When in LA: Griffith Park 50k RR

In January, we were supposed to go to Los Angeles for a bat mitzvah. But omicron had different plans and ultimately caused the event to be postponed until March. We were on the fence about rebooking everything for many various reasons, but decided about a month ago to go ahead and make the trek.

I was hoping I might drop into a shorter race that weekend, like a road 5k or 10k just as something fun to do that Saturday or Sunday morning. But lo and behold there was a trail race happening that weekend and very, very close to where we were staying. 

I kind of put the thought out of my head after I signed up for the Atlanta Marathon last minute and then saw the trail race was sold out the next time I checked. I mentioned that to Adam and he was actually sad that I hadn’t registered in time. I said I’d check if they had a waitlist just in case and when I looked at ultrasignup again, there was ONE spot open. It seemed serendipitous. So just like that, I was going to be running a 50k the morning of the bat mitzvah.

It was a long day on Friday. We got up at 5am, arrived in Los Angeles around noon and made it to our hotel around 2pm. Once we were finally in our hotel room and I started unpacking, it occurred to me that I hadn’t thought about my breakfast in the morning. I walked a few blocks to a bodega and picked up some packaged muffins and a bottle of cold brew. I also grabbed a Gatorade as I was also pretty dehydrated trying to avoid getting up a million times on the plane.

There was a family dinner at a nearby restaurant that evening and while relaxing and tasty, I was exhausted by the time my head hit the pillow. Luckily, I had no issue waking up just before 5am (thanks to my east coast body clock) and called an Uber when I got to the hotel lobby. It was an uneventful ride and there was no issue getting dropped off at the parking lot of the park. 

I picked up my bib and t-shirt and asked if I could leave my bag at the finish line as I didn’t have a car and didn’t know anyone racing. Then it was time to just sit around and wait for the race to start. I had no skin in the game so there were very little nerves, I was just ready to go! 

The RD gave a speech about how the trail was marked and stressed to not follow people on the trail blindly as there would be plenty of other people using these trails throughout the day. She said there would be volunteers at some of the more complicated intersections to direct us where to go. And then it was time to race!

I stayed in the front third of the pack as the 3 race distances (50k, marathon, & 30k) all started together. There were some decent climbs in the beginning and I switched to a power walk to save my legs. The weather was absolutely perfect in the first hour. Cool, sunny, no wind, and low humidity. It was a dream! 

The trails were actually really wide throughout the entire course save for maybe about 50 feet of single track. They were almost as wide as forest service roads in sections and very different terrain than east coast trails. We have lots of rocks, roots, dirt, etc. These were almost sandy and hardly any roots or rocks. I honestly could have worn road shoes with zero issues. The lack of tree cover was something I should have thought of and as the day wore on, I realized that I really should have worn sun block. Oops. 

I had no idea what kind of views we would have in the park, but it was absolutely spectacular. The skyscrapers of downtown peeked out in the distance and as I wove my way around the trails, I spotted the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. In the spirit of keeping it fun and appreciating the moment, I stopped a few times to snap some photos.

The field spread out pretty quickly and I was alone within about 3 miles or so. People would pass me on occasion and I’d pass others, but soon I really was just relying on the course markings to figure out where to go. I skipped the first aid station as I had plenty of water, but topped off when I reached the mile 9 one.

The 50k course had a 2.5 mile out and back section to add the extra mileage needed. I saw runners ahead coming back towards me and everything seemed to be going well. I was expecting a person to be standing at the turnaround to get around bib numbers to ensure we covered the distance, but there was just a big folding board sign that said runner turnaround. I looked around for someone, but no one was around and I had the correct mileage at that point, so I headed back up the hill. I asked two runners coming down if they knew if someone was to be standing there and they assured me that I went to the correct spot.

Back at the aid station, I asked again to make sure I hadn’t cut any corners and they confirmed all was well. So off I went to the next section and pulled up the runner guide on my phone to finally look at the aid stations. It was warming up and I didn’t want to find myself in a place without water. I was eating every 30 minutes, picking away at the various snacks in my bag. 

The course was an out-and-back with other out-and-backs, but it went all the way back to the start/finish before you turned around to go back the other way. Definitely not a course for the weak-minded as you could just stop right there at 17 miles. Oof. I didn’t stay long and knew that I just needed to get to the next aid station where I’d have just single digits to go.

I wasn’t feeling so great in the next section and was just shuffling along baking in the sun. But I was trying to remember to just smile as much as possible and tell everyone great job as we passed on the out-and-backs. By the time I got to the mile 22 aid station, I decided to take an extra couple of minutes to top off my bottles, cool off with the sponge in the ice bucket (ahhhhhh!), and get hydrated.

Luckily, there was a pretty significant climb for about 2 miles out of the aid station so I was able to get the liquid settled. Plus, power hiking! I popped on my headphones at this point at a super lower volume and was now feeling really great. I started passing a bunch of people, checking in with the ones hunched over mid-climb. 

I wasn’t running super fast, but I was keeping a consistent pace and was surprised that I was still moving well even with the heat and miles on my legs. I topped off my bottles at the mile 26.3 aid station and then grabbed a piece of watermelon at the mile 28 one. The last few miles were very quiet in terms of other people. In the other sections of trail, hikers and other runners filled the trails enough that I was never truly alone for more than a minute or two. But in the final miles, the other humans were few and far between.

As with most trail races, my watch had been off from the mile markers all day. But I started to recognize some of landmarks as I came into the final mile and knew I was getting close. And then when the parking lot came into my vantage point, it was time to just push through whatever I had left. 

5:31:09!

Definitely much faster than I thought I was going to be with 6k worth of vert and a road marathon 2 weeks prior. Plus, I just felt happy all day. I was soaking in the views, remembering to just be in the moment, and enjoying the morning of getting to do the thing I love.

I sprawled out on the pavement and just existed for a few minutes before I eventually grabbed some food. Normally I am not hungry right after racing, but this was not the case this time. I plowed through a sub sandwich and an apple and then decided I needed to get back to the hotel to try to shower and rest a bit before the bat mitzvah. Let’s just say I slept very, very well that night!!!

Marathon #44: Splashing Through Atlanta

Race day conditions can be as finicky as the race day mind and body. On those rare instances that they all seem to align, it can be a magical day. But if you race enough, you’ll likely experience a little bit of everything. Cold rain is certainly not my favorite, but I’ll take it over heat and humidity any day. And if I’m racing for “fun” without any kind of goal in mind other than to finish and not die, it’s a good way to get in some mental fitness.

When I decided I wanted to run the local marathon a couple weeks ago, the rain hadn’t appeared in the forecast yet. In my head, I wanted to just go bebop around Atlanta for 4 hours, wear a fun costume, and get in an overdue long road run. I’d been doing long runs, but all on the trails and this would force me into getting a (really) long run on the road. 

I slept okay enough the night before and woke up to my 4:15 a.m. alarm without issue. Listening to Hayden Hawks on the I’ll Have Another podcast, I ate a muffin and drank coffee on the drive down. I pulled into the parking deck of the aquarium at 5:30 or so and then made a beeline for the porta potties in the park. When I got back, I had plenty of time to change into my arm warmers (instead of a long sleeve shirt), apply vast quantities of Squirrel’s Nut Butter, and eat a few bites of my traditional pre-race Snickers. 

I left the car around 6:30 or so and made another pit stop at the porta potties on my way to the corral. It was drizzling slightly, but not bad and I was actually pretty comfortable in just arm sleeves, tank top, and shorts. As I got up to the corrals, I spotted Allison with the pacer sign and we chatted for a few minutes before I headed back to corral B. I had a bib for A, but decided to start further back so as not to go out too fast. As I was walking back, out of thousands of people, I somehow spotted Andy. We yelled briefly over the loudspeakers and then wished each other luck.

The elites and corral A started and then I was standing on the starting line of marathon #44.

I didn’t feel great the first few miles. Nothing hurt and I didn’t feel bad, but I was definitely not super comfortable given the pace. I tried really hard to just run super relaxed. The 8:45 pace group went past me early on and I hung on towards the back of them for a while before deciding to just do my own thing.

 Thankfully, after I took a gel around mile 4, I started to feel a bit better. I’m not sure if it was because I was more warmed up or because it was finally daylight (albeit 0% sunny), but I finally started to fall into stride.

As I felt better, I pulled down my arm sleeves and rolled them around my wrists. At the time, I felt annoyed that I had even worn them as I thought I would need them any more and now had to run with them for another 20+ miles. Narrator voice: she would need them again.

I took a gel at mile 8 and was feeling better by each mile. I wasn’t looking at my pace, just focused on staying steady with many miles to go. Near mile 9 and inside the park, I caught up with the 8:45 group and then slowed to stay with them. I knew that in just a few miles, the marathon and half marathon course would split off and I’d feel very, very lonely. It was nice to let the pacers do the work for a bit and there is something really cool about running with a pack of people all at the same pace.

At mile 12, I took another gel and started craning my neck for the turnoff for the half marathon. The crowd near the finish would give a nice boost before heading out on the second half of the race. It was around this time that the rain started to pick up and I started to feel cold enough to pull my arm sleeves up. Even though the sleeves were soaking wet, they did provide a bit more warmth. 

The section after the turnoff is one of many weird parts of the full marathon course. There is a bit of running on the sidewalk near the stadium and then in order to cross the street you must run up and around a pedestrian bridge. It’s not as though Atlanta is a tiny town so I find it odd that there are sections of the course like this. 

After that, I decided I was feeling good and didn’t want to be running with the pace group any more. So I made the move to leave them behind and pushed to give myself a little bit of a gap. I knew the section near Spelman would give me a good boost as they always come out to cheer. Sure enough, for a few blocks, the girls stood in the cold rain screaming with their pom poms. I gave a few groups of them high fives and felt invigorated to cover the next 10ish miles.

Things were still clicking along near mile 16 and I took another gel, but it was getting harder to digest. I knew I still needed to take one more if I wanted to finish strong. 

With 10 miles to go, I started the countdown. Into the single digits, into the final hour, etc. I was definitely feeling everything wearing on me and while nothing had felt super easy all day, I had been feeling okay. The only good part was that I was still moving well. I was passing people and with each one that I caught and passed, it pushed me to keep going.

I tried to take the final gel at mile 20 and it was a fight. I had to run with it sitting in my mouth for a while before I finally was able to swallow it. The gag reflex hit hard as it went down my throat, but somehow I managed to keep it down. 

At just past the mile 22 marker, the course cuts across some grass and onto 1 lap of the Cheney Stadium track. It then cuts across more grass and does a weird out and back along a single block. Again, just seems like an odd choice for a large city marathon. 

As I made my way along Capitol Ave, I was keeping my out for the next mile marker sign so I could see where I was at timewise. The 4 hour fun run had turned into a gray area. Nowhere near my “usual” marathon pace, but not really easy either. Once I left the 3:45 pace group, I was just chipping away at seconds, mile by miles. When I realized I might go under 3:40 if I didn’t die in the final couple miles, I resolved to try to stick with it through the end. 

Finally, I found myself on Decatur St with less than a mile to go and pushed, letting whatever I had left in the tank go. Narrator voice: there was not much in the tank. 3:38:41

I was so cold and wet that I had zero fanfare for my finish. Just happy to be within 20ish minutes of getting into warm, dry clothes. I collected my medal and other various finisher goodies, snapped a quick video to show the ridiculous rain, and shuffled to my car. When I reached the parking deck and was finally out of the rain for the first time in 4 hours, I breathed a sigh of relief.

The good: finishing another marathon, running another BQ, running a marathon in less than ideal conditions, no real low parts, no walking, high fives, solid nutrition intake, very little soreness, very little chafing (which is SHOCKING considering how much it rained and how much I usually chafe), no tech malfunctions with my music, didn’t lose my car key, cold rain is better than heat and humidity, raced without Vaporflys (I will race with them for Boston, but wanted to run in something different)

The bad: cold rain is still more uncomfortable than sunny and chilly, fun costume run turned into weird gray area run, wore shoes that had 350+ miles, had not trained on the roads (re: my legs missed dirt & walking)