19 April 2010

Spokane River Run 50k

The Spokane River Run 50k winds through the beautiful trails in Riverside State Park.  My legs felt pretty good before the race, even after I pushed hard on a tough marathon last week.  I thought I'd start at a decent clip and see how long I could hold on.

I've made a couple trips up to Spokane over the past two years to run only a few of the miles through the park, so I was excited to finally get the full tour.  I love running trails.
Race Morning

Start of the Race (video)

I played caboose on a long and winding train of runners for the first 3 or 4 miles.  There was a bit of climbing, but my legs felt pretty good.  I told myself from the beginning that I would be very conservative on any climbs in hopes of having something left in the tank for the last leg of the course.

My legs felt very good through mile 10 and I was holding a good pace.  A couple climbs here, some gnarly rocks there, and lots of sweet single-track everywhere else.


View after first climb



And then a little more climbing



Shattered Ankle Alley


I hit the 15.5 mile mark at 2 hrs and 24 minutes (9:17 pace), which was much faster than I had planned.  But my legs were still feeling good, so I kept pushing.  "Let's see what you got, Scott," I said to myself in third-person.   Hey, you'll never know where the edge is until you come face-to-face with it.

Mile 20 - still feeling good.  I was following a couple runners for a mile or so and I followed them right through a missed a turn.    When we finally caught up with the correct trail and the next mile marker, my Garmin said we'd ran about an extra half mile.  Yeah, it could have been much worse, but it was still no fun running that extra bit (wasn't even a scenic section).

Mile 25 - still strong at 9:30 pace.  Sun warming up.

Mile 28 - Bonk!  I came face-to-face with the edge, and I didn't like what I saw.  Mostly stomach issues, but I think the juice ran out of my legs too.

I walked the majority of the final 3 miles and finished with a time of 5:25:29 (10:29 pace) -- still a new 50k PR.  Results.



Running gives me views like this



Spokane River


Rocky Cliffs and Rock Slides


This is what I look like on an empty tank (Mile 29)


It's a great course with some great views.  I should probably rest my legs a little this week, but the weather is so nice.  I suppose I'll just keep running.  Sadie's missed out on my last two long runs, so I'm feeling a little guilty when she looks at me with those "you went on a long trail run today? without me? don't you love me?" puppy dog eyes.  :)

Keep running!

-Scott

14 comments:

  1. Nice job on the 50K scott! Very impressive! Those rocks at "Shattered Ankle Alley" look nasty!

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  2. Great job on your p.r. ... proud of you.

    "When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid for us to stand on, or we will be taught to fly."
    - Patrick Overton

    I bet you didn't know you were flying those last four miles...

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  3. you and your dayum trails! When are you going to run on ASPHALT for 50 miles? Hmmmm?

    Great job on the race!!! You were really rocking it there till the end!

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  4. Awesome Scott! Adam and I really need to plan a trip up there late summer...the pics look beautiful.

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  5. wow. you are on a tear! even with "bonking". what were your stomach issues about?

    good job!!

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  6. Hi afuntanilla -

    I couldn't keep anything down after mile 25 or so. Not food, not water, not electrolyte drink. That's happened to me only once before on a very hot day. Yesterday wasn't "very" hot, but it was the hottest day we've had this year, so that may have had something to do with it. And I forgot to bring my salt tabs, so I'm sure that didn't help either.

    Other than that I felt great! :)

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  7. What an absolutely beautufil setting for a run. I'm glad you felt so good for so long. Nice job.

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  8. I'd love to do that run! It looks so nice.

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  9. Nice run and great pics. Congrats!

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  10. Very impressive - good job!

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  11. Scott I've used this word before on your blog and I'll use it again now!
    'AWESOME' run!!!
    Love the photo's
    Keep on running, live for the moment!

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  12. Now, that's a great race report complete with beautiful pictures! Nice job on your run. Do you mind if I link this report to my blog report?

    Congrats and have fun out there.

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  13. The photo of you at mile 29 is the best ultra photo you have taken yet. That is what it is all about :)

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  14. Another p.r., congrats!!! And this despite you stop yourself to take wonderful pictures during the race.

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