So when you leave your car at the finish line and then drive up the 80 to the top of Donner Pass you think your course will be a downhill run!!  Not!!!!  It felt mostly uphill but I guess you remember the climbs more than the downhill because it was fairly equal.  The 50k race has 4,660 ft elevation gain and 4,125 ft elevation loss.

My goal was to treat this as a training run and hang with the woman I went there with.  However within 1 mile they were behind me.  I figured they would catch up but did not.  They are in way better shape than me as Peggy is training for the Tahoe 200 miler and Yvonne will be her pacer for 94 miles.  In the end I finished 13 minutes ahead of them.  I thought to myself maybe I should have just hung with them and had company along the way.     Then again at times I was glad I was out there alone.  This is within the first mile and looked better in person.

Like I said yesterday the weather was truly awesome.  I woke up at 3 am to a gentle rain.  The previous week we had 90 to 100 degrees everyday and today was overcast.  There were actually one point in the race where it was breezy and I actually felt chilled.

I was chugging alone good feeling fin and feeling like I was giving it a little effort.  After 10 miles we entered this aspen forest.  I love forest more than views so I was totally thrilled to be in here.  It last about 2 miles.

I also like single track.  I would say this course was 50% single track and 50% jeep roads.

If you look down the Mountain you can see the 80 freeway.  I have to eventually cross under the freeway so I keep waiting to run downhill!   it just never seemed to happen.  I was like at least the last 6 will be downhill.

Saw these two cuties...Momma was with them too.  They were ready to blot but I talked to them sweetly and they stayed.

So a little more about my thoughts since beside they views that was all I had.  I was running behind these girls until around 15 miles.  At like mile 5 one said they were just using this as a training run and I told her, "well that makes me feel bad since I am actually racing this thing"    ha ha...what is racing??  Somewhere in there I started getting tired of it all.  I guess it was abut 4 hours in because I remember thinking, "I think I like to run distances that take 4 hours.  You just have fun for that amount of time...after that it's work"  Climbs bum me out because after awhile my back aches when I walk.  So I am hiking up a hill back aching and get to the top and think FTS!  but than I force myself to run and I feel good again...aching back immediately leaves me.

The last 10 miles was pretty cool and I should have taken pictures but I guess since I was working harder I didn't think about it.  I was running around lost of large granite rocks and in the woods.  It was very pretty and I am definitely going to go back there for some runs.  This lake is actually very close to the freeway but we weren't done yet.  Have I every told you how beautiful this section of the 80 is?

Oh at aid station 22.7 I over heard a worker say we had 11 miles left.  This got me very excited because my Garmin told me 12 miles left.  Really aid station people should shut their mouth unless they know what they are talking about cause she was wrong!!!    I was getting close to the freeway and was thinking yea man this course is short!!! When I hit aid station 27.8 and she told me I have 2.6 left...that I pass the finish line and run another 2.  That info is good to know...I was actually thinking about DNF so I didn't;t have to do the tack on miles. But I didn't.  They had a sign 400 meters to the finish and I could see a girl in front of me walking with her husband.   Just as I was passed her husband told her to run into the finish.  So I picked up the pace a bit and finished.

I learned to use blue tooth on my garmin watch and it now uploads automatically these cool thins to look at.

I was happy to get this stemless wine glass at the finish and  have already started using it.

During my run I was saying one down and one to go and I was no longer going to enter runs over 20 miles.  But the next day I was glad I did it.  Like child birth (so I am told) the hard parts are hard to remember.  The satisfaction of having run it is still strong.  Looking forward to Marquette in 2 weeks.

Nice.. the trail sections look pretty awesome, though honestly I prefer pint glass over wine. Maybe if I ever get my knees fixed I should retire to 50k's. This one really looks nice, especially with the weather you had. I recognize some of those mountain shots as when I crewed at Western States we stayed in a cabin up in Soda Springs right off I-80 near the summit of Donner Pass. I ran some trails on the other side of I-80, not the ones you were on.

I agree with those forest views, running thru a birch grove is a beautiful thing! And congratulations on a well done training run/race and good luck in Marquette (and just fyi, we don't have any MI plans yet. Not sure if it will happen).

Maybe 

 

Offering my unsolicited opinion-- as long as you are running this long stuff as well as you are just keep going. You're doing great. Lots of cool 50k's out there. Back off when you are an old crippled runner like me but until then let 'er rip.

I am sure everyone, you, Sandy and XT will get in next year as I will most likely no longer live here! 

Cool! Love the pics.  That one with the green wrapped around the trees is neat looking

 

I agree with NH.  You're doing fine.  Keep going.  I am going to need you someday to pace me at WS100.    I guess that means I would have to actually run a qualifier, apply for entrance and beat the odds to get in! So maybe in like 10 years.

 

GL at Marquette.

They did an awesome job on marking the trails...never a doubt.

Beautiful photos but the course looks tortuous. Was it well marked and easy to follow?

Congratulations on the "training" run.  The photos were great.  Thanks.

Did you see lots of horse trailers at Soda Springs?  They had to more the start of Tevis to Soda Springs last weekend because of snow in the high elevations where they usually start a little east of Squaw. But it looks like you were northeast of them for the most part.

They were at the ski resort Sugar Bowl so we did not see them, we were at the next exit.  I did think about what a perfect day they are having, nice and cool.  Except I worried about the thunderstorms at night. 

Congratulations on the "training" run.  The photos were great.  Thanks.

 

Did you see lots of horse trailers at Soda Springs?  They had to more the start of Tevis to Soda Springs last weekend because of snow in the high elevations where they usually start a little east of Squaw. But it looks like you were northeast of them for the most part.