Race Report: PCTR Big Basin 25K

To be filed under: What the fuck was I thinking?

Dirty Details (pun intended):

Distance: 25K (actually it was 25.75K and, oh HELL yes, I am claiming that 0.75Km)

Total Climb: 3420' (yes, if you were wondering, that DOES seem like a lot for someone (e.g. Me) that has been running exclusively at sea level and remaining at sea level for the entirety of each run for months and months.)

Time: 4:37:24 (ummm... yeah. It was a rough day out there)

Pre-race

Heading up to the race (really, we should call it a 'hike/shuffle/stumble', but 'race' is easier to type, so we will stick with that.) Anyhoo, heading up to the race in Big Basin I was enjoying a beautiful view of the Santa Cruz mountains and listening to the new songs I had purchased for my iPod.It was only then that I realized that choosing songs for your run mix immediately after scheduling your husband's radiation implant surgery (and the 12 billion appointments that must occur within 5-7 days of said surgery. All at different offices, mind you) is not wise.

Just a bit of advice, if you do that what you end up with is a bunch of sappy love songs that make you cry.

Here is a sample

Don't worry I don't expect you to click on it. I never click on any of G's. Unless you are in the mood for a sappy love song, then this is for you. Click away!

As a result, by the time I arrive I am blubbering like an idiot. I compose myself and go to check in and am immediately hit with the what-the-fuck-am-I-doing-here-with-all these-hardcore-trail-runners?! feeling that I had gotten used to back when I was doing this more, but it has been months (and months, if you remember) since I have done this, so I got to feel like a huge loser (literally and figuratively. Fucking, skinny ass trail runners. Eat something besides tree bark, will ya?) all over again.

Race (Hike/shuffle/stumble) Report

The rest of this report will be mostly in pictures because I could not put together a cohesive story about this run if I tried.
The weather was perfect and Big Basin is possibly one of my favorite places to run. Wait, let me qualify that, with some parts of Big Basin are of my favorite places to run. I will illustrate on the elevation chart where that was today:

I must add that the USGS data for this run says, over 6000 feet of climb, I do not think that is correct either, but I strongly suspect it is more than 3400'. That, or I am just whining, which is certainly possible.

For the 25k you did a 15k loop and then a 10k loop. There were 10k, 15k, 25k, and 50k races today. For all of the races, you started off with a climb, because that is PCTR tradition. (RBR Definition of tradition - shit you inflict on other people at some regular interval, whether they like it or not) The 15k, 25k, and 50k started to the left and the 10 started to the right.

It was crowded and slow going. I don't have any pics from this portion of the run since it was so crowded. I will just include some bitchy side notes:

Side note to fast trail race runners: In a self seeded race, get your ass up front. No one will think you are an asshole for seeding yourself up front, but they WILL think you are an asshole if you knock 25 people into the poison oak, as you sprint to catch the guy that is getting away.

Side note to fast trail race latecomers: If you are late to a race and start behind people that are slow (e.g. Me), then barrel up behind them to make up time, and then, without announcing yourself or even fucking saying "excuse me," you pass on the single track nearly knocking them (e.g. Me, again) off the trail on a technical descent, don't act offended when they laugh their ass off when you eat it HARD 20 yards later (and yes, by 'they' I mean ''me'. "Nice job, Douchebag. Watch out for the roots" *Cheshire cat smile*)We climbed for about a mile and then started what would be the only really runnable descent of the day. It still has some technical sections, but overall it was glorious.

I beat the girl in blue. I did not beat the girl in black, but they did the 15k while I manned up and did the 25k, so I win in the "too stupid to quit" category.

Stairs = steep

After this is when you hit the low point of the course, which means you start climbing. There are two waterfalls in this section that you get to climb up. One of them literally.

Oooh, pretty!


Cable climb up the waterfall


There were sections intended for people MUCH taller than me


Here is me stepping up on the rock. I had to hoist myself up by the cable since I could not get any leverage with my leg at this angle.


Top of the 15k climb, sadly after this you descended and had to climb again before this loop was done.

On the last climb I met up with a very fit looking gal that was struggling. This is my lot in trail running life. If I actually do catch up with someone it is because they are injured, bonking, or just generally miserable. I am ridiculously perky on runs even though I am last and even if struggling. This is about as well received by miserable runners as you would imagine.

Anyhoo... she was struggling with her asthma. The redwoods were blooming and the pollen was killing me too. I had used my rescue inhaler twice already. Alright, any medical professionals avert your eyes for a moment....

No peeking!

Ok, now that we are away from people that will be all like, "Dude, you are not a doctor do NOT give your medication to other people!" I lent her my inhaler. She was very grateful and was feeling better, but was done for the day. She did not do a good job of hiding her shock that I was doing the 25k.

Wheezy Girl: You are going to do the 10k loop?! After this? *gives me the up and down glance* She is a skinny bitch, they can't help themselves. Whatever.

RBR: Yes

Wheezy Girl: In God's name, why?!

RBR: I think you will be fine, now. Take it easy

and with that I trotted off.

The last 0.5 mile of the 15k loop you ended up at an intersection and it was confusing as to where you were supposed to go if you were running the 25k. I met up with two girls that were doing hte 25k and they were stopped and confused too. A guy that was running (ok, hiking it was really steep) up the trail looked like he knew what was going on:

RBR: Hey, do you know where you go for the 25k?

Much faster than me 25k'er: Are you just finishing the first 15k loop?

RBR: *hands on hips* Well, that sounded judgey!

Much faster than me 25k'er: uh... I just mean... It makes a difference in which way you go.

RBR: *laughing at my own meanness* I am just fucking with you. Yes, I am just finishing the 15k Loop.

I head down with the other two girls and they tell me that they are bailing at the 15k. That sounds like a fabulous idea! At that point the thought of being done in 0.5 mile was stupendous. Sadly, my ego got the best of me when we reached the end of the 15k loop and the first aid station of the day (side note: DO NOT do PCTR races without your own water, especially in Big Basin. There are very few places to have aid stations so they can be really far apart, like 15km. I personally, never run without my own water. I am just too slow and have had aid stations run out before I get there. I was fine, but other people suffered yesterday)

Anyhoo, when I reached the aid station they were cheering and sweet and directed us to the 10k loop. The other girls kept going to the finish and the guy kept yelling to them so they had to shout out in front of all the supporters that they were dropping. Yeah, I am so not doing that. I filled up my camelbak, grabbed some pretzels and pop tarts (RBR rule: food eaten while running does not count against Jenny Craig) and headed out to the 10k loop.

I regretted it almost immediately.

There are lots of pictures from this section because I was TI-RED. Very, very TI-RED. I will not bore you will all of them, but instead give you the highlights.

You know you are tired, when you take time during a "race" to play with the self-timing feature of your camera

Cool bridge made out of a huge, fallen redwood


This one is for IronJane. Remember this hellish part of the 3 mile climb from Skyline to the Sea?


I was equally thrilled this time. Note: I was actually trying to smile, the misery is real not feigned.

The descent was about 3 miles and painful. Too steep to be fun on already fried quads and shot knees. When I finally made it back to the aid station, I was so grateful to be done and honestly proud of myself for gutting out the 25k.

Oh, and for the what-a loser-RBR-is-at-trail-running record, the guy that won the 50k came in about 1 min and 40 seconds after me