Race #47 Chuckanut 50k

Race #47 Chuckanut 50k

An iconic race that has been around forever and a must race for any ultrarunner.  This was the first time I had ever done this race.  My wife and I drove up to Bellingham on Saturday morning to go straight to the race and pick up my race number and packet and stuff.  I was really excited about this race because there were some really great runners in the race.  One of my favorite ultrarunners Gary Robbins was racing and I was hoping to have the chance to meet him.  I went and got checked in for the race and then met a bunch of my new trail runner friends and talked with them for a bit before the race.  After picking up my number I went back to the car to get everything I would need for the day and to apply the life saving Sportslick to the right spots and then started to wander over to the start.  At the start I saw Gary Robbins and introduced myself to him and he was really a nice guy.  Didn't have a whole lot of time to talk because the race was getting ready to start, he took off to get up front and I stayed where I was because I didn't want to get to far ahead of myself.  

The weather report had called for rain all day and I was really worried it was going to be a miserable day.  When we started the race the skies were overcast but not raining.  I started out at a pace that was really too fast, the first 6 miles are all on a paved bike trail so I was going out like a marathon race but later i found out this would not be a good strategy.  By the time I got to the Fragrance lake trail I was feeling pretty good about my race but then we hit the trail and that was where I slowed a bunch which is weird because I usually am pretty fast on trails.  I almost made a wrong turn at Fragrance Lake right after watching the guy in front of me miss a turn which I called him on and he tucked in behind me and then I made a wrong turn and he caught me it was good to have that check.  Coming down to the bottom of this trail you hit a logging road, this is where Tim Mathis passed me, I didn't think I would be anywhere near him but after about 10 miles I was still ahead of him.  We had a long climbing logging road before we got up to the ridge.  Tim lost me on this climb and I never caught him again.

Leaving the logging road we got to my favorite part of the race the ridge which was really fun and technical to run.  It reminded me of the first big climb at White River 50.  On a clear day you would be able to see the Sound and the San Juan Islands, it would have been beautiful but it was foggy.  The next section was just kinda soppy and wet and muddy so that wasn't so fun.

The next section was the last climb of the race, Chinscraper.  This is an iconic section of trails in trail running.  I was going along well and almost to the top, I was really just trying to stay ahead of Angel Mathis but I made a wrong turn and that is when she passed me although I thought I was ahead of her all the way to the end until I found out she finished ahead of me.  Also at this race right about this same time when I made a wrong turn, Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, passed me on Chinscraper as well.  He really ran it like a rock star.  After the top of Chinscraper we came back down the same logging road we went up and then down the Fragrance lake trail back to the bike path.  I absolutely loved this section because I was screaming on the downhill, I was passing people left and right it was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever had in my short ultrarunning career.  When I got to the bike path I slowed considerably because I had nothing left.  I basically ran then walked, ran then walked for the last six miles and got passed by a bunch of people but I finished in 5 hours 47 minutes and 10 seconds, 156th place out of 347.  I was happy with my performance but I think I can do it faster.

After the race I had some soup and just hung around the finish for a bit.  Found out I won a prize through the random drawing, it was a leg wrap that you can put an ice pack in.  This comes in handy in my later race reports because I have been using this product a lot.  My wife and I stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Bellingham and it was so awesome, this is definitely the way to go, do the race first and then relax at a hotel after the race I had a great experience and will probably do this one again.

This race was March 16th, 2013.

Race #46 Lord Hill 50K

Race #46 Lord Hill 50K

OH Lord Hill!

     This race took place on February 24th, so as you can see I am a little behind on my race reports.  Part of the reason for this problem is that I am scheduled to run 16 races this season so it is difficult to keep up with the reports as it seems like I am doing a race every weekend.  One of my youth group kids asked me where I was this last Sunday and I told him I was at a race, and he said "didn't you have one last weekend?"  I said no but it does seem like I am racing like every other weekend.

  I went to the Lord Hill race by myself.  This is a new experience for me because usually my wife comes to almost every race of mine, she is a great support.  I did not know what to expect from this race before I got there.  This was the first run of the year for the Evergreen Trail running series.  I wanted to see where I stood with this group of runners.  I arrived as early as I could but by the time I arrived I had to park up the hill because all the parking was already filled.  This is one thing I have noticed about ultrarunners they are not late very often, most of the time they are early.  So I arrived at the start and put my cooler of ultra stuff at the aid station.

The race started and I was off with a group of runners.  I was running with someone I had met at the Cascade Crest 100, Sophia Walker, I stayed with her for a bit until we got to OH Lord Hill.  This race is difficult to say the least.  We got the privilege of going up Lord Hill 3 times I think and every single time it was a chore.  It is a short very steep hill, you have hands on knees by the time you get to the top of the hill.  The rest of the course was pretty basic, a lot of great trails but because it was February it was wet and muddy and I was very happy that I had worn my Montrail Mountain Masochist shoes because they kept my feet dry.

For the sake of the amount of race reports I need to catch up on I will keep this short.  I finished in 6 hours 18 minutes and 8 seconds, 30th place out of 62 runners.  It was a very hard race and not really one I think that I will do again anytime soon but I finished it and that is what counts.

Top of the Oh Lord Hill

 

2013 Lost Dutchman Marathon Race #45

2013 Lost Dutchman Marathon

Race #45

  This was my second race of 2013.  I always look forward to this one because I get to go see my family before and after the race.  My mom and sister and her family live down in Gold Canyon, AZ which this marathon goes right by their house.

  My wife and I left a cold and dreary Seattle on Wednesday February 13th.  We were scheduled to arrive in Phoenix at 9 pm at night but first we had to fly on a really small plane by today's standards down to Portland.  We had about an hour and a half layover in Portland.  Interesting story, Kara's sister Julia and her daughter were in Phoenix the week before we got there and they were flying home on the same day and about the same time so we decided to surprise them in the airport.  It turns out the plane they flew in on from Phoenix was the same plane that we were taking to go back to Phoenix so where she arrived was where we were waiting for our plane.  We knew we were getting in around the same time but were very surprised when it happened to be the same gate.  So we surprised them and sat with them for a little bit before they left for home and we left for Phoenix.  That was a fun experience because they had no idea we were going to be there!

  We arrived in Phoenix with no problems and my sister, mom and niece picked us up at the airport.  My first request was a stop at In and Out Burger to get a bite to eat because I was hungry.  We went to one near my sisters house but I only ate the fries because I didn't want to get her car dirty.  My wife decided she wanted a bite of my burger so I obliged.  When she asked me a couple more times I got a little annoyed because half my burger was gone by the time we got to my sisters house!  I guess she was hungry too but didn't order her own.

  It was kinda weird being with my family over Valentine's Day but I hadn't realized it before I booked the tickets.  So for lunch the next day we took my mom out for a special Valentine's date with us at the Olive Garden.  It was a great pre-race fueling!  For dinner my wife and I cooked my family an authentic Chinese meal.  Kara learned how to cook Chinese food when she was a teacher in China for three years.  We prepared approximately 8 dishes to feed 9 people.  It took us about three hours to prepare the meal but it was definitely worth it.

  On Friday, I went for a little trail run on a trail system that is basically right behind my sisters house.  It's about 3/4 of a mile to the trailhead.  The weather was exceptional, and the trail was quite rocky and technical.  I did about a 4 or 5 mile run, there were tons of old people or as my sister calls them the gray hairs on the trail.  They were all astonished that I was running on the hiking trail, I guess I just blew their mind they had no idea you could run on these things.  The trail I chose was the Hieroglyphics trail.  At the end of this trail up in the mountains there are some hieroglyphics that are painted on the rocks, its kinda cool.

   Saturday I didn't do much but just rest and get ready for the race the next day.  I was just enjoying my time with the family and the awesome weather!  Daytime highs were in the mid 70s and lows in the 50s.  In Seattle the temps were mid 40s for highs and low 40s for low so it was a pretty big difference.  I was a little worried about this for the race because mid 70's to me is a little to warm for a race.

   Sunday came and the race was on.  This race is unique, in that the race starts up in the mountains.  The first 6 miles of the race are closed off to any traffic.  The only way to get up there is by school bus which they provide for the 400 plus runners.  My bus was to leave at 5:25 AM.  I was really not happy about this early time because the race didn't start until 7AM.  The waiting area for the race is kinda cool though.  It's out in the middle of the desert at the base of this mountain and they have several warming fires for you to sit around while you are waiting for the race to start.  They also had several port a potties.  It is one of the only marathons I have not had to wait at a port a pottie.  Because the only people using them are the race participants.  When I arrived at the waiting area it was still dark but it was super cool to see the sun rising over the horizon just before the race started.  I met 4 or 5 different people who I shared a fire with.  They were all interesting and an eclectic mix.  One man was from Georgia, another from Phoenix, another lady from Southern California, and a couple of guys from Utah.  I had a chance to talk to them and naturally the conversation went toward how many races have you done etc.  When it was my turn to talk I told them about it being my 45th race and that I had done a 100 last summer that sort of thing.  I was surprised to find that even a few of them had done ultras so it was fun to talk about that.  Just before 7 it was time to walk over to the start.

   I settled myself in at the 8 minute pace group for the marathon.  It was funny because it turned out I was near the front but at least 20 yards from the starting line.  The reason was they had a 6 and 7 minutes pace area but no one wanted to step into that space.  The first 6 miles of this race is a downhill dirt road.  I always start my marathons to fast so I was hoping my new Garmin watch would help me to slow down.  It didn't slow me down I looked down after I had reached the first mile and I was going at about a 7:15 pace.  Faster than where I was expecting to go, I knew this would come back and get me in the end.  At mile 6 I saw my family for the first time, the cheering crew was my mom, my sister, my niece and my amazing wife,  I handed off my handheld water bottle and my trail runner nation running sleeves because it was already starting to get warm.  

  The race course now went along the highway for about a mile before making a turn and going up the hill toward my sisters house.  I was keeping my pace ok but by now I believe I had slipped to about a 7:40 per mile pace.  I knew the next 3 to 4 miles would be a slight uphill and it would be a tough section.  I was correct.  By the time I hit the top of the hill I had slipped again to about 7:55 per mile pace.  When I reached the half marathon mark I was at about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  This was great because I was on pace to do I 3:30 or so marathon.  I saw my crew at mile 14ish and was feeling ok because I was on the 2 to 3 mile downhill back down to the freeway.  When I reached the freeway I was at about 8 minutes per mile pace after about 15 miles.  

  Mile 16 I was starting to get tired and when we turned to a slight uphill, I stopped and walked for the first time.  It was a short walk and then I was going again.  The hardest hill came at about mile 19.  I had determined in my mind that I was going to run this whole thing and run down the other side.  I was running pretty well considering I was very tired and sweating a ton with the weather.  When I reached my crew at about mile 21 I was at a 8:15 pace.  I was running good and told myself only 4 miles to go if I could run the whole way I could finish with a 3:35 to 3:40 which would be a pretty good time for me.  Just after I saw them the road turned and it was rolling hills and I could feel my body just not having what it would take to run the rest of the way.  My mind won the battle and I ran for a distance walked for a distance for the rest of the race.  As I was coming to the last 1/2 mile I saw a girl that had completely collapsed in the dirt and was getting medical aid and I felt so bad for her because she was so close to the end.  I round the last corner and had .2 miles to go.  I had a lady in front of me but she was way ahead of me and I tried to catch her but I didn't have the usual burst of energy that I usually have at the end of a marathon.  I ended with a 3:49:26, which was respectable but definitely not my best.  I was happy with it though considering it was early in the season and it was very warm which I think is why I ran out of gas toward the end.  I finished in 86th place out of 382 runners.  After the race we again went to In and Out Burger for a well deserved Double Double Animal style.

    The day after the race I went for a short 5 and 1/2 mile run just to get me ready for the Lord Hill 50K that I would be doing 1 week after this race.  I went on the other trail by my sisters house.  This was the goldmine trail and it was a fun run across the desert through the rolling ravines and such.  I did notice though that my legs were really tired and were not very fast.  My nephews birthday was that day so we celebrated with them before we headed home.  We went and bowled three games of bowling.  I was bowling great I got a 162 the first game, 178 the second game, and then I got like a 108 the third game guess I just lost my legs in that last game.  Anyway thanks for reading it was a great race!!

 

Race #44 Lake Youngs Nuts 50K

Race #44 Lake Youngs Nuts 50K

  This is a great post in my mind because it is a testament to what the body is capable of doing.  It has been approximately 3 and a half months since I completed the Defiance 50K, which was my first 50K.  The problem with this race I immediately found out afterward was that my left foot was in severe pain, turns out that I had a stress fracture on my second metatarsal which made it so that I had to wear a walking boot for two months.  Well I started training again about the second week of December for my first race of my schedule, the Lost Dutchman Marathon down in Arizona February 17th.  

  I like running so much now I am always reading other people's blogs, looking at ultrasignup.com for races and results from people I know, comparing my times to other people's times, a little obcessive compulsive on this issue.  So I was looking through a race calendar and saw this Lake Youngs Nuts 50K run and I was like that would be a good race possibly.  I went to the website and noticed that the price of the race was only 20 dollars so I was like there is no way I could pass this up and it would be a good test of my foot to see where my fitness level was, so of course I talked to my wife and asked her if I could go do it.  I super love my wife she is such an amazing support to me and she said that if I wanted to that I could even though it wasn't on my calendar.  So of course I signed up 4 days before the event, it was kinda a last minute decision, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to do it.  I knew I would be ok with the training I had been doing for the marathon.

  So Saturday morning came, we arrived around 6:50 and there was already several people in the parking lot so I was glad we got there right at the beginning so we didn't have to park on the street.  One of the cool things about the race is that the runners bring soup and aid station supplies to fuel the runners.  I brought my ultra fare for the station, Swedish Fish and Nutter Butter Bites.  I went and picked up my number which was 45 and then went back to the car to stay warm until the 7:30 start.  The race started at about 7:37 so it was a little bit late but not to bad.  My equipment for this race was a long sleeved tech tee, a pair of running shorts, my Zensah Calf compression sleeves,  new Injinji running socks, new Montrail Mountain Masochist shoes, new Garmin 410 GPS watch and a Nathan handheld water bottle.  My main focus for this race was just to test out my foot and see how it would fare.  

  The course was not a very technical trail at all.  Basically it is a walking trail that goes around the park.  The loop is a 9.6 mile distance.  We started out with a big downhill right away which gave way to gently rolling little hills for the first half of the race loop with a few steeper climbs.  At about the halfway mark of the loop according to my watch was kinda the big hill of the course.  It wasn't to bad but it was the first point in the course where I walked to the top.  On the other side of the hill it was again some rolling hills for a bit until you run out of the wide trail and into the "single track".  I say single track in a sense that it is only about to hold basically one person and this was the muddy part of the course.  Actually the weather for the day was amazing for this time of year.  No rain and the air temp was between 40 and 50 degrees so really it was perfect.  Toward the end of the loop you are thinking ok I am almost done it should get easier, well turns out no there are a couple of steep little climbs that are hard on the body especially the mind because you think you are close to being done and then it just keeps going.

  I went out at a pretty fast pace to start, I was doing about 8 minutes per mile in the beginning and then when I started to hit the hills the average climbed to about 8:30 per mile and then my watch screwed up and changed to a different setting which didn't show the miles per minute setting and for some reason I couldn't get it to go back to the right setting the whole day I was trying while I was running and when I stopped at the aid station but couldn't get it to work so I just changed the setting to the time and figured it out in my mind as I was trudging away.  According to the official timer, I finished the first loop in 1 hour and 19 minutes, I spent about 3 minutes in the aid station.  My wife was waiting for me all day at the aid station, she is such a trooper and the only spectator besides the people volunteering at the aid station.  Glenn Tachiyama was at the aid station and filled up my water bottle for me.

  I set out for the second loop and just kinda settled in to a groove and kept myself going at a pretty good pace.  I made it through the second lap and I noticed there were people coming at me from the other direction and I thought did I go the wrong way but it turns out some people did one loop the opposite direction which I guess was supposed to be easier.  I didn't know this so I was a little worried.  I finished my second loop in 1 hour and 28 minutes, and was at 2 hours and 50 minutes after 2 laps or 19.2 miles.  I was only in the aid station again for about three minutes.  

  When I set out for the third loop I asked about people running the other way and the person said that some people who weren't expecting to be in the money did one loop that way so I thought well maybe it's easier and I don't expect to be in the money so for my last loop I went the opposite direction.  This turned out to be stupid because it took me longer to do this lap and I think it was actually harder I should have just kept going the way I was going.  There was one guy I saw who had done two loops the opposite way and he was ahead of me so that made me mad so  I followed him on my third lap but he soon left me in the dust.  I ran out of water on the third loop with like 3 miles left so that was not good because I needed water bad I was bonking.  My third loop was the slowest of all of them, I came in at 4 hours and 35 minutes and it was 1 hour and 45 minutes for the last lap.  I did finally catch up to the guy who did two loops the opposite way toward the end of the loop.  I didn't know if I was passing him at the time because the last 2.2 miles of the race were the first 1.1 miles of the loop and back.  So when I passed him I didn't know if he was on his last 2.2 miles or just finishing up his third loop.  The last 2.2 miles were hard because the last part of that was the big short uphill but at the very end of a race like this your legs are wasted and you have to go up this hill. 

  I started the last 2.2 miles with Daniel Tomko.  He was a guy I was racing with the whole day.  I got through the last aid station fast because I just wanted to get done.  As I was leaving for the last miles so was he so we started together and then he pulled away from me because I just didn't have enough left in the tank to catch him.  After the turnaround though I started to gain on him and was feeling better.  I powered through and got to the last big hill just and he was getting to the top of the hill. Almost so close.  I was racing to finish in under 5 hours so really I was racing the clock.  I got close but finished in 5 hours and 1 minute.  I don't have the official results yet but I think I finished like 11 th out of 58 registered 50kers.  I was very happy with this considering that I was coming off an injury.  This also happened to be my personal best 50K time, although its only my second 50k.

 After the race I sat down and had a great time recovering.  I had 2 cups of chicken soup and several other aid station goodies.  After the race I sat next to Daniel Tomko and talked with him for several minutes.  I also saw Jennifer Hughes who I worked with at the Bridle Trails 50K aid station, she had already completed the race because she did an early start.  All in all it was a good day.

Updated Race Schedule

Well as life goes things happen and my original race schedule that I put out is now been changed because of circumstances out of my control but below is an updated schedule of my races for 2013.

Race 1: Lost Dutchman Marathon, Apache Junction, AZ, February 17th, 2013 First race since stress fracture last October.
Race 2: Lord Hill 50K, Snohomish, WA, February 24th, 2013
Race 3: Chuckanut 50K, Bellingham, WA, March 16th, 2013
Race 4: Squak Mountain 50K, Issaquah, WA, April 13th, 2013
Race 5: Vancouver Marathon, Vancouver, BC, May 5th, 2013
Race 6: Redmond Watershed 12 hour, Redmond, WA, May 18th, 2013
Race 7: Rainier to Ruston 50 mile, Tacoma, WA, June 1st, 2013
*Race 8: Vashon Island 50K, Vashon Island, WA June8th, 2013
Race 9: Taylor Mountain 50K, Issaquah, WA, June 29th, 2013
Race 10: White River 50 mile, Greenwater, WA, July 27th, 2013
Race 11: Hamster endurance 12 hour run, Bellingham, WA, August 10-11, 2013 ?? I have to run this one to defend my only ultra race win ever!
Race 12: Pine to Palm 100, Ashland, OR, September 14-15, 2013
Race 13: Carkeek 12 hour, Seattle, WA, October 26th, 2013
Race 14: Grand Ridge 50K, Issaquah, WA, November 16th, 2013
Race 15: Deception Pass 50K, Anacortes, WA, December 2013

Back to Life, Back to Training

Back to Life, Back to Training

I can not express how happy I am feeling right now.  Why do you ask?  Well last week I got the opportunity to start running again.  You see this is a big deal because I was not able to run at all for 8 weeks because I sustained a stress fracture at my last race on October 13th.  I have done approximately 6 runs so far.  My first was just to test it out see how it was feeling, only did 30 minutes and not at a fast rate, my wife and I ran together so that was good because I did not push it.  The second run was about 15 minutes because I needed to get home from church and did not have a ride so I ran.  The third run was 38 minutes, with no pain.  So the fourth run I decided to step it up a little and completed 41 minutes and still no pain so that was awesome.  The fifth run was a little more intense because I was feeling pretty good so I did 55 minutes in the rain and cold on the trails around Seward Park.  The sixth workout was at the gym because it was to cold and dark out to run.  I completed an one hour workout.  I did my standard workout that I call the 10-20-30.  10 minutes of working out my core with weights. 20 minutes on the spin bike. 30 minutes on the treadmill, this 30 minutes was pretty intense, 3.66 miles in 30 minutes.

I am super happy with my progress and I am very excited for the race season to start.  My first race is February 17th in Arizona.  I will be running the Lost Dutchman Mine Marathon.  This is an annual trip for me because it is like second Christmas for me because I go visit my sister and her family and my mom.  They all live together and the race is within walking distance from their house.  I am very happy to be running again and my passion for running has been renewed.

Western States 100 Lottery Viewing Party

Western States 100 Lottery Viewing Party

  This Saturday, December 8th, is the lottery drawing for the Western States 100.  The drawing starts at 9AM and goes to 11AM.  I am entered into it this year for my first time ever.  Currently I have a 7.4 percent chance of being selected.

  I am having a viewing party at my house in Seattle (5116 S Willow Street, Seattle WA 98118) on this day.  If you are reading this, you are invited.  My wife and I will be serving breakfast to anyone who shows up at about 8:30 AM and then we will have my computer hooked up to our TV so we can watch for results and see if my name gets drawn.  I believe they have a live video feed that we will be able to watch.

  Hopefully I will be selected for this race but if not my back up plan is to run the Pine to Palm 100 mile race in Ashland, OR at the end of the September.  I will try to take some pictures of the party and give post race summary of what happened.  

  Currently I am not running for about another week because of my injury but I plan on starting running again on December 10th.  My first race for 2013 is February 17th, 2013 with the Lost Dutchman Marathon in Apache Junction, AZ.  I already have my tickets for that race.  And a new update to my 2013 race calendar is that I am going to try to enter the Chuckanut 50K in March which was just announced this week, it will also be a lottery drawing so hopefully I will be able to get in for that one.

Thanks for reading

Chris