This past Saturday, I participated in my first 50k ultramarathon up in Big Bear, California. Training for this event started back at the beginning of July, with a 15-week training block that gradually built up mileage and elevation gain. The buildup was nice and steady over those 15 weeks, slowly adding mileage and elevation gain. My largest week of volume was 53.6 miles and 7,870 feet of elevation gain, with a nice little taper that included the Baldy 5000 race one week before the Kodiak, which left me a little beat up.
Now, let’s get to the 50k. I drove up to Big Bear on Friday, the day before the race, to pick up my race pack and sit through a quick race briefing to get the full experience since it was my first ultra. After experiencing the expo, I headed back down the mountain to Orange County to pack everything for the race so we could leave early the next morning.
Here we are, Saturday morning, super excited, waking up before the alarm to get up the mountain. David, my crew chief, pulled up to drive us. Luckily, I had packed all my bags the night before, so we just hit the road. We arrived in the shuttle bus parking lot at 7 a.m. I had a couple of minutes to change into my race gear before boarding the shuttle to the start line. Just my luck, as we sat on the bus, I realized I had forgotten my phone in the car. We exited the bus and ran to the car to grab my phone along with my headphones, which I would have greatly missed during the race.
We finally jumped on the bus and made our way to the start line, only to find a huge line for the porta-potties. Luckily, we had time, so we hopped in line. The line didn’t move, so I might have jumped out and found a nearby pine tree to water. I slipped into the starting corral with the other 580 racers for the national anthem and countdown.
The race started, and everyone made their way out of the corral and onto the course. The first quarter mile was on a bike path, with plenty of space for the runners. As soon as we hit the trail, we were packed in like sardines. Once I found my spot in the snake line of racers, I made my way to the first aid station. Things felt really good; the altitude wasn’t affecting me at all—maybe adrenaline helped with that. We ran on single track for a good 4 miles before things opened up onto a fire road, giving runners more room to pass and settle into their positions.
We arrived at the first aid station, surrounded by runners. I finished the water and electrolytes I had on me, refilled with a little water, and mixed up more electrolytes for the next section. As soon as we left the first aid station, we hopped onto a single-track trail and headed uphill for a bit. Around mile 9, while making my way down the trail with a group behind me, I kept glancing back to make sure I wasn’t holding anyone up. One of those times, I snagged my foot on a rock and Supermaned onto the trail. Luckily, I wasn’t injured, so I let the group pass and then jumped back in behind them, laughing at the incident. I made a mental note: “You took a spill at mile 9.”
This was the part of the course where I felt I could do really well, so I got into the zone and headed for the next aid station. I arrived a little earlier than planned and took a quick restroom break before heading out to meet my crew around mile 19. This section had a big downhill, which I took advantage of. I felt really good and picked up the pace.
I arrived at the aid station where my crew was set up, right on pace to hit my goal. Unfortunately, in the moment, I forgot to add more water to the bottle with my electrolyte mix, so it became super concentrated and hard to drink. Coming out of the valley, we faced a 2.5-mile uphill, and my legs were zapped from running into the aid station. I struggled to run uphill, so I transitioned into a power hike.
During this section, the wheels fell off. I didn’t know there was another aid station at mile 25. I ran out of water, and my upper back started tightening up because my hamstrings and quads were fried. Luckily, the aid station appeared, and I was able to refill on water and get myself back together for the final stretch. I probably drank a liter of water and ate three or four pickles.
We headed for the finish line. I felt good and started picking up the pace. As I passed one runner, I snagged my toe on a rock and almost went down again, but I managed to recover. The runner I passed cheered me on, saying, “We got this; we’re in the final stretch!” I gave him a quick fist bump and continued down the trail. Unfortunately, my back got so tight that I had to take breaks every half mile.
With 3 miles remaining, I kept repeating how much I had left: “Just 36 minutes to enjoy this amazing experience before it’s back to work for the next buildup.” I ended up letting a good group pass me because my back was shot. Around 2 miles remaining, I took a quick 2-minute walk break and then got back to work.
The last 2 miles were awesome, with regular hikers on the trail encouraging us to make it to the finish line. Once I hit the bike path, I knew I was close. A runner I had been yo-yoing with all race stopped just before the final tunnel under the road to let me pass. He must’ve been feeling it too. My adrenaline was pumping, and I knew I had to finish strong. Closing in on 7 hours, I wanted to break that barrier. I picked up the pace and closed in on a couple ahead of me but slowed down a bit so we could each experience the finish line on our own.
I finished in 6:50:36, 198th overall. I had a lot of fun and am excited to get back to work—I’m ready for my next one.
💻Global Warming:
422.11 parts per million (ppm) CO2 in air 14-Oct-2024 LINK
🚀Road To 1=1:
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