2019 Way Too Cool 50K

(I obviously haven't posted here in about a year, since before my first DNF at AC100.  But I have written a couple of race reports for other forums, and want to post them here just for my own archival purposes - I have no illusions that anyone reads this stuff but me.  But I'd like to "catch up" so that I can post some reports from this year, which I hope to be a big one!  This is from March 3rd, 2019.)



This was my fifth time at this race, so I know the course and how it runs pretty well.  The first 8 mile loop starts with about a mile on road, a little double track descent down to the first creek crossing, and then rolling single track until you get back to the start.  I've learned to start a little further up in the "corral" than I normally would, and to run the road section just slightly faster than comfortable for me for the start of a 31 mile race as if you get caught too far back when you hit single track the conga line is just going too slow.  In drier years there is a huge backup at the first creek crossing about two miles in as people try to tip-toe across and stay dry.  About year three I learned to just go around it and plow through.  This year there was no trying to stay dry as it was 3' deep, so while it slowed down as people crossed there wasn't a big line.  The conga line I ended up in after that was just about right, if anything maybe 10 seconds/mile or so faster than I wanted to go so I stepped off a couple of times to let people by.  There were six or seven creek crossings that hit from mid-calf to over the knee, and that obviously slowed things down.  And some sections were just super sloppy and you had to pick your way through the muck.  Imagine the wettest, muddiest trail you've been on, and then add almost 300 runners going through right before you mucking it up even more.  That was the first loop.  But I was happy with how it went, according to Strava it was my second fastest loop with an 11:09 pace (behind only a 10:38 pace in 2015 which was a dry year).  The only official timing split on the course was at the end of the loop, and I was 282nd out of 641 starters at that point.

Most of the Knickerbocker Creek loop was like this (pc Facchino Photo)

We then headed through a meadow and start a pretty good drop down to Highway 49.  I got passed by 5-10 runners on the somewhat technical downhill (which was pretty much a creek in parts), which was a little disappointing.  Downhill isn't necessarily my strong suit, but I was taking it more cautiously than others.  I think the IT band issues I've had over the years have made me tentative and less willing to attack them, but I'm to the point now that my ITs are usually good until sometime after mile 50 so I shouldn't be such a wuss.  I also just need to practice technical downhilling more than I have been.  This two mile section drops about 800', and I ran it in 10:23 pace.
 
We crossed the highway where Western States legend Tim Twietmeyer and URP's Eric Schranz were cheering on the runners, and then dropped down on fire road to run above the roaring Middle Fork of the American River.  The rain even let up for the first time, and it looked like it might turn into a nice day as I took off my rain shell and stowed it in my pack.  The fire road rolls along here for about 6 miles with a couple of 150'-200' climbs mixed in.  I passed a few, got passed by a few, and chatted up a few runners.  This section was just another reminder that if I really want to cut my time on a course like this, I need to get faster on the runnable sections.  If I can comfortably run along at 9:00 pace instead of 10:00-10:30 on the flats, that will make a big difference.  With those little climbs mixed in, I ran a decent 11:19 pace through here.

Feet were wet from the start to the finish (pc Facchino Photo)

I was looking forward to starting the climb out of the canyon, as that is my strong suit relative to most other mid-packers and I knew I'd start making up some ground.  Sure enough, I started chewing people up.  I even got three separate comments about how fast I was power hiking as I plowed past.  This section starts with about an 800' climb over four miles, rolls along for a bit, and then ends at almost exactly 26.2 miles with Goat Hill,  1/4 mile with a 20% grade.   I covered this 10 mile section in 2:09, a 12:53 pace.
 
Going into the race I had beating my PR of 5:54 as an A goal, and sub-6:00 as my B goal.  But with the weather forecast and trail conditions I decided to just take the day as it came and see where things stood when I got to the top of Goat Hill.  I didn't print out the pace chart, didn't even look at my watch for the first time until the end of the first loop, and rarely checked it throughout the day.  I hit the aid station at the top of the climb in about 5:10, filled a bottle and drank some coke, and kept going.  With five miles to go including the 450' climb from hwy 49 back to Cool still ahead, I knew it wasn't too likely that I could get in sub-6:00.  But I remembered that the course had measured closer to 30 than 31 miles on my GPS in the past.  "So you're telling me there's a chance!"  I decided to just charge on and see what I could do. 

After another quick climb it was a pretty steep technical descent, losing about 400' in a mile or so.  I did my best to pick my way through the rocks, mud, and water as it started to rain again.  I'm checking my watch as the traffic noises of Highway 49 start to pick up, but it always takes longer than you think it will to finally come out of the clearing and cross the road.  This is the final aid station, and I knew it was over a mile to the finish - and my PR time was already gone, as was the chance at sub-6:00.  So what, let's finish this thing!  I skipped the aid station and kept charging, and began the final climb up to Cool.  I passed another couple of runners on the 250' rocky climb, and then stomped through the mud in the meadow up top.  As I approached the finish I could hear someone splashing behind me, and I kept running hard to try and stay in front.  Around the corner, splashing through the mud while trying not to fall in front of the gathered spectators, and across the line in 6:06:08 chip time.  That was the fastest I've run that segment in my five times here, so I was happy to finish so strong even with my pre-race goals out the window.  This time the course measured the full 31 miles (it's shown exactly 30 miles twice before), which shows how far off gps can be during trail races.

Just trying to finish the last 100 yards without slipping (pc Keather Kehoe)

I finished 238th out of 641 starters which means I moved up 44 spots from mile 8 to the finish, almost all of that on the climbs.  In looking at how I did relative to the rest of the field, this was actually my best finish at 37th percentile, with my other finishes ranging from 43%-67%.  So I'm pretty happy with that.  I stuck to my nutrition plan of gels, electrolyte drink, and coke, and had no issues there.  My knee and my achilles held up. I somehow managed to not fall even once, although I did almost lose it during a late creek crossing.  Afterward it was some chili, burritos, and a couple of IPAs with fellow racers while we commiserated about the conditions out there and tried to get warm.  Good times.

I Am Ready

As I've written about before, the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run became a bit of an obsession for me back in 2012.  To someday be at that start line in Squaw the last weekend in June, the white bib pinned to my shorts, staring up at the climb up to the Escarpment while awaiting the shotgun blast signalling the start.

Three straight years of qualifying and attending the December lottery ended in disappointment, but it gave me the opportunity to run more races, and to learn more about myself and this sport.  I knew my time would come eventually, and I drove up to Placer High this past December hoping this might be the year.  And then Tim Twietmeyer called my name:

Since the Cascade Crest 100 in August, my running had been a little sporadic.  I was still getting out and enjoying time on the trails, but without any real focus.  After the lottery I had a trip to Oregon planned in late December, and a work trip to Vegas in early January, so I just focused on trying to get a little more consistent for that six week period with a plan to begin training in earnest in mid-January.

The break had also given me some time to re-evaluate my running and training.  If I'm honest, while I've learned more about how to run ultras, I haven't really improved my fitness much the past few years.  Looking back, that shouldn't be much of a surprise as I've lacked year-round consistency, and have pretty much just gone out and run easy most of the time.  I'd been reading Jason Koop's Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, and even had the chance to chat with him a bit up at the Ouray aid station during Hardrock last year.  So I decided to adopt his principles which are essentially:

1. Train the least specific aspects farthest away, most specific closest to event
2. You must incorporate all three key intensities during a training block - SteadyState, Tempo, Intervals
3. Work strengths closes to race, and weaknesses further away

This was a departure for me, but led to planning out a three-week block of vo2 max-focused intervals (2 x per week) in January-February, a short Endurance phase to ramp up my long run for Way Too Cool, a Tempo phase that went up to The Canyons 100K, and then the final several weeks leading into States were to be Endurance/SteadyState focused

Way Too Cool played out like I had hoped, I'd almost describe it as uneventful", which is exactly what I was looking for.  I ended up at 6:08:21, 14 minutes off my PR from 2015. But considering the muddy conditions and an extra .3-.4 of a mile (including a climb) on the course due to a washed out section of trail, I was really pleased with the result.  The purpose was to get in a long, supported training run, practice my nutrition (gel every 30 minutes plus 1 bottle/hour electrolyte drink), and come out uninjured.  So I considered the day a success.

Training went pretty well after Way Too Cool, and I ramped up to The Canyons 100K feeling pretty good.  If you haven't run that race, I'd highly recommend it.  I've run it the past two years, camping out in the back of the car behind Foresthill School, the race just has a cool vibe and provides the chance to cover 30+ miles of the Western States course.

Dirtbagging in the Duckmobile

This year brought the added bonus of Eric from Ultrarunnerpodcast and his lawn darts camping out beside me, and we threw those weapons back and forth across the lawn while sipping beers and telling stories for a couple of hours - a great way to relax before a big race.  And it is a big race, with over 15,000' of elevation gain over 63 miles.

Other than some blown quads on Cal St. thanks to taking the descent into Volcano Canyon a little quicker than I should have, the race went well for me and I came in at 16:40:53, over an hour and 20 minutes faster than the prior year.  A solid, long effort in my build up.

I recovered well, especially considering I had thought about dropping to the 50K going into the week to be sure I could keep training going.  After a single down week, I put in four straight weeks of 10-12 hours and decent (5800'-8800') vertical.  I did develop some pain in the back of my knee during the first 34-mile day of the Memorial Day training runs, so I took Sunday off but was able to run the 22 miles on Monday with no real issues. 

Robinson Flat looking a little different than I've seen it on race day

The pain in the back of the knee crept up anytime I went over 90 minutes, so after one more 20 miler I tapered a little more aggressively than I had planned.  I also got treatment from Dr. Chappy Wood, asking him to throw everything at it - electrostim, Graston, lasers, even cupping.  Along with 7-8 sauna sessions and a couple of runs in 90 degree heat while bundled up head to toe, I've done everything I can to be ready for this thing.  

110 degrees in the car

This has been the most consistent, focused training block I've put in since I started running ultras in 2013, the year after I first experienced Western States as a crew member and pacer.  I've dropped 20 pounds since January, rolled out my troublesome calves and IT bands daily, and put in 119 miles on the actual course.  As I stand here writing, hitting F5 on the Auburn weather forecast page every few hours (100 degrees on Saturday!), 2 days and 10 hours from the starting gun, I of course have doubts.  I'm scared.  I'm nervous. I'm excited!  But most importantly, I just keep forcing my mind back to the same mantra - I Am Ready.

#seeyouinsquaw

Happy With a New PR at 2015 Way Too Cool 50K

This was my third straight year at this race, which serves as the unofficial kickoff of the ultra season on the West Coast.  With over 1000 registrants this year, it is also the largest trail 50K in the country.  

I ended last year's race report with the words "....of course by Sunday morning I was already thinking about the time I left out there, and thinking about how far below 6:00:00 I can get when I go back again next year....."  That was indeed my goal for this year, to get under that 6:00:00 mark.  I actually took a figurative page from Maffetone's 1:59 marathon book, and focused mentally on 5:59 and not sub-6:00, a subtle but important mental difference for me.  I knew my training was better this winter/spring than last year, and that it was realistic to cut 12+ minutes from my time.  I just didn't know how much.

Kylie and I with the Frog

Race day started out fine - coffee, UCAN and chia seed drink, and off to the Cool Fire Station to check in.  Once again my daughter and girlfriend were in tow, and they hung out in the pizzeria nearby while I took care of business, both in terms of picking up my bib and hitting the port-a-potty.  We then mingled with some friends around the start line, including the ubiquitous Way Too Cool Frog.  

With that many runners there are two wave starts, and I was in wave 1 and took off down the road at 8:00 AM. 

Getting ready to hit the trails with 1000 others

After about a mile-and-a-half of road the course veers off into doubletrack trail, and another mile into that is singletrack for most of the rest of the initial 8-mile loop.  I made a concerted effort to start a little further up than last year and move up the field to get in a position that the inevitable conga line would at least be quicker than what I faced the past couple of years.  It worked, and I made up quite a bit of time on this loop and finished it about 10 minutes quicker than each of my prior races here.  I knew I was pushing just a little, but it was comfortable through this pretty flat section of the course and I felt good coming back into the start area and heading down in to the American River Canyon.

I hit that 1,000' drop pretty well, but not pushing to hard, and then it was 6 miles of rolling, slightly climbing fire road above the river.  This is the best place to chat with others on the course, and I would talk until we hit a climb, then pull away from whoever I was next to, rinse, repeat.  At mile 17 the course veers back up out of the canyon and climbing begins, with the bulk of the 4,666' elevation gain occurring from that point on.  I hiked pretty well up that, and hit the rolling section from miles 20-25 with some legs still left - a part of the course that I had nothing for last year.  

Then I hit Goat Hill - a short, steep climb of 20% average grade over .3 miles, with sections that hit over 40% grade.  I had been running comfortably hard for 25 miles and over four and half hours, and this was a hands-on-knees struggle.  But I got up it, gasping for air, and got a sponge down from Volunteer Mike from Western States lore at the top.  But as I moved on, I couldn't catch my breath.  I could be walking or running on flats, hiking ups, running downs, it didn't matter - my breathing was completely labored.  Unfortunately that continued all the way through the final 5 miles or so, but I was able to push on and finish in 5:54:46, good for a more than 16 minute PR.

Pushing through the line for a new PR!

I collapsed afterward and really struggled to pull it together.  Every time I tried to stand up I would get light headed, and my breathing remained labored for a good 10-15 minutes.  I found a slight downhill to lie down on, head down, and finally started to feel "normal" again.  I think it was a combination of effort, dehydration (it was over 70 degrees by the finish, warm for this time of year), and possible low glycogen, but I'm not sure.  I'm re-evaluating my Tailwind drink nutrition strategy, as I think I get sick of sports drinks and end up getting neither enough water or calories in during warm efforts.

Obviously I'm excited with the improvement I've seen in this race, basically a minute per mile over a 2-year period.  It was also a good experience to be focused on my time from the beginning and almost feel like I was "racing", even if I was only racing against 2013 me.  That's not something I have a lot of experience with.  And I know I can continue to improve, which is exciting considering I'm 42.  It was a good check of my fitness at this point in my training for Quicksilver 100K, and gives me a little confidence for the next 2+ months.