Run, Koper, run

Another race that I did 7 weeks ago. I did not even make notes after the race, as I often do, so I'm writing this from memory... and as it is very faulty, well... This was a race that I probably should not have been running. Only two weeks after Mount Diablo , I was still tired from that tough race and my feet were still recovering (blisters). But, I felt like racing, Yohann easily agreed to join me, so there it was. With 1,770m of total elevation gain, I was hoping it'd be easier than Diablo and its 2,435m. I was hoping for a 5h finish. This was an unusual run for Coastal Trails, as 50k was the only distance. Normally the bulk of people is doing shorter distances with only a handful of brave souls going for 50k :D. But in this race that was the only distance and that meant that the 100 people that lined at the start all meant business. Also it was point to point, which is great (much more fun than going in loops), except we had to get up really early to drive to Rodeo Be...

This race was almost 2 months ago. My memory of it is not very fresh, so this is going to be a lousy race report but let me try. I woke up super early, as usual was worried of not having enough for breakfast so ended up stuffing myself completely. Not good. The drive goes smoothly but then there's a long queue for registration and for restrooms so I end up rushing to the start. Yohann is there with me. If you look at the map of the race 50k consisted of a climb to the top of Mt Diablo, then a large loop, then another climb and down to the start. So essentially two climbs. Two big climbs. In fact, Coastal Trail Runs have 17 different courses for their races throughout the year (I did 10 of them, few multiple times) and out of those 17 Mount Diablo is the one with biggest total elevation gain; 2435 meters overall. It's a brutal race as we were soon to discover. We started together with Yohann, at some point I was setting the pace but he was just few meters behind me. Before l...

Boy, how I hate Blogger... I lost this post... twice! It's now the third time I'll be writing it and...... seriously. Blogger; you so let me down. Sunday's long night run did two things to me: made me super tired and caused blisters on my right foot. After taking Monday off I went for a casual jog on Tuesday but it only made the blister situation worse so no more running during the week. And then on Saturday I was supposed to do Crystal Springs 50k with Coastal Trail runs and the big question was whether it was a good idea or not. Not running during the week could work in my favor, serving as a force taper of sorts. On the other hand the blister was not completely healed. As I was already registered I decided to give it a shot. Preparations for the race went very smoothly. I woke up early, drove to the start, picking up a breakfast sandwich on the way. I arrived with plenty of time to spare so had peaceful breakfast, picked up my number and was taking my time to get ...

Another day, another race, huh? The week leading to it was anything but ideal: I had to take it easy with my workouts as my calf was giving me some trouble. Not a great place to be just before a race. Surprisingly I got a decent night's sleep before the race; possibly a first for me. I woke up at 5:30am, before the alarm, and was out the door shortly after 6am. Warming up for the race I could feel my calf not being its usual self. However, sadly, for me "racing" and "taking it easy" are two concepts that never come up together. The previous night when I should be wondering whether I'll be able to finish the race, I was instead trying to figure out whether I'll be able to do it under 5 hours. Now, during the warm-up, when my calf was hurting and I should be seriously thinking whether in those circumstances I should be running this race at all, instead I was imagining that with only around 30 runners in the 50k race, I could possibly finish in the top...

So the day has come. As usual I sleep badly and when the alarm rings (Before 6. On Saturday. What an ungodly hour to get up on weekend!) I feel as if didn't get any rest at all. Quick breakfast and I'm on my way. It never stops to amaze me that there is a fair amount of cars on the highway. What are all those people doing at that time on Saturday? Surely they cannot all be crazy runners like myself? The drive is uneventful and I get there with plenty of time to spare. It's chilly so stripping down to a t-shirt and shorts is not easy, but I know that before long being cold will be the least of my worries. The loop starts with a steep ascent. I'll have to do it three times in the course of this race but there is some consolation in the fact that that's where most of the elevation gain is. Farily quickly I switch to walking. I see some people around me charging up the hill, trying to run no matter what, huffing and puffing. I do feel a certain degree of satis...

(What happened to the reports for weeks 39-42, you ask? Frankly not much was happening and I just didn't have an inspiration to write. My pedantic self will have to live with this hole in my running autobiography ;-). Last Sunday I had the Coyote Ridge 50K race coming up. I was looking forward to this race for two reasons. Firstly, I run the same course last year , so finally I would have a benchmark to compare against (comparing between different 50K races is tricky, as different routes and elevation gains can make quite a difference). Secondly, this was supposed to be my test for the Chimera 100 miler . Two weeks before I ended up not running the Diablo trail run , as my ankle did not feel 100% and I didn't want to risk another injury. So Coyote Ridge, mere 4 weeks before Chimera, was my last chance to do a test run and see whether I can face the daemon. My training leading up to this race wasn't ideal, so my goals were modest. The main goal, and one that I promised my...

So Sunday was the Big Basin 50 day; a race that I was so much looking forward to. Because of my cold I wasn't even sure whether I'll be able to participate. I was trying my best to recover until Sunday and I did feel a bit better but not completely healthy. Still, I decided to go. I learned with those long trail races that making pre-race plans is a tricky business at best. This time things were even worse because of the cold. Of course ideal goal would be to improve my personal best by topping my Horseshoe Lake result from only three weeks before (5:18:51). In principle that should be possible, especially that the race was featuring only 972m (3,190') of elevation gain and as much as 1,765m (5,790') of elevation loss. However, given my cold I knew better than to make overly ambitious plans. Apart from the course being point-to-point, instead of the usual loop, another novelty was the fact that on this day it was only marathon and 50K, with all shortest distances ...

Another Sunday. Another 50K to run. On Saturday I went for a hike . I was tired after the hike. And I'm tired when I wake up on Sunday. It's 6am, so I'm also sleepy. My left hamstring is like a barometer, it seems to give me trouble whenever I'm too tired or overtrained and it's giving me clear signals that things aren't peachy today. To top it all I forgot to replenish my supplies, so instead of a Powerade I'm going for the race with a bottle of Cola ;). Due to all those factors I didn't have my expectations too high. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that I already paid for the registration, it's quite likely I would have decided not to go. But I did. So I go. At least the drive goes smoothly, I reach the start and finish the toilet business just in time to run to the start and, without breaking stride, continue running into the race. Due to all of the above problems I didn't hope for a great finish time. I'd be happy if I made it ...

So, as I wrote in the weekly report , after some deliberations, I decided to run the 50K race this Sunday: Steep Ravine . Frankly, it didn't occur to me that the name is kinda scary, until now ;). The course was was a to-and-fro affair, which comprised 25K, so we had to do it twice. That meant that I'd have to run any given segment 4 times. Not ideal from the "sightseeing" point of view, but could actually help mentally, as it's usually tad easier to run over a "familiar" territory. Beautiful day, beautiful trail. It was a 1.5 hour drive and I didn't expect much traffic on Sunday morning, so this time I decided to sleep at home and drive there in the morning. That meant that I had to get up at 5:30. Five thirty. In the morning. On Sunday. I know plenty of people who would consider running 50K in the mountains a crazy proposition. Not myself. But getting up at 5:30 in the morning on Sunday to do so... frankly, I started questioning my sanity ;) ...

«The mountains are calling and I must go» — John Muir First the 160+K week in Yosemite , then a recovery week and this week I had the Coyote Ridge 50K coming up. Therefore I decided to take it easy. In fact I planned to do a bit more running before the weekend race, but ended up with only two short, fast runs (Tuesday & Thursday). Friday evening I drive to a motel in Mill Valley, where I am staying for the night. The race is at Muir Beach, which is a 1.5 hours away from where I live and I don't want to risk such a drive in the morning (the race starts at 8am). Iam planning to go to bed once I get there, but I am hungry and instead go out to explore. The motel is just next to a cutely named Strawberry Village, where I find a pizzeria and have my private pasta party. After dinner I go to bed but I don't sleep much. The motel is just next to a busy highway, so for me it's too noisy to sleep. But I'm used to sleeping little before races. Problem is, I didn't ...