First look at the mountain |
Tough, that's the first
word that comes to mind when I think of the Bishop Ultramarathons. The
difficulty of the course didn’t leave much room for errors which definitely
added to the challenge. There was very little level running as we were either
climbing or descending the mountain all day long, the majority of it over
7000ft. There were plenty of aid stations out there that were both well stocked
with provisions and well staffed with friendly helpful volunteers. However, I
did not have one of my better runs. For me, the entire race was a grueling
affair and the best I can say is that I endured it and did my best to enjoy it.
The views of the High Sierra mountain
country were superb and that did help to alleviate some of the suffering.
The
run started at 6:00 am and we were camped out the night before in the adjacent
campground. I slept very well and woke up at 4:00 am to eat something
before the race and get prepared. I ate some oatmeal with honey, a bagel
with cream cheese and some coffee. I never did drink the coffee (was this
the start of the day’s problems?) I had all my race stuff ready from the
night before so I was feeling very relaxed getting ready for the race. I
didn’t realize how late it was getting until I drove my drop bags to the
starting area. I suddenly realized we only had 15 minutes till the gun
went off and I still had to drive back to camp to get my friend An who was running
the 50K, use the restroom and get back to the starting line – ahg, there goes
the relaxed morning I was just coming out of the restroom when I heard
the countdown for the start. 10 – 9 – 8… and Marie, the race director announced
go just as I made it to the back of the pack. I have never cut it that
close before.
Sometimes we walk |
But we don't look back |
I finally realized I was slightly dehydrated and overheating
when I got to the Edison Loop aid station, mile 17.5 and elevation 8100
ft. We had already climbed 3,700 ft. since
the start, I was 3 hours and 45 minutes into the race, the temperatures had to
be in the 80’s already and it felt so good when I dosed myself with the oversized
sponge from the pail of icy cold water.
Luckily they had a bottle of sun tan lotion there for I had forgotten to
put that on too – mistake #4. I had a drop bag with a 24oz bottle with an
electrolyte tab in it and a lighter pair of shoes, New Balance 110 trail shoes,
that I wanted to use to climb the rest of the mountain if my feet were feeling
fine. I put on the shoes, downed the
bottle of liquid, refilled it, smear myself with suntan lotion and took off
again.
And back up towards Edison Loop |
Keeping it bright |
After Edison Loop came
Overlook, the high point of the course at 9,400 ft. It was only 3 miles away, but due to the
incline and elevation most of us were walking the majoring of this and it took
close to an hour to get up there. I did
my best, pacing myself and hoping for my second wind to kick in on the downhill. I was elated to finally arrive at the top and
yes, the view was spectacular.
I was able to run again
going downhill, but all the water was just sitting in my stomach now. In addition, I could hardly eat
anything. I was forcing myself to choke
down the Odawalla bars and dates I had brought along but nothing tasted good
this day. The aid station had all kinds
of fruits, boiled potatoes, pretzels and such, but I could hardly look at any
of it. I heard of other runners getting queasy
during a runs and I was not enjoying my first severe experience. Reflecting back I wish I had tasted the
pretzels. I might have been running low
on sodium as I was losing a lot though sweat even though I couldn’t really see
it because of the dry condition and altitude. Mistake #6 – not monitoring my
salt intake. I learned latter that if
the pretzels had tasted good that would have been an indication that I needed more
salt and I should have taken a salt pill which they also had out there for me –
duh!
We were not done running
hills either. There were four more
climbs that went up over 8000 feet to tackle before we started heading down
again. I was mentally prepared for this and I just kept slogging along. At times I would feel bursts of energy where
everything just broke loose but this would inevitably be followed by some slow
going again.
Finally, at the 38 mile
point we were heading back down the long hill.
I was doing by best to maintain about a 12 min/mi pace at this point – really
kind of slow for going downhill even if it is over trails. There came a point where I started to
entertain the possibility of opting for the shorter 50 mile race. To run the 62 mile, 100K, race requires an additional
6 mile out and back over the Tungston Hills.
This entails running back out 3 miles uphill, 3 miles down and then
doubling back 3 miles up and down again. By mile 45 my pace had dropped to 15 min/mi
and I couldn’t even keep up a steady run downhill anymore. Then out of nowhere, I almost stepped on a
baby rattlesnake. I saw it at the last
second, perfectly blended in with the grey sandy trail as my right foot came
down and just missed its tail as it scurried off to my right – phew. If I hit
it, I am sure it would have turned and bit me.
Well that hung it, and I decided to cut my day short.
And finally, back to the ranch, The Mill Pond Recreation are start/ finish line |