Pocatello 50

Tom Borschel and Myself pulling out front on the first leg- Photo by Greg Norrander

Well a couple of days have passed since the inaugural Pocatello 50, I am still digesting the race and all that I learned from my first 50 mile ultra. Before I explain my experience at the race, I want to recognize the excellent work done by race directors Ryan Mcdermott and Jared Campbell. As the pre-race preparations began to unfold the day before the race, it became blatantly obvious the amount of work that they had put into the race, down to the last detail the race ran extremely smooth- great work guys, thanks!

The Pocatello 50 is not an easy 50 mile race, Jared Campbell said at the pre-race meeting "you are going to earn a finish in this race". The 50 miles gains 13,500 ft of elevation, loses that same amount and was broken into 3 legs which could be ran as relay teams or one big loop if you felt up to the challenge. I felt quite a bit of pressure going into this race mostly because it was held in my backyard , on trails that I train on every day. I had received lots of good advice about being patient and holding back at the beginning, as well as fuel and drink plenty early. As we all know advice is only good if it is implemented; I tried to heed the advice but in the end went out to fast and did not fuel enough. I put the first leg to bed rather quickly and minimized time at the aid station.

Coming into the City Creek aid station, end of leg 1-photo Greg Norrander

Shortly after the aid station I entered a "dark place", not a dark place literally but mentally. I had not kept up enough on electrolytes and bonked harder than I have ever bonked before. Instead of holding the pace I had intended for the second leg the wheels came of the bus and I ended up walking for around 6 miles. In the midst of the darkness I was experiencing I was considering dropping out to end the suffering. That is when Mike from Park City saved my day, he caught me and gave me a couple of S-caps. It didn't turn things around immediately but about 45 minutes later I was running again. The second leg finally came to an end and I had started to feel much better. At the aid station I ate quite a bit of food, drank a red bull and some coke. I also drank a whole bottle of First Endurance EFS drink which really brought me back to the race. I left the aid station with renewed drive to finish the course and run well, I did still have 20 miles to go and the biggest climb of the race over Scout Mountain.

Just before the end of the second leg- photo Greg Norrander

Due to the large amount of food that I consumed at the aid station I wasn't able to run really fast but felt pretty good moving along. About 3 miles up the trail I caught up to ultra-running legend Krissy Moehl, we worked together for the rest of the race to keep each other moving and positive. Krissy pulled me along for some of the tough sections and I like to think that maybe I pulled her along some as well. One of the highlights of the race was the glissade off the top of scout mountain that cooled the legs and sped up the pace at the same time. Krissy and I crossed the finish line at 10:13, good enough for 4th overall. David James one the race with a time of 9:16. The times clearly show the difficulty of the course. (results here)

In the last couple of days I have reflected a lot on the race as I work the soreness out of my legs, I can clearly see where I made mistakes in not fueling enough early and going a little too fast in the first 17 miles of the course. I also learned that in a race that long you can feel great, real bad, and then recover to still have a good race. I am very grateful for my wife who worked as my crew during the race, to Mike for bailing me out when I needed it most, and for Krissy for helping me finish strong. It was a wonderful race, well done Jared and Ryan, I can't wait for next year! As I get photos loaded to my computer I will try to add some additional updates.

Gear Used:

Shoes: La Sportiva Crosslite

Socks: DeFeet Trail 19

Shirt: Sugoi Shirt (La Sportiva Kit)

Misc: Headsweats La Sportiva Visor, Ultimate Direction Fast Draw Plus, First Endurance EFS (grape flavor) drink. Look for reviews on most of these products coming soon.

Pocatello 50 Tomorrow

Well the big race finally arrived. I am trying to get myself to wind down enough to sleep before the showdown in my backyard tomorrow. It is the first time this year that I have gotten really worked up about a race. This type of anxiety is not healthy, I am a wreck. On the other hand I am confident; I am confident in my training and my ability to gut it out. There are some pretty serious names in the ultrarunning community in Pocatello for the race, including Sean Messner, Krissy Moehl, and some mysterious guy from Connecticut. I am stoked to get out with some of these folks and see what I can do. I have thought and agonized over setting up splits for the race, and I have a general idea, but at this point all I am going to do is listen to my body, be patient (thanks Ty) and run MY race tomorrow. In the end it doesn't matter who wins really, what matters is I give it my best performance and hopefully with all the work that is enough to pull in a good fast finish time and who knows maybe end up on the podium. I am finally getting a little drowsy and this is probably just rambling so I am going to call it a night and try to rest for the big day tomorrow.

Final Countdown to the Pocatello 50

5 days to go until the Pocatello 50 takes its maiden voyage. I ran pain free today, seems as though I finally have the hamstring under control... and I am stoked. A lot of training and focus has gone into getting ready for this race. Word is that there is going to be some sections of snow on the course, but that is to be expected for a trail race in Idaho this early in the year. Even though there will be some snow there is going to be a ton of beautiful single track and amazingly green southeast Idaho landscape. The race directors have put in a ton of work and are going to put on a fantastic event. I have put quite a bit of pressure on myself for this race, given that it is in my backyard and all, but from here on out it is what it is. What I mean by that is I have to run my own race from the beginning; I asked an ultra runner whom I have a ton of respect for for any advice and he replied "be patient and fuel often". I am taking that to heart, I know this course better than any other set of trails out there, I have the home court advantage. In the end the trail will decide who will have a great day. I have made my deposit in the bank of training and all I can do is trust in that work and enjoy the run, after all it is my first 50 mile race ever. I am so excited to meet all of the runners who are coming in from all over the US. If you are still debating whether to sign up or not there is only one more day to register ( www.pocatello50.com ).... the weather is going to be great, the field deep and the trails glorious. I hope to see you there!

Battling Injury

Thursday of this week I was in the middle of a great tempo run when I started to feel a little twinge my left hamstring just proximal to my knee. I initially thought "you're just pushing hard and things are just fine". Well as I continued so did the discomfort, actually it turned into pain, I promptly cut the run short and walked/jogged back to the car. I iced it as soon as I got home and started to deal with all of the mental distress I had accumulated while walking back to the car. Given that I am a little less than two weeks away from my first 50 mile race (The Pocatello 50) and what I consider one of my most important races of the year, this was a major blow. I was a little more than half-way through my last big week before tapering and really wanted the 30 mile run I had planned for Saturday.

When I woke up on Friday my leg was stiff with point tenderness and I started to panic. I called in a round of favors, that afternoon I had an evaluation to make sure no tearing had occurred, E-stim ice massage session, Saturday morning I had another E-stim, ultrasound, ice massage session, followed by a massage for 35 minutes that focused entirely on my left hammy later in the afternoon. Sunday was the 3rd day in a row that I did not run, and I did more ice massage. I came to grips that my fitness is not going to suffer too much with the lay off and I could start the taper a little early.

Today (Monday), my leg is feeling much better, no stiffness and very little tenderness with palpation. I am planning on an easy run today just to loosen up the leg and feel it out, cross your fingers for me. This relatively minor injury has shown me that taking time off is one of the hardest things to deal with mentally, but I am certain now it is what probably saved my race. I guess only time will tell, but I am taking the optimist's route and think that I will emerge stronger (and more rested) than before!