Haulin' Aspen Trail Marathon
I've wanted to do this run for a few years now. Any excuse to hang out in Bend,OR for a couple days, coupled with a full marathon on actual dirt really made it stand out. It seems like most trail races are either 10k or 50k and up. there's a big gap there and "Haulin' Aspen" fills it.
I'm not gonna spend too much space on the race itself but more on the journey to the race. More specifically my friend's journey to the race.
My friend is a very decidedly non-runner. Nothing whatsoever appealed to her about putting on brightly colored techwear, hydration packs, paying someone for the opportunity to pin on a number and god forbid....wearing a visor. I think we all just seemed like a bunch of dorks running around town carrying water in belts. And of course, we are sometimes. Some of that "image" changed when she saw a Killian Jornet video on my facebook page. I wonder just how many people he HAS inspired to get out side and find the highest places to run to. Soon enough she asked about running on trails like this.
I gave her an easy plan to get started. Working from a 35 minute run/ walk around the neighborhood and finally throwing in the "long run." Which at that point was only 5-6 miles. I think it took about two months to get to that point. The progress was starting to show then so the work didn't seem as hard. That's when I snuck in a 10 miler. It was supposed to only be eight miles but what the hell. Sometimes ya just gotta jump in the deep end. For some reason, the 10 mile mark is such a benchmark. Like, if you can run 10 miles, you can do anything. And that's pretty much true. Then I talked her into signing up for the Hagg Lake 25k. Seems like that's a lot of people's first bigger mile race around here. It's only 15 miles but it's 15 miles of crazy pacific northwest February mud! It was a success and a real confidence builder. Unfortunately, like a lot of "hagg lakers," little nagging injuries started showing up afterwards. On both of us. So what had been 10 good weeks of consistent training was now going into about three months of physical therapy. It seems all that off camber roots, rocks and slipping and falling in the mud had tweaked some shin/ calf/ knee issues with my friend.
At first it was a little depressing as she had to DNS (did not start) for a 20 mile race that would've been a beautiful run and great confidence builder but then it started to turn into a little panic as the marathon date was getting closer.
Some of us would've just resumed training as if nothing happened (that's what I did, big mistake) but being new to running I thought it better she step back a bit. There's also that looming presence that with every step the injury will return. Not sure how to get past that one. You just gotta deal with it, I guess. so there were a few on and off weeks of random miles just for comfort and then I talked her into the "Smith Rock Ascent." A pretty rough 25k with a lot of climbing (and downhills) and lots of technical sections. She did great and with it and we resumed training.
This left us with just a few weeks to put in a couple bigger mile days. So with several 14-16 milers, we did a 10miler, an 18er and a 21 miler. It would have to do.
All of the long runs were around 12min pace (about 5 mph). The race was going that way as well. It was a beautiful day with temps from the 50's to 70's and not a cloud in the sky. We hit a solid 20 miles in four hours and then....BAM! The wall. Four miles of walking with a 1,000 yard stare and focusing on the next aid-station like it was an oasis in the desert. I guess it was when I think about it. From mile 22 to 24 it was just a hill. Not very steep or technical, just a long, gradual gravel road that we just put our heads down and did "sasquatch" strides going up. Lucky for us it was in the open so the sun could beat down on us the whole time. Hitting the 24 mile mark, we started running again. Calling it "running" may be a little generous, more like a forward leaning death march would be a little more accurate.
I was starting to lose it a bit. My GPS had us at almost 28 miles so my head was telling my body I was done. My body was also telling my body I was done. We finally rolled in at the 6 hour mark. It was a slow marathon but i'm proud of the run. SOLID. There was the breakdown for a few miles but until and after, it was a solid fucking run. almost every mile the same exact pace. And after this season, I'm learning more and more how cool the back of the race can be. We've got it all. Newbies, big weight losers, men and women in their "twilight" years still doing it, speedier people recovering or dealing with injuries, all kinds of stories of people toughing it out. Anybody can focus and have a good five or six months and get a PR but gimme somebody out there hobbling the last 18 of 26 miles with a bad case of plantar fasciitis or shin splints and I'm impressed.
No one makes us do this stuff, in fact most people think it's kind of crazy. Or at least kinda stupid. BUT...sometimes you just don't have a choice. Your mind makes a decision and won't shut up until your body sees it through. An idea can set actions in motion
I'm not gonna spend too much space on the race itself but more on the journey to the race. More specifically my friend's journey to the race.
 |
| lots of blowdown but still beautiful |
I gave her an easy plan to get started. Working from a 35 minute run/ walk around the neighborhood and finally throwing in the "long run." Which at that point was only 5-6 miles. I think it took about two months to get to that point. The progress was starting to show then so the work didn't seem as hard. That's when I snuck in a 10 miler. It was supposed to only be eight miles but what the hell. Sometimes ya just gotta jump in the deep end. For some reason, the 10 mile mark is such a benchmark. Like, if you can run 10 miles, you can do anything. And that's pretty much true. Then I talked her into signing up for the Hagg Lake 25k. Seems like that's a lot of people's first bigger mile race around here. It's only 15 miles but it's 15 miles of crazy pacific northwest February mud! It was a success and a real confidence builder. Unfortunately, like a lot of "hagg lakers," little nagging injuries started showing up afterwards. On both of us. So what had been 10 good weeks of consistent training was now going into about three months of physical therapy. It seems all that off camber roots, rocks and slipping and falling in the mud had tweaked some shin/ calf/ knee issues with my friend.
 |
| not the best shoe choice for this trail |
Some of us would've just resumed training as if nothing happened (that's what I did, big mistake) but being new to running I thought it better she step back a bit. There's also that looming presence that with every step the injury will return. Not sure how to get past that one. You just gotta deal with it, I guess. so there were a few on and off weeks of random miles just for comfort and then I talked her into the "Smith Rock Ascent." A pretty rough 25k with a lot of climbing (and downhills) and lots of technical sections. She did great and with it and we resumed training.
This left us with just a few weeks to put in a couple bigger mile days. So with several 14-16 milers, we did a 10miler, an 18er and a 21 miler. It would have to do.
All of the long runs were around 12min pace (about 5 mph). The race was going that way as well. It was a beautiful day with temps from the 50's to 70's and not a cloud in the sky. We hit a solid 20 miles in four hours and then....BAM! The wall. Four miles of walking with a 1,000 yard stare and focusing on the next aid-station like it was an oasis in the desert. I guess it was when I think about it. From mile 22 to 24 it was just a hill. Not very steep or technical, just a long, gradual gravel road that we just put our heads down and did "sasquatch" strides going up. Lucky for us it was in the open so the sun could beat down on us the whole time. Hitting the 24 mile mark, we started running again. Calling it "running" may be a little generous, more like a forward leaning death march would be a little more accurate.
I was starting to lose it a bit. My GPS had us at almost 28 miles so my head was telling my body I was done. My body was also telling my body I was done. We finally rolled in at the 6 hour mark. It was a slow marathon but i'm proud of the run. SOLID. There was the breakdown for a few miles but until and after, it was a solid fucking run. almost every mile the same exact pace. And after this season, I'm learning more and more how cool the back of the race can be. We've got it all. Newbies, big weight losers, men and women in their "twilight" years still doing it, speedier people recovering or dealing with injuries, all kinds of stories of people toughing it out. Anybody can focus and have a good five or six months and get a PR but gimme somebody out there hobbling the last 18 of 26 miles with a bad case of plantar fasciitis or shin splints and I'm impressed.
No one makes us do this stuff, in fact most people think it's kind of crazy. Or at least kinda stupid. BUT...sometimes you just don't have a choice. Your mind makes a decision and won't shut up until your body sees it through. An idea can set actions in motion
