"Is it going to be as good as my Quicksilver 100K 2018?": that was one question in my mind. It doesn't happen every day to be third in my age group. In any case, this was also the perfect race to check where I was in terms of preparation for Western States Endurance Run 100 miles (WSER) this June, and to test out every piece of gear and of nutrition and hydration. I could try out and see what happens, it would suck to not do well here, but WSER is my target race this year! TRAINING
WHAT TO TESTGear:
THE RACEAnother test I wanted to do was how much a quick start impact my performance. As I approach the start line a few minutes before 4:30am, I join Pete, Ralf, and Rebekah, all strong runners of the Coastside Running Club, my club. Pete and Ralf are fast, faster than me. We start together, yet I realize that all the runners in front of us are kicking up dust that we breathe. I decide to push and pass as many as I can. I find myself running the first 3 miles, with more than 1200 ft ascent, 11:17 min/mile. I must be in the top 20, and while I walk the steepest portions, I push enough to keep my position. At least for now. The graph below shows the average speed over the elevation and distance. You can see that there is A LOT of climbing and downhills involved! Beautiful race though! After the first climbs it's time to go down, and I want to do it fast! I need to test my quads, there will be a lot of downhill at WSER. I run mile 14 in 7:19. I pass many runners on the downhill, and some pass me on the uphill. Same thing happens on the descent to the Kennedy Rd Aid Station. Is it worth speeding up that much and gaining those 15 seconds per mile? Who cares, it's fun! I get back to the Wood Road AS, 31.3 mi, half way, where I meet Loren again, and I sing to him "Tanti Auguri" for the second time. He'll tell me later that I ran a great half. I have slowed down a bit on the uphills already, but 6:04, 6 hours 4 minutes, is great. Will I do as well as last year, 12:48? My first time check against last year will be at Hicks Road #2 AS, where I told Veronica I'll be at 11:39am, 7:09 into the race. I reach the AS at 11:39am, exactly the same time as last year! Everything is going well, who knows, is this the year I PR at Quicksilver too? I get my hat against the sun, and I take off. I get to the Hacienda AS where I meet Veronica and Ken: Ken is an awesome athlete, I was very lucky to have her as my pacer the last 60+ miles or so at Tahoe 200 last year. She ran Quicksilver 100K last year, finished 3rd woman overall. She's now waiting for a lucky runner that she'll pace to the end. Last year she caught up with me exactly here, at the Hacienda AS, and I made the mistake to try and stay with her and her pacer Robert. I managed to do that up to the Mockingbird AS, 3 miles and a lot of climbs, and then I felt dizzy and I let her take off alone. I had to stop there for a few minutes, and then walk until I recovered. This year I could go faster if I don't have that crisis! I reach Mockingbird, where Don(ato) Aspromonte, one of the many awesome volunteers, takes a picture of me and Veronica. Notice the bib number 200 and Veronica's shirt? Coincidence? And I'm off! I'm still running, compared to last year's slow walk out of here. However, I'm 12 minutes behind, although I don't know it. And the fatigue catches up with me! I have to walk the last half mile to the next AS, Bull Run #1. I get there and I feel tired. Maybe it's because I slept no more than 30 minutes the night before, yes, if even that! The thought of waking up at 1:45am was killing me! So I keep on eating a lot of fruit, I eat a Spring gel, and drink Coke. That revives me, and after my slowest mile, 25 minutes including the AS stop, I get back to running. Definitely not as fast as the first half. This is also the hottest part of the day, a good test for me and my gear. The wonderful volunteers pour ice in my hat, and then I put it back on, and it definitely cools me down. The climb back to Bull Run #2 is hard, and I share a few miles with Ralf and his 15-yo son that is pacing him, amazing! I know that from Bull Run to the finish will mostly be downhill, and I know that once I make it there I'll be flying! I pass one runner on the way down, but I don't see any other the rest of the way to the finish. The terrain is technical in points, and very steep. My legs do very well in these conditions, and I get to the finish in 13:14:47. I'm proposed a massage, and I accept, and for 30 min I enjoy and suffer Owen's treatment. I then eat the food of the incredible BBQ at the end, pulled pork, coleslaw, beer, blueberry pie. I wish I could eat it all, but it's not easy after such a prolonged effort. Meanwhile, Don goes and checks my official placement, I'm 28th and 3rd in my age group! Yeah! Not bad, considering that on ultrasignup I was 11th out of the 40+ runners. He hand me my big medal, and I take a picture with Suki, 3rd in her age group too! We're happy as kids! What's the plan for WSER?
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