Knickerbocker Trail Half Marathon (3/26/16)

Knickerbocker Half

March 26, 2016

I had originally signed up to run the Knickerbocker 35k.  However, I changed some things in my race calendar and since the next two weekends will be big mileage weekends, I decided to drop down to the Knickerbocker half instead.  I did run the Knickerbocker 35k course (and a little extra) on my own as my long training run this past Monday so I didn't completely miss out on the "fun" of the 35k. ;-)

After dropping down to the half, I almost wasn't sure if I would race today or not.  On Tuesday night, my baby came down with the stomach flu.  And then on Thursday evening, I came down with it.  On Friday, I was miserably sick all day and even went to bed feeling horrible.  

But in the morning, I felt a lot better and at least well enough to race.  I also thought getting outside onto the trails with some fresh air and sunshine would make me feel better too.  And, what a beautiful day it was out today!  

Pre-race with Heather & Jackie

The race ran from the Auburn Overlook down to No Hands Bridge, mostly downhill for about 4 miles.  I enjoyed running the first few miles with many friends (Scott, Jackie, Heather, and Johanna).  Had some amusing conversations with some and made it to No Hands Bridge in good time.

After No Hands, we headed up K2 (aka Training Hill).  I powered my way up K2 and passed many runners on my way up.  Climbing K2 is one of my strengths so I used it to my advantage.  A lot of people went flying down from the Overlook past me down to No Hands.  I felt like this climb was my opportunity to catch back up to some folks.  I ended up getting a PR on my K2 climb today (17:18).  

After the top of K2, we run down the Western States Trail back to No Hands bridge.  It's about 3 miles of downhill.  I'm normally slow on the downhills.  In races, I usually feel like I pass a few folks on the uphill and three times as many go flying past me on the downhills.  But, I've been working on bettering my downhill running, trying to be quick on my feet (as my coach says). And this section, I'm familiar with so I pushed it today and only let two guys pass me.  There was a third guy hot on my heels but I kept pushing my way down and made it to No Hands without him passing me.   

From No Hands, you climb back to the Overlook on some technical trails that descend back down to the river (literally next to it) and then make a steep climb back up to the finish.  I pushed my way up the first part pretty good, even passing a couple folks.  Around mile 10-11, there is a single track section. I am not sure exactly what happened but maybe I took a curve too fast or slipped on something but next thing I know I'm flying off the side of the trail, basically down a cliff.  I think I somersault over and slide down a bit.  I land/slide about 6-8 feet down the side of the trail.  I think I flipped over because I bumped my head, my shoulders and elbow are a little scraped up but my legs have no scrapes/bruises/etc on them.  My left palm had a big cut up the middle and aches badly.

Right before falling, I had passed a few hikers and when I fell, I had screamed pretty loudly.  One girl came running up to help me.  I had to climb my way back up to get back onto the trail.  After walking a bit to shake it off, I continued on running/hiking my way back to the finish.  I used my buff to wrap my bloody hand.  I pushed on.  A few runners had passed me right after my fall but I caught back up to them and passed them.  When we hit the steep climbs, I power hiked with a vengeance.  I think the only person that passed me from then on was the super fast winner of the 35k race.  

I finished in 2:36:15.  I'm pretty happy with that finish time as I felt strong out there.  I did good on both the uphills and downhills (other than my stupid fall).  I ran almost an hour faster than I did last year (though last year I was 30 weeks pregnant).

finish last year and finish this year (photo credit Hassan Aboukadijeh)

Three Things That Went Well:

1.  My descending went really well today.  I think my descent down from K2 down the Western States trail was my fastest this year.  I've really been thinking about being quick on my feet when I go down.  

2.  Power hiking on the uphills went well. It helped I had done the big climbs earlier in the week too.  I'm really happy I got a PR on my K2 climb!  

  

3.  Getting back into the race after my fall.  Even though my fall shook me up a bit, I took a moment to collect myself and then got back into the race.  I didn't let it throw me off my game or set me back.  I was glad I was able to catch back up to the three guys who had passed me right after I had fallen.  I think the fall maybe even fueled me to push a little harder the last couple miles.  

Three Things That Went Not-So-Well:

1.  Falling (and flipping over) off the trail.  Still not quite sure how it happened but need to pay attention better I guess, especially on those narrow, technical sections. 

2.  Getting my soft water bottles out of my pack.  I'm still getting used to having the soft water bottles but today, I don't know what it was but I just was struggling trying to pull the bottle out of my pack.  I even wasted a few extra seconds at the aid station just struggling to pull the bottle out for the guy to refill.  I ended up holding the bottle in my hand for a bit to avoid struggling getting it in and out of my pack.  I think I need to practice more or try different bottles.  

3.  Too short of socks.  I wore different socks today than I have been and they're a little shorter than my usual socks.  That was not good as they sank too low and my shoe and back of my heel got rubbed a bit.  Didn't cause a major problem today but in a long race, that would have definitely become a problem.   

Three Things I Learned:

1.  Right before going into the aid station, pull out my water bottle so it'll be ready to refilled.  I got there and the guy was ready to refill my water bottle but I had to struggle for a moment to get the bottle out of my pack.  

2.  Try to be friendly to everyone you see on the trails as it's nice to be nice but also, you never know when you might need someone's help.  When I passed the three hiker women, I said thanks as they moved over for me.  Moments later, I'm screaming as I'm flying off the trail.  And one of the hikers ran up to try to help me back up onto the trail.  Sometimes I get into my own zone and maybe not as friendly as I could be.  Fortunately, I was friendly to these women as I had passed them and glad for that as one came to help me.  

3.  If you're not feeling well, rest is best.  I started feeling awful on Thursday and called out sick on Friday.  I'm glad for that.  I ended up napping a lot of the day, trying to rest and recover.  Glad I rested as by Saturday, I felt better.  I think if I had worked or tried to do too much, it would have made it worse.  (I'm also extra grateful to an amazing husband who's been taking care of sick baby and sick wife all week and then let's the wife go run a race while he takes care of baby for the morning.)   

Three Tidbits about the Knickerbocker Racer and/or Inside Trail

1.  The race is a good challenging race with some tough climbs for all the race distances!  

2.  Race organization is fantastic.  Course is marked very well including signs and markers to tell you when you might be going on the wrong way.  And, great volunteers!  Thanks to all the volunteers today!  

3.  Awesome medical tent at the finish.  The medical "team" helped clean and bandage up my hand after I finished.  They were great!

another day, another race, and another medal for the wee one to play with

Next up, American River 50. . . .

Skunk Hollow 10k (March 19, 2016)

Skunk Hollow 10k

March 19, 2016

Decided to run the Skunk Hollow 10k today.  

Skunk Hollow 2015

I ran this race last year (while pregnant).  Last year, I felt good for the first mile then my legs were struggling after that.  I was slowly running and mostly hiking the rest of the way.  Luckily, I met two kind ladies who stuck with me the last half of the race.  I finished third to last (probably would have been last if the two ladies hadn't hung back with me).  My finish time was 1:36:36.

Skunk Hollow 2016 (post race with Jenna)

Today, I enjoyed this nice little race on a beautiful, sunny day.  The race starts at Magnolia Ranch (near Pilot Hill) and goes out and back along some rolling trails near the South Fork American River.  Funnily, they warn you about a creek crossing and at first, you jump over a tiny little stream of water thinking that was hardly anything.  And, a few minutes later, you come to a sizeable creek thinking oh, this is what they were talking about.  Today, the creek went up to my knees but it wasn't too cold. 

This year, with no extra person and extra weight to carry, the race went much better.  I ran pretty much all of it, except for the creek crossing (I prefer walking across for safety reasons).  The course was a bit hillier than I remembered and a little long (6.6 miles).  My A goal was to finish under an hour but ended up finishing in 1:04ish.  But, I averaged 9:43 min/mile and I'm happy with that as my B goal was to have my average pace be under 10 min/mile.  

The race was pretty small so I ended up finishing 2nd female overall and 1st in my age group.  So, that was nice.  

wore the same outfit as last year except I wore my Singletrack Running hat today.
Must be a lucky hat as I won my AG. ;-)

Three Things that Went Well

1.  Ran at a consistent effort the whole way.  I ran pretty even splits.  32-ish minutes the first half and 32-ish minutes the second half.  

2.  Pushed myself well on the uphills.  It helped that this was a short race but I ran all the uphills even though one section seemed to go a little awhile.  I know in a longer race, I would have hiked a bit more but since this was only a 10k, I made myself run all the way up the hills. 

3.  Ran well on the downhills.  Downhills are a weakness but today, I pushed myself on the downhills. Normally, I run trail downhills over a 10 min/mile pace but today, I was able to run under a 10 min/mile on the downhills, which is really good for me.  

Three Things I Learned

1.  Around mile 6, I made mental note do not run this fast in an ultra!  I knew I could push the pace a bit today since I only had to run 6.6 miles.  Towards the end, I was glad the race was short as this was definitely not a pace I could maintain for much longer.  If I ever find myself running as fast as I did today in a longer event, I must slow down or I'll really burn out.   

2.  Short, faster races can really make your legs ache.  I'm not as tired as after an ultra but my legs feel more sore after today's 10k than I did after Salmon Falls 50k (or maybe I forgot just how sore I was after that race).  Don't think a shorter race is necessarily easier than a longer race.  They are just different challenges and effort levels are different.  

3.  Great thing about a shorter race is you still have the rest of the day to do stuff.  After the race, I was able to get home and it was still morning.  And, I got to take my baby to the park to play for a bit. I think after I finish Canyons 100k, I'm going to do more shorter races for a bit.  

Three Tidbits about the Race and the Race Organizers (One10Trail)

1.  Tiny tiny race.  Just a handful of people run this race.  It was the same last year.  I like the smaller races but this one is really small.  But, I like that it's low key.  

2.  Despite not that many runners in the race, One10Trail put on a great event.  I think more people should be running this race (there's a 30k option too for those that want something longer).  The trails are well marked.  Everyone is super friendly.  There isn't an aid station for the 10k race but the finish had nice food there.  And, there are cupcakes at the end for everyone!  Yum!    

3.  The trails out here are beautiful.  Such a beautiful day today too!  

Salmon Falls 50k (February 27, 2016)

Salmon Falls 50k

February 27, 2016

After I finished RDL last November, someone from Coloma River Races contacted me wanting to share my RDL story.  After being interviewed by them, I felt I should probably run their race so I signed up for the Salmon Falls 50k.

Here's the blog story they posted on me:
http://www.colomariverraces.com/#!Ultra-Mom-Runs-Postpartum-100miler/cmbz/565d27670cf2c000e9291f3f)

February has consisted of some tough Saturday long runs as I continue building up to Canyons 100k.  After doing the American Canyon 25k, the Western States Training Run, and the Fourmidable 35k, I ended this month running the Salmon Falls 50k race.  I set a goal of running about a 12:00 min/mile pace for the race, hoping to finish between 6- 6 1/2 hours.  

The race went from Magnolia Ranch in Coloma, CA to Folsom, CA, running a good portion along the single track trails along Folsom Lake.  The trails were beautiful and the weather perfect (dry and not too hot!).    

photo credit: Captivating Sports

The first 13 miles went relatively quickly due to a lot of downhill.  I remembered this section was the hilliest part of the course so I was ready for the climbs but I forgot just how much downhill there was.  On the ups, I went up feeling strong and passing lots of people.  On the downs, everyone would go flying past me.  I felt a little discouraged watching all these people pass me on the downhills but I remembered what my friend Ohnmar said in her last race report from Fourmidable:  "Exploit your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Face your fears."  For her, she had the opposite problem of people passing her on the uphills but she would pass the on the downhills (and flats) as well as be more efficient in the aid stations.  So, I kept that in mind as people were passing me and focused on improving my own downhill running.  Knowing uphills are my strengths, I exploited that and went up strong, passing folks on the way up.  And, I tried not to worry too much about all the people passing me on the downhills and focused on facing my fears of downhills and running down faster for me, trying to do more quicker smaller steps.  The last descent into the mile 13 aid station was my fastest mile during the race so I am making some improvement in my descents.

After 13, the course runs along the lake and it's mostly rollers the rest of the way.  A lot of the runners are starting to spread themselves out so I ran mostly alone the rest of the way.  I kept a pretty consistent pace though I slowed down a little in the mid teenage miles (which always seem to be tough for me; I usually call them the terrible teens).  Mile 17 to 24 was also the longest stretch between aid stations.  It seemed especially long to get to the mile 24 aid station.  

I was pretty quick through the aid stations but I spent a little longer at the mile 24 aid station as I needed to refill both my bottles and dig out more gels from my pack.  Mentally, I felt relieved to have finally gotten to this aid station and know I had less than 10 miles to go.  

After that aid station, I was able to pick up the pace a little bit.  I knew I was running right at target pace so wanted to keep that up.  After Brown's Ravine (the last aid station), I pushed myself a bit and passed some folks on my way to the last levee.  I was running at a pace close to the pace I had started the day with.   

  

photo credit: Matt Brayton

At mile 30, I hit the levee before the finish line and even though it's flat, it seems like the longest stretch to the finish line.  You can see the finish line but it is SO far away.  I remember Roger telling me that it's 0.9 miles from gate to gate so just watch each 0.1 mile slowly tick over on my Garmin.  This is like running on the treadmill and watching each minute click over ever so slowly.

I eventually get across the levee and hit some trails again towards the finish line.  I manage to do a little kick before crossing the finish line, ever so grateful to be done.  Then, I'm even more grateful to look up and see my husband and baby there to greet me.  

photo credit Janae Patja

I ended up finishing in 6:15 for 31.5 miles, averaging 11:53 min/mile so right in the middle of my target goal.  I was pretty happy that I've been able to maintain that consistent pace throughout the race. This 50k race would be my 3rd fastest 50k (my two fastest 50k races are both at Way Too Cool, where the course is only about 30 miles).   I'm really happy that I'm able to average just under 12 min/miles on my long runs this month as I remember I was averaging 14-15 min/mile pace when I was training for RDL last fall.  It's nice seeing and feeling the results from the serious training I've been doing since the start of the year.  

The races this month have been fun to do.  For March, I don't have any races on the agenda.  I plan to do a step-back week to recover a little then looking to do some more serious training in the canyons.

Three Favorite Moments:

(1)  Stopping on top of a hill in the morning sometime to take in the views.

(2)  Running and chatting with Roger, Lindsay and Melanie for a bit.  Had some amusing conversations and running with friends makes some miles go by quickly.

(3) Giving my finisher's medal to my baby after the race for her play with afterwards.

Three Things That Went Well:  

1.  Having a race plan and following through on it.  Kept the steady pace according to my plan and fueled according to plan (eat a gel at the first hour and then every 30 minutes afterwards).  So, race was well executed.

2.  Efficient through the aid stations.  There were six aid stations and I spent a total of 3:22 in all the aid stations.  I went in, got what I needed, and got right back out.

3.  Making the most of my strengths -- my uphill running.  While lots of people were passing me on the downhills, I made up for some of that on the uphills.  I would catch up with a lot of folks who passed me earlier when we hit a climb.

Three Things I Could Do Better:
1.  Try not worry too much about all the people passing me as I run downhill and focus more on my own downhill running.  Need to remember to be quick on my feet as I descend.  When I do that, I see that I do go a little faster.

2.  Remember to drink more water after the race is over.  I did better eating afterwards but wasn't the best at the post-race hydration.

3.  Pay attention more to my heart rate.  I've been wearing a heart rate monitor lately on my runs but haven't really been checking my heart rate as I run.  I need to learn ways to utilize it more effectively in my runs/races, especially as the weather gets warmer.

Three Things I Learned: 
1.  Check your shoes before you run a race.  Right before I started the race, my friend pointed out how there were big holes on the sides of my shoes.  And sure enough, they were tearing at the sides.  Fortunately, my shoes held up for the race and are now retired but I was reminded I should inspect my shoes every so often, especially before a big run.  

2.  Stick with the stuff you know already works.  I got a new pack the week of the race and debated wearing it for the race.  I ended up putting it aside and going with my old reliable pack that I've been training in (the Ultimate Direction AK Vest).  The new pack may have been fine during the race but it was just ease of mind to go with something you already know is reliable.  I've also been training with Salted Watermelon GUs, which have worked well for me.  I filled my pack with a bunch of those gels to last through the race and I had no stomach issues.  I used to just eat whatever gels and food I could get at the aid stations but I used to sometimes get bad stomach issues too.  I had to carry a lot of the Watermelon GUs to last me 50k but carrying that extra weight (of gels I know work for me) were worth it.

3.  Reading other runner's race reports are always helpful.  I read a number of friend's race reports about Fourmidable.  Got some good tidbits from them which helped me in this race.  :) 

photo credit: Captivating Sports

Three tidbits about the race and the race organizers (Coloma River Races)
1.  The organizers put on a quality event.  The course is fun and beautiful.  The race was well supported and well marked.  Great aid stations and volunteers.  The post-run food was fantastic too. And, they provided the runners with free race photos (a nice extra bonus).

2.  They give you the "finisher's" jacket at packet pick up.  In past ultras where jackets are given, I usually got the jacket after finishing the race -- after "earning" the jacket.  It was a bit of a surprise to get it before the race.  The jacket itself was a really nice jacket.

3.  Race also supports a great cause -- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).