Folsom Lake Trail Run-My First 50K

I was ready when I awoke at 5 A.M (well, as ready as one can be that early) I turned over in my bed and turned off the air purifier I had turned on the night before. I got up and pulled all of the running Clothes I had brought with me onto the bed after a lengthy process I decided on the right combination of clothes that I would wear for the day. After taking my clothes to the bathroom, I took a quick shower and began to mentally prepare myself for the day. After I showered, I prepared my backpack full of Gu’s, energy bars, and what have you.

After leaving my grandparents’ house and following the GPS to Folsom point, I parked the car, gathered my bag and walked over to the sign in station after getting my racing Bib I learned that depending on the color of the Bib determined which length of the race you were in. I looked around to see who was in the same distance as I was at first I could only see some older guys, but as the race drew near more people began to show up. As the race time drew closer they gathered the 35k and 50K’ers up next to the start line and gave us the typical going over they say for every race.

As 8 came by we all started progressing on what would be quite a long day. As I jogged towards the first aid station with my way too heavy bag for the occasion I realized that there was no way I would be dragging all this weight while being able to run in comfort so I decide when I reached the first aid station I would Ditch the bag and pick it up on the way back. When I made it to the first aid station (10k turnaround) I took off my bag and grabbed my BYU-I water bottle along with one stick of Gu Chomps. I quickly turned around and began my adventure with a lessened load. One detail that I forgot to mention was that it had rained the night before which proved as much a blessing as a curse. On the positive side the pollen from the trees and the weeds were to a minimum; however, the moisture clung to the weeds and left my shoes and socks soaked. Luckily I knew, I might have needed another pair of socks so I brought a couple in my bag, which I left at the aid station.

Beginning of the Folsom 50k

So back to the real excitement, as I made my way at a steady pace I tried my best to keep up with those that passed me. When I came up to the next aid station (Half Marathon turnaround) I grabbed a few pretzels, filled up my water bottle with water again. And began the next session of trail not much happened during this session of running beside a lot of drinking water and the occasional Gu Chomp. By this time, I found a trick to efficiently save time to drink water. Whenever there was a decent incline, I would start power walking up the hill and drinking at the same time.

Between watching the view of the lake and the occasionally nice house that was next to the trail at certain sections of the race I was content with everything continuing down the trail. When I reached the point of the next aid station I was confused for a little bit because the aid station is located above the trail you are on and going to continue on. The climb up to the aid station was a small challenge, however when I got there I filled my water bottle with Nuun and had a few more pretzels (what can I say they were looking pretty good!). I then walked back down the hill (don’t want to twist my ankle just yet!) For some reason these last four miles seemed to drag on the longest and was the point I started drifting between jogging for a couple of minutes and walking for what seemed like too long. Every corner, I rounded I would look over at the shoreline and try to find the last aid station so I could focus on a point and regain some strength and mentally prepare myself to reach the halfway point. When I crested the top of the hill I saw that the aid station was about half a mile away. I jogged down at a quickened pace ready to take a break and refuel myself with what the aid station had to offer.

When I made it to the aid station I asked for the time and began to help myself to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, jelly beans, pretzels, and anything else that caught my gaze. As I stood there I talked to those who worked at the aid station and thanked the man who had marked the course for us who was also sporting the same Hoka One Ones as me. After lengthy much need conversation I decided it was about time I started my way toward the finish. I walked up the hill and began to jog until those who were approaching the turnaround me were in sight and I stepped off the trail occasionally to let them go by on the single track trail. It took a really long time go the four miles to get back to the aid station (35k turnaround).

Getting back to the aid station was infuriating, the endless amount of going around corners, and it never seemed to end. When I made the climb up to the aid station I was feeling the exhaustion in my legs. But when I reached the top I ate some food, filled my water bottle with water again, and delighted myself to some more conversation before I trekked forward on my perilous journey.

Somewhere between this aid station and the next, I went over an incline that seemed to destroy my legs, in fact, when I looked down, my calves seemed to implode on themselves. It hurt like a Charlie horse and forced me to stop and let my legs recover from this sudden bout of agony. As my legs were recovering I drank some water and tried to recall the rest of the trail I would have to go back on. Eventually, the pain subsided and I went onward through the trees. To keep myself from walking too much I did my best to run the downhills and use any Kinetic energy gained from the hills to return as much potential energy before slowing and walking up the rest of the way.

Only a couple miles to the finish!

It took a while before I made it anywhere and I kept thinking to myself how many shows I could watch on Netflix while I was going, but I finally got to the point where I had another break and could dine on some more sweet treats (Half Marathon turnaround). As I talked to the girl at the aid station, I learned she was from Houston, TX, where I would be spending the next two years. As intriguing as the conversation was and how glad I was to not be moving anymore, I realized that I was only prolonging my experience and had to continue on and finish.

This next section of the race was a little quicker than the last because I knew I only had so many miles left before I could put on a dry pair of socks and how great my feet would feel after that happened. As I was thinking to myself, I thought about all the mysteries of life like “Is camping food actually as good as it tastes after a long backpacking trip or is it just the fatigue that makes it so tasty?”. Getting lost in these little reveries was a definite comfort as it allowed me to numb the pain in my legs.

I had to laugh at one point when I remembered reading about Rob Krar and his approach to dealing with pain in RunnersWorld magazine. I spent a moment, trying to practice his approach when I realized that wasn’t going to work for me. Several different approaches to dealing with the pain later I settled on my go to memory of Disneyland. I don’t know why, but I always remembered that feeling you get in your legs after you spend hours on your feet like standing in line for a ride at Disneyland. I probably remember it that way because every year my Parents built up enough frequent flyer miles to take all of us every year. For those of you who have been to any amusement park, you can probably relate to those unforgivably long rides. And for those of you who can’t relate it’s like waiting in any given DMV office just to get back in line once you get your five-minute turn.

So anyways, I kept thinking to myself eventually there will be an end to this line and then I’ll be able to rest. As I made my way through the trail I wiped some sweat off my face and realized there was a decent amount of salt that formed over the course of the day. When I realized this I reminded myself to eat a lot of Pretzels when I got to the next aid Station. I began to walk a little quicker or, the same pace, but it felt faster, I couldn’t tell because my only sense of time was the sun and that wasn’t very reliable when trying to count down the minutes. Whenever I saw a trail down to the lake I was always extremely tempted to run down and fall into it, but I knew that wasn’t going to help in the long run so I kept on the trail and began to cling to the shade of the trees.

After all of this monolog, I made it to the last Aid station (10k Turnaround). I walked over, grabbed my backpack and took out a fresh pair of socks and spent a long time trying to put them on. Through the sore muscles and the wet socks, it was a miracle that I got ready to make my final departure towards the finish. When I got my shoes back on I drank some more water and filled it back up with Tailwind. I took a salt pill to help regulate my salt loss or something like that. I felt a lot better with dry socks and left the aid station at a nice pace now carrying my backpack and was certain I would be done very soon. I wasn’t completely accurate on that last part, but it did give me some extra strength to make it through a couple of miles before walking again.

When I reached the last open area where you see the last mile leading to the finish. Normally in a smaller race this would be the perfect situation for a great kick! However, in my current state I was only fit enough to keep walking and build up strength for a 100-meter kick. When I got close enough My Mom cheered me on as I gave my last ounce of energy to run into the finish line.

Directly afterward I was congratulated and handed a shirt, two medals, and a cup. Spending the next couple of hours talking to the others and thanking the race directors for the hard work they put in to make the race work, I ate some of the “after race” food. After all of the fun I could stand, I left my new friends and returned to my Grandparents house. After a long shower, I went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and had some quality time with my Family.

I had a wonderful time at this race and can’t wait to compete here again. Next time I’m going to prepare for the dreaded poison Oak and Train a little earlier. Another big thank you to all those who helped out at this event! Without you there is no way any of us would be able to race.

The Redding Marathon

it was cold, not so cold to be wearing sweats or running tights, but cold enough that you had to move around every other second to keep from cramping up. It was 6:30 in the morning, I had just finished taking my shower and was in the car with my dad. It was dark as we drove down the freeway towards Redding California. I had all the things I would need, a hydration pack, my Mp3 loaded with various music, and nutrition bars that I planned on eating before the race. The clock slowly drew closer to the start of the race as we got closer to the point I was to be dropped off at. My hands began to shake, while my heart started to beat faster trying to anticipate the pace my body would have to get accustomed to. I took one of the energy bars out of my pack and began to eat it, even though any form of hunger had left along time ago. As we neared the start I began to contemplate what I had gotten myself into.

 

I had just came off my second season of Cross country with the local High school. I had improved immensely from my freshman year, and I felt unbreakable. I had heard from my friends Cody G., Clayton, and David that they would be running as a relay team in the Redding Marathon, and Cody McDonald would be running by himself for his senior project. I decided to find a team of my own. Two weeks of looking, and no one wanted to run. I decided to go solo. I always wanted to run a marathon anyways. I had two months to train, Plenty of time to get in shape.

 

However, as the winter approached my grandmother died from cancer. This put a halt in my training. My family decided to stop in Sacramento before the funeral with my other grandparents before heading to Nevada. Fortunately, there was going to be a track meet at UC Davis. I decided one race was better than none. Weeks later the funeral was over, I was back in Yreka, in worse shape than when I had left. It was days before the race and I had been unprepared to even run half a marathon.

 

There I was standing next to David, and Cody M. A couple minutes passed and the starter raised his microphone and said “ runners get ready!… THREE,TWO,ONE!” BANG! People began to push each other trying to get a better position. As adrenaline pumped through my body, any thoughts of trying to maintain a pace had left me. As I ran I admired the view off of the Shasta dam. The wind stung my face, in a refreshing way that woke me up and kept me alert.

I passed the first mile feeling great with a time of 6:00 min, I thought to myself “Only 25.2 to go! How do people think this is hard?” Minutes later I found myself at Coram Ranch Road (3.25) where the first aid station was. I grabbed one of the white dixie cups filled with watered down Gatorade. I downed the drink and tossed the cup aside and kept running. As I approached Matheson Mine (6.4) my stomach lurched. “Uh, Oh” I thought. I shouldn’t have eaten KFC the night before.

Three miles later and I was at Keswick Boat Ramp (9.6). As I ran by there was not a bathroom in sight. I began to get frustrated. I kept on running with the hope that there might be a bathroom ahead. I picked up my pace trying to stay calm. When I reached Yellow Gate (12.70), I looked around for a bathroom. NONE! I was desperate as I kept running hoping that I would find a Bathroom soon. At mile 13.1 I gave up on ever finding a bathroom, so I found a place off the road that wasn’t visible from the main trail. As I started back up my legs had grown weak, I felt the lactic acid start to seep into my legs. I tried to maintain a steady pace while fighting off the pain I felt in my legs. As I kept running, I was amazed at how many people passed me within a couple of minutes. Minutes later, I found myself at a four way trail intersection where different parts of the race converged together. I thought  that I was almost done, so I started picking up my pace at Middle Creek trailhead, (14.65) thinking I would be done within the hour. My legs grew weaker as I began to do intervals of walking and running. First it was more running than walking, then the later.

The thing about Middle Creek trailhead I was unaware of at that time is that you start heading back toward the start, and one thing you do not want to do is go the opposite direction of the finish line. At this point, my legs had given up on me completely and I could only keep dragging one foot in front of the other. My only motivation that I had, was that I needed to get to the finish line so I could get picked up. As I kept up my slow stagger, mile after mile there would be the occasional biker who would say

“Good Job!” or “you’re doing great!” which rather than making me feel more confident, got on my nerves . I kept thinking to myself “ No this is not great, I didn’t train for this I could do better, way better.” At that point in my life, I made a vow to never be unprepared. I also promised myself that if a biker came within distance and said anything I would tackle him off the bike with the last of my energy. I finally saw the Middle Creek Turnaround (16.13) and could start heading back in the direction of the finish line. When I reached the Middle Creek trailhead(17.61) again, another agonizing hour had passed and I still kept moving even though every step felt like I was going to collapse.

It took another hour to finish the next section of the race at the South River Trail.(19.72). There I was back at the Middle Creek Trailhead finally crossing over a bridge to  the other side of the river where I would finish. While walking I met a woman who was in as bad of shape as I was. As we both made our way to the next aid station the Harlan Drive Cul-De-Sac,(23.69) we parted ways while I loaded up my bag with food. I began to jog knowing I was close to the finish. The Sundial bridge appear and I began to run faster. As I  turned onto the bridge, the black banner loomed overhead. I broke into a sprint. And within seconds it was over, and I began the road to recovery.