Race Report: 2013 Way Too Cool 50K

This race was amazing but it could have been so much more. A series of unfortunate events conspired against me and I wasn't able to give this race everything I wish I was able to. After my 50K PR at the Fort Ord 50K I was able to get in one more solid week of training before I developed piriformis syndrome which made it difficult to stand up straight let alone run. Once that cleared I was able to get in a decent week of training before coming down with a nasty cold that took away another weekend of training. Despite these obstacles I was still able to run my second fastest 50K. 

Way Too Cool 50K Starting Line. NorCalUltras

The first mile of the course is paved, downhill, and fast! From there you enter the Olmstead Loop Trail which is predominately single track and also contains the course's first two creek crossings. You have two options at most of the creek crossings. Wait in line to cross on the rocks or bomb through the water. In most cases I chose the splashier option. I ended up running this first segment pretty conservatively but not by choice. Since most of the trail is single track it is very difficult to pass and the pace was pretty pedestrian at points. Since it's a long race I stayed patient and didn't pass until the trail opened up. 

Cruising along the Olmstead loop. Inside Trail Racing

After finishing the Olmstead loop you come through the first aid station where the volunteers quickly refilled my bottle, I grab a GU and then headed back out within a minute. The next section heads downhill to Lower Quarry and is about three miles long. Shortly after leaving the aid station I noticed a group of about five runners just up ahead. I quickly caught up to them and hitched myself to the end of their train. I was going to let the group do most of the work for me. We ended up averaging around a 7:00 pace for this section but it felt smooth and easy.

Dropping into the Lower Quarry aid station. NorCalUltras

At the Lower Quarry aid station I grabbed a salted boiled potato, some GU Brew and headed back out. The next stop was Maine Bar around six miles away. This section features rolling hills and travels along the American River. During this section I tried to keep it easy and chatted with other runners. One of them was Bruce from Washington who had done this race before and finished in 4:20. I figured if I could stay with him I would have a shot of meeting my top goal of breaking 4:30.

I was feeling great as we rolled through the Maine Bar aid station. I topped off my water bottle and continued to keep what felt like an easy pace. Shortly after leaving the aid station I let my attention drift too far from the trail and tripped on a rock. I banged my knee into the ground but was able to roll with the fall so there was limited impact. I popped back up and received some kudos from Bruce for my roll and after a quick check I determined I was fine to continue running. Only after the adrenaline wore off a mile or so later did I notice my back was starting to tighten up in the same place I had been having issues with during my recent bout with piriformis.

Way Too Cool Course Map

Around mile 17 you hit the first steep hill on the course. Knowing that the was a long climb ahead followed by the infamous Goat Hill at mile 25 I decided to hike this one. Unfortunately this change of pace allowed my back to tighten further. At the top of the hill I had problems getting going again. At mile 18 I realized my A goal was not going to happen. Maybe I could still PR.

The next few miles went by slowly. I was able to run but was forced into taking periodic walking breaks to relax my back. I rolled into the Auburn Lake Trails (ALT) aid station in a mental funk. I saw another runner dropping at this point and briefly entertained the idea of dropping myself. The only reason why I didn't drop is because I needed that damn frog cupcake that was waiting at the finish. My youngest daughter loves frogs and I promised I would bring it home to her. For those not in the know, one of the signatures of this race is their frog cupcakes you receive at the finish.

Way Too Cool's signature frog cupcake.

At this point I was focused on running aid station to aid station. The next one was a little over five miles away. At the top of Goat Hill. Ugh! Most runners hike a good portion of this hill. It climbs about 500ft in just under a half a mile. Oddly I felt fine going up this monster of a climb but I was relieved to reach the top and be at the marathon mark of the race. After breezing through the wonderfully staffed aid station at the top I started my trek down to the last aid station around three miles away.

This section was pretty rough. My back was forcing me to take longer walking breaks. During the first two miles of it I averaged 12 minute miles despite the fact they were downhill. I crawled into the last aid station at Highway 49 grateful that I was almost finished. 1.4 miles to go. One climb left.

Way Too Cool 50K Elevation Profile

With one mile left there was a sign telling you to go for your PR. Unfortunately I didn't have a shot at mine. I cruised into the finish in 4:47:54. A little over five minutes off the 50K PR I set at Fort Ord earlier this year. This was my second fastest 50K. I had a great time on an amazing course on a beautiful day. The only problem is that I can't help but dwell on what could have been if I hadn't fallen. I loved this race and I'll be back to see what I can do.

Way Too Cool Frog outside Ultra Village.

Postmortem

There isn't much I would do differently. I fueled up before the race with Generation UCAN's CranRaz and I felt like I was solid for the first 20 miles. For the next long race I'm thinking about carrying another bottle of the stuff or putting it in a drop bag to help during the later portions of the race.

My shoe choice for this race was the Montrail Rouge Fly. They performed well and dried quickly after the creek crossings. The only issue I have is that my toe is killing me after toe punching that rock!

My 4:47:54 was good for 120th place out of 852 finishers. Despite my finishing time, I'm pretty pleased with the results considering the hurdles I encountered going into and within the race. I'm now looking forward to the American River 50 miler and Ohlone 50K.

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Race Report: ITR Fort Ord 50K

"It's only a training run." At least that's what I had to keep telling myself as Inside Trail Racing hosted the first ever trail run at Fort Ord National Monument. With the Way Too Cool 50K, American River 50M, and Ohlone 50K coming up I was looking for a smaller race that I could use as a training run. I have a hard time going out and putting in 20 plus miles on the trail by myself and this race was the perfect opportunity to get the miles in with some company. Unfortunately I also have a hard time taking it easy during a race.

I toed the starting line with a friend from work. The whole time nervously joking that I didn't want to be up front and freezing my butt off as the fog rolled in. There were a couple familiar faces in the crowd which led me to believe this was going to a pretty quick race.

Steve and I as close as we're willing to get to the starting line.

The 50K and 25K runners took off together and as expected, Leor Pantilat shot off the front and quickly disappeared into the fog. I decided to keep up with Steve for the first mile and then urged him to go on ahead without me. He was running the 25K and is a much faster runner so I was a little relieved when he took me up on my offer. I was then able to settle down into a more comfortable pace.

Around the 3 mile mark you come upon the Pilarcitos aid station. Having a full water bottle I waved and said good morning and continued upon my merry way. This is also about the point you start up the first climb before descending onto some incredible single-track. This was easily my favorite part of the race as the single-track snaked through old oak trees draped with moss.

Single track through the moss draped trees.

 
After a quick little loop you go back up the single-track and then down the road back to the Pilarcitos aid station. Around here I caught back up with Steve and another runner who had gone off course and added some bonus mileage and elevation. After Pilarcitos I ran with Steve for a little bit before I once again urged him to go ahead. Next stop was the Skyline aid station at the top of a short climb. At this point the 50K turns off and the 25K and 10K runners head for home.

50K and 25/10K Split

The next seven miles were scenic but largely uneventful. I got passed by a few runners on the way to the Creekside aid station as I intentionally brought my pace under control. I haven't done a run over 16 miles since the end of December and I was more interested in finishing than gutting myself to stay in the race.

Despite my efforts to maintain an easy pace in the previous section of the course, my faster pace earlier in the race took it's toll shortly after leaving the Creekside station. After 20 miles the wheels came off the bus and I started having to walk most of the hills I encountered. The next five miles were mostly rolling hills punctuated by a couple tough climbs. I spent most of this section looking over my shoulder as the eventual female winner Jennifer Goldstein stalked me before passing me a mile or so before the Toro aid station.

As I exited the Toro aid station I looked back up the hill and saw two runners heading down. I knew that I was sitting in the top ten and even though I wasn't racing, I wanted to maintain my place. With around seven miles to the finish I was going to have my work cut out for me. In the last 10K there was roughly 1,500ft of climbing.

Almost done!

Once I got to the top of the largest climb I looked back and realized that my pursuers had gained a bit of ground on me. I tried to use the following twisting single-track to my advantage and pushed myself to get out of sight. On the final climb to the finish I looked back one final time and realized I wouldn't be caught. I rolled into the finish line in 9th place overall with a time of 4:42:42.

Inside Trail Racing: Fort Ord 50K Elevation Profile

This was my first run with Inside Trail Racing and definitely won't be my last. The course was well marked for the most part, the aid stations well stocked, and there was tons of energy surrounding the race. 50K finishers get a pint glass with the Inside Trail Racing logo on one side and the race logo on the other. I was able to put my glass to good use when I got home from the race.

 

Final Stats
Time: 4:42:42
Age Group (30-39): 2/7
Males: 8/37
Overall: 9/55

Gear
Shoes: Montrail Rogue Fly

Strava Challenge: 2013 Base Mile Blast - Part II

In part one of my Strava Base Mile Blast recap I established that my goal was to log more miles in January than the 105 miles I did last year. Since today is the last day of the month and I'm not likely to head out for another run tonight I'm ready to close the books on the month and this Strava challenge.

I'm concluding this month with 158 miles logged. It is far from a high volume month for me but quite a bit more than I got in last year. Last year ended up being filled with milestones so hopefully this is a good sign of things to come. As far the challenge goes I'm sitting in 720th place out of 9,506 runners that started the challenge.  I'm also 418 miles behind the leader! Wow!!

At the midway point of the challenge I had achieved the first three badges of the challenge. I was easily able to obtain the last two. Next up is the Strava Marathon Training Series Challenges!

Race Report: 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Start of the 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon. My mom and wife are in the front!

For the second year in a row I competed on a coed team at the Tinker Bell Half Marathon with my mom. Even though this is a women's themed event a handful of guys run it too. This year there were 1,384 men that finished the race including Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings, The Goonies, and Rudy fame. Since this is a women's race, the men let the women go first and have to start in corral C. Well, at least most of us do. Unfortunately there are a few men who feel the need to cheat by sneaking into earlier corrals. 

Sean Astin joins the rest of the men in corral C. I'm on the far left.

The first mile is run outside the parks going down Disneyland Dr., Ball Rd., and Harbor Blvd. before entering Disney California Adventure. Inside DCA we ran though Paradise Pier, Cars Land,  Hollywood Land and Grizzly Peak before exiting the side gate in Condor Flats.

From there we ran over to Disneyland! We cruised down Main Street where Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and Tinker Bell cheered us on. From there we visited Tomorrowland, Toon Town, and Fantasyland. We exited Fantasyland through Sleeping Beauty's castle and proceeded to Frontierland, past the pirates outside Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square and then went backstage in Critter Country.  

2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon course map.

Shortly after the 5 mile mark we exited Disneyland and headed into Downtown Disney. At the end of Downtown Disney is the Disneyland Hotel and also the stronghold of the ladies of the Red Hat Society. For the second year in a row these awesome ladies were out in force to cheer on the runners. Many people consider this one of the highlights of the race.

After leaving Disney's property it was time to cruise the streets of Anaheim. I'm afraid that my race fell apart here. After the California International Marathon in early December I took most of that month off from running and it showed. I was able to maintain my pace for the most part but I got passed by a couple men. I really like the route that this race takes through Anaheim much better than the Disneyland Half Marathon. Running through downtown and the residential areas is a lot more pleasant than some of the industrial areas we run through in the Disneyland Half.

A little after 11 and a half miles we returned to Disney property and ran along the backside of DCA. Unfortunately I was passed by a couple more men in the last mile and a half of the race. This should have put me in 11th place of men. Unfortunately one of the guys that I mentioned earlier that crashed an earlier corral came in before me placing me in 12th place of men. Not only did this guy cheat by sneaking into corral B, he also was the first man to cross the finish line because of it! Luckily he wasn't the fastest overall and fell to 6th place.

Ultimately it doesn't matter because there aren't any awards for men, but it still bothers me that this guy beat me. By sneaking into an earlier corral he had a huge advantage over the rest of the men because he had a lot less runners to maneuver around.

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Medals

At the end I'm happy with my results. I finished in 1:28:07 which is my second fastest half marathon. Considering the handicap of starting in corral C I think I could set a new half PR later this year. Team Christopher Robin finished in 15th place out of 302 coed teams! I finished in 15th place overall and was the 12th man to come in. I would have finished second in my age group if they were any for this race.

Expo Review: Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon

Welcome to the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon expo!

It isn't very often that I write about expos. I usually try to get in. Get my bib, shirt, etc. Do a quick scan of the expo vendors. And get out as quickly as possible! However, like all things Disney they like to sprinkle in a little magic here and there and the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon expo was no exception.

Upon entering the expo the first thing you see is the runDisney booth as expected. I also noticed a short line on the side and then quickly realized what it was for. At last year's Tinker Bell 1/2 I started next to Sean Astin! This year Sean was at the expo meeting fans! As a child of the 80's I LOVE The Goonies and I'm a huge Tolkein fan as well so this was a major deal for me. I tried to refrain from geeking out on him but I'm afraid my inner geek couldn't hold itself back. Hopefully I didn't embarrass myself too badly.

Me with Sean Astin of Goonies, Rudy, and Lord of the Rings Fame. He also loves running!

One of the coolest vendors there was Sanuk. I already have a pair of their sandals and they are incredibly comfortable. They were at the expo displaying their footwear, giving out cool stickers, mustaches, and smiles.

My daughter modeling a mustache courtesy of Sanuk.

Since everyone in my family is a Disney fan we have a few Vinylmations lying around the house. Okay... we have a lot. During the WDW Marathon Weekend a new runDisney Vinylmation was released. Better yet he had medals you could buy for the different events they were holding that weekend! It was a pretty safe assumption that he was going to be available at the Tinker Bell expo and that there would be a Tinker Bell medal. I can't wait to see what the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon medal is going to look like!

runDisney Vinylmation with 2013 Tinker Bell medal.

Even though I didn't meet my my goal of getting out of the expo as quickly as possible I had a blast. This was easily the most fun I've had at any running expo. I'll get up my review of the race in the next couple days.

Strava Challenge: Base Mile Blast

For the second year in a row Strava has hosted the Base Mile Blast challenge. Today marks the midway point of the challenge and so far I've knocked out 85 miles which is good for 522nd place out of 7,814 runners actively participating in the challenge. The current leader is Jeff Hunter who has so far logged an astounding 299 miles in 22 runs. That leaves me 214 miles behind the leader!

Last January I logged 105 miles. I should easily surpass last year's total for the month which is all I was setting out to do. So far I've received the badges for completing 25, 50, and 75 miles. Two more to go to earn them all.

AS SEEN ON the Run: White Fallow Deer

In 1934 William Randolph Hearst donated two pair of white fallow deer to the Henry Miller estate. When the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department purchased the property to incorporate it into the Mt. Madonna County Park the deal included the captive herd where they remain to this day.

I had heard about the herd before but I never came across them until yesterday's run.