North Fork 50k (Race Recap)

Buffalo Creek, CO

Saturday, May 30

Weather - sunny, hot for the exposed first miles and then quite pleasant

Last fall when I randomly decided to run in Thailand, I had already been signed up to run Coldwater Rumble - a race in Arizona also put on by Aravaipa. When I withdrew from Coldwater I had credits to use and figured that North Fork would be a good, long training run for the summer. 

The 50k started at 8:00 and the pre-race email led me to believe that it could be tough to find parking since the 50-miler started an hour earlier and it looked like a few hundred people total would be running. Initially, Ben wanted to go down with me. With Ariel being out of town I thought that would be too long to leave Olive home alone, so I headed out just after 5 am, thinking it was an hour drive. There was no traffic and I wasn't too surprised when I lost phone service shortly after getting off 285 outside Aspen Grove. 

The race had put a pin/coordinates for where the parking lot would be, so imagine my fear/annoyance when the pin dropped in the middle of nowhere. I hadn't had any phone service for at least 15 minutes, and I had no idea where I was. I saw a small parking lot on the side of the road with a bathroom that I stopped at. Another car pulled in just after me and thankfully they assured me the lot was another 5 or so minutes up the road. Phew.

Parking was pretty easy and I got my gear ready and headed out for the 10-minute walk to the start. The email had also said that parking at the start was limited and would be "closed" at 6 am. That was a lie, they were still letting people park there when I was walking up at like 6:20. I saw Jim directing traffic and said a quick hello. There was still no service at the start line so I just put my phone in airplane mode and figured I would just go through the day without even trying to use it.

Went in the building where the race day packet pick up was and got my bib and race shirt (which I shoved in my pack since I wasn't going to walk another 20 minutes round trip to put in the car). I cycled through the bathroom line a few times and talked to Alexa and Julie before lining up at the start.

Start to Colorado Trail - 4.8 miles

I was mostly excited for this race and absolutely THRILLED to run something that had aid stations so close together! I lined up pretty close to the back. Alexa had mentioned that the first mile or so was on a dirt road and that would give the field time to spread out.

The road was definitely wide enough for the few hundred racers, which I appreciated. I planned to take it easy and was doing an easy jog. Passing some people and getting passed by others. It didn't seem like too much time had passed before we moved onto the trail.

The first conga line of the trail began! I had always heard that these were really runner-friendly trails, and they definitely were. Relatively smooth with no huge hills, at least in the start. People were definitely getting antsy already and I had to quickly decide if I wanted to get stuck at what the conga line wanted to do.

Initially I felt like I was in a good position and the people in front of me seemed to be pacing pretty well. However, it seemed like there were sections where there could at least be a little bit of running, so I decided I would gradually make some movements when I felt like I'd be able to run for more than a few steps. We quickly moved out of the trees and into the burn area - the sun felt like it was beating down, even though it was probably in the upper 40s/low 50s. 

I started gradually passing people in this section. 

Overall, this was a nice section and we seemingly got the first third of the climbing out of the way.

Colorado Trail to Shinglemill 4.8 to 7.9

I was glad that I hadn't needed any snacks at the first aid station since it was just a table with a single jug of water. I was very glad that I had worked to pass people because there ended up being a line of us. 

We had a short segment of dirt road leading out of the aid station. I was run/walking in this section and I think I did get passed by at least a guy/gal that were running together and another gal that I would leapfrog with for at least the next hour.

I did not have the foresight to make note of where the aid stations were, so I had no idea each section how long it would be between aid. 

Once we moved off the dirt road we had a nice section of flowy single track with just a few gradual climbs. I thought I finally saw Alexa ahead of me.

I caught up to her and we chatted briefly. She said that her knee was really bothering her and that she was probably going to be dropping as it wasn't worth making things worse with her goal race coming up soon.

This was probably the first section where I realized that bikes were going to be on the trails. I mean, I understand that they aren't going to completely close to the public, but if it were me, I would probably have gone to ride somewhere else...

We had a nice downhill into the aid station.

Shinglemill to Tramway 7.9 to 13.2 miles

I filled up my flask and added another packet of LMNT. I grabbed one ginger cookie and a bag of pretzels and moved out very quickly. Initially I was planning on eating the bag of pretzels upon leaving, but I always forget how dry they are when I am actually trying to move quickly. I think I only ate one or two before giving up on them and having some Nerd Clusters instead. There were some rollers leaving the aid station and we moved out of the shade onto another plateau.

I can't remember too much about this section. It was getting warmer and we were working on the second bigger climb of the race. 

There was a split in the trail and I got passed by another gal that I would see on and off multiple times throughout the rest of the race (I think she eventually finished 10-15 minutes behind me).

I passed another few women in this section and just was grinding out this climb. The elevation profile showed a pretty gnarly hill right before the descent, but I honestly never could figure out what that might have been. In this section we met up with the 50 milers, and it was kinda crazy being passed by people that were moving so much faster!

Tramway to Buffalo 13.2 to 19.2 miles

I stopped at the aid station just long enough to fill my flask and get some soda. There were a lot of people just sort of hanging out at the aid station but I as in and out. More climbing? I think we were in the trees most of this section, which was nice. I saw a conga line of people coming up behind me and my goal was to try and not get passed by anyone. 

I caught up to the gal that had passed me earlier and made some comment like "are you even stopping at the aid stations" and she was nice but not at all chatty. At one point she did ask if I wanted to pass and I apologized for nipping at her heels but she was pacing well.

The course had been advertised as being 30.2 miles on the gpx on the website and I started to get really excited thinking that there was a possibility that I could go under 7 hours. I even told the gal that unless the wheels fell off that I should be finishing well under my A goal (7:24 which was my ultrasignup predicted finish). 

This section seemed pretty long and I came into a clearing where there was a bathroom and was disappointed that it was locked up. Thankfully the aid station (the only one with drop bags, but I didn't have one) was only a few minutes down the road.

Buffalo to Homestead 19.2 to 24.6 miles (aka, "the lie")

I filled up my flask and grabbed some Mountain Dew. Had to wait in line for the bathroom for a few minutes. Most annoying was the spectator that wasn't polite enough to let me go ahead. (Not that anyone HAS to do that, but I personally think that is common courtesy during a RACE). 

Headed out and there were more rollers and we also had to do our last longer grind/climb of the race. Thankfully the weather was cooperating, and it didn't feel too unbelievably hot. I don't remember much of this section, but I think I passed some people in here. Came to a fork in the road that said the aid station was at mile 24.6 and I looked at my watch and it should have been close. Unfortunately, this was the segment of lies!! I think I was closer to 25.5 or 26 miles when I finally saw the aid station.

Homestead to Finish

I asked the volunteer how far to the finish, "5 or so?" He said more like 6, so I actually had a few cups of coke, two watermelon slices and an orange slice. I knew I had not been eating as much as I probably needed to, but I was still feeling pretty good and was running a lot (for me). I didn't want to get totally burned out. This was probably my second longest aid station stop.

Headed out just as Lesli and some of the people I had passed were coming in. We had a little bit of a climb out of the aid station, and I was thinking that after I got through 1-2 miles it was supposed to be almost all downhill to the finish.

I think I only got passed by two people here, and pretty sure they were both in the 50 mile. I waited until I got to about mile 28 before I changed my watch to see what Garmin thought my finish time would be. I was a little sad to see it was supposed to be around 7:33. Still not bad!

The course was not as downhill as I expected, and I tried to run just about everything since I knew I was almost done. Finally got back to the road and knew I didn't have too far left to go.

I did finish a few minutes faster than Garmin predicted, so I was happy about that. I had a random person take my picture at the finish - he apparently thought I didn't need my feet in the picture - ohhh weellllll.

After I finished I went back in the building to see if there were any cold drinks. I got a La Croix and then went to the finish for a few minutes before deciding just to head out and go home.

Official Time - 7:31:45

Overall Place - 94/168

Gender Place - 27/67

Garmin Time - 7:31:19

Garmin Distance - 31.89 miles

Garmin Pace - 14:09

Elevation Gain - 3,979'

Run Time - 4:46:39

Walk Time - 2:38:22

Idle Time - 6:18 ---> Really pleased with this, probably would have only been 5ish minutes if I wouldn't have needed to wait for the bathroom. Not bad for 5 aid stations that I at least had to fill up my bottles.

Miles 1-5 - 12:29, 16:39, 13:26, 14:44, 13:49

Miles 6-10 - 14:00, 12:44, 12:27, 12:54, 12:20

Miles 11-15 - 11:53, 13:02, 14:42, 17:06, 15:00

Miles 16-20 - 16:08, 16:36, 14:29, 12:20, 15:29

Miles 21-25 - 15:22, 16:40, 17:25, 13:30, 12:37

Miles 26-30 - 15:24, 14:49, 13:43, 14:16, 11:51

Miles 31-32 - 12:55, 11:44

Thoughts:

• Outside of thinking I was lost going to the race, everything was very organized and smooth. Packet pick up morning of was a breeze. No junk to worry about in the pack, just bib and a shirt.
• Course was very well marked. Red flags/signs for the 50 mile and neon green for the 50k
• Aid stations were good, manned well. Only the first aid station was fluid only. All others had plenty of normal aid station fare. (They are cupless but have plastic cups people can use if they forget one and the volunteers clean them).
• I saw a photographer three times on course, no idea if pictures will be free or not, will update.
• Gear used - Sparkle Skirts party cats skirt (I haven't been wearing skirts much and got lots of compliments on this one), Patagonia sun shirt with my rabbit EZ tee Runners Roost race team shirt. Ultrapsire hat and Zygos 5.0 pack with one 800 ml flask. I only ran out of water between Buffalo and Homestead, otherwise 800 was plenty of fluids - and I am a heavy drinker. LMNT - three packets total, Nerd Clusters and a few Hi Chews. Did not use my poles and did not feel like I needed them but probably 25% of people had them. 
• I would recommend this race - and with a 13-hour cutoff for the 50k I think it's probably a good ultra for beginners.

Week in Review (May 26 - June 1)

Tuesday (10,246 steps) - My main attorney is still on vacation so I took a bonus work from home day so I could keep an eye on Robin - who is doing MUCH better, thankfully. 

Did a Peloton ride before logging in for the day. Took Olive for a longer walk at lunch and got in some strength training. 

Took Olive for another walk after I got off work. The chickens were out at the house by the park.

Dinner and Good Wife. 

Wednesday (16,475 steps) - Olive walk before going to work in the office. Even though I should be tapering for a race, Greg had me scheduled for a workout. Once again, the first 4 (of 5) reps went really well, then I was just hanging on to get through it. It's days like this that I cannot even IMAGINE ever running "fast" again. 

Olive walk when I got home. Dinner and Good Wife.

Thursday (12,973 steps) - Unfortunately woke up well before my normal WFH alarm, so I took Olive for a walk and did a short Peloton ride before working. Olive had her grooming appointment, so I walked her over for that and got some strength training done. Picked her up from her appointment - she is so soft and fluffy after getting trimmed. Met Ben at Torchy's for our normal Thursday night dinner. Thought about walking Olive again but it started raining. Good Wife.

Friday (16,330 steps) - Woke up with enough time to meet the group at Wash Park for a walk. Unfortunately, Kristin's dog bit a puppy on the walk, which was stressful/scary for everyone. 

Went to work and met up with Erica for a longer walk at lunch with Olive. After work we met Ben at 4 Noses for happy hour. Home and Ben ordered in food for dinner. 

Good Wife.

Saturday (74,434 steps) - Woke up well before my alarm and ended up having time to walk Olive before I headed out for North Fork 50k (separate recap). 

I was SO thirsty after finishing, and I had to stop in Aspen Grove to get something to drink (which ended up just being at Safeway). I took Olive for a walk when I got home and Ben had picked up pizza for a very late lunch/early dinner. Lounged around the rest of the evening, Good Wife.

Sunday (18,931 steps) - I had an alarm set because I was supposed to meet up with Joni for a hike, but she cancelled because she woke up not feeling well. I took Olive for a walk while Ben went to pick up Dutch Bros. I was pretty sore from my race so we didn't want to do anything crazy hard with Olive. We decided to go to Golden and found a new to us trail to walk on (Welch trail and the Peaks to Plains) - it was quite nice!! 

Olive did not enjoy the see-through steps or bridge, so I had to carry her. We picked up Ariel since we were in the area and went into town for ice cream and a stop at the Bivy Bar for Ben to get a beer. 

Home for dinner and we finally finished Good Wife - horrible finale...

Monday (10,200 steps) - Olive walk before clocking in for the day. Had to take Robin back to the vet for her checkup. Bad news - another expensive vet bill. Good news - her kidney numbers improved a LOT. She unfortunately projectile vomited on the drive home. That meant that I had to give her a bath - her first EVER and clean out my car. Boo. 

She looks even skinnier when she is wet :( She did actually gain almost a half-pound since the last ER visit

Took Olive for a walk at lunch. 

Wanted to walk Olive and maybe do some deliveries after work but we had a hail risk so stayed in. Ben ordered in Panda for dinner. We watched the Cocodona lottery livestream and started Good Fight - which is the spinoff for Good Wife.

Stats:

• 159,589 steps
• 41.48 miles run
• 19.78 miles walked
• 30 minutes of cardio
• 40 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (May 19 - May 25)

Tuesday (12,940 steps) - Peloton ride and Olive walk before going to work. I had a staff meeting at lunch which took longer than I would have liked, but at least we got catered lunch. Headed to the gym for stairs, strength training and a treadmill hike. 

Solid workout! Walked Olive again when I got home. Ben picked up pizza for dinner. When I was feeding the cats I noticed Robin looked a little off and when I looked closer at her jaw she had a major injury of some kind so we ended up taking her to the emergency vet. Turns out she had an abscess (not sure what caused it) that had to be lanced and drained - which was messy and smelled awful. 

She spent the night in the cone but seemingly still has an appetite, which is good. Good Wife.

Wednesday (19,251 steps) - Olive early walk and a bonus work from home day since I initially wasn't sure if I would need to take Robin back to the vet. Picked up my free birthday drink from Ziggi's.

Attempted to take Olive for a longer walk at lunch but it started to rain on us and I am just over being wet so we headed back home. Robin is still in the cone but seems to be doing ok.

After I got off work I headed up to Louisville to get my workout in. Dressed for winter and for the first half hour or so it was pretty perfect. I had a very long warm up and then some faster downhill sprints. Ended up with over a 10k for distance which was more than I expected. 

Stopped at the store to say hi but didn't recognize anyone so didn't stay long. Ben made dinner, Good Wife. More cleaning of Robin's jaw and giving her meds that she didn't want.

Thursday (17,350 steps) - Work from home. Went for my run early since I had a busy day planned. Run actually was really good and the trails by the lake (at least on the north side) were pretty dry. Strength training and a shower before I took Olive for a walk to the lake. 

Took Robin back to the vet where they prescribed additional anti-inflammatories, a pain reliever injection and did blood work. Found out her kidneys are not doing wonderful, so she also was prescribed some special food and kidney medication. The vet said she didn't need to keep the cone on, but she still is trying to scratch at her jawline, so we are going to leave it on overnight for a few more days to hopefully aid in healing. Met Ben at Torchy's for dinner and then took Olive for a walk. Good Wife.

Friday (11,306 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. Another walk late morning. We actually had an early release of noon, which is unheard of! I kept my app on in case any good offers came through (none did) and read while I waited for Ben to get off. He also got off work early, but not until 3. We met up at 4 Noses for an early happy hour. Olive walk, Panda for dinner and Good Wife.

Saturday (30,763 steps) - Took Olive for a walk and then drove down to Highlands Ranch for a run with Jandy and Christina in the backcountry! It was relatively warm, there were a lot of bikes and I seemed to be working pretty hard for lots of walk breaks. BUT, it was wonderful to run with friends, which is not something I get to do too much these days.

MATCHY MATCHY

There was a horrific accident that had I-70 closed on the way home and I got stuck in a pretty annoying detour that had tons of traffic. I stopped at Target on the way home to pick up a few things and of course ended up spending about ten times what I planned - the Target Effect!! Took Olive for a long walk to the lake. Robin hasn't been eating much her second vet visit, so after trying a few things that she had zero interest in, I took her back to the emergency vet. She had lost nearly another half-pound in the last week, and as a tiny cat that was worrisome. The vet suggested we stop the additional kidney medicines, give her a fluid injection, an anti-nausea injection and then just let her eat whatever she wants for now.  Thankfully that seemed to kickstart her appetite and she ate a decent amount when we got back home. Ben ordered in pizza for dinner. We watched the new Jack Ryan Ghost War movie and part of a Good Wife episode.

Sunday (21,000 steps) - Ben opted to stay home for the run today, so I went to Rock Creek for what was supposed to be a very easy run. Most of it was, I didn't get close to Z3 until I was nearly back to the car. 

Ben went to Costco while I was running and after we got everything unpacked we went for a walk with Olive to the lake.

Ariel came back to hang out for a few hours and we took Olive for a short walk before the next round of storms came though. Cheese for dinner and Good Wife.

Monday (17,136 steps) - Took Olive for a quick walk in the morning while we were figuring out our morning. Went up to Broomfield to visit with Ben's friend for a bit before going back home to prep for yet another run with friends! We went to Boulder to meet up with Kristin and Jeramiah for a 45ish minute run at Marshall Mesa. A great run, but probably not as "easy" as my coach would like.

Went to Illegal Pete's after for lunch and it was a zoo since the Bolder Boulder was earlier and there were still a ton of people in town. Picked up Olive and went to Rails End for a late afternoon happy hour before going home for the day - too many nuts out on Memorial Day! Robin thankfully is eating more so hopefully no more ER visits for her this week. Good Wife.

Stats:

• 129,746 steps
• 30.12 miles run
• 17.71 miles walked
• 40 minutes of cardio
• 50 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (May 12 - May 18)

Tuesday (17,534 steps) - Peloton and Olive walk before going to work. Gym at lunch. Someone was on the StairMaster when I first go there so I had to do my strength training first, then got my stairs in and a hike on the treadmill. 

Got more miles on my treadmill desk. Olive walk when I got home. Dinner and Good Wife. 

Wednesday (21,948 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. Took my lunch early since I had a speed workout to do and it was supposed to be almost 90 out. 

This felt hard, but mostly ok. UNTIL the last rep. I just had zero pep left in my step and barely got through it. 

I was so hot and grimy when I was done. Normally I just wash my face and go back to work, but this time I actually took a shower. Did a quick delivery on the way home. Ben had a work meeting after work so I took Olive for a longer walk. 

He still wasn't done by the time I got home so I went out and did another delivery. Dinner and Good Wife.

Thursday (15,582 steps) - The very rare morning run! 

It was supposed to be another very hot day, plus Ariel had plans to come by and take me out for an early birthday lunch. The run itself was fine! I took it very slow since I was still feeling Wednesday's speed work. Rower, upper body work and a core video to round out the morning. Ariel and I took Olive for a walk to the lake. Tokyo Joe's for lunch and we stayed there to eat since they had the air conditioning blasting. 

After work we all headed down to Highland Tap & Burger to meet up with Lisa for dinner!! 

It was great to see her, it's been a few years. Home, did a foot soak and Good Wife.

Friday (17,518 steps) - Wash Park with Olive and the gang. Took Olive for a short walk around lunchtime. Lisa messaged me to let me know she was ready to go for a walk, so Olive and I met her down the street for a mid-length walk. Rushed home after work to pack for my birthday weekend in the mountains. We were ready to go by probably 5:30 and thankfully we did not hit any traffic on the way up. Stopped at Outer Range and then Ben ordered pizza from Scrappy's for dinner. 

NA beer and NA seltzer with a view

Clancy and Mr. Fox are always happy for a road trip also:

Olive was a little unsure about the hotel room. Also since I actually did my hair for once we had to get a few selfies!

Ben got impatient and gave me my birthday presents early - some new tops from Patagonia! I think we tried to stay up and watch some TV but we were both tired and still went to sleep at our normal time. 

Saturday (35,614 steps) - Lisa was planning on coming up to the mountains to join us for a hike, but I had no idea what time that would be. Took Olive out for a quick bathroom break and then I went out for my pre-hike run. Greg had scheduled me for a long run, so I figured I would knock out 6-8 miles since the rest of the day would be hiking/jogging. I ran on the rec path and it was actually pretty decent! 

Lisa met us at the trailhead and we had plans to do the Vomit/Hippo loop. Of course as soon as we parked it started pouring rain. We waited it out for about 10 minutes and it thankfully cleared up. The weather ended up being pretty good the whole time although there was some "hot then cold" moments. Barely anyone was out, which is always nice. 

We went back to Outer Range and got lunch - another ahi tuna bowl for me. 

Lisa had to head back home and we were pretty tired so went back to the hotel.  Ordered in Cheba Hut for dinner (YUM) and Lee came by to visit for a bit. Cheba had been out of the brownies we ordered so Ben got me a slice of cheesecake from the restaurant in the hotel. 

Watched part of one of the Mission Impossible movies. 

TIRED DOG

Sunday (21,376 steps) - Took turns going to the lobby to pick up breakfast. Packed up and headed out for the day. Went to Miner's Creek for our hike/run of the day. The first 45 minutes or so was quite lovely. 

As we got closer to the turn for Gold Hill it started to snow! Thankfully it was short-lived and most of the way back was quite nice. 

Until we got about a mile from the truck and then a storm rolled in and it was windy/snowing/raining and we were getting pelted in the face. Of course it pretty much stopped by the time we got to the parking lot. 

A delicious mudslide latte!

Went to Outer Range, then a quick stop at the Columbia outlet store and one more stop at Cheba Hut to pick up our free subs before heading back home. Thankfully no traffic to Denver. Took Olive for a walk, unpacked and just relaxed the rest of the night, watched a movie, "Shelter."

Monday (20,672 steps) - Work from home! 

It had rained all night and was still raining when I got up in the morning. Took a Peloton class thinking I might get a shout out for my birthday, but NOPE!! Finally decided to go for my run around 11:30 because it didn't seem to be raining THAT bad. Turns out it was cold, rainy AND my Thailand jacket is only apparently waterproof for about 45 minutes. Definitely had some flashbacks from Wales. 

I was DRENCHED by the time I got home. Quickly changed into a dry sweatshirt, walked Olive, then sat in the sauna. 

After work I read for a bit until Ben got home to pick me up and take me out to dinner. Ariel met us for sushi!! We enjoyed hearing all about her first day at her new job as a geotechnical engineer. Back to the house for ice cream cake and then Good Wife. 

Well at least they got my name SORTA right at Dairy Queen

Pretty perfect birthday for an old person!

Stats:

• 150,064 steps
• 37.49 miles run
• 15.58 miles walked
• 55 minutes of cardio
• 55 minutes of strength
• 20 minutes of sauna