the first weekend in October, I ended up running the Golden Hills Marathon which covers most of the "return" portion of the Firetrails course. My time was not too bad and my knee felt "ok" during the race, but pulling up the 3 mile hill at the start was really a big mistake and my knee was stiff and sore for three days afterwards. I decided it was time to visit a Dr and see what was going on. Dr. Ross in Walnut Creek was the person recommended. He took X-Rays and poked and prodded and all he could say was maybe the knee is wearing out. GREAT! He did find that my left leg was 1/4" longer than my right from X-Rays that he took which also showed the gap in the joint of my right knee was parhaps a little narrower than the the right. That's what led him to the possible diagnosis of knee joint degradation. At least I knew now why I always am stubbing my left foot when I fall. And also why my left heel would always wear out faster than my right shoe. Still there was not much of an explanatgion as to what was wrong. My friend and also a doctor, Marty Hoffman, suggested a meniscus irritation, which Dr. Ross had never heard of. As i understood it, it could be a small tear in the meniscus or flap of tissue irritating the joint resulting in inflamation. So I went home with the inserts knowing I pretty much just needed to really rest. I didn't hold much hope that the inserts were going to fix my knee issue. I had been living / running with a longer leg for 30+ years and so why would I expect this to all of a sudden result in a knee problem now. I am basically right side dominant, so my left side has always been "weaker" and prone to injury in the past. My left knee has always served as my training barometer letting me know when I was overdoing my training or when a pair of shoes were beyond their life expectancy. Usually this was simply manifested in a "runner's knee" flare-up, but now it was really and truly injured. Somehow I had gone well beyond the limits of where the system had worked so well for all these years. Somehow seemed most likely related to when I slipped on steep gravelly trail coming off Rose Peak during my annual marking the trail from Del Valle to Rose Peak for the Ohlone Wilderness 50K race back in May of that year. I caught all my weight on my left knee which wasn't ready or strong enough to support the extra stress. I immediately felt a pull in the tendon where it connects to the top my knee cap, and so I had to walk most of the 9 miles back to the truck that day. As a result, there was no way I was running Ohlone two days later so my wife voulnteered me foa babysitting trip to Pac Bell Park for Litlle League day which lasted all day and where we froze in the cold fog. I almost think running 31 miles with an injured knee would have been more enjoyable... Iinitially it just seemed like a muscle / connector pull, which took the usual two weeks to heal to where I could run normally again. I thought everything was good. But it was shortly afterwards, that I started to notice the knee stiffness and swelling during my training runs. So its pretty obvious that This injury was simply due to the fact my left leg was too weak to catch the extra weight. So now strengthening seemed to be the key to my recovery and prevention of future injuries. After seeing the Dr I realized I needed to continue to rest and see how things go. Hilly courses were definitely worse than flat as the connectors behind the knee now seemed to also be involved. If I were to run a ~10 mile trail run with hills, I would have trouble finishing without walking up the last few hills due to pain behind my knee. I would then have to wait the better part of a week before I could run another hilly run. Resting for the most part over the next few weeks. I managed to get ready enough to run Helen Klein 50K (as opposed to the 50 Mile option) which was pretty much a dead flat course with only very minor hill climbing, without any serious aftermath. This was a good indication I was on the right path to recovering. However the last race of the seaon - Quad Dipsea - was a seriously hilly course and although I had signed up for it, I had to forego running, as I had in the past years as well. So I ended up the 2009 season in 3rd place in the PAUSTF deferring to John Catts and Keith Blom who came in first and second respectively. My plan was to recover and try again next year. And so months of November and December I essentially rested, except for a few short weekly maintenance runs. When January came around I would need to start ramping up again. 2010 Recovery and Preparation for TRT100 Back in September, I had signed up for Umstead 100 miler to be held in late March in Raleigh North Carolina. By January 1st I new I was not going to be able to run 100 miles by the end of March, so I pulled out before the deadline and got my entry fee refunded. Even so, I had optimism that I would be fully recovered in time to run Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler again in July,, so I promptly signed up as soon as registration opened on January 1st. Recovery was seemingly taking forever. Even after resting for 2 months and getting back on the trail in January, My knee was not strong enough for racing. So I missed all the early races. Jed Smoth (Feb), Way Too Cool (March), American RIver 50 (April), (I didn't even get into Miwok 100K lottery since I never got a notice when it would be held). By April I was ready to run Ruth Anderson but only the 50K, on April 17th. This being a flat race, I hoped the negative effects on my knee would be minimal. I finished in 4:54 - coming in second place in the age group to a blazing 4:04 finish by Todd Hayes. I was very happy to get through the race without any bad consequences and saw little knee swelling. This being my first race of the season, I thought it unwise to "push" at this early stage of my recovery. I did not want any setbacks as there was very little time as it was to prepare for my annual 100 miler - this year again being the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler on July 17th. So three months to prepare was hopefully going tpo be enough. The 50K gave me optimism that things were getting better, and the next few trail runs were a little hillier and and little harder and my knee once again complained. I began to get very concerned at the upcoming year and the 100 miler in July. I had discussed my knee problems with my friend Robert Smith who is an avid accomplished swing dancer in Durham NC. Robert had mentioned he had started using liquid pectin mixed in a glass of grape juice to help with his knee pain he was having and was preventing him from dancing. He sugested I try it for my knee issue. So I went down to the local Safeway and bought a pack. I started pectin on April 28 and within two weeks I noticed a big difference in the way my knee felt after I ran. The next race on the schedule was Quicksilver 50 miler which I was able to run for the first time on May 5 a week and a half after starting the pectin.. The course is a significantly more challenging course than the "flat" loop around Lake Merced in San Francisco where Ruth Anderson is held. By race day I was feeling very good but still not knowing what 50 hilly trail miles would do to my recovery progress. So I started out with the idea that I would do a moderate push for 50K and if my knee was having problems I would just drop. I ran the 50K and pushed up all the hils with no issues and was very happy with my 4:35 spl\t. There was a little knee stiffness - but no pain - so I decided to complete the 50 miles and just take it easy on the last 20. I still felt strong with only a small (as per usual) problem of eating too much at the 50K start point so I ended up having to walk most of the next 4.5 miles uphill to the 35 mile aid station. By then the nausea had subsided and and the rest of the 50 miles went smoothly. I felt striong and did well to keep my system running on a fairly warm and hilly course until I finished at 9:31. Afterwards I had some nausea from the final 3 mile push, which a handfull of salt caps resolved. This was the most significant step forward I had made all year in trying to get back to my training schedule in preparation for TRT100 in July. My next race would be Ohlone Wilderness 50K on May 31st - which aside from TRT its the toughest course on the race schedule with almost 9,000 feet of climbing in . This would be the biggest test for my recovery since serious hills had the biggest impact on my knee. I successfully marked the 20 miles of trail from Del Valle to Rose Peak the Friday before the race, and did not injure myself, nor did I feel like it adversely affected my knee. I felt I was ready for theis tough race and my first real "push" and test of my knee before Tahoe. I ran the first 5 miles up Mission Peak in 60 minutes, near record time for me, feeling very good and determined to take it easy on the subsequent downhill that took us into Sunol. I had hoped to avoid the usual "low spot" coming out of Sunol into the backpack area ay 12 miles into the race, but was unsuccessful. However this was followed by recovery climbing out of the aid station and a good section from there to Goat Rock at mile 15, and an even better section from there to Rose Peak. I caught many of tghe people who had passed me coming out of Sunol by the time I got to Maggies Half Acre at 4:20. I ran the last 20 miles in just under 2 hours fInishing in 6:19. It wasn't the fastest time for me, but considering my wieght was 5 lbs up from where it should be and my knee problems, I was pretty satisfied. I had some stiffness afterwards but iced it right away and it was fine within half an hour. Things were definitely looking up. Inclluding the Ohlone weekend, the following month I did some serious running. By the end of the month I had done a100 mile week, and I averaged over 10 miles a day for the entire month totalling 317 miles!. I can't say for sure that pectin was the key or main resaon for this seemingly "miraculous" recovery after the slow progress made druing the spring, but it certainly was a happy coincidence. I was finally up to what I felt I needed to do in perparation for an upcoming 100 miler. And the timing of my rcovery was just about perfect. That gave me three weeks to recover and taper for the TRT 100 race on July 17. Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler: Race weekend came and I was in great shape for my 100 miler. My weight was an optimal 189 lbs whereas at Ohlone I was 7 lbs heavier. I had a month to do some decent heat training as its always a bit hot at TRT. Not as bad as the canyons of Western States, but it does feel hotter at that altitude than the thermometer indicates. Plus the race average altitude is above 8000 feet and this year with an extra 3500 ft of climbing over the 100 mile course for a total of just under 24,000 ft of climbing and descent. I had optimism I would have a good day and not be bothered by conditions unless it turned cold after dark. Watching the weather all week it looked like it could be in the low 40's overnight. Not somerthing I looked forward to. However it was predicted to be warmer on race day than it had been all week. That I could deal with. The only question was how would me knee hold up with all the extra climbing. Unsure what my performance would be having just emerged from a long recouperation and apparent recovery, I opted for a game plan similar to last year, which was a conservative one - to walk when I felt like walking and run when I could. Not to push too hard, have fun, and to try and maintain that plan for both 50 mile loops. I wasn't sure what the added 2000 ft descent into Incline Village followed by the 1850 ft climb up Diamond Peak ski slope would do to the finish times for the race, but I had imagined the Diamond Peak climb similar to what I have done on the Ohlone out of Del Valle. Boy was I wrong! This was the toughest climb I hade ever done. This came at miles 30 and again at mile 80. The first part was not too bad. It was a service road up to the base of the ski slope which was mostly runnable. However starting up the ski slope the footing was sandy and extremely steep. I had to stop over a dozen times to rest and get my breath. I could not imagine what it would be like on the next loop at mile 80. It turned out believe it or not to be easier on the second loop. People that passed me on the climb I caught again once we were back on the rim trail. I was pleased the climb did not wipe me out. Resting I think was key there. Even with the added difficulty I ended up making my goals and then some. I had hoped to place a little higher in the pack this year. Last year I was 20th overall and this year I had moved up considerably in spite of the increased difficulty of the new course. I made it into the top 10, placing 9th overall, with a finish time of 24:14. I also placed first in my 50-59 age group by almost 2 hours. The race organizers didn't let me know this fact although I knew there were no other 50 year olds ahead of me while I was out on the course. In addition upon returning home I found out that I had set the age group course record by over an hour. None of this was announced at the awards ceremony after the race - they didn't have the where-with-all to look up the ages of the top finishers before the award ceremony. It's been a month now and I have yet to recieve my plaque.. I had car-pooled with my buddy Mark Tanaka who was looking for redemption for coming in DFL (Dead F***ing Last) at the 2006 innaugural race. He had altitude issues and perhaps was also sick. I ran the race the first time in 2008 where I completed the 50 miler - which in one loop of the double loop the 100 miler requires. Mark ran that race as well and I ended up beating him by over an hour. So he had something to prove in this year's race. We played tag for most of the day. I started out ahead and he caught me on the Red House loop. I pulled ahead on the RIm Trail out to the descent into Incline Village where he caught back up on the road right before the 30 mile Diamond Peak aid station. He toasted me on getting through the station and the climb up Daimond Peak ski slope. But then I caught back up to him at Snowy Peak aid and came in 5 minutes ahead at the 50 miler. Although I was trying to be conservative and the course more difficult, I came in a little over 7 minutes ahead of my last year's 50 mile time at 10:30. Mark had come in at 10:35 which was an hour ahead of his 50 mile time two years ago. . I had stuck to the plan which was not to look at the watch but push at a certain leve and take whatever time I got. It was also to have a solid run with no significant down time or difficulties. Two checks in the to-do boxes. What was left was the 2nd 50 miles with the same goals as the first. At the 50 mile start / finish I had some blisters to attend to. I also needed to change shoes and tape up and secure a toe nail which had succumbed on the first loop. So Mark \beat me out of the aid station heading back up the trail a 5 minutes before I was ready to go. I was also expecting my pacer Marty Hoffman to be there to accompany me on the last 50 mile loop. Unfortunately he was a no show. Apparently he had car trouble and was going to be late. Deb said he would try to be at Diamond peak for the final 20 miles. That was really where I needed him so I was happy with that prospect at least. This time at the 50 mile aid, I made sure I didn't eat too much so I could get up the trail more quickly than last year and spend less time walking and recovering from all the food intake. I was fairly successful and got out of the aid station in 15 minutes. Not the best turn around but I think I must have spent 30 minutes last year. Somehow I need to get the toenail / blister issue resolved for next year. Same toe that I had issues with that I had kicked a boulder with and dislodged the toenail last year. This year there seemed no direct reason for the toanail being completely black after only 50 miles. I did spray tough skin on it and taped it in hopes that would protect it. Apparently it pulled it loose. It would be great to get mt 50 mile turnaround time down in the 5-7 minute range next year. I should plan to eat while walking as I head out on the final loop instead of stopping. Even though I ate less I was still basically walking almost all the trail now. After about 30 minutes up the trail I was becoming consumed with doubt at my ability to to get it together again and get running again and maintain focus for the next 30 miles as the night progressed until possibly meeting up with Marty at the 80 mile Diamond Peak again. Next thing I hear is someone behind me calling my name. I turn and look and from up behind me comes Marty. He had gotten his wife and son to meet him at his broken down car and his son drove him to the race leaving his wife to accompany the tow truck to the garage with his brooken down vehicle. This was really above and beyond the call of duty! It was GREAT to see him. Those negative thoughts immediately evaporated and we headed up the trail determined to have a good second 50 miles. I was surprised to see that we had caught back up with Mark again by the time we returned to Hobart Aid. We then passed him on the climb out of Hobart up to Marlette Peak. "Tag you're it!" Marty and I proceeded on to Tunnel Creek thinking we'd certainly see Mark again. The second Red House loop awaited which really took a lot out of me last year. I had lef the aid without proper salt and hydration and prceeded to crash shortly thereafter on the rim trail out to Mt Rose last year. This year the plan was to take it easy on that loop this time and be sure I'm completely recoverd before starting up the Rim Trail from Tunnel Creek. I was going to take the camelback this time which was loaded with everything I would need after dark: Salt, Gels, Flashlight and Headlamp and up to 72 oz of water. This time I would be sure to have enough water to get from the Bull Wheel aid, which was going to be there for both loops for the first time this year, to Diamond Peak aid 8 miles down the trail. That would also free up my hands to carry the flashlight instead of dealing with two hand held water battles that I used during the first daytime loop. As we got to Tunnel Creek for the 4th time, Mark Tanaka came rolling in right behind us pleased with the fact there were some downhills which let him make up some time. We started on the Red House loop again and Mark passed us again about half way down the steep slope. That would be the last time we saw Mark. I hope I would see him again on the trail out to Diamond Peak but that didn't happen. I was glad as I wanted him to have the run he needded as well today. Once again the Red House loop nearly wiped me out. But mostly this time because I forgot to take enough gel with me, so I had run low on calories forgetting the aid station only had water on this 2nd loop. I had to stop for about 10 minutes at Tunnel Creek to recover and make sure I was ready to roll on to the next stop at Bull Wheel 3 miles up the trail. Before we left I was feeling good enough to even have a beer which they offered at all the aid stations. It tasted great but It immediately gave me the chills, so I got some hot soup to counter the effects and then headed out with Marty ahead of last year's pace by about 10 minutes - a Good Omen. This time there was no walking and crahing and vomiting 30 minutes up the trail like last year. It was still daylight when we passed the spot where I crashed last year in the dark. That was a satisfying feeling to know things were continuing to go well. It felt good to know I was making up time from last years pace with every step from this point on. We arrived at Bull Wheel and got a top off on the water in my camel back. I had fought my desire all day to inquire what place I might be in. This time I asked how many people they thought might have been been through Bull Wheel at this point, and they thought no more than a dozen at most. This was very cool. We headed out newly energized at the possibility of being in 12 place or there abouts. I had, in my head before the race considered a 12th place finish this year as respectible based upon how I thought I might do compared to 20th place last year. Debbie had asked for a time sheet as to estimations on when I would be at DIamond Peak and the 50 Mile start / finish. In the mornign I estimated I would be at 30 miles in 6 hours - by 11 AM. I got to Diamond peak #1 at 10:42, 20 minutes ahead of time. I also had written down I should be at the 50 between 10:30 and 11:00 hours or between 3:30 and 4PM. I was there at 3:30. The estimate for the second Diamond peak was a little more difficult but I wrote down 11:30PM. We rolled into DIamond Peak #2 at 11:16 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The last time I wrote on her time sheet was 5 AM at the finish, or 24 hours, so she would not miss me. Historically that would put me in the top 10, but with this tougher course it wasn't clear how many sub 24 finishing times there would be this year. I fully expected to be finishing at least an hour slower than that. After Bull Whell #3 things continued looking good. We were moving very well down the trail although I was starting to feel the the miles now. I had considerably more trouble with the downhill into Incline Village on this loop, which I now at least partially attribute to the change of shoes. I later discovered that the Nike Structure Triax are not as quick and efficient as the La Sportivas. But they were easier on the knees. In addition, I had started putting on extra water weight after sunset. I was about 3 lbs up in wieght on my second Diamond Peak visit. I decided to now cust back on my drinking to see if I could shed some of the extra lbs. We headed out once more up DIamond Ski slope which was remarkably less difficult mentally on this second loop. Perhaps because it was cooler. Perhaps because it was now a known quantity. Perhaps also because IO had company now. I remember the first climb seemed endless. This time it went by quickly and although it was difficult and we rested several times it was worth it to stop and take in the view of the night sky over lake Tahoe and the lights of Incline Village. Once we got back on the RIm Trail again we started thinking about where we were and what possible finishing times we might expect with less than 18 miles to go. I had to push thse thoughts away as "finishing time" wasn't really part of my game plan. I needed to stay focused on keeping running and moving forward and whatever the finishing time was that was good enough. But realistically prior to the race, I was thinking 25+ hours would be a likely finish if everything went well. Marty had been secretly analyzing the locations of other 50 year old runners. He had been concerned about a guy from Oregon and Davey Crocket who finished in 26 hours last year, passing me at Mt Rose aid while I was trying to recover from shills, and ultimately winning the age group. Marty surmized the Oregon guy had dropped like so many others on the first loop. And I honestly didn't think there was anyone my age ahead of me, so I had confidence in a first place age group finish this year, providing the remaining 18 miles miles went well. The second layover at Diamond Peak took a little longer than I had hoped as I was a tad queasy. I had to take some extra salt. I had also found the electolyte drink was extremely good to run on during the dsay. So I decide to rely on it after dark as well. That turned out to be a mistake as I started to put on water wieght after dark. ANd that makes running efficiently progressively more difficult.. That became my lesson to learn on this 100 mile run. It seems that every 100 mile run I learn something new useful for the next race, and this race was no exception. Even my PR 18:32 at Rio Del Lago I learned that even with 10 miles to go you can't think about the finish. You have to remain focused on what you need to do to keep yourself in the game as things can go bad in the blink of an eye or in my case blowing through an aid station skipping getting enough to eat. Its deceptively long to the last aid at Rio and I ended up running out of gas and walking a bunch after negro Bar. I probably had a 5 to 10 minutes slower PR becasue of that mistake. At Tahoe I learned I need to rely on more dense calries after dark since you tend to sweat a lot less and liquid calories tend to add to your water weight. So in my effort to cut back on fluids, I barely drank anything as we climbed again out of Diamond Peak back up to the Rim Trail. This time I skipped the Bull Wheel aid station (I had plenty of water in my camelback) and only sipped minimal amounts of plain water on the three miles back to Tunnel Creek #6. Getting weighed again at Tunnel Creek I was surprisingly still 3 lbs heavy. Marty had been concerned at the amount of salt I was taking. He was not used to running with me obviously. He thought the extra weight was from the extra salt. So I tried backing off abit. But it just resulted in aid station queasiness and extra time having to take more S-Caps and wait a bit to get my legs back under me so I could move on. Whe we got to Hobart it was the same scenario. We had to stop for 10 minutes to recover from the nausea induced my lack of salt. We had been talking about the possibility of trying to break 24 hours for the last few miles between Tunnel Creek and Hobart, and decided that if we were at Hobart by about 2:30 AM we might have a shot. We got to Hobart at 2:30 exactly, but becasue of some nausea, we had to spend 10 minutes recovering and when we left we were a little behind the schedule we thought we needed to finsh under 24. I had run all day wothout worrying about the clock. This was the first time I even cared. While at Hobart I saw Jon Olsen sitting in a chair trying to recover as well from his stomach issues. I pointed out the great smoothies they have there. For some reason he had heard of them or tried them yet. They were made from bananas strawberries and vanilla ensure and were very good at reviving a tired body sick of eating gels all day and most of the night. At some point you need real food to keep going. This was one of those points. Another lesson learned. Marty and I left Hobart as soon as I knew my nausea was nerarly gone, heading up the trail to Snowy Peak aid station, 3 miles up the trail, now with a sense of urgency in our pace. I figured I needed at least 90 minutes to finish the last 7 miles in order to break 24 hours. As we climbed we could see headlights of the next runner and pacer approaching. This made me push harder not knowing who was catching up. Dispite my efforts it took an 60 minutes to climb the 2.8 miles to Snowy Peak aid where we arrived at 3:40 AM. I was now weighing in 5 lbs heavy and now with 7 miles left my legs were getting very tight. We thanked the crew and pressed on as quickly as possible. Within a few minutes of leaving Snowy Peak, Jon Olsen caught and passed us heading off down the most technical section of trail, on to a nice sub 24 hour finish as he was running well again. Apparently his pacer had him drink a couple smoothies at my suggestion and it really helped get Jon back on his feet. I was happy to see it helped him. As Jon and his pacer passed us and offered his encouragement, I tried desperately to pick it up and try to kleep him in sight. Unfortunately my legs would not cooperate and I stumbled each time I tried picking it up. I quickly decided it was not worth getting hurt to run beyond my abilities especially on this boulder strewn section of trail. I thought I would try to pick it up again once the trail had cleared and was more runnable. Once we cleared the more technical section after snowy peak I tried picking it up but it was very difficult to get a good pace going. I held the pace I could for the 5 mile decent, and when I was about a mile from the last aid station at 4:45, I knew a sub 24 finish was not going to happen. I arrived at Spooner Summitt aid with 1.7 miles to go at 4:55 AM. I grabbed a bit of fuel grabbed half a bottle of water and just ran it in finishing at 5:14 in 9th place. Jon Olsen had finish 8th at 4:55, and Mark finished 7th at 4:39. I was VERY happy to have crossed the finish line at 5:14 - a 24:14 finish. Not too shabby and as it tirned out a 50-59 year age goup course record by over and hour and beating the next 50 year old, Davey Crocket (who had won the age group last year) by almost two hours. Turns out my pacer Marty Hoffman, had the previous age group record from two years prior at 25:40. Crossing the finish line I noticed something missing. My wife Debbie! I had pushed that whole last 7 miles so I was feeling poorly and so went to the tent where the gas heater was to get warm. Within a couple minutes she came running into the tent to see me and boy was she unhappy about the circumstances. She had made friends with another runner's spouse during the day and that person had promised that she would give Debbie a wake up call at 4AM so she wouldn't miss a 24 hour finish. Apparently she thought my wife looked too peaceful for her to wake up and so she overslept. Debbie was not so peaceful now. The whole point of crewing a 100 miler is to see your runner finish. I don't think Deb will ever forgive or forget this. She will be setting her own alarm from now on. We hung around the finish for a short while and then headed back to the hotel to catch some sleep before the awards ceremony in the afternoon. It was pretty anticlimactic since they were not able to determine any of trhe age group winners much less course records. I had to come home to find all this info once the results were posted on Realendurenace.com. That was when I also found out that my pacer Marty was the previous 50-59 year old course record holder in 2008 with a time of 25:40 on the "easier" old course. Davey Cocket won the age group last year and came witin 3 minutes of Marty's previous record time, finishing in 25:43. This year Davey finished 2nd 50 year old, in 15th place in 26:05. You may be wondering how could I not set out to break 24 hours? I only had to make up 15 minutes! Yeah I was pretty close. Honestly it was never part of the "game plan" which I thought I did very well sticking to all day and night. Personlly I didn't think it was possible since this was my first serious race after recovering from my knee issue. It was only at mile 90 when we were 2 1/2 hours from a 24 hour finish did I even consider trying to make it in by 5AM. The main problem was by then I was getting queasy and at the last couple aid stations I needed to stop and recover for some time before being able to continue. I ran as best I could down the last hill. Finishing 9th overall at 4:14 was a pretty good result. Guess if all goes well I can shoot for sub 24 next year. But I will also be in Western Sates in 2011 for the first time in 5 years, 3 weeks before Tahoe. Might be a stretch.Seriously I was not disappointed. I was just greatful to be finished and have had a very good day. I had made my goals and my 1st loop second loop differential wasn't nearly as bad as last year. 10:30 first loop. Better than last year and a tougher course. I was 10th at the 50 mile mark. I always consider it a good race when I move up im placement on the second half of a race. Jon Olsen was the only person who passed me the the last 20 miles, as he should. He's a much better runner. I'm just wondering if I hadn't told him about the smoothies I might have come in behind Mark in 8th place. Again.. Next year! Aftermath Well at the time I initiall started writing this it was 12 days after the race and my only complaint is the toenail on my right foot that bit the dust last year due to trauma, and also this year, but for noapparent reason. Weight was initially up 10 lbs on Monday mornign after the racem due to lower leg edema which has dropped steadily all week. My low weight for the time was 185 two days ago. I should be aboput 186 - 3 lbs lighter. The Garmin says I burned 12800 calories for the run. Whichis 4 lbs so maybe 185 is right. Haven't been this light since 1991 SF Marathon. Might even consider running a PR Sunday if My muscles are sufficiently recorvered. They sure feel pretty good today. My legs feel great. I went for my traditional post race run on Thursday 5 days after the race and everything felt perfect. Tired naturally, but no joint issues like in past years. Defninitely stronger than last year. Went for 9 miles and 13 miles in the hills on Saturday and Sunday. Felt very good. Ran Monday and Tuesday as well. Took yesterday off. Ran flat today for 8.75 and had real breathing difficulty. Cruising a 7:30's when I tried. 8's when I lost focus. So speed of course will increase with the decreased weight. But the problem was getting a full lung of air today. I'd seriously rather run at 9000 ft than deal with the allergies here at 400 ft in the Livermore Valley. Grasses are very bad now. They just make me feel exhausted. So I take my 12 hr Claritan D and it sort of works at least for most of the day - only about 8 hours today. Skyline 50K is in three days and I think I may try to push and see if I can go for a PR. No foot races at the finsh with anyone for any reason. Well at least nothing faster than 6:30's... ;-) 2010 Skyline 50K Sunday's race went well. I started out with Willem Van Dam and Eduardo Vasquez and initially had some very good times. Bort Meadow in 52 minutes which was right on PR pace. Then at McDOnald Gate at 1:18, and Skyline gate in 2:05. Still within a minute of my PR. But then the time started slipping. I should have been back at McDOnald Gate at 3:00 but was thery at 3:10. The Bort Meadow was 3:37 and the last Aid at 4:18. I ended up witha 4:49 finish 2nd in my age group after Jeff Teeters who finished 4 minutes ahead of me. So I squeaked out a 2nd place age group finish and a first place PAUSATF Ultra Gand Prix series finsish. The following week I rested a couple days and then checked out the system. My left knee was a little tender the folowing week feeling like I fdefinitely pushed the envelope. However there were no issues like last year. I decide to take the following weekend off and hike on our trip to DIllon Beach. Which was cold and foggy. I got some great Tule Elk pictures but ended up with a cold this week. The first one I've had since February 2009. Stevens Creek 50K is this weekend (Sunday) which unless I get completely recovered from what is now mild bronchitis, I will skip. Headlands 50K has been cancelled again so that leaves the decision for RDL 100 miler. A decision is to be made on a "redemption run" at Rio Del Lago and a posible attempt at Mike Sweeny's 50 year old age group course record of 18:09. In 2007 you might recall I was only 23 minutes off that time with an 18:32 finish. A similar scenario to this years TRT100, not realizing how good a day I was having until the very end of the race. Maybe that's the key. having no time agenda and just running at a preset effort level. At RDL in 2007 as soon as I switched over from effort to clock I started making mistakes, thinking about the finsh rather than what I needed to do at any given point to keep feeling and running well. Maybe I've learned enough now to actually attempt a particular finishing time? We will see. |
Western States weekend arrived. My plan was to crew Kirk at Robinson Flat getting a nap in the afternoon and then crewing again at Michigan Bluff before meeting Kap'n at Bath Road accompnying him to Foresthill and then the final 38 miles to Auburn to the finish. We set up our car / crewing station at Foresthill and when the time came, I jogged out to meet Kirk at Bath Road. I got there just as he emerged from Volcano Canyon. By the time we jogged the 1.5 miles back to Foresthill, my knee was already getting stiff. Hmmm. So that was a bit of a concern. Nevertheless we set out for Auburn. Pacing the remaining 38 miles to the finish didn't seem to make things get any worse and I felt pretty good at the end. So if figured this wasn't too serious of a problem... So I would continue on my schedule as planned.
I had a two week of recovery before my next race, the Skyline 50K which was my first ultra back in 1993. This was the first year my joints didn't have that "rickety" feeling the first run 5 days after the 100 miler. TRT 100 was my 7th hundred miler and the first time I felt actually felt somwhat recovered only two weeks after the race. It was more than a month after my first Western States back in 2002 before I felt I could even run a 20 miler without fear of injuring myself (which I did that year as well). Each year since that first 100, the recovery time has shortened. But the most notable effect of running 100 mile races was how little the shorter races take out of you now. So when Skyline 50K arrived two weeks after Tahoe, I did feel like I was in good enough shape to run the 50K.