Sequoia 50k
What a blast! I'm really happy that Jeff asked me to run this race. Yep, that's how we work. Wednesday afternoon he asks me, and 10 minutes later, I'm signed up for another 50k. We're crazy when the two of us get together!
It was a beautiful day. A little chilly in the morning, but overall really great. The course was a 20k loop with a 10k out and back and then the 20k loop again. Though the second time on the 20k did not seem like going a second time. The hills become steeper, the downhills more technical and the flats, fewer. But that's ultras for ya!
In the beginning of the race, I ran with Ray (Jeff took off up the hill and I didn't feel like chasing him down at that point!) I had meet Ray back at Mt. Diablo 50k probably a 1 1/2 years ago. He was preparing to run the LA Marathon and thought he shouldn't run a 50k two weeks before (Hmmm...Napa Valley Marathon is in two weeks...) It was great to catch up with him and I'm hoping to get him running an ultra before you know it! If I can run them, anyone can run them! Just go slow and enjoy the scenery!
Since Ray was only doing the 30k, he sped up a bit and I finally caught Jeff. And the two of us ran the rest of the way together. I always enjoy running with Jeff, whether he's encouraging me and pulling me along or vice versa. Today, I did the encouraging. (And in two weeks, he will be doing the encouraging!)
One thing that I haven't done for a long time is "eat dirt". I don't mean when you are little and for some reason, you pick up a handful of earth and wonder....hmmm, this looks like mashed up Oreo's, it probably taste like Oreo's. No, I mean tripping and falling on the trail. Of course, I didn't trip and fall in the technical downhill section or one of the steep climbs. No, I do it on the flat, very smooth, very flat (and did I say smooth?) section of the a nice wide fire road. I guess I must have fallen asleep and was dragging my feet. As I was bringing my right foot back down, my toe caught the ground, the top of my foot and ankle followed and before I knew it, my other knee decided it should break my fall. I put my hands down to stop myself, water bottle in one, garbage in the other. I'm not sure why, but I had a death grip on the bottle and garbage, so my fists went down into the ground instead. And then I just laid there. I think I was in shock. How could I fall on flat, level, well-groomed fire road?
I had been re-baptized a trail runner. I got up, got the dirt of my hands and looked over at Jeff. Shrugged and started running. I had to look down a few times to see if my knee was bloody and I'm happy to report, just a little. If you're going to take a dive, you might as well have something to show for it!
Funny how a three minute action was one of the highlights of my run! :)
We finished fairly strong and in Brad fashion, I took off in a sprint for the last few hundred feet. If I still got something left, I might as well use the rest up!
It was great to see Buzz and Eldrith.
And it was nice to meet Jason Reed. Chikara and Jason will be dueling it out in the PAUSATF Grand Prix (29 and under) this year. I'm happy to have taken 2007 while they rested! ;) It will be a numbers game. Those two are fast and great runners, I'm slow, but am not afraid to tackle long distances and many of them. It will be an excited year to watch!
Also, after the race, I gave Garrett a ride back to his bike. Garrett ran the Trans-Continental Rockies Trail (Or something like that, someone can correct me) from Mexico to Canada....and back! He said that he had left his lights on and needed to go back to Mexico to turn them off! He's also ran the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in (I think) 87 days. How awesome is that? I would love to do that! Makes running across flat little o' Iowa like a cakewalk!
Happy Trails!
It was a beautiful day. A little chilly in the morning, but overall really great. The course was a 20k loop with a 10k out and back and then the 20k loop again. Though the second time on the 20k did not seem like going a second time. The hills become steeper, the downhills more technical and the flats, fewer. But that's ultras for ya!
In the beginning of the race, I ran with Ray (Jeff took off up the hill and I didn't feel like chasing him down at that point!) I had meet Ray back at Mt. Diablo 50k probably a 1 1/2 years ago. He was preparing to run the LA Marathon and thought he shouldn't run a 50k two weeks before (Hmmm...Napa Valley Marathon is in two weeks...) It was great to catch up with him and I'm hoping to get him running an ultra before you know it! If I can run them, anyone can run them! Just go slow and enjoy the scenery!
Since Ray was only doing the 30k, he sped up a bit and I finally caught Jeff. And the two of us ran the rest of the way together. I always enjoy running with Jeff, whether he's encouraging me and pulling me along or vice versa. Today, I did the encouraging. (And in two weeks, he will be doing the encouraging!)
One thing that I haven't done for a long time is "eat dirt". I don't mean when you are little and for some reason, you pick up a handful of earth and wonder....hmmm, this looks like mashed up Oreo's, it probably taste like Oreo's. No, I mean tripping and falling on the trail. Of course, I didn't trip and fall in the technical downhill section or one of the steep climbs. No, I do it on the flat, very smooth, very flat (and did I say smooth?) section of the a nice wide fire road. I guess I must have fallen asleep and was dragging my feet. As I was bringing my right foot back down, my toe caught the ground, the top of my foot and ankle followed and before I knew it, my other knee decided it should break my fall. I put my hands down to stop myself, water bottle in one, garbage in the other. I'm not sure why, but I had a death grip on the bottle and garbage, so my fists went down into the ground instead. And then I just laid there. I think I was in shock. How could I fall on flat, level, well-groomed fire road?
I had been re-baptized a trail runner. I got up, got the dirt of my hands and looked over at Jeff. Shrugged and started running. I had to look down a few times to see if my knee was bloody and I'm happy to report, just a little. If you're going to take a dive, you might as well have something to show for it!
Funny how a three minute action was one of the highlights of my run! :)
We finished fairly strong and in Brad fashion, I took off in a sprint for the last few hundred feet. If I still got something left, I might as well use the rest up!
It was great to see Buzz and Eldrith.
And it was nice to meet Jason Reed. Chikara and Jason will be dueling it out in the PAUSATF Grand Prix (29 and under) this year. I'm happy to have taken 2007 while they rested! ;) It will be a numbers game. Those two are fast and great runners, I'm slow, but am not afraid to tackle long distances and many of them. It will be an excited year to watch!
Also, after the race, I gave Garrett a ride back to his bike. Garrett ran the Trans-Continental Rockies Trail (Or something like that, someone can correct me) from Mexico to Canada....and back! He said that he had left his lights on and needed to go back to Mexico to turn them off! He's also ran the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in (I think) 87 days. How awesome is that? I would love to do that! Makes running across flat little o' Iowa like a cakewalk!
Happy Trails!
posted by Brad at 6:05 PM
2 Comments:
"Funny how a three minute action was one of the highlights"
It is usually the highlight of my dates. :)
Way to go~
Glad you got back up and kept going!
~Amy - the sis
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