Flat Rock 50K Trail Ultra - Taking on "The Rock"

Flat Rock 50K - Sep 24th 2011

So I first saw the Flatrock 50K in 2008, the same year I ran my first full length marathon and have wanted to do this race ever since.  Due to other commitments and various roadblocks, 2011 was the first year I was able to make it happen...  Personally I think it was because some higher power was looking out for me, knowing that I would need the extra three years of marathon/ultramarathon experience before taking this beast head on.

I little background:  I have run on this trail before.  I was not racing, not hurrying to try and beat any clock.  Back in March, I ran the majority of the race course solo... walking and taking in the beautiful scenery along the way.  This was as a training run for the Free State 100K in April (which I still have yet to write a race report on).  I was sore the next day, but like I said, I was just putting around and took most of the day to do it.


Looking at the results from last years race, I set my goal at 6:30 - figuring that should put me in the top 20 finishers overall in the 50K.  A little over 12 minute miles should be doable if the trail was in decent shape I figured.  I have been training hard all of 2011, with this really being the race that would finish off the year for me (I might do one more... maybe).  Since the end of April I ran the Free State 100K, Tail Twister 50K, Patriot Marathon, and Flat Rock 50K.  So it has been a productive year as far as I am concerned.

Mass Chaos.

So before I give a race report, I have to give the pre-race report.  My coworker Jerime began running with me in July or August and I think I infected him with long distance runners disease.  He trained very hard and got himself ready to take on "The Rock" and signed up for the 25K.  Our plan was to meet at his house at 5:30 am and head to Independence in time for the 50K race start at 7:30.  Indy is about an hour and a half away (that even gives a bit of a buffer).  Waking from a crazy dream at 5:29 am, I was glad I packed my bag and set out my clothes the night before.  Knowing I am ALWAYS on time, Jerime sent me a text at 5:30am on the dot, to which I replied, "shit".  I raced to his house, completely blowing my race morning routine all the HELL.  No coffee, no instant oatmeal, no big a.m. dump.  I grab Jerime and we head out, about 30 minutes later than we had planned.  Not too big of a deal... until we stop at the truck stop 10 minutes from Jerime's house and my car won't start.  Luckily, on the third attempt, the battery found just enough juice to crank the pistons making the engine roar to life.  Taking the prudent course, we RACE back to Jerimes and grab his car, swap gear and speed off toward Indy.  It is now 6:25 am, my race starts in one hour and five minutes - and we have a one hour and fifteen minute drive!  We somehow manage to make it (alive) with about 4 minutes to spare.  We rushed to pick up my packet and timing chip, and Jerime dropped me off at the start line 20 SECONDS before the starting pistol sounded.  Luckily for Jerime, the 25K didn't start until 8:30am, so he had plenty of time to stretch and actually prepare to race.

And they're off! 

And so the race begins... I have no gels, electrolyte tabs, or even water.  It was all in the car... I knew there would be an aid station at about 4 miles in, so I wasn't too worried.  I figured they would have some gels, and I knew they would have water.  The first part of the race is up a hill on the road before you get to the actual trail.  I have run enough single track trail races to know that getting behind the walkers SUCKS... Nothing against walker/hikers, but it is hard to safely get around them.  I can run a 20 minute 5K, so I figured if it took a 6 minute mile pace to get close to the front, that is what I would do.  I shot up the hill and took off like a middle-aged, slightly overweight cheetah and got up in line with some like-minded runners.  This strategy worked great, I was really only passed by about three people on the course, and passed 3 or 4 people myself.

Just after the first aid station, I noticed my left foot was sliding a bit in my shoe, so to help prevent any blisters, I decided to pull off at a wider section of trail and tighten both shoes.  Of course, staying true to the Murphy's Lawishness of the day, less than a tenth of a mile after tying my shoe I roll my left ankle on a rock.  It was bad enough that I had to walk for a minute or so before jogging with a significant limp, reminiscent of a Hollywood pimp.  This caused my right hip to burn due to overcompensating (I guess), so early in this race it seemed as if my goal of 6:30 was out of the question, and that simply finishing may be nearly impossible.  Somewhere about mile 9, I lightly rolled my right ankle!  F#^$*%*g S##T!  Strangely enough, it was actually a bit of a blessing - it is hard to limp with 2 bum ankles, so my hip quit hurting... and eventually my ankles were so stiff and numb, that I was relatively pain free (bearable).  I fell down once hard after the second aid station, but the little burst of adrenaline sparked from falling actually sped me up a little, and I got nothing but a bump or two out of it.  The section between 11.5 - 13.5 miles is very hard.  An area that has an acutal waterfall during the rainy times is covered in huge rocky, uneven trails tilted sideways on the side of a hill.  This section nearly had me crying and cursing... ok I admit it... I was cussing at rocks and other inanimate objects - no crying though.  I fell again trying to go too fast down what looked like a fairly smooth trail, and did a splat right on my chest.  The landing knocked the wind out of me, and had me cussing even more.  At this point, I was starting to hate rocks, and my prayers were answered with a stretch of easier soft dirt, not to say there weren't rocks all over ready to pull your feet out from under you.

It was nice to get a break from the rocks, and it was a psychological boost to know that I was almost at the turnaround.  Then... a swift kick right to the - well you get the idea-  when I followed another runner past a couple blue flags that indicated a turn.  You got it, bonus miles!  CRAP!  We went all the way to Hwy 160 and realized this was not on the course.  I was just following the little access road, and the runner in front of me.  After doubling back, getting back on the trail, and making my way to the turn around, I got several strange looks from runners I had passed, who knew that they had not passed me.  I figure I went at least a half mile out of the way, probably costing me at least 8-10 minutes.  I hit the aid station turn around and surprisingly was only at about 2:50 minutes, my goal still within reach, maybe, I know how hard the second half of this course is.

So after losing my short sleeve Under Armor at the drop off, I felt much cooler and really caught a second wind.  I felt great until I hit about 20 miles, when not having gels finally caught up with me.  I had been trying to eat something at every aid station, but there was too big of a gap after the turn around and the next.  There was an unmanned water spot in between, but one station in 10 miles with food was not enough for me and I bonked. Hard.  My legs felt like cinder blocks and I had trouble maintaining 14 minute pace.  I finally struggled to the next aid station and stayed for awhile, eating oranges, M&Ms, nuts, and potatoes.  I drank coke and ginger ale.  This decision took me 4-6 minutes, but probably saved my race. I narfed down as much food as I thought I could without barfing my guts up, and headed back out.  Within minutes I felt some life come back into my legs and got going again... I sped up pretty good.  Sometimes hitting 9-10 min/mile pace in sections.  Then, it happened again.  Foot caught up on a rock, and I went down hard.  Forearm smashes against a huge rock, left quad into another, left thumb bent back.  My face was 2 inches from a jagged rock - teeth literally inches away from destruction.  On the upside, my ankles were not nearly as painful once I got moving again, at least not that I noticed.

I slowed myself some after this watching my step so close, honestly, I was getting gun shy.  I felt like if I fell again, I wouldn't be able to get back up.  I stumbled again several times but managed not to fall.  Normally during a race, I talk to a lot of people.  But this entire run, over 6 hours, I ran less than an hour with anyone else.  Other than aid stations, and a few folks going the other way, I didn't talk to anyone except a PFC from Fort Riley who was a combat engineer.  We ran together for 15 minutes or so, until falling back to tie his shoes.  When I heard the heavy metal coming from the final aid station, I knew I was only 4 miles from the finish... and anyone who has run this course knows that these are some of the hardest mile, even on fresh legs.  I look at my Garmin and realize that I can still meet my goal.

The Finish

Four miles to finish and knew what I needed to do to beat my goal, it meant a steady, decent pace with no walking other than up major hills.  This section is very steep ups and downs and is very rocky.  I figured for sure that I was going to fall again, I just hoped my skin, muscles, and bones would break my fall.  The adrenaline was kicking again and I could hear train whistles and horns that indicated the finish... and then I was running away from it again!  This course is tricky and full of twists and turns.  At the end, it actually makes you run away from the finish before going back to the road for the half mile of pavement sprint to the finish.  I hit the pavement and kicked into high gear, or what was left of it, and managed an 8-8:30 pace to the finish.  I have taken enough TERRIBLE finish line photos, that I know what to do now to get a good one.  I threw on my game face, hid the pain, and made it look like I had just finished a walk in the woods.  There was a fake severed arm hanging from the finish chute so I grabbed it and gave it a good firm handshake, as if it were congratulating me on a strong finish. Jerime was there at the finish cheering me on as well, which was awesome.  I met both of my goals: I finished in 6:22 even with bonus mileage at the turnaround, and placed 19th overall.  It was nice, after all the events of the day to finally be able to sit down and relax.  I got my picture with Eric Steele at the finish and sat for the first time in over 6 and a half hours.  It was a great feeling after a great race on a great course.

Recovery

I am sore.  I am bruised.  I am also extremely satisfied.  Super hard and super fun is the easiest way to describe this race.  Next year I plan on making a weekend out of it, camping and partying Friday night, racing Saturday, and hanging out Saturday night.  If you want to have one of the most rewarding challenges of your life, sign up, and take on "The Rock"... you won't regret it..much.  ;-)
 

 

Patriot Run - Marathon 9-11-2011

9-11-11 This was the ten year anniversary of the worst act of terror on American soil.  The patriot run was a tribute to those that died, as well as those who have fought and died since.  It was a very amazing event, and I am glad I was a part of it.


First off, I this wasn't a run that I had scheduled or specifically trained for.  I had been signed up for the Flat Rock 50K since April or so, and had been running almost exclusively on trails getting ready.  Aside from a couple 10 milers on pavement, I was putting virtually no highway miles on myself.  When I came across the Patriot run on Facebook, well, to be honest, the price was right and the theme was patriotic, so I was in. 

This race only cost 25$ if you registered in advance, and 30$ on race day.  They had 2 options, a full marathon or a patriot run - meaning 1 mile or 60 miles, you made your own race.  I got there and was undecided on how many miles I wanted to do, so I signed up for the generic run, figuring if I felt like running for 9 hours and 11 minutes, it would be nice to have that option.  I figured I would let my body decide - especially since the FR50 was only 2 weeks later. 

The course was a 1 mile loop.  How boring is that?  In a mall parking lot?  In Olathe Kansas? It was the flatest course I have ever ran on... I actually believe there were more hills in the track at my high school.  Strangely enough it wasn't that bad at all.  There were American flags every 20 feet all along the route.  You were never away from other people, and there was no shortage of aid (a table about every 50 feet!).  The spectators yelled and yelled.  It was actually really great.  They kicked off the race with a remote control helicopter carrying a flag into the air while they blared the national anthem.  It really gave me goosebumps, which were subsequently knocked down by the military flyover!  It was awesome!

The race itself was not bad, not much too see after a few laps.  The race started at high noon, and since we were in a parking lot with NO shade, it got really hot.  I was glad I had run to Wallgreens before the race and bought a 12$ bottle of SPF 70 Neutrogena sport sunblock - and I still got a bit burned!  I fell in with a woman who we had been passing each other off and on the entire race and discovered her name was Carol.  We talked most of the last 10 miles and it made time fly by.  I had decided about mile 10 that I did not want to wipe myself out by trying to run all 9 hrs and would stop at 26.2 instead.  The finisher's medal was shaped like the Pentagon and was very cool.  My time was actually my slowest ever marathon time - 4:16 but I really did not push too hard at all, after all it was just my final long run, right? 

The downside of this race was how flat it was.  With virtually no change in elevation on the entire course, my hips were KILLING me.  It was almost like running on a cement treadmill.  The other negative was that the porta-johns were nearly one tenth of a mile off the course. 

Recovery for me was not terrible, I was a little slow on Sunday night.  I ate like a pig and felt pretty good at bedtime, and slept fairly well.  The next day I was stiff, but loosened up pretty quickly and acutally ran a 4 mile trail course on Wednesday.  I am glad I ran the race, even if the course photog failed to get a decent picture of me... I will do better for the camera at the Flat Rock, I promise you that. 

Thanks to all the patriots that were honored that day, I will not forget your sacrifice.

More of the Same

So for the week, I have three themes.  The first is using the conditioning vest.  I ran with it almost every run this past week, excluding the two long Sunday runs.  The second was higher mileage.  This weeks total was 43.6 miles.  This is an increase from 37 and some change the week before.  The third thing I increased this week was speed.  It helps that the first 10 miler on Sunday was on the road, but I also sped up on the trails as well.

So my totals for the week of 8-15-11 to 8-21-11

Count:7 Activities

Distance:43.61 mi

Time:07:08:42 h:m:s

Avg Time:01:01:14 h:m:s

Avg Distance:6.23 mi

Max Time:01:34:31 h:m:s

Max Distance:10.01mi

Good Week!

Had a great previous week of training.  The weather was MUCH cooler, which made for a way more pleasurable week of training.  I also havent had a single beer since a week ago Saturday, so that always helps with better hydration.  I decided that if I want to do the Flat Rock 50 in my goal time of under 6:30:00 and top 15 finishers overall that I needed to really get into gear and start training right... including winding down the summer drinking season, and adding more long runs (preferably on trails).  So far I have done both and even mixed in a little running with the weight vest and 20 continuous miles on the Wilderness Park trails on Saturday morning.  So far so good. 

Saturday morning I got up about 7 and hit the trail by 8 am with my car stocked with a nice supply of water and gatorade that had been in the fridge since the night before.  Nice and cold... 3 bottles, a 1.5 liter water bladder, and a 64 ounce thermos with a pour spout.  So, needless to say, I wasn't going to let hydration be the issue that gave me problems on the trail.  I was also equipped with 8 electrolyte tablets... one for about every 30 minutes or so.   Sent Jerime a text and left a VM about 7:30 to join me on the trails.  I found Jerime at about 10 miles in and we ran the next 7 or so miles together.  The first part, and the last part of my run I spent listening to the new George R.R. Martin novel, A Dance With Dragons.  The latest release in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' epic series.  Awesome reading (or listening) for the fantasy aficionado.  I finished 20 miles in just over 3 hours and 50 minutes and felt great at the finish.  Very little soreness the next day.  Here are my totals for the previous week:

Count: 6 Activities 

Distance: 37.57 mi

Time: 06:37:33 h:m:s

Avg Time: 01:06:15 h:m:s

Avg Distance: 6.26 mi

Max Time: 03:50:49 h:m:s

Max Distance: 20.10 mi

2009 KC Marathon Race Report

Ok, so I am almost 2 years late writing this race report, but better late than never... I hope more of the details come back to me as I write this up, but if not, I guess a spotty recollection now is better than I could do in another two years.  If I remember correctly, I had only registered for, planned on, and trained for the half marathon. Generally I don't train as hard through the summer due to the heat and other recreational opportunities (bbq and beer mostly), but when I went to the packet pickup, they offered a $10 upgrade to go to the full distance.  Being a sucker for a good deal, I upgraded although I hadn't run longer than a 10 mile in 3 months or so. 

Anywho, I remember it was misting and chilly that morning, October 17th, 2009.  There were lots and lots and lots and lots of people there.  5k, half and full all started at the same time, so the first 2 or 3 miles was a clusterfuck, but it was a cool clusterfuck - starting at Crown Plaza in downtown.  Weaving all around big buildings as stuff was pretty neat, especially surrounded by 20,000 people (or however many were there).  We went through Westport, where there were bands playing, and though an expensive looking residential neighborhood with expensive looking cars in the driveways and people cheering us on in their yards.  Very cool.  It remained cool and overcast and the miles were flying by.  I kept my pace under 8:30 for the first 19 miles, when the lack of longer runs in the previous months reared its ugly head.  I started to bonk hard, and crashed hard between 22-25 a very very long and painful 3 miles.  I gut-checked the last 1.2 miles and finished strong, with an overall finish of 3:50:04 (official). 

Strangely enough, this is my PR time...  I did however pay a price for not correctly training for this race.  I was soooooooooo sore that I could barely walk for a week.  Sitting hurt, walking hurt, sleeping hurt.  It was three weeks before I could really run pain free again.  So, the lesson from this race:  A gut check, dig deep, tough it out approach can get the job done can get you through, but it is much smarter to properly train for the race you are running. 

Training Update

So it has been so ridiculously hot that training for the Flat Rock 50 has not been going that great.  I have not done very well at getting up early to beat the heat...  It is a bit demotivating when you get up at 5:30 to try and get out before it gets too hot and it is already 89 or some ridiculous number.

Basically, I have been substituting the weight vest for time, making my runs more difficult by adding weight rather than adding time.  I figure the carrying the extra weight should help get me ready for the hills on the FlatRock.  I need to get in a long run this Saturday, 20 miles or more.  I haven't done longer than 10 for a while, mostly due to the heat. Hopefully the temps will stay a little cooler.  This morning was sooooo nice.  Upper 60s and a bit of fog.  Even with the vest it was the most comfortable run I have had in a while.


Last night I hit wilderness park trails with Jerime and we did a nice easy 5 miles.  It was raining some at first and had rained quite a bit through the day so the trails were pretty wet and muddy.  Slipping and sliding around was a lot of fun but didn't do much for my our time. 


Here are my totals since last post:

Count:	7 Activities
Distance:	32.04 mi
Time:	05:22:33 h:m:s
Avg Time:	00:46:04 h:m:s
Avg Distance:	4.58 mi
Max Time:	01:47:26 h:m:s
Max Distance:	10.03 mi

I can tell from this that I need to start adding in longer runs.

I'm Back!!!

Well, my previous attempt at blogging fizzled. I have looked back at a couple races, and wished I had keep some type of training log... mostly for the sake of accountability. So here I am, ready to give it another shot. Have decided on training for a 100 mile ultra trail run. Will register shortly, just to make myself accountable and really get my training going.

So I never quit running since my last post, in fact I have run some pretty epic races and completed some great goals since my last post, I just didn't really document them. Perhaps I will write up a memory recap on them. My last post was a writeup of the experience of running my first marathon, Fayetteville Hogeye Marathon in 2009. Here is a quick recap of the races I have run since:

I ran the KC Marathon in October 2009. I had only trained for the half, and still PR'd. More on this later.

Olathe marathon April 10th 2010, Hogeye marathon April 11th, 2010. 2 marathons, 1 weekend, pretty epic.

At this point I decided it was time to "Kick it up a notch" (race slogan) and signed up for the 2010 Midnight Madness 50 miler in Tulsa Oklahoma. This was a bitch. Started at midnight, all paved running trails in the Oklahoma heat on July 2nd-3rd. I finished right before 11am. This race took a good toll on me, and I didn't race again in 2010. The longer races had soured me on the short races - 5k, 10k, half... I was out for an endurance challenge now.

After a hiatus of doing only maintenance running (not to mention a rough patch in my personal life), I decided it was time to get signed up for some epic event that I hadn't tried before. The next logical distance after a 50 miler was a 100K. At this point they mostly become trail runs, and I hadn't run much on trails. So it was a perfect fit for me.

Signed up for the Free State Trail Ultra in early January of 2011. The race was on April 23, 2011, so I trained pretty good (not really) and completed this race. The level of challenge to reward was directly proportional, in other words, it was RAD.

Next, I ran the Hobbs War Eagle Tail Twister 50K trail run in War Eagle Arkansas on Beaver Lake on a whim on June 4th, 2011. Ran solid, even though it was hot as hell.

Since then we have had one of the hottest summers on record, and it has killed my motivation... but I am signed up for the September 24th, 2011 Flat Rock 50K which I have been wanting to do for several years, but just haven't been able to. I ran the 30 mile trail solo, unsupported in early April as a training run for the 100K, and it was awesome! The most beautiful and rugged and hard and dangerous trail you will find in Kansas. But I am excited to run it with other people and volunteer support.

So, that is the quick recap of the races I have run since my last post. I did a couple other events in there including a few shorter duathlons and a 100K cycling event as well. I will attempt race reports on each of the major events, before the details completely leave my brain. The main takeaway is that now I am completely addicted to trail running. Not sure I will even do another road marathon, OK, so I probably will as training runs. Trails are now my running obsession.

That brings us to now. I need a new challenge. Still looking for that limit. I have decided that 100 mile trail run, and just need to find a well supported, challenging, fairly close race that fits into my schedule. Any suggestions? Until next time...