"The Rockefeller Forest within Humboldt State Park is the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coast redwood forest in the world. This 10,000-acre ancient forest is one of the crown jewels of the California State Park system. Walking through these forests is like taking a step back in time. Here, it is easy to imagine what this area must have looked like when the first explorers came upon it.

The oldest tree found in this park is 2200 years old. The tallest tree in the Rockefeller Forest is 362 feet high. Although there may be taller trees here, none have been measured and confirmed. When you walk through the forest however, measurements don't seem very important.

Here among the giants, you can watch the sun's rays dapple the bark of ancient trees and illuminate the intense green of the understory. You may hear a raven or a winter wren. The wind will send showers of redwood leaves down on the trail. You will hear a nearby creek gurgling on its way to the river. Animal tracks on the trail will tell you who has been here before you. You may wonder how these forests looked when the first explorers encountered them."





So much to report, so little time to write. Mrs. Labduck and I took the easy route to Humboldt County: we flew in early and spent several days exploring this remarkable area. It was another fantastic weekend with the Boomers, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. A chance to meet up again with the usual Oregon suspects: Econo, Tammy, and John. My second opportunity to meet the Forwards: the mesmerizing Ilene & the entertaining Fast (along with BIL Forward); and the charismatic Karl. And my first time meeting the beautiful and vivacious Sherie Ranier, and the charming and gentlemanly SLOJim. And I also met hup (one of our moderators) and his pals. Great guys all. A weekend I?ll always remember!

This was my third half marathon ever, and my first goal race for the year. I was shooting to run this in under 1:30:00, and my training went well. My 10-mile race three weeks ago predicted that this goal was doable, so I was prepared to rock The Ave. That was until we drove the course the day before. Oh-oh. The road was not good for about 10 of the 13.1 miles. Broken up asphalt with lots of ridges and potholes. Essentially, this was going to be more a trail run than road race. The course was an out-and-back, with a 200-foot elevation gain going out, so my race strategy became simple. Go out in 46 minutes, and come back in under 44:00.

Fashion report: Silver Nike Air Zoom Milers with blue and red trim (btw, I discovered afterwards the wrong shoes to run this race), red Nike shorts, and a white and blue Race Ready singlet. And my trusty Garmin 205. First time I?ve worn a singlet since early October, so my pasty skin sort of matched the white of the singlet.

I started near the front of the group of about 1000 runners and quickly settled into a comfortable pace. The running was difficult since I had to watch where I was placing each step, but I managed to keep my pace where I wanted to (~7:01/mi), and I only turned my ankle twice on the way out. But my ankles are pretty tough, and they didn?t become sprains, so I hit the halfway mark at 45:53. Right on pace.

On the back portion, I settled into a 6:50/mi pace for the next two miles, and I felt good. I see and hear my fellow Boomers as we pass each other on my way back, and that gives me a lift. I am thinking that sub 1:30:00 may still happen despite the road conditions.

Then I hit mile 9. I noticed my pace is starting to climb back up (~ 6:54/mi), so I start trying to run a bit faster. But my pace keeps getting slower. And I am running downhill! What the heck is going on? I feel like I?m running in quicksand, and the crazy thing is, I feel okay. I?m befuddled.

I hit mile 10 and get passed for the first time since the beginning of the race. This is getting ugly. I realize now that I?m not going to break 1:30:00, so I tell myself to relax a bit, enjoy the scenery, and don?t lose sight of the guy who passed me. I am now running through the aforementioned Rockefeller Forest, and it really is amazing, so I made a conscious decision to enjoy the rest of the race. I looked behind me and saw no one close, so I relaxed a bit. I took my Garmin 205 out of pace mode since I really didn?t care about my pace anymore. I didn?t give up, since I was determined to keep the man who passed me in my sight, I just began enjoying the race.

The next two miles are kind of a blur, but when we hit mile 12, I went back to racing mode. I made an effort to speed up, and this time my body responded. I think the two-mile ?mental? break I took revived me. I re-passed the guy who passed me earlier with about 1/2 mile to go. I then was able to pass two more in the next 1/4 mile. Finally, I see the finishing area, and I managed to sprint in the last 100 yards. I see 1:31:47 on the clock as I hit the mat.

I see Econo right after I finished, and she tells me that there were not many others who came in before me. This didn?t really register since I was a bit disappointed for not running faster than 1:30:00. I was happier for her that she got 3rd in her AG for the 10K!

Then I checked the results:
1:31:45 (new PR)
20th Overall (883 finishers)
3rd in Age Group (26 finishers)

Holy cow! I can?t believe I ran that slowly and finished 20th and got AG hardware to boot! I then realized that the other runners had problems with this course too. So my disappointment over not meeting my goal evaporated just like that. I?m okay with how I did. And I got a cool AG medal!

Then I had the best beer I?ve had in a long, long, time.




http://This message has been edited by Labduck (edited May-08-2007).