I'm beat. Today was a very long day. It was a tough work week for me with lots of late nights and then yesterday afternoon I finally decided to drive over to Spokane for the Spokane River Run. For those that have driven it, the section of I-90 from Seattle to Cle Elum is a really pleasant drive with lots of nice scenery but once you hit Ellensburg the drive to Spokane has to be one of the most mind-numbing and forgettable drives possible in the Pacific Northwest. My brain hurts just thinking about it. Driving to Spokane and returning the next day is double the fun-pain quotient. Well, that's basically what I ended-up doing. Late last night I drove to Spokane, arriving at the Apple Tree Inn around 11:30pm. This morning I heaved my lazy body out of bed around 6:00 am to prep for the race. After a pretty lame excuse for a breakfast I drove over to the park, ran the race, then drove the 275 miles home to Bellevue. What was I thinking? OK, enough of the whining. While the drive obviously sucked, the run was worth it.
This is one of those runs that was recommended to me by a few different people, though for the life of me I can't remember those who told me about it. Huh. Senility seems to be setting in already. Anyway, I only heard about it last week so I hadn't really planned it out. "A little of everything"..."nice course"..."great early season race", those were all used to describe it to me. I didn't know anyone planning to run it though. Actually, I didn't have time to ask anyone. That was a bummer. Maybe I wasn't totally motivated to do it, I don't know. But, I told myself that I would treat it as a training run and as my first 25K race, meaning that I would run the entire thing but I wouldn't push the pace. No pressure to hit a time target, just a chance to run and enjoy and learn from the folks around me. Of course I can't just run a race. It's not in my personality really. Once I was in the middle of it I needed to try to push it, even if only a little. Let me explain.
The race takes place in the beautiful Riverside State Park just to the west of Spokane. There are 5K, 10K, 25K and 50K race options, with the 5K and 10K being the most popular and drawing the bulk of the runners. The trail description from the Web site: "100% dirt trail, some rocks, roots and possibly mud, but no asphalt. The course winds through thick pine forests set against basalt cliffs and ends with a tight twisty single-track next to the roaring Spokane River." I can attest to that description. It was a nice meandering course with some short, very steep climbs that quickly thinned-out the pack but overall there isn't too much elevation gain. It's more of a rolling course through thick patches of forest and basalt rock outcroppings, before you descend down to and run along the rushing Spokane River for about 4-5 miles. Despite the awesome terrain, there was a cold breeze and enough occasional rain drops to qualify as drizzle. Crud, the weather was in that no-man's land where you need to wear a long-sleeve shirt but then you might overheat as the humidity sets in. If you wear a short sleeve shirt you worry about feeling hypothermic and shivering. So, what to wear? Long sleeve or short sleeve? Shorts or tights? Gloves or no? Hat or no hat? Why not just layer with all of it? I was having a tough time making decisions, much in the same way that Mother Nature seemed to be mixing-up a potpourri of weather for us. Eventually I ended-up wearing my favorite Salomon shorts, wool socks and a microfine Merino wool long-sleeve shirt that I picked-up in New Zealand last year. [Check out my other post touting the benefits wool as the ultimate trail running gear.] The many folks from Spokane were all in good spirits and didn't let Mother Nature dampen their obvious enthusiasm to be rid of the snow and back on the trails. Back to the race...
The start of the race for me was humorous. After a check-in snafu where I was handed-off a few times, the RD eventually got my race packet but just minutes before the start of the 25K. I jogged back to my truck to leave it and my layers of clothes behind when I heard the RD scream, "Go!". Either he was a few minutes early or my watch was slow! Crap, it didn't matter. I sprinted for the starting line about 250 yards away. I was the VERY last person to start the race, even after the designated walkers. As I crossed onto the trail, I thought to myself that this better not be indicative of my race performance. I didn't want to finish in last place. Now that my HR was racing from the sprint I had to bring it back under control and slow down which isn't an easy thing to do. My pace was all over the map for the first 4-5 miles, running slow and fast and everything in between. This wasn't the start I had envisioned. Thankfully, it was a chatty group and I talked to all sorts of folks as I began to pass people as we climbed the first few hilly sections. Around mile 6 I found my rhythm and finally settled down.
I was about 10 miles into the run talking with a military guy who was really pumped-up by the race (or maybe it was that he wasn't stationed in Iraq right now) when all of sudden we heard some very loud "pop - thud, pop - thud, pop - thud" noises. After a few moments I finally put it into context but not before my new running friend identified the sound as gunfire. Was it the local church hunting club? Nope. The local militia practicing? Wrong again. I was hearing a gun (or guns) being fired close by though. It turns out that down and across the river a little ways is a shooting range. That had me questioning the sanity of conducting a well-attended race within proximity of a live firing range but hey, the RD must've known something I didn't. Of course all the "what ifs" ran through my head, like what if a stray bullet hit me while I was running and I tumbled unconscious into the River. Would anyone ever find my body floating downstream? Kind of a morbid thought, I know, but in Spokane I'm prone to those types of thoughts.
Thankfully, the trail took a turn and I pulled away from the noise without finding myself face down in the ditch. After the race, I came to the conclusion that we weren't in any real danger but that trail runners and bullets don't mix too well. Nevertheless, at that particular point I increased my pace (probably went from a Zone 4a to Zone 5 HR in like less than 5 seconds). We continued to run along the river and then down a twisting single-track littered with rocks and scree that would be a good Mt. Bike trail. It reminded me of a scene from LOTR. The loose rocks were slippery from the drizzle, making the footing treacherous. If you tumbled here, you might end-up bobbing in the cold river. I had forgotten how far into the race I was at that point. I was just so focused on getting away from the sound of the gunfire that when I came back to reality we were less than a mile from the finish line. Oddly enough, during and after the run I didn't hear anyone else talk about it all. Hearing gunfire is a great motivator though!
As I came across the finish line I was greeted with cheers and the sounds of The Fixx's "One Thing Leads To Another" blaring from the RD's boom box. That was a nice way to end. The post-race area was alright, with water and Gatorade and, most importantly, the $5 large pizzas that were offered to all runners and being snarfed-up like nobody's business. What a great idea! All they needed was some beer and I would've spent my afternoon "recovering" with two of my favorite food groups. Thanks to the folks in Spokane for making this a memorable race.
My first official trail race...
Have you ever gotten so excited about something that you actually jumped up and down, licked your lips and flapped your hands while saying "ohhh, ohhh", much like a little kid might do on Christmas morning? Can you picture yourself doing that as an adult? I couldn't believe it, but I actually did that yesterday. Not very manly, is it? It's never happened to me before. I know, I know, how embarrassing, right? I felt like I was watching someone else but then I realized that it was me doing it! I started laughing even harder. Too funny.
Why was I so darned excited? Well, it's pretty simple. I had entered to run my very first trail race, the Peterson Ridge Rumble in lovely Sisters, OR (pop. 1,450), and here I was, having just gotten out of my car to walk over to the starting line at the back of the Sisters Middle School. The weather was trail running perfect: a balmy 55F with a light breeze and sunny skies. Then the realization hit me that I was going to start my trail running odyssey, right here and right now. I think that my reaction was a combination of pent-up excitement and nervous energy looking for an outlet. Hand flapping is a good way to look like a dork, cool-off oneself and generally express giddy excitement..all at the same time. It's a pretty handy maneuver but I don't recommend doing it often. You'll get some odd looks, especially when you're a guy.
Here's the deal: I've never run a trail race even though I pretty much run exclusively on the trails at Cougar, Squak, Tiger, Rattlesnake, and Taylor Mountains in the Issaquah Alps. For the Peterson Ridge Rumble, I had decided to run the 30K option. So this was my first trail race and my first time ever running 18.5 miles (even in training)! It was going to be a big day for me.
But first things first. Just to get there I had to make that oh so looong 350-mile drive from Bellevue down to Bend. Fortunately, I was able to break it up into two parts and drive down to my parent's house in Milwaukie and stay Friday night. I had a pleasant time, as usual, and awoke on Saturday eager to get down to central Oregon. I drove down I-5 to Salem and then cut east on the N. Santiam Highway (Hwy 22) past Detroit Lake, past Suttle Lake, through Sisters and then on into lovely Bend (pop. 85,000)...which has grown like crazy since I was last there. I was amazed how much growth has occurred. Heck, I remember going skiing in Bend when there was a population of only 19,000. Talk about growth! Anyway, I was planning to stay with my childhood friend Matt Garcia, his wife Debbie, their young daughter Zoe and their energetic lab Roxy. What I didn't know was that they were in the process of packing-up their belongings for a move the following weekend just across town to their new house. Talk about bad timing for a visit - sorry guys! Thankfully, they were very gracious hosts and we had a great time catching-up. It was really good to see them after so much time. I think I last saw them at their wedding nearly a decade ago!
[On to the locale.] Sisters - located just to the northwest of Bend - sits at an elevation of 3,100 feet. It is situated in western Deschutes County, just east of the Cascade Mountains in central Oregon and is perched on the edge of the 1.6 million acre Deschutes National Forest. Once a lumber town, it still has an 1880's Old West vibe with lots of working cattle ranches, rivers for fly fishing and white water rafting, the Three Sisters Wilderness Area for nordic skiing and snowshoeing and hiking, and high-end vacation homes spread amongst the planned golf resorts of Black Butte Ranch to the west and Eagle Crest to the east. Basically is a sportsman's paradise and it's a down to earth town with friendly locals and absolutely stunning natural scenery in the high desert country. The Sisters-Redmond-Bend area is one of my top favorite places on the planet. I can easily see myself living there someday.
[Fast forward back to the start of the race.] The race is an out-and-back run that starts/finishes at the Sisters Middle School. The starting area was filled with nearly 100 people intending to run the 60K and another 135 people intending to run the 30K. That's 240 eager trail runners clamoring to get going. Despite the numbers, it didn't feel crowded and the low-key vibe made it seem more like a big gathering getting together for a long training run. There were some notable Northwest ultramarathoners in the race, like Kami Semick, Andy Jones-Wilkins, Bev Anderson-Abbs, Jeff Riley and Rod Bien, among others. Heck, the RD is Sean Meissner so you know that this is going to be a tough trail race. Some folks had dogs and one guy even had two dogs (Huskies perhaps?) which he had tied to his waist so that they would pull him along. Smart!
After the starting gun went off, we all trundled down a dirt trail (looked like a wash-out) that quickly narrowed forcing us to run no more than two abreast until it widened again about 1/2 mile later where we encountered a long, straight dirt and gravel road (NF-4606). After another mile or so we crossed a small bridge and then bisected 3 Creeks Lake Rd where we continued to run straight on NF-4606 for another mile until we came to a turn-off into the forest onto a smooth, flat trail that meandered through Ponderosa Pine and Manzanita. After about another mile or so the trail met up and paralleled a stream (really cold water) that helped to cool the air and keep the dust under control. After moving through Aid Station #1/#5 we ran across Peterson Ridge Rd and finally up into the hills, where we started to gain some elevation. The terrain was getting more interesting and, by this point, the field had really spread out and I was able to run at a good clip without having to dodge slow pokes.
Aid Station #2/#4 is at the base of a long hill that leads up to the turnaround points for both the 30K and 60K (which are different). After making the turnaround and plowing back down the hill I did a little liquid refueling and was off. For some reason, at about mile 14, I had an instant and serious GI issue crop up. Let's just say that I lost about 15 minutes of time hunched over in the thorny bushes behind a large rock outcropping of volcanic lava rock (very sharp stuff!). After, er, dealing with my distress and rehydrating myself, I took off down the trail with a renewed sense of energy and excitement. As I headed down the trail I noticed the complete lack of flying bugs so I was able to run with my mouth hanging open, looking kind of slack jawed. It helped me suck in the copious quantities of much-needed air at the elevated altitude.
When I reached NF-4606 again I met up with Meredith Sorensen who lives in Portland. Meredith is a New Jersey transplant who has a freakish passion for waste management (go figure). As we motored along she explained that she works for CES and is helping to coordinate composting, recycling, and overall waste reduction efforts at the Portland Airport while she gets her masters in public administration from PSU. Her two buddies were also running in the race but were somewhere behind her. As we struggled down the long straight road I worked hard to keep her mind focused on just reaching the finish line by blathering about whatever subjects came to mind: furry dogs, ultimate frisbee, traveling in SE Asia, the nuances of batch beer, solar powered lighting systems. By helping to keep her mind off the last portion of the run I was able to do the same for myself. It worked.
As we came back across the starting line we crossed Edgington Rd. and then into the Sisters Middle School parking lot. The finish line happens to be on the stadium track...on the opposite side from where you enter. Yikes, that's about 325 yards of further running and just when you thought it was over! To get there, you have to run past the BBQs and food tables spread with delectable nourishment, the other runners who've already finished and are relaxing on the field and the the kids playing energetically with dogs. It's a real test of mental toughness, I tell ya. Thankfully, once I entered the chute and crossed the finish line I was able to start walking and cooling down. I was rewarded with a nice pair of free D-feet socks and then a tasty hamburger (or was it three?). There was a masseuse providing free services too. While I was taking a cold shower apparently Sean conducted a random prize drawing that well received. At that point, it was time for me to get back on the road for the long drive home.
Big kudos go to Sean for putting on a wonderful race with such a great atmosphere. I had heard that his race was a real winner and wasn't disappointed. Everyone was super friendly, from the runners to the race coordinators to the helpful volunteers at the aid stations. Having the option of using the showers at the Middle School after a long run proved to be a stroke of genius. Most importantly the course is a nice early season tune-up (not too steep or flat or dusty, you get the picture). I'll definitely be adding this one to my annual race list. It was totally memorable and really fun. Woohoo!
The Bend Bulletin wrote a nice article about this year's race. Check it out.
