L4adventures: Running on the Olympic Mountain Bike Trails

I have wanted to do another long run and had this plan to ride to Yargo with my gear in the BOB trailer, camp, then start a long run the next morning, then ride home. I just couldn't find two days in a row where the family wasn't doing something. So, as I was finishing my normal run at IHP one day I thought, "Why am I making this so complicated?" "Why don't I just run my home course and make it simple?" "And why don't I do it this weekend.....in three days?"

So, I picked the mtb course, with some added trail to increase the lap distance, and planned to run loops to total at least 40 miles.

I grabbed snacks and packed the car on Friday night then set the alarm for early Saturday morning. I wasn't sure how long it would take me and I wanted to be done in time to spend the afternoon with the guys, so I planned to start before dawn.

Shey was riding a century that day and was a bit nervous about me running at IHP by myself in the dark, but I had a plan and wanted to stick to it. (who knew it would be more dangerous to run a marathon in Boston two days later!!) It was cold and I was in a down jacket and beanie. I pulled my car out to the center island and set up two chairs with food and water and extra clothing.

I started my Garmin at around 6:30am. I ran with a headlamp and felt incredibly slow. My legs were not responding and they felt like lead. I kept pushing harder to pick up the pace. I heard the chime of the watch, but didn't check it because I knew my time would be slow and I didn't want to start off on a negative vibe. I just enjoyed the cool, dark air and the concentration it took to watch the trail in the round glow of the headlamp. When I hit my 6 mile mark I checked the watch and I was at under 9 minute miles. I wasn't sure, but that felt like it would be too fast to sustain for 40 miles, so I backed off a little. It felt good to know that though my legs felt like crap, they were doing their job and I continued to cruise along.

*After the first lap, I took off my fleece jacket and light.

*Second lap, I grabbed some water and would do so at each lap after. I never used my small camelbak, since the weather stayed relatively cool.

*The laps were about 11 miles.

*I felt awesome through mile 20. Then I had some stomach issues, but they went away quickly.

*At mile 27-29 I REALLY had stomach/intestine issues and had to stop frequently. I thought that was the end and I would have to walk the rest of the way. I was pretty miserable and it was getting hot.

*Mile 30 was better and I started to run. I was bummed that I had wasted the great time I had made during the first 20 miles by crawling for two miles, but I hoped I could pick up the pace.

*Mile 30-37 were plagued with pain from my IT band. I had run the off-camber granite section too many times and my ankles and IT bands were on fire. Not only is the granite off camber, but it has pock marks/divets that tear a body up. I was NOT graceful when running these sections. Running the granite through the other sections was fun, though.

*The last three miles were really tough for me. I had been thinking about what I would say to Jansen when he got there. You think weird and seemingly important thoughts when doing endurance events. **Everett had to work, so Jansen was riding out to see me in the afternoon, then Shey would be there as soon as he finished his century. I told them I thought I would be done around 4pm or so. I was way off. I was on schedule to finish by 2pm even with the lost time on the side of the trail.** I watched for Jansen eveywhere in the woods even though I knew he probably wouldn't be there until after 2pm.

*The last two miles trudged by with only forest and very few mountain bike riders. In fact, there had only been a handful of mtb riders out there all day.

*At 1:44 I was done. I unceremoniously walked to the car to check my phone for messages and sent one to Shey to tell him I was done. I drove the car over to the chairs to pack up, but just those few minutes of sitting allowed my legs to tighten up enough to be uncomfortable.

*I sat down on the cooler and enjoyed my diet coke and a banana. Noah was out riding that day and stopped to visit. Then Shey showed up, then Jansen. Jansen had ridden over, but a bridge was completely gone on his route, so he had to take a detour. Shey was super bummed he missed my finish, but again, I thought I would be done much later.

Noah said something like, "So you just ran 40 miles out here, Shey rode 100 miles and Jansen just built an 18' climbing wall in your back yard over spring break and now rode over here to see your run........." then he shook his head and rode off. Now, Noah is a father of THREE little girls, he has an amazing wife, he works full time as a nurse and is back in school to become a physicians assistant, plus he is an incredible athlete and one of our favorite people. I imagine he is living off 3 hours of sleep or less each night. He is one tough guy!

We sat under the tree and visited for a bit before heading off to eat. I knew the snack size snickers and banana I ate for "lunch" would wear off soon.