Yes!

That’s about all I could utter after crossing the finish line of the Greenland Trail 25k. Yes!

Back in January, I put the Greenland Trail 50k on my calendar as my first ultra. It looked like a nice route with 4 loops so lots of easy support, reviews of the race were good, it was close by, it was a route I’d never done. I figured I could be ready in four months. After six weeks of injuries in March, I switched to the 25k (they also have an 8 mile race) knowing I wouldn’t be as ready as I wanted to be.

(Here's a followup post on the race itself, outside of my results.)

As I drove down to Larkspur this morning I was excited, another chance to run hard and see what I have in this body. This would be the longest race I’d ever run, so I wasn’t exactly sure what was possible. About six weeks ago I did a training run in the Boulder Ranch Open Space and Boulder Reservoir of almost 16 miles in two hours. This race would be at 7000 feet, 1500 feet above Boulder. It would also have about 1200 feet of climbing, as opposed to the relative flatness of my training run. I set a target of 2 hours – I thought that was perhaps a stretch, but doable.

The 50k went off first at 7am, followed by the 25k at 7:30am, and then the 8mi at 8:00. I had checked out the route profile online and knew each loop was basically one big hill with almost 5 miles to the top and then 3 to get back down. As we headed out for the first lap, we ran on a nice double track that paralleled a railroad track. It was a manageable and runnable grade. I felt good, though not as fresh as last week, and was keeping my pace in check. I was feeling good thinking the entire uphill would stay at this grade.

Not so, at the aid station at about mile 3.5, we took a left and started the real climb. As we headed up we could see the trail snake back and forth up the hills in the area, and all the runners ahead. This was when the hard stuff began, this was a tough uphill. Definitely runnable and I was breathing hard. At this point I started passing the end of the 50k runners. Finally over the top and a sweet downhill where you could just open up your stride!

Coming into the end of the first lap was cool because there was an out-and-back stretch so we could see other runners. Turning back into the second lap I began the uphill again. It didn’t take me long to realize we weren’t on the same trail as lap 1, we weren’t running up a railroad grade but heading into the hills next to the tracks. Lap 2 would be a bit more challenging! The extra hill was tough, soon we were back to the double track and the final hill. It was getting warm and the wind was picking up a little. And still gorgeous everywhere you looked. For the last hill I kept my focus on getting to the top and then letting it fly down to the finish.

I came flying down the last stretch knowing I was very close to my two hour goal. Sure enough coming around the final bend, cross the finish line at 1:59:40. Yes! I’d hit my goal. Last week after I finished the 15k I was tired and still could easily walk around. Today I was looking for shade and ground to sit. I stayed on the ground for a few minutes and then starting my recovery by getting water.

A couple quick stats:

It was a fast race with multiple course records set. For me: finish time of 1:59:40. Pace of 7:39/mile. The only mid-race stat I remember was the first lap at about 57:00. My pace varied from 6:00/mile on the downhills to 10:30 on some of the ups. 20^th place overall, 16^th place among men, 4^th place in my age group (40-49) and 4^th place masters (40+). Another great result!

Last week was more fun on the run, today the run was hard, really pushing hard. All my oxygen and effort was going to my body, so if you’d asked me what 2 + 2 was that would have been a hard problem. The Greenland Trail race itself was more fun, especially with 3 races going on an 8 mile loop. The location was beautiful! Rolling green hills surrounded by buttes. The start/finish area also had great views of Pikes Peak! What a great spot to hang out and watch the finish!

This was another great learning opportunity. Pacing changes a lot going from an hour of running to two. At some point it’s not racing anymore, but running hard. I can run right at anaerobic threshold for an hour, not so at two hours. I’m also still learning about food and water. I had about 600 calories of gels which seemed like enough. I only had about 14 ounces of water, but I couldn’t tell how much water I sweated out. It took me hours after the race to fully rehydrate.

In the end – Yes!