Pacifica 50K
Well, this was my fourth year at PCTR's Pacifica trail running event. I'm so experienced I remembered, offhand, the address I had to punch into my GPS (600 Oddstad Blvd) to get to the park!
Unfortunately, I've had too many things going on for the last month or two, so I was stressed and tired when I woke up this morning. Worse, I had a sore throat, or at least a part of it was sore. Let's call a spade a spade: I felt like crap. Lying there with the alarm going off at 6:00am, I semi-seriously contemplated just skipping this race. But I am too thick-headed not go to a race I've already paid for, so I got my butt in gear, coffee in a mug, climbed into the car and drove to Pacifica.
I was a little worried, truth be told. I hadn't run anything longer than 15 miles since my last 50K of 2009 on December 6. Also, it's been raining cats and dogs for about two weeks, and I wondered if the run would become a mud-fest up and down the hills of the San Francisco penninsula. Standing in line for the bathroom, pre-race, somebody asked me if the course would be "conditioned"(!) I.e., sand put over bad spots, etc. I told the guy no, what you see is what you get. At least the rain had let up for the day, and we would only be exposed to a very short shower during the day.
Wendell started us all promptly at 8:30, and I joined the crowd pressing their way through the narrow trails towards the North Peak, a climb of approximately 2,000' in about 3.5 miles. Once I got moving, I felt pretty good, and just enjoyed the spectacular views along the way. The trail had some muddy spots, but nothing that stuck, which was a relief. There were some huge puddles on the fireroad near the summit, which I just went right through.
After reaching the peak, one of the first things I saw on the descent was a guy off the side of the trail, puking about a gallon of sports drink out onto the ground. Little early to be self-destructing, I thought. Then, I enjoyed the incredible view from the firetrail: I could see for miles and miles out over the Pacific, the city of Pacifica, and spotted a beautiful rainbow over it. I was grinning ear-to-ear as I took a right down the technical single-track back to the aid station/camp grounds.
What followed was a double-dose of the Hazelnut Loop, which includes a mind-bending climb with about 30 switchbacks that never seem to end. Every time you reach a point you think might be the summit, the trails doubles back and takes you higher. Running this stretch takes patience. The first time around, I felt a little worried again - I thought I was too tired for so early in the race. By the second time, I actually felt slightly better - I guess I'm just "out of practice". 50Ks aren't exactly a walk in the park, and it's not always easy sledding.
Finally, I started in on my second ascent of the North Peak, catching up to the second-overall female, and passing her (I did end up getting chicked by F-1). In fact, I passed another runner as I kept up a good running motion all the way to the top. The miles were beginning to take their toll, though, and as I ran back down to the base camp, my quads were complaining loudly. Even downhill, I had a 10:15 mile (on some very technical terrain), and another 8:45 mile - hardly a good pace on a descent.
With about four miles left in the race, I faced the toughest part of the run - the Hazelnut Loop, for the third time. Climbing the switchbacks was like taking a glimpse into hell. I swear the climb was longer! The more I ran, the more I slowed down, and soon I was walking at least half the time. Every time I thought I'd crested the summit, there was another twist in the trail, waiting to take me higher. Boy was I relieved when I finally began the last descent.
I reached the finish covered in mud, about 5 and a half hours after I had started. I had also torn holes into the outer layer of both my shoes - this was not a gentle course. But the weather had cooperated, and all in all, it was a great day to be running those hills around Pacifica. No wonder this race sold out all distances.