8 Summits Run

I began this run with a hazy goal in mind; Run as many summits in the coast range as I could before the end of the day. I had one minor hiccup to address; I needed to let Sophie, my dog, out sometime during the day.

I was armed with 2 liters of water, a flashlight, a cell phone, a lot of food and gels, and some rough maps. So I loaded all my stuff up into my hydration pack (thanks Pam!) and drove to Lewisburg saddle. First summit was Vineyard Mountain via the Nettleton-Davis loop.

As I wrapped up the loop I took the Old Growth Trail. It boggles my mind how many people I see skip this section of trail. I always feel like asking them what was the point of coming out if they were going to skip this gem?

On the OGT I saw the one person in my world, besides Craig, that would understand the under taking that was developing in my mind. I ran into my friend Rob who routinely bikes to the coast, trying to use as little pavement as possible. We began ticking off summits that we thought were possible and thus my route was planned. I had a goal of 9 summits to do before nightfall. : Vineyard, Unnamed N. of Dimple, Dimple, Chip Ross, Bald Hill, Mulkey Ridge, Highest public place in Fitton Green, McCullough, and Price Peak.

At this point I was back to Lewisburg saddle, 6 miles in, and only one summit done. I knew that if I came back to my car so I could drive home to let Sophie out  1. I would run out of day light, and 2. I probably wouldn’t drive back up. So grabbed my loaded hydration pack and headed up to the unnamed peak north of Dimple leaving my car until the end of the day.

This section of trail has my all-time favorite tree in the entire forest “Hydra. (See video)”

Next on to Dimple and then Chip Ross. From Chip Ross I decided to run across town (oh horrors! pavement I know.) I stopped at the Coop and filled a container with some yummy food, stuffed it into my hydration pack sideways, and off I went to let Sophie out. I munched on lunch while I recharged my Garmin and threw the ball for Sophie. Then it was back out to the trail.

Red Tail Missing His Lunch

The run gets pretty boring here just ticking off summits: Bald hill, Mulkey ridge, and Fitton green. Oh except for the dead headless Band Tailed Pigeon I saw on the way to Fitton Green, I’m pretty sure the Red Tail that was screaming at me had dropped his lunch. Then it’s on to McCullough.

Lunch, Band Tailed Pigeon

I took Skillings Road and it is pretty steep. I was forced to a walk for nearly 5 miles as I drudged up to the summit. Just as I began to approach the summit an astonishing sun set began.  Do it again Daddy.


Oh wait running right, no problem I had a flashlight. So I topped out on McCullough Peak and headed down for Price peak.

This is when things get good I had never been to Price peak before and was just guessing which peak it was. After about a mile things were going well when my flashlight died. First Lesson learned: Change the batteries before long runs. But I had my phone and my camera both which could illuminate the trail. But that meant no more running since I’m prone to sprains and could no longer see the rocks in the road.

Skillings Road

Fitton Green

So now I had a choice Left to Price peak or Right to Sulfer Springs and then my car. Getting bored I decided to bail on Price Peak. Second Lesson: Don’t attempt to run trails you’ve never been on 37 miles into a run in the dark. I’m going along thinking about whether or not I have cell service and at what point I can put in an order with Taqueria Alonzo (yes I have them on speed dial) when I look around. Wait? What! I was nearly back on McCullough Peak.

I’m not really sure how I did that but frustrated with no adequate light source, and only caffeinated gus left, I decide to stick to roads to get back to my car. I headed down to Sulphur Springs via the logging roads adding about 4 extra miles onto my run. I probably could have doubled back but I was feeling insecure about my ability to navigate by cell phone light.

Sunset Below McCullough Peak

Somewhere in here I out ran my Garmin battery. You know it’s been a fabulous run when you outlast your gps watch battery.

Arriving at Sulphur Springs starving and in the dark I still had to walk about 2 miles on the road to my car. This is when I really started freaking myself out. Cars by day are just cars. Cars by night are full of scary people wanting to hurt you. So every time I heard a car I would pitch it into the bushes scared to death. Those were some very long 2 miles.

Getting back to my car was exhilarating, not just because I escaped all the cars, but also because I’d completed 8 summits in ~45 miles, less than 9 hours of daylight, and ~7500 ft of elevation gain!

Next time I will include Peavy Peak, and the small summit where Nettleton and Davies come together at the North End, Price Peak, and a flashlight with batteries that work.

8 Summits Run!

What Just Happened to me? -Where's Waldo 2010 Race Report

Writing this race report was really the impetus for starting this blog.  I wrote the report and sent it to a few friends who then asked if they could forward it on.  In a few days it was posted on the running group forum I belong to.  After multiple positive email comments and several encounters with people who new me as the girl who wrote this report I decided to start a blog.  It has taking me about 5 months to get my blog going, mainly because I wanted to come up with a good title.   Hope I did!

At the Start the night before (by CSmith)

What just happened to me?

I have to say it even hurts to sit at my computer today.  To say the race was hard is an understatement but I guess in my case it could have been  5 minutes and 40 seconds harder and I still would have gotten my "I don't ever have to do this race again" finishers hat!

Yup with a time of 15:54:21 I finished my first 100k 5 minutes before the 9pm (hat) cutoff. 

The race started pretty well I fell in with Craig, John Liebeskind, and a few other runners.  We all warmed up on the big climb out of the start by laughing and yelling at John.  He decided it was more important to know his heart was beating than to start the race.  Hint for next year John: You’re moving so you’re beating!
 

AS1 came up and oh yes a pit toilet, guess I'll stop.  This was the end of the fun race for me.  I never ran with another racer again, except 5 miles towards the end.  The climb up Mt. Fuji made me dizzy, I almost left the AS2 without eating and I have absolutely no memory of someone taking off my headlamp which happened either here or at AS1.

More walking (by CSmith)

I saw Craig a few times in here but he didn't seem to be having a good time either.  The run down Mt. Fuji was fine but then the terrain flattened out and I couldn't run.  By mile 18 I was counting 100 paces to make myself run and was seriously thinking about a DNF. After a few hundred rounds I got cranky at counting and told myself I needed to figure out the cutoff times and go from there, so I started walking.

One of the few Happy Moments (by CSmith).

That's when the angels appeared handing out smiles and chocolate frosting (AS4) in fist size globs, I was in “Heaven!” As soon as I saw a familiar face I moaned "I need some Waldo." The Twins aid station was my salvation.  I stayed there so long Gaby (Tia Gabalita) was yelling at me to "Get up, Get going, Start running"  so I did, I walked another half hour out of there.  Then I came upon an early start who informed me of all the cutoffs.  I started running.

The Angels (by CSmith)

32 miles in I arrived at Charlton Lake Aid station (AS5) with 21 minutes until the cutoff.  I made Scott Leanord (the aid station captain and also the Co-RD for our local 50K) jump into Charlton Lake with me, since he's the one that made me think I could do this!  We waded into the water and he said to me “I can't go any further these are my only shorts.”  I laughed at him and said "These are my only shorts and I still have to run!"  He grabbed my hand and we dove in.  Thanks to everyone that dried me off and shoved Vaseline in my face reminding me of all the places I could potentially want it while dripping wet and running!

Shoes back on, I was sprinting. I was now making tracks from my frosting sugar rush and an adrenaline rush from the dunking.
 

Weird side note: a northbound PCT thru hiker was hanging out at that aid station waiting for me.  He had talked to Craig earlier in the race and it turns out that we had met in Vermont while Craig and I were south bounding the AT and he was out on a long trail run!  Go Freebird!

I reached the next aid station with 20 minutes to go before its cutoff.  This adorable toothless 6 year old, Macy, asked me in the sweetest syrupy cute and worried voice "Are you last?"  I couldn't help but melt she was just too cute!  I said, "I don't think so, but almost."  Then she said "What's your name?" I said, "April" and she gasped "Oh that's cute!"  If anyone else in the world had asked and responded in such a way, after I’d run 37 miles, I probably would have knocked their two front teeth out.  Seeing how she didn't have any, I just wanted her to keep me company as hanging out with her for those few minutes really was one of the more pleasant moments in the race!

So her dad came over and I started drilling him.  What times the next cutoff?  How many miles? How much is uphill?  His answers just kept getting worse and worse. Where's Macy?  At least she would have been cute when telling me the bad news.  I had 150 minutes to get 7.5 miles and it was 80% uphill. Considering I was 37.5 miles in on the day it was devastating news.  Plus I had to start carrying extra gear here since it was the last aid station I could pick up my flashlight, extra water bottle, and warm clothes.  At this point (approximately 2pm) I had no idea if I was even going to finish, more or less finish before I’d needed any of it.

I guess the two espresso flavored Gu's, with 100mg caffeine each, really helped because I

Hell! (by CSmith)

made it into "Hell" with 30 minutes to spare!  This was the second to last cut off for the race and the last cutoff where you could be pulled from the race if you did not get there on time.  The final cutoff occurs at the finish line.  If you are not there by 9pm you still get a qualifying finish time, but no finisher’s hat! 

Lucky for me this was the same aid station with the good food, you loop your way back here so this was my second time through!  I'd eaten the fist size glob of frosting here earlier.  So I parked my butt in front of the food, it was nearly dinner time right? and proceeded to graze on everything: soysausages, grapes, melon, potato, m&m's and yep more chocolate frosting.  I'd never eaten so much or such a variety at a race before.  I was always strictly gu and potato girl before.  But I was starving and I spent a large portion of the race starving I need some serious calories.   

 Here I picked up 2 more racers and we walked, ran, and chatted another five miles to the next aid station.  I got stung by a bee in the section. Suck.

Doesn't he just look evil?  (by CSmith)

 Maiden Peak aid station arrived and I parked it in front of the food again, in a chair this time. Got the stats and was out of there.  3 miles to the top of Maiden Peak, 2 miles down to the last aid station and 12.5 miles left to go.  I left the aid station with the 2 other racers we talked about the seriousness of our situation.  It was 5:15pm and we had the hardest 3 miles of the race in front of us.  We had to be at the top of Maiden Peak by 7pm or we did not have a chance at that hat.   I had done Maiden Peak 3 weekends before, but this was an entirely different experience.  The other two racers fell behind me and I started having evil thoughts. “Craig Thornley is a bad bad man.  Craig Thronley is sadistic.”  “No one that I would call a friend would ever make people do this 53 miles into a race.” “Craig Thornley is so mean.”  

I made it to the top at 6:55pm.  That’s 3 miles in 100 minutes, a 33min/mile pace.  Really?  Really!

The top was carnage; there were volunteers 0.25 miles from the top and at the top.  There were racers sitting on the ground in the cold with the volunteers, there were people contemplating each step on the way down from the summit. It was not a pretty site.  But I had 125 minutes and 9.5 miles to get that darn hat.  So I ran, I started feeling shin splints and I ran.  There was an aid station in there somewhere and someone tried to put a sanitizing wipe across my forehead.  I’m allergic to those, but I freaked out.  I had 7.5 miles to go and someone was holding my chin trying to swipe my face with something that was going to give me a terrible rash.  I grabbed some potatoes and ran.

What just happened to me? (by CSmith)

I got to Rosary Lakes, aah 3 miles left and 50 minutes to do it in. I thought I was in the clear. So I slowed down but ran what I thought was another mile.  Then out of nowhere, they looked like ghosts, I hear “you’re at lower Rosary lake 3.4 miles to the finish line.” I had only 40 minutes left.  I said “Sh*t” and just kept running.  It was dark now and I was trying to get my headlamp out.  I was screaming at my fannypack.  I was screaming at my legs.  Every thought I had was spoken outloud. “OK you have about 2 miles left and 24 minutes that's 12 minute miles."  I even said the the "OK you" part outloud. There were a few “F*ck!” and a few, “April why are you walking?”  I may have been alone for most of this race but those last few miles I kept myself good company!  

I saw the ski lift lights and threw down my handheld and fanny pack.  I had 7 minutes and I had no idea how much further.  I broke through the trees and I hear “It’s right there.” I had a football field size gravel lot to cross and I hear “Number 80 is coming to the finish!”  In this booming God like voice from on high.  Then I hear “Is that you April?”  I yelled Yep!  And Meghan Arboghast and Craig T. were there to give me a big hug.  I got my darn hat.

What just happened to me?

Western States- Getting Engaged!

Pre-Race

I am going to open my blog with the most memorable running experience I've had so far.  Craig ran Western States in 2010 and I paced him from Forest hill on.  This is the guest article that I wrote for his blog about getting engaged mid race

Start of Western States 2010

Craig showed up at Foresthill in the dark escorted by two of our friends.  I’d been waiting for Craig since 2pm, seeing as how it was now 9:30pm I was totally ecstatic! We took our time at the aid station and Craig even flirted with the volunteers. They wanted to know if he really had just run 62 miles to get there.  They had a hard time believing him he was in such a great mood.  

Craig looking great after 62 miles!

Our friends sent us off into the night at the bottom of the hill.  It was now just us!  We we’re off, but not for long.  We took the opportunity to pee as soon as we got off concrete.  Three minutes down the trail I realized I left my flashlight back on the ground.  So back up the trail I scampered trying not block any oncoming runners.  Once back with Craig I decided to adjust my ponytail holder and whack it snapped apart.  Telling Craig about the missing flashlight was a must, but telling him about the broken ponytail holder seemed ridiculous. In any other circumstance I would have whined to him about my tough luck.  But at that moment I realized what I was doing and what I was helping him accomplish.  I stepped out of my norm and began to think about him and what I needed to do for myself to take care of him.  He definitely didn’t need to be worrying about my hair.

And I’m glad I didn’t tell him.  Craig can be a pretty quiet guy so when he was just giving me yes, no, and the occasionally grunts I thought OK this is how he wants to run it.  I can do that for him.  When we got to Cal 1 Craig wanted to sit down, when he started staring at the guy with the IV and a blanket I didn’t get too worried, but then he asked for his own blanket.  I got him one, thought “Oh $#%# here we go!” and calmly told him I’d wake him up in 5 minutes. I was dying inside.  I wasn’t sure what he needed, but he has always been so levelheaded I decided to just watch him and do what he asked.  I had all these doubt scenarios running through my head- he had looked so yearningly at that IV bag.  4 minutes and 55 seconds later Craig popped his eyes open wanted food and off we went.  I was so relieved. 

That it turns out, was the lowest-low he had for the rest of the race.  He took one more nap, but that wasn’t until after the adrenaline rush of his engagement proposal! 

Where's we got engaged

At mile 75.99 I said to Craig “Look out at the river it’s so nice!” Craig kept running and said “April thank you so much for doing this with me I love you!”  Then he stopped and turned to face me.  Hoping that I knew what was coming next I said, “Hold on get off the trail.”  Two runners went by and I said, “Yes Craig?”  That’s when he asked me if we could spend the rest of our lives together!  Of course I said yes!  We did a little happy dance and then kept running.   About 1 minute later I said, “Did you really just ask me to marry you?”  He said, “Yep!”  I said, “Can I scream?”  He said, “Nope.”  And off we went to Rucky Chucky! 

Rucky Chucky was totally surreal.  I wanted to announce to everyone that we’d just gotten engaged, but there were so many people, so many lights, a glow stick trail, huge boats, pumping music and people with way more energy than Craig and I! Plus it was drop bag time. I got Craig settled down in a chair and went in search of food.  When I came back he had a blanket and was being entertained by a girl projectile vomiting 2 feet from his feet.   I tried to convince him to move but he didn’t want to stand up.  5 minutes later with the 2nd nap over Craig moved chairs; she on the other hand continued to puke.

Done and Done!

With the river crossing over the rest of the race fell into a rhythm: run, encourage Craig, walk, aid station, try to get him to eat something, do it again.

The rest of the race went pretty smoothly.  I have to say that I’ve never felt so connected to someone than I did pacing Craig.  Maybe it was because I saw him train for this race and knew how much it meant to him.  Maybe it was because we got engaged in the middle of it.  Maybe it’s because I was responsible for someone else which made me feel important.  Whatever it was there is no word to describe pacing Craig at WS.  It was amazing and I’m ready to do it again next year.  You in Craig?