2013 SJS50 - Race Report

Wow that was one fun weekend!!!

The Lake City 50 (aka SJS50) is so much more then a bunch of trail runners tackling a stunning 50 mile loop thru the San Juan's.  It's all about the ultra running community's family and friends getting together and spending the weekend in the heart of the most beautiful mountains this country has to offer.  It's honestly more then that but I don't have the words to describe how amazing this weekend is.  It's why I've brought my family to Lake City, CO 3 of the last 4 years for the race and this year didn't disappoint.

A few things had me really worried as race day neared:

1) The nearby Papoose Fire.  The ridge in far back is roughly mile 31 of the course.  The fires were another 15 miles east of there & west of Creede. The winds thankfully blowing east.

 (Thur Evening)

(Fri Afternoon)

2) My inconsistent training over the past few months (the latest being a thrashed right foot forcing me to rest more then I wanted too...an injury I'm sure related to my strained shin muscle from early May).

Start to Williams (Mile 0 to 15.7):
Tecate cans and nudie girls on some playing cards marking the course!  Going out really easy on the climb.  Almost to easy. Going easier on the downhill.  Noticing how I wish I had a 1/2 size longer pair of PI N2s.  Noticing my quads feeling the drop to Williams and blaming it on the way to easy effort and altered running gait as to not smash my toes.

Getting into Williams in 3 hours 25 minutes.  Exactly like I was hoping too. But then spending like 10 minutes fumbling with my drop bag and sitting on the can.

Mixed bag on feelings here.  Worried about the quads and the lack of training.  Worried if the foot would hold.  Excited to tackle the next 2 sections which are my favorite.

Williams to Carson (Mile 15.7 to 21.5):
The flattish 2.5 miles went by quickly and I started the Carson climb on a mission to pass everyone I saw.  Huge problem though.  I passed 3 folks within the first 1/3 mile and saw no one else ahead of me for the next 2 miles!  Was easy to pull off the accelerator when there's no one to track down.  However I continued strong up the climb.

About 1 mile to go I FINALLY saw a runner.  Lots of them.  A dozen or so.  I was feeling great and just worked it passing them all into Carson.  As I entered the aid station I saw another dozen or so just up ahead and looked forward to tracking them all down as well.

4 hours and 45/50 minutes to Carson.  Spent a few minutes here just loading up on water and fuel.  No drop bag to mess with.  Mentally I was feeling amazing and looking forward to a lot more climbing ahead.

Carson to Divide (Mile 21.5 to 31):
Instead of pushing the effort on the remainder of the climb, I got in the mind set of holding a consistent effort till the high point of the course.  Roughly 3 miles and 1,700 feet of climbing up to 13,300 feet.  I was still moving well and I just knew other runners would be slower and I'd catch up that way. Another dozen plus folks were running slower and another dozen caught.

I've never had much of an issue being at high elevations and not once did I notice the thin air along the divide section.  It's been since last fall since I've run any technical high alpine terrain but my footing apparently hadn't missed a beat.  There is still no greater running playground then high above treeline on technical terrain and I was enjoying every breath and step of it!

I continued to hold back my effort knowing that taking an extra 5 or 10 minutes to get to the next aid station would only benefit me over the last 10 miles of the course.

With roughly 3 or 4 miles to go, I had somewhat of a teenage girl at a Beatles concert moment.  I was quickly approaching the machine himself who's closing performance at last years Hardrock ranks as pure awesomeness.

But it was who he was running with that made me stop and almost ask for an autograph.  Before I got into running, I was a huge skier.  A huge fan of the sport and of those who simply lay down the hammer out there on the big mountain.  I still have a few DVDs in my basement produced by companies like MSP, TGR..some including Mr. Chris Davenport himself!  Running side by side these 2 absolutely accomplished/bad ass skiers was pretty f'ing cool.

Shade over 7 hours into the Divide A.S.  Easily the smartest running I did all day was during this 9 mile stretch.  I could have kept this pace up all day.  A few minutes spent here and I was off.

Divide to Slum (Mile 31 to 40):
Since leaving Williams, I was in this very positive state mentally.  That didn't last long as I stepped into this section of the course.  The same section that literally brought me to my knees a year ago as my quad strain couldn't handle anymore.  Last year I walked 7+ miles of this section.  This year I walked maybe a mile of it.

I ran hard, focused and pretty mad.  I remember seeing the blogger formally known as ARunInWithTheLaw (great seeing you out there!) briefly.  I remember my toes slamming against the front of my shoes on the downhill.  I remember the toes really getting thrashed the last quarter mile of downhill of this section.  Don't remember much else.

Roughly 8 Hours and 25 minutes into Slum.  Hardest miles I ran all day was in this section and I felt really good.  I think it took me 1:20 to run this section. Spent a few minutes getting what I needed.  Thoughts of a 10 1/2 hour finish crept into my head as I wondered if a 2 hour split was possible over the next section (I know, wishful thinking).

Slum to Lake City (Mile 40 to 50):
Damn it was starting to get hot out.  Them strong climbing legs I had earlier were gone.  The last section of running hard got to me.  I focused on water and a few calories every 5 to 10 minutes with hopes of a slow consistent uphill.  I passed one running close to the Vickers A.S.  That was it.

Got passed smoked on the uphill by the 3rd place M in the 35-59 age group (I ended up 4th in the age group) around mile 43.  Absolutely impressive.  I got passed smoked on the downhill by Mr StuckInTheRockies around mile 48. Absolutely impressive.

Once at the Vickers aid station, I had 40 minutes to cover 4 miles at a shot at breaking 10:30.  With my thrashed toes, that wasn't happening.  I simply couldn't open up on the downhill anymore regardless of how good my quads still felt.  So instead I just sat and chatted with those in the aid station before cruising it in.  The 3 running encounters I just mentioned were the only runners I saw this whole section.

They never called in my bib number as I entered the finish line chute.  So no running with my daughter down that stretch.  But she was right there at the finish line waiting for me.  A huge "DADDY!", embrace around my legs and fall to the ground followed by a kiss and a "I want ice cream" request.  The next morning I got to hold her in my arms as she accepted my visor for finishing in the 10 to 11 hour range. So a solid way to end the race weekend with my little girl.

(Took me an hour before I could drink a beer)

The nearby fire smoke never an issue.  Blue skies all weekend.  The foot and shin injuries never an issue.  It's like they were never injured.

10 Hours 39 Minutes 47 Seconds
18th Place Overall --16th Male Overall

I ran (mostly) smart all day.  I left it all on the course but I know there's still room for improvement. A low 10?  Realistic. A sub 10? Doubt it. A 7:35.03? I still don't believe that's the new course record!!!

Congrats to all the other amazing runners out there giving the course all they had!  Awesome job by all the volunteers out there who made the course and aid stations spectacular!  I'll see you all in 2014!!!!!!!

(Well earned Cannibal Division visor)