Diablo 25

Yesterday was day 0.
The day of the PCTR Diablo 25k.
For me this was a special event for two reasons: First it was the first trail run I signed up for, and second it was the longest event I ever signed up for.
I could definitely have trained more for this race though, especially since the profile was quite nasty. Almost 4500ft of elevation gain, most of it in the first half of the course. Well, I had gotten most of my mileage in on perfectly flat grounds right at the Bay.

Anyway.

The start was scheduled for 8:30, so Lesley picked me up around 6:45. Sunday mornings are nice, since it's pretty much the only time in the Bay Area, that is not crazy with traffic. It took us about 55 minutes to get the the Mitchell Canyon trailhead in Concord. After picking up our bibs we sat down in the shade and waited for the start. The organization of the run was amazing, and all the folks around were super nice... Although there was an aid-station every 8km, the organizers insisted, that the runners took water along. Given the temperatures in the high 80's this was absolutely justified.

After a few words of motivation and a short description of the course the race started at 8:30 sharp. The course followed mostly a single trail from the Mitchell Canyon trailhead to the summit of Mt. Diablo. I thought it was a little disappointing that it was a single track, right after the start, since it led to quite a 'traffic jam'. Soon enough it became steep enough though, that essentially everyone was walking. It took me about 1:20 to get to the aid station at mile 5. I was almost right on my plan, which consisted of being at mile 5 at 1:30, at the summit (turn around point) at 2:00 and back at the finish at 3:00. I spent a few minutes at the station refilling my bottle and eating some pretzels and some candy. I also had two cups of Gatorade.
The next section of the course was amazing: it led slightly downhill through some meadows. It was a good cruising experience! After an other uphill section, exactly 2:00 into the run I reached the summit, turned around and headed back to the aid station. 15 minutes later the runner behind me heard me screaming! I had rolled my left ankle and was swearing quite a bit!
While he was going by he made sure I was ok, before heading off. I walked a bit, but was able to resume the run soon enough. Back at the feeding grounds I knocked back some Cokes, Pretzels and a few Clif Shot Bloks. After refilling my water bottle I started downhill again. The course back was different from the uphill section, mostly following a pretty steep fire road. Too steep for me! It showed that I hadn't done much hill work in my preparation and also the heat really started to take a tribute. All the way down I had to deal with cramps. Once one leg was fine, after stretching and walking the other one would cramp up. Again, the other runners were super nice and supportive, when they saw me struggling down the mountain. Finally the trail leveled out again, and I was able to resume running. Of course the second half of the run took way longer than anticipated, so it took me about 3:51,58 to complete the 25km.
The 14:58 pace is nothing to be proud of, but it felt quite good to complete this event!
I'll make sure to run more hills before the next trail event!

Since my legs are quite tired today, and my knees are pretty shot I'll take it easy on them in the next few days, probably only climbing at the gym, or doing some yoga.