Four Personal Records and a Course Record

Yesterday, I ran the Pony Express Race. This race offers a 30K, 50K, 50M, and 100K option and I picked the 100K. Having run the 100K in 2007 and coming in second to Scott Dunlap, I knew what to expect.

Before the start

The race is a 1.25-mile loop course around Cameron Park Lake (50 loops for the 100K) and this format allows friends and family members to come out and crew for their runners while enjoying a nice day in the park.

Sunrise at Cameron Park Lake

My training had been going well and the last day of dry and cool weather would make this a great day to break some records. On Friday, my friend Troy decided he would come out and crew for me, which would be a great help, too. Some days everything just goes right and this was one of those days.

The new Chocolate#9 chocolate agave gel

Today, I was going to try out a new gel--Chocolate#9 Chocolate Agave. I had been looking around for a healthier alternative to the basic assortment of gels and reading about these gels (sweetened with Agave, no artificial ingredients, no refined sugar, vegan, etc.) it sounded like I had finally found the right one. These gels are some of the best-tasting gels ever. Think of a rich Starbucks chocolate truffle drink in gel format, but without any sugar and other bad stuff--a chocolate-lover's delight. I ate one every 4 laps and they gave me plenty of energy. Definitely a winner!

Jon Olsen flies by on his way to the 50-mile win in 5:58

In my training I had experimented with different speeds and decided to shoot for an 8:30 finish time. The splits for that break down as follows:

• 8:12 per mile
• 10:15 per lap
• 51 minute 10K
• 3:35 marathon
• 4:14 50K
• 6:50 50M
• 8:30 100K

John Souza wins the 50K

To be successful, it would be critical not to start out with the lead pack, particularly because there were runners in 4 distances. I immediately tried to settle into an 8-minute mile pace, which felt ridiculously slow. Sure enough, about 12 runners took off fast and formed a pack up front. The "Modesto Trio" (Jon Olsen (50M), John Souza (50K), and Hao Tran (30K) was leading the pack and after a few short laps, the pack was no longer running together.

Hao Tran and Ray Sanchez (Team Pandemonium) pass through the start/finish area

My pacing strategy paid off. The first 50K felt super comfortable and I did not feel like I was working hard until about 45 miles. I was nailing the splits, one after another, almost within a few seconds. I never broke stride and just kept a cruising at a steady pace. I hit the marathon in 3 minutes fast, in 3:32, the 50K in 4:07 (my first PR of the day). By this time I had reeled in most of the people that had lapped me earlier, except for the eventual 30K, 50K, and 50M winners. Jon Olsen was really tearing it up, going faster as the race went on. He finished in 5:58, just shy of Brad Lael's 5:54 50-mile course record. Congrats, Jon!

Round and round we go...

At 45 miles it became harder to keep the pace, but it was still doable. I hit the 50M in 6:40 (PR#2) with 10 laps to go. After about 55 miles, I was unable to keep the pace no matter how hard I tried, dropping about a minute or more per mile.

Another race around this place (Eiffel 65)

Before the race, my son Sean had asked what the longest distance was that I had ever run without taking a walking break. That was a 50K and I had just increased my PR for running non-stop to 55 miles. It felt silly to stop now, somewhere in the no-man's land between 50 miles and 100K, so I kept on running, grinding out those final miles.

Finished!

Troy joined me for a few final laps and the company helped. By this time, there were not too many people left on the course and all of them were suffering, yet determined to finish. With the end in sight, the last two laps felt surprisingly easy again.

With R.D. Robert Mathis (and my Inov-8 Shoes Gift certificate)

In 2007, I ran 9:36, and with one lap to go, it was clear I would be a little bit slower than my projected 8:30, so it would be fun to at least break my old record by an hour. I had twelve minutes left to do that and cranked out one more lap at the old 10-minute-per-lap pace to finish in 8:34 and change (good for another two new PRs--longest non-stop run and 100K).

Kicking back after the race

I also set a new course record (The CR was 9:06). However, I have to add that I won the 100K by attrition, because there was an overall 10.5 hr cutoff and the people that had signed up for it ended up dropping down to the 50-mile race. Nevertheless, my splits would have been good enough for (I think) a second place in the 50-miler, and a top-spot in the 50K.

Loading up on Linda's famous post-race buffet (There was still plenty left!)

After the race, we enjoyed the post-race buffet while watching the other runners finish. All in all it was great day and weather-wise it worked out perfectly, because a huge storm moved in at night and it is supposed to rain for a while now.

Rick Santos ices the legs after a strong finish, Troy talks to Western States/Pony Express volunteer Brad McGoo

Another great benefit of having a crew with you: you don't have to drive home after the race! Thanks a lot Troy for coming out with me--I owe you one!

Jose San Gabriel with 200 yards to go

A huge thanks a lot to Robert and Linda Mathis and Brad Mcgoo for putting on the great race and keeping track of all the laps!

Cruising at Cool

On Saturday night (at 7 p.m.), I joined around 90 runners for the 2nd annual 12 Hours at Cool night run. I really liked this event last year and with two weeks remaining until my 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail run, this was the perfect time to do some more night running and to fine-tune my night-running setup (headlamps, waist lamps, clothing, and so on).

Last year, I ran six 9-mile loops at this race, but I knew I could definitely run seven loops on a good day. Seven loops meant averaging 1:42 per loop, including breaks, so my plan was to go out slower than last year and run lap 1 in 1:20, lap 2 in 1:30, and then try to cover as many loops as possible in around 1:45. That would then leave a little bit of a cushion for the last two loops. It proved to be a great plan and with the help of my new Nascar pit crew (my boys Sean and Rocky) and my friend Troy who paced me for loops 4, 5, and 7, I was able to execute it almost exactly as planned.

With RD Nancy Warren

My main aim for this race was to try out my three-piece lighting setup. It consists of the following pieces:

1. Brunton L3 3-Watt LED Headlamp -- Simply, put, This headlamp rocks! It is the brightest LED headlamp in the world, featuring a 3-watt LED that lights up the night.
2. Amphipod Xinglet with a 4-Led Petzl -- An light, reflective harness with a convenient spot to mount an extra 4-watt Led light about 4 inches above the waist.
3. Brunton running belt with another 4-LED lamp--Having a waist lamp (a regular headlamp mounted on a running belt) provides better depth perception than a headlamp, especially on rocky terrain.

Light Up the Night!

With all those lights I looked like a Boeing 747 coming in for a landing, but one thing's for sure: more light equals faster times. It was not hard to put it all on. In fact, it took Sean and Rocky only 33 seconds to outfit me with the complete, three-piece night-light setup!

Some other items I tried out on this run:

• My brand-new Dirty Girl Gaiters. I could not imagine running without these super-comfortable gaiters on such a dusty and rocky course.
• Power Bar Gel Blasts--like Clif Shots, but better tasting. Good stuff!

The New Dirty Girl Gaiters

I started almost a minute per mile slower than last year and watched the early race leaders disappear out of sight. Team Red Bluff (Pre-race favorite Beverly Anderson Abbs and last year's winner Alan Abbs were up front along with Joe Palubeski). Unfortunately Bev and Alan had to call it after about three or four laps. I could not believe Beverly was actually running here so soon after winning first place masters title at TRT100 two weeks ago.

With Joe Palubeski (3rd overall)

I ran the first two laps with Sean Lang, talking about his upcoming Cascade Crest adventure, swimming and Judo. I was surprised to find out that ultrarunning is less injury-prone than Judo! We must be doing something right. Tony Overbay was right behind us, looking strong.

My friend Troy joined me for loop 4 and 5. Troy offered to pace me for a section of TRT165 and wanted to try out what it was like to run at night. Troy just recently got back into running, inspired by some of my running DVDs and books. Though no stranger to running (How is 2:42 for a marathon PR!), this would be Troy's first ultra experience. I think we'll see more of Troy in the near future.

With Troy at the Finish

I started loop 6 in third place, about 30 minutes behind Joe. This was probably the toughest loop of the race. I started getting a bit tired (pulling an all-nighter at work just a few days earlier probably did not help much). I finished the loop in the slowest time, but still had two hours to spare for the last loop.

Crew Member Sean, Hard at Work

My stomach was a little bit upset and I grabbed some soup at the aid station in the hope that this would settle it down. I told RD Nancy Warren that I would be back in less than two hours and walked over to the crew truck, where Rocky started rattling off the different food choices available. None of them sounded very appetizing and the soup did not seem to do its job either.

A few seconds later, I found myself bent over, throwing up on the edge of the parking lot. Maybe 6 loops was enough? It's easy to give in to these thoughts in a twelve-hour run, since there is no specific distance that has to be covered. In other words, you can't really DNF. Troy was going to join me for the last loop, but stood there slightly puzzled, wondering how he could help and what was going to happen--welcome to ultrarunning!

I looked at my watch: 10:03 (5:03 a.m.). If I left now, I could easily make the last loop with some walking breaks and it was going to be light soon, which would make it a little bit. Apart from feeling nauseous, nothing was really hurting. Pull it together! I drank some water and some flat coke, grabbed my bottle and started walking with Troy (at 10:05). We walked up the first hill and as soon as we reached the top, we were running again. The nausea cleared up quickly and I started feeling good. After a few miles, we passed Joe Palubeski (and his wife) on his way to a 59.5-mile finish (3rd overall). Watch out for Joe in upcoming ulras--this was only his second 50-mile+ ultra! Of course, he's been training with Alan and Beverly, so that explains a lot!

At the Finish

Troy and I ran the rest of the loop, passing a few other runners on their way to the finish. We caught up to Frank Plucker, who is going to pace me from Echo Lakes to Barker Pass in two weeks and he ended up finishing 54 miles (6 loops) in his first night run. I finished second overall in 11:44.

With Jose, Ray, Mario and Another Runner at the Finish

Race winner Greg Bomhoff was flying all night and won the race about an hour ahead of me. I guess he could have gone out for another half loop, but instead he kindly left something for next year ;-) Aaron Sorenson, who has also kindly offered to help and pace me at TRT165 (Aaron is planning an unsupported TRT attempt) was out on the trail with his girlfriend, Christine, who took 2nd female with six loops.

I have to still pick the excuse for not winning the race from the following list (I think it was because the winner used up all the best oxygen!):

A big thank you to Nancy Warren and all the volunteers that made this race possible and for the great pancakes at the finish line (as ususal)! Special thanks, also, to Norm and Helen Klein for running the remote 5.5-mile aid station (voted best soup on the course!)

Sean and Rocky had a blast staying up all night (well, almost all night) and could not sleep once they got home. I, on the other hand, could not wait to get some sleep (and stopped for a quick nap in the car on the way home)!

Next up: My long-awaited Tahoe Rim Trail 165-Mile run. Starting at 4 p.m on Friday, August 15th close to Stateline, NV. (complete itenerary posted here).

A Windy Day at Ruth Anderson 50K/50M/100K

RD Extraordinaire, Rajeev

Today, I decided to help my friend Rajeev (the poetic runner), to ensure his first time as a race director for the Ruth Anderson 50K/50M/100K would be a success. Fellow ultrarunner, Hao, and I were assigned the timing the 50K finish line.

Fellow Volunteer, Hao, Ready to Time the Runners

Hao graciously offered to pick my up at the hotel where we were staying. We would help out at the race while my wife and the kids would go to the Malibu Grand Prix, which was located just down the road. We talked about upcoming races and, if his busy schedule allows it, Hao might come and pace me for a section of my TRT Speed Record Attempt in August.

Runners Circle the Course

We arrived early and as we drove up, we could already see many runners spread out over the course. I saw Alan Geraldi, Michael Kanning, Mark Tanaka, and many other familiar faces.
When we checked in with Rajeev, we found out it would be another hour and a half before the first 50K runners would finish, so I took the opportunity to run a lap on the course (4.5 miles) with Alan. It was great to catch up with him. We talked about Alan's upcoming races (Keys 100, Badwater, UTMB, and countless other tough ultras-- wow!)

Alan at the Aid Station

Later we caught up with Chihping and I met Steve Ansell in person for the first time. One thing was for sure: this was not going to be a fast day. The wind was howling around Lake Merced and on the back stretch, which also included some uphill running, strong gusts of wind would sometimes force runners to walk.

Lake Merced

After one lap, it was time to start the 50K timing. Jean Pommier came in first in a very fast 3:44. After that, we had to write down the time for everybody that either finished at 50K or continued to run additional laps in the 50K or longer distances. When someone finished the race, we would call in the official time to Stan Jensen who was keeping track of all the runners' laps at the finish line. At times it got pretty busy, so it was good that there were two of us.

Jean Pommier Wins the 50K

Steve Ansell, Looking Strong
Alan Finishes in 3rd Place (50K)

This Runner's Girlfriend Paces Him A Few Laps to a Successful 50K

After a while I started wondering why we had not yet seen my friend, Michael Kanning, who was going to shatter the 100K Jr. National Record. I called Rajeev and found out that he had dropped out. The 50K finish was located about a quarter of a mile away from the start area, which was unfortunate, because if I had been timing at the start area, I would have pushed him back out on the course! (just kidding!). We'll have to check his blog to see what happened, but I am sure he will be back later this year (Pony Express?) to rewrite the record books.

Mark Tanaka Floats By

As time went on, the wind would not let up and it started to take its toll on the runners. Many called it a day at 50K, but a few kept going. Mark Tanaka went on for the 100K and did a superb job, pacing himself. You could almost set your clock on it Every 37-38 minutes Mark would come gliding by, making it look easy.

At 1:30, another volunteer took over from us and Hao gave me a ride back to the hotel. After a quick bite to eat, we spent the afternoon in San Francisco, visiting SF MOMA and at night we went out for a nice dinner in honor of Vicky's birthday (tomorrow).

All in all, it was a great day and interesting to see the race from a different perspective for a change. Congratulations to Rajeev and all the other volunteers for all their hard work in putting this race together and congrats to all the runners who braved the stormy weather to run 50K or more.

Next up: The Spring Run 10K on April 26th.