2015 Bulldog 25K Race on August 22nd Was Fun But I Just Quite Missed My Goal

The sign indicating you are about to encounter pain :)

Having run the Bulldog 25K (and previously 30K) race in Malibu Creek State Park half a dozen times, I must be a glutton for pain coming back for a 7th time on August 22nd. 

The course is one of the most challenging around town, with over 4,000 feet of elevation climb over 15 1/2 miles, including cresting the 2,528 Bulldog peak and dealing with the relentless downhills after reaching the top.

Having not raced particularly much this past year, I hadn't given much thought to doing Bulldog again this year, until I bit the bullet and registered on July 31st. That's not a lot of time to prepare for a tough 25K, but I was pleased to be running fairly injury free for several months and had run (as much as you can run) up Boney Mountain a couple times. I also ran the Bulldog course a couple time slowly, just to gauge the distance. 

Ultimately what prompted me to sign up was that I looked at the course records for the race at trailrunevents.com/bd and noticed that the age group record for my elderly 50 to 54 age group category seemed a bit light at 2:05 and change. I could beat that and get my name forever emblazoned on the Internet, I thought. I ran a 2:02 at age 49, so I figured I could get close.

For months however, my latest ailment is a right knee that has been problematic mostly the first few miles of the morning run. Could be a meniscal tear or something, but it has been on and off for many months. Sure enough, it got worse. Pretty much the day after I signed up for Bulldog, parting ways with $100.

As it got worse, I finally started wearing a patella knee support strap under the knee, which helped me continue running as I decided to see if it would go away on its own, like most ailments do. I noticed it seemed to get worse when I was riding bikes with my kids. Old age can really suck sometimes!

So in any case, the weekend before Bulldog, I go on a road trip to San Diego with my youngest, to see both the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park on back to back days.  It was fun indeed, but my knee pain was escalating, so I couldn't run at all. 

My 9 year old wanted to work out in the hotel gym. I was overseeing him for a bit, then he wanted to jog on the treadmill (which was a complete surprise to me because he has never shown an interest in gyms or treadmills). So I decide, knee brace on, to try the elliptical machine as an alternative to running.

ROOKIE MISTAKE! Only problem is, I'm not a rookie! I'm a veteran! But veterans make mistakes too.  At least in my case.

I could have ellipticaled (or whatever you call it when you use that machine) for 10 minutes or so, but NOOoooo, I decide to go for FIVE MILES on that machine. Stooopid move.

I got off the machine and my legs felt numb, like I was walking on air. But not in a good way. I was going pretty hard on the machine too.

Sure enough. next day, my left ass cheek was sore. Quite sore. Like ran a marathon yesterday sore. And it stayed sore the entire week. Just the left side, not the right, I think because I was overcompensating for my bum right knee.

A little Advil and Aleve gave some temporary relief, but the entire week I felt that soreness and knew that I made a mistake that can't be undone.

The soreness was not as bad on race day, but it was also tight. I was hoping for a miracle and that it would suddenly "open up" for the race. Not that I was running badly or anything. I ran well, But the stiffness in the upper hamstring area impeded my stride, it seemed mostly on the (rare) flat sections of the course and the downhill. Not to mention, I was wearing my right knee brace, but my downhill was slightly impacted by my right knee problem.

So in any case, I gave it my best shot and finished in a respectable 2:06:25, goof for 12th place overall.  I was not far off my race goal, so I'm happy about the performance overall.

The first place woman, 30 year old Caitlin Jacobsen, blew past me mid-way into the freefall descent portion of the race, where you drop roughly 1,500 feet over about 2 1/2 miles. It is brutal as always. I could not keep up with her, but I kept her in my sites, finishing 34 seconds behind her. She ran quite a strong race.

So I looked at the course records again as I typed this and notice that the 5 year age groups have been changed to 10 year age groups.  The 10 year record is 2:02:40, a formidable time on that course run by 56 year old Ron Paquette last year. He ran another awesome time this year at age 57 - a 2:03:29 - good for 8th overall. Kudos to him! 

So, next year, next race, whenever it is, I'll be putting a Post-It on my running shoes that says "Don't Do Something Stupid!" 

Happy With My Performance at Bulldog 25K in Agoura Hills Yesterday

Yesterday I finished my 6th Bulldog 25K (and previous 30K) course in a respectable time of 2 hours, 56 seconds**, good for 9th place overall. I had some tough competition in the 10 year 40 to 49 year age group, with a 44 year old 2 1/2 minutes (7th place) ahead of me and a 45 year old a minute (8th place) ahead of me, the 49 year old geezer, at the finish.

** Due to an unexpected illness the original times across the board were adjusted by 1 minute, 31 seconds for everyone in the race, so the time has been changed to 2 hours, 2 minutes, 27 seconds. Still happy with it.

The picture above was taken when I jogged this course a few weeks. All summer long there's a marine layer but, wouldn't you know, no such luck on race day. It was clear blue skies and fairly high temps the whole way, with some reprieve with ocean breezes after cresting the 2,528 foot Bulldog peak. The course has over 4,000 feet of elevation climbs over its 15.5 miles. Equally brutal are the pounding downhills, which brought grief to my big toes, particularly my left big toe, yesterday. I'll need to revisit my choice of shoes next time.

I was quite pleased with my performance as aside from running trails and some hills in training, I've done nothing noteworthy, no tempo runs, speedwork, etc. Just plodding along, 40 miles a week, holding my camera to take pictures. My right hamstring is still a bit touch and go but it is manageable. The time was about 5 minutes faster than my time in last year's 25K. If I enter next year and stay healthy, the 50+ crown perhaps can be mine! :)

The unofficial results show the winner, 23 year old Geoff Burns coming in a mild boggling 1:35:48, which would be a course record by over 6 minutes! I believe he recently ran a 15:22 5K, so he definitely has the speed. He was 6 1/2 minutes of the 2nd place finisher. Pretty spectacular performance.

There's another good reason for me to run again next year. The 50 year course record is 2:05. If I maintain my current fitness level and don't get run over by a bus in the next 12 months, that record will be mine...

Learn more about the Bulldog 50K/25K races at www.trailrunevents.com/bd.

P.S. Thanks to K.K. for the positive inspiration :)

Slow But Steady Paid Off on Saturday at the Bulldog 25K Trail Run

I've talked about the Bulldog 25K/50K Trail Runs a number of times in this blog. But in summary, it is a challenging loop/double-loop course run entirely within Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, with each loop having a total elevation climb of nearly 4,000 feet, including the climb up 2,528 foot Bulldog Mountain.

Since coming back from my post eye-surgery 5 1/2 week hiatus 5 months ago, my training got off to a rusty start and has been steady, but not memorable. I did get in several 10 mile runs as well as a slow 2 hour run that I counted for 14 miles back on July 28th. I also ran up Boney Mountain very slowly on July 6th. But nothing intense that would fully prepare for the hammering that took place this past Saturday on the Bulldog 25K course.

So cutting to the chase, I ran the 25K race on Saturday without incident in a reasonable 2 hours, 6 minutes, good for 2nd Male Master overall, 1 minute away from the first place master.

I gave it my best shot. My fitness level is back to I'd say about 75% of where it used to be. I still don't have the speed I used to have, so I gave up a lot of ground in the early going of this race. And my timing was a bit off so I had to make an unscheduled pit stop on behalf of my bladder. But hey, we were running in the wilderness so no big deal :>

The uphills of Bulldog are brutal, just brutal. Relentless. You start thinking, about halfway up: "Why am I here? I could be sleeping right now. What did I do to deserve this? Are we there yet? How much further?" as you start the long, steady, climb up the mountain. For the most part, the surfaces are ok, but there are some sections at the top where you're running downhill on the rock face of the mountain.

With age and experience comes the wisdom to conserve your energy running uphill on a course like this because, having run the race now 5 or 6 times....once your mojo is gone, you're toast. And I saw this happen to someone on Saturday. The guy with the knee high black socks.

There was a guy that looked like he was 10 years my junior that reminded me of me last year. I passed him at some point, maybe the 6 or 7 mile mark, on an uphill. He was walking. Looked like maybe he blew a gasket...like I did last year. Then came a downhill and he just hammered it past me. I thought, if the rest of the course is downhill, he's got me. But I knew there was plenty of uphill to go.

Sure enough, the next uphill he walked as I slowly but steadily dug in. Nothing fast, nothing fancy. Just shortened the stride, kept the pace even and kept the forward progression up the hill. Then he blew by me again on the downhill. This happened 4 or 5 times until finally he didn't appear at the the next downhill. It was actually kind of fun for me and it kept my mind off the soreness in my calves and quads. But I was now alone....for a bit.

And then the most extreme of the downhills came. You think downhills are easy, but this one is like dropping from a plane. I'm sitting here Monday night at the computer and my shins are still sore from the pounding.  Yet another young buck flew by me on this section of the race to my surprise. I was able to keep him in my sights for awhile, while grimacing through the steepest of the downhills, but ultimately he got away.

Bulldog doesn't end when you hit the bottom. There are some more tricky, hilly, twists and turns until you hit the flats...then there's about a mile of running until the finish...of the 25K (the 50Kers of course run another lap).

I was in pain at the end, but a good pain. Yet again, the Bulldog 25K chewed me up and spit me out, leaving me itching to train harder next year and drop below 2 hours.

By the way, the support along this course is fantastic. They go out of their way to take care of you, both 25K and 50K. They required us to carry at least 20 oz of fluids during this year's race after the extreme heat of last year's Bulldog. They refilled my bottle with icy cold water. I was quite impressed!

2011 Bulldog 25K Lived Up to Expectations...Hot and Brutal!

Such a nice, temperate summer this year. One of the coolest summers I can remember...until LAST WEEKEND, my longest AND hilliest run of the entire year for me. In fact, I haven't run 15.5 miles (25K) since the Tucson Marathon last December and I ran a couple 5Ks earlier this summer. Sheesh!

Well, all things considered, I had a great time. Didn't take the Bulldog 25K too seriously this year, especially given the heat topping 90 to 100 degrees. My lack of heat training took its toll before I reached the aid station at the 7.5 mile mark. I was toast around mile 7 and for the most part walked all uphills and a handful of downhills after that. Was happy to jog it in in 2 hours, 22 minutes, good for 15th place overall.

The winner nailed the course in 1 hour 56 minutes, 6 minutes slower than last year but very impressive regardless. Even more impressive was the 3rd place finisher, 39 year old Anissa Faulker, who set the women's course record in 2 hours, 19 seconds. Wow! The top 3 in the 50K finished in 4:04 to 4:08...EXTREMELY impressive and in the HEAT!

I froze a bottle of Gatorade the night before the race, which started at 7:30 a.m. It was completely thawed out within 30 minutes. I just couldn't seem to keep enough fluids in and felt like I was going to get a heat stroke. A nice woman poured some icy cold water over my head at the aid station at mile 7.5 and boy was that refreshing. But...it didn't have a lasting effect.

An outstanding age group marathoner friend of mine refuses to run a marathon in the heat after a bad experience at the Los Angeles Marathon 20 years ago. Obviously one needs to train in the heat (or simulated heat...e.g. run in sweats) to race well in the heat. But I personally just don't enjoy that. Give me cool weather, or give me a beer!

So getting back to the race, I finished on a gimpy note. My big left toe has a recurring soreness after hilly, hard races and my psoas muscle continues to act up...in fact, it was subtly bothering me during the race. Not enough to stop me, but enough to distract and irritate me. That's the breaks. But I'm THRILLED to have completed my longest, hardest run so far this year!

Would I go back? Certainly. This damn brutal course is irresistable. And the views at the top are to die for. Next time I'll bring my camera.

On a side note, I left Malibu Creek State Park to get home and start the recuperation process when I was pleasantly surprised by a convalcade of over 400 motorcycles...the 4th Annual West Valley Memorial Ride.

Some scenes before the race below.

Running the Bulldog 25K Tomorrow on the Hottest Day of the Summer

What am I crazy? Well I guess I'm not the only crazy one as I run the Bulldog 25K trail run in Agoura tomorrow morning, in particular those who are running the 50K! This race in the hills of Malibu Creek State Park has 2 ascents up 2,528 ft elevation Bulldog Mountain. With a net elevation climb of 4,000 feet, this course is not just challenging...it is BRUTAL. And the 50Kers are running the loop course TWICE.

What makes this particularly nutty is that tomorrow is one of the hottest days of the year and an excessive heat watch was issued for the area (see below). What this means is that I have to really focus on hydration. Normally I don't carry fluid bottles in races. This race I'll be making an exception for (though in prior years I have not carried a bottle through the race).

I am not in particularly well-trained shape. I was given a free entry to this year's race and decided it would be fun. YEARS AGO I won the race a couple times, which is why I get a freebie. Two years ago I had planned to run the 50K for the first time but injuries prevented me from doing the 2nd loop. But I finished the single loop, walking/jogging portions of the course, in 2 hours, 12 minutes.

The 50K starts at 6:30am, when the temps dip to their "low" of 67 degrees. 50Kers will finish between 10:30am (85 degrees) and 3:30pm (94 degrees). Absolutely brutal in and of itself, not even factoring in the massive hills (and by the way, the downhill is as killer as the uphill). The 25K starts at 7:30am (about 70 degrees). If all goes well I'll be done by 9:30am, right about when the temps start hitting the 80 degree range.

I hate running in the heat. But too late to wimp out :>  Stay cool and think about me and the 500 other crazy runners in Agoura tomorrow morning!

Excessive Heat Watch for Los Angeles County San Fernando Valley

Issued by The National Weather Service
Los Angeles, CA

Fri, Aug 26, 2011, 7:57 PM PDT

EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...

* HEAT INDEX VALUES... HEAT INDEX VALUES MAY RISE TO AROUND 105 DEGREES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS SATURDAY AND REMAIN ABOVE 105 UNTIL EARLY SATURDAY EVENING.

* TIMING... SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY EVENING.

* IMPACTS... HEAT RELATED ILLNESS AND FATIGUE WILL BECOME MORE PREVALENT DURING PERIODS OF EXCESSIVE HEAT... ESPECIALLY FOR THE HOMELESS... ELDERLY... AND THOSE WHO WORK OR ARE ACTIVE OUTDOORS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUN... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

More Information

... POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS HEAT EXPECTED OVER THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS...

.A LARGE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES WILL CONTINUE TO BRING HOT TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT BRING INCREASING RELATIVELY HUMIDITIES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HEAT INDEX VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO CLIMB THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND COULD HIT CRITICAL LEVELS OVER THE VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY... ESPECIALLY ON SATURDAY. IN ADDITION... OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURE WILL BE WARMER THAN NORMAL.