Last weekend I competed
in the Squamish 50/50, why is it called 50/50, well there was only a
50/50 chance I would be able to complete it. :) But in all seriousness,
participants aim to complete a 50mile foot race with 3500m of
elevation gain in less than 17hrs on Saturday and then on Sunday a
50k foot race with 2500m of elevation gain in less than 11hrs.
Everything I've heard about this event it's tough and from the
beginning I was worried since I knew it would be a challenge for me
to make the cut offs. For those who don't know I'm slow like really
slow, so slow that I'm easily passed by a 70 year old lady in Stanley
Park (true story, ask me sometime). This was a long two days for me so grab a couple your
favorite beers or a bottle wine and re-live this life changing weekend with me.
 |
| 50Miler Elevation Profile |
 |
| 50k Elevation Profile |
 |
| The Plan |
My crew consisted of the
parental units, my sister &
Shaggy Waggy (our mascot), their task was to get me to the start
line, pick me up and feed me. For my pre-race meal I requested mom's
fajitas, which were delicious. My sister booked a beautiful
cabin about 10 mins away from Alice Lake which I didn't get to spend
much time there.
Week leading up to the
race...
Struck with a sore throat and was worried about it,
since the internet told me it could be anything from a cold or flu to
chickenpox, diphtheria or a tumor. So being the medical professional
that I am, so I did what I normally do to fight off infectiousness
diseases, lots of hot water with lemon & honey, some strategic
high intensity workouts and lots of fruits & veggies with a
little A&W thrown into the mix. Finally on Friday I was feeling
better-ish.
 |
| Leaving Surrey |
Saturday Morning, just
before 4AM...
As soon as the alarm went
off I jumped out of bed and took care of the most important thing of
the day. I hit the toilet, everything goes better if you have a good
poop in the morning. I threw on my clothes which I conveniently
placed next to the bed, made one final check through my gear and
quickly ate fajitas over the sink and we all pilled into the car.
We were at the start line
just after 5AM, I quickly dropped off my drop bags and checked in,
all I had to do was relax until go time. Marc, the ultra-veggie,
spotted me and came right over, we hugged and wished each other good
luck for the day ahead. I was nervously excited about the day as Gary
gave the pre-race speech, afterwards we all were corralled into the
starting chute. I placed myself firmly at the very back, I had a plan and I was sticking with
it. Within minutes we were off running around the parking lot before
getting onto the trail along the shore.
I kept a slow be steady
pace and about 15 minutes in was running with my man Murray who I met
at Buckin Hell. We stuck together all the way to the first aid
station were both of us quickly fueled up and were out to head into
the woods for the “fun” part of the course. On the way there some
locals setup an arch with them dressed in blue body suits,
high-fiving the runners, very welcome surprise. Murray made up ground
on me quickly and I settled into my pace for the next section.
Aid station 2 felt like
it come up quick but I was in between my fast and slow times so I was
happy. I had my water bottles filled up and scarfed down the yummy
food and was on the move towards aid station 3. On my way to I came across a stationary bike that I had to hope onto and put in some time spinning. Don't know who would of left such a nice treat up there for us, thanks.
Getting into aid
station 3, getting new feet installed, aka fresh pair of socks, that
did the trick to feel refreshed. This aid station you see twice since there is an out and back from this point. I also saw Marc again, this was his
second time at this aid station so he was about 9k ahead of me. Once
I was fueled up I was out, although Marc said this section sucked, I
was optimistic.
Shortly after leaving the aid station, I saw
Desmond's smiling face, he was volunteering for the day and running
on Sunday, thanks for coming out. He told me to chase the pretty girl
in front of me and I took off trying to keep up with her but sadly
she was too fast for me, aren't they all. There weren't any huge climbs but it felt
long and difficult, this section ate away at me and I started to
think what am I doing out here, I could be with my family eating
pizza and drinking beer. But I quickly turned that thinking around as
I realized I was still doing good. I mostly power hiked the way back
to where I met Desmond again, I thanked him for his encouragement and
picked up the pace a bit all the way back to aid station 3.
From this point I had the big climb ahead of me. I powered up with watermelon and coke before leaving the aid station and power hiked out of there. As I started climbing there was no one around me, I assumed I was the last person, but I climbed and climbed until I got some good views of Squmaish, and yelled out, "HELLO, SQUAMISH!!!!!" Shortly after getting the beautiful views I came across some skis just on display on the side of the mountain. As I kept climbing I finally saw another human and it seemed like she was struggling. I checked up on her and she replied, "Just struggling with the uphill hopefully the downhill will come soon." I seconded that thought, probably about 10-15 minutes after I passed her, the terrain felt downhill and I was picking up speed again.
Suddenly I saw what looked like a volunteer in the distance, I yelled out, "Hello, Volunteer!!" and the guy stood up, I raced over to him and he informed me that the aid station was still 4k away. This point there was steep technical section where at one point I had a calf cramp that made me scream in pain. I popped a s-cap and continued on my way. At this point my memory is a little foggy and I can't remember if I caught up to people or people caught up to me, but let's go with I caught up with people since it makes me look good. :) We played leap frog all the way to the aid station. From here it was a quick 5k down to the next aid station, Quest University.
Quest came up really quick because I remember one lady saying we're here. I was amazed how quickly the time passed and as soon as I turned the corner I heard people call out, "Go D Go" or something like that, I like said my memory is a little foggy. It was Nancy, Pheadra, Sean & Gareth waiting for me. They helped me with my drop bag and get my bottles filled up. Once again I installed new feet. I was given a little pep talk while scarfing down some nutrition and after dunking my headgear in some cold water I was out of the aid station, into what I thought would be easy peasy for me.
This next section ate away at my soul again with many exposed sections, I began to over heat. Not sure how long it took me but I know the climb was slow and then I hit keeper of the bridge, basically a really nice volunteer that made sure I went the right way, things got worst for me. The relentless up felt like forever. I climbed and climbed and finally saw this really nice lady who I had to ask, "How far until the aid station? I'm almost out of water." She assured me no more than 2k. I was so thankful that she was right. But this section was steep and technical downhill. I did my best to keep the speed up all the way until I hit the bridge again except this time I got to go over it. From here the trail was little better and I made it to the aid station again somehow with a group of other runners. I'm getting good at catching up to people. ;)
This was the second to last aid
station I was running severely behind schedule, I downed as much coke and watermelon I could in the limited time I had, the
volunteers told me I had about 1.5hrs to get to the next aid station, I panicked and got the hell out of there like my life was on the line. The climbs were set to maximum power hiking speed I could muster and the downhills were a balance of speed and not destroying my knees. I kept yelling out, "Aid Station, I'm coming please don't cut me off" I was in good spirits until I hit a fire road to which I starting falling apart. I had some really bad chafing in a very sensitive spot but I knew a lot of people were cheering for me so I moved as quickly as I possible could. Within 1k of the aid station Sean & Gareth came out to cheer me on. I was in the station with 8ish minutes to spare. I later found out only one girl made it from the group at the last aid station, the rest didn't make the cut off.
I fueled up as quickly as possible with more coke and watermelon, while Gareth & Sean walked me out. I don't remember what they said but it was something along at lines of move your ass. I was like 2.5hrs to do 10k, "I've got this" without knowing what was actually ahead of me.
This was by far the worst section but very thankful it was in the dark. I felt all I was doing was climbing even through there were some downhills I knew I wasn't anywhere near the final downhill. Not sure how I knew this but somehow I just sensed this. I was cursing Gary the whole time, it was brutal. Most of the time, there were several of us together through this section. Physically & mentally I felt done but had to keep moving.
Finally we came across a volunteer that said all downhill from this point. I was like, "I've heard that before" then felt bad that I wasn't being nice to him and apologized for my comment. But in all fairness there was some uphill from that moment, a couple sections of about a meter or two of gain. The downhill was steep and I just wanted the day to end. Finally we saw city lights and knew we were close.
This whole section was just a hazy memory, with sections of walking, jogging & hobbling but once I saw the McDonald's I was excited because I knew for sure where I was. I did the best I could, running and walking until I turned a corner. This is where I saw Sean and Gareth again, they said see that pylon that's the finish line. It seems so far away but they kept encouraging me to run. I finally saw the finishing chute and felt like I was sprinting but it must of been more like a fast walk, I saw my dad from the corner of my eye at the edge of the park and then saw Gary standing there with his arms wide open. I got my hug and 50miler medal with just 19 minutes to spare. I was surprised to see Dylan there also, it was awesome to see so many friends and having my family there.
That night..
We were back at the cabin by 11ish, where I quickly showered, screaming in pain because of the chafing. I had some food and warned my family I might be screaming at night because of cramps. I think they were a little worried about me. Even though I was super tired I was only able to get about 2 hours sleep.
Sunday Morning, just after 4AM..
I was up and had the same ritual as the day before. I think I surprised my family by how fresh I looked, I even jumped in the air to prove I wasn't broken. Shaggy was not impressed being woken up this early. We piled into the car and were at Alice Lake by 5:30AM where I quickly checked in and dropped off my drop bag. This morning surprise was that Dylan came out to the start line to see me. I still had no idea of the others that would surprise me by the end of the day.
Once again Gary gave his pre-race speech and we were off, it turned out myself and Kyle (who I meet a week before at Fat Dog) were last out of Alice Lake. We wished each other luck and I was off. Once I got to the first slight up hill and I mean very slight up hill, I slowed down and whipped out my fajita, breakfast it's the most important part of the day.
Since I knew what to except, I pushed where I knew I could and the rest I conserved energy, for the killer last 10k. The whole day that last 10k was on my mind and how I didn't want to do that section again. The goal was to get to the last aid station with 3hrs to spare.
Today I came across the stationary bike before the first aid station and I decided to not take a spin since I was on a tighter timetable today. Nothing eventful happened. The main difference was after I aid station the big climb started right away and I didn't have the out and back. Also there were a group of us doing the climb together, it was nice to have company this time around. I said hello to the skis again and to Squamish when I could see it through the trees.
Today the downhill was quick and fast-ish, well fast for my speed. Everything came up quickly and the aid station before Quest was a quick stop and the arrival time to Quest was also quick. I was smack in the middle of my pacing chart so I was very happy.
Fast forward to the bridge from yesterday, this loop killed my yesterday and today I was determined not to let it slow me down. I had the pleasant surprise seeing Ashley, another North Shore runner that I always seem to run into. Today it was her and another girl playing the part of keepers of the bridge, sorry dude from yesterday but seeing two beautiful ladies in the forest beats a dude anytime. Although I wasn't as fast as I wanted through this section I was much quicker then yesterday, but the climb still felt relentless. Finally I saw the same volunteer I saw yesterday at the top. I thanked her again for coming out and high-fived her. She told me that we high-fived at the finish line yesterday too and I had to apologize that I didn't remember. She said, "You looked kind of out of it, so I figured you didn't remember."
From here I knew it was a quick steep downhill hill to the aid station. I put on my dancing feet and booked it downhill. I repeated KFG, KFG, KFG all the way down to the beauties at the bridge, said, "Thanks for Volunteering" and kept going all the way to the fire road. By the way those who don't know about KFG, it means Keep Fucking Going (link at the end for the article).
I saw the fire road and yelled out, "Aid Station!!", sadly this section my mind blocked out from yesterday. The nice volunteer there told me he's not the aid station but I knew it just just minutes away. Once I got into the station, I asked about the cut off at the last aid station, they didn't know but I was told I had lots of time.
This time I took it a little easy out and took some watermelon for the road. I decided to make sure I fuel up properly before speeding up since I had time to get there. On the way to the aid station I was passed by a few volunteers who were running from Quest to the finish line, beats driving to to finish line. They looked strong and fast, but also provided lots of encouragement for me.
I finally got to the last aid station, but a lot slower then I wanted too. I only had 2.5hrs to get to the finish line, but unlike yesterday where I felt I would be able to, today was worrisome. I fueled up as quickly as possible thanked everyone and took off for the dreaded last 10k.
I was so thankful that I didn't get to see the torture yesterday, but at the same time I had no idea where I was at any given point. I played leap frog with a lot of people throughout this section, including Murray's wife, Paula, who informed me that poor Murray wasn't able to run today. Every climb felt brutal but I kept trekking along. Once I saw the volunteer at the top where it was mostly downhill, I put on my dancing feet again and booked it. I was a little reckless but looking at the time, I wasn't sure if I was going to make the cut off so it was time to be a little reckless. I'd had little sections where I was completely dead and then was able to keep going in other areas. Once I got down to where there were other people (non-runners) I got some strange looks, for those who don't know I can make some strange sounds while running and that day I think I made some of my most interesting noises and maybe some whimpering.
Once I got into the town area, the McDonalds come up quicker than yesterday but looking at the time, I still wasn't sure if I was going to make the cut off. At this point everything is a faded memory of "running", walking & hobbling. I did the best I could until I got to the final straightaway and it was a full on sprint, or what it felt like was a sprint to the finish line. As I got into the finishing chute, I saw my mom out of the corner of my eye, then another face that surprised me, Holly, who waited for me after she finished her race. Then my attention turned to Gary, my hate for him died and ran towards him to get my hug and hat. I thought my excitement was over until I saw Dylan again and out of no where, Andy. He always seems to come out of no where. By the way Andy's the reason I ran this race and I really should of been cursing at him but since it was such a wonderful experience at the end how can I be upset. (Side note, Andy ran the Squamish 50/50 last year and then completed a 100miler so I figured I should follow his footsteps, different 100miler though.)
My family came up to congratulate me but I don't think Shaggy was impressed or he just thought I smelled. I got my cold Gatorade and a hot dog and just rested for a bit. I don't really remember much excepting wanting to go to The Nest for some pizza and beer. Which was the perfect way to finish off this amazing weekend.
 |
| Shaggy, Eagerly Waiting for Me |
 |
| 129.99k Completed |
 |
| Finished |
 |
| Hot Dog Time |
Analysis..
Bad stuff & what I still need to work on:
- First and foremost is need to still get better sleep, it's still a problem and will be problematic if I don't get it enough.
- Need to drop below 170lbs before Bigfoot, going light weight helped a lot for the climbs and was less damaging to my body on the downhills. With amount of food, water and gear that I'll need to carry for Bigfoot I need to lose more fat off my body.
- Need to stay positive on the bad sections, the low points need to be managed much better, keep in mind, KFG (http://overld.me/2015/07/30/dfq-no-more/)
- Need to add cut off times to my printed pacing chart.
The things that went well:
- Nutrition was good throughout, although like Buckin Hell, I reduced my intake at the end but didn't really suffer for it since I did good early in the day
- Ability to push and balance the need to go fast at the same time not going too fast as to destroy my body (aka my DNF at Fat Dog the previous year), I'm still amazed that I was able to push when I was dead tired.
- My cooling setup, never tested until Saturday during the race.
- Finishing, the only thing that mattered in this race for me. I said this before I was so worried about making the cut-offs and I did it somehow
For the 50miler I placed 187 out of 190 finisher with a time of 16 hrs 41 mins.
For the 50k I placed 232 out of 251 finishers with a time of 10 hrs 51 mins.
So I didn't get the coveted best value for money spot for the 50/50 but did place 39 out of 40 finishers with an overall time of 27 hrs 32 mins. I think there were just under 90 people registered for the 50/50. This being the furthest distance I've covered in less than 36hrs, so taking all things into consideration I am very happy with my finish.
 |
| What I Worked So Hard For |
Now that the race is over and I had some time to recover, I have to thank Gary Robbins & Geoff Langford for putting on this amazing but very difficult event. To all the volunteers who came out and spent their precious time to help out at this event and cheers us on, double thanks to those who also ran any of the races. Thanks to everyone I met on the trail, it was a pleasure to run with you. Thanks to Mom, Dad and Heena for coming out and supporting me in my craziness. Thanks to Sean, Gareth, Nancy & Pheadra for crewing for me on Saturday. It really made a huge difference. And thanks to everyone who cheered me on along the way and at the finish line.
If anyone asks me if I'll do this race again, you know what my answer will be, HELL YES, there's a different colored hat for those who finish it more than once :) I've heard it's my favorite color too.
I've added some things that are BrownDude approved:
Since I didn't carry my camera and you usually get some nice views, here are some pictures from airplane adventure that my parents and sister when on while I was running.
