In addition to the date, one of the other things I liked about the race was the community idea. The race is held at an education center at the top of a mountain in a place called the Mountain Institute. They allow you to camp on the property for free. I packed up my tent and headed there on Thursday evening.
The drive in was beautiful. Back here, I'm used to one single, long mountain. Out there, it was mountain after mountain. It was perfect timing as the leaves were right around their peak. It was breathtaking on a beautiful sunny day. Of course, I knew to enjoy the sun because it was supposed to rain on race day.In addition to everything else, we received dinner the night before the race. That was good to meet a few people with common interests. In general, I'm terrible with talking to strangers, but as long as we have something in common, I do alright. I met a lot of people from all over and have trouble remembering all of their names.
I slept off and on all night. That was better than my usual no sleep in my tent. It began to rain at 4 AM and I didn't get back to sleep after that. The race started at 7 AM. It was nice to be a short walk from the starting line.
I was surprised that it was still dark at the start. I didn't plan on wearing my headlamp, but I did put it on. We began with a short loop around the property. That allowed things to thin out a bit. I settled in somewhere around 10th to 15th place and followed a few people.
The first mile or so was through rolling fields. I ran most of it, but walked some of the uphills when others did. There was no reason to go crazy. We came and ran right past my tent. It was already warm and I took my jacket off. It wasn't raining, so I nearly dropped it in the tent with my headlamp. I elected to keep the jacket though.
I followed a few other guys on this downhill part. I couldn't get my jacket tied right around my waste, so I nearly ran back to drop it at my tent. I ended up holding it up for awhile. After what transpired later on, I was sure glad to have it with me.
One guy up ahead was nice and helpful. We almost ran the loop in the wrong way, but he had run it before, so he directed us correctly. It was annoying though when we were following him. He would walk up a short hill and then run the flat section for maybe like four seconds. I wished he would've just ran or walked. Finally, he let me and another guy go by him.
I followed the other guy and we chatted briefly. We had some nice downhill and then we came to perhaps my least favorite section of the race. It was a winding in and out section through tall grass and lots of hidden rocks. The cold, wet grass was hitting my thighs and I was twisting my ankles on the rocks that I couldn't see. I was already bitching.
The guy ahead stopped to go to the bathroom. I continued on. A guy went by me and then eventually the other guy passed me as well. I stayed somewhat with him and we ran into the first aid station together (Big Run). It was pouring rain. We also passed someone camping in the woods with a barking dog at some point. That dog must've barked a lot.
I grabbed a gel and refilled my water. The aid stations weren't bad, but I was spoiled by my first two ultras. Those both had a large assortment of real food. I guess I was expecting too much. These aid stations were certainly adequate. I actually gave the workers the wrong number at first (217 instead of 271).
I was already soaked at this point and the race was young. That was kind of frustrating, but I had to just keep going. After the aid station, we ran along Big Run for a bit. It was interesting because every section along streams was chilly and every section in the upper elevations was nice and warm. This section near the streams, like most of those sections was muddy and wet in spots. By now, my feet were soaked and I was covered in mud.
I wasn't looking at my watch too often, because it didn't matter. I saw that I was making decent time. Of course, all the climbs were still ahead. I had thrown any potential time goal out the window anyway.
The second aid station, Bee Run, was at mile 11. This whole first 11 miles of the course was very runnable. There was a steep descent into Bee Run. Some guy blew past me on it. I was cautious and simply impressed that I didn't fall. The insoles of my shoes curled up and I had to adjust them later, on a flat section. I was glad that this wasn't a regular thing.
There was a bridge over the water after coming down. I nearly slipped on it. It was like it was icy. I made a mental note and was very cautious on the remaining bridges. There was a guy waiting for me to cross the bridge. I thought that meant the aid station was nearby. I had to run on the road a bit to get there.This was the only planned drop bag location, so I stayed for a bit. My shirt was soaked, so I decided to change it. I also changed to a visior and headband. I had some chafing issues and my Nip Guards kept falling off, but the situation got better with the change of a shirt.
I grabbed a salty potato and some fruit. A bunch of other runners came in around the same time, including one or two more guys named Brian. The volunteers were very helpful.
I knew coming out of Bee Run was one of the major climbs. It looked to be about 1,000 feet or so in a mile. I ran a little bit of it, but I hiked most of it. One guy ahead of me was running the beginning of it. It was actually runnable at that point, but I wanted to be cautious this early on.
One thing I really need to improve on is my hiking. I just don't go fast enough. A guy blew by me hiking this part. I also had to stop a couple times near the top. It was so insanely steep and my back muscles were hurting. I hoped that this problem wouldn't continue and luckily it didn't. This was the steepest part of the whole run. I bitched a lot, as it seemed to never end.
Even at the top, it was still a mix of running and hiking. This was where I hit a low point. A guy slowly passed me on this part and I followed him after chatting briefly. The next part of the run was my favorite part. It was a descent, but it was nice and long. It was largely on woods roads. Of course there were rocks, but it was very runnable. I also ate GU Chomps for the first time and that revitalized me. I don't think I ever ate enough during the race.
I flew down the hill, at least it felt like flying. Then, we had to run along the water for awhile at the bottom. My watch had been covered by my jacket. I looked at it to see where I was at and I was thrilled. It was around 16.75 miles. I thought I was only at mile 14 or 15. That was a huge boost at a tough spot in the race.
Not too long after looking at my watch, it was on to Judy Springs (aid station #3). This would've be a great place for the drop bags, except these people working there had to hike everything into there. They had a canopy and fire going. As much as I wanted to stay and get warm, I had to just keep going.
Leaving Judy Springs is the next big climb. Again, I hiked most of it. It went up and up and up. It didn't seem as steep as the first climb, but it sure wasn't easy either. Eventually, I made it to the top. A few turkeys scrambled around at the top. That was all of the wildlife that I actually saw. There was some nice ridge running for a bit at the top, but that didn't last.
After the last descent, I was looking forward to this one. I thought at least I could get back to running. Boy, was a wrong. I started off this part running, but this was a narrow singletrack along the ridge. It was super slippery with all the rocks and leaves. I was thrilled to be at mile 20 and then mile 21, but this was such a slow go. I did all I could to not fall off the mountain. I could see way down below and it seemed like this part would never end. There were finally switchbacks though. I think I would've preferred them on the uphill parts.
Eventually I successfully made my way to the bottom without falling. That was a big win. Next, it was more stream running and a bunch of stream crossings. There was this awesome waterfall. I recall it from some other race reports. I wish I had a camera on me at that point. After the waterfall was a creek crossing. I simply laughed as it was very deep and I didn't know how to get across it. I went straight through it.
The crossings were freezing cold and we had to make several more of them in this area. I didn't enjoy that at all. Even though this part was relatively flat, I did a mixture of running and hiking. It was a gradual uphill. I took my first fall and my first race fall ever in this section. I didn't even fall while running or crossing the creek. Before crossing one part, I stepped on a wet rock outside of the creek and fell on my butt. My hip nearly cramped at one point there too. I wasn't sure how I would manage to climb over this one rocky part, but I managed. Eventually I made it back to Judy Springs again. This was both aid stations 3 and 4. This was easily the slowest part of the course. Between the ascent, slow descent and creek crossings, it took forever. I saw they had some Hammer caps, so I took a few of those at this aid station. I also made sure to eat a little more. I didn't realize that they had tea or quesadillas, so I took some of those too.
After this aid station was another ascending section. This started off in the woods. It was a pretty part. Then, it came to maybe the best section of the race. It was an open field with stunning views of the other mountain. It was foggy, but still very pretty. I remembered this from other race reports as well.
I kept climbing and climbing and climbing. I constantly looked behind me. Finally, I saw someone down below me. I had been running alone for miles now. Eventually, this climb was over. I thought it was the last big climb, but not quite.
After this section was another section that I think I'll call "The Teaser." I say that because it is relatively flat ridge running and it is a wide road. However, there are so many hidden rocks. They were just destroying my feet, causing me to twist my ankles and frustrating the heck out of me. I was back to cursing and to think I didn't even hit marathon distance yet. I kept wondering when the guy behind me was going to pass me, but he wasn't catching up.
I was hiking a lot and he finally did catch me while shuffling along. It was now around mile 26 and I had not seen another runner since about mile 14. That is a long time to run alone. I ran behind him and we chatted a bit.
All of a sudden, we noticed a woman running in the other direction. We were following the orange ribbons and so was she. We stopped and were puzzled. We both continued on. Then, a short while later, we came to an older guy and another guy behind him. It seemed clear that we were the ones heading in the wrong direction. I still don't know how we got turned around. It seemed like we repeated some of it.
The three of us ran together. The older guy was very good technically. What I lacked in that, I made up for with pure speed. I couldn't run this part for very long without getting frustrated or hurting my feet. Therefore, I would hike a bit and they would get ahead. Then, I'd push hard and catch back up.
I was kind of getting frustrated at the older guy. I couldn't fault him for running his pace, but I didn't want to get lost again and I needed him to lead the way. It was hard for me to keep up with him though. I gave it everything I had and was running on pure adrenaline. I couldn't afford to get lost again. I had to just make it to the final aid station.
Eventually we came out to a stone road. We were on our way to the Seneca Trailhead aid station (aid station # 5). When I got on to the road, I blew right by both of the other guys. I had a ton of energy, plus I'm a strong road runner. The fact that I couldn't keep up on the technical stuff, but blew by them on the road shows how much improvement I need when it comes to trail running. Even with getting lost, we still only added a mile or so to the run. It could've been much worse.
I arrived at this aid station first, but I need to eat a bunch of stuff. I had not had anything for awhile and was starving. The older guy didn't stay long and he passed me. I walked briefly while I ate. I had even grabbed what I believe was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (which I hate). That is how hungry I was.
The beginning of this final 3 miles or so was very runnable. I had the energy, so I ran. I now had the finish in sight. There were some wide woods road and also a tall grass section. I took my second fall of the race in this field section. I ran through the mud and didn't realize how much of it there was. My left foot got stuck in it and wouldn't come out of the mud, so I fell. I didn't trip over any rocks and fall the traditional way during this race. Instead, I had two funky falls.
I was able to run a lot of this and knew the end of the race would be runnable. However, I also knew that we had another climb left. I was thrilled to see a sign that said there was only one mile remaining. That was fool's gold though. Right after that was another crazy ascent. It was back to bitching.
After getting lost, I didn't think that I would break 7 hours. Now, I had 20 minutes to go and only a mile left. I thought that I better break 7 hours. However, going up and up and up wasn't helping. Finally, I was through a tent area that some of the kids from the education program were camping in. That was the top of the climb.
At the top, it was an open field section. This was very fast and runnable. I realized that I would come in under 7 hours. I saw the older guy up ahead. I made up a ton of ground on him, but he was too far ahead. I couldn't quite catch him. I didn't mind, since he was big help when we got lost. I came in at just under 7 hours and was thrilled to be done.
This race was such a mixed bag. The course was awesome and the location was excellent and I enjoyed the community aspect of it. I loved that there were some serious climbs, but also a lot of runnable sections in between. The scenery was stunning and would've been even more amazing without the rain. On the flip side, the rain made everything miserable. I do love rain running, but not 7 straight hours of it. I complained and complained and complained some more. I guess the good thing is that I never even considered quitting, despite the terrible conditions.
I've become bored with road running and love ultras both for the beauty of the trails and the challenge of testing myself. I definitely got a mix of both this weekend. I know that if I can endure conditions like I encountered on that mountain, I can handle a lot more than I think that I am capable of. I can deal with a lot, but I know I'm not as tough as some of my running friends and others in the ultra running community. My strength is and will continue to be my insane desire to train, train, train and then train some more. That said, I proved to myself this weekend that I'm capable of a lot of suffering.
I was happy with how I ran the race. Maybe I was a little conservative, but I wasn't sure what was in store with the climbs and I was just trying to survive the awful conditions. I worked hard, but didn't totally wipe myself out either. My quads weren't sore, which was a huge plus as they are often a problem. The inside of my calves had been a problem, but they were great. My feet were sore, but at least there were no blisters. I do think I need to buy better trail shoes. I was slipping all over in these and my feet hurt a lot too by the end. Maybe I'll try a venture into the Hoka world with my next pair.
I will surely be back to this race again. I will do the entire Trilogy one year. I'm not sure if that will be next year or not. I need to be much better trained before I attempt that. This is now my third ultra and I want to be more experienced too before I jump into that. I will be back at some point though.
I'm taking off on Saturday. My body doesn't feel too bad. I'm hoping to run on Sunday morning before heading to the Eagles game. That will be a short recovery run. Then, I want to get back into my routine. I have no more races scheduled until Hyner in April, but I plan to run another ultra or two or three before then.
31 miles - 6:53:40 (18th of 65 runners)
No comments:
Post a Comment