2019 Deception Pass 50k Race Report | Sore Body, Full Heart
by Nikki Parnell — December 17, 2019
For starters, the scenery up north near the San Juan Islands is absolutely spectacular. The rocky mossy islands with windswept pines and bright green grass jutting out of a deep turquoise sea is something out of a fairytale. The mist rolls through the forest and across the rugged landscape, the water laps the shore, and you look out to the wide expanse of ocean and hope to see a pod of orcas swimming along. It feels very possible. I love this Pacific Northwest place – it makes me question why we live in the muted desert (then I’m reminded of our family and sunshine and I go about my life…for now).
The race started as any other. It entailed me having plenty of time to get ready and yet still finding myself scrambling at the start, fumbling with my race bib, and of course I didn’t even realize the race had begun until the other runners around me were taking off –- oh, maybe I should too! The first 10 miles were my favorite of the whole course. The trails were so entertaining. We were all zipping up and down through a forest playground. We did lollipop loops, ran uphill, ran downhill, over rocks and roots, often passing the lead runners head-on on a single track trail (a bit precarious but like I said, entertaining). The views were incredible, the seagulls at one point were cheering for us, we crossed the Deception Pass Bridge, which was slightly dizzying but awe-inspiring all the same. In these first miles I felt like I was doing a good job of getting into a rhythm of pushing myself whenever I felt the urge and of settling into a sustainable yet quicker pace. Pushing and settling, pushing and settling.
What I did not do well though was take care of myself early on. I didn’t stop at the first two aid stations at miles 5 and 7! I thought I was fine but I only had one water bottle in my pack and quickly after the mile 7 aid station I ran out of water completely, which totally messed with me. I felt so thirsty, somehow already slipping into dehydration, and I had to run to mile 14 before I could refill. Oops! So it was dizziness and a headache for me! I’m usually good about stopping at aid stations, I think this time I got carried away in wanting to stay in the pushing hard zone and in the process completely zoned out on an important element! Won’t do that again. Not without proper fueling.
I also didn’t wear the right clothes. There were numerous times on the course where I felt cold while running. I typically run really warm, I almost never wear gloves unless it’s like single digit temperatures and I’m a big sweater (not like a wool sweater, I mean that I sweat a lot). People know this about me — it’s a Nikki thing, but for whatever reason, on this race day, I couldn’t keep warm in the damp chill. I knew the trails would probably be wet, but the weather app said it wouldn’t rain (though it is the PNW so I should have known). I wore shorts, a short sleeve, a long sleeve, and a trucker hat. I should have worn a shell layer to better keep in the body heat. And I should have worn knee length tights to keep my thighs warm (they were a funny red color).
The mile 14 aid station was the first time I could see my crew, which as always, did wonders in lifting my spirits. They were all there – my parents, Chase, Dash and Belen all cheering, “Go Mama / Nikki / Nicole (my dad still calls me by my full name which I think is sweet). I wasn’t feeling so great at this point though and desperately needed to chug some water. Chase made sure I was all set with two bottles as I left the aid station and headed up a hilly 6.8 mile loop that I would have to do twice.
Somewhere on the first loop there were a couple logs across the trail that I had to hobble awkwardly over, which led to some friendly conversation with a runner behind me. The runner was Wes, a really interesting oceanographer from Lincoln City, Oregon. Quite possibly my first encounter with an oceanographer. We started chatting over the next 16ish miles about everything from Montana to Alaska to kids to college to Treeline Journal to drinking to society’s clinginess to comfort. We were soon joined by Kasha from Poland, a physical therapist and mom, who ran many miles with us too. She set a strong pace even though she had a hurt ankle and rolled it again on a downhill, but still managed to keep going. Those two trail angels found me when I really needed finding. I can say without a doubt that having people to share the journey with made me forget the pain and gave me some spring to my step. The loops passed as quickly as they could have and my runner friends really helped me keep my pace from slipping to a crawl. We were moving well!
I loved coming in to the aid station that we hit at miles 14, 21, and 28 – our kids are super cheerers and make me so happy! Even Belen was yelling “Goooo Ma ma ma!” and I could hear her from quite the distance! These kids have been to a lot of races in their little lives already and they put up with the crew life really well (last week we dragged them south for Chase’s CIM marathon, this week we dragged them the same distance north for my race). They’ll be hardy trail warriors themselves one day I’m sure.
My friend, Jenny, who lives in Oak Harbor but who I know from our days in Bozeman, came out to cheer too and she leant me some extra energy and positive vibes. She ran many long runs with me when our now four-year-old son Dash was just a baby and I was trying to find my stride as a new mother runner! So many things have happened in each of our lives since Bozeman and so the inspiration I get from her, coupled with her familiar face was much appreciated out on the course!
At one point around mile 23 it started to hail in the forest. Again I will say it – cold!! Burr! Wes lent me his light shell, which was honestly a lifesaver. The hail and rain also made for some thick, gloppy mud on the trails and there were a few hills that only allowed an inchworm’s pace to get up them. But get up them we did.
Sooner or later, I found myself on the home stretch with 3 miles to go. There was a little road section, then some more winding through the forest, with me attempting to navigate the roots of death that were threatening to take me and my weak stabilizer muscles out. I tried to put in some little bursts of speed because I always think towards the end of races that, “I’m hurting whether I run fast or slow, so I might as well run quicker so I can be done sooner!”
While still in the forest, I could hear cheering in the distance — always such a relief! The finish line, which was nestled right on the beach came into view as the trees opened up. As I crossed the line in the sand I was pleasantly surprised that I made it under 6 hours! It did feel hilly with 4,500 feet of climbing and I really hadn’t done enough hills in my training (shoulda woulda coulda). And I unintentionally tapered pretty early for this race after we got hit with a ton of snow 3 weeks prior. I guess these training mishaps are along the lines of my final thoughts for this race. I don’t think I’ve really ever trained to RACE an ultra. Ever. I train enough to run them and that’s great! But there’s so much more I could do to run them harder and faster and be prepared for the distance and topography of all these awesome trail races we sign ourselves up for! I’ve tended to get lax in the little kid years — it feels like such a feat to just run enough to make it to a start line. And I’m plenty happy and proud of doing that right now, cause it’s no joke. But someday… someday I’m going to get after it and throw down! Consider yourself warned! It’s coming!
All in all, I loved this race and would HIGHLY recommend it. I would also make the suggestion to everyone to A) stop at aid stations to fuel up (duh!) and B) wear appropriate clothing (double duh!). It’s funny how you can do something so many times and still have to reteach yourself little lessons over and over again. But bottom line, I’m thankful for this race experience on new trails, for RD James Varner and Rainshadow Running for making it happen, for my crew and their constant support, for all the runners I met on the course, and for the post-race soreness that I am blissfully enjoying right now! Feet up, coffee in hand, cozy under the soft glow of the Christmas tree.
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