Trail Running

I did my first race in a long time. Nothing fancy—it was a five mile trail race but it was fun. Hard. Really, really hard—my legs are sore almost 4 days afterward (and that is with a lot of walking and stretching) and my feet feel like they were run over by a semi. But despite all that, I had a blast. There is something about running through the trees, dodging branches, jumping off rocks, and either crashing downhill like a runaway freight train or blasting up hills like a cancer patient smoking a cigarette on the way to the graveyard, that brings out the primeval nature that we all have but sometimes forget.

At the sound of the gun our small group of racers charged into the woods. We had about 150 yards of open field to pass through before the real trail began. This being my first race in a LONG time, I decided to play in safe and start slowly. But soon I found myself behind a long line of single file runners going slower and slower as the trail narrowed with no way around. The trail was tough. One of the runners commented that this five mile trail run was every bit as difficult as some marathons he'd done. About ¾ of a mile into it, the guy in front of me started breathing like he was having a heart attack. He soon stepped aside. “You OK?” I asked quickly. He nodded and waved from his hunkered position and I figured that meant yes. After all, most teenagers don't have heart attacks—right? There were a lot of steep, long climbs followed by steep drops and longer climbs. The group who put on the event did a great job of providing aid stations and water and making sure the runners were safe—well, as safe as you can be running up and down cliffs.

As the route took it's first big drop, I fell in love. There is something beautiful about crashing through the forest that many people will never understand. I found myself shredding down a mountainside, hurdling stumps and dodging rocks, making a mental note to follow up on the dental plan and verify that if (and likely when) I fly face first into a bolder I wouldn't be restricted to eating Jello for the rest of my lives. No sooner did I reach the bottom of the hill than the trail turned into a climb of (just guessing) about 80%. My quads burned as if I was being branded, my chest heaved and I begged for mercy as the trail climbed higher and higher. And yet there was still a sense of calm—like this is what it's all about; what I was built for. If you're reading this thinking, “Oh, yeah!” and itching to lace up the shoes—then you know. If not...I hope someday you feel it because it is one of the best highs on the planet. Trail running is not at all like road running. The trail keeps your body alert and your mind engaged. Road running, more often then not, is a physical workout only. It has very little to do with your mind—other than determination to keep going. More than once I've done a run around a track or on the road and for the life of me couldn't remember a thing about miles 3—5. The trail is completely different. The second you lose respect for the trail (real trails) it will knock you flat on your disrespectful butt. You can't just zone out like you might on a long road run. If you zone out on a trail you'll likely to make your dentist a very wealthy man.

I climbed up the last hill with sweat burning my eyes but too afraid to stop and wipe them clear for fear of kicking a stump and falling or worse, being passed in the last 200 yards of the race! Suddenly the trees cleared and there was open field with the finish line just on the other side. I gave it all I had with the kids (who were waiting there) racing right beside me. It was amazing.

I wasn't the fastest. There were members of the College Triathlon team who were finishing as I was starting to look for the last aid station. I was awarded a medal—second place in my age group—which I thought was pretty good for my first race in so long. I was well on my way getting a big head when I noticed that there were exactly 2 entrants in my particular age group. Oh well, hardware is hardware, right. More than anything I came away with the unforgettable feeling of trail running. Running the way we were meant to run with body, mind and spirit working together optimally to keep those teeth in your mouth as opposed to shattered all over a rock in a pool of blood. Speaking of which—I need to call my dental insurance provider.

Saturday Run

So last Saturday (the 10th) was my last long run before running the Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic (YUTC) 50k on the 17th.  I ran 20 miles and it felt pretty good.  My pace was almost exactly 9:00/mile which is pretty quick for me.  Hamstrings were pretty sore that day and my calves were sore the next day but now I'm all healed up and ready to go again.  After my run, when we were eating breakfast I said to Grace, "Do you know what animals I saw when I was running this morning?"
Her first guess: "Kangaroo."
"Not quite, but that would've been pretty neat."
For the record, I saw three skunks, three deer, several cats and squirrels, a couple rabbits and a raccoon.

It's always tough for me to figure out how much to "taper" the week of a big race because my body seems to do better the more I run.  I know I'm "supposed" to take certain days off or run less this week but I really don't know that it makes any difference for me.  I'll just run whatever I feel like running; that's always the best policy, right?  It would be nice to hit the trail again once more before Saturday but I don't know if I'll be able to make it out there this week -- there's a lot going on.  We'll see.

Mohican Trail 50 Race Report

Well, I did it.I completed my first ultra-marathon, the Mohican Trail 50 on June 18^th. It took me forever to get this on the blog, but this is how it went down.

The race was on Saturday, the 18^th at 5am.I went down with a friend, Matt, on Friday because that made more sense than driving down that morning.He volunteered at the race as an aid station captain, so THANK YOU Matt for being my support crew and for helping all of us runners who couldn’t have finished without your help.

The whole week leading up to the race had me a little uneasy about the race, mostly because I was getting nervous and anxious about it.A few running dreams woke me up on certain nights and I didn’t get great sleep all week.Friday morning I had a CPR certification class to go to at school but the whole time I was dying to hit the road.I just wanted to get to Mohican thinking maybe that would help me settle down a little bit.Maybe not, but either way, I was anxious to go.

The class finally ended and I got home as fast as I could.I sat down for a minute to eat lunch with Jenny and Grace.I wanted to spend a few minutes with them because I knew I wouldn’t see them again until the finish line.They were going to stay at home and drive down Saturday afternoon to see me finish so they could get a good night sleep on Friday and wouldn’t have to wait around for me outside ALL DAY on Saturday with nothing to do.

When Matt and I got to Mohican adventures we went in for my race check-in and for Matt to track down the race director (Ryan O’Dell) about his aid station.He found Ryan and got scoop from him, then we went to his aid station to set up.Matt brought a HUGE canopy to set up there but there wasn’t much room.The Park Road aid station really was just a little pull-out on the side of one of the park roads.We somehow managed to get the canopy up and in the right spot (which took some work because there were only two of us and it was so stinking huge). Then we drove over to my hotel, the Mohican River Inn, so I could check in and drop my stuff off.There were two beds and I told Matt he was more than welcome to use one, but he said he wanted to camp at his aid station.We then went back to Mohican adventures for the pasta dinner – just spaghetti with salad, bread, and fruit…but not bad.It was 6:00pm by now and the reality of what I was going to attempt TOMORROW was starting to set in. I was nervous. We sat at a picnic table with some other runners but I didn’t say much because of how I was feeling.The guy across the table was running the 100 (I think) and he said once, “I’m a little concerned because I feel over-confident and under-prepared.”I laughed and said, “Well you’re better off than me because I’m feeling under-confident AND under-prepared.”Everyone assured me I’d do fine because ultra-runners are nice like that…but I was still nervous.

After dinner was the pre-race meeting.They described how the course would be marked in detail (which I was glad for because one big concern I had was getting lost on the trails), and also told of some recent minor course changes.The “private property” loop was to be run at the END of each lap, not at the beginning. They said that loop had one big hill at the end, to remind you that “this is Mohican.” Turns out they mis-counted...

The meeting ended and Matt dropped me off at the hotel.I told him again he was welcome to stay there with me but he said he’d be alright.Minutes after he left a big thunderstorm started with TONS of lightning and rain.I sent him a text but he didn’t come back.I guess he likes roughing it.Jenny called and it was really nice to talk to her.I hate being without my family so I was happy to at least be able to talk to her.My dad called too and said they were worried about me.Thanks for the confidence, Dad.No, he was calling to say good luck and to call them afterwards so they would know I survived.All of a sudden Friday was over and all that was left between me and the race was just a few hours – literally – of sleep.

3:35am my alarm went off.I did get some sleep but the bed was rock hard so it wasn’t great.I ate some breakfast, got dressed, and Matt came to pick me up.He’s a saint, really.He probably got less sleep than I did that night, and he had to stay up the next night too to run the aid station for the 100 milers.I threw all my stuff in my bag and he dropped me off at the starting line.I sat inside until about three minutes before 5:00, then I wandered out toward the start line and found a place way in the back.5:00am came and we were off.Just like that, my 50 mile attempt was officially underway…SLOWLY.I really couldn’t believe how slow the pace was because we were still in the campground on paved roads.But I was the newbie so I decided it would be best to follow the crowd for a while.

When we got into the woods and started running the trails, I was in heaven.Those trails were absolutely incredible to run.I was still trying to shake off the nerves and it was dark so it took me a little while to notice just how beautiful the course was but man, oh man.If I could, I’d drive down there every day just to run those trails.

The first stretch was a lot of fun for me.I was figuring out how to best attack the trails – when to walk and when to run – and I was entertained by these three Canadian guys running just behind me.They were all good friends and were running the 100 mile race.They had pretty thick Canadian accents and it was a blast to listen to them chat as we ran down the trail.

It seemed like a long time to be running and only cover 5.8 miles, but I finally started to hear voices down below and knew the aid station must be close.Park road was the first aid station and that was Matt’s post.I came in, got some pretzels and gummy bears, refilled my water and had him take a picture of me.It was very nice to see someone I knew.

After park road I came up behind a guy who had the same minimalist running shoes (Merrell Trail Glove) that I did.He was a very cool guy from the Columbus area who was also running his first ultra-marathon.Turns out we had a lot in common and it was great to talk with him.We talked pretty much the whole 4 miles to the next aid station.I left the aid station before him and never saw him again.

The next stretch to covered bridge was a 6 mile section that had some “technical” portions – and by that I mean climbing, literally.It was awesome though and I wouldn’t have changed that part of the course one bit.We had to climb down these big boulders to get down to the bottom of a waterfall.There was only a little water trickling off the top but it was incredible.When I got to the bottom and looked up the view literally stopped me in my tracks.I had to stop and soak in that incredible experience.If I didn’t have 30-some miles left to run I probably would have stayed there all day.It was breathtaking.We ran along a muddy trail for a while then had to climb out.This was a network of roots – kind of like a jungle gym – that we had to climb up, hand over hand.Sure it made the course slower but it was a lot of fun. (here's a you-tube video of it if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glZL1bb20uQ) On this section I met a guy from Michigan who was running his second 100 attempt and was determined to finish this one.(He DNFed his first 100 try.)He was a lot of fun to talk to and gave me some good tips on running.He even gave me one of his electrolyte pills that he uses to prevent cramping.Really, really nice guy.

I don’t remember details about the next parts of the course, but I did notice the pack starting to thin out.I also saw a lady named Colleen Theusch who is well-known around the race.She doesn’t run but she’s always dressed in all purple and is there every year.She was there to cheer us on at the covered bridge aid station and somehow showed up at the very next aid station, Hickory ridge, too.

The section from hickory ridge to the start/finish area included the infamous private property loop.I came into the area where the campground was and knew I must be pretty close to the aid station but I remembered them talking about that one last hill.I ran a flat, two-way section then turned and started up a BIG, steep hill.This must be it, I thought, because this is a killer hill.I walked up it (because it was almost impossible to run up), ran a little at the top, went up some more, then dropped right back down.It was flat for a little bit then started another huge climb.“Wait”, I thought, “I already did the last big hill.”Turns out there were actually four or five very steep, very long climbs in that 2.5 mile loop.Thankfully, I was feeling great at that point, way better than I expected, so I walked up the hills at a pretty good pace and jogged what I could of the steep downhills.

Finally, after the neverending hills, I made it to Mohican adventures.This was a little over halfway.My shirt was soaked so I changed that, got some more food in me and hit the road again.Because I was feeling so good I figured I better get as far down the trail as possible before something went wrong.The pack was pretty much gone by now.I must have been feeling better than most because I started to pass a lot of other runners.Some were visibly struggling, some were just taking it easy because there was still a lot of distance left to cover.I felt like I could keep up my pace as long as I continued to get enough water, sugar and salt.At every aid station I tried to eat something salty, something sweet, and drink Heed.

I hit park road again and Matt took another picture of me:

I was still feeling good so I pushed on.This part of the course was where the second loop was different from the first.The section with the waterfall was cut off and there was a modified loop that went straight to covered bridge without hitting the mountain bike parking aid station.Here, I ran for a bit with a woman who was running her first ultra as well, but she had paced her husband at Mohican last year.She told me about her two teenage daughters that she wanted to come meet her at the finish line but they were being sassy and didn’t want to come. We talked for a while then I ran ahead of her.She surprised me by coming up from behind several minutes later going pretty fast.She was MAD that we hadn’t hit the aid station yet.I guess someone told her it was closer than it actually was and she had run out of water.I gave her the little bit that I had left but it was really only a couple swallows.That was the longest section of course without aid – 6.2 miles according to the course map.

The aid station was covered bridge and I was excited because I knew this was where the podiatry tent would be.It was really cool to see the other students and Dr. Siesel there.I walked over and chatted with them for a little bit.They asked how I was feeling and how far I had left to go.I said I was about mile 40 and was feeling pretty good.Ten miles to go doesn’t seem like tons when you’re running 50 but it’s still a decent run…And with that last hilly loop, it might as well have been 20.

The section from covered bridge to hickory ridge was pretty uneventful.I could feel my energy starting to run out but I was still feeling pretty good and I knew it was the last aid station before the finish line.I drank some soda and got some more pretzels and gummy bears – my staple foods for the race – and started the last stretch.

As I left the aid station I had some shot bloks in my hand that I wanted to transfer to the pouch in my water-bottle holder.I tucked my bottle under my arm to use both hands to do that while I walked down the trail.I couldn’t get the stupid package opened so it took longer than I wanted but finally got everything in the right spot.I looked up and found myself on a wide, clear trail and started running.I came to a fork in the road and noticed it wasn’t marked.The whole race until now had been marked very, very well and there was never any question about which fork to take.I stopped and looked behind me to see nothing but the trail I had come down on.I turned around and started to go back but didn’t see any markings.The road looked so familiar to me that I was SURE it had to be right…but why wasn’t it marked???I was baffled and my legs were starting to ache.I was very frustrated to say the least.After wandering in the woods for 20 or 30 minutes I finally found the trail.I had missed the turn when I had my head down and walked right past where I was supposed to go.When I got back on track I was mad at myself for wasting so much time and energy, and feeling the throbbing in my lower anterior ankles…and I still had four miles to go.I ran as much as I could but my legs were screaming at me with every step.Finally, I resigned to walking the rest of the way to the finish line.It was just too much pain.Walking hurt too but I was so close there was no way I was going to not finish.When I got to the private property loop more people started passing me.Normally in a race I would hate to be passed so close to the end but this was different.I knew my goal was to just finish and I was so stinking close.I knew at this point the other runners probably just wanted to finish too, and I was happy for them.I was impressed that they still had the strength to run and I wanted them to finish strong…even if I couldn’t.Maybe it was because I couldn’t.I’m not really sure.

On one of the rare flat parts of the private property loop I was passed by Michael Patton, this year’s chief course designer and marker.He was half-way through the 100 and didn’t even look winded.I told him thanks for making a great course and for marking it so well. Course marking was a big concern going into the race because the last thing I wanted to do was get lost.Ironic, huh.The course was marked perfectly...but I got lost anyway because I wasn’t paying attention.

Just after he passed me I walked by some guys in camp chairs outside their RV.The guy asked how it was going and I told him I was OK.He said, “You’re hurting, huh.”I said yeah and he told me it was impressive that I even tried a 50 mile race.It was nice to get a little sympathy and encouragement because I was in a lot of pain.

My mind was a little mushy and I didn’t want to get my hopes up…so I kept telling myself the finish was still far away.I just had to keep my head down and keep walking until I got there.I really couldn’t remember how many climbs there were on that loop…or maybe I lost count because there were so many.Anyway, I came down from one climb and saw a couple boys running up toward me.They told me I was almost done and I thought, “Don’t tell me that.There’s probably another hill.”I was still grumbling about it when I came out of the trees and saw some more people off the trail up ahead.“Am I really almost done??”I finished walking that gravel road and realized it really was the end.I couldn’t believe it.The ground turned to pavement and it hit me that I was actually going to finish a 50 mile race.But I wasn’t going to limp it in so I reached deep and found a hidden reserve of strength to help me run the last quarter mile or so.

I ran up the paved road, turned into the campground and saw the finish line.I saw Jenny and Grace just on the other side.And I finished. My time was 12:54. I'll take it.

I was pretty emotional at the finish line.It really was an indescribable feeling and one that I’ll never forget.It was too much for me to really contain. All race I had been thinking about the parallels between life and an ultra and meeting my family at the finish line really brought that thought process full circle.Life really is like an ultra in so many ways.Maybe I’ll write something about that someday.For now, this is enough...sorry its so long.