Training Camp

I've been back from the WS training camp for a couple of days. I've now had time to reflect on the course, my mental attitude, and catch up on my sleep a bit.

First of all, the training runs were incredibly valuable to me. I got to run on the WS trail for two solid days and see what was in store for me during the race.

I flew into Sacramento, rented a car, and drove to Foresthill, CA where I would be camping for two nights. I set up my tent in the Foresthill Middle School soccer field with about 20 other adventurous souls. I say adventurous, because it started raining as soon as my tent went up and it did not stop for over 24 hours. And it was pretty dang cold - mid 40's. Much different from Dallas, Tx this time of year. I found a restaurant that made pasta, ate, and then crawled into my sleeping bag while it was still light outside. There was really nothing else for me to do and I figured I needed as much rest as possible.

I woke up the next morning around 3ish and could not go back to sleep. The rain was really keeping me awake, plus I was anxious about the upcoming run. I was about to run the hardest part of the course (the canyons) in some pretty miserable conditions. So I ate my breakfast and just stared at the top of my tent for 3 hours until it was time to get up.

I drove down to the run start and registered. The volunteers wrote a giant number on the back of my hand so they could keep track of all of the runners on the course. They did not want to lose anybody out there. Before I knew it, it was time to load up into the buses for an hour ride to get to the start of the run.

Everyone on the bus was incredibly excited. I had the great fortune of sitting next to a 7 time WS finisher who gave me some really good advice. I asked him how all of the rain would affect the trail. I know in Texas with all of our clay soil, it would be impossible to run in these conditions. He told me not to worry, the course drains really well, and that we'd just have to dodge a few puddles here and there.

We finally got to the trail and everyone poured of the bus. It was hilarious -- there were about 400 people heading for the nearest tree to relieve themselves. There was no modesty at all - everyone had to go really bad!

And then off we went. And man, was it miserable. We were at a higher elevation now and it was colder. And it was still raining. My hands were numb after 5 minutes. I was so thankful I'd brought my rain jacket. It started sleeting for a bit and there were piles of snow on the sides of the trail. At this point, I was thinking this is no fun at all. And it was muddy! Very, very muddy. But at least it wasn't the Texas clay mud that grips your shoes and doesn't let go. This was a fine mud - very slippery. I had mud inside my shoes the entire day. It made no sense to clean them out -- more just kept coming in. Some sections there was some nice shoe sucking mud. You really had to pick your steps carefully. I ran into my new friend at an aid station and he apologized for the bad advice about the trail conditions -- we both had a good laugh.

But man, I was finally on the WS trail! And that was a really good feeling. I was on the trail that I'd heard and read so much about. This is the trail I have been working towards for last 6 months. And I was about to run the most difficult section of the trail -- the canyons.

After 8 miles or so, we got to the decent into the canyons. And that was by far the most dangerous running I've ever done. The mud and foot traffic made the decent incredibly scary. I could not do my usual free fall type of downhill running. I really had to watch what I was doing and had to put the breaks on so I would not fall off the course. And a fall here would be bad. When you put the breaks on during these downhills, your feet slip in the mud. I would slide 5 feet at a time on certain descents. That out of control feeling with rocks, trees, and cliffs all around is not a good feeling. Somewhere on this section a runner sprained his ankle really badly. Other runners helped him out of the canyon where a helicopter was waiting to fly him out. He had hypothermia from the cold conditions. That's a very unlucky way to end your WS dream.

I finally reached the bottom of the first canyon and started my climb back up. This section is called the Devil's Thumb and I had heard a lot about it. In fact, I was really anxious about this climb. So many runner's races are dashed in these canyons and the Devil's Thumb is one serious climb. I just started at my normal climbing pace and kept on moving. I knew it would take time to get to the top and I just had to have patience and I would eventually get there. I reached the top after 40 minutes and I thought to myself -- hey, that wasn't so bad! But during the race, I'll already have run over 30 miles before this point and it will be at least 50 degrees warmer. So I know the canyon section is going to be tough. There were two other canyons after Devil's Thumb and they were all very hard, but manageable. And before I knew it, the run was over. Along the way, I had a great conversation with a lady who had completed WS 2 times and Badwater once amongst several other 100 mile races. She gave me some great advice and encouragement.

Day two was much easier. My legs were tired, but I was able to complete the 20 mile run in a little less than 4 hours. This had to be the easiest section of the course -- lots of really runnable terrain. I have to be sure I have legs left during the race to really take advantage of it. I'll also being running this section with my pacer, Steve, who've I've already told not to let me fall of the cliffs that are everywhere in this section.

Overall, the training camp was a great experience. I have come away from it with good confidence that I can complete this race. I am now mentally ready and physically I am about as good as shape as I can get in. Two more tough weeks of training before I begin my taper. I will be ready for WS100! 30 more days!