| Once to the top, the road is curvy and goes up a bit then flat for a bit and then up a bit, then flat a bit.....we went over two one-lane bridges (I had absolutely no recollection of these bridges from last year). The runner behind me caught up and we ran together for a bit. She said that she was from Ft Collins, Colorado. I did remember that eventually we would come to California Gulch aidstation on this road... but it turned out to be farther than I expected. Each time I crested a high point on the road, I expected to see the aid station... Being fooled each time, I eventually gave up playing the expectation game and decided I would reach the aid station when I reached it. Again I could see Matt C just ahead of me. And the aid station eventually appeared. Passing through California Gulch the second time marked 29miles into the event. More Boost out of the drop bag, some PB&J from the aid station table and a capped off water bottle. I talked to Geri K briefly and then left the aid station just behind Matt. I really like this single track section, and made good time for the first 0.75mi or so, then I went into another slump. I could no longer see Matt ahead of me, and I would not see him again. From behind me there came a voice. It was the runner in the red shirt announcing that he had caught up with me again. It was good to see him again. He asked me what time I thought I would finish , and at this point I told him I thought I could be under 11hrs. He said that based on our time at the last aid station we were on a 10:15 pace. I told him I was feeling more tired and that I doubted I could keep this pace for the next 20miles and would really be happy with anything under 11. He said he'd see me on the next downhill, but like Matt C, I would not see him again either on the course. Not much later, I began hearing thunder off in the distance. I had left Calif Gulch around 11:45ish, and estimated I was about 20minutes ahead of my time at this point compared to last year. And even slowing down I should be able to do the final 17 miles in about the same time as I did last year. It seemed I had a realistic shot of breaking 11hrs if nothing drastic happened (like a bad fall, or getting off-course). I did not have my split for Calif Gulch/29mi from last year, but I knew I had reached the 33mi aid station last year at 12:57pm. It began to rain again, and then rain harder. And then it started hailing. Hail was better than the rain, because the hail bounced off as opposed to the rain that soaked my clothes. Fortunately the hail was only about he size of bee-bees. If the hail had been larger, then I probably would have preferred the rain. Then I saw a flash of light and was able to count to only 5 when the thunder began to roar. Not the best time to be on top of a ridge. I guessed I was about a mile or more from the 33mile aid station, but it was a rocky section and I just could not get my normal forward speed going. I had a plastic emergency poncho in my waist pack, but since I was so close to the aidstation I decided not to stop and put it on. At the aidstation I had a poncho in my drop bag and a dry shirt. I felt it best to keep moving and stay warm and get off of the ridge. Finally I came to the hairpin turn I had remembered , then it was a relatively quick drop down to the aid station. I arrived to Granite Mtn aidsation at around 12:30. A runner in a white shirt was just leaving as I arrived. The sun suddenly came out again. The volunteers said it had not hailed at the aidstation. I grabbed the poncho from the dropbag and tied it around my waist. Drank a Boost and grabbed some PB&J. I thought about Pat again. She had worked this aid station last year and helped me when I came through. I departed Granite Mtn around 12:33. Last year, it was at this point that I finally started feeling better and got out of survival mode. ileft Granite Mountain feeling energized and running again. My watch had read 12:57pm last year, and I had just over 4hrs to cover the final 17miles if I wanted to break 11hrs.. And I felt I had a shot... This year, I was leaving the Granite Mtn aid station 24minutes earlier but not feeling nearly as energized. In fact I was walking and having difficulty eating the PB&J quarters I had taken from the aid station. But I knew I had to finish them for the calories. The low energy slumps were coming more frequently . I figured as long as I kept moving forward I should be okay. I had an extra 24mintes at my disposal this year. And I started running again. The rain returned, and with effort I managed to put on the poncho that had been tied around my waist. The thin plastic poncho was perfect in this situation. My regular running rain jacket was in my drop bag at the next aid station. But I think in this case the poncho was better, because it was longer and it went down to my knees. More protection during the hail. The temperature would drop during the hail, and then afterwards when the sun came out again the temperature would warm up again. The poncho kept me warm during the hail and rain , and was very comfortable and breathable in the sun. The runner in white that had departed Granite Mtn aidsation as I had arrived, slowly came into view ahead. Eventually I caught up with him. Just at that point the hail started in again. Then it stopped , but a few drops of rain fell and the sun again came out.. Certainly there was a nice rainbow somewhere. From this point to the next aid station at Cave Canyon (40miles) the runner in the white shirt was always just behind me or beside me. We talked on and off. He had just been running for 3months, after being off for quite some time to let a hip injury heal.. And he was very happy with how he was holding up this day. I took my first fall in this section... caught a rock. Fortunately I was able to do a side sommersault and there was no significant damage, blood or long lasting pain. I stood up and then continued running, but paying more attention to my foot placement. The runner said the obvious to me "to be careful", and my mind drifted back to last year's mess. We came upon the sign that read 3 or 4 miles to Gardner Canyon. I remembered it from last year. This is also the section where the trail became a bit of a creek in sections. And there was also a muddy section... the mud was like Bandera mud, sticking to the bottom of my shoes. Fortunately the muddy section was relatively short-lived. and there was no need to find a stick to carry along for periodically scraping off the mud. And then there was the sign that said 10.5 miles to the buckle, which meant about 0.5mi to the aidstation. The trail began looking familiar from my memory of last year.. the drop down to the creek, the volunteer with the radio, the irish (?) music coming from the aid station... just cross the creek and climb up the hill to the aid station. |
 |
| PAGE 9 |
|