To start, this was a race that my wife actually suggested. I thought it was great to have her ask me if I wanted to go run a race in Moab. Her best friend, Heather and her husband Mike we're going to be there with another family. Mike and the other guy, Kyle, were going to run the 33K and I decided it would be a great jump on my season to train for the 55K.
The night before I really worked on my piriformis as I picked up a nagging issue that started deep in my glutes and radiated down my hamstrings. It got worse during the long drive out, as to be expected, so I used my LAX ball to try and work things out.
We drove out to the start on race morning in Mike's truck and I had the earlier start at 8am compared with their 33K start at 8:30am. I decided to wear my AK vest so I could skip aid stations and save some time. I used Tailwind for my fuel and hydration with 250 calories per hour in a 20oz. bottle.
I started off by climbing right out of the gate, about 300 feet over that first mile. A lot of people went out fast, but I kept it in control and let people pass me. I just waited to settle into my groove. By the second mile I was headed downhill and I picked up the pace quite a bit. I could really feel my piriformis issue, but I was cruising right along around a 7:30 pace. I hooked into a group of guys and we ran together until we hit the steep climb up Gemini Bridges. This is where the course starts really climbing up onto the mesa. The first aid station was here around mile 4.5 or so, but I had what I needed and planned on skipping this AS, so I just cruised on through it.
I climbed another 1000 feet or so as I made our way out on the 55K loop to the top and at the edge of the rim. The climb up was a challenge, steep and hard to course-find with a bunch of us looking around for the ribbon. I didn't want to stop moving so I started up and hollered at everyone when I found the flags and cairns. Once on top, I could look down to where I started 1000+ feet below us. It was an amazing site to see with Arches in the background. This loop curved around and began dropping back down to the second aid station at mile 12.5. I was really feeling my glutes and legs from my muscle issue, but I was out there and I was on a mission. I refilled my bottles with Tailwind and water and set off, back down the road.
The next section was lots of sandy, dirt road as it made it's way back down to where the first aid station was located. I came back through the third/first aid station and, once again, kept right on going, per my plan. This was around mile 17 or so and I was starting to feel a little better with my issue in my glutes. From here I kept going back down the road to where I split off from the 33K course. Coming back down that road, I realized how steep it was going up as I had a hard time balancing just flinging myself down it and checking my speed a bit to preserve my body/keep in control.
At the split, I continued to the right along more sandy road. Once I came around the corner around mile 18.4, I started the last big climb up to the rim of about 1000+ feet. This was where I started to hurt a little bit. As I headed up to the rim, I had to climb up a Jeep route that was made for Rock Crawlers. Lots of ledges to climb up, or drop down. Lots of rock to traverse and climb as well. It's also when the heat of the day really hit. I just kept my head up and looked where I was headed and kept one foot in front of the other, but you could view the destruction it was having on the racers. I passed a ton of people here as they dealt with the heat and the climb. But I definitely had my own struggles and noticed I was getting twitchy in my legs. I am not used to that as I haven't gotten that feeling in a long time and it was way too early in the race for that. I wasn't worried, but paid close attention to it and made sure I kept my hydration on schedule. Once I got to the top, I hit the aid station and was thrilled. This was a tough section and I was happy to be at the top of it. I refilled my bottles again and got on my way. This section was my slowest of the day.
From here I began to float along the rim for a bit, all on slickrock, up some small climbs and back down. All of the climbs were steep feeling as they went straight up, and then straight back down. This was tough as you never really got a break from the work that you had to put in. This is a good point to say that mentally, this was a very tiring race, too, as it was quite technical in most spots and you had to stay focused. On top of that, the rock was really starting to get to me. I felt as though I was constantly running across the rock at an angle that fell off to my right. This felt like it was putting quite a bit of stress on my left ankle on the inside as I ran. As I write this, I am really paying close attention to it as I feel like it could still be a bit stressed from the angled terrain I was running on. At the finish, my friend Mike said the same thing and that he was feeling it in his ankles too. I remember thinking that I just wanted to run some dirt road for a bit to take the stress off my legs/ankle. Of course, when I got my wish, it was soft, sandy road that was just as tough for different reasons!
I began to move away from the rim and began our descent toward the last aid station. I was yo-yoing with my race plan all day. I would get ahead of it and then struggle a bit and get behind. I came into the last aid station exactly on schedule, but really was in need of something. I wasn't sure what, but I ate some oranges and they were delicious! I poured water over my head to cool down as well. I looked at my watch and saw that I had about 56 minutes to make it six miles and come in under six hours. That was going to be a serious stretch to get done, but I decided that it was only one hour of suffering and I had it in me. I had a bottle of Tailwind and I filled some water in my other one, as I was craving just water, and I headed out of the AS. I bore down and ran the entire last section, save for some funky work I had to do along some ledges and drop-offs. It was pretty much all downhill and made for an easier way in, though not a walk in the park. I saw a guy snapping pics and he yelled to me that there were only XX miles left..."what?" hollered back? I didn't get it, but thought there were only 2 miles left. I wasn't sure really since I thought the race was 34 miles and I still was a bit short on that. As I made my way down the road that dropped quickly toward the river, I started seeing more people along the side and knew I was almost there. I finally came around the last corner and saw the finish. I looked at my watch and knew...I did it. I made it in 5:52:16 and I was thrilled!
Of course the first thing I told my wife was take this damn vest off me and I don't want to do that race again. Funny, as this is what a running buddy told me from his experience last year. I am not sure if that weighed on my attitude for the day or not, but it was the first thing out of my mouth. Of course, after I got refueled with some Recoverite and made my way to the beer garden, I said I would probably do the race again. Though I would try and find a way to prepare for that rock and heat. All in all a very enjoyable race and Valentines Day weekend with my wife. We did a nice little recovery hike in Arches the next day which was a great capper to the weekend!
I climbed another 1000 feet or so as I made our way out on the 55K loop to the top and at the edge of the rim. The climb up was a challenge, steep and hard to course-find with a bunch of us looking around for the ribbon. I didn't want to stop moving so I started up and hollered at everyone when I found the flags and cairns. Once on top, I could look down to where I started 1000+ feet below us. It was an amazing site to see with Arches in the background. This loop curved around and began dropping back down to the second aid station at mile 12.5. I was really feeling my glutes and legs from my muscle issue, but I was out there and I was on a mission. I refilled my bottles with Tailwind and water and set off, back down the road.
The next section was lots of sandy, dirt road as it made it's way back down to where the first aid station was located. I came back through the third/first aid station and, once again, kept right on going, per my plan. This was around mile 17 or so and I was starting to feel a little better with my issue in my glutes. From here I kept going back down the road to where I split off from the 33K course. Coming back down that road, I realized how steep it was going up as I had a hard time balancing just flinging myself down it and checking my speed a bit to preserve my body/keep in control.
At the split, I continued to the right along more sandy road. Once I came around the corner around mile 18.4, I started the last big climb up to the rim of about 1000+ feet. This was where I started to hurt a little bit. As I headed up to the rim, I had to climb up a Jeep route that was made for Rock Crawlers. Lots of ledges to climb up, or drop down. Lots of rock to traverse and climb as well. It's also when the heat of the day really hit. I just kept my head up and looked where I was headed and kept one foot in front of the other, but you could view the destruction it was having on the racers. I passed a ton of people here as they dealt with the heat and the climb. But I definitely had my own struggles and noticed I was getting twitchy in my legs. I am not used to that as I haven't gotten that feeling in a long time and it was way too early in the race for that. I wasn't worried, but paid close attention to it and made sure I kept my hydration on schedule. Once I got to the top, I hit the aid station and was thrilled. This was a tough section and I was happy to be at the top of it. I refilled my bottles again and got on my way. This section was my slowest of the day.
From here I began to float along the rim for a bit, all on slickrock, up some small climbs and back down. All of the climbs were steep feeling as they went straight up, and then straight back down. This was tough as you never really got a break from the work that you had to put in. This is a good point to say that mentally, this was a very tiring race, too, as it was quite technical in most spots and you had to stay focused. On top of that, the rock was really starting to get to me. I felt as though I was constantly running across the rock at an angle that fell off to my right. This felt like it was putting quite a bit of stress on my left ankle on the inside as I ran. As I write this, I am really paying close attention to it as I feel like it could still be a bit stressed from the angled terrain I was running on. At the finish, my friend Mike said the same thing and that he was feeling it in his ankles too. I remember thinking that I just wanted to run some dirt road for a bit to take the stress off my legs/ankle. Of course, when I got my wish, it was soft, sandy road that was just as tough for different reasons!
I began to move away from the rim and began our descent toward the last aid station. I was yo-yoing with my race plan all day. I would get ahead of it and then struggle a bit and get behind. I came into the last aid station exactly on schedule, but really was in need of something. I wasn't sure what, but I ate some oranges and they were delicious! I poured water over my head to cool down as well. I looked at my watch and saw that I had about 56 minutes to make it six miles and come in under six hours. That was going to be a serious stretch to get done, but I decided that it was only one hour of suffering and I had it in me. I had a bottle of Tailwind and I filled some water in my other one, as I was craving just water, and I headed out of the AS. I bore down and ran the entire last section, save for some funky work I had to do along some ledges and drop-offs. It was pretty much all downhill and made for an easier way in, though not a walk in the park. I saw a guy snapping pics and he yelled to me that there were only XX miles left..."what?" hollered back? I didn't get it, but thought there were only 2 miles left. I wasn't sure really since I thought the race was 34 miles and I still was a bit short on that. As I made my way down the road that dropped quickly toward the river, I started seeing more people along the side and knew I was almost there. I finally came around the last corner and saw the finish. I looked at my watch and knew...I did it. I made it in 5:52:16 and I was thrilled!
Of course the first thing I told my wife was take this damn vest off me and I don't want to do that race again. Funny, as this is what a running buddy told me from his experience last year. I am not sure if that weighed on my attitude for the day or not, but it was the first thing out of my mouth. Of course, after I got refueled with some Recoverite and made my way to the beer garden, I said I would probably do the race again. Though I would try and find a way to prepare for that rock and heat. All in all a very enjoyable race and Valentines Day weekend with my wife. We did a nice little recovery hike in Arches the next day which was a great capper to the weekend!
