So it's 5:32am and I'm huddling in the handicapped stall at Rodeo Beach for warmth because the normal race start of 5:40am is being delayed because there is a humungous lineup of cars still trying to find parking so Miwok runners can check in. This is a little weird for me cause I thought the race limit was only 250. Unbeknownst to me, the RD had let and additional 100 runners off the waiting list on the condition that they would all carpool. Judging by the overflowed parking lots, this was not the case.
I was not feeling great about this race, although I was certain I would finish (I certainly put in the training!) I was worried that I (a) may have peaked too soon (Mt SI), (b) didn't do enough warm weather training (the forecast was for 24-26 Celcius with no cloud cover), or (c) was I still hungover from Thursday with the Gypsies Hash House Harriers (how did I know it was a Cinco de Mayo run with cervezas and tequilla?) I'm gonna have to go with "c"!
Some of the worries were alleviated by seeing a few ultrahashers from Ashland, OR: Wonder Down Under, Thumper Humper and Monistat Man. Wonder and Monistat had run this race 4 years ago and were seriously reconsidering exactly what possessed them to sign up for this run with little training. I spoke to Andy Kumeda (recognizing him from run100widow's Flickr photos at C2M) and his girlfriend, the always stunning Catra Corbett. I briefly spoke to Mark Tanaka, another ultrablogger as he's entered in the Stormy 100 mile race. I saw Wade Repta, but not Dom (not a good sign), and Tim Wiens who looked a little harried.
Soon the RD, Tia Bodington, got us over to walk to the beach and she yelled "Go!" at 5:57am. Great, I had told my pacer, Yvette that I would be at the 49.5 mile mark by 2pm and I'm already 17 minutes behind schedule. We collectively jogged across the beach but quickly arrived at a logjam heading up a very narrow sandy singletrack trail. Nothing to do but wait and empty the sand out of your shoes. I found myself near the back of the pack and settled in for the longhaul.
I hit the top of the hill and descended a somewhat wider trail onto a paved road running section. I'm going a little faster than I'd like but I'm still walking the hills. It's a very scenic course, the weather's a little cool and there's hardly a cloud in the sky (uh-oh). Run down McCullough Rd and see Rajeev (from Tahoe Rim) taking pictures of all the downhill runners, turned left down Coastal Fire road and hit the first aid station at Bunker Road (6.2 mi). Topped off my handheld and continued on the very runnable trail and start the climb up the Rodeo Valley Trail. This is the beginning of a steep but narrow trail so it all forward walking up to this point. Chat with some first time Miwokers and continue walking, it's starting to get warm (although this might be due to the effort I'm putting into the climb). As I begin to pass others I notice a distinctive swatch pattern on a shapely bum with matching gaiters...could it be...Xy?
Yes! Xy Weiss, owner of Dirty Girl Gaiters was doing this race too, along with a friend of hers, Donn. We exchanged pleasantries amidst gasps of air, left Xy and continued on to Bobcat Road via Alma trail. Bobcat was a fireroad which had no tree cover and was very warm, decided to walk/run this section as it was hilly in some sections and thought I saw Olga V, but it turned out to be another shapely blonde in a similar race skirt. Oh, well.
Crested the hill and started to run down Old Springs Road towards the Tennesse Valley Aid Station(11.9 mi). This aid station was situated by a horse stable, and judging by the weather, the odor was not improving. Took some pbj sandwiches and m&m's, popped a Nuun tablet and headed out onto the paved road. Ugh, road which becomes an okayish fireroad (Coastal) which went up and up till...Arrgh, Matey! Pirates Cove Trail it is! This is a pretty spectacular course, awesome views, great trails, very lush surroundings and an abundance of leaves of three. Yep, it's poison oak time!
Fortunately the p.o. was very obvious and avoidable (at this point) so I just kept on trucking and soon found myself at Muir Beach. (16 mi) Some more PBJ sandwiches to go and a water refill later and I was on my way again. Took a little stretch of pavement past the Pelican inn and onto Redwood Creek trail towards Muir Woods. Crossed the road onto a fireroad type trail (Deer Park) and was really feeling the heat and sun at this point. Walked this section, backwards at some points cause it was heading up. After what seemed like a stupidly long time, found a brief respite from the heat in the woods and down the trail onto Pan Toll (21.7) Accessed my drop bag and several cans of young coco juice (not my usual brand, damn Homeland Security regulations). Ate a few oreos, and changed GU flasks as I used about 1000 calories worth of gel. Tried to eat a lot more and saw Craig Slagel (who runs in Vancouver when he's not in San Fran) manning the aid station. I guessed I was a little focused in eating that I didn't notice Linda Barton from Wa as we were grabbing oreos. Linda had ran the Capitol Peak 50 miler, the week before and was looking pretty good as she was ramping up her training for Bighorn.
We started walking up towards the upper parking lot discussing our plans for the summer when we somehow missed the trail flags that were directly in front of us. D'oh! Climbed a few steps and headed towards Matt Davis trail, out of the sun and into the cool refreshing part of the woods. I'm moving at a fairly decent clip, fueled by much needed calories and the chance for someone to talk to while on trail. I guess I was just a little too focused on the girl in front of me and did not see that low hanging tree limb.
Thump!
The top of my head clipped that limb and I just dropped to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. I think I'm out for maybe 30 secs and I'm a little dizzy and opt to remain seated rather than try to get up. I sorta assure Linda and another woman that I'm okay and they should just go on. I'm creating quite the obstacle on trail as other runners aren't sure to offer me assistance or use me as traction. One guy asks how many fingers am I holding up. I guessed "5?" Turns out I guessed right, dammit! So I reluctantly got to my feet and continued but at this point I'm just walking because my head's screaming at me right now. I down two Advils but it's not working. I continue walking trying to get into some kind of a rhythm and settle for a slow shuffle. At no time did I consider turning around back to Pan Toll to get my head checked out, yes, this was an unforeseen snag but I figured as long as I was moving forward that I could still get back on track, as it were.
And I had to be focussed on this trail as it was about an 18 inch wide single track (Coastal), I tried to run as much as I could on the flats but the combo of sun, heat and pounding of grey matter got me walking soon after. I really struggled on this section and wasn't eating or taking care of my electrolytes as I was still a little loopy. Finally I made it to the relative comfort of the woods as I rebounded a little as the drugs and Gu finally kicked in. I briefly posed for a picture and tried to navigate the dense brush and wasn't certain if I was off trail, until I saw a few of the frontrunners pop out of the trail to the right. Wow, they were already 14 miles ahead of me! Ran down the switchbacks and had to use a few poses I picked up from Bikrams to get around a few of the downed trees. Made my way up another hill and caught Wonder as he was walking at this point declaring he had nothing left in his quads (he would drop at Bolinas Ridge), not wanting to add to his misery I continued powerwalking up the hill as he shouted to save a beer for him at the finish. Sure I will, but if you drop out now, you can drink a lot faster than I will!
Arrived at Bolinas (28.4 mi), got some more cookies and refill both my handhelds. At least I'm drinking, but I'm noticing that my pee is dark and not as frequent. I should know what this means, but for some reason I just can't concentrate. I leave the A.S and head up to to the turnaround and who should I see cheering on Gary Robbins as he's making his way back to Bolinas but Dom Repta! Dom just ushered me out there PDQ. Got out to a wide fireroad (again) that was very warm and exposed. Thankfully I was able to use this time to try to get some calories, but my appetite and stomach were going south.
This was a pretty decent rolling trail that offered plenty of shade, but not much comfort from the heat. I was definitely feeling some tight quads at this point, hydration was good, calories and electrolytes not so much. Saw Wade, Andy, Tim and Rune as they have all hit the turnaround and advised me that it's a steep downhill that you have to hammer down, I just have to hit the gate first. Oh, there it is. As I hit the downhill stretch, my hamstrings are getting tighter, but I'm seeking relief of another sort, namely the portajohn at Randall. See Thumper and Linda as they're heading up but I barely have time to say hi cause I'm letting gravity take its course. Drop off my gear and hit the pj, washed my hands best I could and tried to eat but end up settling for some watermelon wedges rolled in salt. Mmmm.
I downed a few cups of Mountain Dew and settled for the slow slog up the hill. In the back of my mind I know I cannot keep going without calories but I just can't seem to eat, this was very frustrating and I realized that I will not be showing up on time to meet my pacer at 2pm, !@#$%. I hoped she would be understanding as I've mentally discarded my goals from a sub 14 to just wanting to finish this race. I powerwalk as much as I can, but my hip flexors and the top of my quads are going into full blown cramp mode. I'm getting passed a lot at this point, but I just put my head down and tried to run as best as I could. My legs were getting hammered from the excessive up and downhills that even when I had a flattish trail I could barely manage a jog.
Back to Bolinas Ridge (42.8 mi) and I'm looking for a pj (although I don't why, I haven't actually eaten much to justify it, maybe I'm trying to find a face-saving way to sit down)
I see more PBJ sandwiches and I have to look away cause I think I might be puking. I walk back up the trail and head towards Pan Toll. The sun is out in full force and I've got nothing. I get passed a lot on this singletrack, but I'm past the point of caring. I've now gone into Zombie Shuffle mode (I don't know what's keeping me going, but as long as it's forward, it's all good) My Gu's are almost gone, but I don't have any S tabs (I knew I forgot something!) and I'm paying the price. I can barely think, let alone think straight.
I'm still drinking water and Nuun but I still can't pee and I can't figure out why (electroytes are really low, guess what's coming next?) Bam! My quads are seized up and the hamstrings are not too far behind. I try to push through as best as I can and I must be quite the sight walking on my tiptoes to try alleviate the pressure. Around this point my mind has matched the conditions of my legs: FRIED and I'm not quite at the hallucination stage yet, but I find myself saying Sorry to a lot of people, mainly to my pacer who I'm sure is wondering just where the hell could I be. I think I must be talking out loud cause a few runners actually picked up their pace when they heard me coming trying to get away from the crazy man.
I think it's best for all concerned when I come down the steps and descend the Pan Toll parking lot (49.5 mi) and see Yvette and her boyfriend Mathew, both hashers (Nice Crack and Snowball 37, I'll leave you to decide which is which) They understood that things don't always go to plan and were very gracious in accepting my apologies, they got my bag and asked if I needed anything (fresh legs would be good, wanna switch?) I changed into my CFA longsleeve, granted I didn't think I would be passing anybody, let alone catching them, but I needed to protect myself from the poison oak extravaganza for the next 12.5 miles. (It's Thursday and the welts are finally starting to show, better get the Tecnu) Forgot the clifbar and the coco juice, my brain really must be leaking out of my skull and so I hobbled towards the finish.
Along the way I told Yvette that my goals had changed, there was no way I'd hit sub 12 (it was already 12 hours at the 49.5 mi mark), a sub 14 would mean a 2 hour half marathon (which was doable, if I hadn't already ran/stumbled 49.5 miles first) so now I was looking to finish. Yvette was okay with that except she and Matt had figured to see me 3 hours earlier and was supposed to be at a party by 8pm (It's 5:40pm). Oops. We started with a bit of climb and along the way we catch up with what's been going in our lives. Still try to attempt to pee but nothing's coming out which is crazy because I know I've drained all my bottles.
There's some decent downhill with smooth runnable grade and I can't make any use of it at all because I've got nothing! This is so frustrating. We get passed a lot in this section, one woman heading down is yelling she's jammed all her toes and she's going on grit alone. O-kay. I managed a hard fast walk which Yvette picks up on and is oh so encouraging. We run hard for 3 minutes and I have to back off because I feel the tightening starting to happen. I so have to train for downhills on this course. Finally come to Muir Woods Road, I'm secretly hoping a car hits me so I don't have to run this race anymore but it's clear both ways. Dammit.
Go back onto Redwood Creek trail and make the hard left onto Miwok trail at the junction where I was only nine hours before.
Apparently this is the spot where runners get lost every year, probably because we had approached this junction from the other side and when people think it's an out 'n back course, they just go back the way they came. There were plenty of ribbons clearly marking left so I had no problem, having another set of eyes doesn't hurt either.
Now here comes the poison oak! There's a lot of the green stuff that it's unavoidable, Yvette wonders why none of this has been cut back or chopped down, I just powerwalk this section of uphill switchbacks as best as I can. I can hear voices and see at least heads as they make their way up. About halfway up the hill, Yvette reminds me to drink so I raise my arm and tilt my head back and my entire right side from my armpit, along my rib cage, my obliques, hip flexor, I-T band, quad, hamstring, adductor, and calf muscles goes TIGHT. Hnnnnnnchhhhh, I gasp out. I have my moment. Actually it's quite a few moments before I can recover enough to breathe. A runner comes behind and knows exactly what's going on. After I stop hyperventilating, he calmly asks if I need some salt tabs. "Yesssh, pleeze." I take two and he's off on his way. Some color returns to my face, and I make my way up the trail again, meanwhile Yvette must be thinking to herself, "And you actually paid money for this?"
I push a little harder up the final switchbacks and then we hit Dias trail, crossed it and continue on Miwok, jogging when we can, but mostly walking this uphill trail. We do a lot of hard climbing, my quads are tightening and tightening but I have to push on. Yvette keeps encouraging, trying to take my mind off things, we turn right and I can see the Miwok junction and I feel like I've turned a corner, I can do this, I'm gonna make it! And then my legs collectively go: "Uh-uh."
Now both legs are like lamposts, which would be great if I was doing Bikrams, not so much when I'm trying to run downhill. I'm actually surprised I haven't wiped out during the downhill sections as my calf has gone solid on more than one occasion.
I'm walking like Frankenstein, looking for a tree, sign post, anything I can lean on to try to relieve the pressure. I spot a metal fence rod and grab a hold of it, riding the pulses of pain in my legs out and my faithful pacer has gathered my water bottles and is also waiting it out. Finally my legs unclench and I begin to shuffle, which turns into a walk and I am moving once again. We can see Hwy 1 and make our way down, cross the road and into a little singletrack before we hit the aid station (54.7 mi) For some reason Yvette thinks that Mathew was going to be here, but I think she confused this station with Tennesse Valley. There's pizza and other good ultra foods, but I can only stomach liquids, so I refill my bottles and grab some coke. Then I hear someone go, "Hey!" "Linda? What are you doing here?" As it turns out, Linda got lost just before the Hwy1 aid station around Mile 53. She found the highway but no trail markings, a couple other runners joined her and they were collectively lost for about an hour. She must have been pissed! I made my way uphill as it was Yvette's turn for a bathroom break, I really envied her.
In no time at all, Yvette caught me like I was standing still, which to be fair, I probably was. We do a little more walking interspersed with brief bouts of running along a fireroad (Coyote Ridge), from our vantage point we can see Linda running really strong on the other side of the trail as it curved into a U shape, she turned the corner and was seemingly flying uphill. Meanwhile I'm content to do the zombie shuffle, although I can feel Yvette wanting to pick up the pace. We hit the up hill section and it's a very steep uphill. Yvette is such a trooper, guiding me up the hill and onto Fox Road with her words of encouragement,"Okay, there's only 7 miles to go and then you can die." All that's separating us from Tennesse Valley Aid station is two miles of downhill. Just another cruel trick to be played on my thrashed quads.
I gamely start descending but I'm not making any speed going downhill as with every step I can feel my quads start tightening. Suddenly inspiration strikes me, if I walked backwards uphill to take stress off my hamstrings, would the reverse be true? So, using Yvette as my eyes to scout the trail in front of me, I started to walk dowhhill backwards and it worked!
My quads were really loosening up and I was making good time. I turned around and we could see Tennesse Valley Aid Station to the left way in the distance. We initially thought we had to run a little further but we found the correct way eventually. Some point during the downhill, Yvette expressed a comment about that Cinco De Mayo Party they were supposed to be attending.
Even though I probably could've used a pacer to get me through the last 4 miles as the sun was setting rapidly and it was getting colder, I told her that I'd be okay and I was truly grateful for her sticking by me as long as she did, not even counting all the hours she and Mathew were waiting for me at Pan Toll. She also noticed it was getting cooler and remembered she had a sweatshirt in the car, she ran ahead to get it and I made my way to Tennesse Valley (58.4 mi). They had chicken soup and I downed 2-3 cups of it, pizza was there as well and I should have grabbed a few slices, but my jaw didn't seem to be working. There were salt tabs too, but with only 4 miles left, I hoped I wouldn't need them. Yvette came back with the sweatshirt, a grey Buckeyes as I recall. Mathew also had a headlamp but I had my little Petzl which I attached to the bottom of my handheld. I thanked Yvette and Mathew again and asked them to call Jason, the guy I was staying with to get to the finish line around 9pm. My pace after Pan Toll was 15 minute miles, 2 hours for 8 miles. I was fueled, it was cooler but there was a couple of hills I had to get through first. Big surprise.
Started the climb past the stables and called out to a runner who had gotten lost running through the stables. Pointed the right way back up Old Springs road then another uphill climb to Miwok trail. Surprisingly my legs felt not bad, they were feeling some relief from the cool air and then the sun finally set and it was my first taste of night running since Mardi Gras. I couldn't see a thing, then I remembered I brought a light and flicked it on. Much better. Going down Miwok road, I saw a neon green glowstick marking the trail for Wolf Ridge. More climbing followed by more cursing. Finally top out to a paved road and make my way downhill. I'm not really sure I should be heading downhill until I see the reassuring bob of a headlight attached to a whooping runner. I know I will finish, I just want to do it by the cutoff. Wow, that fog is really rolling in. I continue to walk even though I know I should run and a few more people pass by me. I leave the road and get back on the trail through some bushes and I place my right foot where I shouldn't have and roll that ankle. I grimace with the pain but the adrenaline clears the fog from my mind and now I really need to finish. I hit the stair section and hold on to the rail all the way down.
Come off the stairs and follow the trail guided by glowsticks until I come across this one that's on the ground and I'm not sure what that means. I can hear the cowbell and the hoots and hollers and I can see the finish line/tent but I don't know if the glowstick means I should go straight or keep going right. (going straight would mean bushwhacking through a switchback, but I didn't know that at the time) I wait for 2 minutes until a group of 4 runners come down and we all huddle around this glowstick trying to figure out what this means. It's not the Davinci Code, it's way harder! One girl aims her headlamp to the right and there's a white fence 10 feet from the glowstick. D'oh! "We're just making it harder than it needs to be." said the girl. we all go through the fence, take a right at the next junction and finish together in 15:20!
I get my medal from Tia Bodington, the RD. Jason's there and has my drybag. I do a quick rinse with filthy water mixed with Tecnu to get my legs poison oak free. I head to the BBQ tent and get some organic sausage and chicken. I down a 7up and Sprite and sit down with this glazed look in my eyes. Jason's talking to me, but I barely hear the words. Something about going home, sounds good. Pick up my goody bag which is a Whole foods bag with an issue of ultrarunning, neon green Moeben sleeves, Miwok 100k t-shirt, Miwok mug and some other goodies. I pick up my dropbag and head back to Jason's house where I promptly throw up some organic sausage and chicken on the guy's driveway. I do a more intensive Tecnu wash and clean up as
best I can. I leave the bottle of Miwok trail ale with Jason as I can't take it with me on the plane (thanks again, Homeland Security!) and take an Airporter back to SF International.
As I'm leaving Marin, I replay the race in my mind and reflect on everything that happened - good and bad. I will definitely come back to this race. I will train specifically for the downhills, the heat, nutrition, electrolytes. And most importantly,
I will DUCK!
Although I didn't bring a camera for this race, hence the lack of photos for this story, there is a website showing pictures of the course just in case you should be inspired to run this 100k after reading this story.
http://www.bodingtonphoto.com/
Comments
Great Story