Squaw Peak 50

Squaw Peak 50 2012 Race Report So...it's been a while. I've been lazy about writing reports on my training this year(or lack there of) but I figured I would get one done for my first race of 2012. The problem is that I have waited too long to write this and now I’m not remembering everything that well so bear with me. Usually I would have a race or two under my belt at this point in the year but I had to get over a few injury setbacks early in the year. Back to the point…SP50 2012. Last year I did well at this race(9th overall, 1st in my age group) on the snow altered course. I was bummed last year that I didn’t get to run the original course so this year I was geared up to run it. So finally the Friday before the race came around. I gathered all my supplies I would need(plus enough for 2 or 3 more people apparently), loaded up the car with Sami, picked up Bj and Lori and then we were on our way to Provo. I had all the normal pre-race feelings thinking about what tomorrow would bring. We got into Provo around 8 or 9 and checked into our hotel 20 minutes from the start. Bj and I prepared our supplies for tomorrow and made sure we were set for the early morning start. We tried to get to bed around 10 but we were full of excitement and stayed up chatting for a while. The alarm went off at 3:30. Damn. I feel like I just fell asleep. We got ready pretty quickly and we were out the door. 20 minutes later we’re at Vivian Park getting checked in and making sure our drop bags are in order. I threw down a couple Pre-Race tablets, took a trip to the restroom, threw on my hydration pack and hip belt and waited for the start. A little chatting with some friends and then we were off. This race starts on my least favorite surface, road. It’s only for 2.5 miles or so and it’s early in the morning so it isn’t that bad. Bj and I start off together as usual and we head off into the early morning darkness. Pretty soon we are running with a bunch of guys from the Ogden group. I have my first Bryce sighting for the day and get geared up to battle him. Bryce beat me last year at Squaw and also at the Bear100 so I was looking for a little redemption. He has been calling me “go-fastie” and if he is going to nickname me that I am going to have to beat him sometime…hopefully today. We cruised along down the pathway talking and joking around filled with the adrenaline from race day. Tom Remkes was especially chipper today and seemed to focus most of his energy on bugging Bryce. Eventually we hit the single track and started our climbing for the day. There wasn’t much excitement heading up to the first aid station. Bryce decided to run the steep climb and Tom followed after to him so he could pester him some more. The rest of us just settled into a decent climbing pace but nothing too hard. As we got into the aid station Bj refilled his water bottles and I didn’t need anything so I just kept on going. I wanted to get ahead of the group of runners at the aid station and I didn’t need anything this early in the race. A little ways out of the aid station Bj caught back up to me and we headed up the rest of the climb. A little ways from the top of the climb we caught back up to Bryce, Tom and Matt C. We all cruised the downhill single track together until we reached the jeep road. From there Bj and I decided that we were feeling pretty good and we picked up the pace a bit. As we started to separate from the others Tom commented that Bj and I were “a cute couple”. Thanks Tom. The downhill didn’t last very long and soon we were climbing up again. It wasn’t very steep so we kept a good pace until we hit aid station #3 at mile 10.4. This was one of the aid stations that we had drop bags at and as we were getting our supplies ready for the next section Bryce, Tom, Phil L. and Matt passed us again. More uphill, but really runable. We were able to catch back up to the Ogden group that had just passed us and Tom was still having fun pretending like he wasn’t going to let us pass him. This section seemed to go by pretty quickly and without anything really exciting. We reached aid station #4 grabbed some supplies and took off just as we saw the Ogden group coming up the hill. As we were leaving the aid station Bj rolled his ankle on a loose rock. He hobbled for a little while but shook it off. The majority of this section is on a jeep road and lots of rocky downhill. We were ready for a change from the long uphill grind we had been doing and got a little burst of adrenaline. We were running 7:38 - 8:15 minute miles most of this section. There’s a game I like to play when I’m racing with Bj where I will keep track of all the lead changes between us. So when the run starts to get monotonous or if one of us hitting a bad spot I’ll speed up a little so I can be in the lead then usually slow down right after so Bj can pass me back. So at this point I believe we were somewhere around 23 or 24 lead changes. I was aiming for an average of one lead change per mile so a little ahead of schedule. We pulled into the aid station #5 where we had our next drop bags. We were almost done fueling up when Matt and Tom came into the aid station. Phil came in next and was in and out except for Tom messing with him a bit telling Phil that he had to walk back up to where Tom was sitting to check in and out properly. The aid station volunteer finally just told Phil to go and he was off. Bj and I left shortly after and Matt a little ways behind us. Matt caught up to us and the three of us ran together. Phil stopped at the road to refill at his mobile aid station provided by his family. The three of us passed him and that was the last time I saw Phil until the finish line. Yuck. Now we have 3-4 miles of road running to do with a slight uphill grade. It was starting to get hot at this point and the road was destroying my trail loving heart. Then Davy Crockett provided some temporary relief handing out popsicles on the side of the road. Awesome. Thanks Davy. After the popsicle was gone I starting having a mental battle. All I wanted to do was walk the rest of the way to the next aid station but the little voice inside wouldn’t let me do that. I struggled to stay with Matt and Bj but made sure I did. We looked back and we could see other runners starting to catch up. Finally I decided I didn’t want to spend one second longer than I had to on the damn road so I started pushing the pace a bit. Bj came with me and I think this is where we separated from Matt. Eventually we hit aid station #6. Hallelujah! Sami and Lori were suppose to be here but unfortunately they missed us by about 10 minutes. I was looking forward to seeing Sami knowing that she would give me a mental boost. I just kept telling myself that they would be at the next aid station and that helped me keep pushing on. Bj topped off my hydration pack with a couple cups of ice, refilled his handhelds and we were off. Back on dirt, finally! Not single track, but it will do. We are still heading uphill but it was all runable. A couple miles from the aid station and nature calls to Bj. He thinks he can make it to the aid station then we round the next corner and he changes his mind. He finds a suitable spot to take his pit stop and I decide to keep trudging along. I thought there was a good chance that it was the last time I would see Bj until the finish. I rolled into the next aid station welcomed by hoots and hollers from the volunteers. I love the feeling that I get when I am being cheered on. It always gives me a boost. I refilled my hydration pack and lingered a little bit at the snack table. I took a shot of Coke then I headed out. I didn’t get too far before I heard volunteers cheering again and I looked back to see Bj and Jeff Bertot. So we meet again. Last year at Squaw Peak Jeff and I battled each other for the last 15 miles or so. It looks like this race might turn out the same. Game on. I slowed my pace a bit so that I could run with Bj again and as I did Jeff passed me. Now our focus was to keep up with Jeff. We caught back up with him pretty quickly and we all ran together for a while. We reached a part of the trail that had a tree down across it and when I went to push off of it my foot slipped a bit and I came down funny on my left foot. I felt a little tweak in my hamstring. There was a tiny hill after this part and my hammy felt tight and uncomfortable. This made me a little nervous but I stretched it out and it felt better. The last part of the section before the next aid station was downhill. Usually I would be happy about that but my feet were starting to hurt(something that has been happening on longer runs since the Bear100) and my weak left ankle was acting up like it does. I coasted the rest of the way into aid station #8. We had our last drop bags here so we loaded up for the long hot section ahead. We headed out with a popsicle in hand and walked for a minute or so until we had finished them. The climb was pretty mellow so we trotted along the trail winding back and forth across a creek and threw some Aspen trees. We had caught back up to Jeff and we all hiked together until the trail got steeper. Jeff slowed his pace a bit(which I wanted to do) but Bj pushed forward so I followed because I couldn’t let him get out of sight. This part of the trail was a grind and made me work a lot harder than I wanted to at this point. My legs were screaming for mercy but we pushed on. Eventually the trail levels out and Jeff caught and passed us. Jeff led us down the rolling trail that turned into just downhill. I really didn’t feel like running at this point but I kept up with Bj and Jeff. My feet were hurting pretty bad at this point and the trail wasn’t helping much. There were lots of roots trying to trip me(a few almost succeeded) and plenty of rocks along this narrow single track. While running down this part we caught up to a few other runners and added them to our pack. Around mile 39 the real racing begins….Bozung Hill. Bj starts up the hill at a pace faster than I wanted to go but I’m stubborn and couldn’t let him get ahead of me. About a quarter mile into the climb Bj just steps off the side of the trail and stops. He was feeling the effects of the hill and needed a breather. I was surprised because he had been kicking my ass on all the climbs up to this point and I didn’t think I would be able to out climb him on this day. I gave some encouraging words to him as I climbed past. I knew that if I stopped at all on this hill that it would take me a long time to get back into the climb mentally. The trail isn’t even a trail. Just a beaten path through the scrubby trees and plants that reside on the steep hillside. This whole time it seems that Jeff is getting stronger and I look up every now and then to see him get further and further away. My legs feel drained at this point but I keep pressing forward. The hill only lasts for about a mile but it feels like 5 miles at the least. I finally reach the top but have a little confusion with the trail markings. After sorting it out with a couple other runners I am back on track. My legs are shot so I walk and lightly job for a while even though the trail is flat or only slightly uphill. I reach some snow and put some in my hat to cool down, take in the views for a moment and then I am back into race mode. Soon I come across Ryan Lauck hiking up the trail from the aid station where he is volunteering. It’s good to see a familiar face and he lets me know I only have about a quarter mile to the Windy Pass aid station(#9). Yes! I get into the aid station and see some more friendly faces. Jim is running the aid station and Britta is there to help out. They refill my water and get me some potatoes with salt. I swap out my socks and I am on my way down the mountain, finally! The downhill is a welcome break from grunting upwards so I start enjoying myself more. It doesn’t last long as the trail gets rocky and I’m not able to run as fast as I think I should be. My ankle is bothering me on the loose rocks and my feet fill bruised. I run on the good stretches and walk where the possibility of rolling my ankle is to high to be worth the risk. I’m just moving along in my own world when I get the best surprise of the day. Sami! Yay! She has hiked up the trail about 3 or 4 miles from the next aid station to see me as soon as possible. Thanks for being there babe, you helped me more than you know. Lori was just a little ways down the trail ready to get my photo. We said hello/goodbye and I was on my way with Sami running down behind me. The downhill felt like it lasted much longer than it should but eventually I popped out on an open plain. A little more downhill and I was at the last aid station. I had run out of water about a mile before and was pretty thirsty. A volunteer refilled my hydration pack and got me a cold towel. The cold towel on my neck felt amazing after suffering in the heat all day. I lingered a while enjoying the offerings they had. I finally got myself out of there and just as I was leaving I could see a green shirt come around the corner. Bj. I quickly checked out and took off down the road. Apparently Bj didn’t know that I had seen him so he had his bottles refilled quickly and started to chase after me. I was a little shocked to see him that close to me. He looked beaten when I left him heading up Bozung Hill. Bj yelled at me when he reached the road to the finish. I looked back and just kept on running. I couldn’t let him catch me now, not this far into the race. I looked back one more time and waved at him to catch up but he just gave me the “go ahead” gesture and I didn’t see him again until the finish. I picked up my pace. I felt miserable running on the road with sore, tired legs but I pressed on knowing that I was almost done. I passed a runner walking because he was dehydrated and got passed by a guy less than a half mile from the finish. I later learned from Bj that he is a fast road marathoner so that lessened the sting a little. I turn the corner onto the park sidewalk and get a good welcome from the crowd. Sami has made it back down to cheer me in with Cammie, Brevin and Wyatt. I cross the finish line after 9 hours 49 minutes and 15 seconds good for 11th place overall and 1st in my age group. Bj is just under 4 minutes behind me. Jeff finished the race really strong in 9:33:04 good for 6th overall. Now the score is one to one...until we meet again. I am happy with the race I ran and proud of the result. I know that I could have had a better time if it wasn’t so bloody hot, but you have to play the hand you are dealt…there’s always next year.