The family and I came down to California to visit one of Katey's friends from high school. It was fun hanging out with her and her husband. California is pretty but a little too busy for me. Since we planned this trip, I was looking at doing this 50k while we were down here. Let me just say this was one of the coolest races I have ever done. The race starts just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge near Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands. When we driving over the bridge I couldn't believe how much fog was there. It was really pretty looking over the ocean (I will try and post pictures). I knew this was going to be a gnarly race with all of the hills. It had over 6300 feet of elevation change. I really wanted to make sure I stay hydrated and ate enough at each aid station. I was pretty optimistic with how this race would turn out. The race started and we proceeded to climb for the first 3 miles. One section early on had steps which required me to power hike up the mountain. I went out with 4 people and wanted to stay with them. I found out they were just doing the 30k so I was in the lead from the start. This race went right along the Pacific Ocean and their were spots where I was close to a 1000 feet above the ocean looking down on it. I ran through misty/foggy conditions. Their were some sections where I could only see about 20 yards in front of me. It was a little humid but bearable. One section took me through some trees and since the clouds were so low it actually rained for about 1/2 a mile. It was absolutely breathtaking. This was a two loop course so when I came around the first loop I felt really good. I hit just over 18 miles in about 2:45. I refueled and then headed back out for the second loop. I made it to the aid station in Tennessee Valley and the volunteers were hooting and hollering for me. They were pretty excited to see the first 50k runner coming through. I knew at this point I was in the lead and just needed to stay focused and I would have the win. Once I hit the last aid station I knew that I only had about 3.5 miles to go. My legs were still pretty fresh and I pushed the pace back to the finish. Right at the end of the race a deer ran right in front of me. I looked to the left and 3 baby deer were wanting to cross as well. They looked at me kind of funny and decided for me to leave before they crossed. It was pretty cool to see that. I sprinted towards the finish and Katey and her friend were pretty stoked. I felt really good. I crossed the finish line and honestly felt like I could have gone longer. I was very happy with the result today. 1st place overall and a course record. I am absolutely hooked on the trails now. I told Katey we are coming back next year to do this race. I won a coaster and a mug for my win. It was well worth it. I will use it to drink my chocolate soy and almond milk. Keys to successful race: -drank lots of fluids from my two handheld water bottles -ate food at every aid station (PB & Js, Shot Blocks, pretzels) -push the uphills (fast power hike or jog them) - many of the other runners were walking up them; I wasn't afraid to power hike
-push the downhills (many runners walked down the hills) -just enjoyed the scenery (looked around a lot which kept my mind off of things) -simply put, I had a lot of fun (I was actually smiling at the end of the race!) The quads were a little sore after the race but I felt pretty good. I will look for another trail race this fall and see how I can do. I am getting into this. Loads of fun. I think I need to train on more hills though. This was hands down one of the best races I have ever had. It has been too long since I have had a good race.
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