I didn't get a PR, but the race went well for me, despite the heat.
Squaw Peak 50 Mile near Orem Utah is probably the third hardest 50 in the US, behind Lake City (San Juan Solstice) and Zane Grey. The race starts and ends at Vivian Park, just a few miles south of where the Wasatch Front 100 race ends. Same mountains, different scenery. I've done all these and tend to agree with that ranking. Squaw Peak has about 12K of climbing, as does Lake City. Lake City is harder because of the altitude (climb up to 13K, head down, head back up to 12K, run at 12K for 11 miles, head back down, climb back up to 11K, then head into town). But Squaw's climbs more numerous, and it's usually hot. Zane Grey doesn't have the big climbs like Lake City or Squaw, but it has climbing and lots of it and it's hot as well. One section of Zane Grey is totally exposed for about 13 miles. We start and end at Vivian Park, but the course goes counter-clockwise in a loop. The race filled up in 2 days this year!
I was watching the weather the previous week and it was looking to be a scorcher during the weekend. It got to 90 in Salt Lake, so it was around 85 along the paved road along Hobble Creek (miles 22-26), and probably in the low to mid-70's up top (9300'). At the start it was in the low-50's which merited wearing several layers and a long sleeve. No gloves though. It started getting hot around 10 AM. I took advantage of the coolness at the start and went at a moderate clip. The first several miles are along a bike path leading to the trailhead that takes us up one of many climbs. There was a water stop here in case you needed it, but I declined and just kept moving. The climbs were slow, but I didn't stop and I did manage to pass a few people here. I just kept it moving up to the second aid station (mile 5.4) in a little over an hour. The last mile leading up to the second aid station was a doozy but I kept my head down and my feet moving.
After this aid, you continue on single track trail and meander through some marshy areas until you reach a road. Once I got on the road I was able to run more, but I still walked the hills. No snow on the course. Two years ago, this entire section was snow filled. The pace was nice and moderate along the road, and I was able to get to the next aid station (mile 10.4) in 2:39. Refilled bottles, grabbed some melon and headed out. I was having some stomach issues off and on, and decided to take some Tums to settle it out. It did, for the most part. The next 3.5 miles was pretty much along a ridge line leading up to Kolob Basin aid station (mile 14.6). This section in the past has been pretty snow covered in here, one year you were side-stepping the traverse. This year, there was no snow whatsoever between aid station 3 and aid station 4, except for what was protected from the sun clinging to the hillsides. I got to aid station 4 around 8:30 AM (2:30 runtime). I ditched the wet clothes here and went to sleeveless shirt. I also put on my ice hat (with ice) and a kooltie. I spent about 5 minutes or so here to change clothes, refuel, etc.. Then I was off.
I ran the road down from here all the way to mile 22 aid (start of the paved road). I wasn't hammering it, but the pace felt good and relaxed (around 9:00). I passed a ton of people here. Some were early starters but a lot were people I was running with earlier. I didn't walk one step these 6 miles. There were a lot of walkers here. I got to the 22 mile point at 10:00 AM. I took a minute to refill and eat, then used a porta pot and made my way out onto the paved road. This is by far one of the worse sections of the race: it's paved, it's usually hot, and it's straight and boring. But it didn't go badly here at all. It was hot, but with the breeze we had and the ice and kool tie, it went really well. I ran the flats and downs, walked the ups here. No sense in overdoing it as I knew the next climbs after 26 miles are energy sappers. I met up with some other runners and we had a nice conversation. I was wearing my yellow SLUG shirt here and I got a ton of comments about St Louis. "Wow! Way to go you flatlander!" "Where about in St Louis?" etc. Nice! After a while, I got tired of saying I used to live there but now live in Colorado. Why spoil it for everyone? Before I knew it, the next aid station at mile 26 was just ahead.
Got to the end of the paved road and aid station 6 at 11:00. Grabbed a frozen towel and wiped my face and hands, refilled, ate and left. Last year this next section kicked my ass, and I was dragging on the climbs for the next 7 miles. This year, it was hot, slow, but I wasn't feeling bad like last year and ran the flats and downs pretty aggressively. The first 3.5 miles are on dusty jeep, 4x4 roads. Lots of ATV's going by kicking up dust. Pretty annoying. I got to the next aid station at mile 29.6 in 7:06. Grabbed some more food, bottles refilled and ice in the hat and left. This next section really kicks your butt. A big climb through a huge meadow. The last .8 miles leading to the next aid station is all downhill. Yoohoo! Got to the 33 mile aid station in 8:014. By this time, the winner of the race was already done for about 15 minutes! When I got here I took a 15 minute break to get reorganized, fed, watered, and cleaned. Up to this point I was using 2 water bottles, and the original plan was to switch to a camelback for the final 17 miles. The RD was mandating at least 3 water bottles or the equivalent leaving this aid station. I decided to stick with the bottles, and I had an extra bottle stashed here in my drop bag and opted to go with the bottles rather than messing with filling the bladder and such. This worked out great as I just ran out of water just 100 yards from the Windy Pass aid station 7 miles distant and 3 hours ahead.
It must have been pretty hot this next section as the ice in my hat quickly melted after 30 minutes. I mostly walked this section until we reached the ridgeline leading to the big climb, which I was able to run reasonably well. When I came to some snow before the the big hill I stopped to fill my hat with it. Then it was the moment of truth: the big ass climb from hell at mile 39. 1.5 miles of 1300' of climb, straight up an avalanche chute. But this year there was NO snow whatsoever on the climb up to Windy Pass. In the past this climb was done on snow. Take two steps, slide back one, etc. So we ended up taking a new trail to the left. Still steep as hell, and the willows along the trail really liked to snag your shins and shoes. I would climb about 100-150 feet and have to stop to catch a breath. One foot in front of the other until you get towards the top where it levels out some and you can walk it without having to stop and suck wind. This year we were able to use the original route in the bowl versus having to go all the way to the top and then down. I was thinking I'd rather have the snow here to climb on as the footing we were on here sucked, with a lot leg and shoe snaggers from all the willows. At least there would be some coolness from the snow.
I got to the Windy Pass aid station (mile 41) around 4:20 PM. Water from the spring was running really slow here (it was taking them 45 minutes to fill a gallon jug from the stream), so I was limited to one bottle fill up. I did manage to mooch a few cups of water while they were filling my bottle. The snow from earlier years was gone. Some little sections but that was it. I had forgotten how rocky it is through here so I was not going all out just yet. Once the rocks cleared out I really let it loose. No one passed me these last 9 miles to the finish. I did pass quite a few through here. I got to the last aid station (mile 46.5) in 13:00. Breaking my PR was not going to happen here (13:34). They offered me a bit of heaven when I got here: an ice water-laden towel to wipe off with and drench with. Pure heaven. I refilled my hat with ice, drank a cold soda, filled one bottle and took off down the last 3.5 miles of paved road.
While mostly downhill, there were some hills to consider walking. Some I walked but most of them I ran. I just wanted it over with by this time and it was hot.
I got to the finish line in 13:42 total time. It took me 2:12 to do these last 9 miles.
While I didn't get a PR this year, I was extremely pleased with how I ran the race, managed the heat, and not be totally trashed at the end. This was especially sweet after my dismal run at Collegiate Peaks just a month prior, where I was pushing cutoffs, got lost, and finished after the official time. I was tired, to be sure, but not sick or feeling lousy. The only downsides during the race were some off and on bouts of stomach upset early in the race, which Tums was able to settle out by the time I got to the first paved section of road. It wasn't an issue after that (perhaps using the porta pot helped in that regard too).
I waited for several of my friends to finish then headed back for a nice shower and a late evening meal at Subway.
I followed my plan for the most part: take advantage of the cool at the start, go slow and easy while it's hot, and hammer the downhill last 7 miles to the finish. I wasn't able (actually, I was able but the footing was horrible) to run some of the rockier sections down on the last descent, but I was moving and passing people. It's nice to be able to run late in the race and not feel forced or lacking in energy. I drank constantly, I was regular on the salt intake, ate solid food at all the aid stations, and ate what I carried with me as well. Using bottles instead of a camelback (which I've used exclusively here in the past) went really well.
With my exercise-induced asthma, I seemed to fare pretty well in the heat. Perhaps I need to do more hot runs. I hate the heat, but I seem to manage it a lot better than cold runs, where my breathing goes south in a hurry. I'll be helping a close friend in late July at Badwater. I'll get more heat there than ever before. It should be interesting.
This was number three for me at Squaw Peak.
I'll be back, hopefully, next year.
1 comment:
Good for people to know.
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