Out of darkness comes light: Silverheels 100

Prologue 

I started training this year with one primary goal in mind: finish Silverheels 100. At last year's race I went in to the race confident that I could finish and when pacer plans fell through I decided to run the race without one. Eventually I spent most of the time after mile 45 in a death march, mentally defeated. By the time I rolled into Taryall III (Mile 68) I waved the white flag and called my race. I lost the will to continue and while physically I probably could have gone on, there is a reason people say ultras are mostly mental. I learned some valuable lessons during that race, notably that I needed to spend more time toughening my mind and that I needed a pacer/crew in 2016.

Training for this year officially started in November (2015) with the beginning of the front range fat ass season. I took 2 weeks off with minimal running after Indian Creek 50K and then eased into the fat asses in November with plenty of recovery days during the week. By the time December rolled around I began to ramp up my training. I raced Sean O'brien in Malibu, CA early in the season and World's End in PA in May. Neither of these races turned out exactly as I anticipated (sweltering heat in Malibu, and IT band issues at World's End) but Sherpa John, the guy who runs the Colorado fat ass series and the Human Potential Running Series likes to spend a lot of time talking about adversity training.  That's exactly what I had to deal with in those races and I knew it was exactly what I would have to deal with at Silverheels so I was happy with how things turned out in the long run.

Once the Colorado ultra season started I ran the South Park trail marathon and the Sheep Mountain 50. South Park went really well. Emily came out the CO that weekend and helped out at an aid station while cheering me on and it was great to see her out on the course. Despite a little stomach issue late in the race I was really happy with how it went. My legs felt strong and I paced the race well. I spent the rest of June training harder than I ever have. I incorporated several strong weeks of back-to-back long runs into my schedule and lots of hard uphill running to build strength. Most weeks I was able to average 50-70 miles per week with over 15,000 feet of elevation gain. I came into Sheep Mountain fresh off my heaving training schedule feeling tired and depleted. The race became a slog at mile 10 and I slowly trudged along until mile 26 before dropping. While I was disappointed not to finish, I knew it was a wise decision as I would only have 3 weeks to get rested and ready for Silverheels after that.

Tapering for me meant backing off the mileage to 35 and then 25 miles before race week. I did my last longish effort with Craig two weeks out on one of my favorite runs, Mt. Evans via the Chicago Creek trail. Otherwise I did a few easier runs on Mount Sanitas, plenty of shorter flat runs on the Boulder Creek Path, and lots of recovery days with lots os swimming in the pool. By the time race week was upon me I was itching to race, just the feeling you want to have.

Emily flew out on Thursday for the race. She was going to be my crew, and we met up with Craig and his family for Lunch on Friday before heading up to Fairplay early in the afternoon. We drove out to the west of Fairplay along Four Mile Rd. and found a nice dispersed camptise for the night. Everyone took naps and then we headed to the pre-race meeting in town. The meeting was informative and entertaining at the same time as is John's style. Unfortunately by the time we left there were almost no places in town still serving dinner, except one hotel which was still serving pizza and appetizers. One Hawaiian pizza please! We wrapped up dinner and everyone went straight to bed, shortly after 10PM.

The Race

We all woke up around 3AM and got ready. I had a Cliff bar and an ensure for breakfast before getting my gear together. We drove out to Fairplay and after an uneventful start we were off running at 4AM. I started in my singlet and shorts with gloves and arm warmers. The overnight temperatures were pretty mild and I ended up sliding off the arm warmers a few miles in. My initial shoe of choice were some Hoka Cliffton 3s. I saw these at REI on clearance and they felt pretty comfortable. Knowing that the first 20 miles or so of Silverheels has a lot of dirt roads I was interested in a shoe with a little more cushion so the Hokas ended up working out well in my test runs. The plan was to change into my main trail shoe (Nike Terra Kiger) at the mile 21 aid station where my crew would be waiting.

After running along for a few miles on a rolling road out of town we began to climb upwards towards the High Park aid station. I ran without a watch so exact pace was unknown but I ran easy on the flats and downhills and walked most of the uphill sections here. Just as I began to near High Park the sun crested over the eastern mountains and illuminated the beautiful scenery. This portion of the course near High Park is one of my favorite sections and to see it as the day begins was almost as breathtaking as the 12,000+ feet elevation I climbed towards. I took my first gel around this time, right on schedule. After it went down I began to complain to myself about how many more I would need (I trained and raced with mostly gels/tailwind). I passed through High Park I (8.75) without stopping because it was a pretty quick out and back to the Silverheels Mine and I had barely touched my handheld. 

I again measured my effort on the trip up Silverheels, running slower and more leisurely than last year. I picked up my playing card to prove I went to the mine, ate another gel and then headed back down to High Park, still running the flats and downs. As I rolled into High Park II (mile 13.75) they were cooking up some delicious smelling breakfast foods and I decided to do something you should never do in an ultra, try something new. I suddenly changed my fueling plan to forget gels and go with solid food only. I had a piece of bacon, and some tater tots. Feeling invigorated I topped off my handheld and headed out. I ended up running most of the next section with another runner named as were were both going about the same pace. It was nice to have some company as with this being a smaller race I knew I could expect to run a lot of the race alone. Most of the terrain into Poor Mans Gulch I (mile 21.3) is dirt road with lots of runnable downhill but still plenty of decent climbs. I ran most of the downhills, but taking some walking breaks on the really long runnable sections to give the legs a break and still hiking the ups.

The location of Poor Mans Gulch I was different from 2015 so I was a little surprised with the  1+ mile detour to get to the new aid station location but the single track was nice so I didn't mind. Unfortunately when I got to Poor Mans Gulch I my crew was nowhere to be found. I had told them the earliest I would be there was around 8:30AM (4:30 elapsed) and it was 8:15AM. I ate my fill of pretzels and PB&J tortillas before I had to decide to wait a little bit or head out and I chose the latter. There were two problems with this. One, I would be running on a lot of rougher trails in my road shoes and two, I only had my 20oz. handheld for a ~10 mile stretch of the course.

After Poor Mans Gulch I you run through several miles of nice single track before you pop out on a forest service road that takes you the rest of the way to Trout Creek I (Mile 31.9). As it turned out, my biggest problem with missing my crew was the effect it would have on my head. I let my running companion go ahead and mixed in a little more walking than running for a few miles. Eventually I got over it and was moving pretty well on the road into Trout Creek I. I had ran out of water in my handheld about 1.5-2 miles out from the aid station so I drank a little extra but was otherwise fine. I ate more of the PB&J tortillas which were now becoming my staple and had a little watermelon before heading out. I knew it wasn't too far until Tarryal I (mile 37) where I would definitely get to see Craig and Emily. Invigorated with more food and water I ended up hitting the road and moving well out of Trout Creek.

Unfortunately I ended up enjoying the trail a bit too much. While running with another runner and chatting it up we both missed a key turn off of a forest road. Eventually we realized our mistake and re-traced our steps back to the course (which was well marked there) but not before losing 20 minutes worth of time. With another hit to my confidence I struggled up the ensuing short but brutal climb. At the top I took a moment to sit down on a log and collect myself before pushing onward. From last year I knew it was almost all downhill to Tarryall I so I pushed myself to run as much of it as possible without destroying my legs. By this point the road shoes were starting to show their limitations and the bottoms of my feet were becoming pretty beat up by rocks/roots/etc. on the trail but I know it wasn't too long till I could switch. I got some encouragement when Christoph came up beside me and gave me a cliff bar to eat (my favorite snack) and we ran into Tarryall I together. 

Seeing Emily and Craig when I finally rolled into Tarryall was a huge boost to my morale. I sat down in a chair and they took care of changing my shoes while I drank an Ensure and finished my cliff bar. I got my UD running pack all set, picked up my trekking poles, applied sunscreen, and used the bathroom before heading out towards Gold Dust I (39.5). The singletrack between Tarryall and Gold Dust is beautiful and mostly flat so I worked myself up to a decent run/walk shuffle. I made a very quick stop at Gold Dust I, had a few pretzels and then headed out to the high point on the course, a steep and unforgiving climb up above 13,000 feet. I left Gold Dust I with a large group of folks I knew but I could not keep their pace so I settled into my own rhythm and marched my way up the mountain. My climbing legs at this point were feeling pretty weak but I made the best of it and soldiered on. At the summit I picked up a playing card to prove I had been there as well as a souvenir playing card for Emily that had been munched on my some of the marmots that live near the summit. 

I did a mix of running and walking (70:30) down the mountain and rolled into Gold Dust II (mile 44.5) in generally good spirits. Emily had hiked into the Gold Dust II from Tarryall so I was happy to see her there. Sherpa John was also there and he said I looked pretty good (whether or not it was true) which was encouraging to hear. I refilled my stuff, ate some tater tots, got a little massage from Emily and then headed out without my trekking poles. This last decision would end up being disastrous. The loop from Gold Dust II to Gold Dust III is mostly downhill, but the one climb you encounter is right out of the aid station. Immediately my climbing legs felt like jello and I slowed down to a crawl without the poles, stopping to take many breaks. When I finally got to the dirt road at the top my legs were beginning to seize up and walking was nearly impossible. I sat down for a minute, then stretched them out for a while and finally pushed on. Not matter how badly I was suffering I was determined to finish.

I spent the next 6 miles (which felt like 20) at a brisk power walk. Occasionally I would try to run a little and my legs would have none of it. At Halfway Gulch (mile 50.5) I tried not to think about being only halfway done. I had some cookies, drank a little Cola and then pushed on. This was around the hottest part of the day and being out on the exposed road in the sun was difficult but the more I walked the more I could run each time I tried which was highly encouraging. Finally on the final approach (~3 miles) into Gold Dust III the sun went down and things cooled off but I still crawled at a frustratingly slow pace. There was one marked section of 1.5 mile which felt like an eternity to pass. Eventually darkness began to set in but I had no headlamp! I didn't have a headlamp until I got back to Tarryall II! A combination of miscalculations on my part and not realizing that the course was a little different in the section of the race than 2015 led to my mistake. To make matters worse, there were a series of unavoidable water crossings where my feet ended up getting soaked and cold. Eventually I stumbled my way into Gold Dust III (mile 54) and plopped down in a chair. 

When they asked what I wanted I said warm soup (as the sun went down it got cold quickly and I had gotten chilly) and I mentioned I had no headlamp. Then another runner behind me came in and said the same thing, and then another. The amazing volunteers had a few extras between them so they gave one to me which I shared with Rich and another to the other runner. Rich and I ended up doing the section from Gold Dust III together with one headlamp, carefully picking our way through the woods. After and eternity we emerged out of the forest and I was at Tarryall II, with Emily and Craig there. They helped me get some food down (cup noodles), took off my shoes and socks, spread body glide on the my feet to prevent blisters from the wetness, got me new socks and my backup trail shoes (Salomon S Sense). I also grabbed the trekking poles again. My departing request to Emily as I set off down the trail with Craig as my pacer was to find some way to dry off my Nike trail shoes which I knew was a tall order.

Once Craig and I set off down the trail I felt new vigor in my legs. The trail from Tarryall to Camp Como (mile 61) is rolling but mostly downhill and I found myself running almost all of the downhills and even a few flats on this section. It was also a motivation boost to see runners coming back the other way not looking so great and here I was moving really well. As I predicted, the Salomon S Sense was too minimal to keep running in for long. I could feel me feet taking a beating, but before I knew it I was at Camp Como and Emily had found a propane heater to dry my shoes with! I was incredibly grateful for that so I swapped out my shoes and had half a cup noodles before speeding off, still feeling good.

It wasn’t too far down the trail until Craig and I noticed we were no longer seeing reflective course markers. Unfortunately the area we got lost in was like a maze, with many trails intersecting. After a good 10-15 minutes of running around trying to find the trail we eventually retraced out steps to find the turn we missed and set off again. This detour took its toll mentally and I found myself slogging along for some time. The last 2 miles or so before Tarryall were fairly technical (at least by Colorado standards) and that started to frustrate me which eventually helped my pace. When I finally got to Tarryall III (mile 65.6) I recall it being around 1AM, two hours ahead of cuttoff pace. 

Before the race I picked up a dozen doughnuts from Safeway as a reward to myself late in the race when I was feeling down and having one here really hit the spot. I also had some soup and then geared up for running into the night. It would be a long time until the next crew spot (mile 81) so I tried to take anything I might want. Then Craig and I set off towards Trout Creek II. The climb out of Tarryall was longer and harder than I recalled in the other directions, but getting to the top of the ridge was one of the highlights of the race.

The ridge was above treeline and it was a new moon and a clear night. Combine that with being in one of the most remote parts of Colorado and the night sky was breathtaking. We both sat down on a log and turned off our headlamps for a few minutes to admire it. I’ve often seen pictures of night skies like this but never before experienced it. Imagine the best sky you’ve seen, then multiply the stars by a hundred, and throw in the beautiful band of the milky way galaxy and you’ve got quite a spectacle. Eventually it was time to move on and we headed down to Trout Creek II (mile 71). I did a bit of running here, but temperatures were plummeting and I found it hard to motivate myself to run as much as I would have liked.

Trout Creek at night is like an oasis in a desert. You can see it from a long ways off, lanterns and fires going welcoming you in out of the cold and dark night. Craig and I had already talked that we would take about 10 minutes here to eat lots of food considering the 10 mile trek to the next aid station. I had a pack of cup noodles and some bacon and a cookie. I also packed a baggie of various other aid station foods to snack on. After around 10 minutes we headed off into the night. 

It was around this time that I began to really struggle with lack of sleep. Craig tried to talk to me and keep me alert but all I wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep. We settled on Craig setting a decent pace and I would follow along behind him as best I could manage. Most of the section from Trout Creek to Poor Mans Gulch I don’t remember. It’s all a blue. I recall Craig stopping to help me change the batteries in my headlamp, and I remember stopping a few times to eat but the rest was a long zombie-like trudge. Eventually we turned off the forest road and onto the single track up a relentlessly steep incline. We made steady progress but only with numerous breaks. I began to suffer my first hallucinations on this climb. I kept heading voices of people talking in the woods, but I tried to ignore it and keep moving. 

Towards the top of this climb the sun was finally rising and Craig and I stopped and had an espresso gel with lots of caffeine. I’ve often heard from folks I know who have run hundreds that when the sun comes up on the second day it’s like a whole new race. With the caffeine and the rising sun I felt better than I had in the last 40 miles, and suddenly I was running again. Not much, but a little and I could power walk everything else between 3-4 mph. The transformation was incredible to observe. There were many times during the race I dreded continuing on. I never once thought of dropping, not after last year but yet part of me still didn’t want to continue. Maybe I would miss a cutoff I thought to myself… But once the sun came up and especially when I came into Poor Mans Gulch II (mile 81) I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to finish this thing, and that knowledge was empowering. 

At Poor Mans Gulch II I had another doughnut, got a quick massage from Emily, and then quickly headed out. My mindset was no longer one of doubt but rather one of “let’s get this done!” and so I was moving as well as ever before. The hallucinations continued. I would often see logs or rocks turn into a wolf, or even something as crazy as a boat on a trailer… These hallucinations eventually became a source of amusement more than anything. The rolling up and down road between Poor Mans Gulch and High Park III (mile 88.6) was still exhausting and Craig and I were both struggling on the climbs at this point. At the top of one we both sat down for a 2 minute micro-nap before pushing onwards. 

As we approached High Park III Craig asked it it would be ok for him to take a mor serious nap at the aid station while I did the out-and-back to the mine. I told him that was not a problem as I was mentally and physically strong (despite the hallucinations). I was in and out of High Park in under a minute, pushed onwards by my desire to just get to the finish. Five miles later (mile 94) I was back at High Park IV, still feeling great and full of smiles. I knew I was moving well but it was a huge boost to hear the aid station volunteers say I had one of the faster splits to the mine and back at this point in the race. 

My stop at High Park IV was also about a minute. I grabbed some chips, some watermelon, and topped off my water bottle. Some folks were really struggling at this point and lingering in the aid station but all I could think about was the finish line and so Craig and I set off down the mountain. We chatted a lot about running and races and with both of us feeling invigorated by the finish. 

Once we hit the final dirt road to the finish line I at first felt great about being so close, but my memory about the length of that dirt road had been warped by the fact that I ran it in the dark Saturday morning. In the end this final stretch was my least favorite part of the race. With running legs shot it was a long hike on a very boring gravel road. After what seemed like 10 miles I hit the pavement and I knew this time I was actually getting close to the finish. Craig ran ahead to get a photo of me crossing the finish line and Emily walked out to meet me a bit from the finish so she could get more pictures. Out of nowhere I found the strength to run it in. John was there to shake my hand and a whole host of other folks to cheer me on. The final time was 34:51.

My thoughts after finishing were not complicated. I was proud of myself for finishing the race, happy I got to enjoy this beautiful course through the mountains, and incredibly grateful for Emily and Craig because without them my own accomplishment might not have been possible. I sat down at a picnic table and stuffed my face the post-race doughnut I had been saving and Emily got me a cream soda to enjoy. She had also set up the hammock, so I took a quick nap, ate some cheeseburgers, and then accepted my buckle before it was time to pack up and head out from an incredible experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Epilogue

After the race and before moving back to MD Emily and I did some vacationing around CO. We first went to Great Sand Dunes National park and from there on to many other places. Directly after the race my legs felt OK, I was still able to walk with a slight limp. That night I slept incredible well and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the next day when I woke up I had very little soreness in my legs. Only my calves were ever so slightly sore. This would continue for a few days. The Monday after and for several days I did did plenty of hiking, and the only lingering symptom was a general tiredness and a tremendous appetite. When I eventually did my first run the Friday afterwards everything felt back to normal. I waited another week before starting to really "train" again for the next race on my radar (WV Trilogy).

2015: R2R2R

Note: this blog post was originally written over a year ago, but I forgot to publish it, sorry!


For the uninitiated, R2R2R stands for rim-to-rim-to-rim, an adventure spanning the length of the grand canyon in Arozona. This usually involves traveling from the South Rim  to the North Rim and back in one day (for runners). This "run" combines all that I love about trail and ultrarunning: vast natural beauty and a grueling course. The run is typically done in mid to late spring or late fall to avoid the intense heat of the Grand Canyon during the summer months while keeping in mind the potential for snow/ice during winter. The route is anywhere from 45-50 miles depending on the route chosen and includes roughly 11,000 ft. of elevation gain over that distance. 

One of the standard routes.

It goes without saying this an extremely difficult route to attempt for anyone in the ultrarunning community and the canyon itself is dotted with signs warning hikers of the perils of even attempting to go to the river and back in one day.

 

Who in their right mind would even attempt this?

But as is always the case, if you put a trail out there someone will imagine up something insane to do on it (e.g., Noland's 14). And so I imagine this is how the first R2R2R was born and how it has subsequently become a "bucket list" for most ultrarunners in the country or even the world. For this reason when Dave reached out to the VHTRC Facebook community for interest I picked up on his post and immediately jumped in, despite living in Colorado at the time. After much negotiating and organization (props to Dave for throwing everything together) we finalized a crew of 5. In addition to Dave and myself we would be joined by Marc, Bernard and Birgit. The date on the Calendar was marked for May 7th, 2015 and the stage was set.

Pre-R2R2R

While my training leading up to R2R2R was somewhat of a concern, I felt pretty confident I would be OK. I lacked a significant amount of endurance-focused long runs since the winter fat-ass season ended, but I was much more consistent in my running than I had been in a long time. I regularly did significant elevation gain (~1000 feet gain/loss/mile on Green Mountain and Sanitas) for medium 10-15 mile runs and incorporated more hard tempo efforts than usual into my training. Despite an IT-band injury setback at the beginning of March, I felt healthy and ready to go. My hope was that if I could  conserve energy early and on the "flatter" sections of the route then I would do well on the ups and downs and inevitably make it back to the South Rim in one piece.

On Tuesday, May 5th we all flew into Las Vegas early in the morning. After navigation of the relatively convoluted Las Vegas airport layout, we all met up and headed down the road towards the Grand Canyon where we would be staying at the Maswick Lodge through Friday morning. Fortunately, the change in time zones didn't prevent us from first finding our way to a Chipoltle in The Venetian. After some burritos we took a slight detour to see the Hoover Dam before heading to the Grand Canyon. This drive ended up being more scenic than expected and we finally rolled in around dusk. The highly reccomended  Maswick Pizza Pub exceeded our expectations with some fantastic food and drinks before we all turned in early, exhausted after a long day of traveling.

Wednesday was spent exploring the rim trail. Bernard and myself wanted to go for some sort of run despite what lie ahead on Thursday. He has a route planned going down the S. Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch and back up via the Bright Angel trail. This seemed a bit ambitious to me but I told him I'd run with him for a while. We ran together for the first 4 miles or so down the S. Kaibab trail before I decided to hike back up to conserve the legs for tomorrow. Bernard continued on down to Phantom Ranch and from the stories he told seemed to have a great time. Dave, Marc, and Birgit went on to visit a few places along the rim before we met up in the afternoon and explored the overlooks trails further. The beauty of the Grand Canyon simply can't be described in words, but probably the most striking thing I always notice is its size. You stand there on the edge of the canyon trying to soak in the view and you feel like and ant standing at the edge of an ocean. I can't imagine there are too many places in the world that can invoke such a sublime feeling. Then I was tugged back to reality as you remind yourself that tomorrow you will run all the way to the other side and back. Suddenly things start to get real.

We ended up dining again at the Pizza Pub. I don't eat Pizza very often but it was excellent and I knew I could use the calories for the adventure to come so I happily indulged (I should note the Hawaiian was my favorite). We settled into bed early with the plan being a 4:00am wake up and to be on the trail by 4:45am. Our intended route was to travel down the Bright Angel Trail at the start (due to its proximity to the Maswick Lodge), up and down the N. Kaibab trail and then back via the S. Kaibab Trail where we'd take a bus back to the lodge.

The Run

When we awoke on Thursday the temperature outside was 29 degrees, so we begrudgingly bundled up and headed over to the trail for the obligatory starting photo. Without much deliberation we immediately headed off down the trail to warm up. It was barely dark enough for headlamps and I ended up turning mine off about 10 minutes down the trail. As expected the temperature rose steadily as the sun came up and I shed all my cold layers about 2 miles in. We took the run down into the canyon at a nice leisurely pace, something we would all remark was a wise choice later. Eventually we came to Indian Garden campground. This was one of my favorite sections of the run. For a long time you are descending through a fairly desolate canyon but when you approach Indian Garden campground you are greeted by gigantic (>100 years old) deciduous trees and a whole host of other greenery. It felt like we were briefly in a jungle, something bizarre and beautiful to stumble upon in the grand canyon. There is normally a water pump here but it was so early in the morning none of us needed to stop and a break in the canyon water pipeline the previous day meant it was probably dry anyway so we continued on to the Colorado River.

Once we reached the river we ran a very sandy trail up along a cliff on the south shore for a little over a mile before we finally got to the river crossing. About a half mile after the bridge we reached Phantom Ranch. I'm not sure what I imagined it looking like in my head, but it was certainly more quaint than I anticipated. It took us a few minutes to notice the "Welcome to Phantom Ranch sign"...

There was almost nobody around (it was 6:30am) so we only stopped briefly here to refill our water and then we were on our way. Once you leave Phantom Ranch outbound you enter "The Box", as it is termed on most maps. During this section of the route you run alongside a creek in the heart of the canyon. This section was much more scenic than I had anticipated, and the enclosed nature of the canyon meant it was mostly shaded (at least during this time of day...) so it was excellent running. The entire time you run along a trickling creek with beautiful canyon wall rock formations all around. This time of year turned out to be wildflower season in the canyon so there was no shortage of things to look at while running. This was probably for the best because while this section seems flat it is the very definition of a false flat. It doesn't look uphill and it doesn't feel hard on your legs but you are climbing nevertheless. I usually don't enjoy this type of uphill so it was nice that the group settled into a nice easy run/walk pace with plenty of picture opportunities forced me to not think about the false flat grind.

Eventually we made our way to Cottonwood Campground where we took a brief break under some shade to refuel. We also met a local group of three from Sedona, AZ who were out doing R2R2R. They passed us but we would end up meeting again later. Again, there would have been water here under normal circumstances (no pipeline break) but we were all doing OK on water so we headed out after just a few minutes. After Cottonwood Campground you begin some more serious uphill climbing but the trail rolls along up and down a bit so you don't realize the net gain. It's not until you reach "The Pumphouse" when the climb to the North Rim truely begins and you can see yourself slowly inching up the canyon wall closer to the top. Again, this is normally a water refill location but we were all still doing OK (and had purification devices regardless) so we didn't even bother to stop and began the climb to the North Rim.

From the pumphouse we climbed relentlessly up to the North Rim. The elevation of the North Rim is higher than the South Rim (~8,200 ft. to ~6,800 ft.) so we had more work to do than what we initially came down this morning. This climb is made into an even more brutal affair by the relentless steadily uphill gradient that stretches itself out over around 7 miles with about 4,000 ft. of total gain. This climb would be hard enough by itself but it was around this time that the sun started to rise in the sky and really heat things up. As we climbed in elevation the temperature got cooler but we didn't actually notice until we reached the North Rim and had to put on our jackets. I started to feel really good on this section despite only power hiking the whole time so I decided to test myself a bit by pushing up the climb to catch the guys from Sedona, AZ. I ended up finding them about a half mile from the top but felt pretty strong the entire way up.

The top was somewhat anticlimactic. There are no wide and expansive views at the N. Kaibab trail head (although there are view elsewhere along the N. Rim), but there was a delicious and cool tap with spring water to savor. I put on a jacket to take a break and eat with the group. I started out the day with Tailwind in my two vest water bottles, but that was mostly gone by Cottomwood. I also had a bladder on me as well that I filled halfway with a liter that got me the rest of the way to the North Rim. After I left Cottomwood I almost exclusively started taking VFuel. Not only did the VFuel get me to the North Rim, but it ended up being my main source of calories the rest of the way. Getting to push the limits of Tailwind/VFuel was really encouraging as I look towards the rest of my season, knowing I have a nutrition system down that works really well. Regardless, I did enjoy some pistachos and a granola bar on the North Rim to keep the stomach from getting too grumpy about the lack of real food. The rest of the crew came in shortly thereafter, along with the rest of the Sedona crew. One guy in their group was really struggling with cramps. Hopefully everything ended up OK on his end.

After about 40 minutes of relaxing on the North Rim we set out on the long climb down. Birgit and I were both feeling good so we bombed the long descent. It was nice to stretch the legs out a bit. Once we hit the bottom I was still feeling really good and the day was beginning to get hot so I went on ahead running as hard as I could manage, just wanting to get to Phantom Ranch and out of "The Box" as quickly as possible. In the last mile or two to Phantom Rand inbound my legs started to get pretty tired and the ~95 degree heat began to take it's toll. I was drinking about as much as I could manage but I still seemed to be infinitely thirsty. Whenever I managed to go under a shaded section I found my self forcing a walk break just so I could spend a little less time in the hot sun. Eventually I made it back to Phantom Ranch, grabbed a lemonade, and waited for the rest of the crew to roll through. We all relaxed there for a while, and during this time I made a crucial mistake: I got a second cup of lemonade. The first cup went down like the most delicious lemonade I've ever tasted, and the second was just as good. unfortunately I failed to consider what consequences a second cup might have.

After relaxing for a while we set out up the South Kaibab trail, a final ~7 mile climb. After crossing the Colorado River my climbing legs still felt really great so I wanted to test them a bit and push the climb as much as was reasonable. I quickly started to move well for the first 2 miles or so, and then the lemonade hit me. It was as if the two glasses of lemonade I consumed at Phantom Ranch had formed themselves into a giant ball of sugar in my stomach, and any effort more than a shuffle was next to impossible. Even worse, attempting to drink any water make me want to throw up. Eventually I found a nice shaded spot and collapsed onto a comfortable-looking rock. I told myself I'd wait for Birgit and Marc to pass me, take 3 more minutes, and then head out.

Sure enough they came along and asked if I was OK. I explained my error in nutrition at Phantom Ranch and told them I'd be fine. Over the course of he next 90 minutes or so I slowly shuffled along, not drinking or eating up staircase after staircase towards the South Rim. About 2 hours after leaving Phantom Ranch I could feel my stomach returning to some normalcy, and I was again able to up the pace. I Caught back up to Birgit and Marc, and used my knowledge from the previous day's run on this route in motivating them that we were getting pretty close to the finish despite appearances otherwise. Sure enough, after around 14 hours playing around in the Canyon, we all made it to the North Rim in one piece. I barely consumed any water or calories on the final climb, but those two cups of lemonade seemed to sustain me. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to finish something, and it was certainly echoed by other folks in the group that this was one of the hardest run's they've ever done.

We would head back the following morning (as the South Rim was expecting snow later in the day) and spend that night in Las Vegas before flying out later in the Afternoon on Saturday. All in all doing R2R2R lived up to and exceeded my expectations in every possible way. The natural beauty of the Grand Canton is undeniable, and experiencing it by running R2R2R is probably one of if not the greatest way to appreciate that beauty. For those looking to do R2R2R in the near future, I'd summarize a few things:

• Late April to Early May are probably the best times of year to run. It was fairly mild the day we did it, and it was really hot in "The Box", but it wasn't unbearable and we would have been OK even on a hotter day. I watched the weather in the week before and after our run like a hawk, and it seems like the conditions were usually just about right that time of year. Note that the North Rim does not open until mid to late May, so starting from there can be more challenging in terms of weather although many CO folks I know have done it with great success.

• Try to stay at the Maswick Lodge. The food there is fantastic, and it gives you easy access to the Bright Angel Trailhead at the start (and there is free shuttle access back to Maswick from the S. Kaibab trailhead when you finish). The prices at Maswick were really reasonable and the benefit of a nice hot shower can't be underestimated.

• Start out easy. We cruised down to Phantom Ranch outbound at a leisurely pace, taking plenty of pictures along the way. I can see how it would be really easy to bomb this section but I think that would be unwise. If you feel good coming down from the North Rim then go ahead and bomb that (it's the last downhill you'll see...), but with the long and difficult nature of the R2R2R run I can't stress enough how important it is to not get too excited early.

• Enjoy the run! As I mentioned above, start out easy and take lots of pictures. As the day wears on and you get tired the picture taking will no doubt drop off precipitously, so it'd be a shame if you didn't try to capture some of the natural beauty while you're still alert enough to do so (even though the pictures still won't do it justice).

• Hydration: Be sure to bring water purification, and carry more water than you need. I brought my Sawyer water filter and while I didn't ever have to use it, it was good to have. The pipeline running through the canyon is aging and you should be prepared to rely on yourself for water. As for the amount of water to carry, I had 2 20 oz. handhelds and a 2L bladder. I'd estimate my consumption as:
• 30 oz. Tailwind from Start to Phantom Ranch
• 30 oz. water + 1L from bladder from Phantom outbound Ranch to North Rim
• 30 oz. water + 1L from bladder from North Rim to Phantom Ranch inbound
• >5 oz. water from Phantom Ranch inbound to South Rim (and two lemonades...)

• Nutrition: I consumed 10 VFuel gels over the course of the run, two bottles of Tailwind (2.5 scoops/20 oz. bottle), a handful of pistachios, 2 Cliff Z-bars, and two Phantom Ranch lemonades.

I can understand why this is often on the "bucket list for most ultra runners. Even as people begin to complain about overcrowding in the grand canyon and with all the other popular journey runs out there, R2R2R still holds a special place for all runners and rightfully so. 

2013: The lost year?

After a promising start to 2013 with my best ever 50K race off minimal training, I set out an ambitious racing schedule:

2/2/13 - Lewis 10 miler - 1:07:01, 3rd
2/9/13 - Mid-Maryland 50K - 4:11:30, 4th
3/16/13 - Eliabeth's Furnace 50K - 7:01, 8th
4/13/13 - Bull Run Run 50 - DNF
5/4/13 - Farm Park 6 Hour Challenge
6/1/13 - Old Dominion 100
6/22/13 - Mason Dixon Longest Day Challenge
7/27/13 - Catoctin 50K - DNF

After EF50K, I wouldn't finish another ultra that year. It's not clear exactly where things went wrong but it must have happened sometime after EF50K, although I don't think that race was the direct cause. I started to feel pain on the inside ball of my foot. It hurt while walking or running and it would usually die down if I took a day or two off. In the end I went out and did a 20+ mile run on the AT the week after EF50K, and likely did further damage. The following day the pain was worse than it had been previously, and I resigned to take the two weeks leading up to Bull Run very easy and I didn't research further the exact nature of the injury since it didn't strike me at the time as anything serious.

Bull Run Run 50

As Bull Run came up, I felt reasonable healthy. I hadn't felt any pain in a few days and I figured I would be ready to run after a pretty hard taper. My goal after entering the race was simply to finish, as I needed a qualifying race for Old Dominion, but I though somewhere in the mid 8:30-9 hour range was reasonable on a good day and hopefully under 10 hours if things didn't go well. From the start I made sure to pace myself and run within my own ability. Everyone else flew by as we did a quick loop on some roads before hitting the trails. I must have been in 100th+ place after the first half mile, but I stayed relaxed. Eventually I slowly moved around people at my own pace for the first 12 miles or so, and then came upon a happy-looking group of runners all running at what seemed to be a comfortable pace so I decided to stick with them. Misery loves company, right?

Unfortunately, around mile 14 I could already feel a slight pain developing on my foot in the same area as had previously bothered me. I tried to shrug it off as minor but I had a foreboding feeling it was more serious than that. By the time I got to the aid station at mile 32 I had a 5-6 mile loop ahead of me and the pain was getting to the point where I realized this was not simply a little wear and tear. I was well ahead of cutoff (9:30 pace at this point) so I could have death-marched to the finish but I sat down at the aid station and after some contemplation I realized that my conservative approach to training (listen to your body) was against such heroics, and I turned in my bib number.

I ended up self-diagnosing it as a posterior tendon tibialis issue based on the localization of the pain and swelling. I spent the following three weeks recovering. My university started a club swimming team which I was fortunate to be able to take part in, giving me some reprieve from the inactivity that comes with recovering from an injury. By the time May rolled around I was more or less back on my feet, running pain free and starting to build my mileage back up. With late spring and early summer races out of the picture, I turned my attention to my home trails: Catoctin 50K.

Summer

My training over the summer was consistent with weekend long runs on some of the Catoctin 50K course. In 2012 I found myself under-prepared for the long grind that happens on the Catoctin course in late July as temperatures climb well into the upper 90's, so I included many afternoon heat runs in my training to the point where I was very comfortable handling the scorching weather.

During this time I also prepared to make a significant change in my life, as I accepted a position to pursue a Chemistry PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder. Squeezing in running between working full-time doing research and preparing to move across the country, I found myself learning quickly to be more efficient then ever with my time. I like to think this helped me to train smarter, taking more days off from running than ever before (because I was too busy) and making sure the runs I got in had substance.

Catoctin 50K

As Catoctin approached, I was feeling very confident about my fitness and race strategy. I knew from 2012 it was important to run my own race, as expending extra effort to stay with someone who climbed or descended much faster than me in the early stages on the race would weak havoc as the heat set in in the afternoon. Going out hard and hanging on is not an advisable strategy for as difficult of a course as this.

Race morning brought uncharacteristically pleasant weather (60's) for late July and the afternoon forecast was only around 80 degrees. With spirits high for such a great day in the mountains, the past from the beginning was fast and hard. Rather than hang onto the front like last year I simply ran at my own comfortable pace which ended up being somewhere between 7-9 depending on if I was hiking the valley slower than other or descending faster. Unfortunately, from the start I never quite felt in a rhythm. My legs felt heavy even though I was well rested, and I simply couldn't run as fast or as smooth as I was used to. In the end I think this was one of the best things that could have happened to me. As it turned out I was on pace through the Gambrill Rd. aid station for my pre-race goal of (5:30), while everyone else was running with the pedal to the metal.

As I started to the descent to the manor area turn around I finally started to feel some spring in my step, and finally my legs were coming alive. Eager to start making up ground on the runners in front of me who might have gone out too bard, I bombed the descent perhaps a bit too eagerly, and on one of the steepest portions tripped and ended up doing my best superman impression down the trail. I hit the ground hard. Fortunately I didn't impale myself on anything, but my knee did make contact with a boulder on my way to the ground. I got up and tried to run it off, but the pain was severe. I set out to make it down to the Manor area and reevaluate at that time, trying to run every few steps to see if I could shake it off. By the time I got to the manor my knee had swelled up to the size of a softball. While I was far enough ahead of cutoffs I might have been able to death march it in, I knew it wouldn't be the smart thing to do and I pride myself in running, training, and racing smart.

New beginnings: looking forward

After some self-contemplation it wasn't a hard choice to call that race the close of my 2013 racing season, if it can be called a full season in the first place. I moved out to Boulder, CO during the first week of August to begin graduate school at the University of Colorado.

Several months in I can say with certainty that Boulder is a very unique city. The lifestyle here in Colorado in the first place is much more relaxed than back east. I've noticed that in general nobody ever speeds. If the speed limit is 45, people do 45 or even less than that. On the highway where the speed limit is 65? You're flying by everyone if you do 66. This is an interesting comparison to back in Maryland where at least 5mph over the speed limit is considered typical in most places and if you are feeling particularly daring you might edge towards 7mph. This make for a useful analogy for comparing the two locations.

The options for nature and trail running are unparalleled for anywhere else in North America. I live relatively "far away" from the mountains, and I am still only 3 miles from the closest trail head. That makes for a long warm up in a run or a quick bike ride. The trails them self are ideal for trail running. While part of me misses the rocky trails of the Frederick Watershed and the Appalachian trail, it's difficult to surpass the divine sense of grinding a few thousand feet up a mountain to be rewarded with a spectacular view. Then you can cruise back down the mountain, with you feet cushioned by soft sandy dirt and fallen pine needles. The sun warms is pleasantly warming and the dry breeze cools you down. At the bottom you get to look up ahead and start another climb and the cycle repeats.

I've been fortunate to make time to get in some solid running as October has rolled around. This has allowed for runs in the cool crisp autumn weather, reminding me once again why this is my favorite season. With consistency starting to return to my legs I hope to try and hold some moderate fitness as I brave winter and set my sights for a better and more adventurous 2014.

As far as races go I am still a long ways off from deciding anything in particular but I think doing the Collegiate Peaks 50 in early may followed a four weeks later by the San Juan Solstice 50 will give me a good knowledge of longer distance logistics to make a try at the Run Rabbit Run 100 late in the summer.

Until then I will look back on 2013 as a valuable year for learning. Through all the DNFs I like to think I have come away away smarter and better prepared moving forward into the future. I recall a certain Batman movie with a quote echoing this idea.

Elizabeth's Furnace 50K

This Saturday I travelled down to the Masanutten Mountains in Virginia for the annual Elizabeth's Furnace 50k run. I originally heard about it from someone who attended one of the C&O Canal 100 training runs (he left something behind) so I went down there to get it back to him and hopefully enjoy a nice day in the mountains.

I drove down race morning with Bill S. and Dave G. and we ended up getting to the starting line just in time (6:58!) for the 7 am start. I could tell the morning was off to a bad start when I realized I had left behind my bag with all of the most important non-shoe items (body glide, hat, gloves, turn sheet, etc.). So off I ran to the start being very underprepared (in more ways than one) for a possible rainy day in the mountains.

I grabbed a turn sheet at the start, (fortunately they had extras) and set off. The first climb up to Signal Knob was a long one and being mostly towards the back of the group I resigned to hiking the entire thing despite some runnable grades. Looking at it positively, I made sure to not go out too quickly! At the top of the climb we followed some generic single track and I started to move a little more comfortably. I had not been on the Masanutten trails in a number of years and I underestimated their degree of technicality. Initially going in I figured 6 hours would be a good time to shoot for since I couldn't imagine a course harder than Catoctin, but boy was I wrong.

After this first stretch of singletrack we moved onto the Sidewinder trail as I think it was called. This was a great stretch on an old railroad bed and it felt nice to be able to open up a little bit and move my legs more quickly. Unfortunately, almost as soon as it started the Sidewinder trail ended and I arrived at the first aid station. I topped off my water bottles with Gatorade and grabbed a nice mix of Pringles/Nutter Butters for the road. I was in good spirits at this point and my legs were in good shape despite the relatively hard effort the previous day with Sage N.

I was rewarded over the next ten miles before the second aid station with a reminder of how little trail running I have done in the past few months. I could probably count on two hands the number of times since my IT band injury that I have ran on the AT or blue trail and it showed on the "uglier" Massanutten trails. While on the AT and blue trail you can usually pick you way through the rocks with careful precision, the Masanutten trail offered a new challenge often times of having only one possible path through the rocks. The reuired motions often would be best characterized as “rock hopping” for miles on end. Even then the AT and catoctin trail rocks tend to be flatter and slightly easier to navigate. The Masanutten rocks seemed like they were sticking up just looking to impale an innocent victim.

Despite this I did my best to stay focused and charged onward to the second aid station at Elizabeth's furnace. I was rewarded with a nice smooth downhill section coming off the mountain where I could again open up a little bit and stretch my legs which felt nice. At Elizabeth's Furnace I was feeling quite hungry so I made sure to eat up. I had a few handfuls of Fig Netwons and Pringles and then set out to conquer the last 10 miles of the course. Little did I know the awaited me.

The turn sheet describes the next climb of this so called "Sherman Gap" trail as "very steep" in the last 0.5 miles of the 2.5 mile climb. I would describe the climb as "very steep" starting 1.5 mile out, so I suppose it is all in perspective. Fortunately at the top of the climb I knew I was almost done so I soldiered on. After some more fun rock hopping across the ridge I was rewarded with another nice smooth downhill back into Elizabeth's furnace. One short climb later and I was able to roll into the finish line, relieved that I wouldn't have to do any more pseudo-rock climbing for the rest of the day. My final time was somewhere over 7 hours (update on 3/31/13, 7:01 officially), much slower than I expected, but I was happy to be done.

In the end I was reminded of how under-prepared I was for severe technical running like this. Because of that I never got into any sort of rhythm all day long and had to constantly cherry pick my way across the rocks due to lack of preparation. This will be good motivation to make a better effort to run on the AT/Catoctin trails, and the relative freshness of my legs after finishing (due to not being able to run "hard" all day long) helped to show me that my legs should be able to be ready to tackle the Bull Run 50 on April 15th. In the end I am happy I got out and put time on my feet in the Masanutten Mountains. Once you get over all the rocks it's a great time!

Gummy Bears and Pretzels: Mid-Marlyand 50K

I haven't updated my blog in quite a while, but this is mostly because I haven't done anything of serious note since last summer. Now as we begin to emerge from the depths of winter I have established some consistent training and a race result of note. This past weekend I traveled to Rockburn Branch Park in Howard County to take part in the second annual Mid-Maryland 50K trail race.

I didn't have any specific goals going into the race other than use it as a "mandatory long run" in the sense that I knew I would be out there for 31 miles so I might as well get as much out of it as I could. Fortunately with such low expectations they were easy to exceed. I didn't sleep much the night before the race. A cold front was moving through the area (and dumping snow all over New England) so there were howling wind gusts all night long. The morning started off with the usual pre-race routine: drink 1 liter of water 2 hours before race start, and eat two packs of Nature Valley honey oat bars. I drove into Frederick and picked up Vincent Kerbarh who was visiting from France.

Arriving at the start/finish area we were welcomed to the arctic cold weather by having to stand in line to pick up our numbers for half an hour in 20 degree weather with high winds. Thoroughly frozen, Vincent and I quickly hurried back to my car to warm up for 5 minutes before we had to head to the race start.

The course is a convenient 5 loop course, with each loop being 10K. Logistically this made things easy as I could keep a bag at the start/finish of each loop and stash anything I needed to drop, or pick up an extra layer if I got too cold. In the 5 minutes before the race I must have went back and forth at least a dozen times as to whether or not to strip off the tights and go with the short shorts and in the end (30 seconds before the race start) I decided to go sans-tights. This proved to be a wise decision. I was pretty cold for the first lap but once the sun came up and the wind died down I can't imagine how miserable I would have been running in tights.

Vincent (right) and myself (137) coming off the start line.

 

 

Vincent and I settled into a nice pace pretty early on. I was towards the back of the pavilion as we started so I had to do some weaving to get to the runners making what felt like a relatively comfortable pace. I realized after I started that I left my watch buried somewhere in my bag in the pavilion, so I would be flying blind as to my pace. The majority of the first loop was spent getting settled into a nice pace. I can tell I've become more geared towards the long distance events these days as it usually takes me 5-6 miles to feel warmed up. Vincent and I ran with two other guys who seemed to be pretty good friends as they chatted for most of the first loop. They were discussing their plans for the local RRCA 10 Mile Club Challenge race, and they seemed to have plans in the sub-60-62 minute range so I knew I was moving pretty well. Vincent and I would drop them around mile 5 as I started to feel good and I never saw them again all day long.

 

As I finished up my first loop I perused the aid stations goodies. They had HEED sports drink, the most foulest-tasting sports drink on the planet, but I topped off with it anyway since I didn't have much of a choice. I grabbed a few pretzel sticks seeing nothing else particularly appealing and headed out for the second loop. I made it my mission to spend as little time in the aid stations as possible and that was something I managed all day long. In my quick transition I dropped Vincent and I would not see him until the finish. In a rare occasion I noticed my split as I started the second loop (49:10).

 

During the second loop I settled into my groove. The 50K event occurred simultaneously with a 50K relay event, so I enjoyed having people to chase down and/or pace with during this time. It was hard to tell who might have been a 50K runner or a relay runner but overall placing was not on my mind at this point, I was just out there to have fun and get in a long run. After an uneventful second loop I cruised into the Pavilion. I ditched my hat at my bad and topped off my water bottle with HEED again. I went to grab some more pretzels and noticed a new treat I hadn't seen before: Gummy Bears! They looked too delicious to resist so I grabbed a handful of them to go with the pretzels and set out on loop three. Forgetting to look at the clock, I had no idea where I was pace-wise.

 

At this point in the race I had gotten a fairly good idea of who was running the 50K and who was on a relay team based on seeing unfamiliar or familiar runners ahead of me, so the third loop consisted of hunting down the lone 50K runner I recognized ahead of me. He seemed like he was hurting and I caught him around mile 16 or so. The third loop was the first loop I started to notice how muddy the trail was getting. The melting ice and combined footsteps of a few hundred people multiplied over each loop was taking its toll. This was going to be a fun race course come 12PM. Somewhere in the middle of the third loop I entered the best part of the race for me.

 

Without a watch to indicate how fast I was running I went purely by feel, putting in a comfortable effort that seemed sustainable over the 50K distance. As I entered the Pavilion for the third time I again grabbed gummy bears and pretzels, topped off on HEED, and set out on lap number four. Once again I failed to look at the clock. Feeling good and cruising at a relatively effortless pace ~18.6 miles into the race I was excited. Looking ahead I thought I recognized someone only a minute or so ahead of me: Serge Arbona. Serge is well known in the ultra-running circles for being a fantastic runner (former treadmill 24 hour world record holder) so for the first time all day when I saw him it struck me I must have been moving pretty well.

 

I closed the gap on Serge in a relatively quick fashion. I passed him on a downhill with a speedy up-tempo effort and did my best not to look back. I couldn't help feeling as if passing a great runner like Serge would come back to haunt me but fortunately I would not see him until the finish. The remainder of the fourth lap I felt like I was flying through the trails on a cloud, smooth, controlled, and effortless. After passing Serge I knew I had to be in a pretty strong place overall so I started looking for someone to catch. I would never find the next runner but the thought of keeping anyone from catching me would be motivation enough to keep the furnace stoked.

 

Entering the pavilion at the end of loop 4 I quickly drained what was left in my water bottle and stashed it with my bag, sensing I was hydrated enough and moving well enough to not need it for the last lap. I grabbed a huge handful of gummy bears and headed out. For the first time since the end of the first loop I looked at the clock and it read 3:16:06. This was a shocking time. I quickly did the mental math of what that meant as I headed out with a mouthful of gummy bears. "What is the absolute slowest I could theoretically run? No slower than 64 minutes, right?" "What is the absolute fastest I could run? Maybe 50 minutes? That would be 4:06! Holy cow!"

 

With these thoughts running through my head I started to feel discomfort for the first time during the race. I imagine it hit somewhere around mile 25-26. I am fortunate that my training to this point has strengthened my mental resolve and I was able to stay focused. My pace slipped on the last lap to a 9:00min/mi pace, but I remained mentally focused the entire time. This contrasts from my previous 50K's where at one point or another during the race I have a mental breakdown and I ended up wallowing in my misery until I pulled things together again. There was no doubt I was going to finish the race with a great time and I knew the only thing that could stop me lied between my own two ears. Sucking it up and running hard I made it to the finish still feeling relatively good, although no longer in "comfortable cruising mode". My final time was 4:11:30 and I ended up in 4th place. I think they said third place finished in 4:06, so it was no wonder I never saw him.

Reflections of this race need to go first and foremost to my effective pacing. Looking at the results sheet, I paced very well minus a slight slip up on the last lap:

Lap 1 (10K): 0:49:10

Lap 2 (20K): 1:37:30

Lap 3 (30K): 2:26:10

Lap 4 (40K): 3:16:06

Lap 5 (50K): 4:11:30

Post-race mud stucco. It required scraping off with a plastic spoon.

 

Interestingly enough, I also set a new marathon PB. I ran 3:35 in Virginia Beach back in 2011, and I must have split somewhere around 3:25 for 26.2 during this race. In the end, this gives me confidence moving forward that despite not getting in as much training as I might have liked during the winter months, I enter spring and summer with a good base, and most importantly a strengthened mental constitution in the area of ultras. Lastly, I never hit a wall of any kind. This has been a consistent pattern for all of the 50K’s I have done this far: the only thing that could hold me back was my legs. My energy levels were high the entire time, so hopefully I have dialed into a relatively effective glucose-management strategy of some sort.

 

Looking forward to the future, I "won" the lottery today for the Bull Run 50 miler in mid-April. I will have to travel out west (Denver, Salt Lake City, and Denver airports) on three consecutive weekends starting next weekend to visit graduate schools, which will reduce my running time but after that I will have to focus and get ready for the BRR50. If I can finish that race the large goal at the end of the tunnel is the Old Dominion 100 in early June.



Catoctin 50K Race Report

The two weeks leading up to the Catoctin 50K were unintentionally tapering weeks. I initially planned to keep training at a relatively high mileage for most of that time and just rest up in the final few days before Catoctin but a busy schedule with various responsibilities kept that from happening. I probably ran around 40 miles those two weeks.

Going into the race I felt pretty good about my fitness. I knew I had done a lot of hill work and enough longer runs that endurance shouldn't be a problem, but of course there is the question of whether or not I could hold up over the rugged ~33 mile course.

Ran morning was uneventful. KS and KB crewed for me and I had a pretty basic plan to take one water bottle at each road crossing since the foretasted high was 81 and it usually even cooler on the mountain. I took half ”super Gatorade" and half water in the bottles and plenty of electrolytes in the pocket. As I started out down from the Team Room the race was relatively uneventful. I ran with three guys who I had picked out already as guys who I knew would be running fast and we set off into the valley. I don't like running downhill behind someone so I slipped around and ran in the lead most of the way to Hamburg with the three closely behind me. I felt very comfortable, and nobody seemed too eager to push the pace so there was plenty of hiking on the uphills.

Ran through Hamburg with a new water bottle and kept the pace relatively relaxed. One of the group who eventually caught up took off at a very fast pace but he said it was because he was only running to the Manor. Sure enough I never saw him again all day. Somewhere before Delaugter the group was only I and eventual winner Jason Lantz. We ran at what felt like a nice pace until the manner in 2:32. Coming out of the manner Jason took off as soon as we got to the top of the steep hill after Catoctin Hollow Rd. I was running pretty well but he was simply blazing and I didn't see him again until the finish. As it turns out he ran a great second half in 3:35, hardly slowing down at all.

Somewhere around Delauter inbound I started to feel my legs getting quite tired, but it was not really until approaching Hamburg that I could feel the wheels really coming off. I was passed about a mile before Hamburg and I was in 3rd at the time. I took 2 water bottles for the first time all day at Hamburg inbound which ended up being a wise decision. As they typically are, those 6 miles were gloriously painful as I forced myself to run all flat and downhill sections and resigned to hiking all uphills but eventually I made it to the finish line in 6:02.

In hindsight if I had ran more conservatively there is probably a good chance I would have gotten second (second ran 5:40) but I went for the win running with Jason for as long as possible while keeping the pace pretty relaxed and in the end I didn't quite have the legs to keep up.

The Steamtown Marathon quickly approaches in early October and then the Stone Mill 50 in mid-November so I am looking forward to a bit of a change in pace in the coming weeks as I do some more road specific training for Steamtown.

7/2-7/8

Monday 7/2 - 6 miles - Did an easy run from 355 to the Seneca Creek Greenway trail.

Tuesday 7/3 - 9 miles - Another easy run on the Seneca Creek Greenway trail from 355 to Brink Rd.

Wednesday 7/4 - 7 miles - Was planning on doing the valley from the lower parking lot today but I encountered a group of runners on the trail and I was having too much fun trying to catch all of them that I didn't notice I turned off the blue trail onto the black trail. I decided to just go with that and kept following the black trail, and then took the green trail and then the yellow trail back to the parking lot. I really enjoyed this loop since it is almost all up or down so I decided that doing three loops was plenty of hill work which would be the goal of doing the valley in the first place.

Thursday 7/5 - 9 miles - Seneca Creek Greenway trail from 355 to Brink Rd. Pushed the hills hard whenever I encountered one.

Friday 7/6 - ~2miles - Time was short today but I managed to go up and get in a little hill workout. I did the loop I discovered Wednesday once very hard in a bit of a time trials (22:16).

Saturday 7/7 - off - Traveling to Philadelphia with other students in my internship for the weekend.

Sunday 7/8 - 3 miles - Did the Philadelphia color run with some other fellow students in my internship. We ran it easy and have a great time.

Total: 36 miles

Not a whole lot of mileage but the week was relatively solid, I just didn't have time to do any long running on the weekends. Given that I only plan to take a week easy to "taper" for Catoctin considering the circumstances I am confident I will still be able to get two more solid weekends of long run in and be in relatively fit condition once I toe the line.