Pigtails 50K at Lake Youngs

The first race of the year 2010 was Pigtails 50K at Lake Youngs Trail in Renton, WA. The weather forecast had been favorable for the race day, but it turned out to be rainy all day and the temperature stayed at 44 deg F.

The 50K course had 3 laps of 9.6-mile loop and a 2.2-mile out-and-back section. First lap was supposed to be run in counter clock-wise and then next two laps were left for our choice either clock-wise or counter clock-wise. After 3 laps, we went out 1.1 miles in counter clock-wise and came back to complete 50 Km distance.

There were a little more than 160 runners at the start line including 1-loopers, 2-loopers, and 50 Km runners. We all started at the same time at 7:30 am running down very steep hill section. There were more up & down hills than I anticipated, but they were mostly short hills so that I could manage them. The trail condition was getting worse as the rain added more muddy puddles. When I finished the first lap, I felt pretty good considering those somewhat challenging hills and the first lap time of 1 hr 26 min which was 4 min faster than my target lap time. I refilled only one of the two empty flasks that I consumed during the first lap, because I still had two untouched ones on my belt and thought three would be enough for the next lap. I grabbed a small piece of PB&J and a cookie, and then headed out for more running.

During the second lap, my shoes got soaked and I felt uncomfortable especially on my right foot as swollen skins were wearing out, but it didn't bother me too much not to keep my pace. I could see many people began to run in opposite direction (clock-wise) and said hello to them. When I entered western section of the loop, I noticed the narrow trail was too muddy or watery to run through there. I stepped out of the trail and ran along the shoulder of the paved road. Fortunately, there was no traffic while passing that section for the entire time of the race. As I approached toward the aid station, I noticed I drank all the liquid that I had. All 3 flasks. I had to run faster to get some water for the next 1.5 miles. The official clock showed 2 hr 53 min. It meant I ran the second lap for 1 hr 27 min. I was satisfied with the consistency of the laps 1:26-1:27 that were almost same. I drank some Gatorade, ate some snacks, and refilled all 4 bottles to reload on my belt.

Start of the third lap was again with the very steep downhill. I would like the gradual down hills but this one was really painful for my legs and feet especially at Mile 20. More pains from oncoming runners were noticeable from their faces during the 3rd lap. I am sure it was not exception for me. I was okay for some hills in the northern section but I had to take a short walk break on one of the hills in the western section. My right foot was starting to scream for some obvious blisters from Mile 23. I had to take another walk break there. As my pace was becoming slow, I was passed by a woman with her dog at Mile 25 and another woman passed me at Mile 26. When I thought I was passed by yet another woman at Mile 27, I decided to pace with her. I actually ran with Beverly for the rest of the third lap and was told that first woman who passed me at Mile 25 was Mary and the 2nd one at mile 26 was Ginger who was Beverly’s neighbor and eventually became the 1st place woman in the race. The officially clock was 4 hr 30 min after three laps. There were a few other runners who looked like they just arrived from the 3rd lap and they all headed out for the final 2.2 miles to finish. I knew I was almost done but I could not immediately follow them to run just 2.2 more miles. I was very tired and needed some more rest and food. Yes, I was very hungry too. I grabbed a cookie and thought ‘hey what am I doing? I just need to finish now!’ Two of myselves were fighting and I was just watching it for a while. Finally I decided to go out and finish the race.

The steep downhill looked like a cliff for the start of 1.1 mile out section. I literally walked down slowly just not to fall down. Then slow paced run carried me to the turn-around line. Returning run was a little bit easier since I knew how long I could run until the steep uphill appeared in front of me. I crawled up the Peak K2 with the last energy left and finished the first race of the year 2010 with 50K PR time of 4:57:44.