Sacramento, California United States Lake of the Sky Trail Runners Running Club 40F / 4C Overcast

Total Time = 1h 46m 3s Overall Rank = 22/451 Age Group = 40-44 Age Group Rank = 6/30

The race was up in Sacramento, about 1.5 hours northeast of me. I drove the family up on Saturday and spent the night at my brothers. Grant, Brenda, and Joyce drove up separately and spent the night in a hotel in Sac. We agreed to meet up in the morning off Hwy 50 at Bradshaw. I would drop off my car at 5:30am and jump in their car. Grant would drop us off at the start line in River Bend Park and he would go the finish where the busses were waiting to bring him back to the start.
I ate lightly on Saturday, trying to stay away from fats and anything that might upset my stomach the next day. The rest of the family was enjoying the food that was being made, some traditional foods from our Central American culture – pork, yucca, beans, tortillas. It wasn’t easy but I stayed away from all of that. I ate some chips & non-spicy salsa and a turkey breast salad for dinner.
As the day came to a close, I began preparing for the race. I pulled out my race clothing -- some running shorts, my trail shoes, moisture-wicking socks, performance long-sleeve shirt that I got from the WDW Marathon last January. I attached the timing chip to my left running shoe and attached the racing bib to my race-belt. I filled up my 24oz water bottle with regular Gatorade (the blue colored kind) and added a teaspoon of salt to it to prevent hyponatremia. My sister-in-law had some hard-boiled eggs which came from her own chickens and she allowed me to have a couple so my wife peeled them for me and I put them in a ziplock and put them in the fridge next to my water bottle. I always down a full Gatorade bottle 10 min before race start so I put in the fridge also. I prepped my duffle back with anything I might need, a light wind breaker, a sweatshirt that I could throw away at the start, extra socks, underwear, sweatpants, and a hoody for after the race. I put some blister prevention patches on my feet where I usually get blisters and I wrapped my pinky toes with flex-bandaids – for additional blister prevention.

I finally hit the sack around 10pm… later than I wanted to. The kids playing and the sounds from everyone else still up kept sleep distant. I tried to calm my mind, but thoughts of my race strategy filled my head. I kept going over my game plan. Run 8 min/mi pace. Walk 15 seconds every 8 minutes. Restrain at the start. Run your own race and don’t get swept up with the herd. Drink one mouthful during every walk break. At mile 8 water station, refill the bottle. At mile 9 take the last walk break. Pick up the pace. Mile 11 gel time. Pick up the pace more. Pass the runners who are slowing down. Catch up to Grant. Pass if possible. Finish strong. Goal 1:45:00.

Finally sleep came.

Woke up at 4:16am before the alarm was set to go off at 4:30. I was wide awake so I decided to get up. I wasn’t in any kind of rush – I didn’t need to leave until 5am – so I casually went about getting ready. I put on my race clothes, strapped on my heart monitor chest strap, and donned the Garmin. I drank some water, grabbed the stuff from the fridge and threw it all into the bag. I wasn’t hungry but I ate a banana and grabbed an extra to go. 15 min before 5am, I hit the john.

On my way out the door, I realized I had no idea which direction I needed to go on the freeway to get to the meeting spot. 5 minutes on my cell phone with help from Bing Maps and I figured it out.

I get to the meeting spot, park and jump into Grant’s car. When we get to River Bend Park there’s nobody there. It’s pitch black, not a sign that any kind of event is going to be held here so we are very skeptical. But we all agree that this must be the place so we get out and stand around in the cold dark as Grant leaves for the finish line. We joke about an ax murderer in the woods. We wait and wait and our doubts are slowly erased as other cars trickle in one by one.


30 minutes before go time, I start my warm up routine – 10 minutes of jogging & 4 acceleration gliders. I did this out on the course and noticed the large pond of ankle-high water that we were warned about .25 miles into the trail. You can get around it on the left side with a steep, narrow embankment, but it’s risky. I’m sure some people will try that. I decide I’m just going to run right through it during the race… it’s only 2 steps and I don’t think I’ll get too wet.

5 min before start, I find Grant 10 feet behind the start line and join him. I down my Gatorade bottle. 5-4-3-2-1. GO!