I didn't really get back to sleep after that, but I had gone to bed at 7 pm the night before and was planning on getting up at 5 am anyway for the 8 am race start. I had got at least 7 hours sleep for two nights in a row leading up to the race. I camped at Lightning Lake campground so I was relatively comfortable. I had made oatmeal, packed it into a cannister and ate cold lumpy oatmeal, a fruit smootie and an ensure shake for breakfast at 5:30 am, plenty of time for it to digest before the race start.
For no particular reason I had decided that my goal was to run the 50 km's in under 6 hours. The morning was fairly cold for my standards, probably got no more than 15 degrees at the base of the lake all day, so I wore my long sleave windbreaker. So glad I did, as it was windy, cold, and there was actually very minor snow at the top of Frosty Mountain.
The race took us to two mountain tops, the first was Frosty Mountain and the second was not really a mountain summit I guess, but it was the Skyline Trail and it was a pretty solid climb.
One of my goals in this race was to better manage my hydration and fuel intake. I think I did a good job at that, I only felt lacking in water for a couple kilometres before the last aid station at 43 km. I also wanted to try and minimize my time at aid stations; I kept my aid statioon down to 30 seconds or so at each station other than the last when where I was there for probably 2 minutes.
It felt really cool to be in a race with so many competitors, it felt so different than the smaller crowds of some other races I've done. In the beginning I was running somewhere around 6 - 12 place and there was a group of us running single file on the single track for a few kilometres, I couldn't really see the trails ahead of me because of the bodies in front of me, but I could see where the guy in front was going, matching his stride and avoiding roots and rocks that I would only get to see just before I got to them. This sort of running lasted for the first 5 km, and I found it exhilerating running with like minded people that were of similar running ability that I had to push to keep up with, and did so!
At around 5 km the up hill started. It was a steady climb, which I started out running but then it turned into my power walk alternating with bursts of running which ended up with me getting passed by some and passing others. During this stretch we passed the two volunteers carrying the supplies up to the first aid station. (Some runners took a wrong turn here) And we got to have some downhill fun, again I was bunched up with about 5 other runners running single file pounding out single track downhills in a group is pretty darn fun.
That didn't last long and we were greeted by an insane climb to the summit of Frosty Mtn. Imagine climbing up the side of a rock scree with a trail barely discernable set amongst the rocks. Looking down the mountain was a drop all the way down to the lake, 800 metres above the lake I stood clinging to rocks that I was hiking over desperately hoping the climb would be over so the queeziness in my stomach would go away. As per norm I caught up with and or passed people on the hike up the super steep incline of the mountain ascent. I still haven't quite figured out this style of mine, compared to other runners of similar finishing times I seem to be a much better hiker of really steep terrain. Conversely, I think this would also mean that I am running the downhill slower than these same folks and am running the slight inclines slower. So, I think those are two areas I want to work on if I want to cut times off my race times; my downhill speed and my ability to maintain running when doing long steady slight climbs.
Coming down the mountain at the top was even more scary than going up. There was still loose boulders to run on, but this time I was forced to have the cliff in my vision the whole way.
Not sure if I have any other major coherant thoughts from the race.
I only had to take one "nature break" during the race, compared to the seven that I needed during the 54 km race two weeks ago. Not sure what to attribute this to, probably having a meal in my stomach properly before the race helped.
Chatting with someone after the race that was telling me a story about muscle cramping and being given an ibuprofen by another runner I learned something great.... carry ibuprofen when running for cramps! Why I didn't realise this before I dont know, because I know that is what that drug is used for.
Also, strictly adhering to a hydration plan isn`t a good idea. I should just fill up as much as possible wherever possible, because when there are aid stations that aren`t as stocked as you expected or aren`t there your plan can go to shits real quick. I only had about 3 km where I was feeling the effects of running out of water, which is better than past races, but still feel like I can improve.
All in all, a fantastic race! Super amazing trails!
Here is a youtube video from a fellow runner from the 2009 race for scenery`s sake.
And here is the map from my garmin. Technology`s strange, my garmin read 49.85 km when I finished, 49.3 on my training centre when I downloaded the data and 48.9 when I uploaded it to mapmyrun. Overall my garmin read 11,319 ft elevation gain over the course! Wowsers.
I finished in 6 hrs and 4 minutes for 50 km and felt relatively good when I was done. Scrapped the idea of doing the planned 18 k race the next day when I woke up and stretched feeling a little too tense for a second race in two days.
Keep on running.
Great job!
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