Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Western States 2013 and the First Leg of the Grand Slam


"Here we go again," I lamented as I stood on the start line waiting for the gun to go off for my fourth running of the Western States 100. Even though I hadn't run a race this long since Leadville last August, I wasn't fooling myself. These races are painful and there's simply no getting around that. 

With a minute to go until the off, I for some reason found myself thinking about others signed up for the Vermont 100 and how many of them would be beginning their tapers that weekend. And then the gun went off and it was time to run 100 miles. 

Cameron Clayton had been advertising for weeks - nay months - that he was going to take the race out hard, so it was no great surprise to see him shoot off the start line with a full head of steam. More surprising to me was that nobody chased except Hal. Other than those two, it was the same old start I've experienced every year at Squaw; a slow methodical jog to the top with a long train of folks behind.


With one second until the start, Cameron gets ready to charge. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
And they're off. Topher (far right) is seriously stoked. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
My favorite part of the whole course comes immediately after the crest of the Escarpment. The stretch of singletrack before you duck into the trees is only about a quarter mile long, but it's at a bomber grade and offers large mountain views to the north. This is always the point in the run where I come to the realization that I'm here in the moment racing the Western States 100, and I just love to take the energy from those thoughts and lace that quarter mile to the trees before putting my head down and getting on with the day's business: grinding.

Leading up to the race, my left knee had been giving me some problems and somewhat bizarrely my quads had come away from a single Hope Pass climb/descent up in Leadville the weekend before totally sore. By the Thursday before the race, the quad soreness had dissipated, but the knee was still bothersome and I was fearful that I'd find myself compensating for the knee by taking extra stress in the quads, which had been my rationalization for the sore quads from Hope.

As early as 10 miles into the run, I was feeling some of those tell-tale signs with regards to the quads and had something of a sinking feeling in my stomach (which by the way was in fine form). Nonetheless, I settled into the early going with Timmy after catching up to him somewhere along the ridge and tried to put those thoughts out of my mind. We caught up with each others' goings on for a bit and then settled into an easy rhythm, pacing off each other for the miles we shared. Dave Mackey joined us somewhere along here and the pace picked up a notch as we ran along the Foresthill Divide to Red Star Ridge and then onto the Duncan Canyon aid station.

The Duncan aid station always seems a little frenetic being that it's the first crew access point and there's usually a good group coming in together. And today was no different. Brian, Rob and Kristy - my Duncan/Dusty crew - were totally on point through the aid station and I was in and out quickly, picking up an ice bandana and getting fresh bottles. The temperature through to Duncan had been entirely reasonable - just a touch toasty on the southern exposures of the ridge, but almost perfect otherwise. Nonetheless, we all knew the inferno of the canyons was coming.

Coming into Duncan with Dave. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
Into and out of Duncan Canyon itself things remained pretty comfortable, but by the time we hit the high point above Robinson Flat - from whence there is an awful lot of downhill running - the heat was finally upon us. I entered Robinson with Hal, Timmy 100 meters ahead and Cameron a reported two minutes up the trail. On the switchbacked, tree-less descent from Little Bald Mountain, I had the field in front of me and took stock.
Just starting the descent from Little Bald Mountain. Photo: Michael Lebowitz
The defending champ was leading, Cameron looked like he was starting to slow and Hal would, as always, be something of a wildcard. Behind me in close proximity I knew there were a ton of talented guys waiting in the wings. The descent wasn't feeling particularly comfortable and I sensed that I was taking too much of the impact in my already aching quads. At this point there was really nothing I could do but hope for the best. I stopped to take a pee because I needed to, but also because I wanted the guys in front of me out of sight so I could quit worrying about them and focus on getting through this thing without a major blow up. Thirty miles in and I was already thinking damage control. The good news was that my stomach was still processing gels without complaint.

Coming into Dusty Corners and still eating well. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
Dylan and Rob Krar caught up to me a couple of aid stations later, just after Last Chance I think. They had been running together all morning and it was nice to have a bit of company as we rolled past the old mining equipment of years gone by. Dylan let me lead the descent to the Swinging Bridge, an awkwardly graded and heavily switchbacked section that deserves respect. Last year we hit this section as a group of five or six, caning it way too hard; this year by comparison I set a very cautious tempo and was shocked to see Dylan and Rob lose ground behind me. Knowing how fast Rob is, I was incredibly impressed with his self control at this point in the race. At just under 50 miles the drop to the Swinging Bridge and subsequent climb up the canyon wall to Devil's Thumb is a critical point in the race.

After a solid dousing at the spring on the Devil's Thumb side of the canyon, we hiked and ran the 1,300 feet up to Devil's Thumb together. Right on cue, my stomach started heading south on me. I almost feel like I wish it upon myself sometimes. I'd been thinking about how solid it had been up until that point, accepting and digesting 250 gelled calories an hour with no complaints, and then - boom - it suddenly put the kibosh on any further gel consumption for the day. From there until the finish, I was on coke and/or EFS sports drink the whole way. The two additional gels I did consume where forced and highly gag-worthy.

Topping out the Devils Thumb climb with Rob and Dylan. Photo: Salomon
Ian Sharman caught up to me on the way out of the Devil's Thumb aid station and I started thinking a bit about the Grand Slam record and our little race within the race. We ran the next five or six miles together down to El Dorado Creek with me leading and Ian making some very strange noises behind. We didn't talk much, mainly because I wasn't in the mood, and with the silence and our somewhat 'race-like' downhill pace there seemed to be an unspoken realization that we were going to be doing a lot of this over the summer. I let Ian go on the climb up to Michigan Bluff, realizing again that I just didn't have my 'A' game with me today. Ultimately Ian would put 36 minutes on me over this first leg of the Grand Slam, but as we both know there is still a very long way to go and the real racing doesn't start until we get into the Sawatch and Wasatch Mountains.

And so it went. I hiked way more of the climb up to Michigan Bluff than I ever have before, feeling lazy but trying to convince myself that this was sensible given the heat. Mike Morton went by me in a very methodical manner as we closed in on the Bluff and I stumbled into the old mining town somewhat discombobulated. Bob and Sue Gerenz, my fantastic crew/pacers from Minnesota were there waiting. They took great care of me, cooling me off by wrapping a sopping and freezing cold towel around me, and generally making sure I had everything I needed. Now in seventh and dropping places, however, I was beginning to wonder if I'd crack the top 10 this year.

Cooling off at Michigan. Photo: Gary Gellin. 
Fortunately, I never suffered a full-on meltdown. The road to Volcano Canyon was slow and I shamefully hiked a whole bunch of the uphill grade here, again using the heat as an excuse. I did regain some composure by Bath Road and by the time I found myself hitting the Cal Loop with pacer Rob Barnard in a fresh pair of socks and M2s I was once again vaguely interested in what was going on ahead of me. Maybe I could catch Ian or Dylan, who were consistently 10-12 minutes up on me at the intermediate aid stations down to the river. I passed a hurting, walking and clearly done Hal between Cal 1 and Cal 2 - always a cheap and unrewarding way to pick up a place. I dropped Rob who was off the side of the trail barfing in the heat, but I couldn't pick up any ground on Dylan and Ian.

By the river I was firmly locked into sixth place and just trying to survive to the finish. Boats across again this year, which really pissed me off. When you've been staring at a cool-looking river for over an hour in 100+ degree heat dreaming of nothing but its cool healing powers, to be shoved into a boat is something of a let down ... to say the least.

Craig, if you happen to read this, I want to ford the river next year!

Dreaming of a cool river crossing. Photo: Michael Lebowitz
But denied again. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
I found a nice hole on the other side of the river and submerged for a good long time. Given that I had no hope of winning or getting on the podium at this point, I did actually start thinking about Vermont and the Grand Slam and made a conscious decision to go into 'damage control' mode over the last 20 miles. This meant giving up extra minutes to Ian, but would hopefully allow me to go into Vermont a little less beat up.

So good. Photos: Glenn Tachiyama
The run up to Green Gate felt quite comfortable despite the heat and I was surprised at how quickly ALT and Browns Bar with Bob came and went. I certainly wasn't killing it here, but I was at least running at what I thought was a decent enough clip to stave off any potential challenge from behind. At Browns I got the news that Dylan was 17 minutes up on me, which meant he'd put five on me since the river. I was okay with that, but noticed a significant lull in drive and speed from there until Highway 49.

At highway 49 I was happy to pick up my good buddy Brian Stefanovic, but kind of bummed to also be picking up a light, final confirmation that my day had not played out the way I had hoped it might. Halfway down the descent to No Hands Bridge, with four miles to the finish, I finally had to turn it on - the first time I'd used a light in my four times on the course. Brian filled me in on the fact that there was nobody within half an hour behind and from there I just plodded along at a totally uncommitted pace resolving to finish up in as easy a pace as possible with Vermont firmly at the forefront of my mind.

Regardless of how the first 100 miles of the race played out, the last .2 on the track were as enjoyable as any before. To finish any 100 miler is an accomplishment worth celebrating and to finish top 10 at Western States is always gratifying, whether it be M3, M4 or M6.


Photos: Glenn Tachiyama

Dylan came and found me a half hour later as I was laying on a cot in the med tent trying to equalize a sour stomach. Of course he launched into details of his projectile vomiting episode on the way down to the river, which all seemed rather amusing, but then he proceeded to tell me that he downed two gels immediately afterwards. My reaction was immediate and violent. Finally the green gremlin was out of my system and 10 minutes later I was able to enjoy a delicious pizza from the good folk at Firetail Pizza who stepped up this year to provide post race food for runners - a detail that has been sorely lacking in previous renditions of the race. 

To finish up, I have to not only thank my motley crew from Colorado (Brian), San Francisco (Rob and Kristy) and Minnesota (Sue and Bob), but I also have to give a huge shout out to Abby McQueeney Penamonte, who I've been helping get ready for the Grand Slam this year, and who totally made my weekend by crushing her 24-hour goal, and against all odds finished tenth in the women's race beating some very accomplished runners in the process. Richly deserved, Abby. Congratulations!

Bob and Sue post race. Photo: Glenn Tachiyama
F10 & M6. 

23 comments:

  1. I wondered if you were taking it a little easier at the end for the GS. At least the next race will be finished in the light.

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  2. I can't tell you what a rush it was to know for a time on Cal Street, there was no one between us in position. A real dream to be in that situation. I went hard for the first time all day to catch up and then...total meltdown at the river in front of the doctors. An IV and a cut ribbon!
    Congrats on toughing out a really rough day and best of luck on the rest of the grand slam. I'll see you on the trails again someday.
    Jer

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  3. Ian - yeah, I'm feeling feeling pretty good right about now. I'd be worried if I were you ;-). See you in a couple of weeks!

    Jeremy - sorry we didn't get a chance to catch up post-race. You were one of the guys I had in the back of my mind on the way down to the river as I was trying to figure out who was back there waiting to pounce. I was bummed to hear about your drop, but like you say it was a tough day. Get yourself another spot for next year at a MUC race and come back and do it up proper. Look me up if you're ever out in CO!

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  5. You write as well as you run. Really well done at wser and all the best for the grandslam

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  6. Congrats again on a solid race. If you really wanted to save your legs you should have walked the last 6 miles ;-) See you in a couple weeks.

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  7. Nick,
    Solid as always. Vermont will be amusing to follow with you and Ian both chasing each other. Where I think things might get interesting between the two of you will be at Twin Lakes inbound in August.

    ps - what strange noises was Ian making??? Also, I guess WS for next June? So no "retirement" then?

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  8. Hey buddy, great run! Send me an email if you want a pacer/crew for VT100
    ajoneswilkins@tandemfs.org
    AJW

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  9. Nick - the thought most certainly crossed my mind. See you in a few days!

    Neal - good to hear from you, the inspiration for this summer of madness. Yeah, I've just got to keep Ian close at Vermont, then for the last two I feel like I've got the home court advantage. It's gonna be fun. I think it gets interesting at Winfield; that climb back over Hope is a total ball buster.

    On Ian's noises, it sounded like he was heaving, but I guess he was just grunting. I'd hear him, look back expecting to see him off the side of the trail barfing but he'd be running along just fine. It all gets a bit primal in these races, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

    WS2014: tough to leave the race behind on a performance like that. I'll be a master next year and that offers up a whole new set of goals...

    AJW - thanks, man. Always a pleasure to see you out there, and great to see you do what you do so well. An inspiration as always.

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  10. Good job, and good luck with the rest of the Slam.

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  11. Yes, I'm a grunter :) It's like the Wimbledon players on a 1 million shot rally!

    ps. hope you've got your speed legs on, Nick - I'm eyeing the CR at Vermont. I caused less leg damage than last year at WS thanks to the heat slowing things down and it was kind of you to take it easy at the end of the race...

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    1. My pleasure. Might be a couple of other guys in the field with something to say about that CR - and I'm not talking about me. Like I said, I just want to keep it close. The real racing begins in the mountains.

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  12. Nick,

    Congrats on another strong finish. I'm sorry you didn't get to ford across the river. That was the intent.

    Craig

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  13. Thanks, Craig! And congrats on your first race at the helm. I'm sure the river details are way more complex than I appreciate, so I totally understand with regards to whatever the decision-making process is there.



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  14. https://picasaweb.google.com/mkazitov/NefkaOnWS1002013#5895849456914924306 - near ForestHill ;)

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    1. Ha, I remember that. I was just coming back to life a little bit. Thanks for the share!

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  15. Nice work Sir Nicholas! I can't wait to see what you can do at VT!

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  16. Nick -- Nice to see you again before the race.

    Are you doing the slam "off the books"? I looked at Stan Jensen's GS page, and you're not on it. http://www.Run100s.com/gs.htm

    I mailed him to see if it was the complete list, and he said you didn't sign in time (his reply was brief, not indicating whether your signup was late or that he just never got it).

    Matt

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  17. Matt - good seeing you too.

    The way this Grand Slam thing works is that two of the races involve a lottery, the Wasatch lottery occurring after the WS lottery. To register for the GS, there is an $80 entry fee which among other things guarantees one entry into Wasatch under an agreement between the Wastach race management and the keeper of the GS records (not sure if that is Stan or somebody else, but I think Stan just maintains the site).

    Given that I had an auto entry into both WS and Wasatch (as a top 10 at WS last year and as a previous winner at Wasatch), I didn't need a spot held in the Wastach lottery. Aside from that, I think the only other benefit of signing up for the GS is that one gets a trophy, a T-shirt, and their name in the records if successful. I know I don't need another T-shirt and I also know that Dana doesn't want to see any more race-memorabilia clutter in the house, so I didn't see much point in spending the $80. It might be nice to have my times recorded for posterity, but if anyone is interested, I'm sure they can just check ultrasignup or something.

    All good.

    Thanks for your previous email BTW, I will pass the details on to Dana.

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    1. Nick,

      Thanks for posting your thoughts on The Grand Slam (which Steve Baugh, of the WF100, manages). Since you're unofficial, I've added you to "http://www.Run100s.com/stealth.htm" and will track your progress this summer. Good luck!

      Stan

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  18. Great write up, Nick! Sorry it didn't go as planned - best wishes for the rest of the Grand Slam.

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  19. Great read and congrats on another solid WS...even if wasn't up to your own standards. I look forward to meeting you at Vermont. It certainly won't be a warm as WS, but it's a wet heat!

    Cheers,
    justin

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    1. Thanks, Justin. Looks like it will be a good little battle up front at Vermont. See you out there! Nick

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