January
1
It has been three weeks since my last race—Hellgate 100k on December
10. I ran well at Hellgate this year,
and since we were going to be in Virginia over New Year’s weekend, I decided to
turn out for the Red Eye. I had no plan
other than to get out and run 2-3 loops and enjoy the day running with my kids,
Nathan and Amy, along with all of the other VHTRC runners. We hitched a ride with David Snipes from
Ashland. The temperature at the start was
slightly below freezing, but knowing that it was going to warm up, I decided to
start with shorts and a few shirts and a hat to stay warm during the first
loop.
Gary Knipling was at the top of his game during the pre-race
instructions. He also announced that the
Blue Train will be going to Pinhoti this year as its destination race. Wow, the blue train is coming to Alabama in
November! I will not likely run the
Pinhoti 100 miler in November due to its close proximity to Hellgate, but I will
try to go down and pace someone.
Mile
11.5 2:11:14 (avg./mile) Picnic Area –
Loop 1
This
race is nice and relaxed with the majority of the runners planning on just out
for a loop or two. We complete the
obligatory 1.5 mile mini-loop and then proceed with the main loop that we will
do three times for those of us doing the full distance. I was about 30 minutes into this first loop
when the trail dumps us out onto a gravel road.
As I was wondering where Nathan and Amy are, Nathan pops up beside
me. He then tells me that Amy is close
behind, and then there she is right behind us.
We are together for just a little while, before Amy drops back. I keep Nathan in sight for a mile or so, and
then let him go on ahead. At the time I
was thinking I will catch back up to him soon enough. During this first loop, I am nice and relaxed
and not pushing it very hard. When I
finish the first loop, Nathan is about five minutes ahead of me. Amy is about 15 minutes behind me, and she
will be content with just 11 miles today.
Mile
21.5 1:55:54 (avg./mile) Picnic Area –
Loop 2
Starting
the second loop, I decide I will pick things up a little to see if I can catch
Nathan in the first hour of this second loop.
I catch a handful of people, but Nathan is nowhere to be seen. The thought that he could finish the second
loop ahead of me starts to make me wonder how hard I am going to have to push
on the third loop to ensure he doesn’t beat me on this first head-to-head race
between us in an ultra. However, finally after 1.5 hours into the second loop,
I catch up to Nathan. I run behind him
for a few minutes, and he says he started the second loop deciding to push the
pace to see what he could do. Now, he
says his legs are tiring and starting to cramp a little. I then push on ahead of him, and end up
finishing the second loop four minutes ahead of Nathan. I quickly grab some food and drink and head
out for my third loop before Nathan gets into the aid station.
Mile
31.5 1:56:41 (avg./mile) Picnic Area –
Finish
Now
on the third loop having assured myself that neither of my kids will beat me, I
can relax a little. But, since I have
ramped up my effort and speed on the second loop, I feel like continuing to
push the pace. I am tiring a little, but
Daniel Lawver and I play cat and mouse most of this last loop. I roll my chronic right ankle once about
halfway through, but that pain deadens out quickly and isn’t a problem for the
rest of the way. The weather today
warmed up nicely to almost 50 degrees, and David Snipes, Nathan, and Amy do not
complain about having to wait for me on my third loop. David ended up doing the first loop and then
a little bit more. Nathan and David
enjoy hanging out at the start/finish chatting with other people hanging around
(including Gary Knipling). The funniest
part is the dog jerky that someone donated to the aid station. Apparently both Nathan and Keith Knipling
didn’t realize it was dog jerky as opposed to human jerky until they had already
eaten it.
Official
Finishing Time 6:03:00
7th
out of 34 finishers (120 starters)
This was a
great day! I got to run with my kids and
some old friends. The weather was near
perfect, and I had a very good run. I
couldn’t have asked for a better recovery run the Hellgate three weeks ago. Now, I have four weeks until Mountain Mist in
Huntsville on the 28th of January.
Until then …
Never stop
running,
Darin
Return to Darin’s Running Page.
