Desert Rats!
The first “real” race of the season and the only really runnable race planned. That meant a double whammy of having to blow out the cobwebs of not racing in months and having to focus on being able to run hard for 5+ hours. No power hiking - just running. Times were fast last year and I wasn’t feeling like I was capable of running those kind of paces. Add in Sasha’s recent dental work and that she wasn’t really eating much yet and I wasn’t very focused going into the race. I definitely had some imposture syndrome going on - as well as a decent bit of self doubt. I hadn’t run that fast in many months. It was also my first time doing a big race in years. Or at least a big race that didn’t have wave starts!
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| Running into the unknown - not sure of what the miles ahead would bring Photo: Eszter H |
I’d done plenty of recon on the course, running most of it over the course a few long runs. That didn’t mean I was confident in my ability to actually run fast. On my first run, I’d taken about an hour longer then planned to cover the section of course I was running. My second run was a little better, but the left exposure on Lions had left me sketched out a little. I really had to focus on the trail because of the exposure. I’d also had to walk quite a bit more then I’d wanted in both runs. I just couldn’t keep the running pace high and maintain the effort. All of that and more was running through my mind as I made the final preparations at the Hawkeye trail head. I was ready to run 50k hard, but was I ready to race it? I would find out over the course of the next few hours.
The start was fast. Super fast. I reminded myself to just chill out and and run my own pace. I could not keep up with some of the much younger girls. Trying to keep up for the first two miles would lead to an implosion later. So I just watched them dart away. Didn’t mean not to run hard and try to run fast, just meant I needed to be smart. I also decided that I didn’t want to look at my watch for the first few miles. I just wanted to run on feel. Stay out of my head and just run. I felt surprisingly good as we climbed up Moore Fun - nice mix of running and power hiking but not really losing contact with the women in front of me. I wasn’t as smooth as I wanted on the traverse and descent because my left eye was overly dilated from the Atropine. I had been having tiny little flares of particulate in my eye over the past few months and didn’t want to risk triggering a bigger flare. The contact in my right eye was fine, but I was also feeling out of sorts and a little fuzzy with the vision. A weird not quite right with my vision. Not enough to worry me, but just enough to slow me down a little on the descents.
I was happy to have pre-run the Moore Fun section with the decreased clarity. I was comfortable running and knew where the trail was going. Even better I was maintaining the pace with the other ladies. I could feel that the pace was faster then I’d been running, but felt okay. When we hit the Moore Fun Aid station, I skipped it outbound. Didn’t need anything at that moment, so no need to stop. We only had a short section between the two station and it was mostly the super easy running of Rustler. Nothing technical on that little loop, just some flowy descents and gradual climbs. I was still hanging on to the women in front of me, but they started dropping me as we climbed up away from the river. I didn’t have the legs as much as I wanted for the climbs. I didn’t know how fast we were running since I hadn’t looked at my watch yet, so just keep the effort up and pace steady. I was secretly hoping that I would be able to hit the Wrangler double track after the aid station before the first marathoner - did not happen. He turned onto the double track just as I was climbing back to the Moore Fun aid station. It was close though!
I grabbed a little more water and some ginger ale at the aid station, then turned around to head back down to Wrangler. The course was really well designed - despite using most of the trails in the park, there was still a clear path for the mountain bikers to hit Horsethief Bench. We took Wrangler up and over to the cutoff, leaving Marys clear. Now if someone was going to ride more then just Horsethief then there would be traffic, but… I was starting to find myself in a little of no man’s land on the climb up Wrangler and then traverse across Mary’s to Pizza point. I was still close enough to see the women ahead, but was no longer holding my ground. The elastic was stretching every so slightly and I didn’t feel like I had the turnover to bring it back. Maybe the elastic wouldn’t break but would bounce back at the end. Such was the hope in the back of my mind as I watched them running away. And if it didn’t happen, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying. About that time, as we wandered along the canyon rims of Steve’s, the leading women in the marathon started catching me. A herd of them, all in a line. I was amazed at how little they were carrying for the race - one of them was just using a tiny handheld. But then, back in the day when I was running marathons and running fast, a small waist belt with just a little fluid was all I needed as well. None of this running vest and all the snacks nonsense that defines ultras now. Haha - how things have changed with age and distance.
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| Cruising along Mary's Loop |
Here is where I digress from the musings about the race. There were four aid stations total on the course - one we hit twice - and all varying distances from the parking areas. The first aid station at Moore Fun was easily accessible by car, so had a lot of people hanging out. The second aid station was at Pizza Point, right before we dropped down into the Steve's loops. Everything there had to be hauled in - I don't know if they were allowed to use ATVs or not, but saw several wagons. Even with all the work it took to get the supplies out there, there was plenty and the volunteers were super enthusiastic. Crossroads was another slightly hard to reach location, but there was a full on party happening. The cheer and excitement there was contagious and more then a few runners left that aid station renewed and ready for the next technical section of trail. Finally, at the end of Troy Built, another oasis in the desert. This was another easily accessible aid station so there were lots of crew and family there, ready for their runners. I've said it before, will say it again - even if you do something after (or before) you race, it's very important to give back to the greater running community through volunteering.
Anyways, I left the Crossroads aid station knowing what was coming and mentally preparing for it. The longest stretch between aid stations. Some of the most technical running on the tightest singletrack in the trail system. I let the guys I'd been running with go so I could powerhike the climb and get some food down. It wasn't a long climb, but steep. Then the rolling downhill tucked along the cliff's edge for the rest of Lions. As anticipated, there were some sections that I decided to walk - descretion is the better part valor and I really didn't feel like tripping and going flying over the edge. Steady pace, smart foot placement was the goal of the section. The final section of Lions always gets me with how close it is to the edge and this was no different. I just needed to move through it a little faster since it was a race! I was keeping an eye on the woman ahead of me at this point. While it was hard to tell if she was in the marathon or the 50k, I was pretty sure she was in the 50k. And slowly, oh so slowly I was starting to bring her back. That would give me some thing to focus on for the rest of the singletrack along Troy Built. There were still the occasional women in the marathon catching me, but they were usually moving at a much faster pace. I would try to tuck in for a bit, hang on for a few minutes, then settle back into my own world. It was working to claw back some the distance between me and the possible 50ker in front of me.
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| Looking down over Steve's Loop, runners tiny on the trail below |
Troy Built wasn't as rough as I remembered and I was able to move pretty well though the entire section of trail. Still hiking some of the hills, but making the effort to run everything that I could. Pick up my feet, pay attention to what I'm doing. Up the steep climb after the Kokopelli turn off, then along the traverse to the northern terminus of the trail. One little drop into a wash, then climbing up to the double track and the aid station. The woman I'd been tracking was still in the aid station when I arrived. She bolted pretty quickly when she saw me though, but not before I got a look at her bib. 50k racer. I needed to make these last five miles count if I was going to catch her. A quick stop for some water and ginger ale and I was in and out of the aid station. That's one area where most ultra runners don't think about - the time spent in aid stations adds up quickly and those minutes can count later in the day. I always have my bottles open and ready to fill and don't dally persuing the food options. In this case, salted watermelon...
One final steep climb to top of the cliffs. The other woman was attempting to run the climb. Having hiked up it a few times in training, I knew that a steady effient power hike was going to be the best option for me. Might give up some time in the moment, but I would be able to run better once we got to the top of Mack Ridge. And that's where I would need to be able to run - across Mack Ridge and then the descent of Hawkeye. I hit the flatter sections and turned my mind off. Time to just run. Some more double track climbing before the junction with Mack Ridge. The gap was slowly, so slowly skrinking. It was a question of running out of space before I ran out of trail. When we entered the single track of Mack Ridge, I got my answer. If I ran smart, but really took some chances on Hawkeye, I would make up the time. She wasn't moving that well on the suddenly technical running. Into the down hill and there was no reason to hold back. At the bottom of the hill was the finish. Just under three miles. I dug deep on that section, flying past the other woman and not giving her a chance to latch on. I set my sights on the next person down the trail to keep the pace high, also passing him. I almost caught one of the youngsters in the marathon who'd passed me miles before!
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| Yes, I was hurting when I finished Photo: Eszter H |
In the end, I had a much stronger race then I'd anticipated, finishing in the top 10 women and taking first masters. It was also a lot of fun to race on the Kokopelli trails, making myself run faster then I normal do on those trails.
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| Love the cowbell! Something to encourage the faster runners to stay and cheer for everyone else |
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