WAY TOO COOL TRAINING RUN

This past weekend was the annual Way Too Cool training run put on by James Barstad. Every year he does this and every year I am amazed at how successful and awesome it is.

While I am not running Way Too Cool 50k this year, Stonegate is. She has some redemption with that 50k distance and I knew that she needed some time on trails in Cool.

Pigeon was down for it so we decided we would all head out to Cool on Saturday and start before the masses arrived. We opted for the longest distance (23 miles) but there is a 12 and 20 mile option to do as well.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the fire station it was still dark out but people were already arriving. We all hid within the warm confines of the car before nature called and we all had to hit the porta potty (separately, not together).

All of a sudden the sun was peeking out and we were ready to hit the trails. We ran with some new people on Saturday. It was myself, Stonegate, Pigeon, Stonegate’s friend Tri-Girl and MarCK. Everyone has had their share of time on these trails and/or has done some ultra running so we were a pretty solid bunch.

It was cold so the pace was pretty quick to start. I think we all wanted to warm up as much as possible. We followed the orange ribbons all the way to  highway 49 where Stonegate would be entering new-to-her territory.

The Quarry road isn’t anything too exciting and is actually probably the least pretty part of the whole Way Too Cool course but it is a good chance to get your head in the game, fuel your body and just relax from the quick down hill you just came from.

On this section we all ran in various pairs talking as we ran. At one point Coach Nikon and friends came running by giving us a hard time. 🙂 I always enjoy running into him out on the trails.

Soon we were off Quarry Road and descending up onto some of the single track. For quite a while MarCK was leading our pack which was great. He was fun to run with too! So easy going and he set a good pace. I know the girls were probably worried we were slowing him down but he never let on or showed any signs of being frustrated with us (or our frequent stops).

The entire first portion of the run I couldn’t shake the sour stomach that I had no matter what I did or ate. It just kept hanging on keeping me on my toes and on the verge of worry that things may go south soon. I just kept up my nutrition the way I have been even if I didn’t feel like eating anything.

Soon we came to an aid-station and I ducked off to the side to handle some business. Not long after, Stonegate and Tri-Girl also had to take care of things. This made for a nice long(er) stop. There was nothing at the aid-station that I could eat so I just stuck to the cookies, plantains and water that I had with me.

When we started off again, Pigeon took the lead. At some point on the trail, she became lead runner, followed by me and then MarCK while Stonegate and Tri-Girl were chatting it up on the caboose.

Pigeon took off and I followed. MarCK was easily keeping pace behind me. This section of the trail is very runnable and it is super gorgeous. My camera duties have slacked since I cannot find a decent spot to put my phone that is easily reachable. I am still working on this and I need to figure it out soon as it is really beginning to hinder the quality of my blog! 🙂 I love taking photos – although I AM getting faster on the trails – so maybe there IS a correlation between the two? 🙂

MarCK and I had some good conversations about work and past jobs and our kids. Pigeon was feeling good I could tell because she picked up her pace considerably. She had started out slow (intentionally – that’s her style) and slowly built herself up. I was happy to see her confidence. She’s been struggling the last few runs trying to get her fitness back to where she knows she can kill it. She is almost there.

I just felt, great. My tummy was still not completely settled, but for the most part, I really started feeling well. Then we hit Goat Hill. Goat Hill is a pretty steep climb. It is just shy of a mile in distance but it consists of some solid switch backs. Some how I ended up taking the helm and I remember saying, “Oh man, I don’t want the lead!” and Pigeon just said, “You got this girl. One step at a time.” So, I started climbing. And talking. And climbing and talking. I was talking to MarCK, he was right behind me and I thought Pigeon and everyone else was right there as well but apparently, I had climbed pretty well. I had heard Tri-Girl say earlier that I looked like a Mountain-Goat when I was climbing … baaaaa! 🙂

I reached the top and I felt, well, amazing. In all the years I have climbed Goat Hill, that by far was my best attempt. I guess I am doing something right in my training these days.

At the top was an aid-station which was nice. Pigeon was hoping for some Coke but they only had water and gels. We knew there were only about 5 miles to the finish so we started running again.

Soon we heard Highway 49 which always gives me goosebumps because I know the end is near and I know that last mile is what lies ahead. The last mile of Way Too Cool is a bit of a grind. It is up hill, but the hill is this rock infested gully. Very hard to find proper footing at times and kind of hard to actually run IF you had the energy and leg strength TO run.

We crossed the highway and told Stonegate that this is where her last aid-station would be and to take advantage of it with SOMETHING before the climb. Then, MarCK took off like a bat out of hell! I swear, one second he was standing next to me and the next I saw his back side scaling up the rocky gulch! Bye bye MarCK! 🙂

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I climbed and power hiked as best I could. Then, something hit me inside. I did a scan and thought, “Hmmm, I feel good. Could I actually, for once in my life run this section?” Last year when I ran WTC (race report here) I wanted to punch Pigeon in the face on this section. She kept trying to motivate my butt up this hill and I kept resisting. Not today. I took a couple of steps … running and just kept going. I ran the entire way back at a pretty fast pace. I had energy to burn and power in my legs. I just went with it and I am glad that I did. It gave me some peace of mind that I CAN handle that hill to the finish.

When I reached the lot, MarCK had already cracked open a beer. That boy was thirsty for some beer I guess! 🙂 Way to go MarCK you crushed that final stretch too.

Soon all the girls came in and we high-fived and celebrated being done for the day. The parking lot started to fill up with hundreds of trail runners. I saw old friends, new friends and even met a few friends. It was glorious and the perfect end to a perfect day.

Sadly, one fellow runner did not have a stellar day out there. She fell and broke her foot/ankle and had to be airlifted out. I hope she recovers quickly (but it was kind of crazy watching that helicopter land right next to us!).

While I was out having a blast bombing the trails, Vans was home with the girls. He took them on a little walk/adventure to a nearby park by way of dirt trail.

My recovery after Saturday has been pretty great. I feel wonderful. Whatever issues I had with my tummy seemed to resolve itself during the last 3 miles but I am still working on the source of the problem. I tend to go through these waves and so far, I’ve been able to handle it and manage it with only a few stops. It is all part of training though.

I’ve also been cooking in the kitchen. Playing around with recipes and stuff. I am always trying to find new and interesting things for my kids to try. Peanut is pretty good at trying new things, Squeaker however, is a bit more stubborn.

As far as training goes, we have two more weeks of building mileage before I am in the home stretch of taper week. I am not looking forward to taper week as it always plays with your head that you should be doing more than you are. Yet, the body is smart and the body remembers. It actually needs this time to repair and refresh.

Happy February everyone! I know the east coast is getting bombed with snow while the west coast is drying out (ok, California is drying out). They are calling for a good amount of rain for this weekend so our run could become a massive mud fest. If it is, I’ll bring the old camera and be sure to take lots of photos! 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma