I have really been neglecting this space. Lots of fun races. Not as much time or inclination to put down my random stream of thoughts. There was nothing that struck me as super profound about this race, but it is definitely an important milestone and "first" for my Western States year.
OK, this is really lazy, but call it a unique insight. Here is my 2014 Way Too Cool race report, in the format of an email to my coach. And that is actually exactly what it is, complete with at least one typo:
"It would suck if every event was as big as Way Too Cool, but for once a year it is crazy fun to run half a day away in the Auburn area foothills with another 1,200 trail runners. It was my second, and I had a ton of my dearest running pals doing their first -- even a few first ultras. I was wrong that they would only have to get their feet wet once (could not have missed that one any worse), but totally right that they would love the course. You two know the trails in that area. They are World class.
As I have mentioned, I had a nagging stomach bug throughout the week. I made that worse with poor food choices Friday. Meetings with donuts and diner dinners with coconut cream pie did not help. I was keeping food down, and it never quite got me. Still, all week I was often uncomfortable and always a little tentative eating. I spent the first half of the race feeling like a potty emergency could be over any hill. I finally stopped and fixed that issue and immediately felt better. I regretted not doing it sooner, until I recalled so many other times (including WTC 2013) that I had fought through it or waited it out. This is not something I typically struggle with. It was just a combination of sick and careless. And as much as I would love to use it to explain twenty or so extra minutes on the course, honestly, I only think it actually slowed me down the five minutes I stopped and not much more.
I could have done without all the wet feet and mud, but I am not complaining. I did not fall or hurt myself, so it will go down as a really fun year at Way Too Cool. Franz, I could see you having an absolute blast out there sliding around in the mud and splashing through the streams like you were a kid. Having survived the mud, I would call it a funner but slower course.
Everything else was perfect. Last year I had learned to embrace the early crowds for the unique trail racing experience that they are and consider it banked effort. The first half of the course is definitely easier, so I knew a fast day includes saving enough for a tougher second half. I focused intently on my minimum training run effort (my "all day" pace, as opposed to "all morning" or, even faster, marathon pace) and still ran the first half close to 10/mile pace. I felt I had enough effort left in the tank to negative split, until I remembered how much tougher the second half was. Oh well. I really was already considering a good day banked. (I could go on and on about how excited I was to have my friends on the course for the first time.)
The second half I tried to focus on making sure I did not get lazy and finishing with some pep. I walked the obvious stuff, like Goat Hill, and other steep sections. But running the course was a primary goal today, so I tried to stick to it. At some point late, I started to feel like I was over it. I thought about what I was feeling and what it would be like to be in the first third of Western States. I realized that I was not tired or suffering. I was just bored and craving the feeling of being done. It happens every race. No biggie. I have a dozen or so parts of the WS day that I am already looking forward to. I will never stay bored for long. All systems go.
As far as gear and on-course strategy goes, no issues to report. I love my Salomon kicks and Injinji socks, and they both outperformed the streams. I love my Salomon pack (water) plus one handheld (electrolytes) system. I continue to have success using aid stations as reminders to fuel up and top myself off with fluids. I eat what sounds good -- with urgency if I felt hungry coming in, just enough if not. Option 1 is always potatoes and salt, especially if salt is going down well. If I crave more sweet, I figure I need denser calories and go for the PayDays or some other treat. Then, I usually take a quarter PB&J for the road. For fluids, I use a rough one bottle per aid station guideline that sometimes works out to be quite a bit less. I come into an aid station, take note of how much is in the bottle (along with some awareness that I feel like I drank enough or not), take a big swig or effort to empty it, and hand it off for filling while I stuff myself with food. I sip water from the pack along the way and figure that counts for very roughly but somewhat less than 20 ounces per hour. No calorie counting and hardly any science, but it has served me well so far. However, there is a lot of room for tweaking here, if needed. Or not.
Afterward it was pizza and a frog cupcake at the race, followed by a delicious chicken pot pie at a place called Ikeda in east Auburn.
Overall, it was a great day, in spite of missing the slow end of my time goals. I think my effort and performance met were in line with those goals, even if the time was not.
Saturday night I was super tired, but just as restless. My legs were radiating a lot of heat, and I had a tiny bit of exercise fever. When I woke up Sunday, I had very manageable stiffness -- less than I would expect. Park and I went out for our shakeout run. I started out with her as my warmup and mostly held up for her until her midway turnaround at the Golden Gate Bridge vista point. I was feeling bouncy and, from there, let the legs go a little. 3 x 8:30 miles felt amazing. I saw a guy rocking an SFRC shirt and WTC hat. I think that the trucker hats were age group awards. (*I now know that Starav was handing them out.) I pointed at my head to acknowledge his. He asked if I ran too. I was like holy smokes he is out flying around Crissy Field the very next day. What a badass! Then, I realized that Elisa and I were doing the same, albeit more slowly. It was a neat moment.
I felt like I could have run Way Too Cool again today, maybe a little slower but still sub-6. Not easily, but I could have done it. Elisa said, "Well yeah, but you wouldn't want to, right?" My response was, "Sure I would. Set up the aid stations and give me a shirt, and I would love to!" Explaining being 45 minutes slower than last year, while having such a great race was a bit tough and awkward. People were expecting me to be disappointed, even asking me what had gone wrong. I typically just said that my body and goals were totally different this year.
Like I texted Franz right after the race, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE!
Hope you are both doing well, and that Franz is comfy and improving. I might try to make it to the scavenger hunt this weekend, although I already sense a zillion other things I should be doing to make use of Elisa's weekend in Chicago.
Looking forward to a few more weeks of training, then AR50 and the next mid-term exam!"
