Way Too Cool 50k

There was a lot on my mind the Friday before Way Too Cool.

1. Would my ski legs carry me through the 31 miles

2. Would the pouring rains clear to blue skies by morning

3. Was I going to get pulled over again for having a broken headlight on my car

4. Who the f-ck put the warning sign on my motorcycle telling me to move it within 3 days

5. How did people sit in this much traffic and why the hell did I leave SF at 3pm

It was not an auspicious start to channeling good energy for the day ahead.

But Saturday revealed all - blue skies, no rains, good friends, a beautiful course, a few struggles but an all-around brilliant day.

Carpooled over to Cool (yes, its actually in a town called Cool, CA) race morning with my friends Kara, Dana (runners) and Brian (there for support and to log some bike time on his sweet new ride, Parlee). After a ridiculous amount of time debating what to wear on such a cold morning Dana and I headed out in running jackets, concerned with the low temps forecast. Fortunately, the start lead us right back past our car where after 65 seconds of running we realized that our jackets were entirely unwarranted and promptly dropped them on the ground. Best decision all day.

The course started out with a nice warm-up along a gently sloping road before veering off onto a dirt path. Brett and Jorge from the Endurables were well out in front with the fast folks and we'd already lost sight of Rick from the get-go. Dana, Kara and I stayed together for the first 10 miles or so talking about boys, weather, friends. Much of the course at this point was in the sun and so the trails had dried out and seemed to indicate we had a fairly firm and dry day ahead.

And then it changed. Somewhere around 8-12 the trail turned to more technical singletrack, with wet, slippery rocks and multiple stream crossings. In the beginning I tried to jump from rock to rock or scramble around the edges of mud pits to avoid getting my feet soaked (I know, right? - am I a trail runner or a debutante in high heels?!) but as the miles wore on and I saw Dana charge through the middle I just started going full bore through whatever was in my path. And of course, once I relaxed and went with the flow, it was like being a kid again, running through puddles of rain and mud after a summer storm in New Jersey.

The course wove in and out of the trees, over slippery wet rocks and streams of water branching off of the American River; up along rolling singletrack that clung to the edges of the foothills where the sun beat down and the views opened up across the valleys.

By now both Kara and Dana had surged ahead and I was left with my own thoughts and the random interactions with runners around me. A guy in the uber-popular vibrams came flying by me on a downhill - I have no idea how he had any traction. We leapfrogged and chatted for awhile until I lost him but he came through the finish line not too long after me having run 31 miles in the ugliest shoes known to mankind (after crocs). Against my normal sense of "whateves" and my semi-fashionista leanings, I'm curious to try them. Althouth I think they do a terrible disservice to your gams. Even a supermodel would be hard-pressed to rock them well.

At mile 17 I started to feel the effects of non-specific training. Specifically, I was feeling some discomfort. Legs heavy, one foot feeling bruised - nothing dreadful, just not what I'm used to. Somewhere around mile 23 or so a stream crossing turned out to be almost 3 1/2 feet deep and as I plunged up to my thighs in cold water I felt a surge of energy that carried me for another 4-5 miles. The trail was rolling and dry at this point and as I traded places with a woman doing her first ultra and one of those grizzled trail running veterans of 65 or so who's done a hundred ultras, my pace grew lighter and the effort less tiresome.

At the final aid station - the biggest aid station - I came in alone to the cheers and applause of almost everyone there. It was as if I'd won the race. Dozens of people standing up, clapping and yelling as I sucked my stomach in, smiled, waved and ran on. It was awesome. Another 1 1/2 to go and it was uphill again. I'd contemplated my ability to go under 6 as I calculated how much distance I had to cover in 2 hours. It was pretty close. Someone at the aid station said I could break 6 if I kept my pace but looking up at the final hill and all the guys walking ahead of me, I knew I didn't have it in me and so I accepted my fate and continued on, unburdened by a goal time, happy just to be heading home.

I finished the last 1/2 mile or so with a man who was running his 6th Cool. We turned the corner towards the final chute and he gamely encouraged me to go on ahead to enjoy my first Cool finish alone. To the cheers of Dana, Brian and Kara and into the high fives of Rick, Rachel (Endurables coach from 08) and Brett, I crossed the finish line and went right to the famed table of frog cupcakes.

Dana had a huge PR going just over 5:30 on her way to AR 50 next month. Kara also crushed a sub-6 along with Rick, Brett, Rachel, Jorge - basically everyone else I knew there. Brett took 18th overall and 2nd in his AG. And Brian survived his maiden voyage on the Parlee. It was a superb day for everyone with some of the best race schwag laid out - a Patagonia long-sleeve capilene and some uber-warm, if not starkly white, arm sleeves. Am trying to figure out how to wear them with an outfit to work. Stay tuned.

Cool - I love you. Great course, great volunteers, great schwag, great day. Very cool, indeed.