January 25
The temperature this morning when I left my house in Meridianville was
17 degrees. The challenge in today’s
race will be about the temperature swing.
The forecast is for a high temperature of 49 degrees. I am dressed a little on the cool side, but I
hope it will be warmer up on the mountain, and that it will warm up
quickly. When I get into Huntsville, the
temperature is 20 degrees, and as I drive up the mountain, the temperature
continues to climb. It is 26 degrees at
the top, so I think I am dressed correctly for the start—thin tights, two
long-sleeve technical shirts, thick hat and gloves.
When we line up for the start, I talk with Olly and James, who are both
dressed much lighter than I am. They
both have shorts on, and James is wearing a short-sleeve shirt. He thinks I am over dressed, but I think I am
fine, and I have another friend, Caleb, meeting me at mile 14 with lighter
clothing.
Mile
4.3 45:45 (10:38 avg./mile)
O’Shaughnessy Point
I
start quickly, and my hands are a little chilly, but not too cold. Thus, I am dressed well for the early chill
in the air. In the first mile, I see
Sally Brookings, and chat with her for a minute. This is her 25th time at this
race, and she says it will probably be her last. When we join the single-tracked trail, she
follows me most of the way to this first aid station. I don’t get anything at this aid station, and
thus I manage to sneak by a handful of runners who pause at the aid station.
Coming through The Cuts
Mile
11.4 1:23:17 (11:44 avg./mile) Bankhead
On
the technical downhill leaving O’Shaughnessy Point, I am following a couple of
ladies. Listening to their conversation,
I hear one of them mention Sophie, and ask if they are referring to Sophie
Speidel. They are and then we figure out
that I know one of the ladies. It is
Michelle Gray. Her husband, Rick, and I
have run many ultras together as I have run Hellgate 22 times, and he has run
it 14 times. Michelle says he is slower
due to aging health issues, so he is quite a bit back. I stick with Michelle and Liane for this
whole section, which is good for my time.
They are running a quick pace, and I am almost comfortably keeping up
with them. When we get to this aid
station, I grab half of a PB&J sandwich and eat it on the road down to the
trailhead. It tastes really good! Just the right amount of jelly and PB on
nicely soft bread.
Mile
14.0 30:27 (11:43 avg./mile) Oak Park
At
the Bankhead aid station, I got out before Michelle and Liane. I am running quickly down the hill trying to
get to Oak Park before 9:45am, which was my time last year. I hang most of the way with a man and women
who are making good time, and we pass several runners on the way down the
hill. As I approach the aid station, I
spot Caleb with my bag. I change out
both shirts for a lighter long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirts. I also change my hat and gloves out for
lighter ones. Next, I swap my
Camelbak. The Camelbak I started the
race had the thermal sleeve on the drinking tube and cover on the bite
valve. This fresh Camelbak doesn’t have
that, but it is now definitely above freezing.
Finally, I drink most of a pint of chocolate milk that Caleb has for
me. I thank Caleb, and press on. What I didn’t know at the time was the
Michelle and Liane passed me while I was changing clothes. My time is now 2:39, which is a full six
minutes faster than I was last year, when the trail was in significantly worse
shape with water and mud. So far, the
trail is dry with only minimal ice in places.
Mile
20.0 1:27:18 (14:33 avg./mile) Old
Railroad Bed
The climb up the hill from Oak Park is much easier
this year than last year due to the better trail conditions. I have lost my pacers, but I am still moving
well. There are plenty of other runners
moving quickly, and I try to latch onto those that are making good time. The second half of this race is much harder
than the first half. The trail is much
more technical, and the three big climbs are on this back half. I manage to keep moving nicely, but I have
obviously slowed down some. As I finally
approach this aid station, I see Michelle and Liane coming out of it. Maybe I can catch back up to them. At the aid station, I eat a handful of potato
chips, an orange slice, and drink a cup of water.
Rolling down Bluff Line
Mile
25.0 1:19:40 (15:56 avg./mile) Trough
Springs
Leaving
the aid station, I meet Lanier Greenhaw heading into the aid station. As I make my way onto the Old Railroad Bed
trail, a guy passes me, and then he slows down.
When an opportunity on the trail presents itself to pass him back, he
speeds back up. It takes me about a
quarter of a mile to get back by him, and I never see him again,
thankfully! When the course finishes the
Old Railroad Bed trail and turns onto the Alms House trail, a lady comes up
behind me. I tell her to let me know
when she wants to pass, and she says she is fine for now. So, we start chatting, and this is her first
50k. She says she just wants to finish,
and I tell her she better slow down then if all she wants to do is finish, as
our current pace is about 2.5 hours ahead of the cut-off finishing time. Karen stays with me all the way up the
Waterline trail. At the top, she asks me
if I am going to start running (it is still somewhat uphill). When I say I am going to walk a little more,
she passes me and leaves me in the dust—I won’t see her again until after the
finish. I manage to run most of the way
to the aid station once I started running.
The last mile on this section is gently uphill, and after the brutal
waterline trail, running anything uphill is not pleasant. At the aid station, I eat half of a PB&J
and drink two cups of Coke.
A Smoother Section on Old Railroad Bed
Mile
29.5 1:12:24 (16:05 avg./mile) Rest
Shelter
I
start this section trying to stay motivated to finish under seven hours. I walk and run a little until the course goes
down the natural well trail. This part is
very tricky and technical, and thus there are runners taking it rather
slowly. I pick my spots and work my way
around most of them. Then I power hike
up a short climb before dropping into McKay Hollow. It is time to put up or accept a slower
finish. I push the pace, passing a few
runners. I know I have to make it to the
last climb with at least 35 minutes to spare.
The climb last year took me 17 minutes, and then the last section usually
takes me about 16 minutes. My watch
reads 6:21 as I make the turn to start the last climb. I have enough time; now I just need to stay
focused on this climb. I am breathing as
hard as I can while I power hike with purpose up and up and up some more. Finally, I hear the music at the aid station. I grab another cup of Coke at the aid station
and thank the volunteers before heading to the finish.
Mile
31.1 18:55 (11:49 avg./mile) FINISH –
Lodge
In
my younger days (like last year), I would be able to get into a good rhythm and
run hard this last mile and half. This
year, my legs don’t feel like they have it, but I push forward anyway. A couple of runners pass me, but I am still
running decently. When I finally make
the final turn and cross over the last foot bridge, a younger runner sprints up
behind me. Now, with the finish line in
sight, I am ready to race this young whipper snapper. As I raise my knees to shift into a higher
gear, my right hamstring says, Not So Fast!
So, I kick it back into the lower gear, let the guy pass me, and settle
for a finish under seven hours.
Official
Finishing Time 6:57:46
Another Finish on the Mountain
155th
out of 426 finishers under the 9.5-hour cut-off (517 starters)
It was a good
day on the trails. The weather was cold
and warmed up gradually. The trails were
as dry as they can be for January. I had
fun, met some old friends, and met some new ones. When I finished, Rick Gray comes running over
to congratulate me. He had to drop just after
halfway. My primary goal of finishing
under seven hours was achieved.
The next race I
have planned is the Bull Run Run 50 Miler on April 5. Before then I plan to pace James at the
Southern States 200, where he will be defending his win from last year. Until then…
Never stop
running,
