After two years of setbacks I finally got off the start of my first trail race at The Golden State 50k in Fort Ord National Park. I ran the 10k and had set a goal of 1:15:00 and smashed that finishing in 1:07:33! I also came in 4th in my age group (40-49). Amazingly, I ran a faster pace than at Bay to Breakers in May which was on the road. Looking at my data, I definitely was in race mode, which was a goal. My effort pace was faster than my typical road pace and I ran in aerobic endurance (169-175) and anaerobic power (>175) pretty evenly for 70% of the race.
It was also the first event I got to run with my Fleet Feet Monterey training group — many of whom were running the 1/2, 30k, and 50k distances — which felt amazing. The running community and event vibe is what made me make a hard pivot from bike racing to running.
