Uwharrie Mountain 40 Miler 2015

After missing the lottery in 2014, my luck improved and I had made it back in to the 2015 Uwharrie Mountain 40 mile trail race. After a less than stellar outing in January at The Harbison 50K, I really focused on cleaning up my diet. More raw foods, minimal grain intake and no soda.  I had logged 226 miles in January, and was looking forward to running Uwharrie to see if the diet change and hard training would pay off.

The 40 mile race starts at 7am, followed by the start of the 20 miler at 8am and the 8 mile race at 9. The temps were chilly at the start, right at 24 degrees, but the forecast called for temps to warm up to around 50 by the afternoon. We arrived at the start via shuttle and shuffled around the fire while waiting for the call to the start line. I love the start of this race! You run for about 200 feet on road, the make a sharp right turn onto the trail and immediately start the first climb. By the time you summit the one mile climb, you are no longer cold!

I hung towards the back of the back, looking to settle in early and conserve some energy for the second half. The 40 mile is an out and back course, and I have seen many a runner ( including myself) go out to hard on the first 20 and struggle on the back half.

I ran right through the first aid station at mile five, since I was good on water/electrolyte and had my trusty Orange Mud HydraQuiver packed with UGo Bars and Energy Bits for fuel. The pack had thinned out a bit by then and I was hanging with a small group of runners at a comfortable pace. The next aid station I cam to was a mile 8, where we crossed Hwy 109. The lead pack of the 20 mile runners were catching us now, which meant stepping off the single track to let them by. I caught up with my buddy Dave and it was good to run and chat with him. The aid stations were basically 3 miles apart now, so I was getting my bottles topped of at each station, grabbing a quick snack, and getting on down the trail. Coming into the aid station at mile 14 I was feeling good, focusing on staying at a comfortable pace and concentrating on hydration and fueling.

When I hit the 20 turn around, it had just turned 12pm. I was happy to run the first half in 5 hours. I was still feeling fresh. I took off my jacket, changed beanies and got my water bottles filled and off I went. I was there for maybe 1 minute. I do not like to linger at aid stations!

The out and back course is one of my favorites to run. I like point to point as well. I always get a mental boost at the turn around of a race. This time it was no different. The weather was great in the afternoon and I was in a really good groove both physically and mentally.

Coming back, I saw many of the 20 mile folks in the home stretch of their race. We exchanged words of encouragement, and I reassured them they were close to the finish! 

As I got to some of the major climbs on the second half of the race, I began to catch some people. I was climbing really strong and power hiking the steeper climbs. At 3 pm, I came through the aid station at mile 32, sticking to my routine of getting my water bottles topped off. grabbing a quick snack and moving on. There were two aid stations left, one at mile 35 and the last one at mile 38. I came through 38 knowing I had one more big climb before we descended into the finish. When I  summited the last climb, I same a runner in front of me. I though I could catch him, but he looked back and saw me and started hauling ass! We both bombed down the final several hundred yards to the finish line. He had a strong kick, and I could not close on him. We both laughed and hugged it out at the finish, with the guy thanking me for pushing him at the end.

The bottom line: a 43 minute PR! 10 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds.
 My previous time from 2013 was 10:48
 I was 4 hours , 59 minutes on the first 20 miles and 5 hours, six minutes on the back 20.

 I was a happy boy.


So I will continue on the lean and green in 2015 campaign as I gear up for the Mount Mitchell Challenge on February 28th!

Equipment used:

Hoka Rapa Nui Trail shoes
Balega Socks
InKnBurn Haida Long sleeve Tech shirt
Nike Run long sleeve base layer
Virginian Lightweight Jacket
InknBurn "Lust"shorts
Orange Mud Beanie
Orange Mud HydraQuiver Pack
ProCompression and Sigvaris compression sleeves

Nutrition and Hydration:

Generation UCAN
Energy Bits
UGo Bars Anutter flavor
Elete Electrolytes Citrilyte

August Adventures

I cannot believe we are heading into Labor Day weekend already. August flew by! I picked up a few more coaching clients this month, including an old client that has gotten back into running. (yay!)

I was on the road a bit as well. August 9th I went up to Abingdon, Virginia to run in my friend Jen's 10K race along the Virginia Creeper Trail. It is a memorial race to honor the memory of her brother, who died in a mining accident. We decided to camp out that weekend at Beartree campground, just outside of Damascus, Virginia. Leaving Friday morning, we drove up in the rain. It was still raining when we got to the campground, so I set up the tent in the rain. Then it rained all night. The tent held up great, but everything was just......moist. We woke up that morning to some additional showers but headed into town to stop at one of my favorite coffee shops, Mojoe's Trailside Coffeehouse, in Damascus. http://www.mojoestrailsidecoffee.com/ My large coffee with soy milk really got the day off to a good start! The 10K race did not start until 6pm that evening, so we had time to hang out in Damascus, ride over to Abingdon, then head over to Bristol to stop in at Mountain Sports Limited, another one of my "must stop" places on my visits to Virginia. http://mountainsportsltd.com/


We returned to the campground early in the afternoon and rested up. We drove back out to Abingdon and arrived to get our bibs and shirts around 5pm. The weather had cleared up, although it was still quite humid. We would be running out and back on the Creeper trail. At 6pm we took off! The first three miles I felt really good. I was running at a good pace and my breathing was controlled, but I was also going out way to fast! By the turn around at 3.1 miles I was drenched with sweat. I could feel myself slowing down. The only good thing was that it seemed like everyone else went out too hard and was fading too! I was able to pass a few more people on the last two miles of the race, but it was a struggle. I staggered across the line with an official time of 56:11, which was good enough for first in my age group ( Thank goodness for small races!)

Mercifully, it did not rain on us Saturday night at camp. We got up early Sunday morning and headed out to the Elk Garden Trail head to run some of the Appalachian Trail. We wound up running 12 miles on the AT, six out and six back. It was slow going. We had close to 3,000 feet of elevation and the legs were pretty trashed by the time we got back to the car.

On the rocks in the mist!

 We then drove back to camp, broke everything down and headed back home. More rain on the drive back made it yet another challenge, but we made it!

The next weekend was a much smaller road trip to Southern Pines, NC for the Gamelands 50K. The event was being put on by The Southern Pines Ultra Runners, and they did a great job! The course consisted of three 10.3 mile loops, along flat, sandy trail on private land. The goal was just to make this a nice long training run. Mid way through the first lap I hooked up with my friend Susan and we wound up running the rest of the race together. I was glad for the company. The first lap it was extremely humid, but overcast. By the second lap the humidity came down, but the cloud cover left as well. There were a lot of exposed areas along the trail, so by the third lap it had gotten really hot! Susan and I crossed the line in 6:51:27. I was soaked with sweat from head to toe! I must have ate 10 slices of watermelon after I finished. I stopped off on the drive home and treated myself to an ice cold Diet Coke. Heaven!

Grinding it out!

The next adventure was The "Running of the Camels" 5K at Campbell University the following Tuesday. I had been comp'd an entry by a friend who works at the university, so how could I say no? The race started at 8am, and it was already quite warm. There were several hundred people running, mostly students and staff. After a few opening remarks the gun went off, and I took off like a jackass.  My first mile was 7:56, then I came to my senses and ran an 8:27 and 8:28 after that. 25:30 for 5K.

The rest of the month has been a succession of hot, humid runs, gulping water with my Elete add-in and lubricating my moving parts with Red11Sport. I seem to be doing a load of workout clothes once a day, and my poor car smells completely like ass. I wound up with 179 miles of running for the month, which is high for me. I'll take it.

Here to a cooler, maybe not so humid September!!

Cold Front

This past weekend I was an absolute slug. Not by choice, mind you. I had started getting a sore throat on Thursday night, and trying not to panic I proceeded full force into my normal Friday routine. I had runners at 6:30am, 7:30am and taught boot camp class at 9:30am. By now you would think I would know better that screaming at people for a full hour in boot camp class is not a good cure for a sore throat. Undaunted, I promptly left the gym after class and went home.......And then cut the lawn. Because let's face it, what is more soothing to the throat than dust and flying grass particles?


Needless to say, Friday night was an early night for me. I knew I was sick, I just didn't want to accept it! I received full confirmation of this upon waking up on Saturday morning. Thankfully, the two women I coach on Saturdays were both out of town and I had no classes to teach at the gym. The sore throat had morphed into a searing sinus headache and congestion. Awesome. I sat around and drank coffee and watched the Tour de France time trials during the morning, then spent the rest of the day napping, which would have been an awesome day if I had not felt like shit!

"I am NOT sick!"

 Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday, only now the nose was running non stop and I had picked up a bit of a cough. I was a COMPLETE sloth on Sunday. I realized this when I found myself watching an entire NASCAR race, from start to finish. Yikes.

This morning I awoke feeling somewhat better, and now that the day has progressed, I am starting to feel much better. I had been going pretty hard with my own training recently, on top of teaching multiple classes a day and coaching various runners in between. So I am taking this illness as a sign. Initially I was freaking out about not getting in a  long run  this weekend, but I think the rest was just the thing I needed. It came at a good point also. The next two months will be focused on some high quality training for the 100 miler in October, so I consider this past weekend a "Reset" of sorts.

In the midst of all this sloth I did receive some good news. I have been selected to be an Ink n Burn ambassador! I am looking forward to working with this awesome group of people! I will be posting more info soon, including a discount code to use on their website.  Check them out here:
http://www.inknburn.com/

The Uwharrie Mountain 40 Mile Trail Run

  The subtitle for this race report could be "A Tale of two Twenties" due to my sluggish performance on the first half of the run and my resurrection on the second half. more on that in a bit....

  I stayed in Asheboro the night before, about a 1/2 hour away from the race shuttle site. You parked your car there and get shuttled to the start line. I was praying there would not be a delay of the start because it was quite a chilly morning!

After a brief shuttle ride we were deposited at the start area and immediately hovered around the campfire, trying to stay warm. It probably did not help matters any that I was wearing shorts.
We were reluctantly pulled away from the fire and assembled ourselves on the road for the start. We run about 2oo feet on the road and then make a right turn onto the trail where we quickly begin to ascend. Less than a mile in and my nose was already numb, liquid freely flowing from it. I had a make a tactical decision NOT to wear my Garmin, so as not to have all these numbers in my head. Kind of that "Free your mind and you ass will follow" approach. Even without the Garmin, I stayed true to my "go out too fast" routine. Old habits die hard. A few miles in, I warmed up nicely and felt comfortable. But at Uwharrie, comfort is fleeting.

  Realizing my fast start, I pulled it back some and began getting passed by some folks. I'm not sure what mile it was, but my buddy Scott L. came up on my right and we ran a little bit together, a group of about 5 of us, all in line. It was at this slight downhill clay dirt section that I saw Scott slip and land on his ass. Just as I was about to ask Scott "Are you okay?" I did the same damn thing! Although it was not one of my classic face plants, it did knock me out of my rhythm for a bit. Thus began the slow spiral downward.
  Scott and his group pulled away from me, and others started to pass me as well. I kept plugging away, but I was in a bad space mentally. Trying to maintain the intense focus needed to work my way through the rocks, limbs and holes was becoming more and more difficult. Reaching the aid station at mile 14, it felt like it would take an eternity to reach the turnaround at mile 20. At this point, the speedy 20 mile runners, who started an hour later, began passing me. Hearing "On your left" about 20 times in a row did nothing to improve my mood, and a evil little voice inside my head began to whisper "you can stop at 20 miles!"
  In the meantime I was seeing all the people who had made the turnaround and were now already on their way back......Shit.

    Then, in a moment of clarity it hit me. "Dude. Just get your ass in and out at the turnaround. Once you run back out of the Aid station at 20 miles, you're committed!" So that is just what I did. The only things I did was grab a pair of dry socks, get out of my Torins and into the Hokas, slam a Generation UCAN shake and grab my headlamp. Then I got the hell out of there! The combination of the new shoes and fuel, combined with the sound of the bagpipes playing alongside the trail really jump started me mentally. My mind was now free, and my ass soon to follow!
  Now I got to see folks making their way TO the turnaround (40 miler) or finish line (20 milers). I shouted encouragement to all as I trotted down the trail. There is always that great look that the 20 mile folks give you as you pass them on the way out for your additional 20 miles. It is a mixture of awe, respect and pity.  
  At last years race, my friend Mo and I finished up in the dark. Even with our headlamps, the last mile of brutally technical descent  was a nightmare to do after dark. I vowed this year to finish in the daylight, come hell or high water.

Hangin' on for dear life on the 1st half!

Photo by M. Long

I came through the aid station at mile 23 and was starting to build momentum. I was still walking all the hills, but now I was able to run the flats and downhills at a fairly good pace. I was with two other guys at this point, but around mile 25 they were slowing a bit, so I left them and continued running.

 

I did have the presence of mind back at the turnaround to ask someone what time it was. It was 12:09pm for me at the 20 mile mark. Even with the struggles in the first half, that wasn't too bad.

 

  Now I came through the AS at mile 26 feeling good. I got a refill on my hand held and grabbed a couple of Hammer Gels just as a backup. My Generation UCAN was good for about 21/2 hours of fuel, so I would be counting on some gels to get me through the last few miles.I just kept working away at a steady pace, spurred on by the fact that I was counting DOWN the miles now. The next AS, at mile 29, I got a refill of the hand held and a small cup of Mountain Dew. The ascents of the hills were really starting to hurt now, and I could feel my calves and quads tightening with every climb.

At the summit of one of the many climbs!

Photo by M. Long

I was really locked in and focused now, and I had started to catch some people. Another emotional boost was coming through the AS at mile 32. I was in the single digits now. This is the AS where they make sure you have a headlamp if you get there by 4pm or after. There was no sign of the "Headlamp Police" when I got there, so I knew on was ahead of last year's schedule.

    I remember from last year's race that it seemed to take forever to get to the next AS at mile 35. Last year I remember running ahead of Mo, cursing under my breath and waiting at every turn to see the AS at mile 5. It was already starting to get dark at this point for us last year. This year was no different, it took a while to get there. But this year it was daylight and I felt a helluva lot better than last year.  5 miles to go!

    I had collected a few more people along the way, including my friend Mark L. who was battling a stomach issue. Mark is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, so we walked a chatted for a bit. Even if it meant having to finish up a minute or two in the dark, it was time well spent with a good friend. I finally told Mark I was gonna run a little bit, wished him well and headed down the trail. Mark finished up strong, and came into the finish not too long after me.

    I had caught up to one more fellow as we came into the final AS at mile 38. I could see he was struggling a little bit, and he asked one of the volunteers if he would be able to finish in the daylight. The volunteer stated that we had 34 minutes of daylight left. I left out of the AS just in front of this guy, and started my run into the finish. I ran for a bit, then slowed to a walk. To my surprise, this guy was right on my heels! He surged past me, saying I inspired him, then he took off! He killed those last two miles and finished just ahead of me. It was awesome to see! 

 

   I was in the last mile now. The rock and boulder strewn descent that brutalized me and Mo in the dark last year was much more tenable with ambient light. I finally got clear of the rocks and came down a little friendlier section of single track. I could hear them celebrating the arrival of my rejuvenated buddy just in front of me. I made it. In the daylight. Holy shit.

 

Official time: 10:48:58.  One hour and ten minutes faster than last year's time.

 

Finish Line!

Photo by S. Johnstone

There were still friends gathered at the finish line, and it felt great to celebrate together. I changed out of my wet stuff, got some soup and waited for my buddy Mark to finish.

A happy Mark at the finish!

Photo by S. Johnstone

We hung out for a bit, then headed to the shuttle that took us back to our cars. Then began the two hour drive back home. I felt good, and was spurred on further by listening to "Back Porch Music" on NPR. It was a fitting soundtrack to a day spent on the Uwharrie Mountain Trail

Gear Used:

 

Clothing:

Pro Compression Tee and Beanie

Nike Pro Base Layer Turtle neck

Brooks Rouge Shorts

Cycling Windbreaker

Balega and Pro Compression Socks 

Garneau Flex Zone Gloves

Shoes:

Altra Zero Drop Torin (First 20 miles)

Hoka One One Stinson ( Last 20 miles)

Hydration System:

Ultimate Direction Hand Held

Fuel:

Generation UCAN

Hammer Montana Huckleberry Gels

Heed Sports Drink

Mountain Dew

PB&J Sandwiches

 

Uwharrie Mountain 40 Miler Preview

"Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley." - Theodore Roethke

    I ran the Uwharrie Mountain 40 mile run last year, for the first time. I was fortunate to have the company of my friend Mo with me for the entire race. Our goal was just to finish, which we did, in just under 12 hours. At that point, it was the hardest event I had done. With an additional year of experience and some foolish race choices behind me, this run still ranks in the top three of races you hate to love.
 So I am back for more.

  I am hoping to improve on last year's time somewhat. I will be without the company of Mo, who is focusing her training on the Ironman this year. There are many other friends running, who I will no doubt come face to face with when they reach the turn around ahead of me. This is because the 40 mile runners get to run 20 miles out, turn around and run 20 miles back. The 20 mile race is point to point, along the exact same course. So, when you get to the turnaround at mile 20, you will see happy, relieved people, huddled by a bonfire, celebrating their finish. You, on the other hand, grab some fresh gear, contemplate dropping at 20 miles, then mindlessly head back out to traverse in reverse, as it were.

This, only twice!

 I am feeling a little more confident this year, knowing what I am up against. I have run a little bit since the Weymouth Wooods 100K two weeks ago, and the legs feel good. Now it it time to assemble gear, review logistics and go.

  "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

Uwharrie 2012

Wordless Wednesday - Dog Days of Summer

NC Fat Ass Run

I attended another great event hosted by the good folks at Mangum Track Club yesterday, The North Carolina Fat Ass 50K.

We continue to be spoiled by mild NC winter weather, and yesterday was no exception. It was a little chilly at the start at 8am, buy the sky was clear blue and temps got up into the low 60's, perfect running weather!

Since I was supposed to be tapering for the Uwharrie 40 miler next weekend, I was only going to run 20 miles instead of the entire 50K. As usual, there were a lot of familiar faces at the start, and before we knew it, we were off on our way down the trail. I had hooked up with my friends Stephanie and Donald, and we ran together the first ten miles or so, chatting and laughing along the trail.

The race went along the All American Trail, which skirts around the edge of Fort Bragg, NC. This area is called the "Sand Hills". I knew about the sand, but foolishly though the course would be rather flat. Wrong! There were hills. Big, small, long and short.

Keeping to my taper goal, I turned around at mile 10 and headed back towards the start. ( this was an "out and back" course) I was also happy to turn around because if I had kept going, Stephanie would have killed me! She was running strong and finished the 50K under six hours.

Since I was busy chatting on the way out, I now had to concentrate on the way back to make sure I stayed on the trail. I was running by myself at this point, chugging along and starting to feel a bit weary after maybe going out a little faster than I should have. I did get a brief break when I came to a road crossing and was interviewed by a reporter from the Fayetteville Observer, the local newspaper. After a short chat, I was back on my way. Now I was getting tired and was ready to be done running for the day. Only problem was that I was still about five miles from the finish.

On the way out I had noticed a glass covered stand with pictures in it alongside the trail, but thought nothing of it. Now on the way back, the realization of what it was stopped me in my tracks. This was a trail side Memorial for Captain Jeremiah Sipes, who was accidently shot and killed by hunters on January 1, 2011 while he ran along this trail. He left behind a wife and two young children. It was the pictures of Captain Sipes with his children that really got to me. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering his family has had to endure, and here I was pissing and moaning about being tired while running on a beautiful day in the woods..... Reality check.

Energized by this emotional trail side experience, I finished the last few miles strong, and was now ready to relax and cheer others as they finished their 50K.

Congrats to Marie Ange Smith and Mark Nowling who finished first, side by side in 4:36. Also congrats to Rachel Dubois on completing her first ultra!

I would also like to thank Mangum Track Club, Mark Long, Susan Dummar, Charles West and all the other volunteers for a job well done!