Greenland 50K

Yesterday was our first official 50K in Larkspur, Colorado.
http://greenland50k.com/?page_id=13

 

The course is on all dirt double track trails.  There was a gradual ascent from miles 1-5 and then a descent for 3 miles with a maximal elevation of 7400 feet.  The 50K did 4 loops. 

I went there on the way home from work one day and it didn't seem quite so hilly.  I just thought I was tired that day and blamed it on the elevation and standing all day.  Turns out the hills there are for real. 

It was a beautiful day with great panoramic views of the mountains and farmland.  It did get pretty toasty as there are no trees on the course (according to our friend Matt- A. there was 1 tree).  We also forgot to bring sunscreen, so now I radiate heat like a furnace.  

Thanks to all of our amazing friends who came out and volunteered at the aid stations and to cheer us on and to Milan for giving me his last electrolyte tabs so I could keep moving.  

I started out at what felt like a comfortable pace for me, but it may have been too fast for that long of a distance.  Sean and I stayed together for approximately the first 4 miles and then he took off.  I felt great the first lap and didn't drink enough.  I did force myself to eat an evil gel at mile 8.  By the second lap, I started drinking at least a cup from every aid station, but it may have been too late.

By the third lap, I was cramping really bad.  My hamstrings, butt, and calves felt like rocks and I could barely move. Even when I was running downhill, I felt like my legs were just stiff poles but that they couldn't respond to catch me if they needed to.  I laid on the ground to try to stretch for a little bit, which helped for a couple miles. Milan saw me slowing down and passed me and gave me his last electrolyte tabs and some water.   I thought I was doing really badly as I had been power walking for a while. I made it to the aid station very tempted to quit, but instead I drank a ton, had more electrolyte tabs and a gel and kept going.  I got to the aid station and had some more water and electrolytes and felt like I could actually attempt to run again.  I ran up the rest of the hill and then back down toward the finish and then I saw Sean running to meet me about 0.5 miles from the finish. It was great to see him, he still looked good and I finally was feeling like myself again.  It was great being able to run into the finish with a smile. 

I prefer to have minimal stuff and run with as little as possible, but clearly my plan didn't work.  I just might be running with more water and electrolyte tabs at the next race. 

Sean had a great race, got a little tired during the 4th lap, but who didn't. 

         Overall Place        Avg Pace.      Total Time        Gender position         Division position
Sean    12                         8:37                   4:27                    11                              5
Laura   70                        10:53                  5:37                    18                              6

Stretching and happy to be done.

 

Finisher Medal.                                                                                    

Dirty feet on the drive home. 

Then we went home, showered, and went to pick up the boys for more fun.

We took a little trip to the dog park, the kid park, Tokyo Joes (Sean was the featured athlete April 2012- so last month), and the book store. 

and fell into bed very tired.