Author Topic: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report  (Read 9848 times)

Roughster

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Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« on: October 11, 2008, 08:51:45 PM »
Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 - Oct 11, 2008

While I would have rather been in Kona :) , it wasn’t meant to be ( at least this year, next year its on!). Due to that, I decided to sign up for my 1st Ultra. I debated between the 50s: 50K or 50 Miles. I have often pined on getting a buckle aka Western States 100 finisher award. I figured if I was going to go ultra, I would try the 50 mile distance since that is a mandatory to qualify for Western States. And it would be a good litmus test across several fronts: Could I run 50 miles, let alone 100, without permanently injuring myself and how effective my distance ramp up was.

I chose the Firetrails 50 because #1 it was local, #2 it is a tough course that I think would be a better representative run for evaluating whether WS would/could be a reality. The course is mostly an out and back with small variation at both the start, where you circle the East shore of Lake Chabot and on the way back to the finish you circle the West shore. This results in a slightly longer front 1/2 before the turn around ~26 miles and a ~24 mile return. Another thing of note for this race +8000 feet elevation gain/loss. You can see the profile here:

http://www.firetrails50.net/images/FTalt.gif

Leading up to the race I started to sweat several aspects:

Was my training enough? My long run was 30.4 (lower loop of the course). I also ran the upper loop so I knew what I was in for. But 2 weeks after my 30.4 I ran 28 miles locally and I was seriously worried I would not recover from it in time even though it was 3 weeks out. I was just a very difficult training run that punished me.

Right Knee = funky! I wouldn’t say it was “injured” but it just felt off. I spent the week leading to today ice, massaging, praying to God that the knee would hold up.

Winds = 55 mile per hour gusts! There was a severe weather Alert for the East Bay Hills which proclaimed 20-35 MPH winds with gusts reaching 55 miles an hour…peaking Saturday morning aka the race. Although it turned out to not be too bad, there were definitely a few sections of ridgeline that had a lot of wind.

Ok on to race day. I decided (ok it was wife’s suggestion!) we should get a hotel in Castro Valley to make it easier to get to the race in time without having to leave Vacaville at 4AM. I am very glad we did! I worked late on Friday and driving out there last night wasn’t bad, but I would have been hurting if we would’ve had to get up at 3AM to leave at 4AM. Comfort Suites in Castro Valley, was very nice room, slept pretty well with the help of 2 sleeping pills. Left at 5AM to head to start to check in. On the way up the road, we saw an obvious racer hoofing it. At the last second he held his race bib out obvious hoping for a ride. We pulled over and squeezed him in the back seat with the kids. “Rob” was his name though once we got there we split ways and I didn’t see him after again after that.

Went down to registration and checked in, semi-freaked when I couldn’t remember if I told them no early start. My wife assured me I had. The race has a 6AM start option for those who think they will be on the course near the cutoff times. The waiting for the 06:30 AM start wasn’t that long but it seemed like forever due to how cold it was. Very chilly most likely due to the lake / cooling effect not to mention The Bay is always a lot more chilly than Vacaville in the morning!


The family bundled up while we waited for the start.

Eventually the cattle call began to cross the bridge to the start area. It was dark and would remain that way for the 1st 2 miles. There were a good amount of people with lights (I was not one of them) and the initially miles were on a paved bike path. Before too long, the RD wrapped up his speech and said, “Go”. We were off. I had elected to run with my sweater till the Skyline Gate Aid Station due to how cold it was. I was glad I did as it stayed chilly till about that time. After the 2nd mile, the run goes up a series of steep hills to cross Marcel road a mile up. This was actually a good warm up and I played it very conservative, maybe too conservative in retrospect.


A few seconds before the start.

Hit the mile 3 Aid Station and began a fast decent on the Brandon Trail towards Bort Aid Station @ mile 8. Everything was going good. It was a gel and Salt Tab per Aid Station, every other station putting down a solid food like Cliff Bars. I was sticking with sports drink since it was fairly dilute. Leaving the aid station I was averaging 10:20 min/miles due to the hills, but I was feeling amazing. The next stretch starts the next large hill and between Bort and Big Bear stations you go up ~500 feet and come down almost 700. I quick noticed I was one of the faster people on the up hills but on the down hills, people were just letting it all hang out and just blasting down them. This is definitely different then the IM Marys where people run much more conservatively on the down hills (at least that I have seen). I elected to stick with my plan but did pick up the downhill pace a good amount and by the end of the race I had really learned to open it up on the way down.

Hit Big Bear and you move to the first real section of single track. Very nice running but there is abundant poison oak (my nemesis) on the sides, so once again went pretty conservatively. Prior to hitting a paved section at about mile 10, I noticed a few runners ahead of me doing some crazy Arm Flapping Hee-Haw Dance kinda thing. I thought, “Well that sure looks funny!” By the time I finished that thought, I felt something land on my shirt then sting/bit/inject deadly poison into me. It hurt like Hell! I too joined in the Hee Haw dance try to keep the little bastards off of me. I don’t know if they were hornets or industrial sized horse flies, but the little bastards got me twice. My wife told me everyone was talking about them and one person related a story of a guy who had more than one stuck in his shirt..OUCH!

I hit the 13.1 mile mark and had just a little over a mile to what I considered the “half way point to the Turn around though it was more than that. This stretch involves..wait for it…more hills but they do go through an amazing redwood forest section, then up a hill to Skyline. True to form, the Mrs and kids were there jumping up a down cheering me on. Have I mentioned yet that I have the most amazing and beautiful wife in the world and the most wonderful kids a dad could ask for??? Cause I can say that as much silliness I put them through, they are the one sure thing on any race day for me and for that I am eternally grateful. OK this is going to sound really mushy and wussy but I have to say. It is not an uncommon occurrence in my races to start thinking about them and literally I get chocked up and feel like balling like a sissy. Ok enough with the sap!


Coming up to Skyline Gate (Mile 15).

Out of Skyline is a nice flat road, up a small hill, down a small hill and back onto single track. I really loved this section in my training runs here and I loved it just as much during the race. A very “jungley” feel with ferns, trees, moss I kind of expect either Tarzan or a little Irish dude with a pot of gold around any corner. Very amazing place to run! Of note in this section was a small downhill. I had started picking up my pace and was averaging close to 8 min/miles on the downs and was cruising right along, at least for me. Interestingly enough, I hear the tell tale sounds of a runner approaching from behind, and I can tell he was really moving. I spied a break in the trail next to some trees and was just about there to step aside when I heard a (think Cartman), “Oh My God!” Thump crash, bangle, jangle, obvious rolling sounds. I turn around and the dude had gone just completely ass over tea kettle. I asked him if he was OK, he said yes, I left the scene due to the immediate guilt. Did I cause the crash? I would assume it would be the runner overtaking to manage the situation. I knew he was there and planned on moving over ASAP, but literally this is wall to wall fernville on a single track. You step aside when the chance permits, not to mention I was already moving out pretty good for me at my 8min/mile pace. Anyways!

You finish up the single track in Sibley Park, cross the road and head up a pretty good section of switch backs leading towards Steam Trains. Steam Trains are aptly named and you can hear them from about 4 miles away. It was interesting at this point in the race though I started seeing runners coming down the trail in the opposite direction. At first I was like, “WTF this many people are ahead of me?” Then I realized that it was the Trail Marathon which started at our turn around and 1 ways to our finish. Pfew!!! Now I was not expecting to 10 finish or anything, but I didn’t expect to see about a hundred people ahead of me either!

I reached Steam Trains, fueled up (mile 21.7) and was still feeling top notch. I was very happy with my “body” so far and was hoping it would stay that way. From Steam Trains, its up a paved bike path for a short but steep hill, then down into some canyons leading to the turn around point. A significant stretch of downhill running takes place here and I wanted to try letting it hang out a little more and hmmm wouldn’t you know it..I was going faster and feeling good about it! This is about the point in the race where I noticed I wasn’t running with the approximate same group of people behind / in front of me and was starting to catch others. It wasn’t very far into the down that I saw the first place finished coming back up them and that dude was literally sprinting up a very steep section, sick!

I kept at it and was very quickly at mile 25, then 26 and the turn around (4:10). Hi-Five the kids, hugs and kisses around for the Mrs and the kids as well, and back up the trail at 4:15.


Almost at the turn around (Mile 26).

Ughh what was a fun downhill was a rather lengthy trudge back up it, but I was running the less steep sections and actually hit the top faster than I thought I would, back down to Steam Trains and my wife and kids were. MAGIC! To me, this was the turning point in the race. Steam Trains on the return trip is 30.3 miles. Pretty much exactly my longest run ever. The difference was though I was feeling stellar! Now 20 more miles is still a long way especially considering the hills, but I knew I had the finish in the bag, it was all about time. To me, in any race, this is the key. Once I know a finish is certain, I always start picking up my pace. Its just something I started doing and to me it makes all the difference in the world. At one of the aid stations before Skyline, I heard one of the volunteers tell a girl who had just beat me into the station that she was first place female. This was way cool as it started to put a little context on the day I was having!

The return to Skyline was actually pretty uneventful, but very fun. When I got there (mile 37) the wheels were still on the bus, but the Mrs and Kids weren’t…. This was a problem as they are usually like clockwork. I told one of the volunteers (who by the way were INSANELY AWESOME!) , to please look for her and tell her she missed me and go to the Finish. I left the station a little deflated at not seeing them, but the next stretch is a long down hill so I soon forgot my disappointment in the chaos of barely managed legs flailing freefall which were now called my downhill stride. And man did I start passing people. I actually started catching Marathoners, blowing by other DC 50’ers. Not an ego thing, I was just surprised to be feeling this good late in the race and man I was excited about it. At the bottom of this section, I felt the well known “for me” feeling of a blister popping on my pinky toe on my right foot. This sucker can only be called Little Frankenstein at this point because it is more of club with the weirdest mass of funky calluses on it due to the never end cycle: Blister, pop, tear, reblister, pop, tear, over and over. I smiled and just kept going. It doesn’t hurt that much.

Up over the single track, where I noticed the hills were a little more painful now, and back down to Big Bear. I was feeling tired, but I knew I was going to get a “break” as I would be forced to walk the steep next 2 miles up to the ridgeline leading back to Bort. And it was a rest actually. Now don’t get me wrong, I was working. Hands on knees pushing, muscling, running less steep sections. But I did recover some. The last 2 miles to Bort are downhill and I put the hammer down. At one point, I was tempted make airplane sounds I was flying so fast, but I didn’t think I had spit to spare as my last quick pitstop showed my pee was running the color of new motor oil. Not good! I switched to water in the hand held bottle from there to the end. Nutrition plan was working perfect, legs, tired but feeling good, knees, Scotty reported that all engines were a go, little toe…he was complaining about being under second to last toe who thought that crap was funny! :)

Bort came and I knew it was time to close this baby out! I fired down the long downhill to the lake at a very quick clip ~7min/miles and was still passing people both marathoners and DC’ers. A few nasty uphills, which I knew were there from my pre-race running of the course, were as painful as I thought they would be, but its much easier to manage when you know it’s coming. Last aid station and I noticed a dude who looked about my age with a DC50 bib. It was only 2.9 miles to the Finish….Aid Stations…we don’t need no stinkin’ aid stations! Fly-by and back on the trail which quickly turns to 1st dirt path then you go down a small hill and across a bridge. So close to the finish I could literally see it peeping around the corner.


My daughter and I crossing the lawn right before the finish.

The last bit is paved which was, as I like to say, poopy, but it made it easier to keep good momentum. I looked at the watch, couldn’t resist, and saw 8 hours with just a little under 2 miles to go. WOOOHOOO! This was way better than the 9-9:30 I was expecting. I secretly hoped to be the first rookie but that honor was for a dude that posted a 7:34, NICE! But still I was ecstatic! Megan and Max crossed the line with me at 8:13:49 / 12th Overall. That's a `15 minute negative split on a back half of a hilly 50. I'll take that Thank You Very Much!


With both kids and the clock showing.


http://www.firetrails50.net/2008DCFTResults.htm

Not too shabby for a rookie and a personal longest run of +20 miles longer than I have ever run before! We stuck around, cheered on others, and ate food. We drove back tonight just so I could share my story with you…ok so I was too cheap to spring for a 2nd night in the hotel :)

Some quick notes:
- FANTASTIC RACE/Venue. Scenery is top notch! At one point you see the City and Bay and Golden Gate. It was almost ear causing! Also, the surface, trails, road, almost all dirt but well groomed.

-Volunteers = AMAZING. They were so helpful, I felt guilty.

- Aid Stations were AWESOMELY stocked with food of all sorts, drinks, Gus, coke, salt tabs, etc… I just can’t say enough about them. I easily can highly recommend this race. It was an amazing experience!

mungeclimber

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2008, 10:19:52 PM »
all I can say is "KAW POW!"   that's just killer.  the flat land races will be cake from now on yes?  or will they just be boring?
On Aid at Pinns... It's all A1 til it crumbles. - Munge

Roughster

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2008, 07:09:35 AM »
Thanks Munge :)  It was a great experience for sure!  I don;t know if 50 miles will ever be "easy" whether it is flat or not, but I plan on doing the AR50 (a lot less elevation gain) for my 2010 qualifier for Western States.  2009 is being devoted to qualifying for Kona.

EDIT:  Should've mentioned I added photos above. :)

salad

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2008, 12:37:09 PM »
radical!!!  nice tr!
eow!

Roughster

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2008, 05:34:16 PM »
Thanks Salad!  I was really wondering how things would work out on race day.  I can say overall the race was a lot more fun and less painful than I was expecting.

mynameismud

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2008, 06:45:49 PM »
Roughster...   Awesome. 

Burly run and a great time.

Here's ta sweat in your eye


Here's to sweat in your eye

mudworm

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Re: Ultramarathon - Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Race Report
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2008, 08:11:26 PM »
Roughster, Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful story! I enjoyed the write up very much. It's awesome that your entire family were there with you on this very special day. BTW, you have a beautiful family!
Inch by inch, I will get there.