Sorry, I had to throw that Great White song reference in the title as it has been stuck in my head since Saturday’s run. If you want to hear the song too click here.
Saturday was the first of the annual Western States Training Runs. While the ones in May are my absolute favorite, Saturday’s course is always an adventure and a good test of your legs and endurance.
Last year I drove up solo and hopped on the bus and ran with whomever I could find near me on the trail. It was a good but tough day mentally and physically.
This year Pigeon was able to join me. I know we were both pretty excited about this run!
The parking lot scene was really different this year. In years past it would get pretty crowded super fast and they had four school buses ready to bus us to the drop of point.
This year it wasn’t too crowded and they only had 3 buses. I didn’t mind. It meant easier parking and fewer lines. Regardless the day was gorgeous and we were looking at temperatures rising near 75 degrees come the middle of the day.
Pigeon and I knew from experience that we needed to get on the middle bus. The first bus you sort of assume are for the “fast” people. The ones carrying just one little bottle, no fuel and who plan to be done with their 20 something miles in no time at all. The last bus is usually reserved for the Folsom Lake Trail Running group. A great bunch of people but there is a lot of them and Pigeon and I like to position ourselves ahead of the crowd.
So this is where it gets funny. After Craig Thornley, the RD for Western States does his pre-race talks, it is sort of a mad dash for the bus. Pigeon and I were close so we hop onto the second/middle bus.
The bus fills up. They do their little talk about safety and what to do if you drop etc. The bus starts and then our bus waves the bus behind to go in front … so we are now on the last bus! Pigeon turned to me and goes, “What just happened?” I replied, “Um, it looks like we’re the last bus now.” 🙂 It was pretty funny and as it turns out, it was no big deal what so ever.
Pigeon and I got off the bus and just started running. I should mention that I did fall asleep briefly while on the hour-long bus ride. I can’t help it. You put me in a car when I have had little sleep and I will fall asleep almost instantly. Sorry Pigeon! 🙂
So we get off the bus and we take off down the gravel road following the yellow montrail ribbons. The views were gorgeous but sadly, I have still not figured out the best way to store my phone/camera to make it easily accessible. If had one complaint about my Jenny Vesta it is this, the front pockets are too small. My old camera is terrible so I don’t even bother bringing it any more. Plus, Vans may have been right all those years, I think I AM a little bit faster when I am not stopping to take photos. 🙂
Sadly, that makes for boring blog material which Pigeon has reminded me of time and time again yet mind you, it is her job to put the phone/camera back into my pack when I am done taking photos. Needless to say, this never ends well. She has troubles, I start laughing and well, the next thing you know, we’ve wasted about 10 minutes on the trail.
So for the majority of this run, I took zero photos. Pigeon was motoring and looking really strong. I was happy for her, she’s been working herself back into shape steadily and it is paying off. I felt okay. I was battling some low iron and energy this past week so I did not go into this run with super-duper high enthusiasm like I have in the past. Also, my left knee was tweaked a bit recently in a non running incident and it has been nagging at me ever since.
Still, I was having fun chasing Pigeon through the single track and all around the trails of Cool and Auburn. Like I have said, it was a gorgeous day. It was also getting warm, quite warm as the day was moving on. I felt like I was fueling pretty well but nothing I ate would settle my tummy. I just resigned myself to believe it was going to be one of those days. I am used to them, so no biggie. I just set my mind somewhere and try not to focus on it too much. I know I was quieter than normal but I don’t think even Pigeon realized how much I was battling internally with that unhappy tummy.
When we got to No Hands Bridge I was doing a little dance inside. I know this section well. No Hands to Robie Point and then old road back to Placer High School. This is what I consider the home-stretch. Which was good as the sun was starting to beat down on us.
We crossed No-Hands, hit the aid-station and smiled for some photos (thanks Joe McCladdie!).
We noticed that the trails were pretty crowded, not with runners but with hikers, families and even horses. The little water fall area that we always run through had a ton of people sitting in or around it trying to cool off from the heat. It can get pretty warm in the canyons if you don’t come prepared with enough water. I could tell a lot of these families were not prepared.
Pigeon and I ran through the water fall which cooled us off. Down the fire-road we ran. Like I said, there were other runners, hikers, little kids and people walking their dogs all around us. I say that because what I am about to explain next really took me by surprise.
The fire-road is about 4 to 5 feet wide. I was on the far left of the trail running behind Pigeon and to the left of us was a couple with two dogs.  A woman was walking a little teenie tiny dog (on a leash) and her husband was walking a doberman pinscher (also on a leash).
As I passed the man and the doberman, the doberman lunged at me. I have pretty good reflexes and as I tried to turn my body from him, he growled and took a nice chomp at my hip/thigh area.
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I kind of faltered because it felt more like I was punched hard instead of bitten. Pigeon turned just as I was grabbing my side and falling over. “What the?! Did he just bite you!?” she said and all I could do was moan yes. I was just in shock trying to figure out what the heck had just happened.
The husband grabbed the dog while the wife ran over to me to verify that I had been bitten. I showed her the bite mark and blood. It wasn’t horrible, but it did break the skin and draw blood. Pigeon took over. She took my phone from me and immediately started gathering the information from these people. Names, phone numbers etc.
As she was doing this and I was trying to clean the cut with a wet wipe that Pigeon just happened to have in her pack, ANOTHER runner was bit by the SAME dog but on her arm! What the heck!???
This poor woman did not fare as well as I had. Her bite mark was deep. A true puncture and she was gushing blood. I had to give her my bandana to tie off her arm so it would stop bleeding. She gave me her information so that I could pass on the dog owners information later.
I can’t say I was shaking. I wasn’t crying. I was just speechless for a while until we separated from them and then I was angry. Very angry. There were little children on this trail just feet away! The owners swore up and down that the dog has never done anything like this before but here he bit two people in a matter of minutes!
We still had about a mile and half to run to get out of the canyons and back to the finish area. My leg was throbbing and sore. The good news is that I stopped thinking about my stomach! We did a hike/run combo and caught up to the woman who was bitten in the arm. She seemed okay but was really hoping for a ride to the finish. She never got one. She ran/walked the whole way in with a small group making sure she was okay.
When we finished, Craig Thornley was right there and was concerned about the situation. He told me to make sure I had my shots and to double-check for sure that the dog had as well. All these years I have worried about running into bears and mountain lions and instead my first real incident is with a dog … on a leash.
Needless to say, I am super gun-shy about seeing any dogs on the trail right now. I called Vans as soon as I was done to explain why it was taking longer then I had expected.
While at the car changing out of our shoes the dog owner called me just to see how I was doing, to apologize again and to verify that their dog has had the proper shots.
Things could have been a lot worse. I was very lucky that the dog couldn’t get a good angle on me. I am happy that Pigeon was there to help me out and make sure that I had all the information that I needed. Be care out there when running, even if an animal is on a leash. Clearly this owner didn’t have a strong enough hold on his dog for him to bite two people.
When I got home from the run, I made sure to clean up well. We had lots to do the rest of the day! I couldn’t let a dog bite keep me down.
The weather has continued to be super nice lately. I feel terrible for all of you battling the snow and storms on the east coast. We are in a drought which is not good at all, but I can’t help but love the sunshine a little bit right now … it leads to some fun times.
Now it is taper time. This coming weekend I only need to run 10 to 12 and then next weekend it is race time! The inaugural Salmon Falls 50K will finally be here. I have a feeling it will be like one giant trail party because so many people are running it. Hopefully my bruise goes away by then (it is super tender). I consider myself super lucky. Lucky I didn’t have a more serious injury, lucky I have a great supportive running partner, lucky I live in a pretty awesome place with amazing trails and views. These are the things to remember.
Happy Trails!
~Trailmomma
