I ran in the inaugural Sapper Joe 30k and 50k on Saturday. I opted to run the 30k due to this race being so close to the Squaw Peak 50 miler. As it turned out this was a good decision since I tore my hamstring 3 weeks ago. I have been taking it easy the past several weeks with only one long run with Kendall on the first part of the Squaw Peak Trail, so I viewed this run for training instead of a race.
The morning was perfect! Nice, cool, with only a slight breeze. The race, held at the Camp Williams army base, gave a rare opportunity to run in the foothill on the base. I saw several faces I recognized. But realized that most of them would be running the 50k. I would have to gut this out myself.
The race started through some of the base roads, and then turned into a long section of uphill grinds. I was amazed at how steep some of the sections were, I was reminded of the steep section in the squaw peak 50 going to windy pass. During this time, my leg was noticeable but did not bother me too badly. My time to the first aid station was 1:18 minutes for the first 5.72 miles.
The next section was through rolling hills on a soft dirt road. I met a father who was with his 13-year-old son, out racing together. What a great experience for them. I hope my children will run some races with me when they get older. Anyway, the next aid station at mile 10.45 came quick. My time was 2:11 minutes. And I could tell my leg was getting tired.
I was in and out of the 2nd aid station in under a minute. The road turned into another steep uphill trail then leveled out before climbing up to the highest hill in the area. Luckily the roads were not to steep, and I was able to keep a good walking/running pace through this section. I came to the third aid station at mile 14.26 in a time of 3 hours. My right foot was giving me some problems at this point, so I stopped and rubbed some Vaseline on. I was still able to get out of that aid station in about 3 minutes but several runners passed me.
The last section was all down hill I wish my leg felt better, I could have flown down this section!!! However, my leg was really starting to hurt and I could tell I had altered my stride and this was giving me the hot spot on my right foot. I was able to keep several runners behind me for the whole section, but I could feel them breathing down my back. This made for good motivation. I finished in a time of 3:42:33, which was good enough for 12th place overall. Over all this was a great tune up for Squaw Peak in several weeks. The race director Darrell Phippen did a excellent job in organizing and pulling this off. It was a good test for the hamstring. I will baby it for the next couple of weeks and hopefully run well at Squaw Peak.
The morning was perfect! Nice, cool, with only a slight breeze. The race, held at the Camp Williams army base, gave a rare opportunity to run in the foothill on the base. I saw several faces I recognized. But realized that most of them would be running the 50k. I would have to gut this out myself.
The race started through some of the base roads, and then turned into a long section of uphill grinds. I was amazed at how steep some of the sections were, I was reminded of the steep section in the squaw peak 50 going to windy pass. During this time, my leg was noticeable but did not bother me too badly. My time to the first aid station was 1:18 minutes for the first 5.72 miles.
The next section was through rolling hills on a soft dirt road. I met a father who was with his 13-year-old son, out racing together. What a great experience for them. I hope my children will run some races with me when they get older. Anyway, the next aid station at mile 10.45 came quick. My time was 2:11 minutes. And I could tell my leg was getting tired.
I was in and out of the 2nd aid station in under a minute. The road turned into another steep uphill trail then leveled out before climbing up to the highest hill in the area. Luckily the roads were not to steep, and I was able to keep a good walking/running pace through this section. I came to the third aid station at mile 14.26 in a time of 3 hours. My right foot was giving me some problems at this point, so I stopped and rubbed some Vaseline on. I was still able to get out of that aid station in about 3 minutes but several runners passed me.
The last section was all down hill I wish my leg felt better, I could have flown down this section!!! However, my leg was really starting to hurt and I could tell I had altered my stride and this was giving me the hot spot on my right foot. I was able to keep several runners behind me for the whole section, but I could feel them breathing down my back. This made for good motivation. I finished in a time of 3:42:33, which was good enough for 12th place overall. Over all this was a great tune up for Squaw Peak in several weeks. The race director Darrell Phippen did a excellent job in organizing and pulling this off. It was a good test for the hamstring. I will baby it for the next couple of weeks and hopefully run well at Squaw Peak.
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