November 19th I woke up in my Lake Elsinore hotel room at 0300...still missing one of my pacers, barely any sleep and the suspense was killing me. I hadn't really run in almost a month, and every time I'd tried, it had ended with terrible knee pain. I was almost mentally defeated, and the race hadn't even begun.
Jeff and I had come up the day before, but LCDR Alota had stayed in San Diego for his daughter's gymnastics meet. I had texted him repeatedly, but no answer. I dialed his number around 0315...and he finally answered. Folks that know me can attest to my EXTREME lack of organization and my tendency to procrastinate, but not when it comes to my running. I am uber meticulous, laying out all my gear days in advance, adding to and subtracting from my drop bags as I mentally prepare for the upcoming event. I like to take all the variables I can out of the equation so all I really have to worry about is the task at hand...and last minute changes in the schedule were really eating at my already shaky confidence.
We arrived at Bluejay Campground around 0445 I picked up my bib and we covered some last minute details. I reminded Jeff and LCDR that although finishing was important...I didn't want to permanently injure myself either. Jeff acknowledged...and Mr Alota reminded me of why I brought him with a "UNLESS YOU'RE DEAD YOU'RE FINISHING!"
The RD Steve Harvey gave some last minute instructions then ...5 4 3 2 1...it had begun. I started off very conservative. Doing everything I could to protect my left knee from any damage. I had also taken the time to tape a spot on my right foot that was blister prone. The first 20 miles of Chimera are an out and back to the Candy Store at Ortega Oaks for the 100 milers...the 100k entrants ran about half of that then came back along the same trail. This posed a traffic problem at the 100k turnaround and as I tried to make room on the single track for a returning runner, I chose a bad line through some rocks and slipped. I felt a shooting pain in my right hip, but continued my easy pace. The pain was sharp and persistent for the next several miles, but what was worse was the shot to the confidence. Damn, damn, damn...why??? The self doubt turned into being a little pissed at myself and then at the race director. Damn Steve, why didn't you delay the 100k start?!?! After the 100k turnaround at Chiquita Falls there is a short climb up some very technical single track, followed by a pretty technical downhill. I reached the top and realized that the pain in my hip had subsided...but now I could feel a hot spot on my rt foot. I finished the downhill section taking most of the impact on my right side to protect my left knee, and by the time I got to the bottom I understood what was happening to my right foot. I stopped and took off my shoe and found the tape I had put on to prevent blisters had balled up and created one instead. Ughhhh. This wasn't going well...but my knee still felt good! Let's concentrate on that!
I fell into a comfortable pace line and we all chugged in to the Candy Store Aid station. My crew was there, and I took some time to down a pedialyte and a sandwich. Up to this point the trail had been crowded and passing was difficult, but I was right on schedule. I left the AS and the race changed. I was now all alone on the trail. No runners ahead, or behind. This was nice for a little while, but although I had run this section before, I began to wonder if I had taken a wrong turn? I pushed on and after a bit I saw a trail marker and was good. The next 10 miles back to Bluejay were mostly uphill but nothing terrible. I stuck to my plan, and started picking off the occasional runner and occasionally getting picked off myself. Nothing was hurting, I was cruising and my confidence was growing.
I came back into Bluejay 5 minutes ahead of schedule feeling strong. I did a quick turnaround, chugged some more pedialyte and an Ensure and was off again.
The next section started with a 2.5 mile runnable uphill to the Trabuco Trail trail head. About half of this was paved then fire road. The Ensure turned out to be a mistake...it just sat on my stomach and seemed to expand as I ran. I thought for sure I was going to puke at any moment. I had read somewhere that salt caps can help things go down, so I popped a couple Scap's and this seemed to help settle things. It was wide open up the climb, and I could see other runners up ahead...with a capitol UP the RD Steve Harvey course description for Chimera is "If its not up, its down, and if its flat...you took a wrong turn!" I could now see the AS tent and knew once I reached that point...one of the longest downs of the race would begin, but more than that I knew that if my knee could hold up through this seriously technical downhill...I stood a chance. I bypassed the AS and started down the long rocky single track. I usually love to recklessly bomb downhills and destroy my quads and feet along the way, but I took my time. I carefully chose each footfall and once again took most of the shock with my right leg. I made it through the most technical section and then cruised through the creek bottom. I had gone from pine forest to desert, and now this section resembled a tropical rain forest with several creek crossings. This really is a magical course...in no time at all I was pulling in to the Aid station at Holy Jim. This was the second difference between the 100 mile and the 100k courses. The 100k'ers hit this AS then went straight up Holy Jim. For us poor schmucks running the 100 mile course there was about a 6 mile out and back to Live Oak before we could start the climb. One of my recent training buddies and FB friend Keith Swiatkowski was here, and he had already completed the out and back, he was KILLING IT! Live Oak was my next crew point, so I welcomed the distance...to be continued.
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