I've been itching to push it past 26.2 for a few years now.
Cut to last December, when peer influence (doesn't that sound better than peer pressure?) got the best of me. It was my time. I live in a multi-athlete household, and BS had already signed up for Ironman Canada 2012 (a story of peer influence for another time), so I knew that if I wanted to take care of my ultra-itchin', I'd better get off the pot & take care of business before his training load got too high. Late Winter/early Spring it would be!
I looked at the Chuckanut 50K early on, and read this little gem in their course description:
If you should get hopelessly lost, follow any road or trail on the mountain and you will eventually come to civilization. Call Krissy’s cell to report you are safe so we don't needlessly call search and rescue. Thanks!
Huh? You gotta be kidding me! I made a mental note not to tell my mom about that part I just read. I dismissed the 'Nut as a serious possibility, but kept going back. I'd peek at the website again, and calculate the miles to see if I really could pull it off within the 8 hour time limit. That same course description was pulling me in with tempting tidbits like this:
The road will become a trail and the trail will become a mudhole then a stream. Wet feet guaranteed! Don't bother trying to stay dry...tighten your shoes and just power through the slop.
Do I like trail running? Check.
Do I like a challenge? Affirmative.
Do I like mud? It's my middle name.
Sign me up!
I texted my brother about an hour before registration opened. It went something like this-
Me: Registration goes live at 8. I'm getting cold feet. It's going to be really hard, isn't it?
TK: Yes, it because it IS hard, but that's why you're doing it. Sign up!
For the record, sibling pressure is worse than peer pressure.
Training went really well. A few minor hiccups, but nothing to compromise the overall plan. Work was incredibly busy this winter, so I got in as many miles as I could, and made sure that they were quality miles. Lots of hills, lots of trails. Lots of running in the dark, the cold, the rain. My longest training run was a 25 miler at Discovery Park. It was a lot of work, but I felt strong & ready. Bring it on!
Race day morning, it was barely above freezing and raining steadily at the start line. BS & I hunkered in the foggy car, waiting until the last possible minute to crack the seal & make a dash to the porta-potty line. 7:45, It was time to get going. Right on cue, Pandora cued up The Raconteurs' "Steady, As She Goes"- perfect!
The course, while insanely challenging, was absolutely beautiful.
Let's take a moment to review the profile:
Looks fun, doesn't it?
It's a nice, relatively steady warm up of 6.7 miles along the Interurban Trail, before the suffering begins. And suffer you do. Not once, up to Fragrance Lake, not twice, as then you grind up Cleator Road, but three times, as you hit the highest point- the aptly named Chinscraper. The good news is that after you survive those 21 miles, the last 10 are mostly downhill or level. Now there's something to look forward to (in a quad-busting, toe-jamming, semi-controlled free-falling kinda way).
The snow started halfway up the ascent to Fragrance Lake, and it didn't let up until after Chinscraper. The ascents were incredibly challenging, the descents were screamers, and the rest of the trails were pretty darned technical, made even more technical by the snow, mud and ice. The course proved itself to be everything it promised. The mud was thick in spots, and thicker everywhere else. I never knew there were so many different kinds of mud. I seriously should have weighed my shoes when I took them off!
Snowy Cleator Road
The approach to the crest of Chinscraper
Clawing up to the top of Chinscraper
Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama
It was interesting to me how varied the running was. I've never been a fast runner, but I'm steady. I've done a pretty good job of tapping into my distance "cruise control" speed, and I can stay there comfortably for hours. There really wasn't a whole lot of cruising going on here- I had some sub-10 minute miles, and I had 16-17 minute miles, and everything in between. There was running, jogging, power-walking, and not-so-power-walking. It made for such an interesting mental challenge to race smart, trying to determine just how much to output at certain points, while reserving enough in the tank for later.
I read in someone else's blog that when you come off of the Fragrance Lake trail and begin the last stretch, it's either the easiest or hardest 10K of your life. I vote hardest, but wow, does that finish line feel worth it!
Finish! Photo by BS
Could I have pushed it harder at certain points? Yeah, maybe.
Knowing now what the 'Nut has in store, I'm fully prepared for next time.
Yeah, I said it. Next time.
Yours truly-
Tigerlily
Damage assessment, photo by BS
Technical Mumbojumbo, for those so inclined to read:
Official Finish Time 7:08:01
Total feet of cumulative incline (per Garmin) 15,273
Total feet of cumulative decline (per Garmin) 15,056
Nutrition
I chose to set my dear Garmin to yell at me every 45 minutes to take a GU. Flavs of choice: Roctane Blueberry Pomegranate or Island Nectars.
I supplemented with solid foods at each of the 5 aid stations, mostly going for the savory/salty choices like boiled potatoes or chips.
I had my Camelback filled with Zip Fizz, and then refilled at the aid station at the bottom of Chinscraper- I believe the on-course electrolyte drink was FRS.
Race morning I ate an Udi's GF bagel & a banana
Dinner the night beforehand I had Tinkyada GF Brown Rice Pasta with Marinara & a Field RoastVegan Sausage, with a big glass of 14 Hands Hot to Trot Red on the side.