Inaugural #DirtyTrails Fat Ass

I woke up to house feeling disgustingly HOT. This was already a bad sign of what may come. I pondered if it would be a better idea to cancel the Fat Ass run knowing the heat that may come. Would I be able to manage the HEAT? It was 5 am, it was already hot and I was about to go run 30 miles at Mt Baldy.

I convinced myself to go and continued to get ready. With the warnings of friends I decided to take my pack and shoved two water bottles inside, I would carry two handhelds. This left me with plenty of water to make it to the Notch and Ski Hut where I could refill, if necessary. I shoved the almond butter in my pack, drank my coffee and was out the door. Oh yeah, can't forget the wilderness pass.

I parked at the Icehouse Canyon entrance and waited for the rest to arrive. As I waited I debated what type of effort I was going to give this run. Do I go all out or just keep it mellow? I had already put a lot of miles this week, 40ish from running and 120 miles from cycling to work; my legs were tired. I also have a race near the end of September that I want to give what my every effort at. I decided to take it easy, but this was already predetermined when I put on the New Balance 110. I wear this shoe because I like minimal shoes, but mainly because it forces me to take the run less seriously for fear of injury.

Everyone showed up, we had a quick briefing and were off. The majority of us would stick together till we hit the Ranger Station. From here Marshall and I would slowly pull away from everyone. I chose to stay behind Marshall because if I got in front off him I knew I would start to push. After Marshall and I hit the split rock I got in front and the obvious happened. I started to pull away from Marshall, but that was okay cause I figured that I would wait for him now and then. When I neared the top of Baldy I looked back to see where Marshall was and he was GONE.....FACK! What the hell happened? I would eventually convince myself that he had waited for Derick and Jack.

SIDE NOTE: It was warm and humid up to the split rock, but this was about to change. After the split rock we would run into a cloud which was nice and cool. This made my my drenched shirt feel so good.

As I stood at the summit I decided that I would keep going. I didn't know how long the weather gods would grace us with this cloud. I would now push the pace a little more to finish this run before it would get hot. I ran down the backbone trail, waiting for hikers to cross certain sketchy parts, and continue to run. When I got to the first ski lift I stopped and ran around a but confused as to which trail was the correct one. I saw a single track that shot straight down to the notch and a fire road. I finally chose the fire road, recalling it being a part of the Tom Harrison map description. I made it to the notch and walked around the building till I found the water, which was inside the building.

I refilled and took off down to the Ski Hut trail. Every corner I turned I felt as if I had missed the trail. I was going to hit the waterfall and have to back track. By now it is getting warm again, the weather gods were punishing me for making good time, but I wanted to finish before it got worse. BOOM, the ski hut trail showed itself to me and I shot up it. This is it, my last ascent to the top and the rest would be a cake walk. From here it would also be a difficult climb, especially when I would hit the Baldy Bowl. I kept telling myself to "swing my arms and quick short steps," like Keira would power hike. I did slow down before the Ski Hut as I talked to this older guy about the NB 110.

suffer...suffer...SUFFER and I finally made it to the top. By now I felt like bummed that I was by myself and hoped that I would be fortunate to run into someone I knew. BIDDLE!!! YES, I am so glad to see you. I felt more joy when I noticed that Jenna and Panthea (birthday Girl) were there. I saw Panthea bundled in a blanket and noticed that I would most likely be freezing any minute too. We chatted for a while, Jeff gave me another almond butter, I said my "see you laters" and was off. I am going to finish this run before it gets HOT.

On the way down I ran into Jack and Derick. They asked where Marshall was and I told them that I thought Marshall was with them....Dammit Marshall. I knew he would be fine, but I felt bad for leaving him behind. I told Jack and Derick later and continued to push. I am almost done, all the hard work was finished. One more climb up Thunder Mountain and a long descent to the parking lot. 

I made back to the notch and saw Luis, Brian and Phillip. I stopped to chat and refill my bottles one last time. They described the last climb and disappeared. I was envious that they would be finishing the run soon and I had one more climb before I could fly down to the finish. I pushed up the climb to Thunder Mountain which was a boring climb compared to the previous ones. On the way back to the notch (last time) I ran into MARSHALL. 

I was happy to see that he was okay even though I knew he would be, or at least I kept telling myself that. We chatted for a while. I told him about the boring climb and he told me that Luis, Brian and Phillip had just left the Notch. I thought they left, but this whole time they were eating and being merry. I also told MArshall that I was now trying to catch Krissy Moehl. Marshall said that I could do it and catch the other three; with resumed confidence I pushed a little bit harder. I passed the last lift and saw the other three running down.

I didn't think I would catch them, but I eventually did. AND THEN I hit pavement, I was immediately reminded about how well I feel when I run on pavement with NB 110's. I had to put all my focus on perfect running form and accepted that this was going to HURT. Every step hurt as I tried to keep a fast pace and this road WOULD NOT END.

BOOM! I finally finished the Inaugural #DirtyTrails Fat Ass (Mt Baldy 50K) in 6:53:38. I also felt good and not thrashed from what I just went through; this was not the case on the following Sunday and Monday.