XTerra Redwood Peak 2009
On the weekend we took part in the 2nd race of the XTerra Trail Running NorCal series. It sounds impressive, but we were really only taking part because Patty had won an entry at the LMJS volunteers dinner a few weeks ago. Despite Len trying to talk us out of taking it, the reality was it was in our local parks, Roberts and Redwood Regional Park, and we needed to get out and do a run anyway.
Going into this we felt like we were decently prepared. My two (non-running) injuries seems to be mostly healed and this year we’ve been concentrating our long runs on trails almost exclusively. Each weekend we’ve run between 2 and 3 hours, most around 3 hours. Plenty of time on the trails.
As the start time approached we realized there was one thing we weren’t prepared for yet: heat. We’d already discarded our top layer and it was getting warmer by the minute. Disturbingly warm for 8am. We walked over to the finish area and downed another cup of water for good measure.
The start was rather cramped with people crowded down a steep side trail the leads from the bottom of the Roberts parking lot onto the trail proper. The start line was a line of flour on the ground and a guy to yell “Go!” The next thing we knew we were off. Within the mile I’d lost Patty. I looked back and she was gone. At a mile I realized I was going a little fast (9:30ish for the mile). I guess that’s how I lost her. I kept going, slowing the pace a little to about 10 mins for the second mile as we headed over the west ridge and steeply down the Orchard Trail into the valley. Nobody really passed me here except for a guy who was just catching up to his girlfriend immediately in front of me. He pulled in and then slowed right down as she wasn’t moving very fast. After a few twists and turns I pulled back out and past him, never to be seen again. Patty later had an encounter with this couple: she was apparently not very happy later on.
Once in the valley there was some flat running as we headed into the first aid station. I filled my bottle up and then wandered back down the path to see if Patty was coming. No sign, so I set off again.
Immediately after the aid station was the first steep uphill, the canyon trail. We’d taken note of this in our practice run and decided to walk it from the beginning. A couple of enthusiastic guys ran by me here, only to stop defeated a dozen yards in front of me and start walking too. It was a rough hill and with the heat building it simply wasn’t worth running.
Onto the East Ridge I got back into a mostly running pattern. It was hot and exposed up there and my HR was pretty high as a result: over 190 on the uphills, which most of it was. There was a time when a HR of 190 would be a death blow. Now I seem to take it relatively well. At about 55 minutes into the race I started to walk in a shady section and took a shot of Gu and tried to get some fluid into me. I sensed dehydration had already set in. One woman passed me here and asked how I was doing. Fine I said. Me too she replied, then was gone. I was fine, but toasting quickly.
I worked my way up the East Ridge, walking more and more of the hills. I expected people to catch me, but it seemed the heat and the elevation gain was having the same effect on everyone. My pace stayed around 11:30ish through this section, which I was pleased with. Originally the course was supposed to drop off the East Ridge down to girl scouts camp and then back up to Skyline gate. I had mixed feelings about losing this part of the course, on one hand nobody was having fun on this exposed section of East Ridge, a drop down into the shaded depths would have been a welcome change. The downside, of course, would be the addition of another hill.
Finally I was at the top and running into the Skyline gate aid station. I wasn’t really feeling like much to drink (warning sign, I suppose), but took a cup, drank half of it, and poured the rest on my head. It might have been worth it to spend more time here, but I figured it wasn’t that long of a race. I’d just get it finished and rehydrate later.
From there we headed along the West Ridge, thankfully shady, and dropped down the French Trail into a gully filled with redwood trees and running streams. It was fun running downhill and I noticed in this race I wasn’t passed by anyone on the downhills, which is a change. On the other side of the downhill was the Big Uphill I’d been anticipating the whole race: the steep hiking trail up to Redwood Peak. I settled into a steady walk, working away at it. It was brutally hard going, but I passed two guys on the way up. One was slumped against a tree exhausted, the other I simply walked past. That mile took me over 25 minutes, to give you some idea!
From the other side it was mostly downhill to the finish. Kelly and her grandpa were waiting at the finish for me which gave me a little push up the final hill. Kelly ran through the parking lot, but didn’t go across the finish line with me. I think the finishing chute kind of freaked her out so she let me run across by myself. I vaguely remember the announcer yelling out my bib number and some people cheering. Patty came in about 4 minutes after me.
Finishing
In the end it was a pretty fun race. I could go on about how aspects weren’t really worth $50, but the venue was world class trail running and they got my time right. In the final results we were pretty far down the field but we’re both totally happy with our results. I crossed the finish line (according to my GPS almost 10 miles from the start, not 15K) in 2hrs 2min. Patty ended up not very far behind me, finishing in 2hrs 6min. As a bonus, she was 3rd in her age group!
The course route and info is here.
