Cayuga 50

“We don’t rise to the occasion, we fall to our level of training”

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,

Manitou's Revenge

Manitou’s Revenge was my fifth finish of an ultra around the 50 mile distance.  It made all the others (North Face NY, Ice Age, McDowell, and North Face MA) look like kids races.  This wasn't surprising to me.  When I think technical terrain, I think of the Catskills.  The race took place in the Catskills, going from Windham to Phoencia, gaining close to 15,000 feet of elevation gain over 54 miles.  It was what felt like to be my strongest performance of the year so far and at 54 miles, it was technically (new distance) my 10th PR of the year.  This race ended 6 weeks of racing ranging from 10k on the flat road to this mountainous 54 miles! 

I was in the waitlist for the race till two weeks ago, after I finished the North Face MA 50 miler, so I didn't have enough time to get specific training in for the race.  Perhaps the most important factor going into this race was the 50 miler I did two weeks ago.  I usually say that 50 milers on trails take 2 weeks to recover from (equal to a road marathon) but I never really tested it.  Though my legs still felt a bit stiff the day before I feel like the North Face MA 50 miler helped me prep big time for this race.  During that race my legs cramped a little more than a quarter of the way in so this time I had a stronger nutrition strategy.  My quads burnt out during the later parts of North Face so I focused in getting in a few short workouts to work on that (still not enough time though and I worried about the quads going into the race), and it helped me mentally in that by doing the distance before my body sort of got used to it, like it doesn't freak out like the first few times.

Strategy

This was the first race I really looked at race reports for.  An important thing I got for them was to run the runnable sections, even if it's only 50 feet before you have climb again, run!  I looked a lot at the times of the middle of the pack runners and their times were a big warning to how difficult this course was.  You had to qualify to just enter this race so these weren’t newbies to the distance. 

For nutrition I pretty much stuck to gels every 40 minutes like North Face but this time I also added one salt tablet per hour.  I didn't cramp at all during the race.  I snacked on some fruit and small sandwiches at aid stations but real food was more on feel.  Towards the later quarter of the race I lost the ability to keep track of when I was eating gels so I went by feel.  If I felt hungry, I ate.

For running, I pretty much jogged uphills that I could see the top of, hiked/climbed up other uphills and ran the flats and downhills.  The only uphills I could see the top of were in the first few miles.

For the last year and half I decided that I would be racing ultras so I stopped taking pictures.  Then Rene took a few pictures during North Face MA and still finished well.  I decided that I would bring my cell phone and quickly snap a few pictures if I made up a hard climb.  I think overall this thought made me more relaxed going into the race.

Race morning

I had to take the bus from the finish to the start at 3:30 am so just like North Face I got 3 hours of sleep.  I also got some in and out sleep on that bus.  I had stuffed everything I needed in my drop bag and started setting up on a table at the start.  There were only 5 aid stations for this race and I looked at average splits between them to see that the average person spent at least 2 hours apart between some of them.  That was too long for me to not bring my ultimate direction racing vest.  For my last two 50 milers, I had used a combo of hand bottles and hip belt in hopes of being lighter and thus faster but I found that it doesn't seem to really make a difference.  I had a 1.5 litter bladder with two nuun tables (about 60% of what the directions say), a hip belt with 6 gels with one pocket open specifically for gel garbage, and 8 more gels and a zip lock bag with hammer gel salt tablets.  There were no gels at the aid stations so the only place I could restock was my drop bag at mile 30.  Good thing I volunteered for North Face NY and had just the stockpile of hammergels (leftovers that they let the volunteers take home).  In addition to hammer gel I had some muir energy, powerbar gels (from the Brooklyn half) and science in sport gels.  It seemed like a lot of the runners ran the race before and that they only got a few new people each year.  I was surprised at how many people had hiking poles!  I picked up my bib and found out I was in wave 8.  The last wave!  I guess my qualifying race wasn’t that impressive (I used McDowell Mountain Frenzy from last December).  I think wave 8 were barely expected to finish.  I would pretty much spend the entire race passing people. 

The Great Wall of Manitou (escarpment trail)

I started off 5:40, there was 5 minutes between waves.  There were 15 of us in wave 8.  I started running around the 11 minute pace for the first 3 miles on the road.  A couple of the runners of the wave were ahead of me.  Just before we turned into the trail was an aid station 1 but I skipped it.  Then we hit the trail and I quickly passed all of wave 8 but two.  The initial trail mile was very runnable, even the uphills.  We then hit the escarpment trail and started south, starting the climb to Blackhead.  The escarpment trail is a 21 mile trail in the Catskills and I always have overlooked it because of the more famous Devil’s path.  There were parts of the climb were I had to use my hands to pull myself up, similar to what the Devil’s path would be.  I soon caught up with a pack of runners who I assumed were wave 7.  They were a bit slow power hiking uphill but it was early so I went behind them.  Then they continued walking on the flats, I waited a minute and when it was clear they were not going to run I asked if I could pass.  They were quick to get out of the way (experienced trail runners - so much better than North Face MA).  I soon caught up to a woman from my wave.  I thought I would run with her for a bit but I passed and she didn’t keep up.  A few miles later I caught the last of wave 8, a man that I recognized from another local NY trail race.  I reached the second aid station at about two hours and a half.  That’s about the median time and I adjusted my finish time to 17:30 instead of sub 16 hours.  I made it here at high sprites and having fun so I wasn’t worried yet.  At the aid station I ate the last peanut butter sandwich.  I heisted at first but the volunteers insisted.  I moved quickly through the aid station starting the climb up.  Passed a few more.  I listen to a few songs on the radio on the drive up and the song broken got stuck on my head.  After I couldn’t get the songs out I started playing the beats to pace myself.  I used faster parts to pace downhills while using the general slower beat for the flats.  I passed an airplane crash and turned around to take a picture.  A man behind me said he didn’t notice it the first time around.  The views were beautiful, I could see why it inspired the first art movement in this country.

Reached the third aid station.  From here I noticed that they had signs with distance and elevation gain and loss to the next aid station.  It was 5 miles downhill so I ran the next section hard.  It also wasn’t technical and I got to a 10 mile pace.  It was long though and I was worried that it would do a number on my quads.  At the North South Aid station I refilled my bladder with tail wind.  Passing the aid station the trail split and I got second doubts on where to go.  I didn’t pay attention and with a little rain on the rocks I got my first fall.  Nothing major.  I passed by parts of the North-South campground and the views here nice!  I have to come back and camp here.  I also didn’t realize how high up the campground was. 

The Long Path

The 4^th Aid station was at the end of the descent and I grabbed some fruit, crossed the road and briefly ran on the road before merging with the long path.  The long path is long distance trail that technically starts in Manhattan (though the trail part starts in the palisades across the GWB).  I met two Canadians and asked how they were.  They asked how I was doing and I said I was fine.  I got some remark that it was because I was young.  The next part wasn’t technically but very steep fire road type of road.  I struggled a bit here but no one caught up.

After a bit of a climb we descend a bit towards aid station 5.  It rained a bit but my body felt super light at this point and I cruised though.  I passed by someone I recognized on Instagram being from mountain peak fitness.

Aid station 5 was the only place to have a drop bag.  Since no aid station had gels I had packed 30 plus gels in the bag and my head lamp.  I reached a little before 2 pm but I remember that the race director wrote in his instructions that it may seem silly to have a headlamp leaving at 2 pm with 30/54 miles done but you would thank him.  Volunteers checked if you had a headlamp leaving too.  There was definitely an emphasis on having one.  There were a lot more runners at this aid station and I figure that I caught up to the middle of the pack.  A volunteer got me my drop bag quickly and he put it away after I was done with it.  I wish I had pre pack the bag with exactly what I needed instead of shifting through and counting how many gels  I needed (I would end up bringing too little).  I ate some tortillas with peanut butter and jelly which I liked better than P&J sandwiches.  This was the biggest aid station and I could understand why many would spend time here.  After 30 miles we were about to hit the climax!

The Devil’s Path

We took a blue trail from Palenville to the devil’s path.  On the way there a fellow runner cracked a few jokes about my shoes.  My brooks puregrits are ripped on both sides of the feet (I think because my feet swelled on them).  I mentioned that the lugs under them were still good and he said he had the same problem.  That his shoes rip from the sides way before the lugs under break off.  It was nice talking for a bit.  I soon passed on a flat section as I was continuing to run what was runnable.  I never been on this short blue section before but if you look up maps of the devil’s path you end up with a Hudson Valley Hiker’s Devil’s path plan.  For some reason they start their hike from Palenville too.  This skips the first easy miles of the Devil’s path and goes straight to ascent of Indian head.  I passed a lot of runners getting to the devil’s path, it looks like most people were preparing for a long hike.  The climb up Indian was steep and at parts I had to once again use my hands to climb.  I quickly understood why a younger version of myself, new to hiking 4 years ago, got easily crushed by this trail.  Indian head went pretty smooth, I ran good sections of it.  Then the climb up Twin Mountain.  I knew exactly where the viewpoints were and where to go.  The descent down Twin Mountain was tough, rocks were just shooting out at different directions everywhere and I had to hike a lot of it.  Then the climb up Sugarloaf.  Here I started losing my ability to ascend strongly.  I was so worried about my quads going into the race that I forgot that I needed my calves for the steep uphills.  I caught up to a woman named Sarah and two other runners and we ran down Sugarloaf together.  They sped through aid station 6.  I took an extra minute, drinking 3 cups of coke before I headed out.  I got hyper and started running hard up Plateau.  I quickly passed the group but the climb up Plateau got to me.  I caught up to a man named Ryan and as we struggled up we talked.  He done two 100 milers, Devil’s dog and Grindstone.  He was also signed up for Easterns 100 which got cancelled.  He didn’t have access to technical terrain and despite his accomplishments this race was crushing him.  He was also from wave 3, though he thinks most of wave 4 passed him.  I didn’t mention my wave.  At a runnable section I lost him.  At this point, the technical terrain was really draining me.  Running was actually my recovery.  Bouldering after long runs might be good practice with this.  I remember a story about Scott Jerek who was struggling to do a 24 hour fells challenge in the UK.  He was struggling going through the technical terrain but the author remarked that he’ll be okay once they get on runnable terrain.  I finally understood what that meant.  Shortly after passing the summit of Plateau we moved out of the Devil’s path and descended towards Silver Hollow Notch.

Edgewood Mt and Tremper

I passed by an older runner who I told I was happy that the hard part was over but he warned me that it wasn’t over yet.  I started tripping at the downhills.  The rocks were wet, and a combo of fatigue and mud on my shoes made me lose grip.  I almost face planted into some rocks but I was more worried that both my feet that hit a sharp edge of a rock.  I still descended strongly and passed by two runners.  One was Mendy who cheered as I passed by.  I heard them talk about the Schunemunk mountain race and I wanted to badly join in the conversation but had to keep running.  I thought about how mountain races have almost no crowds and that it’s pretty much up to us runners to cheer for each other.  Sure they are volunteers and crew but they are limited to a few spots.  Then I tripped and landed my right knee.  This hurt and I briefly walked before starting to run again.  My descents now became slower.  I started braking more, using trees to come to a complete stop to regain myself before continuing.  Eventually I figured out that if I land my feet at a slight angle (instead of straight down) that I had better control of slipping.  After the descents I talked briefly with a woman from Central PA.  She was a 4 hour drive away from the Catskills and said my 2.5 hours away was lucky.  We talked about how we didn’t really want to use our headlamps.  Then I passed.  I was a bit sad but the talk helped motivate me.  Then came the climb up Edgewood Mt.  The climb was a struggle and then we descended crazy.  Now started the last large climb.  It felt like forever.  I ran out of gels but still had some salt tablets.  I accidently got water instead of tailwind at aid station 7 so I had less calories than I wanted.  I was also no longer tracking calorie intake, I wasn’t able to remember when I last ate something.  I guess I could write it down later stage calorie intake like people do with split times.  Anyway the climb toward Mount Tremper was horrible mentally.  Finally made it to aid station 8, the last one.  Mendy and the central PA women shortly caught up.  I stuffed two half peanut butter jelly sandwiches in my belt to eat later, I couldn’t figure out where in the vest to put them.  I ate some veggie noodles in broth. 

The final stretch included a 300 foot gain but then it was all downhill.  Mendy left the aid station a few seconds before me and let me pass saying I was faster but I kind of knew that she would catch up on the 300 feet climb.  I played around with headlamp on and off and decided to keep it on.  There was a bit of fog so you couldn’t see that great with them but I guess once it’s on you get used to having more light.  Mendy and another man caught up.  Not sure where the guy came from but he was surging through with his pacer.  I did recognize the pacer from the start and saw her waiting at the aid station after sugarloaf.  We briefly talked about how cycling could help strengthen the quads before they both passed.  On a straightway I caught up with Mendy and pasted.  Finally made it up on Mount Tremper firetower.  Now it’s all downhill.  Ryan earlier had said that the fireroad may be easy.  To be honest, I didn’t believe him but the trail became wide and steep downhill.  I shortly caught up to the pacer who had gotten dropped.  She said he felt good and went on ahead.  I mentioned that it feels good to be on this trail.  After a little while the descent got rocky and I slipped and fell over one of the rocks.  I knew it!  There are no easy miles in the Catskills.  Talyor Swift’s 22 song played a bit in my head, no idea where that came from.  Soon I caught up with another man who had blew up his knees who said he was lucky to have his trekking poles to slowly climb down.  Later on I would hear stories up how he charged uphill.  After a brief check I passed by.  I definitely heard animal sounds in the distance.  Here and there I thought I would see a street light, think I was close to the road, only to find out that I was definitely still in the woods.  Eventually the ground passes a stream which I use as a sign for being close.  Takes a few more minutes but finally emerge out of the woods.  Just before I got on the final 1 mile road run two men gave me a reflective vest.  Running world magazine logo on it.  I fumbled a bit to put the vest on and then on to the final run.  I think I ran it about the same pace I started off at, a slow 11 minute jog.  Mendy passed me a bit in.  She was running super-fast, looked like at 7 minute mile to me.  Finally made it to the finish!  It was a pretty simple setup.

Afterwards I went inside the Parish hall and ate some food.  I was able to talk with a bunch of the people that I passed since the devil’s path and I hanged out for an hour.  The guy that cracked jokes about my shoe made it and Ryan also made it with pretty good timing.  After an hour I started the drive home.  I would have loved to have stayed and cheered on a few more finishers (time limit was 24 hours) but I forgot a change of clothes and I definitely would have needed a jacket.  Plus I was hiking the next day so had to get back to NYC and get some sleep.

I finished in 16:27, about an hour faster than my B goal.  A goal was sub 16 but still pretty happy with the result.  Now with break from racing I could focus a bit on the trail 50 mile nationals!

North Face Endurance Challenge - MA

The North Face Endurance Challenge 50M MA was my fifth 50 miler attempt and 4th finish.  Terrain wise, it was my hardest yet.  The North Face DC was my first trail and first ultra-race and I done the North Face Bear Mountain 50 M and 50k.  Since I learned last year that there was a new North Face in MA I wanted to do it.  I didn't imagine it being a hard one.  Then Eric spoke of how difficult it was last year so I started looking it up.  Only 41% finished last year and they had to extend the cutoffs for that too.  This year they made the course slightly easier this year.  While I feel like I have maintained some fitness I didn't go into the race trained for it.  But that's okay, this race was meant to see where I am and what to work on as I prepare for my fall A race - North Face 50M in CA where I'll get to race against many of the stars of ultra-running.

With 2.5 hours of sleep, I met Rene and drove 3.5 to get to the start with a half hour to start.  It's an ultra and with their early starts you'll never get enough sleep.  I have long accepted that and try to get in some extra sleep the days before.  We had enough time for bathroom, packet pickup and bag drop.  One bag drop was transported to the course so you could retrieve things later.  I didn't really have anything prepared for the bag drop but I put an old pair of running shoes in just in case.  At finish line bag drop I had a change of clothes.  I planned on relying heavy on the aid stations.  I was very familiar with the starting area setup of the North Face races so I felt pretty confident moving through.  Got some sunblock and bug spray on and filled up on water before getting on to the wave.  I was looking to get some gels but didn’t see the hammergel station.  I had two on me and I knew the aid stations would have more so it didn’t worry me.  I was surprised to find myself in wave 1.  Dean Karnazes said his usually few words before the race.  He mentioned that he thought this was the most technical of the North Face races.

The race went off.  I went at my own pace so didn't really pay attention to where I positioned myself.  The first mile was the usual nice wide trail dirt roads.  Then it went briefly into a technical downhill where I passed many.  Then back to wide gently climbs.  I took it easily and got passed by many I had earlier passed.  After a bit we got technical climbs.  I met a young man named Ohare.  He started pacing off me and we talked for a bit.  He was a student that resided at BU but studied elsewhere.  He was looking to challenge himself.  I soon lost him in one of the technical climbs.  Seemed like a nice guy.  Approaching the top I met a man who asked how many miles I ran so far.  I said 7.  He said he got lost and has done 9.  Once on top of the mountain we reached an aid station, got a mark on our bib and went back down a bit to do another loop.  I met the man again who earlier got lost once again said he took the wrong turn.  North Face Endurance Challenge is pretty good on their course marking but I guess he just wasn't looking up as much?  On the second loop go around I met some people that were complaining about having to do the loop twice.  I guessed at this point they must have been the 50k runners.  Made it the top again where I saw some expense camera setups taking video.  Drones up there as well!  

Next we started to descend.  Caught up to a man who said he was glad the hard part is done and then immediately face planted.  Lucky he was okay.  The descent became very technical, you are pretty much dropping down 3-4 feet boulders.  I flew down.  I love technical terrain.  I passed a whole lot of runners.  Lucky the terrain here was nice and wide so I had plenty of space to play.  After the crazy descent we went onto the mid-state trail.  It was rocky and had a few climbs which you had to hike over but nothing crazy.  I ran fairly hard here, giving it a marathon pace effort.  Eventually I slowed down to take a hammer gel.  I knew nutrition would be key so had to make sure I was keeping my calories up.  A good numbers of runners quickly passed me.  I had no idea that so many were right behind my tail.  There wasn't anyone close enough behind me for me to give them space to pass by.  After the gel I went back to the marathon pace effort but ended up stuck behind some guy who was struggling.  I tried to ask if I could pass by as I felt this area was completely runnable.  He said he wasn't use to this terrain.  I guess he also didn't know he should move to the side a bit to let faster runners through.  I remember someone complain last year about trail etiquette.  A group of runners formed behind him.  I kind of felt sorry for him.  Eventually there was a descent over a rock that the guy crawled to his butt to get down and then the rest of us flew past him.  A man behind me remarked at how quick I was at the descents.  I mentioned that I love technical downhills but that I should be careful to not burn out my quads.  

After the 5 mile stretch of the mid-state trail ended we popped out of a parking lot and an aid station.  I started craving soda so I took a cup of coke.  The next aid station came up pretty quickly and I took a cup of mountain dew there.  At that point I had no idea why I was craving soda.  The terrain now became easy!  It was now wide open horse carriage trail like.  But my quads started cramping and I slowed down.  A lot of runners passed by.  I touched my face at a certain point and realized that I was sweating out a lot of salt.  I should have realized sooner!  Despite the race being in mostly shade it was still quite hot.  I was taking gels every 40 minutes with food here and there.  I switched to every thirty minutes.  At the next aid station I asked if there were salt pills but sadly no (the aid station I volunteered in North Face Bear Mountain had salt pills).  At that point I also realized how bare bones the aid stations were.  Yes compared to water stations that road races have the North face aid stations seem amazing but I done a lot of ultras now and seen so much better food options.  They also had less food options than North Face Bear Mountain.  I ate some potatoes dumped in salt which tasted horrible because I put too much salt but I forced it in knowing it would help.  I also started drinking a lot more soda.  The next 5 miles was an easy fire road but I still struggled through.  Around mile 27 I started feeling better.  It took about 10 miles for me to feel like I recovered from the cramping.  The trail also went back to single track which I loved.  At the end of it we popped back out at the parking lot.

When I got through the man asked if it was my second time through.  I initially said yes because I recognized the parking lot and it was my second time there.  The man said only five miles to finish turn right!  I looked at my watch, I was at 30 and told him.  He said I had to do the last 15 mile loop again.  I instantly dreaded it.  I was tired and I think mentally it would have been easier if I was heading home but instead I had to go farther away.  Demoralized I shuffled through back to the start of the 15 mile loop.  As I was filling up on soda I saw Rene come through to the aid station.  He was 5 miles ahead of him but seeing him made me so happy.  Now back alone I started imaging that something old and ancient within me was waking up (can’t say my mind was 100% at this point lol).  I got back to running at a good pace.  Back on the fire road again I met a man from Atlanta, Georgia.  He and 7 of his friends were preparing for the Leadville 100 and he was using this race like me to establish a baseline.  He didn't expect it to be so hard.  A woman in green joined us and we talked together for about 2 miles.  The man did a 45 day race across the Atlantic Ocean on a row boat which was pretty interesting.  He also fell 11 times at that point, I had fallen 5 times.  Eventually the man started passing me and soon the women.  I started fading mentally but held out hopes that making it to the single track would save me.  Towards the end of the 5 mile fire road stretch I passed by a young man named Pu who remarked that he was saving his energy for the end.  I actually been passing and being passed by him a few times by now.  I remember thinking that there is no saving energy at this point.  You're going to hurt now and you're going to hurt later.  Back on the 5 mile single track stretch my legs felt jelly and going downhill caused a lot of pain.  After 3 miles of suffering, at mile 43, I started thinking of just walking to the end.  I started thinking of the other types of pain I went through this year - the 800 meter track race, the 14ers and thought that nothing compares to this kind of pain (this is probably something I think every time).  I realized that when I think of these other pains that the pain I currently feeling disappears.  I decided to focus on deep breathes, in and out of the nose.  I am able to start jogging and soon catch up to the women in green, though she passes me a little afterwards.

Back onto the parking lot for the third time!  We now have to go through the technical mid-state trail to finish.  I knew it was hard and it was not reassuring when volunteers were saying only 5 more miles!  I understand why they would say, I said it too when I volunteered for the NYC marathon for the first time long ago, but each mile now feels like 10 on a good day.  I drink a little more soda and begin my climb up.  I start turning to emotions to fuel me.  I start thinking of the many times volunteers and friends have helped me during dark times.  Those memories get me back my downhill speed.  On the uphill, I find that the shortness of breath break up my emotional state.  So I switch to the focus on deep breaths to jog uphill.  I felt a bit odd, almost crying emotionally on the downhill and then switching quickly to mediation for the uphill.  Eventually I had to start digging through more memories to draw strength from.  I started thinking of others, non-running times that people encouraged me in life and finally I imagined my siblings cheering for me.  At mile 48 you could start hearing the finish line announcer and thinking I was close to finishing I let the thought of finishing fuel me.  At mile 49 you end up on a road stretch and it's clear you still got a mile to go.  I slow to a shuffle walk, drained out of motivation.  The race goes back into the woods and a 50k finisher who came back in to cheer told me that there is no more uphill, .3 downhill and .2 straight to finish.  He just needed to say .5 left.  I picked up some speed and finished strong.  Immediately upon finishing I fell to my knees, something I had not done before in a race.  A man cheering at the finish line joked don't be so dramatic, it was a walk in the park.

Afterwards I met Rene and we did some Normantec recovery boots (which was torture), got some beer and some food.  Vegan options were pretty limited at this point at the cafe which was very disappointing.  Again I think of Bear Mountain North Face which had some better food options.  Pu met up with us and we talked for quite a bit.  It was interesting to me that Pu was a 2:54 recent marathoner and Rene was 2:57 recent marathoner yet their finishing times were two hours apart.  Guess marathon times can’t predict times for races like this.  Two hours after finishing I started the drive back.  Took 4 hours with some traffic, it was a pretty tough drive back!  

I got a little over 100k in steps that day and I was up for 24 hours by the time I got back home.  I still find it amazing that the body doesn't want to just eat like crazy and sleep afterwards, it kind of just goes back into its normal schedule (no matter how much I feel like I should be sleeping to recover).  I was able to get up after 6 hours of sleeping and go volunteer for QDR's world cup 5k event.  Though to be honest, after the initial setup my mind kind of faded and I felt half there.  

Back of the pack photos at North Face Endurance Challenge Series NY

50 milers should come with a warning, it’s a world apart from the 50k and marathon distances.  Back of the pack is a tough situation...it’s not even about a bad time, you might not finish the race - a DNF.  Somehow you have to dig deeper than ever before to find the strength to keep going.  Ultra-marathons are definitely 100% mental.  I saw the 50 milers go off, volunteered till 2 pm, saw my friends come in and then cheered the last finishers.  I decided to take some pictures in hopes of capturing some of the emotions at the finish line.

Link to the photos:  https://flic.kr/s/aHsmjgjKUC

Mount Mitchell Challenge 2018

Mount Mitchell Challenge!

In the winter of 2016-2017 trail runner magazine came out with an article about the best winter races.  The one that caught my eye was the Mount Mitchell Challenge.  A 40 mile race that goes to the top of the highest peak east of the Mississippi.  Unfortunately, the lottery for the race was in September of the year before so I missed 2017.  Out of the five lotteries that I entered for 2018 running races, this was the only one I got in.

The race goes from the town of Black Mountain through the private college community of Montreat and then up double track trails till it hits the Blue Ridge Parkway.  From there it traditionally goes on road into Mount Mitchell state park and then to the summit!  This year, they changed the course to cut a bit of the road part to the top and instead go through the single track, rugged Old Mitchell trail.  Then we took the road back down back to the double track to a slightly different route back into Montreat and took smaller roads back to the town Black Mountain.  The race has about 4800 feet of elevation gain and of course you have to get back down!  For reference to my city folks, Harlem hill has about 82 feet of elevation gain.

The elevation gain wasn’t the crazy factor for me.  Just in NY, close by Breakneck marathon had 10,000 feet of gain in Coldsprings and the Whiteface Sky race in the ADK has 8,000 feet of gain in just 18 miles.   The new factor for me was that 1/3 of the course was on the road and most of the rest was on double track where I’m use to my ultras being out on single track.  So the course overall is easier and I feel like you could get away with training mostly on roads for this one.

I arrived to North Carolina two days before race day.  I did a moderate trail in Montreat run up Graybeard Mountain via Graybeard trail and then made a loop going down the West Ridge which went through some of the seven sisters (short hills) before descending back to Montreat.  9.1 miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain!  I planned to use my Nike Trail running shoes that I got for free from my 100 miler in the fall for the race but on this trail run I found that in the descent my toes hit the front.  The shoes were too small.  I recently got max cushion shoes and while they are comfortable, I found them extremely heavy when they got some mud so I switched back to my Brooks Puregrits.  These shoes have finger wide holes on both sizes and easily have done more than 600 miles but my quest for trail running replacements haven’t been going well.  The day before I did an easy trail run in the River trail by the agricultural Ward Wilson College, a flat 5 miles.  The Town of Black Mountain is by Asheville which the podcast hosts of No Meat Athlete are from.  One of the host specifically moved to Asheville because it was more vegan friendly so I was excited to eat around as well.

The Fear of Pain

I recently realized that I could run a lot faster than I previously thought.  I have always run at a comfortable pace for most of the race before pushing hard at the end.  I always thought it of it as running smart.  However, from racing shorter distances I realized that I didn’t even know what I was capable of.  When was the last time I blew up during a race or hit the wall?  I was determined this race to start off a bit faster than what I would usually do and see what happens.

Nutrition

I did both my practice runs wearing my Ultimate Direction SJ racing vest but in the race briefing the night before I learned that aid stations were only 5 miles apart.  So I decided to waist belt and double bottle it.  I had one ultimate direction hand handle and another Salmon soft flask that wraps around your wrist.  The Salmon flask has a pocket where I stashed a few gels and my waist belt stored my gel flask and more gels.  I brought 24 Science in Sport gels for $7 during a promotion they had so I used them for gels and I used my hammer gel flask which stores about 5 gels in a tiny bottle.  I planned to use the Science in Sport gels first, they had water in them so I used them to get some of my water needs in well.  At aids stations I usually ate two orange slices and then moved on.  I drank about 28 ounces of water during the almost 7.5 hours I ran the race.  Overall I felt like I didn’t need much.  I ate my first gel at 45 minutes and then ate another every 30 minutes or so.  Halfway I ate half a banana and near the marathon mark I felt slightly off so I ate a few chips and a shot cup of coke soda.  I ended up not eating half my hammer gel flask.

Start line

I parked at the finishing area of the race about an hour before start time.  Easily got a spot.  I had laid out half my gear out in the dashboard of my car the night before.  Bad idea, in the 20 minute drive quite a few things fell and got tossed around.  It took me about 45 minutes to get ready.  I actually had to rush out with one of my bottles only a fourth filled up.  I ran about a half mile to the start, got in the bathroom (thank goodness for a real bathroom at the start) and joined the 500+ runners at the race 3 minutes before start time.  Had enough time to tie my shoes and move near the back of the pack.  The race has two distances, the challengers who are doing the 40 miler and the marathoners who will run only to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then turnaround.  500 people was a lot for an ultra and it had a road running start feeling to it.

The first 13 miles

The first 3 miles of the race were on main roads going to Montreat.  I maintained about 10 mile pace with some steady elevation gain.  I passed a few people here and there.  Then we hit the double track where the pace quickly picked by.  Passed a lot of people in the next few miles here.  It was hard not to get excited when you finally hit the trails.  Despite the uphill the pace was quick but I stuck with it.  I passed by the first aid station without getting anything.  The next few miles you started to go back and forth with some people which allowed for some small conversations.  A guy gave me some of his dried mango which I found delicious.  Conservations were a mostly about where you’re from, training, and gear you’re wearing.  I met a man that is running this race for the 19^th time and he talked about someone else on course that is doing his 21^st one (that’s every year since the race started).  This man ended up running a lot faster than me and it blows my mind that someone who started running this race when I was around eight years is still crushing it!  As the trail got steeper I fell into a jog walk but still moved on the quick side.  Around mile 11 I started seeing the marathoners going back down. 

The Road Ascent

At around mile 13 we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and started a 2.5 mile ascend up on road.  I drove up this road the day before to take some pictures from the summit of Mount Mitchell.  Recently, I stopped carrying a phone with me while racing (since I should be focusing my attention on moving faster) so I like to take my time the day before getting the photos.  It was weird seeing the road from this point of view.  I started jogging up, I figure that road would be a good way to do well on time but about a mile in, I got passed by three individuals walking.  So then I started walking but I couldn’t walk as fast as these three.  I fell about .8 of a mile behind by the end of the 2.5 mile road ascent.  Then the course turned to single track, rugged trail with plenty of roots and rocks.  It was very similar to Catskill terrain.  It was also wet from the light rain and fog.  I made good time here, easily passing those that passed me earlier.  I talked a bit with a man from Atlanta before I picked up the pace.  I kind of just went whatever pace was natural for me but people afterwards would tell me I crushed it there.  Two miles later and we end up right below the summit.  A volunteer marks an S on my bib.  Summit and turn around to the aid station.  I eat a bit more here since I’m halfway done before moving on.  Now the way back down is all roads till we are back on the double track.  I was expecting to make good time here.  Maybe 9 minutes a mile but I found my pace to be around 10:30 a mile.  I didn’t practice running downhill fast so I wasn’t able to pick it up here.  I found it different that running downhill on trails which I am somewhat good at.  Halfway through the three that passed me on the initial road climb passed me again.  I started feeling off towards the end of this section and then I touched my neck to find that there was a lot of salt on it.  As I hit the aid station at the end of the Blue ridge parkway I decided to drink a shot cup of coke with a few chips to get some salt and calories back in.  I passed a few runners here with my shorter time on the aid station.

The Double Track Downhill

The double back down was pretty rocky.  I sorted of noticed on the ascent but on the downhill I guess your feet hits the ground a bit harder so you feel it a lot more.  I did well here.  I passed by quite a lot of runners.  I talked briefly with a man from Burlington, NC, it seemed like quite a few people were here from there.  He was pretty impressed that I could manage this race while training in NYC.  The double track became less rocky but still downhill and I slowed a bit here.  There were quite a few splits of the trail and the course wasn’t marked that well in my opinion.  On the way up there were so many people so I had no trouble finding my way but now I was running alone 95% of the way.  I checked the map of my watch on a few of the splits; I pretty much had to assume that the larger trail was the right way.  After what the first aid station on the way up was is now the last aid station on the double track trail the trail became a very steep downhill.  I flew down but at one of the turns I couldn’t tell if I went the right way (again marking wasn’t as frequent as I’m used to).  So I went back up and found out that I was going the right way.  I wasted two or so minutes here which sucked since I was moving so fast. 

Back to Black Mountain!

The double track trail ended on Montreat roads and now the road descend was crazy steep.  It was the steepest road downhill I ever encountered (even steeper than San Francisco marathon downhills).  I passed by an aid station manned by Montreat college students.  As I got closer to finishing I thought about tips about moving fast that I have gotten recently.  I focused a bit on picking my legs up a bit.  A small section cut through park trails and in one of them I spotted orange marking in the middle of a stream and more orange marking on the other side.  It was hard to tell at this point if they belonged to the race or not.  I jumped to the giant boulder in the middle and was ready to jump into the stream to get to the other till I realized that the orange marking on the other side was no way a trail.  I must have wasted 3-4 minutes figuring this out and then proceed to continue the usual route.  Found more orange marking so I assumed that the other orange marking were a county or town mark for something else.  Rest of the two or so miles went smoothly.  The race ended with a loop around Lake Tomahawk.

After the race they had food in a community center building.  They had some delicious mushroom soups and I filled up on bread with peanut butter, bananas and pinto beans.  I talked with a few of the finishers and even a bit with the overall winner Morgan.  He finished the race in 4:20, more than three hours faster than my 7:23!  Others that finished the race said it was easier with snow since that covered up rocks.  It was the second hottest temperature of the race, high 60s in the bottom and high 40s on top.  After a little more than an hour of relaxing and talking I went back to Asheville to get a postcard which ended up being a lot harder than I thought.  Next was dinner and then the 10.5 hour drive back to NY!  I had two free beers that I could have claimed where they were doing the overall awards but I thought that to be a bad idea before a long drive.