The Dow Villa was filled with runners from all over, including us
Ray, Melissa, Andrea, Trevor, Stan, Robin, and myself got checked in, then Stan, Robin and I drove the 15 minutes up to Tuttle Creek campground to reserve a campsite for the night so we would have a place to park and gather at the race the following morning. We secured campsite 31, paid our five dollars, and headed back to town, leaving our Subaru at the campsite to secure our spot. Once back in town, we all headed to the Lo-Inyo Elemntary school for race packet pick up and pre race meeting. Getting our bib numbers, t-shirts and goodies went smoothly and quick. The meeting was short and sweet, we learned a few things, but our ten mile race would be the same as the one Robin and I first did 29 years ago, and have done many times since.
Bradford Lombardi giving everyone last minute Wild Wild West Marathon instructions the night before the race
As soon as the meeting was over, we all walked back to the local Merry Go Round restaurant in downtown Lone Pine. We had heard excellent things about the place, and Ray had been so kind as to secure us a table for seven. Our table placement should have been the giant red flag on the evening. We were put five at one table, and Robin and I at a separate table on the other side of a very distracting mirrored pillar. Needless to say, the food and service weren't that great. For some reason, we have always seen the place crowded, but I don't understand why. It serves mainly Chinese food, but I opted for the only pasta dish with chicken. we ate, paid our bills, and headed back to the Dow Villa for a good nights sleep, and early wake-up call. We all were meeting at Stan's Honda at 5:10 for the ride up to the starting line. Robin and I got our clothes for the next morning ready and laid out. I set our alarm for four AM, and off to bed, we went.
My Wild Wild West Marathon and 10 miler race gear laid out, including my Nike Wildhorse Two trail shoes
I never did hear my alarm and that's because Robin and I were both awake at 3:30. I got up, turned off the alarm, and checked the news on my phone to see if the Nike sub 2 attempt had been successful or not. It's still hard to believe that the 2-hour mark for the marathon distance was only missed by 25 seconds. The sub 2 idea hit me, that would be a good goal for me in my 10-mile trail race later that morning. Since I haven't been able to train as much as I should, I knew this would be a tough race for me, and breaking two hours seemed a reasonable goal. We ate our Picky Bars, got dressed, drank some water, watched Sportscenter, and were ready to go. It was 4:30. I guess I was both nervous and excited. Soon enough it was 5, and we gathered our race bags, ice chest, and headed out the door for the 30-foot walk to Stan's Honda. The weather was a balmy 60 degrees, with only a slight breeze. The seven of us crammed into the Honda, and off we went in the dark to Tuttle Creek. As we got onto the road to the campground Stan announce he could see a headlamp on the trail heading up into the mountains. The fifty-mile runners had started at 5 o'clock, so we could see a few light beams bobbing off in the distance as we unloaded at our campsite.
We all did our due diligence with the toilet and walked up to the starting line. Ray didn't run. He volunteered to guard the ice chests, and take pictures. I found Shane from Bakersfield, and we all shook hands. Shane and some other Bakersfield runners were doing the marathon. I also found John Swallow, a Santa Clarita distance running legend. John was also doing the ten-mile race like us. Soon enough the horn for the start of the three races sounded and we were off. The race started at exactly six.
The view shortly after the start of the Wild Wild West Marathon as the sun hit the tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains
The first 2.5 miles are uphill, and very sandy. Stan came along on this trip with the sole purpose of running the ten miles with me. We hit the first mile in a 13:52. The incline, elevation, and sand were taking their toll on my breathing, and I kept having to take walk breaks as we ran. I knew from experience, these walk breaks would pay off later, as the finish is also uphill, and I would need something in the tank at the end. I tried to keep the pace slow enough that I could still talk. Stan is in excellent shape and had no trouble pacing me up the hill, walking when I needed to.
Stan heading up the hill after the start of the Wild Wild West Marathon
Eventually, we reached the steep downhill to the creek crossing that symbolized the end of the long uphill start. The downhill is very technical and steep, and the runners took extreme care going down. The creek crossing itself was the only point in the ten-mile race where we had a chance to get wet, Due to the massive amount of snow from this past winter combined with a small heatwave the previous week, the creek was running high, and had just begun to cross the top of the bridge. We timed the water just right, hopped across the bridge and headed up a short, steep uphill before a welcome four miles of descent down a dirt road.
The steep downhill to the creek crossing at the Wild Wild West Marathon
Water just cresting the bridge at the Wild Wild West Marathon
The steep uphill after the creek crossing at the Wild Wild West Marathon
When I was younger, and in better shape, I used to hammer this downhill, attacking it like I was running a 5k cross country race. I didn't do that this time. Often times in running, discretion is the better part of valor, so I took it easy as we began the descent. Our pace on the downhill portion gradually increased from a 8:20 per mile, to 7:52 per mile before we hit some flat terrain, rounding a big mountain near the intersection of Horseshoe Meadow Road and Whitney Portal Road. This was the only area we had trouble finding some course markings to guide us along. We had to stop and search the area for pink ribbons, then run towards it, stop, look again, run towards the next ribbon. We couldn't run and look, as the terrain in that particular area was very rocky, and I was already almost falling on a regular basis. Eventually, we made it through the area and were headed back uphill on a single track to the finish line. Stan stayed with me for awhile as I started to take walk breaks on the uphill. With about a mile to go, Stan asked if it was alright if he went after the guy we could see in front of us, as he was in our age group. I said go, and it was like he hit the nitrous button running up the hill after the guy. It wasn't long before I hit the paved road leading up to the campground and the finish line. I managed to run slowly up this last part, past our cheering guardian of the ice chests to the finish line. Stan came back to finish with me. I crossed the finish line in a 1:52:35, successful in my sub 2 attempt. Stan had managed to run the last mile or so of the uphill portion at a sub 10 per mile pace to catch the guy, and win our age group. I ended up 8th overall, third in my age group. We gathered our finisher medals, age group awards, and walked back down the hill to our campsite and ice chests filled with liquids waiting to be consumed.
I took a chair, grabbed a cold beer, and joined Ray, while Stan ran back on the course to help our fellow runners finish. It wasn't long before Trevor came along, followed soon by Robin, Melissa, and Andrea. Trevor took 1st in his age group and Melissa 2nd in her's.
Robin running towards the finish of the Wild Wild West Marathon as a giant mosquito hovers over her
Ray took this group photo of us after the Wild Wild West Marathon Ten Miler. Left to right is Stan, myself, Trevor behind Andrea, Robin, and Melissa
My age group award and our finisher's medals from the Wild Wild West Marathon
We soon gathered our gear and headed back to the Dow Villa for a quick shower and a walk over to the Alabama Hills cafe. The food at this place is some of the best I have ever had. The portions are huge, everything is made fresh, and the prices very reasonable. After eating, some of us headed down to Lone Pine park to watch some of the marathon and 50k runners finish. By this time the wind had really begun to blow. It was easily topping 20 mph by now. We stopped in a store, and Stan bought a cool hat to run in. When we got to the park, we found Shane. He had beat his goal of 5 hours by running 4:52, and placing 6th overall. We talked running for awhile, then headed back to the hotel. Along the way, we walked past Jake's Saloon, so naturally, we stopped for a cold beer, and to ask the whereabouts of Gary the bartender from years past. there was no Gary, we were just told he didn't work there anymore, so we signed a dollar bill, attached it to the ceiling with all the others, and continued our trek into the wind back to the Dow Villa.
Our signed one dollar bill attached at Jake's Saloon in Lone Pine, CA
We all decided to take a quick jump into the jacuzzi, but it wasn't the best idea. The water was hot, but it was also dirty, and the jets had now power. This was the only fault we had with the hotel the whole weekend. We stayed in for a few minutes, then headed to showers and naps before dinner at Seasons.
We decided to meet at the bar at Season's at 6 o'clock before our 7 PM reservations. For some reason, all of us were hungry and outside by 5:15. Also, all of us had lost cell service, we assume it had something to do with the high winds. We all walked to the bar, and surprise, there was Gary, formerly of Jake's Saloon tending bar. It was great catching up with him. I think he told us he had left Jake's a few weeks earlier. We all had some drinks and were seated at our table early for a fantastic dinner. Seasons is one of the best places I have ever eaten anywhere, and probably the best steak I have ever had.
Me with Gary at Season's in Lone Pine, CA
All in all, it was a great weekend. I am lucky to have a great wife and friends who traveled a long way, spent a lot of money, to run up some steep sandy hills with me as I continue to recover. My incontinence continues to improve, as I was able to run the whole race without changing my pad.
The Wild Wild West Marathon is a fantastic event, with views that are hard to match when running a race. I think next years race will be a lot of fun, as we all will have another year to train, and just about everybody I know that was there this year will be returning for the 40th annual event.
No comments:
Post a Comment