Silver State 50 Mile - May 16, 2015
“Time to go big or go home”
In light of the fact that schools are ending, I had to give
myself or rather my hamstring it’s final before it was allowed to pass to the
next level of training. This was because I had strained my left hamstring
three-weeks ago. I was greatly concerned to know if I was going to be healthy
enough to run 50 miles or even start legitimately training for Western
States. The week I strained it I
was out in Colorado Springs helping with the CTS High Altitude training camp
hosted by my Coach Jason Koop. He advised me to stay conservative and to heal
the hamstring up, but also gave me a little freedom to run with the group of
athletes. I know as a physical therapist that it would have been wise to have
not run at the camp, but I live life a little crazy and understood that I would
have consequences. I have had muscle strains before, and I knew that it
wouldn’t take me long to get back on my feet once I properly rested and addressed
the hamstring.
I finished that week and then did the toughest thing for any
athlete to do, take time off. Not running a step until Friday, and that was
only a short 40-minute test. At the end of that test I still felt pain, so I
went to desperate measures. I decided to try an over-the-counter NSAID patch to
place on my hamstring. I also applied a compression strap just above the
strained area. The next day I did a short run and felt pain at 25 minutes and
decided to stop and hike for the rest of my planned outing. That night it was
better after icing and light massaging. Then the next day I did the same plan.
I went out for a short test run and if any pain started I planned to stop.
Miraculously, I was able to run ten miles without pain. This broke light into
my eyes and gave me hope. I took the following day off and then eased back as
Coach Koop prescribed. Now with it being race week I was worried I hadn’t run
anything long, so I was just praying it would hold up to the test of Silver
State.
The plan Coach and I decided was that I would go out to
Silver State, but make sure that I ran extremely conservative to keep my
hamstring from re-straining. This was my first real mountainous race, besides
Western States, that had massive long climbs and ‘high’ elevation. I am not
going to lie that I was extremely nervous and worried that it was going to
cause me to DNF. I knew deep inside that if I could finish this race healthy,
that I was ready to start Western States training. If I couldn't finish I was
going to have to make some tough decisions.
The start of the 50-mile was at 6:00 am down at the San
Rafael Park. It was a balmy 46 degrees. It surprised me how humid it was, it
felt like Omaha! I lined up beside Ian Torrance, knowing that he was a smart
and seasoned runner who knew what kind of pace to start out at with a 12.5 mile
climb to the top of Peavine Summit. Unfortunately, due to the rain they had
gotten the past couple days the first 7 miles were muddy…but not your regular
mud. It was clay that packed onto the soles of your shoes making you about 6
inches taller and weighing about 10 lbs per foot. One man I was running with
noted that he “feels like he is wearing high-heels”. What can you do but laugh
and know that everyone is suffering through this. Misery loves company, am I
right?
As we were running up to Peavine Summit the temps started
dropping and the wind was picking up. I could see snow as we were cresting to
the top. It was going to be cold. I ran up with Dennis Ball and Luke Garten. I
was happy to not have any pain in my hamstring yet. At the top the Peavine
Summit volunteers, and adorable aid station dogs greeted us! I was thrilled to
be done with that climb and then to bomb down it on the other side. Too my
surprise the downhill had a lot of loose rocks and some mud that made it tricky
to navigate. I had to take easy as this could blow my hamstring up. I focused on
good form and technique, which I learned at the Altitude training camp with
Coach.
I made it down and ended up getting to run several miles
with Dennis, a great friend and training partner of Nikki Kimball. It made
those miles fly by. Then climbing out of the Long Valley aid station, Emily
Richards came up beside me and we chatted briefly as she then blew past me
running strong and happy. It was a joy to see! I was now solo, running through
the beautiful trails, which reminded me of the first half of Western States. It
brought back so many memories of Western States. I was enjoying the love and
passion of running.
I was suddenly hit with my first noticed hamstring pain at
mile 25-26. I thought to myself, “oh please don’t do this to me…I still have 25
more miles to go”. As I was climbing up a long semi-technical hill I was forced
to power-hike to keep the hamstring from being overstressed. At the top it was
a long downhill single-track that was muddy. I had to hold back and hike
through some of this area to keep from having my hamstring pain. I made it to
the Ranch Creek AS, and was delighted to have an AS volunteer ask if I wanted a
warm biscuit. That tasted like heaven, and down the sandy road I went able to
run and with only a hint of pain.
From there on we dived down to the River Bend AS, to then
climb all the way back up to the Peavine Summit for the second time. This was
some serious climbing. I luckily had a man in front of me that I could see to
help pull me forward. It was a LONG ways back up. It was an alternation between
running and power-hiking. The hamstring was good all the way to the top. Now
there was about 11 miles of down hill to the finish. I felt strong and was able
to move at a good clip. I remembered again to take shorter strides and keep good
technique. It worked and I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my
face! My hamstring had passed the test!! What a glorious day.
Throughout the rest of the night, I had no soreness in my
quads/hamstrings. The only thing that was sore was my upper back and right arm
from my handheld. I definitely kept my lower body mechanics in check. Now onto the
next weekend of fun, the Western States training camp!
I thank God for blessing me to be able to run again without
pain and worry. I am grateful for Coach Koop in knowing how to safely progress
me back into training and how to advise me for races. I have to send out a
special thanks to Miguel, my training partner for being patient and supportive
throughout my highs and lows in training. Also, appreciation to my supportive
family, because I wouldn’t be able to travel and go on these epic adventures
without them. My faithful sponsors: Nike Trail Running, CarboPro, Carmichael
Training Systems, Honey Stinger. And my loyal fans…I love you all!! Xoxo
Happy Trails to all!! ~PixieNinja
