2016 Year In Review

A Disappointing Year

I finished 2015 with a decent but not great 24-hour run at Across the Years in Phoenix. With what I learned there and with the excitement of the race I anticipated a good 2016. I fully expected to not only finally reach 100 Km in a 24-hour race, but get in some good trail races and maybe better my 50 Km best. None of that turned out to be the case. Problems started almost immediately on returning home.

Between a nasty rash around my ankles and a hacking cough, probably from the dust kicked up at ATY, I only ran 12 days in January with a total of just over 59 miles. After eventually getting over the cough February was better with almost 90 miles. The low mileage meant skipping Clearwater and Whispering Pines on my annual trek to Florida to visit Adrienne. Instead I spent March beginning to prepare for the ultra marathons I had planned, especially the HURL Elkhorn 50K which would challenge me with both altitude and more vertical gain than than I'd ever done. There was no way I could train for the altitude, but I hoped to run some races that would at least give me some exposure to more vertical gain than what was available locally.

March brought me back to the training levels I had planned with a total of 140 miles, some spent running over Mt Joy and Mt Misery at Valley Forge National Park to begin my hill training. Nor did I neglect the track, not only with interval workouts, but also a 15 mile training run to prepare for my 50K at Dawn to Dusk to Dawn in May. Then training was interrupted with a week off in early April. My notes don't remind me of why, but it came right after two back to back hard runs of 10 miles each. As a result I ran only 119 miles for the month. I finished April running easy after walking most of the Hyner 25K Trail Race. I completely misjudged the difficulty of the climbs there, found myself under fueled and dehydrated early in the race, then turned it into mostly a hike just to finish.

D3 was mid-May so mileage was reduced for both a taper and recovery. Even though the 127 miles was a decent total, my long runs suffered. D3 was going really well for me until I started having problems with eating and drinking. I was very strong through the first 20K and still moving well at 35K when things fell apart. I went from having a chance to run sub-7:00 to finally finishing in 7:37. It was over a month, past mid-June, before I had another double digit run. That was at Running With the Devil 12-Hour in New Jersey on a 3-mile loop with 1100 ft of climb each loop. I managed 5 loops, 15.3 miles by my Garmin, but calling it a day with my legs so tired I didn't think I could make another climb. With only two more months until Elkhorn, the vertical climb I would face there looked daunting. That still added to a solid total of 150 miles for June. July slacked off in total mileage with 127, but I got in more double digit runs including a 15K trail race for more trail running experience.

That brought me to August and one of my feature races for the year, the HURL Elkhorn 50K, which I was combining with a four day vacation in Glacier National Park. At the pre-race dinner and packet pickup, the RD claimed this was the toughest 50 Mile course in the country and the 50K included some of the biggest climbs of the 50M course. Despite what I had done in running more hills, I was unprepared for the course difficulty. Combined with the altitude I was near exhaustion and my legs were shot by the time I hit the top of a major climb at about 10 miles. It rapidly became obvious that I was not going to make the time cutoff at the race midpoint. After resting and recuperating at one of the aid stations, I took the 23K route back to the finish. While disappointed, mostly in myself for not being better prepared, it was still a good experience and I have a better idea of what to expect and what I need to prepare for any future races in the mountains.

The hiking in Glacier was a good lead in for North Coast 24 where I anticipated doing a lot of walking, especially after 12 hours. The reality was something else. Even after three years of running ultras I've failed to get to find a suitable and consistent plan for eating and drinking. The first six hours or so or until about 27-30 miles I was running well then I started experiencing all sorts of problems from blisters to light headedness. Quite possibly I was low on salt intake or not getting enough protein to balance all the sugar and carbohydrates, but in any case I was feeling so uneasy that I was afraid to continue for more than a few laps at a time before taking extended breaks to rest and recuperate. I disappointed myself by giving up with less than 50 miles done and took a five plus hour break. Only the thought of not reaching 50 miles and also having my nap frequently interrupted by needing to urinate prompted me to finally get back out for the extra lap or two needed for 50 miles. Surprisingly once back on the course I kept going after reaching 50 miles and finished with almost 55 miles. Kim Van Delst with her upbeat attitude walked the last few with me which kept up my spirits so I at least finished on a high note.

With my final goal race done I could now focus more on finishing the year with what I'd planned as a celebration race for my 70th birthday. I'd chosen what I hoped would be a very scenic race, the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Bar Harbor, ME, on the first weekend after my actual birthday. That would also include a few vacation days to tour Acadia National Park which was also celebrating its 100th anniversary along with the National Park Service. After making all my reservations and registering for the race, my daughter surprised me with a request to join me for the weekend. While the time for the race was exceedingly slow, part of that was by plan since I wanted to enjoy the race and not suffer over the last miles, but also because I ended up walking in the last five miles with a first time marathon runner who was struggling to finish. Those last few miles went quickly for me with the company and hopefully a lot easier for her since she wasn't alone and conversation kept her mind off her fatigue. I considered the weekend a huge success spending time with my daughter and son-in-law, feasting on seafood, and visiting yet another national park during the height of the fall colors.

The year ended on an odd note. I decided to run a local 5K, but got confused and mixed up the starting time with that of another race I was considering. As a result I arrived to pick up my bib just as the race was beginning. With over a 3 minute handicap and no warm up to speak of I pursued the back of the pack. At some point I apparently pushed too hard because aster the race I realized I had badly strained my upper hamstring or gluteus. I could barely shuffle back to my car after I finally got my results straightened out. With the huge difference between my chip time and gun time the printed results didn't show my name at all. We finally figured out that my chip time had moved me into 50th place on the results, but since the first sheet of 50 had not been reprinted and sheet two started with 51st place, I was nowhere to be found. A look on the computer resolved that, so except for the resulting injury I was pleased with the race and being able to catch up to the back of the field in a controlled manner.

Overall it was not a great year for racing, but that was balanced by some important learning experiences, a couple great vacations, and by the end of the year with a renewed enthusiasm to train and race in 2017.

 2016 Rachel's Helping Hands 5K

Advertised As Flat and Fast

Advertised as flat and fast is misleading, if not down right deceptive. I sometimes train at the park where the race is held. There are several long, gradual slopes to run up and the finish is 400m up one of the larger hills in the park. Unfortunately I continued my habit this year of being ill prepared for the race. My mileage dropped even lower than it had been and at one point I did not run for seven days straight. I wasn't injured or ill; I just didn't feel like running. I buried myself in reading, frequenting the running forums, and playing computer games. Then the day before, I ran much too hard while cheering the Immaculata University cross country teams at D3 regionals. My legs feel dead and I'm even a bit sore. When I registered for the race I anticipated a possible sub-30:00 time. In my current state of mind and the way I feel, I may be fortunate to run 33:00. At least with a 10:00 am start Sunday morning, I should get a good night's sleep.

The alarm went off much too early. I feel no more rested and ready to race than when I went to bed. After my normal breakfast of cereal and two mugs of coffee I make the 15 minute drive to the race. It didn't help that the soreness I'd felt on Saturday seemed to be a strain that left me almost hobbling as I'm jogging over to pick up my packet only to discover that I'd misread the race info and it started at 9:00 am, not 10:00 am. This dawned on me as I heard the gun sound and saw the race start. I quickly found the registration table, got my number and pinned it on. As I passed my car about a quarter mile into the race I dropped off my jacket and race t-shirt losing a few more seconds to go with the more than 3 minutes I'd already lost getting started.

My biggest concern, besides the race turning into a solo time trial, was that I'd push too hard the first half trying to catch up to the back of the pack. It didn't help that the first 500-600m were mostly up hill and there were walkers I had to weave around. It wasn't until a good half mile into the race that I had my first down hill and could see far enough ahead to espy what I thought were the back of the pack runners. I eventually caught them just before the mile (10:03) on another long, gradually incline. As I reached the turn around on this out and back section a car unrelated to the race had stopped because of the runners, but he was next to the cone making it difficult to make the turn. I wondering what else can possibly go wrong at this point when he rolls down his window to ask something. I didn't really hear the specifics and just yelled that there was a race in progress and the road was closed. Naturally there were no volunteers there to redirect traffic.

I tried to take advantage of the mild decline after the turn around, then a sharper downhill approaching the halfway point before reaching the next uphill. I was actually catching up to and passing runners at this point. I was also beginning to wonder how much longer I could hold this pace, especially with several small uphills and the uphill finish ahead of me. Shortly after the top of the next hill I passed the 2-mile in 20:18 (10:15 split). I'm glad I sometimes train here because I at least know what's ahead of me: two small hills then a long downhill before the uphill finish. I feel like I'm slowing even though I'm still trying to use the downhill to speed up. I set my sights on several runners I can see ahead of me and start catching them one by one. I'm finally closing on the last one I can see within reach when we start the final uphill push. Now I'm not making anymore progress and can only hope I can muster at least a semblance of a sprint at the top when it flattens out a little over the last 100m. Nope. Whatever I can muster in the way of speed barely rates being called that. I cross the finish in 31:12 by my watch.

Post race festivities are minimal. There's water and soft pretzels. When I check the posted results they only have the top 50 listed so far along with the top three men and women. There are no age group awards as I learned when they made the awards announcement. Still no second page posted with more results so I ask about that. One of the staff runs over to the timer to get the rest of the results and when I check them my name is missing. All I can figure is somehow I'm missing because of my late start. I jog over to the timer to find out what's going on. It just so happens that he's the same timer I've met the last couple years at the Nun Run 5K and he remembers me. He checks and eventually finds on his results in the computer. Apparently since the results are listed by chip time, my delayed start meant that when page one was printed I hadn't finished yet. Once I finished my chip time displaced the last finisher on page one and he slipped to page two. Problem solved.

With what appears to be a strain that hurts when I run, I may scratch the rest of my race plans for the year. It depends on how quickly it heals and whether I'll be able to do more than run easy without pain or it affecting my stride.

 2016 Mount Desert Island Marathon

Celebrating My 70th Birthday

This was more a celebration than a race. I was turning 70 and wanted to do something special for my birthday. Since my birthday was on a weekday, I wanted to choose a race after that rather than the weekend before when I would be the oldest in my age group. In searching various race calendars primarily for marathons and ultras, this one stood out. I've been wanting to visit Acadia National Park for a number of years now. The marathon was the weekend after my birthday, so I would most likely be the youngest in my new age group. At that time of year there was a good possibility that fall foliage colors would be at or near their peak. And it was within driving distance. It wasn't until several weeks or more after I registered that friends on one of the running forums started talking about getting together for the Ultra Trail Fest in Utah the week of the MDI Marathon. I began to have second thoughts about my choice, but having made motel reservations as well as registering for the race, and with the possibility of a friend also running it, I didn't feel I could change my mind and back out. Later in the summer my daughter said she and her husband would like to fly up for the weekend, watch me race, and help me celebrate my birthday. This settled the matter and also ensured that I would run the course to enjoy the scenery and not exhaust myself going for time on a hilly course.

Training leading up to the race left much to be desired. I lost some of my motivation after North Coast 24, then was sick for almost a week resulting in weeks of 21, 27, 16, and 9 miles heading into the race. I wouldn't have been able to run a good, hard race even if I had wanted to. In planning the trip I wanted to arrive well ahead of time, so I drove up Friday, a 12 hour trip after encountering heavy traffic near Boston due to road construction. I left at 3:00 AM and was checking into the Bar Harbor Villager Motel a little before 3:00 PM. I couldn't have picked a better place to stay. Besides finding a little gift in my room for staying there for the marathon, the start of the race was literally at the turn in to the motel. I made good use of that on race day by staying warm in the breakfast room until I needed to line up for the start. After asking directions to race headquarters, I picked up my packet and made arrangements to meet my daughter and son-in-law for dinner. We chose to try one of the restaurants on the motel's recommended list. It was a nice walk down Main Street almost to the water. We were early enough that I was able to order the Early Bird Special which had everything I had wanted to order anyway: lobster, clam chowder, and salad. Rice and veggies were included too. After dinner we made plans for Saturday sightseeing.

Saturday we decided to first drive the marathon course to get an idea of what the hills would be like. Once we realized there were premanent yellow arrow markers painted on the road along with all the water stop locations and every mile marker, it was easy to follow. The whole island seems to get behind the events to support them. After starting in Bar Harbor in front of my motel, the course heads south, then follows the road around what I was told is the only fjord on the east coast of the US before finishing in Southwest Harbor. The scenery is every bit as spectacular as I had hoped and really deserves the reputation it has as one of the best marathons in the country. After that we stopped for a short hike down to one of the beaches before heading to Bernard for lunch at Thurston's Lobster Pound. Besides sitting on the water for great views of the harbor, I was surprised by the appearance of a member of my local running club who was there to close up her cottage for the year. She also claimed Thurston's had the best food in the area. The rest of the day was spent driving around Acadia National Park including stops at the visitors center and Cadillac Mountain where we had great views of Bar Harbor. Despite it being the end of the season, and perhaps because of the marathon and a couple of cruise ships in the harbor, Cadillac Mountain was crowded. Not surprisingly that carried over to dinner. We couldn't get early reservations at our first choice of restaurants and the pizza places were mobbed with no seating available. Out final fallback choice was a Thai restaurant, but rice is still a source of carbohydrates. Pre-race meals don't have to be pasta.

Race day morning I was awake by 5:00 AM and saw no good reason to lay in bed waiting for the alarm. I dressed for the race, donned my jacket and headed over for a breakfast of pastries, croissants, and coffee. Once it was late enough I dropped off my bag to be taken to the finish, then focused on keeping warm until it was time to find the 5:30 pacers and line up at the start. My thought was to start with them then adjust my pace after seeing what that effort felt like. The early starters set off at 7:00 AM; we didn't start until 8:00 AM. By then the temperature was probably in the mid to high 40s with a headwind.

With about 800 runners in the marathon it took us almost a minute to reach the starting line. The half marathon would start 30 minutes later at the half marathon point of the race, so only the fastest marathon runners would be catching up the the slower half marathoners. The pacers were about 10 seconds fast each of the first two miles, so I dropped back to a more comfortable pace. Shortly after that I had my first setback. I stopped to take what should have been the first of many photos along the route - but my camera wouldn't turn on. It would start, then die. Later that evening it worked fine. I think being in the cold temperatures affected the battery. The result was that the only photos I have of the course are those I took on Saturday.

With runners moving at different paces and occasionally walking, I spent most of the race taking in the scenery and once in a while chatting with the other runners. My daughter and son-in-law met me at about 8.5 miles and again at about 18.6 miles before heading to the finish to wait for me. They did get some photos and a hug for my daughter. The second half of the course had more hills so I warned them that I was slowing down and walking the hills. I would be longer than I had initially planned because I had no intentions of pushing the pace or effort. There was one stretch from about 11 miles until I started catching the early starters at 15 miles when I rarely saw another runner, but after that I was never out of sight of other runners. I was mildly surprised that I was starting to pass other runners at this point that had started with me. Eventually I caught up to Rachel whom I'd met before the start while talking with the 5:30 pacers. I'd had a longer conversation with her husband who was hoping to run 4:00. She was walking even on the downhill portions so I slowed to walk with her. It being her first marathon, and a hilly one at that, she was hurting by 21 miles when I caught up. Since I was in no hurry I continued to walk with her. We were occasionally joined by other runners for short periods. The last few miles went by a lot quicker with the company and it took her mind off her discomfort most of the time. When we could finally see the finish line we broke into a slow run and finished together. The announcer called our names and my age as we ran down the chute. She said she would never have made it without me, but I'm sure she would have.

After I collected by bag and grabbed a pulled pork sandwich and a root beer, I went to get my official time and place. We tried looking it up both by name and number but nothing was found. Eventually we walked over to the van by the finish where all the times had been recorded to find out why my results weren't appearing. Someone had turned off the data because no one's results were appearing. Once that simple matter was taken care of I got my official time of 6:27:19, gun time of 6:28:17, and 722nd place of 768 finishers. I was much surprised to find I was also 3rd in my age group because there were only 3 of us. I fully expected it to take a sub-5:30 or better to place. So I was presented with my award, a wine goblet. After dropping me off at the motel, we said our goodbyes. I was ready to crash after cleaning up and they were starving since they'd missed lunch watching for me along the course then waiting for me at the finish. After a good nap I was able to find a restaurant that was still serving food and had a salad and more clam chowder before hitting the sack for the night. I got an early start the next morning and had an uneventful drive home.

For the next few months I may run some local races but have no plans for any marathons or ultras in the near future. The only race definitely planned for the next 12 months is the 10K at the Illinois Marathon Weekend on April 22, 2017.

 2016 North Coast 24 Endurance Race

Another Try at 100K

Leading up to NC 24 this year my mileage has been down all year. Early months were very low mileage and I've been trying to play catch up all year. I would finally get in a good week or two then drop off again. Working more on hills also cut into my overall mileage, so once again I was under trained. I haven't had a good race all year and my prospects here were not high, so I would have to be at my best with race day execution, especially controlling the pace early. Once again my goal was 100K, a goal I've fallen short of in my last two 24-hour races.

I drove up the day before and made very good time. My first stop was Edgewater Park to see if the construction would be an issue getting there, and also to stretch my legs with a brisk walk around the course. While the weather was fine then, the forecast for the race was a 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Being a 24-hour race, the clock would start at 9:00 am Saturday and stop at 9:00 am Sunday. Entrants run at their own risk so each runner has to decide whether to continue running if it's lightning or head for shelter. In either case the clock keeps running. After checking out the park I checked into the Days Inn. I'd planned on posting some short notes on FB and the RW forums, but I couldn't get an Internet connection even though the motel has free Wi-Fi. This plagued me all weekend since the motel staff could not resolve the issue.

As usual a group of us met for dinner. The big difference this year was there were only 5 of us, so it made more sense to meet for dinner at Angelo's where we normally bought our pizza and brought it to the park. With more choices only two of us bought pizza and the rest of us various types of pasta. Rumor has it that it's one of the best pizza restaurants in the Cleveland area and considering how crowded it was the entire time we were there from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm, I can believe it. After heading back to my room I tried to relax and get to bed early. That usually proves futile since I wake up every couple hours through the night anyway, and this was no exception. I was up well before the wake up call I'd left. I was dressed and ready to go by the time my wake up call came and breakfast was served. The breakfast was disappointing. I've stayed at other Days Inns as well as other motels in the Wyndham chain and this had the poorest choices: toast, cold cereal, oatmeal, bananas, juice, and coffee. No eggs or bacon, no waffles, no muffins or breakfast pastries. I would have stayed at the nearby Travelodge but I forgot to make reservation until the last minute and this was the best I could find and be close to the park.

It's only 5 minutes to the park so there was no rush. I arrived in plenty of time to set up my tent, see friends, and pick up my packet which included a nice half-zip fleece pullover. Then about 8:00 am or a little after the rain started and quickly became a heavy downpour. It looked like we would be soaked before the race even started. I think I heard cheering when it eased up about 15 minutes before the start. For some reason the start was moved up to match the finish so we didn't have that very short partial lap at the beginning that had been included previously to make 100 miles end precisely at the finish line. Instead it looks like 100K will be exactly 69 laps.

The start was delayed about 4 minutes. I suspect the heavy downpour may have caused some problems with the timing. I know the first time the monitor showed my lap count wasn't until 16 laps into th erace. It always amuses me how so many runners here maneuver to be in the back. Everyone has the same plan to start slow. Even so, and it was slower than normal for me, my first mile was still sub-13:00. After that I settled into a good rhythm with mile splits falling between 13:40 and 14:20 depending on where my walk breaks occurred. That put me on pace for over 100 miles and I knew that was not feasible. I anticipated that both my running and walking paces would slow. Hardly any ultra runners manage even splits in the longer races. I've heard that the average is to run about 60% of your mileage in the first 12 hours and 40% in the second twelve. I did note a slight slowing after 16 miles with my pace starting to creap up toward 15:00, but I was still feeling good and strong. As I finished my 27th lap I had a really nice surprise when Joy from the RW Starting Line Forum met me by the timing mat and joined me for 3 laps. Those laps flew by even walking. As she had to leave I noted that she had accompanied me on the laps that took me past the marathon distance into ultra marathon territory since 30 laps is just a smidgen over 27 miles.

It was only a few laps later that I started to come unraveled. It started as I stood at the aid station with one of our crew deciding what to eat when I got so lightheaded that I had to grab the table to stay upright. She and one of the volunteers walked me over to the medical tent where I spent most of the hour trying to get rehydrated and figuring out what I should be eating. The general consensus was that I was not drinking enough even though I grabbed a cup to drink every lap, and that what I was eating was too high in sugar with insufficient complex carbs and protein. When I continued it was at a walk, not brisk but at least not a survival shuffle...yet. The next seven miles or so saw me averaging close to 18:00 as I stopped every few laps for a brief rest. The walking was also producing blisters on the large pads on the bottom of my feet resulting in yet another stop, this time at the podiatry tent to tend to those. After treatment I could walk but it was still uncomfortable though bearable without causing me to limp. With all the breaks by the time I reach 40 miles almost 12 hours into the race my overall average pace was about 17:40.

From this point the pattern became walk a couple laps until I reached the point where I had trouble walking in a straight line, rest for a while at our site, repeat ad nauseum. I was getting discouraged as I saw the possibility of 100K getting further away and those types of negative thoughts tend to feed back on themselves in a downward spiral. It only took 3-4 repetitions before I didn't have the desire to force myself out for another lap, gave up, and headed to my tent. At least all the work on rehydrating was having the desired effect as I was up to hobble down to the restrooms every hour. Finally my feet started feeling better as I hobbled, I was still two laps short of 50 miles, and I was walking back and forth to the restrooms anyway, so I got back on the path to slowly finish the two laps I needed at a snail's pace to reach 50 miles after a 5+ hour break. I didn't feel as bad as I expected and as hard as it was to believe I was moving faster than some others on the course, so I continued to move forward for another lap or two or three. I was just leaving the aid station to start another lap with about 36 minutes left when I saw the volunteers bringing out the table with our blocks on it to mark our position on our final partial lap. As slow as I was moving, and anticipating a possible rest break, I backtracked to grab my block just in case this would be my final lap. I'm not sure how long that lap took but I finished it and still had a few more minutes left so I kept going. One of my Canadian friends, Kimberly, caught up to me and offered to walk with me until the horn sounded ending the race. She always has a smile and an incredible positive attitude. It was a great way to finish the day. With the partial lap my total was 54.78 miles. Of course that partial lap put us as far from the finish as possible, so it was a long walk back to the pavilion to turn in our timing chips and pick up our finishers medals.

The group seemed disorganized this year, no group photos either before or after the race. I missed saying goodbye to several of them. I had breakfast, then took down my tent, packed up, and drove back to the motel, not even waiting for the awards ceremony. I spent most of the day alternating between napping and watching NFL football. I finished my leftovers from Friday's dinner for lunch, but never got out for supper. I half expected to sleep fitfully that night, but instead slept through until 6:30 am. I grabbed breakfast and drove home taking breaks as needed. Thus ended this year's adventure.

Once again our crew was instrumental in getting up through the race. I can't say enough about the help we get each year from Laura and Tracie. Nonetheless after this race on top of the other disappointing finishes this year including a DNF, I'm having second thoughts about running more ultras. I love the races but find the training daunting. That's a combination that does not work. My problems this race certainly have their roots in a paucity of long runs over the course of the year as well as the mismanagement of my nutrition. The two go hand in hand as I never came close to mimicking race conditions in long runs, so there was no opportunity to test it. The one mitigating factor is that I ran stronger for longer into the race than normal since I moderated my early effort better. I have one more race scheduled this race, my celebratory 70th birthday race, the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Acadia National Park on October 16th. I had intended to run another ultra in November before the holiday retail season began, but I'm having second thoughts about the wisdom of that. It's time to regroup and see where I want to go and what I'm willing to do with my training and racing. That puts my entire 2017 racing season in limbo.

 2016 HURL Elkhorn 50K

First Mountain Trail Race

 

After looking at dozens of 50K trail races out West and passing on many either because of cutoff times, excessive vertical gain, or altitude, I found the HURL Elkhorn 50K. With a generous 15 hour limit, less than 8000 ft of vertical gain and loss, and a maximum altitude of less than 8000 ft, this seemed like the perfect race to get my feet wet racing in the mountains. Apparently I will literally get my feet wet, since there are several creek crossings and I assume no foot bridges. Its location is also ideal because it's only a short drive from the vicinity of Helena up to Glacier National Park. I've wanted to return there for more hiking ever since my first visit back in 1998.

Having committed to this race, it remained to be seen how well I'd be able to prepare for it since I wouldn't be able to train at altitude and I knew of no nearby parks or trail that even began to approach the 1,000 to 2,000 ft hills I would have to traverse. At best it seemed I would have to run multiple hill repeats, preferably on Mt Joy and Mt Misery at Valley Forge National Park. Even so that gave me only 750 of gain and loss for every four mile loop. I've been able to get some training runs there and also several shorter trail races, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to get me to the first check point with a cutoff time and still have sufficient energy to finish under 15 hours. With trying to include more hills in my training, I've neglected or at least reduced the length and number of long runs in my training.

It's now less than 10 days to the race and the recent heat wave along with a week long malaise when I did not run at all, leaves my preparation a bit questionable. Maybe I needed that time off though running at least a few miles on a few days would have been preferable to not running at all. The only aspect of recent training that has gone well are my interval workouts. The latest and last full interval workout before the race had me running 6 x 600m at the fastest pace I've run them all year. I'm hoping and planning to get one more long run in before the race. Whether I'll try to make that a hill run as well depends on whether I get any break in the heat wave.

I'm making final preparations for the trip and still can't make up my mind about buying a hydration vest or something to carry extra water and a rain jacket. I keep going over the course map and description afraid I'm going to get lost. When I registered for the race the main factor was the generous 15 hour cutoff. It wasn't until much later that I noticed the rating difficulty was 4/5. The Hyner Challenge was only 3/3, so now I'm really concerned about the difficulty. The Google map of the course says the average grade is 8% and the maximum is 40% with 82% of the course runnable.

Race day is almost here. I flew into Great Falls and drove down to Helena. My friend Mike picked me up at the hotel to drive out for packet pick up and the pre-race dinner. The RD, Steve, went over the courses and gave instructions after dinner. Somewhat to my surprised I won a very nice handmade ceramic bowl for coming the farthest for the 50K race. I'm a little more confident about not getting lost after Steve's talk, but the vertical gain is going to be a challenge coupled with the cutoff time at the Tepee Creek aid station. Steve challenged the field to find a harder 50 Mile race anywhere.

I got a ride to the start this morning with some other 50K runners, which simplified the parking. The sky is overcast which reduces the possibility of high temps and direct sun being a factor. Unfortunately it also brings a possibility of rain and possibly even thunder storms. It's cool enough that I kept my jacket on as long as possible.

As usual everyone was reluctant to step up to the starting line. Once the race started I waited to the side until most of the field had passed before moving onto the trail. Whether it was taking off two days for rest or the altitude, my legs felt a little tired at the beginning. The pace was probably just a tad too fast also. We were on single track very quickly,so I slowed down and where convenient stepped aside when someone wanted to pass, though there weren't that many behind me. The first two miles or so were very runnable so I walked only on some of the short uphills. I could see only one runner ahead of me. I caught up right about the time we reached the first creek crossing. I was hoping not to get my feet wet, but there was no way to avoid it. There's a little more up and down over the next couple miles, but nothing big as I pull into the first aid station at about mile 4.3. At first I thought all they had were gels and I don't use them; just the thought of them unsettles my stomach. When I asked if they had anything else, they produced a can of Pringles, so I grabbed a handfull to take with me and topped off my water bottles.

The first of the big climbs began as I left the aid station, so I walked, ate, and drank as I began my climb. It took forever to chew and swallow the Pringles, an indication that hydration could be an issue and I would need to be sure I drank frequently. Between my water belt and hydration vest I was carrying 44 ounces which should last me the 8 miles to the next aid station. The first climb is about 500 ft and doesn't feel too bad. Then we dip down a couple hundred feet before beginning a sustained climb of about 1300 ft. The grade isn't too bad and I'm still moving well considering the altitude compounding the effort of the climb. By the time I reach the top of that climb and get another brief respite I'm starting to feel the effort. I'm still running the downhills easily and do get a drop of several hundred feet again before the final climb before the descent to the Tepee Creek aid station. That final climb of about 800 ft also finally did me in. When I reached the peak I had also reached my limits. I had just finished a total climb of around 2600 ft over the last 6 miles. Even with 2 miles or so downhill I had reached a stage where I was walking, sometimes very slowly. By now the 23K runners, who had started an hour after me, were passing me. Several stopped to ask if I was okay and offered to let the aid station volunteers know I was having trouble when I said I was hurting. At the pace I was going downhill it was obvious I was not going to make the 7:00 cutoff time at the Elk Park aid station, so it made no sense even trying to cover the additional uphill 4 miles from Tepee Creek to there. I was very happy to see one of the volunteers come back for me on a mountain bike. One of the 23K runners had given me an energy bar but I gladly accepted another from the volunteer. At least I did have enough water.

I finally walked into the aid station at Tepee Creek and formally acknowledged that I was dropping after 4:52. Doing a quick calculation I would have had to run the next 4 miles gaining another 2400 ft in 2:08 to make the cutoff, then still have enough energy to run 16 miles more to finish. That was not within the realm of possibility. So I sat at the aid station for 10-15 minutes resting, eating, and drinking before continuing to the finish by following the last 2.5 miles or so of the 23K course. The aid station had radioed ahead that I was coming so I could be properly recorded as a DNF when I checked in.

Several runners and volunteers commented that I should be proud of what I had accomplished. I was of course disappointed that I had prepared well enough to finish, but I ran stronger than I had at either the Hyner Challenge 25K or running With the Devil, so I could see that I was getting better, just not quite ready for this much altitude and elevation gain. I gave it everything I could and that's all I could ask of myself, no regrets at all in my decision to stop when I did.

 2016 Good Neighbor Day 10K, July 4

Only Opportunity For 10K This Year

This was a race I did not feel like running, feeling ambivalent about my only opportunity to race a 10K this year to keep my streak of running my age in minutes in a 10K continuing or letting it lapse and run a workout more suited to training for my next ultra. Still I could use a workout more like a tempo run and I should be able to run 1:09 while keeping the first 4+ miles in check and not push until the last mile or two.

I woke up to temperatures that sounded cool considering this was the Fourth of July and this race has historically been hot and sunny. Unfortunately being partly cloudy to overcast also made it very humid. It was not going to be a comfortable race regardless of the effort I put into it. After registering I dumped the goodie bag in the car and started my warm up. I was flat, no spring, warm up pace was slow, and I generally felt unready for any sort of effort. Those back to back interval and fartlek workouts on Wednesday and Thursday look like they will haunt me today.

After the horn sounded to start the race it seemed like forever to reach the starting line. When I did I understood better the pre-race instructions to move to the left to be sure to cross the starting mats. Unlike most races and from what I remember from prior years, the timing mats did not extend all the way across the street. When I completed the first 5K lap I then saw that the mats were being used strictly for the start and finish; there would be no intermediate lap times recorded. As is usual with a race like this there were always some people who ignored the directive for walkers to move to the back at the start. It wasn't that much of a bother at the pace I was running, but there were also a lot of young kids running next to their parents and they were often difficult to get around.

The first mile was congested and moving slowly. I saw my usual training partner from the Wednesday night track workouts and gave brief consideration to running with her, but after a quick gut check of the effort I was exerting and the pace I was running, I quickly dismissed that. Aside from having to break quickly when someone slowed to a walk directly in front of me at a water stop a half mile into the race, the first mile was uneventful but slow, 10:50; still fast enough for my goal but after the way I slowed in the Nun Run 5K, I wasn't overly confident that I could maintain the pace. The course has a reputation for being flat and fast, and compared to most courses in this area, that's probably true, the there are some long gradual inclines in mile 2 which I ran in 11:12. That put me very close to my absolute goal pace to run my age in minutes for the race. I didn't realize how close since the splits I'm referencing here are adjusted from Garmin times and the Garmin distance of 6.31 miles on the certified course. It gave me a false sense of security since my first two Garmin splits where 10:41 and 11:03. The third mile is more downhill than uphill so my pace picked up a little. The third mile (adjusted) was 10:56 and I finished the first 5K lap in 34:13. Shortly into the second lap a couple passed me and I tried to keep pace with them. As it turned out I'm a better downhill runner and would move ahead until they caught me on the hills while I was still under cruise control and not yet pushing for the finish. Even so I was slowing and the next mile was 11:06. Coming into mile 5 I had the long gradual inclines again and I started to push the pace more. There was another older gentleman just ahead and I preferred to open a gap rather than rely on a sprint finish. Even up hill I increased the pace slightly for an 11:01 but between the increasing heat and the humidity and leg fatigue I was wondering if I'd pushed too soon and might not be able to hold the pace the rest of the way. Fortunately with the course layout there's a downhill shortly after mile 5 where I could open it up a little, then after another long gradual inclined stretch, another short downhill where I could stretch out and pick up the pace. After that only two more small hills and then the final sprint to the finish. One benefit of being so slow this year was not having to weave through walkers and stollers while trying to sprint. The downhill stretches helped me through a 10:51 sixth mile and then I kicked it in over the last 2 tenths at about 10:00 pace for a final time of 1:08:05 and a mild negative split because of the final sprint (34:13, 33:52).

After getting some cold water and recovering from the post race dizziness, I got a printout of my results. They must have made some corrections later because when I checked online I had moved up from 5th to 4th in my age group and from 156 to 153 overall. I did reach my primary goal of running my age or faster in minutes but it was harder and slower than what I'd hoped for. One encouraging note was the negative split. Looking forward I'd like to get in another trail race before the Elkhorn 50K, before turning my attention to North Coast 24.

 2016 Running With the Devil 12-Hour

Harder Than Hyner

After the Hyner Trail Challenge 25K I knew I needed a lot more experience and training on hills. Even given that the Hyner hills were much steeper than what I'd be facing at the HURL Elkhorn 50K, I'm now realizing that at my speed and fitness the first cutoff time at 16 miles may be a challenge as it comes at the top of a 2000' climb. Hence I started looking for any races with multiple large climbs. Running With the Devil 12 Hour race was the earliest that fit that description. Though it was short notice, work was able to give me the necessary time off, so I made a motel reservation and registered.

Race weekend arrived and it promised to be a gorgeous weekend - for vacationers, too hot and sunny for a tough ultra. With so many headed for the Shore or the Poconos traffic was much heavier than normal even at 1:45 pm before rush hour usually starts. I guess many left work at noon to get a jump on the weekend. I wasn't in any hurry. It's only a 3 hour drive so I have more than enough time to find my motel, check out where the race starts, and get dinner. At least my motel choice was conveniently located only 5 minutes from the race, but other problems surfaced starting at check-in. I got my pass cards from registration and walked up stairs to my room. I had a little trouble getting the card to work at first, what was taken back by what I saw when I finally got the door open. The room had suitcase, clothes, toiletries, etc already present. At least the person renting the room wasn't there. So back down stairs to registration to let them know. Apparently the previous clerk had moved me to another room and entered that in the computer but had not changed any of the paperwork. Aside from a mild inconvenience no hard done.

After unpacking I drove a short way up the road to a pizza place for my traditional baked ziti pre-race dinner. Back at my room I checked FB, the RWOL forums, RunningAhead, and my email before checking out what was on TV, then reading a while, then turned in early about 9:00 am. I had left a wake up call for 4:30 to give me time for coffee and scones that I'd brought with me. I was too early for the motel breakfast which wasn't available until 6:30 am. Uncharacteristically I did not lay out all my running gear before I went to sleep. When I awoke the next morning I could see that it was already light out, then turned to check the clock and realized it was 5:17 am. I doubt that I would have slept through a wake up call, so I'm assuming it was never made. The race started at 6:00 am, so I rushed through my preparations, not even bothering with coffee, then checked out. Normally I get a receipt printed when I check out but that was taking so long I eventually said to forget it. I was not happy about the missed wake up call and this added to my annoyance. I left in a huff.

Parking and check-in at least went smoothly, no bib, just an ankle chip. I filled my water bottles and put my camera in the belt pouch. At least this race I would get a few pictures. While waiting for the start I asked one of the volunteers to take a photo so I have at least one picture of me from the race. The course was also unique in that each lap started by running through the ski lodge, down stairs, then up onto the dirt road for the first hill. The aid station was set up at the bar of the lodge. No, no alcoholic beverages were being served, but there must have been three dozen choices of food ranging from half a dozen different fruits to candy, cookies, salty snacks, candy bars, and granola bars as well as an assortment of drinks.

After walking through the bar area, down the stairs, and up a small hill, I was able to jog about 100m before starting to walk up the first hill. Essentially everyone that I could see was walking. The leaders may have been running but I didn't look up far enough to check. We didn't get our first break in the steady uphill until about a quarter mile into the race. There was a left turn and slight downhill before we turned right again and began a relentless uphill, mostly in the open trudging through knee high grass in many places following the orange arrows. Even before reaching the top of that portion at the top of the first ski lift I was pausing every so often to give my legs a rest and catch my breath. That first ski lift marked approximately one mile, then we had a brief respite that was more and more welcome each loop, where we ran on a single track through woods between ski slopes. Yes, I could actually run portions of this where it wasn't too rocky. As we came out of the woods we took a sharp dip then left up the second big climb to the top of the second ski lift. This portion was less steep than the first, but after all the climbing already it wasn't much easier. At the top was an unmanned water stop 1.6 miles into the loop, but that water would not be replenished during the race, so the RD asked us to be considerate, carry our own water during the race, and use it only as needed, not being wasteful. I was carrying two 10.5 oz bottles, so I didn't need any that first lap. I did sit for a minute to rest my legs, then started on the 1.4 miles downhill to finish the loop. Being slightly shorter than the uphill, parts were steeper, some steep enough that I did not find it runnable. Other sections were loose dirt and gravel that I sometimes slid on walking; there was no way I would risk running those portions and probably end up on my rear if I did. While I could move faster, it was not as fast as I can run the more gentle downhill on Mt Joy at Valley forge NP. I think most of my downhill miles were in the 15-16 minute range.

The first 3 mile loop took about an hour; the second was 1:14. At that point it was getting warm enough and my legs were getting tired enough that I started taking longer breaks while I ate and drank. At first the breaks were only 5-10 minutes. The loops were also getting slower. Trudging up the hill might be an understatement. At times it was 30-50 steps up, then stop, bend over to rest and catch my breath, and repeat what seemed like ad infinitum. Each time I reached one of the ski lifts I felt like I needed to sit and rest before I could continue. The loops were now taking me 1:25-1:30 to complete, then add on increasingly long rest breaks between loops. Except for that short section through the woods there was no shade, so even my freqent rests kept me out in the sun which was now getting very warm, the type you describe as beating down on you. The uphills were a long string of walk, stop, catch my breath, walk, stop, catch my breath, on and on. After 4 loops I wondered how much more I could take. The heat was tough. I was now going through both my 10.5 oz bottles on the way up and refilling at least one at the top for the trip down. I seriously considered calling it a day at far short of the 30 miles I thought was possible before I saw the course. That estimate was quickly revised to 24 miles maximum after my first lap; then revised down each subsequent lap. I must have sat there close to half an hour before getting up to start my 5th loop. Oddly enough after the first loop the hills didn't seem to get any tougher until this one. By now my legs were so tired that sections I ran before I was now walking. It wasn't until I reached the top and had only 1.4 miles left, promising myself that after this lap I was done, that I could move into a shuffle and then a slow jog down hill. Once I got moving and with the end in sight I was surprised at how fast I could move downhill. I think that may have been my fastest downhill mile all day.

I crossed the time mat for 15 miles at 7:27:45 by my watch. Even though I had promised myself that was the last lap, I rested, ate, and drank for almost a half hour before finally turning in my chip. I think I was hoping to convince myself that I could do one more, but every time I got up to get something else to eat or drink my quads said no, you aren't walking up any more hills. I think I could have handle another lap in the heat, but my legs were completely shot. Even today as I write this I wonder how I am going to get out for even a walk to work out some of the soreness. I feel more like I do after a 24 hour race or hard 50K than I would expect after "only" 15 miles. With 1100 feet of gain each lap, that was 5500 feet of gain - and loss, much more than anything I have ever done before, and I am feeling the after effects.

As I mentioned earlier, moving at that pace puts me in danger of not making the mid-race cutoff time at the Elkhorn 50K. Hopefully there i won't need to extended breaks I was taking here, but I have a lot of training to do, both in increasing my weekly distance and long runs, as well as running a lot more vertical gain. I have several training runs and race potentially on my schedule including my first fatass 50K. As difficult as the hill runs are, I think one a week is the most I can handle, especially if it also doubles as my long run. That may put my midweek interval workouts at risk, but the hills are more important for my goal this summer. This race did fulfill its purpose though, which was to give me some experience with running a lot of vertical gain and giving me a better sense of what pace I can run under those conditions.

 2016 Immaculata Nun Run 5K

Flat Race Over Rolling Hills

I had a bad feeling all week going into this race. One might say this was a self fulfilling prophecy, but I think it's simply a matter of recognizing that I was not race ready for a 5K. Several truncated workouts, hills on Saturday and intervals on Wednesday especially, foreshadowed today's results. I had no spring or bounce for the speed work and Thursday's easy run wasn't any better. Even a day off on Friday didn't seem to restore any vitality.

Saturday morning started normally for a race day and with the race practically next door, I had plenty of time to eat breakfast, drink my coffee, and drive over to pick up my packet. The temperature wasn't too bad, but we had very high humidity. Breaking a sweat during my warm up was no problem at all; my legs still feeling heavy and sluggish was. I chatted with a few people I knew, then proceeded to finish my warm up and move over to the starting line. I'm always amused at this race because everyone hangs back and seems to be reluctant to actually step up front to the starting line, unlike other races where runners that have no business being up front crowd in anyway. The start is very narrow, so I'm glad runners aren't pushing to the front of the field.

The race starts and for once I'm having a hard time feeling comfortable with my pace. I have my Garmin set for current pace instead of average pace, but it's bouncing around enough that I'm not getting a consistent reading. At times it feels too fast, then too slow, and neither match the displayed pace. We hit the first of the rolling hills after about 400m, so I can get a better feel then and it looks like about a 9:30 pace and feels harder than it should. The path up the hill is narrow so a few faster runners are passing on the grass, but generally there's no crowding. The nuns have placed all kinds of inspirational signs along the course. I wonder how many runners even notice them. Then we reach the first water station about a half mile into the race and I hear a young lady comment, "How am I supposed to drink this while running?" My response was that you don't need water in a 5K.

The second hill, and I think it's the biggest on the course, comes shortly after that. These are all roads on campus that I train on regularly, so I know what's coming. Not even a mile into the race and I'm already feeling the effects of the pace. This was my first substantive indication that this would be my first official 5K over 30:00. At this point is was just lock into a sustainable effort and hope for the best. There were still half a dozen small hills over the rolling course to be negotiated. I passed the mile in 9:48 having slowed slightly from my initial pace. I doubted that I'd be able to keep that under 10:00. As it turned out even that was wildly optimistic. Just passed the mile mark we headed up a sustained hill for about 350 meters and veered onto Grotto Road which stretches for just under a half mile through a wooded area, but also includes yet another hill, or rather valley since it goes down then up. When we exited I got an unwelcome surprise. The course was supposed to make an immediate right up a mild rise. Instead it continued straight and down before we made the right up a much bigger hill. This was both a change from last year and did not match the course map displayed at registration.

That finally took us up past Camilla Hall, the nursing home on campus for which the race was a fund raiser. The nuns were out in force to cheer us. It's one of the few times when spectators actually have a positive affect on me. Most of the time I'm oblivious. Past that we take another right onto a long, straight, flat stretch where I unsuccessfully attempted to pick up the pace as we passed mile two. That second mile was 10:32 indicating both the effect of the hills in that mile and my leg fatigue. After a couple more turns we head up the last significant hill at the top of which is a sign that it's all downhill from there. Even at this point I can half smile because I know that isn't true. After we finish the downhill on the narrow path that we ran up early in the race, there is one more small hill that deceptively extends a couple hundred meters as a very gentle slope up to mile three before we make the last turn and can see the finish. At this point I'm wondering if I'll even finish under 32:00. When I can see the clock, I realize I'm going to miss even that by a few seconds. I sprint in with a woman about my age trying to time it so we finish together. The chip time will be different, but it seemed more sporting to "tie" as well encouraged each other. The final clock time was 32:10, the chip time 32:05, and I placed 128th of 218 finishers. In addition there were about 350 walkers that started 5 minutes after the runners.

To say the least this was a disappointing race. It wasn't my worst by far, but it was an order of magnitude slower than what I thought I could and should run. It was also more than 2:30 slower than last year when I had only a week of recovery after my 50K race rather than the three weeks I had this year. I don't have another 5K scheduled this year, but this also places in doubt whether I'll be able to run my age at the Good Neighbor Day 10K on July 4th. I've got a streak going back over 25 years of doing that and I don't want to see it broken. Next up is a very hilly 12 hour race in two weeks, so I need to focus more on hills than speed. It's going to be an interesting and challenging summer.

 2016 Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K

It Sure Didn't Feel Like Mid-May

In contrast to 2015 when it was sunny and hot, this year it was cooler with rain and overnight temperatures dropping into the 40s. Fortunately for me I finished the 50K before the rain and cold front moved in. Mostly it was an issue trying to stay warm as I cheered the 24-hour and 12-hour runners through the evening and night. But that only sets the stage, while training (or lack of it) began months prior. Training over the winter was low volume and the spring wasn't much better. I had a few good runs, even a couple good weeks, but they were interspersed with too many low mileage weeks. As a result I once again stepped to the starting line woefully under trained and ill prepared for the race distance.

While I had requested the weekend off, I was surprised to see that I was not scheduled to work Friday either, so I had the evening free to attend the pre-race dinner and packet pickup. It was also nice not having to work until 11:00 p.m. since I had to set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. so I could eat breakfast and still get to the track in time to set up my tent. When I arrived there was a group of runners standing around in the lobby apparently waiting. How do I know they were runners? It only took a quick look at the t-shirts they wore. Besides I recognized several race photos. It took a few more minutes before we realized where packet pickup and dinner was. I mingled a bit greeting others I knew before getting my packet and finding a table. I've met enough top runners to not be awestruck at who I found sitting with me, but I felt privileged to share a table with the Bob Hearn and Pam Smith who eventually won the 24-hour race the next day and Pam's crew member, Maggie Guterl, who placed 4th in the 24-hour world championships last year. I was as close to being mesmerized by their conversation and being included in it as I think I've ever been. Dinner finally broke up about 8:30 p.m. when I left to take care of final details to get ready for the race and get to bed as early as possible, even if I didn't expect to get much actual sleep.

4:00 a.m. came all too quickly. I ate my normal breakfast of cereal and coffee, then packed the car and finally, for the first time in three years of driving to the race, made it without making a wrong turn. I was a little later than planned, but had plenty of time to set up my tent and still wander around to greet people and introduce myself to several runners to whom friends had asked me to pass along greetings. The temperature at the start was comfortable, but rain was forecast for later. If I ran well, I should finish well before the rain arrived. What I hadn't counted on were clear skies and temperatures climbing into the 70s before the rains came.

Even starting with the 24-hour runners, I knew I would be among the slowest, so I lined up near the back of the 68 runners, 43 for the 24-hour and 15 for the 50K. Despite staying at a very easy effort, the first mile was still faster than planned. I began with running 300m, which brought me to one of the aid stations where I could grab something to drink, then walking the remainder of the lap while I drank. After the first mile I seemed to settle into a good pace, though still faster than planned. The Garmin was proving worthless for tracking mile splits because it consistently measured miles short, but with the digital clock I could still track then within a second or so. Instead I took manual splits every 10K thinking that would be more meaningful as well as smoothing out lost time for breaks at the food station and port-a-potties. Of more immediate concern was when the food would be put out. As early as I ate breakfast, I was already getting hungry and the schedule didn't call for food to be brought out until two hours into the race. Then when the food was brought out, despite a good selection, absolutely nothing appealed to me. I tried an energy bar, but it was too heavy, so I relied primarily on Gatorade and Coke for calories early in the race. By that time it was also apparent that the Sun would be a factor, so I was trying to pay close attention to my fluid intake.

The first 10K went by quickly and smoothly, averaging about 12:26 once I settled in. My goal had been to keep my pace under 13:00, but this was a little more than I'd planned. I expected to slow down soon, the question being how much. It was also encouraging to know I was down to double digits on how many laps were left. The second 10K was more what I had expected. I was still on the run 300m, walk the rest of the lap and had finally settled into my expected pace and felt good at that point. My average for that 10K was 12:52. With another 25 laps done, that was 50 total, and now only 75 to go. As I knocked out laps I felt myself slowing a little and also had to take a break or two when nature called. I didn't keep close watch on how much time I lost during the breaks, so it was more difficult to determine actual pace while moving, but even so, the 14:22 average pace confirmed what I felt, that fatigue was starting to set in and I was slowing. Another 25 laps marked the 60% completion point. Now only 50 laps to go.

The fourth 10K is where I started to fall apart. It was probably somewhere near 35K that I realized how much toll the sun was taking and not only was I slowing down when running, but also when walking. I had to drop to running about 250m, then walking the rest of the lap, but that didn't last more than 5K before I shortened it even more to running 200m, then walking. In addition I was having a hard time getting myself to eat, so most of my calories were coming from Coke and red twizzlers, not the best of sources. At times my stomach also bothered me, not to the point that I felt sick or nauseous, but unsettled. This had a cumulative effect on my performance and by the time I reached 40K, I realized that if I wanted to finish, I would have to walk probably the rest of the race, or at least until the last lap. I was convinced that if I took even an extended break at the aid station to eat and drink, that I might not get going again. And if I tried to run I would blow up and not finish. It was simple inertia that was keeping me moving now as my pace slipped to 17, 18 , 19 minutes per mile, at times drifting over 20:00.

The last 10K I was almost in a fog. I have to thank my friend, Perry, who had already finished and won the 50K for keeping an eye on me and making sure I was getting something to drink. Then there were Trish and Sky who would walk with me a while and encourage me. Previous years Sky and I would exchange bad jokes and puns, but this year I had nothing. I simply kept moving in a half-trance counting down the laps and watching the clock. Breaking 7 hours was had long been out of reach and I could see first 7:15, then 7:30 going the same way. There were only 20 laps to go, then 15, and final I was past 10 laps to go and in a single digit countdown. Perry stationed himself by the timing monitor to help with the countdown. Only 8 laps remaining, just under 2 miles, then 4 laps to go. A quick calculation indicated that I might be able to stay under 7:40 if I could keep my pace under 20:00. I don't know how I manage that, but I could still run those calculations in my head when I was barely able to keep moving and felt more like I was on autopilot. That was enough of an incentive that I was somehow able to pick up my walking pace to something close to 4:00 a lap. I wanted to finish actually running, but was still uncertain when I could safely begin and make it to the finish without walking again. I finally committed myself with 150m to go and surprised myself with how fast I could run and even how good it felt to be running again. I crossed the finish in 7:37:15, well off my goal but still over 18 minutes faster than last year.

While I checked my official finish time at the monitor, Perry checked on me. That's when I turned and made a quick dash toward the infield because I didn't want to mess up the timing table. I must not have been absorbing all the fluids I'd been drinking because they all came up and I sort of watered the infield grass until there was nothing left in my stomach. At least one other person came over to check on me, then left to get one of the RDs. Josh, the RD, arrived and with help walked me inside, helped get me out of my wet shirt into a dry one, then got me into my warm up suit with a blanket wrapped around me. The worst part of that was every time I moved something cramped, my foot or my calf or my hip. With strict orders to sit for at least an hour and get something to eat and drink as soon as I felt I could keep it down, Josh left me in the care of Nancy, chief of food and the aid stations, and also a nurse. We're getting to know each other as this is the third year I've run D3 and the third year I've ended up in her care. Finally warm and dry I was able to drink water, then started nibbling on pretzels. By the time Josh came back to check on me I was feeling a lot better, though still a little wobbly on my feet. The masseuse had arrived by that time, so he helped me up to her table. A massage really felt good then, but we were interrupted as the rain storm moved in and the wind picked up strongly. While Bobbi, the masseuse who is also a friend from my running club, helped hold things down I hobbled over to check on my tent. The wind had pulled up one of the poles, so I reset that then hobbled back to finish my massage once the wind died down. After that I felt almost normal for having run 50K and was able to get back to track side and cheer.

Temperatures were gradually falling and it was getting chilly, so every so often I would walk a lap or two around the track in the opposite direction from the runners. They changed direction every 4 hours. Most of the time I hung out with Perry and other friends from the Annapolis area that I had met when I ran the Endless Summer 6-Hour Race there. When it got too chilly for me I ducked into my tent and took a nap in my very warm sleeping bag. After what seemed an endless time the sun finally rose and the race was drawing to an end. Between the sun in the morning and the late afternoon and evening rain, I think the weather had taken its toll on a lot of the runners. Some records had been broken and goals reached, but I think there were also a lot like me who fell short. Some had reached their goal, often either 50 miles or 100 miles, and stopped then rather than continuing for the full 24 hours, so there were a lot fewer runners moving at the end than at the start. My results weren't really unexpected based on my training, so I'm not disappointed. I have a lot to do in the coming months because it's less than 12 weeks to Elkhorn 50K and less than 18 weeks to North Coast 24.

 2016 Hyner Trail Challenge 25K

Getting My Butt Kicked

This is my year to explore trail running. The Hyner Challenge is my first venture into seriously exploring that side of running. Previously I have run both the Ice Age Trail 50K and 50K at Labor Pain, but neither posed quite the challenge of vertical gain that Hyner does. With one of my major goal races this year being the HURL Elkhorn 50K in Montana, I needed something to gauge where I was and give me some insight into what I would face in August. The vertical gain at Hyner kicked my butt. I have a long way to go before I'll be prepared for the Elkhorn 50K.

I drove up the night before. After checking into the motel, I picked up my race packet, then drove up to a local church that was hosting a spaghetti dinner along with many other runners. The church youth group had organized it and they went out of their way to be sure we had everything we wanted. The plate of spaghetti was actually more than I could eat. After dinner I returned to my motel room and laid out everything I needed for the next day. With a 9:00 a.m. start for the 25K, I would have more than enough time in the morning for breakfast at the motel before checking out and driving to the start.

Aside from the usual tossing and turning the night before a race spent in a motel, the morning did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. For one thing I felt a little under the weather, which was emphasized when part of my breakfast reappeared while brushing my teeth. That is not a good sign any morning, much less race day morning. If it had been a local race, I might have decided on a DNS, but having driven all the way there and shelled out money for a motel room, I wasn't about to back out now. The second drawback was at the start before the race. Parking was far enough away that I didn't want to cart a bag all the way to where we could store them while running, and it was cool enough that I didn't want to stand around in shorts and t-shirt for any length of time. After sitting a few minutes in my car, I decided I needed to brave the cool temperature, leave my warm up suit in the car, and walk up to the start. It's a good thing I did because it was about a 15 wait in the port-a-potty line. Did I mention there were almost 1,000 runners in the 25K that narrowed to single track after just over a mile on the road to spread out the field?

After a few introductions the race started with a shout and we headed downhill on a dusty road, up a short slope, then across a bridge over the Susquehanna River. We continued on a road paralleling the river before finally turning onto a single track trail a little over a mile into the race. At that point the entire field back where I was slowed to a walk. The trail was runnable but the congestion was so bad that I had no choice. There wasn't any room to pass, steep slope to the left and sharp drop off toward the river to the right. This continued for close to a mile before we turned up Humble Hill, so named because it humbled you, not because it was a humble, unassuming hill. We climbed about 1300 feet in the next 1.5 miles. The footing was loose dirt and you had to be careful or you would slide back. I lost count of how many times after the fourth I had to stop to rest my quads and catch my breath before finally reaching the top. When I did I stood there dazed and confused before a volunteer pointed me in the right direction to continue. Even this early in the race I realized my expectations for time were far beyond what I was capable of and this would be more a race to survive and finish, than to see how well I could place. I think It took almost an hour to reach the top and we weren't even 4 miles into the race by my Garmin. (By the end my Garmin was off by about a mile.) I think this is where they take off for hang gliding off Hyner Mountain. At any rate the first aid station was there. I drank some Gatorade and continued. That was another mistake that was magnified by my not bothering to bring my belt and water bottles. It wasn't that far between aid stations, but I didn't factor in how much time it would take to cover the distance. I definitely should have drunk more and also should have grabbed something to eat. That came back to bite me, so to speak.

Leaving the aid station we began out descent, steep and rocky, but not as steep as the ascent. There were a few places where it was runnable, but much of it was treacherous. Twice I thought I was going to blow out my knee and have to be carried off the mountain because I slipped and slide with my knee starting to buckle under me. At least with some runners hanging out a little longer at the aid station, the field was beginning to spread out so it didn't look like a conga line. We proceeded down to Reickert Hollow, over a small hill, then reached the second major ascent, am 1100 foot climb over about 2 miles up Johnson Run, not as steep or high as the first climb but long before I reached the top I had serious doubts about being able to make it up the third and last major climb, and had thoughts of dropping out. Progress was measured by how often I stopped to catch my breath and get my heart rate down as well as giving my quads a rest. At least I could see I wasn't the only one moving slowly because I kept seeing the same shoes every so often as we leap frogged up the mountain. I couldn't see high enough to see faces, but the shoes would become very familiar sights. The last section here is aptly name Psycho Path and is also the steepest. Somewhere on this climb when I sat down, I must have looked completely out of it. A group of three runners stopped and insisted over my assurances that I was okay to minister to me with offers of Sports Beans and water. Once again unlooked for I received some much needed help. As it turned out Jim continued at this own pace, but my two self-appointed guardian angels, Lisa and Colleen, ended up as my running, or more accurately walking, companions for the remainder of the race.

I was able to beg a water bottle from one of the volunteers at the aid station. It was a liter bottle, so awkward to carry, but after my experience getting to the aid station, I wasn't going to quibble. I also found some shot blocs to carry with me. Having never tried GU I wanted to avoid that if at all possible because I didn't know how my stomach would react to it. My mind rejected it. By this time the Sports Beans and water were having a very positive effect and I was feeling much better as we left the aid station for another descent down Post Draft to Cleveland Hollow. We were about 9.5 miles into the race and it was already approaching 4 hours. Only one more major climb, but that included S.O.B.

By this time the 50K runners who had started an hour earlier had rejoined the 25K course and periodically we moved aside to let them pass. The run was now consciously a hike for me. As difficult as the first two climbs were, I was walking to conserve all my strength for the final, brutal climb to the last aid station at the top of S.O.B. More and more sections of the trail were muddy as we crossed and recrossed a creek. At times it felt like the course was a creek bed as there were rivulets of water coming down the mountain on the trail. No longer concerned with time, I took more care to cross the creek to keep my feet dry and largely was successful. The 50K runners coming through took the direct route and splashed across taking a direct line.

S.O.B. is just the last stretch on the final 850 foot climb and probably only about 100m, but it's almost vertical. We regrouped at the bottom of that stretch, resting up for the final push to the top. I told Lisa and Colleen to start up and I would follow, taking my time, resting if needed. The biggest challenge on this stretch turned out to be finding stable places to put my feet. More than once I planted my foot only to have the loose soil give way and have to grab anything handy to keep from sliding down. I was saved once by the runner below who grabbed me as I started to slip. I took the climb methodically, looking up to see where there were small trees and rocks securely planted that I could grab for stability. Eventually I scrambled the last few meters to be greeted by Lisa and Colleen who were waiting for me.

We refilled our water bottles, I grabbed more shot blocs, and we continued out of the aid station on a wide grassy path. We even ran a little because the change of pace felt good. It was a little more than 5 hours into the race and we still had more than 4 miles to go, and while mostly downhill and flat, we didn't know how tough the footing would be. It was actually pleasant to be able to relax a little and enjoy the scenery hiking through patches of hemlock and rhododendrons, but the adventures weren't over yet. Trying to pick our way through a muddy section, I did a face plant. I do mean that literally. I slipped, tripped, and dove head first. Once I made a quick assessment to see if I was hurt, I came up with dried leaves, moss, and probably a little mud in my beard and on my face. As hard as I'd hit, I thought for sure I'd also have a bloody nose, but the moss and dried leaves must have cushioned the impact. At least I hadn't fallen in one of the many rocky places where the consequences would have been much worse. That was the last incident on any note. Eventually we reached the road and Lisa and I tried to run in. I wasn't able to stay at her pace for very long, so I started alternating with short walks anticipating the final climb up a short hill to the finish. We crossed back over the bridge, turned down the dusty road, then just as the road started up we turned to the left into the woods for the final push. I walked this hill until I could see the red arch for the finish, then ran that last 40-50 meters in finish just under 6:40, about 2 hours slower than I though I would before I experienced what the course was like. Official time 6:39:49, 832nd of 935 overall, and 32nd of 37 in my age group.

I was not prepared for this race. Even the Mt Joy - Mt Misery lops I had been running were inadequate, so I'm not sure what I'll need to do to get ready for Elkhorn. I could have finished a little faster but I didn't see any point in pushing myself after the 3 big climbs and thought it would be rude to take off and leave Lisa and Colleen behind after they'd been so kind and helpful to get me over the last two ascents and help me up after my face plant. The Rothrock Trail Challenge on June 4th looks appealing and would be similar to Hyner, but that would also require asking for another weekend off from work. I may be better off driving to some of the closer state parks like French Creek and Hickory Run. In any case terrain and vertical gain are not concerns with my next race, the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K on a 400m track on May14th.