Jemez 50K: Tale of Two Races

Wow, what a tough freakin race. While I've run 1 ultra prior to this, never had I taken on anything of this magnitude. 33 miles with just under 8,000 feet of up and down at a pretty high elevation. Race descriptions for some reason forgot to mention hot temps and windy conditions.

Before the race ever got started, Michele and I were lucky enough to break away from Denver Thursday afternoon. By 8pm we were kicking it in beautiful Taos. While I went to sleep early, Michele stayed up past midnight doing homework. The next morning was spent sleeping in, eating a wonderful breakfast at Doc Martins and driving over to Los Alamos. Checked into the North Road Inn (Highly Recommended), some more homework by Michele, bib pick up, pasta meal, few cold beers and another early bedtime.

Saturday morning came early and I was feeling good and excited for the what the day was about to bring.


(prerace excitment at what the course would throw at us)



Tale One:
Race pace started out very comfortable with me up front with a dozen plus folks. Deep down inside I knew I should have pulled back but just went with the flow. This pace went on up and over Guaje Ridge. Again, I knew I should have checked my pace but the whole climb up Guaje was runnable. I was also more motivated by passing up a good half a dozen runners and a few 50 milers. The climb up Guaje was steep on occasion but nothing worse then I've trained on here along the front range.

Now the decent of Guaje was a different story. Sharp switchbacks, steep drop offs, a fall here could get really ugly so a fast decent was out of the question. Still held my own nicely as I arrived to climb number two of the day. Caballo Top. A hell of a climb at that with 2 miles, 1,771 feet of steep up and an elevation peak of 10.5K. My pace up here went extremely well. While the running was a rarity, I was power hiking past more 50 milers then I could count. I also managed to pick off a few 50Ks in the process. The views from the top were amazing and I was at possibly 8th place overall.

The decent off Caballo was almost too steep for me to run but I gave her hell and made it down the peak in half the time it took me to summit. As proud as I was of my decent, I got straight smoked by a few folks running the 50K. One of them being a gal who came in 3rd overall. Seriously, this gals downhill running was amazing to watch. Pipeline was the next aid station with the third climb of the day to the outskirts of the Caldera rim. Kept up a somewhat runnable pace at times during the climb but in honestly I was shocked by how steep this ascent was. Thankfully not as long as Caballo's climb but still rough. Pipeline came and went and before I knew I was arriving Ski Lodge.

Tale Two:
It was at the Ski Lodge that I noticed I hadn't taken in a S-Cap or Gel in easily an hour (which I was already slacking on to begin with). Worse my water intake was pathetic. 18 miles and under 4 hours into the race and I had maybe drank 20 ounces of water. 20 ounces on a day that saw temps in the 80s in town. And my body was starting to feel it. I took in some watermelon, water, Heed and off I went in 10th place. Within 10 minutes my stomach turned on me. It just wasn't happy and I couldn't figure out why. Was it the watermelon? Or the huge amounts of liquid I just took in? Either way the 3 miles back to pipeline were SLOW. Once at pipeline I took a seat for a good 5 minutes. Took in a little water, S-Cap and off I went.

By now, my stomach was starting to come around. My legs were still feeling well and my body as a whole felt good. However what was frustrating me was how little energy I had. Damn near running on empty at this point. Every little climb just got the best of me. Making matters worse I was starting to get passed up by those same runners I had passed early on in the race. The worse stretch for me easily was between the Ski Lodge and Guaje Ridge.

(Pipeline just kicking my ass)

Upon leaving Guaje Ridge, I felt like I had something in me and was able to finally cruise a manageable pace till Rendija Canyon. The climb out of Rendija Canyon, while short, about killed me. And for the first time in 6 miles, I got passed 2 more times. It was stubbornness that got me to the finish and prevented me from getting passed again.

18th place with a finish time of 6 hours 50 minutes. As rough as a race I had, it was a wonderful day. The conditions were hot and windy but made for incredible views. The volunteers were beyond amazing. Each and every single one of them were greatly appreciated. I can see coming myself coming back down and signing up for the 50M. Lastly, got to thank the race committee. Hell of race they put together in a hell of a town.

Finished up the weekend by bombing it to Santa Fe for a little B&B action, amazing Mexican food and a lot of relaxation under the warm sun of the beautiful New Mexican northern mountains.

With 4 weeks till the SJS50, I need to figure out two things quickly. 1) Hydration/fuel and 2) pace. If I don't get a grip on this, it will be a very long day.

(relieved to be done)

Some rough splits follow:

Start to Guaje Ridge - 1:04.06
to Caballo Base - 36.29
to Caballo Mt - 40.53
to Caballo Base - 21.13
to Pipeline - 42.02
to Ski Lodge - 30.26
to Guaje Ridge - 1:30.15 (ouch)
to Rendija Canyon - 55.11
to Finish - 29.43

Countdown to Jemez 50K

It honestly seems like yesterday when I signed up for the Jemez 50K. And here I am, just days away from running that race I've been training so much for over the past few months.

Training for the most part has been solid. My body, not so much. Never have I been 100% over the past 5 months. And never have I logged in so many miles and vert feet this early in the year. Yet I've somehow stay pretty consistent with my training. Not sure what any of this means or says but I'm sure to find out Saturday morning.

Part of me is feeling extremely confident. Part of me is honestly a bit freaked out. And for two reasons. 1) How will my L.Quad react race day? It just hasn't been 100% for 3+ weeks now. Not sure why either. Rest, ice, stretching just doesn't seem to help it out much. Hasn't impacted my actual training too much but it has impacted my original game plane which leads to my second concern. 2) How will this all impact me for the upcoming San Juan Solstice 50M? I've tapered much more then I wanted to going into the Jemez 50K. Was initally going to use this as another long run before the SJS50 but the damn quad has forced a few extra easy/rest days. Days I could have used to get stronger for my first 50 miler.

Yeah, this whole ultra thing is new to me, but that's a terrible excuse to not perform to the best of my ability. Still, it's frustrating having so many unknowns around my training. At the same time, I'm so freakin into getting this figured out and making it work.

On a lighter note, I had the pleasure to pace my friends wife, Becky and her friend, Robin, thru their first marathon yesterday. The gals, who just picked up running less then 2 years ago decided to make Colfax their first marathon attempt. Over the past year I've shared my knowledge and love of the sport with them so when they asked for a little help, I was more then happy to do so.

Met the girls just shy of mile 20. Both of them looked strong and were cruising along at a 10:30 pace. I simply ran with them offering up encouragement every few minutes and helping them with water and gatoraide whenever needed. By mile 22 1/2, Robin started falling off. I knew that the 17th Ave hill near mile 23 was approaching and with the girls now running different paces, I was caught up on who to pace thru that mentally tough section.

Decided to run up to Becky and get her thru the 2 block stretch. You could tell the last thing she wanted was to run up that hill but she ran it like a champ and I knew the last few miles for her would be easy sailing. Mere seconds after reaching the top, I made a sprint back down and got Robin motivated up the hill. 2 steps of walking followed by me yelling out "get your ass moving" was all Robin needed to make it up the hill smoothly. Motivated her in thru numerous "I gotta stop running now" and let her enjoy the final .2 miles on her own. Outside of a few steps thru aid stations, these gals ran the whole distance

Congrats ladies, it's a hell of an accomplishment!!!

April Summary

Runs - 20
Workouts - 7
Injured - 2

The Bad: During a nice 8 day stretch during the latter end of the month, I got in a hearty 2 runs in. Far from ideal. While the L Quad was giving me some issues, hence the injury days, I think the blame could be pointed at the fact that I was working 70 hour work weeks. That left me mentally and physically exhausted. An excuse? I guess so. Way I look at is I lost out on 5 runs and probably 60 miles as my weekend was shot. Could turn this into a positive and look at it as a nice rest period but screw that.

L Quad still somewhat bothersome but nothing that can't be corrected between now and Jemez 50K. And that damn L bursa sack near the patella tendon. Still a bit puffy but thankfully far from giving me issues. Still, would love for that fucker to calm down and act normal.

The Good: Got in some healthy long runs this month. Hell, I got in three 20 plus mile runs in within 8 days of each other. The vert gained over the month was also positive. Didn't hit the number I had initially set myself but still very productive. I was also very consistent (except for those 8 days).

Bottom Line: I knew going into this month that work would be in the way and boy was it. Still, I am very pleased with my long runs, vert and consistency. I honestly think I've done a lot of good work leading up to Jemez. Goal for May is to stay strong, healthy and sharp all while getting ready for San Juan the following month. How will I do this? No fucking clue as I've never had back to back races of such difficulty and mileage during my life. I guess June's summary will show how I did.