A Tale of Grit and Beauty: Green Beret Fitness Operation YOSEMITE MAX Race Report

2024.07.13 0600

Overview

Training and Preparation

I felt very prepared going into YOSEMITE. I knew this route was gorgeous and I wanted to take it all in. Training has been much of the same, a mix of everything, but with more and more miles. I had just finished three back-to-back days of 20+ miles over the Fourth of July weekend. All personalized programming is curated by Omni Athlete Training.

Travel

Mammoth Lakes is only about a five-hour drive from LA. I had not done this drive before and Jade was also traveling, so driving was the best option. Our first stop was REI for a can of bear spray for Jade. We later stopped for gas and saw Mt. Whitney and the surrounding mountains. It was 110 degrees and hotter for most of the drive, so we didn’t stop at any of the tourist sights.

Gear

Starting Outfit

• Kill Crew Shorts
• Amp Association T-shirt
• RNNR Running Hat
• Woxer 5” Boxers
• Born Primitive Sports Bra
• Ininji Toe Socks + MudGear Socks
• Topo Terraventure
• Garmin loaded with AllTrails maps for navigation + Whoop

Pack: Kifaru Shape Charge

At the end of the day, I learned a lot about the setup of my packs and what makes them most comfortable. I have specific things about both packs that stand out and need to determine the best use of the two.

Packed

• Emergency shelter, Emergency 1L Nalgene filled, light green dry bag: extra medical items, duct tape, shoe laces, etc, collapseable hiking poles
• Lifestraw collapseable bottle, utility knife, battery pack, chem light, wallet, spare batteries, eye drops, chapstick, spare mouthpiece, battery packs, medical kit
• Garmin InReach & Whistle in accessible areas
• Blue dry bag: t-shirt, sports bra, boxers, socks
• 2.5L water bladder + 1 water bottle w/LMNT
• Collapsable hiking poles accessible via side pocket
• Inside pouch: compass, sharpie
• Outside pouch: most of nutrition

Nutrition

Pre-Race

For dinner, I ate pasta and a salad. At least ten other racers came out to the dinner to hang out. I probably ate some snacks later that night.

In the morning, I ate carbs (likely croissants), possibly a banana, and drank some liquids.

Race

• 2.5L water in bladder
• 1L LMNT in plastic water bottle
• GU gels, Clif blok, bars, fruit snacks, extra LMNT, and general race snack items

Goals and Strategy

I broke down the YOSEMITE MAX route into more manageable bites and strategized against each:

Miles 10-12. One more small climb up. Start moving on the uphills.

Miles 12-20. Generally all downhill, but with a lot of rolling terrain, not to be overlooked as purely downhill. Pick up the pace here – run/jog/shuffle all flat and downhill sections, and push the small climbs.

Miles 20-23. Same trail as the beginning of the course, going back down the same way you started up. Send it.

My goal was to finish in the dog tag time (8 hours) and to fully enjoy the route. This was my first time in this area; I had heard it was gorgeous. There were some strong candidates out there. We were at a higher altitude again, so I knew I did not want to burn out early. This is one of the most gorgeous courses I’ve been on.

The Race

Miles 0-4. An unforgiving, hard climb at altitude. Keep a consistent pace, but do not burn out.

Miles 4-7. Light decent, with some opportunity to cover ground quickly. Move well through here, but know there is another climb coming up.

Just before this, I saw Mama Marta making her way up behind me. I knew I could start to make up some ground and started jogging. Eventually, I caught up with Clint and another candidate and we crossed a river. Naturally, I fell in. I seem to not get along with water. Luckily, it wasn’t as painful as my run-in with the stream crossing during Operation BRECON.

Miles 7-10. More climbing with some steep grades to scramble through, then flattens out. Move through lower grades with a swift effort and then navigate the steep climbs efficiently, but don’t try to be a hero.

We ran into a few hikers who mentioned that there were other people running not too far ahead of us. Once the course flattened out, my legs were starting to feel warmed up.

Miles 10-12. One more small climb up. Start moving on the uphills.

I felt like I was finally moving well. This is the point where Clint claims that I took off. I was power hiking through this short climb. My legs were starting to feel the ground. I stopped worrying that my pack didn’t feel as comfortable as it normally did and was grooving.

Miles 12-20. Generally all downhill, but with a lot of rolling terrain, not to be overlooked as purely downhill. Pick up the pace here – run/jog/shuffle all flat and downhill sections, push the small climbs.

My mindset now was “just go”. I didn’t take many more pictures after this point. Every chance I could run or jog, I did. I rested as needed and kept a consistent pace on the uphill sections. During this section, I passed by Shane and then another racer. As I passed Shane he asked how I felt about the time. I said something along the lines of holding a sub-20-minute pace to be comfortable for dog tag time.

Somewhere around mile 16-19 a thunderstorm rolled in. Lightning was hitting the ground close by. I was surrounded by rocks, trees, and water. I didn’t know any protocol and decided that my best option was to just keep moving. The thunder was booming and rain was steadily coming down. After the third time I heard thunder, I heard a plane taking off, indicating that the storm had nearly passed. I continued to move well and keep awareness of the now slick rocks.

Miles 20-23. Same trail as the beginning of the course, going back down the same way you started up. Send it.

I looked on my maps to see if there was any way to get around the herd as we got closer to the finish. I found one route through an RV lot but opted to stay on course since it was less than a quarter mile away from the finish. I came in at 8 hours and 1 minute. Brutal.

Personal Reflection

“Happiness, fulfillment, well-being, and sustainable performance arise when you concentrate on being present in the process of living instead of obsessing over outcomes” -Brad Stulberg

I have been working on a process-over-outcome mindset this year. Everyone can talk about this concept, but you need to experience certain defeats or failures to meet goals to truly live by this mindset. If I was solely focused on the outcome of finishing this race under the dog tag time, I would have been down on myself for a long time.

Sure, I felt pretty defeated for a short bit. I was in a position where I exhausted my options. My heart rate for those last two miles was sitting around 120-130bpm, indicating minimal physical effort. I knew I had this race in the bag, but the environment changed that. Otherwise, I felt confident and satisfied about my race. This was a crazy situation that changed the course of my outcome. I feel at peace with the outcome of this race and don’t feel like I have anything to prove to myself.

Lessons

1. Reconnect with the energy of your original interests. Understand why you are doing something. Why do you love doing what you do?
2. Give yourself grace. Sometimes life doesn’t go our way. Make sure that you are kind to yourself.
3. Don’t overanalyze every situation. Shit happens. Maybe there was a different choice we could have made that would have changed our current scenario. The past is the past, and we can’t change that.

Final Thoughts

Until the Next. 🏔️🐴🕊️

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