Races

Ray Miller 50m

CircleX1200262bSanta Monica Mountains. Picture – Gary Valle

When I think of Los Angeles, I normally don’t think of mountains. I think of way too many people for my taste, too many roads to navigate and crazy drivers to dodge. It’s definitely a chaotic city. But once you move past that and take in a glimpse of the Santa Monica Mountains and are greeted by La La Land’s hospitality, the weekend was a total blast!

As I sit in Ashland writing this, it sure feels good to be back home. I’ve spent the prior 10 days traveling and it’s nice to sleep in my own bed. I made a trip back to Wisconsin the weekend prior to Ray Miller for my Grandma’s funeral. She was a wonderful woman that is the epitome of selflessness. I spent much time with her growing up and am blessed to have a grandma who has been there for me for the almost 30 years of my life. As a kid I can’t count how many times I ran around her house, playing games and getting into trouble. During high school I had a 6 mile running loop to her house where I was greeted every time with cheers from blocks away to sprint it in and a smorgasbord of food to fuel me up for the trip home. Everyone processes these feeling differently. It was nice to be back home, spending time with family and celebrating that my grandma’s pain with cancer was complete. She’s in a far better place now and showering her love down from above. I was really looking forward to running 50 miles and processing through the emotions that stir when you lose someone you love.

After some wild plane-delaying weather I made it back to Ashland, packed my running gear and was back on a plane the next day to a much warmer spot, Los Angeles. I was joined by a huge Ashland crew and my family. Our host for the weekend was non other than the wonderful Shannon Farar-Griefer. Her backyard farm allowed Tristan to see horses for the first time and also pet some new born goats.

IMG_2086Debbie Loomis (Does everything while we run around, Thank you!), Krista (finished her 3rd 50k!), Stinky guy, Tristan and Amber Loomis (who finished her first Ultra with a sprained ankle!) and Bob Loomis (with his 4th Ultra finish)!
IMG_2024Shannon, Tristan , myself and the baby goat!

Ray Miller 50 Miler

With the sun still hiding behind the mountains, we blindly flew off into the Santa Monica foothills. What a fun way to start a race – we couldn’t see and we couldn’t go fast as the plethora of oddly shaped rocks interrupted any smooth movement for the first few miles. Our patience was than splendidly rewarded as the sunrise rose and the florescent orange, red and pink sky exploded with color over the Pacific Ocean. I wanted to stop and enjoy, but just slowed the pace to take in the morning views.  I was so happy to be where I was, breathing in fresh air, surrounded with nature and sharing the experience with so many like-minded people.

Dylan and I separated from the others after a few uphill miles with Hal just a few turns back and settled into a nice groove for the early miles. We spent the first 10+ miles of the race catching up and chatting about our excitement for so many great opportunities this coming year.  We both plan on partaking in all the hoopla of Western States and UTMB and I’m pretty confident I’ll be sharing many of those miles with Dbo as I did at Ray Miller.  Dylan is a gifted runner and just a super chill guy to run with. I forgot we were racing until we hit Danielson aid Station (mile 19) and started a 3000ft climb on the beautiful backbone trail.

Tim Olson and Dbo. Ray Miller

Photo – Jayme Burtis

On a side note, earlier on in the race we were making our way down a trail and I caught a big pointy cactus in the leg – ouch. Just running Bandera a few weeks prior with sharp serrated cacti around every turn, I was use to taking cactus in the leg, but this time it penetrated straight into my quad. It made me flinch backwards and limp for a second as blood oozed down my leg. I put some dirt on it and got back into my rhythm and dealt with the ache. But now even after a week of recovery, everything feels great except the bruised area where the cacti attacked, and so it goes.

So far the race had been pretty low key with maybe too much chatting (by me), but I wanted to make sure this race was chill and just a good workout to get me fired up for the rest of the season. We got into the groove of the climb and I jumped ahead a little bit. With 3000ft of climbing I thought the trail would lead us up at a good grade, but with many switch backs there was nothing very steep which meant no walk breaks for the whole day. I always appreciate when the grade goes up 20% so I can pow-hike for a bit and transition to the use of other muscles. I thought I put a little gap on Dylan, but after I started going down again, along came the lengthy runner flying past me. I decided to roll with it and embrace some pain as we crashed down the trail always within site of each other.

Every now and then we would switch positions for the lead, I would go ahead on the climbs and he would lead on the downs. The day was heating up compared to the 30’s and 40’s (F) we’ve been experiencing in Ashland and much much warmer than the single digit weather I experienced back in Wisconsin. It was always comfortable with the overcast clouds and trees that graciously offered shade. This eased my dehydration as I only used one bottle on a few 9 and 11 mile breaks between aid.

Ray Miller, Big rock 2013

Photo – Jayme Burtis

Between Yerba Buena aid (mile 34) and Serrano Canyon aid (mile 45) I lost my steam. I was tired and the mid day heat and miles were leaving me dehydrated and worked. I was really enjoying the run, but I knew my lead wasn’t going to last long. After some descent we entered a flat meadow. I turned around and there Dbo was. Poop.  I just sort of watched him whisk by and away he went. I tried to throw down a little surge, but he’s fast!

A few minutes after he passed me I came upon a man laying on the ground groaning. I wanted to chase Dbo, but had to make sure he was all right. I asked if he needed help and he immediately replied to help him stretch his cramping legs. Poor guy was in a lot of pain and his legs as stiff as a board. I helped him stretch for a minute, told him to take some salt and then I was back at it. Dbo already gaped me good and even with the pit stop i wasn’t going to catch him . I love this sport. It’s fun to run hard and go for the victory, but in the end we all just love to go for a good run, push our minds and bodies to new highs and celebrate the day together afterwards.  It doesn’t matter if you’re first or last, running an ultra can be a struggle, but it’s worth every leg pounding moment.

Reaching the last aid, I finally filled up on some water, which I was lacking for a while and went back to work. The crew there said he was just a few minutes up, but I did not have much desire to chase after him. Come on its February…ok, I’m just a slacker and there’s no way i was going to catch that speedy guy. This left me with a 1000ft grunt up and then 3 miles of buff single track to arrive at the finish. I pushed the climb and could see Dbo up a head. He was running really strong, so I came to terms with a 2nd place finish and enjoyed the last few miles.

Tim Olson with Mountain background Ray Milleer 2013

Photo – Jayme Burtis

I was rewarded at the top of the climb with a beautiful lady finishing her race as well. My wife was running the 50k and I was hoping to run into her at some point. I stopped to talk with her and suggested I run it in with her. She thought about it for a second and then yelled at me to get my ass moving and go after Dbo. I rolled my eyes and said fine as I maneuvered my way down the last few miles taking in the last views of the ocean from above. I had a very enjoyable day, running hard, thinking of my grandma and remembering her love and the light she is. I can only keep living life, each moment to the utmost.

What a great race, in a warm scenic location. Keira and Jesse put on an amazing race, which was an excellent way to get me ready for a hard year of racing.  It was so much fun to share the day with family and friends and stay around for many hours after to watch more people finish their day and continue the celebration with good food, drinks and smiles. Cheers 😉

Tim n Tristan Ray Miller

Equipment and food used.

Clothes

  • Ran in my The North Face Better Than Naked Shorts and tee.
  • Wore the new Injinji 2.0 ultra lightweight socks. So happy to be on Team Injinji for 2013. My toes have never been more cozy and they’re the only socks i wear day or night. During the race i had a rock in my shoes, having all my digits to play with, my toes played Futbol with the rock for miles :-) Love these socks so much!!!
  • Highgear XT7-Alti-GPS watch
  • Ultimate Direction Handheld

Food– Always Organic

Day Before

  • Eggs and turkey bacon (don’t normally eat turkey bacon, but it was in the house) with yams and kale for lunch
  • Chicken, Sweet potatoes with coconut oil and asparagus for dinner

Pre-Race

  • A couple scoops of Justin’s Hazelnut butter.
  • 6- Cliff vanilla goo’s and a few drinks of coke and a couple Saltsticks every hour.
  • After the race I had leftovers from the prior night, some vino and later had amazing beef and shrimp tacos at Shannon’s! Thanks so much!

Herbal supplements by Natura Health

  • Amino-Max – Supports the body’s ability to create protein, sustain energy and optimize recovery time
  • Botanabol – builds strength and endurance while optimizing energy levels and recovery time.
  • Power Adapt – Elevates mental and physical performance and promotes a healthy stress response.

17 thoughts on “Ray Miller 50m

  1. What a great run! I love how ridiculously positive your attitude while you are running such distances, it is truly inspiring! I am just starting to enjoy and relax while I run and it definitely makes a difference!

  2. Thanks for the great race report Timothy. Congrats on 2nd- and more importantly glad you had fun. Stopping for that cramped runner shows me that running is still a gentleman’s (or gentlewoman’s) sport :) Good luck to you this season, and watch out for those little cacti!

  3. Tim, thanks so much for putting the food diary out! Well, first f, great run regardless, and so happy Krista got to do a 50k, and that the whole family enjoyed the trip. But back to food, my husband and I had been enjoying similar eating – with great results in both mental energy and running (pace and recovery time). You promised the “eating” blog post!

  4. Thanks Tim, for anther great post. Sounds like you had an amazing day wirh your family! Happy training for your next endeavor.

    1. Glad we were able to spend the weekend with you. Glad to hear recovery is going well. Breathtaking pictures!

  5. Sounds like a great run! (just a note about Grandma and Grandpa, many times Grandma had to drive you home) You sure have come a long way. I think she was racing with you. She said she was going too. She was sure proud of your progress and would love to call me, to see if I heard what place you were in or how you where feeling. She was so happy when her computer savvy would beat my knowledge of the race. You are loved.

  6. it’s inspiring and entertaining reading your race report, Timothy, although I think it’s more of a slice-of-life report. Thanks for expanding it to include the events surrounding it, which made me feel like I was there, getting to partake of the trip. One thing that shines through — in both the pictures and your words — is that you’re immensely enjoying what you do. What a rare and beautiful thing.

  7. Tim, awesome run at the Ray Miller 50m. That course looks beautiful! I also appreciate the food list. I am experimenting with a low-carb diet, and thought I heard you were low-carb. Do you use Gu’s only on race day? Only on longer runs? All runs? Thanks, love your blog and great job!

    1. Maybe i’m low carb to most because i don’t eat grains, but i still use carbs for racing and hard training sessions. During training i use 1 to 2 goos for 3-5hr runs. For races, i take about a goo an hour.
      t

      1. Thanks Tim. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. She seems like a great person in your life, providing real encouragement and inspiration. I guess it is now our opportunity to be that great person in someone else’s life. God bless.

  8. Great job! Your whole family is inspiring! Just wondering aside from the 500 questions I could ask, what does krista run in? She always looks so cute in the billowy tank and shorts? Thanks! Can’t wait for your next run!

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