West Line Winder 50K (Race Recap)

Buena Vista, CO

Saturday, September 25 (our wedding anniversary!)

Ultra Marathon - #36 (?)

Weather - Chilly at the start, sunny and hot at the finish

I started getting ads in my Facebook for an inaugural 50K in Buena Vista. Normally, I don't get too excited about that distance, but this one caught my eye because the race was going to be on our one year wedding anniversary! Signed up on February 25, and figured it would be a beautiful fall race.

Race Day

Alarm went off at 4:15. I had barely slept, so I was NOT happy. I got all my stuff ready to go and we were ready to get out the door just after 5:15 am. I had heated up my breakfast, but wasn't feeling hungry, so I brought it with me to eat in the car on the hour and twenty minute drive. Unfortunately, the longer we drove, the sicker I felt. I normally have a stomach of steel, and for whatever reason, I felt awful. I barely got a few bites of food down before I started feeling very nauseous and my stomach felt very off. We stopped at the gas station just outside of town and got some gum and Tums, and I hoped I'd be able to get through the race. In addition to just feeling sick, there is no way that barely eating was going to help me out.

I had opted to take the early start and we arrived with just under a half hour to go. Picking up our packets was easy, and I briefly chatted with Michael, who was going to be volunteering. By the time I grabbed my pack and used the bathroom again, it was about time to start. I noted at the start line that only me and one other guy had poles. I felt more out of place than I even do at a 200 mile race.

We started right at 7, and we were going to have a nice, flat run through town to get to the trail system. I was surprised to see Victor and Laura in this wave - they are both so fast, there is no reason why they were there! They were gone and out of sight before we even hit a mile, even though they were running "super easy" for the day. Sigh.

I managed to make it to the trail before I started taking walk breaks. Before I knew it, I was where I usually am in race, the VERY BACK. 

I took my poles out of my pack right when we started climbing and tried to climb as best as I could. I've been doing so well in training that I really thought this would go better. The temperatures were nice and cool and the climbing wasn't even that outrageous, and yet I was still struggling to even maintain my pace and not get passed. Thankfully, the air was clear (it's been SO LONG since we had good air quality), and the views were amazing!

I was able to run a bit here and there, but I still was struggling to "keep up" with the back of the pack. Never ceases to amaze me how hard running always seems, and how I'm constantly fighting just to finish these events. There were sections where the trail was wide enough that I felt like I could have one earbud in, and for the first time in a LONG time in a trail race, I listened to music. I wasn't around anyone, and it helped my mood a bit. I was in and out of the first aid station pretty quickly, the biggest delay was putting on sunscreen since I had forgotten to put it on before I started.

I was wondering how long it would be before the 8:00 starters would catch me. I knew that Courtney Dauwalter was running, so I knew she would be the person who would pass me first. I was right! I *almost* made it to 9 miles before she blazed by me. She was very friendly and told me I was doing great. She's really an awesome person. (By the way, she was not out of breath at all and was moving extremely quickly, haha).

I was happy that the next section of climbing was really a long fire road. I hiked the entire thing, it was steep enough that I didn't feel like running. I really thought that Ben would catch up to me before the second aid station, but I got in and out without seeing him. By this point I was wondering why there hadn't been nearly as much climbing in the first 12 miles as the elevation profile showed. I got to the top of the hill out of the aid station and took of my pack so I could stash my poles. I was REALLY pleased to find the next few miles were on a dirt road and not technical at all. So I got lots of running done in this section.

I was with a group of a few other runners, and we headed off the road and back onto the single track.

There were a few areas where I was able to run and the couple that was in front of me stepped off the trail for a picture and I was able to pass them for good.

This section was actually fairly nice and I made up some time here. I was able to see the next aid station and headed in. I knew I really needed to eat something at this point since I had barely consumed any calories. My stomach still didn't feel great and NOTHING sounded good. I can't even remember what I grabbed, maybe some tater tots, but I did not stay long - I was still kind of confused about the cutoff times. I was also starting to wonder why Ben hadn't caught me yet. The next section was the longest stretch without aid at just over 7 miles. We actually had quite a bit of flat and not incredibly technical here, so I did a decent amount of running. It was getting really hot out and I was definitely ready to be done with this race.

I honestly don't remember much else about this section. It was hot and exposed. The aid station had moved about a tenth of a mile further because of a double booking with the race and a wedding party. I spent a couple minutes putting on sunscreen and grabbing a pierogi for the walk out of the aid station. I finally saw Ben coming in as I was leaving. I told him I was slowing down and that he would be able to catch up. There was a slight downhill after the aid station, so I ran that. Supposedly it was only 4 miles to the last "aid" which was water only. I figured Ben would catch me with in 10-15 minutes. Somehow, the miles ticked by, and he still hadn't shown up. The markings were a lot more sparse in this section and I pulled out my map a few times to make sure that we were on the right course. All of a sudden, I was going up following the markings and came across Ben and another gal. I don't know how we ended up at the same place coming from opposite directions. Another guy came from behind them and he insisted he knew which way to go (back the way I had just come). Thankfully, he was right, and we found some additional markings.

We expected to be coming up on the aid station soon, but we also hadn't seen the "one mile until aid" sign that had preceded every other aid station. Maybe there wouldn't be a sign for this one because it was an unmanned water drop only? Either way, by looking at the map, it sure seemed like we wouldn't be there at 4 miles like the course had suggested. Turns out I was right. By the time we finally got there, it was over 6 miles! Ben and I had both run out of water. There was still water in the jugs, but they had been baking in the sun all day and the water was NOT cool. 

From here, we weren't sure if we could trust that it was "just 3" miles to the finish. Initially, the course was actually going to be just short of a 50K, but at that rate, we should only have been about a mile from the finish, which we knew we weren't.

There was still some fairly technical trails in this section and we were both DONE, so there was not a lot of running here, although I tried to when I felt like I could.

Finally, we saw the bridge that we had crossed in the first mile.

There was a volunteer at the end of the bridge who informed us we were going the opposite direction from where we had been at the first mile. Yay! We stupidly thought that meant it would be less than a mile to the finish line. Unfortunately, it was actually longer this way. Finally, we saw Main Street. We could hear people cheering and we knew that we were almost there. We got passed by a woman on this stretch, but I didn't care. Finally, with just a few blocks to go, we decided to run it in. SO HAPPY TO BE DONE.

Somehow, I don't think I realized that there was a medal, and the volunteer had to chase us down to give it to us - along with our bottle of whiskey. 

We both took a much-needed seat under the canopy and Ben got us some otter pops and small cups of coke. Ben recognized a friend that he used to work with and we chatted a bit before getting a picture at the finish line.

Since I took the one hour early start, Ben finished an hour before me. I have to say, I'm pretty excited that it took him 27 miles to catch me during the race, and it was actually pleasant to hang out together for the last miles. My tracking info is below - I'm pretty proud of the fact that I never "lost" position on the course, I was steady and continued to "move up" past people in the overall rankings. A bit disappointed at how slow I was, and how hard of an effort this was, but considering I was barely able to eat, I guess I did fine.

Garmin Time - 8:44:52

Garmin Distance - 32.16 miles

Garmin Pace - 16:20

Elevation Gain - 3,808'

Miles 1-5 - 12:13, 18:33, 16:01, 16:33, 13:44

Miles 6-10 - 15:06, 15:08, 14:21, 15:06, 15:00

Miles 11-15 - 16:38, 19:06, 18:14, 11:33, 11:52

Miles 16-20 - 13:30, 16:30, 13:17, 16:04, 14:46

Miles 21-25 - 17:46, 19:11, 18:36, 14:32, 17:51

Miles 26-30 - 19:22, 18:28, 20:54, 18:30, 20:36

Miles 31-32.16 - 17:21, 16:41, 12:00

Thoughts:

• Pretty good for an inaugural race! 
• Aid stations were really good. I wasn't expecting so many food options, but there was even hot food at most aid stations - definitely something you don't expect at "just" a 50K
• Early markings were really good, but in the more technical sections towards the end there was definitely significantly less.
• The app we were told to use for the course was "ok," but it only showed you where you were on the map, not what direction you were going or any further detail. I much prefer loading a route into Gaia and being able to tell better where I am.
• The section from the last full aid to the water drop was WAY longer than it should have been. Had I known it was going to be so much longer, I definitely would have taken more water with me, and probably forced myself to eat more.
• Cute race shirt, that was optional to get.
• Unexpected medal, which I liked!
• Amazing and FREE race pictures. I got four times as many pictures in this race than I did in all 4.5 days of Bigfoot. Crazy.
• I just didn't love the course. I don't know what I was expecting, but I really thought we would be in the woods or something. This was definitely more of a "desert" environment, and a lot of it was on mountain bike trails. There were a number of bikes out as well, which wasn't a ton of fun.

Ft. Collins Trail Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, April 25

Livermore, CO

Half Marathon #130

Colorado Half #63

Weather - sunny and warm

I was really looking forward to yet another trail race. The Ft. Collins half marathon is put on by Endurance Races Series, and I have run a few of their races. According to the website, this was pretty much going to be the most difficult of all the trail races.  The race did not start until 9:00, but since we were about 1.5 hours south, we still had to be out the door by 6:30. Luckily, we had set up the mapping in advance since we lost all our cell phone service about 20 minutes before arriving at the start, a tiny little church across from Eagle's Nest.

We picked up our packets and used the bathrooms. The bathrooms were inside, but there were only two stalls and we knew there was close to 350 runners between the half marathon and 10k. We peeked at the start line across the street and did not see any port-o-potties there. Uh oh.



We figured allowing 20 minutes would be enough time to use the bathroom. We really should have left another half hour. We cycled through right when the race was supposed to start, but lucky for us, they started the race about five minutes late.

If you look in the picture above, you can see the road that we were going to be running up for the first mile. As I expected, I tired pretty early and a group of us walked a bulk of the second half of the hill. For the first time in a while, I got the fire calves and I was "glad" I had the hill excuse to walk and loosen it up. It was soooo pretty in this area, and I don't think people minded that I captured them walking :)

So I started out walking with maybe 10 people behind me. By the time we got close to the first aid station (at the top of the hill at mile 1), I was literally in LAST PLACE. I don't like being in last, but I have done enough races to know that I won't stay there for long.

After leaving the aid station we moved onto the single track. It was much more narrow than I anticipated. The 10k was supposed to start 15 minutes after the half and I was worried about the super fast people catching up to me. It did NOT take long for them to catch me. I don't think the 10k started late, so they were only about 10 minutes behind us. I was probably around mile 1.5 when I heard the leader coming up behind me. Womp.

We had some more "gradual" climbing and I was able to fast a few people on the incline and then we came to a glorious downhill. Good for me because I would actually be able to run that section and I am pretty decent at downhill. Bad, because at mile 2, that's when a lot of the front runners were catching up to me and that meant running to the right of the trail and jumping of the trail to let them them pass. I did NOT enjoy that part.

The downhill lasted until the next aid station at mile 3. Luckily with the turnaround I was no longer going to be bothered with the fasties :)  After the turnaround we finally were running near the creek/river, and then headed up another hill to the last aid station of the out and back, around mile 4.

I'm grabbing just a cup of water when I hear one of the gals in front of me talking to the volunteer. He says, "I think the trail is a bit muddy... oh, look, here is one of the front runners, look at his shoes when he runs by."

Oh. So... it was going to be muddy. Thanks for the notice! The trail became overgrown "dirt road" with tire tracks, tall grass and yes, mud. I think we had at least 7-8 sections of muddy water that we had to cross. 

And at mile 5, there was a wider crossing, and what looks like bones. From something.

I saw L when my watch said 5.4 - she was CRUISING. I was running with a guy and a gal and we kept running together until we hit about mile 6 - which was shortly before the turnaround. The guy was complaining of having a side ache, I ran past, and they never got back in front of me.

The mile 6-6.5 seemed REALLY STEEP. I almost had to stop walking because I was just dying and needed air. And then - the turnaround!!

I took this picture at the halfway point - which took me about an hour and a half:

I was hoping that since it had seemed really hard and steep on the way up that it would seem more downhill on the way back.

And for the most part, it did. I think miles 6.5-8 were pretty great. It seemed really hot to me and I was getting tired, but I honestly didn't walk that much.

Got to the aid station at mile 9 and passed a few people there. It was nice and downhill to the aid station at mile 10, and I passed another couple of people. There was a small section that was not "quite" the same was the way out and it was pretty steep and I walked a large section of it. There was maybe 1/3 of a mile of flat and downhill, and then we started a climb that was THE WORST EVER.

Maybe about mile 10.7 the climbing started. That glorious downhill at the beginning. OH YEAH. That is what I had to get back up. It was so steep that I was taking breaks. And a selfie:

Just past mile 11 and I see a girl who stops and sits on a rock on the side of the trail. I mention that it seems hot and she just sort of nods. I ask her if she is ok and she says she is not feeling well. I ask if she needs anything and she says no. But she doesn't move so I asked if she wanted me to talk to the volunteer at the last aid station and she said yes. It took me 10-15 minutes to get there and... there is no there. Damn it!

I knew that the last mile was downhill and I just cruised it. I passed two more people in the last mile and came in at a very solid pace (for me).

Crossed the line and got my medal and immediately told Luke (who was timing the event) that there was a girl in trouble on the course. A park ranger ended up driving up to make sure she was ok. Scary!!

Official time - 2:49:08

Official pace - 12:55

Overall place - 132/154 (ok, so I passed like 20 people)

Gender place - 65/82

Division place - 18/22

Garmin time - 2:49:11

Garmin distance - 12.59 miles

Garmin pace - 13:26

Mile 1 - 14:12

Mile 2 - 12:40

Mile 3 - 12:42

Mile 4 - 14:12

Mile 5 - 14:23

Mile 6 - 16:00

Mile 7 - 12:49

Mile 8 - 11:15

Mile 9 - 11:59

Mile 10 - 12:44

Mile 11 - 18:15

Mile 12 - 12:39

Mile 12.6ish - 8:59 (!!!! - yay downhill)

Thoughts

• I got done, grabbed my free beer ticket and headed over to the finish area. AND THERE WAS NO BEER. OMFG. Advertise free craft beer for a race and... it's gone??? So all the fast people get beer and the slow people don't??? This is not the first race where this has happened and even with bib tickets? SO BUMMED AND SAD.
• Not cool to let the volunteers leave their aid stations, especially when there is NO cell phone service. Kinda scary if something were to happen.
• The course was AMAZING. I love trail running so much. I got to run a lot of my favorite terrains and I didn't mind getting muddy.
• The aid stations were plenty - they did warn people that there was going to be a 5 mile stretch with no aid. They had water, some sort of electrolytes, bananas, cookies and some type of gel that I didn't have.
• The medal is pretty nice, and the shirt was ok too - gender specific tech tee. L didn't take hers, but I did.
• Overall, I think this was a fun event, but not sure that I would run it again due to its location.



Beaver Creek Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, August 10
Avon, CO
Half Marathon #112
Colorado Half #48
Weather - Sunny, warm

The Beaver Creek half marathon, put on by Endurance Race Series was an early addition to our race schedule. I have run some of the the city "trail" races ERS puts on, but this would be my first mountain race, other than the Copper Mountain half that I ran in 2012. I spent the weeks leading up to the race thinking I was racing on Saturday (which would have been better). Turns out, it was on Sunday, and not starting until 9:00.

Alarm was set for 5:30. Batman "Sour" (the kitty) did NOT wake me up and I slept wonderful. My dad came over at 6 to watch the kids and we started the drive up. We did not hit any issues with the construction (hope not, at that hour), and saw a herd of mountain goats on the side of the highway. We made excellent time and found our way to the resort with no issues.

Parked the car with just over an hour to the start and walked to the expo/start area. On the way out of the garage, I was stopped by Dave, a reader of my blog. That was fun! Picked up our packets, met and chatted with Jeff, the race director. He told us a bit more about the course - that it would measure 13.2 miles - two 6.6 mile loops - (although my watch disagreed), and that there was 700' of climbing in the first 2 miles before it leveled out. We then headed back to the car to get all our gear ready. There were supposed to be 7 aid stations for the half, but after the last race where I felt there wasn't enough aid, I decided to wear my Orange Mud vest to ensure I had enough fluid. (Spoiler: I'm glad I brought it as it turns out there were only 5 aid stations).

We cycled through the bathroom line a few times before the start. We lined up and started just a minute or two late. There was a half marathon in addition to the half marathon and we all started together. I started in the back as I knew a bulk of the climbing was in the first few miles and since we would be on single track, I didn't want to hold anyone back. I think I managed about a half mile before I was walking. The trail was pretty crowded for the first few miles, so as a suggestion for next year, I would start the 10k and half at least 15 minutes apart to ease congestion. I took almost all my pictures in the first loop.

At the start

Even though I started in back, I was still getting passed a decent amount in the beginning. I know I am a poor uphill runner, and I didn't want to hold anyone back.

The section leading into a mile-ish of running among the aspen trees was a bit more forgiving and widened a bit for people to get into their groove.

Fellow runner got this pic of me - LOVE the Aspen trees! (NO FILTER)

Due to the late start, it was already HOT during the exposed sections of the course. Luckily, about half of the course was shaded, so that helped.

Beaver Creek / Avon - View from about mile 2.5

FREE RACE PICS!!! (Courtesy of Running Guru)

There was a really neat section of trails called "Allie's Way" that was nice single track in the trees. Switchbacks down the back of the hill and not too technical, although some areas were steep and there were a lot of tree roots. we actually had to climb over a few trees that were blocking the path. I LOVED THIS SECTION.

We were, in fact, running ON the ski slopes

There was a small section that ran along the road, which I was not crazy about. Miles 4-6 were not technical at all, and it was probably the most runnable section, with the last mile being SUPER FAST downhill.

Most of the people I had been pacing with were running the 10k, so they got to stop while I had to go out for another loop. At least I knew what to expect this time!

Within the first half mile, this is actually a grass section behind someone's house - before getting on the trail

I would be alone for most of my second loop. I was getting pretty hot and was just trying to get done. I don't remember much of the second loop, it went by a lot faster (every single mile of my second loop was faster than the first loop, which I consider a major success!). Basically, the best part of my day was that I still had something left in my legs and my last mile in to the finish was about a 9:00 pace, which is crazy fast for me. I passed a lot of people in the end, which was nice.

Crossed the line and chatted with Dave (the blog reader) for a few minutes and had just enough time to grab a beer before we had to head back into town.

Garmin Time - 2:54:25
Garmin Distance - 11.98 (although RD insists it was 13.2 and something about the elevation and trees jack up the distance...)

One of my Facebook friends alerted me to a video that was posted about the race. The guy actually started right behind me, and I did talk to him. If you want to see a bit of the course, it's not very long.

Hey look - I'm in part of the video!!

Thoughts:

• 9:00 is insane. What the what. It is too hot AND we got stuck in the weekend mountain traffic as a result. Thankfully, the rest of his mountain races are on Saturday, so at least we will miss the traffic issues. Nothing like spending double the amount of time in the car on the way back. Gross.
• The race was VERY well marked. Things were blocked off with cones, there was a lot of signage, and he used chalk for turns. Impressed. There were also markers at every mile.
• This was a great course. So pretty! I thought I would hate the double loop, but it really wasn't bad.
• There were not as many aid stations as there was supposed to be. There was one just after mile 2, one after mile 4, and then just the one at the start/finish. I had my pack so it wasn't a huge deal, but I know it was for others. All I took at the aid stations was water, but they had some electrolyte drink I didn't recognize and cookies/gels at them. The volunteers were friendly.
• Great finish line area. There were snack and burgers, and of course, BEER.
• All in all, this was a great race. The trails were not that technical, but with the altitude and climbs, might be rough for flatlanders.
• I probably won't run this one again, mainly because it falls on a Sunday. No thanks.