Friday, August 10, 2012

Steep Ravine 50k

Started out as a nice cool foggy morning perfect for running. It was such the pleasant weather that i got in a good flow and left most of the other runners behind, the problem in that however was that i didn't know the trails around the Muir woods or Stinson Beach enough to be on the lead. What happened next is a blessing in disguise, i took a wrong turn about mile 14 and my race was over. I crossed the finish line at 4:46 minutes with 28 or so miles under my belt and a DNF "did not finish". I waited at the finish line for the 50k finishers and they got in at around 5:40, what a bummer for me and great for them.

What i learned from this is that i need to get better at doing my homework about the races as i register for them and not line toe to toe with the big dis-advantage of not knowing squat about the coarse to come.

The following are things to prepare for about a race:
  • Study the trail maps weeks before the race if possible.
  • Talk to the race directors before the race and confirm the coarse on the website.
  • Get familiar with the trails as much as possible before the race and run these trails and especially the different turns and turnarounds. 
This has come at a good time as i would have been disappointed at this happening to me in the middle of say The North Face Endurance Challenge in December or the Mt. Diablo Challenge. Not to talk down about Coastal Trail Runs, Steep Ravine or Wendell and his races, they do a fantastic job at organizing these races for us to enjoy. I just say this because i see these two latter races as a bigger challenge for me at this point in my racing/running. Focusing on these two races this year, what i learned from this event is so valuable and is going to give me that much more experience on executing race strategy. 

The Running was excellent. I felt great, the course was a moderate to tough coarse for the area events and i think i felt very comfortable without experiencing any significant low points at any point on the race. At some points i even pushed-it up a notch because i felt the need for speed but it was a single random isolated time. 

Overall, great event, great coarse, good people. Thanks to Wendell, Coastal Trail Runs Race Director for the free t-shirt and the hot soup after the race. 

Credit to Coastal Trail Runs for the nice finish line picture.



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