The Vashon 50K went really well for me and a handful of other runners in Five Fingers and Sandals today. It was a good meetup for guys from the Seattle barefoot & Five Fingers running group as well as some new faces. I ran in my KSOs.
The Rock & Roll Marathon also ran today through downtown, so it felt good to get up early and off to the island. The ferry crossing from Fauntelroy to north Vashon takes 20 minutes, a quick trip, and you are on the forested island in Puget Sound.
I woke up at 5AM with lots of energy. Two smoothies and a few bananas is my new breakfast of choice. I packed some real food for the run and my post run fav, carrot juice. My wife let the iPod crank the running mix on the way over.
We arrived one hour prior to the 8:30 start time. Time went by fast, getting dressed, stashing the drop bag, socializing. An audio setup was cranking some good tunes all morning. At the pre-race talk, the coordinators make sure to tell us that the course is only open today - private property owners were gracious enough to allow us to run across their beautiful properties.
The 10K and 50K runners started together. The Ultras did a one-mile loop through Paradise Ridge park, which is a horse park and former Nike missile site. Bruce Cyra, one of the coordinators of the race, bounded over the equestrian elements like a steeplechaser. I started fast with the lead group, which was fun, passing the finish chute/main aid station at 8:00. I cranked it down as we left the park, so it was not long before I was by myself. We do three 10-mile loops.
The coordinators just thought up this race in November! They did an incredible job of knitting together trails and parks on the island with some stretches of dirt road. The runners turned north and we ran along a rocky Old Mill Road for about 1 mile (we will get used to this stretch over the race) before hitting a little bit of forested trail. We got spit out onto a paved road and ran downhill a bit before turning north again, running by some horse farms. On this road, I begin to pass a few of the 10K runners.
We entered another trail going uphill and wind around the outskirts of the island's cemetary, on some of the softest trail on the course. Eventually, we make it to the 363-acre King County's Island Center Forest - a working forest in the center of the island. We ran under douglas firs with an understory of evergreen huckleberry and salal - on a really beautiful trail.
We leave the forest going north and hit the other aid station. Maybe a bit too fast, I reached it at 50 minutes. There is such a great spread when we get there. They take our times and we head downhill and enter the Vashon-Maury land trust's property - Fisher Pond Preserve. Again, nice trails - we catch a few glimpses of the pond. It appears the land trust had done a few acres of planting, which had just been weed whacked. Leaving the park, this is the turnaround point.
Before hitting the Island Center Forest again, we run by some neighbors that stayed out the entire race handing out water, watermelon and energy chews. They were totally energetic and great people - I didn't take anything on the first pass, but looked forward to watermelon so much on the second and third loop.
There are nice trails in lots of places, but nothing compares to running through Pacific Northwest forest. We cross some private property on the way back to Paradise Ridge Park, including a very grassy hill that several people remark on - it was probably the longest climb of the route, but very soft. Nice on the feet. We ran back on Old Mill Road, dodging puddles, and turn east on smooth pavement back to Paradise Ridge Park.
The best part of the route - seeing my wife at every loop. We would run into the park, go down a grassy section, round some trees, run through the chute to the aid station. She was there every time after I filled up at the aid station; they even went to the island's farmer's market. I even caught my dad on the way in as I started my last loop of the day.
I finished up in 5:27ish. We will see the final results in a few days. I saw the other barefoot guys only a couple times on Old Mill Road. They all looked strong. They even had a few pacers on the last loop.
Another cool thing about the race is that I kicked off my KSOs about 1/2 mile out and finished barefoot. It felt good after rocking my way across Old Mill Road six times. I kept hitting small rocks too as I grew more tired, and my left foot was getting progressively more sore.
And, I did not even know that Western States ran today. No news presently, but I hope to read about it tomorrow. 50K is good for now. My last loop was almost 20 minutes slower than the first two laps.
Lastly, there was barbecue at the end! Holy great ending to a nice day of running. We ate and hydrated and made our way back to the ferry dock early. I had some time to stand in the salt water, which I think will be key to recovery. I even took an ice bath at home, sitting in the tub with an IPA is the way to finish a long day of running. I can't wait to see all the pictures!
