Preparing for the Grand Finale

2015 was supposed to build up to doing a 120 mile trail run in early October, the Big Foot 120. My training was all about trying to catch up after taking July and half of August off completely from running. I had to squeeze in long runs on the weekend mornings, and I had no time at all during the week to run. I would get up Saturday morning and head out the door. I enjoyed a few sights around West Seattle.


The Ladies near Salty's Resaurant

 

An eclectic neighbor

 

 

The grapes must have been good because there was only one left! (near the top of the picture)



 

I was getting nervous about the distance and, especially, the elevation gains on the race course. Two weeks before the race, I dropped down from the 120 mile to the 100K distance. I ordered my SPOT device for tracking, and started preparing my drop bags with food. And then, the week before the race I came down with a cold. I probably could have prevented it by taking better care of myself. I was staying up late at night working and I wasn't getting enough sleep. I hoped to improve, but I pulled the trigger and dropped out of the race on Wednesday before the race. I was disappointed, although I tried to look at the positives:

1) I still felt crappy on race day so I knew I made the right decision.

2) The weather was terrible. I heard reports of 60 mph winds on the ridge. And rain, and sleet, and hail. One woman got hypothermia.

3) I wouldn't have seen any of the lovely views from the trail because the weather was so bad. And I signed up partially because of the views. I planned on taking lots of pictures along the way.

4) I got to watch the race online via trackleaders.com as it followed everyone's SPOT devices! That was very cool.

 

It's time to look forward and get excited about what lies ahead.



Tehaleh 5K

 

I was going to run the Tehaleh Half Marathon last weekend, but I didn't feel fully recovered from the Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon the weekend before. So, I opted to do the 5K and invited my daughter to join me. It was a sunny day. Mt. Rainier was looking bold from this area near Bonny Lake, WA. I wish I had gotten a picture. What a difference from when I ran this race 2 years ago in the rain.

This area is a beautiful place to run. The course included some paved paths, but mostly gravel paths. My girl is doing the Northwest Trail Runs Winter Trail Series so I'll be posting about those throughout the winter!

Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon

 

Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

 

The Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon was September 19th. I've waited too long to write about it! That's what happens when I let work get in the way. My work load has been overwhelming lately. After successfully completing a half marathon and marathon the week before, I figured doing some hills was next on my crash training schedule for my 120 mile trail race in October. So four days before the Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon, I decided to do the race. It was a race up and down the mountains a few times at the ski resort -- about 9,400 feet of elevation gain.

Sunrise at the base of Crystal Mountain

The starting line
I woke at 4:30am Saturday morning and went through my pre-race routine of eating breakfast and giving myself time to use the restroom. Then, I made the two-hour drive to Crystal and arrived in plenty of time to register and get my race number. The morning was crisp and clear. It was a small group of runners and we were all excited to get started. The first three miles were an uphill climb. The sun felt good, and I loved the smells of mountains. Ahhh, it felt good to be on the hillside and working up a sweat. I reached the aid station at the top of the gondola. Mt. Rainier was out in all of his glory. I love it up there! I wasn't in last place, and I was feeling good.

Gondola aid station

Gondola to Sand Flats (7 miles)
I was looking forward to heading down the ridge and in to a bowl on the way to Sand Flats. This area is my favorite area to ski at Crystal! It looked much different without snow. The grass was tall. I was able to pass a few folks on the way down. Somewhere along the way, I got stung by a bee on my ankle. Ouch. Bee stings usually hurt so much but running through this one seemed to lessen the pain. Thank goodness. When I arrived at the Sand Flats aid station, the volunteers said I was about the 7th person to say they got a bee sting. I'm still feeling pretty good, and almost half way to the finish!

Heading into a bowl

Sand Flats to Crystal Mt. Road (4.5 miles)
I continued downhill after the aid station, and now I am all alone. Lonely and starting to get tired. The clouds had rolled in and it was misty. I was disoriented and it felt like I was going way off course. But I kept seeing the confidence flags so I knew I was going the right way. Then, the course made a sharp left turn and started heading uphill. I was out of gas and needed more fuel. I had some Gu and soon reached the next aid station at Crystal Mt. Road.

Crystal Mt. Road to Gondola (6.5 miles)
This is where the uphill really started. Wow, it was steep, and never-ending. I went uphill for a long time. I tried not to look at my watch. I didn't want to see how fast the time was slipping by as I inched my way up. My GPS beeped a mile - 17 minute mile. Someone slowly passed me and we chatted a while as they went by. He did this ridge two weeks ago to prepare for the race. I told him I thought he was crazy to come back and do it again. My GPS beeped a mile again - 40 minute mile. I passed someone who was having muscle cramps. It beeped again - 43 minute mile. I started worrying about making the cutoff time. I ate a lot of Gu, Electo-bites, and Shot Blocks along the way. I finally reached the bee sting area and was happy to be back in familiar territory and close to the Gondola aid station again.



Climbing back up to the top of the gondola. The path is marked with pink and yellow flags.

Getting close to the top! (Photo by Glenn Tachiyama)



The gondola aid station didn't have the same view of Mt Rainier as it did a few hours earlier.

On the trail back to the base, and the finish line!

Gondola to finish (4 miles)
I planned to spend some time at the aid station refueling, but it was windy and cold now. Mt. Rainier was hidden somewhere in the clouds. I grabbed my coat out of my backpack, stuffed food and drink in my pockets from my drop bag, and headed out, this time the course skirted us around another part of the ski area. I was happy to be going downhill again. After all, the finish was at the base of the ski area. But wait! There was one more climb around mile 23. It was about 500 feet up to the Pacific Crest Trail. I had to stop at this trail intersection for a moment, not because I needed a rest but because I had been there a few times about 40 years ago backpacking with my family, including my mom. It was a bittersweet moment and I took a picture of the signage to show my dad. Coming into the finish line was pretty cool. Everyone watched and cheered as I came down and ran under the blow-up arches. The race director gave me an awesome hand-made finisher's medal. I loaded up a plate of pulled pork, beans, and corn on the cob; and sat down to cheer more finishers as they crossed under the arches.

Intersection with the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail)