I had never enjoyed a marathon when I decided I wanted to do Diablo 50K. I figured training for a trail run and the event itself would be better. 17 weeks of training paid off in a wonderful day.
I ran for more than nine hours, over 31 miles and a climb that made me feel like Vegeta because it was "over 9000!". But the best part was having friends there. I had friends both there at the finish and running with me. There were times when I was full of steely determination thinking failure was not an option, there were times when I broke down in tears feeling I couldn't possibly continue. But mostly I felt so happy and prepared and good.
I paced very conservatively, keeping my heart rate to around 145 even though I felt like I had a lot more energy. Didn't have 90+ degree heat, although it did get hot enough to slow me down for a while. I paid close attention to food, eating nearly 350 calories every hour. I managed hydration and salt intake well. The descent took the same time both times, but getting up the hill took an extra hour the second time around. First loop took 4:10, Second loop took 5:10.
For several hours my training buddy Enrique ran next me. It's strange knowing someone is the exact same pace as you.. to the minute out of hours and hours. Every single time I got ahead of him he would catch me after a few hours, and vice versa. It was pretty clear that if I was going faster than him I was probably working too hard and the reverse was true as well. Toward the end of the race I just decided to use that knowledge and we just went the same pace.
It was a wonderful adventure. I'm looking forward to doing my second 50K at North Face.
