2013 Race Schedule

2013 Race Schedule

Race 1: Lost Dutchman Marathon, Apache Junction, AZ,  February 17th, 2013

Race 2: Lord Hill 50K, Snohomish, WA, February 24th 2013
Race 3: Chuckanut 50K by lottery Bellingham, WA March 16th, 2013

Alt Race 3: Dizzy Daze 50K, Greenlake, WA, March 23rd, 2013

 Race 4:  Squak Mountain 50K, Issaquah, WA April 13th, 2013
Race 5: Vancouver Marathon, Vancouver, BC, May 5th, 2013

Race 6: Redmond Watershed 12hr, Redmond, WA, May 18th, 2013

Race 7: North Olympic Marathon, Port Angeles, WA, June 2nd, 2013

Race 8: Taylor Mountain 50K, Issaquah,WA, June 29th, 2013

Race 9: White River 50 Mile, Greenwater, WA, July 27th, 2013

Race 10: Hamster endurance Race 12 hr, Bellingham, WA, August 10-11 2013

Race 11: Bellingham Bay Marathon, Bellingham, WA, September 29th, 2013

Race 12: Pine to Palm 100, Ashland, OR, September 14-15, 2013

Race 13: Defiance 50K, Tacoma, WA October 12, 2013

Race 14: Carkeek 12hr Seattle, WA, October 26th, 2013

Race 15: Grand Ridge 50K, Issaquah, WA, November 16th, 2013
Race 16: Deception Pass 50K, Anacortes,WA December, 2013

Prognosis and Downtime

Your foot is broken

  This is one of the worst things you want to hear if you are an ultrarunner.  It was a funny story because I went to the doctor a few weeks before my race for a physical and he told me I was doing great.  I looked to be in great shape and I was telling him about all my races and how I had never been injured in 43 races.  He was impressed.

  It was very humbling to go back to the doctor two weeks later with my broken foot and tell him that I injured myself during the race.  The prognosis was 6 to 8 weeks in a walking boot.  Ah man that sucks because I had another race in two weeks, well looks like I am volunteering for that race that I was going to run.  

  I am writing this 7 weeks after the initial prognosis and my foot is almost totally better.  I did my first workout this week of 45 minutes.  I did core work, spin bike riding and a short run on the treadmill of 5 minutes and my foot felt sore but now two days after the workout my foot feels stronger so that is good.

Carkeek 12 Hour Race

  

  This was a race I was really looking forward to running, but because my foot was broken that was out of the question.  I decided I needed to go volunteer anyway since I wasn't able to run.  I arrived at 5:30 am and started checking people in.  I came totally unprepared because I wasn't running I did not think of logistics like hey you might need a headlamp at 5:30 in the morning.  Fortunately they had an extra one that I borrowed. 

  The weather was pretty horrible but I was looking forward to having a chance to talk to some of the people around the race and in the race.  Some of the great people I got a chance to talk to were Sam and Brock the race directors who put on a great fun race.  I enjoyed hanging out with them at the start finish line.  I also met Betsey Rogers who I found out is married to Matt Hagen.  Matt is a guy who is a fun guy to hang around with with a great attitude and someone I want to hang out with more hopefully at other races.  His wife is just as awesome it was fun talking to her and helping count laps.

  I also got to meet all the runners because for most of the 5 hours I was there I ran the aid station.  So I got to talk to all the runners and see how they were doing and having fun with them.  This is a great race!!  If you have never run a 12 hour this is the one you should run it is awesome.

  I get to run this race next year since I wasn't able to this year because of my foot.  Brock has already assured me that he will be giving me crap the whole day so that should be fun.

#43 Defiance 50K

Defiance 50K

  Well here is a recap of race number 43 out of 100 that I am trying to do.  This race was run on October 13th, 2012.  I had just got done with a one week vacation with my wife in Orlando, Florida going to every possible Disney place possible and I was ready to just get out and run.

  My wife was still in Florida staying the weekend visiting a friend that lives there so I decided this would be a good race to go to since I wouldn't really have anything else to do.  The morning started early at like 6:30ish because I had to drive down to Tacoma.  This was a new race for me so I tried to leave a little earlier than normal because it is always hard when you don't really know what is going on.  I read the website and it was saying to park in the overflow park which was about 1 mile from the start line.  I didn't have a problem with this because I was healthy and ready to go.  I carried my bag of ultra goodies with me on a short jog.  When I arrived at the start area I found out I could have parked at the starting line because I was there early enough to have gotten a spot.  I was a little frustrated by this because it was a less than desirable day because of a substantial amount of rain.

  I got my race number and stuff and then hung out at the picnic shelter by the start line.  While I was there I met some great people from Tacoma.  They were both running their first 50K, this was a common thread with me also because it was also my first official 50K.  This couple was really great to talk with and it helped to pass the time for me before the race starts.  Like I said the weather was pretty horrible and it was pouring down rain.  The race started and I went out at a good pace and was a little worried that I may have been starting out to fast.  Another side note here this was my first race running with a pair of minimalist shoes, the Merrell Trail Glove.  They really felt good on my feet.  The race starts out with a flat section and then it starts to climb into the Point Defiance State Park.  After about 5 miles into the race I was starting to settle in and get comfortable.  At this point I was running with a few people and was really happy with the way things were going.  I was positioned somewhere in the top 10 for my race.  We almost went off course because some old guy was mad at the race and took down a bunch of markings but fortunately at this point I was with some people who had run this course before and had said no the race goes this direction not that way so I followed him and it turns out he was right.  I think my race started to go South right about this time because I was beginning to have a small pain in my foot at about mile 6 of the 10 mile loop which was right after the aid station.  I thought nothing of it.

  At the end of the first lap I had run 1 hour and 30 minutes which was a really great time and like I said I was in the top 10 but then the problems really started for me.  I tried to run as much as possible but my knee and my foot were both giving me problems so I couldn't run the whole time like I wanted.  I was seriously doubting myself but I pushed on because I did not want a dnf.  My second lap was 2 hours 1 minute so I was losing a significant amount of time on this second lap because I couldn't run the whole time.  The next time I run this race I want to redeem myself on this race because if I would have stayed on pace I would have finished in the top10.

  On the third lap I was really struggling but I decided I needed to go on.  Also here I changed out the shoes because my foot was really hurting me.  The more cushioned shoes really helped me get through the last lap.  It still took me a really long time for the lap but considering I was running on a broken foot I guess I did pretty well. Yep that's right I found out after the race I had a stress fracture on my second metatarsial.  So the third lap took 2 hours and 16 minutes and I finished my first 50k in 5 hours and 48 minutes and 34th place out of 100.  I was actually pretty impressed with myself after I found out my foot was broken.  I finished. 

  After the race my foot was really bothering me.  They had a pretty great post race party so to speak .  I had a great caesar salad with salmon.  After eating and gathering my things I remembered that I had to walk to the car which was approx 1 mile away.  Why did I part so far away?????  Normally this would have been fine if I was sore or hurt because my amazing wife would have went and got the car for me but she was still in Florida and I have a hard time asking for help so I just walked to the car.  On my way out of the parking lot I ran into Matt Hagen (an ultrarunner that I have really been wanting to befriend) and he said something to the effect of "That's a nice gait you have there"  commenting on my silly looking way of walking on my broken foot.  Later on when I met Matt again I brought this up and he remembered me.  That's in a later blog post because I am quite behind on my posts. 

  All in all considering all the things that went wrong with this race, not having my crew (wife) with me, almost going off course, running on a broken foot, surviving the horrible weather, I was happy with this race it really taught me to persevere.  I love ultrarunning and plan to do more of it.

Peace out
Chris