Antelope Island 50k - 14 November 2015

Got to the race check in - I had already showered and shaved by this point and had my pb&j and banana. I got my bib and shirt and then went out to the start line. It was kind of cold but the sun came up just as the race was starting and then in the first mile we were back in the cold shade again. I had my strategy to not go too fast at this point so I did my best to hold back - especially on the uphill. Across the flatter parts I was still going pretty quick and the downs I was going slightly faster. The first aid station I stopped and got some water and Gatorade then got some sugar in the form of M&M’s. It was fine and tasty. We flew down the hill to the switch backs and again, I was going fine but didn’t want to go all out. After the climb up the switchbacks was unknown territory and I didn't know what to expect. So I just stayed with go as quick as you can without going too fast. As with most trail races its more of going off how you feel and how much effort you think you should be putting in at that point in the race. After a while there was a big hill that came up that I really didn’t expect but I got up it by doing a little walk/run routine thing that I do. Cout 25 every other left foot falls walking and count 50 steps “running” it got me up the hill and I think that was a good strategy to have. Doing the walk then run strategy is a way to sort of even out the pace rather than just “guessing” and ending up walking more because you want and then not starting to run or something like that.

About mile 9 at the top of the switchbacks. (Photo credit: Lori Burlison)

I was hot by this point because I bought a pullover from the thrift store and I was wearing it. I wanted to throw it out pretty bad but didn’t want to litter the course so I kept it on. Right before the next aid station the wind started a little and then I was cold - go figure. I ditched my pullover and gloves anyway, got some water, snacks, a pb&j portion (it was amazing) and left the aid station feeling alright but I got a little bit cold, but that problem didn’t stick around.

The down was now coming and we all sped up a little. The crowd was pretty well evened out at this point expect for this group of 3 who were even with me...until they passed me. Anyway, I knew that I wasn’t going to keep up with them, mainly because I tell myself that I have the experience and I don’t need other racers to get in my head. I finish when I finish and I don’t let others really mess with me or else I might do something very dumb and be worse off for it. That group did break up and I think I passed at least one of them plus at least one more other person that was in the top 10 for most of the race but then he hit a wall or had cramps or something.

I got to an aid station that was really great, got some more stuff in my stomach (besides the Gu that I had been having “whenever I think I should need it” (which turned out to be about 4 gels over the whole race) I knew the Frary Peak aid station was coming up and part of my plan was to “turn on the heat” from that point on. So I kind of took it easy and kept moving as well as I could. I got to this next aid station and then I decided to give it a go. I got up to this small crest and hit my watch for a lap - which is set for 5k. I intended to do this next 5k split at just faster than 8min per mile pace. I counted every other left foot fall 100 times and looked at my watch. I would speed up or slow down as necessary to maintain the right pace. This worked pretty well, however, the last part of the split was slightly uphill and I wasn’t feeling the ability to go much faster. So I didn’t. I already knew I was where I was and I was still in great shape to finish in good time. But at 8:02 for that 5k split, it was good enough in my mind. So from this point on I just decided to keep moving. I walked for about 30 seconds while I got a gel in and some orange Gatorade (yuck!) and then just managed around a 9min/mile pace (or something like that).

Next up I saw the fence that signaled a turning point for the race where there is this hill climb and then it was basically down to the finish. I walked up the hill or, excuse me, “power hiked” and then as the hill crested I did my best to keep running. The dirt road turned to asphalt. My legs noticed but didn’t have much issue. The road went down and my body and mind were done but unfortunately, the race wasn’t over. I did another batch of “slightly slow down then slightly speed up” and then kept it going to the finish. I knew there was someone behind me and did look and noticed that he probably wasn’t going to catch me. If he had, what would I have done? I’m not really sure. Hopefully I would have not allowed it and been able to do so. But no worries. He was within about a minute behind me, which is pretty close.

The finish was awesome. and I was elated to get 10th place. Exactly what I was hoping for. No big problems at any one point during the race. The only reason I didn’t do better is because I don’t have the time to train more. That’s fine with me.

The best part of the finish area for me unfortunately wasn’t the chili, it was the ice cold Coke Zero.

Jan 2015 Antelope Island Run

I got up in time to get to the gates that open when the park does. I have shown up early before and had to wait for the gates to go up and sometimes it's been a few minutes after six before they actually do go up. At about 11mins past the hour and after waiting that long, they finally opened and I can access the island. I get across the causeway going exactly whatever the speed limit is and make it to the trailhead. I'm the only car there. That's not a first for me. While I'm getting ready another car pulls up and parks. I'm in panic mode now. Must get going and fast. I finish up and get out of the car, lock it, and I'm on my way.

It's very dark. There is no moon and being on the western side of the island means there's no lights from cities to speak of. It's just the stars and my headlamp. I make the first 5k with in pretty good time. But all the while I was occasionally looking back and I could see the headlamp of another person behind me. And judging from how far they have been and still are from me I can tell they must be running. But I'm pretty sure I'm running faster. Within the next mile I see off in the distance large dark spots that I'm pretty sure are Buffalo. I don't want to make them mad. I have to decide if the herd is on the trail that I'm running on or if they are off to the side of it.

I'm actually probably one to push the limits a little too far when it comes to proximity with these beasts. But I'm not afraid to make sure they know I'm there by yelling "hey!" and scanning them with my headlamp. As I scan the herd with my headlamp the only thing I can really see is a rough outline of their heads and their eyes staring back at me. I think they are wondering what I'm going to do rather than thinking that they need to run me down. A few of them on the far side start to run away from me a little and I can tell that as long as they stay where they are then they aren't going to come after me. No problems. I move on.

The next part of the trail is downhill. Normally not an issue except for my headlamp is not enough for me to tell between the sandy ground and the harder ground. The harder ground is much preferable. But then because it's below freezing there are frozen clumps of mud from horses that make the ground hard and uneven. It's a little tricky to navigate. I'm forced to slow a little bit, but I keep moving.

The next part is probably one of the steepest climbs of the trail I took. I have to slow down a few more notches. This part of the trail is also on a north facing slope. The snow and ice haven't melted so I have to be careful not to slip. Also about this time I was able to turn off my headlamp and see fine.

At the top of this portion you can either go off to Elephant Point or go first to Split Rock Bay or go to the corrals. I decided to go down to Split Rock Bay and then make the climb back to the corrals.

The road/trail is a pretty constant grade and felt surprisingly long to me. It just felt like it kept going. I finish the 2nd 5k just before hitting the bottom. As I do so I decide that it's time for a little food. I thought that I could eat on the run but as soon as I get the gel out I think "forget that". I stop myself and my watch. Take in the view - which is spectacular - drink some water and I'm moving again.

Since I had never been on this particular trail before I'm careful to make sure I stay on the main trail. I also know that if I don't start climbing back up by a certain point then I know I'll need to turn around. The trail proved very easy to follow.

For whatever reasons, I was really looking forward to climbing on this run. And this is the climb I was most looking forward to doing - that is, the switchbacks going up to the corrals. I wasn't disappointed in the least. Maybe it was the gel kicking in or the perfect weather something else entirely, but it was a really good climb that I got a kick out of. At one point I thought the climbing was over and that the trail was going to curve back around to the corrals but it turned out there was another switch back and more climbing. Again, I was not disappointed.

The corrals were a stopping point that I had planned ahead on. And as it turned out were at exactly 15k into the run. There's a sign that explains what historians think the corrals were used for and the remnants of said corrals. I took a few pictures, drank some water and was moving again.

The trail from this point to the Elephant Point turn off consisted of a lot of snow and ice. The puddles were frozen and had to be carefully circumnavigated. The snow was frozen hard and not very forgiving. None of this proved to be much of a problem though.

On the way back I passed several runners. There were more than I had ever seen before in one day. Maybe there was some sort of meet up I wasn't invited too. Still, it was good to see so many people out there enjoying the great outdoors. I made it back to my car in pretty good time - having only eaten one gel and one Gu chomp (there are 4 in a pack and I had 1) during the entire 16 mile run - feeling depleted but very good. This, for me, was the best run I've had in a long time. The new parts of the trail and how fresh my legs felt kept my mind occupied so I never really felt bored or zapped.

Frary Peak (Antelope Island State Park, Utah) Trail Run

I wanted to go to Antelope Island last week but it didn't work out. At the time the weather was less than stellar so I wasn't too upset that I wasn't able to make it. It would have been rainy, cold and miserable. Instead I spent less time running more miles closer to home that were still wet and kind of miserable, but it was tolerable because I was just around my neighborhood and not on some mountain trying to enjoy the views.

I decided that I was going to go a few days later. The weather forecast was unfortunately worse than it was before. I considered this but then decided to go for it anyway. The forecasts can be wrong and it just might end up being a beautiful day, right?

I left my house while it was still dark and got out to the island. The weather went from being dry at my house to a light rain by the time I got to the trail head. I put on my gortex jacket and left the trailhead determined to do the run anyway. It was still dark at this point and I headed up the hill with my headlamp on.

Whenever I'm running in less than prefered conditions I try to think about what I once read in a Lance Armstrong book several years ago. I remember him boasting and saying the reason why he was so good is that he would train harder than the other guys. He would train in the cold and the hot the wind and rain, His point was that he was good because he put himself in these poor conditions to make him more prepared and able to perform in races.

So, like him, I try to not wake up on a cold rainy day and decide that I'm not running that day simply because it's cold and rainy. If I become more familiar with how I feel and how it feels to run in poor conditions then I can be more prepared for when those conditions occur on race day (and they have and they will).

So, I ran up this mountain in the middle of a pretty bad storm. It was very windy, it rained and it snowed. I still pushed up and kept running every bit that I could. I made it back in one piece and felt good about having done it.

At one point the light was enough that I could turn of my headlamp and I was in the clouds. Visibility was probably about a hundred yards at this point. I looked up as I was reaching a small crest in the trail when I saw two dark silhouettes of what looked like large rocks. I made loud "hey" noise to see if there was any reaction in the objects, and there was. In the middle of this storm, in the clouds on the ridge of this mountain there were two bison grazing together. I wasn't too afraid initially because I thought the trail was going away from where they were. I then realized that they were closer to the trail than I wanted them to be. The thought of leaving the trail was not pleasant because cutting through the bushes would have soaked my legs and feet. I yelled again and it was clear that the closer beast had no plans on moving much. He pointed his head toward me as I got within about 10 yards. I knew I was pushing it at this point. I stayed on the trail, passed him while looking back to see if his attitude changed. Eventually the beasts were behind me and I continued running.

I feel I should point out that theres a fine line between pushing yourself in bad conditions and doing something completely void of all sense. I think it is something that must be decided by each individual. Know your limits by testing them in small increments and not large bounds.

29 November 2014

This week, I passed my goal for 2000 miles in 2014. I haven't been plagued with any serious injuries this year and haven't been sick enough times to make an impact in reaching my goal.

Coming up next weekend I'm doing a 10k race. I'm running it with my spouse which should be better than trying to run it really fast. I hope the weather holds up. Snow wouldn't be bad, but windy and rainy would make it not so fun pretty quick.

I also signed up for the Red Hot 55k race. Waiting until April for my next race was just too long. And this race should prove to be a good intermediary and help me prep for my first 50 mile race. The Red Hot 55k is ran just north and west of Moab Utah. The course should be unique to me. I have walked and hiked over lots of sandstone, I haven't run a race on sandstone.

This past Friday I took  a run on Antelope Island State Park. It truly is a fun place to run and this time was no exception. I got out there quick and ran a fairly standard loop. I saw both antelope and buffalo while I was out there. And and saw few people which is another reason I like running around the island.

Trail Running Antelope Island November 2014

Keep running!