Six Runners Break Course Record - Bunker to Bonneville 50K - September 1, 2012

Slow down my beating heart...

Mt. Adams. Photo by the lovely Esther Holman

In 2010, the Bunker to Bonneville 50k changed my life. More than anything, it was the people I met that day who have had a profound influence on my life over the past 2 years. Thank you everyone for your friendship and support through some of the most influential years of my life. If you don't know who you are, then I haven't hugged you yet.

THE COURSE

A classic point-to-point 31 mile run almost entirely on the Pacific Crest Trail, running from Carson-ish, WA to the Bonneville Hot Springs Resort.  Long gradual climbs combined with long technical descents. Great views of Mt. Adams and the Colombia gorge, but the trail is mostly sheltered by beautiful forest.

RACE DAY 2012

The Sticker Challenge from Justin

4:30 am - WAKE UP! Get dressed. Drive to the gorge. Get anything but Taylor Swift stuck in my head. Cross the Bridge of the Gods ($1). Arrive at the Finish line of the race. Kyle Chaffin wins the 'first hug' competition (sorry, Nicole). Get shuttled to the start of the race. Accidentally drop and crack water bottle lid. Get bib number. Hug here, Hug there. Accept sticker challenge from Justin. Run into unexpected friends. Wait in bathroom line with Larry and Susan. Pull an Ace of Diamonds from the deck of cards. Bullshit with friends before the start. On your marks, get set, go. Deep breath. Run, run, run, run, run.....

Pulling the Ace of Diamonds

A successful day for me would have been to run a strong race, to beat my old finish time of 5:06, and to HAVE FUN. In my mind, this was extremely doable. Step 1: don't start out with the lead pack. Watching the frontrunners disappear in the distance was a relief, and I fell into a comfortable pace for the first several miles of flat trail. The bullshitting that was going on between me, Randy, and Paul Heffernan was hilarious and uplifting. As soon as the first hill started, though, I took off.

As this was my first race coming back from injury, it was important for me to go at my own pace. Finding the gap between the frontrunners and everyone else, I peacefully ran alone. Running uphill has an amazing way of bringing me into the present moment, for it's a constant mental battle to sustain the discomfort and strain of ascent. The calves burn...the balls of my feet get warm from pressure and friction...my heart rate has a party...eyes are peeled for respite...there's really nothing comforting about running uphill, and that's what makes it so special. One of my favorite quotes is "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." At this moment, my motivation was instinctual.

Blowing by the first aid station, there was nobody in front or behind me. Alone, I felt compelled to practice my 'peeing while moving' technique. My effort was both successful and unsuccessful. It was a success in that I left a wet streak on the trail for runners behind me to guess "is that water or NOT water?" The failure was a holstering/timing issue, but that's why practice makes perfect, right? Yeah yeah, TMI...tmi...

Blowing by the zombie themed 2nd aid station, the climbing soon turned into a fun gradual downhill. Lots of PCT through hikers were kindly stepping aside as I flew past. The long scrappy beards on some of the hikers told quite a story. Eventually arriving at the 3rd aid station (mile 15), I had my bottles filled by lovely Lynn (thanks again!). Stan and Kyle were bar tending, but I didn't stay long enough to tip them. Pretzels, m&ms, PB&J, bottles, gotta go!

The next long gradual climb started soon after the aid station, and I was still running alone. At about mile 17, I finally caught a runner who was hiking. Maybe he started out too fast, or maybe the hills were wearing on him. I ran passed and tried not to show my fatigue. My legs were holding up well, but my feet were taking a beating from the constant forefoot grinding. The Plantar in my left foot was saying hello, and the stone bruise in my right foot (from January that caused 4 months of swelling on the ball of my foot) was getting tenderized. My hip flexors were feeling sore, and my legs found their breaking point at mile 18.5. For the next mile, I would alternate running/hiking until the turnoff to the 3 Corner Rock out-n-back Aid station (mile 20). The first person I see coming off the rock was Yassine!, followed by 4 runners. My position was seemingly 5th place, but that didn't really matter to me. For me, the purpose of this race was to get back that warm fuzzy feeling in my soul...also known as self confidence.

Descending into the Mile 25 Aid Station.
The volunteers were awesome, all day!

The next two miles were rolling up and down, and the short uphills were wearing me out. AT LAST, with about 8 miles to go, the infamous 3,500' rocky descent begins beautifully. Imagine watching Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV in the same day...that's how rocky the trail was. It was a combination of stationary rocks with some not-so-stationary rocks spread out on an otherwise pleasant dirt path. Sometimes the trail grew narrow with overgrowth, creating a game of chance with each hidden step. My pace was cautiously hasty, and my dancing skills were put to good use. The pain from my uphill legs was completely gone, and my fresh downhill gears were jackhammering the descent without a twinge. It was kind of pleasant!

The last mile of the race dumps you onto this hot exposed asphalt road. It was draining, but not terrible. I just kept dumping water on my head and trudged on. On one of the straightaways, two of the runners in front of me were within site but not range. Whatever. My mind settled, for everything had been a success this day...except for one little itty bitty flaw....MY STICKER FELL OFF!!!

The Sticker Challenge: Young Justin gave me a sticker to wear at the start of the race. If the sticker fell off by the end of the race, I owed him $1. If the sticker stayed on, he owed me $1.

The "Running Penguin" sticker

The sticker "fell off"

Within 100 yards of the finish line, I stopped and looked everywhere for the sticker. It must've come off on the homestretch! Blast! Oh well, the kid's gotta make a living somehow.

2011 course record: 4:44:02

2012 Results: 4:40:15 - 6th out of 71 Finishers

Pace: ~8:59 min/mile

After crossing the finish line, I wasn't surprised with 6th place. I WAS surprised when someone told me that I broke the course record set in 2011. Holy shit! My only time goal was to beat my time from 2010, and I beat it by over 25 minutes. That's a solid day, right there.

So as things may appear that I'm "back at it", things are still uncertain. As my body began to tighten up after the finish, pride filled my heart as doubt filled my foot. Despite running solid with plantar in my left foot, the soreness was apparent afterwards. It wasn't debilitating, but it's a real reminder that I'm still not 100% healthy. Consequently, my left hip was causing me to limp, likely an overcompensation injury from using my hip too much during the uphill portions. Live and learn. Learn and forget. Forget and re-injure. Live and learn. I'd rather not end up in this injury cycle, but sometimes it feels inevitable. I'm still planning to run the Volcanic 50k on September 15th, so long as my foot feels solid. On the plus side, I was still able to hike up Multnomah Falls with the family later in the afternoon. It wasn't pain free (sore hip), but it added to the 'sense of accomplishment' for the day. And it was great spending time hiking with Mum, Dad, Tre, bugaboo, and Penny!

Final Words

Great race. Greatest people. Thank you.


Important Notes: 

• Rocky V isn't worth watching.
• The 'bear pit' scene from Anchorman is somewhat inspiring.
• Kyle is amazingly awesome.
• I'll have a hard time forgiving the man who marked mile 22 as "mile 20". Not cool, man. Not cool...but it was kinda funny.

Much Love,

Jbob

The future is never certain.
Taken while running the following weekend on the PCT.