Several of us ran Mike Acuna's second annual Run for Beer on Sunday afternoon. It was lots of fun, best of all was we had a keg of Dogfish Head beer after the race! Awesome!! Hope you all can make it next year...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Run for Beer!
Several of us ran Mike Acuna's second annual Run for Beer on Sunday afternoon. It was lots of fun, best of all was we had a keg of Dogfish Head beer after the race! Awesome!! Hope you all can make it next year...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Dolly Sods Backpacking Trip
Though we missed out on Highlands Sky last week, we got to enjoy a beautiful weekend backpacking around the Sods this weekend. My sister and her husband wanted us to go with them on their first backpacking trip, so we planned a loop around Dolly Sods. The weather cooperated and we had a great time! Foiled again by DC-area traffic, we got to the trailhead later than planned so had to cut short our hike for the evening. We started on FR 19, hiked in on the Wildlife Trail, to Fisher Spring Trail and down to Red Creek. We found a great campsite along the creek and set up camp just
before dark. The campsite was great and we enjoyed a really nice fire, but the mice were abundant! They carried off a package of Crystal Light at one point, and chewed through my sister's stuff sack and gnawed through a bag of cookies, even though the food was all hung! The next day, we hiked up the Red Creek Trail and then Upper Red Creek Trail to Dobbin Grade. We eventually connec
ted with part of the HS course near Willie's AS. We added a few bonus miles when we missed the turn off to Big Stonecoal Trail (lesson learned: get good maps- the "Canaan Valley Adventure Map" sucks, and pay closer attention at trail intersections). Big Stonecoal was probably the favorite trail of the day, but we were all getting a little tired to fully enjoy it. We found a great spot to camp (no mice!) near the intersection of Big Stonecoal and Dunkebarger Trails, and enjoyed a nice, cool night and a great campfire. We hiked out on Sunday on Big Stonecoal to the Lion's Head view, and then backtracked to Red Creek, Fisher Spring, and Wildlife. After hiking out, we ended up at the Purple Fiddle and shared a pitcher of Mountain State Brewery beer. Yum! Pictures here.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
More Highland Sky
Amanda sent us the profile from her Garmin. She said she lost signal at about mile 6.4 to about 7.3 so that's why there is a flat line up. I don't know, it seemed pretty steep to me anyway! You can click on the picture if you want to see it bigger...Also, check out Michelle's pictures.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Highlands Sky 40 Mile Trail Run: June 16, 2007
Summary:
MP: This year’s race was a lot better for me than last year. Better weather helped a lot, I was also determined to stay positive and enjoy it this year. New Nathan pack worked great, I loved the two pockets in front that gave me easy access to everything I needed. Did 1 endurolyte every 30 minutes, used Hammergel and Clif Shot blocks, had a PBJ square at most AS, and a few potatoes where available. Only had one time where I felt a little nauseous, ate crystallized ginger and that really seemed to help. Stayed with the same shoes the whole time, no blisters, love those Injinji socks. Running with Lorrin the whole way was great, we could pick each other up as necessary and ran a great race together. I’m happy I finished a lot faster than last year, but I’m even more pleased that I enjoyed it so much more this time around. Dolly Sods is an amazing place, I’m lucky to have gotten to see so much of it!
LH: I hate to choose favorites, but Highlands Sky has a great combination of changing and challenging terrain: steep mountains, rocks, grassy plains, bogs, pine groves, and laurel covered highlands. Plus spectacular views and tremendous volunteer support. Plenty of food for us stragglers – my only mistake was not eating enough "real food." The second half of my race was fueled by 3 Tums and 2 cups of coke. The trail was rerouted in two places on the second half, so we got to see some new terrain, and the near-vertical ‘butt-slide’ was even more challenging with the added bonus of diesel fumes and mud as ATV racers roared nearby. It was much more fun to run with Michelle – less imaginary competition with others around me!
MP: This year’s race was a lot better for me than last year. Better weather helped a lot, I was also determined to stay positive and enjoy it this year. New Nathan pack worked great, I loved the two pockets in front that gave me easy access to everything I needed. Did 1 endurolyte every 30 minutes, used Hammergel and Clif Shot blocks, had a PBJ square at most AS, and a few potatoes where available. Only had one time where I felt a little nauseous, ate crystallized ginger and that really seemed to help. Stayed with the same shoes the whole time, no blisters, love those Injinji socks. Running with Lorrin the whole way was great, we could pick each other up as necessary and ran a great race together. I’m happy I finished a lot faster than last year, but I’m even more pleased that I enjoyed it so much more this time around. Dolly Sods is an amazing place, I’m lucky to have gotten to see so much of it!
LH: I hate to choose favorites, but Highlands Sky has a great combination of changing and challenging terrain: steep mountains, rocks, grassy plains, bogs, pine groves, and laurel covered highlands. Plus spectacular views and tremendous volunteer support. Plenty of food for us stragglers – my only mistake was not eating enough "real food." The second half of my race was fueled by 3 Tums and 2 cups of coke. The trail was rerouted in two places on the second half, so we got to see some new terrain, and the near-vertical ‘butt-slide’ was even more challenging with the added bonus of diesel fumes and mud as ATV racers roared nearby. It was much more fun to run with Michelle – less imaginary competition with others around me!
Highlands Sky Race Report – LONG Version!
MP: Why did I decide to do Highlands Sky? That was the question running through my mind in 2006 when I tried it for the first time. The first 3 years of the race I worked at AS#3 (mile 15.6) and I knew how rough everyone looked when they came through our AS. Then I would go work at the finish line and I saw they looked rough but they also looked really happy as they crossed the finish line! So I ran it and finished in 2006 but it took me 11 hours and 45 minutes and it was pretty much a miserable race for me. The hot weather didn’t help. I think I vowed never to do it again and told Dan (the race director) I wanted my aid station job back. I felt like I pushed it too hard in the first half and spent the whole second half in a death march, I spent very little time actually appreciating the fact that I was in Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, one of the prettiest places in the east.
MP: As I decided whether or not to try it again in 2007, I knew I needed a new plan. My goal was to ENJOY it this time and appreciate the beauty of Dolly Sods, to do this I knew I would need to run at my own pace in the first 20 miles so I had something left for the second half. This meant I might not get to run with any of my trail running buddies, but I figured it would allow me to survive. Of course I would still have to make the cut-offs.
MP: I got ready as usual by looking at the 2006 times. As I looked at the splits for the second half of the race, I found that I really had lost a lot of time between miles 26 and 32. I also saw that my splits were pretty close to Lorrin’s and it seemed realistic to think I could do somewhere between Lorrin’s time and my time from 2006. So I used our splits as I put together my mileage/split info to carry during the race.
LH: Unlike Michelle, I had a positive experience with the race last year, and was hoping to further improve this year, as long as it wasn’t too hot. I wasn’t sure if I was undertrained from “resting” after PromiseLand; the 23 mile training run plus 5k races were my big runs since the end of April. Or overtrained, from the 7 ultras I’d already done this year.
LH: Additionally, I was planning to break 2 big rules: I was going to wear a pair of shoes I’d only run up to 10 miles in, and I was going to wear a brand new pair of shorts! Ok, I’m not really that crazy. I gave my trail-tested shorts to Joe to keep at AS 3 and I had a broken-in pair of shoes at AS 4. Just in case.
LH: As usual, we tried to leave early, but Joe is constrained by school hours. We finally got on the road, only to face immediate traffic as there was an accident within 1 exit of our house. So we missed the pre-race dinner and had to settle for some over-cheesed chicken parmegian at the restaurant.
Start to AS#2, mile 10.1
MP: 6 am finally rolls around and Dan yells go, I’m not sure I even heard him, everyone just started to run. Lorrin, Amanda and I take off running down the road, we settle into an easy pace for those first 2.2 miles on the road to the fluids only aid station. We hit the AS, as we started up the hill leaving the AS, Amanda took off, that was the last we would see of her until the finish!
MP: We started up the first muddy part of the trail, trying to dodge the biggest mud holes. I was a little nervous to see that we were running near Alan Gowan who is way faster than me. Then I remembered he had just done MMT and figured he would get going soon enough. Then Mike Priddy passed us, weird, were we going too fast? No, they were both gone before I knew it. We walked/ran up the long switchbacks trying to avoid the stinging nettles. Fortunately the faster folks had made a pretty nice path so I mostly stayed nettle free! Next we hit the straight up portion of our 2300 foot ascent and I felt myself pushing too hard. I let two guys go by and told Lorrin I’d see her at the top.
LH: Well, even though I booked up the hill, I had to re-tie and readjust my shoes 4 times, so that gave Michelle plenty of time to catch up to and then pass me! As I tried to catch back up to her, I was patiently waiting to maneuver around a fellow when he dramatically fell sideways across a stream! He refused my offer of help but seemed to be ok.
MP: We finally reached the top, passed a guy, and then got out into the Roaring Plains section of the trail. The views were awesome in all directions and there was a nice breeze. The trail was wetter than when we did our training run a few weeks ago, but it actually felt good. The trail is so rocky up there that when it’s wet, it really just means there’s an inch or more of clear water sitting on top of the rocks, you just splash your way through, I’m always glad it isn’t muddy! We passed a group of people here that clearly did not appreciate the rocks as much as we did and were picking their way through slowly.
LH: Yeah, we passed them by charging through the boggy puddles they were gingerly stepping around! We might be slow, but we’re not afraid of mud!
MP: One woman from this group joined us as we passed the others - the three of us ran together to the AS, talked about pink lady’s slippers wildflowers and how pretty it was up here. We reached the AS in 2:46:29, a few minutes ahead of last year’s time, and well ahead of the 3:15 cut-off. Grabbed a few quick snacks and set off down the short section of road.
LH: I felt like a brat, but I was kinda annoyed by how “loaded” the PB&J was with peanut butter. So here I threw out a corner rather than eating it… (this is called ‘foreshadowing’).
AS#2 to AS#3, mile 15.6
MP: If you run this, don’t forget, you leave the AS, run a short way down the fire road and then turn left onto a trail. This turn is marked if you are paying attention to the ribbons hanging from the trees, and there is usually a ribbon across the road to indicate not to go there, but it can disappear, someone misses this turn every year!
MP: We quickly crossed a small stream, some woods, and then were back out into the open with some beautiful views. Lorrin and I continued to comment on how much everything had grown since we were there 3 weeks before, they must have had some rain out there in those 3 weeks! It seemed like there were ferns everywhere and some were almost shoulder high, I think I saw every shade of green that exists in the world! We got to the point where you enjoy your last great view before plunging down the side of the mountain 1700 feet. I always enjoy this down hill stretch!
MP: This year turned out to be a little different. This is a really steep, often loose, rocky section, now it was also slick with moisture and I felt like I was on black ice at times. I almost fell a couple of times and think I went slower than I’ve ever gone on this section.
Fortunately Lorrin entertained me with descriptions of the Borat movie and next think I know we were down to the creek and starting our way back up the hill toward AS#3.
LH: I was a little disappointed by the need for more precaution because I enjoy raging down this section when it’s dry! We later heard several people say they took a tumble here. This is also where Pam Gowen was around us last year, and I wondered where she was & hoped she was having a good race. Unfortunately, she ended up taking a detour later on in the course and missed the cutoffs.
MP: This passed fairly quickly for me – we actually passed a couple of people here I think. We also agreed not to spend much time in AS#3 where Megan, Joe and Bill were or we were afraid we wouldn’t want to leave. That cold beer in the cooler might be too much temptation. We hit the AS in 4:30:18, slightly slower than last year but well under the 5:05 cut-off!
LH: I knew that Michelle was going to have a great race when we hit the stream crossing where during last years’ training run and race she had started to mention the effects of heat/lack of energy. This year, not a peep. She just bounded up the trail! At AS#3, I ate the least-loaded PB&J I could find, but it was so sticky I couldn’t really eat anything else… Luckily, the brand-new shorts were still extremely comfortable, so I didn’t change them. I was starting to get a hot spot in the arch of my right foot, so I knew I would have to change shoes at AS 4.
AS#3 to AS#4, mile 19.3
MP: Refilled the Nathan pack, grabbed some potatoes and PBJ and got the heck out. The trail crosses a fire road here and continues to ascend up the hill. We climbed for what felt like another mile and then were back on top running through mixed woods and open areas. Again we passed a few more folks here who were really hating the rocks, some mentioned how much they were looking forward to the road, we rock-heads just motored on by.
LH: It was weird – there were some genuine, “fast-looking people” and they were trudging along dejectedly! It definitely helps prepare one mentally to do the training runs and to know the course. I knew there was no reason to be discouraged by speed over the rocks, because there was the road where one could make up time. And it was nice to enjoy the shade while we still had it, because for the next 12ish miles I knew there would be no shade.
MP: We hit the first of the 10 boardwalks that signify you are getting close to the road and began our count down. Before I knew it we were at the road, turn right and continue up hill about a mile to the AS. Lorrin and I were still running well together, we walked/ran toward the AS and made our plans to change shoes, resupply food, salt, etc at our drop bags.
MP: Arrived at AS in 5:28:30, slightly ahead of our time last year and still well ahead of the 6:05 cut-off here. I was also encouraged here by the fact that my split on this section was about 6 minutes faster than last year.
LH: Reapplied sunblock, loaded up on more clif bloks, changed shoes – that felt good! I only wish I’d had a change of socks, too. duh. Surveyed the table, but I’m not sure if I ate anything … I was eating clif blocks and taking salt pretty regularly, but nothing at the tables was appealing to me.
AS#4 to AS#5, mile 22.3
MP: A little over 7 miles to go on an open, undulating, dirt and gravel road. I barely even remember how I made it through this section last year, I was really dehydrated and hurting. We alternated run/walk - walk up the hills, run on the flats and downhills. If we had a long flat stretch, we would pick a spot to run to, walk a bit, repeat. In this section we were passed by a few people, but I figured these were the rock haters that were really a lot faster than me anyway, at least once out on a road!
Next thing I know we roll into AS#5 in a split of 41:59, elapsed time of 6:10:29. Both times faster than last year!
LH: I am feeling good! I feel like I can keep a strong, consistent pace. The change in shoes is miraculous; I no longer feel the hot spot at all. Yay!
AS#5 to AS#6, mile 26.6
MP: We don’t stay long here, continue the walk/run mode, look forward to getting off the road! We were also lucky on this road section because there was a nice breeze and the clouds rolled through every now and then and gave us some relief from the sun. It was much nicer than last year! Also, to our surprise, we even passed a few people here.
LH: Ok, I will admit it, I am a jerk when it comes to the ladies in skirts. I feel an extra bit of satisfaction when I pass them. Is it that the skirt seems too self-conscious of a fashion choice? This year the road seemed much, much shorter. I think with Michelle along for company, it definitely helped pass the time as we alternated picking out landmarks as our run/walk goal. At one point, I looked up and realized that I had not truly noticed the surroundings, that it was a glorious not-to-hot day, with clear blue skies, and the laurel blooming pink and white all around as we ran the road across the sky.
MP: Then we hit AS#6 for our visit with Dan and Tom Todd and Gene. They comment on how good I look, better than last year they say! I choose to believe them! Last year I tried to quit at this AS and Dan and Gene talked me out of it, I still thank them and curse them at the same time!
MP: We arrive here in 7:02:21, still ahead of last year’s time and ahead of the 7:30 cut-off. Key point here, there are no more cut-offs from here on out, you just need to finish under 12 hours to be an official finisher.
LH: Here I didn’t need water yet, and the food just wasn’t appealing to me… I was starting to get a “oversalted feeling” in my stomach. hmm….
MP: Dan tells us that someone has taken down a mile or so of the ribbons marking the course between here and the next AS. He gives some detailed info on how to stay on course, also says one of the other AS guys is out trying to remark the course. I absorb nothing Dan has told me about directions and just hope the guy has the course remarked or that I somehow recognize it from last year.
AS#6 to AS#7, mile 32.4
LH: Dan is telling us the names of the actual trails and intersections, but my brain can only comprehend “orange/good; yellow/no-go.” I am glad that I’ve run this race before, and that we hiked out here after the training run, so I know I can at least get us to the hill above our campsite. Luckily, that is the stretch where the markers were missing, but a volunteer had done a good job of using rocks and sticks to make large arrows to point the way. There were also scraps of white cloth, and as the guy was shirtless when he passed us on his way back to the aid station, I wondered it he’d used his shirt to mark the trail.
MP: Many say this 5.8 miles is the prettiest part of the race. I have to agree. Last year I really didn’t enjoy it at all. Because of the heat I felt like I was in Badwater, I doubt I looked up once to enjoy my surroundings. I enjoyed it as much as possible this time around, I still want to go back and hike it at a leisurely pace. The trail doesn’t turn out to be hard to follow, the guy has done a great job. I particularly liked when he made an arrow of rocks pointing in the direction we were supposed to go and spelled out the word “GO” in rocks, that was cool!
LH: The boggy section on the way to where Mical, Paul, Joe & I camped is now covered by brand-spanking new boardwalk. Apparently, there is a rare, protected plant here that was discovered when Dan submitted his latest permit. I hope we didn’t step on it.
LH: I remember loving this stretch last year, also that it is very long. Last year, I passed the time battling with another woman, but she eventually beat me on the road. Now, I just settled in and tried to enjoy the views. Once you cross the stream and run through a boggy stretch through some trees (now covered by another boardwalk) you come out on a grassy plain with just stupendous views. You also pass through sections of pine trees, and then out into another plain covered in blueberry, cranberry, and more blooming laurel. A spine of white rocks stretches across to your left, and you can see a continuous chain of mountains stretching to the horizon. And, strangely, we pass Willie, who is walking with a friend.
LH: But the beauty of my surroundings was tempered by a nagging fear, as I was becoming nauseous. I tried to take little sips of water, and I had already reduced my salt from 1 succeed/hour to 1 every 2 hrs. I just didn’t want to eat anything. I had a luna bar, clif bloks, and gels (both clif and hammer) in my pack. I’d already eaten a ginger candy on the road. Michelle was having a great race, so I thought I should try to just hang with her, but try not to drag her down.
LH: Next we get to a point where the course has been re-routed from where it used to go on private property to now use a newly constructed trail. Which was annoying, because there were still lots of tiny stumps just waiting to trip you up and lots of brush that had not quite been cleared from foot traffic yet. Dolly Sods used to be a testing ground for weapons, and they warn people to be aware of unexploded ordnance, which usually one would not see on the well-used trails. I swear I was not hallucinating, but I saw some 2-inch-long bullets in the middle of the trail!
MP: This section was really pretty, I tried to enjoy the views and not fall on my face. We saw a lot of backpackers through this section – this seemed strange because the whole rest of the day we had only seen AS volunteers and fellow runners. Some of the backpackers must have heard from earlier runners that we were running a 40 miler, they stepped aside to let us pass and gave us words of encouragement. I was secretly envious of them, I imagined the stars they would see tonight from their campsite, wow!
LH: I was hoping this new route would bypass everybody’s favorite – the boulder section. But no. I am tired, obsessed with my nausea, and here is the boulder scramble. As I tried to lower myself from one boulder to a lower one (no hopping now!) I imagine Dan throwing back his head and laughing with maniacal glee at our difficulties.
MP: I love boulder scrambles, but this one comes at a really tough time. Jumping 2 feet down from one boulder to the next seems like a really bad idea, my feet hurt and I’m afraid my legs will crumple. Jumping over crevices seems like an even worse idea! Somehow we manage to sit down and slide or carefully step over each obstacle, once again wondering how people like Brad Mongold, Bill Young, etc get through these sections. I still want to see a video of a couple of these front runners to see exactly how they run through these tough sections! Levitation maybe??
MP: Even though I’m enjoying it this time around, I wonder when we are ever going to get to the AS. Finally I start up a slight hill and spy the blue of the tent for the AS. This is the AS where the volunteers have to hike everything in, including 30 gallons of water, they are AWESOME! We’ve arrived here at 8:46:26, split of 1:44:05, I’m psyched because we’re here AND I am 20 minutes faster on this section than last year. I drink some coke or mountain dew, I can’t remember, and then we move on.
LH: I catch up to Michelle, and tell her about the nausea. She remembers that Dan gave all the aid stations a first aid kit with Tums, so when we get to the next aid station, I eat a Tums and have a cup of coke.
AS#7 to AS#8, mile 36.5
MP: We leave the AS, I enjoy one last look to the west, down into Canaan Valley. The folks at this AS really do have the most amazing views in all directions. We start down a pretty “runnable” stretch, I think I’m probably more into shuffling than running now. The trail is a 6 inch wide rut through grassy fields, I can’t decide if I want to run in the rut or on the side in the grass, both seem really hard. Soon the decision is made for me as we hit what looks to me to be a 6-8 foot wide river of rocks trail. I pick my way through here and look up to see two people ahead turning right into the woods. It’s probably good I saw them, several folks missed this turn and continued straight on this road and missed the entire downhill/ATV section of the course. Always remember to look for the ribbons!
MP: After this right turn, we quickly start the trudge up the ski slope. I can’t believe we are already here! As we are climbing the slope, we start to hear rock and roll music and the roar of engines. Uh oh, we are getting closer to the ATV/motorcycle racers, little did I know what was to come. Turn left at top of ski slope, start through some woods on a trail that is supposed to be for XC skiing, I can’t quite imagine skiing through here…then we get to the straight downhill section of trail. Here is where I once again have to sit down on a rock and scoot down 3 or 4 feet to the trail. Two guys step aside to let us pass, I swing from tree to tree with “George, George, George of the jungle, watch out for that tree!” running through my head. I keep one eye out for ribbons and one eye out for ATVs hurtling through the trees. Some how we make it to the bottom, as we cross the board over a small stream, the iplayoutside photographer takes our picture and tells us we’re almost there. Cool!
LH: Now I know what a deer must feel like as it stands by the side of the road as gigantic loud vehicles go whizzing by. Except you also have to descend vertically down about a mile of freshly cut “trail” through some pretty dense woods. Last year was pretty steep – this year was a grab one tree and swing to the next. But I also think it was much better marked this year. Again, I imagined Dan laughing at the ridiculousness of this section. It seemed longer, but that might also have been because I kept expecting an ATV to fly off course, landing on top of me. Here, Willie materialized out of the woods and flew past us.
MP: We run down the road to the AS, arriving at 9:53:48, split of 1:07:22. Ashley Young and Hilary Young greet us. Ashley says “I didn’t know you were running this year Michelle!” – I mumble something in reply. I think it’s here where I ask if they know how Lydia is doing (Hilary’s mom, Ashley’s aunt) and they say she got pulled at AS#6, missed the cut-off by 14 minutes. I’m bummed for her but elated we are only 4.2 miles from the finish!!
AS#8 to FINISH!!, mile 40.7
LH: The last aid station. The Tums didn’t hurt, so this time I took 2 more and another cup of coke. “Follow Michelle, follow Michelle” is all I had in my head. We were passed on the road but I’d say by only a couple people – people who’d gotten lost in the so-called trail section! But we also passed others, including a couple of guys that never caught back up to us once we hit a grassy stretch. Then up the Canaan Resort road, where some kids in a tractor-pulled vehicle passed and waved. That made me feel like a star!
MP: Hot asphalt, yuck! Just gotta get through it. We run to shade, walk a bit. We seem to be gaining on a few folks, how could that be? We pass them, turn left into the grassy section. Sure glad those earlier runners beat down this waist high grass for us, I put one foot in front of the other and try not to step in any holes. We cross the main road into Canaan Valley SP, only a mile or two to go. We pass Joyce Fendley and another guy walking, I congratulate Joyce on her MMT finish.
LH: At last, we entered the woods, the last mile. “Follow Michelle.” OUCH! I got stung by a bee! I tried to channel the adrenaline, and made it up the hill and past the scummy pond – my landmark for when to “act like you’re running” again. Last year, there was a lady “hiking” here, and she wouldn’t get out of my way! No such obstacle this time, and with a final glance over my shoulder to make sure there were no Wargos, I caught up to Michelle, who had so nicely paused to wait for me to catch up so we could finish together. We high-fived then ran down the hill to the finish! Yay!
MP: I spy the flags leading us to the woods again and that last 0.5 mile or so of trail to the finish. Glad to be off that darn road! We see one person in the distance but he is moving well and we can’t catch him. We turn left up the last small hill to the finish. WV folks never seem to get enough of uphills do they? I don’t even remember the scummy pond from last year, was it really there? Next thing I know we are crossing the finish line and RD Dan takes our picture and gives us a hug! We then claim our really cool, orange, Patagonia finisher shirt.
MP: We finished in 10:48:19, split of 54:31. Lorrin took about 27 minutes off her time from last year, I took off about 57 minutes!
LH: Believe it or not, after dinner, some rest, and a huge breakfast, Joe, Bill, Amanda, Megan, Michelle and I took a 3-hour hike the next day. A great way to work out that lactic acid! And we saw a big garter snake :)
MP: As I decided whether or not to try it again in 2007, I knew I needed a new plan. My goal was to ENJOY it this time and appreciate the beauty of Dolly Sods, to do this I knew I would need to run at my own pace in the first 20 miles so I had something left for the second half. This meant I might not get to run with any of my trail running buddies, but I figured it would allow me to survive. Of course I would still have to make the cut-offs.
MP: I got ready as usual by looking at the 2006 times. As I looked at the splits for the second half of the race, I found that I really had lost a lot of time between miles 26 and 32. I also saw that my splits were pretty close to Lorrin’s and it seemed realistic to think I could do somewhere between Lorrin’s time and my time from 2006. So I used our splits as I put together my mileage/split info to carry during the race.
LH: Unlike Michelle, I had a positive experience with the race last year, and was hoping to further improve this year, as long as it wasn’t too hot. I wasn’t sure if I was undertrained from “resting” after PromiseLand; the 23 mile training run plus 5k races were my big runs since the end of April. Or overtrained, from the 7 ultras I’d already done this year.
LH: Additionally, I was planning to break 2 big rules: I was going to wear a pair of shoes I’d only run up to 10 miles in, and I was going to wear a brand new pair of shorts! Ok, I’m not really that crazy. I gave my trail-tested shorts to Joe to keep at AS 3 and I had a broken-in pair of shoes at AS 4. Just in case.
LH: As usual, we tried to leave early, but Joe is constrained by school hours. We finally got on the road, only to face immediate traffic as there was an accident within 1 exit of our house. So we missed the pre-race dinner and had to settle for some over-cheesed chicken parmegian at the restaurant.
Start to AS#2, mile 10.1
MP: 6 am finally rolls around and Dan yells go, I’m not sure I even heard him, everyone just started to run. Lorrin, Amanda and I take off running down the road, we settle into an easy pace for those first 2.2 miles on the road to the fluids only aid station. We hit the AS, as we started up the hill leaving the AS, Amanda took off, that was the last we would see of her until the finish!
MP: We started up the first muddy part of the trail, trying to dodge the biggest mud holes. I was a little nervous to see that we were running near Alan Gowan who is way faster than me. Then I remembered he had just done MMT and figured he would get going soon enough. Then Mike Priddy passed us, weird, were we going too fast? No, they were both gone before I knew it. We walked/ran up the long switchbacks trying to avoid the stinging nettles. Fortunately the faster folks had made a pretty nice path so I mostly stayed nettle free! Next we hit the straight up portion of our 2300 foot ascent and I felt myself pushing too hard. I let two guys go by and told Lorrin I’d see her at the top.
LH: Well, even though I booked up the hill, I had to re-tie and readjust my shoes 4 times, so that gave Michelle plenty of time to catch up to and then pass me! As I tried to catch back up to her, I was patiently waiting to maneuver around a fellow when he dramatically fell sideways across a stream! He refused my offer of help but seemed to be ok.
MP: We finally reached the top, passed a guy, and then got out into the Roaring Plains section of the trail. The views were awesome in all directions and there was a nice breeze. The trail was wetter than when we did our training run a few weeks ago, but it actually felt good. The trail is so rocky up there that when it’s wet, it really just means there’s an inch or more of clear water sitting on top of the rocks, you just splash your way through, I’m always glad it isn’t muddy! We passed a group of people here that clearly did not appreciate the rocks as much as we did and were picking their way through slowly.
LH: Yeah, we passed them by charging through the boggy puddles they were gingerly stepping around! We might be slow, but we’re not afraid of mud!
MP: One woman from this group joined us as we passed the others - the three of us ran together to the AS, talked about pink lady’s slippers wildflowers and how pretty it was up here. We reached the AS in 2:46:29, a few minutes ahead of last year’s time, and well ahead of the 3:15 cut-off. Grabbed a few quick snacks and set off down the short section of road.
LH: I felt like a brat, but I was kinda annoyed by how “loaded” the PB&J was with peanut butter. So here I threw out a corner rather than eating it… (this is called ‘foreshadowing’).
AS#2 to AS#3, mile 15.6
MP: If you run this, don’t forget, you leave the AS, run a short way down the fire road and then turn left onto a trail. This turn is marked if you are paying attention to the ribbons hanging from the trees, and there is usually a ribbon across the road to indicate not to go there, but it can disappear, someone misses this turn every year!
MP: We quickly crossed a small stream, some woods, and then were back out into the open with some beautiful views. Lorrin and I continued to comment on how much everything had grown since we were there 3 weeks before, they must have had some rain out there in those 3 weeks! It seemed like there were ferns everywhere and some were almost shoulder high, I think I saw every shade of green that exists in the world! We got to the point where you enjoy your last great view before plunging down the side of the mountain 1700 feet. I always enjoy this down hill stretch!
MP: This year turned out to be a little different. This is a really steep, often loose, rocky section, now it was also slick with moisture and I felt like I was on black ice at times. I almost fell a couple of times and think I went slower than I’ve ever gone on this section.
Fortunately Lorrin entertained me with descriptions of the Borat movie and next think I know we were down to the creek and starting our way back up the hill toward AS#3.
LH: I was a little disappointed by the need for more precaution because I enjoy raging down this section when it’s dry! We later heard several people say they took a tumble here. This is also where Pam Gowen was around us last year, and I wondered where she was & hoped she was having a good race. Unfortunately, she ended up taking a detour later on in the course and missed the cutoffs.
MP: This passed fairly quickly for me – we actually passed a couple of people here I think. We also agreed not to spend much time in AS#3 where Megan, Joe and Bill were or we were afraid we wouldn’t want to leave. That cold beer in the cooler might be too much temptation. We hit the AS in 4:30:18, slightly slower than last year but well under the 5:05 cut-off!
LH: I knew that Michelle was going to have a great race when we hit the stream crossing where during last years’ training run and race she had started to mention the effects of heat/lack of energy. This year, not a peep. She just bounded up the trail! At AS#3, I ate the least-loaded PB&J I could find, but it was so sticky I couldn’t really eat anything else… Luckily, the brand-new shorts were still extremely comfortable, so I didn’t change them. I was starting to get a hot spot in the arch of my right foot, so I knew I would have to change shoes at AS 4.
AS#3 to AS#4, mile 19.3
MP: Refilled the Nathan pack, grabbed some potatoes and PBJ and got the heck out. The trail crosses a fire road here and continues to ascend up the hill. We climbed for what felt like another mile and then were back on top running through mixed woods and open areas. Again we passed a few more folks here who were really hating the rocks, some mentioned how much they were looking forward to the road, we rock-heads just motored on by.
LH: It was weird – there were some genuine, “fast-looking people” and they were trudging along dejectedly! It definitely helps prepare one mentally to do the training runs and to know the course. I knew there was no reason to be discouraged by speed over the rocks, because there was the road where one could make up time. And it was nice to enjoy the shade while we still had it, because for the next 12ish miles I knew there would be no shade.
MP: We hit the first of the 10 boardwalks that signify you are getting close to the road and began our count down. Before I knew it we were at the road, turn right and continue up hill about a mile to the AS. Lorrin and I were still running well together, we walked/ran toward the AS and made our plans to change shoes, resupply food, salt, etc at our drop bags.
MP: Arrived at AS in 5:28:30, slightly ahead of our time last year and still well ahead of the 6:05 cut-off here. I was also encouraged here by the fact that my split on this section was about 6 minutes faster than last year.
LH: Reapplied sunblock, loaded up on more clif bloks, changed shoes – that felt good! I only wish I’d had a change of socks, too. duh. Surveyed the table, but I’m not sure if I ate anything … I was eating clif blocks and taking salt pretty regularly, but nothing at the tables was appealing to me.
AS#4 to AS#5, mile 22.3
MP: A little over 7 miles to go on an open, undulating, dirt and gravel road. I barely even remember how I made it through this section last year, I was really dehydrated and hurting. We alternated run/walk - walk up the hills, run on the flats and downhills. If we had a long flat stretch, we would pick a spot to run to, walk a bit, repeat. In this section we were passed by a few people, but I figured these were the rock haters that were really a lot faster than me anyway, at least once out on a road!
Next thing I know we roll into AS#5 in a split of 41:59, elapsed time of 6:10:29. Both times faster than last year!
LH: I am feeling good! I feel like I can keep a strong, consistent pace. The change in shoes is miraculous; I no longer feel the hot spot at all. Yay!
AS#5 to AS#6, mile 26.6
MP: We don’t stay long here, continue the walk/run mode, look forward to getting off the road! We were also lucky on this road section because there was a nice breeze and the clouds rolled through every now and then and gave us some relief from the sun. It was much nicer than last year! Also, to our surprise, we even passed a few people here.
LH: Ok, I will admit it, I am a jerk when it comes to the ladies in skirts. I feel an extra bit of satisfaction when I pass them. Is it that the skirt seems too self-conscious of a fashion choice? This year the road seemed much, much shorter. I think with Michelle along for company, it definitely helped pass the time as we alternated picking out landmarks as our run/walk goal. At one point, I looked up and realized that I had not truly noticed the surroundings, that it was a glorious not-to-hot day, with clear blue skies, and the laurel blooming pink and white all around as we ran the road across the sky.
MP: Then we hit AS#6 for our visit with Dan and Tom Todd and Gene. They comment on how good I look, better than last year they say! I choose to believe them! Last year I tried to quit at this AS and Dan and Gene talked me out of it, I still thank them and curse them at the same time!
MP: We arrive here in 7:02:21, still ahead of last year’s time and ahead of the 7:30 cut-off. Key point here, there are no more cut-offs from here on out, you just need to finish under 12 hours to be an official finisher.
LH: Here I didn’t need water yet, and the food just wasn’t appealing to me… I was starting to get a “oversalted feeling” in my stomach. hmm….
MP: Dan tells us that someone has taken down a mile or so of the ribbons marking the course between here and the next AS. He gives some detailed info on how to stay on course, also says one of the other AS guys is out trying to remark the course. I absorb nothing Dan has told me about directions and just hope the guy has the course remarked or that I somehow recognize it from last year.
AS#6 to AS#7, mile 32.4
LH: Dan is telling us the names of the actual trails and intersections, but my brain can only comprehend “orange/good; yellow/no-go.” I am glad that I’ve run this race before, and that we hiked out here after the training run, so I know I can at least get us to the hill above our campsite. Luckily, that is the stretch where the markers were missing, but a volunteer had done a good job of using rocks and sticks to make large arrows to point the way. There were also scraps of white cloth, and as the guy was shirtless when he passed us on his way back to the aid station, I wondered it he’d used his shirt to mark the trail.
MP: Many say this 5.8 miles is the prettiest part of the race. I have to agree. Last year I really didn’t enjoy it at all. Because of the heat I felt like I was in Badwater, I doubt I looked up once to enjoy my surroundings. I enjoyed it as much as possible this time around, I still want to go back and hike it at a leisurely pace. The trail doesn’t turn out to be hard to follow, the guy has done a great job. I particularly liked when he made an arrow of rocks pointing in the direction we were supposed to go and spelled out the word “GO” in rocks, that was cool!
LH: The boggy section on the way to where Mical, Paul, Joe & I camped is now covered by brand-spanking new boardwalk. Apparently, there is a rare, protected plant here that was discovered when Dan submitted his latest permit. I hope we didn’t step on it.
LH: I remember loving this stretch last year, also that it is very long. Last year, I passed the time battling with another woman, but she eventually beat me on the road. Now, I just settled in and tried to enjoy the views. Once you cross the stream and run through a boggy stretch through some trees (now covered by another boardwalk) you come out on a grassy plain with just stupendous views. You also pass through sections of pine trees, and then out into another plain covered in blueberry, cranberry, and more blooming laurel. A spine of white rocks stretches across to your left, and you can see a continuous chain of mountains stretching to the horizon. And, strangely, we pass Willie, who is walking with a friend.
LH: But the beauty of my surroundings was tempered by a nagging fear, as I was becoming nauseous. I tried to take little sips of water, and I had already reduced my salt from 1 succeed/hour to 1 every 2 hrs. I just didn’t want to eat anything. I had a luna bar, clif bloks, and gels (both clif and hammer) in my pack. I’d already eaten a ginger candy on the road. Michelle was having a great race, so I thought I should try to just hang with her, but try not to drag her down.
LH: Next we get to a point where the course has been re-routed from where it used to go on private property to now use a newly constructed trail. Which was annoying, because there were still lots of tiny stumps just waiting to trip you up and lots of brush that had not quite been cleared from foot traffic yet. Dolly Sods used to be a testing ground for weapons, and they warn people to be aware of unexploded ordnance, which usually one would not see on the well-used trails. I swear I was not hallucinating, but I saw some 2-inch-long bullets in the middle of the trail!
MP: This section was really pretty, I tried to enjoy the views and not fall on my face. We saw a lot of backpackers through this section – this seemed strange because the whole rest of the day we had only seen AS volunteers and fellow runners. Some of the backpackers must have heard from earlier runners that we were running a 40 miler, they stepped aside to let us pass and gave us words of encouragement. I was secretly envious of them, I imagined the stars they would see tonight from their campsite, wow!
LH: I was hoping this new route would bypass everybody’s favorite – the boulder section. But no. I am tired, obsessed with my nausea, and here is the boulder scramble. As I tried to lower myself from one boulder to a lower one (no hopping now!) I imagine Dan throwing back his head and laughing with maniacal glee at our difficulties.
MP: I love boulder scrambles, but this one comes at a really tough time. Jumping 2 feet down from one boulder to the next seems like a really bad idea, my feet hurt and I’m afraid my legs will crumple. Jumping over crevices seems like an even worse idea! Somehow we manage to sit down and slide or carefully step over each obstacle, once again wondering how people like Brad Mongold, Bill Young, etc get through these sections. I still want to see a video of a couple of these front runners to see exactly how they run through these tough sections! Levitation maybe??
MP: Even though I’m enjoying it this time around, I wonder when we are ever going to get to the AS. Finally I start up a slight hill and spy the blue of the tent for the AS. This is the AS where the volunteers have to hike everything in, including 30 gallons of water, they are AWESOME! We’ve arrived here at 8:46:26, split of 1:44:05, I’m psyched because we’re here AND I am 20 minutes faster on this section than last year. I drink some coke or mountain dew, I can’t remember, and then we move on.
LH: I catch up to Michelle, and tell her about the nausea. She remembers that Dan gave all the aid stations a first aid kit with Tums, so when we get to the next aid station, I eat a Tums and have a cup of coke.
AS#7 to AS#8, mile 36.5
MP: We leave the AS, I enjoy one last look to the west, down into Canaan Valley. The folks at this AS really do have the most amazing views in all directions. We start down a pretty “runnable” stretch, I think I’m probably more into shuffling than running now. The trail is a 6 inch wide rut through grassy fields, I can’t decide if I want to run in the rut or on the side in the grass, both seem really hard. Soon the decision is made for me as we hit what looks to me to be a 6-8 foot wide river of rocks trail. I pick my way through here and look up to see two people ahead turning right into the woods. It’s probably good I saw them, several folks missed this turn and continued straight on this road and missed the entire downhill/ATV section of the course. Always remember to look for the ribbons!
MP: After this right turn, we quickly start the trudge up the ski slope. I can’t believe we are already here! As we are climbing the slope, we start to hear rock and roll music and the roar of engines. Uh oh, we are getting closer to the ATV/motorcycle racers, little did I know what was to come. Turn left at top of ski slope, start through some woods on a trail that is supposed to be for XC skiing, I can’t quite imagine skiing through here…then we get to the straight downhill section of trail. Here is where I once again have to sit down on a rock and scoot down 3 or 4 feet to the trail. Two guys step aside to let us pass, I swing from tree to tree with “George, George, George of the jungle, watch out for that tree!” running through my head. I keep one eye out for ribbons and one eye out for ATVs hurtling through the trees. Some how we make it to the bottom, as we cross the board over a small stream, the iplayoutside photographer takes our picture and tells us we’re almost there. Cool!
LH: Now I know what a deer must feel like as it stands by the side of the road as gigantic loud vehicles go whizzing by. Except you also have to descend vertically down about a mile of freshly cut “trail” through some pretty dense woods. Last year was pretty steep – this year was a grab one tree and swing to the next. But I also think it was much better marked this year. Again, I imagined Dan laughing at the ridiculousness of this section. It seemed longer, but that might also have been because I kept expecting an ATV to fly off course, landing on top of me. Here, Willie materialized out of the woods and flew past us.
MP: We run down the road to the AS, arriving at 9:53:48, split of 1:07:22. Ashley Young and Hilary Young greet us. Ashley says “I didn’t know you were running this year Michelle!” – I mumble something in reply. I think it’s here where I ask if they know how Lydia is doing (Hilary’s mom, Ashley’s aunt) and they say she got pulled at AS#6, missed the cut-off by 14 minutes. I’m bummed for her but elated we are only 4.2 miles from the finish!!
AS#8 to FINISH!!, mile 40.7
LH: The last aid station. The Tums didn’t hurt, so this time I took 2 more and another cup of coke. “Follow Michelle, follow Michelle” is all I had in my head. We were passed on the road but I’d say by only a couple people – people who’d gotten lost in the so-called trail section! But we also passed others, including a couple of guys that never caught back up to us once we hit a grassy stretch. Then up the Canaan Resort road, where some kids in a tractor-pulled vehicle passed and waved. That made me feel like a star!
MP: Hot asphalt, yuck! Just gotta get through it. We run to shade, walk a bit. We seem to be gaining on a few folks, how could that be? We pass them, turn left into the grassy section. Sure glad those earlier runners beat down this waist high grass for us, I put one foot in front of the other and try not to step in any holes. We cross the main road into Canaan Valley SP, only a mile or two to go. We pass Joyce Fendley and another guy walking, I congratulate Joyce on her MMT finish.
LH: At last, we entered the woods, the last mile. “Follow Michelle.” OUCH! I got stung by a bee! I tried to channel the adrenaline, and made it up the hill and past the scummy pond – my landmark for when to “act like you’re running” again. Last year, there was a lady “hiking” here, and she wouldn’t get out of my way! No such obstacle this time, and with a final glance over my shoulder to make sure there were no Wargos, I caught up to Michelle, who had so nicely paused to wait for me to catch up so we could finish together. We high-fived then ran down the hill to the finish! Yay!
MP: I spy the flags leading us to the woods again and that last 0.5 mile or so of trail to the finish. Glad to be off that darn road! We see one person in the distance but he is moving well and we can’t catch him. We turn left up the last small hill to the finish. WV folks never seem to get enough of uphills do they? I don’t even remember the scummy pond from last year, was it really there? Next thing I know we are crossing the finish line and RD Dan takes our picture and gives us a hug! We then claim our really cool, orange, Patagonia finisher shirt.
MP: We finished in 10:48:19, split of 54:31. Lorrin took about 27 minutes off her time from last year, I took off about 57 minutes!
LH: Believe it or not, after dinner, some rest, and a huge breakfast, Joe, Bill, Amanda, Megan, Michelle and I took a 3-hour hike the next day. A great way to work out that lactic acid! And we saw a big garter snake :)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Highlands Sky - 2007
Fun and fast times at the 2007 Highlands Sky 40-miler, where the weather held, the views were spectacular, and there was always a breeze just when you needed it.
Check out the results on the wvmtr site.
Thanks to Dan Lehmann for putting on such a great, challenging race and to Joe, Bill, Megan and everyone else who volunteered! Splits, more pix, and race reports coming soon...
Friday, June 15, 2007
A Reason to Run FAST
I can think of a few places on the course where I don't want to be if there are thunderstorms! Let's hope the temps are as advertised, but the storms hold off!Thanks to everyone who's sent messages wishing us good luck at Highland Sky!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Laurel Highlands Accomplishment
Well Well here it is. My race report from the Laurel Highlands Ultra 70.5 mile run. Well it all started when I caught the Ultra bug. I have always wanted to challenge myself. And so it started with JFK and then numerous 50k's and then Bull Run. Then I thought to myself what would be the next challenge. I forget who had mentioned Laurel Highlands to me or if I had just found it on the net. But I looked it over and thought what the hell this could be the next challenge for me to tackle. So with the registration already completed I had no choice but to run it. And so that set the ball in motion.
And so on friday the 8th I finished packing my drop bags and everything else and headed out the door on my way up to Johnstown where I ended up staying friday and saturday night. It is just about 10 to 15 minutes from the finish of the race. So I set off on my journey to johnstown. Was supposed to take 3 hours and 15 min or so but I got up there quicker than that and checked in right around 2 in the afternoon. I settled in then went down stairs to check the weather for the weekend. Weather.com said about 80 or so and that was ok I guess but probably a little warm. Oh well can't do anything about that but suck it up and go running.
I then went for my custom breadsticks from pizza hut before the pre race pasta meeting. I got to the pasta shop about 5:30 just in time to pick up my packet and number and sit down with some of the Delaware TrailDawgs that I knew were going to be running the race as well. And we listened to the usual pre race briefing of what the course was like and how the aid was going to be. I decided on a little salad and a piece of cake. After leaving the pasta shop I headed back to the hotel to finalize my drop bags and get my number on my shorts. I had everything layed out and then I hit the sack for a good nights sleep.
2 Am comes around really fast. That is when I had my alarm set so I could make sure I had everything set right for the thousandth time. And I wanted to follow my traildawg friends to the finish where we had to get on the bus at 3:30 then travel to the start in ohiopyle. Once at the start I dropped off my drop bags which would hopefully be waiting for me at 46 and 57.
5:30 then came pretty quick and we were off for what would be a really really really long and sore day. The first part of the race is where the -5 comes into play. And then came the climbing. The first 8 to 9 miles is one of the toughest parts of the race. Those hills really sucked. And it was starting to get hot and humid already. And I thought this is really going to suck today. And although the hills sucked the scenery was really nice and it was shaded which helped. The first aid station was just some water and gatorade which was nice. Then of course I had to make a potty stop which sucked. But I did feel like a new man afterwords hehe. Had to sneak that part in there.
The first cut off aid station was around mile 19 or so and I was about an hour and half in front of that which was great. And I knew this with the help of Michelle and her awesome split/cut off sheet. That really did help me throughout the whole day. And I totally appreciated it. Leaving that aid station I felt pretty good and ready for the next aid station. Oh and it was also nice to have those mile markers at every mile. Most people did not like that them but I totally looked forward to each one. As the day progressed I was getting worried that the heat would get worse and the race would really suck. But to my surprise the extreme heat never really came through which was a deff plus.
As the cut off aid stations came and went I was staying ahead of the cuttoffs by an average of about 1 and a half hours which I knew would really help in the end. And so the 46 mile aid station/cut off staion could not have come any quicker. My feet were really starting to become pretty sore and tired. So I was looking forward to changing my socks and shirt. And boy did they both help. And it was also nice to be able to sit down for a few minutes before I had to get my ass up and keep moving forward. The next aid station at 51 or so was just water so no stopping for me. Oh yeah and I do have to mention and thank Katie alot for allowing me to use her headlight and flashlight again. I had decided to put it in the first drop bag to be on the safe side. So I had those both with me as I left that 46 mile aid station.
I was hoping that the 51 station would have a chair for me to sit in because I was already getting tired and sore for being on my feet for so long. By this time I had been on my feet for a very long time. Actually it was the longest I had ever been on my feet. I can't really remember the time right now. I just know it was a very long time. And after I passed the 51 mile water stop I said to myself wow not only have you been on your feet alot longer than you have ever been but you have also now gone alot further than you have ever been. So that right there was a big accomplishment.
Within an hour or so of passing that water stop I had to turn on my lights because it was starting to get dark quick. Then finally the 57 mile aid station came into view and I found the first chair to plop my happy tired ass down in. Boy did that feel good. Oh yeah and before I forget I have to mention how AWESOME the aid stations were especially the volunteers at the aid stations. Every time I would sit down someone was there to ask what I needed to be filled or what they could get for me. So as I sit down in that chair I must have had 5 cups of the noodle soup that was so damn good at that point in the race. I then got my drop bag and changed my socks again and ate some more. Boy I was getting super super tired by this time and just wanted to eat and finish the races. I then tried to stand up and boy all my muscles let me know what a bad idea that was hehehe.
As I started to walk around the aid station one of my traildawg buddies was there and I told him I would finish the race with him. That way we both had someone to finish the race with in the dark. I knew this would be a good idea to run with someone at night having done this with Angelo at MMT. And boy was I right. Running at night is already no fun but to have someone with you to talk to you and motor along with at night deff did help. So we were both off on our way to the last aid station at mile 62. We were both not moving very fast. But both of us had the same goal in mind and that was to just finish even if that meant finishing close to the cutt off. We were both very tired and really sore.
There was a long gravel/dirt road leading up to the last aid station. And again I was so excited to see that aid station because it meant I could plop my ass down again. And that I did. And I must have had 3 or so bowls of spaghetti O's that tasted oh so good. And so we sat there talking and enjoying our rest. We then realized that we needed to get up and finish this damn race and get our reward. That was alot easier said than done. It really did take alot to get up and get going again. Those last 8 miles were really going to be tough. And so we were off.
We quickly decided that neither of us really had any good running in so we pretty much walked the rest of it in. We knew we had some good time in the bank which allowed us to walk most of it in. Pete told me several times to go on ahead and finish strong. But I told him I was going to finish it with him. And all I wanted to do was finish even if that meant being close to the cut off. And so after a very very very very very long and tired day we trudged across the finish line in around 21 hours and 17 minutes. And as we crossed the finish line we were handed our awards which were a wooden replica of the 70 mile marker. They are awesome and I will totally treasure it for ever. I will deff show it off to everyone as soon as I see you all.
Overall I thought Laurel Highlands was an awesome yet pretty tough race. And I would totally do it again. So when everyone else decides to do the race in the future just let me know and I will be there to run it again. The views and scenery were awesome. And I can't thank the volunteers enough. Without them there at the aid stations waiting on us hand and foot it really would have been easy to give up and quit. Although that was never an option in my book. I am too hard headed to let that happen. I was going to finish that damn race come hell or high water as my mother would say. I totally had an awesome experience at the race. And I am so happy and glad that I took on the LH challenge and accomplished my goal of finishing at all costs. So again Laurel Highlands I KICKED YOUR BUTT AND FINISHED.
Thanks to all who helped me out and gave me all the encouraging words and support. Without you all none of this would have been possible.
And so on friday the 8th I finished packing my drop bags and everything else and headed out the door on my way up to Johnstown where I ended up staying friday and saturday night. It is just about 10 to 15 minutes from the finish of the race. So I set off on my journey to johnstown. Was supposed to take 3 hours and 15 min or so but I got up there quicker than that and checked in right around 2 in the afternoon. I settled in then went down stairs to check the weather for the weekend. Weather.com said about 80 or so and that was ok I guess but probably a little warm. Oh well can't do anything about that but suck it up and go running.
I then went for my custom breadsticks from pizza hut before the pre race pasta meeting. I got to the pasta shop about 5:30 just in time to pick up my packet and number and sit down with some of the Delaware TrailDawgs that I knew were going to be running the race as well. And we listened to the usual pre race briefing of what the course was like and how the aid was going to be. I decided on a little salad and a piece of cake. After leaving the pasta shop I headed back to the hotel to finalize my drop bags and get my number on my shorts. I had everything layed out and then I hit the sack for a good nights sleep.
2 Am comes around really fast. That is when I had my alarm set so I could make sure I had everything set right for the thousandth time. And I wanted to follow my traildawg friends to the finish where we had to get on the bus at 3:30 then travel to the start in ohiopyle. Once at the start I dropped off my drop bags which would hopefully be waiting for me at 46 and 57.
5:30 then came pretty quick and we were off for what would be a really really really long and sore day. The first part of the race is where the -5 comes into play. And then came the climbing. The first 8 to 9 miles is one of the toughest parts of the race. Those hills really sucked. And it was starting to get hot and humid already. And I thought this is really going to suck today. And although the hills sucked the scenery was really nice and it was shaded which helped. The first aid station was just some water and gatorade which was nice. Then of course I had to make a potty stop which sucked. But I did feel like a new man afterwords hehe. Had to sneak that part in there.
The first cut off aid station was around mile 19 or so and I was about an hour and half in front of that which was great. And I knew this with the help of Michelle and her awesome split/cut off sheet. That really did help me throughout the whole day. And I totally appreciated it. Leaving that aid station I felt pretty good and ready for the next aid station. Oh and it was also nice to have those mile markers at every mile. Most people did not like that them but I totally looked forward to each one. As the day progressed I was getting worried that the heat would get worse and the race would really suck. But to my surprise the extreme heat never really came through which was a deff plus.
As the cut off aid stations came and went I was staying ahead of the cuttoffs by an average of about 1 and a half hours which I knew would really help in the end. And so the 46 mile aid station/cut off staion could not have come any quicker. My feet were really starting to become pretty sore and tired. So I was looking forward to changing my socks and shirt. And boy did they both help. And it was also nice to be able to sit down for a few minutes before I had to get my ass up and keep moving forward. The next aid station at 51 or so was just water so no stopping for me. Oh yeah and I do have to mention and thank Katie alot for allowing me to use her headlight and flashlight again. I had decided to put it in the first drop bag to be on the safe side. So I had those both with me as I left that 46 mile aid station.
I was hoping that the 51 station would have a chair for me to sit in because I was already getting tired and sore for being on my feet for so long. By this time I had been on my feet for a very long time. Actually it was the longest I had ever been on my feet. I can't really remember the time right now. I just know it was a very long time. And after I passed the 51 mile water stop I said to myself wow not only have you been on your feet alot longer than you have ever been but you have also now gone alot further than you have ever been. So that right there was a big accomplishment.
Within an hour or so of passing that water stop I had to turn on my lights because it was starting to get dark quick. Then finally the 57 mile aid station came into view and I found the first chair to plop my happy tired ass down in. Boy did that feel good. Oh yeah and before I forget I have to mention how AWESOME the aid stations were especially the volunteers at the aid stations. Every time I would sit down someone was there to ask what I needed to be filled or what they could get for me. So as I sit down in that chair I must have had 5 cups of the noodle soup that was so damn good at that point in the race. I then got my drop bag and changed my socks again and ate some more. Boy I was getting super super tired by this time and just wanted to eat and finish the races. I then tried to stand up and boy all my muscles let me know what a bad idea that was hehehe.
As I started to walk around the aid station one of my traildawg buddies was there and I told him I would finish the race with him. That way we both had someone to finish the race with in the dark. I knew this would be a good idea to run with someone at night having done this with Angelo at MMT. And boy was I right. Running at night is already no fun but to have someone with you to talk to you and motor along with at night deff did help. So we were both off on our way to the last aid station at mile 62. We were both not moving very fast. But both of us had the same goal in mind and that was to just finish even if that meant finishing close to the cutt off. We were both very tired and really sore.
There was a long gravel/dirt road leading up to the last aid station. And again I was so excited to see that aid station because it meant I could plop my ass down again. And that I did. And I must have had 3 or so bowls of spaghetti O's that tasted oh so good. And so we sat there talking and enjoying our rest. We then realized that we needed to get up and finish this damn race and get our reward. That was alot easier said than done. It really did take alot to get up and get going again. Those last 8 miles were really going to be tough. And so we were off.
We quickly decided that neither of us really had any good running in so we pretty much walked the rest of it in. We knew we had some good time in the bank which allowed us to walk most of it in. Pete told me several times to go on ahead and finish strong. But I told him I was going to finish it with him. And all I wanted to do was finish even if that meant being close to the cut off. And so after a very very very very very long and tired day we trudged across the finish line in around 21 hours and 17 minutes. And as we crossed the finish line we were handed our awards which were a wooden replica of the 70 mile marker. They are awesome and I will totally treasure it for ever. I will deff show it off to everyone as soon as I see you all.
Overall I thought Laurel Highlands was an awesome yet pretty tough race. And I would totally do it again. So when everyone else decides to do the race in the future just let me know and I will be there to run it again. The views and scenery were awesome. And I can't thank the volunteers enough. Without them there at the aid stations waiting on us hand and foot it really would have been easy to give up and quit. Although that was never an option in my book. I am too hard headed to let that happen. I was going to finish that damn race come hell or high water as my mother would say. I totally had an awesome experience at the race. And I am so happy and glad that I took on the LH challenge and accomplished my goal of finishing at all costs. So again Laurel Highlands I KICKED YOUR BUTT AND FINISHED.
Thanks to all who helped me out and gave me all the encouraging words and support. Without you all none of this would have been possible.
Gaithersburg XC 5k
Many were out at Gaithersburg HS Friday night for the XC 5k. As usual, it was hot and humid with the threat of thunderstorms. We got rain before and after the race, but still got it in. Here are pix from the race.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Preparation for Laurel Highlands
Mark sends us his thoughts as he prepares for this weekend's adventure:
Well as I sit here finishing up the packing for easy part of my long weekend I am forever thinking about what I got myself into. This is deff going to be a long weekend. But one that I know I am ready for. Hell it's only 70.5 miles that I will running tomorrow into the wee hours of sunday.
I am about all packed now. 3 different drop bags with crap in it hehehe. One for mile 46 or something and one for 57 or something and then one for the finish so I don't have to walk all the way to my car for it. I can just crawl over to where ever they have it. That is if I have the energy to crawl after I finish. They might just have to drag me over to my bag. I am thinking I might just pass out and take a long nap right after I cross the finish line. The hell with getting in my car and driving back to the hotel. Why not just pick a spot in the grass and take a nap. I will have deserved that much.
I know this is going to be a tough/long race. The longest I have ever been on my feet was at Bull Run this year and that was 10:50. And with the help of Michelle's pacing chart I am hoping to finish Best Case: around 16 hours in the Middle: 19 or so hours and Wost Case: 20 1/2 or so. I don't want to be close to the final cutt off. So as I load my car and head off into my journey pray for me hehehe and sleep in for me tomorrow and of course when your day is winding down tomorrow night drink a few for me and think about how crazy I am for still being out there running while you are at home relaxing with a cold one in hand.
Thanks for all the kind wishes for this weekend. And I will deff have another report ready to be posted as soon as I get home and muster the energy to write one up. Well I am off to run 70.5 ...
Well as I sit here finishing up the packing for easy part of my long weekend I am forever thinking about what I got myself into. This is deff going to be a long weekend. But one that I know I am ready for. Hell it's only 70.5 miles that I will running tomorrow into the wee hours of sunday.
I am about all packed now. 3 different drop bags with crap in it hehehe. One for mile 46 or something and one for 57 or something and then one for the finish so I don't have to walk all the way to my car for it. I can just crawl over to where ever they have it. That is if I have the energy to crawl after I finish. They might just have to drag me over to my bag. I am thinking I might just pass out and take a long nap right after I cross the finish line. The hell with getting in my car and driving back to the hotel. Why not just pick a spot in the grass and take a nap. I will have deserved that much.
I know this is going to be a tough/long race. The longest I have ever been on my feet was at Bull Run this year and that was 10:50. And with the help of Michelle's pacing chart I am hoping to finish Best Case: around 16 hours in the Middle: 19 or so hours and Wost Case: 20 1/2 or so. I don't want to be close to the final cutt off. So as I load my car and head off into my journey pray for me hehehe and sleep in for me tomorrow and of course when your day is winding down tomorrow night drink a few for me and think about how crazy I am for still being out there running while you are at home relaxing with a cold one in hand.
Thanks for all the kind wishes for this weekend. And I will deff have another report ready to be posted as soon as I get home and muster the energy to write one up. Well I am off to run 70.5 ...
Monday, June 4, 2007
Racing Season
Busy weekend for the crew. Sunday, June 3 brought everyone together at the Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail for the Capital Crescent 5k. Most of us ran very close to 8 minute pace (meaning Michelle, Katie, Lorrin, and I) while Mical really attacked the out and back. Although I wasn't wearing a watch, she had to be close to negative splits finishing in sub 7:30 pace only 3 seconds behind Cathy. No one was close to their PR but I'm sure we will all be plotting for ways to get faster and keep Mical in sight. Next up is the Gaithersburg Cross Country 5k on Friday.
My thoughts are now turned to something I've been talking about for years. Last night, Anne said why don't you take a few weeks off to recharge. The thought of a costly vacation left my mind quickly, but then I thought about doing what I really want. I'm going to fast pack the Virginia AT this summer, or as much as I can cover. Anne said she would try to crew depending on her work situation. Yes, she really is that supportive. It blows my mind.
I'm only going to take as much vacation time as I have. But I'm going to either start or finish where the Maryland Challenge started, just across the border in PA and run/fast pack along the AT as far as I can. I hope to start this as early as mid July or late August. I had planned to go to Leadville, but this will definetly be much cheaper and should help change me. Obviously, anyone would be welcome to do any part with me and hopefully some of you can give me some pointers and suggestions.
Angelo
My thoughts are now turned to something I've been talking about for years. Last night, Anne said why don't you take a few weeks off to recharge. The thought of a costly vacation left my mind quickly, but then I thought about doing what I really want. I'm going to fast pack the Virginia AT this summer, or as much as I can cover. Anne said she would try to crew depending on her work situation. Yes, she really is that supportive. It blows my mind.
I'm only going to take as much vacation time as I have. But I'm going to either start or finish where the Maryland Challenge started, just across the border in PA and run/fast pack along the AT as far as I can. I hope to start this as early as mid July or late August. I had planned to go to Leadville, but this will definetly be much cheaper and should help change me. Obviously, anyone would be welcome to do any part with me and hopefully some of you can give me some pointers and suggestions.
Angelo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)