« Pre-Race | Main | Stage 2: Water and Wind »
February 23, 2007
Stage 1: "Welcome To The Jungle"
Route: La Fortuna to Rancho Margot
Estimated Distance: 26k
The lyrics for this Guns N' Roses song would be quite appropriate for this day. About 5k into this race, we were introduced to the jungle in an awesome bring-you-to-your-knees kind of way.
But anyway, back to the beginning. The alarm went off at about 3:30 am for a 4:30 am departure from the race headquarters hotel in San Jose. The scene outside the hotel was a crazy one at this early hour, a mixture of dozens of race-ready runners wandering around nervously, enough gear to support a Costa Rican Army if they had one, and an abundant race staff bustling around doing what looked like very important things. The racers piled into a big bus, the gear into 2 huge trucks, and race staff into a slough of 4x4 vehicles for the drive north from San Jose to La Fortuna, where the race would start.
3 or 4 hours and a few cat naps later, we arrived in La Fortuna with ample time to before the 10 am race start. It was a beautiful little town perched at the base of 2 volcanoes, Volcan Arenal (still active) and Cerro Chato (now extinct). We couldn't see much of the mountains because they disappeared into misty clouds. We knew that we must be going up there, somewhere.
By 10 am, the town's central plaza had been transformed into a well-decorated, noisy, boisterous starting line. There, we were able to read our "Shout Outs" from the race website, so I received some great last-minute git-er-dun encouragement from people like you. The race started and we jogged slowly out of the plaza and down a few paved roads toward the cloud-shrouded mountains. For a few miles, even the leaders jogged at a very slow pace. It was as if no one wanted to make the first move and head out hard.
The eventual no-contest-hands-down female race winner, Beverly Anderson-Abbs, finally made the first move, passing all the dudes and setting the pace as the group headed gently uphill, now on a dirt road. It was entertaining to watch all the guys react and move along with her. No one much wanted to get chicked from the get-go.
I passed Checkpoint (CP) 1 at about 5k into the race without stopping, a nearly full Camelbak on my back. Almost immediately after the CP, the route turned into trail that climbed straight up Cerro Chato. Within minutes I was deep into the jungle, now surrounded by those same misty clouds I was looking up at a little while ago. It was cool but so very humid. The trail was muddy, steep, and technical, a total blast to climb.
When I hit the steeps, I settled into a steady uphill pace. There was no actual running on this section. It was more like climbing giant, vertical, muddy steps while grabbing trees and roots to help pull you up! I had no idea how far we were climbing, so I wanted to find a comfortable pace that I could sustain for a few thousand vertical feet if I needed to. In this uphill section, I was passed by a lot of people. I started to worry, a lot! Those way-out-of-my-league thoughts danced through my head, as did other thoughts of chasing the several women that had passed me on this uphill. However, I told myself to run my own race, and so I stuck to my plan even though I was getting schooled.
Once at the top of the climb, the route contoured along what seemed like a ridgeline. Who really knows, though, as we were surrounded in thick jungle and cloudy mist. The trail on top was also muddy and filled with roots. At times, I was ankle deep in mud. After a bit, the route fell off the mountain as steeply as it had originally climbed. It was equally muddy, root-filled, technical, and fun to play on. I easily descended this stuff, gaining ground on a lot of people who had passed me on the uphill, including 3 women. In the end, this was a traverse of the entire Cerro Chato.
After some undisclosed distance, the route emptied onto a dirt road which gradually rolled and descended towards Lake Arenal and into CP2. From CP2 (where I added water and a few Nuun tablets to my Camelbak and ate a few pieces of fruit), we continued to roll along and gently descend into a little village. All of this was runable with little effort. Down here, off the mountain and at lower elevation, it was less humid but much hotter. From this village near the edge of Lake Arenal, the route turned uphill steeply onto first a dirt road then a scarce horse/cattle track past said livestock. They were friendly and generally uninterested in our passing. This hill, too, was crazy steep and everyone was doing the ultra-powerwalk. I'm known for running a lot of stuff that most people walk, but I indulged in the easier powerwalk also.
Eventually, I topped out on the climb and ended the day by running down an equally steep livestock track into the day's finish line at a place called Rancho Margot. The route was so steep that you could look almost straight down on the finish line. I was elated to finish Stage 1 as the 3rd female.
About 50 meters from the finish line, there was a natural pool filled with cool water. I just jumped into it, my entire muddy, sweaty, dirty self. What a treat after 2 good climbs and descents! After that, I took a shower and, quite literally, spent the rest of the day resting, stretching, massaging, eating, and drinking. What a rough life!
In terms of nutrition, I had brought a stash of Ensure drinks for immediately after each stage (2 per day). After that, I relied on the food and drink provided by the race to reenergize and rehydrate. There was always ample food for snacking around whenever you wanted it! Additionally, the race staff cooked a gargantuan, buffet-style dinner each night where you could eat as much as you wanted.
I should also add that I relied on gels and a liquid mix of Accelerade and Nuun for calories and electrolytes on this day. I sampled a few bites of fruit from CP2 as well. I would quickly learn during this race that my body rejects solid food when running in warm temperatures. As the week progressed, this stuff would become my staples during each stage.
The finish line was our camping spot, and it was also the Stage 2 starting line. It, like every day, was a regular tent city, filled with tents and the bustle of runners doing their business. Though we camped in a most beautiful setting, the camp was anything but quiet and peaceful. I will say that it was fun, though, because it was filled with crazy runners hailing from all over the world.
At the end of the day, at the late hour of about 8 pm, we were stuffed into our little tent for a night of already well-deserved rest. I felt a bit of general physical fatigue as well as a little quad soreness from the 2 descents. I was mentally in a very good place. I was several minutes ahead of both the 4th and 5th place women, and very happy with my performance for the day. I fell asleep a happy girl.
Posted by Meghan at February 23, 2007 1:34 AM
Comments
This reminds me of reading chapter books to the boys when they were little. We'd come to the end of the chapter and they would beg for more...now I know how they felt. I want to read it all in one huge gulp!
What an incredible experience you had! That's the best part about running - seeing places you would never see otherwise - even if you travel to the area, running shows off all the nooks and crannies and out-of-the-way spots.
I'm anxiously awaiting the next chapter...
Posted by: backofpack at February 23, 2007 6:19 AM
Man you had a great race and what an adventure. Congratulations on a third place finish!!!!!!!! Maybe you got a little $$$$ for it also? Great reading about your race, thanks!
tom riley
Posted by: tom riley at February 23, 2007 11:28 AM
Way to go!
Jenny
Posted by: Jenny at February 23, 2007 5:24 PM