Hit the Dusty Trail

This will be a long race report, you have been forewarned.

I ran the Katcina Mosa 100K Mountain Challenge Run on Saturday.

The race starts at 3am at a park up Hobble Creek Canyon.  This is a loop course that takes you thru the Wasatch mountains utilizing some of the Squaw Peak 50 Mile course.

My race started at around 3:20am as I was late to the start due to an accident on I-15 near Draper.  Once I started, my thought was to catch as many people as I could throughout the day and see where I ended up.

The first 10 miles are a climb from around 5000’ to 8500’.  As the climb was on dirt roads, I was able to run almost the entire way.  By the time I got to the first aid station at 8.49 miles, I had caught eight people.  Total time, 1:50.  At least now I wasn’t last.  Aid station #2 was at 13.1 miles.  My time to this point was just under three hours.  Contrast that with my half marathon PR of 1:36 and you can see some of the difficulty with trail running.  At AS #2, I dropped off my flashlight, and picked up some Shot Bloks I had in a dropbag there.  The next few miles into AS #4 were all downhill and I was able to make some pretty good time.  At AS #3 (16.5 miles), runners leave the dirt road and begin the climb to the highest point on the course, the climb to Lightning Ridge Pass.  This starts out as a fairly steep trail going up a canyon, but soon opens into a huge bowl. The climb becomes more gradual, but is still difficult to run for the average person due to the elevation.  As I was climbing this trail, the sun was beginning to hit the higher peaks.  Once I reached the ridgeline, the sun was out and it was a “Sound of Music” moment.  Great views of the surrounding mountains, Utah Lake and the cities down below, way down below.  Now the trail dropped over 3000’ in the next four miles and brought us to AS #4 (23.49 miles).  This section of trail is fairly steep, but I enjoy running that kind of trail and was able to really fly down it.  Lots of fun.  At AS #4, I shook all the dirt and gravel out of my shoes, grabbed more Shot Bloks out of my drop bag, filled my bottles and hit the trail again.  Next stop, AS #5 (29.6 miles) at Windy Pass.  The aid station at Windy Pass is one that I work at during the Squaw Peak 50 mile.  The hike up there usually involves 30-40 lbs. of supplies on my back and takes 2.5 hours for 5 miles.  Now I was running and had no weight on my back and the trip from AS #4 to Windy Pass (6 miles) only took 1:50.  The same crew that I work with during Squaw Peak was up there Saturday and were surprised to see me.  “Hey look, Jim has a race number on, let’s take a picture”.  Once again, I grabbed a little to eat, filled my bottles, and hit the trail.  The two biggest climbs on the course were now behind me and only one major climb remained.  The section between AS #5 and #6 is a mix of both trail and ATV road.  A lot of this section was downhill and I was able to open the pace up whenever I got the chance.  Once at AS #6 (38.8 miles), there was a short out and back of 1.3 miles to ensure we received the full 100K experience.  Leaving AS #6, I began the last major climb of the race.  I don’t climb well, especially at high elevations and it was starting to show now.  My legs were getting somewhat tired, but once I reached the top of that climb I started to trot again where I could.  The trouble with this section is that the ATV had lost of loose fist sized, or larger, rocks and this made running difficult at best.  As I was going along this section, I came across a fellow runner just sitting on the road with a dazed look.  I wasked him if he was ok and he mentioned that his stomach was giving him problems.  I told him to get up and gave him some Tums from my drug stash.  I always carry a small baggy of electrolytes, Tums, and Ibuprofen during a race.  It’s saved my race a few times.  Anyway, AS #7 (45.8 miles) was just about 150 yards beyond where this runner was sitting, you just couldn’t see it thru the trees.

This aid station is where I spent the most time, around 14 minutes.  I grabbed quite a bit to eat, potatoes, melon, a can of ginger ale.  I also changed my socks.  It felt good to put on some clean socks.  I started out on the last climbing on the course, a very gradual climb along a dirt road for about a mile, then downhill into AS #8 (52.5 miles).  In and out of AS #8 in two minutes and on to a trail again.  This time it was 3.7 miles of downhill, twisty, trail along a dry creek bed.  Lots of fun to run this section and I ran it as fast as I could given how many miles I had traveled.  Eventually, I pulled into the last aid station, AS #9 (56.3 miles).  By now, any hopes of meeting my overly optimistic time projections were way out the window.  I just wanted to get the last six miles done with, so down the road I went.  This time, it was just under six miles of downhill pavement.  Wow, less than a 10K to go.  I found out that running six miles of pavement is harder than it looks when you’ve already covered 56 miles.  I could only run ¼-1/2 mile at a time before I would have to walk for a bit.  I met up with another runner and her pacer and together we managed to run this last section faster than either one of us could have done by ourselves.  It was nice to have someone to talk to after being by myself for the entire day.  We managed to cross the finish line together with her time being two hours slower due to an early start at 1am.  My final time, 16:12.  Actual running time due to mt late start was around 15:55.

Atermath – I’m sore.  I haven’t been this sore in quite awhile.  I had several goals for this race.  First, it was to be my last long training run before Where’s Waldo 100K in two weeks.  Second, I wanted a 14 hour finish.  That was not to be, not because of a lack of training, but due to the toughness of the course.  Third, I wanted to push the pace some just to see if I could.  I can.  Fourth goal, in and out of every aid station in two minutes or less.  I accomplished this except for AS #7.  Aid station time can be a real killer of times for ultra runners.  My total time in aid stations was around 30 minutes.  Fifth, I wanted to try fueling with Shot Bloks exclusively.  I did until around mile 45, then even those sounded kind of disgusting.  I did take additional food when I felt I should.  Sixth, stay well hydrated for the entire race.  I knew it would be a warm day.  I took two 24 oz. bottles and tried to drink them dry between aid stations, then tank up my stomach at the aid stations, fill the bottles and get out.  This worked very well.

After the race, I had the usual food craves for spicy, salty food, and lots of it.  The hamburgers and hot dogs at the finish line were great.

Sunday was a very stiff and tiring day.  I move pretty slow most of the day and couldn’t sit for very long other wise I would stiffen up.  Today isn’t too bad.  I can go down the stairs frontways instead of backwards.  No running until Wed. of this week and only fairly short miles for the rest of the week, a medium long on Sunday, then short miles next week, three days off and run Where’s Waldo.

Here's a ink to the website course map and elevation profile:

http://jbozung.host.elfon.com/100kcrse.htm

Went running for the first time since the race on Saturday.  the legs were actually not sore at all.  A little bit tired, but that didn't hinder my running.  Ran from Fernwood down to Adams Canyon and back on the BST.  Ran the 2 miles back at a sub 10 minute pace.  Not bad considering this is primarily uphill.  Felt really good to get back out on the trail. 

Ran easy at lunch.  Felt some minor aches and pains.  Probably related to last night's trail run and maybe too much too soon after last Saturday's 100K.  Going shorter tomorrow.

Mostly a hike with my wife and her horse out on Antelope Island.  Want to take it easy since Where's Waldo is next Saturday.

Well, here’s my race report for the 2007 edition of the Where’s Waldo 100K trail run.  This year, the race served as the USATF National Masters 100K Trail Championship.  Warning, this is a very long report.

Here's the link to their website:  http://www.wpsp.org/ww100k/

The short story is that I did worse than last year, taking over 1 ½ hours longer to run a course that had been shortened by four miles.  Just goes to show that there are no guarantees when running an ultra.  I had trained hard all year for this race and came up short.  Oh well.  I think my downfall was that I ran the Katcina Mosa 100K here in Utah just two weeks before, thinking that it would be a good last long run.  I don’t think I was fully recovered from that run.

102 starters, 81 finishers.

Here’s the breakdown by section

Mile 0-7.4  Start to Gold Lake aid station  11:13/mile pace, 1:23 hours elapsed time.

Part of this section was new.  We had to go up a haul road at the ski area for the first mile or two before getting on to the trail.  Once on the trail it’s about 5 miles of downhill running into the Gold Lake aid station.  My pace thru this section was about 30 seconds/mile slower than last year, but I attribute that to the steep road section at the start.  I actually felt pretty good here.  Time at aid station – 30 seconds

Mile 7.4 – 12.4 Gold Lake to Fuji Mtn. aid station  13:24 pace, 2:30 elapsed time

I felt pretty good on this section as well.  I actually ran this section faster than last year.  The trail is primarily uphill and my uphill training and weight work in the gym paid off I think.  Time at aid station – 2 minutes

Mile 12.4 – 14.9 Fuji Mtn. to Fuji Mtn.  14:48 pace, 3:08 elapsed time

This is an out and back section that takes runners to the top of Fuji Mountain.  If the conditions are clear, the view is spectacular.  This year it was foggy and cloudy.  My pace was about 15 seconds slower than last year but not too bad.  The climb isn’t real difficult, but does involve a fair amount of walking.  Time in aid station – 2 minutes

Mile 14.9 – 20.1 Fuji Mtn. to Mt. Ray   11:47 pace, 4:13 elapsed time

My pace here was bout 30 seconds slower than last year.  When I ran this section, I knew that it would be a struggle to keep the same time as last year and the chance of bettering it would be slim.  The legs just weren’t there even though this section is primarily downhill.  I felt I was fueling and drinking adequately but that wasn’t helping.  Time in aid station – 3 minutes

Mile 20.1 – 26.7 Mt. Ray to Twins 1  13:38 pace, 5:43 elapsed time

My pace on this section was about 15 seconds slower than last year.  I ran the last few miles with a police officer from Eugene.  We had some interesting conversation and I think running with someone helped to keep my pace up.  Runners see the Twins aid station twice.  Time in aid station – 2 minutes

Mile 26.7 – 31.6 Twins 1 to Charlton Lake  13:53 pace, 6:51 elapsed time

I enjoy this section of the course.  Rolling ups and downs, although the trend is downhill, twisty runnable trail going thru some interesting rock formations, open forest.  This section was definitely slower than last year, by about 53 seconds per mile.  I felt reasonably good, but just couldn’t get any speed up.  Last year when I came into Charlton Lake, I felt fantastic and on top of the world.  This year I felt just so-so.  Time in aid station – 7 minutes

Mile 31.6 – 36.8  Charlton Lake to Road 4290  14:14 pace, 8:05 elapsed time

This section was way slower than last year, by about 3 ½ minutes.  Running?  Forget that, I just wanted to get to the next aid station.  I think I was a little under fueled thru this section.  It seemed as though I was always hungry.  I had several Shot Bloks along the way, but that didn’t take care of the issue.  I did eat a fair amount at Rd. 4290 and that helped some.  Time in aid station – 10 minutes

Mile 36.8 – 44.3  Rd 4290 – Twins 2  16:56 pace, 10:12 elapsed time

This is the section I really bonked on.  It took me over two hours to navigate this section.  It took the same amount of time as last year, but last year we had to summit the Twins, one of the peaks in the area.  This year we didn’t.  I just felt bad.  My stomach wasn’t giving me problems, but I was hungry and getting chilled.  I figured it was dehydration and low sodium, but I had been drinking regularly and taking electrolytes.  When I look back, I think the lack of adequate recovery from the previous race was starting to take its toll at this point.  The goal for me now was to finish ahead of the cutoffs and try to enjoy the day as best I could.  When I arrived at the Twins aid station, I wrapped up in a blanket and started downing hot noodles.  That really helped a lot.  I made sure to leave the aid station with a full belly even if it slowed me down.  Time in aid station – 15 minutes

Miles 44.3 – 49.5  Twins 2 – Maiden Peak  17:30 pace, 11:43 elapsed time

This section was slow as well.  The climb to maiden Peak really begins o this section and the route is primarily uphill.  I don’t remember having a hard time, in fact I remember feeling pretty good on this section, but I was just slow.  I got to the maiden Peak aid station felling pretty good, ate some more food and began the climb up the peak.  Time in aid station – 5 minutes

Mile 49.5 – 54.6  Maiden Peak – Maiden Lake  22:45 pace, 13:39 elapsed time

This section involves a climb of over 2000’ and a descent of 1500’ in 5.1 miles.  This is by far the most difficult section of the course.  For those coming from sea level, the climb to over 7800’ is a challenge in breathing.  I wasn’t bothered by it.  In fact, I did this section faster than last year and actually felt pretty good.  Maybe it was because I knew the finish was only a few miles away and it was all downhill after summiting the peak.  The temp was certainly cooler on top, probably in the 40’s and I certainly was prepared for it and was glad to get back down into the trees out of the wind and a lower elevation.  I sat at the maiden lake aid station for awhile trying to get warm.  They fed me nice hot broth then kicked me out towards the finish line.  I took some of the broth in one of my water bottles and it was nice to have a warm hand finally, at least for a few miles.  Time in aid station 15 minutes

Mile 54.6 – 62.1  Maiden Lake – Finish  17:04 pace, 15:47 elapsed time

At last, the last section of the course.  The weather was starting to get cloudy and the sun was starting to go down.  I ended up walking the last couple of miles because it was too dark to run and I didn’t have my light.  I did manage to run the first several miles.  I enjoy this section of the course as well, it’s primarily downhill and windy and very runnable.  As you get closer to the finish, you can start to hear the cars going down the highway and know that you aren’t too far from the finish.  Coming around that last turn and seeing the lights at the finish line a quarter mile away is wonderful.  My wife and sister met me at the finish line.  They had been there since 3pm watching other runners cross.  They knew roughly where I was with the radio reports from each aid station. 

Aftermath - It was nice to finally finish.  I sat down by a nice warm fire, drank a beer and ate some wonderful soup and hamburgers.  Most everyone was gone, the awards ceremony was over, but there were quite a number of volunteers and finishers still cheering on us stragglers as we crossed.

I’m convinced that the lack of adequate recovery was the key to my poor race.  Had the Katcina Mosa 100K been three earlier instead of two weeks earlier, I think I would have done much better.  A contributing factor was the weather.  I don’t like running in cold weather, and it was cold (to me) the entire day.  If I had been smart, I would have kept my long sleeve T tied around my waist to use later.  I would have also taken some gloves.  Keeping my hands warm would have gone a long ways towards making the race more enjoyable and possibly faster.  I still enjoyed running the race, even though it was an exercise in perseverance and stubbornness.  It goes to show that there are no guarantees when running an ultra, no matter how much you train or how well you’ve run the race in the past.  I’ll go back and run it again next year and have a good time again.  Recovery, it's now Wednesday after the race and I finally feel somewhat normal.  My legs were really sore, more so than usual, for the first few days after the race.

I'm taking a couple of weeks off from running, I need the break before I start training for the next adventure.