Mount Disappointment was my first ever California trail
race. It didn’t come under ideal
conditions, but I was really excited to experience first hand what all the buzz
is about. I signed up for it because I
couldn’t resist. In the mountains just east
of Los Angeles, it was close enough to drive to the night before and then be
able to drive home after the race on Saturday.
And it would be my first taste of a California mountain race!
So there were lots of great reasons to do this race, and I
couldn’t resist. Due to a largely
inactive summer trying to shake injuries, I was not in great shape. This would also be my first attempt at a race
of any distance since dropping out of TNF50 in early June. My only concern, then, was to have fun and
finish without re-aggravating my knee. Only
in mid-July had I begun to experience gradual progress toward being able to run
normally again, so I was a little nervous and planned on paying close attention
to how my knee felt throughout the race.
It ended up being an outstanding experience and a ton of
fun. I drove to the top of Mount Wilson,
where the race starts and finishes, on Friday evening and was greeted by the RD
and a group of volunteers still working hard to make all the necessary
preparations for the race. The vollies
were all spending the night there under the pavilion on their cots. I found a little secluded spot in the woods
near the parking lot and set up my tent.
It was a nice relaxing evening, hanging out with the volunteers, who shared
s’mores and wine with me, and enjoying a beautiful sunset.
It was pretty warm sleeping in my tent that night…even in
just my underwear and outside my sleeping bag, I woke up several times feeling
a bit clammy and uncomfortable….
Early to rise the next morning, I rolled out of the tent and
walked up to the pavilion to register, as other runners had already begun to
do. There was a lot of talk about how
hot it had been in that area lately and how hot it was supposed to be that day.
 |
| Probably taken by Fausto, the friendly race photographer! |
The race began with about two or three miles down the road
that leads to the Mt. Wilson summit.
During this descent, we got a nice view of Los Angeles to the west, with
the sunrise from the east casting it’s light over the mountains and on to the
shiny buildings.
I was very uncertain about this race. It had been so long, it seemed, since I had
done a race, that I didn’t remember how I should pace myself. On top of that, this was likely going to be
the most difficult course I’d ever run.
And on top of that, I wasn’t really sure what kind of shape I was in –
whether or not I had retained some of my pre-injury fitness, and if so, how
much?
So because of all that uncertainty, and the fact that I was
excited to be in a race again, I think I went out at a bit too high of an
effort level. However, I think the
biggest detriment to my performance was indeed the heat.
Two weeks prior, I think, I had gone to a training run on
the second half of the Cuyamaca 100K course.
It got extremely hot (like 100F+) and I, along with several other runners,
had insufficient water/fuel. After that
run was finally over, I felt some pretty serious effects of heat
exhaustion. I was dizzy, nauseous and
light-headed. After about a half hour of
sipping fluids and sitting in my car with a bag of ice on my head, I started
feeling better. But it was enough to
make me realize that I am not very acclimated to running for a long time in bad
heat.
In the middle of the Mount Disappointment 50K, there is a 5
or 6 mile climb which ends at I think mile 22…or 24. I forget, exactly. The point is, it’s 5 or 6 miles of consistent
uphill on a narrow dirt road that is completely exposed to the sun, which was
a’blazin’. I had been feeling great for
the whole race, climbing quite well and descending smoothly, until about
halfway up that climb. There was then a
quite precise moment when I just crashed.
My legs felt no different, but my energy level simply dropped through
the floor. And it never returned. I walked basically the entire remainder of
the race. It was incredibly hot and my
body just couldn’t handle it. After that
long exposed climb, there was a few miles of downhill in a canyon. I even walked much of that, as it often felt
like I was baking in an oven. I was
actually happy when I got to the final aid station after that and they told me
the 5 miles of the race that remained were all uphill, because that meant I
didn’t have to feel bad about walking the whole way :D And they were, and I did.
 |
| More thanks to Fausto for the finish line photo |
When I finally did finish, in over six and a half hours, I
was perfectly happy. While it was
extremely uncomfortable for the last few hours, I still loved the fact that I
was taking part in my first California mountain race, where the volunteers were
great and the climbs were serious. It
was definitely the hardest race I have participated in, mile for mile. This particular experience was probably more
difficult for me than any race I’ve done 50 miles or less. Hell, it took me about the same amount of
time to cover these 33 miles as it did to cover 50 at JFK last year. Granted, I was not exactly prepared for this
race, so this isn’t exactly an objective portrayal. But the course is indeed very difficult. I really don’t think there is any more than a
half-mile or mile total of flat terrain in the whole race. The entire course is either taking you
downhill for anywhere from 2-6 miles, or uphill for 2-6 miles. It’s awesome.
And I love it. And I’d love to
take another crack at it.
No comments:
Post a Comment