Denied for Western States 2009

Well, I didn't get an e-mail from the RD of Western States 100 confirming I was one of 54 Two Time Losers that were picked from the TTL list to run in the 2009 version. My TTL status will now be rolled over to 2010 or 2011. So I can at least plan what my summer and fall 100 milers are going to be. Yes, you read right, I will be attempting TWO 100 milers in 2009.

Better start saving up and hope the Canadian $ recovers in time.....

My first 36 mile marathon: Golden Hills Trail

Last Saturday, i ran the Golden Hills trail marathon, my 2nd marathon in 6 days. Since I had already PR'd in Portland, I was running this for fun and get a chance to check out some California trails. The race starts at Lone Oak Rd in Tilden Park in Berkeley and is in conjunction with the Firetrails 50 miler. It ends at Lake Chabot Marina and there was a shuttle bus at the finish line to take entrants to Lone Oak as parking is limited, this shuttle leaves at 7:15am. Sharp. I decided to save on a taxi and would run from my motel to the Marina (mapquest said 3 miles) This was a huge mistake as I accidentally ran the other way (east) and got to Pleasanton which was 7 miles from Castro Valley! I really should've picked up on the obvious clues like increasing house numbers, the fact that I was running solid for 40 minutes and was still in the residential part of town. I ran another 3 miles looking for a BART station, took the Bart to Berkeley, took a taxi to the start and got there at 10:05am (race started at 9am). I don't actually have a bib on me as I was not mailed one, but I'm not banditing per se as I did register and pay for this race. I dropped off my warmup gear at the start which would be shuttled to the finish line. I briefly considered volunteering for the ultra to get some hours for Western, but the aid personnel said I could still run as the cutoff was at 7pm which gave me 9 hours to finish. It took me 6:45 although the results say 7:45 cause the clock doesn't stop for anybody least of those who ran the wrong way. Stll, I passed 5 marathoners on the course who had the hour "headstart" so that was pretty nice and my story provided a lot of hilarity for all the aid station vollies. So it all worked out. Next time, I'm gonna get a cab.

Travel Day - Golden Hills

Well, after a successful and soggy Sunday in Portland where I finally ran under 4:00 with a 3:57:40, that's a 16 minute PR from 2005! It's off to Oakland tomorrow where I will be running my second marathon in less than a week. It's not much time to recover, but I didn't get to be where I am worrying about the long term effects on multiple races with little rest time. I wonder if this makes me a maniac....

Travel Day

Tomorrow I make my way down to Portland via Amtrak for the marathon. I'm looking for redemption and a PB. Let's do it.

Still a two time loser...

Just re-confirmed my status as a two-time loser for Western States 100 miler 2009. I'll be very lucky to get in next year due to this year's cancellation and the automatic re-entry of this year's start list. Well, if I don't get in, there's always 2010 or 2011.

PNWIH

So, it's off to Goldendale, WA for Pacific North West Interhash at Brooks Memorial State Park. Being from BC, I'm guessing I'm the Pacific part. Should be decent trails in Washington, and with a quick stop to REI will get all my last minute camping essentials.

Hopefully my marathon training won't be too derailed by this weekend. And I got on a team for Haney 2 Harrison 100k http://www.bcathletics.org/H2H/! Woo-hoo! I asked for and hopefully I will get Leg 8, it's the shortest, flattest, fastest leg there is. No pressure!

WWR: Leg 23 - The beaver sleeps tonight

Quite a bit of roadkill along the highway, this little number happened to be outside the portapottie on one of the legs...so that's what that smell was....

After tagging Snatch, we got in the car to crew for him, I needed to get away from the damn bugs. So off we drove downhill, ever mindful of all the dust we were kicking out. Snatch had his best leg here, but of course he did, it's cooler and he's going downhill! It was dark when he tagged off Erik who blazed on the road. We met up with Van# 2 and picked up Guiness. We drove nonstop to where Creampuff was supposed to start his leg (21), got Bridget's tent and after assembling it, got in a 3 hour nap. All too soon, it was time for CP's leg to start, so we disassembled in an orderly fashion and wait for Amazon to tag him in.

CP had a great run down a road section, the clouds parted and he was seeing stars and constellations and meteor showers and things normally associated with a Grateful Dead concert.

Waited with Bridget at Leg 22 who confided to us that she was feeling nervous about the night run and also that she hadn't use the portapotty yet. Advised her that if her stomach is feeling like that and she hasn't use the toilet all day, then it was a pretty good sign that it wasn't nerves, it was something more pressing. She took the hint and afterwards felt way better. Bridget tagged CP and it was off to my Leg 24. By the time Bridget tagged me it was around 4:30am. I was cold standing around the handoff area so I kept my KK jacket on underneath my reflective vest. This was in addition to the longsleeve and gloves and toque. Overkill, I know. Tagged Bridget and I was off. Had my lamp pulled down to my waist so the light was closer to my feet. I had to dodge a few cars still pulling into the checkpoint, then be very careful on the cattle guard, a turned ankle would not be fun. It's cold initially but I started to warm up very quickly, around the 2 mile mark, CP gets me a drink and I take off the jacket and just run with the longsleeve. I ask that they give some more aid at the 4 mile mark. They agree or so I thought. I'm picking up speed and catch two runners on this section, I'm nearing the 4 mile mark just over the next hill and I actually see the1 mile to go mark and THEY'RE NOT HERE! My leg is 4.9 miles so knowing them they felt it was more important that the runner be there to be tagged rather than me being crewed but not having anyone to tag when I got there because they were too busy to find parking. Just don't let it happen again, 'kay? So now there's no one to aid me I use my righteous indignation to catch three more runners, and another one at the transition area. Tagged Snatch who starts to go. It's official, every member of Beaver's Gone Wild got to run in the dark! Dawn's just starting to break. Time for a cold beverage and a nap. Only 6 hours to go before my last leg. Yay!