STTS Help

[debdebonthego]

I would really appreciate it if someone could compare the level of difficulty between Sycamore Canyon's 30K and the STTS marathon (besides the obvious 8 miles ). I ran Sycamore Cyn. today and was very pleased holding a 15 min. mile until my knee locked up and I hit the wall with 6 miles to go . I'm still a newbie but have been training very constantly for 9 months and have completed 5 other races over the past 4 months. I'm only in this for the "race" against myself and the fun to be had on the trail. I really thought I was as ready as I could be but now I'm wondering I would appreciate any personal opinion comparisons between the courses and terrain.
Thanks!
Debbie

[mweston]

I did the first SttS 50K in September 2008 (6:42:16), and I did Sycamore Canyon 50k (6:38:06) last year in preparation for the Diablo 50 miler (which I DNFed at 37 miles, but I digress). Despite my Sycamore time being faster, I think SttS would normally be faster, all else being equal.

Since you're doing the SttS marathon (and not the 50K), it will be even more of a downhill event. That should make it pretty fast per mile, if you do enough downhill in preparation to avoid overloading your quads too badly.

[debdebonthego]

Thanks Mike! You are very good at taking time to help the new and confused trail runners. I sure do appreciate the time you take to share your more experienced opinions. It has been very helpful to me.

One more question, am I understanding right... the downs are actually harder on the quads (entire leg or just quads) than the ups? When I compare courses (which I probably spend way too much time doing), I tend to compare the elevation gains not the losses when looking for the more difficult parts of the run. I always thought my legs were fatigued because of the climbs.... and the down hills as the proverbial icing on the cake.

[GP]

First Deb. Congratulations on what you've accomplished so far and also your great attitude. Taking ego out of running is the first great hurdle to enjoyment and that's what it's all about. Go at your pace not others. Enjoy yourself.

Both the ups and downs are hard on the quads, especially if they are steep. We use our quads to lift us up steep stuff, but we also use them like shock absorbers on steep, gnarly downs. In each case, we have more flex at the knee and put more load on the quads, which have to stabilize the knee. After a lot of ups or downs (or more normally, both ), you can forget to take the load off the quads. You find yourself running, or walking, with a little more flex in the knee than you need. Straighten up, or the gradual fatigue will take it's toll.

Some people make the downhills tougher, because they are afraid of them and try to brake their descent. Doing that they tend to flex at the knees and put the load on the quads. Generally, you want to stay relaxed, have your body plumb (perpendicular, you lean forward at the ankles but not overly so) to the slope and take small, quick steps keeping your feet underneath you.

You don't want to heel strike with your foot landing in front of your knee. That will pound your quads as well as your joints. Practise on gentle fireroad downhills and switchbacked trails that aren't too steep. Then work up to gnarlier trails and steeper slopes. If you are local, Rancho San Antonio is an excellant place for you to practise downhills.

You can get a lot of reading material on line and a few videos that will help you. Runnersworld.com has a few videos by Scott Jurek and I think he addresses downhill running in them.

Those last 8 miles are going to be mostly gentle downhill to flat, with only short gentle upslopes and most will be on ranch road. Take it easy on the initial downhill after leaving Big Basin as it's single track and a bit more techical.

Save your quads early, by anticipating short uphills and transitioning (using your downhill speed to carry you up the ensuing hill) well and walk any up that's too tiring. I think your big goal is to beat this boogie man, rather than beating the rest of us back to the barn. ;D

This last part is a bit hard to explain, but if you find your quads are really torched, try to shift the load onto your glutes for a bit. On leveler ground you can walk a bit more straight legged and use your glutes to "pull" you along (told you it was hard to explain. Go out and try it to see what I mean). Or you can shuffle run. Both will take the load off the quads and allow them to recover a bit.

Don't worry, you'll do fine. I'll worry for both of us. It's normal to worry, but your ready (I'm telling myself this too, as I type ). You just have to stick to your game plan. Think positively. There are no scree slopes. Those really torch the quads!!!!!!!!

[GS]

Adding a little course-specific information to this post from my run at the end of last week -- Saratoga Gap (start) to China Grade, and back -- about the first 18K of the course:

Overall, the course was in good shape but there are quite a few places where the single-track trail has obstacles blocking the way. Mostly, these are downed trees or large branches, and are easily bypassed but most of us will need to slow down to do so.

Most of the first 18K is single-track, and even though the elevation map looks like we'll all be cruising down the hill at the start of the race, I found that the rolling hills, obstacles and challenging footing really tempered my speed. As pointed out, it'll likely be necessary to shorten stride length as you take on this part of the course. Though pace may suffer a little, you'll save your quads this way too. This type of running is quite a bit different than running on fireroads, where often you can just let loose and go with gravity on the descents.

Compared with every other PCTR run I've entered, the uphills were relatively easy. It just doesn't compare in this regard to Pirate's Cove, Pacifica, Muir Beach, etc. There are some downhills mixed in with the longer uphill climbs which give the legs a break.

It's likely that the first part of the run will also be the coldest. We start on the summit, and have trees overhead shielding the sunlight. Last week, there were still patches of snow along the course.

Good luck to all!

[debdebonthego]

Thank you for all the help.
Debbie