Running is Likened Unto Life: American River 50 Mile Endurance Run

I am still in CA and wanted to get a post up reporting on the race. I plan on updating this race report with more details and put together a video when I get back to ID, but until then this will at least give everyone a brief report.

Everything came together on April 8, 2011 for an enjoyable time on the trails between Sacramento and Auburn. I had a great day both in terms of having fun and my body feeling great. The weather was beautiful. it was sunny and started out in the upper 40s and ended in the mid 60s. During the two weeks previous to the race, as you all know, I was battling a cold and sinus infection that had me feeling physically wore out. In hindsight, the extra rest during the taper period may have been just what my body needed because I felt very strong for the entire race.

I finished in a time of 10 hours 23 minutes. My 26.5 mile split was 4 hours 58 minutes. My average pace in minutes per mile at this point was 11:15 (this included all the stop time at the aid stations and restrooms, my running pace was between 9:00 and 9:20/mile) and I was in 412 place out of the 600 finishers (over 200 people entered and did not finish). I ran the second part of the course (the trail portion) in 5 hours 25 minutes (included at least 30 minutes of stoppage time while I changed shoes and attempted some first aid on my feet). My average pace over the entire race (including all stoppage time) was 12:28 and finished in 310 place overall. I followed the advice given to us rookies from the veterans at the pre-race briefing to go out slow so you can finish and stay ahead of the cutoff times. During the first half I maintained a very conservative pace and felt great. After changing into my trail shoes at mile 27.5 I hit the trail and passed over 100 runners before the finish. In hindsight I could have went out faster because I had a lot left in my legs after the finish, but not having run a 50 miler before, I did not know how my body would react and respond to the stresses throughout the day.

I picked up Marilyn at Rattlesnake Bar (Mile 40) and she paced me to the finish. It was nice to see her and the kids. From mile 27.5 to 40 the trail was very technical with lots of mud, water, and boulders on narrow single track. I had to work hard to get around slower runners because of the narrowness of the trail and the obstacles on the sides of the trail. The only physical issue I had was at mile 39 when I noticed a odd felling in both of my big toes. I stopped took my shoes and socks off to discover large blood blisters under my toenails (the dreaded "Black Toenails"). I had never had this happen before so did not know what to do. I was worried about the effect this would have over the remainder of the race. At Rattlesnake Bar, I popped the worst blister and put band-aids around both toenails. They continued to bother me a little over the remaining 10 miles but it was not to bad. Now my concern is the healing process and the effect on my preparation for the Pocatello 50K at the end of May.

I will get the video up ASAP.