Stairway to Heaving: The Hanging Rock 12K Race Report

I celebrated St. Patrick's Day last Saturday in true "Braveheart" style by running the Hanging Rock 12K in Danbury, NC. This is part of the "Carolina Mountain Goat" Trail Race series, put on by the good folks at Go Run Trails: http://www.goruntrails.com
The race had a very user friendly start time of 9am, so I got to sleep in (somewhat) at the hotel before I headed out to Hanging Rock state park. The start was delayed for 20 minutes or so while the EMT unit covering our race was dispatched to handle an emergency in another part of the park. Finally, we were off! We ran a bit on pavement past the visitor's center and then on to the trail. The course was technical, and there were dire warnings from the race director regarding rocks, roots and stairs. She was not lying.
I am always envious of my other running friend's race reports that seem to capture every tiny detail of their race. I am only a week removed from Hanging Rock, yet it all seems like a blur already!
Now that I was on the trail, I steadily navigated my way amongst the rocks and roots. I had heard talk of the stairs, the endless stairs, and anxiously awaited their arrival. Before I knew it, there they were, stretched out before me. I reverted to my power walk and began the ascent.
After about 10 minutes of climbing these !#$@% stairs my power walk had turned to a rather "anaemic walk", and I was convinced that the good Lord himself would greet me at the summit, hand me a Gu, and a copy of the ten commandments.

Finally, after endless turns and false summits, I was at the top of Moore's Knob. Trying desperately to catch my ragged breath, I began the descent, which was not much relief due to the large rocks strewn along the trail and the quad tingling pitch of the trail. "Pick up your feet!" I muttered to myself as I began scuffing the rocks and catching my toes on the various roots and other obstacles. My mind flashed back to the rather portly EMT manning the ambulance at the start area. "Do not get hurt out here Geno, rescue could be hours away".
Then things began looking up. I had caught back up to the small group that had gapped me on the stairs, just as we completed our descent. The trail now flattened out to a very runnable section of smooth dirt with only the odd stone or root along it. I picked up the pace, and settled in behind two other folks and away down the trail we went. I briefly checked my Garmin, and it read we were about 6 miles into it. not knowing quite what remained in front of me, I slowed my pace slightly to save a little bit for the end. Now my metric conversion skills are not the sharpest, but 12K seems to be about 7.2 miles, so I was somewhat surprised at 6.5 miles to hear a bystander shout "finish strong!" as I power walked up a slight incline. Snapping out of my daze, I saw the finish line beckoning a mere 100 yards away! S**t!! if I had known that, I would have kept the hammer dropped! I dashed across the line, finishing in 1:30:28, 58th out of 86 competitors. I attribute the disparity of the Garmin to it not registering the switchbacks, or a loss of signal along the course due to linking up to an old Russian satellite. Regardless, I was happy with the finish, and happy to report no appendages were harmed during the running of this race!

Back to Work!

I treated myself to some time off from running these past two weeks to "freshen" the legs up a bit. It was nice. The house got cleaned. The yard finally got raked and cleaned up, much to the relief of my neighbors, who can tell when I am in serious training mode due to the shabby appearance of the lawn. I did a couple of short, easy runs with my daughter Olivia, who was preparing for track season at school, taught some spin classes, but that was it.

Today It was back to work. I met my friends Lauren and Liz at Umstead State Park at 9am for a morning of running and biking along the Bike and Bridle Trails. First up was the run. Lauren and Liz are both coming back from injuries, so it was great seeing them out there ready to run! Liz is a bit of a speedster, so the first mile I struggled to get a comfortable stride going as we pushed the pace a bit. The plan was to run six miles, easy (ha!) and keep to the flatter trail. (Lauren was advised by her PT to do this) We were running three miles in and turning around and going three miles back.
Before I knew it we had hit the turn around and I was actually starting to feel good! I was also breaking in a new pair of Inov-8 F-lite 230's, which were feeling good on the old feet so far.
The trails were filled with runners and bikers, and we were seeing lots of friends along the way as well. Around mile four or so, we met up with some folks that Lauren knew, who were running faster than we were. I had started chatting with them, and before I realized what I was doing, I was taking off down the trail with them. I was running hard, but was comfortable. The pace was quick (for me) maybe 8:30's? I was not wearing my Garmin (perhaps a good thing!) so I had no idea. I always have this paranoid thought that with all the ultra training I do, my body will not remember how to run fast, so I have to do these "reassurance" runs every now and again to allay my fears.
After almost two miles of this "reassurance" I came to my senses and bid the group adieu, dropping back to pick up Lauren and Liz for the final 1/4 mile and to cool down my poor confused legs.
We then hopped on the bikes and set off down the bridle trails once again. We were planning on riding some single track, but the bike trails were closed due to muddy conditions. We wound up having a great ride, going 20 miles and climbing lots of hills!

We celebrated with a stop at Moe's after the ride.

I came home to my neat yard and clean house and promptly took a nap.

Just like old times!

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Saturday 2/11/12

Uwharrie Mountain 40

The early season challenges continued this past Saturday as I stood at the start line of the Uwharrie Mountain 40 mile trail race. I was more nervous about this race than I was about the Weymouth Woods 100k, mainly due to the terrain. I have run out in the Uwharrie before, and have been beaten up by the rocky landscape and undulating hills.
I knew that forty miles of the would grind my feet and legs to a pulp, and I was hoping not to get hurt or miss the time cut off or DNF'ing in some sort of dismal way.

I would be sharing the journey with my friend Maureen, who had similar concerns about this race as well. We had made plans to run the course together earlier in the week, with Mo advising me that if she was slowing me down at any point, to go on ahead...... Yeah, like that was going to happen!

The start of the 40 miler was kind of like being on the I-440 Beltline at 5pm. We took of down the road, and then came to a screeching halt as we funneled our way into the single track trail and proceeded to go uphill. And continued to go uphill, then uphill some more. We finally leveled off, just in time to get a good run going through the rocks. By the time we arrived at the aid station at mile 11, I was popping my first round of Alleve. My right foot was finding every large rock, and stepping directly on top of each one.
Maureen and I had started to settle into a rhythm, only after having to stop numerous times to let the fast 20 mile runners go by us. I felt good, as the Alleve was taking the edge off nicely. Maureen would update our progress in the form of fractions. At mile 5, we were one eighth of the way done. Mile 10, one quarter. We pushed ahead, still nimbly navigating the plentiful stream crossings. That would not last.......
Mile 20: This was the finish line for the 20 mile runners and the turn around point for us 40 milers. Arriving at the 20 mile point was sort of weird. The 20 mile folks were done, celebrating their accomplishment and relaxing with friends and family. We were there to get some dry clothes/socks out of our drop bag, go pee and grab some food and drink and head back out. Usually I struggle somewhat at the 20 mile mark of my ultras, but since this was the turn around point, I got some energy from the finisher's buzz of the 20 milers and we headed back down the trail. The faster 40 milers had already passed us well before the turn around, and it was good to see so many friends running strong.
We now were going past some of the 20 mile folks finishing up their run, and they looked at us with a mixture of awe and pity. Probably more pity than awe. At the 20 mile aid station I foolishly drank 4 cups of Mountain Dew, followed by several cups of Heed and a Cliff Bar. By mile 23 my "Check Engine" light came on and I advised Mo that I would be leaving the trail for a brief moment. With all the foliage gone off the trees, there were not many places to hide, and I hoped that if anyone came down the trail they would mistake my Lilly white ass for a large quartz rock.
We pressed on. The trail had become quite muddy in spots, thanks to the rain that had started falling well ahead of it's forecasted time. All attempts at navigating the mud and stream crossing gracefully were now abandoned.
Mile 30: Still felt good, thanks to a little more Alleve and a little less Mountain Dew. I liked the new fraction: 3/4! The run now seemed to be reduced to hill climb, stream crossing, downed tree hopping. Repeat. One more time, then once more, etc,etc,etc.

We came to the 32 mile aid station, where we were asked to produce our headlamps, and turn them on to check if they were working.It looked like we were going to need them for the last mile or so. I was relieved. We had made it this far. I think we are gonna finish this #$@^^&$!! thing! The next aid station was at mile 35. A mere three miles. It felt more like it was ten miles away! I was getting weary at this point, my Irish temper flared, and down the trail I bounded, hell bent on getting to that *##@!! aid station.Finally, I saw the tent off in the distance. I had dropped Mo, but I knew she would not be far behind. I had surged ahead of her several times during the day, not out of any sort of "Alpha Male" dominance, but rather to unleash a torrent of flatulence not fit for another human to experience. Sharing pain along the trail is one thing, but that would have been too much even by trail running standards.
Upon arriving at the 35 mile aid station our spirits were lifted by the news that they had added and additional aid station at mile 38. Thank goodness they did! We made it to AS 38, our headlamps now on to cut through the dull dusk. Two miles left. Two miles that seemed to last forever! It was now officially DARK! Even with the headlamps on, the rocky terrain was difficult to navigate. We trudged uphill. This is when the mist and fog started. We finally summited and began the treacherous descent to the finish.
The descent was wretched. We staggered over the now wet rocks, through the mist, trying not to bust our asses. I was suffering from a bad case of Trail Runner's Tourette Syndrome, cussing, muttering, exhausted yet seething with anger. I could hear The Uwharrie taunting me. A sound byte of Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" kept playing in my head. "Don't you know I'm like a chain saw, I'll skin your ass raw" I could have sworn I saw Fred Durst sitting on a rock beside the trail.
Finally Mo said "Is that a light?" and before we knew it, we had made it. Thank God. We were not injured. We were not last!
On the shuttle ride back to the car Mo and I joked about whether this would be a "one and done" race. I have a feeling that come registration time on November 1st, I will be perched in front of my lap top, time softening the memory of those last two miles, signing up for another shot at the Uwharrie Mountain Trail. I have already downloaded "Break Stuff" on itunes..........

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!

Weymouth Woods 100K Trail Run

I completed my first 100K ultra last Saturday at the Weymouth woods 100K Trail Run in Southern Pines, NC. The course consisted of fourteen 4.5 mile loops along the trails of Weymouth Woods State Park.

We got off to a chilly start right at 8am, and I hooked up with my training buddy Lauren and we set off for lap number one. The terrain was slightly technical, mainly due to the copious amount of roots both visible and hidden along the trail. Overall the trail was in great shape, with some small hills, boardwalks and pine straw covered double track.

Our goal was just to finish, and to feel like we could go a little longer if we had to. Lauren was using this race as a training run for the Umstead 100 Mile run at the end of March. We had talked about finishing in 18 hours, but that was a loose goal. The time cut off was 20 hours.

The first several laps we ran averaging an hour per lap. This race was a qualifier for Western States 100, with the qualifying time being 14 hours and under. We joked briefly that we could qualify for WS 100 if we kept up the pace, but we knew we would be slowing down soon enough.

We decided to employ the "lap countdown" method as we ran, since we thought it would be a more positive approach than counting mileage. By lap three, we had settled into a nice pace, walking the hills to conserve energy. It was also at this time my right foot began to find many of the roots along the trail! I wound up falling a total of four times, the only damage being a mild scrape on the knee. It was taking it's toll on me mentally, especially since Lauren was not falling at all! I always seem to struggle at the 20 mile mark, and combined with the falls, I was not a happy camper. I knew that if I just worked through it, I would start feeling better by mile 30 or so.

By the time we hit the 50K mark I was feeling better. Lauren's husband arrived with their two dogs, Bogart and Amelia, and Lauren was going to run a lap with each of them. The first lap went to Amelia, and she ran great! I could see Lauren's energy level increase now that she was running with her "babies"! The next lap was turned over to Bogart, who has a great canine ultra shuffle! Before I knew it, Lauren and Bogart had dropped me and were up the trail and out of sight! At this point I had hooked up with my friends Bob and Jimbo, and it was nice to run and chat with them.

The race volunteers and aid stations were amazing! The amount and variety of foods was incredible. There was chips, cookies, cakes, pizza, burgers, soups and even grits! Being vegan, I was impressed by the fact that they even had vegetarian and vegan soup! I stuck with Honey Stinger gels and Gatorade for the first few laps, then hit up the chips, pretzels, PB&J and grits the rest of the way! Not sure if the grits were truly vegan, but at that point I was willing to make some minor exceptions. It had not gotten above the mid 40's temp wise, so the soup and grits were a Godsend.

Before we knew it, the sun was sinking fast and it would soon be time to break out the headlamps. This is where the race changes. It would now require extra focus to navigate the course, and also the temps would now be dropping once again. A slight breeze had picked up as well, so when we got back to the main aid station I got into some dry gear, got my headlamp and back out we went.

I had done some night training runs, so running along the trail at night, especially with the "mothership" headlamp was quite fun! Lauren and I had taken to naming "landmarks" along the course during the day, so now they were keeping us motivated as we passed by them in the dark. "Son of a ditch", "Anita Hill", " Horse Poop Ridge", "Red Clay Rambler" and "Fudge Hill" were just a few of them I remember.

We were staying focused and happy for the final few laps, grinding it out. At one point we had stopped briefly (probably to wolf down more grits) and were delighted to look up and notice a beautiful star lit winter sky!

The last lap was upon us, and we said goodbye to all our little landmarks as we passed them for the final time. We pushed through the "Frostbite Mountain" aid station and thanked Jimmy and Doug for their continuous supply of grits and support. We were cruising towards the finish when our friend Jim appeared out of nowhere and shouted to us that we had three minutes to make it to the finish to get under 17 hours! The final landmark we had named "Stairway to Heaven" due to the fact that it was comprised of wooden steps and a nice little climb to the top where the timing mat and main aid station was located. So, after nearly 17 hours of running I now found myself sprinting like a jackass up the stairs to the finish.

I made it. Barely. 16 hrs 59 min and 55 seconds. To say I was happy/relieved would be an understatement.

Congrats to all the folks that broke 14 hours and qualified for Western States! I hope the lottery is kind to you.

I can only imagine what the women at the front desk of the hotel was thinking when I staggered through the lobby at 2 a.m.,still in my running tights, snot glazed and dazed. I nodded at her politely, went upstairs into my room and took perhaps the greatest shower of my life.

Thanks to Marie, the RD, for putting on a great event! Also a big thank you to all the wonderful volunteers that kept us fed and motivated.

I also cannot thank my running buddy Lauren enough for all her singing, happiness and motivation throughout the race! It was great sharing the journey with ya!

The gift that keeps on giving

I had a couple of unexpected days off due to a rather nasty stomach virus, compliments of my lovely daughters. I wanted to begin tapering for Weymouth Woods 100K, but two days of Brian Wilson style bed rest was a bit more than I had planned for.
    So now that I am once again enjoying solid food, I will attempt to run 11 miles tomorrow. The NCRC is having a "soup" run along the Loblolly Trail at Umstead State Park, so why not jump right back into some nice single track trail running? We shall see how how it goes........

My spirits were also raised by a package that arrived in the mail for me today:

A nice shiny new pair of Micro-spikes,fresh from my friends at Mountain Gear.  Bring on the Ice and Snow!