The Long Run

11.33 mi,  1:29:52, 7:56 avg

Striders run at Longleaf, but actually no longer in Longleaf, but up and down the Starkey Bike trail and parts of Aristide neighborhood, but I still call it Longleaf.  Nice cool 50's, perfect for running.  2.7 miles to water stop, then gradually picked it up after that, then picked it up some more after mile 3.  Ran mainly in the 7:20's and 7:30's with one mile at 6:48.  Finished Longleaf with 9 miles, socialized for a few minutes with the group before heading back home.

Decided I'd do a quick loop around the neighborhood because I felt good, it was a perfect morning and was doing good on time.  Finished up with a few strides.

8.29 mi, 1:05:23, 7:53 avg

I started out just thinking I'd do an easy run but for variety I ran out to the new park where there is a marked trail  and decided to do some repeats since the loop around the parked as 1/4 mile markings for a 1 mile course.  Decided on 800's, thought about doing just a few then settled on 5.  I ended up doing just 4 since I have a long race coming up on Sunday and this was more just for fun and also because I did the 4th one better than expected I thought a very small reward was in order. 

repeat times:  2:50, 2:58, 2:59, 2:48

I didn't know I could run that fast still, I'll add some more on next time or maybe do 1K repeats but try for the same pace.

I watched Andy later that day at his track meet, he ran in the 4x800m.  This was his first time doing a relay event.  I timed 2:38 which was a little bit slower than the other 800's I've wathced him do but this was his first time doing a relay so maybe that cost him a second or two doing the hand off at the start and finish.

9.07 mi, 1:20:02, 8:49 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd, started at 7:00, Joe joined us a little bit later.  Did the usual routes and took the long way around the loop on the way back and overshot my house just enough to be over 9 miles for the morning.  Perfect weather.  I was feeling a bit draggy this morning but Joe was keeping a pretty good pace otherwise I might have ended up a lot slower.

10.19 mi, 1:30:32, 8:53 avg

Ran with Cynthia in Starkey Park, did 6 miles together then I stayed for a bit for the Striders social hour which are no longer weekly but monthly so it was a good chance to see a number of people I've been missing.  Weather was low 50's so a little chilly feeling until warmed up then perfect.

Got back home and decided to add on a little more.  I turned left out of my driveway but didn't cross any side streets but turned down each side street.  It quickly added up.  What would normally be a one mile run (out to main gate and back) turned into a little bit over 4 miles.  It was tedious at first but was kind of fun.  Not sure if I could do the entire neighborhood this way, sure it would be over 10 miles.

Tomorrow is the 33 1/3 mile "Long Play" race, which is preparation for the 68 mile race in two weeks.

Long overdue Race Report for Long Play Ultra

Overall, in the big scheme of things this was a pretty good and successful race, not perfect but the good far outweighing the bad.  I ran this race last year pacing Dixie for much of it to help him get through his fist ultramarathon and I ran a time of 6:18, whereas 3 years ago I ran this race for Western States training with a time of 5:22 (on a very cold day perfect for running and dry trails).

This year's race conditions were cool at the start with a little bit of warming in the afternoon with trail conditions that were mostly dry except for four brief water crossings.  I had also hoped to try out my new Ultimate Direction SJ (Scott Jurek) hydration vest, but I had ordered a size too big and had to send it back so used my trusty 2x10oz Nathan belt instead.

Plan was to start out easy for the first few miles (at whatever pace that happened to be, just go by feel) and then get into a 9:something pace.

Also Cynthia was going to join me, originally for the last 13 miles which turned into 17 miles and if I was feeling really good and needed to pick it up I might have to go ahead of her the last 2 or 3 miles.

The first part of the plan worked out ok, but that shifting into a steady 9:something pace didn't really happen, with only miles 5, 8, and 11 (9:46, 9:38, 9:37) being under 10.

At around mile 16 the trail goes under I-75 where the road goes over the river with the path under ankle deep water (water crossing #1), then just past it the trail crosses a small boat ramp (kayak, canoe launch area).  Cynthia was waiting, happy to have actually found me and having seen the race leaders fly by earlier, she was ready to go with her secret trail legs ready to spring into action.

Before getting to the meeting point, I had decided I wasn't going to try and push the pace, just enjoy the day and finish and I'd go with whatever pace Cynthia felt like running.  However, as we wound our way through the Silver Lake camping area and past a rooty section of trail and onto more runnable trail (although a good amount of sugar sand) we started catching up to people who had been way ahead of me.  At the start of the race I was running with a guy named Adam who was doing his first ultra, who we had now caught up with.  Next up was a woman named Heather who I had not seen earlier because she was way out in front.  For the next couple miles, Heather, Adam, Cynthia and I ran together until we might it to the mile 20 aid station.  Stopped briefly, refilled bottles and before too much time went by, Cynthia and I took off.  So, first 20 miles had actually gone by pretty smoothly.  We made it back to the campground, then through the rooty section, back to the next aid station then back towards the boat ramp.  Cynthia side tripped to her car to get some stuff and I took a walk break until she caught bake up.  Did a quick selfie since I was carrying my phone with me:

However, for most of the rest of the run, this is what I'd be seeing since she said it was better for her to run in the lead:

Next up was the water crossing I had hit on the way out, followed  by the section of trail taking the "low water" route where there were two more water crossing in the flooded cypress grove, where the water was knee-deep (but where it was nearly chest deep last year).  With the warmer temperatures now the water felt pretty good and rejuvenating.

Made it out of the cypress grove and out to Croom Road where the mile 26 aid station was.  Caught up to a couple more runners, got off Croom road and back onto the trail.  Cynthia was setting a good pace now and making it look really easy.  Caught up to another guy who was concerned that he had missed a turn and was headed to Tucker Hill, but I was 98% sure the turn was still up ahead.  Went over Peace Moutain and Croom Mountain, found the turn off of the trail and onto the fire road and before long we were at the unmanned 2.5 miles to go aid station.  I hadn't looked at my watch for a while but noticed the total time was 5:33.  Oh shoot! I was hoping to be a good bit under 6 hours but now I wasn't so sure I'd make it.  The road was good except for the sugary sand but I knew we had paved road and bike trail coming up.  Last two miles were 9:20 and 8:35 with final 0.33 at about 8:00 pace.  We were closing in on a man and woman running ahead who we might have caught if this was a 34 mile race.

Crossed the finish line and received my medal and LP :

Jessica was at the finish line and the three of us hung out for a bit enjoying some food, drink, and music before we had to drive Cynthia back to her car so she could get some time with her family for the rest of Sunday.

This was Cynthia's first longer trail run and she made it look easy and really saved my race from being a tough slog.

5.22 mi, 57:19, 10:58 avg

Ran in the nbhd with Jamie.  I started out really slow and was running maybe around a 10:00 pace by the end.  Not too be for being the day after 33 1/3 mile run.  Good to have some company, I'll take tomorrow off.

6.38 mi, 53:35, 8:24

Ran in the nbhd, solo.  Nice low 60's for temp.  Slow start with increasing speed until last mile at 7:15.  Legs much better than yesterday.

AM: 8.15 mi, 1:01:47, 7:34 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I was not late this time.  Group took off in multiple directions while I was still thinking about what to run.  Early and fast group of Beka, Andrea, and Brian came by first.  I took off with them to say hi but they were already on a 7:15 pace.  Chatted a little bit then dropped back.  Next up came Mike and Jolene, running about a 7:30 pace.  I chatted with them a little bit longer and then dropped back.  First mile was soon done and I was about an 8:00 pace which is way faster than my usual first warm up mile. 

Made it to Aristide but no water again today so turned back to use the water fountain near the Longleaf pool.  Mile paces were getting faster, mile 7 was about 7:15, and finally for mile 8 it was 6:43, then a short cool down at the end to get back to the parking lot.

Pretty good sized group this morning and perfect weather, bank to sleeveless or could have also been shirtless.

PM: 2.14 mi, 17:31, 8:11 avg

Short run on the treadmill at the Y while Thomas was at swimming.

6.1 mi, 57:31, 9:25 avg

Easy run with Joe in the nbhd.  I was dragging a little bit at first but got moving a little bit as the run went on.

11.1 mi, 11:40, 9:01 avg

Ran with Jamie, starting out in the nbhd and running to Thousand Oaks and over to the Y to stop and use the fountain then heading back.  Pretty good run, no complaints!

6.2 mi, 48:36, 7:50 avg

Ran in nbhd, solo, started out not too slow (8:49 first mile) and had a couple of faster miles at the end.  Felt really good especially for a Monday.

6.85 mi, 55:29, 8:05 avg

Ran from Longleaf with the Striders.  Met Rob there who was letting me borrow his National Geographic Map 777 for this Saturday's race (hopefully I won't need it but good to have just in case!).  Ran with him about two miles then kept on going and picked it up a little bit.  Went faster the last few miles on the way back.

6.23 mi, 56:36, 9:04 avg

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd, nice and easy pace, a bit humid and with my hair getting longer starting to feel it more.

Georgia Death Race, short version (maybe longer version later)

This race was somewhat brutal but I'm glad I did it, it was also humbling, beautiful and maybe a few other things.

72ish mile race in north Georgia mountains from Vogel State Park to Amicalola Falls. Finish time of 23:09 at 7:09 just as it was getting light out.

Original goal time was between 18-21 hours, new goal was to finish under 24 hour cut off and earn the spike. The first 26 miles were a series of soul crushing up hills and steep technical downhills.  It took me just over 3 hours to do the first 10 miles.  At that point, some quick math in my head (3 hours times 7 ten mile sections equals 21 hours plus the extra 2 miles it would be tight).  The next ten miles were slower and were really starting to beat me down.  I started thinking that this was not the race I had trained for - I had trained and put in miles including some good long runs but had not hit the hills and spent not nearly enough time on trails.

Surprise magical weapon to snap me out of my low point at mile 21 was a shot of pickle juice. 

Felt better after mile 28 with still 44 miles to go. The next 13 miles were the best miles of the race where my pace was faster than what I needed to average but I was also out of daylight.  When I got to the mile 41 aid station my garmin said 28.3 miles and I thought I was in real danger of not making the cut off time.  Fortunately I was about an hour ahead.

Met some really great people along the way.  I would run into the same group several times - a guy named Tim (early 40's), a woman named Nancy from Texas, Megan from Michigan, and a guy in his 60's named Thomas.  I ran some miles with them, would get ahead for a while and they'd somehow catch up again.

Miles 41 - 47 were pretty good.  The mile 47 aid station was where I tried to recharge my garmin without interrupting it, but it didn't quite work out.  I had some really awesome hot soup (last one to get it because they had to shutdown the camp stove because the propane was leaking and catching fire). I changed into my thermal top and got moving.  Tim and company caught up with me so I decided to just stick with them at least until the next aid station (mile 54).  They seemed to know what they were doing and it was easy to just fall in behind them, mostly fast walking with some running.

At the mile 54 aid station had a really great grilled cheese sandwich.  While waiting for the others I started to shiver from standing around so I set out on my own.  Next aid station was 9 miles away and at the end of a 1300 foot climb.

The next 9 miles were mainly by myself, passed several runners here and there and took it one mile at a time.

Night time temperatures dipped into the low 30's with a steady chilling wind. Got a little worried about hypothermia but was ok as long as I kept moving. Grateful for the mandatory gear list, the warm hat, thermal top and rain jacket kept me just warm enough.

Finally made it to mile 63, tried not to stay too long and got going again.  My headlamp started to die so I stopped to put in new batteries.  About a mile or so out of the aid station, Tim and company caught up to me again - but no Thomas.  I then heard Tim say he was going back for Thomas.

The last three miles were kind of a blur.  There was a section with 600 steps (175, then another set of 425).  I had dreaded the stairs but it turned out they weren't so bad (compared to some of the early miles).  After the stair climb there was downhill but through a pretty windy and rooty path.  And finally, just before the finish line, the course crossed the river right next to a bridge that we were not allowed to use.

Crossed the finish line, turned in the old railroad spike I had to carry for the whole race and was given a nice engraved one.

So, why the spike? The race director went out of his way to design a course that was so hard you need to be "tough as nails" to finish it. The concept behind the death race is you feel most alive when closest to death, the idea was born when the race director Sean Blanton lay near death at a Mt Everest base camp suffering from high altitude pulmonary edema and his race to descend to a lower altitude so he could survive.

I lost most of my Garmin data (partially through poor planning - I had a partial plan where I'd recharge my garmin with a portable usb charger once the battery got low, but I had meant to practice doing this but never got around to it.  When the low battery warning came up, it immediately shut off and once it turned on all the original data was lost and I could also not use it until I unhooked the charger.  I had thought I could use it and charge it at the same time).

4.34 mi, 37:34, 8:38 avg

First run after the big race, nice morning and felt pretty good, first mile was 9:47 and then faster.  Ran out past the water fountain and then back.

5.35 mi, 45:35, 8:31 avg

Cool and a little bit wet out this morning (could hear some thunder throughout the night), went a little bit farther than yesterday, similar route.  Andy was thinking about running with me but decided he'd take a vacation day.

11.6 mi,  1:47:41, 9:17 avg

Met Jamie at Diane's house at 6:30, waited a few minutes and then Joe showed up and we headed out and towards Starkey Park.  Stopped at the shelter a little bit then kept going out to the power lines where Joe took off to do his fast miles.  But as he was picking it up and listening to music he didn't hear is light drop and hit the ground, so we picked up his light and ran after him until he could here us. Let him go again then took it easy for the run.  Quick stop at the shelter again (because someone picked up and took the bottle of water Jamie had stashed) then headed back to Diane's house where we saw Crain (back from his 3500km bike ride in South America), Diane, and Renee.

I did walk the last 0.3 miles or so as we turned onto Haltata, legs were still feeling a little worn.

3.62 mi, 29:48, 8:14 avg

Short out and back run this mornnig from my house to the Heritage Springs gate and back with a very brief stop at the traffic light.  Weather was pleasant, almost cool but a little damp.

7.2 mi, 1:05:02, 9:02 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, foggy morning which felt nice and cool at first but later felt sticky. Easy warm up and then pretty steady run with a little bit faster at the end.

7.74 mi, 1:01:42, 7:58 avg

Ran from my house to the "new" sports park with the loop around the ponds.  I didn't have a specific plan in mind.  I ran one loop easy, then ran the next loop at a faster pace but not anything like a "tempo", but 7:25ish because I had an idea.  For the next lap I would try to run at a pace that would be the same or maybe a litle faster, wanted to see how I did "going by feel" which I don't do nearly enough.  So, the third lap was 6:37 pace.  Each lap is 0.72 miles but they have markings to do a measured mile (0.75 shortly after start and 1 mile about a third into the loop).

Cooled down a little bit and then ran home with a slightly faster pace then what I did on the way out.

6.41, 53:36, 8:21 avg

Ran at Longleaf with Striders at 5:30.  Ran two miles with Joe while he warmed up and before he took off on his tempo run.  Good run with mostly steady miles and last two a bit faster.