SS Ultra Trail Run Race Report
http://www.strava.com/activities/261209151
2/27 Friday left DFW area driving to the South Texas Hill Country race site WNW of San Antonio. That day, in and of itself, was an adventure. 10 hours in the car for a 6 hour drive due to sleet, ice and snow. Shortly after leaving, all hell broke lose and driving conditions became unsafe. Cars and trucks going into ditches, tractor trailers stuck on hills, etc......madness. I pulled over at Walmart, bought new wiper blades and a can of Scothguard, then installed the blades before moving on. Rolled into Rocksprings TX about 7:30 p.m. and bought some grub at the Jail House steakhouse across the street from my historic hotel. Sprayed shoes, gloves and hat with ScotchGuard and hit the sack.
2/28 - Up at 3:30a.m. and mentally prepared for Armageddon given the sleet storm that had decided to show up on my long scheduled train run day. After coffee and oatmeal, drove about 50 minutes to the race site, picked up the packet and waited for the 6 a.m. start. Pitch black, cold, falling sleet and snow/wind @ 27 degrees........... "Did I really sign up for this?"
I left out at the start with my Hydration pack, wool socks, gloves, Altra Torin trail shoes, long leg tights, 3 layered shirts, toboggan, headlamp and my REI camping Rain coat. I fell in behind 7 runners, all with headlamps, holding the slow pace I was looking for and used their lights ahead of me as well. Two guys fell back at mile 2. At mile 3.5, the other 5 had to stop for some reason and, all of a sudden, I am now by myself with rocks, rabbits, coyotes and wilderness. I can't see more that 2-3 feet and I am now constantly looking directly below to identify which rock I want to avoid while simultaneously watching my breath come out with every beat. Eerie and cool at the same time.......
I remember thinking, "It is cold but I feel ok and reasonably warm at this pace...." Keep moving forward......
This was the first time in over 8-9 weeks when neither my injured right ankle nor my right knee was hurting. It was bliss, but it was not meant to last.......There are multiple trails which overlap and intersect between the 50 mile, 50K and 25K courses......
At some point in the dark by myself I got on the wrong trail which led me back to the start showing up with 6.5 miles on my watch (should not be back until 15.3)! I was not happy
, gathered myself, back tracked and made it back to the right trail once there was daylight. I began to pick up the pace, knowing my mistake had cost me time and distance. I came across several 30%+ grades laden with rocks and mud. It was nerve racking and a constant effort of paying attention while balancing speed with risk to injury. I make it back to the start finishing the first loop with just over 18 miles on my watch. At this point, I have fully soaked through 3 layers of shirts under my raincoat with sweat. I am thinking, "It is going to only get warmer per the forecast ~45 degrees..." ......I make the decision not to spend more time changing into dry clothes.......keep pushing forward..........
Bad decision - forecasters were wrong and the high topped out somewhere around 34 degrees. During the second loop I decided to cut some of the switch backs so that I could level the distance and come in on par vs. running extra miles as a result of the first loop fiasco. Around mile 26 or so, feelings, attitude, life are all grinding downward, life is not fun anymore, the cold is biting into me with the wet gloves and shirts and distracting me from being focused to drive it home. Every rock, stick, root now becomes a candidate for a bad name. Coming up one of the latter 30%+ grades (mile 27?) I am finding my dark place deep inside and then, ..........the hail storm begins, ... dime to nickel size hail..........not a real good idea to share my thoughts during that time...I have to pull up my big boy pants.....Mile 29 I begin to mistakenly take a wrong turn (the hail has stopped now) and walk back down to the correct trail to get back on track.
I make it back in, glad to be done, much better educated on trail running but cold and beaten down somewhat as well. 15/44 placing.....and a stomach full of humble pie though glad to go through that experience and learn what I could from it. KMF....
Comments
So to sum it up....
Better headlamp for the start?
Change clothes when able if cold/wet?
How was your nutrition?
Way to keep moving forward after all that. Congrats on finishing.
Finishing 15/44 is quite an accomplishment too. I'd be willing to bet that more than a few of the other racers that day are/were seasoned ultra trail runners.
Kudo's to you on a solid effort in miserable conditions. You are one tough mofo and certainly live up to you tagline - KMF
Curious, is this a 1-and-done or is there a grudge match to follow?
"Pitch black, cold, falling sleet and snow/wind @ 27 degrees..." And then your troubles began? Thanks for doing this so I don't have to. Once again I'm reminded I never want to run more than 21 kilometers in one chunk unless it's at the end of an Ironman. I prefer to ski in weather like that, not pound my feet and knees into mush. You exemplified one of the things I learned bike commuting during Pac NW winters: you can be cold and wet, or you can be warm and wet; take your choice.
Strong work; quitting was not an option for you.
All, thanks for the support and comments. Always very generous coming from an elite group of veterans/leaders.
@Tim, I think the headlamp was fine, I just don't see well far off in the dark. At those temps, definitely need to change clothes of you are wet. Not even an afterthought given the distraction the cold places on you in the latter period. Nutrition was good through 4 hours but fell off due to distractions during the 5th and 6th hours which made the effects of the cold worse. Your body needs calories to stay warm and stay focused under those conditions. I could have done better with that. BTW, I have seen the "Tiger" in your eyes on race day.....You're definitely off the charts in terms of toughness and execution! You're up next brotha!
@Steve, I may slip a 25K into my IM plan over the next few months, but the primary focus will shift back to IM Bike and IM Run given I have IMLP and IMFL on the calendar this year. The trail running definitely drives durability and leg strength but compromises precious time in the saddle and leg speed, IMO.....
@Al, I would not wish that experience on any of my friends though I know I delivered nothing more than each and every one of you would have delivered given the same deck of cards.
Moving onward to 8 weeks of GF plan next week and looking forward to observing, learning and cheering all of you on in 2015!
SS
And like Al, I haven't even run more than a 10k unless attached to an HIM/IM. You are tough!
Tough as nails!!!!!
I'm curious what the DNF rate was given the conditions. I suspect this will be one of those experiences that as you reflect back, it will get better and better the further you get away from it. It will be interesting to see how you draw from this experience during your IM races this season. To overcome the weather, having to backtrack and and still finding a way to persevere and finish puts a lot of mental currency in the bank that you will be able to draw from when things get hard. Congrats, man!