Catoctin 50k Trail Run, July 27, 2013

Two years ago, my son Nathan crewed for me on this race.  It was his first time crewing for me solo.  This year, my daughter, Amy, is getting her chance to crew for the first time by herself.  We arrive in Frederick, Maryland after enduring the “wonderful” DC traffic for nearly four hours.  We check into our room at the Comfort Inn and then head for dinner at Carrabba’s.  Dinner is most excellent as I have the Linguine Pescatore, and Amy has the Pasta Carrabba.  Back at the room, we watch a little TV, including the Red Sox – Orioles game before turning the lights off a little after 10pm.

For breakfast, we enjoy the continental breakfast at the Comfort Inn.  It includes a nice waffle maker.  I have a full waffle and a pastry along with some juice.  Then we head to the start/race check-in.

The temperature this morning is on the cool side—definitely in the low 60s.  However, I start the race with no shirt.  There are several good friends here at the start line—Vicki Kendall, Gary and Keith Knipling, Rande and Kari Brown, Ed Cacciapaglia, Dan Lehman, and many others.  The start is delayed by about 10 minutes as there was not enough parking for everyone in the upper lot, and some had to be ferried up from a lower lot.

Mile 6.0      1:17:06 (12:51 avg./mile) Hamburg Road

I start off fairly quickly as I would rather not get bogged down on the trail too much.  I think I succeeded, and I find Ed C. running close to me.  It is halfway up the second climb before Rande Brown makes his way past me.  He is almost always ahead of me, so it is no surprise that he has warmed up and hitting his stride.  I run over two-thirds of this section with Ed, and then a few faster runners come by me.  I decide to see what the legs have in them today and leave Ed behind as I try to keep up with these speedsters.  I was hoping to get into this aid station by 1:15, but this is a nice time for me.  It is really nice and cool so far, and I was hoping to make great time.  Amy is here at this aid station.  She has passed the test of finding the first aid station.  I take a big gulp or two of Conquest, change out my Camelbak, and then move out to keep the pace going.

Mile 9.0      33:49 (11:16 avg./mile) Delauter Road

I must be feeling good as this aid station surprised me.  I was just rolling along talking to a few people here and there, when I recognized the backyard of the house that is next to the aid station.  (Note this is the only house seen on the whole course.)  This aid station is one where crews are not allowed, so I just grab two peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters and move on up the trail.

Mile 15.6    1:23:07 (12:36 avg./mile) Manor Parking Area – TURNAROUND

Leaving Delauter Road, I start to calculate what my time at the turnaround could be.  This is the sixth time I have run this race, and my previous quickest time at the turnaround was 2:58.  However, that was back in 2004 and 2005.  Since then some of the trail has been rerouted, and Kevin says it adds about a quarter of a mile or more.  I don’t really know how much it adds, but my time is 3:14 at the turnaround.  Still a good time and hopefully it will be enough to let me get home in less than seven hours.  Amy has managed the navigation down to this aid station.  I drink a pint of chocolate milk and take half of a bagel for the trail.

Mile 22.2    1:51:37 (16:55 avg./mile) Delauter Road

Crossing the creek after leaving the turnaround gets my feet wet again.  I am not sure how much difference it makes with the amount I am sweating, but I never like to get them wet if I can avoid it.  I feel like I am making good progress hiking back up the hill, but then people start to flow past me.  It is only a few at first, but then a couple more runners keep catching me every 5-10 minutes or so.  I am still feeling well, but my legs just aren’t as fresh as they were earlier.  Finally, I arrive at this aid station somewhat later than I would have liked, but I am here nonetheless.  I drink a cup of Coke to give me a little life and eat some potato chips.

Mile 25.2    47:16 (15:45 avg./mile) Hamburg Road

Soon after leaving Delauter Road, Steve Cooper catches up with me.  He and I ran a good portion of the Bull Run Run 50 miler in April together.  It is nice to catch up with each other.  I am thinking that I will pick it up and see him at the finish line, but when I pick it up, he picks it up more, and I am the one seeing him at the finish line.  I don’t want to push too hard on this section so that I will have something left for the last section.  I get into the aid station, and once again Amy is here waiting for me.  I trade out my Camelbak, and then drink a couple of cups of Coke.  I leave the aid station with two grilled cheese sandwich quarters in my hand.

Mile 31.2    1:40:46 (16:48 avg./mile) High Knob – FINISH

I was hoping that I would really get on a roll for this last section.  However, for the first downhill all I can manage is a reasonable trot.  Near the bottom of the first downhill section, I test my right ankle with a minor twist.  It isn’t bad, and my ankles have been doing well lately.  Soon after this, Michelle Harmon catches up to me and asks if I have seen any snakes.  Apparently, someone else said they saw one.  I assure her that I haven’t seen any snakes, and I am sure we will hear them if they are agitated.  I stick with Michelle for at least half of the next climb, but then she steadily pulls away from me.  I guess I did get some sort of a jolt leaving the last aid station because now I am hurting again.  Nothing serious; I just want to be finished, but the finish line is nowhere near.  But wait, when the wind blows a certain direction I think I can smell the grill cooking at the finish.  I may have smelled the finish line, but it takes me another 30 minutes to get there.  Near the end, I hear Quatro coming up behind me, but I never see him.  Then Dan is right on my tail.  There is another runner just ahead of me.  So I set a goal of catching him so that I can hopefully prevent anyone else from catching me.  He is about 20 yards ahead of me as we make the final climb.  Then the left turn sets us both running around the hill towards the far side where we will turn right towards the final 50 yards.  On the ring around the hill, the guy ahead of me stops for a final walk break, and I quickly pass him.  Finally, I am back to the finish!

Official Finishing Time          7:33:41

70^th out of about 144 finishers

This is not the time I was hoping for, but it is a decent time.  I have now finished this race six times, and three of my finishes are faster than this.  With the cooler weather I really thought I could go faster, but it still feels good to finish.  Quatro finishes just a few minutes after me.  Steve is waiting at the finish line for me.  Dan Lehman finishes 13 minutes after me.  It is especially good to see Dan.  This is the first time he has run this race, and he is coming back from his health issue last year.  I drink a couple of adult beverages, and then partake of some fine grilled meats.  I am ready to leave, but first I want to see when Gary will finish.  He finally crosses the line in 8:47 with almost 30 minutes to spare.  Vicki, who was worried about the cut-offs, finished in 8:27.

This was a good test for me to measure where my fitness is.  What it tells me is that I still have some speed that I would like to get back.  My right knee feels strong, and each knee bothers me about an equal amount of time.  At 44 years of age, I should have another two decades of good running ahead of me.  I now have a little more motivation to work on my speed and overall endurance.  My next ultra is going to be the Mountain Masochist 50 miler in November.

Never stop running,

Darin
 

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