I call this PR unlikely for a few reasons. First, I haven't been doing much in the way of speedwork lately; ultra training has been more about teaching my body to move forward steadily for a long time, not quickly for a short time. Second, I wasn't even planning on running the race until the day before. Third, on the day before, I covered 30 miles, a "run" (the walk breaks became more and more frequent as the miles accumulated) that ended in 93 degree temps and that left me pretty severely dehydrated despite guzzling what seemed like a ton of water. Probably not the best recipe for success, but it's races like this that keep running interesting.
The race I'm referring to is Heart of the Hills, a 10.4 mile road race that starts in Hill City, SD and follows the old highway east to Keystone, which is the closest town to Mt. Rushmore (in other words, if you look up "tourist trap" in the dictionary, there should be a picture of main street Keystone). The race is 10.4 miles long because that's just how long that stretch of road happens to be. The race is also unique in that it starts at 6:30 PM. I'm not sure why this is, it just is. I've run the race twice before. In 2006 I finished in 1:28:29 after suffering mightily in the heat and on the hills (and seriously considering dropping at one point). In 2008, just six days after BQing at the Missoula Marathon, I ran a 1:17:15 and was pretty happy with it considering how tired my legs were. This year, after again running Missoula six days prior (albeit much more slowly than in 2008) and the aforementioned 30 miler the day before, I wasn't really expecting much, just hoping to get in a 10 mile run. I love being wrong in these circumstances.
The course is a fairly big downhill overall as Hill City is about 700 feet higher than Keystone, but there's more to it than that. There's one huge hill in the first 2 miles, a smaller huge hill in the next mile and then several smaller hills sprinkled throughout the course to keep things interesting. At several points, bystanders will tell you that "it's all downhill from here" and they are basically always wrong (unless they're along the last mile and a half or so). It is a beautiful course, as you might expect one so close to Mt. Rushmore to be.
My race strategy was pretty simple here. Start running and see what happened. I was totally unenthusiastic about this thing in the moments leading up to it. My legs felt tired from the 30 miler the day before, but not horribly so. I knew I would be able to run 10 miles with no problem, but memories of past misery at this race were lingering in my head. When the race started, I just went and tried to work into a pace that felt somewhat reasonable. Turns out that pace was faster than I thought it would be.
Right off the bat, I was moving faster than I thought I would be (or thought I'd be able to maintain). Heading up the first big hill, I could see the field strung out in front of me (the leader, a college cross country runner at South Dakota State, had already gapped everyone by that time and went on to win ridiculously easily) and counted 15 people ahead of me. As we chugged up the hill, barely moving at faster than a walk, I caught a few people and when I was able to drop the hammer and start running hard immediately after cresting the summit, I passed a couple of more. Eventually, I found myself behind a local trail runner, Andy, who I know is faster than me on trails, but maybe not so much on roads (at least when I'm rested). I would end up following Andy up and down the hills until I finally mustered enough momentum to pass him just past mile 4. At that point, it basically became a race with myself. I could occasionally catch a glimpse of the next guy in front of me, but he was never within striking distance. I wasn't sure how much of a gap I was putting on Andy until I finally snuck a couple of glances in the final miles. Basically, my goal became to maintain sub-7 miles and finish in the 1:13 range. Amazingly, the pace felt pretty good up until the last two miles when I had to work a little harder to maintain it. As I rounded the last bend and saw the finish line, I started pushing and realized that not only would I definitely break 1:13, but I was going to be really close to 1:12 as well. Alas, it was too late that I realized this and finished in 1:12:02, a PR of over 5 minutes, 8th overall and 3rd in my AG.
1 - 6:46
2 - 7:41 (big damn hill)
3 - 6:53
4 - 6:39 (chasing Andy down the hill)
5 - 7:22 (inexplicably slow, maybe let off a little after passing Andy)
6 - 7:00
7 - 6:48
8 - 6:44
9 - 6:51
10 - 6:54
10.4 - 2:21 (6:14 pace)
Total - 1:12:02
My AG award was a railroad spike. I've got three of em now (two from Heart of the Hills and one from the Deadwood-Mickelson half marathon). If I can place in my AG long enough, I can build myself a railroad!
So, the moral of the story is, if you wanna PR at a race, just go out and run 30 miles the day before. Guaranteed to work! (Disclaimer: results not typical).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Missoula Marathon Report
Okay, I have a confession. I have a mistress. But it’s cool, because my wife not only knows about it, she’s fine with it. Most of you know about it already too. Her name is Missoula and every July I make a ridiculously long drive to run a less ridiculously long ways there. Heck, my wife even came along and joined in the festivities last year. Jealous, aren’t ya?
Okay, so it’s well established that Missoula, MT is my favorite place in the world and that the Missoula Marathon has become my favorite race. For those that don’t know, I went to college in Missoula and the only thing keeping me from living there is a job (small details). I mean, I guess I could get a gig at McDonald’s and move the family into a trailer park, but somehow I think that would take the luster off my obsession with Missoula. Or, at the very least, it would definitely take the luster off my marriage. So, I was overjoyed when the Missoula Marathon was created back in 2007, providing me with a perfectly valid excuse to go back at least once every year. It doesn’t hurt that the Missoula Marathon has developed into a damn fine event and was also the site of my one and only BQ run (which is still my PR) back in 2008. All the more reason to run the race every July.
One interesting thing about the Missoula Marathon is that it draws people in from a much wider area than you would expect of a relatively small race in a relatively out of the way location. Other than Boston, where I met a bajillion forumites all at once, I’ve met more forumites at Missoula than at any other race. This year was no different as I enjoyed a pre-race meal and post-race beers/lunch (both of which have become traditions….dinner at Carino’s, beer at the Iron Horse) with Neil and Mike, although I guess I had met most everyone previously. Neil and I have both been present at all four Missoula Marathons and I first met Mike there two years ago. This year, I also got a chance to talk a bit with Sam, who I think I might’ve met in Boston in 2009, but it was a fleeting intro (there were a lot of people to meet). We actually got to talk a little bit this time, although he had to skip out on lunch to catch a plane in Spokane that he ended up not catching….might as well have stayed in Missoula, Sam!
This year I was approaching Missoula with a more casual attitude than my previous three visits. I had no aspirations of a BQ or a PR, I was just looking to put in a solid long run that would allow me to recover quickly and continue on with my training for the Lean Horse 100. In the spirit of ultra training, and as a way of ensuring that I wouldn’t try to do anything stupid on race day, I went for a 10.2 mile trail run in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area on Saturday morning, the day before the race. I used to hike in the Rattlesnake with my dog quite a bit when I was in college, but I wasn’t a runner back then, so this was my first time running them. I’ll just say they gave me one more reason to wish I lived in Missoula; there are some pretty sweet trails up there and I barely even scratched the surface on my 10 mile loop.
I spent the rest of Saturday hanging out at the expo, watching my cousin John’s son finish the kid’s marathon, making my mandatory visit to the Big Sky Brewing Company for some free samples and cruising around the University of Montana campus. Eventually I did sit down and chill for a bit, but I was on my feet for much longer than I would normally be the day before a marathon.
The forecast was looking pretty typical for Missoula in July. Pretty damn hot during the afternoon, cooling off significantly overnight. As we sat in Frenchtown waiting for the start, the announcer said it was 55 degrees. By the time I finished, it was probably in the mid to upper 60s and eventually reached the mid 80s that afternoon. Probably about as well as you can hope for when you register for a marathon smack dab in the middle of summer.
Mike and I had made plans to run with the 3:30 pace group. Sam was pacing the 3:50 group, so our ultimate goal was to not let him catch us, no matter what. My cousin John also decided to run with the group, so we lined up together in the mass of humanity (the race doubled in size after being named by Runner’s World as the best overall marathon in the country last year) at the start line. As usual, the ROTC cannon fired and at least half the field damn near crapped their pants. Then they started running.
Frenchtown to Kona Ranch Road (Miles 0 to 9.4)
This first stretch takes you across open fields near the western edge of the Missoula Valley. Across the valley, at what seems like 100 miles away, you can see Mt. Sentinel and Mt. Jumbo, which butt up against the east side of Missoula and are fairly near the finish. Running 26.2 miles always seems pretty far, but when you can actually see just how far, it makes it seem even more daunting. The first 9+ miles are all on Mullan Road and I’m always happy when they’re over. Nothing against Mullan Road and its residents, but that’s just a long ways to run in one straight direction.
The 3:30 pace took off a little hot and Mike, John and I had to beat feet to catch up with him, which we finally did just before the first mile marker. One of the problems with this race (yes, I will admit there are problems) is the mile markers along Mullan Road. Every year a few of them are off significantly. Our pacer wasn’t running with a Garmin, just a watch, so he was trying to pace according to the splits between markers. You’ll see by the splits that that was difficult and, ultimately, we were running a little too fast for 3:30 pace (8:00/mile).
Mile 1 – 7:40
Mile 2 – 8:09
Mile 3 –7:57
Mile 4 – 7:59
Mile 5 – 8:07 (I stopped at a portajohn to take a leak somewhere in here)
Mile 6 – 7:36
Mile 7 – 8:08
Mile 8 – 6:45 (the pacer actually looked at me and John here and said “is that right??”; no, it wasn’t)
Mile 9 – 7:47
Kona Ranch Road to River Pines Road (Miles 9.4 to 15.6)
After finally turning off of Mullan Road and onto Kona Ranch Road, you hit what I think is the most scenic part of the course. Kona Ranch takes you across the Clark Fork River and then on to Big Flat Road (which includes the only significant hill….go figure). Big Flat takes you up along the hillside into the pine trees with view of the river and the valley beyond it below. What goes up must come down, so Big Flat drops you to River Pines, where the full and half marathon courses merge.
At some point before Kona Ranch, Mike had dropped off the pace a little and John and I continued to run alongside the pacer. Shortly after making the turn onto Kona Ranch, Mike suddenly pulled back up alongside me, but then dropped back again. Just past mile 11 or so, the pacer started to realize that he was going too fast for 3:30 and dropped back a little. John and I kept pushing at the same pace for awhile, but eventually John pulled away as we neared the hill. I pushed and eventually caught back up with John and two other guys he was running with just after we topped the hill and ran with them to the aid station at the bottom.
Mile 10 – 7:31
Mile 11 – 7:57
Mile 12 – 7:49
Mile 13 – 7:24 (made a little push before the hill)
Mile 14 – 8:12 (up the hill)
Mile 15 – 7:25 (down the hill)
River Pines Road to Reserve Street (Miles 15.6 to 20.3)
Immediately after descending the hill, you cross the Bitterroot River and enter the residential area on the western edge of Missoula. From here, the course follows city streets with some long, straight stretches that sometimes feel like they’re taking forever (although they’re really much shorter than the Mullan Road section).
After crossing the river, I was still in a loose group with John and a few other people. But, the pace was starting to feel a little bit faster than I really wanted to go. I had said before the race that I wanted to go no faster than 3:30 and we were ahead of the 3:30 group by this time and pushing further forward (we crossed the halfway point at about 3:23 pace). I thought it would be cool to run the entire race with my cousin and cross the finish line together, but ultimately I didn’t want to feel like hell afterwards and I had a suspicion that continuing at this pace would lead to just that. So, I backed off and let the group go on ahead. As a result, I ended up running the rest of the race by myself. Occasionally, someone would pass me and I would pass someone else, but I never really ran with anyone the rest of the way.
Mile 16 – 7:41
Mile 17 – 7:54
Mile 18 – 7:52
Mile 19 – 8:12
Mile 20 – 8:04
Reserve Street to the Finish (Miles 20.3 to 26.2)
Just after mile 20, the course passes under Reserve Street into what could be considered the central residential area of Missoula. More city street running, although in this area the straight stretches are shorter and there are more turns, which helps break things up a little. Also, there are more trees, so more shade, and there were a ton of people who had their sprinklers set out to run through if you wanted to (it really wasn’t that hot, but still a nice option). Eventually you run north through the neighborhood bordering the UM campus and then make a relatively quick series of four turns that deposit you onto the south end of the Higgins Avenue bridge with the finish just across the Clark Fork River on the north end. The city closes this stretch of Higgins for the race, so there are tons of spectators lining the final stretch and once you get on the bridge, it’s a nice gradual downhill for the last 0.1 or so. Like Mike said to me later, it’s not really enough to have a significant impact on your overall time, but it does at least make you feel fast as you cross the finish.
There’s not really much to say about this section other than that out of four Missoula Marathons, this year I felt the best on this stretch. Technically, this is only the third year the marathon has followed this route; for the first one the final 6 miles and finish line were different. The new route is much better (more shaded), but I suffered some each of the last two years running it. In 2008, I was pushing for a BQ and was not feeling all that super during the final miles. Last year, I was pushing for a PR early on, but started suffering just past halfway and was hurting pretty bad by the time I passed under Reserve. This year was the first time I was able to run this stretch and not be in total agony the entire way. Sure, I was tired, but it was a manageable tired.
Mile 21 – 8:28 (I had a goal of not running any miles 8:30 or slower; came close a couple of times)
Mile 22 – 8:10
Mile 23 – 8:13
Mile 24 – 8:27
Mile 25 – 8:20
Mile 26 – 7:35
Mile 26.2 – 1:33
Chip Time – 3:27:12
Overall Pace – 130 out of 1276
AG Place – 12 out of 91
John finished almost exactly 2 minutes ahead of me in 3:25:16. He was also one spot ahead of me in the AG rankings. I woulda been kicking myself for that one if we had been 3rd and 4th. As for Mike and Sam, well, I’ll let them tell their own stories (actually Sam’s is already posted on his Operation Jack blog).
So, that’s my second marathon as a training run during this training cycle for Lean Horse. The first was a 3:38 at Deadwood in June and I was able to bounce right back from that one and continue training. Would running 11 minutes faster change that? Well, it doesn’t appear so. I had minimal soreness yesterday during the long drive home and ran 9 miles this morning just like it was any regular ole training run. So it doesn’t appear that I pushed too hard after all. Crazy, considering that not so long ago I had to push myself to the brink to break 3:30 in the marathon.
Oh, and I have to share my story of a totally random post-race encounter. As I was standing in Caras Park (just below the finish line, along the river) enjoying my free post-race Moose Drool, a guy walks up to me and says “Are you Chris Stores?” Now, I have no idea who this dude is, but I say “yeah”. Turns out, we lived next door to each other in the dorm our freshman year of college. As soon as he said his name, I knew who it was, but I have no clue how he knew who I was (I’ve lost 60 pounds since then….all he did was cut his hair). He mentioned casually that he had run the half marathon that morning, but didn’t say any more about it. Later that evening, Neil gives me a call and informs that not only did my former dorm neighbor run the half marathon, he WON the half marathon in 1:11. Small details.
Okay, so it’s well established that Missoula, MT is my favorite place in the world and that the Missoula Marathon has become my favorite race. For those that don’t know, I went to college in Missoula and the only thing keeping me from living there is a job (small details). I mean, I guess I could get a gig at McDonald’s and move the family into a trailer park, but somehow I think that would take the luster off my obsession with Missoula. Or, at the very least, it would definitely take the luster off my marriage. So, I was overjoyed when the Missoula Marathon was created back in 2007, providing me with a perfectly valid excuse to go back at least once every year. It doesn’t hurt that the Missoula Marathon has developed into a damn fine event and was also the site of my one and only BQ run (which is still my PR) back in 2008. All the more reason to run the race every July.
One interesting thing about the Missoula Marathon is that it draws people in from a much wider area than you would expect of a relatively small race in a relatively out of the way location. Other than Boston, where I met a bajillion forumites all at once, I’ve met more forumites at Missoula than at any other race. This year was no different as I enjoyed a pre-race meal and post-race beers/lunch (both of which have become traditions….dinner at Carino’s, beer at the Iron Horse) with Neil and Mike, although I guess I had met most everyone previously. Neil and I have both been present at all four Missoula Marathons and I first met Mike there two years ago. This year, I also got a chance to talk a bit with Sam, who I think I might’ve met in Boston in 2009, but it was a fleeting intro (there were a lot of people to meet). We actually got to talk a little bit this time, although he had to skip out on lunch to catch a plane in Spokane that he ended up not catching….might as well have stayed in Missoula, Sam!
This year I was approaching Missoula with a more casual attitude than my previous three visits. I had no aspirations of a BQ or a PR, I was just looking to put in a solid long run that would allow me to recover quickly and continue on with my training for the Lean Horse 100. In the spirit of ultra training, and as a way of ensuring that I wouldn’t try to do anything stupid on race day, I went for a 10.2 mile trail run in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area on Saturday morning, the day before the race. I used to hike in the Rattlesnake with my dog quite a bit when I was in college, but I wasn’t a runner back then, so this was my first time running them. I’ll just say they gave me one more reason to wish I lived in Missoula; there are some pretty sweet trails up there and I barely even scratched the surface on my 10 mile loop.
I spent the rest of Saturday hanging out at the expo, watching my cousin John’s son finish the kid’s marathon, making my mandatory visit to the Big Sky Brewing Company for some free samples and cruising around the University of Montana campus. Eventually I did sit down and chill for a bit, but I was on my feet for much longer than I would normally be the day before a marathon.
The forecast was looking pretty typical for Missoula in July. Pretty damn hot during the afternoon, cooling off significantly overnight. As we sat in Frenchtown waiting for the start, the announcer said it was 55 degrees. By the time I finished, it was probably in the mid to upper 60s and eventually reached the mid 80s that afternoon. Probably about as well as you can hope for when you register for a marathon smack dab in the middle of summer.
Mike and I had made plans to run with the 3:30 pace group. Sam was pacing the 3:50 group, so our ultimate goal was to not let him catch us, no matter what. My cousin John also decided to run with the group, so we lined up together in the mass of humanity (the race doubled in size after being named by Runner’s World as the best overall marathon in the country last year) at the start line. As usual, the ROTC cannon fired and at least half the field damn near crapped their pants. Then they started running.
Frenchtown to Kona Ranch Road (Miles 0 to 9.4)
This first stretch takes you across open fields near the western edge of the Missoula Valley. Across the valley, at what seems like 100 miles away, you can see Mt. Sentinel and Mt. Jumbo, which butt up against the east side of Missoula and are fairly near the finish. Running 26.2 miles always seems pretty far, but when you can actually see just how far, it makes it seem even more daunting. The first 9+ miles are all on Mullan Road and I’m always happy when they’re over. Nothing against Mullan Road and its residents, but that’s just a long ways to run in one straight direction.
The 3:30 pace took off a little hot and Mike, John and I had to beat feet to catch up with him, which we finally did just before the first mile marker. One of the problems with this race (yes, I will admit there are problems) is the mile markers along Mullan Road. Every year a few of them are off significantly. Our pacer wasn’t running with a Garmin, just a watch, so he was trying to pace according to the splits between markers. You’ll see by the splits that that was difficult and, ultimately, we were running a little too fast for 3:30 pace (8:00/mile).
Mile 1 – 7:40
Mile 2 – 8:09
Mile 3 –7:57
Mile 4 – 7:59
Mile 5 – 8:07 (I stopped at a portajohn to take a leak somewhere in here)
Mile 6 – 7:36
Mile 7 – 8:08
Mile 8 – 6:45 (the pacer actually looked at me and John here and said “is that right??”; no, it wasn’t)
Mile 9 – 7:47
Kona Ranch Road to River Pines Road (Miles 9.4 to 15.6)
After finally turning off of Mullan Road and onto Kona Ranch Road, you hit what I think is the most scenic part of the course. Kona Ranch takes you across the Clark Fork River and then on to Big Flat Road (which includes the only significant hill….go figure). Big Flat takes you up along the hillside into the pine trees with view of the river and the valley beyond it below. What goes up must come down, so Big Flat drops you to River Pines, where the full and half marathon courses merge.
At some point before Kona Ranch, Mike had dropped off the pace a little and John and I continued to run alongside the pacer. Shortly after making the turn onto Kona Ranch, Mike suddenly pulled back up alongside me, but then dropped back again. Just past mile 11 or so, the pacer started to realize that he was going too fast for 3:30 and dropped back a little. John and I kept pushing at the same pace for awhile, but eventually John pulled away as we neared the hill. I pushed and eventually caught back up with John and two other guys he was running with just after we topped the hill and ran with them to the aid station at the bottom.
Mile 10 – 7:31
Mile 11 – 7:57
Mile 12 – 7:49
Mile 13 – 7:24 (made a little push before the hill)
Mile 14 – 8:12 (up the hill)
Mile 15 – 7:25 (down the hill)
River Pines Road to Reserve Street (Miles 15.6 to 20.3)
Immediately after descending the hill, you cross the Bitterroot River and enter the residential area on the western edge of Missoula. From here, the course follows city streets with some long, straight stretches that sometimes feel like they’re taking forever (although they’re really much shorter than the Mullan Road section).
After crossing the river, I was still in a loose group with John and a few other people. But, the pace was starting to feel a little bit faster than I really wanted to go. I had said before the race that I wanted to go no faster than 3:30 and we were ahead of the 3:30 group by this time and pushing further forward (we crossed the halfway point at about 3:23 pace). I thought it would be cool to run the entire race with my cousin and cross the finish line together, but ultimately I didn’t want to feel like hell afterwards and I had a suspicion that continuing at this pace would lead to just that. So, I backed off and let the group go on ahead. As a result, I ended up running the rest of the race by myself. Occasionally, someone would pass me and I would pass someone else, but I never really ran with anyone the rest of the way.
Mile 16 – 7:41
Mile 17 – 7:54
Mile 18 – 7:52
Mile 19 – 8:12
Mile 20 – 8:04
Reserve Street to the Finish (Miles 20.3 to 26.2)
Just after mile 20, the course passes under Reserve Street into what could be considered the central residential area of Missoula. More city street running, although in this area the straight stretches are shorter and there are more turns, which helps break things up a little. Also, there are more trees, so more shade, and there were a ton of people who had their sprinklers set out to run through if you wanted to (it really wasn’t that hot, but still a nice option). Eventually you run north through the neighborhood bordering the UM campus and then make a relatively quick series of four turns that deposit you onto the south end of the Higgins Avenue bridge with the finish just across the Clark Fork River on the north end. The city closes this stretch of Higgins for the race, so there are tons of spectators lining the final stretch and once you get on the bridge, it’s a nice gradual downhill for the last 0.1 or so. Like Mike said to me later, it’s not really enough to have a significant impact on your overall time, but it does at least make you feel fast as you cross the finish.
There’s not really much to say about this section other than that out of four Missoula Marathons, this year I felt the best on this stretch. Technically, this is only the third year the marathon has followed this route; for the first one the final 6 miles and finish line were different. The new route is much better (more shaded), but I suffered some each of the last two years running it. In 2008, I was pushing for a BQ and was not feeling all that super during the final miles. Last year, I was pushing for a PR early on, but started suffering just past halfway and was hurting pretty bad by the time I passed under Reserve. This year was the first time I was able to run this stretch and not be in total agony the entire way. Sure, I was tired, but it was a manageable tired.
Mile 21 – 8:28 (I had a goal of not running any miles 8:30 or slower; came close a couple of times)
Mile 22 – 8:10
Mile 23 – 8:13
Mile 24 – 8:27
Mile 25 – 8:20
Mile 26 – 7:35
Mile 26.2 – 1:33
Chip Time – 3:27:12
Overall Pace – 130 out of 1276
AG Place – 12 out of 91
John finished almost exactly 2 minutes ahead of me in 3:25:16. He was also one spot ahead of me in the AG rankings. I woulda been kicking myself for that one if we had been 3rd and 4th. As for Mike and Sam, well, I’ll let them tell their own stories (actually Sam’s is already posted on his Operation Jack blog).
So, that’s my second marathon as a training run during this training cycle for Lean Horse. The first was a 3:38 at Deadwood in June and I was able to bounce right back from that one and continue training. Would running 11 minutes faster change that? Well, it doesn’t appear so. I had minimal soreness yesterday during the long drive home and ran 9 miles this morning just like it was any regular ole training run. So it doesn’t appear that I pushed too hard after all. Crazy, considering that not so long ago I had to push myself to the brink to break 3:30 in the marathon.
Oh, and I have to share my story of a totally random post-race encounter. As I was standing in Caras Park (just below the finish line, along the river) enjoying my free post-race Moose Drool, a guy walks up to me and says “Are you Chris Stores?” Now, I have no idea who this dude is, but I say “yeah”. Turns out, we lived next door to each other in the dorm our freshman year of college. As soon as he said his name, I knew who it was, but I have no clue how he knew who I was (I’ve lost 60 pounds since then….all he did was cut his hair). He mentioned casually that he had run the half marathon that morning, but didn’t say any more about it. Later that evening, Neil gives me a call and informs that not only did my former dorm neighbor run the half marathon, he WON the half marathon in 1:11. Small details.
Still alive
In case you were wondering, I am still alive and kickin, just been lazy about posting lately. Fortunately, I haven't been nearly as lazy about running and have put in a string of three straight 70+ mile weeks since my last post. I've got a Missoula report to post, which I'll do here shortly and I also ran the Heart of the Hills 10.4 mile race (which I hadn't planned on) this past Saturday. I'll post my report on that too.
All in all, Lean Horse training is going well. I feel like I should be doing more, but then again I always feel like that, whether I'm training for 26.2 miles or 100. Mother Nature is providing ample opportunity for heat training, which I guess is both good and bad. Chances are, it will be hot during Lean Horse so I've got to prepare myself somehow. This past Friday's 30 mile suffer fest in 93 degree heat was as good a training run as any, I guess (well, it didn't FEEL good, but it should prove helpful in preparing me for race day conditions). In any case, I really don't have that much longer to train for this thing...just a couple more weeks and then it'll be taper time. Scary.
All in all, Lean Horse training is going well. I feel like I should be doing more, but then again I always feel like that, whether I'm training for 26.2 miles or 100. Mother Nature is providing ample opportunity for heat training, which I guess is both good and bad. Chances are, it will be hot during Lean Horse so I've got to prepare myself somehow. This past Friday's 30 mile suffer fest in 93 degree heat was as good a training run as any, I guess (well, it didn't FEEL good, but it should prove helpful in preparing me for race day conditions). In any case, I really don't have that much longer to train for this thing...just a couple more weeks and then it'll be taper time. Scary.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Trying to get back in the groove
Well, needless to say, the Bighorn 50 mile was pretty rough. Ultimately though, it was a training run and although I didn't get 50 miles in as planned, I did cover 34, which is a sizeable chunk. Still, I wanted to put Bighorn behind me and get right back in to training this week. Unfortunately, this damn cold I've been fighting since right after Deadwood just would not let up...in fact, after Bighorn it got even worse. I finally decided that I likely had a sinus infection (after a few days of blowing a seemingly never ending supply of bright yellow snot out of my nose) and went to the doctor on Thursday and got some antibiotics. Too little too late, though, and I ended up basically writing this week off as a recovery week and hoping things will improve in the coming week.
Monday - Scheduled rest day. Feeling a little sore from Bighorn, especially my quads, but not too bad.
Tuesday - 9 miles. First post-Bighorn run and it went surprisingly well. Really well, in fact. Maybe there is hope for a quick recovery?
Wednesday - 8.2 miles. Maybe not. Much more of a struggle than the day before. Just felt sluggish overall. I know this feeling...it's the same way I felt for a good month after the Lean Horse 50 last year.
Thursday - 7 miles. Well, since I felt slow and sluggish on Wednesday, I may as well just run up a mountain in the afternoon when it's 80 degrees with 50% humidity. With a raging sinus infection. Brilliant! I had absolutely no energy on the climbs, but I made it to the summit of Lookout with a generous helping of power hiking thrown in. Good heat training, I guess.
Friday - 6 miles. Just a slow recovery jog around town. Felt alright.
Saturday - 12.3 miles. Met up with my friend Ryan to run the Centennial Trail from Dalton Lake to Elk Cr. The idea was to park a car at each end and then decide once we got to Elk Cr. if we wanted to run back for 24+ miles or call it a day. This section of trail is awesome. Nice single track, awesome views, nice mix of uphills and downhills and a total of 5 creek crossings. Unfortunately, my energy level was not awesome at all. My legs felt alright, but I had absolutely no energy on the uphills and we did a lot of power hiking. It didn't help that the humidity was atrocious, had to be over 90% (we ran up into fog at one point). The downhills felt much better, but I just was not in to it mentally and decided I was done when we got to Elk Cr. Felt kinda bad, because I'm sure Ryan would've pushed on and done the full 24. It was obvious by then that I would just have to write this week off as recovery and hope things improve next week if I take it relatively easy (i.e., no long run this weekend).
Sunday - 10.2 miles. Shannon rocked out an awesome 21 miler in the morning, so I didn't start my run until about 3:00 PM. By then it was pretty warm (low 80s) but there was a decent breeze, so at least there was some cooling effect. Felt reasonably decent, considering and got in some more heat training if nothing else.
Total - 52.7 miles
Actually, 52 miles is right on what my "easy" weeks are under my Lean Horse plan, so even though I didn't get a long run in, I did get some okay mileage. I was obviously hoping for more, but it is what it is. As of this week, I am officially registered for the Lean Horse 100, so now I'm feeling the extreme need to get in some good high mileage weekends, and this week certainly did not include that. Hopefully, by taking it relatively easy I'll be able to get back into ultra training mode this weekend. Ryan and I are planning another long run on the Centennial this weekend (probably close to 30) and I fully intend on finishing the damn thing this time.
Monday - Scheduled rest day. Feeling a little sore from Bighorn, especially my quads, but not too bad.
Tuesday - 9 miles. First post-Bighorn run and it went surprisingly well. Really well, in fact. Maybe there is hope for a quick recovery?
Wednesday - 8.2 miles. Maybe not. Much more of a struggle than the day before. Just felt sluggish overall. I know this feeling...it's the same way I felt for a good month after the Lean Horse 50 last year.
Thursday - 7 miles. Well, since I felt slow and sluggish on Wednesday, I may as well just run up a mountain in the afternoon when it's 80 degrees with 50% humidity. With a raging sinus infection. Brilliant! I had absolutely no energy on the climbs, but I made it to the summit of Lookout with a generous helping of power hiking thrown in. Good heat training, I guess.
Friday - 6 miles. Just a slow recovery jog around town. Felt alright.
Saturday - 12.3 miles. Met up with my friend Ryan to run the Centennial Trail from Dalton Lake to Elk Cr. The idea was to park a car at each end and then decide once we got to Elk Cr. if we wanted to run back for 24+ miles or call it a day. This section of trail is awesome. Nice single track, awesome views, nice mix of uphills and downhills and a total of 5 creek crossings. Unfortunately, my energy level was not awesome at all. My legs felt alright, but I had absolutely no energy on the uphills and we did a lot of power hiking. It didn't help that the humidity was atrocious, had to be over 90% (we ran up into fog at one point). The downhills felt much better, but I just was not in to it mentally and decided I was done when we got to Elk Cr. Felt kinda bad, because I'm sure Ryan would've pushed on and done the full 24. It was obvious by then that I would just have to write this week off as recovery and hope things improve next week if I take it relatively easy (i.e., no long run this weekend).
Sunday - 10.2 miles. Shannon rocked out an awesome 21 miler in the morning, so I didn't start my run until about 3:00 PM. By then it was pretty warm (low 80s) but there was a decent breeze, so at least there was some cooling effect. Felt reasonably decent, considering and got in some more heat training if nothing else.
Total - 52.7 miles
Actually, 52 miles is right on what my "easy" weeks are under my Lean Horse plan, so even though I didn't get a long run in, I did get some okay mileage. I was obviously hoping for more, but it is what it is. As of this week, I am officially registered for the Lean Horse 100, so now I'm feeling the extreme need to get in some good high mileage weekends, and this week certainly did not include that. Hopefully, by taking it relatively easy I'll be able to get back into ultra training mode this weekend. Ryan and I are planning another long run on the Centennial this weekend (probably close to 30) and I fully intend on finishing the damn thing this time.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Bighorn DNF: A Day of Firsts
Apparently, there really is a first time for everything. Up until yesterday, I had never DNFed a race before. Thirteen marathons, two 50Ks, one 50 miler and numerous shorter races and I’d finished them all and, honestly, a DNF was the furthest thing from my mind when the Bighorn 50 started yesterday morning. I was sure I was going to finish, it was just a matter of how long it would take. I figured that no matter how bad my legs started to feel, I would be able to push through like I had done in other races before. As it turns out, it wasn’t my legs that failed me. It was my stomach, which was something I didn’t expect. Up until yesterday I had also never puked while running, whether in training or in a race. That changed too and directly led to the breaking of my non-DNF streak. In a nutshell, I finished 34 miles of the Bighorn 50 yesterday. It took me 9:15 to cover that distance. To put that in perspective, I ran the Lean Horse 50 mile last year in 9:32. I also ran the Bighorn 50K last year, just two miles shorter than the distance I covered yesterday, in 5:46. It was a rough day, to say the least. For the gory details, read on…
I made the trip to Sheridan, WY, which is about 20 miles from the finish line in Dayton and serves as the race headquarters, with two friends, Jerry and Ryan, who were both running the 30K. Actually, Ryan was not only running the 30K, but is the defending champion and went back this year hoping to set a new course record (he ended up defending his title, but coming up 2 minutes short of the record). Ryan is also an occasional training partner for the Lean Horse 100, which will the first attempt at 100 miles for both of us. Needless to say, when we run together the pace is much easier for him than it is for me, but what doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger, right?
Based on my time in the Bighorn 50K last year (5:46) and past results of other runners I recognized, I came to the conclusion that I would likely finish in a fairly broad window between 10 and 12 hours. I made myself a pace chart showing what time of day I would need to be at each aid station for a 10, 11 or 12 hour finish. Sub-10 seemed highly unlikely given that Ryan had run a 9:56 a couple of years ago and I know he is significantly faster than I am, but he contended that he made a lot of rookie mistakes that day and shuffled most of the last 10+ miles, so I left sub-10 as “perfect day” goal with the more realistic expectation of 10.5 to 11 hours barring any major setbacks. In hindsight, that was highly optimistic. Even if I hadn’t started puking, I doubt I would have finished in under 11 hours. It would have been much closer to 12; the Bighorn course is just flat out tough.
The 50 mile race starts at 6:00, but since the start line is 60 miles from Dayton and I had to ride a bus from even further away in Sheridan, I was up a the ungodly hour of 2:15 to get ready and be on the bus by 3:15. I did manage to doze most of the ride up there. The bus dropped us off at the Porcupine Ranger Station at 5:40 and I immediately got into the porta-potty line and stood in the cold (lower 40s), where I would remain until 5:57 when I finally made it to the front and took care of some business just before the race started. After the singing of the national anthem, we were off.
Porcupine to Footbridge (Start to mile 18)
This first 18 mile stretch is big net downhill, but there are a few short ups along the way. Shortly after leaving the ranger station, the course takes to the Little Horn Trail and follows it down the Little Bighorn Canyon passing through a few small aid stations before arriving at Footbridge, the first major aid station and drop bag location. Although I have been utilizing a run/walk ratio of 10 minutes to 2 minutes during my long training runs, I decided that I would run, albeit slowly, the majority, if not all, of this stretch to take advantage of the downhill, realizing that I would be doing a fair amount of power hiking on the uphill sections later in the race. This stretch of trail is absolutely beautiful, or at least the scenery I took in when I dared to take my eyes off the trail for a couple of seconds were. But, despite the downhill, the running was far from easy. It struck me early on that even the “easy” sections of Bighorn are hard. Early on there was significant snow on the trail and in fact part of the course was rerouted to avoid the worst of it. At one point, I misstepped and ended up knee deep in a snow bank. Where there wasn’t snow, there was mud and lots of it. When there wasn’t snow or mud, more often than not there were rocks. And to add to the challenge, there was a crossing of a raging, snow-melt bloated creek. It wasn’t very wide, but the water reached up to my thighs, and I’m 6’3”. And it was moving fast….one wrong step and you could easily be knocked down by the current.
Despite all that, I was feeling pretty good when I arrived at Footbridge, right on about 11 hour pace. I had been drinking water and fueling with Perpetuem, which I’ve been doing for all my long runs, and refilled both at the aid station. I also changed out of my soaked, mud-caked shoes and socks and put on a dry set I had in my drop bag. I was probably in the aid station for less than five minutes, although I didn’t really keep track.
Footbridge to Dry Fork (Mile 18 to 34)
The first major uphill of the course comes right after Footbridge and it’s a doozy. Appropriately dubbed “The Wall”, the trail scales a seemingly never ending hillside that takes you out of the canyon and back up onto the plateau above (all told, it’s approximately 2000 feet of elevation gain in about 2 miles). At the top of The Wall is the Bear Camp aid station, which is accessible only by horseback (or by running, obviously). After Bear Camp, the trail levels out some for 7 miles into Cow Camp. One of the more cruel sections is between the Cow Camp and Dry Fork aid stations; you can see the tent and vehicles at Dry Fork on top of the ridge from what seems like 100 miles away and there’s a seemingly never ending slope between you and them. Dry Fork is another big aid station and the 2nd (and last) drop bag location.
After leaving Footbridge, I felt awesome. Having dry socks and shoes felt great and I cruised a short section of trail before The Wall started and then began power hiking up. This feeling wouldn’t last long though. Appropriately, I hit the wall on The Wall. And I hit it hard. As I hiked, I started to feel my stomach start to turn. My hiking pace slowed more and more, but the feeling kept growing. Eventually, I pulled off to the side of the trail, found a secluded spot in the bushes and took care of #2, hoping that would relieve things. It didn’t. I resumed hiking and the feeling of nausea just kept worsening. Eventually, I decided the only way to relieve it was to actually throw up, so I purposely pushed the hiking pace a little faster and in no time I was spewing what seemed like gallons and gallons of water and Perpetuem into the shrubbery. It really is truly amazing how much fluid the human stomach can hold. After that was over, my stomach did feel better, but my legs and entire body in general felt weak, kinda like how you feel when you’ve got the flu. I kept walking, extremely slowly, up the seemingly vertical never ending slope. By that time, a DNF was seeming like the likely end to my day, but the question was, where could I do it? Bear Camp was too remote and unless I was seriously injured, I had no interest in being packed out on a horse.
I did stop at Bear Camp and sat for several minutes while sipping on some chicken broth and water. Eventually, I pulled myself up and set off for Cow Camp, which was 7 miles away but at least was on a four wheel drive road accessible by ATVs. That was a long 7 miles, let me tell ya. I think it took over 2 hours to cover it, considering I was traveling at 20+ minute pace because my body still felt weak. But then, magically, just as I crested a hill and could see Cow Camp about a quarter of a mile away, I started to feel better and ran most of the remaining stretch to the aid station. When I got there, I was very unsure what to do. Thirty minutes before, I had been sure I was going to drop at Cow Camp and I told the aid station captain I was thinking about it. He encouraged me to sit down and drink for awhile, which I did. By this time, it was past 1:30 and the cut-off at the next aid station was 4:00. If I moved as slowly along the 6 miles between Cow Camp and Dry Fork as I had along the stretch between Bear Camp and Cow Camp, it was likely that I would miss the cutoff. But, I decided I didn’t want to be hauled out on an ATV either, so I refilled my hydration pack and handheld and told the aid station captain I was going to see how things went and reevaluate at Dry Fork.
After I left Cow Camp, I caught a second wind and I caught it hard, like a surfer catching the ultimate wave. Immediately after leaving the aid station, I realized that I felt really good….better than I had felt since before Footbridge. So, I started running the downhills and power hiking the uphills and was “flying” along at 12:00 pace or better (there were a lot of uphills to be hiked). I started passing several people who had passed me during my rough stretch and one guy even commented as a I flew by that I had made a miraculous recovery. I was feeling great for a couple of miles and suddenly the world seemed a little sunnier again. I started doing the math in my head and thought that if I could continue like this I would easily beat the cut-off at Dry Fork and be able to finish the race in the 13 hour range. Not what I expected, but pretty damn good considering the dire circumstances I had been in not 20 minutes before. And then, just as quickly as it had come, my second wind was gone. I was reduced to walking again, and walking slowly at that as I felt the contents of my stomach start to revolt. Once again, everyone who I had just passed, passed me again and although they offered words of encouragement and told me I’d make it through, I knew then that my day was done as soon as I got to Dry Fork. Reality began to set in as I hiked the hill up to Dry Fork. I hadn’t taken in any “real” calories since before Footbridge, and I had thrown most of those up. All I’d been able to stomach since then was a small cup of chicken broth and a few pieces of cantaloupe, neither of which have much caloric value. I had been drinking quite a bit of water and Heed, but the way my stomach was feeling, that wasn’t going to remain with me much longer. I actually stopped 4 or 5 times in the last mile to Dry Fork and started heaving, but nothing came up. I could not imagine attempting to cover another 18 miles, including another big climb (“The Haul”), feeling like this and possibly not being able to keep down any calories or fluids to keep me going. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I arrived at the aid station.
Although it was only 3:15, 45 minutes ahead of the cut-off, my goose was cooked. A volunteer asked I needed my water filled and I said no, I was done. A nice medical lady directed me to a chair and told me to sit and relax for a bit, which I was more than happy to do. She asked if I really wanted to drop and I immediately said yes before I could talk myself out of it. I told her my sad tale and she immediately asked me for my bib and asked if I needed a ride down to Dayton. As luck would have it, there was a lady who was crewing for her husband who was in the aid station at the same time. She was just getting ready to leave and graciously offered to give my muddy, sweaty butt a ride. Sadly, I don’t even remember her name, although I do remember her dog’s name (Samson). That isn’t the first time I’ve done that. He was a cool dog. And he had a cool owner too.
So that’s my tale. I have no idea what caused my sickness. I will say though, that even this morning, the day after the race, while I was eating breakfast I started to feel a little off again. I’ve been battling a cold for almost two weeks now. Maybe the bug caught up to me when I stressed my body at Bighorn? Maybe the altitude (we started at almost 9000 feet) played a part? It wasn’t heat related, because it was only in the 60s. I didn’t commit one of the cardinal sins of running and try something new on race day; everything I consumed was stuff that I’ve used regularly in training. So I really have no solid answers. The only thing to do is move on. At least I got a 9+ hour long, 34 mile training run out of the deal.
From here, I’m fairly certain I’m still going to attempt the Lean Horse 100 in August. In fact, one of the friends I traveled with this weekend, Jerry, is the director of Lean Horse and as we were riding home he asked if I wanted him to sign me up. As I was puking in the bushes earlier in the day, I was 100% certain that the answer to that question was “no”, but of course that’s probably not the best time to be making decisions on such matters. So I told Jerry yes and today I’m even more certain of that. What doesn’t kill ya only makes ya stronger, right? Not to mention that Lean Horse is a MUCH easier course than Bighorn.
I’d be lying I guess if I said I wasn’t disappointed in yesterday’s result, but I am glad I pushed on as long as I did. If I had dropped earlier, I think I would’ve doubted the decision. But by the time I reached Dry Fork I KNEW that I was done; there was no longer any doubt in my mind. The only thing left to do is move on, go tackle Lean Horse and then come back next year for some revenge on Bighorn.
I made the trip to Sheridan, WY, which is about 20 miles from the finish line in Dayton and serves as the race headquarters, with two friends, Jerry and Ryan, who were both running the 30K. Actually, Ryan was not only running the 30K, but is the defending champion and went back this year hoping to set a new course record (he ended up defending his title, but coming up 2 minutes short of the record). Ryan is also an occasional training partner for the Lean Horse 100, which will the first attempt at 100 miles for both of us. Needless to say, when we run together the pace is much easier for him than it is for me, but what doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger, right?
Based on my time in the Bighorn 50K last year (5:46) and past results of other runners I recognized, I came to the conclusion that I would likely finish in a fairly broad window between 10 and 12 hours. I made myself a pace chart showing what time of day I would need to be at each aid station for a 10, 11 or 12 hour finish. Sub-10 seemed highly unlikely given that Ryan had run a 9:56 a couple of years ago and I know he is significantly faster than I am, but he contended that he made a lot of rookie mistakes that day and shuffled most of the last 10+ miles, so I left sub-10 as “perfect day” goal with the more realistic expectation of 10.5 to 11 hours barring any major setbacks. In hindsight, that was highly optimistic. Even if I hadn’t started puking, I doubt I would have finished in under 11 hours. It would have been much closer to 12; the Bighorn course is just flat out tough.
The 50 mile race starts at 6:00, but since the start line is 60 miles from Dayton and I had to ride a bus from even further away in Sheridan, I was up a the ungodly hour of 2:15 to get ready and be on the bus by 3:15. I did manage to doze most of the ride up there. The bus dropped us off at the Porcupine Ranger Station at 5:40 and I immediately got into the porta-potty line and stood in the cold (lower 40s), where I would remain until 5:57 when I finally made it to the front and took care of some business just before the race started. After the singing of the national anthem, we were off.
Porcupine to Footbridge (Start to mile 18)
This first 18 mile stretch is big net downhill, but there are a few short ups along the way. Shortly after leaving the ranger station, the course takes to the Little Horn Trail and follows it down the Little Bighorn Canyon passing through a few small aid stations before arriving at Footbridge, the first major aid station and drop bag location. Although I have been utilizing a run/walk ratio of 10 minutes to 2 minutes during my long training runs, I decided that I would run, albeit slowly, the majority, if not all, of this stretch to take advantage of the downhill, realizing that I would be doing a fair amount of power hiking on the uphill sections later in the race. This stretch of trail is absolutely beautiful, or at least the scenery I took in when I dared to take my eyes off the trail for a couple of seconds were. But, despite the downhill, the running was far from easy. It struck me early on that even the “easy” sections of Bighorn are hard. Early on there was significant snow on the trail and in fact part of the course was rerouted to avoid the worst of it. At one point, I misstepped and ended up knee deep in a snow bank. Where there wasn’t snow, there was mud and lots of it. When there wasn’t snow or mud, more often than not there were rocks. And to add to the challenge, there was a crossing of a raging, snow-melt bloated creek. It wasn’t very wide, but the water reached up to my thighs, and I’m 6’3”. And it was moving fast….one wrong step and you could easily be knocked down by the current.
Despite all that, I was feeling pretty good when I arrived at Footbridge, right on about 11 hour pace. I had been drinking water and fueling with Perpetuem, which I’ve been doing for all my long runs, and refilled both at the aid station. I also changed out of my soaked, mud-caked shoes and socks and put on a dry set I had in my drop bag. I was probably in the aid station for less than five minutes, although I didn’t really keep track.
Footbridge to Dry Fork (Mile 18 to 34)
The first major uphill of the course comes right after Footbridge and it’s a doozy. Appropriately dubbed “The Wall”, the trail scales a seemingly never ending hillside that takes you out of the canyon and back up onto the plateau above (all told, it’s approximately 2000 feet of elevation gain in about 2 miles). At the top of The Wall is the Bear Camp aid station, which is accessible only by horseback (or by running, obviously). After Bear Camp, the trail levels out some for 7 miles into Cow Camp. One of the more cruel sections is between the Cow Camp and Dry Fork aid stations; you can see the tent and vehicles at Dry Fork on top of the ridge from what seems like 100 miles away and there’s a seemingly never ending slope between you and them. Dry Fork is another big aid station and the 2nd (and last) drop bag location.
After leaving Footbridge, I felt awesome. Having dry socks and shoes felt great and I cruised a short section of trail before The Wall started and then began power hiking up. This feeling wouldn’t last long though. Appropriately, I hit the wall on The Wall. And I hit it hard. As I hiked, I started to feel my stomach start to turn. My hiking pace slowed more and more, but the feeling kept growing. Eventually, I pulled off to the side of the trail, found a secluded spot in the bushes and took care of #2, hoping that would relieve things. It didn’t. I resumed hiking and the feeling of nausea just kept worsening. Eventually, I decided the only way to relieve it was to actually throw up, so I purposely pushed the hiking pace a little faster and in no time I was spewing what seemed like gallons and gallons of water and Perpetuem into the shrubbery. It really is truly amazing how much fluid the human stomach can hold. After that was over, my stomach did feel better, but my legs and entire body in general felt weak, kinda like how you feel when you’ve got the flu. I kept walking, extremely slowly, up the seemingly vertical never ending slope. By that time, a DNF was seeming like the likely end to my day, but the question was, where could I do it? Bear Camp was too remote and unless I was seriously injured, I had no interest in being packed out on a horse.
I did stop at Bear Camp and sat for several minutes while sipping on some chicken broth and water. Eventually, I pulled myself up and set off for Cow Camp, which was 7 miles away but at least was on a four wheel drive road accessible by ATVs. That was a long 7 miles, let me tell ya. I think it took over 2 hours to cover it, considering I was traveling at 20+ minute pace because my body still felt weak. But then, magically, just as I crested a hill and could see Cow Camp about a quarter of a mile away, I started to feel better and ran most of the remaining stretch to the aid station. When I got there, I was very unsure what to do. Thirty minutes before, I had been sure I was going to drop at Cow Camp and I told the aid station captain I was thinking about it. He encouraged me to sit down and drink for awhile, which I did. By this time, it was past 1:30 and the cut-off at the next aid station was 4:00. If I moved as slowly along the 6 miles between Cow Camp and Dry Fork as I had along the stretch between Bear Camp and Cow Camp, it was likely that I would miss the cutoff. But, I decided I didn’t want to be hauled out on an ATV either, so I refilled my hydration pack and handheld and told the aid station captain I was going to see how things went and reevaluate at Dry Fork.
After I left Cow Camp, I caught a second wind and I caught it hard, like a surfer catching the ultimate wave. Immediately after leaving the aid station, I realized that I felt really good….better than I had felt since before Footbridge. So, I started running the downhills and power hiking the uphills and was “flying” along at 12:00 pace or better (there were a lot of uphills to be hiked). I started passing several people who had passed me during my rough stretch and one guy even commented as a I flew by that I had made a miraculous recovery. I was feeling great for a couple of miles and suddenly the world seemed a little sunnier again. I started doing the math in my head and thought that if I could continue like this I would easily beat the cut-off at Dry Fork and be able to finish the race in the 13 hour range. Not what I expected, but pretty damn good considering the dire circumstances I had been in not 20 minutes before. And then, just as quickly as it had come, my second wind was gone. I was reduced to walking again, and walking slowly at that as I felt the contents of my stomach start to revolt. Once again, everyone who I had just passed, passed me again and although they offered words of encouragement and told me I’d make it through, I knew then that my day was done as soon as I got to Dry Fork. Reality began to set in as I hiked the hill up to Dry Fork. I hadn’t taken in any “real” calories since before Footbridge, and I had thrown most of those up. All I’d been able to stomach since then was a small cup of chicken broth and a few pieces of cantaloupe, neither of which have much caloric value. I had been drinking quite a bit of water and Heed, but the way my stomach was feeling, that wasn’t going to remain with me much longer. I actually stopped 4 or 5 times in the last mile to Dry Fork and started heaving, but nothing came up. I could not imagine attempting to cover another 18 miles, including another big climb (“The Haul”), feeling like this and possibly not being able to keep down any calories or fluids to keep me going. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I arrived at the aid station.
Although it was only 3:15, 45 minutes ahead of the cut-off, my goose was cooked. A volunteer asked I needed my water filled and I said no, I was done. A nice medical lady directed me to a chair and told me to sit and relax for a bit, which I was more than happy to do. She asked if I really wanted to drop and I immediately said yes before I could talk myself out of it. I told her my sad tale and she immediately asked me for my bib and asked if I needed a ride down to Dayton. As luck would have it, there was a lady who was crewing for her husband who was in the aid station at the same time. She was just getting ready to leave and graciously offered to give my muddy, sweaty butt a ride. Sadly, I don’t even remember her name, although I do remember her dog’s name (Samson). That isn’t the first time I’ve done that. He was a cool dog. And he had a cool owner too.
So that’s my tale. I have no idea what caused my sickness. I will say though, that even this morning, the day after the race, while I was eating breakfast I started to feel a little off again. I’ve been battling a cold for almost two weeks now. Maybe the bug caught up to me when I stressed my body at Bighorn? Maybe the altitude (we started at almost 9000 feet) played a part? It wasn’t heat related, because it was only in the 60s. I didn’t commit one of the cardinal sins of running and try something new on race day; everything I consumed was stuff that I’ve used regularly in training. So I really have no solid answers. The only thing to do is move on. At least I got a 9+ hour long, 34 mile training run out of the deal.
From here, I’m fairly certain I’m still going to attempt the Lean Horse 100 in August. In fact, one of the friends I traveled with this weekend, Jerry, is the director of Lean Horse and as we were riding home he asked if I wanted him to sign me up. As I was puking in the bushes earlier in the day, I was 100% certain that the answer to that question was “no”, but of course that’s probably not the best time to be making decisions on such matters. So I told Jerry yes and today I’m even more certain of that. What doesn’t kill ya only makes ya stronger, right? Not to mention that Lean Horse is a MUCH easier course than Bighorn.
I’d be lying I guess if I said I wasn’t disappointed in yesterday’s result, but I am glad I pushed on as long as I did. If I had dropped earlier, I think I would’ve doubted the decision. But by the time I reached Dry Fork I KNEW that I was done; there was no longer any doubt in my mind. The only thing left to do is move on, go tackle Lean Horse and then come back next year for some revenge on Bighorn.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Bighorn Preview
Here's a combination map/elevation profile for what I've got ahead of me on Saturday:
As you can see, we start a ways up, well over 8,000 ft., but then run downhill for the first 17 miles, with what looks like a pretty wicked downhill from mile 8 to 17. Then, it's 17 miles of uphill to Dry Fork, a little more uphill after that and then down into Dayton. I ran the stretch from Cow Camp to Dayton as part of the 50K last year, so I'm at least familiar with part of the course. I know that downhill from Horse Creek Ridge down into the Tongue River Canyon is a quad tenderizer and this year I get the added bonus of doing it after having already done that first steep downhill from Spring Marsh to Footbridge. I have a feeling I won't be walking down any stairs without liberal use of the hand rails for a few days after this thing is over. Oh, and let's not forget The Wall and The Haul. I have yet to experience The Wall, but I remember standing at the base of The Haul last year and wondering where in the hell the ski lift was. The Wall looks to be twice as long and even more steep. Suffice it to say, I'll be doing some power hiking along those sections....or possibly some power crawling, depending on how the day is going.
As you can see, we start a ways up, well over 8,000 ft., but then run downhill for the first 17 miles, with what looks like a pretty wicked downhill from mile 8 to 17. Then, it's 17 miles of uphill to Dry Fork, a little more uphill after that and then down into Dayton. I ran the stretch from Cow Camp to Dayton as part of the 50K last year, so I'm at least familiar with part of the course. I know that downhill from Horse Creek Ridge down into the Tongue River Canyon is a quad tenderizer and this year I get the added bonus of doing it after having already done that first steep downhill from Spring Marsh to Footbridge. I have a feeling I won't be walking down any stairs without liberal use of the hand rails for a few days after this thing is over. Oh, and let's not forget The Wall and The Haul. I have yet to experience The Wall, but I remember standing at the base of The Haul last year and wondering where in the hell the ski lift was. The Wall looks to be twice as long and even more steep. Suffice it to say, I'll be doing some power hiking along those sections....or possibly some power crawling, depending on how the day is going.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Recovery/Taper/Neither
I guess under normal circumstances, this past week would have been used to recover from the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon and taper for the upcoming Bighorn 50 mile. But there's nothing normal about ultra training and, in the spirit of using both of those races as training runs for Lean Horse, it ended up being just another week. Well, just another week with a massive head cold. In June. Which sucks. I had been developing a cough prior to Deadwood, but it really only affected me after I ran, when I would start coughing uncontrollably for a few minutes. In fact, right after finishing the marathon last Sunday, I started coughing so hard I was practically dry heaving. The next day, it went from a cough to a full on head cold, with snot-filled sinuses and massive sinus pressure. I swear I must have blown 10 pounds of snot outta my nose last week. Nice visual, huh? Fortunately, the one time during the day when I really felt pretty good was while I was running. I felt pretty miserable the rest of the week, but at least I got all my runs in. And, as it turns out, I paced Deadwood just right, because I was able to jump right back into training without skipping a beat. Definitely my fastest ever recovery from a marathon.
Monday - Rest. Just my regular Monday rest day. My legs felt a little sore, but not too bad. Certainly not on par with what I usually feel like the day after a marathon.
Tuesday - 9 miles. This would be the test. And I passed. Legs felt a little tight when I started out, but loosened up nicely and ran a really solid 9 miles. In fact, my overall pace was faster than my Deadwood pace.
Wednesday - 10 miles. Another solid run.
Thursday - 4.7 miles total, including the 3.7 mile Dino Hill Trail Race. Dino Hill is the 3rd race in the Black Hills Trail Series and is different in that it's held on a weekday evening rather than a weekend morning. The reason for that is the Summer Nights Festival, which is held every Thursday in Rapid City throughout the summer. So, the idea is to run the race on Dino Hill and then head down to Summer Nights for a free beer. Early in the day, I was wondering if the race would even go down since thunderstorms started popping early in the afternoon and running on top of a hill is pretty much the last place I want to be when lightning is in the area. But, the storms tapered off before the race started, so it was just nice and humid. I felt alright during most of the race, although the course was pretty difficult....probably the most difficult trail race so far with almost constant ups and downs, which makes it hard to get into a good rhythm. My legs did feel kind of heavy and I couldn't push as hard as I know I can, but I still ended up with my best placing so far, 8th overall and 4th in my age group. Even though I didn't feel that bad during the race, as soon as it was over I felt horrible. My legs felt like jello and my gut felt like there was an alien inside trying to gnaw its way out. Not pleasant.
Friday - 8 miles. Still felt kinda crappy, both with sinus pressure and the angry stomach. I seriously considered not running at all, but forced myself to at least give it a try and, amazingly, I actually felt much better while running and finished the 8 miles with no problems.
Saturday - 14.1 miles. It's been awhile since I put together back to back longish runs, so I figured I better get back into it. My legs didn't feel all that great to start out, but the further I ran, the better they felt and the last few miles were actually the best.
Sunday - 26.2 miles. Another week, another marathon. Not officially this time, though. I had planned on 25 miles, but if you're gonna go 25, what's another 1.2? I paced this one like I would an ultra run, 10 minutes running with 2 minutes walking and felt pretty fine the entire way. This makes at least a marathon distance long run in 4 of the last 5 weeks (40, 26.2, 20, 26.2 and 26.2) and, with Bighorn coming up this next weekend, I'll practically get two marathons for the price of one.
Total - 72 miles
So, it turned out to be neither a recovery week or a taper week, which is just fine with me. I'll probably take it a little easier this week to get rested up for my 52 mile jaunt through the Bighorns on Saturday, but I'm trying as much as possible to treat Bighorn as a training run, just as I did Deadwood. A really, really long training run.
Monday - Rest. Just my regular Monday rest day. My legs felt a little sore, but not too bad. Certainly not on par with what I usually feel like the day after a marathon.
Tuesday - 9 miles. This would be the test. And I passed. Legs felt a little tight when I started out, but loosened up nicely and ran a really solid 9 miles. In fact, my overall pace was faster than my Deadwood pace.
Wednesday - 10 miles. Another solid run.
Thursday - 4.7 miles total, including the 3.7 mile Dino Hill Trail Race. Dino Hill is the 3rd race in the Black Hills Trail Series and is different in that it's held on a weekday evening rather than a weekend morning. The reason for that is the Summer Nights Festival, which is held every Thursday in Rapid City throughout the summer. So, the idea is to run the race on Dino Hill and then head down to Summer Nights for a free beer. Early in the day, I was wondering if the race would even go down since thunderstorms started popping early in the afternoon and running on top of a hill is pretty much the last place I want to be when lightning is in the area. But, the storms tapered off before the race started, so it was just nice and humid. I felt alright during most of the race, although the course was pretty difficult....probably the most difficult trail race so far with almost constant ups and downs, which makes it hard to get into a good rhythm. My legs did feel kind of heavy and I couldn't push as hard as I know I can, but I still ended up with my best placing so far, 8th overall and 4th in my age group. Even though I didn't feel that bad during the race, as soon as it was over I felt horrible. My legs felt like jello and my gut felt like there was an alien inside trying to gnaw its way out. Not pleasant.
Friday - 8 miles. Still felt kinda crappy, both with sinus pressure and the angry stomach. I seriously considered not running at all, but forced myself to at least give it a try and, amazingly, I actually felt much better while running and finished the 8 miles with no problems.
Saturday - 14.1 miles. It's been awhile since I put together back to back longish runs, so I figured I better get back into it. My legs didn't feel all that great to start out, but the further I ran, the better they felt and the last few miles were actually the best.
Sunday - 26.2 miles. Another week, another marathon. Not officially this time, though. I had planned on 25 miles, but if you're gonna go 25, what's another 1.2? I paced this one like I would an ultra run, 10 minutes running with 2 minutes walking and felt pretty fine the entire way. This makes at least a marathon distance long run in 4 of the last 5 weeks (40, 26.2, 20, 26.2 and 26.2) and, with Bighorn coming up this next weekend, I'll practically get two marathons for the price of one.
Total - 72 miles
So, it turned out to be neither a recovery week or a taper week, which is just fine with me. I'll probably take it a little easier this week to get rested up for my 52 mile jaunt through the Bighorns on Saturday, but I'm trying as much as possible to treat Bighorn as a training run, just as I did Deadwood. A really, really long training run.
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