Saturday the 10th was a great day for the Way Too Cool 50 km run. The weather was ideal as it was not too hot, nor too cold. It was just right. The trail was dry for this time of year and the footing was good. Before the start, there were many runners milling around in a circus like atmosphere. There were many tents and vendors. Excitement was in the air .The only thing that was missing were the elephants and tigers.
The first part of the run, about 8 miles long, meandered in and around the Knickerbocker-Olmsted loop. I covered that distance in one hour 38 minutes and was met by Secretariat. We then proceeded to the Western states trail and headed toward the intersection cut off used by the Tevis Cup riders while crossing Highway 49. I noticed many young attractive females running this race which was a good thing. A woman with a pony tail ran past us and mentioned that her psychologist told her that a pony tail elicits a prey response in men on the trail. Secretariat told her that I was a psychologist, and I replied “I do not need a ponytail.” We all laughed and continued running especially when I told her that she had a ponytail. She seemed surprised, and realized that she had her hair in a ponytail.
After crossing Highway 49, we ran the river trail, passing Brown’s bar and Maine bar in the process. I used a heart rate monitor to measure anaerobic and aerobic heart beat. The formula 220 – age was the criteria that I used. My heart rate ranged between 88% - 91 or 92% for much of the distance along that part of the trail. When I approached a hill, I made sure to pay attention to my heart rate. I did not want to burn myself out, early on during this run. During this section of the trail, my Achilles- heel was talking to me. Another reason to walk the hills was not to stretch and aggravate my Achilles more than I had to. All in all, despite my discomfort, my energy was good, and I was running well and steady.
I crossed American Canyon Creek and headed towards the Western States trail. My energy level remained good as I did not seem overly tired. Secretariat ran with me, and then got out in front. Periodically, I caught up to him as he was waiting for me. Just prior to the recycling center, I found him sitting at the “monument” resting comfortably. This monument was dedicated to runner Barbara Schooner who was attacked and eaten by a mountain lion years ago. Yea, there were no mountain lions today.
To be continued:
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