After the award ceremony, we made our way back down from Snow Basin and arrived back to our Airbnb around 3pm on Saturday afternoon. I was pretty exhausted from all the walking and spectating during Karel's race. I also had a very odd niggle in my right knee (probably from the spontaneous running to get from one location to the next while cheering for Karel). I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed relaxing (and eating/hydrating) and around 7pm, I was ready for bed. I didn't have any nerves for the race so I found myself sleeping pretty good.
I woke up to the alarm at 6:30am and had my typical pre-race meal of a cup of instant Nescafe Gold coffee, water and a cinnamon raisin bagel, peanut butter and strawberry jelly. I did some foam rolling and mobility work and then went for a short jog around our complex. My knee felt better which was a good thing. It was nice not feeling rushed for the race. We arrived at 7:45am and it felt like I had forever until I raced. We hung out in the Snow Basin lobby for a while (downstairs) and then I did some more warming up before making my way to the start line around 8:45am. Karel was on his mountain bike so that he could spectate at various places on the course. He was really sore from his race so he had absolutely no interest in running the next day. Mountain biking while spectating was hard enough.
Although I had registered for this race a week before we left for IM 70.3 World Championship in St. George, I had no idea how I would recover. Within the 7 days from race to race, I tried my best to keep myself moving. Sunday was a 2-hour leisurely hike in Snow Canyon, Monday was a 1:48 bike/17 min run, Tuesday we swam (3300) before leaving for Ogden and then I did a short run when we arrived (22 minutes). On Wednesday I ran the big loop of my run course (some of Karel's bike course) for 80 minutes (8 miles) and on Thursday I did a morning swim w/ Karel (4000 yards) and an afternoon 2 hour ride around the reservoir and then up to (and down) Snow Basin. On Friday I ran the other part of my run course (57 minutes) and on Saturday I spectated Karel at his race. In total I did 18.4 miles of running between the two races. It wasn't until Thursday that I felt like my legs were finally starting to become less sore (the run on Wed) kinda helped. By Saturday, I felt recovered from the race - only to smash my legs once again.
With this being my 2nd ever trail race (and first at altitude), I knew it was going to be a challenge. I had no goals for the race and I knew the competition would be fierce with this being the trail run national championship. This race was all about me having fun, challenging myself and being in nature - all things I like to do when training/racing. I just had no idea how hard it would really be.
Quick Recap: In total, the race was 12.8 miles and it took me 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete (10:11 min/mile). I was 2nd in my age group (35-39). The race started at 6600 feet and went up to 7400 feet. In total, I covered ~2800 feet of elevation gain. For reference, the half marathon in the 70.3 at the World Championship in St. George had ~1500 feet elevation gain. I've never had to walk so much in a half marathon as my legs were just not able to run up the steep hills. My calves were screaming at me going up and my quads were yelling back on the way down. And the altitude was so tough! This all made for a memorable and challenging race!
We started the race with 2 "parade" laps around the parking lot for 0.9 miles. I am not one for sprinting when I start running so I was already being passed by a lot of runners. I thought that I would be able to make up some ground on the climbs and while I was able to pass some of the runners back, it eventually came down to who could walk the fastest up the climbs.
The 21K had two distinct sections. The first section was on some of Karel's run course. Since we were at a ski resort, we climbed up the mountain for 1.5 miles on rocks and gravel. It just kept going and going. I finally got to the downhill section (2.34 miles) but my lack of trail running skills made it tough to pick up a lot of ground. I also wanted to be courteous to those behind me so I often pulled over to the side when runners were behind me so that they could pass. Everyone was really nice, supportive and encouraging. Even when I passed another runner (which didn't happen a lot) he/she would say "great job." The 3.9 mile off-road section took me 38:55 (or 10:00 min/mile average). And I thought I was walking a lot but that wasn't until I got to the next section where I was making all types of deals with myself to try to run (but my body just wanted to walk).
Nearing Karel's bike course (up to Sardine Peak), my legs were already so sore and tired. I had two flasks with me of Orange Skratch (1 scoop each flask) and I also brought a sleeve of Ginger Chews (Clif). There was one aid station before the climb up to Sardine Peak and I regret not topping off my bottles with water as I felt myself rationing my fluids for this loop.
Next came a 1100-foot, 2.84 mile climb that took me 35 minutes (12:30 min/mile). I tried to run as much as I could but walking seemed to be the theme. I would tell myself - just run for 30 steps or run the downhill (for 10 steps) just to see if I could do it. But I was pretty tired and the altitude made it hard to push (and recover). Thankfully, my endurance and resiliency helped me keep going but it was a challenge to get to the top. I saw Karel near the top and it was great to see him. He knew how hard it would be to run this trail (as he just biked it during his race).
Once I finally got to the top, I had 3.29 miles of downhill (1260 feet elevation loss) to enjoy (8:48 min/mile, 29 minutes). Although I had gravity on my side, it was a lot of work to stay mentally engaged for almost 30 minutes of downhill running on rocks, dirt, roots, and switchbacks. But it was fun. I never worried about my pace but instead, I just used my watch to check off the miles.
With only 1 mile left to go, I stopped at the aid station to top off my flask with water (I finished my flasks of Skratch and had two chews) and I got some cheers from Karel as he biked back to the finish line. The last 1.8 miles felt like they took forever and even with the finish line so close, I still had to walk some of the hills as I made my way to the finish. I didn't have many athletes around me in the last 4-5 miles so while it was a lonely run, it was also very therapeutic as I was alone with my own thoughts. Anytime I found myself with a negative, ego-destructive thought, I immediately replaced it with something positive - often relating it to how lucky I am to be healthy and in nature, doing something that I enjoy with my body. This run experience was very humbling with so many fast trail runners (most of which live/train at altitude).
When I got to the finish line, I was elated that this adventure was complete. Two challenging events in 7 days. Our Utah race-cation was finally complete!
Here's some pics from the run course (taken during my training run - thankful I had an opportunity to enjoy the views before the race! The timing of this race was perfect as the leaves were just starting to change color):
