2019 Whiskey Basin 33K

Venturing Onto the Desert Trails

Leading up to Whiskey Basin 33K, I've been running more consistently, more mileage, and generally better workouts than I have in several years.  However this is not a goal race; that will be the D3 (Dawn to Dusk to Dawn) 50K a month later.  At just over 20 miles this should be a good supported training run with not a lot of vertical gain, and not exhausting enough to keep me from sightseeing at Grand Canyon National Park afterwards. 

The trip was more exhausting than anticipated.  It seemed like it took forever to drive to Prescott from Phoenix.  It was a blessing to get a dinner invitation from Alan (a Running Ahead friend) for dinner so I didn't have that hassle on top of being tired and ready for bed with the three hour time difference.  That turn it into a relaxing evening.  I had no definite plans for Friday except to relax and enjoy any sightseeing.  I ended up spending hours at the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott learning about local history from pre-Columbian times to the present.  The only drawback was dealing with slight nausea and a headache from the altitude that had me reconsidering whether I should race on Saturday.  Friday evening I had a reprise of dinner with Alan and family before calling it an early night.

More so than normal I had difficulty sleeping the night before the race.  All combined I don't think I got more than two hours of actual sleep.  Finally giving up on sleeping, I was up and ready to go by the time breakfast was served at the hotel.  For once it started early enough that I could take the time to eat there rather than having to fend for myself.  Obviously I decided I felt well enough that I could at least start the race, and with a generous cutoff time I could finish under almost any conditions.  It was only a 15 minute drive to the finish line where I caught the bus to the start.  With a forecast of a high of 57F tights and a long sleeve shirt seemed the best choice.  Keeping in mind the arid environment I also wore my vest with two bottles of water.  I should have paid more attention to where the aid stations were.

There was quite a climb on the bus to get to the start at Goldwater Lake, so it would be a big net downhill run.  I need to get better at reading course profiles, because I was caught off guard by how much vertical gain there was in the first four miles.  The start was one of the most congested I've ever experienced.  We were all waiting in a parking area but the actual start was a single track, short, steep downhill, so we entered one by one single file, all 130 or so of us. By the time my turn came my watch already read 1:45.  Reportedly 149 were entered but I'm not sure how many started since only 128 with no DNFs are listed on the official results.  I felt completely out of control descending the path and am surprised I didn't end up head over heels or face plant.  The we started up...and up...and up.  We passed the first aid station not more than a half mile in and didn't bother stopping for anything.  Then as I left the area I notice a sign that the next aid station was 9.4 miles away.  For some reason I didn't remember that and it was my first feeling of uncertainty in the race.  The climbing continued with occasional openings with magnificent panoramas.  I ran when I could but it was mostly walking up hill for the first four miles or so.

Given that I was stopping to take a few photos, coupled with the vertical gain, I was surprised to see that I was keeping the overall pace under 20:00.  With over 1000 feet of gain in the first 4 miles according to Garmin, I was still under 1:14:00, a sub-18:30 pace.  After that it was either up or down, nothing that could be consider flat.  I can best describe it was running switchbacks down into a gully and back up.  It also started to warm up, but instead of feeling overheated I felt cold and clammy, not a good sign.  Also with the altitude whenever I ran my heart rate would spike and I'd be breathing had.  As a result I kept my running to a minimum.  It seemed to take forever to reach the next aid station.  I could hear them cheering runners long before I reached it, but with the switchbacks, it was a lot farther away across the valley.  When I got there all I wanted to do was sit and recover.  That was the Badger Mountain aid station and they worked wonders meeting my needs.  It took over 25 minutes of eating and drinking while resting before I felt up to continuing, but when I did, I knew I could positively make it to the next aid station less then 4 miles away.  Unless I completely fell apart, once there it was only a little over 6 miles to the finish and I could walk that within the time allotted.

Except for the 5 minute or so rest break at the Sundog Aid Station, I was able to keep my pace under 20:00 even with mostly walking an actually ran one mile as fast as 16:01.  There were still a couple "small" climbs of 60-75 feet in the last 6 miles that didn't give me any real problems.  My legs were fine; it was my heart rate and breathing that gave me the most trouble.  Of course the finish was another 65 foot climb and I ended up walking across the finish line totally exhausted.  Volunteers were quick to find me a chair and bring me chips, water, and Gatorade. Getting up and walking was painful, but moving some did help and I was able to get to the aid table unassisted to get more to eat and drink.  Officially I was DFL, dead freaking last, at 128th in a time of 6:48:36.  I don't know what happened to the remaining registered runners.  I was also the oldest in the race.  The hills and elevation gain, 2607 feet according to Garmin, were not nearly the problems they have been in prior races.  This time it seemed to be mainly the altitude and I don't know how to train to compensate for that.

It's time now to regroup for the D3 50K, then reconsider my possible race selections given my adverse reaction to the altitude this time.  I'd never previously experienced headaches or nausea at that altitude, only once at over 9,000 feet many years ago.  Opting for the 33K rather than the 60K was definitely the wise choice, and will probably guide me in future selections for trail races at altitude.