LOCATION: near Tampico, Washington
Let me ask you a question, what is the hardest race you have ever done? For me it's two fold. The hardest race I have ever done is probably Where's Waldo 100k in 2008. In that race I made it 50 miles and dropped. It was north of 100 degrees and the altitude (6000-7000 ft) go to me and I was not feeling very well. But the hardest race I ever finished would be no doubt Grey Rock 50k. I was working on running 13 marathons/ultras in 12 weeks in order to become a seven star Maniac. It started at Pacific Crest in June 2008, and the following
weekend I ran my first triple. But I was looking to keep going week after week, so I found the Grey Rock 50k near Yakima, Washington on July 12 and decided to give it a go.
I drove out to Yakima on Friday evening, and slept in my car at a rest stop in Yakima. It started at a campground west of Yakima, it wasn't that far, but was a lot of uphill driving and took close to two hours to get to the start. I arrived about 30-40 minutes before the start. It was sunny and cold in the high altitude.
The race is an out-and-back course on a VERY TECHINICAL trail. The first climb begins right away with a 1,800 foot climb. It was a tough climb and the huge rocks and very technical nature of the trail prevented me from being able to get into a groove. In these first four miles I averaged a 13:20 pace. Upton reaching the aid station it then dropped 1,800 feet over the next four miles. Despite the technical nature of the trail I was able to cruise at about a 8:45 pace. But trust me it wasn't over yet!
Upon reaching the second aid station I continued on with another huge climb to the turn around. This climb was a 1,900 foot climb and once again was very technical. I was running miles in the 14-16 minute range. Upon reaching the turn around, which was a very pretty meadow, I headed back down the hill to the previous aid station. That downhill stretch was not very fast mainly due to a massive rock field. When I say rock field, I mean a huge area with huge rocks everywhere it was quite a sight.
Once I got back to the aid station, the toughest part of the race was yet to come. That first climb was still to come going the other way. The 1,800 foot climb was brutal; I was dead tired and was really tired of the technical nature of the course. I ended running that four mile stretch with a lot of walking. It was basically a hike up the hill. I averaged a 19:00 pace in those four miles. But, I said the race started with a 1,800 foot climb in the first four miles, which means the race ended with a 1,800 foot downhill drop. This was nice I ended up averaging around a 9:00 pace in those last few miles. Once I came out at the finish I rest for quite a while before heading home.
What is that all translate to? I finished in 6:53:47, which wasn't horrible considering the huge climbs. My first half split was 3:24:39, which means my second half was 3:29:08. I took a lot less time at the aid stations in the second half, and also stopped to take more pictures in the first half. One thing I did enjoy about this race was the amazing views of Mt Rainer and Mt Adams.
Will I do it again? Maybe.
Let me ask you a question, what is the hardest race you have ever done? For me it's two fold. The hardest race I have ever done is probably Where's Waldo 100k in 2008. In that race I made it 50 miles and dropped. It was north of 100 degrees and the altitude (6000-7000 ft) go to me and I was not feeling very well. But the hardest race I ever finished would be no doubt Grey Rock 50k. I was working on running 13 marathons/ultras in 12 weeks in order to become a seven star Maniac. It started at Pacific Crest in June 2008, and the following
weekend I ran my first triple. But I was looking to keep going week after week, so I found the Grey Rock 50k near Yakima, Washington on July 12 and decided to give it a go. I drove out to Yakima on Friday evening, and slept in my car at a rest stop in Yakima. It started at a campground west of Yakima, it wasn't that far, but was a lot of uphill driving and took close to two hours to get to the start. I arrived about 30-40 minutes before the start. It was sunny and cold in the high altitude.
The race is an out-and-back course on a VERY TECHINICAL trail. The first climb begins right away with a 1,800 foot climb. It was a tough climb and the huge rocks and very technical nature of the trail prevented me from being able to get into a groove. In these first four miles I averaged a 13:20 pace. Upton reaching the aid station it then dropped 1,800 feet over the next four miles. Despite the technical nature of the trail I was able to cruise at about a 8:45 pace. But trust me it wasn't over yet!
Upon reaching the second aid station I continued on with another huge climb to the turn around. This climb was a 1,900 foot climb and once again was very technical. I was running miles in the 14-16 minute range. Upon reaching the turn around, which was a very pretty meadow, I headed back down the hill to the previous aid station. That downhill stretch was not very fast mainly due to a massive rock field. When I say rock field, I mean a huge area with huge rocks everywhere it was quite a sight.
Once I got back to the aid station, the toughest part of the race was yet to come. That first climb was still to come going the other way. The 1,800 foot climb was brutal; I was dead tired and was really tired of the technical nature of the course. I ended running that four mile stretch with a lot of walking. It was basically a hike up the hill. I averaged a 19:00 pace in those four miles. But, I said the race started with a 1,800 foot climb in the first four miles, which means the race ended with a 1,800 foot downhill drop. This was nice I ended up averaging around a 9:00 pace in those last few miles. Once I came out at the finish I rest for quite a while before heading home.
What is that all translate to? I finished in 6:53:47, which wasn't horrible considering the huge climbs. My first half split was 3:24:39, which means my second half was 3:29:08. I took a lot less time at the aid stations in the second half, and also stopped to take more pictures in the first half. One thing I did enjoy about this race was the amazing views of Mt Rainer and Mt Adams.
Will I do it again? Maybe.
No comments:
Post a Comment