Memorial Day Weekend is the pinnacle of training for most runners in the WS 100. The race puts on three day training session that gives folks a chance to get out to different parts of the course with the additional benefit of having aid stations set up. The aid stations are huge when you start running more than six hours and don't want to be saddled down with a bunch of provisions.
Saturday is scheduled for 31 miles and usually starts around mile 30 (Robinson Flat) of the course and finishes up in Foresthill. This run is highly anticipated because it takes runners through the toughest part of the course ...The Canyons!! Earlier in the week the race folks sent out an email saying due to the still high snow levels and poor trail conditions (deep snow and downed trees) the course would be significantly changed. The changes were really unfortunate because we would not be going into two of the tougher canyons. I was disappointed to not get back into the canyons but I had been out there the previous two weeks so I was not shedding any tears about skipping the Devil's Thumb.
Another thing many runners will do for this weekend is to run 50 miles on Saturday, skip the Sunday run, and then run 22 on Monday. This was my plan. The run on Saturday went really well, for the first 37 miles. After finishing the organized 31 miler I connected with a group of four other runners and we added on 17 miles. It was amazing, as soon as I started down the road for the final 17 it started to rain. It would continue to rain off an on for the next four hours. The weather we have been having has been absolutely crazy. While it was raining on us it was snowing up in Lake Tahoe.
With doing so many long runs every weekend I have really begun to understand what I need in terms of food and hydration. In short, I need a lot of both. Being a little bit on the bigger side (just saw my weight get below 200 for the first time since, well, maybe 1989?) I just need a lot more than others. This tends to be problematic when I do long runs without any aid stations. This was my concern with the last 17 miles as there was no water and no food along the way. I figured it was on the cold side so maybe I could make it with my normal water and stuffed as much food as possible in my pak and pockets.
To be honest, this 17 miles was not fun at all. I got separated from the group for the first five miles. I was drinking my water way to fast. The rain picked up while the temperates began to drop quickly. with the rain I could not bust out my iPod for motivation especially since I ruined my last one in a rain/hail storm the previous Sunday. None of the food I brought with tasted good. At about mile 10 of 17 I knew I was going to need to slow down. The group I was running with were awesome. They hung with me and shared food with me when I was clearly struggling. Even when I fell behind they waited until I got to a point where they knew I was okay and continued on. I can't say enough about the trail running community. It is a fascinating combination of competitiveness and camaraderie that I have never seen in any other sport. Just one more aspect which makes trail running so much fun. You really want to see everyone do well while wanting to push yourself to compete with them.
Okay, back to the hell run or more like the soon to be freezing run. The last six miles the rain really picked up. The temps were getting lower which led me to put on my jacket. I only mention this as I never need to wear a jacket...remember the part about being bigger...this "size" usually keeps me plenty warm. The last three miles was straight up and I was probably cruising at a 20-25 minute a mile pace. Most people can walk backwards faster than this. As I made it to the parking lot everyone else was in their cars ready to role to Ikeda's in Auburn for burgers. I quickly jumped in and had one of the best burgers ever.
The amazing thing about eating the burger, besides literally finishing it in less than three minutes, was my body went from uncontrollable shivering and feeling like crap to feeling perfectly warm and the aches kinda disappeared. This stuff is showing me when I begin to hurt a lot of the time it tracks back to my need to eat more. Yes, I need to eat burgers and fries during the race. Works for me!
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