Oriflamme 2018 race report

I ran the Oriflame 50k this past Saturday.
The race is about 1:30 from my house and it started at 7am,  so that was perfect. I arrived at 6:30am and, to my surprise, I did not forget anything. I had cold and hot gear because you just never know what to expect when you're running from the mountains to the desert floor and back up. The weather did not let me down. As soon as I got there, I knew it would be a little bit of everything. I made my way to the staring line and noticed I had dropped my car keys. So I asked around and I found them (as everyone had started already) but this made me the last runner out. 

The weather started out in the 50s. It was windy so it felt colder. Most runners had on there long sleeve shirts and jackets gloves and buffs. It's the mountains, so you just never know.

 It is nice being in the back because you can take everything in. All the colors, all the runners and the whole thing is just special. I love it!

The funny thing about this race is I try and avoid this training run because its just so hard. This race is rocky and the elevation gain is 4,268 and the max elevation is 5,100. It got to 90 degrees as we started climbing up the canyon. I try and keep my focus under my hat and I just climb.

I love running 50k. I think its my favorite distance because you still have enough energy to drive home and hang out. 

Gemma took this picture. (thank you) I was so happy to be done. I was done with the climb and ready to just sit. On this run, I listened to the Gypsy Kings and just sang my way to the end, feeling so good. 

We all ran and this is our Trail Crasher finisher picture. These are truly happy runner smiles. 

How crazy is this? I got 3rd female!!!! I got my medal which fits into The Old West medal like a sweet little puzzle piece.

It was an awesome day and I love being there with my friends in the mountains running.
This race was well put on the shirts are really nice and the aid stations had great volunteers. You park right where you start and finish and there are good bathrooms ...Everything you need to run an ultra..

Oriflame 50k pictures

One of the coolest things for me is getting the email from the photographer letting you know your pictures are ready to be viewed. They take you right back to that moment right ? Paksit photos took them this year and they are really good.
All the thoughts that I was having at the time they took this picture. I was thinking  how much better I felt about my running because I have been training with such good people. It has made a huge difference in confidence as and my desire to get it done.   Having rad people to run with is the sh-t. They put so much hard work into there passion it rubs off.
 The Trail Crashers where not running next me but instead they where with me the entire day. I could see us lined up on the mountain running along. I could see Ricky at the top waiting for us. I felt becca waiting for me up ahead. Robert making me laugh. I actually have so many memories on this exact trail now. Last year I would not even know where this trail is and today I  could run to it right now. All this gives me so much hope that there is so much more fun goodness ahead. Good times ahead and happy Trails for sure ..I read about the group affect and yes I think it's true for me . 

My Oriflame 50k race report

Yesterday was Orriflame 50k.
This was taken right when I got there. I love morning pictures before a race. I really do.  I was a worried about the weather because it was looking like it was going to be really cold but I decided to think about it as an adventure run. I arrived at 6:30 am and the race started at 7am. I was surprised I found parking and all I could think is the the weather must of scared some people off because I did not see a-lot of people. So with 20 minutes to go I checked in and got number 52 . I saw my friends and then we made our way to the start line. 

as we are waiting for the race to start I noticed my water hose was not working. It was stuck so Robert tried to fix it but the we had a minute to go and with out getting it fixed we put it back and I took off. The race starts on a single track and my hands were really cold besides that I felt good. I was happy to just be there. My friends where in front of me and besides not having water all was well. Every time I looked up I was so inspired by the clouds. Yes maybe there was going to be rain but who cares when it looked so beautiful.

This race is an out and back course and struts at the Sunrise Trail head parking lot. It fallows the PCT trail north for a couple miles. I think about 5 miles as your running in front of you there are mountains and the dessert. Its magnificent.

Then you start running down  Oriflame Canyon. Here is my story with this canyon. Last year we did a training run on this canyon on a very hot day. It scared me enough that I decided to not do this race. It was so freaking hard I felt like shit after we where done so I said no and I did not run it. Not this year !! There was no way I was not running a local race because I'm scared. 

If this sport has taught me anything it is to be brave and not be afraid of working hard at something I love. I hate fear so this is me working my ass of to conquer my fears and grow. There I am running down the canyon . I think I should say I was very carefully jogging down. Running down hills is something I am working hard at. I have along way to go and I knew this was going to be the challenging part. It was really cool watching all these awesome ultra runners kill the hill. I was having a great time. I needed to stop at some point to fix my bladder because it was stuck and there was no water coming out. You know when your running the last thing you want to do is stop so finally at mile 13 I got thirsty enough and it took me like 3 minutes. I took of my shirt and fixed my bladder and drank as much water as I could. I was so thirsty. 

The aid station volunteers where very supportive and I only stayed for a minute or two. When you get to the bottom of the canyon you runs couple miles in the sand get to the turn around point. My friend Jeff was there and he gave me some water. Its always nice to see a familiar face. I was not feeling great at this point. I felt a little dehydrated . I just needed to drink my water and I knew I would be fine soon. When it was time to start running up the canyon I felt so much better. I really like running up hill for some crazy reason. I started my just keep moving G. No walking G just keep moving G . Then it was G you love running up hill fallowed by lets me how many people I can catch. There was 3 girls I could see in front of me and 6 men. So I just kept moving and one by one I passed them. No walking just short strides and running only zone. Then before you know it I was at the top and feeling the best I had felt all day. This aid station made me feel super inspired. They cheered when I ran in and told me I looked strong even though I probably looked like crap and I left happy to be alive. 

Thank you Paul for this picture. This is me leaving the S2 aid station. I had a banana and I was off .I had the total running happy thing going at this point. I had 5 miles to go and I ran the rest of the way in. No walking just running. I passed 4 more people and finished 6:28. I am happy with that.

Thank you Nartaya for this picture, This is me finishing. I had a great time it was a ton of hard work and I loved it. I love the 50k distance. A big thanks to John Martines the race director for putting on a really great race that was so well marked. The aid station volunteers for being there in the freezing cold just to help us . I had a great day it was hard and challenging . We ended up with great weather too.