The Cayuga trails
50 was my sixth 50 miler and fourth ultra this year! This race was
originally a C race, just a long run to prepare for Eastern States 100 but
Eatern's cancellation caused me to form some type of time goal for this
race. Rinchen joined the race which also put some pressure in me to
at least keep up with her for half the race. My fastest 50 miler was in
the flat and completely runnable Ice Age 50 in Wiscon two years ago at a
time of 11:20. It's hard to compare trail races since they differ so
much terrain wise but I decided I would attempt a sub 11 hours in this race
which has more than 2.5 times the elevation gain of Ice Age but was also a very
runnable course.
Two years ago I ran the marathon version of this race (1 loop
instead of two). It was my first in a race with no sleep - I went
swimming the night before and then late dinner with friends, I barely had time
to pack and head out the door. I ended up arriving a few minutes late,
missed the start and when finally starting I headed off the wrong
direction. Much of the rest of the race was a blur but I do remember
how beautiful coming down the last 5k of the race was. I decided to
come back later that year to spend more time enjoying the Ithaca area.
It's a beautiful place and the Ithaca area is easiest one of my favorite spots
in NY. I went to train in the course itself two weeks before this
race. The training helped create a strong mental map of the course.
I pretty much knew where everything was and I was able to break up the course
to smaller chunks which helped mentally. Special thanks to Ami who helped
me not get lost in that trip!
With two 50 milers done in June I knew I had the endurance and
nutrition down so I focused more on speed and strength in the three weeks post
Maintou's Revenge. I spent time doing track, yoga, weight training and
core bootcamp type workouts. My weekly mileage was on the low side (averaged
42 miles the three weeks) but I did end up spending a lot of time in training.
I didn't taper much going into the race, I did my usual training till Tuesday
and then took it easy. I still felt
pretty drained during the easy days leading to the race. I wasn't really
able to catch up on sleep either which might have factored in a bit.
Lucky, Jordan and Deki were going to support.
Jordan drove most of the way there giving me a chance to get some sleep
on the commute.
I learned a lot
from my previous races which gave me more ideas on prepping for this
one. Part of the reason why I went to Ithaca two weeks beforehand to
practice on the course was because there really isn't anything similar to the
historical steps in the trails around here in NYC. The only thing close I
could think of is the steps going from the shore trail to the long path in the
palisades. I brought new running shorts, I specially wanted mesh pockets
where I could store trash. I have to eat quite a bit during ultras and
while I could use one of my hip belt pockets for trash, it's a bit
clumsy. The risky part was that I got my shorts two days before the race and
I tested one pair out for an easy 7 miles on road and track. Trail running is different (something I found
out with my New Balance split shorts in the NJ marathon where they were great
on the trails but caused chaffing on the road). I spend more time
prepping my drop bags. Instead of throwing things I think I might need in
the bag and then fumbling around and figuring out how many I need, this time I
organized using containers to store a predetermined amount to withdraw.
Extra gels in a talenti jar, waffle cookies with hazelnut banana gel spread in
another container, salt pills in another pocket, etc. I knew the aid
stations were going to be well stocked and I did plan on mostly using them but
I wanted to have backups just in case. I was once again using an old pair
of Brooks trail shoes where the soles were worn out (it wasn’t a technical
course so I wasn’t worried about grip) and I also stashed my merrels trail
shoes in a bag as a just in case. I
prepared two drops bags, though there was an option to have a bag at each of
the 4 aid stations of the course.
I met the Jordan,
Deki, and Rinchen at 12:45 am on Saturday morning (race morning) and
then drove a little more than an hour and half before Jordan took over off the
rest. I had about 2 hours of sleep at home and got another 2.5 in and out
during the drive. Think that's the best for a 50 miler this year!
Arrived on site at 5 am, an hour before start. It was pretty dark, but
lucky I had a headlamp and flashlight in the car. Wasn't a long walk to
North Shelter where the racing HQ was. I should have gone to the bathroom
right away but instead I scouted around to figure out where bib pickup and drop
bags were. Then told Rinchen, got my bib and went back to the car to drop
off the singlet and get my drop bags. I met Jeremy who asked if I was
ready. He asked how the course compared to Bear mountain and I said
something like it was more runnable so you should expect faster times despite
more elevation gain. By the time I got to the bathroom there was a long
line. Next off to the start line. Didn't get much of a chance to
warm up. There weren’t any waves for this race. Rinchen stayed near the front of the pack but
I moved to the middle where Jeremy was. A horn got blown to signal the
start. A few minutes into the race I took a look at my watch and saw I
was at an 8:40 pace which I recognized as too fast so I slowed down.
Jeremy passed me at about the mile mark. Jeremy is a much stronger runner
than me so that makes me think I didn't slow down enough for that first mile.
I completely lost Rinchen by this point and got worried that she might be going
out too fast. I got into a pack of runners and we stayed pretty steady.
Got through Robert Treman Park, did a mile loop that we had to do on the way
back as well but not at all on the second go around (26 miles first time, 24
second). Then the course changed a bit from the last time where it
doesn't go back into the rim trail of Robert Treman but continues on a
different trail as we exit Robert Treman state park and head to Buttermilk state
park. More trail trail this way and less stairs this way which I don’t
mind. I was fearful of the stairs on the
last quarter where you quads are spent.
Shortly after we made it to
Underpass aid station. In the last race you had to go through two waist
deep stream crossing. A dry spring led to only one stream crossing which
water going up to only the calf. I quickly refilled my bottle and got
some oranges before I headed off. I started following someone that was
heading to the road before a volunteer called us back and correct us.
That was the only time I almost went the wrong way. The course was well
marked. A little before mile 8, at a massive uphill climb I saw
Rinchen. It took a few minutes of power hiking to catch up. We then
started running together. I think from the moment I caught up with her
she had doubts about starting the second loop. I wasn't really sure how
to respond to that. It was about 90 minutes in and I asked if she had
eaten any gels. She had not so I told to take one. I tried to
remind her about every hour afterwards to eat one. By then I was on my second
gel (one twenty minutes before, another 40 minutes in) and getting close to my
third (I did one every 50 minutes). We joined another pack which I
somehow ended up leading till we got to the picnic area of buttermilk state
park before entering the rim trail. There was a short road run where the
group broke up. I talked briefly with a man who does Spartans and was
doing his first 50 miler with two friends. They broke off to the
bathroom. At buttermilk I took a little more time at the aid station
stocking up on calories. I tried Gu's waffle cookie and it was
delicious. I also had some watermelons. Now was the journey back to
the start! The Spartan group caught up and we ran together after going
back and forth for a bit. Towards underpass aid station I said hi to Ami
who was running the marathon version. At underpass aid station I
restocked on some gels and over ate on oranges. They froze the oranges
and the coldness just felt so good. I felt a bit full and decided to skip
on a gel because of it. We ran with the Spartans till close to the
next aid station (Old mill ) where they broke off. Around mile 21 I got
into a low point (hit the wall feeling) and I started struggling mentally.
We passed by a man who was walking. He seemed very beat and looked like
he was going to walk a lot of the rest. He accepted it and seemed
resolved to finish. At Old mill aid station I drank 4 cups of ginger ale
and the sugar helped me feel much better. At the last 5k back to the
start on the gorge trail of Robert Treman state park Il I felt revived. I
started saying good morning with high energy to the many tourist checking out
the park. I talked briefly with another man who was doing his first
50 miler. He's done a few marathons and this was the next
challenge. I shared with him that I felt better with the ginger
ale. I saw Jeremy on his way back and he seemed a bit tired (but who
wouldn’t about 28 miles in), I estimate he was about 30 minutes ahead of
me. At the final downhill before arriving back at the start Rinchen
pushed the pace a bit. She usually pushed me a bit at the flat and wider
trails.
At the start once again, I quickly went to the bathroom back
and then proceed to eat. There weren't any watermelons at this location
to my disappointment (I was motivating myself thinking of the refreshing
watermelons). I stocked up on some of the GU salt tablets before starting
the second loop. Rinchen continued as well and she didn’t seem to be
thinking about stopping. In my head I broke the rest of the race
down by aid stations. Aid station to aid station wasn't that far so in my
head I broke it down to get to old mill (3ish miles), then to underpass
(another 3ish miles), and then a bit of a long stretch to buttermilk (6ish
miles) but once there I'm heading home which I figure would give me a mental
boost. So run a bit to the aid station where you get rewarded with some fruit
and soda before continuing. Towards the gorge trail I joked to some
of the runners returning to the start that there was an all you can eat buffet
down there (in reference to the aid stations). A little farther on the
way to old mill the runner I told about drinking soda caught up and thanked me
for the tip. I saw Ami again, I think close to underpass aid station
again. A little farther we went back and forth with a woman in the
45-49 USAT age group competition and she eventually passed us (life goals). Between
underpass and buttermilk we passed a man who was having stomach problems. Sadly
this was at the long stretch part and the aid station was close to 4 miles
away. After talking to him a bit to make sure he didn’t emergency
help we passed by (couldn’t really help). Towards Lake Treman, going
up a small set of the stairs that overlook the lake, we passed a
man. I joked that passing people on the uphill was dangerous (in
terms of blowing up later on). This whole stretch, I definitely didn't
feel as light and quick as the first time around running in the pack.
Towards the descend down buttermilk I briefly lost Rinchen
but she caught up at the aid station. Then the path long stair walk
up the waterfalls of buttermilk state park towards bear trail to the
finish. Rinchen started getting tired so after climbs I tried to
emphasis taking a deep breath before starting to run again. It made
me feel better so I thought it might help her. I continued to drink
a lot of soda at the aid stations. Around mile 45 Rinchen asked for
a break so I said walking break and we did a brief walk. Around this
point we caught up to Romain who we passed but he was able to hang on to us
pace. Close to old mill aid station we all got passed by
Lizzy. When she passed I started pushing in hopes of keeping
up. It’s easier to follow someone else’s pace so it was nice to not
be leading for a tiny bit. I mentioned to Rinchen that at the final
aid station I was going to walk by. I had to make sure they got my
bib number, otherwise I might have just ran by. Rinchen took a break
at the aid station so I lost her here. I
did want to finish with her but I was really excited at the thought of
finishing.
The final 5k was mostly downhill and Romain, Lizzy, and I
started pushing our pace. I initially took the lead (steep downhills
are a favorite of mine) and carved out a path through the tourists of Robert
Treman park. As I said excuse me to get people out of the way I
warned that there were two more runners. Sprinting down stone steps
is a unique experience and it’s a lot different than any other downhills on
road or trail that I experienced. About halfway through the final
5k, Lizzy passed. I tried to keep up but slowed at the small rolling
hills. I ended up finishing a minute behind her. At the
final grassy stretch I turned my head and saw Romain catching
up. Nope! I sprinted hard to the finish. He
finished 11 seconds behind me. I congratulated him on his strong
finish. I thought Rinchen might take a little longer to finish so I
went inside to get some food. She finished about 10 minutes after me
which is really good for a first 50 miler. I ate some portabella
tacos with some beer (only cold thing) and peaches.
After resting a bit, the race director Ian gave out some fun
rewards. Person who had the most sunburn, best spouse crew, people
that love gu. It was nice. They gave out the rewards for
the top 10 USAT overalls. We went to the camping bathrooms to take a
shower (you could drive right in front of the bathroom). I talked a
while to a guy who DNF at mile 40 a bit on the way to the
bathroom. He had knee surgery recently so had to
stop. Back to the finish line I had to wait for my drop bag from
underpass to return. I met Ami again and we talked for a
bit. I got some more food. Then I saw Deki ran toward the
building near the start and come out with my drop bag. I then headed
back to the car. I would have loved to have hanged out longer but it
was getting late and the drive back is 4 hours.
Got some sleep and went hiking the next day to
recover! Despite being alright on the hike (the uphills were a bit hard
for me), later on Sunday I got the marathon legs. I struggled a bit going
down the stairs and by 10 pm I was beat.
I mostly felt in in my calves the following few days,
