Reality check.
After a very successful year of racing I dropped my clunker race today. In retrospect, trying to run 50k a few weeks after a tough marathon and with very little running since (and a lot of hours at the office and on the road) wasn't so wise. Point Defiance Park is a beautiful spot in Tacoma, it's a huge area (they even have a zoo) and the course criss-crossed all over. Really pretty course, nice trails, good crowd and perfect weather (other than down at the beach, where it was windy). It was a looped course, three laps for the 50. After doing two loops my legs said "Uh, David, you're done buddy." And I couldn't argue (it's a sign when you can barely walk up the steps to start the third loop). If I would have been "entered" in the 30k (which I would have done if I had a brain), I would have been fourth overall. Hindsight.
If you care to continue after reading that thrilling intro, I'll offer a bit of a race report below. To be clear, I'm a little disappointed in myself but not too much. I won't lose sleep. I did my good races last month, and in all honesty I knew I shouldn't have signed up for this distance (two friends were doing it, who ended up dropping because of injury anyway). I hadn't focused at all on it, much less trained properly. I've never dropped before, but I think I made the prudent choice. There was no sense getting hurt during a race I didn't really care about or honestly train for. So it goes.
**Actually, before the report here's the best story of the day. I was running to support my friend Sherri, doing her first 50. But she had IT band or something crop up after two loops. So she and Chris, who had hurt his back but was toughing it out, also dropped. Sherri's husband was late because he thought she'd be out on the course, and showed up when we were sitting there. They just got a new dog, and her two kids took the dog to the beach. The dog just jumps in Puget Sound and starts swimming. But today was really windy and the waves were up. Almost immediatley the dog is completely lost, and can't figure out how to get back to shore, just struggling out there. So we are calling to the dog ("Aggie" -- they are USU grads) but she can't see or hear us, or get back to shore. Even the race announcer starts saying "here doggie" into the PA system. So Royce strips down to his skivvies, jumps into a freezing Puget Sound (on a really windy and kind of cold day) and swims 50 yards or so to haul the dog back in. What a hero. An old lady walked up and took his photo, she was so amazed.** As far as the race, I went out at a pretty good pace, trying to be relaxed but also enjoying the nice trails. I was in the top ten or so, not totally sure, but moving along through the first aid station and feeling good. A few of us took a wrong turn (marking was good, but got confusing because there were so many ribbons and a lot of people were turned around at times), but we bounced back as a group. I was carrying gels so I ran through that first aid (mile 7 or so) and kept on with the first lap. But my legs were starting to ache already, which I knew was a bad sign. Lungs were fine and I had energy, but I had a suspicion there was some lingering muscle fatigue from September's racing. I caught two guys just before the aid and moved ahead of them. I almost missed a turn nearly immediately, and joked to them not to follow me. Of course, a mile or so later I took another wrong turn, this time cutting off a small loop up a hill. Well, the guys who had been ahead of me by 30 seconds to a minute all noticed, and two started yelling at me. So after running 400m or so, I realized what I had done and turned around, found the split I missed and did the loop. Didn't help mentally, and to make up time I definitely started pushing more than I should have.
Second lap was more consistent and I slowed the pace to try and save energy. Coming out of the first loop I felt ok, was moving smoothly but with a hot spot on my right foot (nice blister now) and the fatigue setting in. But I had enough to get around again, and even surged a little on some downhills. I caught a guy I had chatted with on the first lap (who was also lost) and we ran together awhile, which kept me moving and the pace going ahead. Paused at the mid-point aid that time, and felt good energy-wise but my dogs were barking on the long downhill. But I still thought I had another 1.5 laps in me, even if it would be tough. The end of the loop is a really technical stretch with a steep, almost sheer, downhill. So steep they installed ropes, if that gives any idea. I got there and my legs were just quitting, losing my footing and everything, obviously more than just the usual tireds. Got to the stretch into the finish/aid and ran through, thinking I could tough another loop out and walk some. (Loops were long for the 15k and 30k, by the way). But coming out of that station I struggled to get any pace going on a flat portion, and I hit the first stairway and could barely get my legs to tackle the steps. I still got up, but when I tried to get momentum going again I knew it was fruitless. Would have been a nasty last lap, and not worth it. I was broken, and walked back to the finish with my tail between my legs.
That's it. brooks cascadia
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