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
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.
