leona divide 50 miler

you can ask me where lake hughes is: i submerged both my feet in it on the morning of the 21st of april. SHIT! as i step out of greg‘s car (we’ve become race partners) and into the only puddle in the entire parking lot. no, make that the entire town! this is freaking lake hughes i’m standing in!

it is quite warm inside the community center, where runners nervously sip hot drinks to wash down those bus-sized costco muffins they’re shoving down despite the knot in their stomachs and the ever growing potty line. my shoes and socks seem to have dried.

angels in the kitchen

the night before we gathered in the community center for check-in, dinner and race briefing. we were greeted by friendly ladies from the community who volunteer their time so that runners can have a memorable pre-race gastronomic experience. we do. we were served salad, roll, a generous helping of spaghetti and a choice of cake for dessert. i special ordered a bigger slice of carrot cake, and was given a huge slab, with extra frosting. (i paid for it later). the race is a non-profit event and a large share of the proceeds are donated to the live again recovery home (is that where we’re taken after the race?) and the painted turtle children’s camp.

the pct

a few years ago my husband was talking to a neighbor about women. ‘what’s your favorite body part?’, glenn asks. ‘the one my hand’s at’. that’s how i feel about races: the one i’m running is always my favorite, and remains so until the next race. during the leona divide 50 i had the opportunity to run 34 miles on the pct (pacific crest trail), a trail that runs along the us west coast from mexico to canada. i had run on it before, on a camping trip to kings canyon and yosemite national parks, but only for a meager 7 miles.

the pct is 2,650 miles long and features 300,000 ft of elevation change. its highest point (forester pass) stands tall at 13,153 ft. running on the pct is a humbling experience, whether you run 3, 30, 100 miles of it and realize how little ground you’ve covered considering the length of the entire trail, or you venture out on a complete crossing of the us on it, and come to humbly respect the power of nature — and at the same time marvel at its majesty. (watch ‘the runner’ to live a bit of david horton‘s touching experience running/hiking the pct for 66 consecutive days in an attempt to set a speed record).

the race outcome

i was worried about not making the 13-hour finish cutoff. i completed my first 50 miler (avalon benefit 50) in 12:32. according to the study on relative difficulty among ultra events conducted by gary wang and published on the ultra list on march 21st 2007, leona divide is a bit harder than avalon, a fact that was also confirmed by fellow octr sue, who has run both races. considering i spent a significant time at aid stations at avalon (33 minutes total) my main strategy for leona was to get in and out of aid stations as fast as i could. i also decided not to bring my camera (hence no photos on this entry) to save a bit more time. it was a most pleasant surprise when i, at the 42.6 aid station, realized i could make it in under 12 hours. i was 9:59 hours into the race, and had 3 hours to complete about 8 miles. 4.5 miles of steep climbing followed, and i tried to keep a steady power walk pace. i was able to conserve energy by not running at that point, and therefore could fly the last 3 (downhill) miles. finish time was 11:47:46. pain was not so bad on sunday. i even ran on monday.

the lesson

so one thing i noticed about front runners: they either carry NOTHING or just one handheld bottle. i’m sure this is partly because they are done so fast, they don’t need much during the race. probably one gulp of water or gatorade at the aid stations, where they stop for about two seconds.

me? i’m a back of the packer, but still i can learn from them. i’m guessing i had about ten pounds of gear on me. ok, so maybe two or three pounds are really indispensable stuff (clothes, shoes, socks, hat, sunglasses) and my personal musts: my garmin and my ipod. but what about the other 7 or 8 pounds? well, here’s what i remember i carried (there might be some stuff i’m forgetting, as it’s been a while since the race): i had a jacket and gloves that i wore for maybe one hour and had to carry for the following 10 hours and 47 minutes. i had a double-bottle waist pack and one handheld bottle. that’s two times 22 oz plus 20 oz. 64 oz. that’s already 4 pounds just there. i obviously had my garmin and my ipod. well, then inside the waist pack i had:

plenty of first aid items, (used none)
a vast selection of drugs, (used ibuprofen and succeed caps)
4 gels, (used two)
2 baggies of trail mix, (used none)
a can of pepper spray, (did not use)
a whistle, (did not use)
4 extra servings of cytomax, (not used)
3 ginger candies, (not used)
1 spare battery, (not used)
chapstick. (used many times)

lesson learned. so at bishop (that’s tomorrow) i’m carrying my gps and my music, and one handheld bottle with chapstick, 4 ibuprofen pills and 6 succeed caps. nothing else. i’ll probably feel somewhat obsessive, unsafe, almost naked. but i need to fight my habit of hauling tons of stuff with me so i feel “safe”. not just running, but in general. just weighed the overstuffed tote i cannot leave the house without: 9 lb.