2017 Piedmont 8-Hour

Why Did I Register For This Race

Despite the subtitle, in retrospect I actually had a great time here with the except of one low spot about five hours into the race. To understand that let me back up to just after North Coast 24 in mid-September. From the day after North Coast 24 to the day before Piedmont 8-Hour I averaged less than 21 miles per week. My longest run during that period was only 7.2 miles. To say that I was ill prepared to run an eight hour race is at best an understatement. As I was laying in my hotel room bed trying to get to sleep the night before, that subtitle was the essence of my thoughts. I wondered why in the world am I even here, and it was mostly because I had registered, paid the entry fee, booked the hotel room, and told friends I was running. At least at that point my heart was not at all in the race and I was ready for any excuse to keep it short and go home. Still I went through the motions, made sure I knew how to get to the race and how long it would take me to get there. Check in was race day when we got there.

Race morning saw me up early and ready in plenty of time. I grabbed coffee at the hotel and an eggs and bacon muffin at Wawa since the hotel breakfast wasn't open until 7:00 A.M. As I 'm driving to the race I was sure I had forgotten by bib belt but it was too late to turn around and get it, so stopping to check wouldn't make any difference in any case. As it turned up there it was on the top of everything in my bag. I checked in. This was a no frills race, which also made it eminently affordable. No chip timing. The race name wasn't even on the bibs. Nothing fancy with the food and drink but what they had was certainly adequate: pretzels, chips, bananas, cookies, several types of drinks including Pepsi, ginger ale, Heed, and water. hot broth and coffee since it was a little chilly at the start. Sandwiches were put out later near lunch time. I didn't lack in anything even if the choices weren't as extensive as big races where the entry fee is 3 to 4 times as much.

It was cold enough at the start that I kept my warm up suit on for the first of the 2.85 mile loops. The loop wandered through meadows and single track trails through a hardwood forest. There were a few slopes that I noticed more each loop, but the trails were not at all technical with only a few places where you had to be careful of roots. It was laid out in a huge lollipop format and we were allowed to run the loop in either direction after the initial clockwise one. That added more variety and after the first couple loops I was being passed by runners going in both directions so I never felt alone or isolated.

With the cold it took me a mile or so to start to warm up and feel comfortable running. I began with my usual run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Even before I had finished the first loop I was too warm. I removed my jacket but had to wait until I finished the loop to remove the pants. I completely forgot to grab any food or drink because of that. I'm not sure if that had any bearing on the issues I had later, but it's not something I want to make a habit of. Surprisingly I didn't start to noticeably slow down until the fourth loop, but it was still a decent pace and had me on target to reach 11 laps, roughly 50K. Loop 6 had me adjusting to run less and walk more as the terrain varied rather than on a schedule. I was also taking much longer breaks at the aid station at the end of each loop.

Then there was loop 7. I timed one mile at almost 25 minutes. I felt like I was barely moving and walked the entire way. I couldn't even force myself to run the downhill slopes - if I even noticed them. I finished that, plopped down on a bench, and was ready to tell the timer I quit. Instead I ended up chatting with the RD and some of the volunteers. I must have sat there for about 20 minutes feeling sorry for myself. Then I got up to get something to eat and realized I didn't feel so bad after all. I could complete one more loop, so out I went. When I finished that one, I still felt okay and was still able to run some, so I thought why not another loop. As I'm midway through my 9th loop, I'm even starting to wonder if there would be time for a 10th one. I'm trying to calculate the running time, how much time it would take for another loop, whether it was possible to speed up, all this after having already run for 7 hours. I came to the conclusion that if I could finish this loop and have 50 minutes left, it was enough that I would at least try. Note how my attitude had changed from pre-race to post-low point. At it was when I finished that loop I had only 42 minutes left, so I stopped then. Apparently a lot of the runners had reached their goals and stopped by then because there couldn't have been more than a half dozen that I saw finish after I did.

Considering my ability to recover both physically and mentally to continue after I was ready to give up, I'd call this a big win even though I fell short of my pre-race goal of 50K which I had set when I registered. Obviously with my lack of enthusiasm and training in the two months leading up to the race, my goal became overly optimistic. The support from the volunteers and RD was a major factor in my delaying a decision to quit and then going back out for two more loops. Several of the runners still on the course who had seen me struggling also had encouraging words when they saw me back on the trail. This seems to be one of those little known gems that's begging to be found.

2017 North Coast 24 Endurance Race

Yet Another Try at 100K

This could be almost a copy of last year's race report. Leading up to NC 24 this year my mileage had been less than I wanted until summer. I was getting in over 100 miles per month but didn't get good mileage until 164 in July and 144 in August. I wanted to be averaging over 150, but could not get myself to put in the long runs and had too many short periods of lethargy when I hardly ran at all. Once again my goal was 100K, a goal I've repeatedly fallen short of.

I drove up the day before and made very good time. I was actually too early to check into the motel, so I drove to Edgewater Park to check out the changes and the new course. The new pavilion is really nice. The main changes to the course were removing the short downhill just before the finish and rerouting the course to the leeward side of the Pavilion so we won't get sand blowing onto the course. It is also just a trifle shorter at .8822 miles. The changes push the aid station and medical tents further down the course, so the tent section also got pushed further down, but we still got a good site thanks to Michael arriving early Saturday morning to stake our claim. Pre-race dinner was purchased and eaten at the Pavilion with me, Michael, Susan, Diana, and Chris in attendance.

With the race start moved to noon on Saturday, breakfast was a leisurely affair. I saw several friends at breakfast who were also staying at the Travelodge as well as Dr. Lovy and his medical team. I chatted with Paige, who was running a study of the runners, and decided to participate. I ended up seeing Paige far more often than the study justified. By the time I got to Edgewater Park it was already sunny and getting very warm. I was sweating just sitting around. This did not bode well for me and many of the other runners. The heat and humidity took a toll on many of us.

Besides our own group I saw many other friends there to run and crew. It's always exciting to finally meet runners that I've known only through the Internet. I think at final count there were about 150 of us that toed the starting line to brave the heat, humidity, and hours of running. I started off as planned running three minutes and walking one. It was immediately obvious that even that would be a struggle so after a couple miles switched to running two minutes and walking two minutes. I was already finding the heat troublesome in the first hour. By the time I'd finished 7 laps, barely 6 miles and only an hour and a half into the race I realized I was already on the verge of trouble. I stopped at the medical tent to get ice and cool myself off as well as advice on how to proceed with my eating and drinking to be sure I was getting the electrolytes and fluids that I needed. I was far more unsteady than I realized. At this time I don't have my lap splits, but I must have been kept there close to an hour before they were willing to let me continue and that only with the proviso that someone walk at least the next lap with me. This pretty much became the story of my race repeated over and over. Cover as many laps as I could, all walking at this point; stop at the medical tent when I started experiencing more problems; get treated and continue on my way.

With the heat affecting many, indeed most, of the runners, I was able to often find people who would walk with me for a lap or more. It was a wonderful way to get to know some of them better and it really helped me, keeping me distracted from the effort of moving forward, so the time passed much more quickly. I don't remember all the others whom I walked with besides Laura, Brad, and Susan from our group, but I do remember many enjoyable laps with Lorelei whom I knew from the North Coast 24 FB page, but met for the first time just before the start. Susan also spent some time in the medical tent with dehydration, so the two of us had a lot in common as we encouraged and accompanied each other many times around the park. This may be a little too much information, but early on I had a very low urine output which was a concern to the medical volunteers. When that passed, it became a cause of limiting our rest breaks so we could walk a lap to get to the port-a-potties.

Throughout the race it was heartening to see that so many runners were still on pace to meet their goals despite the heat and humidity. As much as possible I tried to give a word of encouragement each time they passed me. Afterwards in talking with runners and at the awards ceremony we heard of quite a few who set personal bests and I believe at least one world age group record. That was in my age group incredibly enough. It was also exciting to hear that many of the award winners were friends including both the men's and women's overall winners, Harvey Lewis and Tara Langdon. Even more exciting was seeing both Mary and Lorelei place in their age groups and both exceeding their goals. The biggest surprise of all, though, was when they announced my name as the third place finisher for my age group as my 44.21 miles was well short of what was needed to place in previous races.

Naturally I was disappointed that I couldn't overcome the heat to achieve my goal, but this is the first time I've been able to endure to the end without talking any long breaks or naps other than those dictated by the medical personnel. That's a big deal for me because those types of breaks have been my downfall in the past. I'm tempted to rush out and find another 24 hour race as soon as possible for another try at running 100 kilometers, but that's probably not the best idea. As much as I would like to use that as an excuse to run Across The Years in December or the Jackpot Festival in February, I think it would be better to wait until April for the Beyond Limits Ultra Festival in California. That gives me not only more time for recovery, but much more time to train properly.

 2017 Run Till You Drop 5-Hour

Training and Tune-Up Race for NC 24

I've been getting in some belated training for North Coast 24 this year and this race will be the final long run with only 13 days left. My hope going into this race was to run 20 plus miles in 5 hours. My training this week leading up to the race was not the best preparation for that. I already had 30.2 miles for the week including a 10 mile run on Thursday. On Saturday I thought I was beginning to get a sore throat and still felt that way when I woke at the ridiculously early hour of 4:00 A.M. to get ready for the 6:00 A.M. start. I was still dark and raining driving to the race, so I missed the unilluminated sign for Downingtown West High School and had to back track. At packet pick up I saw the shirts were an uninspiring grey. The only refreshments on the course would be water and Gatorade, no snacks of any kind so I brought some Clif Bloks. They did not go down well so that added to my discomfort.

The course was laid out as a .22 mile tail, then a mile loop more or less in an hour glass shape. That meant a lot of right angle turns, at least 12-14 since some of the sides of the two main squares weren't straight. That tail threw off my pace comparisons between lap times and Garmin recorded mile times because I neglected to manually lap that small section. None the less the Garmin times were 10-20 seconds faster and the point where the split was taken on the loop regressed each lap. Despite all that I was consistently running 13 minute pace plus or minus a few seconds through 6 miles, then slipped slightly to 13:10-13:25 for the next 8. I was noticeably slowing at that point, but more importantly I was starting to feel cold and clammy, not a good sign. I decided to run one more lap then stopped at 16.7 miles per my Garmin.

While I had wanted to run the full 5 hours, there was always the thought that it might not be the best idea with North Coast 24 less than two weeks away. My training earlier in the week was more and harder than what I normally do before a long run or tune up race. Then I wasn't feeling my best though in retrospect it probably wasn't as bad as I let my imagination make it. Going back to compare my pace with what I ran at D3, I was a good 30-40 seconds faster, though also more tired. I don't intend to start anywhere near that fast at NC 24, but it does show a significant improvement in fitness since May, even if I did need to take a 4 hour nap when I got home.

 2017 Montour 12-Hour

Working on Heat, Eating, and Drinking

This is more a training run in preparation for North Coast 24. Especially in the heat we've been experiencing this seems to be the only way I can push myself to run long. Getting my eating and drinking down seems to be more a hit or miss proposition rather than carefully planned. Going simply by what I feel like eating and drinking does not work. I'm not sure what to expect in detail will be offered at Montour, but I expect it will be typical with chips, M&Ms, oranges, bananas, water, and several types of soda and sports drinks. I'm bringing my own Snickers, Clif Bloks, and chips as well.

Leading up to this race I had a good short interval workout last week followed two days later with a good two hour run, but since then I've been slow and feeling sluggish and tired. Despite assurances that this is nothing to worry about, it is atypical of what I usually experience during a taper. At least from the weather forecast the heat doesn't sound too bad, a high of 81F with cloud cover, but there is also up to a 50% chance of rain and thunderstorms.

After working a 4.5 hour shift in the morning I made the 2.5 hour drive to Danville taking state roads rather than the interstate since is was shorter though about the same in time. It was a little more adventuresome since I made several wrong turns and had to backtrack. After checking in I changed and drove to Hess Field where the race would be held to check out the course. My travel curse continued to plague me as I missed a critical turn on the course, which I realized after I'd run 1.5 miles and was nowhere near the field where it started. fortunately that was not a problem on race day; they simply hadn't finished the course marking yet. I met a couple runners from my club there with one of their friends so we went to dinner together after picking up our bibs.

As usual I was awake before my morning wake up call and was quickly ready and on my way when I realized I'd forgotten a potentially crucial item, Vaseline. I had plenty of time so I turned back to get it. Considering how the day turned out, I was glad I did. It was a day conducive to chafing. Not realizing there would be bagels, coffee, and other breakfast food set out before the race, I stopped at a mini-mart to grab pastries and coffee. I wandered around after getting to the race to see my friends and look for another Running Ahead forum friend who was supposed to be there. He found me and I left my drop bag at his canopy. His DW and DD were going to walk the 6 hour race, so there were two more people I would know out on the course. After that we had to wait, and wait a little longer, because the timer was delayed. The race finally got off at 7:30 a.m. a half hour late. Meanwhile it didn't look like we were going to get the forecast cloud cover and it was still going to be warm, the high now being 85F.

The start of the race mimicked my taper runs, slow and sluggish on a trail once we left the field. We reached the only hill on the course not quite a half mile into the race. The hill itself wasn't too bad being only about 50-60 feet of gain, but at the very bottom was a large "step up" that I had to almost jump rather than run, then grab a small tree to help get me over the top. Some time later someone placed a hay bale there that made it easier. Once at the top we were back on a flat groomed trail and the running was very easy. Eventually we ran down a short hill turned onto a covered bridge, and shortly after than down a short, steep single track trail. That was the turn I had missed the day before. After this short section in the woods we came back onto the field to finish the lap. I was much surprised to see my first lap around 21:30 (14:20 pace) because it felt much slower. I also noted the the trees much be affecting my Garmin readings because it never matched the 1.50 miles measured for the course, sometimes being well under, then later being well over.

Although I slowed a bit on subsequent laps I was holding close to that pace for the first two hours which is when the heat started taking its toll. I was slowing significantly over the next two hours and feeling very overheated even liberally dowsing myself with water frequently. On one of those laps I was so self absorbed that I didn't even notice a two foot long black snake on the trail until a runner passing me at the time tried to jump over it and almost landed on it. That decided me that I needed to take a break, hopefully get some ice and cool off. I ended up at the med station to get an ice pack and within a minute or two after applying it began to feel dizzy. I stayed there for about 20-25 minutes recovering from the dizziness and bringing my core temperature down. On their advice, when I started again I walked the entire lap to see how I would react. I felt okay if not good, so I continued and re-instituted my run-walk pattern. Going was slow though. What I hadn't counted on was how much a sore heel would affect me. Being a mid-foot striker it didn't bother me much at all running, but it caused me to limp and slow down when walking. that slowed my walking pace from a typical 16-17 minute mile to 21-22 minutes. I made up a little of that by being able to continue easy running further into the race than normal. The other thing that slowed me down was longer breaks each lap to refill my water bottles and get something to eat and drink. I still haven't mastered the art of eating on the run, so I walked until I finished eating.

I continued to take it easy lest I overheat again, then about 8 hours into the race it clouded over and tried to rain. At first it was no more than spritzes, but then it became a steady soaking rain that turned portions of the course into quagmires and left puddles, some ankle deep, on the course. It was treacherous trying to avoid them because I would slide sideways right into the puddles if I tried to walk on the edge of the trail. I finally finished 17 laps putting me at 25.5 miles when I hit a mental and motivational crisis. About 3.5 hours remained to run, but I was thoroughly soaked, disappointed because I'd had to continually revise downward my goal and at this point almost talked myself into walking only one more lap to reach 27 miles, technically an ultra marathon, and throw in the towel. It was at that point, sitting at the aid station being miserable, that one of my running club friends came by. Talking with him convinced me that I should get up and finish the 4 laps I needed to reach 50K (plus a little more). The next two laps were difficult for me. I barely ran at all and only because it was less painful than walking and would let me finish quicker. As I was starting my next to last lap I caught up to a woman in her 70s who was in the 24 hour race and struck up a conversation. the next two laps went quickly subjectively even though we walked the entire time. When I finished lap 21 for 31.5 miles I still had almost an hour left, more than enough time for another lap, but I didn't care about another 1.5 miles, so I verified my distance with the timer and turned in my bib, i.e. removed it and put it in my car. The aid station had hot soup, hot sandwiches, and coffee, also hot, so I indulged in refueling. While I was eating the rain started coming down harder than ever, so I was very glad not to be out on the course again. Later after the 12 hour night race began, the creek was so swollen that the temporary bridge we had been running over was washed away and runners had to ford the stream in mid-thigh high waters. I can't imagine what that would be like once it was dark and a headlamp was the only light.

Overall I can't say I was disappointed in my race despite not coming close to my original goal or even my first and second revisions. I got some good advice on cooling down and eating from the med staff. When they took my blood pressure it was only 108 over 68, so they recommended more salt intake. I worked through some very negative thoughts to continue when I was contemplating stopping early. And I persevered through the rain and mud. The numbers bring into question whether my goal of 65.1 miles, or at least 100K, at North Coast is attainable, but I still have two months more to get ready for that, and there's no telling what the weather will be like, and that will be a big factor.

2017  Powderface 21K

Another Foray Into the Hills

Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary and Powderface is on July 1st, Canada Day. This seemed like a good idea when I signed up, but after another DNF at Laurel Highlands 50K due in large part to still not being prepared for the climbs, this is taking on a more ominous perspective. As I count there are 5 climbs of 100m or more with the additional factor of being at an altitude of 1500-1600m. I tried only one hill workout since Laurel Highlands and my legs were still so tired that I felt like I was still struggling up the last hill there. As a result all my training in the three weeks between have been on flat or gently rolling hills. The paces have been encouraging but the lack of any additional hill work is of concern. At this point there is nothing to be done but to be as well rested as possible given the traveling involved.

Taper week has not been exactly a taper. Monday's run was over two hours at the fastest pace I've run for that length of time since last August. My recovery run the next day was 5.2 miles, a little long for a recovery run, and at close to my normal easy run pace. With some trepidation I ran 4 x 400m intervals on Wednesday, then Thursday was both a rest day and travel day. Friday was my final prep day for Powderface. I purchased the recommended bear spray (two bears were sighted near the course on race day), then jogged over the first 3 km of the course with my friend Greg for a total of 3.6 miles out and back. I was relieved to find the trails a lot easier to run on than the Valley Forge trails.

Saturday I was up early, ate a good breakfast, and drove to the race start without out getting lost, courtesy of Greg having taken me down there the day before when checking out the course. I was actually there in time for the 7:30 am start of the marathon. After the entire field sang Oh Canada, they counted down to the start, then off to the races. I was able to talk with several people, including the race director, who assured me the course was well marked and there would be someone behind me even if it was only the sweep who would be also picking up the flags marking the course. Greg showed up shortly after that with his Go-Pro and we hung out until the start. We also sang Oh Canada and counted down to the start.

I waited for most of the field to cross the starting mat before I jumped in. The first kilometer is pretty flat so I was moving along well. A few more runners passed me, but as well headed into the woods and early rolling hills I knew there were only a few runners behind me. I was moving well, not straining at all up to where Greg and I had turned around. Shortly after that we met the first of the major climbs. Over the next 3/4 of a mile we climbed about 650 ft. I could see a single runner and a group of three ahead of me and at least a couple behind me chatting. Amazingly I was catching up the the runners ahead of me as I walked up the hill. We had a short respite and downhill which did help me recover, then our second climb, this one about 300 ft and we were only about 3.5 miles into the race. Now lost most of the gain and I kept leap frogging the single runner. Patty would play an important role later in the race. We had one more climb of about 300 ft before we descended to the mid-race aid station and the turn around just past it. During this segment the sun was often beating down and taking its toll on me. The one thing I had forgotten to pack was a hat, so the sun was becoming brutal. On the descent there was also one small section where the trail was essentially washed away. I slipped and almost slid downhill trying to get past it and was saved by grabbing onto a root sticking out of the hillside.

Passing back through the aid station and checking to be sure they had my number, one of the women gave me a buff soaked in cold water to help with the sun. The race doctor was there and said I looked stressed and he wanted to check on my at the aid station on the way back. That was a portent of things to come. Now I had that modest climb out of the aid station and had to inch my way past the washed out area again. At this point Patty must have spent more time at the aid station because we weren't leap frogging anymore. I was probably just a little behind pace for my sub-4:00 time when I left the aid station. Considering how I was feeling I let that goal slip and concentrated on keeping as cool as I could, not getting overheated on the climbs, and making steady forward progress. The next climb, only one more after that, was about 400 ft and they were getting harder. The marathon runners were passing me now as well. Even with moderating my effort I was maintaining a reasonable pace for running the trails with climbs, but my condition must have been deteriorating. Patty caught up to me and slowed to walk with me because she was concerned about how I looked. I didn't think I was that bad off but shortly after that I started getting light headed and sat down for a minute. That's when I left it all on the course. Everything I'd drank came up. I probably sat there for 5 minutes or more before feeling able to get up to continue. We knew the next aid station had to be pretty close. Once there she turned me over to their care, waited a few minutes to be sure I was okay, then left to finish her race. Radio and phone reception must have been really poor there. Despite repeated attempts it wasn't clear whether they ever did get through to the doctor. After waiting for 20 minutes of more during which I drank was I could, mainly Pepsi, and picked at food I thought would stay down, I decided I would continue on my own. After taking a DNF in my two previous trail race missing time cutoffs, I was not about to DNF again when I was only 5 km or so from the finish.

The last 5 km went slowly most of the time, besides it included the last 300 ft climb. I did have enough energy to run at a near normal pace but I was more concerned that running might make me nauseous again, so I didn't even attempt to stay with either of the two women who passed me in the last mile or so. I waited until I could hear and see the finish area through the trees before starting to run the final stretch to the finish. There were lots of cheers for each finisher, and people waiting for me to check me over and be sure I was okay. I thought I was fine then all of a sudden thought I might faint and sat down abruptly. After getting water to drink and resting briefly I moved to a chair in the shade. Getting some Pepsi, then food into me revived me considerably. I'm not sure how long I sat there but eventually felt well enough to walk around a little and was able to start grazing at the food table: apple pie, chips, more soda, etc. The race announcer also commented on my determination to finish despite being urged to get a ride back from the last aid station. I was given a mug in honor of the effort. I made sure he and the race director knew how much I appreciated all the help and how much I enjoyed the race despite the stomach issues. I also met Susanne at the finish, the lady who had given me the buff at the turn around. She insisted I keep it as a memento.

Wrapping things up I finished in 4:56:02 having lost over 30 minutes directly dealing with stomach issues, then proceeding much slower than planned to prevent a recurrence. I may not have run the sub-4:00 time I'd hoped for even without the stomach issues, but I handled the trails and hills as well as any race I've run. I barely avoided being DFL, but I wouldn't have been upset if I was. In a way I'm disappointed that I don't have any more scheduled for this year, but my remaining races are all fixed time events and the courses are tame in comparison.

 2017 Laurel Highlands 50K

Tackling the Big Climbs Again

Most trails races I've looked at have climbs much bigger than what I have readily available to train on regularly. Finding a workable training routine to prepare for these races has been a big challenge and one I have yet to solve. Despite having made some great strides since running Hyner 25K last year, I'm still not where I need to be if I'm to continue running trail races that have even moderate climbs of 500 ft or more.

Training leading up to the race was split between trying to get in some longer runs, run more hills, and regaining some of my lost speed. They don't work well together, at least not the way I could do it 45 years ago in my mid-20s. It was a rarity to get in a two hour run and that only got me to 9 miles. I was getting in more runs at Valley Forge, mostly on Mt Joy. I could see improvement there because I was running sections that last year I had to walk. My speed was picking up on the shorter intervals, but mile repeats were still a struggle to get anywhere close to what I needed to run. In the middle of all this I had a 10K scheduled in April and my annual 50K race at Dawn to Dusk to Dawn in mid-May. I comfortably met my goal in the 10K, though it wasn't that difficult and challenging, but it was encouraging and seemed to trigger a breakthrough with my easy run paces. D3 was a tough race and I did not meet my goal, but I was able to regroup and finish strong, a good indication that at least some of my training was having a positive effect.

Leading up to Laurel Highlands I tried to plot my expected and required paces based on the course profile, my previous experiences in trail races, and my training paces running Mt Joy. I made some assumptions about the trail conditions and how they would affect my pace. As I discovered during the race my assumptions were not valid. I expected to slow to about 30:00 mile pace on the climbs, 14-15 minute pace on the descents, and otherwise hold about a 16:00 pace. These turned to be overly optimistic for the most part.

As usual I barely slept the night before and was up before the alarm went off. I grabbed breakfast minus my usual coffee, checked out of my motel, and drove to the finish area where I would catch a bus ride to the start. (Could I blame everything on not having my morning coffee?) I was quite early which gave me a chance to chat with a few other runners also waiting for the bus. Several said they would be chasing the cutoff as well, so I hoped I'd have company for at least part of the race. It was about a 45 minute ride to the start which left us with about 15-20 minutes to check in and take care of any last minute needs.

The call finally came to gather for the start. Even for an ultra trail event this was informal. I almost missed hearing the start, but everyone started moving so I went with the flow. We started up an unpaved road to where we turned onto the trail. This was my first surprise. We took a left turn onto what might as well have been a steep, narrow stairwell. It was single file and there were places where grabbing the trees or a rock outcropping helped. This was already throwing off my Garmin measurements as well as my pace. I had anticipated being able to run this approximately 150 ft climb this early in the race at about a 15:00 pace, but it was a slow scramble. Even with the short section on the road where I was moving quicker, this already put me a little behind pace. There had been enough rain recently including that morning, that the trail was muddy. With enough rocks that I had to be very careful as well as slower than expected I was falling further behind on the flatter portions. Then we came to the first big climb, about 650 ft over about a mile followed by a drop of around 500 ft. The climb wasn't that bad considering what I expected but the descent was so steep and muddy, not the mention the rocks, that I couldn't make up any time at all. I was already 10 minutes behind my worst case scenario and hadn't even reached the second of the three major climbs.

When I did reach the second climb, about a 700 ft ascent, I actually made up time on it. Then lost all I had gained and more navigating short switchbacks, more mud, and very steep downhill sections. I was 20 minutes behind and still had the biggest climb ahead of me, about 1250 ft of gain over 1.5 miles. Around this time I noticed a runner with a yellow Massanutten Mountain Trails shirt on but no number. He was the sweep runner which meant I was dead last as I had suspected. The third climb turned into walking for a short while, stopping to catch my breath, then repeating over and over and over again. A couple times I had to stop and sit before I could continue. While I distrust my Garmin on the actual distance, it was certainly indicative of my progress when it said I was moving at a 45:00 mile pace. By the time I reached the top I was a half hour behind pace and would have to run 15:00 mile pace to the cutoff to beat it. That simply was not going to happen, especially knowing there was another 300 ft climb just before the 19.3 mile checkpoint. I wasn't so exhausted as I had been last year at Elkhorn because I was still moving at paces varying from 25:00 to 17:00 depending on the footing and whether I could jog or had to walk, but that wasn't getting me there in time. I said as much to Tim, the sweep runner, and he texted ahead to let them know I would be dropping at the 11.6 mile aid station. Since they would be breaking it down and cleaning up, I could get a ride back to the finish with one of the volunteers.

Much to my surprise Jim ran back to meet us with a couple of ice cold bottles of water which were very welcome after drinking lukewarm water for miles. He took over escort duties while Tim ran ahead to catch up to the new back of the pack runners. I reached the aid station in 4:25:25 where I was welcomed like a celebrity. A little quick math shows I would have just over an hour and a half to cover 7.7 miles on single track trail with at least one 300 ft climb. That's 11:40 pace or so. I couldn't run that on a flat road course. Since they were cleaning up I could help myself to as much as I wanted of the food and drink that was already prepared since there was no one behind me. The watermelon, cantaloupe nuts, Coke were all welcome. I did have to take it slow instead of stuffing myself. I think if I had tried some of the cookies and other offerings my stomach might have objected. Once everything was broken down and packed up I got a ride back to the finish with another volunteer, Jason. He was kind enough to drive to the finish line where I could get some more substantial food, e.g. pizza, then drove me back to the parking area for the bus where I'd left my car.

The whole race, from the mail-in entry form to packet pickup to the race itself had an old time feeling about it. I want to go back and run it again for redemption, but not until I've solved the training problem on how to prepare for the extended climbs. I can't say enough about the race and how well I was cared for by the volunteers. It's a race I would recommend for any trail runner as long as they are prepared for that type of course. I'm hoping that, if nothing else, it will aid in my preparations for Powderface 21K in three weeks since I'll have more trails and hills to face and conquer there. The next two weeks will be a lot of trail and hill running. After that it's focusing on lots of time on my feet for North Coast 24. I can't think or plan beyond that at this point.

 2017 Immaculata Nun Run 5K

Flat Race Over Rolling Hills

With three weeks after my Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K, I should be mostly recovered, but it still doesn't give me a lot of time to actually prepare for racing a 5K. Fortunately I run this primarily to support and give back to Immaculata University rather than race it for time. I fully expect to run another personal worst (PW) again this year.

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. Although we've had some decent weather recently, Saturday morning was drizzling rain with temperatures in the low 50s. After I picked up my packet and jogged back to my car, I continued my warm up. It was a day when a good warm up was an absolute necessity. Jogging an easy mile wouldn't suffice. It stopped raining during my warm up so I ditched my hat and jacket. It was a little cool still; I think I would have been fine but then they announced the start would be delayed because of the weather - to give people more time to get there. I don't think that was really necessary, and it meant extending my warm up a little to stay loose.

As usual with this race the start was disorganized. I think half the field didn't even realize the race started until they saw people ahead of them beginning to walk and run. This being typical I lined up a little more toward the front than I normally would. There was only 8 seconds between my gun time and chip time when I checked results afterward. The start is only as wide as the starting mat, maybe 12-15 ft. Despite that it was easy to be running as soon as I crossed the mat with the way the field was milling around seemingly in no hurry to race.

Since current time on a Garmin is pretty useless I tried to check my time after a tenth of a mile and again after .25 miles to get a sense of my pace. It looked like it was about 10:20 pace as we were heading downhill before crossing King Road. Immediately after crossing the road we head up the first of several hills in the first couple miles of the course. That slows me down some both because of the grade and because we are on a narrow sidewalk with a stroller ahead of me that runners either can't or are reluctant to pass. No big deal since I;m not powering up the hill anyway. Shortly after we reach the top we head back down then tackle the biggest hill on the course. We don't reach the mile split until after the bottom of the hill. The hill slowed me more than I realized with the first mile in 10:41. The second mile has most of the remaining hills, one shortly after the mile split, then two more shorter hills but with a little steeper grade. Either despite my hill training or because I may not be fully recovered from two hill workouts in the last 8 days, they took more out of me than anticipated. I had to concentrate not to ease relax and ease up. In spite of good intentions mile two was a little slower at 10:52. I'm on a flat section now with only two more hills to speak of, neither particularly demanding but hills none the less. After the first of these we sweep around to join the course just before descending the first hill on the course heading down to King Road with a little over a half mile to go.

This is where the race took a peculiar turn. As I'm picking up speed running downhill and intending to use my momentum as I cross King Road to get up the last hill on the course, the traffic control monitors are stopping the runners, not the cars! I've heard of course monitors misdirecting runners, courses being laid out incorrectly, even trains interrupting races because of scheduling snafus, but in 50 years of racing I have never been told to stop in the middle of a race so cars could continue. The only exception to that has been emergency vehicles. He held us there 600m from the finish for 25 seconds. When I complained he even threatened to take my number and have me disqualified to I crossed without his okay. That could have been an amusing scenario because when he called out my number to tell the other traffic officers to make note of it, he couldn't even read it correctly off my bib.

Eventually he let us go. As I'm running up the final hill at least one runner said she agreed with me, though no one else had raised a fuss. I pushed hard over the last section trying not to let all that affect me. Even with the break in momentum actual running time for the last mile was 10:27, my fastest of the race, so I did finish strong unlike last year. Final numbers were 33:38 gun time, 33:30 chip time, and 33:05 Garmin time since I had stopped it when we were held up at King Road. That placed me 157th of roughly 300-350 finishers, possibly more as stragglers were still coming in with on 273 finishers on the posted results to that point.

I did speak to the organizers about the incident, so hopefully they will be clear with the instructions next year. I wasn't in the mood to hang around for post-race festivities so I ran my cool down and went home.

That probably finishes up my short races for the year unless I add one in the fall after I recover from North Coast 24. This also serves for some speed work going in to the Laurel Highlands 50K in one week. Hills will be a big issue there as most of the vertical gain is in the first 11 miles and there is a cutoff time I have to make at 19.2 miles. It won't be a disaster if I miss the cutoff (I'm pretty confident I will make it comfortably), since the race will be a good tune up for my summer destination race, Powderface 21K in Alberta. After that everything is focused on my goal of 100K at North Coast 24.

 2017 Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K

April Showers Were Late This Year

We've all been stalking the weather reports and it does not look anything like ideal conditions. The only factor near what most of the runners would like is the temperature, which should be in the 50s, 59F for a high and an overnight low of 50F. Heavy rain and wind, though, will make those temperatures feel colder and I expect we'll all be feeling a bit miserable. I'm debating whether to bring and set up my tent or not. I'm not looking forward to setting up a tent in the rain, but hanging out in the kitchen may not always be possible. If I'm to stay through the wee hours of the night to support the 12-hour and the 24-hour runners, I'll need some place to shelter from the rain and possibly take short naps.

This is my fourth D3, the first being the 24-hour race and the rest the 50K. Despite being well run, as Bill, the race director, says, "it's a race by runners for runners", I have not performed particularly well. Much of that is of course due to my lack of adequate preparation and training. With my aversion to cold weather, getting in the requisite miles over the winter is a challenge for me. This year it's a lack of long runs though my total year to date mileage is more than last year. Having slowed my training pace by a considerable amount, it takes two hours plus just to get in a double digit training run. Having missed my annual winter race in Florida, the only tune up race I've run is the 10K at the Illinois Marathon Weekend. That at least went well and seems to have helped me turn a corner in my training, probably too late for D3, but hopefully I'll be better prepared for the remainder of the season culminating again at North Coast 24 in September.

The final approach to the race did not go as well as I expected from the previous week's workouts. While I did much better in hitting my target pace on a 7 mile run, the shortened interval workout on Wednesday was a bit of a struggle and slower than last week. Thursday I too it easy and at the last minute decided it would be better to take Friday as a rest day. Meanwhile I'm trying to shift my bedtimes and wake up times to adjust to having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday. It didn't go well as I would simply lay in bed wide awake for an hour or two. Friday night I finally gave up and got up for a while before going back to bed. The next thing I knew I was being abruptly awakened by my alarm. I had used the delayed brewing feature on my coffee maker, so that was ready. A quick breakfast, loading the last few things into the car, and I was ready. In retrospect the only items I forgot were an extra hat and an extra pair of gloves.

Faced with a steady rain, variable wind, and temperatures in the 50s, we looked more like derelicts than runners with every assortment of apparel imaginable for the weather including plastic trash bags. Still we gathered by the start while Bill, the race director, gave us our final instructions and waited for the start. The main caution was to move out of lane one if we were walking or running two or more abreast, otherwise since we were all there to race, lane one was ours regardless of our pace. Despite the rain the all weather track lived up to its name and we had no issues with puddles anywhere on the track itself. Getting onto the infield where we pitched our tents was another matter entirely.

On to the race details finally. I had been very concerned about starting too fast again. Being well rested even what feels like an easy pace may be too fast with 50K to run. This is what I had been working on with my easy runs during my two week taper and it finally had some effect in the race. Last year even trying to hold back I started with 12 minute miles, much too fast when I knew I would be averaging well over 14 minutes by the finish. I was still a little faster than my target pace of 14:29 (which I really didn't expect to run the whole race), but 13:40-13:50 was a big improvement. After a couple miles I settled into laps around 3:30 each plus or minus a few seconds. Every so often I would have a slower lap when I slowed to grab something to eat or had to stop at the port-s-potties. Describing the race lap by lap or even mile by mile would be boring. Suffice it to say I maintained that pace for the first 54 of 125 laps by running 300m and walking the last 100m of each lap. That took me almost to 22K, approximately 13.5 miles. I could feel my legs getting tired at that point and wanted to avoid another suffer fest like last year, so I reduced the running distance to 250m and walked 150m each laps. I was able to maintain that through lap 96, not quite to 39K. I was noticeably slowing down when running, so I decided to switch entirely to walking hoping to recover some and revive enough to return to run-walk. This took my pace from about 14:12 to about 14:50 per mile for the fourth 10K as my laps were now between 3:40 and 3:45 with an occasional slower lap for food. Deciding to walk at that point put any possibility of a recovery and return to a faster pace to reach my 7:30 goal out of reach. The next 4 miles were between 16:45 and 17:15 each so I was keeping a good effort for that point in the race. As I neared 45K and had only 5K remaining, I tried to reintroduce some running. At first it was only 100m then a return to walking, but even that took me down to a sub-16:00 mile. Pushing that I increased to running 200m and walking 200m and the pace dropped back down near 15:00. My final lap of 3:25.9 was as fast as my early laps at the beginning of the race.

Beginning with about 10 laps remaining the timer, Mike Melton, called out how many laps I had left every few laps to be sure I knew when I would be finishing. This was a huge help in determining when and how hard I could push the pace. When I finished he immediately came onto the track to let me know my final chip time and place. I was also able to return the ankle chip so I didn't have to worry about that later. Of the 15 entries only 12 actually came and started the race. I finished 9th of 12 overall and 6th of 8 for the men with a final time of 7:46:24. Considering my training going into the race I couldn't have been more pleased with the way the race developed and the final results.

After getting some coffee and getting warm I changed into dry clothes and spent the next 16 hours moving back and forth from the kitchen to get warm and the track to cheer on the 12-hour and 24-hour runners. During my race they were the ones offering a word of encouragement to me as they passed every few laps. There was a great deal of attrition in the 24-hour with at least a dozen of the 39 runners stopping before 7:00 pm when the 12-hour race started. That should give you a hint of how miserable the conditions were. There were some incredible performances and once again the women dominated the 24-hour race with 8 of the top 10 places including the overall winner. There was a lot of drama at the finish as well as it took every second of the 12-hour race with Maria Shields giving everything she had to set a new American 65-69 Women's Age Group record for 12-hours of 60.6457 miles breaking the old record by a mere 135m.

After this I'm taking a mild diversion to race a local 5K in three weeks while continuing my long term preparations for North Coast 24 in September. The results were very encouraging and I'll have several more opportunities to race with two ultras and a trail half marathon before then to give me some more checkpoints for evaluating my training. For now it will be more runs on the trails and hills at Valley Forge.

 

2017 Illinois Race Weekend 10K

Starting Line Forum Encounter

While this was a race, probably my only 10K of the year and only opportunity to run my age, the primary purpose was to meet with some of the amazing runners from the Starting Line Forum on Runners World. It was disappointing that several of the regulars wouldn't be able to attend but six of us could come and race: Lynn, Chris, Jess, Sandra, Jaime, and me. That's in no particular order, but as I look at it the first two ran the marathon, the next two the half marathon, while Jaime and I ran the 10K. Along with the runners family and friends brought the total to 12 or 13. Some how we all managed to make it to the Olive Garden in Champaign for our prerace dinner.

With the stage set for a great get together I now had to get my training in order and still prepare for a 50K in May. That turned out to be more challenging than I expected because I had to work on getting my speed back while increasing my mileage at the same time. As a race the 50K was more important because it is a key component in preparing for my fall goal race at North Coast 24. Getting my speed back proved to be the more difficult of the two though my mileage still wasn't what I wanted it to be either. As a result I had to reassess my goals and decided that if I could run under 75 minutes, somewhere around a 12 minute mile pace, I would be satisfied. When I learned the Jaime would be happy to slow down, run with me, and keep me company during the race, I was overjoyed. For all the years I've been running and racing this is the first time since a 1968 mile time trial that I would have someone to pace me rather than the other way around.

Everyone seemed to be obsessing over the weather forecast which predicted rain and wind. Of course the forecast kept changing so I had to pack running gear for all the possible conditions. When race day finally came, much to my surprise we had almost ideal weather. It was a little cooler than I like so I wore long sleeves but could have gotten by with short sleeves in a pinch. The wind may have been more bothersome for the runners in the half marathon and marathon but for me it was a non-factor.

With a few texts Saturday morning we managed to locate everyone before the start. Jaime finally found me after a couple text messages and we managed to find Chris and Lynn already in the corrals. I think she found Jess and Sandra as well but my own recollection is blurry at that point. After wishing them luck and all the corrals finally cleared, Jaime and I were able to get in a short warmup before our race. For the 10K they had volunteers holding pace signs to help runners line up. We looked around and finally found the 12:00 sign, then waited for the start.

Once the race started all we could do at first was walk toward the starting line. Checking results afterward it took us two minutes before we crossed the starting mat and could begin to run. There were almost 2500 runners making it the largest 10K I've ever run as far as I can recall. The early pace felt so easy that I was concerned that we were a lot slower than even my revised goal pace. Not trusting current pace readings on my Garmin I didn't get a good read until we reached the mile in a little over 12 minutes, about what I had hoped and planned for. Meanwhile we were chatting away about running, different races, and whatever other topics came to mind. We weren't really in any hurry so we settled into that pace and followed the crowd.

I need to depart at this point and explain a little about the splits I'm reporting. I'm well aware of the errors that can occur with GPS readings, but my GPS reading and also my sense of pace are at odds with the 3.4 mile split reported in the online results. That shows my chip time as 41:01 and a pace of 12:04 with a final chip time of 1:14:46 and a pace of 12:02. I'm positive we picked up the pace much more than that,and I think Jaime can corroborate that, so I'll be reporting the adjusted Garmin splits.

I was oblivious to most of what was going on nearby including the scenery and spectators. You'll have to read Jaime's race report to get that. Mostly I was focusing on maintaining and even pace and effort along with keeping up a running conversation with Jaime. I know we did run through parts of downtown Champaign after which the course moved into residential neighborhoods. This was a really great change of pace from running on major streets and thoroughfares and added to the pleasant atmosphere of the race. Residents were on the curb cheering, some handing out refreshments, and I think I saw one grilling hotdogs or brats at the side of the road. By this time we'd passed 2 miles with the second mile a little slower, 12:22 to 12:12 for the first mile. I was relaxing a little too much so I started to increase the effort slightly. Mile 3 was back down to 12:13. I was still feeling relatively fresh and relaxed so I increased the effort again, though I didn't say anything to Jaime. As we came to mile 4 we were in the general vicinity of where I lived for a while when I was a student at the U of I. The course took us past Hessel Park which I remember, but the area had changed so much that I didn't recognize much else. Mile 4 was 12:06 and as we headed back in the direction of the stadium we passed mile 5 in 12:04. At this point I much a more concerted effort to increase the pace and it was noticeable enough that I think Jaime said something about it. We could finally see the stadium in the distance and I was anxious to get there since my legs were finally starting the feel the effort. By the way we were keeping up the conversation. The faster pace and harder effort didn't impact that at all. We turned down 1st Street and I was anticipating the turn into the stadium when the course threw me a little surprise. To make up the distance for a certified 10K we had to ran past the turn for a short out and back before coming back to enter the stadium. This wasn't clear on the course map I had seen. If I had been racing hard it might have upset me and thrown me off stride. As it was we took it in stride and finally ran into the stadium with half marathon runners coming in from a different direction and a line of cones separating us as we crossed the finish line them to the left an us to the right. Jaime and I crossed the line together holding hands with arms in the air. I haven't seen any photos yet but I expect them to be the normal race photos showing me in an unflattering pose.

There were photographers all over the field so there should be some post race photos as well as hopefully some good finish line and race photos along the course. We grabbed some food, pretzels, pizza, and water. There were bananas, cookies, and pasta as well as some other concoctions to drink that I avoided. It was chilly with the wind so I ran back to the rental car to change into something warmer. Meanwhile Jess and Sandra finished their race and we eventually met up with them in the stadium. Since it would be a while before Lynn and Chris would finish, I went with Jaime and family onto the course to find Chris and cheer him on. Lynn was already past the areas we could easily get to, so we missed her. I'll let Chris tell his own story, but we walked a ways on the course with him to mile 22 before heading back to the stadium to see Lynn finish. Once Chris finished and seemed to be in the good care of his friends, those of us who were staying over agreed to meet for dinner later. Jaime picked a place that had great burgers which went down well. After dinner and saying our goodbyes, we all headed our separate ways.

Overall I was satisfied with my race. I could have pushed it harder and run maybe a minute or so faster, but that would have cut down and our conversation time during the race because I would have been concentrating more on the running. I've checked the local race schedule and it may be difficult to find another 10K to try to run my age. Several that would have been possibilities conflict with races I'm already registered for. If I don't it will end a long streak of about 25 years where I have run my age. But the weekend itself, meeting everyone, though I had met Lynn before, and running with Jaime was everything I'd hoped for. We had a wonderful time and should have another one, whether it be there or somewhere else shouldn't matter. Many events offer multiple race distance so there would be something for everyone. Now off to finish my preparations for Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K on May13th.