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PCTR Montana de Oro - Run25k


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Los Osos, California
United States
PCTR
52F / 11C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 37m 40s
Overall Rank = 47/60
Age Group = F30-39
Age Group Rank = 9/10
Pre-race routine:

I signed up for this one at the last minute. After missing 3 races in a row due to a series of unfortunate events, I was getting really antsy. I wasn't really properly trained for a 25k run, but I decided to go for it anyway.

After a rather fitful night of sleep, I got up early and had some coffee and a strawberry Stinger waffle in the car. I left later than I wanted to, but still arrived at Spooner's Cove an hour before the start, which was early enough to get a prime spot in the parking lot, right in front of the bathroom. I checked in, leisurely got ready, and hung out.
Event warmup:

It was cold outside, so I just relaxed and stayed warm in my car until 10 minutes before the start.
Run
  • 3h 37m 40s
  • 16.69 miles
  • 13m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

As this race would be my longest run to date, my only real goal was to finish it without injuring myself. I started at a nice leisurely pace, and warmed up for the first couple miles, which were relatively flat along the bluffs. Then the trail turned inland, narrowed, and began to ascend. Eventually I could see Valencia Peak, and when the trail became steep I started to walk, figuring I had a lot of trail ahead of me and didn't need to kill myself.

At this point, my walking pace was more of a speed hike, and I ran the flatter sections. My right calf started to hurt a bit, which was mildly concerning, but it worked itself out and didn't become an issue. As the trail ascended Valencia Peak, it became very rocky, and once I got on the out-and-back spur, I kept having to step aside to let runners pass who were going the other direction. At the very top, there was a hands-required scramble, which my sore shoulders didn't appreciate, but it was fun.

I flew (relatively speaking) along the next few miles of trail, which were all downhill heading back toward Spooner's Cove. At this point my feet were starting to hurt a bit from the pounding of the rocks on the trail, but it was no big deal. Just under 8 miles in, I reached the aid station and stood around for a few minutes stuffing my face with a strawberry pop tart and water. I refilled my handheld bottle with whatever Gu concoction they had and headed out for the second loop.

This loop quickly crossed the road and began heading inland and up along a fire road. A few people passed me at the beginning, but after that all of the runners were pretty spread out and the trail was sparsely populated, since the 8k and 12k runners were not doing this loop. I think I saw more mountain bikers than runners on this loop.

After a couple miles of gradually ascending fire road, the trail turned north and became very steep. Knowing there was a big hill ahead and that I still had at least 6 miles to go, I walked most of the steep section, which lasted for about a mile and a half. I could see a few runners ahead of me, and I managed to pick off one on the hill. At some point I scarfed down my Stinger waffle and noticed I was getting low on Gu water. Around mile 11.5, the trail turned back in the general direction of the ocean and began to descend. From my cursory glance at the elevation chart I thought I was done going up big hills, but there turned out to be one more at about mile 13. To make things even better, my bottle was now empty. I was in a bad mood for a little while and walked up most of the hill, but near the top I began to run again.

After waiting at the top for a bunch of mountain bikers to pass, I finally began to descend, and soon I could see Spooner's Cove waiting for me in the distance. I was really hurting at this point, but I still had some energy in my legs, and I passed a guy, the last runner I would see on the trail. For the last few miles the trail was descending (but not super steep) and I was running close to 10 minutes per mile. Looking at my Garmin, I noticed the 15.5 (25k) mark had come and gone and it seemed like I was still pretty far away, but eventually I saw the road and the cove, and came in to finish.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I put in a good effort, but didn't overdo it, which was the idea since my focus right now is my Ironman in 19 weeks.
Post race
Warm down:

I had some salty snacks, Hammer Recoverite, and a Coke (delicious), waddled back to my car and headed home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My lack of training. I haven't been putting in a lot of running volume, and didn't specifically train for this. Also, I hiked yesterday and biked the day before. I wasn't exactly fatigued, but I wasn't well rested either.

Event comments:

PCTR seems to have their routine worked out pretty well. This was a no-frills race for sure, but it was well run and a lot of fun. I'll definitely be doing more of their events in the future.




Last updated: 2012-02-10 12:00 AM
Running
03:37:40 | 16.69 miles | 13m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/60
Performance: Average
Course: Mostly singletrack, some fire road, hilly, longer than the advertised distance. The 25k route consisted of 2 different loops, one including Valencia Peak and the other including Hazard Peak.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2012-02-12 6:11 PM

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Expert
1379
1000100100100252525
Woodland, California
Subject: PCTR Montana de Oro


2012-02-13 1:22 PM
in reply to: #4043463

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Master
1591
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San Diego, CA
Subject: RE: PCTR Montana de Oro

Solid effort on a tough course. Sounds like great mental training for your upcoming Ironman.

2012-02-13 1:34 PM
in reply to: #4043463

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Subject: RE: PCTR Montana de Oro
Nice!  The bluff trail is one of my favorite runs, but I've never gone up into the hills there.  They look steep!
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