Post by janice on Nov 17, 2008 22:36:15 GMT -5
so, i entered the moab Ultimate XC 50k, thinking it would be great scenery, and i would get the state of UT....
but it was hard. really hard. good thing i had my nice bracelet from reeve. weather was perfect. scenery was awe inspiring. but by about 4 miles, i was tired! the sand was already laying waste to my energy. so, i resigned myself to picture taking.
the miles seemed long. longer than horton miles. the aid stations were very minimal. for $100 for a 50k i thought i'd get a lot more than a GUTS race, but it was pretzels, water and sponsor provided heed and gels. i was glad i packed a moonpie and a bunch of sharkies and sports-beans.
10.5 miles took me about 2.5 hours. that's pretty long for me. but i started to pass people as we moved up a long climb of "Scorched earth"; a completely exposed trail, with a hard drop-off to one side. at the top there were cool views of the colorado river. those apprx 3.2 miles took me almost 1.5 hours! but really the fun was just beginning. there was much more sand in my future, some rope climbing and a stone mtn like climb, only twice as far and twice as steep.
i hit "20 miles" in 4:58. most GPS already read 24 miles. then it was off for a final 10 mile loop. just after that aid station was a short climb up an extreme rock slope, requiring a long rope for guidance (after a short section where we had a choice of ladder or rope-i chose ladder). i held my bottle in my teeth as i needed both hands to navigate the rope.
soon after i got a foot full of cactus needles. i had to stop and yank them out of the side of my shoe. then 1 more rope section before i reached a very brief stretch of road. at this point i realized my shoes were full of sand. i stopped and tried to empty my shoes, but the fine sand had sifted into my socks and i couldn't really get a lot out. so back on went the shoe. from there it was a 25 minute uphill of sheer rock. it wasn't too bad as there was no need to run. after reaching the top i began a section that a volunteer told me was a "short 2 mile loop". ha! it took over 40 minutes to get around the loop which included an especially evil 200 meter sand hill climb to reach a 2nd mandatory orienteering punch (to prove you did the loop). i was wiped out, out of water and all food. i slugged my way over the next mile, where i was glad to reach the downhill of sheer rock. oh yea.
by now my legs were cramping beyond belief. i took 4 E-caps at the aid station, gobs of pretzels and several cups of heed. then i was off for the final 3 miles. the small amount on the road was ez. but just after getting back on trail was the first rope section. i attempted to step up on the rock and pull on the rope. as i stepped up both calves and inner thighs froze into severe cramps and i felt completely unable to move either up or down on the rock. ok, i have to keep going....
i pulled on the rope more with my arms and eventually swung my legs to the top. the next 10 minutes it was hard to jog, but i had found that it was even worse to stop or walk, so i continued to run through the leg cramps. finally i reached the final rope section. i waited while another runner went down the ropes. the guides who were "helping" guide people on the ropes suggested i throw my bottle down to the road so i wouldn't have to hold it on the ropes. it exploded as it hit the first rock, but it did reach the road. i grimaced as my cramping legs went down the rope climb. after going back down the ladder i stopped to pick up my destroyed water bottle. i wasn't really looking at my watch as i jogged through the finish in a few seconds over 8 hours. ouch.
not a personal worse. but close. no real altitude either. tops was 5000. total climb maybe 5000. but total mileage was probably 35-36 miles. the last few hours were a real struggle, but i was happy to make it through them with no injuries. that night i had full fledged long ultra "hot and cold" bouts and although starved by dinner time, i could only eat a modest amount (for me!). it was like running 100K!! for a very long day, it was a lot of work, but there was a lot of reward in seeing a new state and finishing a very long 50k!
pictures
www.flickr.com/photos/getguts/sets/72157609299679172/
but it was hard. really hard. good thing i had my nice bracelet from reeve. weather was perfect. scenery was awe inspiring. but by about 4 miles, i was tired! the sand was already laying waste to my energy. so, i resigned myself to picture taking.
the miles seemed long. longer than horton miles. the aid stations were very minimal. for $100 for a 50k i thought i'd get a lot more than a GUTS race, but it was pretzels, water and sponsor provided heed and gels. i was glad i packed a moonpie and a bunch of sharkies and sports-beans.
10.5 miles took me about 2.5 hours. that's pretty long for me. but i started to pass people as we moved up a long climb of "Scorched earth"; a completely exposed trail, with a hard drop-off to one side. at the top there were cool views of the colorado river. those apprx 3.2 miles took me almost 1.5 hours! but really the fun was just beginning. there was much more sand in my future, some rope climbing and a stone mtn like climb, only twice as far and twice as steep.
i hit "20 miles" in 4:58. most GPS already read 24 miles. then it was off for a final 10 mile loop. just after that aid station was a short climb up an extreme rock slope, requiring a long rope for guidance (after a short section where we had a choice of ladder or rope-i chose ladder). i held my bottle in my teeth as i needed both hands to navigate the rope.
soon after i got a foot full of cactus needles. i had to stop and yank them out of the side of my shoe. then 1 more rope section before i reached a very brief stretch of road. at this point i realized my shoes were full of sand. i stopped and tried to empty my shoes, but the fine sand had sifted into my socks and i couldn't really get a lot out. so back on went the shoe. from there it was a 25 minute uphill of sheer rock. it wasn't too bad as there was no need to run. after reaching the top i began a section that a volunteer told me was a "short 2 mile loop". ha! it took over 40 minutes to get around the loop which included an especially evil 200 meter sand hill climb to reach a 2nd mandatory orienteering punch (to prove you did the loop). i was wiped out, out of water and all food. i slugged my way over the next mile, where i was glad to reach the downhill of sheer rock. oh yea.
by now my legs were cramping beyond belief. i took 4 E-caps at the aid station, gobs of pretzels and several cups of heed. then i was off for the final 3 miles. the small amount on the road was ez. but just after getting back on trail was the first rope section. i attempted to step up on the rock and pull on the rope. as i stepped up both calves and inner thighs froze into severe cramps and i felt completely unable to move either up or down on the rock. ok, i have to keep going....
i pulled on the rope more with my arms and eventually swung my legs to the top. the next 10 minutes it was hard to jog, but i had found that it was even worse to stop or walk, so i continued to run through the leg cramps. finally i reached the final rope section. i waited while another runner went down the ropes. the guides who were "helping" guide people on the ropes suggested i throw my bottle down to the road so i wouldn't have to hold it on the ropes. it exploded as it hit the first rock, but it did reach the road. i grimaced as my cramping legs went down the rope climb. after going back down the ladder i stopped to pick up my destroyed water bottle. i wasn't really looking at my watch as i jogged through the finish in a few seconds over 8 hours. ouch.
not a personal worse. but close. no real altitude either. tops was 5000. total climb maybe 5000. but total mileage was probably 35-36 miles. the last few hours were a real struggle, but i was happy to make it through them with no injuries. that night i had full fledged long ultra "hot and cold" bouts and although starved by dinner time, i could only eat a modest amount (for me!). it was like running 100K!! for a very long day, it was a lot of work, but there was a lot of reward in seeing a new state and finishing a very long 50k!
pictures
www.flickr.com/photos/getguts/sets/72157609299679172/