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| Richard Chin (3rd), Myself & Dave Ruby (2nd) |
I went into this race wanting to try to podium for the 60-64 age group and in looking at the previously years result figured I needed to probably go under 1:50 to do so. I had ruled out first as Matt Ebiner who won and ran 1:21:29 last year and I was nowhere ready to run that fast. By the way Matt used to hold the course record that was broken this year and if I remember correctly has won the race 11 times. As with many of these races I just ran as had no idea who was in my age group so just went out at a pace I figured I could keep - well at least till the just past the notch. I have to admit my legs just felt dead for the whole run so was not sure of my pace as compared to last time I ran - had forgotten to check. I ended up getting to the Notch (Approx 3.75 miles) in about 44+ minutes - ended checking back to find that this was about 5 minutes faster than 4 years ago. With just over 3+ miles to go I was not sure how the time would go as knew that alternating running and walking would start soon - and it did. My legs still felt just sort of dead but kept plugging along and walking when my running slowed enough to not make running smart. Thus the rest of the way I was not feeling good about going sub 1;50. However, as I got to very near the top and could see the clock I realized I was at 1:43 and pushed it to finish in 1:43:18 which was about a 10 minute improvement over the last time I ran so was happy with that. When I got back down to the Notch, more on that in a moment, I found I had actually won the 60-64 AG. It was really close as 2nd place, Dave Ruby, was 1:45:21 and 3rd, Richard Chin, was 1:47:32.
One of the things with this race is once you get to the finish you have to run or walk back down the 3+ miles to the Notch to get the Ski lift down or run down the road. The trip down, pun intended, this time
was more exciting than in the past or than it should have been. The first part is a pretty steep rocky/scree filled route as there are still people coming up so you sorta of just find a way down on one of the many trials down with some being better than others. Got though that section well and then got to the regular trail heading back onto Devils Backbone and in one section there were a few rocks to hop down from and in rushing a little too much I caught my toe and started doing a header. As I am falling I saw a rock heading for my face and was catching myself with my hands. While I did hit the rock with my chin - had a sore jaw - there were no cuts. From behind, based on reactions, I think people may have thought it was worse than it ended up being as the only blood was a small cut on my finger. I will tell you one of the benefits of a hand held bottle is it does protect your hand in falls:) I did get some bruising on my right shoulder and knew both showers got jammed as well as my right wrist, which swelled up later. The rest of the way down I had a couple other close calls - I am thinking being 63 with size 12 shoes is not a good combo, at least for me. Also, with mostly running roads I sort have a stride that tries to be economical by not lifting my feet that high which is not a good idea on trails. All said and done I thank God for His protection as it could have been so much worse.
My original plan was to not only do the prerequisite, only option, run down to the Notch but then to run down the road to the start for a few extra miles. However after winning my age group I had to wait around about an hour and by then was a little sore so just took the ski lift down. Really noticed the heat difference coming down the Ski lift as it was probably about 80F the Notch and it was likely getting to be 90 at the bottom of the Ski Lift and down in town when I got there it was around 107. Thus made for a good morning to stay cool and get in a great run.
As I was running the race I realized it was very much like my Gravel racing. Just like I ride very little gravel other than races I also rarely run trails but at races. Let alone if I do get in a trail run I hardly ever run trails with that sort of elevation gain - in such a short distance - and also at elevation. The road up was not bad as it was very even terrain, just was not sure on pacing, but the single track is where I need more work.
I usually have a large section with my bike rides/races on fueling but truth is I had no fueling for this run. In the morning I did have a 1/2 cup of oatmeal and my usually Modified BP Coffee with Coconut Oil, Butter, Collagen, Egg and Dark Chocolate square there was one difference. Since I got to CA I decided to go a month with no coffee and the only caffeine I would get would be in some unsweetened ice tea with dinner and as it is usually pretty warred down with ice the caffeine is pretty low. So in my BP coffee I used Cafix to replace the coffee and to tell the truth it tastes OK. I did take a Vespa CV25 at 1/2 hour before the race and then on the run I carried a hand held water bottle with 1 scoop of Tailwind (100 Cal & 25gr Carbs) but only took a couple sips as got a cup of waster at each of two of the water stops and the top. I even took a couple Bit-O-Honeys but never ate them as just did not feel like it. Probably would have not taken a bottle at all but it had been hot and we were told that due to some issue they did not get all the water to the top they had planned so I just wanted to make sure I had some and a few carbs if I was tired for the trip down, pun intended again. With the Vespa I figure I had not more than 10 grams of carbs for the entire run. So that is about it for the race and while I felt off it turned out great and gong 10 minutes faster than 4 years ago was good. Also, other than my crash and burn coming down I came away with no foot pain as I have gotten other times on trails in the past. Also, came away from the 50K the end of June with no foot pain so the cycling seems to be helping to make sure my foot issues are minimized
Lessons Learned
- Need to try to get to Pulaski Park, some trails near me in KY, at least once a month to get in some trail running
- My training plan of mixing biking and running is working for me as still ran good and unlike last time I did this I had no foot or leg issues
- Need to work on picking up my feet more:)
- I need to gain confidence I can push a little more at the start as in looking at my HR it was in the 140 range so had room to go faster
Here is my Strava data
A Video of the route:
