50-Mile Victory Lap

The medal is big enough to be a buckle. Big productions = big, extravagant schwag and awards.

So I made it through the race and finished just about where I thought I would. I looked at the course, the elevation charts, my times at the 50-milers this year - 8:02 at Quicksilver, 7:55 at Firetrails, took into account the wear and tear from Quad and I came up with 9-9.5 hours. I finished 9:18. I was gunning for under 9 but the Diaz Ridge climb late in the race put an end to that. Diaz Ridge...for it to come at that point in the race at my fatigue level was like a punch and kick in the face and not trying to sound all macho about it but I loved every minute. There were many tough climbs during the day, the biggest was twice as large, but this one I will remember the most. Diaz Ridge you put a happy tear in my eye and a smile on my face knowing that those who came before me went through the same and so will the others behind me. Misery loves company and survived misery in endurance is synonymous with joy:) If it was truly that bad no one would go back.

Which leads me to the other major goal that I had for the day besides finishing strong and fast - enjoying every mile of the race. To be honest that didn't happen, miles 22-26 saw me at my lowest point in the race but I enjoyed the other 46 miles, especially the second half and the last 10 miles where I ran like a runner fresh out of Spring training. I don't know where those reserves come from. If you know tell me. I'd like a key to the source. Anyway this was going to be the event run to celebrate all the others, the last final hurrah with trail shoes on for 08. It was that, for the most part.

The big names did come as expected. Click here for preliminary results. One of them got lost which was heart breaking. He was on the side of the trail asking us for directions. Then he got lost again.... asking for more directions, then yelling out of frustration. How he still finished in the top 10 after all of that is a testament to his perseverance and intestinal fortitude, this all happened around mile 24. For those of you who have gotten lost in a race, you know how mentally deflating that is. It's enough to make you want to quit, some do.

Absolutely no problems today. Muscles sore but not painful. I can run if I want to and I think that just points to the level of fatigue I had heading into this race from the Quad Dipsea. Just the reality from stacking long races. The limiting factor wasn't the sore legs or body it was the tired engine. Nothing a few weeks of low mileage, rest, and no racing won't cure. Oh and no blisters. Some of you are probably tired of hearing this. No blisters, thank you Drymax.

Work is crazy but as soon as I collect more pictures from friends I'll put up a more detailed report. Sort of the drill these days.

The Northface Endurace Challenge 50-Mile Race
10,700+ Total Elevation Gain / 10,700- Total Loss
9:18
35th out of 137 finishers, 172 starters

I don't want to stop, a big part of me can't believe that was the last race. I want to keep starting and crossing that finish line. Hard to stop. Experience will rule the day however, no doubt my body is tired and the potential for injury and burnout high. Better to finish up than down and have all this momentum going into the work I need to do during my off-season.

Dear God, thank you. Thank you for the anxious butterfly filled starts, the battles, the lowest lows, the highest highs, new friendships, existing ones strengthened, the privilege of supporting fellow athletes and personal victories of 2008.

Jess: I love the post race euphoria, it's great. Well assuming you finish, otherwise it's just miserable.
Me: Jess, this year, I don't know what that feels like. Woooohooooo!!!

With Jimmy Hopper of Northface. The Endurance series is his baby. I can't speak for the other races but I loved our 50-mile race course. I met Jimmy a few years back when he worked for a different outdoor company during a photoshoot. Super nice guy.

Golden Gate Tri-Club people. Jenny Nauss and Samantha Pinney finishing their first 50k, graduation day for them after training with the Northface trail running program. Both were Ironman distance triathletes before entering the program and were no strangers to long training days. Jessica, between them, was the aid station captain for Muir Beach, mile 13 on the 50-mile race.

Jenny and the celebratory Champagne. Jess brought Samantha Champagne for her first ultra finish and we all partook of the unexpected Treat.

Jenny and Sam with event host, Dean Karnazes. Look at em legs. I'm not above admiring another man's legs:)

More GGTC club members, the new kids on the block; Veronica, Heather (Merchandise Director) and Daniel (09 Run Director) who ran the 50k race in 5:41

Dean Karnazes with 2nd place Uli Steidl, Winner Matt Carpenter and Tsuyoshi Kaburaki who just edged Kyle Skaggs for 3rd, don't know the mc. Last year it was Uli who won and Matt taking 2nd, tie-braker next year?! The winning time is 6:41, keep in mind this race is on fire road and single track with 10,700 foot of total elevation gain and the same for loss. The uphills will try to take your heart out and the downhills will try to break down your legs.

One More Time

A smartly designed bib number, has the meal, raffle and parking pass ticket already built into it.

I'm excited! The legs feel good and I think I can pull off one more good race before closing out the year. I ran on Tuesday just to clear the cobwebs, on Wednesday I did some speedwork on the treadmill and felt better than when I did before the Quad Dipsea and yesterday's run felt amazing as well. I have the desire, my speed is back the only thing missing is a lot of sleep. Work has been whooping me but blog friend Dave Elliot said "I don't wanna hear, you ain't got kids". Fair enough. Regardless what happens Saturday I just want to finish and close off what has clearly been the best year of running for me. Even the one triathlon that I did was a PR performance.

I'm not sure exactly what happened but I'll have some time during the holidays to reflect and dissect the past year. I'll think about what worked and what to improve for next year. One thing for sure is that Northern California is a great place to be an ultra-marathoner. I don't know of any other region that has as many races as we do - a big part of that is Pacific Coast Trail Runs. There are five 100-milers in the state and 4 of them is an easy drive from San Francisco. I wouldn't have had the year I had without the resources and options readily available to me. Back in Spring I said to myself "if the year ended now I'll be happy". I said the same for Summer and now I actually have the opportunity to close out the year as strong as I started it. My cup overflows.

The thought of crossing that start line this Saturday is giving me butterflies. Just one more time baby, just one more time!

Quad Dipsea 08

I like this picture. So unlike me to look so serious but it does make me look less like a goof ball. Maybe I start practicing my "blue steel" look for the races, my "magnum" poses - for you Zoolander fans. At the start with my cousin Bing, that's her on the right hand side of the picture.

Quad Dipsea
Disneyland Ultra-Marathon Style
28.4 Miles
9200+ Total Elevation Gain / 9200- Loss

Broke previous best by 35 mins with a 4:59:05
Official results have it as 4:58.05, but let's go with the first one
27th out of 221 finishers, 237 starters.

Videos
Photos
Official Results
Event Website

Scott Dunlap's 06 Report
(Great reading that includes descriptions and photos of the course)

A Confession
Before anything else... I blew the pre-race preparation for this race. I was debating whether to come clean on this fact but I figured if I'm going to share with you my triumphs then I should also share my "WTF were you thinking moments". I blew it on Thanksgiving and I don't mean with the Turkey and mashed potatoes - that would have been better. There were several reasons for it including some news that threw me for a bit of a spin but I still should have known better. I plain blew it.

The Race
Because of my genius move I was a bit timid at the start and not my usual confident self but very, very excited. There were so many fast runners in attendance and these were just the people I was aware of. We even had some out of town superstars come to race and spectate. Despite everything I was still able to pull another rabbit out of the magic hat. It was painful but I was determined to work hard to make up for my mistakes.

Unlike previous years where I've shown up for this event exhausted and over weight, I came into this years race well trained and in my summer weight. I knew if I managed a decent race I would break my personal best of 5:34 but what I really wanted was to break 5 hours. Judging from my performances for the past year I felt that I had it in me, a sentiment echoed by friends Will Gotthardt, Brian Wyatt and Sean Lang. I felt that I could do it, my friends thought I could do it. So I was going for it. The whole time I felt solid out there, the most comfortable and most focused I've felt in the six times I've run the event. I could tell I was missing a gear though. I would have been a bit faster and felt less pain had I not blown the pre-race preparations. I just knew deep down but the knowing also made me work harder. It was sweet torture and frankly I enjoyed myself. A few times I just lost it in laughter, stress releasing, soul soothing laughter - "Gaston you are F*#$@ng Dumbass, you better pull this off!"

My mantra for the day that I kept repeating to myself was "Give Me a Chance". I had the splits figured out in my head, time goals for each of the four crossings and I focused on them one at a time."Make the time goal and give me a chance for a sub-5", I kept repeating to myself. On the last and final leg I had time goals for specific sections of the course, "Get me to Cardiac Hill in x time and we have a chance, get me to the Muir Beach parking lot in x time and we may still be able to do it. Run faster, give me a chance to make this happen".

Halfway through, yeehaa still on pace for a sub-5 at 2:26.

Splits
112 mins: 1st leg - Mill Valley to Stinson Beach
114 mins: 2nd - Stinson Beach to Mill Valley
116 mins: 3rd - Mill Valley to Stinson Beach
117 mins: 4th - The final crossing and home

That last one is always hard. Funny I felt like I was going faster on the second half. I was merely working harder but slowing down. Thankfully not too much.

A Holiday Party - Ultra Style
When I finished the legs were fine, body was fine. It was the engine that was a bit blown:) Nothing that 3 hours of food, drink and camaraderie wasn't able to fix. The finish at Quad is quite intimate, laid back social event. You've got dogs, kids, spectators, volunteers besides the runners. Most people are friendly and I took the time to not only talk to the people I already knew but to meet other runners as well. Many runners were generous with their cheer and support out on the course and I made it a point to meet some of them. Andy B. it was good to meet you, thanks for all the help. Food and beer is provided and people take the time to chill and talk. For a lot of people this is the last race on their schedule for the year. It was my closer for the last 5 years until I signed up for the Northface 50 this year.

Gear
Drymax rules! Absolutely no blisters. No hotspots, no blisters. I won't wear anything else. I'm still digging the orange Vasque VST's and now I'm experimenting with compression socks from VitalSox for recovery. For the latter I'll let you know what I find out. Bob and Tony likes them so what the hey. And the tri-club shirt, finally I got a club shirt to race in. My last act as the volunteer race director for our triathlon club last year was to win approval and design our new dri-fit running shirts. We got short sleeves and long sleeves for both men and women. The women's gear came out great, the men not so much. By the time everything got reordered and reprinted it was already November. I got my shirt two days before Thanksgiving. Ironically I got the shirt after I've decided to shelve triathlon for awhile.

What's Left
The Northface 50-miler on Saturday. I have a bet with my good friend Samantha that I will finish the 50-miler before she gets in on the 50k. Haha that was an ill advised bet. I only did it to fire her up. Loser, among other things, has to play wing man for one evening. God help her when she wins because my social skills are only useful in athletic events, not bars:)

Another successful Quad Dipsea Race for RD John Medinger and assistant RD's Errol Jones and Lisa Henson.

Quad Dipsea 08 Photos

Staying loose before the start. Photo courtesy of Bing.

The line up. A very fast front field.

Oh sweet success. I had just put my arms down after throwing them up upon seeing the clock. I don't really run with my arms flailing around like that.

With David Goggins post race. I got this picture for blog friend Dave Elliot. I told him all about you Dave and he said tell your friend "Semper Fi".

With Ashland, Oregon runner Jenn Shelton. We met at Tahoe Rim Trail this past summer when we ran a few miles together during the day at the halfway point. I've only spoken to her twice but she seems nice and a bit of a goofball. I mean that in a good way. When she's on she's very fast, like in last year's Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in Texas she clocked a 14:57, coming in 3rd overall and first woman. That's fast!

Jess and I grinning like geeks in the background while Gundy and Mark Tanaka talk. I'm sporting this year's race shirt.

An animated conversation about our day with pal and fellow ultra-marathoner Brian Wyatt.

Mark Tanaka, Brian Wyatt and Paul Sweeney, post race.

This guy is not all impressed with all the fast talent around him or the tough course. Photo courtesy of Bing.

After the race I took my cousin for a drive around the area. We drove up to the top of Mt. Tam so I could show her the hills and trails between Mill Valley and Stinson Beach. On the way home we passed by Stinson and took this shot at the end of the day.

For the Flickr photoset click here.