Scared Shitless

Yesterday was the Capitol Forest 50/100 mile mountain bike race.  Earlier in the week I signed-up for the 50 mile option, not really sure what possessed me to do it but I thought it would be a fun way to spend my Saturday.

I showed-up Saturday morning more nervous than I have been for any race this year.  The amount of my unpreparedness was weighing heavy on my shoulders.  But, the RD said go and I quickly forgot about nerves and focused on the task at hand.

The first 30 miles went by without any issues (unless you count one minor crash).   Then I got to the downhill portion off of capitol peak. I have never been on this stretch of trail and as soon as I pointed my front wheel downhill I panicked.  It was a very steep, rocky, rooted chunk of trail - I was scared shitless.  I do not have the necessary skills to navigate this type of terrain without causing damage to myself and my bike.  However, at this point I did not have a choice, I put on my big girl panties and held on for the ride.

After I got through that portion I was back on familiar terrain and it was smooth riding, punctuated with some walking to the end. Today I went out and ran a portion of the course to help clear the markings.  All in all, a good weekend!

Finisher!

What was I Thinking?

Packet picked-up, bike ready, me...not so much.  I have no idea what to expect tomorrow.  Sure, I know the trails well.  But I know them on foot, biking it will be totally different.  My goals for tomorrow 1) don't crash too hard, and 2) finish.  I had to sign a wavier that says I am properly trained for this event.   Ha, trained.  Sure, I have endurance - for running.  I have done NOTHING to prepare for a bike event.  My experience is that the muscles you use for biking are different than running muscles.    None the less, it should be fun!

White River

Last Saturday was WR, a 50 mile race that starts and ends at Crystal ski resort (more or less).  It is an awesome course and since I started running ultras this is one that I really wanted to do.  Friday night Matt, Julie and myself headed to the start area, set-up camp, and went to the Snorting Elk for the pre-race meal.  The RD was giving a briefing during the meal that both Julie and I agreed did nothing to calm our pre-race jitters.  So, after shoveling in our fill of spaghetti we high tailed it out of there without listening to the full breakdown.

Pre-race meal

Back at camp we met up with Julies boyfriend Jon and the rest of the Oly trail runners.  We visited for a short while before everyone decided to hit they hay to prepare for the long day ahead of us.  I woke-up shortly before my alarm with a start, I was in the mist of a dream that I missed the race start by an hour and had to rush around to get started.  Thankfully it was just a dream.

Julie and I with Herb. 
I was hoping if I stood close enough some of his experience would rub off.

The Oly ladies

The initial miles ticked off pretty quickly, I felt good and figured I should go with it.  I generally eat every hour and I stuck with that, but I added something new this time, I took salt every hour as well.  During races I tend to get a serious case of sausage fingers, this really helped with that problem.

Early miles. Feeling good.

I cruised into the Corral Pass aid station (~17 miles), got some food and quickly got back on the trail.

photo credit: Glenn Tachiyama

This is where things went south.  All of a sudden my achilles started to hurt.  I honestly can't tell you what happened, things were going smoothly and then all of a sudden, well, it wasn't  smooth.  Every time I flexed my foot I cringed in pain, something was wrong, very, very, wrong.  I had 10ish miles until the next aid station, I told myself I would get there and reassess my situation.  Those 10 miles drug by, it became more painful to move with each step.  I was reduced to crab walking down rooty portions of the trail to avoid flexing my foot.  The worst part was that aside from my achilles issues I felt awesome. 

I was busy throwing my own personal pity party when fellow Oly runners Kris and Heidi passed me.  They stopped to ask how I was doing, I told them my issue and they suggested I drop at the next aid station.  I had already came to that conclusion on my own, but hearing it from another person(s) cemented it.  Which brings me to the conclusion of the WR 50 mile for me, I DNF'ed at around 27 miles.  It sucks, I am not happy about it, but I think it was the best choice.  I could barley walk, it didn't make sense to continue, especially since I after the race I was headed to meet friends to do a bike tour from Jasper to Banff. 

Dragging my sorry self into the aid station to drop...

WR fail.  Guess I will be back next year!

Capitol Peak 50 Mile

What is a blog if not a device to toot your own horn?  So toot I will, I completed my first 50 mile Ultra Saturday and I am insanely proud of myself!  Now that we have that out of the way...

Saturday was the Capitol Peak 55k/50 mile, a race that takes place in Capitol Forest, my home trail turf.  I signed-up a few months backing thinking it would make a great first 50 miler since it is close to home and I am familiar with the trail system.

I spent the three weeks between Yakima and Capitol Peak not doing much running due to sore knees.  Leading up to it I was feeling okay about attempting it but Matt was somewhat skeptical, he wasn't sure my lack of running was going to lead to a good end.  None the less, he was supportive of my choice to go ahead and give it a try.  I figured what was the worse that would happen, I would have to drop?

Saturday morning I woke-up at 4:30 to get there in time for the 6am start.  At the start I met up with Julie and Wayne and prepared for a long day of perpetual motion.   I had no idea what to expect, all I knew is I had a long day ahead of me full of a lot of unknowns: a) how would I handle the distance, b) how should I handle nutrition, and c) would I finish before the cut-off, just to name a few of the thoughts running through my head.

Myself, Wayne and Julie at the start.
photo credit: Julie

I didn't have too long to contemplate these things, John (RD) gave a quick rundown on what to expect and then we were off.  I can honestly say that my body seemed blissfully unaware of what I was doing for the first 10 miles.  Usually these are the hardest miles for me, but not Saturday, honestly none of the miles felt that hard.  I am amazed by how well I felt though the entire run.  I finished in 11:18 and save for some stomach issues that lasted about 4 miles (mile 40-44ish) I felt pretty good.

The course was fantastic, mostly single-track though Capitol Forest.  However, I have to say the best part was the aid stations and not for the food.  I finally crawled out of my shell and have started meeting people in Olympia, specifically the running community and they are a great group of people.  Many of these people were manning the various aid stations and it was really nice to have someone cheer for me as I came though.  Talk about a great pick-me-up!  

If finishing my first 50 miler wasn't good enough, a great day was topped off by winning new pair of shoes!

My new kicks

Suck it up buttercup - Yakima 50k

Starting area

What's an adventure without poor planning?  Last Saturday Matt and I loaded up the blue beast and hit the road, we were headed to Ellensburg, WA.  Weather was nasty going over the pass and windy once we reached our campsite.   When we went to set-up the tent there was  an unwelcome realization, we didn't bring tent stakes.  Thankfully there were a lot of rocks around and we were able to tie ourselves off so we didn't fly away. 

photo credit: Matt Hagen

Sunday morning brought with it the Yakima Skyline 50k.  James (Rainshadow Running) was very clear to all who signed-up that this would be a difficult race.  Knowing this I considered taking the early start, but, it was cold in the morning and my sleeping bag was warm.  This was a decision I would later question.

During the pre-race briefing James reiterated just how hard the course would be "This course is a Varner course, so you can assume it is hard, however, this one is REALLY hard.  There is 10,000' of elevation on technical trails.  There is a strict cut-off of 4:15 at the 25k and a number of people won't make it."  Hearing this was the first (of many) times I thought 'gee, I should've taken the early start'.

The race was fantastic and fantastically hard. Words cannot properly convey what the course was like, instead I will leave you with a graph and some pictures.

p.s.  I am down to 6 toenails...

See, I wasn't kidding.  Hard...

Distance	31.00 mile
Average speed	3.62 mph (16'34 min/mile)
Highest point	3445 ft
Lowest point	1217 ft
Ascent	9534 ft
Descent	9517 ft
Ascent time	4:43'50
Descent time	2:40'40
Flat time	1:09'00

Race Start

Run ultras, eat candy!