An Interview with Caitlin Smith

Catlin Smith has exploded onto the national ultra-scene this year. After easily winning her first ultra on her hometown trails at the Sequoia 50k, Caitlin made a name for herself on the national stage by winning the über-competitive Way Too Cool 50k and a string of Bay Area ultras and remains unbeaten at the 50k distance.

Please talk about your evolution as a runner and how you got into ultrarunning.

I grew-up dancing, but in sixth grade the track coach insisted that I try running. He told me I was a distance runner and that I should try the mile. Ummm, yeah, 100 meters and I was literally out of breath and walking. I think I ran the 4x100 relay that year at a few meets, insisting that I was NOT a distance runner. In high school I continued to run track. Once again I had a coach that tried to get me to run farther and during workouts she would always have me run more miles than everyone else. It was in high school that I joined cross-country and truly started running farther and enjoying it. My track coach from sixth grade saw me out running one summer, pulled over, rolled down his window and said, "I thought you weren't a distance runner?" I just had to smile. I slowly started to really fall in love with running and obviously I've been doing it ever since. I ran two marathons, one in 2002 (Grandma's) and the other in 2003 (Boston). When I moved out to California that is when I found trail running, my escape from the chaos of city living. I ran my first trail run in 2006. I did a few more in 2007. A ton of 20k's in 2008. And, then bumped it up to 50k's and beyond this year. That's my evolution to ultrarunning.

It is widely known in the community that Will Gotthardt acts as your mentor and coach. How did this relationship get started?

Will ran behind me in a few races last year. He was doing the 50k's while I was doing the 20k's. We would find ourselves chatting here and there. He told me I would do really well at the ultras, which I had on my agenda for 2009. Then at the beginning of this year, Will gave me a ride to Pacifica, seeing that I don't have a car. My 30k didn't go so hot. I bonked in the last few miles and I had to walk a ton. On the ride back, Will told me that water, electrolytes, and fuel were going to change that (and yes, they did). I had a lot of doubt about my abilities and the transition, but Will really believed in me. His best question, "you know you're fast right?" My response, "umm well" (which pretty much means “no”). We started training together and he got my splits figured out for my first 50k, Sequoia. Ironically, I came in faster than all my splits and ended up passing Will during that race (neither planned, seriously). Now, we continue to run together and push each other. We're also just good friends.

Caitlin and Will Gotthardt

You have won not one (Way To Cool) but two (Miwok) automatic entries for Western States. However, you have decided not to enter. Tell us about your decision and whether WS is a goal race for you in the future.

I am not ready. My goal this year was not to do Western States. I just wanted to try ultrarunning. There are several reasons for my decision, but mainly I want to be prepared mentally and physically for that race. And, when I do run it, I want to run it really well. I think it will be a race in my future, but again not until my heart and body are in it 100%.

What does your average training week look like? What are you favorite cross-training activities?

I don't think I have an average training week. It seems to vary, somewhere between 60-90 miles. Some weeks I run 7 days, others more like 6 (as I learn that resting is good), and sometimes 5 with races and so forth. When I go out and run, I try to just pay attention to how my body feels. When it feels like going fast, I run fast and when I am dragging, I take it easy. I tend to follow the hard-easy rule. If you run hard one day, then next day you take it easy. As for cross-training, I don't own a car, so I walk and bike to work. I swim. And I practice yoga and pilates.

Please talk about how important yoga is to your running.

Yoga has transformed my running. My breathing, focus, flexibility both mentally and physically, awareness, and joy have all blossomed with yoga. Also, I tend to be a go-go kind of person, so yoga balances me out. It slows me down (at least a little). My yoga practice always reminds me how grateful I am to have a body that can move and run.

What are your favorite foods for training and running?

Ummm yeah, Clif Shot Bloks are basically a staple and honestly, I haven't found much else that works while I am actually running other than chocolate milk. I really like these things called Suncakes for pre-race meals along with yogurt and cereal. Overall, I am a vegetarian minus cheese, post-vegan, and possibly future carnivore. I just eat what my body craves and try to mix it up.

What runners do you admire?

All runners, really. Of course there are some that come to mind too like Bev Anderson-Abbs, Kami Semick, Ann Trason, and there are some guys on the list too, but I'll keep those to myself.

Caitlin competing with one of her idols, Bev Anderson-Abbs, at Way Too Cool

Do you have any advice for other runners looking to make the jump to ultras?

Be patient and consistent, listen to your body, have fun, be social, do yoga and pilates, cross-train, sleep, take naps, eat good food, rest, believe in your body and mind, find a training partner, breathe, swim, bike... and of course there are logistics, so talking with someone that has done one makes the transition much easier.

The SF Bay Area has a plethora of tails. What are your favorite trails/parks?

French Trail in Redwood Park is my ultimate favorite trail. [That sucker is hard. – The editor]. I love running and tend to run a lot in Redwood, Tilden, and Chabot, but put me on any trail and I am happy.

Caitlin finishing her first 50k (Sequoia)…beating the blog author by a solid hour in the process :)

What is your favorite race and why?

I try not to pick favorites and just try to enjoy them all.

What are your running plans and goals this fall, next year and in the long run (pun!)?

After Ohlone 50k [which Caitlin won in CR time this past weekend – The Editor], I am going to focus back on some shorter runs, which are part of La Sportiva's Mountain Cup. The finale of this year will be the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler. There is also potential that I will do the TransRockies run in August. But if not this year, possibly next.
Do you have any dream races?

Not a race, but I'd like to run across the United States via trails, ideally no roads.

Thank you for your time, Caitlin, good luck and keep smiling!

Running in Santiago de Chile

Hola! (Doing my best to assimilate).

As you may remember from an earlier post, I am on a school-work type thing in Santiago de Chile. In short, companies around the world hire Berkeley MBA students every year to consult on a variety of projects. Right now, we have people in places like Laos, Liberia, South Africa, Finland, Easter Island, Zambia,...., and, of course, here in Santiago. (If you want to read more, check out our class blog or this Wall Street Journal article).

On to the actual blog post. Anticipating this trip, I was very unsure of how much I would get to run down here. Unfamiliarity with South America in general and Santiago in particular fueled my concerns of potentially not being able to get in any miles (or very few). Fortunately, that has turned out to be not the case. There are several things I learned though.

No Runners
I have been here four full days now and live in a very busy neighborhood, however runners are basically non-existent (I can count the total number I have seen in four days on one hand...try that in any US city). People look at you like an alien when you're running. I have even had some schoolgirls mimic my running and giggle... None of that will stop me, of course.

Smog The air in this place is POLLUTED. There are no ifs and buts about it. Frankly, I have never seen anything like it. L.A. (which has the worst air pollution in the U.S.) is child's play compared to what's going on here. The smog has definitely caused me to slow down a bit, but it ain't gonna stop this runner.

This is a sunny day. I wish I were kidding.

Safety Not an issue. Whatsoever. I know plenty of US cities that are less safe to run in (comparing downtown areas). Atlanta is one of them.

Dogs
In a city of seven million, there are an estimated one million stray dogs roaming the streets. For the most part, I have found them to be friendly (i.e. they won't attack, chase or bark). There was one exception, but I was crossing a construction site that probably wasn't supposed to be crossed. There, I had a couple of mean-looking doggies bark at me from about 100 yards. I yelled back, picked up a rock and got the heck out of there. Fortunately, they didn't follow.

Trails I have found trails! They are right near downtown, and I enjoyed some wonderful miles on them on Sunday. Of course, it's winter here, so it's still dark until I leave for work and dark when I get home. I won't be running them in the dark, since there are, well, no trail maps.

All in all, I am very happy that I get to run here, while my mileage will probably be moderate at best. That's better than no miles at all!

P.s. I have a very cool interview in store for you. Check back in a couple of days.

Pacing at the Beautiful Santa Cruz Half-Marathon

With a little delay I am finally getting a chance my report on the Santa Cruz Half-Marathon. This one was all about the lady. She had trained hard for many months to get ready for this event, and I was anxious to see her do well here.

We decided to drive down the morning of the event, making for a very early wake-up call. Somewhere near San Jose, it was finally late enough (6 a.m.) to score some coffee at Starbucks (not quite Peet's, but who cares?). As we arrived in Santa Cruz, I was quietly reminiscing about my college days when I went on a much talked about bike trip along part of the California coast. I distinctly remember not wanting to leave Santa Cruz.

We got there early enough to get a great parking spot and quickly got our numbers, which we pinned on ultra style (folded). You got to represent, ya know? My job today would be to pace the lady and more importantly keep her company. I took a ton of pictures, which I will just let speak for themselves (that's 1,000 words each!).

not used to crowds anymore...they're like picture-worthy

trail > pavement

The Lady ran the race very consistently and finished very, very strong for a PR leaving me in the dust as we approached the finish line (she finished five or six places ahead of me! :)).

In all, this is a fantastic race, part of which is even run on a trail. It doesn't get much flatter than this around here and the beauty of the race definitely rivals some trail runs.

P.s. Lots of travel and finals are eating up my time, so the entries and reports are going to have to be much shorter than usual.

How Running Has Changed My Life

Over on irunfar.com, an interesting question was raised:

How's has running changed your life? I'm not talking about how it may have helped you improve your health, become more confident, or the like. Nope. I want to know if and when your love of running, in whatever form, has been a deciding factor in a major life decision. Did you choose your college because you could run on the cross country team? Have you ended a relationship... or gotten married because of running? Have you ever moved across town... or across the country to be closer to better running grounds? Ever taken or not taken a job based on how it would affect your running?

To answer this question I have to go all the way back to how I started running. (Trust me, this goes beyond me getting healthier, slimmer, nuttier, etc....just hear me out). As you may know, I attended college in Atlanta, GA, and my undergrad institution required that we take four PE classes. I chose to take, no, not running, but swimming.

At the beginning of the course, they made us all swim a work out and based on the results put us in particular lanes based on our skill level for the rest of the semester. I ended up in a lane with three ladies, one of whom struck my fancy. Eventually, I managed to ask her (completely out of breath, mind you, she was in better shape than me) what she liked doing in her free time. "Running," she said. "Me too!" I replied, which was a complete lie. Of course, I asked whether she wanted to go running together some time. Clearly, I wasn't fully in control of my senses, since I had never run more than one continuous mile in my life. Ever.

She wanted to go the next day, but I pushed back to the following week, immediately embarking on a ridiculous training regimen (one, two even three miles in one day) that left we sore, tired and exhausted for our date. She crushed me (get it?). I was hooked on the girl and running. All this happened almost nine years ago.

Later this summer, I will be getting married to girl "from swim class.'

This is how running changed my life.

Skyline 2 Sea 50k - Simply A "Must Do" Race

Well, you read the title already. That's not just a suggestion, but a strong recommendation. Let's start at the beginning.

My first job of the morning actually started the night before. Mark Tanaka had left for the coast on Saturday to get in a little vacation time with his family and forgotten his shorts. So, I brought all of my clean running shorts not knowing what would really fit him. Mark showed up in Hawaiian type board shorts and generally looked ridiculous. Here's proof:

Before

after

We had actually never met in person and used the 75 minute bus ride to the start to catch up on everything from running to chess to the swine flu. (Btw, the man is just as funny in person as his blog writing suggests). In general, this race was a great re-union of the ultra-community. I was able to meet so many people I have met in the blogosphere in person (Caitlin, Addy, Mark, etc.), reconnect with acquaintances (Will G.) and get to know new people (Rick, Nathan, etc.). I'm sure, I'm leaving people out here and I'm sorry. The point is that the community aspect of ultra-running was especially pronounced during this race. And I really enjoyed that. On to the race.

Having run my best season so far and facing a course playing to my strength (lots of downhill), my hopes were high for this one. I felt confident that my PR (5:24 - Sequoia) would fall and really hoped to make a run at at a sub-5.

Right after the start

However, the race didn't start well. As at Rucky Chucky, I couldn't get my breath under control on the initial downhills and generally did not feel good. My legs were heavy, and I just felt out of it. Soon I would pay for my lack of focus, missed a turn and kept going up and up instead of down and down. Lost about 12 mins here.

However, this wasn't all that bad, since I snapped back to reality and focused on downhill running. I flew through Aid 2 and arrived at Aid 3 in fairly good shape (about 2:11), but I could also feel the effects of probably going a little too fast in an effort to catch up on my lost time. Time to climb, eat and relax. I took my time at Aid 4, because the next section would be long and I was tired.

Before the slump

Soon after that aid, I missed a turn again and lost another eight minutes. Not happy...and I'm starting to get into a funk, as a sub-five seemed nearly impossible now. About ten minutes later...THUMP!...I run into a tree. Completely dizzy, I was forced to walk for a bit with my head pounding. It just wasn't my day. Severe foot pain just compounded things and the pity party was on. I was limping, cussing and generally not in a good mood. A shame really, because Big Basin is absolutely breath taking. You couldn't really ask for better scenery.

One of the many giant tree formations

Eventually I got over myself, focused on just finishing and picked it up (mile 27ish). Ultra-running is also about getting through the lows. And I did. In the end the effort was enough for a 5:12 finish, probably below my potential but good enough for another PR. And I'm happy with that. Once I got to the finish, my mood picked up even more. It was fun to hang around and talk to people. Smiles were everywhere. No wonder after such a beautiful run!

My thanks to Sarah and Wendell, all the volunteers, and all fellow runners for making this a great day. There is no question that I will be back next year.

(Also, thanks to Addy, Mark and Cal for all the pictures!)

A Fun Marathon in Marin

...is the title of this race report because "A Spectacular Day at the Golden Gate Headlands Trail Marathon" would have been too long.

There were a couple of reasons for picking to run this race. (1) The lady was celebrating her bachelorette party/weekend, so no coordination of plans was necessary. (2) This weekend falls exactly two weeks after Rucky Chucky and three weeks before Skyline 2 Sea, my two goal races of the spring. This would be a great carry-over long-run at a targeted 85% effort. In order to minimize any sort of possibility of running too hard or becoming too competitive, I ran naked. No, not that kind of naked...just without a watch.

You could tell right away it was going to be a glorious day. Not a cloud in the sky and comfortably cool at the start. The start area was over at Rodeo Beach, and I spent most of my pre-race time watching the surfers catch waves. I knew the course wasn't going to be easy (4,400 feet of climbing), but it was going to be gorgeous (I had run 95%+ of the course as part of the Muir Beach 33k back in December).

Rodeo Beach just before the start

There weren't a whole lot of familiar faces. Only one as a matter of fact. So as we took off and tackled our first major climb of the day, we started chatting. Turns out the suspicion was mutual even though we couldn't quite place where we had seen each other before. Anyways, talking to Nicole Duke was a joy. We share the same values and attitudes towards trail running with the only difference being that Nicole is way more experienced than me.

Start area with our first climb looming behind it. It does go further up to the right.

So, here we were floating among the wildflowers, taking in breathtaking views and enjoying a day on the trails. This is LIVING! I was feeling strong and conversation was good enough for me to change my race goal from "85%" to "stick with Nicole as long as I feel good". We were running somewhere among the leaders and kept gaining ground. By the midway point, there was only one person ahead of us (quite a few marathoners dropped out at this point...we ran two identical loops).

Nicole was determined to win the women's event and woman #2 was right behind us. So, I changed my race goal again "help Nicole win". I held on until Tennessee Valley and the start of the final climb of the day. Climbing on Marincello Trail, Nicole was about 1 minute ahead of me, woman #2 about 1 minute behind me. It was fun to be right in the middle of the action!

Terrible lighting...GREAT trail (Rodeo Valley Trail)

At the top of the climb (and second to last aid), Nicole was leaving as I was arriving and woman #2, let's call her by her real name, Karalee Morris passed me here. I had been battling cramps in my right foot and needed to take in food and salt. For much of the rest of the way I was able to watch the women's race unfold. Karalee had pulled closer on the uphill but Nicole was slowly but surely pulling away on the long downhill and flat sections over the last 6 miles.

Before long I hit the hardest part of the course: the 1/4 stretch in the deep sand at the beach. This section was draining at the halfway point, but at the end it was the sort of brutal section that makes you question the sanity of the race organizers. It was t.o.u.g.h....and I loved it. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 4:16, which was good enough for 4th place overall. Nicole had actually gotten within 30 seconds of the overall win, but a spill at the end put an end to that dream. Regardless, she ran a fantastic race! Well paced and strong throughout.


All in all, it was a perfect day on some of the most scenic trails around. And I made a new friend in the process. What more could you ask for?

(My thanks go to all the volunteers who make such perfect days possible for us).

Wondrous Yosemite

A set of unexpected circumstances presented me with some free time towards the middle of last week. So what is a runner recovering from Rucky Chucky to do? Check out some trails in Yosemite.

To some people's surprise, I had never been to this most famous National Parks (along with Yellowstone, I suppose). People like Muir and Adams have captured the imaginations of millions describing Yosemite through their literary and photographic talents. Now it was my turn to check it out.

To put it in one word, Yosemite is simply spectacular. It was early enough in the season to where the park wasn't too crowded and it was easy to get away from people. I like my solitude in the wilderness. Here are some choice photos from the trip. Enjoy!

El Capitan

Rock face with snow melt glistening in the sun

My favorite shot: mountains and trees mirroring on the Merced River

Having fun with the self timer. North Dome and Half Dome in the background.