Ron Herzog 50k report

For some reason I’ve been too darn lazy to write a recap of yesterday’s trail run. The event was a blast, don’t let me throw you off there. I really enjoyed myself out there and had a good run.

I went into this race without any real goals, mostly just to finish and check off one more 50K run for the year. I’ve been itching to enter another trail run before the end of the year to confirm with myself if that’s what I truly enjoy. And I realize that I didn’t put in the training like I did for the Cle Elum 50K in September, but I knew I was strong enough to pull through. Let’s see, with my IT Band acting up, last Tuesday was my last run of 7 miles and 15 miles Saturday before that.

Friday night, my little one and I spent the night at my in-laws in the Seattle area so I wouldn’t have to get up extremely early Saturday morning to drive to Granite Falls. I had all my stuff ready that all I had to do was get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and head out after my alarm went off at 6am.

I arrived at the trailhead a little after 7 am. Saw some familiar faces, chatted until race time, plus paid extra attention to the IT Band by stretching it and stretching it. I was feeling a slight touch of irritation to the side of my knee, but that was all. 8 am, we’re off up a logging road. I was relieved about leaving my water resistant jacket behind because it was warm enough to remove my gloves and headband before the 2nd mile. It wasn’t raining, but with the clouds overhead, it looked like it could pour buckets any minute.
I was indecisive at first about climbing the hills, whether I should hike or jog(run) it. Eventually I settled with jogging, better on my breathing. Jess M and I stuck together until midway(aid station), we chatted about different races, she gave me ideas of which new races to enter, itb issues, family stuff, trips, etc. About five miles into the run, I was dealing with a new issue; my left groin/hip area was tight, almost painful. I tried rubbing it out, pounding it with my fist, but wouldn’t let up so I took it easy until it started working itself out during the next three miles. Much to my relief, no itb noise. By time we entered the brush whacking, a.k.a tank trap section, I was feeling good, no kinks or soreness! We took a wrong route at one point, following these tape markings straight into the wood with no path/trail to the edge of a ridge! Luckily we didn’t spend much time there, we hurried back and found the right path eventually. We worked our way back by passing 4 people to get back into our position were in before we got lost.

I really didn’t mind the shoe sucking mud section even though I lost my left shoe at one point. Though the twigs, rocks that were glued to my sock didn’t feel good(blisters) because I stepped in the mud with my sock when I stepped out of my shoe stuck in the mud. I did the best I could by squeezing off the excess mud before pulling my shoe back on, didn’t get all. We had lots of variety in this part of the course, forking a creek, dealing with tree blow downs, overgrown mess that slap you in the face, all an adventure.

Jess and I separated at the aid station, she got her water, took off, while I did that plus change into dry socks and shoes, then eating my PB&J sandwich on the fly. I felt good for that first descending section, then back to the climb I was started to feel it, less energy. But I pressed on, passed some early starters. The last downhill section is where my IT Band started to complain a bit, not majors, so I backed off the pace, took it easy, pass a couple more people. I was still having a good time until I reached the pavement section, it was like HELLO! My IT Band was ok, but my groin/hip pain was back making it difficult to extend my stride. That felt like the longest portion of the course. I was glad to be done!

The good news was I felt no pain or strains after I completed the run, a very good sign in my book. And the best news of all, I even surprised myself. A new PR, 5h 47mins!! Results here.

I’m sorry to say no pictures. I know! I remembered to bring the camera but dead battery. Bummer! Not only did I not bring the extra battery, but also the charger! So you’ll have to head over to "Trail Scat" because he’s got some awesome images from the event.

Until next time, happy runnings.