Moab Red Hot 55K

It's been 3 weeks since the Moab Red Hot 55K.  I suppose if I'm going to maintain a blog I should write about it.  I haven't though, because I was (still kind of am) disappointed in my performance in the race.  I have run another couple races since then and was going to post about them but it seems the right thing to do to tie up the Red Hot loose ends first.  I did set a course PB, beating my 2011 time by about 5 minutes.  One of my rules is that nobody is allowed to complain about a PB.  I should probably listen to myself, as I am a pretty smart guy.

I had a great time in Moab overall, it's fun seeing all the other FCTR folks there.  I know I see some of them every week, but somehow it's different all being together out of town (and state) for a race.  FCTR represented 27 of 200 finishers in the 55K race and another 16 of 138 finishers in the 33K race. Throw in some Boulder folks I recognize and there was someone I knew around every bend it seemed.  My family came along as well, they enjoy Moab too.  We had a nice stop at the Ice Castles at Silverthorne on the way over and also picked up some info on the Grand Mesa State Park to plan a summer camping trip.  We didn't do much exploring of Moab  together on Sunday as the weather wasn't that great -- the reverse of last year where the race was met with ugly weather but Sunday was nice.  My wife and kids did go to Dead Horse Point state park on Saturday while I raced and enjoyed that.

The weather this year was beautiful.  Race day started with me in shorts and a short sleeve shirt under a long sleeve.  I had on a hat and gloves by took them off a couple miles in.  The long sleeve shirt was gone by mile 13 but should have been gone sooner, I just didn't want to stop and take my hydration pack off.  It was sunny all day long and temperatures were easily in the 50s.  This was a big contrast to 2011.

Beautiful blue sky day

Also in contrast to 2011 was my mental state during the race.  In 2011 I let my mind go negative and really didn't have a great time over the second half of the race.  I felt like I was the last runner on the course, though I wasn't and was beating myself up mentally for running slow.  I am not often like this and the depth to which I went that day surprised me.  In 2012 I kept a good mental outlook all day long, even when things slowed at the end.  I've commented before that my picture quantity during a run or race is proportional to how much fun I'm having and I took a lot of pictures this year, only 2 in 2011.

I think my disappointing performance in 2012 was mostly due to 2 things.  First I am just not good at running on slanty slick rock.  Much of the last 11 miles of the course is generally downhill but on side to side slanted slick rock.  I find this surface really difficult to run on, it beats me up and I never feel comfortable enough to let go and fly.  Second, I went out way too fast and ran a stupid race.  It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement early.  Miles 2-4 are all gently downhill and I ran them in 25:20.  I ran a 5K on New Year's Day in 25:19.  That's probably all that needs to be said there.  In my defense, I was talking the whole time so it wasn't 5K effort, but it was still too fast to be running with another 47K left to go.  I'd do it again though, I really did have a good time chatting with Kemp and Mindy and Lindsey as we cruised down that hill. 

Mindy and I when were still rocking the course

I reached the top of the first part of the course, mile 10, about 10 minutes faster than I did in 2011 but I felt 10x better this year.  I ran up most of this section with Mindy and Marie, chasing Lindsey.  Feeling good I took off down down the nearly 7 miles of downhill running to the 3rd aid station.  I was bounding from rock to rock, had great footwork on the technical spots and felt strong.  Mindy and I hit mile 15 at 2:50, faster than I've run 15 miles on trails in a long time.  I hit the mile 17 aid station 15 minutes faster than in 2011 and still felt pretty good.  Over the next couple miles of steeper downhill I started to feel it in my hips though.  Pounding downhill does that to me.  I got through it though and hit the cutoff point at mile 19 again 15 minutes ahead of 2011. 

Red rocks against the LaSal range, a cool juxtaposition.

I hoped the climb from mile 19 to 22 would let my hips rest and leave me strong for the overall downhill last 11 miles.  The climb seemed harder this year than last, though I did it in about the same time as I was again 15 minutes ahead of 2011 pace when I hit mile 22 at 4:35.  I think the climb seemed harder because I was along doing it this year.  In 2011 I happened up this hill in a crowd of others and the chatter kept my mind occupied I believe.  At mile 22 I was tired, but not wiped out I thought and running an average 12.5 minute pace.  My realistic goal for the day was a 7:00 finish, which is a 12:40 pace so I was still slightly ahead of that with 2/3 of the race and the biggest climbs done.  My legs were tired but did not feel as trashed as they did in 2011.  In 2011 I remember not being able to hop down off even the smallest edges, instead needing to ease myself over.  I remember being very jealous of those who were just hopping down, barely missing a stride.  So after a few bites to eat and some Coke I forged on.  11 miles, 2:20 to run it in, no problem, right?  It seemed very possible.

It didn't take long (well distance-wise) to suspect I was wrong.  My watch beeps as it takes auto-split times every mile.  I heard a beep awhile after leaving the aid station and thought wow, 2 miles down already.  Then I looked and realized it was only 1 mile.  1 19-ish minute mile, going kind of downhill, all on difficult to run on slick rock.  I had stopped to re-tie my shoes once, but still, 19 minutes?  I am just not cut out of running on this slick rock stuff it seems.  (It is slightly reassuring to hear everyone complaining about this section of the course, even the fast runners.)  As I plodded along over the 6 miles to the last aid station I watched my chances at 7:00 slip slowly away with every mile split beep from my watch.  I did stay positive mentally though, accepting what was happening as just that and enjoying the beautiful views of the course, and come mile 15 or so, the wonderful company of Ean whose bubbly voice I heard yell out "Brian!" as she came up over a hill behind me.  Ean graciously ran with me for 6 or 7 miles before pulling away to the finish.  I'm sure she could have run that stretch faster but I did appreciate the company and conversation, it makes the miles go by so much faster when you're chatting with someone. 

Just.  Need.  To.  Get.  To.  That.  River.  Down.  There.

Anyway, this dissertation on a pedestrian race is getting way too long.  The long and short of the last 11 miles was that it took me 3:15, over 17 minute miles.  I really did try and push things a few times, especially in the last 4-5 miles on the jeep roads, but I really had trouble sustaining even a 12 or 13 minute pace for long.  Did I not eat and drink enough?   Was I under trained?  Was it all due to going out too fast?  Was it the damn slick rock?  I guess that's one of the reasons we keep doing these, to try and figure out those answers.  I do know I'd like to run that 6 mile section from aid station 4 to aid station 5 without 22 miles in my legs as that stretch has been my biggest downfall both years.

So, a 5 minute PB, I should be happy.  I'm getting there, some days.

I'm still upright, I guess that is success.  Photo courtesy of Chris Hinds.

24 Hours of Utah / Moab - The Fun

A few of the tents in our compound, and coffee brewing on the stove.

My family and I spent Wednesday through Friday camping before pulling into the parking lot / base camp area at about 5:30 Friday.  After 3 days in the wind and chilly weather there were some calls for visiting the Big Horn Lodge instead of camping, but a compromise was struck in setting up the tent then going into the Brewery for some grub.  We returned to our campsite around 9:30 pm, just as Alex, his kids, and Mindy showed up.  After helping a bit with setup I turned in to a cold night's sleep, knowing the 6:15 wake up was going to come quick.  As my alarm went off I put on a few extra layers and ventured outside to see the rest of the team, listen to pre-race annoucements, and then cheer for Alex as he headed off on our first leg of the race.

Start of the race, Alex is there somewhere

Sunrise a few minutes after the race started

The excitement at basecamp was high.  I don't know if we left the start/finish area the entire 43 minutes Alex was running.  The race started just before sunrise so we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and stunning views of the mammoth red rocks that surrounded the area.  Before we knew it Anita Ortiz was coming back in, the first runner to complete a lap.  A couple minutes later Alex came in and we then went and made some coffee.  The rest of the day seemed to fly by.  I was out running my first leg, then my second leg in a seeming blink of an eye.  In between legs we sat around, drank coffee, rehydrated, ate, talked some friendly smack with Cat, Celeste, and Lindsey, and each other, and generally had a great time.

My fourth lap was my only full on dark lap and it was the most fun, even though it was my slowest.  I left basecamp at 12:30 pm and had a blast out on the trails in the dark.  It was snowing lightly as I traipsed through the stream bed, that may be the highlight of all all my runs, it was beautiful.  It was at times difficult to follow the trail on the slickrock but the peacefullness of the night and the sillouttes of the rocks and views of glowsticks and other headlamps in the distance were all somehow calming.  I think the night running is where a lap course wins out over a point to point course, seeing so many others out there rather than potentially being all alone was nice.

Some of the other Fort Collins runners there I have run hundreds of miles with, while others hardly any.  Without exception I enjoyed the company of all seven other runners there and their respective families and pets.  I came away from the weekend feeling I know all of them better than before regardles of how well I knew them before.  It was fun to see how we came together into our teams and how seemlessly we all transitioned from casual hang around camp time to serious run time and back (repeat, repeat, repeat).  There was no whining involved, no matter how tired or how cold we were, and everyone was ready to run their next lap on time every time it was our turn.  The interplay of fun and serious was like the running version of salty and sweet. 

My favorite moment of the trip came while I was resting in my tent at about 3 AM.  Alex (the math teacher) had just finished his 5th lap and Mindy were in the pop up shelter right outside and were discussing how many laps we were on track for.  Over 20 minutes they did the math 5 different ways and came up with 5 different answers.  I could only laugh about it because I was doing the same math in my head in the tent and I kept getting different answers too.  We've all done math in our head late in runs, but this was like that squared.  Running a lot and sleep deprivation is evidently something you shouldn't do before a math test.

Would I do this again?  In a minute I would.  I would plan my eating and drinking and rest a little better as I had a mini-crash between 5-8 pm, but that's about the only thing I'd change for myself.  I've gone back and forth wondering if running 1 lap at a time vs maybe 2 at a stretch would matter.  We did the one lap thing, Cat's team did multiples, and we finished only minutes apart over 24 hours and 129 miles so I've decided that probably doesn't matter. 

Gemini Adventures put on a good show and I would go back to another of their races.  I'm contemplating the six hour fun run at 24 Hours of Laramie, run in the Happy Jack area at the end of June since I had so much fun running at night.  The fun run goes from 6 pm to Midnight.  With multiple race and early registration discounts it's only $35, seems hard to beat that.  We'll ignore it being 7 days after the Big Horn 50 for now.

Alex returning from our first lap

Cat came in soon after

Joselyne heading out

Lindsey and Wiley - that dog loves to run

Rob had spring in his step early in the day

Returning from my first night lap

Celeste checking in before heading out for her third consecutive lap.

Mindy making Mr. Australia look bad

24 Hours of Utah/Moab - The Statistics

Rob, Mindy, Joselyne, Cat, Brian, Celeste, Alex, Lindsey

Fort Collins took two teams to the 24 Hours of Utah race.  I was on a team of 5 with Alex, Joselyne, Rob, and Mindy while Cat, Celeste, and Lindsey took on the challenge as a trio.  After some friendly competition for a few laps I made Celeste mad and they never looked back.  That's not really true, but they did pull out to about a one lap lead on us throughout most of the day, they are all strong runners.  As nightfall came we slowly chipped away at the lead, likely due to fresher legs, and finished only about five minutes behind them as the race came to a close.  Both teams ran 24 laps for a total of 128.88 miles each.  Not a bad days work, eh?  8 people and 257.8 miles (and that doesn't even count the extra laps people snuck in, probably another 6 laps or so).  They edged us out for third place as the tie-breaker was the time you finished your last lap. 

Up this canyon lies the stream bed, fun to run through!

The big rock we ran around and around at daybreak

Another picture of the route with more daylight

The majestic La Salle mountain range.  I never got sick of this view.

The 5.37 mile, 600 ft vertical gain course was run on the Monitor and Merrimac Trail which is a a mixture of dirt road, single track sandy trails, a totally awesome half mile stream section, lots of slickrock, and great views of towering red rock buttes and mesas.  It ran up and around the Mill-Courthouse Mesa.  I know this now because I looked it up, but during the race I thought the mesa we were running around was the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes.  They lie to the south of the trail it turns out, but the trail offers good views of them -- if you knew to look.  I likely did, there was a lot of beauty to look at.  Even though my four laps were on the same trail, the race alternated directions with each lap so I had one lap each way in the daylight, one clockwise at dusk, and one counter-clockwise in the middle of the night.  All four laps were thus different enough that I did not get bored.  In addition to breaking the monotony,the washing machine loops also allowed you to see a lot more people on the trail than you would have if everyone was traveling the same direction.

That's the boring stuff though.  I'm still working on getting the good stuff, the people stuff, written up.  I'll post that along with some pictures later.