Mount Si 50 mile race

It was a beautiful weekend for being outside. The temperatures on Saturday hit almost 80 degrees, but cooled off on Sunday for our run. Everyone is definitely thinking about summer now.

The 50 mile start was at 6am in Snoqualmie, before the sun peaked up over the mountains. I joined 55 other runners as we headed out on the road for a short bit before jumping onto the Snoqualmie Valley Trail that headed up valley to Carnation and Duvall. I was surprised at how slow people started, and found myself running up front with Don MacLane. Jim Kerby, the perennial winner of the event, was injured and was helping at all the aid stations and I didn't really recognize anyone else, so the event was up for grabs.

Don and I kept a similar pace, which we would continue for the next 35 miles or so, as we went out to Carnation, back to Snoqualmie, then out on the trail again to Rattlesnake Lake / Iron Horse Trail and back. He would often get ahead of me going at a respectable clip, then walk for a short bit to give his legs a rest. I would pass him, then he would run by me again. We looked like the tortoise and the hare.

I carried one water bottle of Carbo-pro, which I refilled at aid stations along the way. The Gu2O
seemed to bother my stomach a little, so I switched halfway to plain water, to which I added Nuun tablets. I also took a salt tablet or two during the race for good measure. I'd never done a race this long this fast, and I didn't want to cramp up due to lack of electrolytes.

Eric Sach cruised past Don and me an hour into the race like we were standing still. He looked strong and quickly disappeared ahead of us. I don't know what went wrong with him, but we
caught up with him at mile 29 aid station and left him behind.

At mile 35 of the race on the Iron Horse Trail, we turned around and headed the last 15 miles back to Snoqualmie. I could see Don a minute behind me and Eric not too far behind him. My legs really began to hurt, and I felt I was dragging on the gradual downhill all the way to Rattlesnake Lake and back down to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. My legs began to cry, saying "too little training!!". At Rattlesnake Lake, Jim Kerby ran out to grab my water bottle and fill it for me - he is extremely energetic both on and off the course - and he encouraged me on for the last 10 miles. Ten very flat yet quad-busting miles to go. I counted off the minutes as I went, not wanting to turn around and see a better runner gaining on me. Eventually, with only about three miles to go, I looked back down the trail to see nobody behind me. Sigh. I kept pushing my legs to go further. Meanwhile, my heart rate was barely pushing 140. What a disparity.
I made it across the finish line in first place in 6:39:05, a new PR by about 2 hours. After chatting with fellow racers for a while and a quick after-race massage, I headed home and soaked my legs in a cold bath for half an hour. I'm still hobbling around.