Lake Youngs 50k

My second race of 2010 was run at one of my favorite parks: Lake Youngs Watershed. The course at Lake Youngs is just shy of 10 miles almost entirely on soft forest trail. There are just enough hills (900 feet of elevation gain per loop) to keep the muscles working and to get the heart rate up every once and a while.
The forecast for race day was upper 40’s and sunny. The start was scheduled for 8:00am, so I knew it would be chilly. I chose to wear my yellow long sleeve Seattle Marathon shirt, Capri tights, tie-dyed green gaiters and my hydration pack. When I arrived there was a heavy drizzle falling from the sky. I knew it would clear soon so I didn’t bother to throw on a jacket. Pigtails instructed us to run the first loop counter-clockwise, then after that we could go either direction. After completing 3 loops we would be sent back out for a final 2+ miles to complete the 50k.
I started off in the back. I’ve run this course enough to know that a huge downhill waits just 1/3 of a mile into the race. Flying down that hill on cold muscles could lead to an injury that would end the day. When we hit the hill I gently jogged down, then picked up the pace before hitting the first uphill stretch. I had already planned on adding lots of walk breaks for this race as prep for my longer races later this year. I’m convinced that training for walking breaks will greatly improve my 50-100 mile races. The first loop went well. The rain kept coming but the company was good and the running was easy. I came into the aid station at mile 10, refilled my water, grabbed a few candy bars and set out to run lap 2 clockwise. Running the opposite direction was a nice change and it gave me an opportunity to see all the runners that continued around the loop in the original direction. The biggest problem with the clockwise direction is running up the big hill 1/3 of a mile from the start/finish. It’s a bugger. I finished the 2nd loop soaking wet and feeling pretty wonky. I spent a few minutes at the aid station grabbing some trail snacks, then once again charged into the woods for another lap. Less that ¼ mile into lap 3 I was hit with terrible stomach cramps. I was chilled to the bone and the rain was starting to flood the trail. I turned around and told myself “this is stupid, I’m quitting and heading home to a warm bath, 20 miles is far enough today”. I started to walk back to the finish line to turn in my number. Somehow, and I’m not quite sure how it happened, instead of turning in my number and seeking refuge in my car, I found myself back on the trail and running. Somewhere deep inside I was able to muster enough willpower to override the incredible magnetic draw of the car and get myself back out there to finish. I ran the last loop strongly even though I was trudging through a lot of water. I completed the loop and found it easy to return to the trail one last time and get those final 2 miles.
I didn’t stick around long after the race. I was really cold and just wanted to get dry and warm. This race was tough for me, but I gained so much confidence to in my ability to will myself through the tough parts…. It was a morning well spent.

First Call to Run Marathon

OK, so much for taking a little time off. My friends were gathering again, it was fairly close by and FREE!!! How could I say no? I packed my car with everything I could possibly need. The weather forecast looked ominous: heavy steady rain, high winds, low 40’s. I decided to do battle with the distance wearing thick Capri tights, thick hooded tech shirt, winter running hat and a disposable poncho. I found Jill Hudson at the start line and decided it would be nice to run at least the first half with her. Today’s course would be a double out-and-back on the mostly flat, paved Sammamish river trail. The rain was steady and we did have a nice headwind, but it was pleasantly warm. Just a few miles into the race, the rain stopped and the sun peaked out. It was shaping up to be a good day. Add to that, I felt strong and rested, surprising considering how tired I was just 2 weeks earlier.

Jill and I ran a steady 5 miles, then took a brief walk break. We picked it up again when Brian Pendleton joined us and kept cruising happily along. Somewhere around mile 7, Jill commented that she thought we missed the turn-around. Sure enough, we had run ½ mile too far. As a group we decided to run to the 50k turn around, then correct the distance on the second out and back. Because this was a Fat Ass, and none of us were in a position to win the marathon, it seemed like a workable solution. We reached what we thought should be the 50k turnaround and there was no marker for at that point either. It became clear that someone had stolen the cones that marked the turn around points for the various race distances. How annoying! At mile 8 we turned and headed back to the start line, warning people heading the other direction that the markers were missing.

After the turn around, we settled into a slow, steady pace and decided it was time to plug into our ipods. Good friends are like that…. You enjoy each others company, but you don’t feel the need to fill the silence with chatter. Rocking out in our own personal world, but running side by side was the perfect way to pass the miles. We did manage to stop for awhile and walk with some of the usual marathon suspects: Brian, Jim, Monte, Ric. 5 minutes of howdy-dos and we were ready to go again.
We reached the start/halfway/finish line with 16 miles on our GPS systems. I took the time to grab a cookie and refill my water bottle and we were off again. We needed to run 5.1 miles out but decided to error on the side of going long, so we turned at 5.25. The final 5.25 miles took a toll on Jill who was just returning to marathoning after a series of unpleasant injuries. I promised to stick with her and make sure she got to the finish line. We walked a bit more than in the first 20 miles but still had a lot of fun. We finished in 4:53.

I really enjoyed this course for a small wintertime marathon and will return for future events when the goals is to get a long run in with a few dozen of my buddies.