Last weekend I raced the inaugural King of the Hill: Mt. Woodson trail running event. With 2000’ of climbing/descending and multiple physical challenge stations along the way, this new 7.2-mile race was killer!
This new San Diego trail race series is the brainchild of Active Expert and owner of "the hardest workout class in San Diego," Gut Check Fitness, Joe Decker and his wife, Nicole. I’ve known this dynamic-duo for a few years now and with Joe as the winner of the Death Race last year, having an ultra-endurance and strongman resume a mile long, on top of a Guinness world record for fitness, there was no doubt in my mind they would put together a fantastic event that will certainly become a local staple.
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| Joe, giving the pre-race briefing. Photo by Keshav Dahiya |
The race expo area was set up in a pretty little park overlooking Lake Poway and Mt. Woodson with sponsors like Injinji, Muscle Milk, Ultima and a local Irish Pub. The scene was set to attack this little beast of an event:
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| Courtesy of www.gutcheckfitness.com |
We were off and running from Lake Poway (1000’) at 8am tearing off down the trail. I lined up towards the front and watched a few people charge the downhill only to blow up right away on the first climb.
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| An all-out effort on Mt. Woodson Photo by Keshav Dahiya |
We were only .75 miles into it rounding the lake when we hit challenge station #1: 10 burpees. Then the climbing began -- both elevation and heart rate! I was anaerobic immediately but implored a run/walk technique for this next section and started to pull away and solidify my 4th-place position.
Then ~1.5-miles in, we hit challenge station #2: 10 tuck-jumps and 10 pushups. From here on it got steep and I did my best to maintain a rhythm of walking and running that would prevent my heart from exploding but keep charging the climbs.
I got to the top of the major ridge and hit challenge station #3: 10 lunge jumps (or was it 20?.. it’s a blur) and hit the trail again for another steep climb section.
Between this challenge station and the top, the first, second and third placed runners passed by heading down the mountain. There were pretty big gaps between each of us, but I just keep trying to take it to the top.
Finally, at the summit, my GPS read 3.6 miles, 45 minutes of elapsed race time and I hit challenge station #4: 25 mountain climbers and then began my descent.
3rd place was pretty far ahead of me and nearly impossible to catch unless they cramped up bad or took a spill so I just decided to bomb the downhill and give it my best try to catch him. I was glad to be wearing my new Skins calf sleeves to help minimize muscle vibration because I did some serious work on the descent with splits of 7:34, 7:32, 7:04.
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| Done and done! |
There were no challenge stations on the return leg, or so I thought, until the base of the final hill up to the finish line -- challenge station #5: 10 burpees. I crossed the finish line with my heart rate skyrocketing and humbled by how tough a 7.2-mile run can actually be. That was awesome!
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| "I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more." | Photo by Keshav Dahiya |
The next event is on 3/26 -- King of the Hill: Iron Mountain and is definitely on my schedule, especially since I am on the series points standings for finishing 3rd in my age group. If you’re local, I hope you’ll join me out there as they have a 3, 6.4, and 9-mile event (+ challenges).
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| Great AG award! |
And if you thought the day couldn’t get any better, I also had the opportunity to test and review some new gear in a race setting during this event. I ran in Skins calf and arm compression sleeves (seen in the above photos) and was very pleased with the fit and performance of both products. I went with a size medium calf sleeve so these are super-tight fitting but not too much so.. they’re the perfect amount of compression for me. I’ve had quite a few people ask me about the benefits of wearing compression during/after running and my top reasons are as follows:
1. Keep my legs warm when its cold out during early morning starts
2. Maintains circulation and prevents cramping
3. Reduce muscle vibration from impact that lessens micro-tearing of muscles
4. Prevents cuts and scrapes from flora and fauna on the trail
5. Helps speed recovery
So loads of good stuff already happening in 2011. I’m completely stoked on how strong the year has begun. Next week, I’m giving an Intro to Trail Running clinic at REI San Diego and again on 2/22 at the Encinitas store. Plus, I just confirmed a photo shoot with Performance Bikes in 2 weeks!
Yours in Adventure,
~T
another gnarly race... i don't expect anything less from you! always going big!!!
keep it up dude!