Things That Hurt Like Heck

I'm making a list of things that hurt. Or more specifically I'm making a list of painful things I've experienced at some point in my life, along with the corresponding degree of pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being mildly annoying and 10 being so-painful-you-pass-out-or-die.

• Sat through dozens of hours of being tattooed -- mildly irritating (1.5 on a scale of 1 - 10)
• Broke my big toe after dropping 50 pound steel desk on foot in 5th grade -- slight achy pain for a few weeks (3 on a scale of 1 - 10)
• Hyper-extended my elbow incurred during Judo tournament in college -- hurt like heck for weeks (6 on a scale of 1 - 10)
• Broke my pointer finger and got kicked in the balls (simultaneously) during an impromptu drunken kickboxing sparring match in the hallway of my apartment in college -- steady throbbing intense pain for several months (7.5 on a scale of 1 - 10)
• Severe inner thigh cramps -- holy !@# that hurts, make it stop, make it stop, (12 on a scale of 1 - 10)

I've never experienced childbirth, though I hear it's quite painful. However, I've heard from women who have delivered children without pain-killer drugs, and who have also experienced severe inner thigh cramps, and they agree that the thigh cramps are far worse than childbirth. It's true, Google it!

So, why do I mention this and what does it have to do with running? Well, late Thursday night I was woken up out of my sleep several times by the worst God-awful pain you can imagine. Each time I thought I was possibly going to die. I was fairly certain that someone had broken into the house and stabbed me in the leg with a rusty ice pick. It hurt! Then the pain would suddenly disappear and would I fell back asleep. When I woke up in the morning my leg actually felt fine, so I hoped that perhaps it had all just been a bad dream.

But no, somewhere around lunchtime the shocking, tear-inducing cramps returned. I fell to the floor, clutched my thigh, cursed like an angry pirate, and cried for my mommy. Each burst of shooting, searing, pulsing pain would last for about 5 seconds. But what it lacked in duration, it made up for in intensity. I seriously considered going to the emergency room! But instead I did the next best thing and called my ER Doctor running buddy Joe who was at the hospital. He assured me that I wasn't dying of a blood clot, and that it probably wasn't even a hernia -- just some leg cramps.

So, feeling fairly confident that I wasn't going to die, I was still worried that it might be some kind of pinched nerve or compressed spinal disks. So I texted my chiropractor, Dr. Kristina Irvin, a fellow ultra-marathoner who has finished dozens (hundreds?) or hundred mile runs. If anyone could fix me and get me running again, it would be her. She told me to come in. She did some "stim" treatment on my legs with electrodes and what looked like a car battery. She performed some ultrasound on my lower back (good news, I'm not pregnant). And she adjusted my back and gave me a little massage. I stood up from the table feeling like a new man.

Seconds later the cramps struck again and grabbed a door jam to keep from crumbling to the floor. Not good! However, Dr. Irvin did mention that I might have an electrolyte imbalance (I'd gotten really dehydrated on a run two days prior) and suggested I take some supplemental calcium and magnesium. So I went home and popped a couple of Hammer Nutrition Enduralyte pills and drank some Coconut water. And the cramps mysteriously eased up.

So, now the question is, are they really gone or are they just lurking, waiting to strike in a moment of weakness? Would I be able to run the Lorenzo River 50K on Saturday as I was planning as a last tune-up race before my 100 miler on June 25?

To be continued....

Rancho Cañada del Oro and Calero Park 50 Mile

Saturday, June 4th I ran the Rancho Cañada del Oro and Calero Park 50 Mile, an inaugural event put on by Troy's California Trail Runs. Rancho Cañada and Calero are actually two of my favorite places to run in the Bay Area. These two adjoining parks are real hidden gems, at least among trail runners (the parks are both quite well known to equestrians).

I had really been looking forward to this event for weeks, ever since early May wheny  I wimped out and dropped out of the Quicksilver 50M race at the 50K mark due to some stomach issues. Rancho/Calero was going to be my chance to prove to myself that Quicksilver was just a fluke bad day, and that I was indeed capable of easily running a 50 miler. And with my 100 miler fast approaching at the end of June, I desparately needed to know that I could knock out a 50 miler with no problem if I was to have any shot a finishing a full 100. Yikes.

So when I woke up at 4:30 am Saturday morning and saw pouring rain outside, I didn't allow myself to flinch. Wimping out and going back to bed was not an option. I needed to go out there and do a full day's work; I needed to take care of business.

You can imagine my surprise and panic when I arrived at the park in the morning and there were only a handful of cars and no race registration tent or banner. I wondered if perhaps the race had been cancelled? But no, it turns out there were only a handful of people crazy enough to come out and run all day in the rain and mud. Despite the horrible weather the race director Troy did a great job of getting things started nearly on time (we had to wait a few minutes for some last minute race-day registrants who showed up just as the gun was about to go off).

Among the 7 or so runners loitering around the parking lot I saw my Quicksilver teammate (and team coach) Greg Lanctot. Greg had come out to run the 32 Mile  race, hoping for an age group win (or perhaps an overall win) depending on who else was crazy enough to show up for a small, out-of-the-way, local race in miserable rainy conditions. Unfortunately for Greg, three-time Tevis Cup horse racing winner Jeremy Reynolds showed up, and even without this horse he was able to runaway with the win in the 32 Mile race. However, Greg did manage to hold off third-place finisher Tim Koska, bringing home a 2nd place overall finish (and the age group win).

The 50 Mile was slightly less competitive with only two crazy runners toughing out the miserable conditions to complete the full 50 miles. I crossed the finish line first in a time of 9:30:22, while 61 year old Dan Maguire crushed the rest of the field to finsih in second with a time of 12:57:00. Technically I am now the "course record holder" since this was the first year this event was run, and hence my time is (at least for a year) the fastest time on record. Ha. Though technically I probably should have been disqualified since I missed one turn where the mud had washed away the course markings and ended up cutting the course short by 1/2 mile or so.

Anyway... it was long morning of rain, mud, and hills. At one point the sun came out briefly, just long enough to give me a quick sunburn on my forehead. And then it was back to more rain and more mud (the hills never left). The highlight of the day was probably when my wife met me at mile 40 to cheer me on. She even sucked it up and ran a couple of miles in the mud with me, including one river crossing.

The other "highlight" of the day was when I literally almost ran into a couple of skunks as I was flying down a steep hill. I came screeching to a halt just fast enough to avoid getting sprayed in the face with skunk juice. And then, much to my surprise, the mother skunk actually started chasing me back up the hill. WTF? Luckily she wasn't much of an ultra runner and gave up after a few feet. And I come home still smelling like roses! Well, I probably smelled bad enough after 9 hours of sweat, but at least I didn't get spritzed with Aud De Parfum O' Skunk.

Here's a link to the official results and there are my Garmin stats.

John Gets "Big Wood" at Ohlone 50K Trail Race

I had the pleasure of experiencing "big wood" while running this past weekend at the Ohlone 50K trail race. Now hold on, it's not what you're probably thinking. No, I didn't take some Viagra or another vasodialotor before the race in order to improve the blood flow to my lungs (and other organs). Rather, for the first time in my four attempts at Ohlone, I finished in the top 3 of my age group and came home with the coveted large 4x4 piece of lumber (i.e., "big wood") given to the age group winners instead of the much smaller 1x4 sliver of wood (i.e., "little wood") given to all race finishers.

There I was at the finish line, firmly grasping my enormously large piece of timber with both hands while everyone stared in awe. I couldn't have been any prouder. What a day! Not only did I take 3rd in my age group, but I finished 10th overall and ran 5 minutes faster than I had ever run on this particular course before. Here's a link to the official results. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning...

I'd gone to sleep ridiculously early the night before, climbing into bed around 8:30 pm (which felt so wrong considering that it was still completely light out). But when my BlackBerry started chirping at 4:45 am I actually felt pretty well rested. There was none of the usual stumbling around in the dark, accidentally kicking the family dog and waking up the whole neighborhood nonsense. No, just some quality time with my good friend and confidant, Don Francisco. He makes a mean Vanilla Nut coffee in case you were wondering.

And of course, as per my usual race morning ritual I meticulously prepared a gourmet breakfast designed to ensure maximum athletic performance: cherry Pop Tarts! Two minutes and four hundred calories later, I was high off my ass on caffeine and high fructose corn syrup. But seriously, don't knock Pop Tarts. NCAA national cross-country champion Adam Goucher swore by them. And hell, check the ingredients, they've got dried cherries and dried apples. So they must be good for you, right? Anyway...

Ohlone is a somewhat unique event, presenting some unique logistical challenges, in that it is a point-to-point race starting in Fremont and ending 31 miles away at Lake Del Valle in Livermore. So while the race itself doesn't start until 8:00 am, you have to be at Lake Del Valle before 6:30 am in order to catch the bus to the starting line. According to Google Maps, it is a 1:15 minute drive from my house. But apparently the Google driving-time estimates are based on the average law-abiding Californian citizen driving a hybrid Prius. But take a wild back-roads Michigan boy in a Ford Mustang with a wicked sugar high, and well... 28 minutes later he's sitting outside the gates of the county park chanting, "open, open, open".

Needless to say, I was the first runner to board the shuttle bus and I snagged a prime front row seat. Not only does sitting up front help keep me from getting car sick, but much more importantly it ensures I will be the first guy off the bus and the first guy in line at the restrooms when we arrive at the starting area. Apparently another guy had the same idea because he sat down next to me in the front row.

As we started talking I soon discovered he was Harris Goodman, a new teammate who had just recently joined our Quicksilver Ultra Racing team. As we chatted, I also learned that Harris is quite the accomplished ultra runner, having completed the Grand Slam of Ultra Running in 2010 (which involves running four of the oldest and more difficult 100 mile races all in the same calendar year including Western States, Vermont, Leadville, and Wasatch Front. Having not yet successfully completed a 100 miler myself I used the opportunity to pick his brain on a variety of topics from hydration best practices to strategies for preventing altitude sickness.

However, once we arrived at the starting area it was every man for himself and I dispensed with the pleasantries and started throwing elbows as I dashed for the front of the Porta Potty line. Luckily the race directors waited an extra ten minutes to start the race, ensuring that all the runners were able to take care of business and find their way to the starting line.

As we stood around waiting for things to get underway I was able to chat a bit with some fellow Quicksilver Racing team members and even pose for some nice group photos. These pre-race photos always turn out so much better than the post race photos were everyone's faces are caked with sweat, dirt, snot, Gu, or who knows what else.

As we were standing there getting ready to start running, I realized that I hadn't really prepared a race strategy or plan for Ohlone. Typically I have some idea beforehand of how I plan to run. Usually it is something along the lines of "Go out easy for the first 10 miles, stay calm and controlled for the next 20, and then pick it up the last 11 miles if you are feeling good". Though to be honest I don't know why I ever bother with putting together a pre-race plan since I invariably always end up throwing out the plan after the first 200 meter and just trying to run with the race leaders.

Today was really no different. Alarm bells should have gone off in my head as I found myself sprinting uphill past my teammate Mark Tanaka (note: Mark is a much faster runner than me and he ended finishing 15 minutes ahead of me). More alarm bells should have gone off as cheering spectators yelled, "you're in 6th place". Eventually the adrenaline wore off around mile 5 and I came to my senses and slowed down, letting Mark and another runner fly off into the distance as we made our way down the backside of Mission peak.

After that, things pretty much became a blur, with the notable exception of mile 8.5 where a bee flew into my sock and stung me on the ankle (which was surprising painful actually) and somewhere around mile 15 where I ran into teammate Chihping Fu who has re-marking the course). Aside from that it was just 5 hours and 30 minutes of running up and down big nasty hills in the Ohlone wilderness area. I pretty much ran on my own the entire way, entertaining myself by reciting my favorite Kid Rock songs.

At one point towards the end of the race my hamstring cramped up as I tried to hop sideways through a partially open cattle gate instead of just taking the time to open it properly and run straight ahead. This caused me to fall to the ground in pain (there may or may not also have been some shrieking, cursing, and rolling around). At this point, I was passed by a guy in a blue shirt who had been consistently running a few hundred yards or so behind me all day. He was courteous and friendly, asking if I needed any salt or sugar pills. So I did my best to be cordial and mumble "I'm OK. Thank you. Have a good one" instead of "Go to hell motherfucker! If I ever see you on the street I'll cut your ass." Did I mention I'm a bit of a sore loser?

Also, at one point Gary Wang came flying by me on a downhill. But honestly, he was moving so fast that I didn't have time to even say hi, much less think of anything menacing to say. Plus Gary is a great guy who does a lot for the sport, so it's hard to hold a grudge against him for making me feel like I was standing still. Nice job Gary!

Anyway, I eventually made it up the last of the hills and then down the extremely steep and extremely painful last two miles of downhill to the finish line. My feet were on fire from the heat generated by the friction of all that downhill running. I was pretty sure at least two of my toenails had already turned black from smashing against the toe box of my shoe. And there were some annoying blisters that would need to be popped. But right now all I could think about was the BBQ and cold Guiness draught beer waiting at the finish line.

With the scent of chicken apple sausage in the air, I hammered the last quarter mile and sprinted into the finishing chute relieve to be done. All in all it had been a good day. I finished. And aside from the one cramping episode I stayed on top of my fluids, salts, and calories pretty well. But somewhere in the back of my mind I was wondering, "This felt pretty hard for just 31 miles. You have a 100 mile race coming up in just over a month. Are you really going to be able to run another 70 miles on top of this?" Hmmm. That's a very interesting question!

To be continued I suppose...

Quicksilver 50M Race Report: Apr 30, 2011

A Shitty Day (Literally)

Running sucks.

Or, maybe I just suck at running.

Or maybe I just had a sucky day.

But however you look at it, things did not go well for me last Saturday, April 30 at the Quicksilver 50 Mile race. In short, I dropped out at the 50k (31 mile) mark after five hours of shitting in the woods, intermixed with a bit of running here and there. Here's my Garmin stats of the run.

But let's take a step back and set the scene. Our protagonist, young (ish) Johnny boy had been training like never before, logging 70 miles a week over the past month (with about 10,000 ft of elevation gain per week). He was quite possibly in the best shape of his life. He was setting new PRs for his regular training runs. He was effortlessly flying up even the steepest, nastiest hills. He was....

Ok, enough of this referring to myself in the third person crap. Let's switch back to first person narrative. Basically, I'd been diligently putting in the work and my training was going great. I was feeling great and poised for a breakout performance at Quicksilver 50, which I hoped would build my confidence and set the tone for my run-up to my 100 miler at the BlackHills 100 in the end of June.

But, as the 18th Century novelist Robert Burns once proclaimed, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Or perhaps as the American boxer Mike Tyson better explained, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Or, in my case, everyone has a plan until their gastro-intestinal tract decides to declare war on the rest of the body by shutting down all normal stomach functions.

I'm not really sure where it all went wrong. Maybe I took too many salt tablets too early on in the race. Maybe I didn't take enough salt tablets (which is inconceivable, considering that I took 13 over the course of 5 hours). Maybe I pushed a bit too hard in the hot weather. Maybe I consumed too much sugar (energy gels and sports drink). Maybe it was that fried chicken I had for dinner the night before (note: it sounded like a good idea at the time). Who knows.

At any rate, I guess we can look at this epic fail as a "teachable moment". While I am a master of the DNF and have dropped out of races for almost every possible reason (dehydration, cramps, fatigue, hypothermia, blisters, boredom, sudden urge to have a cold beer, etc.) this may have been the first time ever that I decided to quit because I had inadvertently lost control of my bowels and shit my pants while running. So, lesson learned. Make sure to pack Imodium AD and a spare pair of clean running shorts on my 100 miler.

Quicksilver Running Club Triumphs. Leor Pantilat Sets New 50 Mile Course Record.

OK, enough about me and my incontinence. Let's switch topics and talk about some of the great performances from the Quicksilver Running Club - Ultra Racing Team in both the 50 Mile and 50K race, as well as the new course record laid down by Leor Pantilat in the 50 Mile race.

The Quicksilver Ultra Racing Team had a great day -- perhaps due in part to the home course advantage. On the men's side, Gary Gelin finished in 2nd place in the 50 mile with a blazing fast time of 6:29:41, beaten only by the phenomenal Leor who crushed the course record with a 6:01:45. Erik Toschi and Dan Decker both placed in the top 10.  On the women's side, Bree Lambert ran away with the race, winning the 50 mile in 8:13:07. 

And in the shorter, "sprint distance" 50K, Quicksilver also put on a strong showing with John Pommier in 2nd with 3:56:19 and Toshi Hosaka taking fourth in 4:00:03 for the men. While on the women's side, Adona Ramos won the 50K race with a 4:56:26, with Miki Yannoni taking third in 5:02:23.

Leor Pantilat setting new course record!

Old Friends and New Friends Finish Their First Ultras

Special congratulations to my buddy and regular training partner Joe Bistrain who ran his first ultra-marathon, finishing the 50K in 10th place with a great debut time of 4:44:36 (only 2 minutes slower than my own debut at Quicksilver back in 2005). Congrats also to Jorge Medina (who I first met a few months ago at Pacifica where he won the marathon while I won the 50K) who finished his ultra-marathon with a very respectable 5:14:19. Nice work Jorge. Looking forward to seeing you at Ohlone 50K or whatever ultra you decide to tackle next!

Joe Bistrain running his first ultra

Jorge Medina running his first ultra

Grizzly Peak 30K Race Report: April 9, 2011

Short version: The Grizzly Peak trail run at Tilden Park had something for everyone, whether you prefer gnarly knee-bashing rocks, treacherous ankle-breaking roots, or evil shoe-swallowing mud pits. More than one runner finished the day with bloody knees and a bloody nose. And some never finished at all (note: the mud pits are currently being searched for lost shoes and human remains).

Long version: If you don't like getting dirty, you probably found yourself in the wrong place this Saturday during the Grizzly Peak trail run held by Coastal Trail Runs at Tilden Park in Berkley. Most of the course was quite dry and very runnable, but the few sections that contained mud were... well, muddy, muddy, muddy.

I'm not talking about a little mud clumping to the bottom of your shoe muddy. And I'm not talking about a few mud puddles that you can tip toe around on the skirts of the trail. I'm talking about the kind of mud that will suck the shoes right off your feet and then belch loudly. The type of mud that will swallow small dogs and toddlers. This mud wasn't natural.

And if the mud wasn't enough of a challenge, the course also offered an assortment of other obstacles and booby traps including a fallen tree branch in the middle of one of the steepest sections of rocky single track. There you are, trudging up a 20 degree incline with your hands on your knees trying to catch your breath. Just when you think it can't get any worse, you look up and see a fallen tree limb blocking your path. WTF? Seriously? Damn you Wendell Doman! And guess what, if you are running the 30K or marathon distance, you get to do this section of the course twice. Yea!

And did I mention the rocks, tree roots, and three foot deep ruts? Yep, check, check and check. This trail had them all. I was never more thankful to be wearing my trusty Salomon Speedcross trail shoes, with their knobby mountain-bike tire style treads (see image). So you can imagine my surprise when some young stud blew by me on an extremely rocky descent wearing a pair of Vibrams. I never caught his name, but my hat is off to him!

Those of you who know me or have read my blog before already know that nothing makes me more happy than being completely miserable (out on the trails). So let me stop whining. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that the course was entirely rocky, rooted, rutted, and muddy. No, there was some great stretches of highly runnable trail and fire road, much of which provided beautiful breathtaking views. I didn't have my camera on me so I couldn't take any pictures myself, but here are a nice photo from the Internet that I think does justice to the beauty of the course.

It was a beautiful day and challenging course. I had actually run 24 miles up at Saratoga Gap the day before with my buddy Dr. Joseph Bistrain, so I decided to just do the short-ish 30K (19 mile) distance instead of the marathon. And rather than trying to race hard and potentially contend for a top finish, I took it easy and enjoyed the day. However, I suppose I did get a little competitive towards the end when I found myself coming into the aid station at mile 13 at the same time as Peter Hsia who had been slowly reeling me in over the past few miles by running all of the uphill sections that I was walking. (Peter is a stud and can run almost any hill, no matter how steep). Luckily I was able to put a little time between us by aggressively running the muddy sections with reckless abandon. Again, full credit to my Salomon Speedcross. Those things are animals.

Here's a link to the official results. As you can see, I ended up finishing in 3rd place with a time of 3:00:44, which is about 9:34 pace. Not too shabby for a "recovery" day. Thanks again to Wendell and the folks at Coastal Train Runs for organizing another great event.

The End.

Wooside 50K Race Report: March 26, 2011

Short version: Rain, rain, and more rain. We ran in ankle deep water for 31 miles, and I don't think my feet ever once touched dry land! Yet despite the conditions, and despite not taking in enough calories and bonking in the last few miles I still had a great day and hung on for 4th place in 4:36:00.

Long version: Last weekend on Saturday, March 26 I took part in the Woodside 50K trail event organized by Pacific Coast Trail Run (PCTR). This was essentially the same course as the Crystal Springs 50K course organized by Coastal Trail Runs (CTR) that I had run earlier this year in January. Those of you who read my blog will recall that I had a great race in January, finishing in 2nd place overall with a time of 4:22:08. This time around however the weather, trail conditions, and footing were far worse. Combine the bad weather with a few tactical errors on my part -- i.e., going out to hard the first 5 miles, not taking in enough calories, and wrongly assuming that my Garmin GPS was providing accurate speed/distance data in foul weather -- resulted in a time of 4:36:00 that was 12 minutes slower compared with my great performance in January.

The legendary track and field coach (and Nike founder) Bill Bowerman who once quipped, that, "There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people." And honestly, I can't agree more. Call me crazy, but I actually love running in cold, rainy, "miserable" weather conditions. Not only does the cold weather and wet conditions keep your body from overheating, but it also makes you feel tough. Which reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons about bad weather. More often than not, I find myself quoting the special forces guy, "I wish it would suck more". Ha ha.

Ironically however, prior to the race I had just returned from Orlando, Florida where the weather was 85 degrees and sunny. But don't get too jealous: I was there for a work conference and spent most of my time inside hanging out with other IT nerds, not lounging by the pool sipping beers (OK, full disclosure: I did manage to sneak out a few times with some buddies for a short run and post-run pool-side beer). So my body was probably a little confused as to what was going on with the drastic weather changes.

Anyway, at the start of the race I was chatting with Will Gotthardt who is a much faster runner than me (he has  run Woodside in 4:08 and 4:09 in previous years). As we stood there at the starting line getting ready for the gun, I kept telling myself, "John, whatever you do, don't try and go out with Will." Of course, the race starts and I find myself trying to stay right on Will's heels for the first few miles. Mistake #1.

I ran the first few miles in a pack of three people including Will and another runner named Cameron Berg (who would later go on to pull away from Will and win the race by about 15 minutes). Here's a picture of Cameron celebrating post race.

So my first mistake was in going out too fast with a couple of guys I had no business running with. But that wasn't the only tactical error I would end up making.

My second mistake is that I failed to take in enough calories during the day. Typically I carry a few energy gel packets (Vanilla Gu) with me. But on race morning I could only find one Gu in my race bag, so I figured I would just stop at aid stations and eat whatever they had available. But as the race went on, I found myself struggling to eat any solid foods that required chewing. As I would attempt to run, chew and breath all at the same time, little bits of uneaten Cliff Shot Blocks would fly out of my mouth with each exhale. So, as a result of not taking in enough calories I found myself slowing down (and even walking) the last 3 (mostly downhill) miles, which I would normally otherwise hammer!

My third mistake was that I wore my Garmin GPS and foolishly assumed it would be providing accurate speed and distance data even though we were running in tree-shrouded canyons on a very cloudy, rainy day. Nothing sucks more than looking down at your watch and wondering why it says you are running much slower than you expect, especially compared to the effort level you are expending. I kept running harder and harder during the first 10 miles thinking that I was only running 9 minute miles (when probably I was actually running sub 8:00 minute miles). So naturally I ended up going out to hard and expending more energy than I had planned. Note to self: If it feels like you are running too fast, you probably are.

Anyway, after losing sight of Will and Cameron I ran virtually all of the race alone, in solitude. However, somewhere around mile 18 I got passed by another runner, who I would later learn was Peter Duyan. I tried to hang with him for a bit, but he was running way too strong. So I settled in at my own pace, content to just try and hold on for 4th place. Luckily no one else passed me and I was able to keep 3 or 4 minutes between myself and the next runner, Judd Haaland.

In conclusion, I guess the takeaway is: 1) don't be an idiot and go out too hard, 2) don't be an idiot and run 31 miles with just one 100 calorie Gu packet, and 3) don't be an idiot and assume a consumer-grade GPS watch is going to work in a tree-shrouded canyon on a cloudy, stormy day. I guess we could further distill those messages down to the more condensed, "don't be an idiot" in general. Now, if only I could remember that advice next time...

Here's a link to the official results: http://www.pctrailruns.com/Results/2011WoodsideMarchResults.pdf.

Montara Mountain 50K Race Report

Short Version: John wins 50K race, sets new course record!

Long Version: This Sunday I took part in the Montara Mountain 50K in Pacifica, CA, organized by Coastal Trail Runs. The weather was ideal: cold, rainy, muddy, and miserable -- just the way I like it! However apparently not everyone else was as excited about the prospect of spending 5 hours or more out in the rain trudging up 7,000 feet of muddy, rocky, treacherous mountain paths. Only a dozen or so runners showed up at the starting line for the 50K race (though the 10K and half marathon races had bigger turnouts). And of those dozen or so, only 10 would go on to finish. So everyone who toughed it out and crossed the finish line could brag that they were a "top 10 finisher". And yes, I did manage to hold off the field for the victory (in 5:08:58). And since it was technically the first time that Coastal Trail Runs has held a 50K event at Pacifica, I also established (by default) a new course record. Woo hoo!

Although I've had a few 2nd place overall finishes lately including Cystal Springs 50K at Woodside in January and Summit Rock 1/2 Marathon in December, this was the first overall race win for me in a couple of years and my first 50K win since back in 2005. So I'm definitely excited. So what if I've actually run 25 minutes faster for essentially the same course back in 2009 at a Pacific Coast Trail Runs event. And so what if my first place finish was actually due, at least in part, to a very small field. A win is a win. And I'm taking it!

I don't want to bore everyone with all the minutiae of just how muddy, rainy, windy and cold it was. I doubt that anyone really cares how many gallons of water I dumped out of my shoes after the race, or how windy it was on top of the mountain, or how many times I narrowly avoided falling in the mud or twisting an ankle on a rocky descent. Suffice to say I was very wet, very muddy, very windy, and that I nearly met with disaster a dozen times or more. But at the end of the day, thanks perhaps to my tiger blood and Adonis DNA, "I'm Winning".

Here's a link to the official race results. And here's my Garmin Connect data that shows the course map, elevation profile, and mile splits.