The 50K is very challenging with 7 major climbs and an elevation gain of at least 7,000 feet (I got 7,500 on my Fenix 2). Makiko and I drove down the day before and met with our friend Bobby at San Francisco Running Company to hear about the course from the RD's. We had a nice dinner in Mill Valley with Bobby's parents and son. We went back to the hotel to get some rest and get our gear together. This would be Bobby's first 50 KM trail race. Makiko was racing well and this would be her first 50 K race that she actually trained for. I felt recovered from the Sly 20 mile race after a rough week of recovery and 1 week of tapering. I had researched this race because I was concerned about getting lost in the first 8 miles and the significant amount of elevation gain. I divided the race into 4 sections and what follows is how my race played out:
I: Coastal-Start to the Rodeo Beach Aid Station-8.3 miles. This section had 2 climbs: the fire road out of muir beach and the steep single track climb to wolf ridge from Tennessee valley. The race started on a flat grass field and the first two miles went out pretty hard. The weather was cool but comfortable with a light drizzle and fog. I got in line on the single track and we rolled along to the foot of the first climb. In retrospect I perhaps went out too hard but once we got on the single track I thought the pace was acceptable knowing it would open up to fire road at Muir Beach. The first climb felt comfortable. Makiko and Bobby drifted past me and I lost sight of them because of a couple of false summits on the climb. I did not feel like I pushed too hard once I reached the summit and had no issues with my legs at that point. I looked forward to the rolling hills and single track on coastal/pirate cove route to Tennessee Valley. That section felt easy and I was pleased to see I caught up with many who dropped me on the climb. I started the grind up to the top of wolf ridge. Like muir beach, I took this at a moderate effort alternating running with power hiking depending on the grade and was able to transition to running the descent to Rodeo beach. This descent was a little tricky because of ground level course markings and a complex series of turns from pavement to trail and back. There was a hard right turn 1600 meters or so from the gate to Rodeo that many racers blew through, I made it through this section with no additional miles :). On the flat dirt path heading towards the Rodeo Beach aid station, Makiko appeared behind me, she and Bobby had missed that right turn with a group and ended up running an extra 1/4-1/2 mile. I did not stop at the aid station because I had plenty of fuel and I did not need much water the at that point.
Fueling consisted of preloading with UCAN 30 min before the race start. I had 4 packages of chomps and 2 packages of Perpetuem in a flip belt and one hand held.
II: Miwok-Rodeo Beach Aid Station to Hwy 1 Aid Station-6.5 miles. This section had 2 major climbs the first out of the Rodeo beach area and down to the Tennessee Valley aid station and a second on the Miwok trail up and out towards Muir woods. This section ended at a crossing of Hwy 1. I mostly ran at what I felt was a moderate pace out of rodeo beach and felt pretty good up the fire road, pretty easy grade with no kickers or steep sections. I ran most of this with Bobby who was climbing well and caught up with me on the hill. (This would be a recurring theme of the race) After getting to the top, I definitely ran the descent to the Tennessee Valley aid station way too hard for this stage of the race clocking my fastest mile split of the race. Oh well, I was feeling good and still thought I was keeping it relatively moderate in effort based on my heart rate. Once I got on the climb out of Tennessee I began to notice the wheels falling off: I found myself power hiking more and my climbing pace began to slow. Bobby dropped me easily. At that point I had already consumed one package of chomps on the previous climb and ⅔ up this section I consumed another entire package. No cramps but I felt more fatigue in the legs and transitioning back to running felt more wonky.
One of the most beautiful sections of this race was the single track descent down towards Muir Wood on the Miwok trail. I was a little anxious because I was not quite to the 15.5 mile point and my legs were already giving me trouble on the climbs. Cardiovascularly I did not feel tired and I did not feel like I was at any danger of bonking.
I intentionally slowed my speed on the descent with the hopes of regrouping and salvaging the race. When I say pace I mean effort, Since the Blood Sweat and Beers 10 mile race in July, I intentionally do not look at my distance and pace during races on my garmin and instead study the course and know the mile markers for aid stations. I set my watch to HR only, not even time. I think this works psychologically and forces me to concentrate on a stable effort on these long races.
When I hit the small aid station a the hyw 1 crossing I added a package of Perpetuem to my bottle and moved on.
III-Dipsea to Stinson Beach-9.3 miles. This section in retrospect was actually longer and harder than I remembered from previous training and experience from other races. This was also the section that I knew the best and had trained many times on. Very helpful on one hand because I knew where I was at most points in relation with the top of cardiac hill (where the aid station was) and Pantoll ranger station. However, I think I got chronically behind in nutrition because I only took a couple of cups of coke at each of the last 3 aid stations (6 cups total) and 2 packages total of perpetuem. (I noticed after the race that I only ate 2/4 packages of chomps). However, I did not feel like my energy level was dropping during the race. The dipsea climb to cardiac was a grind and a little miserable the first half and the second half I felt a little better but I was having small cramps in my hip flexors when I would try to run on a steep grade. I rolled into the cardiac aid station in good spirits and found Bobby at the aid station but after leaving and finishing the last .6 miles to Pantoll and the summit of the penultimate climb of the race I went into a dark place and slowed down considerably. Bobby pulled away once more...The run down Matt Davis to Stinson was pretty ugly, I had to run-walk the first ½ as my legs adjusted back to running. I was able to jog consistently down the second half of the trail to the Stinson aid station. There I mixed my last package of perpetuem and headed up Dipsea to Steep Ravine.
IV-Stinson back to the finish-7.4 miles. My enthusiasm improved on the first part of Dipsea and I passed a couple of people. However after running down Insult hill to the base of the Steep Ravine climb the cramping returned and I was reduced to a crawl and the people I passed, including Bobby again, caught me and dropped me. That last 2 mile climb was a grind all the way up and I could not run more than a few feet at a time. I got to the top and made a right turn at Pantoll and headed back to the Cardiac aid station for the second time. That ½ mile connector was painful and I had some cramping in my right upper leg and hamstring and had to mostly walk. At the aid station I drank some coke and saw some of the folks, including my friend Bobby, heading out of the aid station for the final 3.8 mile downhill section to the finish. I think my competitive nature took hold and I told myself that I would salvage this race by conceiving the last 3.8 miles as a progression run. I pounded some coke and found that I could run. I found myself running pretty good and I my quads had no issues pushing on the downhill section. I started reeling in Bobby and one other runner. I had one episode of cramping that stopped me dead in my tracks but for some reason the muscles relaxed after a few seconds and I was able to run hard again. I caught my friend and the others who dropped me on Steep ravine before the Heather cut off. On the final mile or so there were a lot of switchbacks, I noticed this fast guy coming down on me and then he yelled my name and it was Ian Torrance! That was fun he pushed me to run hard to the finish line. After the race I had some amazing pizza from Fire Trail Pizza (same crew from Quad-Dipsea last year). I got a massage and actually felt really good. I strongly recommend this race! The aid stations were awesome, the race was well organized and the course shows off the beautiful and varied terrain of the Marin Headlands in a challenging but fun lopsided figure 8! I initially had mixed feelings because of all the problems I had with the climbs but like Ian said "climbing is always hard" (paraphrased). I got a PR and I was pleased that I was able to have a late race surge that I kept going the for the last 3-4 miles of the race. At the finish line I was thrilled to learn that Makiko had a very strong race: she was 11th overall women and 2nd in her age group!! It should be noted that this years race was the USTAF 50K trail championship. I have to thank my coach Chris Vargo for the advice and training plan. I also have to acknowledge Makiko, Willy, Roxana, Mo and the rest of our friends in the greater sacramento trail community for their shared knowledge and inspiration.
What I learned:
- When I start feeling tired and have muscle fatigue in a race, focusing on completing the current section and slowing my pace seemed to help keep some energy for the last 4 miles.
- I think I ran miles 1-3 and miles 10-12 too hard.
- Perhaps I should have been a little more consistent with my nutrition during the second half.
- I think I need to work on hip mobility in the gym.
Overall Place 107/220
Age Group Place: 29/46