Rough Trail Ultramarathon 50k - November 12, 2016

Coming Soon!

Not Yo Momma's 100k - September 24, 2016

Coming Soon!

Rugged Red Half Marathon - September 10, 2016

The Rugged Red is a point to point trail half marathon located in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky. An absolutely beautiful course utilizing some of the prettiest trails at the Gorge. It is put on by a guy named Joe Bowen, who is a very interesting individual. He's biked 14,000 miles across the US for charity twice, owns the Guinness Book for World Record's record for longest stilt walk, has traversed the US on stilts & is an author.

Training: This race fell inside my training plan for Not Your Mama's 100k, near the end of the Relentless Forward Progress plan & two weeks before NYM. This was my last hard effort before starting the taper.

Gear:  With temps in the low 70s for the start this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 6
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: None
• Tracking: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun + Garmin GLO
• Other: Amphipod Handheld, & Half-Buff

Learned my lesson from the previous trail race & went with a much lighter kit. This ended up being a perfect combo for the race.

Race Day: I camped the night before at the Natural Bridge Campground, just like last year. This is the location of packet pickup the night before & within walking distance of the shuttles to the start line the day of. The shuttles are scheduled to load at 5am but don't leave until 6am. I decided on a 4am wakeup to give me plenty of time to take care of all my pre-race needs. My normal breakfast was replaced by a couple of PB&Js, mainly for convenience. After a couple of cups of coffee I was good to go for the day. By 5:15am I was ready & headed for the buses.

The only part of this race I dislike is the bus ride to & from the race. While I understand the necessity in a point to point race, I do wish there was a way to at least eliminate the need for one of the shuttles. After a short walk to the rest area I was loaded onto my bus which didn't leave till sometime after 6am getting us to the start line shortly after 7am.

The start time is listed at 7am & in the two years I've ran this race they've never started on time. This isn't a big deal at all, since it gives the sun a chance to get a little higher in the sky making the trails not quiet so dark. The race starts in waves & is chip timed. Every 5 minutes a new wave of about 100 runners takes off down the road headed for the trails. I ended up assigned to wave 3, something I was very happy about. Had I been in the first wave I would have waited to go in the second or third wave. I'd rather do a good bit of passing than be the one getting passed.

The first wave took off at 7:20 with the second wave following right on schedule at 7:25. I lined up with wave 3 for our 7:30 start & after a short countdown we were off!

Obligatory Start Line

The first 1.7 miles are along Chimney Top Rock Rd. This allows the wave to get nice & spread out before entering the single track. It's also a great chance to go out too hard & ensure a blow up later on in the race. I stuck with the main lead pack for this section not really pushing the pace, averaging around 7:50 pace.

The next .6 miles drops 450ft along Rough Trail to Koomer Ridge Trail. I was surprised that we were actually catching people from the earlier waves already. While this presented it's own challenges everyone was pleasant & moved over as soon as possible to let us through.

The following 1.2 miles climbs back up 400ft & rides a short ridge line to the Buck Trail which you are on for another 1.5 miles. The start of Buck is a 300 ft drop followed by a 350ft climb back out. This race starts out with 2 very steep descents & 2 equally steep ascents. Ensuring your legs are fully awake for the next 9 miles.

Buck Trail intersects with the Sheltowee trail which you get to spend the next 7.5 miles on. At the 5.8 mile mark you are treated to another 400ft drop which leads to a very fast section. With a gradual downhill slope this "flat" section allows your legs to recover a bit. During this stretch I almost made a wrong turn, where Sheltowee & Rough split. Luckily another racer yelled out to me & I was able to get back on track without much lost time or added distance. It's not a trail race until I get lost.

At mile 8 you are treated to an awesome crossing of the Red River via suspension bridge. This also starts a 300ft climb to a rolling ridge line. This culminates with 250ft scramble over just a quarter of a mile. Definitely takes any last energy you had out of you. From this point the race is mostly downhill all the way to the finish.

Suspension Bridge over Red River

The last .8 miles of the race is along Bison Way Trail & Red River Rd. A very enjoyable mostly downhill run to the finish line. Once I hit the road section I was glad to see I still had enough energy for a decent kick to the finish coming in just two seconds over last year's time at 2:29. Unlike last year I finished feeling like I could do more.

Strava Activity: Rugged Red

Conclusion: Amazing race that went better than I expected. With Not Yo Momma's coming up in only two weeks I didn't want to really push the pace hard. Even with a time a tad slower than last year I still improved to 19th place overall & 2nd place in my age group. I'm assuming the heat played a role in the standings, the winner of the race was 15 minutes slower than last year's winner.

I definitely ended up in the right wave. I didn't get passed after the road section & was able to pass quiet a few people. Huge morale boost to be the one passing, especially late in the race, than the one being passed.

This is definitely a race I'll continue to do each year. It gets better each year & supports an area dear to my heart. My hope is that we start seeing a few more races down in RRG, maybe even some ultras in the 100km to 100mi range. 

One last thing on the shuttles. I boarded my shuttle at 5:30 & was on the first shuttle back from the race, which got me back to the campground around noon. Subtracting my 2.5 hour race means I spent 4 hours either waiting on a shuttle to leave or riding in one. I really wish there was a better way!

Elevation Profile

Hot Hot Hundred 10k - August 20, 2016

"Experience the beauty and history of one of Kentucky’s prettiest properties at the Hot Hot Hundred. Held on a private tree farm just north of Morehead, KY the Hot Hot Hundred is a 10k looped course. Runners have the option of a single 10k lap or a 1- to 5-person team 100k relay. Battle the intense heat and your urge to give up as you encounter steep off-trail ascents, plummeting descents, and a wide variety of plan and animal wildlife. You’ll find great views from the ridgeline above and the valley below. Pass by old homestead sites and even grab some wild blackberries and blueberries that grow right along the course!"

Training: This race fell inside my training plan for Not Your Mama's 100k, midway through the Relentless Forward Progress plan & the day before a planned 50k training run.

Pre Race: Initially this wasn't a race on my calendar but when a tweet popped up saying first person to register would get in for just a dollar I jumped on the opportunity! The awesome folks that organize this race on also put on the Rough Ultra so I knew it would be a well ran event.

Gear:  With temps in the mid 70s for the start this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 6
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: Champion C9 Shirt
• Tracking: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun + Garmin GLO
• Other: Amphipod Handheld, Champion C9 Compression Shorts, Half-Buff & Calf Sleeves

Pretty standard kit for a shorter trail race. In hindsight I should have gone without the shirt, compression shorts & calf sleeves as it ended up getting much warmer than anticipated. The race photographer caught me pre-race giving a good picture of the outfit.

Race Day: With a later start of 0800 I decided to drive up the morning of the race,. Got up around 0500 & had my normal pre-race breakfast, which is basically my normal everyday breakfast. Left the house around 0600 & after about an hour long drive I arrived at the race site. This gave me plenty of time to go through packet pickup & loosen up before race time.

Obligatory Start Line

Luckily the fog lifted just in time for the start of the race. With a short countdown & a blast of the air horn we were off! The first .25 miles is down a gravel road before turning onto the service road. I probably let myself get too excited during this stretch & up to the first real climb. Running sub 7 minute mile pace for the first .5 miles. Once we hit the first hill the pace slowed a good bit, it was also at this point I realized the hills weren't going to be a joke. No switchbacks here! The next mile saw about 350ft of gain.

And they're off

During this section I was in about 7th place, following my pre-race plan of just hanging around with the lead pack & seeing how it went. Unfortunately I got gapped a bit around a corner by the guy in front of me. When I rounded the corner I saw tape blocking off the road & immediately thought I was going the wrong way. I turned around & quickly headed the other direction, unfortunately dragging a few folks with me. After about a tenth of a mile we weren't seeing any ribbons & decided to turn around again. It turns out there was another flag on the left of the blocked off part signifying a turn & I flat out missed it. My detour cost myself & others around a quarter of a mile. I felt terrible for causing others to get lost, but was happy to finally be back on course.

Follow the ribbons....

The next .8 miles saw a descent of 350ft & another 350ft climb, this race takes it's hills seriously! It was also during this stretch that I got off trail a 2nd time. Coming down the trail to a clearing I was presented with 3 choices in direction. Finding myself in between packs again I just came to a stop & waited for the group behind me to catch up. Someone yelled out "Go right", so I started down the middle & they yelled again "no further right". This found us doing a bit of bushwhacking while the next group of runners caught up. This group went middle & saw the ribbon we'd missed. Thankfully they yelled back to us & we were able to get back on course relatively quickly. Not much added distance here but a good chunk of lost time.

The next 1.5 miles included some pretty easy running, with some small rolling type hills. Concluding with another 300ft ascent over half a mile. I can remember hoping this was the last hill to climb as it really took the last bit of energy I had for climbing. Luckily it was the last significant climb with miles 4-5 being comparatively "flat". With the rest of the race being a wicked descent I was able to pick off one more runner before coming into the finish in about 70 minutes for 10th place.

Strava Activity: Hot Hot Hundred 10k

Conclusion: Overall a very positive experience. I take full blame for getting lost as I should have paid more attention. I'm confident that without those two detours I would have likely made top 3 overall. I really enjoyed the course & the people that put it on are top notch. I'll likely look to add this to my calendar for next year but may think about joining a relay team.

Finisher's "medal"

Such a beautiful location

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon - May 01, 2016

"The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon is a beautiful course, which “flies” along the streets of Cincinnati, Covington, Newport, Mariemont, Fairfax and Columbia Township. The course presents a well-balanced, diverse tour of some the best neighborhoods in the area."

Training: I roughly followed a Hanson's type plan. Removed the speedwork session, made it a seven day schedule instead of six & added in a step back week every fourth week. I was still on the cautious side because of a year filled with injury & re-injury, telling myself that making it to the starting line healthy was of the most importance. This led me to skip a run if I even felt a slight twinge or to pull up early during a hard tempo if something started feeling off. I still ended up with a small issue in my right calf that led to a full week off right in the middle of my peak. All in all this training cycle did exactly what I wanted, it got my confidence back.

Gear:

With temps in the low 60s for the start, climbing into the 70s by the end, this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 5
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: Saucony Men's Hydralite Singlet
• Watch: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun
• Other: Headsweats Race Hat, Throwaway Arm Warmers & Throwaway Poncho

This ended up being a near perfect "outfit" for the race. I've only had the Patagonia shorts for a couple of runs now but they make me want six more pair, best shorts I've ever worn hands down. The only small tweak that I would have made is a pair of compression shorts underneath. This only became an issue in the final miles when I was soaked from constantly dumping water on my head.

Gear laid out the night before

Race Day: The events leading up to race day are well chronicled in my training blog for the week. To summarize, it was a disaster. Sunday morning came with a 4:30am wake up. Had two servings of steel cut oats with raisins, two hard boiled eggs & a cup of coffee. All packed from home to ensure nothing new on race day. Jumped in the shower & sprayed off really quick, just to help wake the body up. Got dressed, grabbed a water bottle with some Nuun & got out the door by 5:30am. I didn't use my phone GPS to see how far the start line was, I didn't want to know, I just followed the masses headed that way. Looking it up now reveals it to be a one mile stroll, it was that kind of a week.

Arriving at the start line my corral was easy enough to find. There was a parking area down by the river that was being used as a warm up area, so I went through my normal routine. 10x squats, 10x side to side, 10x lunges, 10x front leg swings & 10x side leg swings. One look at the porta potty line told me all I needed to know, the bushes would be my only relief. I wasn't the only one with this thought as the bushes were quiet crowded.

Arrived back to my corral with fifteen minutes to go before the start. It was about this time I realized I had forgotten my nipple tape. Images of a bloody number eleven on my chest flashed through my head. I quickly texted Chas to bring some Vaseline to our first meeting spot, got my tracking app started up & iSmoothRun loaded. Before I knew it the national anthem played & we were off!

Obligatory Start Line

• Mile 1-3: The first 3 miles take us from Paul Brown Stadium into Kentucky & through Covington. Some great views from the bridges across the Ohio & some nasty climbs to get to those bridges. I settled in behind the 3:05 pace group planning to stick with them until the halfway point & reassess then. Effort wasn't as easy as I would have liked, definitely felt like I was working harder than the ~7:00 pace we were running.
• Mile 4-6: Back into Ohio & through the city on 7th street. Took my first Gu at mile 4 & water at every stop. The plan was to meet Chas at Walnut & 7th for my goodie bag of lube. I had trouble seeing her in the crowd & we botched the hand off. Looks like we'll be going without any protection for the nipples this race. Effort levels seemed to have dropped off as I was now hitting my stride & felt like I could keep this for the rest of the race easy. According to the timing mats I hit the 6.8 mile mat at 48:20 for a pace of 7:04.
• Mile 7-9: This is the big climb for the race, the hills just never seem to stop. I took my second Gu around mile 8. This is where I noticed that my watch was off by a bit, the big buildings in the city had really messed with it. Not a big deal as I run most races by feel & only use the GPS to document it. I also had the pace group doing all the math for me. It was during this stretch that I began feeling the effects of the heat & humidity. Every water stop now included a small shower.
• Mile 10-12: Some gradual downhill running as we ventured further out into the burbs. I took my third Gu around mile 12. It was a struggle to get this one down, I'm thinking my next training cycle will involve finding a new calorie source. The texture of the Gu just doesn't sit well with me & I find myself dreading them.
• Mile 13-15: Finally the halfway point! I came through the first half in 1:31:59 for a pace of 7:02. Right on schedule & feeling good. I opt to stick with the 3:05 pace group as the heat has all but shut down any thought of going much faster. We also enter into an out & back section during this stretch so we get to see some of the runners in the front. I'm always amazed at just how effortless they look.
• Mile 16-18: This section completes the out & back portion. I take my fourth Gu around mile 16 & almost lose my cookies. The crowd support at this race is amazing. It seems the whole city comes out to cheer us on with people lining the streets for almost the entire length of the course. Still on pace & hanging with the group, which at this point is starting to thin out.
• Mile 19-20: I came through mile 19.7 in 2:18:15 for a pace of 7:02. Still right on schedule, This is the only portion of the race without much crowd support. It's along a limited access highway & I refer to it as the lonely section. These miles always seem the longest & I was actually surprised to find it was less than 2 miles in length, it feels like 4. I took my fifth Gu at mile 20 & decided it would be my last. The one planned for mile 24 would stay in my pocket, no matter what. It was also during this section that I really started feeling the heat & humidity, often dumping two cups of water on my head at aid stations.
• Mile 21-22: At the water stop in this section my biggest fear was realized, the pace group gapped me. This happens often, due to congestion at aid stations, but this time it was different. I didn't have another gear to hit in order to catch up. I calmed myself down by thinking they crossed the start line before me so I have a buffer, if I can just keep them close I'll be alright. Unfortunately these are the kinds of lies a person tells themselves when they are dying. That gap would continue to grow but I'd tell myself that I'd catch them in the final miles. It was around this point that I started passing some walkers, apparently I wasn't the only one dying out there.
• Mile 23-24: The wheels hadn't totally fallen off yet, I could still see the pace group in front of me. The gap had gotten pretty big by now but they were still in sight. I'd finally accepted that I wouldn't be catching them & at this point was just pushing for a PR. One of the aid stations had a guy with a water hose giving showers, an angel without wings he was.
• Mile 25-26: And then the wheels came off. I could no longer see the pace group & was in full on damage control mode. At this point I started freaking out. Would I PR? Would I even squeak into a BQ? I passed a few more folks in full death march & even considered just walking it in a few times myself.
• Mile 26.2: I covered the last 6.5 miles in 48:44 for a pace of 7:29, not terrible but most of the damage happened in mile 25 & 26. I managed to pull it together & pick up the pace for the final .2 miles in what felt like a sprint but likely looked nothing of the sort. Crossed the line in 61st place with an official time of 3:06:59 which is a PR of 1:36 & another BQ.

Strava Activity: The Flying Pig

Conclusion: With the planets seemingly aligned against me I couldn't have asked for a better result. While I really wanted sub-3:05, it just wasn't in the cards. The heat/humidity got to me pretty bad. I had trouble sleeping that night because of how hot I felt. I think my core body temperature was elevated as my skin was very warm to the touch. Now time to start getting ready for my fall races. For the next training cycle I'm going to dial back the volume & focus on intensity, shooting for a sub-85 half in the fall.

Soaking wet finisher's photo

Iron Horse Half Marathon - October 11, 2015

The Iron Horse Half Marathon is ran on a beautiful rolling course through Midway, KY. It is a double out & back style race, forming a T shape, with about 800 feet of elevation gain. The race starts in downtown Midway then heads east for 3.5 miles where you encounter your first turnaround, you then head west for 7 more miles before the final turn around to head home to the finish line, basically where you started.

Training: Didn't do any specific training for the event. More rebuilding of my base while recovering from the nagging injury to both my hip & achilles. Really just trying to get back into a running rhythm. Most runs leading up to the race were just easy paced.

Gear:

With temps in the mid 40s for the start this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 5
• Socks: Champion C9
• Shorts: Brooks Sherpa IV 5" with Champion compression shorts underneath
• Shirt: Champion C9 short sleeve
• Watch: Garmin Forerunner 210
• Other: Flipbelt, throwaway arm warmers & a pair of jersey gloves.

Didn't pack any sunglasses, a decision I would later regret. I always make a pair of throwaway arm warmers by cutting the toes off a pair of old dress socks. This coupled with the jersey gloves keeps me warm until I get moving. I usually toss them at the first aid station without remorse as they don't cost a lot. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Race Day:  I live fairly close to the race & know from previous years that there is ample parking at the college so I didn't get up super early, opting for a 5:30 wake up. Had two servings of steel cut oats & two fried eggs for breakfast, which is my normal meal minus yogurt. Took a quick shower to keep it fresh & put on my race attire. After a short drive I made it to the race at 7:15, giving me 45 minutes before the start gun. At 7:30 I started my normal warm up routine of 10x squats, 10x side to side, 10x lunges, 10x front leg swings & 10x side leg swings before going on a ~10 minute warm up run. This put me at the start line with about 8 minutes to go before the start. Before I knew it they were doing the 10 second countdown & it was go time!

• Mile 1-4: From start to first turnaround. Ditched the throwaway arm warmers & gloves at the second aid station. Settled into my groove in this first section. Splits were 7:00, 7:10, 7:00 & 6:57.
• Mile 5-8: From turnaround back past the start. Really got into the equal effort flow during this stretch, slower up the hills but bombing down them. Likely frustrating for people as I would pass them on the downs only for them to retake me on the ups. Ended up being a net gain later in the race with higher energy levels. Splits were 7:04, 7:13, 6:53 & 6:49.
• Mile 9-11: From a little past the start through the last turnaround. Biggest climb of the race in this section & it was reflected in pacing. Still felt surprisingly well considering the low mileage base. Picked off a few runners in this stretch. Splits were 7:22, 6:54 & 6:56.
• Mile 12-13: From past the last turnaround back to the start. Small climb to start this section then all downhill. Picked off a couple more runners & dropped the hammer in the final mile. Splits were 7:03 & 6:40.
• Mile 13.1: The last tenth is what makes the T shape. At this point it's an all out sprint to the finish line. Tried to catch one last runner but wasn't able to. Final .1 at 5:57 pace. 

Strava Activity

Conclusion:  For a come back race I couldn't be happier with the effort & result. I ended up coming in 25th place, same as last year, in a time of 1:31:38. This was only 62 seconds off my PR on the same course. Missed out on 3rd place age group by less than 1 second. I like to think it was the guy I was trying to pass at the very end.

Remember when I said I regretted not bring shades?

Yeah, 7 miles of this...

Coming in hot for the big finish!