Took advantage of the family leaving town and did what any self-respecting trail runner would do...Ran to the top of a mountain. Headed up Green Canyon, topped off the bottles at the Spring, and attempted to head up to Mt. Jardine. I took the obvious trail that heads up the mountain. The only problem was that within a quarter mile I found myself back on the Green Canyon Trail. The trail I thought went to the peak was not to be. I backtracked and wandered all over looking for a trail up the mountain to no avail. I didn't feel like bushwhacking so I bagged the Jardine attempt and headed to Mt. Elmer (9655'). That trail needs some love. I had to stop at the top and empty the dirt and plants out of the shoes. Not a bad place to enjoy the view for a few minutes. 2:25 to the top - 1:30 down. Loved it all (except for the non-existent trail).
Joe, Drew and I headed up to the Beav to run a classic. It has been a while since I ran this last so the course details were a bit fuzzy but we managed to not get lost. There is only one turn you have to make so come-on how hard could it be? What did we run you ask? Up Beaver Creek road (go past Beaver Creek Campground i.e mile 85 of The Bear) hang a left at mile 7 and you pop out at the top of Gibson Basin. Follow that down sink hollow back to the car. Awesome course for a dirt road/atv course. Other than the dead legs....perfect.
Stump Hollow plus a bit. Another glorious day to be in the mountains. Too bad its day 1 of taper time for El Vaquero Loco next saturday. Rather than bury myself with another 20+ miler today Joe and I took it easy and only ran 14. A solid week even with an easy saturday. I love this run.
El Vaquero Loco 50K (30 Miles) 05:37:11, Place overall: 2
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El Vaquero Loco -
The prettiest mountain race this side of the San Juans.
I am surprised that this race has not gained the popularity of the Top tier of trail runners in the west, but I am not complaining. Other than 'El Patron' Luke Nelson, the race is usually up for grabs. Be prepared for lots of climbing and being distracted by the pristine mountain lakes and spectacular views. If you can manage to avoid too much distraction, a great time is guaranteed.
This being my second attempt at dethroning Luke I gave myself a lofty goal of destroying my PR and winning the race. Spoiler Alert: Yep, Luke won again (5 for 5). Oh, well maybe next year.
A few details:
First climb - Joe and Luke slowly pulled away from me at 30 seconds a mile. I pulled away from the rest of the guys at the about the same rate. Looks like I am running by myself today.
Balls - The descent off balls (named by snowmobilers due to the cajones needed to ride that mountain) went well, but Joe and Luke FLEW down it and were long gone.
Lakes - By far the coolest part of the race. Amazing sunrise accented by the smoky red sky. Pristine mountain lakes without a ripple on the surface. Its to die for.
Long descent from lakes down to the turnaround - The rain sprinkled a bit and everything was clicking. Took it pretty easy and really enjoyed the long run-in to the aid. Until about 2 miles before the turnaround. I was starting to stress my timing. I was going to arrive right when the 25K started. I would have 80 people to pass. Not ideal. In my distress, I missed a step and twisted my ankle and went down hard. Ouch. Turns out I didn't need to worry as I arrived 5 mins after they left and had thinned out by the time I caught up to the back of the pack.
Turn around - I was 5 mins ahead of my 2010 time. Not great, but at least it was something. Grab some food/drink at the aid and retrace my steps. Joe and Luke were absolutely killing it. They were 14-15 mins ahead of me by my best estimate. I was also ahead of 4th/5th/6th by nearly the same margin. No problem, I was tired but my legs weren't sore. As I got moving back up the mountain, I realized that although I have run a fair amount this year, I really haven't done enough 'training' to really hammer it. So, I just did the best I could.
Right before the first aid station after the turn-around (mile 20), I saw Fast Evan (Honeyfield) taking pics. He decided to join me for a while and that was a nice pick me up. He gave me an update on Luke and Joe. Luke was killing it and Joe was fading quickly. Me smelling blood, picked up the pace. As I came into the aid, I saw Joe sitting on a Log not looking too hot. "What's wrong joe?" "Sick." He had apparently lost his last few meals and was struggling to have the energy to move. I wished him well and thought I might see him return so I kept the hammer down and kept passing the 25K runners.
I was now in 2nd place, but needed a miracle to have Luke come back to me. That is ok, I am happy with 2nd. Lots of hiking/running/sightseeing ensued. I thought I was still ahead of my 2010 pace, but wasn't sure. I got to the top of 'Balls' and only had 4 miles and 3200' of descent left. Too bad my legs decided to not cooperate. The trail was just too rocky and steep for hokas. My feet were jammed into the front of the shoes and the pain was horrible. I am really not sure those are the best shoes for this course. I managed to pass 2 more 25K runners and make it to the finish. I was sad to see that my 5 min lead on my PR pace had shrunk to just over 2 mins. Oh, well. Mission accomplished. I beat Joe AND got 2nd place AND ran a PR.
Poor Joe. He had a hard time recovering and had to walk back to the turnaround and wait for me to come pick him up. Not a good day for him. Although I have to say he had an awesome 15-18 miles. Maybe too awesome as the blowup was spectacular. Live and learn.
Luke? Yep he got ANOTHER course record and broke 5 hours (by 20 seconds). Amazing. He even did it un-tapered as he is focusing on UTMB in a few weeks. What a show-off.
The day was topped off with huckleberry soda, hamburgers, a swim in the freezing lake and lots of driving (both to pick up Joe and to drive home).
Joe and I were graced with the presence of El Vaquero Loco himself (Ty Draney). He regaled us with stories and adventures.
We drove up to Franklin Basin ditched my car and headed up the road (2.5 miles) to Logan River Aid(ish) crossing. From then on, we followed the course all the way to the end(ish). To summarize, we ran hard and fast, then slow, and then even a bit slower. It was pretty rough at times, especially when I ran out of water, but Joe saved me since he brought 3liters + 24oz. Thanks Joe.
Followed up the run with 64oz of coke, a La Beau special, and a raspberry shake. Followed that up by a few hours with the Family at the lake. That was followed up with a date (with my wife of course). A full day.
We had the brilliant plan to do a night-ish run to get used to running in the dark when tired. You know, Bear100 training. So we (Joe and I) started at 7pm and headed up the mountain. We 'ran' up Spring Hollow and headed west on the North Syncline trail. Scenery was spectacular. Huge red sunset as we came over to dry canyon. Right about that point, my energy levels tanked and my stomach was acting up. Lesson learned, don't eat a huge omelet an hour before a 5 hour run. My legs revolted early on as well. They didn't like the punishment I have dished out over the last 2 weeks. Everything below the waist hurt. Boo hoo.
We followed the trail around to South Syncline and onto welches flat jeep trail. The darkness settled in and the eyes came out. If you looked at the trail, you saw lots of spiders, if you watched the trees, you saw cows. Lots of cows. A highlight was hiking the last uphill before the Logan Peak aid station (of the bear) watching the moon and stars. That was cool.
We looped back around and headed back down Spring hollow doing the 100 mile shuffle. I was sore and tired. My legs were so unhappy, definitely the worst they have felt this year. Boo hoo.
We rolled into the parking lot at midnight, chatted with the Sheriff who was trying to recruit us to do Search and Rescue since we are obviously capable of hiking into remote places on a whim. Sounds perfect.
My older but not wiser sister was in town to run the best half marathon around. I wanted to cheer her on and try and support her so I ran from the house (2.5 miles) to the finish line. From there, I followed the course in reverse until I met up with her on Hollow Road. It was fun watching the front-runners so late in the race. Usually I only see them for the first mile. Jake was looking strong with 2 other guys I didn't know (Riley from the blog and his friend I guess). Ben was not far from them. Glad to see him tear it up out there. I also soon saw Walter and Adam and I ran with walter for a bit. Broken Ribs and all, what a nut. I also ran with Clyde for a bit as he was out goofing off at 5:45 pace. That was too fast for my ultra legs so jogged back up the canyon a bit and saw lots more bloggers (Allie, Scott etc.). My sister soon appeared and now it was go time. She was shooting for sub 2 hours and was right on track. She was actually in-front of the 2:55 pace group, but was soon slipping off pace and got passed by that group. The "just walk, no one cares..." monster was on her back and she was fighting it off. I would only let her walk at the aid stations and a block here and there. She fought the good fight, and won the war. She got a PR and ran 1:58:18. Well done.
I decided to get a ride home with her as my ITB was not happy with me. Too much running lately. Better watch it as the body is breaking down. No injuries are allowed.
AM: Bike 30mins -Run 4.5 miles-Bike 15 mins - (9 miles total equivalent) 1000' vert
So, I am definitely a creature of habit. Today's workout was identical to yesterdays, only a bit faster. If it works don't change it. My knee is getting better each day. I will run this afternoon again. That will be the test, a true double.
PM: Green canyon - 6 miles - Knee was great on the uphill, pain 1/10 on the downhill
