Coldwater Rumble 52k

 by: Sean Abeyta

On January 16th, 2021 I had the privilege of adding on to my trail running resume as I competed in Aravaipa Running’s Coldwater Rumble 52k.  This race was held at Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Goodyear, AZ and would mark my third 50k race since 2019.  While in the midst of a global pandemic racing was scarce in 2020 and many chose to redirect their focus towards base training and virtual challenges instead.  Originally I had marked this weekend off to compete in the Houston Marathon due to an injury deferral in 2020.  A few weeks after I started my marathon training block I received a notice that the Houston Marathon was not going to host an “in-person” event due to COVID-19.  I was given the option to compete virtually or defer once again.  Luckily, I had the foresight to put Coldwater Rumble on the calendar as a backup plan in the event Houston was cancelled and I’m actually glad it did.  Trail running is my true passion, so it was an easy decision to defer once again and pivot to 50k training.

One of the big benefits of this training block was fellow Dukes Track Club teammate, Jesse Armijo, was also going to race at Coldwater Rumble, but he’d be tackling the 100 miler in pursuit of his first buckle!  It would be extremely helpful to have somebody to train with whom was on a similar schedule.  Thankfully a few others were willing to share some miles as well throughout the training block.  Due to a number of unfortunate injuries sustained throughout 2020, I made the executive decision to be conservative with the second half of my training block, making it a priority to sacrifice some fitness to ensure I arrived at the starting line healthy.  I dialed back the quality and put an emphasis on slowly growing my mileage week over week while also increasing my long runs.  Even with this conservative approach I still suffered a few niggles, one being planter fasciitis in my left foot three weeks before the race.  I was on the verge of a taper so I was hopeful that by dialing back my mileage my foot injury wouldn’t be too problematic come race day.

We made the trip to Goodyear on Thursday, January 14th and stayed in an AirBnB located a few minutes from the race site.  On Friday we made the trip to the Estrella Mountain Regional Park to pick up our race packets and do a shake out on a portion of the course to get a feel for the terrain.  Aravaipa Running does an incredible job with their races!  Since we were still in the midst of a global pandemic they took extra care to ensure everyone’s wellbeing was a priority and executed local safety protocol to the best of their ability.  All packets were individually wrapped and everyone was requested to ask for assistance rather than help themselves to minimize contamination.  The race briefing announced that each race would be broken up into waves of 20 people spaced 6 feet apart every 5 minutes to help better spread participants throughout the course.  Participants were asked to not approach the starting corral any earlier than 5 minutes before their scheduled wave start.  You were required to wear a face covering at all times in the start/finish area and temperature checks were conducted before you could enter the corral.  Aid stations also enforced mandatory face coverings and a touch free exchange of food and beverages.  Crews and spectators were not allowed in the start/finish area and they were also required to follow the same guidelines as the race participants.

Friday evening we were graced with the most amazing pre-race dinner by our own Chef Marc Quiñones who had also made the trip to not only support Jesse & I, but to compete in the 4 miler.  He whipped up a Chicken Marsala dish that was to die for!  After the feast we got to bed early and did our best to get some sleep.  We all headed over to the race site the next morning, got our Crew area situated and saw Jesse off on his 100 mile trek at promptly 6:00am.  Shortly after I started my warm-up routine.  The pre-race nerves were building up and I forgot how much of a love/hate relationship I had with them.  I received a much needed pep talk from Marc and started to redirect the uncertainty swirling in my head regarding my fitness and my preparation for genuine excitement for the opportunity to race again and more importantly to test my limits, mentally and physically.  I may not be as fit or as prepared as I’d like to be, but are we ever?  I think we can always look back at past performances, pick them apart, and find areas of improvement.  I’d like to think I’m a student of the sport of running in the midst of a lifetime pursuit of putting together the perfect race, similar a surfer seeking the perfect wave.  I needed to remember to live in the moment, to be present and feel grateful for the ability to run, let alone race during these difficult times.  In this moment my race goal was decided!  It wasn’t about winning or losing, it wasn’t about running a PB, it was about putting out my best effort and simply racing.  I was going to run off effort and react to the field and embrace each mile logged and when I eventually finish I’ll hope to look back on this race with complete satisfaction, that I gave it every ounce of effort I could even if mistakes were made.  No regrets!

At 7:15am the gun went off and the first 52k wave set out at a fairly conservative pace.  It seemed nobody wanted to take the lead.  The course would bottle neck onto the actual trail shortly after the start so I decided to take the early lead to ensure I didn’t get shallowed up in the pack and have to battle for position afterwards, potentially wasting energy.  After a few miles, myself and two others had separated from the rest of the field.  The 52k course was built around a 20 mile loop followed by a shorter 12 mile loop.  Prior to the race I told Arlene, Andrea & Zac that I would hope to finish the first loop somewhere between 2 ½ & 3 hours depending on a number of variables.  I also gave them instructions regarding a few things I may want to trade out, restock, etc. depending on how the race was going.  I arrived at the start/finish area, completing the first 20 miles, in 2:32 (~4 hour pace) and tied for 2nd place.  I was starting to feel a bit of fatigue settling in.  I dumped off a gel I wasn’t going to use on the 2nd loop with my crew and grabbed a few things at the aid station before heading back out, now in 3rd place.

The Arizona temps were starting to heat up and each mile was starting to weigh heavier.  Using my experience from my past races and training I started to troubleshoot through this low and continued to pressed on.  I forced myself to consume more calories in an effort to catch up on what felt like a calorie deficit.  Each wash crossing felt like another chip to the armor and they were adding up.  After I hit the last aid station, I had 5 miles left to the finish.  I was starting to overheat due to the climbing temps and my stomach was beginning to give me problems.  I had to remind myself I’ve been here before and although the next 5 miles were going to seem like an eternity, I’d eventually make it to the finish line.  I also reminded myself that my race was less than a 1/3rd of the distance as Jesse’s.  My struggles would pale in comparison to his and the other 100 mile participants.  I drew strength from them and started to set small goals, trying to catch the person in front of me, distracting myself from how much I was left to race.  I also reminded myself that everyone would be feeling fatigued at this point of the race, I need to stop the pity party and continue to grind to the finish.

One by one I continued to pick people off and eventually made the final turn.  The moment I crossed the finish line I was overwhelmed with emotions.  I had been battling my demons for so long and had dug so deep into the well that I was physically and mentally depleted, barely able to stand on my own.  After spending a few minutes, slouched over with my hands on my knees, I eventually made my way over to a shaded picnic bench where I was able to sit, catch my breath and started working on cooling my body temp.  I’m so unbelievably grateful to have had Marc in my corner, whom slowly got me back on my feet and over to our Crew area where the rest of my team (Arlene, Andrea, Zac & Marc’s son, Truth) was awaiting my arrival.  I spent the preceding moments going over my race over and over in my head.  The feeling of accomplishment couldn’t have been greater.  My goal was to race, and race is what I did!  I didn’t get caught up on my pace and I never second guessed my ability.  Was it the smartest race plan?  Probably not, but each race has its own level of uncertainty and I felt this one was worth the gamble, especially considering my last 50k was over a year prior.  I put every ounce of energy I had out on the course and walked away with 3rd overall and a finishing time of 4:32:56, a 17 minute PB.

3rd Place Finish

This race would not have been the same without the unwavering support from Arlene and Jesse Armijo, Marc and Truth Quiñones, Andrea McArdle and Zac Marion.  We had a solid crew that weekend and regardless of my past and future races, bib 3508 will be one of my most meaningful.