The Bear Chase Trail Race 50k

breakfast: 1 hemp waffle with butter (didn't eat all of it due to nerves), a half cup of strong Awake Tea with half cup hemp milk (forgot to add the ginger.)
pre race: sipped water, took Vespa Junior just under 30 mins before the start
the plan: go out hard and see what happens
the course: three loops one small (10k loop), and two big (12.5 mile loops) at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood, Colorado



the start of the race was fast with three of us pushing for first, and we came through the first 10k in sub-40 minutes. i knew the pace was fast, but sub-20 minute pace for ten 5k's in a row without stopping (and on trails!) is not something I'm ready to do. so i let the duo go and slowed the pace to something that felt more reasonable. just past the 10k mark i made my first attempt to hydrate and was hit with cramps. i only in about two ounces of fluid in the first 8 miles. i knew i should take in more but my stomach wasn't gona have it after the fast start, so i kept on going and hoped for the best.



i have nothing but respect for that guy: he lead it from the start and set a great new course record



i ran 100% of the first 20 miles, including an accent of Mt. Carbon and three water crossings, and didn't feel too bad, although the distance started to stretch out in front of me. after the second accent of Mt. Carbon(around mile 23 i think), i started to realize that walking was inevitable. there was a short, steep hill within a mile of the peak of Carbon and i planned to walk it, hoping that a few moments of walking would help me get my legs back. by that point i was starting to feel achy and just making it to the hill was a challenge. my race was starting to fall apart. after walking the small hill, i walked through each of the three final water crossings. by this point, my stomach felt like it could hold fluid, but i was miles from the next aid station and my ten-ounce water bottle had been empty for atleast a mile. after scooping some water from Bear Creek and bumming some off a nice 50-miler, i could feel how dehydrated i was.






at the top of Mt. Carbon, great spot to drink in the view -since i couldn't drink anything else

   the final six miles of the race had more walking than I'd care to talk discuss. i was in death march mode where even the downhills were miserable to run. my pace for mile 25-29 had to be slower than 18 minutes a mile, but i was atleast able to run it in during the last 2 miles or so and was still able to break five hours.




#1 for pictures of me in pain

 during the race i drank very diluted Ironman Perform (the sports drink offered at the aid stations) and slowly took a strawberry stinger gel from mile 19 until about mile 22, along with plain water. that's it.

finishing in 17th place would discourage me, but a time of 4:50 with a crash like i had is great. i should be able to do a four hour 50k on a similar course in the next 6 months-1 year. this race also let me know that as long as recovery goes well between now and October 8th (Xterra), I'm ready for a really good trail marathon. had i not crashed like i did, i would have run a sub-4:15 50k, so once i dial in my hydration I'm certain that i can break four hours for a moderately difficult 50k. 


not as fast as I'd like to be yet, but it's a work in progress

 looking forward, I'm excited to hopefully (depending on finances) be racing a few more trail marathons before winter comes. -hopefully i can master my race hydration over the course of the next 2 months.