2011 Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Back

I told myself I'd only sign up for this if I was feeling good after Squaw Peak.  Since two weeks isn't necessarily ample time to recover, I didn't want to waste my money by signing up in advance.  Turns out my legs were ready to run again two days after Squaw, but my feet were not.  I had a couple blisters that I wanted to make sure were healed over before I started running again.  So I took 6 days off.  After a few runs I could tell that my legs were still quite tired, but felt like I could run a few easy relay legs.  So I began my search.

One week before the race I found an ultra team that needed a runner.  It was a co-ed team consisting of several out of state runners.  I was excited for the opportunity so I emailed them and told them I'd take the spot.  I was also excited when I found out I had a choice in which leg I was going to run.  I chose to be Runner 5 for two reasons: the 17 mile 2nd leg, but more so for the 3,000 foot climb on the 3rd leg.

Friday morning came and I met up with the group.  The team consisted of: the captain, George, who completed an Ironman last year and regularly competes in half Ironman events; Dennis, who also does triathlon events; Hana, also into triathlons, is a regular age group placer; Ken, an avid runner, ran 4 different Ragnar events last year and was previously CEO of Ragnar; And finally Marianne, who ran a sub-4 hour marathon last year.  Our team seemed to be pretty solid.

My first leg was scheduled to be just over 7 miles on relatively flat terrain.  On an ultra team, you run two normal legs back-to-back.  So Runner 1 would run legs 1 & 2, then Runner 2 would run 3 & 4, etc.  Well, the runner before me, Marianne, was struggling on her first leg and asked me to run the second half of that leg for her.  She obviously hadn't trained much since her marathon last year, but I know she was also working on no sleep the night before due to a graveyard shift at work.  This turned into the theme for the day, where she'd run the first part of her leg and someone else would run the second. 

So my 7 turned into 10.5.  I tried to keep it at a moderate pace and not get too caught up in catching people.  Things basically went according to plan and I finished it in 1:16:32, or a 7:17/mile pace.  A little bit faster than I'd wanted to go, but it felt good so I went with it.

My second leg started at 3:07 in the morning.  I knew it would be a slog, especially since I hadn't slept yet and since it was in the dark.  The conditions were nearly perfect though and most of the run was on a graded trail, so it was just what I needed.  The first portion of the leg, 9.3 miles, went well.  I felt good and was alert.  At the transition to the second portion, I had George grab me a pancake since they were serving them at this station.  It tasted amazing and I just kept taking little bites for about 25 minutes while I was running.  But I started having doubts about running.  What was I thinking?  Can you really do this?  Then my brain kept telling me it was ok to walk and to just stop for a minute.  It was a constant battle for nearly an hour and my tired brain just wanted to quit.  But my body kept moving.  I didn't stop but kept the pace really easy.  I finished the leg just as it was getting light out.  Total leg was 16.9 miles, 2:28:19, or a 8:46/mile pace.  I passed the baton to George and went to the van.

I arrived at the van to find everyone asleep.  Looks like I'm driving!  I ended up driving for awhile til I was finally relieved of my duty.  I tried to sleep, but it just wouldn't come.  I didn't end up sleeping til 12:30 Saturday afternoon, and it was only for about 45 minutes.  I felt much better after I slept though.

My "final" leg was 7.2 miles up Guardsman Pass.  Over 3,100 feet of climb.  I was excited.  My legs felt fatigued, though (as you can imagine.)  Two weeks isn't enough time for me to recover in order to put forth a hard effort.  So I stayed at a steady pace.  Based on how I felt, my goal was to do the climb in 90 minutes.  I also wanted to attempt to run the whole thing.  The first portion went well, but I found that it was quicker to power hike in some places, so that's what I did.  I passed a lot of people while I was doing this!  I ran through the transition and about halfway through the second portion I had nothing left in the tank.  I wasn't bonking, but my energy was low and my legs were fatigued.  I powered through it though, and even had a few moments where I was able to run hard, trying to give myself some motivation.  I finished the leg in 1:22:54, or a 11:31/mile pace.

Man, it felt good to be "done."  However, George ended up getting "dead quads" on his 2,000 foot descent coming down Guardsman.  He ran through transition, but then we pulled up to him walking about a quarter mile out.  He was done.  So naturally, I pulled off my jacket and jumped out to finish his final leg.  I was slow though!  I gutted it out and came through the finish with my team waiting.  We ran it in together for a finishing time of 28:36:46.  I forgot to start my watch since I had to get out so suddenly on this last leg, but I would guess I was right around a 9:15/mile pace or so.  Like I said, really slow but I had nothing in the tank so I just had to gut it out.

Overall it was a fun experience!  Not sure if I'll do it again, though.  Not enough bang for the buck when it all comes down to it.  I ended up forking out about $300 to run 41.5 miles.  In contrast, I paid about $240 last year to run 100 miles at Wasatch.  You do the math.

2011 Squaw Peak 50

I'd been geared up for this race all year.  I knew I could blow last year's time from Squaw Peak out of the water, so that was the goal all along.  As race day was slowing approaching though, things began to fall apart on the training front.  Events in my personal life began taking their toll and I was having a hard time getting out the door to run.  My desire was kaput!  I wasn't eating right either and lost about 8 pounds.  Then the week before the race, I find out we're doing an alternate "snow course" instead of the standard route.  Overall I was just pretty bummed.

On Memorial Day I hit a turning point, though.  A switch in my head just turned on and I actually wanted to put forth some effort for the first time in weeks.  Did a couple short runs outside in full winter gear.  Yeah, it was over 70 out on both days, so great heat training.  I was also back on my eating schedule.  Things were starting to look up, but I wondered if it was too little, too late.

I slept a full 5 hours before waking up to get ready for the race.  Had my usual bowl of cereal, a few slices of toast, and a Z Bar on the way to the race.  I got there early to check in then ran back to my car to hang out before the start.  It was in the mid-40's at the start, so I had no desire to stand out in the cold any longer than I had to.  With 5 minutes to go I made my way to the start and after a quick countdown we were off.

I stayed up in the top 30 or so for the first few miles on the pavement, then we hit the single track and I felt really comfortable where I was at.  I continued to climb and fell in behind Davy.  Pretty soon though, we're not seeing any markings and heading in the wrong direction.  A group of about 6 of us decided to turn around and sure enough, a string of about 50 runners were coming behind us, also off course.  We eventually found the turn off, but probably lost 10-12 minutes on our detour.  The worst part was now I was bottlenecked behind slower runners on the climb up to Hope Campground.  It was slow going, passing where I could, but mostly just hanging tight.  I arrived at Hope Campground 15 minutes behind schedule and 9 minutes slower than last year.  The theme of the day: You guessed it... Chasing that 15 minutes all the way to the finish line!

The descent into Rock Canyon was a lot of fun.  The trail was more technical than I had imagined, but it worked out to my benefit.  It was also between Hope and Rock Canyon that I started making a number of passes.  After a quick stop at the aid station at the bottom of the canyon, I made my way onto the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and would follow this trail for the next 9 miles or so.  It was a relentless rollercoaster, but I tried to keep a steady pace, reeling in a few more runners.  I also saw my parents for the first time on the day.  I told them I didn't want them to crew me, but they were there for support and were taking pictures anyways.  I have a great family!  After some more annoying ups and downs, I finally came into the Spring Creek aid station.  Fellow FRB'er Kelli was there at the aid station and she hooked me up with what I needed, along with some motivation, and had me on my way.

I settled into a nice pace behind Phil Lowry and matched his pace on the climb out of the canyon.  It was super rocky, but lots of fun.  Once we hit the top, I put things into my downhill gear and picked off several more runners.  It was also here that the leaders were on their way back from the turnaround.  I figured I was in about 19th place at this point.  I knew people would be camping out at this aid station and resupplying, but I didn't need anything but water.  I refilled my water, thanked the volunteers and was out in about 20 seconds.  I probably passed several more people with this move alone, then passed 3 more on the way to the next aid station.  It was also a lot of fun seeing all the runners through here and wishing everyone luck.

I had a longer stop when I arrived back at Spring Creek since I had to resupply.  Then it was off to face the heat.  Luckily the sun was at my back, but the 9 mile stretch of the BST was right in my face!  I just tried to keep things slow and steady and was able to pick off 5 more runners on this stretch.  I was going through S-Caps like mad though.  Probably averaged 3 per hour on this stretch.  Yikes!  I even had to break a few open to get the immediate release so I wouldn't get dizzy.  But, I made it back to Rock Canyon feeling pretty good.  My friend Scott and his family came up to greet me here, along with my parents, and it was a much needed boost.  My dad told me here that the next runner was 9 minutes ahead and was the "guy in yellow."  I had him in my sights all day long up to this point, but was never able to catch him so I had no expectations whatsoever.

The climb out of Rock Canyon was great!  There were a number of people out hiking so there was plenty to distract my mind, but my body kept pushing forward.  Sure enough, I eventually caught the "guy in yellow."  Turns out it was Shane Martin who took 3rd last year.  He said he wasn't really feeling it on the climb.  I stuck with him for a bit because my stomach was giving me fits and I needed a distraction.  We talked for a bit, but being fatigued and distracted isn't a good thing as we ended up missing a turn.  Not again!  We backtracked about 200 yards and finally found the turnoff, but we were greeted by the runner that was behind us.  Oh well!  The three of us worked together to get to the top of the climb, then Shane took off downhill.  I knew there was no way I could match that pace with my stomach in an uproar, so I followed as fast as I could.

I came into the aid station as Shane was taking off.  I also caught a glimpse of another fellow FRB'er, Bryce.  He was obviously having a good day out there as I know he'd been dealing with some injuries.  I refilled 1 & 1/2 bottles and took off in pursuit.  I didn't think I could catch either of them, but didn't want to lose my placing which was 9th at the time, I believe.  Unfortunately, this section was an oven and I was already feeling dehydrated.  I downed all 30 ounces within a little over 2 miles and was left to suffer the last few miles.  I was completely disoriented.  I missed 2 more turns as well.  One I recognized after about 20 seconds, but the other took me about 3 minutes to figure out before I turned around.  The funny thing is, I remember seeing the flagging but my mind completely dismissed it and I continued forward instead of turning off!  It was an absolute circus!

The final two miles were horrible.  I was reduced to trotting, then bending over with massive stomach pains and being forced to a walk.  It went on and off like this til the finish, during which I was passed.  It was a bummer.  Finally I saw the Vivian Park sign and decided I had to run it in from there.  Finished in 10:13:28 which was good enough for 12th overall and 3rd in my age group.  I guess I got passed twice on my miscues coming down the mountain, even though I never saw the runners.  Haha!  All I can do is laugh about it.

Aside from going off course multiple times, I feel like I had a pretty good day out there.  I ran well for basically 45 miles, then was left to suffer during the last 5.  That's what ultras are all about though, and that's probably why I continually come back for more.  Thanks to everyone for the support and congrats to the finishers.  It was a tough day out there!