The G Running Diary

Down to the River: Rucky Chucky 50K: 4/3/04

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I have realized that running back-to-back 50Ks is just an excuse to run slowly and enjoy yourself. The combination we had planned was the Rucky Chucky 50K on Saturday and the Stevens Creek 50K on Sunday. Since Rucky Chucky is in Foresthill, we decided to stay in Auburn Friday night, which is only 17 miles from Foresthill. We drove up early to avoid the weekend traffic, leaving before noon. That gave us time to hang out in Auburn old town, where we found a wine bar. I had a little wine tasting and Don had a beer. How far we have come from the early days of marathons where we would abstain from alcohol for a week before a race. The Foothills Hotel was on the quiet side of Highway 80, and our room was way in the back which made it even quieter. We had dinner at Ikeda's, a burger place that has been recommended by several people. It was good pre-race food. Relaxing in the room was good, and then we got up early so we could have breakfast at Denny's. I had French toast. Don had eggs, sausage, and hash browns. Don wondered why I wanted French toast (I seem to keep ordering it). It goes back to Arkansas Traveler, my first 100, and the morning before the morning of the race, I met people for breakfast and ordered French toast just because I'd watched an endurance mountain biking event the night before, and that is what a studly female competitor ate.

Anyway, we arrived at the race in plenty of time. The run started at 8:00am and our drive there was less than 20 minutes. I'd wanted to make sure we got there with time to spare because we seem to take so long saying hi to everyone. The temperature was already warm. We all knew we were in for a hot one, but the course has quite a lot of shade. Still the heat was a concern since no one was heat training yet. Another concern was the cutoff at the turnaround point, down at the river at Rucky Chucky. You had to get there in 4 hours. Don and I were not worried, but on a hot day, this would be tough for some people.

The good thing about our big breakfast was that I really didn't need any food until the second half of the race. Don (as usual) hurried us through the aid stations, but that was just fine. I drank more water than usual, draining my two bottles before each aid station. Well, I didn't drain them before the first, because that was set up only 3.5 miles into the run. The aid stations had Cytomax, which I tried for one refill, but I didn't really like the flavor, so I went back to water. After the turnaround, I filled one bottle with CLIP and was once again happy with that. Barry Fisher was working at the aid station that was about 1.5 miles (or so) from the turnaround. As we were on our way out, we asked about Lucinda, who was running. She then turned up, but it was late for her. It was nice to see them together, but I felt bad because she said, "sorry," about the race. She does so much, she has nothing to be sorry about.

We continued our return journey, with Don taking lots of pictures. The trail was beautiful with wildflowers and the stream crossings as we wound our way around the hillside. Eventually, we were ready for it to end. I was feeling a little dehydrated, and I think Don was desalted. The last part is the toughest, it seems, because you are on the last uphill section to the road. And then, even the road is uphill. So we crossed the finish line, and I guess I had a testosterone moment because I had to say that I beat Don. As if we were racing. Then we got to have all this food in the school cafeteria, and hang out with friends. It was great. We saw other people come in after finishing. I won a pair of shoes in the raffle. Don won a box of Cliff Bars. I think we have to throw in a "Life is good" here (credit akabill). It sure was. We later hosed of our poison oak with Tecnu. Finally we left, feeling like the last ones to leave the party (again). It was a great day, and we had the whole next day to look forward to.