Monday, April 20, 2015

Diablo Trails Challenge 50K Race Report

Long time no see!
Lookin' fresh

I know that I just had a post last week but I had some back-to-back races this month! However, these two races were very different beasts. Sunday I ran my very first ultra marathon at the Brazen Racing Mt. Diablo 50K and, while I can't really move today, it was an excellent experience. I finished up 10th overall woman with a time slower than I predicted (7:26:30 and 8 Bonk Breakers later) but rewarding all the same. I went into this race thinking "Well, I have done an Ironman, so I can do this right?" Whole different story, and while the mental play is about the same, this was one of the more physically tolling races I have done. I certainly wished I had some NormaTecs waiting at the finish line!

Brazen Racing really impressed me with how well this race was organized and I cannot thank the volunteers enough! 


To ease the description I broke the course up into a few sections:





Newton make trail running shoes to! BOCO!
Section 1: The flattest part

This section I held pretty strongly, only a few uphills worth walking on but mostly kept up a good jog pace and completed the section with a sub 11 min/mile average. That downhill got a little rough with a blister deciding that was a really good time to show up on the end of a toe, but nothing a band aid and some extra Ruby's Lube at the aid station couldn't fix. I spent most of this section with a few other runners making the course a lot less lonely than I expected. 


Section 2: Where I made the most gains

Here I was picking up girls left and right. I set it up as a mental game where I would run to different 'finish lines' and then have a walk break. Very similar to a walk/run marathon plan, but with a whole lot more walking. Regardless this worked really well and I was in the top 5 women but the time I reached the first summit and held on to it until the second. I also got a handful of gummy bears. YUM.

 
Section 3: The technical downhill

Oh boy. Nothing like a rock slide areas followed by an 8 inch wide soft trail with poison oak on both sides to keep you on your toes. I had be pumping myself up for the downhill and seeing this very tricky slow path was a bit of a mental punch. It was here where my overall placing (and age group) dropped down to my final placement.

 

Section 4: The hill I conveniently forgot.

My legs are not happy here, I was waiting for a wide open fire road going downhill at a steady pace. This hill was super rude and just popped up out of nowhere! Luckily I get to the top of this final ascent and know that no matter what I can finish because there's only 6 miles left. I can run 6 miles right? For sure.

Section 5: The final haul

This wasn't the rewarding easy downhill I had wanted but rather six miles of feeling my dead muscles bounce around. I met a rattle snake, named him Jeff and swiftly ran away. I was holding longer run intervals for the last few miles but unfortunately still taking a couple walk breaks to get there. I crossed that finish line and laid down immediately. A lot of runners were much more confident in their footing coming down and this is definitely something I want to work on. I think it's a matter of trusting your eyes and your feet as you get more comfortable on the trails.
 
Notice: I did not pass out.


Overall I learned a lot and already know trail runs are something I would like to see more of in my future. I would definitely make an effort to have taller socks and will be practicing my descents. Can't wait to do another!

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