Haulin' Aspen Race Report (or how I remember I don't like the taste of dirt)

4.5, 6.0, 7.0.  Those are the three times that represent my drive time to and from the race, my race time and my sleep time (not in that order).  Can you guess which is which?

It all started with  my thinking on Monday that it would be fun to run a trail marathon in 6 days.  That after 90 miles of running the previous two weeks, so no taper, and several nights out this past week getting drinks.  What was I thinking?  But I wasn't in it to win it - I was in it to have fun.  So I signed up!  Life is too short right?

Last minute I decided to drive up the morning of the race instead of camping out the night before.  I woke up at 2AM.  Yes I think I AM crazy.  Unfortunately I didn't get to sleep until 9:30 the night before so I was going to drive to Bend and run a trail marathon on 4.5 hours of sleep!

I didn't have a lot of time when I got there, just enough to board the shuttle, get to the race starts, go to the bathroom and grab my bib.  They had a great bag checkin area to stash you stuff that was staffed all and fenced in.  I lined up with the other 15 or so runners that decided on the early start.

It was very chilly (maybe low 40s) so I had my trusty Moeben arm sleeves to keep me warmer.  The first 2.5 miles is a pretty flat loop that brings you back through the start/finish area before you being your climb up the ridge.  I snapped this picture as I was going up the ridge looking back down to our eventual finish.

4.5 hours of sleep and over-trained.  For all I knew it could take me 7 hours to finish and I was planning on about 6.5.  This wasn't your ordinary marathon!  We began to climb at mile 2.5 and climbed, and climbed.  Gradual in parts but really all uphill from miles 2.5-14.5.  The regular start runners began to come blasting past about an hour into my run.  With a 30 minute start they were running twice as fast as me.  Yikes!

Going up!  Notice the snow-capped mountain in the background. 

I've always been a crappy uphill runner but I feel myself getting better.  So much better in fact that I did not stop to walk all the way until mile 12.5.  The continuous running put me on a pace somewhere in the 5-5.5 hour marathon range I estimated.  If one great thing comes out of this race, it's that I'm finally feeling like a stronger hill runner.

Still going up at mile 13.  See anyone running?

The mile 12.5 aid station was  the last stop before the wheels came off my cart.  I was too busy noticing the amazing views to realize how big the hill was we were climbing and that we were approaching 5700' in altitude.  Not a horrible height, but something that does affect you a little bit.  I guess I should have looked at the course map a bit before the race?  I also noticed at this aid station that the double espresso carb booms I had been taking each had 100mg of caffeine.  I already had 3.  Opps!  I should have brought my own food since gels usually don't do my stomach good but I needed something.

12.5-14.0 was a slow, slow crawl.  I enjoyed the views but the climb here was brutal.  We had already been going up for 10 miles and the worst 1.5 of that climb was right on top of me.  It was steep, it was rocky, it was slippery.  It was tough.

My 13ish split time was about 2:50 so I was still figured I could beat 6 hours at least, but that was with a mile of slow climb which probably too me about 20 minutes to get to mile 14!  We crested the top of the hill and as people did they let out hoots and hollers.  There was an aid station there just before dropping down onto some sweet single track.  The rest of the race was downhill and flat.  Nice!

I started cruising down the single track - just the way I like it - narrow, technical, lots of turns.  Then my next wheel came off as I found myself flopping down on the trail face first, eating a pile of dirt.  The girl behind saw me fall and helped me up.  My knee was bleeding a tiny bit and hurt.  My right side was sore.  I was covered in dirt.   Luckily for me she had some wet wipes and gave me one which I used to clean up my face and hands as best as I could.  The wet wipe was black when I finished!  I walked it out a bit and probably lost 4-5 minutes there on the trail.  As I stood there checking out my "wounds" another girl almost took a dive in that same spot!  She caught herself but not before running off the trail and nearly into a tree.  I started running again but had lost my mojo and was taking the hills pretty easy the next few miles and most of the rest of the race..

My stomach started bothering me and I cut way back on my calorie intake.  You can only have so many gels during a race!  My pace slowed and by mile 24 I knew my sub 6 hours hopes were gone.  No matter, it was a tough brutal course with a long climb and tons of technical singletrack.  A fun course - not an easy course (despite a modest 2500' of total gain)!

I rolled into the finish at 6:07 to the cheers of many people still hanging around the finish line.  They know how to put on a good race at Haulin' Aspen!  People stick around because there is a lot happening and lots of free food, beer, etc.  I hadn't take in calories for over an hour and it would be another hour before I did.  My stomach was NOT happy with me.  Stupid gels.  I barely ate much at all yesterday, in fact.  And I didn't feel it but I must have been dehydrated since I was almost 5 pounds down when I got home (only -2 today).

I'd say the race was a huge success for me and I had LOTS of fun!  Especially considering the circumstances under which I ran it.  Definitely was good training for Cle Elum next month.  If you get a chance to run the Haulin' Aspen Marathon next year I highly recommend it!!  I will probably be back.  Plus you get a cool finisher's medal like this:

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Full results

Comments

[Eric Barnes]

Crazy girl! I've only run this race once but it still rates as one of the best. You really pushed yourself with the lack of taper, rest, and long morning drive.

A large group of us rented a house in Bend when we participated. We had a great time! There's talk of running it next year. If we do we can save a spot for you to camp on the living room floor or something to save you an early morning drive.

Falls suck any and all fun you were having out of a race. I took a hard fall on a rocky outcrop when I ran Haulin Aspen. It knocked the wind out of me and gashed my knee. Like you I walked it off and got going again. I guess it's part of the whole trail running equation.

Glad you were able to enjoy the run and the celebration at the finish line. Cool medal, the year we did it (2006) they had cow bells as medals.

[Billy Burger]

digging the hardware, and great race Jessica! Especially considering the lack of sleep and food. This makes me yearn for hilly, dirt roads again - yes, even the story of your fall. All comes with the territory!

[Sarah]

Nice job! Glad you were none worse the wear from that fall. Any race in the Bend/Sisters area can't be beat! Marc did this last year after running the Crater Lake Marathon the day before. That's my goal someday.....

[tom]

You are incredible! Way to go, Jessica, you kept at least some of the wheels on! Wish I could have run that one with you, it was an adventure. Pictures were great, too.

[Paul]

awesome story! and congrats :) your blog has become one of only a few i care to read too.

happy trails!

[Stuart]

Never underestimate the bodies ability to endure hardship, great job and a nice piece of bling to add to the collection!

[Anne]

Quite an epic run with all the issues you had, and especially kissing the dirt. That always throws you off your game momentarily. I can't stomach those gels either, so I know what you must have felt like -- though 5 pounds is a HUGE loss.

[socaltrailrunning]

Thanks for the great comments and congrats all! My lost 5 pounds is back now which is a good thing. As Anne said that is a HUGE loss. I had to be dehydrated even though I didn't feel it. I'm pretty sore today - mostly in my upper body, arms, etc. Especially on the impact side (my right!) But I'm already looking forward to this again next year! :)

Sarah - that would explain all the Marathon Maniacs at that race who were talking about Crater Lake. That double must be a common one for a maniac :)

[Lauren Miertschin]

Awesome marathon story. Sounds like a great race, what a great accomplishment for you. I feel for you on that fall. I'm a falling kind of girl myself, and have eaten dirt too many times this year. I'm happy the damage wasn't too bad for you.