SUN ARISES as Runners leave Drivers Flat to head towards CalStreet---
Jan 1 2010 starts early, I arrived about 6am to help do any set up and corral cars to parking spots and get a prime one for me...Dark and misty was the overall description as runners started flowing in by 6:30. Peter Defty and his group had the pop ups and we got those up early since it looked like ran for the breakfast after....It was fun setting things up and waiting for friends to shuttle and start. Mark,Rena,Charley,Rob and Kate made it up to Foresthill by 7:30 and where greeted by many other runners that decided to park there and save the 10 buck park fee at Drivers...Here we saw some old timers-Wayne Miles, Bill Finkbeiner and newbies. No time to waste as we hit the trail...
There was a conga line for the first mile down and it was fun...Mark,Rob leading Kate wondering why Rob was going so fast and she thought he was going to just run her pace today...Peter Korn and a friend of his,me,Rena and some new folks....moving fast and easy. I knew better after the first 15minutes and jumped out of the line to settle it down...My legs felt so good as Rena and I crossed the first stream then the second stream...Two women where about 50 yards ahead and I decided to just draft on them as I cruised into Cal1 aid station. This year I did not stop and just kept on going keeping my distance and enjoying the run. Rena had dropped off a bit but I knew she would catch up as we started some uphill towards Cal2 and 8miles in.
Like clock work Rena caught up and we ran down impail trail to Cal2 in a very typical 1:31. We do this all the time..this year however I noticed a change..I felt really comfortable...hmmm maybe I am actually getting into some real running shape...
Rena and I then had a little break at Cal2 with Karyn Hoffman and her pacer from last year...It was funny we had not seen any runners hanging out so we must have been in the middle between the fast and early runners and the folks that started later..But it was nice to be out temps still cool but really perfect for a first training run....We chatted it up down Cal2 and upto Cal3...That climb normally has me totally gassed..but a change this year..I was talking and moving well on the climb..proof 2--I must be getting better! We hit cal3 in 2:00hrs and started to smell the barn...well a long way to go...During this stretch we reviewed some Rena's running and how she felt on these sections during last years WS...she had some dark moments but just kept moving through...
Energy was fantastic..I kept wondering when the legs would give and I would hit that slow dreaded non power walk but nope! Not in 2010..We cruised into Rucky Chucky and Rena peeled off to the bathroom...she said she would try and catch me..I was thinking..dang I have never beat her to the top and finish at Drivers Flat maybe today...So I hit the 2.4mile climb up at 2:55 and thought I better get to the top by 3:30...That in mind it was a hard power walk and short runs on the flats the first mile up..that is the hardest..No Rena yet and no other runners. Years past and other training runs I often get passed here...so far no runners just me. I was moving well, I heard my cell go off (it was in my pack...) telling me I had a text message..I knew it was from my friend on the centtral coast :)...I wanted to stop and respond but in the middle of a good climb with 1mile to go I wanted to finish well...So I started a slow shuffle to the top...always thinking "where is Rena"...I got to the gate and hit my watch..3:26 made it to the top feeling very good. It turned out Rena was about 3minutes back..I told her she eased up on me today...But it was a really a good run.
At the finish we had a visitor..some runners in the front noticed a sick Bald Eagle at Sandy Bottoms and scooped up this BIG bird and shuttled, ran it up to the top of Drivers to get it to a vet to rescue..It was pretty wild that this guy in the picture carried the eagle a few miles..No word on if the bird will recover...
I will end this lengthy blog with some photos of the finish..This morning off to Cool and a 9mile recovery run on the Olmstead loop..meet with my coach and get into shape....Tony
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