August 16
 |
| Ready for the Start of the Race |
So here I am in western New York looking for a finish, not just to
regain my racing form, but also to get a Western States qualifier. I am very well trained, and the only issue is
that the weather forecast is calling for hot weather, possibly topping 90
degrees.
I have a new person crewing for me for this race. Stuart has graciously volunteered to crew for
me, and we plan to play a little golf on Sunday morning before we fly back to
Alabama. I brief Stuart on all of my
plans, and we review the notes that Peter sent as he crewed for me the last
three years at this race. We eat an
early dinner at the VRBO house and turn in early just after 8pm. The race starts at 4:00am, so I have my alarm
set for 2:00am. We leave the house at
3:00am, arriving at the start at 3:35am.
The race starts promptly on time, and 192 other runners and I head into
the dark woods. The temperature is in
the mid-60s.
Mile
6.1 1:23:59 (13:46 avg./mile) Cutler
With
almost 200 runners in a conga line with no breeze, the air is warm and
humid. My plan is to take advantage of
the cool morning before it gets warm, but early on, this feels warm already. Last year, I ran the race very conservatively
in much cooler weather. I am doing well
until about four miles in I trip over a rock and scrape my right knee, but
manage to catch myself with my hands.
The knee hurts a little bit, but my big left toe caught the rock and it
is throbbing. My big left toe has been a
chronic issue for 2.5 years now. About a
mile after that, I get stung by a wasp.
It hurts, but it is on the back of my left shoulder. I arrive at the first aid station avoiding
any more damage. My time is almost two
minutes faster than last year, and I am right where I want to be.
Mile
10.6 1:03:54 (14:12 avg./mile) Naples
Creek
This
section was changed last year to mostly road going downhill into Naples. There was a landowner that no longer wanted
us running on their land, so they shortened this section and lengthens the
next. Last year I ran this conservatively
in 52 minutes. This year, I plan to run
the downhill quickly to build some time for the afternoon heat. However, unbeknownst to any of us runners,
the course has been changed again. The fortunate
part is that in the open air, it is nice and cool. We start down the paved road and turn left
onto a gravel road, but soon we turn off of that onto a single-track trail. This feels different, and I realize it is different
when we come into town next to the school, instead of Bob’s and Ruth’s café. Okay, I guess we are taking a different route
to the park where the aid station is. It
is definitely a different route, and it is longer. We come into the park from almost the opposite
direction after an extra 1.5 to 2 miles tacked onto this section. So, despite running this section hard, it
takes me over 11 minutes longer than last year.
Okay, I will have to roll with the punches. I meet Stuart, trade out my Camelbak, drink a
cup of chocolate milk, and take a croissant to eat on the climb. What I don’t know is that I am only 13
minutes ahead of the cut-off time at this aid station.
Mile
18.0 2:19:39 (18:52 avg./mile) The
Sneaker
The
climb out of Naples is the hardest of this race, and this race has some tough
climbs! About a third of the way up, a
female runner lays down beside the trail, just exhausted, asking how much
farther is this climb. I press on and
manage to eat most of my croissant. I
would have eaten all of it, but I got tired of carrying it on the climb. After the super steep and long climb, it is then
several miles of gradual rolling hills. A
guy named Alex passes me for the second time in the race. He says he had to visit the porta john at the
aid station. I learn he is from
Cincinnati, and we chat about Ohio for a few minutes until he presses on ahead
of me. I make it to the aid station in
decent time as I was just trying to average better than 20-minute miles. Someone asks what the cut-off time is and the
answer is 9:00am. As I leave the aid
station the time is 8:47am, so I only have a 13-minute cushion. I eat a few potato chips at this non-crew aid
station.
Mile
22.3 1:08:10 (15:51 avg./mile) Italy
Valley
The course goes uphill after the aid station, but on a paved road. Despite the pavement, I choose to walk, conserve my energy, and keep myself relatively cool. After about a mile, John Rynders catches up to me. He is the only person in the race that I knew before the race started. He has run this race two of the three times I have run it. We catch up on things as we make our way down the road. When the hill flattens out, we run until the course turns back onto a single-track trail. At this juncture, I take my first leak which tells me I am doing okay sucking down the water. The course now heads downhill on the single-track, and John leads us to the aid station, making quick work of the distance. This is another non-crew aid station. I sit down, take a rock out of my shoe, and then get a couple of swigs of pickle juice. I leave before John, figuring he will catch up to me at some point. With the fast split on this section, I am 19 minutes ahead of the cut-off.
Mile
28.9 2:08:36 (19:29 avg./mile) The Lab
It
is warming up significantly now. The
high temperature today will top out at 91 degrees. I take the long climb from Italy Valley nice
and steady. Eventually, John catches up
to me, and we chat a bit more on the climb.
However, when the trail flattens out and I begin to run, I leave John
behind. He had been saying that his
ankle was hurting him even though he hadn’t twisted it or anything. I run the downhills smoothly and walk the
uphill sections trying to survive the heat.
There is a little bit of the breeze, and it feels nice when it blows on
me. I make it into the aid station, and
Stuart has a grilled bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich ready for me. I eat half of it, washing it down with several
ounces of CR02. We get the iced cap and
ice bandana all loaded up with ice. As I
am leaving the aid station, I ask the volunteer what the cut-off at this aid
station is and the answer is 12:15pm. I
look down at my watch and it reads 12:04pm.
So, I have given back eight minutes to the cut-off.
Mile
35.3 1:50:04 (17:12 avg./mile) Patch
The
ice cools me down, and I start to run with purpose. I realize that I forgot to take the wash
cloth with me that I was planning on. With
the iced cap, the melting ice and sweat drips into my eyes. Oh well, I guess I will have to suffer, but
then right on the trail is a small towel that someone has dropped. I pick it up, it looks clean, so I use it to
wipe the sweat and water from my eyes for the next few sections. I catch one runner and he says it is going to
be close getting to the next aid station before the cut-off. With all of the ice I am carrying, I am confident
I can get there. I continue to push the
pace, passing 12 runners on this section.
About an hour and a half into this section, though, all of my ice is
melted. The ice in the cap lasted about
50 minutes, and the ice in the bandana lasted 90 minutes. The last 20 minutes into the aid station are
really tough with the heat and now no ice, and I expend quite a bit of effort getting
into the aid station. I grab only a few
potato chips, but get my cap and bandana refilled with plenty of ice. I leave the aid station less than six minutes
under the cut-off.
Mile
39.8 1:35:05 (21:08 avg./mile) Finger
Lakes Camp Ground
Leaving
the aid station, I walk a fair bit waiting for the ice to take effect and cool
down my body. After several minutes it
works, and I am again able to move with purpose. There are about a dozen runners around me,
and we are all chasing the cut-off times.
When we get to the paved road, I know we have 0.7 mile on the road downhill. I run with a guy whose wife is also running
but is behind us. He figures she isn’t
going to make the cut-off. After the downhill,
it is a steep little climb. I take my
second S-cap of the race as I begin the climb, and it takes me two tries to gag
down the capsule. While I am gagging a
little bit, someone else is heaving. I
make it up the climb and move with purpose to the next road crossing. Now, it is another short up and down and then
I run down a dirt road to the aid station.
Stuart has a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for me. I eat half of it and drink a good amount of
CR02. We get my cap and bandana topped
off with ice, and I leave the aid station with only a minute on the cut-off
time. I gained two more spots on this
section, and five spots in the aid station.
Coming into the Campground Aid Station
Mile
46.8 2:26:21 (20:54 avg./mile)
Glenbrook
This
section starts with a steady uphill for over a mile. Some of the uphill is in a creek bed with all
of the rocks and such. I find myself
beside a young guy, named Steve, who is from Brooklyn. We chat all the way up the climb. As we approach the top, I am not feeling
fresh. I tell Steve that if he is
feeling okay, he needs to run to stay under the cut-offs. So, he runs off, and then I start to jog. I am able to run and keep him in sight. There is a lady in our vicinity, who picked
up a pacer at the last aid station who happens to be her husband. She and I trade places back and forth a couple
of times, but never catch up with Steve.
I am thinking I probably won’t make the next cut-off. About 1:40 into this section, I pass a guy
who is looking at his watch. I ask him
if he has determined if we will make the cut-off, and he says he thinks we are
within two miles of the aid station. I
question this as it is almost 30 minutes to the aid station after we pass the twisted
trees, and we haven’t seen them yet. I
pass the guy and press forward walking with purpose. Just then, around the next turn, there are
the twisted trees! My thoughts of
getting timed out turn to, I’m going to finish this thing. My watch says 1:55 on this section as I go by
the twisted trees. I had 2:30 to cover
this section. I get to the aid station
in 2:19 and spend seven minutes eating another grilled ham and cheese half
sandwich. While I didn’t see Steve, I
learn later that he dropped out at this aid station. I decide to take off the iced cap at this
point as I have to take a headlamp with me.
I put a dry Buff on and tie the bandana full of ice around my neck. I leave this aid station with more than four
minutes on the cut-off giving me almost 1:40 to get to the next aid station. On this last section I passed another nine
runners on the trail and in the aid station.
Mile
51.6 1:47:50 (22:28 avg./mile) Lake
David
Last year, I ran this section in 1:54. Two years ago, I ran it in 1:42. So, 1:40 is possible. This section is longer than the 4.8 miles that is advertised, possibly close to a mile longer. Regardless, I am determined to get under the cut-off. I drank a cup of Coke at the last aid station, and I plan to ride that kick for about an hour. At the hour mark, I will pop my first caffeine pill. This should give me the kick I need to get into Lake David under the cut-off and continue on towards the last three sections. I hold my own with the runners around me for the first hour. When I get the additional caffeine in my system, I start running hard, passing several other runners. This coincides with a gentle downhill section. The last mile into the aid station is a steep climb and then a traverse around the lake. I know from past experience, it would be good if I had 20 minutes to complete this part, but maybe I can do it in 15. Regardless, despite my best efforts, I cross the road to begin the climb with only 10 minutes left. I power up the hill and run hard around the lake. The aid station volunteers are cheering and clapping for us, as we are past the time limit and done with our race.
Total
Time 15:43:38—eight minutes over the
cut-off time
193 starters (122
finishers under 20 hours)
In most years
this is a hard race. Last year on a
shorter course, I finished with only 34 minutes to spare. This year with a couple of bonus miles combined
with the high heat, it just is not meant to be for me. My only regret was not moving with more purpose
on the section into The Lab. However, it
was very hot at that point, and I didn’t yet have ice on me. Perhaps I should have taken the bandana with
me leaving Naples Creek, and then I could have had it filled at The Sneaker aid
station.
I am now in the
position of not having a qualifier for the Western States lottery in
December. Initially, I am resigned to
this fact and will focus on getting one next year. Then I take a look at the races in September
that are qualifiers, and I notice that one of them is Grindstone on September
20. And at Grindstone there are multiple
distance options. I can run the 100k and
get a qualifier. So, that is my plan. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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