Capitol Peak 50 Mile Race Report

photo by Glenn Tachiyama

 Last year I ran the Capitol Peak 55k race, somewhat on the spur of the moment. Despite being out of shape, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and thought I'd like to come back and run the 50 mile some day.  This year I'd registered for the Peterson Ridge Rumble 40M and then the McDonald Forest 50k four weeks later (Capitol Peak is smack dab in the middle of those two).  I still hope to PR at Mac Forest.  With that goal, I didn't think running a 40 miler and then a 50 miler two weeks later, and two weeks before a goal race would necessarily be a smart move.  But you know how it is, a thought gets in my head and I can't let it go.  I decided if the Rumble went well and I was recovering well I'd go for it.  I was feeling great by the Wednesday after the Rumble so I decided to go for it.

Like last year, I decided to drive up the night before and sleep in my van at the campground where the race starts.  I didn't need a whole camping spot so parked in the same parking spot I did last year, convenient to one of the outhouses.  Not long afterward, Eric Barnes, my camp mate from last year pulled up next to me - he was going to do the same - sleep in his Subaru again.  I think we may have a tradition started here!  It was fun to catch up and also chat with other friends old and new who passed by.  I was recovering from a head cold and my throat was getting scratchy from the talking so I declined an offer for more socializing at a nearby campsite and relaxed in the van, eating my pre-race dinner of quinoa, tempeh and avocado.  By 9pm it was dark enough to go to sleep and I got a fairly restful night until the alarm went off at 4am.

Photo by Glenn Tachiyma

Race day weather was mixed.  Just cool enough to start out with arm sleeves and gloves, but I dropped them in my first bag at 9 miles.  As we started to climb I regretted not having the sleeves a few times as the wind whipped across us in the clear cut areas.  But it wasn't really too bad and I knew it would get better once we were in the trees.  As my usual lately, I turned off the mileage and pace screens on my Garmin and had it alert me every 30 minutes to eat. This is working so well for me!  The consistent  fueling (I'm ingesting about 200-250 calories per hour) has really made a difference in my energy levels, with the added bonus of no nausea or stomach issues.

I ran pretty much by myself though the first 20 miles, the hilliest part of the race.  I was heartened to discover that it took much longer this year for the faster regular starters to pass me.  And on the grunt I only saw one other person, a fellow early starter who I passed halfway up.  My newish motto on hills is it's okay to walk if I need to, but I must run some of it, and once I walk I have to resume running again.  No walking/hiking all the way to the top! So I ran some of the middle part of the grunt where it flattens slightly.  And then I vowed to run as soon as I saw Glenn.  And I did!  In the clearing I saw him and I yelled out, "Glenn, I've been practicing all year to run the grunt!" and I ran the 50 or so yards to him and a bit past.  By then I was nearly to the top!  The clouds were starting to roll in, but it wasn't nearly as foggy as last year.  I bought all three of these pictures from Glenn.  They are my new favorites and many thanks to Glenn for being out on the course and capturing images of us doing what we love.

Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

I was really excited to finish the Grunt and proceed onto the new to me section of the course just for 50 milers. I hadn't looked too closely at this part of the course map/elevation, so I was glad to have talked to some veterans the night before who gave me an idea of what to expect. I honestly can't imagine ever doing the 55k here again - parts of the 50 mile loop are the prettiest and most fun to run.  I started to get passed by more people I knew, plus others I didn't know but knew me or at least the Animal Athletics shirt.  I must have looked good because I got a lot of kudos and shout outs.  Near the turnaround, Tom Riley came up and I kept up with him for awhile until I stopped to eat a gel.  After the turnaround the course climbs back steadily  to the previous aid station.  I was feeling very good and kept running as much as possible.  Eventually I caught up to Tom.  I passed him and then caught up to another regular starter, Suzanne from Vancouver BC.  I passed her, but then she stuck with me and we ran together with Tom eventually joining us.   I was leading and figured I better keep up a good pace if I wanted to stick with these regular starters! 

Speaking of pace, at the outset, I really didn't have a good handle on my time for this race.  I think it's more difficult than Mt Hood 50M, where I've run 11:30 and 11:50, approximately.  So I figured, sub 12 hours would probably be a good day.  It wasn't until this point, around 35 miles that I saw 12 hours was pretty much a given and I started to set my sights on sub 11:30 - which would be a trail 50 mile PR for me.  At the 35 mile aid station, it was now raining and getting a bit chilly.  I'm glad I decided to put a light shell in my drop.  I put that on as well as a cap and left just ahead of Tom...Suzanne had left ahead of us and I didn't see her again until near the end. 

Soon Tom was right behind me and that motivated me to push the pace again. It was mostly downhill on clear trail so we just cruised on down.  I loved it and was pretty psyched to be feeling so good so late in the race.  This was a good 6 mile stretch and we ran most of it.  At the aid station, I headed straight to the outhouse to take care of business (yes it was that time of the month - sorry guys), which took some time.  By the time I got some fuel out of my bag, refilled my bottle and grabbed some chips and rice krispie treats (I lived off those this day!) from the table it was 9:37 into the race.  I asked the volunteer how far to the finish and the answer was 7 miles.  Yikes!  Could I do that in 1:23?  Maybe? Perhaps?  There was a chance and I was going for it!  We were in a valley of sorts so I still had to climb out of that for a few miles, then  knew it would be rolling with a good downhill the last mile.

I pushed up the hill as fast as I could, running as much as possible and walking/hiking as fast as possible when I had to walk.  I tried not to look at my watch because it really didn't matter until I was close to the finish.  Tom had left the AS before me and I wondered if I'd see him again.  Finally I caught up to him near the final water only AS.  I still had water and knew there were only a few miles left so I blew right though, yelling my number at the lone volunteer sitting in his truck to stay out of the rain.  Tom ran behind and like before we just pushed on.  It was mostly downhill and we were able to keep up a steady pace.  Just a mile or so before the finish, Tom's friend Debbie appeared at a road crossing and he stopped to talk with her.  I kept moving along.  

Finally after turning on the cutoff that takes a shorter route to the finish than at the beginning of the race I looked at my watch.  10:50ish.  It was going to be close. I may or may not make it and I wasn't sure exactly how far left to go.  Finally, I recognized a short steep uphill before the course cuts down to a creek with bridge crossing. Then it would be mostly uphill to the end.  Less than a mile but still mostly uphill.  Ugh.  I pushed and could see Suzanne ahead of me.  I had to walk and looked at my watch ----  10:58.xx --- dejected.  But then I saw the paved road of the campground just ahead.  I turned the corner and the finish was right there!  Just 25 yards away!  I was beaming....face and heart...as I sprinted to the finish...10:59:32!!  I did it!  That was a HARD FOUGHT sub-11 hour finish and huge PR!  John, the RD, was right there and after confirming my time, the first thing I said was, 'I love this race!!" And I do.  I really, really do.  I highly recommend this race.  It has an old school ultra feel but is very well organized, well marked and the volunteers are top notch.  There are a few gravel road sections, but it's mostly glorious single track trail through the forest with views of Mt. Rainier if you're lucky.  And at the finish line you'll find the best corn chowder you've ever tasted.

I had a pretty good recovery/taper week, managing 40 miles for the week including a hilly 6 mile trail race at 9:45 pace on Wednesday.  Now I'm looking ahead to McDonald Forest 50k this Saturday. Still hoping for a PR and specifically, finishing sub 7 hours.  It may be a hot day and I may be a bit more tired than if I hadn't done Cap Peak. But I'll give it all I've I got!

Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 Mile Race Report

Birthday boy --- still young at heart!

This Sunday race was just one part of a fun family weekend in Central Oregon.   The boy had a day off school so I took the day off too and we drove out to Bend on Friday.  Marc's birthday was on Saturday and he wanted to practice both his kayaking and skiing for the upcoming Pole, Peddle, Paddle relay.  We arrived in time on Friday for Marc to take the kayak out for a spin and then head over to 10 Barrel Brewing for an early birthday dinner.

Saturday we drove up to Mt Bachelor so Marc could ski.  We left sunny Bend and as we travelled up Century Drive the weather quickly changed.  It was a bit stormy up on the mountain.  The boy and I happily set up camp in the lodge with our books while Marc took off on his nordic skis.  After an hour he came and found us and told us about his exhilarating loop, wondering if he should go out again.  Of course you should! I said.   So out he went again and came back in another hour even more energized.

The boy tried out the big kayak too.  He didn't get very far!

As we drove down the mountain we saw a sign pointing to some river trailheads.  We turned off and found another spot where Marc could put in his kayak.  The boy and I hiked around while Marc enjoyed some more river time.  Back in Bend, we ate a healthy pre-race dinner at Cafe Yumm.  All in all it was a fun birthday of doing things --- that's the way we like to celebrate.

Marc said I was beaming at the start - I guess that was true!!

Sunday morning, race day was chilly, with the possibility of some snow in the forecast.  Marc drove me up to Sisters to send me off.  I decided to take the early start, mainly because I wanted us to be able to leave for home earlier rather than later. I also didn't feel like this was a big race for me.  I was more just interested in experiencing the trails and see how it felt to run the odd race distance of 40 miles.  I bet it was about 30 degrees at the start. Thank goodness for hand warmers!  My time goal for this race was to finish under 8 hours.  Based on past results it looked like a sub 7:30 was possible.  However, this race has likely been short of 40 miles - probably only 37 - and Sean added a loop at the beginning to bring it up to 40 (or at least 39).   So sub 8 seemed more reasonable.

I ended up running most of the early miles with Eb who I had met at Pac Rim.  I pulled ahead at one point and then he passed me when I took a bio break. I ended up spending a lot of the middle miles trying to catch up with him, which was a good motivator.  I finally did around mile 26 and then we were together or leapfrogged before I finally pulled ahead after the last aid station.

We got our snow around mile 28.  There had been flurries prior, but at this point in started coming down in big flakes. So beautiful!  

While I was busy running, the boys got to play at Tumalo State Park:

 

Some people don't like all the gravel road, but I thoroughly enjoyed this race.  I felt great from start to finish!  Like with Hagg, I changed my Garmin display so I could only see the time and elevation and had it alert me every 30 minutes to eat, with no mile alerts  Again, this worked really well for me and I'm going to keep it up.

I need to work on pushing the pace more in the beginning, but this race was not so much about racing.  That said, even when I'm not in the racing mindset my competitive juices always seem to kick in at some point.  In the last miles I started to pass some of the early starters that were ahead of me.   I came upon one gal I recognized from the earlier miles who was stepping aside for the regular starters who were passing.  As I came up to her, she started to step aside, but then looked back at me and said "Oh" --- as in "Oh, it's only you."  The thought in my head was not so nice -- "You better believe it's me and I'm passing you!"  And pass I did....but I think nice me gave her "Nice work" as I passed.

As soon as I could see the final road crossing I knew the end was near and picked it up.  

 

I definitely didn't leave it all on the course this day since it felt like I practically sprinted around the track.   My finish time was 7:42:55 which I was pretty happy with whether it was 39 or 40 miles.  Had a lot of fun hanging out with friends old and new at the finish line and then enjoying a hot shower in the middle school locker room.  What a luxury! 

This is really a wonderful old school trail ultra.  I hope the vibe never changes.

Pacific Rim One Day Run 2013 Race Report

Another year, another Pac Rim One Day.  I love this race, the (not so) little guy loves this race.  I can't imagine being anywhere else the third weekend in March.

My goal this year was to stay out as long as possible and get in as many miles as possible, but to do no harm.  So I wasn't committed to the full 24 hours.  I didn't want this race to set me back too far in my training. (Last year I had to take 3 weeks off.)  The boy did his usual thing - taking pictures and providing comic relief.  Then, as he started doing last year, he counted laps for quite a long time into the late evening.  I love seeing him when I come through the timing tent and feel very fortunate that my teen still likes hanging out with his parents.

The weather wasn't as bad as last year -- at least is wasn't as cold.  But the rain never really let up.  We'd get a little break and then it would blow through again.  Late afternoon we got hit by a really big blast of wind and then some heavy rain.  I took that opportunity to change clothes.  My fingers were so cold, but I put on my mittens with some hand warmers and I was golden!

One of the main things I love about this race is the people. This year I had the opportunity to talk with people I'd known of and see often at races, but had never really gotten the chance to know, if you know what I mean. :-)  The conversations and bonding really make this race.  I especially like hanging out with the old-timers who have been doing this for much longer than me.  Not only do they have great stories, but it makes me optimistic that I'll be able to continue doing what I love for many more years to come.

Around mile 57 or 58 I started feeling some persistant pain near my knees.  Nothing wrong with my knees exactly, but the muscles supporting them were starting to tire and some of the little stabilizer muscles, tendons and ligaments had to take up the slack.  I decided to go for the 100k and then call it a day.  I was still running much of the loop, but by mile 61 I felt like I should switch to walking.  I was really determined to not have any down time after this race!  So I walked the last 2 laps with Eb (who sets quite a pace!) and finished out with 63 miles in just over 15 hours.

Here are my splits:

50k:  6:27:05 
50M:  11:09:49 
100k:  14:51:00 

5th woman
14th overall

I'm very pleased with those times considering I thought I was being pokey and spent some time changing my clothes and rummaging through my stuff.  Makes me realize that aside from my knees (which technically weren't/aren't injured - just taking the brunt of the effort) it would have been a good day for a PR attempt.  I definitely want to try for 100 miles at a 24 hour event someday.

Fifteen hours/63 miles was perfect.  We got home and I was in bed by 3am.  I took an easy week and only logged about 25 miles.  The next week I was back on track and even completed 30 miles on Saturday, a glorious 70 degree Pacific Northwest spring day.

Next up is Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 Mile in a week.  I've cheered for Marc twice but have never run this race so I'm really looking forward to it!

Hagg Lake 50k Race Report 2013

The basic stats:

Place:	136th out of 190 finishers
Time:	06:13:40
Overall Pace	12:01
Age Group Place:	2nd out of 7
Gender	28th out of 47

10th Female Master

Splits

Split	Place	Pace	Time
16K	193	12:01	01:59:33
27K	178	11:56	03:21:07
39K	145	11:55	04:50:01
Finish	136	12:14	06:13:40

I ran this race for the first time in 2007. It was my 3rd ultra. I was registered in 2008 but couldn't run, and again in 2011 and was a DNS again that year too.  And honestly, I wouldn't have minded if I never ran this race again.  I just don't like slogging through mud that much. But than last fall I participated in a little relay put on by one of my running groups and I won an entry at the raffle.  The entry was actually for the 25k.  But why would I want to run a 25k when I could run a 50k, so I was able to get it upgraded.

I generally don't like early (or late) season races so I wasn't planning to actually race this one.  That said, I did taper off the mileage a bit for about a week.  I've been upping my mileage a lot since December, but most have been slow miles.  I've been trying to hit at least 50 miles each week, but I think I tapered down to 40 the full week prior to race day.

We've had a very mild winter this year, with no official measurable snow and not a lot of heavy rain.  I was getting worried that there wasn't enough mud on Wildwood for sufficient mud training.  But I didn't need to worry since the rain held off the week before the race and the Hagg trail was relatively dry.

Back in 2007, Sharon and I completed this race in 7 hours on a cold,  rainy day.  The trails were a muddy, sloppy, wet mess.  You couldn't tell the difference between the trail and a stream in some spots.  With the better conditions I knew getting a PR wouldn't be too difficult.  But by how much remained to be seen.

I had signed up for the early start, although I could have easily taken the regular start, even with a 7 hour finish.  But back in fall I assumed it would be a mud-fest and had no interest pushing myself.  But as the race got closer and I saw it would be a faster course, my competative juices started flowing.  I decided to adjust my watch so that it didn't record my mile laps and didn't show my pace.  I've found that seeing my pace does more harm than good, especially when the mileage on my Garmin doesn't match the actual course mileage. All I could see was the elapsed time and I had it alert me every 30 minutes to eat.  Goal was to get in about 200 calories per hour.

The first 3 miles are an out and back that goes up and back down a significant hill.  I fully expected to walk a lot of this, but found that running quite a bit of it was pretty easy.  I only walked the really steeper sections near the turnaround.  I haven't done as much dedicated hill training so I credit that to the higher mileage lately and also the Animal Athletics boot camps I've been attending with their focus on plyometrics.  Box jumps really help with the hill climbing!

In 2007 we came back through the start/finish (approx 17 miles)  in 3:40.  This year I decided I'd run the first lap at a moderate effort, see where I was after 1 lap and decide how to run the 2nd lap from there.  The first lap was really pleasant.  I felt like I was running steadily but not overexerting myself. They had a few mileage markers so I could get a sense of my pace, which was about 12 min/miles...just about right I think. There weren't a lot of us in the early start and I was probably in the top 5-10 of early starters.  I was by myself quite a bit.  And I was loving it.  In 2007 I hadn't noticed how pretty the trail is, probably because I was so focused on the mud. But this day, I couldn't imagine being happier any other place.

I came through the first lap in about 3:20.  I tried to be quick grabbing some more of my preferred fuel from my drop bag and visiting the aid station briefly.  I had decided to wear my hydration pack for this race instead of carrying bottles.  When it's cold, I like my hands free - holding something makes them colder.  The pack worked perfectly.  It had filled it full so it was heavier at the beginning, but I'm used to that.  I was able to get through the whole race without filling it and supplementing with coke from the aid stations.  Fueling worked out really well too.  I ate every thirty minutes - either a stinger waffle, gel, Raw Rev 100 bar or Clif shot bloks.  I supplemented with oranges and some chips from the aid stations.

Starting the second lap, my mind was churning.  I figured if I could hold the pace a 6:30 finish was possible.  I felt steady and it seemed like I was running as many little hills the second time around as I did the first.  I was getting passed by more of the regular starters (the #1 guy passed me 3/4 way through loop one and the #1 gal passed me about 4/5 way through loop one.)   These folks were speedy but not so much that they energized me every time they went by and I'd pick up the pace a bit.

When I got to the last aid station with about 4-5 miles to go I could see that 6:30 was in the bag as long as I didn't do anything stupid. So I set my sights on 6:20.  I caught up to some early starters ahead of me and was able to pass.  I stayed with some regular starters who passed me as long as I could and used them to pull me up some of the hills.

When I finally hit the pavement with less than a half mile to go I saw there was a chance to beat 6:15 so I poured it on.  The volunteer in the parking lot congratulated me on my strong finish.  The endorphins were pumping and despite my serious face I was elated to cross the finish in 6:13:40.  A 47 minute course PR and a 17 minute trail 50k PR!

Without any mud, this is an easy 50k.  Nevertheless, I'm really happy with my performance.  I'm especially encouraged that my pace was fairly even throughout the race.  Looking at the results, my pace for the last section was quicker than most of the people who finished around me...even going 10 or more faster.  

So this was a great early season confidence builder.  Now I just need to believe in myself more and learn how to push the pace sooner.  Looking forward to how the rest of 2013 unfolds!

2013 Race Schedule

My 2013 race schedule is set!  I'm very exited about all my races.  Some will be true races and I plan to give it my all at those.  A few are designated training runs within a race.

February: Hagg Lake 50K  - Completed!  Race report forthcoming.

March: Pacific Rim One Day - Although this fixed timed race doesn't really fit into my other race goals this year,  it's a tradition that can't be missed.  Someday I'd like to go in really trained to smash my 24 hour PR of 77 miles.  But I don't think this is the year.  My goal for this race is to get in some easy miles - hopefully at least 50 - and stay out all night.  However I absolutely don't want to continue on at all costs if I start feeling any injurious tweaks.  I won't let this race set back my training.  No soldiering on through pain this year. 

April: Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 Mile - I've always wanted to run this race so I'm very excited to have it on my schedule this year.   This is another training race.  The plan is to have fun in the high desert with my fellow ultra runners!  Plus the day prior is Marc's birthday so we're making it a fun family weekend in Central Oregon.

May:  McDonald Forest 50K - This one I plan to RACE!  I've run it twice, both times over 7 hours.  My goal is to break 7 hours.  I feel like I should be able to do that and plan to get in some quality hill work before May.

May - June: Portland Trail Series - This is a series of five Wednesday evening races from 4-6 miles each in Forest Park.  I won't be in the running for any awards - there are a lot of speedsters who run this series.  But I will give each race my all and use it as speed/hill work on the trails.

July: Mt Hood 50 Mile -  Some day I'll run this race with the goal to break 11 hours.  This year, I'm running it with my friend Rose (crew person extraordinaire (!) and partner in crime at Across the Years).  It will be more of a long training run which fits perfectly into my training.

August: Waldo 100K - Gotta go back and get my hat!  Or at least finish.  I'll be happy with either, but of course I want that hat.

September: Mountain Lakes 100 Mile - This is the year's big goal.  So excited for my second attempt at 100 miles on my home turf!

You may notice a two month span from mid-May to mid- June  with no long races.   I'm really excited to have that time race free so I can focus on some quality training in the Gorge and Cascades.