Hot Pockets: Harbison 50K 1.7.12

Harbison 50K...that's me second in line of this race convoy. The guy in front had a great pace going for the first few miles and we all drafted off of him for a long while. (photo: Ray Krolewicz)

You guys know the comedian, Jim Gaffigan? He's got this comedy routine where he talks about those nasty little microwaveable stuffed crust wrappers called "Hot Pockets". The routine is hilarious and he'll use it as the base of his whole show. Every once in a while he'll just end a bit with a falsetto and meekly sing, "hot pocket". Now, you're probably wondering what the hell does that have anything to do with a 50K in the middle of South Carolina? Well, I'll tell ya, but first let's set up the race a little...

I was going into this race feeling pretty good about it. My 40-miler in December could have been a lot better for various reasons, but for the Harbison 50K, I had the confidence of having a couple of good long runs under my belt. Plus, no screwed up "death" virus a week prior to the race. So, I didn't want to have any expectations, but I have to admit that I was optimistic about what was about to go down on the trails in Harbison Forest.

Dan addressing the crowd.

Rox and I pulled into the start, picked up our numbers, and got ready. There was a bonfire going and folks were gathering around keeping warm next to it. I did get to meet some cool people that I had only known via Twitter or Dailymile, that was Mark and Sam from Grayson, GA and Rob from Atlanta. Great, down to earth guys and I was glad to meet them. While talking to them, Dan, the RD, stood on a stump and gave out some last minute instructions. The course is a two lap run of a 16-ish mile loop. Everyone said the first nine were easy and rolling with the tough part coming on the back six or so. Dan reiterated that same information. Shortly after, we lined up on the jeep road and started off. As expected, Rox took off in front of me. I slipped in with the front part of the middle of the pack and in no time we were on a wide track trail, then a single track trail with everybody falling into place.

Early on, right after the start.

The morning was cool, but the forecast for the day was a high of 70 degrees by 2pm. That was incentive to get done early. Anyway, it was cool for the first lap. I fell behind a guy who had a really nice, steady pace and I stuck with him for the first 6 or 7 miles. At one point I felt bad and even said, "Man, I'm sorry for staying on your heels, but you have a great pace going." He responded with a "That's OK. I just hope I can hold it." So, since he didn't mind that's how we went for a while. Strange thing was that every once in a while, we would run through these odd warm pockets of air. Hot pocket. At first, I didn't think anything of it, but as we kept going through the initial miles, it would keep happening very occasionally. Hot pocket.

Me and Rox before the start.

After we hit the second aid station at mile 5.8, the guy with the steady pace decided to take a nature break. Maybe he was tired of me sticking with him or maybe not, but that was the last of him I saw. I ran with him for about the first 7 miles and I think it would turn out to be one of the key success factors for the day, as my next 20 miles would turn out rather well. As I ran to aid station #3 and then #4, I would again occasionally run into these strange warm pockets of air. Hot pocket.

At this point, I was thinking about the tougher last six miles of the loop. They were coming up, but I felt good and while the trail was easy and rolling, I picked up the pace a bit. Once you hit aid station #4, there's the first significant climb of the route taking a couple of switchbacks up the side of a hill. When I hit it, I was glad to have a change in the terrain and the next few miles would prove to be different from the start for sure. Still, every once in a while...hot pocket. The trail also became more technical with more roots and more rocks. I was slowly catching runners and while they were walking the inclines, I ran them. I would slightly pay for it later, but while it was good, it was good.

Where's the guy in the red
sleeveless going?

A younger runner caught me in this back section and we would rubber band each other for the last miles of the loop. He would pass me on the downhills and I would catch and pass him on the uphills. When we both hit the Spiderwoman Trail section, we both took a slight detour that in the end only added about a quarter of a mile, but which threw me off a bit. Because as soon as I was back on the regular route, there was another runner I had passed earlier in front of me. I didn't understand at first and when I caught him a second time, I asked him, "Did you miss a section back there?" And he was surprised at first, but then he said, "Did you go straight up the rocky section?" Me, "Yes." He said, "You missed a left turn that by passed that part." Me, "Doh!" Atleast I wasn't way of course and a little extra credit doesn't hurt. Meanwhile, I was still dealing with the other guy that was passing me and I was passing him. And you guessed it, every once in a while, we would hit a...hot pocket.

We crossed one last road, climbed up a hill where I passed my "rubberband" friend for the last time, took a couple of turns and with out even realizing it, I was heading into the finish area. First lap in the bag and I felt great! First lap done in 2:33 by my watch. Could it be? Could I, dare say, shoot for a five hour 50K? I stopped at the aid station to refuel and top of my bottle. The cool weather and the strange pockets of occasional warm air, would give way to sunny skies and climbing temperatures. As I ran by Rox's car, I left my arm sleeves. I wasn't going to need them any more.

My friend, Rox

As soon as I hit the single track again, I had caught up to a local runner, Jim, and the two of us would run together for a little while. I thought that maybe the same strategy was playing out as the first lap, where I basically had a pacer, but I would not end up running with Jim as long and he would actually catch me with about two miles to go to the finish. Anyway, we cruised along for a bit and we eventually came up on my friend, Rox. I was surprised to see her and fully expected her to be way in front of me duking it out for first or second female. And although, she was in fourth place, she was not looking like she was having a good day. We caught up to her and I ran with her for a while. I asked if she was alright, and she shook her head. She was having cramps and her stomach was giving her problems too. She was determined to finish the race, but there was not going to be a podium spot for her today. We ran together for a little while and at one point I jumped in front of her and soon dropped her.

After passing Rox, I passed an aid station and was about half way around the second lap. I was feeling good and enjoying the sunshine, but I was starting to feel the heat some what and also my pace was starting to drop. Kind of normal at this point of the race, but I still felt confident. I was still catching runners and I would soon hit the aid station before the beginning of the climbs. I gobbled down some salty potatoes, drank some Coke and tackled the first hill. I managed to jog up it and felt OK. I hit some of the tighter turns and the other climbs and I could feel that it was taking more effort with everyone. By the time I was back on the Spiderwoman Trail, I was paying for my earlier effort and I walked several climbs in this section. No worries, I was still moving fine on the flats and the down hills, so I was mentally OK. After finally reaching the last aid station, I knew that a PR was a done deal. I just had to hang on for the last few miles.

See ya later!

A couple of fresher runners passed me and Jim, who I ran with at the beginning of the second loop, also caught me. I kept them within sight for the last couple of miles, but it was a struggle. I crossed the last road, went up the hill, took the same turns as earlier and recognized that last down hill. I pushed for that last little bit and I could see the blue chute in front of me through the trees. When I came out in the open, I saw there was a log across the beginning of the chute. Is this the finish line? I must have thought that out loud, because a spectator was screaming, "Keep going!" So, I did. I ran to the end of the chute and that was it. Just like that. I looked at my watch and it said, 5:25. Definitely a PR for me! That second lap was slower, but not by that much. A volunteer handed me a pint glass and my medal. You gotta love low-key ultras. No roaring crowds, no PA announcers, no frills at all. Just some nice, decent swag for finishing and off to the gazebo for some freshly grilled cheeseburgers. And no, thankfully they weren't serving any Hot Pockets.

Rox ended up toughing it out and came in about seven or so minutes behind me. She did keep her fourth place female standing.

P.S. Thanks to Dan Hartley and all of the volunteers for making this such a fun event! Check out the Harbison 50K Facebook page for photos of the event or visit the Flickr site. (I stole a few photos from Ray Krolewicz for this blog, I hope he doesn't mind.)

Official 2012 Harbison 50K results.

2012 Harbison 50K: Race Preview

2011 Start of Harbison 50K (photo by Ray Krolewicz;
taken from Harbison 50K Facebook page.) 

We're only five days into the new year and here comes the first race, ready or not. I'm heading to Columbia, SC tomorrow for the Harbison 50K which is on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. Mainly because it's a new race for me and I always enjoy my first go around with a particular course.
The Harbison 50K takes place in, well, the Harbison Forest State Park, more or less right in Columbia. It's a two loop course. To quote Dan Hartley, the race director...

There are 18 miles of technical single track trails, with the remainder on fire roads, wide trails and stream crossings with plenty of rocks, roots and mud on the beautiful trails of the Harbison State Forest. Although a surprisingly challenging course, with plenty of aid-stations and great volunteers along with lots of hot food at the finish, this is a great 50K for your first ultra! Total elevation change is 4,186 ft.

Compared to recent races, the Pine Mountain 40 and the Stump Jump 50K, it should be an easier one, but you really never know, do you?

Earlier this week, the Southeast was hit with a frigid cold front that I, for one, was hoping would continue through the week. I just do better in the cold. Always have. But checking the forecast for Saturday in Columbia, it's going to be in the mid-40's at the start, but probably in the 60's or maybe the low-70's by the time I finish up. Sounds great, but I wouldn't mind a few degrees cooler for the high.

Anyhow, I feel fit for this race and I had a good long run a couple of weeks ago. One big difference going into this race compared to Pine Mountain last month is I didn't have some freak, death virus hit me with a week to go until race day. That alone is giving me more confidence.

Here's a link to the course map, the course profile and a detailed course description.

Check back after the race for a full race report. Happy trails!

The Good, the Bad and the Not-So-Ugly: Pine Mountain 40-Miler 12.4.11

High fiving Woody as I was coming into the first aid station.

I ran the Pine Mountain 40-Miler back in 2009 and at the time, I provided a play-by-play report then of that race on the blog. So, I thought I’d take a different approach to this race report. I’m gonna break this up for what it was in reality, an experience that proved to be…the good, the bad and the not-so-ugly.

THE GOOD

As always, the good included an opportunity to trail run in the woods with a bunch of friends. It was so great to see so many out on the course, whether they were running, or volunteering. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers and specifically to thank Kena (even though she was following and supporting another runner, it almost seemed like she was supporting me every time I saw her at every aid station), Phillip (who pointed out my bloody nipples at mile 31 and offered sports tape), Kim, Harry, Joel, Jenn, Jason, Rachel and all the other volunteers  for the killer support at the Mollyhugger Hill, Dowden Knob and Rocky Point aid stations, and to Sarah (the RD) and the rest of the GUTS crew for another well organized and supported event. Frank gets special mention for serving up the grilled cheese sandwiches at the TV Tower aid stop. Too many friends out there running to list here, but I did get to catch up with many of them post-race at the finish line. A couple of special shout outs to Laura, Aaron D. and Woody D., it was not to be their day for any of them as they all DNF’d for various reasons, but that’s how it goes some times. We’ve all been there. The beauty of the sport is that there’s always the next race.

Another good thing about the race was the swag. Everyone received a really nice, fleece winter cap and all the finishers took home a sporty, fleece half-zip top. That beats a t-shirt any day.

When it comes to the race itself and how the day went for me, my first 24 miles definitely represent the good. I arrived at the start with just a few minutes to spare to hit the bathroom and pick up my number. I also realized when I arrived, that I had forgotten my hand-held water bottle. Not again! This happened to me at Stump Jump a couple of months ago, but luckily this time I had a spare one liter water bottle in the car that  I had brought for after the race. It would be my faux football to carry the whole race, but it was a savior. Anyway my buddy, Woody, drove separately, but we both managed to arrive about the same time. We lined up with everyone and after a few words from the RD, we were off. Woody took off with the leaders and I held back and decided to find a spot closer to the middle of the pack. Soon we were on single track trail and the pecking order seemed pretty set since no one seemed overly anxious to pass for the first few miles. I really did feel good. I was chatting it up with others around me. I met some great people that I would end up seeing all day long, like John from Oak Ridge, TN who was running his first 40-miler, and Elizabeth from Atlanta, GA who would end up dropping me for good at around mile 33 after passing each other several times through out the race. When I ran part of the course with my buddy, Doug, a couple of weeks ago, we ran out past the point where the Mollyhugger Hill aid stop would be during the race, which is about mile 11 of the course. I remember then thinking that I wanted to be at this spot two hours into the race and sure enough, that’s what happened. In fact, I hit mile 12 or so at the two hour mark and I started thinking that a sub-8 hour race would be doable after all. I ran the course in 7:58 the last time, but I was coming into this race a lot less prepared and with fewer long runs on my legs. So a sub-8 hour race was optimistic. The next couple of aid stops were very welcome sights because to get to them we had to traverse through tornado devastated portions of the course, but more on that later. Needless to say, I reached the TV Tower aid stop (about mile 22) and I was still feeling pretty decent, but the wheels would soon come off.

THE BAD

Refueling on an uphill.

Back in April, a storm and several tornadoes laid waste to the immediate area in and near the park. Huge sections of forest trees were tumbled over like little toothpicks. Trees were down, uprooted and slashed. Volunteers had obviously spent many man hours cleaning up and chain sawing miles and miles of the trail. We would encounter the first of these sections about 12 miles into the race and it was a good mile long, between the Mollyhugger Hill and Dowdell Knob aid stops. On the upside, because the trees were down, there were no leaves on the trail. One of the stand out characteristics of the Pine Mountain 40-miler is the leaves you encounter on the trail from the autumn foliage and the level of difficulty they add on the already technical and rocky trail. In the tornado sections, there were no leaves, but there was also nothing else. I mean no life. It was kind of eerie and depressing to see. And when I spoke with other runners later, we agreed that there was like a bad spiritual vibe, a bad energy of sorts. There were other sections on the course that were just as devastated and I couldn’t help feel the same thing every time. On the way back at around mile 30, I was crossing one of these sections for the last time and the sun was out. Even though it was December, it was unseasonably warm and I was already feeling crappy at this point. Between the sun, the depressing landscape and the miles on my legs, I hit the wall hard. By the time I arrived at the Mollyhugger Hill aid station again around 31.5 miles in, I was walking and I still had my least favorite section of the trail left to go.

We all hit the wall at some point, right?  I mean it happens to the most experienced of athletes, the Lance Armstrongs and even Kilian Jornets of the world. But man, there’s no comfort in knowing that and it always sucks. Like I said, I started to fall apart and at mile 30 started walking without running again and it lasted several miles. I wasn’t injured. I didn’t have any blisters. I felt like I had managed my nutrition just fine. But obviously some thing just turned off like a switch inside. Earlier at around mile 23, I had a second wind and I had passed several runners that I had shared the trail with for a few miles. I had tucked my water bottle into my arm and I kept a steady pace. I even managed to run up one of the few decent climbs on the race course and I thought I put some distance on runners behind me. But when things went south for me, they went south fast. Many of those same runners, now caught me and passed me. After the aid station, we jumped on a white-blazed trail that is a lot less traveled by hikers and the footing was more difficult with the leaves and rocks. I was so fried, that it was all I could do to just put one foot in front of the other. As I walked, more and more runners would pass including Elizabeth who dropped me here for the last time. I wouldn’t see her again until after crossing the finish. She gave me a smile and a thumbs up and flew by me like I was standing still. I walked and walked and just tried to stay positive. Now I thought if I finished in under nine hours, I would be lucky. But in ultras, many times if you feel like crap, you just gotta hang on and some times things can turn around. And they did.

THE NOT-SO-UGLY

I came off the white-blazed trail and hit the last manned aid station of the course, Fox Den Cove, at around mile 34 of the course. I lingered at the aid station and drank and ate my fill. I was joking around with the volunteers and they were great. At one point, one of them told me that my time was up and that I had to get moving. I looked at him and thanked him. A sign of a good aid station in a race is they know when to push the runners along. There’s no sense in my hanging out and the only way I was going to finish the race was to get a move on. Leaving the station, there was a slight down hill and feeling a bit rejuvenated I tried to jog a bit. It didn’t feel too bad. I alternated jogging the down hills and walking the up hills until I eventually came up on a runner that had passed me earlier when I was really feeling terrible. Now it looked like it was his turn to feel like crap, but he was managing to stay in front of me, the more I tried to catch him. This went on for a little bit until we crossed a road and started on the final climb of the day. We were both walking, but I was determined to pass him. Slowly I inched up on him and finally passed him. Encouraged by this, I started running up the hill and realized that I could hold the pace. Once on the ridge, I made it a point to put some distance between the two of us and I didn’t look back. I crossed the final road crossing and the rest of the way was down hill. Just a little over two miles to go. I was so excited. I ran down the descent and never really walked again. The trail soon leveled off and followed a creek back to the finish. As I was nearing the end, I saw local ultra-legend, Richard Schick ahead of me. He had passed me earlier when I was toast. He has also “schicked” me before at the Mt. Cheaha 50K when he passed me with less than a mile to go at that race. So, I thought that maybe I could return the favor. He was getting closer, but as we crossed the last foot bridge he had about a 20 yard lead on me and the finish line was too close. He finished with 8:32:23 on the race clock and I crossed the line at 8:32:34. I high fived Richard, thanked  some of the GUTS crew hanging out at the finish and found the nearest spot to sit my tired ass down. Tough race, but I had seen the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly of it. I was happy to be done and with my time.

Thank you to Vikena Yutz for the photos!

2011 Pine Mountain 40-Miler blog roll:

Sarah Woerner (female winner and new course record holder)
Aaron Dwileski 

2011 Pine Mountain 40: Race Preview

It's Thursday, so only three days left for the 2011 Pine Mountain 40-Miler on December 4th. I am going into this race with a big question mark, my race fitness. My training has been minimal, in fact I've only had two 20+ runs since my last race, the Stump Jump 50K back on the first weekend in October. I should be fine, but I can't help feeling a bit undertrained. To boot, I picked up some nasty virus this past weekend and it had me in bed for pretty much  the whole weekend. I didn't run for four days, which is odd for me. I guess a little forced taper rest should do me some good. I've shaken the bug and I do feel better, but we'll see what this means for Sunday's race.

I ran Pine Mountain 40 back in 2009 and I really enjoyed it. You can read my race report: http://anecdotesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/2009/12/pine-mountain-40-miler.html. It's a challenging course on leaves-covered, rocky single track trail following much of the Pine Mountain trail out of FDR State Park. The scenery is fantastic as the course includes some good ridge line running. The most obvious feature of the course are the rocks. Lots of them. They definitely keep you watching your footwork as you progress to the finish.

Here's an elevation profile I borrowed from my buddy, Jason's blog:

I did get to preview the course recently with one of my running buddy's, Doug. We drove down there a couple of Fridays ago and we ran about 25 miles, mostly on the Pine Mountain trail. The leaves were just starting to fall, so I'm sure the trail is totally covered by them now. We ran up to the spot where some tornadoes wreaked havoc earlier this year. I'm sure I'll get to see more of the damage on race day. I hear that the trail is clear of the storm debris now.

Last time, I ran the race in under eight hours. I'd be happy if I did the same this time, but we'll see how I feel on race day. The weather forecast is ideal with partly cloudy, temps in the mid-30's to start and mid-60's by about the time I finish.

I'm picking up Woody at about 5:00am and we are hitting the road. We should get there just in time to pick up our packets and be ready to start. I'm looking forward to it.

"Where's my f@#king water bottle?" Stump Jump 50K 10.1.11

Coming into the finish at the 2011 Stump Jump 50K. My friend Robin right on my tail. (photo by checkpointphotos.com)

I was standing there in front of Signal Mountain High School surrounded by hundreds of other trail runners anxiously waiting for the Stump Jump 50K to start, when it hit me. "Oh shit! I left my hand held in the car. Crap!" Immediately my mind was racing. "I still have my phone. I could call Stacy (my wife) and ask her to come back.", but that was not a realistic option. Stacy had dropped me off twenty minutes earlier and was well on her way back to the hotel. Besides, by the time she made it back, the race would have started. What was I going to do? The thought of running the whole race without a handheld passed through my brain for a nanosecond, but it was shot down faster than it made its way through my grey matter. There's no way I was going to run 31+ miles on rugged trails through Tennessee without my water bottle. I don't care how many aid stations the race had set up or how amazingly perfect the weather was turning out to be (40's for the start, sunny and no humidity...yes, perfect). I looked around and several of my friends were already in the start group. Others were milling about, minding their own business. Then I saw the Zulu Racing trailer and thought that maybe my buddy, Mike, from Zulu would have a water bottle.

Tim and me before I realized, "Where's my water bottle?"
(photo by Jeff B./Rock Creek)

I jogged over and caught his attention. Imagine it as he's trying to make sure everything is ready for 700+ trail runners to cross his starting mats, I'm bugging the guy for a freaking water bottle. "Hey Mike, you gotta help me out buddy! Would you happen to have an extra water bottle laying around?" He didn't even hesitate and quickly got on to the business of finding me one. He said, "Hold on. I think I may have one in the car." He trots off. There's only minutes left for the race to start. Maybe less. he soon comes back with what would make my day, a cheap, giant 30-something ounce water bottle. The thing looked like a football, but I couldn't have been more excited. Mike asked, "Will this work?" Without even thinking twice I said, "Hell yes! I'll take it." I gladly took it from him and he went back to do his thing while I jumped in line to do mine. Luckily, there was already about a third of the water bottle filled with what I hoped was water (it was).

Runners at the start.

We got through the announcements with Diane Van Deren wishing us all luck and we were off. I didn't care how my first few miles would go. I was just happy to have saved a potential catastrophe. The 11-milers and the 50K runners were split off within the first quarter mile while a helicopter flew over head assumingly filming the start. Soon after, all of us 50K runners were on single track trail behind the high school. I knew these first few miles well from having run the race last year and also from having run stage 3 back in June of the Rock/Creek Stage Races. It's a mostly downhill jaunt to what's called Mushroom Rock. Everyone was finding their own groove as we made our way down. I was thinking of a couple of friends of mine who were running their first 50K, but more on them later.

In last year's race, I went out feeling good and even made it to about mile 26 with thoughts of breaking 6-hours. But the reality of the return climb of those last five or six miles just took it out of me along with the warmer than usual temperatures that day. Today's forecast promised for better results, but I still decided to go conservative for the first half of the race. At the first aid station, just before the steep descent after Mushroom Rock, I filled up my Frankenstein water bottle about two-thirds full. I didn't want to fill it up all the way, because it would weigh a ton. Making my way down, I shifted the bottle from one hand to the other, trying to determine which one was more comfortable. It wasn't going to matter. I soon learned that during some sections of the course, I would have to carry it like a football. Yep, the ultra-trail runner version of the Heismann pose.

We came to the suspended bridge and remarkably traffic was light. There weren't many runners with me crossing the bridge. There were some campers hanging out nearby next to a fire sipping on their morning coffee and I can only assume that they were less than amused with the hundreds of people that were ruining their "one with nature" morning. Oh well! I conservatively walked the climb after crossing the bridge and made my way down to Sucks Creek and the next aid station. Refueled on a banana and some Pringles and continued across Sucks Creek road, up some stairs and then up the single track towards the bluff. This is by far my favorite part of the course. Once you make it to the bluff, you have these amazing rock outcroppings jutting out of the ground to your right and a fabulous view of the valley below to your left. I'm sure if you read my blog report from last year's race there is a similar sentence in there, but it really is beautiful. I found myself running with a couple of other runners and we would stick together until the mile 10 aid station.

Some of the leaders early on.
(photo by Jeff B./Rock Creek)

There were a ton of family and friends waiting at this aid station and you could hear them a good half mile before arriving there. Plenty of cowbells and cheering. It was pretty nice despite not having anyone I knew there. I didn't waste much time at the stop. I refilled my giganto-bottle again, grabbed a few apple slices and took off. I was determined to keep up my nutritional intake for this race, so I was also supplementing my aid stop grazing with GU Roctane gels every 45 minutes or so. I was feeling pretty good!

Leaving the station, I caught up with another runner who seemed to already be having some trouble. He was walking the uphills, but not in a purposeful way, so much as in an inefficient, "wheels are beginning to fall off" kind of way. I passed him for a moment, but then on a decline, he flew by me and the next guy in front of me like a man on a mission. I thought that was weird and I also figured that there was no way he was going to maintain that pace. Sure enough, about a mile later, we both passed him and I never saw him again. A short while later, I heard a thud like the ground shaking, followed by an "ah, mother f@#%$#r!" I wondered if that was him and that maybe he had fallen and hurt himself. I would never find out. Meanwhile, I fell into the same running pace as this guy from Wisconsin and we were soon joined by another runner, Andrew, from Franklin, TN. We stayed together until the mile 16 aid stop and made good time together. We started chatting and it really helped the miles go by. Both of them had never run this race before and the guy from Wisconsin was running his first 50K. I warned them to save some in the tank for the last five miles. We got to the aid stop and we got split up. Leaving the stop, you have to go up a major climb before settling back into some very runnable ridge line trails and before hitting the dreaded, so-called Rock Garden around mile 18. I had started the race with gloves and arm sleeves, but had taken them both off sooner. However, the wind was blowing pretty good and it was chilly, so I put the arm sleeves back on.

I made it through the Rock Garden and soon came out at the mile 19 aid station. I looked at my watch and I basically had two hours and fifteen or so minutes to finish this thing in less than six hours. I felt good and I knew that if I could just keep my pace for the next few miles, I would only have the two big climbs after Sucks Creek to deal with before the finish. I left the station excited about my possibilites and went on down the trail. I ran much of the next section by myself, which was fine by me. I did pass a couple of guys and that just helped my confidence. About a mile before reaching Sucks Creek again, Andrew and a female runner started catching up to me. I thought I could stay ahead and so I picked it up a bit. Not a good idea! At one point, I had to pick myself up off the ground and fetch my 'football' water bottle that had landed a few yards ahead of me. I had tripped on a root or something, but luckily it was on a soft portion of the trail. No rocks, phew! Anyway, it wasn't long before those two definitely caught up and we made our way down to the road together.

Once back at Sucks Creek, it was just about a 10K left, but with some mean climbing still left to do. Last year, this is where it started falling apart for me and I was determined to not let it happen again. I walked the climbs, but I didn't lose pace due to fatigue. I kept it steady and purposeful. I made it up and over the first climb and quickly found myself crossing the suspended bridge again. Just Mushroom Rock left. I was certainly feeling it at this point, but I wasn't drained and that again boosted my confidence. I once again kept a steady walking pace up towards Mushroom Rock. The female runner that had been behind me earlier on the descent into Sucks Creek passed me and I would only see her again briefly at the next aid station. One foot in front of the other, I just kept chugging up the hill. I saw Mushroom Rock and was happy to hear the chatter at the last aid station. They had beer! It was Stroh's, but who cares. It was beer! I had a shot of that and some other goodies and looked at my watch. I had about 40 minutes or so to get it done under six hours. I better get a move on.

Me, my finish medal and my hilariously, extra-large
water bottle.  I couldn't have done the
race without it.

The last few miles of this course feel endless. I felt decent and I was keeping pace just fine, but it still seemed like it was taking forever to get this done. I did manage to catch a couple of other runners, but I was also passed by a few as well. The last little bit is on the XC trails of Signal Mountain High School, so it's pretty manicured. I came out to a road crossing and one of the volunteers there said there was only .8 miles to go. Liar! It was much longer. I kept looking at my watch. 5:55, 5:56, 5:57...there was no way this was only .8 miles left. Finally, I came out on the last bit of road and I knew I was almost there. I did get passed in that last half mile, but only by one other runner. As I made my way into the finish, I almost missed my wife and a friend cheering me on. I looked up at the race clock and saw 6:03 and change on it. Oh well, I tried, but I ended up with 6:03:33 officially. Not bad at all. It beat last year's time by nine minutes. So I was happy! I got my medal and some grub and kissed my wife. Then I high fived the guys from Zulu Racing and thanked them profusely for letting me borrow the water bottle. I would have been miserable with out it, even though it was awkward and it weighed a ton.

Jessica and Amanda with their finisher's medals.

Next I pulled up a camper chair with my wife and others, a cooler full of beer and we cheered other 50K finishers on while waiting for Amanda and Jessica to finish their first 50K. It was fun to see everyone coming in and it was also a good time catching up with other finishers. It was really good to see some fellow GUTS runners, Sean O., Robin, Wayne, Jason (read his race report) and Joel. As well as some fellow Twitter runners like Tim, Cathi and Dan (good sharing a beer with ya, Dan). Amanda came through at 8:29 and then Jessica made it in 9:22. Both of them smiling. I was very happy to see them finish and I was proud of their accomplishment. Here's Jessica's race report.

I really enjoy the Rock/Creek races. Stump Jump 50K has to be one of the most beautiful trail courses in the country. If you have stumbled upon this blog and are contemplating running it, I highly recommend it.

What's next for me? Another visit to the Pine Mountain 40-Miler in December. Stay tuned. Cheers!

Rock/Creek Stage Race: Day 3 Signal Mountain 06.19.11

All smiles before the start!
(photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

What a day! I write this and I'm trying to organize my thoughts looking back on not just day three of the Rock/Creek Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race, but on the whole weekend of trail racing. I'm exhausted, but I am not spent spiritually. For me, this has been a weekend of comraderie with other people who share the same passion for a sport we love. It is going to be hard to come down from this experience. I'll try to capture day three in words...

I was sitting in my car parked at the start/finish area in Signal Mountain, TN and thinking to myself, "Well, this is it. Last day of running through the woods with 160 of your new found friends, Javier." While I was putting on my trail shoes and adjusting things, people all around me were doing the same. We were all gearing up for one last day of trail racing. This time on the hardest stage of the three. Nobody seemed nervous really. If anything, the look on people's faces was one of anticipation, maybe even excitement. I know I was. I was doubly excited too, because my wife and son drove up from Atlanta the day before and I knew they would be at the finish to see me in. Best Father's Day present I could imagine, that's for sure.

Before the start of the race, some other friends had come up from Atlanta to participate in this stage and it was good to see them and exchange best wishes with them.

It was overcast to start, but the forecast was for hot and humid by mid-day. Also, a wicked storm blew through the night before which would add a degree of difficulty to the day's stage with tree limbs fallen on the trail and damp, wet rocks through certain sections. I'll get to the rocky sections in a moment.

Once we were all ready, all the runners gathered again to hear some announcements by Randy, the race director. He mentioned something ominous that would stick in my head during the stage. He said, "The technical stuff doesn't really start until mile 9 or so. You'll know it when you hit it." As he said this, he said it with this wry smile on his face. He knew what was in store for us. And with that, he let us go right at 8:00am.

The first part of the course follows much of the same route as the Stump Jump 50K in October. When I did that race last year, I remember the last few miles coming back very well. They almost finished me. It consists of two long climbs. For the stage race and just like the Stump Jump race, the first few miles are mostly down hill past a rock formation called Mushroom Rock and down to a suspension bridge crossing a creek. Then back up a steep climb over a ridge and down again to a road. For Stump Jump, you cross the road to continue on the race route. For stage races, this is a turn around point and you head back the way you came, back up the long climb while slower runners were coming down. After some initial shifting in the order, I got on the heels of a couple of guys from Nashville. They were keeping a pretty good pace and I felt like I could keep up with them. This may have been a mistake, as I later found out.

We made it back to Mushroom Rock in good time and this is where the race route breaks off from the Stump Jump course. We hopped on a singletrack trail that made its way along the edge of a ridge and we would enjoy this for several miles. It wasn't overly technical, but it had enough rocks and tree limbs on the trail to keep you watching your footwork. We had several miles before aid station two, so we just maintained the pace and worked our way ever closer to it. At a couple of points, we saw amazing rock outcroppings where you could look out into the valley below, but we didn't make time to stop and enjoy it. One of the the guys in front of me invited me to get ahead. he said, "Go on, if you want. I don't want to hold you back." And I said, "Don't worry. I'm just trying to hold on. You're not holding me back." Both of them had run the stage last year and they were commenting about how they were going to finish. One of them mentioned that if we finished in three and a half hours that we were doing good. That made me hesitate because in my head I was giving myself less time than that to finish, but clearly I had no idea what was in store.

A couple of the front runners on the stairs.
(Photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

The trail in this section was rolling with no major climbs or descents, so we made good progress. Soon we reached the aid station. I had to tie my shoe and by the time I did that and replenished my water bottle, the guys I was running with ahd already taken off. I hit the trail behind them, but never saw them again. Earlier, we had passed my buddy, Tim, who was once again easing off his pace. I should have followed his example. I wasn't by myself, there was a runner behind me that I managed to stay in front for some time. The trail between aid station two and three was only a couple of miles long, but they would end up being the toughest couple of miles of all three days of stage racing. Again, Randy's words stuck in my head, this was technical stuff indeed. Most of these two miles involved getting by long sections of rocks. With the storm the night before, much of it was still damp which made me even more cautious in dealing with this section. The difficulty of the terrain and the quick pace I ran for the first nine miles of the day were catching up to me. Hell, it was probably the fifty miles of cumulative running over the last couple of days that were also catching up with me. I started to slow down. The runner that was behind me, was in front fo me before long and I was left alone until we came to a series of stair climbs. Up and up they went and these steps did me in.

Another runner caught up to me on the stairs and together we came into the third aid station. I was wiped out. He was fresh. We got what we needed from the aid station and headed out. We went up a road for a bit following the flag markers. When we came to an intersection, neither of us was sure which way to go, so we went straight. He was stronger than me at this point and got ahead. I was looking for markers after a while but didn't see any and I thought it was weird that we would run on asphalt for this long. I turned around and headed back to the intersection. I turned right and finally saw another marker. I was back on track. I also picked up another runner and and together we were back on single track soon. This runner had been at Western States the year before and she was telling me about her experience. This helped me forget how crappy I was feeling at the time. Down we went and it wasn't long before we were following the trail along side a creek. The trail wasn't as tough as the earlier section, but it still had its share of rocky segments. It also had a series of suspension bridges to cross which were a bit slippery and we had to be mindful of our steps.

The guy that had run ahead of me on the asphalt, soon caught up and passed us. He was upset about the "detour". Actually, he was really upset. My thought was that although I didn't care to lose time going the wrong way, I feel that it's just part of racing. Not much you can do about it.

The female runner I was running with also dropped me and I was again alone getting by on the trail. I was walking anything that remotely seemed like an incline and I was walking through the more technical sections. A couple more runners started catching up and passing me. A clear sign that I was toast. I tried to not think about it too much and take in the beautiful scenery of the trail. It really was spectacular running through the woods, along a creek and the weather was cooperating even though I could feel the temperature rising some and the humidity was high.

I was glad to reach aid station four and I knew I only had a handful of miles to go. The trail became much easier at this point and I just kept moving. I tried to latch on to a couple of runners that caught me, but it was futile. They dropped me too. This was it, I just had to finish my own race. The last couple of miles were endless. I was ready for the finish line. More runners caught me and passed me and I got "chicked" a couple of times in the last couple of miles.

Finally, I could hear the music of the finish line and Randy making announcements. When I came off the trail and out into the open, I turned to the finish. As I came near, I could see my wife and my son with big supporting smiles on their faces. I picked up my step and came through the chute exhausted. I'm not sure I could have gone another mile. I ran really well on the first two stages and for the first half of the third day, but it wasn't pretty for the second half of this third stage.

I high-fived some of the other runners that had finished before me, grabbed something to drink and a seat at a picnic table while my family made their way towards me. I gave my wife a kiss and my son a big Father's Day hug.

Me and my son.

Once I recovered some what, I picked up my finisher's award and my free pair of Smartwool socks. I then took a look at the results. I finished stage three in 4:12. It took me almost an hour and a half longer to finish the 20 mile course compared to stage one's 18 mile course. That shows you just how hard is day three. The cumulative results were also posted...my time for all three days was 10:26:55 and I came in at 37th place overall. Not bad, I was really happy with that. If this was one continous ultra-race, that would have been one hell of a pace for sixty miles at a 10:43/mile.

I had never before run a stage race, but I am really glad that I ran this one. Like all Rock/Creek events, it is an extremely well put together event. I'm already looking to see if there are others like it around the country. The Gore-Tex Transrockies has been on my short list for some time. Maybe I need to figure out how to add that to my race calendar sooner versus later.

I'd like to thank Randy and Kris Whorton for all they do to put these races together and to Rock/Creek for supporting them. I'm looking forward to running Stump Jump 50K again in October.

*Visit the official race blog with updated results and photos for stage race day three.

Rock/Creek Stage Race: Day 2 Lookout Mountain 06.18.11

Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race Day Two
about half a mile from the finish.
(Photo by jeff@rockcreek.com)

Day two started the same way that day one did, overcast and almost cool. Praise the running gods! The difference being that the humidity had increased over the day before, but the overcast skies would be much appreciated on another long morning of running on the trails.

The course for stage 2 travels through the Lula Lake Land Trust Preserve. It consisted of a five mile loop then a twelve mile loop and then a repeat of the initial five mile loop but in the opposite direction. Along the way, we would experience significantly more climbing and descending than what we did on stage 1.

I carpooled with the race directors that morning, so I arrived much earlier than most of the other runners. I was able to watch the start/finish area get set up while the volunteers showed up and then of course the runners. I was feeling good about this stage. I woke up with not much to complain about from day one's run. I was happy with my performance and I was still wondering if perhaps I had run it too fast. There was only one way to truly find out and that would be once the race started. After much sitting around, it was time to get this stage started. We were off right at 8:00am.

Unlike yesterday, we had almost a mile of gravel road to stretch the field and get folks into place before hitting any single track. This was nice, and it allowed me to feel out my legs and other than a slight tightness in my right abductor, I felt good. It would quickly loosen up within the first couple of miles. We made our way past the beautiful Lula Falls when we arrived to the first bit of singletrack. All of a sudden, I felt this sharp pain just above my right knee, then I felt it again on my shin. I reached down and smacked at what ever it was and I realized that I had been stung by a couple of yellowjackets. A couple of other runners cried out too. Seems we pissed of a nest as we ran by. Not how I wanted to start my race.

This occured right before a very, steep climb that I was familiar with from my experience at the Lookout Mountain 50-Miler last year. In fact, much of stage two's trails are part of that race, so it was familiar to me. Back to the climb, the race organizers set up ropes for the climb and there was a slight bottleneck as runners made their way up. Once at the top of the ridge, we thinned out again. I tried to get into my own groove and I wanted to run on my own, but I ended up running with a couple of runners along the ridge and then on the way down off the ridge. Before we descended, I tried to sneak a few peeks to my left into the valley below. Many of the trails in Chattanooga have great vistas and this one is fantastic. We ran the ridge for a while, descended down a long wide trail, then a single track down to a creek and made our way back to the start/finish area where we would hit our first aid station. First loop done and I was feeling good except for my yellowjacket stings. I had a little swelling, but it wasn't bothering my running. At the aid station, I grabbed a couple of apple halves, downed some Coke and headed off.

The next five or six miles were mostly uphill. The first section appeared to be a really abandoned forest road that was overgrown with small trees and we had to duck in and out of them. Once through that, we crossed a road, ran up a trail with mossy, flatrocks that were a little slick and then hit some singletrack. We climbed but the grade was gradual enough for most of it, that we could run. While we ran, we kept coming across debris that had landed along the trail from the tornadoes that hit this area back in April. There were a number of trees down too and the ones that had fallen across the trail had been cleared by chainsaw. I guess nature has to show who's boss every once in a while.

We reached a powerline cut out and did a short series of zig zags in and out of the woods and the cut out. On the last time we ran back into the woods, we were confronted with a mean climb straight up on single track. This was one of those, put your hands on your knees and push type of climbs. At this point, I was running with a female participant that had caught up to me and passed me, and I tried to keep up with her for a short while before getting dropped. We came back out to the power line section and this time walked up a long climb along the cut out. It wasn't long before we hit the aid station. I was still feeling good, but it had started to warm up and I needed to top off my water bottle. I left the aid station and enjoyed a wide, forest road for a while. I caught up with another runner, Robert Lewellen. Robert is one of the race directors for a new 50K in Georgia that will take place on the Duncan Ridge trail and the Coosa Back Country trail. It's the Duncan Ridge 50K/30K. That race is going to be a beast! Anyway, I ran with Robert for quite a while. Chatting with him made the time go by and we were making good progress. He decided to take a quick nature break and he told me to run on ahead of him. At this point, I was back on the same trail we had come up earlier but enjoying the descent. One of the Texas runners, Dat, that I had met caught me and passed me. He was looking strong.

Down past the mossy, flatrock, across the road again and down into the start/finish area. As I came in to the aid station, there were a number of spectators waiting around for their runners, but they cheered me on in. That was an appreciated ego boost and I picked up my step after grabbing something quick at the aid station. Only one more loop left and I knew it well by now. We ran along the creek, then up a quick incline to reach more single track that would take us back to the another gradual long climb that we had descended earlier in the day. I walked almost all of this until we hit the top of the ridge. I knew that was the last long one of the day and I was glad to be on the ridge again. I caught up and passed a couple of other runners and soon came up on the steep, rope assisted climb down and I was getting anxious about more yellow jackets. I joined a couple other runners who had bottlenecked on the rope and we made our way down. We went past the area where the yellowjackets had been earlier unscathed. Phew!

We were almost done. The rest of the way back was slightly different than the start earlier that morning. Instead of running back on the gravel road, we were directed off of it and made to run alongside a creek. Up and down short three and four foot little hills along the creek. It was tough on the legs. Ran that for over a mile when we then crossed the creek, the only time we truly got our feet wet on the course. Just a couple hundred more yards and there was the finish. Randy was on the mic and I heard, "Here comes number 24, Javier De Jesus, from Atlanta." I gave him the thumbs up and came through the chute. 3:33:34...good enough to crack the top 50.

I grabbed something to drink and got in the creek with the other runners that had finished before me. It felt really good to cool off in the stream and exchange "war stories" with others. After some time in the water I grabbed a bite to eat and got in line for a massage. Tomorrow was to be another day. The toughest yet of the three. I was looking forward to it.

*Read official race blog and find results and photos for stage two.