When I got into Western States this year, I decided that some of my key training would need to be done in Northern California. I hope that spending time of some of the later portions of the Western States trail, that I will see in the dark, and then spending some time in the canyons will prepare me for my 100 mile endeavor.

The first part of this plan consisted of me traveling to Auburn, then Cool, for the Way Too Cool 50K. It covers some of the back section of the Western States Trail, to HWY 49, Auburn Lakes Trail, Brown's Bar Trail, and other trails along the American River. It also adds in Main Bar trail aka Ball Bearing Trail and Goat's Hill...more on those later. It also consists of about 14 stream crossings, that during Western States are barely more than a rock to hop over. I had been on this trail with Shan last year, and we had discussed many, many times that it would be good and bad to see this trail in the light...the footing seemed so difficult in the dark.

In typical fashion as the race approached, I started monitoring the weather closer than any weather man around...it didn't look good. Rain was scheduled for all week, and a mix of rain and snow was on the schedule for the weekend. I told Joe that I would be running in his dream conditions. I was not thrilled about the weather. During Freescale marathon, another stellar weather weekend, Joe had given me Julie Fingar's information and we got to spend time together in Austin. She lives in Granite Bay, right outside of Auburn, and had been prepping me for the weather..."it's in the 50s and not much rain," she kept saying all week. I heard what she said, BUT still closely followed weather.com's advise and packed accordingly. I had done the marathon from start to finish in the ice, and a 30-miler the next week in the pouring rain...I was definitely trained to run in bad weather, just not quite snow.

I packed up on Thursday, and had a visit from Shan who was thoroughly impressed with my two very small bags of everything I would need for the weekend...I, too, was excited for my refined packing :) She and I talked, and gossiped to Paul's dismay, for a while and by the time she departed I was ready to hit California with all of the support I needed.

I got up VERY early Friday morning for a 7am flight. I wanted to go for a short run before I had to sit on the plane for a long while. I am glad that I did. I flew to Dallas, and then on to Sacramento. The flight to Sacramento was delayed for an hour, and much to my displeasure I was seated in a row across from a hysterical (to put it mildly) child. I thought to myself, at least I am not in the row in front of him getting kicked...I think the guy in front of him is still probably recovering from the almost 4 hours of chair-beating he received.

My plan was to meet up with Julie in Auburn, and we would go grab lunch after I did packet pick-up. I was over an hour late, so we were both pretty hungry. I met up with her at the Auburn Running Company, which by the way is the most unbelievable trail mecca...shoes, socks, clothes, hydration packs, etc. I did packet pick-up, which includes a tech-shirt and a sweatshirt, and met some people from the area. Julie had invited me to join her and some friend's for dinner the next night at their house, and I got to meet them that Friday. It seemed like a wonderful environment to live and run in; I really enjoyed pretending to be part of it for a weekend :) I left the running store after a bit, to relax for a while and settle in for the evening. It had been a busy travel day.

As I was leaving the running store, it was raining and I noticed a drop in the already 40 degree temperature...ouch. I headed for the hotel brainstorming about what to wear for the race. I had heard that because of the recent snow and rain that the water crossings would be frequent and fairly deep. As much as I wanted to wear full leggings, I keep thinking about how cold I would be in wet clothes for 50K. I thought my capris would be a better choice. I figured I would layer heavily up top and keep my core warm, and just keep my legs moving throughout the race to keep them warm. I made my usual calls letting my friend's know that conditions were not on my side, and to pray for the best. I think I always do it to get it out of my system before the race even happens....come race morning there is not a darn thing I am going to do about but suck it up, so complaining needs to be done with. I went to the grocery for some water for my camelbak, diet coke, and some hand warmers, and then set my clothes out for the morning and settled in for a good night's sleep.

I went to bed at around 8:30, which was 10:30 at home...so by 4ish I was up and eating breakfast. This was a good thing because Shan gave me a call to wish me some last minute good luck...she didn't remember the time difference. No biggie, I was up and getting ready to motivate. She said I sounded VERY oddly wide awake for 4:30 in the morning. I dressed according to my plan, put some vasoline on my feet, put my "new" shoes on, and headed out to Cool, CA...a 15 minute drive from the hotel.

The drive down took me by "No Hands Bridge," the final bridge before you head up to the finish at Western States. I had dreamed of taking a picture of the sight when I was with Shan. It was breath-taking: the American River roaring underneath, and just the surrounding beauty. Driving by that morning took my breath away, and made me fully appreciate my surroundings! I promised myself that I would not leave without a photo! I got to the Cool fire station and the start of the race, not raining but 33 degrees outside and not a sign of warming up.

I hung out in my car as long as possible. Everyone seemed to know eachother, but I was not really in the mood to socialize...it was COLD. My plan was to wear my jacket until right before the start to stay as warm as possible, so staying in the car was the best way to make that happen. At the running store on Friday, a friend of Julie's said, "you want to feel a little cold at the start. If you are warm at the start you are going to be hot very quickly." Advice I only partially listened to. I had also read the pre-race instructions that said because of all of the water to make sure your shoes are snug; advice I read a little too closely. I got out of the car, and was fairly comfortable heading to the start. I figured as long as I continued to run throughout the race, I would stay warm. We were warned at the starting line that the trail conditions were going to be VERY muddy and that the water crossings would be regular and a bit deep, "be careful and have fun."

At 8am on the button, the race began! We headed down a fire road for a little over a mile...basically a road so mile 1 was 8:04. Funny thing was that since I had tied my shoes so tight in that first mile I noticed that I didn't have much feeling in my feet...not a great sign. I figured if they didn't loosen once they got wet, at the first aid station I would un-tie them and loosen them. Then we turned off to the trail and the MUD! It was there right from the beginning. I made the decision that I could waste the day skirting around it, or just plunge on in...so I did. Right off the bat a guy in front of me lost a shoe...what a mess. My shoes weren't going anywhere, and from the second they got wet they were the perfect fit. My clothes were another issue. In my usual desire to be warm: I had on two pairs of gloves, 3 shirts and a vest, and a bandana over my ears, and my UT hat over that.... I was sweating 3 miles into a race where it was 33 degrees outside. I was uncomfortable and was just hanging on until I got to the first aid station where I knew Julie would be. I just kept focusing on how good it was going to feel to peel some layers off. The trail was muddy with deep, deep pockets of water in the mud puddles. I didn't care much in those first 6 miles; I just wanted some clothes OFF!! I crossed HWY 49 and came into the aid station. I ran over to the corner and just started peeling off layers....Freedom!! It felt soooo good to remove layers. I didn't grab anything at the aid station and just headed off.

At this point we would be almost 8.5 miles to the next aid station. I was fine. I had my camelbak and fuel, and now was wearing a comfortable amount of clothing. I was running with a group of men, and aside from the pile of women who took off WAY infront of me at the start, there wasn't a woman in sight. They were all really friendly. Most had been on this trail many times and spent a bit of time going through where we were and how it related to Western States. We had a nice downhill, but unfortunately with the mud none of us were able to get much speed out of it. The trail is dirt/clay and is on a horse trail, so the running water and mud don't leave much room for chance. We were running, but not anything like it would have been on a dry day...I could just tell from the beginning. We continued on through these long trails weaving in and out of thick trees and waterfalls. It was beautiful. At one point one of the guys asked me if I could feel the fact that we had been climbing gradually for about 2-3 miles...he said that we were doing the WS trail backwards. Good to know. It was all so runable, except of course the many water crossings. They began during this section. Because it has been so dry in Austin, I have had NO practice in stream crossing so I would pause briefly before going through the VERY cold water. Imagine continuous ice-baths throughout your run. On this section it felt good, but later when the water was deeper it would take a moment to get going again. Just when the guy I was running with said we had a bit to go before the aid station, it was right there. A quick cup of coke and on my way, 6.4 to the next aid station.

During this next section, again I had a solid group with me. It seemed to be the same men, just running back and forth amongst each other. None of us ran together at this point, but we would all just keep trading places. It felt good. I thought about my friend Catherine, and how much we would enjoy doing this trail together. I also thought about how strong she is and stole some of her strength for a bit...this is now the second race that thinking of her has made me run stronger. I will continue to use her for my strength :) I also thought of my friend Bryan, and thought of how I am going to be taking him with me through all of my training for Western. Their spirits lifted me through the rest of the run!

This section had the deepest stream crossings. I am not just talking ankle deep. They ranged from mid-calf to the top of my leg, and it was ice cold water. I never felt really cold after the crossings, but it would take my muscles a few minutes of running to get warmed up again. There was a downhill leading to the deepest crossings, and it would have been soooo much fun on dry day. But for Saturday it was just a steady downhill effort. Fortunately, I came down right behind a guy I had been running near for about 10 miles, and he paused to show me where the best place to cross was. He also waited for me to get across....only during an ultra :) We continued on. Right before the aid station was the steepest climb, Ball Bearing Hill...I later called it and heard it called Ball-Breaking Hill. It was just that. It is 1 mile of a climb that goes from about 900ft to 1500ft. I was happy to say that I was able to power up, pass 4 men, and not stop. Now granted, a friend of Julie's flew up past me 3/4s of the way up...but not bad for a city girl. Once I got to the top, it took me a second to get running again, not because I was out of breathe but because my muscles were screaming. I got running again, and made my way to the aid station.

It was now 5.4 to the next aid station, then on my way home free. I grabbed some coke and two saltine crackers, which I would taste in my mouth for the next three miles...man those saltines go a looong way. I still felt solid. My legs were feeling good, but I could definitely tell I had run a marathon. It was during this section that I started to pass some of the people who must have started to fade. I came up on about 5 people that I hadn't seen the whole race. I still had my 2 or 3 guys with me that we had been going back and forth all day, but these people came up out of nowhere....I was happy to be passing people. I came up on this one guy who was walking. I guess he liked my energy because he locked in RIGHT behind me...a little close for comfort. I kept asking him if he wanted to get in front of me, but he said this was all he had. It wasn't all I had, so I picked up the pace a bit to get him off of my heels. After a few minutes, I couldn't even see him behind me...sweet relief. I quickly approached the 2nd to last big climb...Goat Hill. I was told by one of my little group that the aid station was right at the top, so I once again powered up. One of the guys I had been trading positions with all morning said, "do you ever get enough of these?" It made me feel good to think that I was moving that well up these tough climbs. Hill repeats are starting to work :) I got to top and to the aid station and knew it was a fairly short run back to HWY 49 and then climb back to the finish.

I continued running steady, but unfortunately this section was a section we had all run on the way out. It was a sloppy mess. It was uphill and nearly impossible to run some sections. On a dry day, I would have been able to run every step of this section...today I was just getting frustrated. I thought to myself that I was really beginning to hate this mud. It just wouldn't end, and it was keeping me from getting to the finish line at any decent rate...arghh.

I came at HWY 49 crossing and aid station, looked at Julie and her friend, and said, "mud and I are not friends!!!" 1.7 miles to the finish...1 mile of which is uphill. It is very hard to be so close to a finish line and have to climb, BUT is a great lesson. You have to climb out of the trail at Western, and I won't be running that either. It is with great patience that I climbed as fast as I could thinking that once I got to the top I could push hard to the finish. Unfortunately, I had to cross 4 major mud pits to get there. At one point about 4 minutes from the finish a guy was cheering and I just went full force through the puddle. He laughed, but I just wanted to get through as fast as possible to the end....no point staying clean now. I crossed the line feeling good in 5:30:49.

Linda Hurd was waiting for me at the finish to give me a big hug. I was a little disappointed in my finish time, but figure between the mud, the water crossings, and the inability to pick up speed where I might have on a dry day I probably lost a good chunk of time. She then pointed out the reality that I did pretty darn well for my first effort out in the mountains. I guess I hadn't even thought about that, and as it began to settle, I started to be very proud of my effort (I never felt out of my comfort zone), and the fact that after I finished I was able to move around just fine! I cleaned my shoes off at the water, and got some poison oak cleanser from a guy from Folsom...I had to talk about Johnny Cash at some point :) Clean and cold I went and got some soup...a wonderful veggie soup and noticed that I had gotten 6th in my age group and 17th woman. I was proud of that.

That evening we went over to Julie's friends house, Lee and Sarah. They made a wonderful steak dinner with asparagus, bread, and some fantastic homemade pie ;) Again, I felt so fortunate to have been included in this amazing circle of people. We had a great time and some VERY funny conversations...none of which will make my race report, but I will not soon forget them! I think I almost convinced them all to come in for Bandera next January!!

I made crazy early reservations to fly home...6:04 departing from Sacramento when I was staying in Auburn. I had a wake-up of 3:30am. At dinner we had talked about what time I should head out, quite honestly not even thinking about the weather. Well heading out the door at 4, I was surprised to have snow falling and the streets covered!! It was beautiful, BUT I have never driven in snow. So off I went...next adventure for the weekend...I drove in the snow to the airport. It was a great way to end the weekend!

I am proud of my effort and the fact that I am here two days later barely sore. I will continue on with my planned and now a bit modified or more difficult, thanks Julie, schedule!! I have much work, and some rest days, in front of me. I am excited to head back to California in May for Miwok with Clea and Stephanie, so that they can share in the California fun.

Thank you for all of the love, good wishes, warm (80+ degree) thoughts, and prayers....I will continue to appreciate them during this journey!

Thank you also to Paul's surrogate family, Jim and Michelle Ryan, for taking care of him for yet another weekend!! Ya'll are the most amazing support because you help keep him entertained when I am out-of-town, take him out-of-town, and just stand by us whenever we need friends...it means so much to us!!

mer