Quicksilver 50-mile 2013: some heat training at last!

Unlike my traditional race reports where I thank volunteers at the end, I would like to start this one the other way. Not because this event is put up by our club, Quicksilver Running Club of San Jose, and the main aid station manned by my other club, the Stevens Creek Striders, but because I was able to get a deeper experience and appreciation of the amazing effort required to direct and manage a successful ultra race. I think very few runners actually appreciate all this work as they only see what's happening on race day and usually picking on the potential flaws if any. I have been an aid station captain for several years at Western States (Last Chance), but even this doesn't match the entire organization which starts months ahead and continues for several days and weeks to tear the operation down and... get ready for the following year.

First, of course, the kudos go to Race Director, Pierre-Yves Couteau. Jeremy and I had the opportunity to hear quite a few stories about the stress of the weeks leading to the race, as we were carpooling with Pierre-Yves to Miwok last week. Between his job and family responsibilities, who knows if that stress wasn't the reason of Pierre-Yves's accident at Ohlone last year, one week after Quicksilver...

Pierre-Yves was assisted by Bree Lambert who was in charge of coordinating about 70 volunteers. For her too, this is a huge task which comes on top of her personal training job and her family. After winning the 50K this Saturday, Bree was in charge of the Quicksilver store, selling the very cool Quisilver 30th commemorative t-shirt among other tech Ts and fleeces.

Then come the Ficks. Paul and Darcy who, with their crew, put up the most extravagant post-race BBQ party on the ultra circuit! From dips, salads, 3 sorts of burgers, hot dogs, ribs, all freshly cooked on site, side dishes, fruits, cakes, snow cones, they work tirelessly not only on race day, in the heat, but several weeks leading to the event.

Paul even took 2 days off his software job to get the job done, what a dedication!

Paul is also our "Club Trail Officer" (CTO... ;-), leading trail maintenance work through Winter and Spring (see our December and January sessions) and, thanks to him, the trails have never been in such great condition!

I was able to see some of the magnitude of the preparation work as I helped for 5 hours on Friday, loading the rental trucks from our club storage room (you can't believe how much space all the aid station equipment require...), loading all the supplies from Paul and Darcy's garage, including 5 BBQs (and a smoker!), unloading the truck at the start/finish area, setting up the huge tents. We got great help all day Friday from a visiting participant from Walnut Creek, Tom Riley, one of Graham Cooper's friends. Thank you, Tom, and please come back anytime!

10-time Western States finisher, Kristina Irvin is in charge of the 6 aid stations and the second rental truck is for her to dispatch the aid station supplies around the park. Although we had a record 24 club members actually running this Saturday morning, numerous other club members helped at aid stations, for instance, Andy at the remote Sierra Azul turn around, Clare and Scott at Hicks Road.

And here is Harris, has the course sweeper (literally! ;-):

A special mention to Peggy Alfred who is the aid station captain at Dam Overlook and who assembled again a great crew from the Stevens Creek Striders to man the busiest station on the course (350 runners going through, one time for the 25K but three times for the 50K and 50-mile!). This year again, Agnès and Greg joined them for the first shift, plus Caroline, one of Greg's classmates.

I can't name the 70 volunteers so I'll extend my tank you to all of them collectively. And I do want to apologize for the ones manning English Camp especially as I was slightly grumpy not to find ice at my first passage, sorry about that...

With that, it's already 1 am here in London (Monday morning), so I'll be quick for the race itself. Chikara took the control of the race from the start and was not going to be challenged this year.

I ran the first 38 miles in second place in the 50-mile. I had a good first 50K and thought my pace was reasonably slow "enough" to keep up for the last 20 miles as I completed the first loop in 4:12 versus a 3:55 50K last year. But I did overheat, unfortunately... Last year I rant the 50K with my arm warmers as the temperature is too low for me at 6 am. But not this year and the heat got upon us pretty quickly, around 90F. I had asked Agnès and Greg to fill up my bottles with ice for my second passage through Dam Overlook at mile 19. I was a bit surprised when I got my first sip, it wasn't chilly at all. The ice hadn't arrived at the aid station by the time I ran through it the third time, after just over 3 hours of continuous running. I kept pushing up Mine Hill trail as 2 runners pointed me just 7 minutes behind Chikara, which I found surprising. There wasn't any ice either yet by 9:30 am for my first passage through English Town at mile 27 and that set me slightly off, which is really not a good in ultra (not only this is mean to the volunteers, and that mines your mental). Later on Facebook I reminded myself, and others, that ice is a luxury in ultras, there wasn't any years ago, and it's not very sustainable anyway as we contribute so actively in getting our Planet warmer...

I was still a miles from the finish, trying to run most of the Hacienda "roller coaster" section, when I saw Chikara coming off Virl Norton and took note of his split there (3:56). I passed the 50K mark in 4:12 and finally got ice in my bottles, in my shirt, in my hat, took a few sips of Coke, and off I went for the remaining 20 miles. This time, and despite seeing a runner closing on me, I had to power walk the steep uphills of Virl Norton and Hacienda, counting on the melting ice to cool me off. I was 28 minutes behind Chikara at the top of Virl Norton, and I was getting slower, ouch! Encouraged by the 50K and 50-mile runners we cross on Hacienda and English Camp, I alternated running and walking until I reached Englishtown (which had ice that time, yeah! ;-). The runner behind me was Karl Schnaitter, who passed me at the 50-mile mark to win the Ruth Anderson 100K.

As I was carrying two bottles and not eating anything from the aid stations, he was making longer stops at the aid station. He finally passed me at mile 38, just after Hicks Road, with an amazing ease and fast pace that I felt like I wasn't moving at all. Shortly after I saw Chikara coming down from the turn around, very string and fast. The next 3 miles to the turnaround, I thought I'd see Karl coming back and putting a couple of miles on me... To my surprise, I reached out the Sierra Azul aid station without seeing him, there was no way he could have gotten lost on this fire road. He was actually behind the car, taking care of some bad chaffing. As I was taking advantage of the ice again to cool me off, he left before me, still with a pace which I couldn't match (he has much longer legs and seemed full of energy, at least on the flats and downhills). I had left the aid station 7 minutes ago when I saw Graham Cooper, in 4th. Graham won Western States in 2009 and is a very strong finisher, but I thought I had enough lead to win my age group. I didn't stop at Hicks Road, except to get a confirmation from Clare of the remaining distance: 4.5 miles it was! I kept pushing the pace and finally caught up with Karl again just before the ridge as I was stronger in the uphills. I could barely follow-up on the way down on Yellow Kid trail and was thinking it was going to make a very interesting finish with the combination of steep down hills and a few uphills in the last 2 miles. To my surprise again, Karl stopped at Englishtown, with 2 miles to go. I went ahead and was now running against the clock. I ran the 50-mile distance in 6:48 3 years ago. This year, I covered the same distance in 7:08:56, 20 more minutes yet good for second overall and first Masters. Way way behind Chikara who had just missed his own PR by 1 minute (6:16) and way behind Gary Gellin's Age Group Course Record of 6:29 (2011). Not to mention Leor Pantilat's amazing Course Record he set in 2011 too at 6:01!

It was hot but not extremely hot so I'm not sure why I over heated this way. At least it was good heat training for Ohlone, next week, except that I ran 13 miles this Sunday, after landing in London in a chilly (55F!), rainy and windy weather: what a change of conditions!

Given the overheating incident, I was please to finish in reasonably good conditions and enough time to enjoy the BBQ party before driving to the airport (ok, with a stop by my house to take a shower... ;-). That was my 23rd 50-mile race, more than I raced marathons (21)! And this is my 333rd blog post, I had no clue I'd got that far when I started in 2007...

See about 80 other pictures from the lead runners, the Dam Overlook aid station volunteers and the Friday setup in my Picasa album.

Again, a huge thank you to all the volunteers who put up these events. With all my races, it's going to take a few decades for me to give back, I need to plan for that... In the meantime, see some of you at Ohlone next Sunday!

Miwok 2013: welcome to the Mini Miwok 60K!

Thanks to my luck at the lottery again this year last December, this was supposed to be my 7th consecutive Miwok 100K run. As usual, I flew back from business just in time on Friday. This time, it was from nearby Vegas, a short flight except that it was delayed by 3 hours, officially because of high winds but potentially because of the gunfire incident at the Houston airport on Thursday night. I was so much looking forward to a good long night of sleep after a very fruitful but exhausting week at our Impact conference at Impact, not my luck as I got home by 1am on Friday morning.

We carpooled to the start with Pierre-Yves and Jeremy and I drove. After last year when I was still getting prepared at 5 am and missed the start by a couple of minutes, we were on our way by 2:45 (yes, that's a 1:50 am wake-up call...) and arrived to Stinson Beach around 4:15, a good margin, yet pretty far down the parking lot, a detail which will become important at the end of the day...

The start had moved to the Community Center, 0.4 mile away from the beach, and I was still at the car when I heard the big news: because of fire danger, the Rangers were closing the North section of the course and Tia had battled all night to either try reversing the decision or make a new 100K course in the South section. She had found an option but it was crossing one main road and, by 10 pm on Friday night, was not able to get the authorization and approval from the local police. The backup plan was then to run 60K (37 miles) on what remained from the original course, and start by 8 am so the aid stations were ready per the original pace chart.

I wasn't at the start area when the news broke, I just heard that a few people were devastated because that was their main long run training for instance before Western States. Fortunately, we are reminded to be flexible in ultra and appreciative of the blessing the Race Directors, the volunteers, our supporting crews or even the local authorities give us in order to allow us to run on such wonderful courses. I felt bad mostly for those coming from out of town, like this runner from Ohio who was parked next to my car, but at least the South section of the course still had the most amazing views of the Marin Headlands, and they were indeed stunning throughout the morning under such a blue sky (the traditional fog covering the coast in the afternoon...).

By 8 am, the mood was up and great among the starters and, even Tia, could smile again at the start line. There was so much excitement that I never seen such a fast start. It was like the 100K was all of a sudden shortened to a half marathon. Come on, guys and gals, respect the distance, we were still on an ultra race! Anyway, with that, I probably had 30 runners ahead of me as we were climbing up Cardiac, challenging our hearts with the irregular stairs. I gain a few spots before the Cardiac aid station and a few others as I flew down Cardiac. Carrying two bottles, I did not stop at the Muir Beach aid station and, by mile 8, I was still 3 minutes behind Mark Lantz and had no sight of the leaders, including three of my teammates, speedster Master Gary Gellin, our co-captain Marc Laveson and, our newest addition, international elite ultra runner and coach, Ian Sharman.

After Muir Beach, the second significant climb was on the recently-renovated Middle Green Gulch, with a consistent grade and a great combination of switchbacks allowing to see runners in front or behind. Seeing Mark ahead as well as Jonathan (Gunderson) provided some motivation and I did close a large part of their lead in that section. Not stopping at the Tennessee Vally aid station either, I did pass them at the bottom of the Marincello fire road. I had trained on these trails right after the Big Bunny 5K on Easter weekend and it helped a lot on the mental side. I was able to run this third uphill section of the course without stopping, thinking of Hal Korner whom I had seen on that section at the end of his North Face 50-mile, 3 years ago. To keep running uphill I alternatively use two mental images. The first one, from Scott Jurek: lean forward and think that you head is pulled by a string/cable. The other one, from Hal (and to some extent Graham Cooper too): engage a lower gear, switch to the diesel engine mode. It took me years to be able to leverage the second one: several years ago, I had hard time slowing down the pace so, too many times, had to stop to catch my breath, which is particularly bad as you can't even power walk if you are breathless. I haven't completely nail it down, but I'm getting better. And therefore faster, hey...!

The first aid station I stopped at was Bridge View, at mile 17.5 that is about mid way, an aid station manned by the friendly pirates of the Coastside Running Club (thanks Ron!). I refilled my Gu2O bottle, and finally ate something: 4 potato chips and 2 pieces of cantaloup (delicious by the way). Thanks to Vespa, I was clearly fueling my run with my own body fat!

On the way down Coastal Fire Road, I was thinking that the leaders were way ahead an I kept pushing the pace. To my surprise, teammate Loren was directing traffic at the bottom the hill and told me: "Gary and Marc are just 5 minutes ahead, or maybe more..." While the more made sense, the 5 minutes didn't. To my second and even greater surprise, I found Ian coming back on the course at the bridge leading to Rodeo Valley and Bobcat trails. He had went off course for a mile (and another mile to come back), was in third by then and thought others also went off course so thought that I must be on the podium. This was all so confusing, especially the fact that we were getting on Bobcat Trail, back up to the ridge, without going to Rodeo Lagoon and beach, I even hesitated following Ian, despite the numerous marking ribbons (yes, Tia, white with orange dots). I said twice and aloud "this is very wrong" but went on. Ian was quite devastated himself of losing so much time so he was alternating running (fast) and walking uphill. I did pass him before the ridge and he literally flew by my on the way back to our second passage through Tennessee Valley. There, that is around mile 24 or 25, I took my first Gu. I followed Ian all the way on Coastal and saw him one last time at the turn around of Muir Beach, with 8 miles to go. I took a second Gu there, knowing what was ahead (Cardiac...).

Unfortunately I did walk much more than I wanted up Cardiac and lost precious minutes. Up the hill, I found Marc at the aid station who had hit the wall but would still manage to finish in 7th. As John Medinger said, I was still looking good and indeed kept going, just getting iced water at the aid station, to cool down in the last 2.5-mile stretch. Since I broke my shoulder last year, I'm more careful than before in the technical down hills and, although I though I was still doing a good job hopping the steep stairs, I got passed by a runner just before Insult Hill. So long for 5th place, I did finish in 6th overall, 2nd Master, in 5:24:

Gary got 2nd and Ian 4th. Here are a few other teammates: Pierre-Yves, Clare, Scott, Greg, Adona.

The men race was won by Dylan Bowman (94% rank in UltraSignup). I heard that Gary pretty much kept up with Dylan until the second passage through Tennessee Valley. Tia sent a message this Sunday morning that she was still working on sorting out all the hand-written notes, hoping to publish the official results by Sunday evening. Stay tuned...

Back to the parking lot, and the detail in the introduction about where we parked, it took us 90 minutes to get out, as both runners and beach visitors were trying to squeeze onto highway 1; talking about average pace, that was quite a slow-moving experience, a blazing 180 min/mile pace... Thankfully, the great company of Pierre-Yves and Jeremy made up for good discussions to kill the time.

A HUGE thank you to Race Director, Tia Bodington, for managing to keep a great event up despite the challenges. We were all kidding at the finish that this made for new course and personal records at an odd distance, hopefully this is only a hiatus in the Miwok history and the Rangers will let us run on Bolinas Ridge again starting next year. I didn't spend much time in the aid stations but it's always a blessing to count on so many volunteers who give up their Saturday (and more to set up and tear off the event...) to support us. And a special mention to the sane competition without whom these races wouldn't be as good of training runs! ;-)

Sorry, not too many pictures today, but here is a worthy one: Marc teaching Greg how to open a bottle of beer. And not any bottle, the coveted Miwok "100K"'s Trail Ale. And, yes, that's the first time Coach Greg is drinking... ;-)

See some of you again on the trails next week at our Club's Quicksilver 50K and 50-mile, and a warm thank to Pierre-Yves for directing that event.

PS: I went out for a 9-mile recovery run this morning: ouch, so much soreness because I missed the Monsters of Massage and didn't even stretched after the finish. My goal was to see the tail of The Relay, the 200-mile 12-person relay between Calistoga to Santa Cruz. It was almost noon on Sunday so I only saw one van and one lonely runner. I heard 300 teams participated, I hope everybody made it safely to the finish by now!