Sycamore Canyon 30k

This race felt more like Buns of Steel workout part 2 for me. It was easier than Malibu Creek, but not by much. Coming into this race, I've been feeling really tired mentally. I can deal with physical tiredness, but my mind was just not 100% there. It was like this as well at the Pasadena marathon. Good thing I really love running or else I would just bag it and stay home.

The reason I ran this race was because my friends were going to be there. Hard to believe, but I had initially planned to take this weekend off so that I could rest for the upcoming weekend where I'll be running the Carlsbad 5000 five times for an all day 25k. Also I like being around trail runners. I think they are a completely different breed of runners, probably very high on endorphins.

On to the race... it starts promptly at 8:30 and I started off at a modest pace. I just wanted to take in the views and run a relaxing trail run without caring about the finishing time. But my natural tendency kicked in when we started our first climb. This one girl aka The Bunny takes off and I just followed. She must have gotten tired of me following her because she ditched me a few times, but I caught up to her on the inclines. About 9k later, I reached the first aid station. PB&J's are the best!

The next 12k section was not my favorite. There were sections where it's just climbing. You just didn't have the option of running. It was pretty scary coming back down. Somewhere in the middle I caught up to The Bunny again. But she took off with a group of 6 runners that came up to us. I could not keep up. This was when the race got pretty lonely for me. I crossed this huge grassland area with no one in sight, no one in front and no one in back. The single track was a hard V-shape. I must have rolled my right ankle at least 5 times. I just said to hell with it and walked. I was then passed by a bunch of people. The rest was kind of a blur. I was also in a bad mood because I had ran out of my fluids. Looks like I really do need 2 handhelds. As I was closing in on the aid station, my friend Rachel passed me. I'm pretty sure she knew I wore myself out early on chasing The Bunny. The right ankle was not feeling so hot and the quads were trashed. I hit the restrooms right before reaching the aid station. While the nice folks filled up my bottle, I ate a bunch of PB&J's and a bunch of potatoes. I must have looked like crap because this one old couple that I passed on the way to the aid station offered to drive me to Sycamore Canyon. I said I may look horrible, but I'll get there... it's only 9k more.

For the final 9k it was getting hard running the downhills so I ended up walking the downhills and slogging the uphills. Right before I crested on the final uphill, I passed a girl that asked if I was Pony. It turned out to be Renee. My mind at this point was already on a search for a boulder to sit on, so I welcomed the company. It was nice of her to pace me to the bottom. My quads were not liking the downhill, but our conversation kind of distracted me from the burn. Before I knew it, we were at the finish line. I was kind of spacing out. I just remember Lori telling me to stop eating the food for the 50k people.

I finished close to the bottom at 4:10:45, but I didn't care because I had fun. One thing I've got to do if I want to continue doing trail races is that I really need to get some trail shoes. I don't feel very safe in my road shoes. I know I have pretty strong ankles and pretty quick on my feet, but I don't want to push my luck. My right hip did not bother me. I really hope it will just work itself out. When ever it starts bothering me, I immediately going into the Gallow-walking mode.

One final note: the day that I sign-up to run a trail ultra race is the day that I've completely lost my sanity. No amount of runner's amnesia will get me to sign up for one. :D