Black Canyon 60k

A couple of weeks ago, I was all geared up for racing the Elephant Mountain 22k and I was looking forward to a good hard race to give me some indication as to how things were going since ATY. Unfortunately, Andy was called away to a job in Canada at the last minute which meant I was home alone in the couple of days leading up to the race.

I really didn’t mind being on my own and still had every intention of getting out to Cave Creek for a good run, but our elderly cat had other ideas and for the best part of 5 hours during the early hours of Saturday morning, he meowed and meowed and meowed. By the time he eventually went quiet, I had fallen into a deep sleep, missing my alarm and disappointingly missing the race.

I was extremely frustrated as I knew that my training had been going really well, I was feeling good and I had been ready to race hard. I desperately wanted to put in some effort to test my current fitness and I figured the only way to do this was to hit the nearby trails and run those by myself but to pick up the pace. I always find it difficult doing tempo runs unless they are in race conditions and even more so on the trails, but I was determined to push out of my comfort zone to mimic racing as much as possible.

I’ve said on several occasions that Strava is a love it or hate it kind of thing. It’s so easy for people to cheat (seriously, how do people do 100,000 ft of climbing within 2 days of the month starting?! And how come that sub 3 minute mile on the local roads hasn’t made it into the record books yet?!), but if you use it for yourself rather than comparing against others, it really can be a useful tool.

So that’s what I did. I ran a route on both Saturday and Sunday to see how I compared to my previous efforts and I was delighted to see that I had achieved shiny new PRs on pretty much all of the segments including the climbs, and my 13 mile PR on the large loop at Apache Wash was smashed right out of the proverbial water. OK, I know it’s chopped cabbage as Andy would say, but for me it indicated that I’m still pretty fit and training is heading in the right direction.

With Andy being away, I even sneaked in a couple of little hikes with the dogs. We had a fantastic morning over at Deem Hills one day and the dogs were suitably sleepy afterwards. Much as they all love the dog park, I feel like we bond much better when out on a hike and the dogs for sure seem to enjoy themselves more with so many new things to sniff at and different things to explore. We even shared a bottle of water and a few doggy biscuits at the top of the hill whilst we caught our breaths and admired the views 😊 I love spending time with the dogs, probably more so than running on my own - the only thing that beats both is running on the trails with the dogs, and that really is magic!

Hikes with the pups :-)

Black Canyon 60k was just 2 weeks after Elephant Mountain and after a really good 10 mile progression run, I was starting to feel excited about racing. But come midweek, the wind had gone out of my sails. I was due to start my period and the heavy legged and sluggish feeling was settling in – I was not happy. I’d gone from feeling really excited to suddenly feeling fat, heavy, miserable, and really not in the mood. The other issue was that I still didn’t know whether Andy would be back in time for the race and with being a point to point race, it messed up the logistics of getting to the start and then back home afterwards. Then there was the crewing. Normally Andy would be at the aid stations making sure I was eating and drinking and to attend to any blisters etc which takes away some of thinking for me and allows me to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I figured that this time though, it was “only” a 60k race, so I’d already kind of made the decision to race without any crew, any drop bags, and certainly no pacers, making use instead of the amazing volunteers along the way that I knew would look out for me as well as all the other runners on the trail.

As it happened, Andy got back on the Thursday and could have come to the race, but he was so tired from all the 20 hour days whilst on site that in the end, he just dropped me at Black Canyon City at 6am so I could get the shuttle bus to the start, and he would then come back later once I’d finished.

The drive up to Mayer was pretty relaxed and I got talking to a lady from Albuquerque in New Mexico. She was running her first ultra today and was asking lots of questions which kind of took my mind off the racing. It was a pleasure to chat to her and it was great to see her name in the results afterwards and knowing that she had successfully finished.

We arrived at the school just as the 100k runners were setting off and it was a good 5 or 10 minutes until the entire field had made their way out onto the course proper. I never realised how well attended the 100k was until then and it was a great sight to see.

The 60k wasn’t due to start for another hour, so I headed inside to get warm – it was extremely chilly with a gusty wind blowing although the sun was shining, unlike last year where we had hours and hours of persistent rain to contend with! I hung out in the school hall, feeling pretty relaxed and a little less grumpy about racing now that I was actually here. As I sat on the wooden floor waiting, I still didn’t know how I was going to tackle the race.  There is quite a bit of downhill but also a lot of short climbs, and people often forget how tough the Black Canyon course really is. I also knew that there were some speedy ladies in the race making for some good competition – I didn’t want to hold back too much and let them get away, but neither did I want to have them sitting on my shoulder for the entire race, only to be pipped to the finish because I’m really crappy on the climbs. Even as I waited on the start line huddled up with the other runners and trying to hide from the wind, I still didn’t know what I was going to do – in the end, I decided to just wing it – no plan, just run and see what happens.

The first 2 or 3 miles of the course are ran on road/dirt road which means it’s usually a pretty fast start. I’d gone out at what felt like a relaxed pace but I was knocking out around 8’s or just under – it felt good, so I decided to just go with it. There weren’t that many runners ahead of me and I was already in 2^nd place in the ladies with 1^st place not too far ahead at that stage. It was still quite blowy and hard work into the wind, but as we hit the trails and got a little more shelter from the surrounding hills, things calmed down although it was still a little nippy.

Compared to last year, the conditions were perfect for running and as we made the first climb up on to the BCT, I finally saw the beauty of the Bradshaw Mountains in their true splendour. Last year, they had been shrouded in mist and I couldn’t see more than a couple of hundred yards ahead whilst the one training run I had done on the trail had also consisted of light, drizzly rain and limited views.

Today, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it truly was a wonderful sight.

The trail looked so different today and there were several sections that I didn’t recognise as I ran along. I’d had a couple of guys trailing me up the climb but as we hit the flatter more rocky sections and then the downhill, I found myself stretching my legs and striding out. I was running quite hard for an ultra, something which surprised me, and yet I really didn’t mind if I later discovered I’d gone out too fast. I knew I could keep going, even at a jog, and I’d said to Andy that I anticipated finishing in anything between 5 ½ to 6 hours. My pace was putting me in at much faster than that, but I knew there would be more climbing in the latter stages so I was banking what time I could without going too crazy.

Without crew or drop bags, I was just using Tailwind in my backpack accompanied by energy gels, and when passing through the aid stations I was grabbing coke, chocolate M&Ms, watermelon, banana, orange and choc-chip cookies. I think at one point I grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich which I managed to eat despite almost choking on it as I tried to swallow with a very dry mouth.

In all honesty I don’t think I was eating enough – I felt hungry for the entire race but I didn’t want to waste time eating. I also perhaps didn’t drink enough – I refilled my bladder just once and when I finished it was still half full – 4 litres of water over 38 miles when usually I can drink 1 ½ litres over 13 miles – it definitely wasn’t enough, and I didn’t pee for a couple of hours post race.

Yet despite not fuelling sufficiently, I was running well, I wasn’t feeling sick and I wasn’t feeling dizzy or anything silly.

Heading down from Antelope Mesa Aid Station - Photo Credit Howie Stern

As we started on the long downhill after the first aid station at around 7 or 8 miles, I started to catch the tailenders of the 100k. They were all so gracious moving aside as they heard me approaching behind and I felt a little bad at them moving over for me as they too were no doubt wanting to finish as quickly as possible. At one point I caught up a chap that was in the 60k and had the usual “I ain’t been chicked” behaviour. He wouldn’t move aside and I was almost clipping his heels and had to hold back. He then had the nerve to say if I wanted to take up the pacing for us both, let him know and I could pass! I kindly told him I didn’t need pacing, I just wanted to pass him at which point he moved aside and I bombed past and opened up a good 100 meter gap, wondering to myself why certain men have such issues about ladies doing well and finishing ahead of them. Even now I don’t understand. Unfortunately I didn’t see him again after that and he was nowhere near me at the finish otherwise maybe I would have plucked up the courage to ask out of pure curiosity.

Coming into Aid Station 2, I was just a couple of minutes behind the leading lady. I’d seen her just ahead for quite some time now and the gap between us hadn’t changed. Unfortunately I needed to dash to the bathroom and when I came out, she was nowhere to be seen and I knew I wouldn’t catch her. I was already running as fast as I dared to make sure I didn’t face burnout – my main concern now was making sure that I didn’t get caught from behind.

The trail between Hidden Treasure and Bumble Bee is really nice single track that is  quite twisty turny with some ups and downs, and it was here that I bumped into a lot of the 100k runners including friends from the AZTraileggers group who gave encouragement as I passed by. It’s always nice to see familiar peeps out there, especially with not having Andy around today, and it always gives me that little pick up that I sometimes need.

Bumble Bee was the next aid station and this time we would be passing through the ranch where the aid would be located. By now I was at around 20 miles and I was starting to feel the hunger really setting in. I ate as much as I dared and took another gel, but I do feel like this is where I started to feel the earlier pace and where the feet started to get sore.

I remembered a climb out of Bumble Bee from last year and this year it didn’t feel any easier. What I didn’t recall was how rocky the next section was, how rolling it was, and it was here where I did start to walk a little bit more on the hills. I was still moving well and still overtaking people but I knew that this is where I would start to eat into my banked time from earlier in the race.

I didn’t remember this section being so rocky and bare and I wondered if it had been affected by the wildfires in the area last year. The views were still impressive from here, but the 4 or 5 miles between the aid stations just seemed to go on forever and I found myself switching off and losing focus. I had to keep telling myself there was only around 10 miles to go, and as soon as I hit single figures, my mind was back on the game.

After Gloriana Mine aid station at 24 miles, I knew there would be some more downhill before another climb. My toes and feet were now getting sore from the rocky terrain, and I stubbed my big toes a few times whilst running over the rocks. Of course this year we were following the proper course, and the climb I was expecting didn’t come. Instead we dropped down in to a type of gully with more loose rocks which made it difficult to take advantage of this really good downhill section. I did however still pass a few runners here as despite the unsteady terrain, I was able to put my downhill running strengths to good use.

The miles after this have since become a blur. I remember there being lots of up and down, up and down, up and down, I remember running across a sandy, dried out river bed followed by a tough climb up to an aid station, and then I remembered even more ups and downs with around 6 miles to go and me cursing like crazy because the legs were moaning, my feet were sore, and I now had a huge purple bruise on my toe thanks to a stumble which resulted in me kicking a boulder as I tried to steady myself and prevent a fall. I remember there being far more cacti around now and more vegetation, and in the distance I could see Black Canyon City which is where the 60k finish line was located.  At one point, we crossed yet another river bed, this time with murky, sludgy water to wade through, and we cautiously used a few slippery tree branches and logs to get across without getting too wet before we were confronted with a huge climb back up the mountain/hill side.

I knew we only had a couple of miles to go now, but that last climb was terrible as it zigzagged upwards and never seemed to reach the top. The climb was tough but generally I was still feeling pretty good although admittedly I couldn't go any quicker. After finally reaching the top, it was just a mile or so to the finish and I could see the gantry ahead in the distance which spurred me on.  As we ran down, the 100k runners were heading back up and I was glad that I was only doing the shorter race and wouldn't have to run back up that incline!

As the trail flattened out and we left to join the dirt road into the parking lot and onto the finish, Adam and Meghan were heading out, the latter looking strong and relaxed and determined to tackle that last 40k. I shouted some random rubbish at them both before finally crossing the finish line, finishing 2nd lady and 8th overall in 5 hours 52 mins. I was almost half an hour behind the winner who'd had an awesome run and just about broke the old course record.

Happy with a second place finish :-)

I was really pleased with the run as I know that I didn't let up all way through. My failure if anything was that I should have eaten more but this time, I was able to get away with it with the race being just 60k - my theory was that I wouldn't eat that much for a 50k and this wasn't that much further. I finished with no blisters despite quite sore and achy feet, but I did have a huge bruise on my big toe thanks to the encounter with the boulder in those closing miles. My legs felt tired but it was more to dehydration and lack of fuel that the distance, and that alone gave me some reassurance. Considering it was my first race of the year and just 6 weeks or so since ATY, I was very happy.

The following day it was my birthday so we headed down to Tuscon and then up into the Catalina Mountains to Mt Lemon. The weather was much cooler and cloudy and we got caught in a hail storm as we climbed higher. We still had a little walk in the woods with the dogs and it was so fresh up there. The dogs loved it despite being damp and we had a lovely, enjoyable day together and making plans.

Winter fun in Tuscon, and up in the Catalina Mountains

There are changes looming ahead once again in our lives which are going to have an impact on my race plans over the coming months. I'm excited about what's ahead but I know it's going to be stressful for a few weeks and I just have to be sure to use my running and hiking with the dogs as stress relievers to help us get through.

I've ran this week since the race and my legs feel good right now and I'm feeling surprisingly strong. Next up is Mesquite Canyon 50k and as things stand, I'm feeling good about that race and hoping to have a good one that shows that my training is still working and we are heading in the right direction for my bigger races later in the year.