Saturday April 30th - Quicksilver 50 mile run

Starting at 6AM in the foothills south of San Jose, I toed the start line for the Quicksilver 50 mile run. There were around 300 people either doing the 25k, 50k, or 50 mile run. I knew this course would be challenging as the elevation profile showed a gain of more than 8,500 feet for the 50 mile portion. This would be my second 50 mile run after finishing the American River 50 last year.

The course was tough with steep climbs and sharp descents. The descents are usually where I can make up for the extra time it takes me to do the climbs but a few of the descents were so steep you needed to go slower or risk stumbling down the hill. Things were going good as I came down to the 31 mile mark which was the finish for the 50k runners. While they took a quick right to finish to cheers and an awaiting BBQ with beers on ice I stopped to fill my water. The guy who helped me get water was drinking an ice cold Guinness smiling and telling me I only had another 19 miles to go. What he did not tell me was the next four miles were mostly straight up.

With the temps rising as it got past 1PM I quickly ran out of water only two miles in. I walked most of the remaining two miles and had my first wildlife encounter. With my head down staggering up the hill I heard a rattle. Five feet in front of me was a three foot rattlesnake. The rattler stopped and I swear it looked right at me, shook its rattle, and was waiting for me to make a move. I froze and told the snake that I saw him, he shook his rattle again and slowly moved off the path but not before I was able to snap off a few pictures.

Once I got to mile 41 I started to work through my funk and finished the race feeling strong.

May is when the training really ramps up. I will be running a minimum of 40 miles each Saturday for the next six weeks...