Levis Trow Run

This weekend was the WEMS race at Levis Trow trails and since Dave had plans to go I went along. I figured it would be a good place to get in my week's long run. Originally I had planned to run the course and I kind of did that although not quite how I had planned. It was all good though.

However, it was tough run. I was having some stomach problems on Friday and they plagued me on Saturday during the run after just short of 2 hours of running. I also had some problems with heat rash even though it wasn't hot (I usually only have that problem when it is really hot but I guess there was plenty of humidity Saturday morning).

Anyway, I ran for 3 and a half hours for some unknown distance that was probably 16 miles or so. I did two laps of a modified course. I ended up not doing the full 12.5 mile course since I missed a turn the first time around (the race hadn't yet started so there was a missing sign and I, of course, went the wrong way).

I started my run at 6:20am which was super painful for me as I am not in any way a morning person. That was good though as the actual race I'm doing starts at 7am so I needed to practice getting up and running. I had a little trouble getting going but once I hit the singletrack I started to enjoy myself. I felt a little stiff but I put that down to the early morning hour. I was feeling pretty good on the Yellowjacket singletrack and the Hermosa Trails. Things were going well until we got to Porkie's Point at which point I took a wrong turn. The next thing I know I can hear the start of the 12 hour race and then suddenly I'm back at the trailhead.

Dave sees me, checks his watch and I let him know that I clearly missed a turn and am now short of the needed mileage. At this point my stomach isn't feeling so great so I just go back out before I loose my drive. I probably should have given some thought to how far I'd run and how far I needed to still go but I just decided I would do the same route again. That was a bit of a mistake.

I had a little trouble getting motivated on the double track start to the course but once I hit the singletrack I felt more motivated. At this point though my stomach is killing me but I try to not think about it. I keep going with the occasional walking break to drink.

However, when I hit the long double track up to the second aid station I'm suffering mentally and physically. My stomach is feeling better but my heat rash is killing me. At the start of the double track climb I just start walking and hope that some Gu and energy drink will make me feel better. I'm feeling bad enough that even when I hear a bike behind me I don't start running but just keep walking along the far side of the trail. Pride be damned! Jesse says a friendly "hi" as he's out getting ready for the SS Championship. I say "hey", keep walking, and think to myself that I must look strange plodding along looking like death warmed over.

Finally I start jogging again as I decide I don't want to walk all the way to the top of the hill. At the top I steal a little water and then hit Porkie's Point trail. I have to alternate some walking with some running at this point. Frank and another 100 mile rider come along behind me and I get out of their way and cheer them on. I think I was actually running when they saw me so hopefully I looked better than I felt. I did muster the energy to finish at a semi-respectable run through the finishing area so I still had some pride left.

I felt totally spent at the end though. It was all I could do to get cleaned up and changed. I drank a soda and ate banana muffins to get the energy to change clothes and stretch. Then I remembered that I should drink my recovery drink. At this point the 50-mile racers are starting to arrive and I try to have coherent conversation with all the people I know. I was none too perky though!

Finally the recovery drink starts to kick in and my energy levels come back up. I finally get enough energy to grab my camera and get out for some shooting. I take along my lunch which I ate in between photos. It was super fun to get out on the course and see the racers. The 100 mile racers were pretty chill and were chatting it up as they went by. Spencer even stopped for some deep philosophical thoughts (photos and philosophy are me!). Then the 50 mile racers started coming by and I got some shots. Then I noticed the time and hiked back to the start area to see if Dave needed anything before his race.

That's when I learned of Lee's injury and made the offer to drive him home since I wasn't doing anything. Plus I knew that a shower and a bed would feel pretty sweet compared to camping. I got Lee home after a fine drive with pleasant conversation. The rest of my evening was cleaning up and eating. I also found enough time to get my photos downloaded and online so not a bad day all in all.

In retrospect I feel pretty good about the run especially given that It was several miles (3-4 miles actually but who's counting) longer than I had planned. I also dealt with running a long time while feeling like crap so I should be fine come July 13. The 25k there will be harder than what I ran at Levis but I think I ran at least that far or farther so I think I'm as ready as I can be. To be more ready I would likely have needed to decide to do this run sooner so I had more time to prepare and run more than 2-3 days per week. Instead I decided to make this as hard as possible but it's still fun and with only 2 weeks to go it's almost over.