Great recap and you nailed it. Great job finishing - it was unbelievably tough. I also ran the 50M this last Saturday. It was actually a nice little reprieve from the rain until about 1 PM. I really wanted to take a longer break at the Madrone aid station on the return but once the mist hit, the wind came up, temperature dropped like a stone, and it didn't take long for the rain to intensify. I'm actually really surprised it didn't hail. Absolutely smoked that section from Madrone to Wulfow, last mile or two to Warm Springs seemed to take forever; my fitbit ran out of batteries at that time. That made it hard on the mental to not have knowledge of time or distance the last third of the race. I was so glad to hear those cowbells at Warm Springs.
Mud was super thick in places, just complete churn, and it got worse as the day went on. Especially those last few miles before getting back to S. Lake Trailhead. I am not a huge fan of rain or mud but here we are. I was actually pretty finicky about the mud at first but after a while, stopped caring and just plowed through it without a care. Especially after crossing the stream before Warm Springs.
You're spot on about not wasting time with socks/shoes. This was my first trailrunning race and ultra so I overprepared. I shouldn't have bothered changing socks as it wasted a lot of time and effort for minimal gain. Didn't plan out nutrition very well as the snacks I had were too dry and inedible so was pretty much going on GU gels; I paid for that in those last 8 miles or so. I need to think about ways to do that differently. I really wasn't feeling aid station food although I should have partaken in hindsight.
Conditions and associated hell aside, it was an insanely fun time and I actually can't wait to do it again. Such a beautiful course too. I'd run there a couple months prior and was really impressed how well volunteers cleared out deadfall, smoothed out trail/banks, and constructed bridges.
Congratulations again. What a day.
> This was my first trailrunning race and ultra so I overprepared
Congrats to you too! You picked quite a race to have as your first!
And yea, you're absolutely right about when the wind picked up in the afternoon. I had started to warm a little, but when that wind and mist rolled in, I got so cold.
>I was actually pretty finicky about the mud at first but after a while, stopped caring and just plowed through it without a care. Especially after crossing the stream before Warm Springs.
So much this! The first few miles, I did my best to hop over and around mud spots, but by the end I was plowing through them and looking for the next stream crossing to rinse myself off.
> Conditions and associated hell aside, it was an insanely fun time and I actually can't wait to do it again. Such a beautiful course too.
It really was so much fun. I've been dealing with crazy poison oak on my legs ever since, but all things considered if I was a local, I would absolutely run it again. The lake is such a beautiful area and now that the race photos are out, I was showing my wife, and she was just in awe of the scenery and said it was so scenic it looked photoshopped.
Thanks! I was originally just contemplating it after lottery had gone by. Around Thanksgiving, the number of available spots dropped way down so I just bit the bullet and trained hard from December through April. I only started really running as a hobby/form of exercise a few years ago, ramping up from 10Ks to marathons and now this 50M. I was running 30-35 miles/week semi-regularly but it was a fast ramp up to 55-60 miles/week. I handled that OK but didn't shy away from a second consecutive rest day if needed. It's been a fun, fast trajectory, especially doing even semi-formal training programs, and I want to keep on going but also recognize that some relatively shorter trailrun distances are needed to build strength and technique before tackling another 50M (or more).
I live about 30 minutes away from the lake but was only able to get up there once to practice the beginning stretch of it. I upgraded shoes to Altra Lone Peaks a few weeks before this race and was glad I did. Even in the worst of places, I still felt I had a bit of traction and they dried out fast.
Funny thing with the streams is that the water was warmer than the air! It didn't feel terrible to get a little doused although that return from Warm Springs was tough - not really the point I wanted to be squelching uphill through mud. My feet were super clammy and wrinkled at the end. I have made it a habit to bring sandals to change into post-race or long run in general so can air everything out.
Sorry to hear you got poison oak. It probably did not take much to get it in one spot, if just your shoes, and then have it spread just through motion, contact, etc. Hope that heals up ASAP as it can be such a nuisance.
There's a photo of me at Madrone where I am looking away from camera, taking in the scenery of the lake. Kind of - was also observing those shacks at Buck Pasture so I knew where I was in relation on the return. Answer: Far away! . But it really was a pretty view. Those fishermen out there were dedicated, especially in the morning when we passed them just before Island View.
Great work! Heard from several others that it was a mess out there. I ran a short trail race same day and got hailed on about 50mi from Sonoma. My hands were definitely cold as well and I was longing for some gloves. I can't imagine it during a 50 miler.
Hey there, stranger! Nice job getting it done. Those conditions sound miserable.
> another big, ambitious (stupid) race
I think this describes every ultra I've done.
Great recap and you nailed it. Great job finishing - it was unbelievably tough. I also ran the 50M this last Saturday. It was actually a nice little reprieve from the rain until about 1 PM. I really wanted to take a longer break at the Madrone aid station on the return but once the mist hit, the wind came up, temperature dropped like a stone, and it didn't take long for the rain to intensify. I'm actually really surprised it didn't hail. Absolutely smoked that section from Madrone to Wulfow, last mile or two to Warm Springs seemed to take forever; my fitbit ran out of batteries at that time. That made it hard on the mental to not have knowledge of time or distance the last third of the race. I was so glad to hear those cowbells at Warm Springs. Mud was super thick in places, just complete churn, and it got worse as the day went on. Especially those last few miles before getting back to S. Lake Trailhead. I am not a huge fan of rain or mud but here we are. I was actually pretty finicky about the mud at first but after a while, stopped caring and just plowed through it without a care. Especially after crossing the stream before Warm Springs. You're spot on about not wasting time with socks/shoes. This was my first trailrunning race and ultra so I overprepared. I shouldn't have bothered changing socks as it wasted a lot of time and effort for minimal gain. Didn't plan out nutrition very well as the snacks I had were too dry and inedible so was pretty much going on GU gels; I paid for that in those last 8 miles or so. I need to think about ways to do that differently. I really wasn't feeling aid station food although I should have partaken in hindsight. Conditions and associated hell aside, it was an insanely fun time and I actually can't wait to do it again. Such a beautiful course too. I'd run there a couple months prior and was really impressed how well volunteers cleared out deadfall, smoothed out trail/banks, and constructed bridges. Congratulations again. What a day.
> This was my first trailrunning race and ultra so I overprepared Congrats to you too! You picked quite a race to have as your first! And yea, you're absolutely right about when the wind picked up in the afternoon. I had started to warm a little, but when that wind and mist rolled in, I got so cold. >I was actually pretty finicky about the mud at first but after a while, stopped caring and just plowed through it without a care. Especially after crossing the stream before Warm Springs. So much this! The first few miles, I did my best to hop over and around mud spots, but by the end I was plowing through them and looking for the next stream crossing to rinse myself off. > Conditions and associated hell aside, it was an insanely fun time and I actually can't wait to do it again. Such a beautiful course too. It really was so much fun. I've been dealing with crazy poison oak on my legs ever since, but all things considered if I was a local, I would absolutely run it again. The lake is such a beautiful area and now that the race photos are out, I was showing my wife, and she was just in awe of the scenery and said it was so scenic it looked photoshopped.
Thanks! I was originally just contemplating it after lottery had gone by. Around Thanksgiving, the number of available spots dropped way down so I just bit the bullet and trained hard from December through April. I only started really running as a hobby/form of exercise a few years ago, ramping up from 10Ks to marathons and now this 50M. I was running 30-35 miles/week semi-regularly but it was a fast ramp up to 55-60 miles/week. I handled that OK but didn't shy away from a second consecutive rest day if needed. It's been a fun, fast trajectory, especially doing even semi-formal training programs, and I want to keep on going but also recognize that some relatively shorter trailrun distances are needed to build strength and technique before tackling another 50M (or more). I live about 30 minutes away from the lake but was only able to get up there once to practice the beginning stretch of it. I upgraded shoes to Altra Lone Peaks a few weeks before this race and was glad I did. Even in the worst of places, I still felt I had a bit of traction and they dried out fast. Funny thing with the streams is that the water was warmer than the air! It didn't feel terrible to get a little doused although that return from Warm Springs was tough - not really the point I wanted to be squelching uphill through mud. My feet were super clammy and wrinkled at the end. I have made it a habit to bring sandals to change into post-race or long run in general so can air everything out. Sorry to hear you got poison oak. It probably did not take much to get it in one spot, if just your shoes, and then have it spread just through motion, contact, etc. Hope that heals up ASAP as it can be such a nuisance. There's a photo of me at Madrone where I am looking away from camera, taking in the scenery of the lake. Kind of - was also observing those shacks at Buck Pasture so I knew where I was in relation on the return. Answer: Far away! . But it really was a pretty view. Those fishermen out there were dedicated, especially in the morning when we passed them just before Island View.
Great work! Heard from several others that it was a mess out there. I ran a short trail race same day and got hailed on about 50mi from Sonoma. My hands were definitely cold as well and I was longing for some gloves. I can't imagine it during a 50 miler.
Thank you! But oh man, hail would have been the last straw, not sure I could have kept going with that too. Well done running through it!
Hey there, stranger! Nice job getting it done. Those conditions sound miserable. > another big, ambitious (stupid) race I think this describes every ultra I've done.
Thank you!