February
23
 |
| Ready for the Start |
This race is a fun one for me as it is a point-to-point course and is
quintessentially Alabama. The race runs
across Eastern Alabama near Talladega ending at the highest point in the state. To cap it all off, the signal to start the
race is the beginning of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, “Sweet Home Alabama.” The forecast today is for overcast skies with
thunderstorms moving in some time in the afternoon. The temperature at the start is close of 60
degrees so I have just a short-sleeve shirt and shorts on. My dear wife, Martha, is crewing for me
today. And, this is my first race in the
50+ category as my birthday was last month the day after my previous 50k.
Mile
3.3 36:56 (11:12 avg./mile) Chandler
Springs
I
settle into a nice pace in the conga line for first couple of miles. I run more of the uphill sections than I
would normally since the trail is so crowded.
In the end, my time on this section is similar to my previous
times. So far, the weather is quite nice
with overcast skies and cool breezes. I
run right through this aid station as it is a good opportunity to get ahead of
5-10 other runners.
Mile
8.5 1:02:41 (12:03 avg./mile)
Clairmont Gap
 |
| Soon after Chandler Springs |
I
make good time on this section as I manage to run most of the dirt road
section. If the temperature stays mild,
and the thunderstorms don’t roll in too early, I may have a good chance to set
a PR. Martha is ready for me as I roll
into the aid station. She has her jacket
on and hood over her head. While I am
perfectly comfortable with this cool and windy weather, I guess it is cooler
just standing around. I drink some CR01
(my own personal drink mix that I dialed up with Infinit) and then a little
chocolate milk. I grab a handful of
potato chips to eat as I head out of the aid station.
Mile
14.9 1:27:07 (13:37 avg./mile) Adams
Gap
The
section leading up to this aid station is the most technical (rocky) part of
the course. I seem to be making good
time, and my total time is only five minutes behind my PR time. Mike Dalton is running with me when he has to
stop and fix a shoe. He says his shoe
lace has broken. This is a bad break for
him; I hope he can get it fixed. At the
aid station, I drink more chocolate milk and take a bagel with me for the
trail. I want to try and keep the energy
stores high.
Mile
18.4 53:41 (15:20 avg./mile) Hubbard
Creek
Soon after leaving Adams Gap, the sky begins to
clear. Well this is somewhat nice and
unexpected. My concern is that this will
just add energy to the thunderstorms that are coming later in the day. The other problem is that the sun is warming
things up. I decide to run a little
conservatively, backing off my pace slightly.
With this, I lose three more minutes to my PR time. I drink a good bit of CR01 at the aid station
and grab another handful of potato chips.
My legs are feeling good so far.
Mile
25.3 1:33:25 (13:32 avg./mile) Silent
Trail
 |
| One of two deep stream crossings |
The
amazing thing is that the trails are relatively dry with good footing. This winter in Alabama has been one of the
wettest ones in history. Last month at
the Mountain Mist 50k, I had to run through several quagmires of water and
mud. So far, my feet have only gotten a
little damp here or there. However, this
section has two large stream crossings. Both
of these streams are full of water. At
the first one, they have a safety rope strung across the stream to help us
avoid being swept away. I have been
leading a few other guys most of the past couple of sections. One of them is Alek Bray from Beaufort. He is a Marine who will be leaving active
duty in June. While making decent time
on this section, I still lose three more minutes to my PR. I drink some chocolate milk and then take a
few sips of Coke.
Mile
27.9 33:45 (12:59 avg./mile) Lake
Cheaha
These
2.5 miles are on roads, first gravel and then paved, before the course enters
the State Park campground. I make good
time, running a majority of the section even though it is mostly uphill. My legs are doing okay at this point and
haven’t given any indication of impending cramping. The temperature has warmed up, but I don’t
think we have gotten out of the 60s yet.
While warm, it is okay. More
importantly, it looks like I might finish before the thunderstorms. I drink more Coke at the aid station before
starting the last section.
Mile
31.1 1:07:08 (20:59 avg./mile) FINISH –
Bald Rock
The
climb up the mountain from the campground is a brutal one. At the start of the climb, Mike catches back
up to me and tells me how a nice girl gave him her shoe lace from her
sneakers. With his shoe repaired, he has
been slowly catching back up to me. My
legs are doing well until near the top when they start to cramp. I managed to pass a couple of other runners
before reaching the top. Now, I just
need to stay focused for the remaining couple of miles. The climb took me 24 minutes, so I should be
within 30 minutes of the finish. The
course has been re-routed up on top as the traditional finish at Bald Rock is
not the finish this year as a wedding has edged out the race for the location. So, we end up running on a trail that feels
like we run all the way around the top of the mountain. After an eternity, I finally manage to reach
the finish. It seems like we got a “bonus”
mile this year. In past years, I have
completed this section as fast as 44 minutes.
Despite my focused effort, I will not make a new PR, and am not under
seven hours either.
 |
| Approaching the Finish Line |
Official
Finishing Time 7:14:43
63rd
out of 164 finishers (7th of M50-59)
Although late
in the race I knew that I wanted set a new PR, I was pretty confident I could
still get under seven hours. It wasn’t
to be this year, but I still mostly enjoyed the experience. When we reached the top of the mountain, we
were back in the clouds with cooler temperatures. I quickly get cleaned up and changed, and Martha
and I start the drive back to Huntsville.
We are over halfway home before the line of thunderstorms arrives. I am really glad I didn’t have to run through
this, but then again it would have been a nice challenge.
I give thanks
that my 50-year old body continues to hold up with all of my running, skiing,
golf, etc. My next race is going to be
the Bull Run Run 50 miler in Virginia on April 13. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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