Lake Natoma 50k Recap...kind of.

Today I can actually say I am an ultra runner. Maybe. It's still sort of shady.

You see, the Lake Natoma 50k that I have been planning to run for a couple of months now was cancelled last minute early Saturday morning. When I discovered the news in my morning emails, I just kind of sat in bed shocked and in disbelief. I already had my dog walker lined up, the hotel reservations made, and my bag packed ever so carefully to be sure I didn't forget anything important...like my disturbingly large collection of dark chocolate. 

The cancellation sparked a raging fire of angry comments on their Facebook page (on both sides). I'll admit, I expressed my disappointment but still kept it civil. I don't believe they handled the situation in the best manner, but I DID get my refund and I am grateful for that at least. I mainly felt bad for the people that travelled from out of state to do this race, and the ones that had made this their "A" race. I really wish the race director's responses were more professional, mature and above the angry retorts, but sadly they weren't and I will not be participating in future runs with them.  

After everyone let out some steam, a handful of us decided to turn the situation into a positive one, and we grouped up to form a fun run since we had hotel reservations that we couldn't cancel. 

I specifically wanted to go because this course is part of the American River 50 Miler and I hoped to get a glimpse of it. Jon and I met up with Rini, and we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Folsom. It was just a basic hotel. I thought it was decent, but I am glad I'm not staying there for the AR 50. I thought the walls were too thin, and the room kept getting really hot at night. When Jon would get up to turn the AC on it was like a polar vortex was swirling through the room, and then it would get hot again. Not the best night's sleep.

Our pre "race" meal was...sushi! We went to this really bizarre joint called Mikuni's. It was a chain restaurant that was packed FULL of people. The sushi was delicious but very untraditional and topped with spicy and americanized sauces. I didn't mind though (I'm from a rural part of Michigan after all). I remained pretty low carb and ended up feasting on about 4 types of raw fish. It was risky, I know, but luckily everything turned out okay. 

Bright and early at 5:30am, Rini and I woke up and prepared for the run at 7. My morning meal was a handful of cashews, and pouch of Tropical Orange Generation UCAN powder with some decaf coffee. Not exactly the finest breakfast anyone could ask for. The UCAN powder is sweetened with Stevia, and I don't mind the taste too much. My favorite is still the Vanilla Protein Powder mix.

Sunrise over the lake

We met up with the crew and all shared laughs about the cancellation. Some of us wanted to make t-shirts, and we joked about having a secret annual race before the Lake Natoma 50k.

Jon graciously provided a moving aid station after his run, meeting us a few spots along the course. I really was happy to see him, even though I didn't need any aid. Additionally, this wonderful guy, Darren, selflessly bought refreshments and medals. He also not only started us out on our run (he was familiar with the route and area) but also went back to wait for us to finish 5+ hours later to cheer us on. I think he deserves some kind of award for his kindness to strangers. And yes, this medal means a lot more to me than most of the ones on my medal rack.

Me, Darren, (a couple who I don't know their names!), Rini, and Brian

Our group was small, and some ran different distances. I ran with a really great guy named Brian who drove all the way from Oregon, and we shared our running stories. We started off a little faster than I wanted. I was going to try to follow strict heart rate for the first half, but it was tough with a group of people. Also it was really janky for the first mile, giving me false high numbers.

Eventually as the run continued I figured I needed to just ignore the heart rate completely and just treat this like a race. I stuck with Brian (and a big thank you to him for holding back on his pace a bit for me), and we meandered through the beautiful bike path next to the river. The path was really nice, mostly flat with some rolling hills, and partially shaded for the majority of it. 

A view of the river.

My fuel during the run consisted of 2 nuun tablets in 1 liter of water for hydration, 1 Pocket Fuel Chocolate Haze pouch, 1 Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Almond butter pouch, and 1 AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS Salted Caramel Gu. I have been raving about the Salted Caramel Gu since it graced my lips. Not only was it a really nice easy to eat consistency, but it tasted so good I'd probably top my ice cream with it. I should probably put a disclaimer here, saying that I have deprived myself from sugar and all things sweet for months so I might not be the best judge of taste right now.

The run went pretty well for the most part! I felt great, but from mile 18 and on the sun started to get a bit brutal. I could feel a blister developing on my little toe where the last blister was. A word of advice: NEVER leave bandaids on feet. It will spiral out of control!!! Not only did I feel the blister develop, but around mile 25 I actually felt it POP. And gush. It was the most disturbing, and then painful experience. I tried to keep running normally so that I didn't develop any injury from running all weird, but it was like I had a hot poker jammed between my toes. I'm going to be buying some Injiji Compression Socks ASAP to hopefully remedy this situation.

Around mile 28 my running buddy started to fall back and I had to leave him behind (mainly because I was afraid if I was going to stop that I wouldn't be able to get going again!). To his credit, he had only signed up and trained for the 26.2 distance, so winging a 50k is pretty ballsy. He did an amazing job and was such a pleasure to run with. 

My running partner Brian

I continued running alone, and managed to make it back up all the hills without walking. I was pleased to see that my average heart rate was at 160, and the highest was actually 178 (the false 193 number in my strava is because of the janky heart rate reading at the start). I finished with Jon, Rini, and Darren there to cheer me on crossing the invisible finish line. The most amazing part? Jon gifting me 3 slices of bacon at the finish. WHAT A GUY. 

Running through the invisible finish line

Heart Rate Data

It shows that I ran over 1300 ft of elevation and 32 miles total 5 hours and 30 mins (I admit to pausing about 3-4 times for short bathroom breaks and "hello to jon" breaks). At the end I was tired, but I had a lot more energy than I thought I would. I didn't even need to sit down. My Garmin told me that I had broken all of my previous records: the 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, and Longest Distance ran. Oh! I also used the Garmin courses for the first time and that was incredible. I drew out a course prior to the run and it would tell me when I ran off course (which only happened once...). It also allowed me to see myself as a little triangle on the course and would tell me the distance and predicted time left. BEST FEATURE EVER! Seriously, it kept me so entertained through most of the run.

My running partner in crime, Rini...well she did amazing, as expected. She flew through the course and her average was well under a 10 minute pace. I expect her to do amazing things for this 50 miler! 

I think that's it for the recap. You can find my splits at my Strava page. I couldn't be happier with how the run with (aside from the blister) and I'm a bit more confident about the 50 miler coming up in less than 5 weeks. EEK! Not terribly sore today but it doesn't mean I want to climb any stairs. Let's see how the runs this week go.