Joel and I finished our base training this weekend with a 30K trail race in Sycamore Canyon, Malibu, California. Joel's sister let us stay at her place in Manhattan Beach. It was 2 blocks from the beach with an ocean view. We left early Friday morning so that we could get a short run in before dinner. The forecast for the race was Cloudy with some drizzle early, giving way to partly sunny in the afternoon and highs in the 60s. We both polished off a huge plate of pasta, salad, and bread and called it an early night.
I woke up the next morning to clear skies, and mid 50s, little did I know this was going to be the start of a great day of running. Had my morning coffee, oatmeal, and prepared electrolyte drinks for the race. At this point I grabbed my Garmin which had been on the charger all night. I noticed it hadn't charged at all and there was only 37% battery remaining. I knew this would not get me through the race but remembered I had a charger in the car so it would be fine by the end of the drive. Well the charger wasn't in the car, and at this point nothing I could do about it but try not to worry and just go race based on how I felt and not by looking at pace. It was about an hour drive to Malibu so we headed out on the road around 6:45.
When we arrived, not a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze coming off the ocean. The race was low key as all the runners kind of hung out until the race start. The race consisted of 3 climbs, with 3 equivalent descents. Each about 3 miles in length. Not knowing what to expect our strategy was to treat this as a Transrockies training run. We decided that the first climb should be real conservative to see what we had and then ramp up if needed, and if all was well for the last climb we could push it. We started about a third of the way back in the starting pack.
The beginning of the race was about a mile of flat forest service road, which led to a single track and the first climb. We started the climb and immediately knew that we should have been closer to the front. We ended up in a run/walk situation for the next mile and passed only when it seemed like there was room. One of the runners in front of me mentioned the course opened up to a fire road shortly and we would be able to stretch it out some. Just before the fire road, there was an opening on the single track so I called out "on your left" and started the pass. Little did I know there were cacti hiding off trail and I stuck a thistle in my foot that was about 3/4 inch long. I had to run on the ball of my foot to the fire road, because of the pain. Thinking I could just push through it I started the run up the road, but could not do it. I ended up taking off my shoe and pulling it out. I was wasting precious time and I could see Joel was ready to make up some time.
We headed up the road at a brisk pace and were making ground and passing quite a few people. By the time we got to the next single track section we were only in a group with 3 other people, although the leaders were quite a bit in front of us. We were not aiming to catch them. We headed down the first 3 mile descent gradually picking up speed topping out at about 7:25 pace. Before we knew it we were at the aid station. We had already decided that we had enough fluid, food to not stop, so started the next climb which was more technical the first mile due to large rocks that we were either hopping or climbing. At this point in the race we were about half way through and I was still feeling strong. I heard my watch beep and it died, now I could really focus on how I felt, not knowing how fast we were going. We ran in a line with a couple of the 50K racers on a flat stretch that went from ocean views, to mountain views and running through meadows. We even saw a deer that wanted to run with us. We kept a consistent pace through this stretch and on the descent back to the aid station. I knew at this point I needed more fluid and food, so I ate a GU and filled my bottle. I also soaked my head under the faucet to cool down. We only had one more climb and it was one we had already run down so knew what to expect the rest of the race.
Two of the 50K racers we had been running with left the aid station before Joel and I. Once we started the last climb I was still feeling strong and felt I could push the uphill, not knowing who was in front of me but knowing we had a little bit of distance between us and the next 30K racers. I passed one of the 50K runners in the first 5 minutes of the climb and eventually passed the 2nd a few minutes later. I was just keeping a steady pace, knowing I didn't have much longer until the top, and then 2.7 miles to the finish, all downhill. I had made 4 or 5 minutes on the 50K racers by the time I got to the top. I then started the descent but this was much harder than I thought it was going to be, but I had to keep going. I found a comfortable pace and just headed downhill.
At this point I had hot spots on my feet, my legs were fatigued, but nothing unexpected. I pushed down the road and came across the water crossing, running swiftly through it and feeling the cool water on my hot feet, it felt great. I knew I had about .5 miles to go to the finish so I kept the pace and crossed the finish line in 3:15:01, good enough for 2nd place in my age group. It was a great feeling to be strong at the end of the race and know that the previous 4 months of training had paid off. Joel came in a few minutes behind me looking strong. It was a great day for the team.
We headed over to the ocean for a leg soak, and to relax before the drive back. That night was a great mexican food dinner and some relaxation.
A short barefoot run on the strand the next day and all systems felt great. We watched a bunch of hockey, had a few beers, ate well, and just enjoyed what we knew was the end of a lot of hard work and the beginning of more intense training.
If we progress like we did the first 4 months, we will have a great Transrockies race.
maw
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