30.2 Mi Solo Run in Bainbridge

It was a gorgeous weather with clear sky and cool temperature in Bainbridge Island.

I planned to run only 15.1 miles routine weekend long run on Sunday. However, the weather was too good to stop after one lap. I gathered some stuffs to bite, made some sport drink, and headed out for one more lap. It happened to be 30.2 miles unofficial solo ultra run eventually.

One very encouraging matter is that I felt pretty strong after competing 30.2 miles. I kept very consistent pace of 10:00~10:30/mi almost through out the second lap. Probably that's what I should do for my first 50 miler in coming April.

Fishline 50K

Fishline 50K, one of the Roots Rock trail run series, was held in Poulsbo that was 20 minutes driving distance from my place. The course was very similar to Roots Rock 50K that I ran last fall, but this time the start/finish line was off Stottlemeyer Rd in Poulsbo, instead of Port Gamble side. It included 2 laps of 25 Km forest trail loop mostly in single track.

I knew it was not an easy trail, so I started off in moderate pace around 9~10 min/mile. The rain held off for the race, but the trail condition was not really good. There were a lot of muddy single tracks with many chances of running through unavoidable puddles. Running over many hills and slippery trail in the first lap was not so difficult though. I was supposed to go back to the start/finish line after 25 Km if I followed the white flour marks and orange tapes correctly along the course, but I was still on the trail over Mile 16. Assuming that I made a wrong turn, I ran back 0.5~1 mile, but I could not find any clue. So, I decided to keep running, because the course seemed familiar, I had enough Heed/Gatorade in my hydration pack with something to bite, and I felt very good.

The trail looked more and more familiar enough to make me feel confident that I was right on the course in the second lap. However, from around Mile 18, I suffered from a blister issue on my right foot from a series of hills with lots of muds, and the pace became much slower. I heard foot steps behind me and knew someone was going to pass me soon. It was Van Phan who I paced with about 2~3 miles in the first lap. I knew she was an elite trail runner and Marathon Maniac Hall of Famer with lots of running experience including 100 milers and 150 milers. So, I wanted to pace with her as long as I could. I led in some of the single tracks and she led in some of the hill sections. It wasn't easy to keep the pace with her with ailing right foot, but I was able to manage it. As I felt more pain on the foot for the last 3 miles, I just tried to follow her foot steps and finished together in 5 hours 37 minutes and 4 seconds.

West Seattle Fat Ass 50K

It was supposed to be a nice day with very slight chance of shower on Super Bowl Sunday in West Seattle, but the rain was still lingering by the time I put on my running gears before the start. However, fortunately, the rain held off leaving just a few puddles and muddy spots during the race.

The 50K course was a double out-and-back along the flat paved sidewalks and streets of West Seattle. A shelter in Lincoln Park was the start/half/finish line with some basic ultra foods & drinks. The turnaround point was just before the West Seattle Bridge stretching ~7.8 miles from the start line.

There was a small group of runners (~20) near the shelter in the morning. Most of them were the usual suspects that I already knew. With a brief instruction by the race director, Nic Plemel, we started off for a long run at 8am.

The beginning section for the first 2~3 miles had a slight ups and downs running along the streets of southern part of West Seattle. I ran mostly in the narrow sidewalks but sometimes had to run on the street to go around the blocked cars, pedestrians, or dogs. Then, the sidewalks became very wide along the Alkai Beach to the turnaround point.

On the returning route of the first lap, I had to take a bathroom break. I shouldn’t have taken beer option last night at Joe’s house. I felt much better afterward. Anyway, I was able to make the first lap (25K) inside 2 hours and 20 minutes. After refilling water bottles and grabbing a piece of PB&J, I took off for the 2nd lap.

About 2 miles after the start of the 2nd lap, my left leg was cramping up. I had to take a break for some stretches. After some more steps, I got a HUGE calf cramp. It was so painful that I held the railings along the sidewalk and stretched the calf area as violently as possible. I had a temptation to walk back to the shelter and to declare a “drop-out”, but decided to continue after taking some more time still hanging on the railings. As the pain was lessened, I started a very slow run to make sure not to cramp up my leg again. When I reached Alkai Beach section, I stopped at a bench and took another break for a leg stretch. I also replenished with some snacks and Gatorade there. The following section to the turnaround point was much easier since I got a second wind. I refilled the water bottles at the turnaround and immediately ran back to finish the long run.

The question was by the way how long I could continue to benefit the second wind. As a matter of fact, I could feel I was getting slower and slower noticeably until a major BONK at around Mile 25. I took several walk-breaks for the next 5 miles, and then decided to run last 1 mile in a civilized manner with a smile ;-). The finish time: 5 hours 4 minutes and 39 seconds.

Running was not going smoothly unlike my anticipation, but I had a wonderful time thanks to the RD Nic Plemel and many volunteers to put it together for a fat ass style run on Super Bowl Sunday.