The G Running Diary

Down to the Creek: Stevens Creek 50K: 4/4/04

Previous  |  Next  |  Index

One of the great things about the Stevens Creek 50K is that it starts at 9:00 am. It was a good thing because it was hard for us to get to bed really early the night before. It only takes about 45 minutes at the most to get there from our place. We stopped at McDonald's on the way for drive-through breakfast. I do not normally eat McD for breakfast, but this is one occasion where it is a great choice--fast and satisfying, and enough to get me going. We had packed tuna sandwiches for the run. Those were going to wait in a cooler in the car for us at the 19 mile point.

We said hi to people we knew and chatted for a while. Steve gave a pre-run briefing and we got our first ZombieRunner mention. I had given Steve two bottles of Succeed! Caps for the run. I liked the start. We had to walk through the parking lot and then have the ranger give us the all clear to cross the road--busy Skyline Boulevard. I made sure to be at the back of the pack for the start. I didn't want any speedsters running me over. This was going to be a long day, and I was looking forward to it. We noticed at least two other people who had run Rucky Chucky the day before: Catra, who took off fast, and Robert Josephs, who started at the back not too far from us. Just a little later he said, "I feel like I'm back at mile 28 of Rucky Chucky." It takes a while to loosen up on a second day of long running.

The course headed down, eventually to a creek crossing. No problem for me--I had recently discovered that my Asics Eagles were waterproof. I suppose that would be a problem if the water were deep enough to get into the shoes over the top though. Then it wouldn't leak out. Our pace was slow and easy, which was good. My only concern was that if we went too slow, we'd be unfair to the aid station volunteers, making them hang around extra long. It was almost 11 miles to the first aid station. I realized two bottles were not enough for me, since I went into the run dehydrated from the previous day. I felt pretty thirsty by the time we arrived at Saratoga Gap. The approach to the aid station is pretty neat. After going along on trails through woods of eucalyptus trees, you break out into a clearing with grassy hills, and for today, sunshine and blue sky.

We paused at the aid station to fully replenish liquids and to chat a bit. Steve and Christina were there helping out (they had both run Rucky Chucky). Next, the course headed back to the parking lot. This was mostly on the Bay Area Ridge Trail, familiar ground to Don and me. The trail rolls along nicely and since it is on the west side of Skyline, the views are of mountains and trees. These are the big views that inspire spiritual thoughts. Before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot and digging into those tuna sandwiches. They were very refreshing! So was the water! I was also drinking CLIP by this point, which I liked. After the parking lot, we took a little trail over to the picnic area, which was where the race would finish. The top runners were already done. We had some munchie food and coke and Red Bull. Red Bull makes me think of Badwater, when someone I didn't know told me I *must* drink it. The aftertaste disagrees with me sometimes, but in Badwater, you will do whatever anyone tells you.

Next, we headed out through the Skyline Ridge parking lot, on to Russian Ridge and to the turnaround at Rapley Ranch Road. We were familiar with this trail and knew we were in for great views. From Russian Ridge you can see the Bay Area to your right and the mountains and ocean to your left. It is all wonderful to run through, especially if you can take your time and enjoy the views. The return route was slightly different from the way out. I was feeling good running along the hillside. Don was still taking pictures. As we approached the finish area, I knew we had an extra little loop to do. I wondered if it would be really long, but it was over before we knew it. We got sandwiches and munchie food, and I had a carrot cake cupcake with purple frosting. Food is good sugar is good. We talked for a while about the run, waited for the last two runners to finish, and then it was time to go. It seemed like everyone had a good day out, and lucky us, we had two great days out!