Ruth Anderson '09: Targets Vs Goals

Recovery from American River was rather painful for me; my first run back the first three days later was one of the hardest runs I've ever done (4 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace!). On top of that, two Mondays after AR, I was headed to a Leonard Cohen concert with a friend who works in Santa Clara, and decided to do an alternate commute into work so we could carpool togther. Not feeling up for it on foot, I took the bicycle, and it was a long hard ride in. I remember how a Monday bike commute made Silicon Valley Marathon difficult last year, and wondered if something similar would happen. Follow that up with a fairly aggressive hill run on Wednesday, and well...I have a bunch of excuses.

I'm pretty new at this whole ultra thing. All these talented runners around me routinely do back to back ultras, sometimes even strings of hundreds. I'm not there yet, but I figure I can follow American River with Ruth Anderson, two weeks away, no problem. The question is what distance to target.

Ruth Anderson has a unique format, because you can choose one of three distances to do when you're at the distance; 50km, 50 miles, 100km. If you go beyond a distance, then you're entered into the next distance, and stopping before is a DNF. I did my debut 50 mile run last year, and that race report was my debut blog. This year, my plan was 50km, but then I thought it'd be nice to do two 50 miles close together cto give me onfidence for my first 100 miler. Of course, then if I'm doing 50 miles, a PR might be nice. Maybe an age group placing again?

Mark Tanaka, Joe Swenson and commuted together to the run, and it was a great way to meet some Ultraholics. This year, Mark is trying some non-PAUSATF races for a change, and just finished a 150 miler last weekend, not to mention had an overnight before RA. So I contacted Joe to see if he wanted to carpool. We set a time (4:50), and the THURSDAY before I got my stuff together for a Saturday race. What a difference! I'm usually stressed the night before, and it's really cool to relax knowing I'm prepared ahead of time. Ruth Anderson is a loop course, and the nice part of that is being able to set up your own aid. This was especially comforting on my first 50 miler, but now with a point-to-point under my belt, I'm not so concerned. Still, I've got extra shirts, jackets, socks, gels, tylenol, body glide in a bag just in case.

I'm up by 3:50, and ready to go when Joe arrives. He offers to drive since his stuff is already packed up in his truck, and we head to SF together. We get to the start by Lake Merced with lots of time to spare, and pick up our packets and goody bags. I'm totally blown away when we're given Moeben sleeves. I've been wanting a pair of these! Add to that, Vespa, Fluid (recovery powder), cool hanteen bottle, goodies from Zombie Runner, all in a reusable bag from lululemon athletica, and you've got some nice shwag for a $40 race fee ($45 for first-time RAers). It is COLD, and little foggy. I meet Adam Blum, Sean Lang, Anil Rao, Nattu Natraj, Martin Casado at the start. To spice up the loop course, I suggested we play poker, and we agreed 2 cards at the start, one card per lap, $10 buy-in.

The sun comes up, and we're at the start around 6:40. Rajeev (Ultraholic and Race Director) delayed the start by 10 minutes to accommodate those in the porta-potty line. He then says a few words, thanking our sponsors, paying homage to Ruth Anderson, and then a count down and we're off. I run solo for awhile, trying to maintain an even pace, but I'm all over the map for the first couple of miles. Chihping catches up to me, and we talk, and soon pick up Bob Gilbert. I get to watch Chihping's photographing and running in action!

Photo by Chihping

Right off the bat, I know it's not going to be an easy day. My quads are tight, tired and sore, possibly from AR, but I'm guessing more from bicycling. The front of my ankles are sore, something that's been plaguing me since December. I'm maintaining a sub-10 minute pace alright, which puts me on target to sub-9 hours, but I have to work up front. The air is cool, so I skip the first aid station, and when we complete the first loop, ditch my jacket. I have to hit the porta potty, while Chihping and Bob head off.

The second lap is more of the same, but I do grab some Gu2O at the satellite aid station. I grab a gel at the main aid station, and I'm completely flabbergasted to watch the two 50k leaders come in, lapping me.

By lap 3, I'm starving. But oddly, I don't FEEL like eating. I grab sandwich bites, but mostly eat potato chips. I try to remember to take in salt, but perhaps not as diligently as I should. I start getting lapped by the likes of Scott Dunlap, Jean Pommier. Michael Kanning, who's gunning for the 100k Junior record, passes me with an easy, relaxed stride.

By lap 4, I catch up to Chihping again, and he's struggling with his plantar fasciitis as he did at American River. We walk a bit (he tells me not to walk like him) and at the next aid station, I grab some Tylenol. I see those two 50k speedsters walking back to the starting area, and guess that they dropped rather than finished.

Lap 5 is slightly better. I'm not fast, but I'm pretty even and running the distance. I start having an internal debate about whether to just finish 50k, or move onto the 50 miles. It suddenly occurs to me that my next race (not counting a 5k the next weekend) is Quicksilver 50 miler. If I'm having this much trouble two weeks after AR, three weeks of recovery before my first _hilly_ 50 miler might not be enough. I decide to wait for the last lap before deciding. I realize that my target for this race was to do 50 miles, but my goal for the race was simply to get a good training run in. I feel like I've met my goal, and I'm ok about letting the target go. Adam laps me on this lap, and tells me to straighten up, and gives me a little pep talk. He says he's listening to Kid Rock in my honor (Cowboy). Dude, yeah, give a toast to the sun, drink with the stars.

Lap 6 is like the last part of a marathon. I'm running slow, but I am running. Completing it gives me a cumulative mileage of 26.356. I do it in 4:32. About 12 minutes slower than my slowest marathon time (and 48 minutes slower than my fastest). I generally feel like I've expended 80% of my energy at the marathon mark, even if I've gone slow. Today it's more like 90%. I make the call, and head out for my last lap.

I can't push my pace much, but I am running. I thank the volunteers at the satellite aid station, telling them I'm not sure but I think it's the last time I'm seeing them. I pass through the finish line area, and pick it up on the way to the 50k finish. I cross the line, as Carol Cuminale takes my time, and catch my breath. My time is 5:27:22. As I walk by to the finish area, Anil Rao passes me and tries to pull me on to do 50 miles. I'm momentarily tempted, but I made my call.

The fog has rolled in and it's cold. I put on a long sleeved shirt, and a couple of jackets. I see Joe at some point and tell him I've dropped back to 50k. He says things are tough out there and he's thinking of stopping early too. I hope not. I suddenly remember poker, and draw all my cards at once. Sorting them out, the best 5 is a full house, Aces of Queens. Not bad. It's great hanging out at the finish area, and I get to meet Diane Forrest and Darshan Thaker, fellow ultraholics, and watch Rajeev in action as he greets each finisher, and breaks out age group awards.

Jean Suyenaga comes in and asks about the 50k finish. At some point, it's pointed out to her that she's done one extra lap, and is now in the 50 mile race. She tries to protest, but Rajeev is firm and sends her out for 3 more laps.

Michael Kanning pulls in with a foot full of blisters, and drops at 40 miles or so. He was running so well, and says his legs are fine, but his feet are too battered. It's a real shame, but he might manage to get a 50k Junior record out the deal, which is cool!

Sean Lang decides to stop at 50 miles placing first with 7:24, given that he has Miwok in 2 weeks, and team RhoQuick isn't in the running for points any longer (unfortunately, Jean had asthma issues again and dropped back to 50k). I grab Joe's truck and pick him up from the finish line. Even though I've run the course 7 times that day, I somehow get lost. Sean draws his cards, but doesn't have a better hand.

Anil and Martin come in at 9:12! Stellar job on both their parts! Martin, Nattu draw their cards, and although Martin has a full house, it doesn't beat mine. The whole situation looks suspicious! Next time maybe we'll all draw our cards at the end with WITNESSES, sheesh :) Thanks for playing guys, I hope it was fun.

Rajeev starts hunting for a rope or string for Joe to break when he comes in. I call out that they better move quick because he's just turned the corner! They get it set up in time, and Joe wins the 100k with a 9:21 time!

Jean Suyenaga finishes her 50 mile race a few minutes later, and wins women's first place!

Joe and I end out not too long after his finish. He lets me drive, since he's stiffer than I am. Traffic is heavy all the way home, but the racing is over anyways, and Joe is always great company (and subsequently introduced me to mochas from Peets).

Thanks to Rajeev and all the fantastic volunteers and sponsors for a great event!

Epilogue

So get this. Had I continued, I probably would have won my age group in the 50 mile race. But I felt pretty good about the decision to stop, given that I had Quicksilver 50m coming up in three weeks. I'm checking out the calendar and I finally notice that Quicksilver is my nephew's birthday party, and I'll be in Reno that weekend! I can't make the race!!


Splits
My Motionbased Report

Other Race Reports/Photos
Race Director Rajeev
Jean Pommier
Scott Dunlap
Chihping's photos