El Vaquero Loco 31k!
What a day! I want to come back to this race every year from now on. 10/10. To be completely honest, I was pretty scared the few days leading up to the race. I’ve never done a trail race like this where I had never been in the area leading up to it, and I had a feeling I was going to be alone a lot (which I was!). My trail runs are always with Andrew, Max, or my friends, and I was so nervous I would take a wrong turn and have no idea where I was or get eaten by a bear. I am happy to report that the only animal I saw was gorgeous butterflies, but I’m guessing there were plenty of animals that saw me;).
The night before the race, I had a crazy headache. I kept trying to go back to sleep, but finally got up to take some medicine because it was hurting so bad… I couldn’t even wear my sleeping mask because I thought my head was going to explode. I don’t really get headaches, so I am guessing it was an altitude headache?!?
The alarm went off at 5:45 am, and I went straight for some Ego waffles and a Core Power. I was in my luteal phase and Makenna Myler had just posted about how important it is to get protein in before a hard effort during this time in your cycle. Genius. I usually stick to just straight carbs before a race, and this switch was a good one.
Isn’t the starting line cute? The race started at 7:05.
I wanted to podium and knew my chance at that was to go out with a strong effort on the first five miles because I had more confidence in those miles than in the miles I would need to hike. The first five were a gradual uphill on a gravel road, and I tried to get a good lead on these because this kind of running is more my strength than the steep ups. They said afterwards they can always tell who the road runners are in those first miles. I felt really good here, and it was the perfect warm-up vs starting with more intense climbing.
We were next to a river and then a waterfall for the entire beginning. During these miles, I just kept thinking about the times I feel most me are when I am with Andrew and my kids, and when I am in the mountains running. I feel most at home with myself and calm… even when my heart rate is skyrocketing.
And then at about mile 10 is where the real work started (at mile 6, I lost a few minutes because I thought I took the wrong turn and there was nobody near me and had to get on AllTrails to figure it out… but I struggle with getting lost so the normal runner would not get lost because the course was so well marked and it’s kind of silly that I was confused now that I look back on it, ha).
Climb climb climb. I hiked a lot during these miles because they were so steep (840ft climb for one of the miles)! The 50k racers started at the finish line and were doing an out-and-back for most of our course. We started passing by each other during this time, and everyone was beyond encouraging and friendly. It was so nice to see people and think about how they were doing 19k more than me;)
The aid stations were legit.
If I had to guess, at least 7 of the miles were through wildflowers. They were the longest stretches I had ever seen of them.
Once we got to the top of the first peak (mile 12/13), I thought I would be able to really start cruising down and pick up my pace. Nope. It was a ski down in your running shoes situation. I fell back on my buns a few times and just kept sliding down. It was the scariest part of the course for me, and no pictures were taken during that time.
But I did get a pic coming into the second lake that didn’t require any skiing.
And then another.
Still feeling pretty good at this point and taking gels every 30 minutes.
Before the final climb of the day, there was God’s Nectar in the river. Never has a Coke tasted better. I chugged it, it was chilled perfectly, and I grabbed some Swedish Fish before moving on.
The final climb took everything I had out of me, and there wasn’t a chance I was getting my phone out to take any more pictures, even though it was stunning. I really felt at times in the final climb that I was moving backwards. It was one of those times that I told myself all I had to do was take one more step over and over again until I got to the top. There was a group of teens up at the top cheering us on and telling us which way to go, I was so happy to see them. They let me know it was all downhill from there for the last 3 miles! But at that point, the downhill was challenging because my legs were so tired, but I kept telling myself that you find what you seek, and so I looked for every good thing I could think of and everything that wasn’t hurting instead of searching for the negatives.
I finished 1st woman, 4th overall, and in 4:09… which is a course record, but it’s only the second year on this course, so it will be broken soon;)… It was a 25k back in 2023. It was also a PR for me because I’ve never done a 31k race. You gotta celebrate everything you can when running is so hard.
I loved having them run after me to the finish line. I felt so lucky (and grateful they let me know that the mat 100m before the finish line wasn’t the actual finish line and that I needed to keep going).
I wanted to use the Normatec boots right after, but really I just wanted to lie down. I was so so tired.
Have you ever seen a prettier finish line area? I took my sister’s advice and brought an extra sports bra and tank because nothing makes me more miserable than wearing a wet sports bra around.
Now for some randomness…
*I may or may not have had three caffeinated gels… oops. One an hour before, one an hour in, and one 3 hours in… I needed every mg I could get. The real star of the show was my coconut pineapple salt tablets. These truly gave me the biggest burst. I don’t think I’ll ever go into the mountains without them from this point forward, and they actually taste really good as you are running.
*If you were tracking my song choices along the way, you could accurately guess how much I was hurting–> I started with The Chicks and finished with Nelly/NF/Eminem;)
*This race gives you a HOODIE (that is so cute), and hamburgers after the race. Never has there been better swag.
*Stairs after this race were so hard. I honestly don’t think I could have climbed one more foot during the race. But I never fell forward (just backwards haha), so I am proud I lifted my legs in those final miles when they were dead and we were going downhill.
*I want to try out poles. The ones that fold up. I think they would have helped in the steep ups and downs. Wearing a hydration vest felt like a weighted vest for the first half, but thank goodness I did because I went through both of my big bottles and refilled them at aid stations.
*Those people who do longer courses than this. I don’t have words other than, you are my hero.
*I would wear a hat next time. I had sunglasses, but they made it harder to see rocks, so I didn’t wear them much. A hat would have shielded the sun much better.
*It’s so nice to get out there and not even think about your pace, just survival, and doing the best you can in each mile.
*I had dust coating my nostrils when I looked in the mirror afterwards, you’re welcome for not taking a picture.
*There were probably 10 water crossings? I tried to avoid the water for the first few, but then I realized getting my feet wet through them was so refreshing and loved them. I was pretty hot the last 8 miles but that’s to be expected in August, it wasn’t as hot as it is at home, though!
*I’ve done many races where you finish lower than you start, but this one, you finish higher than where you start by 1300 ft.
*This course was so fun because you really felt like you were in the backcountry, because it takes so much work to get back there, and so it is very untouched. I can’t recommend it enough if you want an adventure.
Where (or with whom) do you find yourself feeling most like yourself?
Ever had a soda during a race? Did it taste like heaven to you, too?
Ever use hiking poles?
Now, which trail race should I sign up for next?
-Even though on the steep ups I told myself I was never doing this again haha, on the rest of the course I was wondering why I don’t do this every weekend.
