Here we are with Christmas over and New Year’s Day approaching. Did Santa bring you everything you wanted this Christmas? It’s a good time to reflect further on the year and look forward to the good things ahead in 2010.
The first place to start is to look back at the goals I set forward in 2009 with my actuals immediately following:
1)Raise $18,000 for development programs with WHM in Uganda
-$3500 raised
2)Run sub-30 hours at Badwater (if accepted)
-Ran 31 hours, 33 minutes
3)Get weight down to 169 lb. from a high of 181 lb. last year
-170 lb.
4)Run sub-2:50 marathon by the end of 09’
-2:51:59 at CIM, a 8.5 minute PR
5)Run sub-18 hours 100 miler
-20:31 at Javelina Jundred (100)
6)Finish top 5 at a 100 miler
-8th at Javelina Jundred (100)
It seems like with most of my goals, I came up just a little bit short. In some ways, it was a reflection of my choice to challenge myself. But in other ways, it was a reflection of a need to dig a little deeper. For goals 2 through 6, I was ahead of the target in the second half each time but just came up a little short. At Rocky Raccoon 100, I made an error in pacing and let some physical ailments overwhelm me mentally. At Badwater, I allowed my mental and physical exhaustion to overwhelm my focus on the goals at hand during the climb up Whitney Portal. At Javelina, I didn’t take care of my electrolytes consistently enough. Coming up just a bit short let me know that you can’t just get 70% right and sit on that in this sport. You have to keep fighting and work smarter to get that 30% righted when it does get off track. There is a struggle that takes place in each competitor throughout the course of these long races that takes a consistent attention to detail to overcome. I’ve gotten much better, but it continues to remain key to unlocking my own potential in 2010.
The two complete races where I came in right on my target were the following: the 4:25 5th place at the Angel Island 50k, which I used a tune-up for Badwater, and the 7:25 5th place finish I posted at the Firetrails 50 Miler, which I also used as a tune-up for Javelina. I’ve gotten much better at the shorter races, which is evidenced by these results as well as my 2:51 at CIM. These shorter races allow for more leeway as far as taking care of electrolytes or even the fatigue that comes with running through the night.
But…..when you come that close to so many goals, that is also a sign of good things to come. I like setting goals which will challenge me and cause me to dig deeper. I like goals that I can look at and honestly not know whether I’ll meet all of them or none of them. Goals should cause you to look beyond your current situation. They should have concrete gating points you can do continuous self-assessment, but also have an air of imagination and planning of where you want to be. Some goals should have much greater than 50% chance of happening and others should have much less. 2009’s been a solid year, but I want 2010 to be a great, more aggressive year. So, here are my 2010 goals:
1) Raise $10,000 for development programs with WHM in Uganda
2) Run sub-19 hours at the Western States 100
3) Get weight down to 164 lb. or less from 170 lb.
4) Run sub-2:42 marathon by the end of 10’
5) Run sub-18 hour 100 miler
6) Finish top 3 at 2 races and top 5 at 3 other races
7) Run sub-7:05 at Firetrails 50
The first goal is always try to take care of business with regards to the well-building program in Uganda. I’ll be rolling out a new fundraising program this year, although on a different scale with a different focus. I really enjoyed the fun run last year I helped put together, so we’ll see about partnering with Injinji and some other companies again to put on some fun events. The scaled down dollar amount is more a reflection of having a little less time to put in and a focus on probably 3 key events related to that fundraising. I ran out of steam last year, but doing a trail fundraising run in Los Angeles (Running For The Wells L.A.) is high on my list of things to do this year.
The rest of goals are meant to build upon my successes and increased leg speed at the end of 2009 and also develop consistency to my racing (goal 6). If I hit the time goals and didn’t hit the placing goals, I would probably still be pleased. The two race-specific goals are at the Western States 100 and Firetrails 50.
With a big fat DNF emblazoned on me from 2007, I owe Western States a much better effort to say the least. With an 18% (approximately) chance of hitting the lottery, I came up golden and intend on capitalizing on the opportunity. I also came up golden on the Miwok 100k lottery for the race held on May 1st here in Marin County, which will serve as the perfect all-out tune up effort. I hesistated to put a goal out there in cyberspace for Miwok, partly because I want my eyes squarely on the prize no matter what kind of race I post.
While Western States is clearly the 100 mile showcase race in the ultramarathoning world, Firetrails is a local Bay Area race that I’ve developed an affinity for due to its excellent race organization, tremendous views, and all-around good people whether runners, volunteers or race organizers. The proximity of the course to me also affords me a great opportunity to “baseline my fitness” against specific course sections prior to the race. It also allows me to do it with family and friends there to support me and lend a hand to get me in and out of the aid stations with supplies all ready to go. Besides, everyone loves “their” local race.
About the only thing on this list not race related is the weight goal. I found that to be a great help to me in the 2nd half of 2009 and believe it will be a big key going into Western States all the way through my fall goal marathon as far as allowing me to push the pace even more. At this point, I might be joining a local running club but I need to clear up some potential sponsor conflicts. It would be good to add an even greater social component to this long distance running that often takes us deeper into our own minds with the levels of isolation. While I enjoy running with people like Rick Gaston and others during training, it would be even better to expand that running social circle. I am friends with others who are runners, but the team component might help further harness my competitiveness for the sake of things outside of myself.
I’m still working on the race schedule for 2010 and apart from the Miwok 100k, Western States 100 and the rescheduled Angeles Crest 100 (from those fires last year), it’s still wide open. Is there another Badwater in line or is it time for a break? Is there a Rocky Mountain 100 in there? Maybe an East Coast Race? The New York City Marathon? Maybe a 50 miler down in So. Cal? We’ll see….. :)
For now, I'm in the midst of "Christmas Camp". I'm into day 9 and at around 132 miles. Hopefully today and tomorrow will help cap that off nicely and get my going into the new year after a short break after CIM in December. Happy New Year and may your lives be enriched and may your lives enrich others. God Bless.
Gundy
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
2009 CIM Race Report and a Western States Christmas
Simply put, my goal was to break 2:50. While I envision trying to take 10 minutes off per year for the next few years (which is pretty out there), I felt like my fitness had grown so much over the last 7 months that it was worth putting myself out there. Even with some minor setbacks at each race, I had been putting together some well-run races at the Angel Island 50k (4:25, 5th place), Badwater (31:33:13, 16th place), Firetrails 50 (7:25, 5th place) and the Javelina 100 (20:31, 8th place). More importantly, I was putting myself in better position in these races to challenge for top spots going into 2010 with my established endurance base. CIM has become my go-to end of the year race over the past 3 years with the opportunity to run a terrific, faster marathon course that helps to propel me into an off-season filled with grinding, base-building runs and hours of cross-training. With 2:50 representing close to the upper limit for the wide marathoning ability range of top competitors and winners of many 100k/100 mile events, I knew it was important to try to set a good leg speed standard for 2010.
It was about 30 degrees at the start, but it surprisingly felt alright to me; it must’ve been those cold San Francisco nights recently. It remained in the 30s throughout the race, which caused me to keep my $1.99 CVS gloves on as well my arm warmers. While the cold weather was ever present, it never seemed to get so uncomfortable that it detracted from my running out there.
Even with a 3:00:32 PR, I knew I wasn’t taking too big of a risk to go for a 2:50:00. My tempo runs and speedwork was progressing well and put me almost exactly on target. While I didn’t have the breadth of runs that one usually has in a marathon-specific training cycle, I had 4 or 5 specific workouts in the last month that were spot on target. Perhaps the biggest variable was weather, which you can’t control and you just learn to live with. I didn’t fret the potential wind prior to the race, leaning on my year of intense long distance ultra races where weather varied from freezing cold and rain to scorching heat and wind. I find focusing on things outside of my control tend to distract me from my goals and make me less likely to focus on taking of the things I could control.
While not a pure 100% downhill course (as if one could ever expect that at any race), most of the uphill sections of the rollers are preceeded by downhills. Uphills and downhills tend to favor me relatively speaking due to my experience on the uneven trails. I tended to take a relatively aggressive approach to downhills while . Even with the heavy wind taking off seconds on various uphills, I found that my experience on steep trails allowed me to get lower and drive through the hills allowed me to gain on those around me during these sections. While taking an aggressive approach, it was worth it to me considering my relative strength on those 1st half miles.
While spending quite a bit of time pacing with another running friend, Larry and a couple of his friends, we moved along briskly at a 6:20-6:22 minute/mile average while chatting it up on and off. One of the spectators at mile 5 who caught me joking with another runner yelled jokingly, “No talking. You should be running.” I jokingly said to the runners around me, “Like that’s going to cost me the 1-2 seconds I miss my goal by in the end.” Beyond that, there wasn’t much that was eventful till mile 7. Yes, there were ups. Yes, there were downs. In the end, though, the only surprise was that the gap between my pace on the downhills and my pace on the uphills was 30-40 seconds per mile rather than the 20 seconds per mile that I originally intended.
The really strong headwinds came between miles 7-9 and another one after the half way mark for a few miles. I believe that I usually don't feel headwinds much since I tend to run lower to the ground with shorter strides, but this one was very noticeable. Runners formed small packs to try to blunt the impact of the wind. The problem with these packs was that even with wind slowing things on these hills by as much as 30+ seconds per mile, they eventually slowed even more. At that point 7-8 miles into the race, I said goodbye to this pack running; this was going to be my race to do it or not. They were beginning to run a much different race which didn’t play into my relative strengths as a runner. With runners occupying the right side of the road (or the “west side” next to building and trees) to try avoiding the wind, I moved towards the middle by myself to keep chugging along.
I hit the 10 mile mark in under 1:04, smiling as I passed my wife Wilma while she snapped a picture. I eventually hit the halfway mark in 1:23:33, which was 1:27 under my goal pace. I felt good, in spite of beginning to feel a mild heaviness in my legs. What worried me most at this time was that I was hitting a pleateau as far as hitting my per mile paces. A good indicator of my running prowess in the later stages of a marathon is often the point at which I start to pleateau. If I can get to mile 19 or 20 before using some of that “time in the bank”, then it’s usually a good sign that I can take it all the way. Still, I was planning on going big for that 2:50:00 and was willing to let it all the anxiety and inhibition go at that point, replacing it with a laser-like focus and a one-track mind. It was still “my race to lose”.
With the upcoming headwinds for the next few miles, the cushion under my goal pace dwindled to 1:00 at the 18 mile mark. I was beginning to lose time at a 10 second/mile clip. More importantly, I was losing time at a clip that had potential disaster written all over it. My mind was wandering, with thoughts of what a disaster could look like. 2:55? 2:58? 3:00? I kept trying to do the math in my head, trying to use whole minute paces to conjure up just how bad I could fall. The only thing I could do to keep myself on target was try focusing on the rest of the course yet to come. It was time to pick up the intensity, crank up Metallica’s “No Leaf Clover”, and get to work.
I remember a running friend of mine, Ron, reminding myself and others that the mostly pancake flat final 10k was a good place to let it loose. Passing under the inflatable wall overhang on the course, I continued to remind myself of that in my head. It felt like it couldn’t just be “my race to lose”. I still had to assert myself with the attitude that this was “my race to win”. Like the song “No Leaf Clover”, I imagined myself as a “freight train coming”. It took another ¼ mile to get started up, taking 3 tries to grab a GU packet from the volunteers lining the GU station around mile 20.5. Once I got GU down the hatch sans water, the surge was on.
As I pressed the gas pedal, the per mile pace fluctuated between the high 6:20s and the 6:40s. At the 22 mile mark, I was still even with a 6:30 pace and a 2:50:26 marathon. I continued to lose some ground against the pace goal over the last few miles, but was pleased that as I consistently pushed and was still able to hit mostly 6:45 min/mile on the Garmin while passing a few more runners. The flat, smooth run winding westbound through the residential areas of downtown Sacramento had a pleasant feel to it, with the tree releasing their leaves onto the pavement below and the spectators, U.S. National Guard officers and Police Officers ushering us towards the finish with smiles and hand claps.
To keep my intensity and pacing up, I would intermittently yell “Come On!” to myself out loud. I’m not sure if I scared any of the spectators, but it seemed most of them just kept cheering knowing that I was just trying to push until the end. I tend to keep most of the motivation internal, not wanting to expend too much energy to get myself going. In this case, I was close enough to the finish to let loose a little bit.
I dipped to 7:15-7:25 min./mile after the 25 mile mark due to spasms in my left calf which I first began to feel around mile 23. My right hamstring was also twinging and at this point I didn’t want to jeopardize the huge race I was having irrespective of the 2:50:XX. It was going to be a huge personal best marathon. To keep my mind off of things, I started considering what I was going to do at the finish line. At this point, it was a given that I would probably come in around 2:51 to 2:52 for the race, which was a huge accomplishment. Letting that fact sink in, a wide grin began to show on my face for all to see. I was at the end and I was enjoying it at this unspectacular, but steady pace. Even some rather serious war protesters on one of the final blocks, who seemed somewhat misplaced among the cheering crowd, couldn’t get me down.
Normally, I’m so intent of just getting it over with that after a quick point to the sky, I just stick my head down and drive towards the finish without looking at the crowd too much. It can sometimes lead to awkward faces on finishing photos. This time, though, I was pretty proud of the race I had run under the weather conditions (heck, under any conditions). Rounding the final 2 turns before the finishing chute, the huge grin stayed plastered on my face. I made a quick point with both index fingers upwards while looking towards the sky, always aware that it’s the One who makes it possible for me to run period.
As I barreled down the finishing chute, I soaked in the cheers and claps from behind the barricade. With only about 5-10 feet before the first mat, I stopped. In a continuous motion, I crossed my arms to mug for the photographer. Right after I started, with my weight now shifted completely back, my right hamstring suddenly seized up. That ended my attempt at hot-dogging quickly. I quickly hobbled across the mat and fell over just past it to finish just under 2:52. After the medical volunteer tried to help me up, both hamstrings seized up due to a lack of electrolytes over the final 10k. I was on the ground rolling over with a cinched look on my face and a as I tried to stop it. They ended up bringing over a wheelchair to take me to the medical tent.
Being taken to the med tent in a wheelchair wasn’t exactly the ending I envisioned. On the way over to the tent, they stopped to allow one of the volunteers to slip the finisher’s medal around my neck. I smiled over at my wife behind the barricade partly because I was really pleased with the race, but now dealing with the implications of my hot-dogging. Oh man! What a way to end my race.
After exiting the tent, I stopped to take pictures with wife as well as my friend, William Kasiyre and his family. William is a native Ugandan who is the president of World Harvest Mission, the charity I work with to build the water wells in Uganda. He and his wife Olivia graciously allowed my wife and I to stay with them at their house less than 10 miles from the starting line in Folsom. It was great to see them at the finish area outside the Capitol building and thank them in person for their contribution to my successful race effort.
When I started at Marathon #1, I ran a 3:47:XX. I had fun, but I was also young and undisciplined both as a runner and as a person. As much as I eventually wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, I never had the training or discipline to do it. I also never had the open resources we have today with the rapid expansion of information on the Internet. It wasn’t until, ironically, that I decided to give myself a mental break from marathons by delving into ultramarathons 4 years ago that I began to develop the discipline which ultimately made the difference in developing myself as a knowledgeable, disciplined and more passionate runner than I ever was before.
If I made a mistake in a marathon, I suffered for ½ hour to an hour. If I made a mistake in a 50-100 miler, I could suffer for hours on end. Even as I made errors over the first year or two of the “ultramarathon experiment”, it forced me to take responsibility. It made me a better person because it forced me to dig deeper and really ask the question of “how badly do you want it?”, which in turn made me a better long distance runner. By plugging away, the gates finally opened and this past 7 months has yielded a complete break though at all distances at a variety of courses, and hopefully a whole slew of new break throughs in 2010.
Now, I am training and attacking the dream of seeing just how low my marathon PR can get by doing the antithesis of every major training program out there: by going longer and longer. Sometimes, I train well enough to finish, but more often than not, I want to train to finish well. I still commit myself to some of the basics of marathon training such as the long run, the tempo run, and the track work. However, by mixing in the types of never-ending, undulating ultramarathon trail and road runs that most programs avoid, I hope to prove that the physical and mental endurance/perserverance required to sustain oneself for that long can translate into major success/improvement at the marathon level. The marathon is my 10k, the 50 miler is my half-marathon, and the 100 miler is my marathon. I work from the top down and from the bottom up. I don’t know how low this marathon PR can go, but I plan to take it all the way. For now, I’m content to take my guaranteed entry into New York City and get myself ready to go after a sub-seeded entry to the Bay to Breakers. I’m also content to begin the process of gorging myself for the next 3 days and savoring a job well done before moving on to the next adventure which will be getting ready for Western States 2010! Even as I move on, I salute God, my family and all of you my friends who support me in all ways no matter what time I get. You free me from the burden of failure so that I can find success on and off the course.
Here are my key splits, based on the race’s mile markers:
Mile Split
5 31:46
10 1:03:38
Half 1:23:33
18 1:56:00
20 2:09:34ish
Final 2:51:59
124th place overall out of 7500 runners (registered)
1:23:33 1st half, 1:28:26 2nd half
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Coming down from Javelina 100 and ramping up for CIM
Post-Firetrails 50, the preparation for the Javelina 100 didn’t involve too much in the way of running. Firetrails was a harder effort, which took a few days afterwards to physically recover from. Instead of running too long, I focued more on the tempo runs and speedwork that are the staple of my marathon training. It would allow me to push my body in shorter, focused efforts to get ready for CIM in December without taxing myself too much and compromising my fitness for Javelina.
What I ended up with, race-wise, is a hodge-podge of a lot of things. I enjoyed the warm weather in the desert north of Phoenix and ended up with a race that I can build upon. 20:31:45 and 8th place out of 250+ starters ain’t that bad.
Since I don’t have time to post a full report, I do want to touch on the positives and lessons from the race.
Positive 1: As always, the "crew" and pacer were awesome. Thanks to my wife Wilma, Rick and Lori for putting up with me. They got me what I needed in a timely manner and kept me smiling. Lori also had to put up with my stupid dry heaving 2-3 times over the final 20 miles. I sounded awful but hey, great ab workout!
Positive 2: My first 4 laps were right on target. I planned to come in at the 10:25 mark and ended up coming in at the 10:32 mark. I had banked a little bit of time over the first 3 laps and used it to slow myself on the 4th lap when the heat was at its most intense bearing down on people. While I think a change of clothing (going long sleeve to limit sun exposure or desert hat) and a little better electrolyte management on the 3rd lap could’ve yielded much better results, I was still able to clock a 3 hour lap (+6 min. break at main aid station). I allowed myself the space to slow down during the most intense sunlight, which resulted in a much faster 2nd half of the lap than 1st half.
Positive 3: My placings at the end of each of the first 4 laps were 20th, 16th, 12th and 9th. You can’t always use placing as a measure of strength, but consistently moving up the board in a race which always has folks blowing up later on was a good indicator that I was on the right track. I left myself more than enough room to make a run at 2nd or 3rd place based on my pacing and the eventual final times.
Positive 4: Even in a distressed physical/mental state, I still finished in 8th place. This is probably more a function of survival and grit than it is anything else. Battling most of the day with some top notch runners (and people), it’s good to outlast some of those folks (including some well-known names) even if it was a struggle. Top runners learn how to grit it out when things don’t go right.
Lesson 1: My NUUN tablets go everywhere with me. There is such a thing as not being flexible enough as far as food/drink, but considering the results of this race, a consistent flow of NUUN could’ve kept my GI from getting distressed. Instead, I allowed myself to go out there and take in the Gatorade mix they had at the aid stations. The beauty of using NUUN is the ability to accurately control electrolyte intake. While the aid station volunteers do a great service by providing electrolyte mixes, it may ultimately do a disservice by not giving you what you, the individual, properly need. The distress ultimately increased my lap times on the crucial 5th and 6th laps, where I should’ve made a good push for 3rd place instead of floating in 7th through 9th place. By itself, that should’ve gotten me back in the 18:xx:xx range. The constant flow of NUUN throughout Firetrails is definitely a big difference between the stronger finish there and the grinding finish that Javelina became.
Lesson 2: Now that Javelina is over, I think there are positives as well as key areas of improvement that I’ve already identified as I look at what kind of running goals I have for the next 12 months. I haven’t raced much as far as volume since the San Diego 100 slogfest, but each time I have raced has been a good result: Angel Island 50k: 5th place, 4:25. Badwater: 16th place, 31:33:13. Firetrails 50: 5th place: 7:25. Javelina 100: 8th place: 20:31:XX. Good, but not great. If my closing at Badwater (final 12.2 mile climb to Whitney Portal) and Javelina had been more on par with the rest of the race, the finishing places and times could’ve been much better. But, the fact is that at the time, maintaining a good time by not having a bad blow up and setting the foundation for ’10 was more important. I’ve done that and considering the brutal 2.5 month stretch with shin splints earlier in the year, I can be happy about that. I chopped 6 hours off my time in ’08 at Badwater and 5 more hours off my time in ’09. If I do it in ’10, what should I shoot for? Not sure.
Now that ’10 is fast approaching, it leads more into a discussion about what I need to do in the next 6 months to make ’10 the best year yet:
1) First Things First: Running 2:49-2:52 at CIM is clearly the first priority. 2:50 is around the upper marathon time limit for winners of 100 mile races as far as having sufficient leg speed to pair with top-level endurance in order to compete well. It will be tough, but some of my most recent tempo runs and interval times grade out on target in this regard.
2) First 100 Mile Race of ’10: The Rocky Raccoon 100. I’ve internally debated this quite a bit over the past few days. Admittedly, Rocky is not exactly a scenic course and with some course alterations put in place this past year, there are less and less of the clear views to enjoy the night sky. In addition, there is less of the “race course straight” trail which has been replaced by some much windier sections. This should lead to a relative increase in times for those pushing the envelope. BUT, I seem to respond well to resting the last half of December and getting off my butt in January to train. Plus, I owe this race a much bigger effort than I’ve had the 2 times I’ve run it. Because of the very real possibility of running sub-18 hours on this course, I would probably judge my performance on some different time metrics as well as overall placing. Still, I can’t accept setting my sights on anything slower than 18 hours. It would be a good opportunity to work on the racing aspect of ultra-running.
3) Miwok 100k: Regardless of whether I get into Western States, I will go all-out there (assuming I get into Miwok). It will be Firetrails^n as far as the intensity with which I plan on racing. I have never done Miwok but considering that the race is run on trails that I frequent all the time in training, I should be able to test myself against pre-defined small sections of the course prior to race day. Course knowledge should be valuable as far as understanding how to best use my energy. I’ve already started studying splits for the race and will test those splits to get a better idea of just how low I can drop it at this race. Right now, a rough baseline would be sub-9:45 hours, although that’s my starting point which can be adjusted accordingly.
4) 0 DNFs: This one is the most important goal of all, because even if I blow up at any race, I can not quit. I can’t let “I was going for it” be an excuse for mailing it in ever. Granted, if the injury was bad enough that a doctor/nurse seriously told me to stop, I would.
What I ended up with, race-wise, is a hodge-podge of a lot of things. I enjoyed the warm weather in the desert north of Phoenix and ended up with a race that I can build upon. 20:31:45 and 8th place out of 250+ starters ain’t that bad.
Since I don’t have time to post a full report, I do want to touch on the positives and lessons from the race.
Positive 1: As always, the "crew" and pacer were awesome. Thanks to my wife Wilma, Rick and Lori for putting up with me. They got me what I needed in a timely manner and kept me smiling. Lori also had to put up with my stupid dry heaving 2-3 times over the final 20 miles. I sounded awful but hey, great ab workout!
Positive 2: My first 4 laps were right on target. I planned to come in at the 10:25 mark and ended up coming in at the 10:32 mark. I had banked a little bit of time over the first 3 laps and used it to slow myself on the 4th lap when the heat was at its most intense bearing down on people. While I think a change of clothing (going long sleeve to limit sun exposure or desert hat) and a little better electrolyte management on the 3rd lap could’ve yielded much better results, I was still able to clock a 3 hour lap (+6 min. break at main aid station). I allowed myself the space to slow down during the most intense sunlight, which resulted in a much faster 2nd half of the lap than 1st half.
Positive 3: My placings at the end of each of the first 4 laps were 20th, 16th, 12th and 9th. You can’t always use placing as a measure of strength, but consistently moving up the board in a race which always has folks blowing up later on was a good indicator that I was on the right track. I left myself more than enough room to make a run at 2nd or 3rd place based on my pacing and the eventual final times.
Positive 4: Even in a distressed physical/mental state, I still finished in 8th place. This is probably more a function of survival and grit than it is anything else. Battling most of the day with some top notch runners (and people), it’s good to outlast some of those folks (including some well-known names) even if it was a struggle. Top runners learn how to grit it out when things don’t go right.
Lesson 1: My NUUN tablets go everywhere with me. There is such a thing as not being flexible enough as far as food/drink, but considering the results of this race, a consistent flow of NUUN could’ve kept my GI from getting distressed. Instead, I allowed myself to go out there and take in the Gatorade mix they had at the aid stations. The beauty of using NUUN is the ability to accurately control electrolyte intake. While the aid station volunteers do a great service by providing electrolyte mixes, it may ultimately do a disservice by not giving you what you, the individual, properly need. The distress ultimately increased my lap times on the crucial 5th and 6th laps, where I should’ve made a good push for 3rd place instead of floating in 7th through 9th place. By itself, that should’ve gotten me back in the 18:xx:xx range. The constant flow of NUUN throughout Firetrails is definitely a big difference between the stronger finish there and the grinding finish that Javelina became.
Lesson 2: Now that Javelina is over, I think there are positives as well as key areas of improvement that I’ve already identified as I look at what kind of running goals I have for the next 12 months. I haven’t raced much as far as volume since the San Diego 100 slogfest, but each time I have raced has been a good result: Angel Island 50k: 5th place, 4:25. Badwater: 16th place, 31:33:13. Firetrails 50: 5th place: 7:25. Javelina 100: 8th place: 20:31:XX. Good, but not great. If my closing at Badwater (final 12.2 mile climb to Whitney Portal) and Javelina had been more on par with the rest of the race, the finishing places and times could’ve been much better. But, the fact is that at the time, maintaining a good time by not having a bad blow up and setting the foundation for ’10 was more important. I’ve done that and considering the brutal 2.5 month stretch with shin splints earlier in the year, I can be happy about that. I chopped 6 hours off my time in ’08 at Badwater and 5 more hours off my time in ’09. If I do it in ’10, what should I shoot for? Not sure.
Now that ’10 is fast approaching, it leads more into a discussion about what I need to do in the next 6 months to make ’10 the best year yet:
1) First Things First: Running 2:49-2:52 at CIM is clearly the first priority. 2:50 is around the upper marathon time limit for winners of 100 mile races as far as having sufficient leg speed to pair with top-level endurance in order to compete well. It will be tough, but some of my most recent tempo runs and interval times grade out on target in this regard.
2) First 100 Mile Race of ’10: The Rocky Raccoon 100. I’ve internally debated this quite a bit over the past few days. Admittedly, Rocky is not exactly a scenic course and with some course alterations put in place this past year, there are less and less of the clear views to enjoy the night sky. In addition, there is less of the “race course straight” trail which has been replaced by some much windier sections. This should lead to a relative increase in times for those pushing the envelope. BUT, I seem to respond well to resting the last half of December and getting off my butt in January to train. Plus, I owe this race a much bigger effort than I’ve had the 2 times I’ve run it. Because of the very real possibility of running sub-18 hours on this course, I would probably judge my performance on some different time metrics as well as overall placing. Still, I can’t accept setting my sights on anything slower than 18 hours. It would be a good opportunity to work on the racing aspect of ultra-running.
3) Miwok 100k: Regardless of whether I get into Western States, I will go all-out there (assuming I get into Miwok). It will be Firetrails^n as far as the intensity with which I plan on racing. I have never done Miwok but considering that the race is run on trails that I frequent all the time in training, I should be able to test myself against pre-defined small sections of the course prior to race day. Course knowledge should be valuable as far as understanding how to best use my energy. I’ve already started studying splits for the race and will test those splits to get a better idea of just how low I can drop it at this race. Right now, a rough baseline would be sub-9:45 hours, although that’s my starting point which can be adjusted accordingly.
4) 0 DNFs: This one is the most important goal of all, because even if I blow up at any race, I can not quit. I can’t let “I was going for it” be an excuse for mailing it in ever. Granted, if the injury was bad enough that a doctor/nurse seriously told me to stop, I would.
Monday, October 12, 2009
2009 Firetrails 50 Recap
The details of the days prior to the race mostly consist of the same old, “I trained, I carbed up, and I showed up”. However, one of the more interesting things that played into my approach to this race was the cancellation of the Angeles Crest 100 in mid/late September. Without a race since Badwater in July, I saw Firetrails as an excellent benchmark race going into the Javelina 100 on Halloween and CIM in December. With the three week gap between Firetrails and Javelina, it was more than enough time to recover fully from a 100% effort.
In support of my effort, I got Uncle Andy to handle crewing until Skyline Gate (mile 37 aid station) where my wife Wilma and brother-in-law Wilfred would take over. Wilfred ran his first marathon in January and since then, has added two other marathons to his “running resume” including a PR at the San Francisco Marathon of 3:55 in August where I ran with him the final 10 miles. Uncle Andy has crewed me at numerous races and although this race doesn’t require a crew, his and Wilma’s services to pre-prepare water bottles with NUUN water as well as GU tucked into the bottle holders would prove invaluable at helping me shave precious minutes off of my final time.
The morning of the race, Uncle Andy and I arrived at Lake Chabot just before 6 am for a 6:30 am start. Having been up since 4:15 am with 5.5 hours of sleep the night before, I was surprised with how energized I felt in the morning. Usually, I’m a sleep-walking zombie clamoring for that last few minutes of sleep. I didn’t want to speak to many people before the race because that would eventually lead to conversations about what I’m shooting for and what’s my game plan. I didn’t need to rehash what I had been obsessing about for a week and I felt like most of the pre-race small talk would take my focus away. I just wanted to start running and start hitting those time splits I had printed out onto my homemade pacing band on my right wrist.
Going into Firetrails, I talked about using the previous year’s splits of another runner; that runner was Ron Guiterrez. I wanted to use as a starting point the splits of someone who was consistent in their performance. Even though I felt like he’d be a better climber than I based on sharing a short segment of one of my runs on the Headlands trails with him, I felt that my performance on the flats and downhills would even it out. Even though I wasn’t sold on using Ron as my “standard-bearer”, I felt I at least had a decent shot to hit them based on 2 key double-digit mile runs on key segments of the course to gauge my fitness against the splits. It also sounds rather weird to be using someone’s ghost from 2 year prior as my performance guage without telling them. Hehe. Oh well. I’m sure there’s a more calculated way to predict performance, but this is a start. :)
With the ultimate ultramarathoning couple Ann Trason (14-time women’s champion at Western States including 10 consecutive) and Carl Anderson (record holder on numerous ultra courses) to set us on our way, we would be in good hands with experienced volunteers to greet us ever step of the way. Just to boot, there was incredible swag and BBQ spread awaiting us at the finish to look forward to. I tucked myself into the third row of runners at the beginning of the bike path around Lake Chabot, inconspicuously blending away in the sea of headlamps. I turned the iPod on softly to keep tabs on the countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go! We were off into the coming dawn, a sea of humanity released from behind the dam.
I tried to keep myself from getting sucked in to the plethora of runners who always seem to push forward in the first couple of miles before settling in. After the first half mile, I started to quietly wade through the crowd. Up ahead, in a red and white singlet, was my good friend and training buddy Rick. Rick is known to be deliberately slow in the first ¼ of races only to surge ahead later in races. I had been in races past where I’d gone out too fast, only to be passed by Rick later in the race. While I probably have greater linear speed, Rick’s discipline and strength late in races are to be desired. I parked next to him briefly before he said the one thing I think I needed to hear. “Kill it.”
Two simple words that seemed to release me from going out too slow and emboldened me to take my 2009 surge to a new level, which started at the Angel Island 50k in late June and continued at Badwater in July. I can’t completely put my finger on it, but I’d compare it to an experienced competitor putting on the stamp of validity on your own race plan. I like to pride myself on running my own race and having my own internal fortitude, but even the recent successes came with the asterisk of not pulling all the way through at the end which relatively detracted from the overall result. I felt like I had never run a full race. Crazy, huh?
With that, I was off but still patient in my approach. I moved swiftly through the flats and downhills while employing the standard intermittent run/walk on the hills. The greater the grade, the more power walking to be done. Approaching the second aid station Bort Meadows at mile 7.9, I passed a couple more runners on a mild grade climb who came out of the chute wayyyy to hard. My band had 1:03; I came rolling through at 1:01:30. Right on target.
The next section takes a long, methodical 1.2ish mile uphill followed by a short 0.3 mile flat section before a mile-long screaming downhill. It was here that I started to settle in, passing a few more folks before beginning the day long duel with Greg Katzbauer, better known as “Red” to me for his red cutoff technical shirt since I didn’t know his name until after the race. He was moving slightly better than me on the downhills while I was faster on the ups. After hitting McDonald Gate at mile 10.5 at 1:23 still 2 minutes ahead of the band, about a mile worth of rolling ups and downs before opening up on a larger fireroad leading to Stream Trail in the valley of Redwoods behind the Oakland Hills. With Red out in front of me and Victor Ballesteros (who finished 11th at Western States, 2nd at Miwok 100k and winner of numerous 50k events) a little ways past, we continued to make good time. We passed one other runner, Ron Guiterrez, who I chatted with briefly before creating some separation focusing solely on Red and Victor in the distance. This was probably the first time I realized I was really in The Race. I figured Victor was probably running 3rd with Chikara Omine and Dave Mackey off like banchees out of sight since the start. In my head, I did the math placing Red in 4th place and myself and Ron tied for 5th place. However, the competitive aspect was still about hitting splits rather than chasing individual runners. I merely using these other runners to help pull me along as long as the pace felt sustainable.
Red and I passed each other before the final mile long climb to the Skyline Gate aid station off of Skyline Blvd. along the Oakland ridgeline. Knowing that I would get into the aid station at 15 miles below my pacing split of 2:03, I relented a bit on the final 0.25 miles of climbing to come in at 2:00:30. While Red went off to the left to the aid station table, I grabbed a fresh water bottle of NUUN water with gels loaded in the carrier and gave him my empty one as I scooted off.
We continued to trade places through Sibley Preserve (mile 18.4) and then the Tilden Park Steam Train aid station at mile 21.7. Each section was marked by a shaded downhill into a green valley before gradually climbing back up again. The cool morning mist kept things rather comfortable while waiting for the impending sunshine. I met Uncle Andy again at Tilden Park, quickly swapping water bottles with carriers and barely glancing at the aid station volunteers before announcing my number while leaving. I was 5.5 minutes ahead of the pace band at about 3:00:30 and still feeling solid in spite of a little stomach instability caused by the gel only approach. Popping a few Pringles and a quick switch to the Chocolate Outrage GU instead of Vanilla helped to settle it down quickly.
A windy 0.5 mile climb up a paved road gives way to another 0.5 mile downhill before opening up on fireroads which wind quickly downhill with a couple gradual hills to Lone Oak campground and the 26 mile aid station. At the top, I even tried to make small talk with Red with a “Getting Hot” comment while smiling as the sun started to shine overhead. The lack of response was like, “Ok, guess he’s not the talkative type”. About this time, we also encountered the marathon runners who started from Lone Oak 2.5 hours after we started the 50 miler. I gave a few of them “Good job”s and gave my running friend Joe Kelso a fist bump and a smile as I descended and he ascended a cruising rate of speed. He knew I was having a good day already, ready to keep rocking the course. At times, I even let myself go while aligning my arms like the wings of an airplane. I hit the 26 mile mark (which ended up being the turnaround on this mostly out n' back course (except for a slightly modified finish as compared to the out bound starting section) at just a shade under 3:35 and still 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
After an unusual 1 minute long pit stop due to a refueling issue, I finally got back on the trail back up to Steam Trains. One of the interesting features of the race is that with an out and back, you get to see all your pursuers come towards Lone Oak while you’re climbing the hill back to Steam Trains and guesstimate your gap on them. Ron came by about 1 and a half minutes after leaving Lone Oak, which represented approximately a 2.5 to 3 minute gap (considering I was going up at a slower pace than they were going down). I briefly lamented taking the full minute at Lone Oak, but didn’t dwell on it further while focusing on getting up the hill and hitting that next split.
About the time I got to the top of the hill along the ridge and began the windy 0.5 mile descent to Steam Trains, I started thinking about Red again. 30 miles into the race, I gave myself a minute to think about the what ifs. Before this race had even begun, I thought a 7:25 would be good for a top 10, but even I had told a couple co-workers that a top 5 was a stretch. Here I was with 20 miles to go, 5th place in hand and 4th place up ahead a little ways. This felt good; this felt really good. I was just going to keep cranking the tunes and trying to hit the splits. After meeting Uncle Andy at Steam Trains for one last exchange, I was still only 4:22:30 into the race, 4.5 minutes ahead of the pace split. The split difference was tightening, creating a dual race against the clock and Red.
At Sibley, I found out I was about 10 minutes back of Red and 3.5 minutes ahead of the pace split before narrowing the gap with Red to 8 minutes at the 37 mile Skyline Gate aid station and expanding my lead over the faceless pace split to around 6 minutes at 5:23ish on the clock. I came down the 0.15 mile road leading to the aid station on the ridge with a big grin on my face, cognizant that for once, I was doing what I set out to do. I told Wilma and Wilfred I’d be there by noon and it was now coming to pass. I switched to a full water bottle/carrier with NUUN and Chocolate GU with Wilma while grabbing a couple of GU Chomps to chow on from her hands. I shouted to my ultra running friend Steve, who was working the aid station, “What place am I in?”
“Fifth”, he replied with a smile. “You’re doing awesome”. I gave him my thanks and let out a “Let’s Go!” as Wilfred and I descended into the redwood forest below. Wilfred and I methodically moved through the valley floor, clocking sub-8:30 minute miles as we cruised along. I just needed to keep moving and keep seeing sub-9:00 min/mile paces on my GPS watch, that is when I actually got signal. The Garmin kept intermittently going out of GPS signal, but that feeling of constantly moving well kept me from feeling that I might be off-pace. The need to be reaffirmed by a GPS was no longer there. The quick hitting intervals between aid stations gave me all the feedback I needed.
I smiled broadly, chatting briefly with Wilfred as the miles ticked away. I balanced the desire to push with the desire to maintain a constant pace. I wanted that finishing time more than I wanted that chase. Ignited by that constant motivation to “Kill It” and the mix of Gospel, Hip-Hop and Hard Rock blaring through my iPod, I knew I needed to finish strong. At times, Wilfred fell behind my pace but was still able to catch up. There was no time to wait; it was "GO" time.
I ended up maintaining the 6 minute cushion on the pace splits with an average 9 min/mile pace going into the 41.5 mile McDonald Gate aid station (and 8.5 miles to go) while again chopping Red’s advantage on me to 5 minutes. I just had to keep pushing with the final monster mile long, several hundred foot climb waiting to tear me down. With 2.6 miles total until the next aid station at Bort Meadows, I just wanted to keep moving.
The climb to the top of the hill out of McDonald was long and hot. The weather in the East Bay was heating up into the 70s and the highly exposed fire trails allowed the sun to bear down. Wilfred quickly fell behind but continued to encourage me to keep pushing forward. The pace splits called for an almost 11 minute/mile average in this section, about the same as the section from Lone Oak up to Steam Trains. I knew if I could just keep my feet moving, I still could move swiftly enough over the last 1.5 miles. I mostly power walked, with small sections of running. I kept looking back, for both Wilfred as well as Ron. I had done well to keep moving up to this point, but I knew I was leaving time on the course by intermittently walking some uphill sections of the smaller roller hills. I kept encouraging some of the marathoners I passed by, blasting "Remember The Name" by Fort Minor on the iPod. This was the 5% pleasure and 50% pain.
Before I knew it I was at the top of the hill 15 minutes later. I quickened my turnover and pace as soon as the hill flattened and the terrain took on a greater and greater downhill slant. 10 minute miles, 9 minute miles, 8 minute miles, 7 minute miles. On tired legs, I use downhills as a way to overcome inertia and generate the energy needed to lengthen the stride and get moving faster. I only looked back a couple of times without seeing Wilfred. Just focus on what's ahead, forgetting what is behind is all I told myself.
Slipping through the cow gate to the parking lot aid station at Bort Meadows at the 6:32 mark of the race, I saw Wilma there waiting for me with a new bottle and GUs. The aid station folks let me know I was still a number of minutes behind Red (they never said exactly). Still, I had a 6 minute cushion on my pacing splits and the end seemed closer than ever with only 5.9 miles to go! After chopping down on a few more Pringles for a couple of seconds, I began walking backwards away from the aid station. I was ready to go but there was no Wilfred.
Just as I thought that, Wilfred was slipping through the cow gate and getting a refill on his bottle. I quickly pipped in, "Come on", waving my hands for Wilfred to come. I wanted to go! I laughed briefly before he came over 20-something seconds later. One of the aid station volunteers briefed me on the race up front so far, walking with Wilfred and I for 45ish seconds as we left the aid station. Soon, we were off and running. This section was shorter on the way to the finish than on the way out, with mostly flat and downhill terrain. The trail quickly closed to a lush, moist area covered in vegetation. Once at the final aid station with 3 miles to go, it would open up to a fire trail with 3 miles to go and then to a bike path over the last couple of miles to the finish on the lawn at the Marina.
I only needed to average sub-9:00 minute miles to achieve the 7:25 finish, and 8:00 minute miles would get me a 7:19-7:20 finish. If I could do either of these things, I would probably maintain my top 5 finish. I kept eating the GU and felt like I was moving briskly, but still the GPS was only giving me readings of 9:00-10:00 minute miles. It even went as high as 12:00 minute miles, which I thought was probably an aberration due to the vegetation cover. Minutes ticked away as one turn lead to another, only to lead to yet another turn and more trail to run. Wilfred was now gone, a ghost runner pushing me forward with the mere idea of his presence. He had gotten me through the hardest hill and although he planned on making it through to the end, I had completely out run him with only the end driving me forward.
I kept glancing at my watch as the minutes ticked away. 6:42, 6:47, 6:52, 6:57. Closer and closer, I kept hoping that the next corner would be the aid station, only to be greeted by more trail and another blind corner. 6:58, 6:59. Then, there it was. 7 hours and 30 seconds on the race clock and the aid station personnel 50 feet ahead. rounding the corner, I shouted my race number, "108!", before kicking it into gear to the last 3 mile stretch. I was now only 1.5 minutes ahead of the pacing splits.
Out of the dense foliage, I popped out onto the fire trails and soon I saw Lake Chabot once again. Just hang on, I thought. Just hang on. I wasn't thinking much about Red, who I hadn't seen in almost 20 miles. I was still chasing 2007 Ron and that 7:25 goal, while being chased by 2009 Ron. Once on the road, my stride opened with 2.5 miles to go and the miles kept clicking off as I crossed the dam and followed the path adjacent to the lake's west edge.
I must've watched every 0.2 miles on my watch go by, but with the end so near the pain had subsided to a mere annoyance. 7:10, 7:15, 7:20. With every 0.2 miles to go by, the threat of 2009 Ron catching me faded and the closer I was getting to 2007 Ron. With about 0.7 miles to go, I still needed a strong finish.
Bearing down with my eyes forward looking for the grass ending, I thrust my arms while moving faster and faster. Sub-8:00 min/miles, sub 7:30 min/miles, and then sub 7:00 min/mile pace. More and more people appeared, letting me know how close I was. Elation and soreness overcame my body, each one pushing me further. I was so close to tasting a job well done and ending the perpetual soreness that was enveloping my leg muscles.
Then, it happened. To the left came the green lawn and the large race clock came in view. "7:25:35". I thrust my arms wildly in a full sprint with my chest and head forward from my torso. Go, go, go. With hands raised, I crossed the finish line in 7:25:58. A couple steps beyond the finish, I collapsed to the grass. I had done it. Officially, 5th place overall out of 231 starters. I ended up 5 minutes out of 4th place. It was by far my most complete race effort ever from beginning to end. Not a bad day's work and hopefully it portends of more to come as I get another step closer to my goals and dreams.
"Are you OK?", people asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK", I replied.
"He does this at every ultra. He's OK", Wilma quickly chimed in. I turned over and smiled.
In support of my effort, I got Uncle Andy to handle crewing until Skyline Gate (mile 37 aid station) where my wife Wilma and brother-in-law Wilfred would take over. Wilfred ran his first marathon in January and since then, has added two other marathons to his “running resume” including a PR at the San Francisco Marathon of 3:55 in August where I ran with him the final 10 miles. Uncle Andy has crewed me at numerous races and although this race doesn’t require a crew, his and Wilma’s services to pre-prepare water bottles with NUUN water as well as GU tucked into the bottle holders would prove invaluable at helping me shave precious minutes off of my final time.
The morning of the race, Uncle Andy and I arrived at Lake Chabot just before 6 am for a 6:30 am start. Having been up since 4:15 am with 5.5 hours of sleep the night before, I was surprised with how energized I felt in the morning. Usually, I’m a sleep-walking zombie clamoring for that last few minutes of sleep. I didn’t want to speak to many people before the race because that would eventually lead to conversations about what I’m shooting for and what’s my game plan. I didn’t need to rehash what I had been obsessing about for a week and I felt like most of the pre-race small talk would take my focus away. I just wanted to start running and start hitting those time splits I had printed out onto my homemade pacing band on my right wrist.
Going into Firetrails, I talked about using the previous year’s splits of another runner; that runner was Ron Guiterrez. I wanted to use as a starting point the splits of someone who was consistent in their performance. Even though I felt like he’d be a better climber than I based on sharing a short segment of one of my runs on the Headlands trails with him, I felt that my performance on the flats and downhills would even it out. Even though I wasn’t sold on using Ron as my “standard-bearer”, I felt I at least had a decent shot to hit them based on 2 key double-digit mile runs on key segments of the course to gauge my fitness against the splits. It also sounds rather weird to be using someone’s ghost from 2 year prior as my performance guage without telling them. Hehe. Oh well. I’m sure there’s a more calculated way to predict performance, but this is a start. :)
With the ultimate ultramarathoning couple Ann Trason (14-time women’s champion at Western States including 10 consecutive) and Carl Anderson (record holder on numerous ultra courses) to set us on our way, we would be in good hands with experienced volunteers to greet us ever step of the way. Just to boot, there was incredible swag and BBQ spread awaiting us at the finish to look forward to. I tucked myself into the third row of runners at the beginning of the bike path around Lake Chabot, inconspicuously blending away in the sea of headlamps. I turned the iPod on softly to keep tabs on the countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go! We were off into the coming dawn, a sea of humanity released from behind the dam.
I tried to keep myself from getting sucked in to the plethora of runners who always seem to push forward in the first couple of miles before settling in. After the first half mile, I started to quietly wade through the crowd. Up ahead, in a red and white singlet, was my good friend and training buddy Rick. Rick is known to be deliberately slow in the first ¼ of races only to surge ahead later in races. I had been in races past where I’d gone out too fast, only to be passed by Rick later in the race. While I probably have greater linear speed, Rick’s discipline and strength late in races are to be desired. I parked next to him briefly before he said the one thing I think I needed to hear. “Kill it.”
Two simple words that seemed to release me from going out too slow and emboldened me to take my 2009 surge to a new level, which started at the Angel Island 50k in late June and continued at Badwater in July. I can’t completely put my finger on it, but I’d compare it to an experienced competitor putting on the stamp of validity on your own race plan. I like to pride myself on running my own race and having my own internal fortitude, but even the recent successes came with the asterisk of not pulling all the way through at the end which relatively detracted from the overall result. I felt like I had never run a full race. Crazy, huh?
With that, I was off but still patient in my approach. I moved swiftly through the flats and downhills while employing the standard intermittent run/walk on the hills. The greater the grade, the more power walking to be done. Approaching the second aid station Bort Meadows at mile 7.9, I passed a couple more runners on a mild grade climb who came out of the chute wayyyy to hard. My band had 1:03; I came rolling through at 1:01:30. Right on target.
The next section takes a long, methodical 1.2ish mile uphill followed by a short 0.3 mile flat section before a mile-long screaming downhill. It was here that I started to settle in, passing a few more folks before beginning the day long duel with Greg Katzbauer, better known as “Red” to me for his red cutoff technical shirt since I didn’t know his name until after the race. He was moving slightly better than me on the downhills while I was faster on the ups. After hitting McDonald Gate at mile 10.5 at 1:23 still 2 minutes ahead of the band, about a mile worth of rolling ups and downs before opening up on a larger fireroad leading to Stream Trail in the valley of Redwoods behind the Oakland Hills. With Red out in front of me and Victor Ballesteros (who finished 11th at Western States, 2nd at Miwok 100k and winner of numerous 50k events) a little ways past, we continued to make good time. We passed one other runner, Ron Guiterrez, who I chatted with briefly before creating some separation focusing solely on Red and Victor in the distance. This was probably the first time I realized I was really in The Race. I figured Victor was probably running 3rd with Chikara Omine and Dave Mackey off like banchees out of sight since the start. In my head, I did the math placing Red in 4th place and myself and Ron tied for 5th place. However, the competitive aspect was still about hitting splits rather than chasing individual runners. I merely using these other runners to help pull me along as long as the pace felt sustainable.
Red and I passed each other before the final mile long climb to the Skyline Gate aid station off of Skyline Blvd. along the Oakland ridgeline. Knowing that I would get into the aid station at 15 miles below my pacing split of 2:03, I relented a bit on the final 0.25 miles of climbing to come in at 2:00:30. While Red went off to the left to the aid station table, I grabbed a fresh water bottle of NUUN water with gels loaded in the carrier and gave him my empty one as I scooted off.
We continued to trade places through Sibley Preserve (mile 18.4) and then the Tilden Park Steam Train aid station at mile 21.7. Each section was marked by a shaded downhill into a green valley before gradually climbing back up again. The cool morning mist kept things rather comfortable while waiting for the impending sunshine. I met Uncle Andy again at Tilden Park, quickly swapping water bottles with carriers and barely glancing at the aid station volunteers before announcing my number while leaving. I was 5.5 minutes ahead of the pace band at about 3:00:30 and still feeling solid in spite of a little stomach instability caused by the gel only approach. Popping a few Pringles and a quick switch to the Chocolate Outrage GU instead of Vanilla helped to settle it down quickly.
A windy 0.5 mile climb up a paved road gives way to another 0.5 mile downhill before opening up on fireroads which wind quickly downhill with a couple gradual hills to Lone Oak campground and the 26 mile aid station. At the top, I even tried to make small talk with Red with a “Getting Hot” comment while smiling as the sun started to shine overhead. The lack of response was like, “Ok, guess he’s not the talkative type”. About this time, we also encountered the marathon runners who started from Lone Oak 2.5 hours after we started the 50 miler. I gave a few of them “Good job”s and gave my running friend Joe Kelso a fist bump and a smile as I descended and he ascended a cruising rate of speed. He knew I was having a good day already, ready to keep rocking the course. At times, I even let myself go while aligning my arms like the wings of an airplane. I hit the 26 mile mark (which ended up being the turnaround on this mostly out n' back course (except for a slightly modified finish as compared to the out bound starting section) at just a shade under 3:35 and still 5 minutes ahead of schedule.After an unusual 1 minute long pit stop due to a refueling issue, I finally got back on the trail back up to Steam Trains. One of the interesting features of the race is that with an out and back, you get to see all your pursuers come towards Lone Oak while you’re climbing the hill back to Steam Trains and guesstimate your gap on them. Ron came by about 1 and a half minutes after leaving Lone Oak, which represented approximately a 2.5 to 3 minute gap (considering I was going up at a slower pace than they were going down). I briefly lamented taking the full minute at Lone Oak, but didn’t dwell on it further while focusing on getting up the hill and hitting that next split.
About the time I got to the top of the hill along the ridge and began the windy 0.5 mile descent to Steam Trains, I started thinking about Red again. 30 miles into the race, I gave myself a minute to think about the what ifs. Before this race had even begun, I thought a 7:25 would be good for a top 10, but even I had told a couple co-workers that a top 5 was a stretch. Here I was with 20 miles to go, 5th place in hand and 4th place up ahead a little ways. This felt good; this felt really good. I was just going to keep cranking the tunes and trying to hit the splits. After meeting Uncle Andy at Steam Trains for one last exchange, I was still only 4:22:30 into the race, 4.5 minutes ahead of the pace split. The split difference was tightening, creating a dual race against the clock and Red.
At Sibley, I found out I was about 10 minutes back of Red and 3.5 minutes ahead of the pace split before narrowing the gap with Red to 8 minutes at the 37 mile Skyline Gate aid station and expanding my lead over the faceless pace split to around 6 minutes at 5:23ish on the clock. I came down the 0.15 mile road leading to the aid station on the ridge with a big grin on my face, cognizant that for once, I was doing what I set out to do. I told Wilma and Wilfred I’d be there by noon and it was now coming to pass. I switched to a full water bottle/carrier with NUUN and Chocolate GU with Wilma while grabbing a couple of GU Chomps to chow on from her hands. I shouted to my ultra running friend Steve, who was working the aid station, “What place am I in?”
“Fifth”, he replied with a smile. “You’re doing awesome”. I gave him my thanks and let out a “Let’s Go!” as Wilfred and I descended into the redwood forest below. Wilfred and I methodically moved through the valley floor, clocking sub-8:30 minute miles as we cruised along. I just needed to keep moving and keep seeing sub-9:00 min/mile paces on my GPS watch, that is when I actually got signal. The Garmin kept intermittently going out of GPS signal, but that feeling of constantly moving well kept me from feeling that I might be off-pace. The need to be reaffirmed by a GPS was no longer there. The quick hitting intervals between aid stations gave me all the feedback I needed.
I smiled broadly, chatting briefly with Wilfred as the miles ticked away. I balanced the desire to push with the desire to maintain a constant pace. I wanted that finishing time more than I wanted that chase. Ignited by that constant motivation to “Kill It” and the mix of Gospel, Hip-Hop and Hard Rock blaring through my iPod, I knew I needed to finish strong. At times, Wilfred fell behind my pace but was still able to catch up. There was no time to wait; it was "GO" time.
I ended up maintaining the 6 minute cushion on the pace splits with an average 9 min/mile pace going into the 41.5 mile McDonald Gate aid station (and 8.5 miles to go) while again chopping Red’s advantage on me to 5 minutes. I just had to keep pushing with the final monster mile long, several hundred foot climb waiting to tear me down. With 2.6 miles total until the next aid station at Bort Meadows, I just wanted to keep moving.
The climb to the top of the hill out of McDonald was long and hot. The weather in the East Bay was heating up into the 70s and the highly exposed fire trails allowed the sun to bear down. Wilfred quickly fell behind but continued to encourage me to keep pushing forward. The pace splits called for an almost 11 minute/mile average in this section, about the same as the section from Lone Oak up to Steam Trains. I knew if I could just keep my feet moving, I still could move swiftly enough over the last 1.5 miles. I mostly power walked, with small sections of running. I kept looking back, for both Wilfred as well as Ron. I had done well to keep moving up to this point, but I knew I was leaving time on the course by intermittently walking some uphill sections of the smaller roller hills. I kept encouraging some of the marathoners I passed by, blasting "Remember The Name" by Fort Minor on the iPod. This was the 5% pleasure and 50% pain.
Before I knew it I was at the top of the hill 15 minutes later. I quickened my turnover and pace as soon as the hill flattened and the terrain took on a greater and greater downhill slant. 10 minute miles, 9 minute miles, 8 minute miles, 7 minute miles. On tired legs, I use downhills as a way to overcome inertia and generate the energy needed to lengthen the stride and get moving faster. I only looked back a couple of times without seeing Wilfred. Just focus on what's ahead, forgetting what is behind is all I told myself.
Slipping through the cow gate to the parking lot aid station at Bort Meadows at the 6:32 mark of the race, I saw Wilma there waiting for me with a new bottle and GUs. The aid station folks let me know I was still a number of minutes behind Red (they never said exactly). Still, I had a 6 minute cushion on my pacing splits and the end seemed closer than ever with only 5.9 miles to go! After chopping down on a few more Pringles for a couple of seconds, I began walking backwards away from the aid station. I was ready to go but there was no Wilfred.
Just as I thought that, Wilfred was slipping through the cow gate and getting a refill on his bottle. I quickly pipped in, "Come on", waving my hands for Wilfred to come. I wanted to go! I laughed briefly before he came over 20-something seconds later. One of the aid station volunteers briefed me on the race up front so far, walking with Wilfred and I for 45ish seconds as we left the aid station. Soon, we were off and running. This section was shorter on the way to the finish than on the way out, with mostly flat and downhill terrain. The trail quickly closed to a lush, moist area covered in vegetation. Once at the final aid station with 3 miles to go, it would open up to a fire trail with 3 miles to go and then to a bike path over the last couple of miles to the finish on the lawn at the Marina.
I only needed to average sub-9:00 minute miles to achieve the 7:25 finish, and 8:00 minute miles would get me a 7:19-7:20 finish. If I could do either of these things, I would probably maintain my top 5 finish. I kept eating the GU and felt like I was moving briskly, but still the GPS was only giving me readings of 9:00-10:00 minute miles. It even went as high as 12:00 minute miles, which I thought was probably an aberration due to the vegetation cover. Minutes ticked away as one turn lead to another, only to lead to yet another turn and more trail to run. Wilfred was now gone, a ghost runner pushing me forward with the mere idea of his presence. He had gotten me through the hardest hill and although he planned on making it through to the end, I had completely out run him with only the end driving me forward.
I kept glancing at my watch as the minutes ticked away. 6:42, 6:47, 6:52, 6:57. Closer and closer, I kept hoping that the next corner would be the aid station, only to be greeted by more trail and another blind corner. 6:58, 6:59. Then, there it was. 7 hours and 30 seconds on the race clock and the aid station personnel 50 feet ahead. rounding the corner, I shouted my race number, "108!", before kicking it into gear to the last 3 mile stretch. I was now only 1.5 minutes ahead of the pacing splits.
Out of the dense foliage, I popped out onto the fire trails and soon I saw Lake Chabot once again. Just hang on, I thought. Just hang on. I wasn't thinking much about Red, who I hadn't seen in almost 20 miles. I was still chasing 2007 Ron and that 7:25 goal, while being chased by 2009 Ron. Once on the road, my stride opened with 2.5 miles to go and the miles kept clicking off as I crossed the dam and followed the path adjacent to the lake's west edge.
I must've watched every 0.2 miles on my watch go by, but with the end so near the pain had subsided to a mere annoyance. 7:10, 7:15, 7:20. With every 0.2 miles to go by, the threat of 2009 Ron catching me faded and the closer I was getting to 2007 Ron. With about 0.7 miles to go, I still needed a strong finish.Bearing down with my eyes forward looking for the grass ending, I thrust my arms while moving faster and faster. Sub-8:00 min/miles, sub 7:30 min/miles, and then sub 7:00 min/mile pace. More and more people appeared, letting me know how close I was. Elation and soreness overcame my body, each one pushing me further. I was so close to tasting a job well done and ending the perpetual soreness that was enveloping my leg muscles.
Then, it happened. To the left came the green lawn and the large race clock came in view. "7:25:35". I thrust my arms wildly in a full sprint with my chest and head forward from my torso. Go, go, go. With hands raised, I crossed the finish line in 7:25:58. A couple steps beyond the finish, I collapsed to the grass. I had done it. Officially, 5th place overall out of 231 starters. I ended up 5 minutes out of 4th place. It was by far my most complete race effort ever from beginning to end. Not a bad day's work and hopefully it portends of more to come as I get another step closer to my goals and dreams."Are you OK?", people asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK", I replied.
"He does this at every ultra. He's OK", Wilma quickly chimed in. I turned over and smiled.
Friday, October 9, 2009
2009 Dick Collins' Firetrails 50
With a few weeks since our successful "Running For The Wells" run in the Headlands (click the photos link below), it’s time to return to racing. Tomorrow is the Dick Collins’ Firetrails 50. The race is an out and back course held in the East Bay up here in Northern California. It’s a favorite of veterans and rookies alike for its nice mix of extremely runnable single-track and fire roads, as well as some challenge climbs as you work your way from the valley by Lake Chabot all the way to Skyline Gate and the Tilden Park area ridgeline. The race is scheduled on the same weekend as Fleet Week in the San Francisco Bay, meaning runners can also expect loud fly-bys by the Blue Angels as well as reasonably warm early October weather (typically Indian Summer here).
In developing a plan for this race, I started with a friend and fellow ultrarunner Rick Gaston’s 2008 race as a baseline. While I spent last year’s race pacing a friend of mine through her first 50, Rick was racing it. His running style of waiting it out early before turning it on late is definitely one to be mimicked, reflecting the patience and discipline that for me was part of my own relatively successful race at Badwater this year. However, the 50 mile distance is a much quicker race which challenges me because it is much closer to the marathon as far as that feeling of always “needing” to be in motion. After that, I went lower, looking at times that seemed to be good approximation of stretch goals. I took the splits from one performance in particular out to the course itself on some key segments to see how they felt to me and to give myself an approximation of where I needed to be on the course (away from aid stations) at various times. After a couple of extremely solid runs, I came up with this: a 7:25 goal for the race.
Since many trail courses aren’t the evened out, flat-ish races expected out on the roads, it leaves many of us in the dark about what we should expect of ourselves. This is particularly true when we race a course for the first time. We have relative expectations based on elevation profiles, but the option to run on a course is not always available for a more accurate representation of our capabilities. Having run on the course over the past couple weeks, I really honed in on whether this was even possible in my shorter runs out there in comparison to previous racers. Throwing away all the placings from previous years (which are more a product of who shows up and in what condition they’re in), I wanted a goal that will stretch me and cause me to work hard. With Javelina 100 in 3 weeks, I have the perfect opportunity to race as hard as I want without compromising that race. With CIM on 12/6, I have the perfect opportunity to continue add strength and endurance to the speed I’ve been working on during my weekly tempo/speed workouts.
Races are a great opportunity to stretch ourselves, particularly because their competitive nature tends to bring about a higher level of performance that can rarely be duplicated in the sterile, solitary capsules we often train within. For me, I’m looking forward to a course PR, killer training for the 100, and a good indicator that the speed and mental stamina is there to take it all the way at CIM to big PR. For all the other runners out there, I wish you the best in going after your own goals on that course. At minimum, we’ll all have some great weather to do it in.
Gundy
Photos: "Running For The Wells"
In developing a plan for this race, I started with a friend and fellow ultrarunner Rick Gaston’s 2008 race as a baseline. While I spent last year’s race pacing a friend of mine through her first 50, Rick was racing it. His running style of waiting it out early before turning it on late is definitely one to be mimicked, reflecting the patience and discipline that for me was part of my own relatively successful race at Badwater this year. However, the 50 mile distance is a much quicker race which challenges me because it is much closer to the marathon as far as that feeling of always “needing” to be in motion. After that, I went lower, looking at times that seemed to be good approximation of stretch goals. I took the splits from one performance in particular out to the course itself on some key segments to see how they felt to me and to give myself an approximation of where I needed to be on the course (away from aid stations) at various times. After a couple of extremely solid runs, I came up with this: a 7:25 goal for the race.
Since many trail courses aren’t the evened out, flat-ish races expected out on the roads, it leaves many of us in the dark about what we should expect of ourselves. This is particularly true when we race a course for the first time. We have relative expectations based on elevation profiles, but the option to run on a course is not always available for a more accurate representation of our capabilities. Having run on the course over the past couple weeks, I really honed in on whether this was even possible in my shorter runs out there in comparison to previous racers. Throwing away all the placings from previous years (which are more a product of who shows up and in what condition they’re in), I wanted a goal that will stretch me and cause me to work hard. With Javelina 100 in 3 weeks, I have the perfect opportunity to race as hard as I want without compromising that race. With CIM on 12/6, I have the perfect opportunity to continue add strength and endurance to the speed I’ve been working on during my weekly tempo/speed workouts.
Races are a great opportunity to stretch ourselves, particularly because their competitive nature tends to bring about a higher level of performance that can rarely be duplicated in the sterile, solitary capsules we often train within. For me, I’m looking forward to a course PR, killer training for the 100, and a good indicator that the speed and mental stamina is there to take it all the way at CIM to big PR. For all the other runners out there, I wish you the best in going after your own goals on that course. At minimum, we’ll all have some great weather to do it in.
Gundy
Photos: "Running For The Wells"
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Race Recap: Running For The Wells 11k- Marin Headlands
Hey,
It’s been a crazy month of September so far with the Angeles Crest 100 cancelled by the wildfires in the Angeles Crest forest. I’ve never had a race cancelled due to natural causes, even if this fire was caused by arson (which is abhorrent in light of the consequences and deaths resulting). The one nice thing was that it gave me some time over the past 2 weeks to really hone in on putting the finishing touches on the 1st annual Running For The Wells 11k- Marin Headlands which was a major undertaking(http://www.seegundyrun.com/Running_For_The_Wells.html). We ran the event as a fun run starting at the Rodeo Beach Picnic Area near the lagoon. Runners ran about 0.7 miles to the Miwok Trail before going another 0.6 miles to connect with Bobcat Trail. Then there was on a gradual 2 mile uphill leading to Alta Trail. At the peak of Alta Trail near the intersection with Morning Sun Trail. On a clear day, Alta trail offers picturesque views of Mt. Tamalpais, Corte Madera, Tiburon, Belvedere and Angel Island on towards the East Bay. Runners then began a gradual descent on Rodeo Valley Trail, which normally offers views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco. The trail levels off at the bottom before reconnecting with Miwok and the run finishes right where it started.
Well, to say the event was a success was an understatement. Considering the dry lightining and thunder from the night before and the grey clouds in the sky on the morning of the event, we still had about 30 runners at the event and over 10 volunteers who helped setup, cook breakfast for the runners and cleanup afterwards. I had quite a few family members there helping out with my wife Wilma, my parents and Uncle Andy helping out with the preparation and at the start/finish, and Uncle “Mambo” Jose heading up the aid station. In addition, I had Steve, a director from work at Abbott Vascular, and his daughter joining Uncle Jose at the aid station. Sky and Pete, friends via the Runner’s World Forum helped man the grills and Alice, a friend of Wilma’s helped with the food preparation. Rick, an ultrarunning friend and training partner, was busy marking the trail earlier that morning (starting at 6:30 am) while Mike Lim was sweeping it at the end to ensure everyone got back alright. I couldn’t have done this alone and I hope I didn’t forget any of the volunteers.
While the sky never quite cleared and the light storm intended for Monday came a couple days early to intermittently drizzle on our run, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves out there. While most of the participants aren’t regular runners and those that are don’t always venture off-road, it was great to see everyone stretch themselves beyond their normal comfort zones in a place that has been home to many of my own training runs. I really wanted people to see it in all its beauty and although the weather didn’t fully cooperate, I was pleased beyond compare with how everyone brought a great attitude along with their great generosity. No injuries, no shortage of good food (chocolate chip pancakes…mmm) and no shortage of good company.
The best part of the run? Combined with other off-line contributions, we have raised over $3,000 which means one well will get built soon and we’re on our way to building a second well. To those that know me, East Africa and Uganda in particular are places that are deep in my heart. I loved seeing the faces of these villagers last year when I was there as they expressed the gratitude for those who’ve supported World Harvest Mission’s well-building in the past. Some will say that their problems are too much for one person to overcome, but we’re proving that with a little bit of teamwork we can steps to move things from “impossibility” closer to “reality”. I really believe that the Lord endows us with the ability to stretch beyond what we can imagine and having the runners and volunteers help to do that through this event was an inspiration for me. I am encouraged even more to consider making this an annual event and I will be consulting with folks in the Los Angeles area about an event down there in early November. We’ll see….:) Either way, feel free to support the well-building effort by making a donation via the PayPal at http://www.seegundyrun.com/ or at http://www.seegundyrun.blogspot.com/.
A huge thank you also goes to Injinji who helped me provide a pair of Injinji socks to all the runners who donated and all the volunteers. They have always responded to my calls for assistance with a helping hand, so I definitely thank them for that. Maybe some day I can come up with a race performance worthy of their support of my various running endeavors.
Good times, indeed. There’s only one thing left to say on this post: Thank You for your generosity in the past, generosity in the present and generosity in the future. God bless.
Gundy
Pics to Follow Soon!
It’s been a crazy month of September so far with the Angeles Crest 100 cancelled by the wildfires in the Angeles Crest forest. I’ve never had a race cancelled due to natural causes, even if this fire was caused by arson (which is abhorrent in light of the consequences and deaths resulting). The one nice thing was that it gave me some time over the past 2 weeks to really hone in on putting the finishing touches on the 1st annual Running For The Wells 11k- Marin Headlands which was a major undertaking(http://www.seegundyrun.com/Running_For_The_Wells.html). We ran the event as a fun run starting at the Rodeo Beach Picnic Area near the lagoon. Runners ran about 0.7 miles to the Miwok Trail before going another 0.6 miles to connect with Bobcat Trail. Then there was on a gradual 2 mile uphill leading to Alta Trail. At the peak of Alta Trail near the intersection with Morning Sun Trail. On a clear day, Alta trail offers picturesque views of Mt. Tamalpais, Corte Madera, Tiburon, Belvedere and Angel Island on towards the East Bay. Runners then began a gradual descent on Rodeo Valley Trail, which normally offers views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco. The trail levels off at the bottom before reconnecting with Miwok and the run finishes right where it started.
Well, to say the event was a success was an understatement. Considering the dry lightining and thunder from the night before and the grey clouds in the sky on the morning of the event, we still had about 30 runners at the event and over 10 volunteers who helped setup, cook breakfast for the runners and cleanup afterwards. I had quite a few family members there helping out with my wife Wilma, my parents and Uncle Andy helping out with the preparation and at the start/finish, and Uncle “Mambo” Jose heading up the aid station. In addition, I had Steve, a director from work at Abbott Vascular, and his daughter joining Uncle Jose at the aid station. Sky and Pete, friends via the Runner’s World Forum helped man the grills and Alice, a friend of Wilma’s helped with the food preparation. Rick, an ultrarunning friend and training partner, was busy marking the trail earlier that morning (starting at 6:30 am) while Mike Lim was sweeping it at the end to ensure everyone got back alright. I couldn’t have done this alone and I hope I didn’t forget any of the volunteers.
While the sky never quite cleared and the light storm intended for Monday came a couple days early to intermittently drizzle on our run, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves out there. While most of the participants aren’t regular runners and those that are don’t always venture off-road, it was great to see everyone stretch themselves beyond their normal comfort zones in a place that has been home to many of my own training runs. I really wanted people to see it in all its beauty and although the weather didn’t fully cooperate, I was pleased beyond compare with how everyone brought a great attitude along with their great generosity. No injuries, no shortage of good food (chocolate chip pancakes…mmm) and no shortage of good company.
The best part of the run? Combined with other off-line contributions, we have raised over $3,000 which means one well will get built soon and we’re on our way to building a second well. To those that know me, East Africa and Uganda in particular are places that are deep in my heart. I loved seeing the faces of these villagers last year when I was there as they expressed the gratitude for those who’ve supported World Harvest Mission’s well-building in the past. Some will say that their problems are too much for one person to overcome, but we’re proving that with a little bit of teamwork we can steps to move things from “impossibility” closer to “reality”. I really believe that the Lord endows us with the ability to stretch beyond what we can imagine and having the runners and volunteers help to do that through this event was an inspiration for me. I am encouraged even more to consider making this an annual event and I will be consulting with folks in the Los Angeles area about an event down there in early November. We’ll see….:) Either way, feel free to support the well-building effort by making a donation via the PayPal at http://www.seegundyrun.com/ or at http://www.seegundyrun.blogspot.com/.
A huge thank you also goes to Injinji who helped me provide a pair of Injinji socks to all the runners who donated and all the volunteers. They have always responded to my calls for assistance with a helping hand, so I definitely thank them for that. Maybe some day I can come up with a race performance worthy of their support of my various running endeavors.
Good times, indeed. There’s only one thing left to say on this post: Thank You for your generosity in the past, generosity in the present and generosity in the future. God bless.
Gundy
Pics to Follow Soon!
Friday, August 21, 2009
2009 Badwater Ultramarathon Picture and Video Montage
YouTube - Uploaded Videos:
"This is a photo and video montage of Jonathan Gunderson and his crew's run at the 2009 Badwater Ultramarathon. The crew included Andrew Safont, Peter Day, Kevin Chuck, Nick Garcia, Mike Lim and Wilfred Yun. Thank you to God, the crew, family and friends for being there with me through thick and thin. I also thank Injinji, Brooks, NUUN and GU for all their support, including their products which helped make this race a success. For more information about Jonathan's fundraising for wells in Uganda and to donate, visit Jonathan's website at www.seegundyrun.com. The race website is www.badwater.com, with the 2009 edition webcast archive available."
"This is a photo and video montage of Jonathan Gunderson and his crew's run at the 2009 Badwater Ultramarathon. The crew included Andrew Safont, Peter Day, Kevin Chuck, Nick Garcia, Mike Lim and Wilfred Yun. Thank you to God, the crew, family and friends for being there with me through thick and thin. I also thank Injinji, Brooks, NUUN and GU for all their support, including their products which helped make this race a success. For more information about Jonathan's fundraising for wells in Uganda and to donate, visit Jonathan's website at www.seegundyrun.com. The race website is www.badwater.com, with the 2009 edition webcast archive available."
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