Frozen Sasquatch 50K: Emerging

Last year, I ran the Frozen Sasquatch 50K as a way to get a long run in during back-to-back service months in residency. Now, time is my own in a way it hasn't been for seven years. Yet the majority of my running in 2019 was defined by plantar fasciitis, which initially made me stop running altogether before I slowly started building back up with a new way of running. I discovered that if I run without letting my heels touch the ground, it doesn't bother my plantar fascia and often even helps it. After building enough strength to run this way, I've been lucky enough to discover a new running friend to share miles with the last few months. Between my schedule flexibility and her friendship, I've had good consistent running, with my lower mileage periods in response to running needs rather than scheduling needs.

It had already been raining for a day or two when the Frozen Sasquatch 50K started, and the rain mostly continued during the race. Thankfully, West Virginia trails hold up against rain much better than Ohio trails. The race starts with an immediate climb (the first of three per loop, six total) and I was already breathing hard as we hiked up. However, we were soon running easy along the ridgeline behind a long line of 25k runners who had taken an alternate route up the mountain. I met Kim from Pittsburgh at this point, and enjoyed chatting with her as we ticked off miles that were fairly consistently a little quicker than I expected. I don't think I appreciated last year just how runnable the majority of this course is. We also met up with Sean Humphrey from Dayton and enjoyed a few miles with him. By the end of the loop, they started to pull ahead (I probably should have let them go sooner) and I came through the halfway point around 2:54.

Breaking 6 hours was my "reach" goal. I had run 6:41 here last year, but I knew I was in better shape now. A 2:54 first lap would probably be about perfect to break 6, but this was assuming I had paced wisely. Instead, I found that I was having to work a good bit harder to keep a steady pace even as early as 18-20 miles. The second climb of the second lap made it clear that taking a shot at that goal would require a greater level of hurt than I was willing to endure that day. I settled in at a slower pace with an adjusted goal of 6:11, which would be 30 minutes faster than the year before. This kept me motivated to move but was still comfortable.

I knew it was going to be close. The last mile involves a quite technical descent on many switchbacks. It was risky to push the pace until the course opened up on a gravel road. Unfortunately, I tried to speed up one step too early. I caught a rock and went flying. I lay there where I faceplanted, first making sure I hadn't dislocated my GOOD shoulder (okay, just sore) and then trying to understand why I couldn't move my right leg (my calf had cramped up and I had to wait a while for it to relax before I could get up). When I got up, I realized that my knee hurt quite a bit and I didn't particularly want to run on it. But I wanted my 6:11, so I grimaced my way to the finish line (crossing in 6:11!) where I would discover my knee looked like this:




 Kim would crush the second lap to finish in 5:58 for 3rd female. I ended up 4th female, 21st overall.

My legs actually feel pretty good now; I think the more consistent mileage leading up to the race helps. My knee is sore, but I think I'll be able to run again in a few days.

The rest of 2020 plans are still up in the air now, but I'm currently signed up for the Ultra Race of Champions 100k in Virginia on May 2-3. Happy trails!

-Jordan