Siskiyou Out-Back 2012

Once of the amazing views along the SOB course

It's strange - for some reason, I seem to have run my least favorite races way more than my most favorite.  Portland Marathon - not too scenic and a strangely painful course - 3 or 4 finishes.  Siskiyou Out-Back 50km - incredibly scenic and the first time I ran it I had a great time - but it took me 3 years to return to the race.  I seriously need to reverse this pattern.

Leading up to SOB, I was really unsure of where my fitness was and how I'd do.  I've been having issues with plantar fasciitis for several weeks now, and my legs felt heavy during my taper.  I've also not been able to get in the mileage I'd hoped for this summer.  But, having said all that, I knew I could finish a 50km, and decided to just run with the intent of enjoying the race.

After we got into Ashland Friday night, Ross and I headed out to what had previously been one of my favorite restaurants for my pre-race burger and beer.  Unfortunately, my 'rare-ish' request came back as just plain rare.  I picked around the edges and left most of the very red and bloody burger on my plate - then stressed all night about having food poisoning during my race.

I woke up Saturday morning before the alarm, made some breakfast, then hopped in my truck for the short drive to Mount Ashland.  I've had an issue with not eating enough before races - this time I got a very large bagel covered with  peanut butter and honey down, which seemed to do me well.  I had planned on eating a rocktane gel every 45 minutes, but at the last minute changed plans and switched to the EFS flask that they handed out at the race start.  Generally not a good idea to switch foods the day of the race, but this actually worked pretty well for me.  Before when I've used my Hammer Gel flask, I have eaten about every 30 minutes (good), but haven't eaten as much as if I'd used a gel packet (bad).  This time, I took a 'sip' off of the gel flask almost every 15 minutes, which seemed to help me balance out the timing/volume issue.

The morning was cool and clear.  I got there in time to help cheer for the 50 mile racers as they started their day, then an hour later, at 7am, I was following in their footsteps headed south on the Pacific Crest Trail.

This summer has turned out to be a bit different - and a bit more stressful - than I had originally anticipated, and in the first few miles, I let my mind wander away from the task at hand.  Then, about 2 miles into the race, I found myself flying through the air then landing unceremoniously in the dirt.  Stood up, brushed myself off (well, as much as I could.  The sunscreen I'd slathered on helped the dirt form a thick paste over my right side).  Some blood, not too bad, and I was off down the trail again.  If there is a good side to falling, the early fall helped me focus, which is a good thing, because the SOB course is awesome.  Most of the course is on the PCT - single track, mostly dirt.  Plus, it gave me a lot of attention as several runners commented on how dirty I was and the aid station volunteers were very concerned about getting me cleaned up.  There are a few sections on gravel roads that are mostly used to prevent conflicts between the people headed out and those coming in.  The scenery on the course is amazing - the course follows the ridgeline, varying between shady pine forests and open meadows.  Each meadow was different than the others and all covered with blooming wildflowers.  I was glad they didn't give us the wildlflower guide that was written for that route until after the race, or else I would have had a much slower time.

I tried to keep my pace under control for the first half.  The course starts around 6500 ft., and fluctuates between about 6800' and 7200'.  I felt mildly nauseous the entire time, but figured it was altitude, not calories, fluids, or salt (in addition to the EFS, I was eating about 75 calories at each aid station and drinking at least 1 cup of coke).  I really wanted to practice being okay with this feeling and keeping my heart rate in check despite the elevation, in practice for Waldo.  I kind-of surprisingly hit the turn-around in around 2:45, feeling great.  I'd remembered the climb up to the turn-around being harder the last time I ran this.

Pure joy (and my "Most Ashland" winning outfit)

I titled this blog "Seeking awe" because there is an experience that you can get sometimes - different than the runner high, but similar in being in that place where you are both outside yourself and completely within yourself at the same time.  Where you can't help but be struck by the spendor and wondrousness of everything around you.  Those moments where the experience itself is breathtaking.  I had about 10? 20? 30? minutes of that heading back to the finish.  The trail was flat to gentle downhill, following a rocky ridgeline, with meadows directly below me and rows of mountains stretching off into the horizon.  I didn't feel my feet on the ground, my breathing was effortless, and I was struck by the pure beauty of it all.  Pure joy.

Eventually, I was brought back to the task at hand by an aid station.  I hit the second to last aid station still feeling good, and decided to start pushing it.  ...and then the uphill started.  The uphill seemed runnable, but my legs disagreed with my eyes.  Luckily, everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way, and I even managed to pass a few people here.  Last aid station and I decided to find what I had left.  Sprint until I couldn't move.  I had an awesome last 4 miles, 8 - 8:30 minutes/mile (fast for me for the end of an ultra).  I hit the last 1/2 mile of pavement sub-8, I'd passed a bunch of people and knew I was going to finish under 6 hours.  Then suddenly, about 200 meters from the finish, a tall thin man passed me -- no way!  I tried to match his pace ... ummm... nope, that wasn't going to happen.  He passed me like I was standing still.  Turns out, he was the 2nd place finisher in the 50 miler that had started an hour earlier than me.

When all was said and done, I finished in 5:53:58. 25th woman, 93 over-all. Previous time was 6:01:23 -- and I felt so good.  Ross had run 13 miles from Ashland to the top of the mountain and got there just after I finished (I was convinced I'd take at least 6 hours) - but it meant so much to me that he was there.  ....and the woman handing out the grab bags decided that my clothing earned me the "Most Ashland" award.  Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  Whatever.  I like my skirt, and I like my pink.