Summary of 2012

After a long hiatus of writing on this blog, I have decided that it may be a worthwhile venture and have decided to post a summary of the larger events of 2012.  Unlike most blogs, I am not going to go into the step by step minutia details of each race as found on most blogs.  If you would like this detail of information, go to Google, type in the name of the race you are interested in and the word “blog” and you should have enough reading forage for at least an evening.   I have left out a couple of smaller low profile local races and will just summarize the larger or notable events of the year.

Rocky Raccoon 50 mile

This race is down in Huntsville, Texas and is known to be a fast course, a WS qualifier, and large.  I had decided to do this almost on a whim, and was able to first get on the waiting list, then make it in.  The year before Ian Sharman had run an insane fast 100 miler, sub 13 hours on this course.  Weather and trail conditions were perfect the evening before, but things were about to change.   In the early morning hours of race day, a massive t-storm front moved through and dumped something like 4 inches of rain on the area.  Large portions of the course were quickly reduced to pits of mud and water.  In the sandier sections the, course held up fine.   I was able to run a sub 8 hour 50 mile and place in the top 10 so the day was a success with a WS qualifying time and a decent one at that.  I was planning on doing this race again in 2013, but it filled up and the waiting list was huge by early October, so if this race is on your to-do list, sign up early.  I was also able to socialize with several fellow runners’ from the mid-west so this was an extra bonus and made the event even more enjoyable .

Way Too Cool 50K

Another large event with a ton of blog posts, so you can find all the details you could ever with for.  In a nutshell, drove over the night before, and spent the night in Auburn.  Got up and ran the race, hung around for a while socializing and had a big picnic lunch then headed home.  The days leading up to the race, the area had seen some rain and many of the creeks were up a bit but not raging, though you were going to get your feet wet crossing.  The nice thing about this area, is that even after a rain, I have never seen the trails shoe sucking sloppy.   I ended up running in the 4:20 range which placed me a ways back in the field since this race draws more than a few talented trail runners.  The large pot-luck picnic was fun and a hit, a must-do for next year.

Escape from Prison Hill trail half marathon

A small trail half held in Carson City.  The course is in a large green space just outside of CC and several prisons can be seen from the course.   The area has few trees and almost no shade so it is known to heat up most years, this year was no exception.  This race is mostly on single track trail with a couple miles of dirt/gravel two track/roads.  For the most part you are either climbing or descending with some portions that are soft and sandy.   This race favors the strong fast runners, and there were some fast runners this year.  Large raffle at the end with a large breakfast spread with plenty of food for all. 

Western States 100 mile (pacing)

Once again, I went over and worked the Forest Hill aid station during the afternoon, then paced a runner through the night for the last 38 miles.  This year the runner was Dalus Kumpa, a local runner and a good one at that.  The pacing went off without a hitch and no major issues on the final leg of this race.  Dalus came into this race well prepared on all fronts with a solid summer of training, a reasonable race plan that he stuck to, and he was mentally prepared.  In many ways, pacing is as or even more fun than racing and very rewarding.  Currently have my name in the hat for this race and if I do not get in, I will be pacing.

Tahoe Rim Trail 50 mile

Another well run race with some great scenery.  I had originally put in for the 50K then later upgraded to the 50 mile.  Conditions were warm and dry and by the afternoon was bordering on hot.  Again, I had some stomach issues starting near mile 30, but was able to work through them better than in the past and ended up running a few minutes slower than last year.  In the end I considered it a successful race in that I was able to work on nutrition and hydration- hit a low spot and be able to pull back out and recover to some degree.  Still some work to be done in this area of the longer races but I am getting better.  Finished 10^th overall in a field of fast masters runners, no AG prize for me this time around.  Free, drinks including beer, and a huge burrito bar at the finish.  I wish I felt better at the end of these longer races to fully enjoy the spread.

Kokanee run half

A rather small race that has been around for a while near South Lake Tahoe.  This is one of those event that might have too many event with a half, 10k, and a 5k all at the same time.  This year the half course was changed due to ongoing work in the area, so it consisted of two 10k loops.  I ran in 2^nd place for the majority of the race and was able to catch the front runner with less than half a mile to go and win it outright.  The course ended up being about a mile short on my Garmin, but hey, it was a great day to be racing in some great scenery, so I am not complaining. 

California International Marathon

This years’ race will be remembered for some time for the rain and wind, check out all the whiny blog posts.  The people that came with their game faces and ready to race did fine and more than a few had PR’s.  The others did not have a much success or fun.  It was all about your outlook at the start.   What I experienced was steady rains and some strong south winds for the first half of the race.  The second half was light winds with light rain or drizzle and by the end the day was starting to look nice for running .  The weather caught the race committee a bit flat footed, but for the most part, the race did a great job and still had an army of volunteers helping out.  In my opinion, the saving grace was the rather warm temperatures  (in the 50’s) during the race.  It was cool and wet at the start, but one you got moving, I was about right with SS shirt, shorts, cap and light cotton gloves.  Many were over dressed.  Near PR time of 2:54, but felt much better after this marathon (was actually able to step up on the curb!) than in the past.  Of you are looking for a PR or BQ race, look seriously at CIM.  This is a fast course, I do not care what anyone says!

Looking Forward into 2013?

Not sure what 2013 will hold as far as racing or training.  Not so long ago, I came to the conclusion that my somewhat shotgun approach to racing and training is not allowing me to perform my best at any particular event.  I have been racing “seriously” from road marathons up to 50 mile and even considering 100 k/m events for the upcoming year.   Should I concentrate on one distance?   Or just continue what I have been doing since I have been having decent success and enjoying myself for the most part.  As of right now, I have a smattering of events in the queue, leaning hard to the trail end of things.  Most are local such as TRT and some events in the Auburn/cool area.  I may also do some fun running like a trip down to the Grand Canyon or Zion NP.  Only time will tell. 

Just Run….

California International Marathon, December 4, 2011

One again, I have waited too long to write this race report up and many of the details have escaped me.  CIM was one of the last races to qualify of the Olympic trials, so the field was deep, especially on the women’s side. It was different to be running with so many quick women in a race.  Congrats to the almost 30 women and 20 men that qualified to the Olympic trials that will be held at the Houston Marathon in January!

With all the other stuff that has been going on, I was unsure if I was even going to run this race even though I had signed up for it quite some time ago.  In the end, I decided that I would just go do it and more or less make a plan the morning of the race.  It seemed like recovery was slow to come after Portland marathon and I felt like I had struggled with the long up tempo runs in that I would get out about 15-17 miles and the legs would just go dead, almost like a bonk.  This concerned me since I felt like I was not making good progress with my training.  Thanksgiving morning I did the Turkey Trot 10k out at Scheels. A couple of days before I had picked up a pair of Saucony Kinvaro 2’s  that I intend to use for CIM , but wanted to put some miles on them to ensure that there were no major issues.  The morning was cold, clear and calm and I was able to run a solid 36:30 so my performance was looking OK.  Back to CIM; I ended up going over to Sacramento with Jeff who had recently been coming to the Saturday group runs and splitting a room with him.  We drove over, checked into the hotel and went over to the expo to pick up my packet and was able to get in and out in short order.  We did walk around a bit but I had everything that I needed so no need to purchase anything.  Jeff did pick up a few items.  We met up with the rest of the CIM group at an Italian restraunt and had dinner with the group.  It was a fixed menu with a choice of main course.  I had the pasta with pesto.  After dinner we headed back watched a bit of TV and headed to bed. We were back up at 4 am got dressed and headed down to the continental breakfast then on the bus to the starting line in Folsom, near the federal penitentiary, you know, the one Johnny Cash sings about.  It was about a 30 minute drive to the start where we got off and hit the long line of “little blue rooms” at the start.  I had read in other blogs that the line of port-o-potties was impressive, and it was in real life.  We climbed back on one of the buses to stay warm and hung out until about 15 minutes before the race.  Shortly before the starting time, I headed for the start line, placed the majority of my warm clothes in the goodie bag from the expo with my number on it and tossed it on the appropriate truck to be picked up at the finish.  I did keep on a cheap, disposable quarter zip top until moments before the race.  A few minutes before the start, I decided that I needed to hit the bushes one last time. On the way out, I bashed my knee and lower leg on a large rock.  This scraped it up good, but I walked it off and by the time I got back to the starting line, it felt fine.  I had decided to run near the three hour pace group for a portion of the race then some time near the half way point evaluate how I was feeling and evaluate and act accordingly.  I lined up near the three hour pacer and the countdown began.  Off everyone went and I made a concerted effort to hold back since I had gone out so quick, way too quick in Portland, plus the start here was down hill.  I caught up to the three hour pace group at about mile two, so they must have gone out quick.  At this point the pace felt relaxed, but I know that I was moving well.  So I decided to that the plan was to just hold this pace and see what would happen.  As before I made a conscious effort to take water at all the aid stations.  For fuel, I had packed 4 vanilla Gu’s in a pair of shorts with pockets. The cups were small at most of the aid stations, so after spilling more than I consumed, I started getting water bottles off the tables at the start of the aid stations.  These were much easier to get water in me than on me.  I was to later find out that the water bottles were for the elite runners. Oh, well, I was running slower than even the woman’s QT, so I figured that I was not taking water from anyone.  The bottles were great when I needed more than a splash to get a Gu down.

As the miles ticked away it is always interesting to see people ebb and flow around you.  New faces will appear at your side then move ahead or fall back.  Some you run with for a long time others just for a moment.  Some you see once, never to be seen again and others you play hop-scotch for the entire race.  The flow of fellow runner is dynamic in that your are running in a pack then, you find yourself alone- new faces and “old friends” something to distract the mind in the middle of the race.

Scheels Turkey Trot 10k, 2011

Like so many turkey trot races across the country, this race was held Thanksgiving morning at the Scheels store in Sparks.  This race was just a couple of weeks out from California International Marathon, so I was undecided until the last minute, but one could sign up the morning of the race.  I knew that this was one of the more popular races in the area, and packet pick up was the day before so I headed over to the store to see if I could register, but to no avail- only on-line or day of.  I had picked up a pair of flats that I intended to run CIM in, so the race was intended to be the last speed workout and a shakedown for the shoes. 

I headed over the morning of the race earlier that I normally would since I expected lines for the day of registration.  The registration table was already doing a brisk business when I arrived but it did not take too long to get a bib number, goodie bag and the “spiffy” turkey trot sweatshirts.  I hooked up with Jeff and we did a warm up.  By the time we made it back to the parking lot, substantial lines had formed for the registration and the port-o-potties.  We headed out again, made a pit stop in the bushes, and returned to the starting line to be informed that the race was going to be delayed 15 minutes to people could make it through the registration line. In the end, many did not get registered though they were allowed to run anyway.  The goal for the race was to run about 37 minutes, so quick, but not race full out.  The race started a few minutes late, though I do not think that it was the full 15 minute delay announced earlier.  At about the first mile I found myself running with Ramona Sanchez and I hung with her for a large portion of the race.  At about mile 4, Ramona started to pull away and in the end she put about 15 seconds on me.  I ended up 5^th overall for the registered runners and about 10^th or so with the “bandits” with a time of 36:46.  I hung around a while and talked with several people then headed home to finish getting dinner in the oven.  Several weeks later, I received a padded envelope in the mail.  It was a metal for 1^st in age group.  Interesting to say the least with white turkey wings, a pearl and a red ribbon bow.  I suspect that producing different and creative designs can be a bit of a challenge.  In all, there were a bit over a thousand registered runners and I suspect another couple hundred that were not able to get registered.  Other than the hiccups with registrations and the need for more port-o-potties, this is a flat, fast course that is worthy of a PR attempt.