Normally, I don't run races in the summer. Now, I'm doing 2 in back to back weeks. I'm always browsing Ultrasignup. I saw a 45K, On the Rocks, in York for only 35 bucks. I couldn't pass it up, so I headed there today.
I checked out the course last night and it didn't seem too bad. It was certainly harder than I imagined. It seems like I always see the easier part of the course when I do these recons.
I was being cheap, so I slept in my car at a rest area. That meant only about 3 hours of sleep. I certainly wasn't rested for this one. I was also in a rush, so I only ate a donut for breakfast. I saw my friends Helene and Dorf and that start. However, I didn't have too much time to chat, as I was getting everything together up until the last minute.
It was a little hot today, but not too bad. Originally, I was going to wear a vest and singlet. Then, I realized that I could just run with a handheld and no shirt. This course has 3 loops, so after each loop I could refill my Tailwind. I had prepped bottles beforehand and that worked great.
The race had a small field and I started somewhat near the front. It has a lot of flat and downhill running at the beginning. I cruised along pretty well. I led a couple people. The women's leader passed me early.
The trail was fairly rocky I guess. It wasn't by my standards, but it was by normal people's. I hiked the first big climb. It was runnable, but no way I was running it on the first loop. Dorf went by and I was impressed to see him running it. He had not been training as he had liked, so this was a test for him.
After the climb, there's a bunch more runnable stuff. After crossing a road, we got to this loop. I had thought it was a short out and back, but it was actually a big loop. That made more sense, as early on, I was surprised to not see the leaders.
I was to the first aid station a little bit later. After that, was some runnable stuff. This section did annoy me though. It was built by mountain bikers, so it kept turning. It might be fun on a mountain bike, but it was frustrating to be running.
After that, there was a long, rocky climb. This would be the end of the loop. Then, it was on to the part I knew. There was more runnable curves, with some sun exposure.
On a smooth road type section, Dorf waited for me to make sure we were going the right way. We indeed were. We ran together to the second aid station. Mentally, this section went by quickly, as company was great. Throughout the day though, the section between the first and second aid stations seemed to take forever and it was a grind.
I didn't realize there were people right behind us as we pulled into the aid station. We came out together and there was about 5 of us, including the second place woman. The trail went steeply downhill on some technical terrain. Then, it climbed up for what seemed like forever. I wanted to stay in contact for awhile, so I ran a bit more of the ascent than I normally would've. I ran on the flatter parts of the switchbacks.
The course hit another flat section and then was uphill again after that, before finishing the loop. The loop seemed a bit long. One of the guys was refilling with Tailwind. I fell behind the group, except for Dorf and I wouldn't see most of them again.
I got ahead of Dorf on the downhill part, but again he caught me on the uphill. I thought he might pull away this time, but he was still in my sight at the top. Eventually, I caught him at the aid station and that was a big boost. He seemed to spend more time at the aid stations.
During this part of the loop, it was difficult to tell who was in what race. Some speedy 15K people blew by us. I actually felt like crap around mile 12, but I had ate a GU. That combined with Dorf struggling more than me, gave me a boost.
I pulled away from Dorf at the aid station and never did see him again. I was cruising along, feeling better on the flat part. Then, I trip over the only root or rock nearby. I took a hard fall and was covered in dirt. I was scraped on my side and back too.
I got up quickly and things didn't hurt too bad. I ran the frustrating parts with a couple other guys. I was happy to get back through the loop and on to the more runnable stuff. While I didn't feel great, I wasn't terrible either. I forced myself to keep running. I couldn't wait to get to the aid station again. I pulled away from the one guy before that. I stopped and took a bunch of stuff. I was drinking a lot and grabbing a snack every now and then.
I knew this downhill and then uphill would be tough. I couldn't believe I wasn't even done with the 2nd of 3 loops. Then, another slightly deflating thing happened. I let someone pass and it was Helene. I didn't mind her catching me, but not this early. I just battled on though.
I got back to the start and refilled my bottle again. Somewhere on the flat part, I lost my Buff. I found it after the race. I cruised on the downhill. Now, I was all alone and wondering if I'd ever see anyone again during the race.
After the road and around the start of the loop, a guy passed me. He didn't pull away though. I wasn't feeling all that great around mile 20 at this point. I ended up catching him at the aid station. We ran together for a mile or two. His name was Jake and he was a huge boost during these tough miles. I ran probably more than I would've.
I flew ahead of him on the technical downhill, but he caught me coming up. Then, we got to the flat part and I just took off. I still had something left and took a GU earlier. I was happy to be through the crappy part and on some runnable stuff.
Even some of the curves at the top didn't bother me. I simply pushed through. I never saw Jake again until the finish. Much to my surprise, I caught the female that I had run with earlier. She was walking and struggling. I told her to force herself to run more.
I blew past her and was just flying. I knew it was basically all runnable to the final aid station. I pushed and pushed and eventually got there. I was thrilled to make it to that point. I fueled up a little, but didn't waste too much time.
I cruised on the descent. My concentration was still good, so the rocks weren't an issue at all. My feet were slightly sore, but actually I wasn't too bad. Amazingly, I wasn't that close to cramping either.
I felt pretty awesome, all things considered. The only issue was the brutal climbing left. I ran as much of it as I could, but I had to hike a lot. It was enough to slow me down, so that I couldn't finish under 6 hours. I pushed on all alone now.
I ran through the finish and was thrilled to be done. Helene had only finished a few minutes before and the young lady finished a few minutes after. Physically, this is close to the best I've felt after an ultra. I feel like I fueled pretty well and got a lot of things right. I still felt off a little, but it was a tough course and a hot day.
My body was a bit cut up. The biggest issue I currently have is that I'm really chafed. My thighs are quite sore. I wanted to do another longer run tomorrow, but likely won't be able to now. Maybe I'll run longer on Monday.
Unofficially 27.9 miles - 6:04:09 (13:01 pace) 3831 feet of elevation gain
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