So, this is only, I don't know, two months late, but better late than never, right? Let me start by saying, Terri Hayes puts on one hell of a race. The course was challenging, the post race barbecue was fantastic, enthusiastic aid station volunteers (thanks for the encouragement Viktor!) and the finisher awards were great. The race was held on June 26th, and if there's one thing the south has at this time of year, it's heat. The race was not as hot as some of my training runs had been, but those training runs had also not been full 50Ks either. The run started off in front of Terri's camping spot, went a short while on the campground road and then veered left into the woods. This was the beginning of a 3.5 mile out and 3.5 mile back segment. It was mostly downhill on the way out, which meant mostly uphill on the way back. Not even 20 minutes in, the stomach was churning and I had to make a pit stop in the woods. This didn't set me back to terribly far though, as I was able to let gravity help me catch back up to Dave and the rest of the group I was running with. We hit the turn around point at the first forest service road and then chugged back up the hill. Shortly before getting back to the campground road that we started on, we made a hard left onto a new trail, and quickly arrived at the first aid station: mile 7. We made this checkpoint slightly faster than anticipated, and we were both feeling really good.
We moved on as quickly as possible to get going on the next segment, a 10-mile jaunt with no aid except for what you could carry. The first part of this segment is mostly steeply downhill as you work your way into the gorge and down along the Chattooga River. As you get to the bottom, the trail divides. You have to go straight (left), onto the Foothills Trail. I'm not sure where right takes you, but two other runners, Mike and Kelly, ended up going right here, I think, and spent a long, miserable day in the heat with no aid. I imagine they've recuperated by this point, but they were looking pretty rough when we met them on the way back in at the end of the race.
Anyway, we continued onto the Foothills Trail and got to run by some of the most beautiful scenery you will find in the area along the banks of the Chattooga. The trail is technical, but really runnable for the most part. Unfortunately for me, I caught a root at what I guessed was mile 12 or 13 and twisted my ankle really bad. I limped forward for a ways, but really thought my race was done. The only thing I could think to do was to bend down and cinch my shoes up as tight as I could to brace the ankle. It killed my mobility, but it allowed me to kind of jog, but I was still in pain and slowed down quite a bit. I told Dave to go on without me because I didn't want to ruin his day because of my misfortune. As fate would have it, he was starting to hit a bit of a wall because of the heat. I would push myself every so often and briefly catch back up to him, only to have to ease off and watch him disappear ahead, but we finally made it into the aid station at mile 17, Dave a bit in front of me. He was just gearing up to head out of the aid station as I pulled in. I was really hitting a low mental spot because of my ankle, and the heat wasn't helping. I told myself that I would do the next segment, two miles out and two miles back to this same aid station, and I would see if I had a 10 mile unaided run left in me.
The two miles out of this aid station start with a small bit of uphill, and then a good long downhill, I was having a hard time even running the downhills. I don't recall ever being in such a negative head space. I passed Dave heading back up to the aid station a few hundred meters from the turnaround at the first bridge. It's very important to remember to turn around at that first bridge or you run all the way to Oconee State Park, another five or so miles on. I sat down on the bridge and took stock of where I was at. I was at mile 19, with a sore ankle in rough heat, and not feeling any better than when I left the aid station, maybe worse. And now I had a two mile murderous uphill in front of me. I started power hiking back up. I had all but given up in my mind. I told myself that if Dave had kept pushing on, I was dropping from the race. I didn't think I could do 10 miles on my ankle in the mental space I was in without aid. Much to my chagrin, Dave was standing there at the aid station waiting for me. I sat down trying to get some relief to my lower half. By this point, the ankle wasn't evening hurting that badly, but everything else was because it was compensating for the ankle. Viktor and Dave talked me into getting up and keep trucking.
So off we went. Dave had hit the wall hard coming up that last hill, and we decided to walk it in. We were both in rough shape, but there was no dropping now. We had left the aid station and the finish line was a 10 mile death march in front of us. The heat was really starting to get to us and there was no relief in sight. We (I) were reduced to taking sit down breaks after and during some of the uphill segments, but we kept trudging. We finally got close to the Chattooga again, and we immediately made a beeline for the cool water. It felt so good to completely cool the body down. The cold water also relieved some of the leg pain that had been building. It gave us a much needed morale boost. Of course, that boost didn't last long, but another opportunity to get into the water came along a mile or two down the trail and we again took advantage of it. We finally reached the point where the trail originally split and met Mike and Kelly. We were on a mission now, only two or three miles from the finish line. We power hiked the best we could up and out of the gorge and trudged out of the woods. Once we got back into the campground, we managed a jog to the finish line. Even though we crossed at the same time, I somehow got recorded a second faster than Dave. But I wouldn't have crossed that finish line at all of he hadn't waited for me, so in my mind, he beat me by a second.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Ft Gordon Marine Mud Run
The Screeching Seagulls made a strong showing at the Ft Gordon Marine Mud Run over the weekend. The event was once again well-organized and quite a blast. We entered the event as a non-competitive team this year, and were the second group to start after all of the competitive teams had started. About a hundred yards into the race there is a big mud pit followed by a big mud pile we've dubbed Mt Suribachi with a Marine up on top manning a fire hose. By the bottom of Suribachi we had already overtaken one of the two non-competitive teams that started in front of us, and from then on we were flying. In the end, after mud pits, walls, bars, tires, a run down the middle of a stream, and a big sandy hill, we finished in about an hour and ten minutes. Of 47 male competitive teams, only 12 finished faster than our time, and only 4 were significantly faster. We'll have to train for next year and give it a run...
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Recent 5Ks
Today was the second Saturday in a row I've run a 5K race. Last weekend it was the Phinizy Swamp Stomp and this weekend was the Arbor Day 5K at Pendleton King Park.
I thought I had more in me for the Swamp Stomp, but only managed a 23:53. It was still faster than my time on the same course last year, so I'll take it, but it was a little disappointing. I felt like I was putting forth everything I had though throughout the whole race, so I'll consider it a success.
This weekend I had the Arbor Day race. I went into the race not expecting much since I was pushing the munchkin in the stroller. But the race started out down hill and gravity grabbed hold of the stroller and away I went. I was somehow in the quick group of 6 or 7 in front almost immediately. I kept up for as long as I could, but tried to hold back as best as I could, since I knew I'd be pushing the stroller the whole way. I actually hit the first mile at about 7:30. One person passed me at about the halfway point and one other person passed me in the last mile, but I managed to pull in 8th place overall with a 27:35 pushing that stroller and talking to the little one the whole race. My goal was to try to break 30 minutes, with no frame of reference for short, speed running with the stroller, so I was quite pleased.
There's another 5K coming up in two weeks that I'm thinking about adding to the calendar, and I'm still considering Black Hills. I'm actually tossing around the 100 miler in my head, even though I don't have time to really train for it. But it's all mental, right? Well not entirely, but stay tuned.
I thought I had more in me for the Swamp Stomp, but only managed a 23:53. It was still faster than my time on the same course last year, so I'll take it, but it was a little disappointing. I felt like I was putting forth everything I had though throughout the whole race, so I'll consider it a success.
This weekend I had the Arbor Day race. I went into the race not expecting much since I was pushing the munchkin in the stroller. But the race started out down hill and gravity grabbed hold of the stroller and away I went. I was somehow in the quick group of 6 or 7 in front almost immediately. I kept up for as long as I could, but tried to hold back as best as I could, since I knew I'd be pushing the stroller the whole way. I actually hit the first mile at about 7:30. One person passed me at about the halfway point and one other person passed me in the last mile, but I managed to pull in 8th place overall with a 27:35 pushing that stroller and talking to the little one the whole race. My goal was to try to break 30 minutes, with no frame of reference for short, speed running with the stroller, so I was quite pleased.
There's another 5K coming up in two weeks that I'm thinking about adding to the calendar, and I'm still considering Black Hills. I'm actually tossing around the 100 miler in my head, even though I don't have time to really train for it. But it's all mental, right? Well not entirely, but stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
2011 Georgia Marathon
Over the weekend I ran finished the Georgia Marathon in Atlanta. The morning started off with a big swig of sour Heed. I hadn't checked my gear too thoroughly the night before due to a number of circumstances, and I had just figured it was water in my hydration pouch. Didn't really dawn on me that I had been out of town for as long as I had been and that there was still Heed in there from the Mt Cheaha 50K. Nasty. So, I ended up without my hydration pouch for the race because I didn't have anywhere to clean it out or the time really. Luckily, hydration didn't turn out to be a problem for me since there were 19 stations on the course.
Anyway, in my head I had set a goal of 4:30, and actually caught up to and passed the pace group for it within the first mile and a half. Unfortunately, the rest of the day went downhill from there. I wasn't able to clear my insides out before the race, and right around the first aid station my body started telling me it was about time, but the lines at the portalets at the first water station were incredibly backed up, as is to be expected. I decided I could make it to the next water station, but a mere two blocks later I knew otherwise, so let's just say I had to get creative. After I had tended to that business, the 4:30 and 5:00 pace groups were nowhere to be seen. This had a big hit on my morale. I kept plugging along but got into a really bad mental space and was already hitting a wall by mile 9. It took me until mile 16 to overcome my mental issues, but by that point I had developed a twinge in the back side of my knee that seemed to be more than typical running pain. Found out today I just pulled the muscles a little bit and it really wasn't all that big of deal, but it was enough to keep me from running the last seven or eight miles. Looking at my watch I realized I still had a chance to break 6 hours. It wasn't much of a goal for me considering what my goal was at the start of the day, and how much time had passed since a PR went out the window), but it lifted my spirits a little bit and I started trying to force at least some semblance of a shuffle or even a moderate jog, but all I could do was maybe 10 or 20 feet before the pain would become too much and I'd have to drop back down to a walk, which also hurt, but not nearly as much. I was only a few blocks away from the finish as I watched six hours tick past on my watch, which was a miserable feeling, but also motivated me to push through the pain and shuffle into the finish.
I want to say I'm done with long races, but I think I might just try to stick to trails for anything over a half from now on. I'm still trying to decide if I want to do Black Hills and subsequently Pine to Palm. I might at least give the 50 miler a shot, but I don't know if I'll have the time available to take off from work for it now, with what I had to take off over the past few weeks and the wedding coming up. We'll see. I might just stick to shorter, faster runs for a while. My next few events are all in the 5K range, so we'll see how long the distance bug takes to bite me this time. I had given up on distance running after Cheaha and signed up for the Georgia Marathon only a week later, so I'll let you know.
Anyway, in my head I had set a goal of 4:30, and actually caught up to and passed the pace group for it within the first mile and a half. Unfortunately, the rest of the day went downhill from there. I wasn't able to clear my insides out before the race, and right around the first aid station my body started telling me it was about time, but the lines at the portalets at the first water station were incredibly backed up, as is to be expected. I decided I could make it to the next water station, but a mere two blocks later I knew otherwise, so let's just say I had to get creative. After I had tended to that business, the 4:30 and 5:00 pace groups were nowhere to be seen. This had a big hit on my morale. I kept plugging along but got into a really bad mental space and was already hitting a wall by mile 9. It took me until mile 16 to overcome my mental issues, but by that point I had developed a twinge in the back side of my knee that seemed to be more than typical running pain. Found out today I just pulled the muscles a little bit and it really wasn't all that big of deal, but it was enough to keep me from running the last seven or eight miles. Looking at my watch I realized I still had a chance to break 6 hours. It wasn't much of a goal for me considering what my goal was at the start of the day, and how much time had passed since a PR went out the window), but it lifted my spirits a little bit and I started trying to force at least some semblance of a shuffle or even a moderate jog, but all I could do was maybe 10 or 20 feet before the pain would become too much and I'd have to drop back down to a walk, which also hurt, but not nearly as much. I was only a few blocks away from the finish as I watched six hours tick past on my watch, which was a miserable feeling, but also motivated me to push through the pain and shuffle into the finish.
I want to say I'm done with long races, but I think I might just try to stick to trails for anything over a half from now on. I'm still trying to decide if I want to do Black Hills and subsequently Pine to Palm. I might at least give the 50 miler a shot, but I don't know if I'll have the time available to take off from work for it now, with what I had to take off over the past few weeks and the wedding coming up. We'll see. I might just stick to shorter, faster runs for a while. My next few events are all in the 5K range, so we'll see how long the distance bug takes to bite me this time. I had given up on distance running after Cheaha and signed up for the Georgia Marathon only a week later, so I'll let you know.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
2011 Mt Cheaha 50K
This weekend I ran my first ultra-marathon. And it was a doozy. For reasons unknown, I decided my first ultra, and first significant trail run for that matter, should be the Mt Cheaha 50K. On top of it all, my training for this race was less than spectacular, as I didn't run more than 7 miles during any given run. In any case, I was more prepared than I had been for my two previous street marathons, for whatever that was worth.
Anyway, one of my fellow Screeching Seagulls and I left town at about 9:30PM eastern time Friday night and pulled into Cheaha State Park after 12:00AM central time. We managed about four hours of sleep in the car and then hit the prison bus for the 50 minute ride to the race start.
"Sweet Home Alabama" kicked off the race as we all squeezed onto the single track. It was stop and go for a few miles as everyone was fighting for position and spreading out. The trail was nice early on, but about mid-race we started to hit a lot of rock gardens and it became a lot slower going, not that I was cruising in the first place, but it didn't help. The volunteers manning the aid stations were fantastic. Big props to aid station #5 for giving me what I needed not to drop out! The five to six mile segment between aid station #5 and #6 probably saw close to my best pace aside from very early on in the race. We pulled into the last aid station about 25 minutes ahead of the cut-off time and didn't linger long before attacking the blue hell.
The blue hell was perhaps the most aptly named segment of trail I've ever run. The trail brought memories of my three attempts at climbing Gannett Peak from the west: nearly vertical boulder hopping. It was truly brutal, but I powered through it and didn't let my legs cramp up until I had cleared it. Once at the top, both of my calves seized up hard. My buddy was about 100 yards behind me and said he could see the muscles contorting and quivering in a very unnatural way. It took me a couple of minutes, but I worked it out and trudged on. Alabama's state high point was not far in front of me and it was nice to finally hit it. Just past the high point, I could hear music being played at the finish line not too far away. I powered through and finished with about 35 minutes or so to spare. It was a great race: great course, well-organized, all in all a good time, no matter how tore up my legs were at the end.
Anyway, one of my fellow Screeching Seagulls and I left town at about 9:30PM eastern time Friday night and pulled into Cheaha State Park after 12:00AM central time. We managed about four hours of sleep in the car and then hit the prison bus for the 50 minute ride to the race start.
"Sweet Home Alabama" kicked off the race as we all squeezed onto the single track. It was stop and go for a few miles as everyone was fighting for position and spreading out. The trail was nice early on, but about mid-race we started to hit a lot of rock gardens and it became a lot slower going, not that I was cruising in the first place, but it didn't help. The volunteers manning the aid stations were fantastic. Big props to aid station #5 for giving me what I needed not to drop out! The five to six mile segment between aid station #5 and #6 probably saw close to my best pace aside from very early on in the race. We pulled into the last aid station about 25 minutes ahead of the cut-off time and didn't linger long before attacking the blue hell.
The blue hell was perhaps the most aptly named segment of trail I've ever run. The trail brought memories of my three attempts at climbing Gannett Peak from the west: nearly vertical boulder hopping. It was truly brutal, but I powered through it and didn't let my legs cramp up until I had cleared it. Once at the top, both of my calves seized up hard. My buddy was about 100 yards behind me and said he could see the muscles contorting and quivering in a very unnatural way. It took me a couple of minutes, but I worked it out and trudged on. Alabama's state high point was not far in front of me and it was nice to finally hit it. Just past the high point, I could hear music being played at the finish line not too far away. I powered through and finished with about 35 minutes or so to spare. It was a great race: great course, well-organized, all in all a good time, no matter how tore up my legs were at the end.
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