Bakersfield Track Club 1/2 Marathon

Saturday the 28th of January, my wife and I headed down to The field of Bakers for a half marathon put on by their local track club. We left from Fresno with about 20 mins to spare, however we arrived without about 3 mins to grab our bibs and get to the start line.the reason being that I had declined the services of our GPS in finding the Yokuts Park. I figured since I could see the park from the freeway that I should be able to take the nearest exit and drive straight to it. That didn't work out quite as well as I had planned, so I turned on the GPS last minute. Anyways we got to the race so that's all that matters. My wife is about six months pregnant so going into the race she had a good, jog for 5 and walk for 3 min plan that we were going to follow. We started out at the back of the pack and it was interesting to see the different types of people in the back of the pack. I normally go out in or near the front so this was new to me. Some of the people were strictly walkers others looked like they had a run/walk plan like us and then some seriously looked like they had no idea what they had gotten into. There was this one couple that was dying around mile 2, literally bent over looking like they were going to die, I can't imagine being 2 miles into a race and feeling like that. We kept passing them and then they would sprint for a minute and pass us, we thought it was pretty funny. Around mile 3-4 I overheard one telling the other it wasn't to late to turn around and quit. Thankfully they provided good entertainment for a portion of the run because the route we took wasn't much to look at. I mean it's Bakersfield so I didn't expect a beautiful landscape, but the trail they have is pretty sweet. You can stay on the trail without having to cross a street for the whole route.
So we kept to our jog/walk plan almost the whole way until about the 11 mile mark when my wife's foot started to hurt, so we walked most of the way in. We finished around 2:54, and for a woman that is six months pregnant, that is pretty freaking amazing. All in all it was a great run and I was truly amazed that my wife did so well.

Post Avalon 50 mile Race

It's the day after the race and I feel really good. I couldn't be more pleased with how the day went and even more happy that I came in under 9hrs.
    With the race starting at 5am I thought I would be freezing cold until the sun came up but the weather was perfect. Nice cool temps starting out and heading into a 1600' climb helped to keep me warm. It was an awesome view getting to the top of the first climb and looking back down the trail seeing a long line of runners headlamps zigzagging back down the mountain.

Bottles in the air. (sweet action shot courtesy of my wife)

A great race

Sprinting into the finish

At the start ready to run

My GPS almost made it the whole 50

    The first 13 miles went by really fast, I was making sure to pace myself and not go out to fast. I walked the steep hills and looking at my splits stayed under 13min/mil on all of those portions. The aid stations were fully stocked and all the volunteers were awesome and really helpful. I stayed on top of my hydration/nutrition needs utilizing salt caps, GU gels, Cytomax and water, with the combination I didn't experience any cramping and felt good. The only mistake I did make was drinking a Mango fruit drink at around mile 40 which left my stomach in knots and had me dry heaving for 3 miles. It slowed me down a bit but thankfully it didn't last that long and sipping on water definitely helped. The last few miles were on steep downhill roads and I just let my legs go and flew down. With my GPS dying at 44 miles I didn't know if I was going to make it under 9 so I just ran as hard as I could and hoped for the best. Coming into Avalon and seeing the race clock knowing that I was going to finish under 9 hours I was overwhelmed and chucked my water bottles in the air and almost didn't cross through the actual finish tape they had up.  My time was 8hrs and 49 min I finished about 37th overall and had an awesome day.  Next up Rocky Road Endurance 100 mile run in February.

Avalon 50 mile Run. Game Time

Getting my gear ready for the Avalon 50 mile run this Saturday, I am super excited and ready to run. My last 50 mile run I did well and was happy with my performance, I ran a 9:47. The Avalon course is a little elevation gain (7600') than Dick Colllins firetrails so Im going to put forth my best effort and try to come in under 9 hrs. Going into this run I have learned a little bit more about what I need to do during the run in order to feel good and maintain a steady pace. I stopped by Sierra Running Company today and got plenty of GU gels some Cytomax and of course a license plate frame, which is absolutely necessary for a successful run. I will post more pics and my results after the run.