The big dance, Western States 100! Elation, scared, excited, honored, ready.. all sorts of emotion surged through me when I learned I was going back to Western States. It was the spark I needed to get back into some serious training again and I couldn't wait to get started. I started my training with a solid speed block as I was also training for the Boston Marathon, after Boston I got in a good 2 months of trail specific workouts and runs. I attended the Western States Training camp weekend, my nutrition was on point, I felt strong, I was running great, I got in some heat training and was ready to dance!
After getting a few hours of sleep (more than I expected to) I got up at 3:30 A.M. for breakfast and drove to the race start to get my race bib. Shotgun blast and the crowd of runners head up the first climb right away (the same climb Desirae got the pleasure of experiencing the day before) under the flood lights of the ski slope and the cheers of huge crowds! Its a indescribable feeling that I have never felt at any start line before, a feeling of pride, a feeling of special journey that is just about to begin. 4 miles and 2500ft of climbing, although mostly fire road a lot of it was power walking; as I near the top of the Escarpment I can hear the cheers of the crowd that gather there early morning and the sounds of an Alpenhorn that lead you up a steep pitch of hands on knees climbing. The amount of photographers on top of Escarpment had multiplied 5x from the last time I ran WS in 2014, and who could blame them as they catch the perfect backdrop of the sun rising over lake Tahoe, Money Shot!
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| PC: dehiya.us |
After stopping for a few seconds to enjoy the majestic view on top of Escarpment it was down though the Desolate Wilderness we ran, now this part of the trail is described by many as their favorite part of the course, I for one disagree. I do not like the first 30 miles of Western States and here is why; Altitude, breath sucking 8000ft after climbing for 4 miles. Technical, lets face it I suck at descending technical trails and the first 30 miles dishes up all sorts of rocks, ruts, roots and stream crossings, oh.. ankle biting hell. Traffic, being on a technical single track there is not many places to pass at all, your pace is dictated by everyone in front of you, its very indicative to LA traffic. Now don't get me wrong the first 30 miles doesn't all suck because the view are stunning. My original plan was to run this section faster than I did in 2014 but soon realized I couldn't make up much time from 2014 because of the ALT of this section.
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| PC: Facchino Photography |
Despite the heat that began to mount coming out of Duncan Canyon on the climb up to Robinsons Flat, I felt really good! All smiles as I see Desirae, Brett and Becca, they are like a well oiled machine and get me changed, fed and hydrated in a jiff sending me on my way into the canyons. I actually quite enjoy the next 25 miles, yes its hot, but I do well in the heat and I like to think I'm a good climber, so I was really able to make up a lot of ground on my way to Michigan Bluff. There is a good mix of fire road and smooth single track that I could really stretch my legs out and lay down some good splits. I took advantage of all the aid stations I could by dousing myself with ice and cold water. The climb up to Devils Thumb is always a bitch, but add in the searing heat and it made for some true suffering, being "only" 1.5 miles and knowing there was Popsicle's at the top made the climb go by quicker than I thought it would. It was a pleasure to run with fellow rabbitELITEtrail team mates Nick and Kate as well as Altra Pro Kaci all the way from Escarpment till El Dorado, it was only till the climb up to Michigan Bluff did I start to separate myself some as I start passing runners. I have always done well on the climb up to Michigan Bluff, I think the climb really mimics the trails around Simi feeling oddly familiar to me..
Felt really good at Michigan Bluff despite the heat, coming into an electric aid station with lots people cheering always puts me in a great mood and, the Popsicle Des got me put me in an even better mood. Striped off my pack only to discover massive chafing on my chest, so I decided to go back to 2 handhelds for the entirety of the race. One more hot canyon in front of me, Volcano Canyon was not nearly as hard as the previous canyons but still hot none the less. Was running really good through this section and was able to make up a few more positions. When I finally hit Bath Road it was great to see Brett waiting to run the mile and a half with me to Foresthill.
Foresthill (100K) is nuts, its almost too overwhelming, its crowded with cars and people everywhere, and all eyes are on you.. Started getting some GI problems at Foresthill, so I stopped to take a bathroom break and get cooled off again with ice and cold water. I got to pick up my first pacer here and Alex Carrion was the sucker that volunteered to suffer with me. He was kind enough to step in last minute after Keith couldn't make it. Off we go down Cal Street, as we were part way down the road I spotted Ben Atkin who was kind enough to Vaseline up my chest while his little boy cheered me on.. Thank you Ben! The plan was to take the Cal Street section a little more conservative this year compared to 2014 where I blew my quads on the very runnable downhill. But I think the combination of the heat and GI issues caused me to hit my first real low of the race and I ended up struggling through Cal. Its very frustrating not being able to really fly downhill and take advantage of some buttery smooth singletrack on one of my favorite parts of the course. I was still able to run most of this section just not as fast as I wanted to, I think a few people might have even passed me through here, slowing down some, letting my body cool down and knowing the river crossing was coming up I finally recovered a few miles out of Rucky Chucky where I started running good again all the way to the river.
The worlds best natural ice bath for the legs aka "Rucky Chucky" the American River crossing feels so amazing on the legs, gave me a boost to my running stoke and helped cool me down to the core! The river crossing helped a ton and I was feeling a lot better on the climb up to Green Gate (which is actually silver). I was able to run a good chunk up to Green Gate and saw Brett about a half mile from the aid station. My plan was to run the last 20 strong this year and I was getting started right by taking advantage of the daylight left and making up time in the very runnable ALT section of the course. It was cool to run some miles of the ALT trail in the light because I have never run it during the day before, making up great time I passed a few more runners on my way to Browns Bar. On my way to Quarry road (mile 90) I twisted an ankle pretty bad and saw my chances at sub 20hr floating away. Somehow my ankle started to feel better but the time lost trying to walk out the ankle and the climb up to hwy 49 road crossing had put me in another funk. I was a train wreck falling all over the place, I was overheating and was low on energy. My time for sub 20 was getting really tight, I didn't know how tight (my watch died on the climb up to Green Gate) until I saw a clock at Pointed Rocks aid station (mile 94), I only had an hour and half to make it the last 6 miles.
Desirae reminded me that I needed to get my ass in gear or it would be a long ride home not making a sub 20, she was right, I would have whined like a little baby the whole way home. I knew it was now or never, it was time to do work! I was in a pain cave but I continued to push hard, I didn't stop at any of the remaining aid stations (No Hands, Robie Point) and passed a lot of people along the way. Ran up a good portion of the Robie climb and finally hit the pavement of Auburn, only having a mile to go I knew then I was going to make my sub 20 goal, relief came over me, not only did I make up the time I needed but I gave myself a 20 minute buffer. Finally relaxed, smiling again I see Alex in the distance as we turn the corner to Placer High School.. Elation!
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| PC: Facchino Photography |
The feeling you get running around the Placer High track to the finish line is like no other finish line I have ever experienced, just a burst of emotion; relief, proud, happy, tired, _____ (insert emotion and I probably felt it). Stepped across the finish line just before 1 A.M. in 19:40:48 good enough for 26th place overall.
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Dreams don't come true all by themselves, a lot of help was involved in hitting my goal and I thank each and everyone for supporting me along the way! As always my #1 crew person, my rock, my partner, my wife, Desirae was there for me since day 1 supporting my craziness and I owe her the world, love you! Big thanks to the Goldsmiths: Becca and Brett for helping crew/pace me and helping Des along the way, cant wait to return the favor at Cascade Crest! Huge thanks to Alex Carrion for pacing me last moment and being patient with me while I bonked Cal Street (but the river crossing made it worth it yeah?). The support I got from rabbit was top notch all weekend, very proud to run with and represent such a great company, their running apparel is the best in the biz! As always I ran in my Lone Peaks from Altra Running if you know me its the only shoes I ever wear, thank you for your support Altra! My running4thosewhocant hat was filled with ice much of the race, I love everything they stand for as I run for my son Connor who is in a wheelchair (side note- Connor was with me every step of the way as my bib number 326 represented his birthday March 26th). It was a no brainer carrying my nutrition (among other gear) in my Naked Running Band. Could I have ran it faster? What if it was a cooler day? Top 10? Who really knows, anything can and will happen in a 100 mile race, its how you deal with issues and keep moving forward that counts.Will I run Western States again? You better believe it! Until then a beer to celebrate and another trail to run...
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| PC: Facchino Photography |
