Past Race Reports

Over the past 10 years or so I've posted to the Usenet newsgroup rec.running. Usenet news is the original universal discussion group architecture that was built into the internet early on. Usenet is dying in favor of discussion forums hosted on content-specific websites, but I hope Usenet makes a comeback because of it's unique simple global communication capability.

You can get free access to Usenet, and the best way is to get a free newsreader and a free news account. I use Thunderbird from Mozilla as my newsreader, and Eternal September www.eternal-september.org for my free news account. You can also access Usenet news on google.com. I used to post as qtrader2, then as Tony S.

All my Escarpment Trail Run race reports are on my escarpment trail blog.
Here are some of my other past race reports that I copied from the Usenet archives, including both of my Vermont 50 milers:

***********************************


2004 September: Groundhog 50k, PA

The weather was good at the start at 7am:  low 50's and sunny.  Even though
there were well-stocked aid stations every 3-4 miles, I decided to take some
of my own food and wear a 2 bottle belt so that I could drink whenever I
wanted.  I also carried a small pace chart to check my split times.

Start to 3.5 mile Ball field aid station
36:12 HR 159 - 84th place:

The first 2.5 miles are on roads, and I hate to run on roads, so I went
fairly slow and warmed up, and about 100 people were in front of me.  I
passed about 15 people going down a really steep trail section called "two
beers" hill just before the aid station. My split seemed good to me, but I
thought maybe too fast. I was in a pack of runners still, but because I had
the belt I didn't need to stop yet.

3.5m to 7m Buck run aid st.
38:41 (1:14:53) HR 167 - 70th place:

This leg is net uphill but it has good runable trails, and I passed 14
people here, still trying to find my pace, arriving alone at the split.
Nobody passed me in this section as far as I recall.  I felt really good and
at this point I was asking my body - "can you hold this pace for 6 hours?"
Though my HR was high, I felt relaxed and was going by feel and not paying
much attention to my HRM or my splits. I concentrated on getting my bottles
filled quickly:  I put the clip 2 powder in the bottle and had it ready to
fill before arriving at the aid station.

7m to 11.2m 7 Springs aid st.
46:39 (2:01:33) HR 156 - 70th place:

The 3rd and 4th legs form an 8.1 mile loop that is then repeated in legs 5
and 6. Here you get a mix of very runable straight trail, some twisty trail
sections, and some extremely steep hills that you are forced to walk at a
very slow hiking pace.  During this leg I slowed my pace somewhat and 3
others caught me when I stopped to piss. I was still feeling good, but a
little worried about my pace being too high.

11.2m to 15.1m Buck run (1/2 way)
40:59 (2:42:32) HR 158 - 71st place:

On this leg I was trying to drop the 3 others who caught me on the last leg,
and pulled into the aid station ahead of them.  Carrying the 2 bottle belt
helped alot because I could fill up then drink while running, while some of
the others would take much longer stops.  One woman who had been having
stomach problems finally got over whatever it was and dropped our group on a
long uphill; she ran while we walked.  It was starting to get hotter, and
ended up being in the low 80's at the finish.

15.1m to 19.3m 7 Springs again
46:00 (3:28:33) HR 157 - 70th place:

On this leg there was still a group of 4 of us shadowing each other, but
then me and this other guy Brett dropped the other 2 for good, and ran the
rest of the way together. This was really the first time I got an idea I was
on a good pace. Prior to the race I really had no clue what kind of time I
would run, having never run the course and having never run an official 50k.
A loose goal for me was to run under 6 hours.

19.3m to 23.2m Buck run last time
42:10 (4:10:43) HR 159 - 67th place:

I was still feeling pretty good, though my quads were starting to get a
little beat up from all those steep ups and downs.  We passed a few people
and I was happy to finish the 2 loops and start heading home - 7.9 miles to
go!

23.2m to 27.3m Ball field
47:06 (4:57:50) HR 158 - 64th place:

On this leg the return route is longer and takes you up this VERY steep
nasty little hill. We passed a few more guys in here. At this point my quads
were hurting bad, and as I filled my bottle for the last time I knew I only
had 30-40 mins left in me.  The heat wasn't helping at this point, and
though I was drinking a 20oz bottle every 40 mins, I was getting dehydrated.
(I took 4 succeed caps throughout the race).

27.3m to 31.1m Finish
41:13 (5:39:02) HR 158 - 63rd place of 124:

This was the suffering part - my quads were shot and alot of this final leg
is on roads which sucked.  Luckily the guy I was running with was shot too
so we chose to walk certain sections but we still passed several people. I
don't know why the race results don't show us picking up places here; the
guys we passed didn't look like trekkers. I kept my running form the last
1.5 miles to the finish, but the other guy had more left and took off down
the final hill, beating me by 25 seconds or so.

Summary:

A 5:39 was a great time for me.  My previous 50k time was a split time in a
50 mile race, and was 6:28, so I was 49 mins faster than that.  My HR
profile showed a drop-off in HR during legs 3 and 4 (the first 8 mile loop)
, but my lap time for the 2nd loop was almost the same. Overall I think I
paced myself well, and passed people throughout the race. In retrospect I
maybe should have held back a little in leg 2 with my HR at 167 vs. my race
HR avg. of 159. The final 2 legs were very tough and were slower, but my
form held up pretty well. The pace chart I took with me had split times for
5:40 to 8 hours, so I expected to be somewhere in that range - but surprised
to be at the lower end of it.

*****************************


2005 June:  Double Trouble 30k, PA

I decided 2 weeks ago to do this race as tune up for my goal race of the
summer (the escarpment trail run), so I just did a mini-taper: shortened my
Thursday run to 50 mins from the usual 90-100 mins, and moved my day off to
Saturday to rest the legs a bit. Little did I know that the temps would be
in the 90's with high humidity this weekend...

The race was in French Creek state park in Pennsylvania, south of Allentown.
I've been to that park several times before and liked it, including running
in a couple orienteering meets there 20 years ago. It's also near Reading
PA, a hotbed for trail racing in the east coast, so the turn out was good.

The race consists of a 15k and a 30k for those who choose to run the longer
distance. You can decide at any point before you've run 15k whether to stop
or go on and do a 2nd loop. I felt good about my training and my weight is
down 10 pounds since last summer, and my running has improved. Still, I
really had no idea what kind of time to shoot for, not knowing the course
and since I was really doing the race as hard training. Even having lost
weight, I'm carrying 171 pounds on a 5'9 frame, less than ideal for hot
weather, so I knew I would have trouble with heat as the day warmed up.

The race started about 10:10 am, temp in the low 80's already, and I was
sweating just standing around waiting for the start, but I was relaxed and
felt ready to go. The course is rated a "medium difficulty" trail race, and
that's about right. There were some really rocky sections, and almost no
flats - it's a series of long runable hills with few steeper sections.

As I began the race, pacing was on my mind - how fast to go?  and maybe I'll
just do the 15k because it's already hot and humid and it's gonna be really
damn hot later. I let dozens of runners pass me as I thought about pace and
effort, my HRM being of little use because of the heat (20 minutes before
the race, my HR was about 100 just standing around, whereas in cool temps it
will be <70). I decided to use HR some to pace, but I added on 15-20 bpm to
account for the severe heat/humidity.

I took a single bottle belt pack, with salt tabs and some gels etc. The race
actually had mile splits, but I missed several of them and since the course
was so hilly they were of little use in pacing. I felt good, so I kept pace
with many of the 15k runners for much of the first loop, letting some pass
me as I settled on running the 30k.

I knew I was going at too fast a pace to run the whole 30k at that speed,
but I figured I would run comfortably while it was "cooler" and then just go
into ultra mode for the 2nd 15k, since it was primarily a hard training run
for me anyway. I ended up passing several 15k runners in the last few k, and
felt good about my 15k, coming in with a time of about 1:35. At least I got
in some very solid up-tempo training during that part of the race. Most of
the course was shaded, with some clear areas, and the finish area was
blazing hot, an indication that the day was really beginning to heat up. I'd
guess it was in the high 80's by then.

I had been drinking about (2) 20oz bottles per hour (about all I could get
down) and I took salt tabs at :45 and 1:35, after the first 15k, when I
stopped to tape an emerging blister. That took me longer than it should have
and I started the 2nd 15k at 1:39. I still felt good, the legs were smooth,
though the heat was starting to bite. Since I had decided to do the 2nd loop
slower and in "ultra mode", I walked many sections of the hills early on,
even though they weren't that steep. My HR didn't want to go below about
160, unless I slowed to a crawl, then it would go down to about 155 :)  The
heat was beginning to slow me, but I continued to drink as much as possible.
I drank some gatorade the first loop, but the 2nd loop I switched to plain
water, and ate some accel gel to get some carbs in.

The heat continued to get worse, so about 4 miles into the 2nd loop, I began
walking all hills, something I had anticipated. With about 3 miles to go to
the finish, I really hit a heat wall, and I lost my thirst too, though I
continued to drink a little. My HR dropped now to 155-160, as I was out of
gas, quite down in weight from sweating so much, and beginning to get heat
exhaustion. The last 3.3 miles took 48 mins - I was falling apart.

I came in with a time of about 3:33, in about 44th place. I was happy with
that considering the heat.  So the 2nd lap took me about 1:56, or 21 mins
longer than the 1st. Nice positive split there :)  I don't know how many
other finishers there were, will have to check the website later, but
wouldn't be surprised if I finished back in the pack a bit in a hotbed area
like that for trail running.

After the race I was pretty light headed, and not thirsty or hungry. After
drinking some water, I went to rest in the shade for about 30-40 mins, and
had to lie down. I wondered how bad the heat exhaustion was, but only time
would tell. After getting the shits in a nearby patch of woods, I staggered
slowly up the hill towards my car. As I staggered (past the Ambulance) my
vision went gray, and my head was very light, but I was confident once I got
to my car, turned on the AC, and got some endurox into me, I'd be fine after
a while. This turned out to be true; after lying in my car for a few mins, I
was ready to drive home. As I pulled out, the temp on the car thermometer
was 93, and the car was in the shade.  When I got home I was still 3 pounds
light, so I may have been down as much as 6-7 pounds at the end of the race,
but took my salts and drank as much as I could - the heat won today.

The good news is my legs felt great after the run. They used to tighten up
during the latter stages of races like this, but this time they felt fine,
it was the heat exhaustion that got me. There was more good news when I got
home - I got my escarpment trail race acceptance in the mail.

********************************


2005 September:  Vermont 50 mile trail run

Race Summary:

Start:   6:36 am, (at dawn)
Finish: 4:40 pm, 10:04:30, 57th of 99

Temps high 30's start, about 60 at the finish, windy and cold all day,
especially on exposed ridges. Slightly humid.

Total climb on my Polar s625x was 7980 feet, and there was probably at least
an additional 500 feet on top of that not accumulated on rolling terrain.
(The s625x only accumulates ascent in 20 foot blocks, and anything less won'
t be counted).

HR average 141 (74% of HR max), HR max in race 161 (85% Max).

Feeling afterward about the race: Satisfied with the effort.
Words of the day: Pain Management.

Course Description:

The course was absolutely stunning, with a great variety of trails. It was
quite a mix: 2 miles tar roads, 15 miles dirt roads, 5 miles jeep roads, 23
miles ATV trails, and 5 miles of single track. In the 1st 1/2, there were
virtually no rocks, roots or obstacles, and most of it was very runable. The
2nd 1/2 was more technical, with more single track, and with some rocky
sections. There seemed to be much more climb in the 1st 1/2 and more
downhills in the 2nd. Almost always it was up or down, with limited flat
sections. There were *many* gradual uphills on the borderline of walk or run
(at least for me).

Some blow-by-blow:

I went to sleep at 7pm at the campground and got up at 3am after tossing all
night. After an early breakfast I sat in pre-race contemplation in the chill
air in the dark. My body felt rested but it had been worn out from training
until the last few days. My mind was ready, gearing up for the challenge of
running all day. The truth would reveal itself as it always does in an
ultra: your true physical and mental self will be tested and laid bare in a
way that little else can come close to.

Nobody I know of warms up for an ultra; normal morning preparations and
walking back and forth to the car is enough to be ready to run. For whatever
reason though, my body wasn't ready to run this day. I started out at my
normal long run training pace of ~70% of Max HR, but it was cold, and that
may have contributed to the tightness I was experiencing. By the first aid
station I realized that I didn't have my running legs. I had stiffness in my
left knee, right hip, left hamstring, and a few other places. Normally
everything loosens up after 15 minutes, though sometimes it takes longer.

Bad legs occupied most of my attention for the two hours as I tried to work
the problem. I knew if I wasn't really careful it would be either a DNF or a
day of excruciating pain. Was I low on food or salts? Not based on my
preparations. Other electrolytes? It was worth a try, so I opened a pouch of
electro mix that has mostly magnesium and potassium and took some. My plan
was to eat and drink as much as possible, so I established the pattern
early, taking a salt tab at one hour and nibbling on a protein/carb bar, and
eating at every aid station.

As the legs got worse I thought 'what have I got to lose' - if my stomach
gets bad because of it so be it - and took some aspirin. Because it was
mainly muscle ache pain, I wasn't worried about injury, so later in the day
I took ibuprofen, tylenol, and more aspirin. I really don't know what was
wrong but my legs were just so bad it was either do that or DNF. The pain
never went away, but the painkillers helped me enough to run smoothly and
then I was able to focus on the race, how hard to go in which places, when
to walk, how much to conserve, how much to eat, to drink - and of course to
enjoy the trails, scenery and good conversation.

While the legs continued to be problematic, after about 2 hours I settled in
and was enjoying the race more. Some of the singe-track of the first 1/2 was
the best I've ever run on: smooth soft dirt with no rocks or roots and
sweeping turns to float on, with long sections slightly downhill as well. I
ran with a slow 50k runner until she turned off, then I found someone else
to run with on the long 8 mile leg to aid station #4. Good conversation
helped me to settle in and enjoy the run more.

After checkpoint 4, there was a very long downhill section of over 2 miles
that began to drain the quads. There was a section of beautiful single-track
trail and a section of dirt road, and it was quite a contrast. The dirt road
was clearly faster, but the single-track was so much nicer to run on. I ran
with a guy I picked up at checkpoint 4 through this entire section and for
the next 12 miles. He had done the VT 100 and the 50 a few times and many
other ultra races and we had a good conversation and paced each other well.

After (or maybe just before) checkpoint 6 at 32 miles, there began a really
long series of ATV and/or single-track switchbacks that were quite funny as
they weaved endlessly back and forth. An unscrupulous runner could have cut
the course in many places, but most people in an ultra are honest I think,
and too focused on the trail to notice such opportunities. It was in these
sections and in later slightly more technical sections where we would
see-saw with a few straggling bikers, although we had seen a dozen or so
bikers earlier, some having mechanical problems, some just slow. (The bikers
all started before the runners).

In the downhills from aid station 6 at mile 32 to aid station 7 at mile 37,
my quads were feeling it, and I began to slow my pace slightly on the
downhills in order to conserve enough strength in my legs to finish the race
still running all flats and downhills. While in this section I had to stop
to take my 2nd piss - A good sign I was hydrating well - and who should pass
me but Doug. Being the wily ultra-veteran, Doug had started a bit slower
than me, though I hadn't exactly been burning it up with my bad legs and
all.

I ran with Doug for a while through aid station 7 at 37 miles and through
most of the next leg to aid station 8 at 42 miles. He was watching the clock
and was starting to pick it up in order to break 10 hours, and was rolling
down the hills, whereas I needed to slow down slightly on the hills. Since
he was itchy to break 10 hours, I called to him "go for it" as he pulled
away downhill and added "I've gotta save enough to get up to my car
after!" - which sounded a bit like a joke at the time but I was being
serious as everyone was asked to park up the hill from the finish, and when
you're toast (as I've been on other occasions) it can be a challenge getting
up the hill to the car after the race. I last saw him just leaving aid
station 8 as I was coming in.

The last 8 miles were tough, as much of it was downhill. I was encouraged by
a guy who passed me. He wasn't in the race and said he was running just the
last 18 miles of the course and that I looked better than anyone else he
passed. My form hadn't broken down, I was just slower on the downs than I
would have liked because I knew I had to save something. It was paying off
here in the last 8 miles. I caught and passed at 6-7 more people. I think I
passed about 20-25 people all day, and was passed by about 5 or 6 at various
points.

Just before the final aid station at 47 miles, there were several guys
walking who tried to run as I came up and passed them, but their legs were
toast. The final 3 miles was a climb up the side of the mountain, then a
traverse across the ski slope, then down a ski run to the finish. I passed
one more guy in the woods just before the ski slope, and it was clear his
quads were badly shot. I passed on some advice I was using myself now in
places: run down very steep stuff backwards if your quads are going or are
gone. Doing that a few times in the final mile or so saved just enough for
me to run down the final patch of ski run to the finish area (and to get
back up to my car easily :).

My goal had been to run evenly and within myself throughout the race,
especially in the first 1/2, and to see what that got me. The time wasn't
important, but I was somewhat pleased with a 10:04 considering my problems.
I was able to run all the flats and downhills and almost all of the gradual
uphills, just slowed somewhat on the downhills in the last 1/3 particularly.
I was satisfied with how I measured my pace enough to finish running. I
never got to a point where I had to walk on a flat. It was a rich, full day,
but quite hard. My love of trail running will always be there. I don't love
the challenge of ultras in the same way I love trail running, but I'm glad I
tried another 50 mile and did better than the first time.

Hydration and Eating:

I took succeed salt caps every hour for the first 7 hours, then every 45
minutes. It was a cool day, but I drank a great deal - at least 19 20oz
bottles, and many more cups at aid stations. I also ate something at every
aid station from #3 on, and nibbled a large protein bar in the first 6
hours. Then I switched to sandwiches (PB&J went down very well) and cookies
for the rest of the race. Coke and Mt. Dew tasted good. I drank the Heed
maltodextrin sports drink they offered and it went down well. I carried Heed
in two 20oz bottles I filled at every station. My saving grace was that my
stomach was very good (that and near perfect weather).

Splits:
   time  HR ascent ~mile
 1 0:45 144   440'    4
 2 0:50 145   820'    9
 3 0:44 146   640'   12
 4 1:37 145  1820'  20
 5 1:06 141   640'   26
 6 1:17 139  1060'  32
 7 1:10 136  1060'  37
 8 0:37 140   440'   42
 9 1:18 137   540'   47
10 0:41 137   520'  50

The distances given are approximate, based on the aid stations as listed on
the course map. Generally, my HR is lower in the 2nd half, owing in part to
running the downhills slower in an effort to (keep running) preserve my
quads to the very end. I had much more aerobic capacity that I couldn't use;
the legs were the limiting factor. I wish I knew the descent in more detail
because it seemed like the 2nd 1/2 of the race was mostly downhill (an
observation rendered unreliable because my quads were hurting).

General Lessons:

Wear more clothes. I wore a singlet and was cold early in the race, and also
later in the race as the wind picked up. It was 50f or less up on the hills
even later in the day, and about 60f at the finish, but it was slightly
humid, so the wind made it a bit raw.

Train more on downhills and don't over-train.

Training Critique:

In retrospect I was at least slightly over-trained, meaning I didn't give my
legs enough recovery time from my last harder sessions, and/or some of my
training sessions were just too hard. My long run of 7 hours 3 weeks before
the race was probably an hour too long. I also did shorter runs 2 weeks and
1 week before that were a bit too fast, even though they were done mostly
below 80% effort. Apparently that was too much on top of the month of 4-5
hour runs I did every week in late August and early September. Also when I'm
doing very long runs, I gain weight, some from extra bulk in my legs, and
some fat from overeating due to increased hunger such sessions bring. In the
2 months between my escarpment race and the Vermont 50, I gained back about
5 pounds to about 168.

Personal Course Critique:

In the last 1/2, there were far too many trails traversing hills with a
right-to-left slope, exacerbated by the final traversing of a 30+% ski slope
right before the finish. This made for some blisters and an extra painful
right hip. Also, the technical sections, while not very rocky, were
difficult in the last 15 miles only. Much of the first 30 miles was on very
smooth curvy but soft runable trail. It really would have been nice to have
that toward the end instead of more technical and an inordinate amount of
right-to-left slope. This being said, overall there were over 10 miles of
the best trails I've ever run on in this course.

******************************


2006 June:  Mt Greylock Trail Half Marathon

The big sleep:

Arriving at the Greylock campground late afternoon Saturday, I planned to
drive to the top and have a look around, but realizing I was exhausted, I
settled for a short drive out to the stony ledge lookout near the
campground. The culmination of an easy week, my body decompressing and
telling me straight out "you've got a race tomorrow -- chill". So There I
was sleeping at 8:30 pm, not appreciating the campfire much, and 11 hours
later what a great sleep it was.

The warmup:

Lucky for me the big heatwave didn't arrive until morning because it was a
nice low 60's sleep - but once I got to the start I knew the weather
forecasters weren't joking around. Once I put on my monitor, my heart rate
was already humming at about 110 just STANDING around preparing my gear and
stuff. It was humid and about 80 degrees just before the start at 10am. Then
the start was delayed 15 minutes (to let it heat up a bit more ;).

Big hill climb:

Mt Greylock at 3491 feet is the highest point in Massachusetts, and the
small range of mountains surrounding it is pretty impressive locally, rising
2500'+ above the surrounding towns. It's a very wet area generally, as
western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut get more snowfall than most
other parts of new england, and these particular mountains get even more
snow and rain. The race starts at about 1200' and goes to the top, for a
climb of ~2300' in about 3 miles, on singletrack hiking trails.

I felt pretty good (if already hot) after a brief warmup, and seemed to have
good legs, so I placed myself in the middle of the field at the start.
Normally I wouldn't warmup before a race this long, but since my feet had
been feeling funny this week (some aches and pains decompressing from
training) I didn't want to shock them.

Everyone ran the easy early slopes, but I let some people pass me as it got
steeper when I began to pace myself by hiking. My heart rate was high
(>90%), but my legs felt ok, so I just based my effort on how the legs
felt -- if they started to show signs by getting too heavy I slowed down or
hiked. About 20 minutes in, I passed a very young guy I had spoken briefly
with before the start who had vowed to run every step to the summit. He was
gasping heavily and he didn't look good. I offered him some free advice:
when you get to the steep stuff, take short quick steps to save your legs. I
later saw him finish nearly an hour after me.

Some of the trail was very steep, and other parts were runable. I felt hot
but decent at the summit, taking 50 minutes for the 3+mile 2300+' climb,
where I ran only 1/4-1/3 and power-hiked the rest.

Off the top:

Towards the top, several of a group I had been with most of the climb pulled
ahead, but I soon found myself right behind them on a steep technical
descent, with lots of very wet slippery rocks. I was sliding some but didn't
want to slow down, and grew frustrated when others would suddenly almost
stop to navigate a particular section. I asked to pass, and picked my way
past 1/2 dozen people, going a bit harder than normal just to get to a spot
where I could run at my pace.

This turned out badly as I overcooked it slightly and later lost a little of
my fluid footing, which led to a very nasty fall on little waterfall area --
I landed hard on my left side - leg, knee, arm, shoulder and I banged my
head on the rock too. I was shook up and lay there 30-45 seconds(?) checking
myself for blood on the head and assessing the impact. Luckily the force of
the fall was spread out all over my left side before my head hit. After I
got up and started running again I was back in the same group I had
painstakingly passed. I spend the next mile or so cleaning the mud off and
checking my head for blood. (There was none). It hurt a little but after 15
minutes it was fine and my mind was back on the race.

The last 9? miles:

In the final sections of the race, there were *lots* of short little hills,
and one 2 mile slightly up, but hard to run in the heat. I was see-sawing
with a small group of people through here, some of whom finished ahead of
me, a couple behind me. I caught and passed a few, and was passed by a
couple of others as well.

It was in this section where the heat really started to bite. While it had
been around 80 degrees at the start, and the humidity was evident there, in
this section it got really steamy because it was on the east side of the
mountain and was getting baked by the sun. There was also lots of water in
the woods, and the trail was frequently muddy and waterlogged so that you
had to run on the sides.

It was getting close to 90 degrees now, and with very limited heat-training
this year, I was suffering quite a bit. I lamented misplacing my little
ziplock with the salt tabs, though I continued to drink at the aid stations.
Remembering what had happened last year (on the same very weekend) in the
double-trouble 30k when I got heat-exhausted and almost needed an IV -- I
made sure to slow my pace some the last 5 miles or so. I walked a bit here
or there, but ran 98% of what remained, except for the steeper hills.

The finish

In the final little section I was really overheated, so I walked every
little hill, and lost a lot of time, but just wanted to get in and be able
to walk around and do the normal post-race stuff unlike last year when I had
to lie down for over an hour and felt sick for 2-3 hours. Even with all
that, I wasn't passed in the last 2 miles, and passed one more guy I hadn't
seen before. As I ran into the finish and got to my car for some salts and
endurox, I think I gauged the effort pretty well. I may have gone out a bit
too hard, but it's also certainly true that the heat would have melted me
anyway as it got hotter.

Post-race:

After letting my HR settle and rehydrating at my car, I went back to check
results, eat something (great food tables and cookout) and watch remaining
finishers. It's a nice atmosphere for a race, some really great trails and
views, and I was glad to have made the trip. After a while, and I should
have noticed it sooner, I saw some kids swimming in the adjacent pond. It
looked a bit murky but I had to give it a go. Ahhhh refreshing cool water to
soak my legs and body, where I could still watch finishers. That was a real
treat and was very relaxing before tackling the Sunday afternoon traffic
home.

Afterthoughts:

Given the heat (80+ start 90+ finish) and humidity (rain soaked forest and
low visibility with haze), I was ok with my time. Under  good conditions I
expected to run about 2:20 on this course. They made it longer last year
however (not reflected yet on the map they provide from their website); it
was closer to 14 miles than a half marathon. So while I wasn't anywhere
close to the winner's time (1:46:44 today), placing 52nd overall, I was ok
with my effort, and my HR tells the story. I don't think I've ever run a
race over 2.5 hours above 90% effort.

2:38:06 HR 176 (92.6% max)
about 4000' climb overall, much of it in little ups and downs.
Splits: (not much meaning except HR in race phases)
Climb 50:54 (176) straight up
aid#2 31:39 (176) down and rolling little hills (fell in here)
aid#3 22:54 (178) rolling and up (trying to stay with 2 faster guys)
aid#4 41:14 (174) very long rolling and down (backed off)
last    11:26 (174) rolling and net down (dying)

http://www.runwmac.com/info-greylocktrail.html

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2006 September:  Vermont 50 mile trail run

In contrast with last year, which was frigid at the start, this year's race
began under cloudy skies at a balmy 64 degrees. I felt better trained and
more rested and relaxed than last year as I waited in the dark while the
mountain bikers assembled for their tiered starts. Not that I feel like an
ultra veteran; I'm far from it and am still learning a great deal, but I've
done enough long races to know how to prepare and what to bring, which takes
the anxiety out of organizing my gear and stuff. On the other hand, 50 miles
is a distance that still gives me considerable apprehension. This was my
third try at the distance, with a 2002 "finish" in 11:33 on almost no
training (literally running less than once a week) - and last year's Vermont
50 miler on consistent but low-mileage training in 10:04.

This year I'd improved my training with more volume, and with consistent
almost weekly long runs over 2 hours. Leading up to Vermont, I had fairly
consistent long hilly runs over 3 and 4 hours, including the escarpment
trail run 8 weeks ago where I improved my time 5% over last year. My goal
this year was to avoid overtraining for the race and to improve my result
over last year.

Before the start I chatted with other runners about the course, and met
several first time 50 mile racers, so I gave them what little advice I had
as a still relatively inexperienced ultra runner. One guy was from Florida
and hadn't trained on any hills. I felt bad for the rude awakening he would
probably have later in the day. Later I saw him within the first 20 miles,
and he still looked ok, but don't know what fate befell him. Another young
woman first timer who I'd helped find her way from the parking area to the
start area in the dark before the race ran well up to about halfway, but I
didn't see her after that.

I took the start and first few miles easy to warm up and get the legs moving
again after a couple of rest days. The main thing I've learned about ultras
is that it pays to take your time and relax early on, which often means
finding others to run with and doing a little socializing. This race was no
exception as I met up with Doug, Jackie and a few others. We also found the
young woman I'd met before the race. Running with the girls early on is a
nice way to begin the day!

Though rain was forecast, the sun showed itself a few times early on, and
later it came out in full (I think sometime after the first 15 miles or so)
and it began to feel warm since it was pretty humid anyway. This wasn't the
best sign for a "fast" time, but what are you going to do - just enjoy the
race as best you can. I was eating early and often, energy bars, fig
newtons, cookies, and sports drink, trying to pile on the calories to
conserve as much glycogen as possible for later in the race.

It was interesting what I remembered about the course from last year. It was
more vague recollection most of the time, as I remembered seeing particular
sections, but couldn't always place them on the course in my mind. As the
day wore on, my mental map of the major hills and sections seemed to improve
somewhat, though since the course had changed again (it does almost every
year), some sections seemed new but might not have been. Up to about the
fourth aid station at about mile 20 I felt pretty good, though running
conservatively like most of the runners around me.

Sometime after 20 miles, on the downhills that follow that section, I began
to experience the pain that always creeps in during an ultra (at least for
me). It was in here that I experienced my second "what the hell am I doing
here" moment; (the first time was the night before getting up really early
to eat breakfast before driving to the start). The pain was mainly a general
ache in my frontal and outer quads, which didn't surprise me that much since
that's where I always get pain in ultras, but this year I'd hoped that more
consistent hill work would at least delay the onset of the pain until later
in the race; such wasn't to be the case. I didn't relish the prospect of 5+
hours more running in increasing pain, but that's what the day had in store
for me, and I laughed inwardly at the prospect. Yes, I told myself once
again, I wasn't built for ultras! Insofar as probably most people in ultras
experience pain I'm not claiming to be unique, but I suspect some people get
a lot further into the race before they have to begin to work through the
pain, though maybe not. I don't believe it was my pace, because I took it
out very easy. In other words the problem wouldn't have been solved had I
gone out much slower. Additionally, I think that even with more training,
the pain would still come, perhaps somewhat later, but it would still come.
Ok, enough about pain, just to say that it got progressively worse as the
day wore on!

At the ~25 mile aid station we came through in about 4:40, though that means
nothing because the course is tougher in the second half, with just as much
climb, lots of twisty single-track, and a fair number of technical sections
as well. After the halfway point there's a very long uphill, and the sun
came out fully and it started to feel hotter. It was at this time also that
I realized I was low on fluids, and it was a ways (5+ miles) to the next aid
station, so the liter bottle I had was soon empty. I suffered from the
warmth of the day and tighter legs due to dehydration through the next 12
miles or so. After that I not only got a full bottle at each station, I
would drink as much as I could get down right there as well.

Shortly after we passed through the ~32 mile station, I finally began to
feel better, and it was also then that the long anticipated thunderstorm
arrived, completely drenching us and providing much needed relief. At that
point I was trailing Doug and a friend he was running with, but soon began
to catch up to them again as I felt better.

We had been on a well-packed dirt road when the rain started, and it didn't
rain that long - just long enough to cool things down and get the trails
muddy. Shortly after it stopped raining we were on a very long section of
single-track with well over a hundred switchbacks weaving first down, then
across, and then down this mountainside. There are 5-7 miles of that stuff,
and it was very slippery after the rain, but I found it a bit like
glissading on snowy trails, and I was enjoying it. At that point Doug was
behind me and I had caught up to a very pretty lady named Shelly who was
running well, but was having trouble with the mud. I was ahead through most
of the switchbacks, but after that Shelly and Doug caught up to me again as
they were never far behind. We left her at the aid station at about 38
miles, though I'd wished she'd kept running with us ;)

We were moving at a pretty good clip, passing people who were slowing down,
and running up many of the smaller less-steep hills. My legs were hurting
like hell already, but I felt very strong aerobically, so I kept up the
pace.  I could tell Doug was thinking about the 10 hour mark, and we were
going slightly faster than earlier in the day. When it got flat or down I
had more trouble keeping up due to my limited legspeed, and Doug took the
lead. I was more than happy to follow him at this point, as he had a nice
rhythm going.

The latter part of the course has some surprisingly technical sections, and
we passed several people in there. Coming out at the second to last aid
station at ~42 miles I tanked up and made sure to keep drinking because the
cooling rain was well behind us now and it was sunny and warm again. This
final 8 miles was the toughest time in the race for me, as my legs were
hurting badly; my quads were getting stiff but were still workable, and I
didn't want to slow down substantially. I wasn't concerned with the sub-10
finish that I knew was on Doug's mind - but I was really into the racing
part of it at that point, that is, leaving it all out on the course and
passing people. Had I led we would have gone a bit slower because it was too
painful for me to push on the downs, so I followed Doug and hung in there
the best I could.

At the pre-race meeting the director had told us that while the overall
course length was unknown due to changes this year, he had measured and
marked the last 5 miles, so when we came to the 5 miles to go marker, of
course we checked our time to see if we could possibly make it in under 10
hours. We were at 9:02+, so we had less than 58 minutes, which sounds easy
since that's just under 12 min miles, but. this is a trail race with lots of
little ups and downs, and one more medium climb to go.

I was suffering badly, and the thought of another hour of running at ANY
pace bothered my mind greatly. On the other hand, I didn't feel that slowing
down would be that much less painful. I would go as long as my legs held up.
Since we were still occasionally passing people, that was a little reward
for the effort, so I wanted to try to keep up the pace. Doug was a great
pacer for this last part since he led most of the way, but my aerobic
fitness was very strong so the pace was well within my range.

The final little bit on the roads before we hit the 3 miles-to-go final aid
station sucked big time, and as we got one last shot of fluids we checked
the clock and had 36 mins to do the final 3 miles, easy under ordinary
circumstances, but here we had trails with a few short steep dips, some
rough patches, and some climb to go with that. I wasn't optimistic, but I
was still able to go, and we did a fair amount of running up the hill on the
stuff that wasn't too steep. The trail winds its way up the side of the
mountain before turning back eventually to the ski slope where there's a
final bit of downhill to the finish. There was more uphill than we
remembered, some of it quite steep.

We hit the one mile to go marker and . there was *more* uphill in a place we
hadn't remembered it, but that was followed by a mostly flat if difficult to
run section that traverses the ski slope. I ended up taking the lead for the
final push, and I let it all go there -- the last bit of strength left in my
quads was used up pacing it in. There was even a half mile to go marker, but
I didn't look at the watch. As we weaved down to the finish we both knew we
were going to make it, and we finished at the same time.

The time was 9:57:38 on my stopwatch, so we made it with room to spare, most
of it in that last mile. I was happy to break 10, and as things worked out
it made it worth shooting for. Had it been out of reach I would have slowed
down for the last 5 miles. Since the course had changed from last year it's
hard to compare it, but I know I was fitter this year, and I know I pushed
harder in the race this year. Two things that made the course a challenge
this year were first the warmth (it was 65-75 this year and humid, 39-59
last year) and second the rain, which was helpful in that it cooled us off
briefly, but it also made parts of the course very slippery for many miles,
slowing things down some. While those might have been the only factors, a
few people I talked to thought the course had more climb or was harder in
some way, and I agree, though it's hard to know. The final 3 mile push had
been hard, with at least 520 of the 8,500+ vertical feet coming in those
last 3 miles. We did a couple of 12+mpm up the hills, then a 8+ something in
the final mile I figure.

Considering everything, it was a good day for me in result, though I can't
say that I enjoy ultras with the pain they bring me in a sustained way for
so many hours. I could improve more but I don't know if I will go back to
the Vermont 50 or to other ultras; they're a lot of work for a lot of pain
;) A couple of Doug's friends went out for fast times and they both crashed
and burned, finishing in over 11 hours. Jackie finished 1st in her age group
a few mins behind us, and Doug bagged a 2nd place age group award for his
deserving effort. Me - I got a slight improvement and very very sore legs! I
owe the sub-10 to Doug; I wouldn't have done it on this day if it weren't
for his pacing help in the last 10 miles.

The warm sunny weather had its advantages at the finish area this year as it
was perfect for hanging out and eating a post-race dinner while watching
other runners come in. I was surprised that I was hungry and able to eat so
soon after finishing, and aside from my legs I felt pretty good. I guess
that's evidence of good fitness this year that I could push myself hard in
the last 3 miles with a HR over 80% max, and be hungry 20 mins later - it
doesn't usually happen like that.

After a second dinner and crashing at the motel for a while, I woke up in
the middle of the night and decided to drive home when there was no traffic.
On I-91 in northern Mass a coyote crossed the freeway in front of me; that
somehow completed the race weekend experience for me.

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