I didn't sign up for the Delaware Water Gap Fatt Ass before it sold out. Last weekend, I decided to see if anyone dropped out and if they had any openings. I was thrilled they had some spots available. It was a tough race and obviously on short notice I didn't have time to train like I would've wanted. It was great because a bunch of friends were running it too. Plus, it's a rare close ultra.
I didn't know what to wear. It was around 30 degrees at the start and only going to 44 by midday. Running for 7 hours or so, this created a problem. I struggled with it all day. In the end, I went with a long sleeve shirt and jacket and tights. I had a headband and gloves. I took those on and off. At times, I was sweating a lot and super hot. Other times, I was hiking and freezing. I could never quite get comfortable.
We started going downhill and on some roads. I figured I might as well run at a road pace that I'm comfortable with. That put me toward the front. I talked to my friend Janine for a bit, before pulling away. Two other friends, Aaron and Pat were way ahead. I knew enough not to follow them. I ended up catching up with the third place runner.
After the road, we were on to the Red Dot Trail to Mt. Tammany. This is a super steep and rocky trail. It was a very slow go for me, especially early. The guy in third stopped for a minute and I was ahead. That didn't last as he slowly ran up the trail while I hiked. For awhile, I wasn't losing ground, but when it wasn't as steep, he took off.
I was in no hurry, but I guess I made decent time. I got to the top eventually and then it was on the Blue trail. This is rocky, but runnable on the ridge. Then, it is more rocky descending. I cruised along, running a decent pace, but being rather cautious.
Near the bottom, another guy caught up to me. I still felt that I was doing good and maybe this would finally be a break through day. Of course it was early. At the bottom of the hill was the first water stop. I came through in under an hour and barely in 4th place.
Now, it was on to the gradual incline to Sunfish Pond. This is very runnable and I did run a lot of it. I made pretty good time. However, the guy right behind me made much better time. He pulled ahead in no time and again I was all alone.
I kept wondering when I would see Pat and Aaron coming back. I think it was somewhere around a mile from the turnaround. I did like this out and back to see people. It was good to know how far behind someone that you were, as well as ahead of the next person.
I turned around at Sunfish Pond and then cruised mostly downhill. I must've been a mile and a half up on the next guy. There was another guy not far behind him. I figured maybe those two could catch me, but I didn't think anyone else would. I saw Janine and her husband. Then, I saw other friends Bob, Tim, Tim, Laurie, Diana and Jo.
I was still making good time at the water stop again. I was somewhere around 12 miles and still on pace for a sub 6 hour finish. I didn't think I would do that well, but I was starting to think maybe I could PR. That would be outstanding on this tough course.
We then climbed back up the Blue Trail. I was disappointed that this part was so tough. I was hoping to run more of it. I didn't run much. I ended up hiking most of it. Another guy caught up to me and passed me. We had some minor issues finding the Red Dot Trail.
This descent was by far the most technical. I was hoping more of it would be runnable, but basically I just hiked most of it. Some people were hiking up the mountain, for the views.
Near the bottom, another guy caught up to me. I was slipping with my cautious approach. I didn't feel great, but not terrible either. I was now over halfway done and more importantly, done with 3 of the 4 tough climbs.
We were now back on the bridge/road section. Again, my ability on this stuff shone through. I pulled away from the guy behind me. I wasn't even running hard. Although I didn't really enjoy this section, I did like that it was fast and I could make up some time. I walked up some of the hill toward the parking lot.
This part was huge for me. I was now at 17.5 miles and back to my car. My hydration pack was annoying, so I dropped it for a handheld. I was glad that I did it. I had not stopped at the water stops up to that point, but I took some time here. I grabbed a few snacks to get some calories. All I had been eating were GU Chomps.
The guy came into the parking lot a few minutes later. I took off before him. I began the ascent to Mt. Minsi. I ran this earlier in the week and it was a long, gradual climb. However, I was hurting at this point and couldn't run much of it. That was quite frustrating.
I still just focused on trying to get to the top. I thought it was easy running after that. I was sure wrong. Finally, somewhere around mile 19, I arrived at the summit. That was a huge boost, for now.
After that was a grassy woods road. It was kind of fast and easy running, so I did like it. I thought it was like that the whole way to the turnaround at Route 191. That was anything but the case. After about 1.75 miles on this section, the AT took a turn into the woods. It was now a narrow winding singletrack. It was slow and rocky.
I was very frustrated with this part. It was about 2 miles or so that seemed to go on forever. It was rocky and I had been nearly cramping up earlier. I couldn't run much on technical terrain. I ended up doing a lot of hiking.
I was wondering where the heck that guy was. I was moving super slow and should've been caught by someone. Finally, he got to me with a little over a mile to the turn around. One guy coming the other way said that it was 3/4 mile to the road. I thought he said 1/4 of a mile.
Some people were hiking and very encouraging as I went out into an opening. That was nice for a mini boost. There were some beautiful views to the south. I was very frustrated. Then, the trail went along the ridge and wasn't too rocky. For the first time in awhile, I could run. I ran the final mile or so to Route 191.
I grabbed some chips and refilled my water. I was glad that they put that stuff on the trail, rather than up at the road. That made things easier. The lead woman and man came by at the water stop. They took off before me.
It was good to be at mile 24.75. That was a huge mental boost. I tried to just focus on each upcoming mile. I saw Janine coming the other way. I was about a mile and a half ahead of her. I complained about this section. I figured she would probably catch me on the way back.
The good thing was that we were now going slightly downhill. I was able to run much, much more in this section. I still wasn't running a lot though.
I saw another woman coming the other way. I tripped on a rock right by her and nearly cramped after that too. My feet were taking a beating. I was happy that I didn't cramp yet. I was sore, but not doing terrible. If I had runnable terrain, I would be running. It was great to get to the marathon distance.
I just focused on getting to the grassy road section. I knew I could run there. It was a relief to get there. I got into a groove and was able to run about a mile at a time. Once, I didn't see some mud and I went right through it.
Near mile 29, I got back to the Mt. Minsi vista. I was now going downhill on more technical trails. There were quite a few rocks and I took it slowly. I realized that breaking 7 hours would be nearly impossible. I'd have to run fast down this part and I couldn't do that. I did run where I could.
A lot of people were hiking up this section. I coasted on down. I kept wondering if Janine might catch me with this slow pace. I looked back every now and then. It was good to get into the last mile.
I ran a lot of this, but very slowly. By now, I figured I was in the clear. I didn't want to race Janine, but at the same time, I sure didn't want to be passed by anyone in the last mile. I cruised down.
It was great to get to the pond near the finish. I cruised on in. A bunch of people were waiting around and hanging out. I gave them my finishing time. I didn't break 7 hours, but I was satisfied.
I needed time to recover before driving home. I hungout and chatted with everyone for about 2 hours afterward. It was a good time. I think I finished 9th. A lot of people stopped back at their cars and didn't run up Mt. Minsi. It was good to meet some new people.
Of course the 5 mile section that I didn't run was much tougher than I expected. That was surely my low point. I knew this run would be tough, but it was tougher than I ever could've imagined. I survived though. It's all part of the process of getting better. It's still only the 5th time ever that I've run this far. If I run it next year, I should be much stronger.
I was hoping to run with some of the BCR people at Jacobsburg tomorrow. I cramped up after the race and I'm sore, so that is doubtful. Hopefully, I can get a short run on Monday at least. I'm grateful for today's challenge.
31 miles - 7:11:07 (13:54 pace)
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