disappointed. for now.

My tweet on Saturday night post-Mt. Disappointment 50-Mile finish read:

After today's masochistic race, am seriously thinking of retiring from ultras and spending weekends golfing and surfing instead.

And I was pretty damn serious too, especially considering how my golf game sucks and I have yet to catch a real wave.

Somewhere along the course as I was battling light-headedness, nausea, a bad knee, and the heat, I thought to myself, "Where the ƒüç˚is the fun in this?" Really now! I had one of those soul-searching questions, and I could not give myself an honest answer.

Now I may sound like I'm whining and crying like a little sissy, which I probably am, but before time erases the painful reality of this experience and sugarcoat it with a "job well done" kind of memory, I feel the need to jot this down. This race was not fun at all. Sure there were some bright spots like the beautiful trails and the spectacular views, and running with friends and seeing some of them cheering at the aid stations. But when I am contemplating doing this race again in a year, I must remind myself that this was a specially brutal day for me.

It wasn't purty, and it might've been my toughest race to date.

My first mistake came at the first 20-miles of the race. I felt I was going too fast especially on the downhills. I had pounded my knee, and now it was letting me know it wasn't happy about it.

Refueling at the Red Box aid station at Mile 20. Photo courtesy of @andrea122887

I was also having tummy issues early on and was doing a poor job of nourishing myself with my gels, aid station food and my own drop bag nutrition supplements. By the time I rolled down to mile 26 at the West Fork aid station, I was feeling pretty low that I was contemplating taking the 50K option and shortening my day.

Lori smiled all the way for a great finish to place 2nd in her AG.
Photo courtesy of Ben G.

Then I heard a little voice behind me say "E-Rod!" I turned around and it was Lori. We joked around for a bit, I took a seat, got myself some refreshments and we soon headed out. Jakob H., who I met at last year's PCT50 came up and decided to join us. He, too, was hitting a pretty low point but decided to move on with the race instead of doing the 50K. The three of us stayed together until the Newcomb aid station. There we found Thomas K. who was having some race day issues of his own.

The climb up out of West Fork to the Newcomb station. Lori and I met up with Ryan S. who I met at the SD100 training run and Jakob who ran up ahead to take our picture. ©Jakob H.

Jakob is enjoying a seat at Newcomb before tackling the next 9 miles to Shortcut Saddle. He and I always looked forward to the seats at the aid stations. ©Jakob H.

What followed must've been the one-two punch that knocked the wind out of me–a knee-tearing downhill of about 4 miles followed by the long and hot climb up to the next aid station. Lori had long since disappeared, apparently finding her wings and flying to the finish so it was just me and my compadre-in-pain. When I mentioned to Jakob that I was feeling a bit light-headed, the EMT from the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue asked if she can do a BP reading. It was low, but not low enough to DQ me for medical reasons. Dang! "Move on then, shall we?" I indicated to Jakob. The next 2.4 miles were drudgingly slow as Beiyi and Fred P. caught up with us. We arrived at Shortcut Saddle where they had a buffet which included pizza, boiled potatoes, fruits and the "original sponge baths" or something like that. I tried to eat some potatoes but they didn't stay in very long. I know, it's gross, but it happens.

Beiyi leads Fred, me and Jakob to Shortcut Saddle. ©Ben G.

Ben G. gave us each a wet sponge to cool us off. Jakob looks like he just stepped
out of the shower while I look like I could seriously use one. ©Ben G.

I got a second wind for the mostly downhill run to the last aid station at West Fork 2. We were there for several minutes until Gabor ran us out. Ahhh, I didn't want to leave yet!! I had done the final 4.5 miles before and I knew what was in store–the Kenyon Devore trail. It's the RD's idea of a sick joke. And I was doing my best to prolong the inevitable.

The worst of the worst came for me with less than a mile to go. I was reduced to the walking dead. Beiyi passed me up as I was violently trying to puke my guts out on the side of the trail. Again, I asked myself, "Where is the fun in this?" I had not been able to eat anything solid for the last several hours and now I could not even keep water down. Damn! I had not experienced anything like this before.

When I came out of the woods and into the parking lot, my friends, bless their souls, started chanting "Eric! Eric! Eric!" A couple of camera flashes disoriented me and I must've stumbled like the zombie runner.

Where am I? Oh yes, near the finish line just up that last climb.
Behind me are Jack C. and Fred in the neon green shirt. ©Jakob H.

Crossing the finish line, I didn't experience any of the post-race euphoria that normally accompanies the completion of an ultra. Relief that this was all over was probably more what I felt.

What I get for my efforts. This one will live in infamy for awhile.

Apparently, the EMTs were aware of my condition and decided that they would give me some TLC, serving me up with watermelons, soup and some good old-fashioned O2. That shot of oxygen sure did wonders.

The day after

I went to bed and I was knocked out for about 12 hours. Whew! I needed that! When I weighed myself in the morning I found out that I lost almost 10lbs. from the previous day's run. No wonder I felt so sick. So I spent the next several hours gorging myself with rice, lechon, veggies, halo-halo, taquitos, horchata, tiramisu, and whatever else I could get my hands on to put back some weight. I also went for a light swim and a little bit of pool jogging to help with my muscle recovery.

Someone asked me if I would do the race again, and I didn't hesitate to say "No!" After all, I still could not see where the fun in it was. But I know I will be back, if only to settle the score, and especially if my golf game doesn't improve and the waves continue to wipe me out.

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Thanks to all who were out there lending their support, either running or helping out at the stations. There were plenty so please bear with me if I forget someone--Jakob who I ran and walked with for 25 miles, Lori S., Beiyi, Ben G. who was injured but was at almost aid station, Carmela, rePete, Andrea E. and friend, my carpool buds , Wilson and Jack who patiently waited, the DP who was there in spirit, and all my T-Headz friends, too many to mention. Big props also go to the Mt. D volunteers, to Gary for putting together a great event, and to the Montrose and Sierra Madre SAR for making sure all runners got off the trail safely.

For more photos of the race, check out Jakob's SmugMug gallery and commentary.

seeing blue

So about a month ago, on a trip to the great white north, I was walking with my cousin on our way to the ROM when we passed by the bluest track I had ever seen. I guess it makes since this belongs to the University of Toronto, known in the collegiate circuit as the Varsity Blues.

Kinda makes you want to run around in circles, eh?

a pr day at san juan trail 50k

This is going to be part of a series of “catch-up” posts, one of a few ultra late recaps. The race was held on March 14, 2009, but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging which partly explains the gap of entries...

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When the week of the race came I was pretty excited about it. I wrote on my Facebook status that I was "looking forward to kicking off the ultra season with the SJT50K." Well wishers who knew what I was talking about sent me some cyber good luck.

I met Alexa at the Starbucks cafe on Ortega Hwy so she can follow me to the race start. We arrived in plenty of time to get our race bib, do some warmups and mingle with some of the runners we knew. We saw Lori S. who was running her first ultra with her friend, Rick. We took some pictures and after Baz's pre-race briefing, we were given the signal to start.

The first part of the course starts with the 9 miles to the Ortega Candy Store for the first aid station looping back to the campground for a total of 18. I was taking it easy for the first part of this run. By the time I reached the first aid station manned by Dawg and Annie, I caught up with rePete who was on a mission to have a "perfect" pi race, that is finish the race at 2:59pm. Race day was March 14. Of course math geeks would immediately make the connection that pi is 3.4259. Pete's just funny that way.

On the way back from the candy store, I was shadowed by another runner who I recognized to be Bud P. I was going faster than I'm normally accustomed to and in hindsight, I think this is where I may have let the race get away from me. I'd let myself forget that this was a long run and should've done a better job of pacing myself. Also I normally take an energy gel every 45 minutes of running but because I was so concerned about the runner behind me I neglected to do so. I could not keep the pace and had to let him pass me. By the time I got back to the campground for aid station 2 at mile 18, I was feeling pretty tired.

The next part of the race was essentially a repeat of the WTRS 21K. There was the climb up Main Divide, the drop down Trabuco Trail, and the hated crawl up W. Horsethief. It was nice to see T-Headz Keira, Jamison and Robert Schipsi working the aid stations cheering the runners and offering their support. During this part of the run, I also met and ran with Thomas K. who will be running Leona Divide 50M. This is also where rePete caught back up with me saying that he can make it. I said something to the effect of "He's inspired by math."

I usually save some kick for the end of the run for a strong finish, but on this day, I was pretty spent. Baz had already handed out top dog awards and was in the middle of doing his "world famous raffle" when I crossed the line.

21 y.o. Alexa told me of her 6:00 finish. Wow, she kicked my butt by almost an hour. I was impressed and wondered, what could her parents be feeding her, because I want some of that.

I did set a PR time of 6:52:32 going under 7 hours in a 50K. Then why did I place in 49th place out of only about 80 starters? I like to think that this was just a strong field which from the looks of many of the runners, it certainly was. But I also think that the course was shorter by at least a mile or so, at least according to my Garmin.

Race lesson:
Next time I really need to do a better job at sticking to my pace and my fueling schedule. Hydrate often and take my gels before I'm hungry to keep myself from bonking. Aim for a strong second half of the race–it seemed to have worked for me in the past.

Click here for my race day photos.
Click here for official RD recap.

hills, thrills and spills

What's an ultra without a little bit of these? Put them together and you've got adventure. Matt Hart of the Montrail team created this video montage that makes me want to just lace up and head for the hills.

UltraRunning from Matt Hart on Vimeo.

Sit back and enjoy while I procrastinate a bit more in writing some recaps and updating my blog.

Thanks to Bee for turning me on to this video.

twittering on leona?

Leona weekend is finally here, and I'll be running her tomorrow – 50 miles of what could be fun in the sun or pain in the membrane (whatever!) My last 50-miler was PCT50 near San Diego last year where I finished in almost 13 hours – not a great time considering my previous 50-miler was under 11 hours. My goal for tomorrow is to finish under 12 hours.

My strategy is to enjoy the course the first 25-30 miles or so then turn it up the last 20 if I have the energy and the fortitude left to do so. To get my mind off the length of the run, I intend to twitter and post some pics also. I'm hoping that my carrier will give me some bars along the course.

Follow my run at LD50 here: http://twitter.com/e_rod

Happy trails!!

cross-training notes

Although I knew I was going to run the SJT 50K this year, it was hard to feel very confident about it. I had to miss some runs due to recurring issues with my shin splints and tendonitis. To make up for those lost runs I put in double time at the gym, taking spinning classes immediately followed by an hour of laps at the pool. I sometimes threw in some weight and core work into the mix. On days when I've felt especially motivated I've spent up to three hours at the gym usually early in the morning before I start work.

As a result I feel that my conditioning has improved even when I had to stay off my feet to help my body recover from whatever may be ailing it.

Running is still my favorite workout, though it is nice to know that when I have to take a break from it, there are other forms of training I can use so that I'm able to maintain my fitness level.

socal trail headz new member run

I usually don't do anything running-related on Sundays as a means of taking a break and avoiding burnout, but decided on the day after the WTRS 21K to join the SoCal Trail Headz for a new member run at Peters Canyon. It is a monthly event intended to welcome potential new members and includes a fun trail run anywhere from 2 to 7 miles or however long you wish There were 13 of them that morning, all of whom signed up to join the group. I went out for a mild 4 mile jog/walk with 11 y.o. Jake; my back was sore from my tumble the day before (sure, sure).

It was a fun Sunday morning–one that I look forward to doing again.

Visit the SoCal Trail Headz site for more info about upcoming new member runs, races and other events.

Photo courtesy of Croc Lo.