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

Running into the ground

I have done quite a bit of running this spring, I think I am finally paying for my exuberance.  Yakima was a tough race that definitely has me re-considering my fitness level.  Since that race my knees have been bothering me quite a bit.  That coupled with travel has kept me from putting in any mileage the past couple of weeks.  

My running buddy

Yesterday was a beautiful day so Jacks and I took full advantage and headed out for a trail run.  Next Saturday is my first 50 miler and I wanted to get some time on my feet before then.  Wow, did I ever have a bad day.  On the upside my knees didn't feel too bad, however, I had about zero energy.  It was like my body hadn't received the message that it was supposed to be running.  I spent two hours vacillating between running and a slow shuffle.  Hopefully I got this out of the way and next weekend goes better!

Spring is here, the trillium are out!

Sun!

Boston Harbor Bike Ride

Generally my knees dislike me, the past few days they have been protesting more than usual. So, instead of going for my run today I got the trucker out and went for a bike ride to Boston Harbor.

Mural alongside bike trail

Keg o' rum and fish

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!

Shaking in my Brooks

I am running a race this weekend in Yakima, below is an excerpt from an email received from the RD:

Speaking of reality... the reality of the difficulty of this course probably has not sunk in yet for you-- that's ok it will eventually one way or another. These races with all the elevation gain and rocky trails are super hard, possibly the hardest of these distances in the Northwest, but I sure hope you lift your head up from time to time to soak in the nearly continuous 360 degree views.

So there you have it, my weekend plans.  Matt is hoping to fish while I spend the better part of a day running, sadly that may not be a reality for him.  Washington has gotten quite a bit of rain lately and the river levels are really high.

Have a good weekend!