I had been sick most of the previous week, and was still congested. Dimple pleaded with me not to run the race, but I felt that I was good to go and I promised her that I would take things easy.
I woke up at 5:00AM, showered, had breakfast: some buckwheat waffles topped with frozen berries that I warmed up on the stovetop with honey and butter, and a cup of strong green tea. I finished my preparations, and started hydrating myself with water. I decided to bring only a single-bottle waist-pack with a 22-oz bottle filled with Gatorade Rain, with the idea that there will be fluids on the course. I was out the door at 6:30 and arrived at Malibu Creek State Park, in Calabasas around 7:00. I warmed up by jogging from the car to the check-in and back again, then used the rest room, and jogged to the starting line. It was 7:30. After making the runners wait around for about 10 minutes, the starting horn went off.
I had heard that while the first seven miles where demanding, the second half was mostly downhill. My strategy was to expend 75% effort in the first half, where we would gain 2000-2500 feet of elevation, and coast for the rest.
The race started out at a good pace with everyone in good spirits. I saw a guy running barefoot, which didn't seem like a good idea considering that much of the race was spent running on jagged rocks, but he said that it was "good for the chi". To each his own.
By mile 2.5, we made our way to the base of the Bulldog trail, the steepest and most feared portion of the course: 3 straight miles of uphill with a 2000 foot elevation gain. Within a half mile, most participants were walking. I had pre-run this portion, so I was pretty confident. I spent most of the Bulldog running 75% of the time and power hiking 25%. I was passing people left and right. Most were doing 25% running and 75% walking. I was working hard, puffing, and tiring myself out but I figured as soon as I get to the top of Bulldog, I'll be alright.
The Bulldog ends at the Castro Crest, which came up at mile 5.5. Boy, was I glad to get there. At the start of the race, we were promised the Crest would be sunny, with beautiful views of Malibu and the Pacific Ocean. Boy, were they off the mark. It was so foggy, you couldn't see for 50 feet. The trail turned into a downhill, and I took it rather hard. Because of the speed and difficult footing, I was starting to feel hotspots on my feet. I decided to stop and re-tie my shoelaces, hoping that would help. It didn't. My feet were starting to feel pretty banged up from the downhill pounding on the rocks.
At mile 6.5, there was an aid station at the Corral Canyon parking lot. I was feeling very tired, but I figured the rest of the race would be a breeze. 90 minutes had gone by from the start, and I was half-thinking of calling Dimple, who was meeting me at the finish, to let her know I would finish in less than an hour. At this point, I made a critical error. I failed to refill my water bottle, which was about two-thirds empty.
The fog got thicker; visibility down to about 20 feet. The trail was also more difficult to make out since we were at the ridge and there was little vegetation and thus little to mark a trail. I was desperately trying to stay within sight of the person ahead of me to avoid getting off the trail, or even falling off a cliff.
I was starting to worry about my fluids, as the aid station at mile 8 turned out to be just a medical station with no water available. I only had about 3oz left, and I knew I'd have to make due with this for four more miles.
The gentle downhill I was hoping for actually turned into steep up-and-downhill rocky trail. An intense tiredness took over me. The steep downhills were killing my feet, and I could no longer run the uphills. Many of the people I passed on the Bulldog were starting to pass me. Around mile 7, a bunch of people bunched up on a single-track trail.
Running with the group gave me a lift. We hit mile 10 at exactly 2 hours into the race. By that point, I had an overwhelming feeling of hunger coming deep from my core. In the pack, the conversation turned to pancakes and other food. It was too much. Soon the single-track turned into wide trail, and the pack broke up. I had a small energy bar, which I tried to eat, but couldn't stomach due to the fact that I didn't have any water left.
The next mile was very long. Out of water and very hungry, with my joints pounded on the steep downhills, and my feet burning up on the uneven footing, I found myself walking more than running. My problem was now my walking muscles were starting to ache as well. I started to run to rest from the walking followed by walk to rest from the running. I continued to alternate until I heard traffic from the Malibu Canyon highway, signaling that the aid station was close.
At the aid station, at mile 12, I filled up on water and Gatorade. Refreshed, I set out onto the short stretch on the highway to cross over Malibu Creek. At this point, my hamstring cramped up. I had to stop right on the road until the pain subsided, as I couldn't walk or run. The cramp came back a few minutes later, and I had to take it easy for the rest of the flat.
The last hill started at mile 13. The hill was tough, so I spent much of it walking. It seemed like the top of the hill would never come, but soon enough, it did. Knowing that I only had a half-mile left to go, I picked up the pace, and took the (thankfully) gentle downhill as hard as I could. As I turned to the finish, I saw Dimple and Josh cheering me on. I crossed the finish line at around 2 hours, 44 minutes according to the big clock at the finish. (Later, I found out that my official time was 2:41:55, meaning that the clock was a few minutes off.) After 14 miles of steep, rocky trails and approximately 3500 feet of elevation gain and loss, I was finally done.
As soon as I crossed the finish line, I took off my shoes and socks and poured water on my burning feet. Luckily, the anti-blister socks I was wearing worked and I had no blisters the next day. I did have a couple of bloody toenails though.
The following week, I registered for the Bulldog Run, a 25K in August that follows the same route but adds a couple more miles.
Here are some photos of Josh waiting for me at the finish:
Here is me finishing:
No comments:
Post a Comment