50 miles
~10,000 ft. elevation gain
13th Overall, 9th Male
10 hours 31 minutes
06-14-14
I have taken a long time before posting this race report because I was so disappointed with my time at the Bryce 50. Since it is the end of summer, I have had very successful races since Bryce and it was in hindsight an empowering experience I thought I should try to capture all of this in the report.
I ran this race while Hillary and I spent some time visiting the various canyons of Southwest Utah. We hiked and backpacked for more than a week prior to the race. Highs ranged from 85-110 degrees in the dry desert and we witnessed some amazing sites.
Overview
The race averages between 7,500-9,500 feet above sea level and was my first time at elevation since December 2013 for our trip to the mountains of Colombia for our 4-day trek at 14,000 ft. I did not taper much (or really at all) for this run since I needed to continue to increase my mileage to prepare for the Vermont 100 in about 5 weeks. The weather for the race was PERFECT for its location. Of course it was intense sun, but the highs were only in the 70s.
The Aid Stations were at 10, 18, 27, 35, 40, and 45 miles and crew support was only allowed at Straight Canyon at 40 miles where you can pick up a pacer there if desired. Not a fun day for a support crew that cannot really participate in the race.
Leading up to race day
The 3-4 days before the race I was pretty hurtin'. I had a pretty intense fever and was extremely exhausted each night. I was also having trouble sleeping due to constant coughing and cold sweats. We had been camping and backpacking early in the week, so we decided to get a hotel room for two nights (Wed and Thurs) the week of the race to try to allow me some time to recuperate. It didn't help much until at the race check-in the afternoon before the race I felt the fever break and I could eat food and felt decent for the first time in awhile. I should add that we were on vacation, so I refused to take it easy during the day while I was sick leading up to the race. We hiked slot canyons, the hoodoos, Zion Narrows, etc. each day and then I suffered each night. I wasn't about to lay in bed during vacation. We set up camp in the National Forest surrounding Bryce the night before the race and I hoped for the best.
On the trail
In the morning I felt the pretty good, but I had no idea how much of a toll being sick all week had taken. I was already worried about a race at altitude, so now I had another variable to consider for the day. BANG, we're off. In the first mile a couple Pronghorn run by us in the surrounding sage. At 2 miles, still on a gravel road I think, 'dam, my legs are heavy and already tired. I don't know if I am going to make the distance. I'm breathing heavy and just feel exhausted, dam.'
I just tried to continue to run my typical race and push close to my lactate threshold continually on each climb. As we entered the hoodoos of Red Canyon, watched the sun rise, snaked down dusty red singletrack I felt like this could potentially be a good day? The sites were epic, how could I feel crappy!? Then I hit Proctor Canyon at Mile 18, filled up with 40 oz of water and took off on a 9 mile section of the course that took FOREVER! The sun was getting intense, the climbs were big, and I needed more water and calories. I was getting dehydrated a bit, was under nourished and could tell that I could not push up some hills that I normally would have no problem with. Eventually I hit Blubber Creek at Mile 27 and spent a little time pounding watermelon, water, PBJ squares and loading up for the next section. From here on out a lot of the course is more like running on a dirt road. It is probably classified as ATV trail, but it is wide and hard packed. My body was extremely fatigued. For the first time in an ultra race I was unable to catch the people in front of me as the race went on. I was passed once on this section and was feeling a bit out of body. The sun relentlessly beat down on me, sapping the little energy I had.
It's only 10 miles
A long dirt road downhill brought me to Straight Canyon at 40 miles. I had thought about stopping before reaching the aid station, but knew there was no chance of stopping before the finish. When I hit the aids station the idea of stopping just faded away, impossible. I just felt awful, but I didn't have anything wrong with me, so there was no excuse to stop. It was great to see Hillary. She knew I was physically way out of it, but I was still in the top 10 at this point. I took my time making sure I got what I needed, told her I felt like crap and she walked with me out of the aid station before I took off. A 5 mile 1,000'+ climb up to the next aid station. I tried to run as much as possible. When I hit the shade I was able to move a bit faster, then the sun would hit me and I would feel horrible. I walked most of the climb, was passed by a few people (some 100 milers), and entered the lowest state I have ever felt in a race, any activity, really anything. Near the top of the hill the course got really steep and I was almost stumbling over as I tired to walk to the top. I kinda laughed in my head that I probably looked like one of the guys climbing Everest. Sucking air with every step, looking like death. Then I was alone and there was an AMAZING view just before the aid station at Pink Cliffs. I just stopped there as I stood over a 2500' cliff looking down at the pink hoodoo ridden valley. The wind was hitting me pretty hard, there were finally some trees to block the sun. I probably just stared for a minute or so before taking the last 100 yds to the aid station. 'Pull yourself together man. This must be near the top, you are almost there.' To my surprise a group that I had started the climb with was just leaving the aid station somehow. After fueling up I hobbled away from the aid station thinking I was going to have to walk the last 5 miles to the finish line. I thought a lot about Hillary and the dogs, and just thought dang this is hard I really need to be done with this, today is not my day. 'You're just running, geez, this isn't too bad, look where you are, feel the wind, life is good,' I was trying to tell myself. After some deep reflections, and a few tears, I noticed I was starting to jog a bit, then I was running downhill near 8 min pace after another mile. One last ditch effort! I wouldn't say I was feeling good, but the downhill was helping me out, the shadows were getting longer and I could actually move. I moved onto a single track trail for the last mile or so and kept running until I hit the finish at 10 hours 31 minutes. It's over
I did not feel that good as I sat there in a daze after the race. I was about 2 hours slower than I expected and did not feel optimal at any point during the entire race. Was it the sun, the altitude, being sick all week, a bad day, a result of not tapering for this race!?!?! I guess I am still not exactly sure, but I think being sick played a large role. However, to be able to hit such an epic low during a race, persevere, and then be able to run 5 good miles to finish the race made me feel pretty good about my effort at Bryce. One good thing was that due to my body not being able to push to maximum effort for this race I was able to recover well and was able to run nearly right away afterwards. Lets chalk it up a a difficult training run.
Race profile courtesy of http://www.ultra-adventures.com/events/bryce-canyon/course-map/
Race map courtesy of http://www.ultra-adventures.com/events/bryce-canyon/course-map/
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