San Juan Solstice 50 Race Report

Say whaaaat! Yep, it's another race report and this one is actually done in a timely manner...San Juan Solstice 50 miler. For the happenings before the race I will refer you to Aric's blog(http://leavenothing-manners.blogspot.com/2012/06/san-juan-solstice-50-race-report.html) That just made my report that much shorter, thanks Aric. So...race day morning. I wake up from a restless night of tossing and turning at 3:30am. We prepared our gear for the journey ahead. Those Chewbacca noises Aric was talking about were coming from me. All I have say is good thing the walls weren't thin in the cabin or I would have felt a little awkward...anyway we get out the door and head to the Armory to check in. We are all checked in by 4:45 and all we have to do is wait for the start. As we are hanging around waiting for the gun to go off I can feel the excitement build more and more(the Pre-Race I took 30 minutes before may have helped intensify that). 5 minutes to go and the lights are shut off in the Armory to signal the runners to the start line. We all head over to the start line and before you know it, BANG!!! It's business time. Bj and I start off together as my strategy for every race with him is to use him as a pace setter until the end and I can usually outrun him to the finish. Just kidding Bj, I enjoy the company. We were separated from Aric, Breein and Shawn before the start of the race so I wouldn't see them until the finish. The start of the race, like most races, went by pretty quickly. All the built up adrenaline and excitement I guess. Bj and I cruise up the dirt road at an easy pace and shortly have our first "Lori sighting" of the day. Thanks for being there and taking pictures Lori, you're awesome. I just wish her sidekick Sami(my beautiful girlfriend) could have been there too. In no time we hit the single track and start our first of 3 major climbs. At the pre-race briefing we were told that we would inevitably get wet so we might as well run through the first stream crossing(there were many) but Bj and I decided to cross using the logs hoping to keep our feet dry. We lucked out. The stream was lower than normal and we were able to use logs to cross all the streams without getting wet. Major bonus. My feet don't do well on runs when wet for an extended period of time. The climb up to AS #1 at the top of Alpine Gulch isn't more than I am usually used to on a run but when you throw in the elevation it feels a bit harder. Still Bj and I made kept a decent pace to the aid station. A mile or so back I started our game of lead changes early when I passed Bj while he was taking a picture...1. I came into the aid station just ahead of Bj who refilled one of his bottles quickly. I didn't need water but I made the mistake of taking off my pack to double check my water level. This led to lead change #2, Bj was back in the lead. From the aid station the climb intensified and so did the views.

We climbed for about 3 miles before we got a break from straight uphill. The wind was blowing up top and kept the temps down as we traversed along the ridge above treeline. This was our first exposure to above 13,000'elevation. This early in the race I didn't feel it's effects much but that would change later on. After the traverse we were treated to some downhill, about 5 miles of it. We kept our pace pretty casual so we could preserve our legs for the rest of the race. Somewhere on the downhill we took a pee break and I was able to pass Bj again. Up to this point there had been a few more lead changes so we'll call this one lead change #7. Our next Lori and Jared sighting was about a half a mile before AS #2, thanks for the mental boost. We rolled into AS #2 Williams Creek(15.7) somewhere in the 3 hour 20 minute range. We both had drop bags here so we refilled our water bottles and hydration packs, restocked our supply of running food and we were on our way. For the next couple of miles we ran on a rolling dirt road. I could tell Bj wasn't feeling his best so I tried to encourage him and get him back into the race. I initiated a few more lead changes along the road to take his mind off of his tired legs but it didn't seem to be working. Once we hit the jeep road off of the main road I could tell he wasn't his normal self. I started hiking at a little faster pace than we had been so I could get out ahead of him and hopefully entice him to catch back up to me. No go. Today his legs just weren't responding to what he wanted them to do and I started to pull away. Lead change #13 and it would be the last today. The jeep road signaled our next significant climb. I hiked most of this section but when I came across a part that wasn't too steep I would run it. Eventually I made it to AS #3 Carson(21.5). I had a drop bag here as well since the next 9.5 miles could be very unpredictable. I had a jacket and arm sleeves in my pack and decided to keep them not knowing what could happen exposed above treeline. The aid station volunteers took great care of me(all the aid stations had great volunteers),got me fueled up and headed back out on my way. As I was leaving the aid station I saw Bj for the last time before the finish. I yelled some encouraging words to him and continued on my was up the mountain. The remainder of this climb would do it's best to break my spirits. The scenery on the way to the top of this climb was amazing and I used it to fuel my drive.

This climb finally topped out about mile 25. There was a lot of run-able sections now but the climbing and the elevation were taking their toll. I did my best to run as much as possible but if I ran for too long my ears would start to ring and I would get light headed. I would slow down to a walk until I felt better and run again. This lasted for the next couple of miles. The elevation was delivering body blows but I refused to go down. Scenes from "Rocky" kept going through my head, hahaha. Eventually it went from rolling trail to all downhill. By this point my weak ankle was starting to act up. It hurt when I started to run again but I found out if I ran far enough it would loosen up and not hurt as bad. By now it has been hot for a couple of hours but the heat is really starting to set in and being exposed above treeline isn't helping. Now a giant cloud of smoke has blown into the area making it even harder to get air. Around mile 28.5 the trails dives back into the trees and I get a mental boost. The trail is winds through pine trees, their dropped needles making the trail soft. I'm able to run a decent pace until AS#4 Divide aid station(31). Over the last section I found myself praying a lot asking God for strength and the will power to finish what I had started. Over the remainder of the race I found myself praying more and more. He gave me everything I needed to complete my journey and more. Thank you God. I refilled my water, threw down some watermelon and other snacks and was back on the trail. If you have read Aric's blog already you know that the volunteers were telling people that the next 9 miles were rolling. I guess I didn't know what their definition of "rolling" was but climbing for the next 2 miles didn't seem to fit the description. It was really hot now and the smoke cloud only made the heat worse along with making it really hard to breathe. This section was mainly run on a dusty jeep road and was completely exposed. This was probably my lowest point in the race. I was hot, tired, aching and couldn't breathe very well but I pushed forward. Around mile 37 we start heading down again. The jeep road is very rocky and steep. I start feeling better running downhill and I chose my line through the rocks carefully to keep from falling or rolling my ankle. Soon I turn a corner to see Jared and Lori. What a nice surprise! I chat with them briefly, hand of my GoPro to Jared and head on my way. Jared told me that I'm about 2 miles from the next aid station. Sweet! I cruise the next 2 miles at a decent pace and I am in the aid station with a popsicle in my hand before I know it. AS #5 Slumgullion(40) is full of volunteers and people cheering on the runners. I take some extra time here to clean the rocks out of my shoes and clean my socks. I was hoping this would make my feet feel like I had just started this run. Not quite, but better than they were. Only 10 miles to go... From the aid station there is about a mile or so of downhill before the last climb. Overall it's not that bad of a climb, but after 40 miles my legs were not happy about it. I tried to keep myself in it mentally and just kept grinding away up the hill. It seemed to go on for 5 or 6 miles but in reality was only about 2. I wanted to stop and take a break so badly but I knew if I stopped I would lose all the momentum I had going for me. So I pushed on. With each step I got closer to the top of the climb and around mile 43 I was done with the last major climb. Now I had to convince my legs that running was a good idea again. The next 3 miles before the last aid station was the true definition of rolling. I would hike any of the little hills and run the flat and downhill the best I could. I was finally at AS#6 Vickers Upper Ranch(46.5). I refilled my hydration vest, visited with the volunteers a bit, downed some Coke and I was on my way again. Just over 3 miles to go... The Coke was a bad choice. Actually the Coke probably wasn't the bad choice, it was the amount of Coke. I asked for half a cup at the aid station and got a full cup. Instead of just drinking what I wanted to I finished the whole thing. This would cause my stomach to hurt for the remainder of the race. Once the trail started downhill at a decent pace I just let loose. I was mentally done and wanted off of the mountain ASAP. I felt pretty good considering and I ended up passing a few runners. I hit the dirt roads in town and my body decided to test me one last time. A tiny uphill pitch in the road reduced me back to a walk. After that I forced myself to finish of the run properly and ran the rest of the way in. I saw Lori about 2 blocks from the finish and she ran in with me. 11 hours, 22 minutes and 28 seconds later and I am done. Good for 26th overall. Wow, what a race! I came in expecting it to be difficult but it exceeded my expectations. The smoke and the heat were the two biggest factors that made this race harder than I thought it would be. I'm proud of what I accomplished and I am quite certain that I will be back again to push myself even harder now knowing what I am getting myself into. Congrats to the rest of the HUMR crew that ran this race with me: Aric, Bj, Breein and Shawn. Nice job to everyone for finishing a tough, tough race. Now on to the next adventure...