“The Stevest” Race Recap
“The Stevest”
course welcomed me back in the only way that it knows how. Just over a mile in
to the race, it reached out and slapped me to the ground – hard. According
those running behind me, I hit the ground, did a perfect forward roll, and ended
up back on my feet running. I thought I was going escape without any further
damage, but just when I was feeling a bit “full” of myself, “The Stevest” reached out twice more and slapped
me to the ground on the third and final lap. My right knee has the look of
having been run through a meat grinder.
“The Stevest” crew
gave us some prerace instructions around 7:45, and we were off and running at 8
am. The temperatures were better than last year. The high only got to about 88
degrees vs. the 95 degrees last year. I settled in running with Kim for most of
lap one. I was walking the steep sections, and I was running everywhere else. I
decided to adopt this strategy for this race because I wanted to test out some
ideas in preparation for my 100 miler later this year.
The second lap I ran solo. I really don’t remember much
about it aside from feeling the heat and humidity ramp up.
I came in after the second, grabbed my last CamelBak, and
headed out. I was actually feeling pretty good starting this lap. I probably ran
those first few miles a little too hard. I caught a couple of people which were a few minutes in
front of me.
Then, I settled in to my usual pace. I was on one of the switchback
when a rock snagged my foot and down I went. The 3rd occurrence on
an easy section. I was tired and not watching my footing and went down.
After my numerous falls last year, this year I decided to
wear gloves. Maybe it looked dumb wearing gloves, but they saved my hands, and they also worked great for wiping away the sweat.
I ran my first lap in roughly 2:35, second lap in 2:40, and
my third lap in 2:45 for a total running time for 43 miles of 8 hours on the
nose. I knew it was going to be close, and I was pushing hard in the wrong
sections. My quads didn’t like this, and I had to slow for a bit to let them
recover. Then, slowly I started pushing the pace again. However, it just wasn’t enough to
break the 8 hour barrier.
I was happy with my race. Running 8 hours was about 70 to 80
minutes faster than last year. The temperature helped, but what really helped
was improving my hydration and nutrition.
I felt solid the entire race.
Big shout out to the “The
Stevest” guys. They did an awesome
job with this race. I foolishly missed signing up before it maxed out, and I had to wait list. Yet about a week ago, I got
an email asking if I still wanted to run it. I clicked on “accept” immediately.
I also want to give them a kudos for adding ropes to the “Death Valley” descents.
I used them with every lap.
Anyone building for a fall race needs to make “The Stevest”
part of their training plan. I used it last year in my prep for a 50 miler.
This year, I am using to propel me toward both a 50 and 100 miler
this fall.
Just remember, it isn’t if a fall will happen, it is when
will it happen.
The Cool Down Runner
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