Not Quite 40 - 40 Mile Run

For the past few years I have tried to find a way to celebrate my birthday (month) by doing something that will stretch me and challenge me.

• In 2013 I ran 36 laps around a local track to celebrate my 36th birthday. 
• In 2014 I ran the Inaugural Dopey Challenge at Disney. Four races in four days. Starting with a 5k and going all the way up to a full marathon. 
• In 2015 I ran my first 50 mile race the Cloudland Canyon 50 mile run put on by RunBum Tours.

This year is no different as I decided to create my own challenge to celebrate my 39th Birthday by running 40 miles at a local park. I have decided to call the event Adam's Not Quite 40 - 40 Mile Run!

The Challenge:

On January, 30th I will be running a 2 mile paved loop around Veterans Park in Watkinsville, GA. Each loop I will be stopping by my car to mark off a count sheet to mark my progress. I will need to make 20 laps around the park to run 40 miles.

I have a friend, Ross, who is planning on doing the whole challenge with me, and there are other friends who are planning on coming out to run 1 or 2 laps with me. This will also be a kind of training run for Ross and me as we are both signed up for the Georgia Death Race in March. 

Only a crazy ultra runner celebrates his birthday by running really far, but it's a way to make your birthday memorable!

Sky to Summit 50k - Race Report

  

I had been watching the weather leading up to the Sky to Summit 50k put on by Run Bum Tours all week hoping that there would be a break in the weather. The race director, Sean, had been sending out emails a few days out warning us of the cold weather and rain that was expected on race day. This was not the kind of weather that I was looking for as we were heading into this race.

On race morning I got up early and headed over to my friend, Ross' house to head up to Sky Valley, GA and the start of the race. We got to the check in about an hour before the start and got checked in while a light rain fell on us. We then headed back to the car and started loading up our packs and getting our rain gear ready for the race.

At 6:45 Sean called everyone together for a mandatory race meeting, and finished up the meeting by having us all say together, "We are here to have fun!" Then at 7am we were off and running.

The race started off on some roads in the Sky Valley Resort, but we were greeted immediately with some big climbs. Ross and I settled into some hiking and running when we hit some flats and the occasional downhill. We ran/hiked the first 3.5 miles with a bunch of other runners up to the top of Rabun Bald which is the second highest peak in Georgia, and we had already climbed a little over 1,500ft. We then started to head down off Rabun Bald on the Bartram Trail. Ross and I had done a training run on this section of the course and blasted the downhill, but ended up paying for it on the way back up during that run. We knew that we wanted to take it kind of easy on this section of the course because we knew that climbing back up Rabun Bald the second time was going to be a bear.

When we made it to Wilson Gap Aid station (8ish miles), and we were greeted with some needed snacks and we were able to refill our water bottles before heading on down to the next section which would be an out and back. Thankfully the rain had let up by the time we got to the summit of Rabun Bald, so Ross and I were able to pack up our rain jackets and not have to deal with them for a while.

The next 3ish miles we crossed a number of streams that were between ankle and calf deep. Then we got to the one water crossing that we had been warned about. I jumped right in knowing that there was no way to go around this without getting wet, and immediately the water was up over my knees. I just had to laugh at the whole situation and kept on running to the next aid station Darnell Creek (11ish miles).

Darnell Creek aid station was the turn around point and we would then climb over 2,000ft back up to the top of Rabun Bald before heading down the back side. The climb back to Wilson Gap was tough going, and when we finally made it back we took some extra time filling water bottles and getting some food before heading back up Rabun Bald. It was going to be 7ish hard miles to the next aid station.

Leaving Wilson Gap we got back on the Bartram Trail climbing up to Rabun Bald. This is where I began to have a rough time. To be honest I don't think I was fully prepared for all the climbing that was required for the Sky to Summit course. It took me a long time to hike/run back up to the summit. Ross was ahead of me encouraging me, and pushing me to keep going. When I finally made the summit I was tired and took some extra time at the base of the fire tower before heading down the mountain.

Leaving the summit Ross and I were in a line of other runners heading down the trail. The back side of the mountain was really steep and very technical for the first few miles, and it was made even more difficult with all the slick rocks and leaves from all the rain. We all continued slowly making it down the mountain until we hit some runnable sections where the group began to pick up the pace. I wasn't feeling great at the time, so I let everyone pass and continued to slowly make it down the mountain.

Then it happened...I was making my way down the mountain and I slipped on some leaves taking a small fall. It wasn't a big deal, so I just got back up and kept moving.

SLIP!

I take another fall this time landing on my backside in the mud. A little mad at myself I get back up and again start heading down the trail trying to be a little more careful with all the slick leaves and rocks.

SLIP! CRASH!

This time I did it. I took another fall on some slick leaves, but this time I landed on a rock...HARD! This immediately shot pain up my tailbone and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get up. I took a few minutes then made myself get up, and began walking down the trail to Three Forks Aid Station. On the way down my brain made the decision that I was going to drop. I was disappointed, mad, upset, and so many other feelings at the time. I have not had to DNF any ultra yet, and it looked like this would be my first.

I finally got down to Three Forks and took my time. I hung out in the aid station and tent for a while watching other runners come in and leave. I had come into the aid station planning on dropping, but I hadn't told any of the workers of my plan yet, so when one asked when I was going to head on I decided I would suck it up and grit out the last 9 miles to the finish. My brain was saying stop, but my heart wouldn't let me give up. I really wasn't thinking clearly and filled up one water bottle with Gatorade and the other with Coke and then headed up the gravel road.

The next few miles were very painful. Every step hurt, but I was determined to finish this race no matter what. We left the gravel road and headed down a trail to Holcomb Creek Falls before heading back up the trail and back to the gravel road. I walked most of the gravel road hiking as quickly as I could and trying to ignore the pain that I was feeling on my tailbone.

I finally hit the Bartram Trail and it was time to head back up to Beegum Gap. This part of the trail was really beautiful and it took us by a number of waterfalls. I continued to try and run when I could and fight through the pain as I hiked up the hills to Beegum.

At Beegum I filled my bottles with water this time, and shuffled off to the finish line. The last 2.5 miles were mostly downhill and on the road, so I was able to make my way down without too much trouble.

I finally made it to the finish line where I was greeted by Sean and Ross and the other runners hanging out at the finish line. My finish time was 8:29:38.

I had finished this race.
I was tired.
I hurt badly.
I was frustrated with myself.
I was happy that I pushed through to the finish!

Sky to Summit is the hardest 50k I've ever run, and probably the most beautiful race I've ever run. I am so glad that Ross talked me into running this one with him. I learned a lot from this ultra, and I hope to be able to take what I've learned into my next race.

Next up: Battle for Black Rock 24 mile on December 5th!

Photo Credits: The top two photos and the last one were taken by Ross Wise. You can read his race report here, and see his race video here. Congratulations to Ross on completing his first 50k!

I Did It!

Here is me at the finish line of my first 50 Miler!  A race report is coming soon.

Running Review of 2014

Last year was probably one of the biggest running years I've ever had.  I ran a bunch of miles, ran a bunch of races, and had fun smiling along the way.  It was also a year in which I learned a lot.  Here is a quick rundown of 2014.

• I started off the year by running the Dopey Challenge at Disney.  This was the inaugural year of the Dopey Challenge in which we ran a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, Half Marathon on Saturday, and Marathon on Sunday.  It was a great experience and a lot of fun to do with my dad.  I even did the Mickey Mile with the kids, so I got an extra mile in those 4 days! :-)
• In February I ran the Thrill in the Hills Marathon at Ft. Yargo for the second time.  This was not a good day for me.  I ended up getting sick and not having a great day, but I still pushed through and finished.
• In March I ran three 5k races in less than 24hrs, and was able to improve my time with each race.  I even got a third, second, and first in age group awards!
• In April I ran the Chick-fil-a Half Marathon in Athens and was able to set a new PR for the half marathon with a time of 1:41:20.
• In May I ran my second 50k, the Oconee 50k, in Mountain Rest, SC.  I set a new PR in the 50k with a time of 5:47:09. (Race Report)
• In August I ran the Dirty Spokes Red Top Roaster 9.9.
• In September I ran the Dirty Spokes Hard Labor Creek 7.5 in the morning and then ran the Titan Twilight 5k in the evening.
• In November I ran the Tortoise and the Hare 50k.  In this race I finished 12th overall and 1st in my age group. (Race Report)
• I also have been working my way through at 50 mile race training plan since September.
• In 2014 I set a goal to run 1,000 miles and ended up running 1,208 miles for the year.

Overall it was a great 2014!  I ran a lot, set some new PR's, exceeded some goals, stayed injury free, and made some new friends.  Looking forward to what 2015 is going to bring!

How did your year go?

One Month Away...

One month from today I will be running my first 50 miler the Cloudland Canyon 50 in Rising Fawn, GA.  I signed up for this event 5 months ago, and I have put in a lot of miles to get ready.

Here are just a couple things running through my mind with only 1 month to go:

1. Have I put in enough training? 
2. What is the weather going to be like on race day in January?
3. Do I have my nutrition nailed down?
4. The farthest I've run is 31.5 miles.  How am I going to make it another 18.5 miles?
5. How long is this going to take me to run?
6. What if I have to DNF or worse DNS because of injury?
7. Am I mentally strong enough?
8. Can I really do this?

I am sure that I am not the first person to wonder all these things as they approached a new race distance, and thankfully I have some places I can find strength as I attempt this new distance.  I find strength in my faith, family, and friends.  All of these I will have with me when I take on this race!

What questions have you had as you approached a new race distance?  Where did you find strength?

Tortoise and the Hare 50k Race Recap

I don't exactly remember where I first saw The Tortoise and the Hare 50k advertised, but once I looked into the idea behind the race I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.  The goal of the race is that they want everyone to finish as close to 3pm as possible.  In order to do this everyone chooses a wave start time that will allow them to finish around 3pm.  This brings more excitement to the race as everyone (Tortoises and Hares) are all finishing close to the same time and everyone is there to celebrate your accomplishment.  There were three start times for the "tortoises" 6am, 7am, and 8am, and three start times for the "hares" 9am, 10am, 11am.  I had signed up to be a part of the first "hare" wave at 9am.

Early Saturday Morning
I was using this race as a training run as a part of my training for my first 50 miler in January, so I was relaxed as I drove the 2.5hrs to Blue Ridge, GA on that Saturday morning.  The start time that I had selected was 9am, so I wanted to try and get to the start around 8am to watch a wave of runners leave, get checked in, and have time to get everything ready before my start time.  I arrived a little later than expected and was greeted by many of the 8am wave runners coming down the dirt road from the starting line.

Check-in

When I arrived to the parking lot and didn't see a lot of people around, but went ahead to the start line to find packet pickup.  It was 21º that morning, so I was trying to figure out what I was going to wear for the race.  There weren't any other runners down at the packet pickup, so the process was really quick.  When I asked about the 9am wave start I was told me that there wouldn't be an "official" start and that I could just start whenever I wanted.  I decided to wait until 9am to head out with all the other 9am wave runners.

The Start

A little before 9am I emerged from my car and started walking down to the starting line.  I had seen a couple of other runners arrive and go ahead and start early (it was only 21º).  As I walked down to the starting line I notice that there are only three other runners gathering around the start.  One guy was standing by himself saying that he was waiting for his friend.  The other two guys were planning on running the race together.  At 9am one of the guys said, "we'll it's 9 so I guess we should go ahead and start."  Just like that we crossed the start line and headed out on the course.

The Course

The course was described in this way:

The course consists of mostly rolling hills with a few steep, intermediate inclines (intermediate is a matter of opinion – the toughest part of the course, the Stanley Gap trail, features uphill elevation gain of somewhere around 2500 ft in 3 miles – but it sure is fun going back down!).

I found out though that there seemed to be a lot of uphill along the way.  I was able to run around 80-85% of the course, and the rest was a lot of power hiking.  There were a lot of rocks and roots on the course too which usually isn't that big of a deal except that it was November and the trails were covered in leaves.  So, there were times where I couldn't see where I was putting my feet and I came close to rolling an ankle.

The course was marked well at every turn.  They didn't put out a lot of flagging, but at every intersection they had flags and signs to point you in the right direction.  I never really worried about getting off the trail.

The Race
Since the race was a wave start, and I only started with two other guys, I ran 90% of this race with no one else around.  Even from the very beginning I found myself alone on the trail.  I do a lot of my training alone, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  The only thing that I was worried about was getting lost, but as I said earlier the major intersections were marked very well.  It wasn't until around mile 9 or 10 that I started to see some other runners coming toward me on the trail that I was heading down.  I continued on with the race and passed a number of runners over the next 10 miles.

Then, around mile 20 I hit a low point.  I was just flat out tired of running, and knew that I still had a long way to go.  I kept moving forward, walking and pushing through.  I knew that it would get better at some point and around mile 21.5 I came into an aid station.  I refilled my water bottle, poured in some Tailwind, took some s-caps, and ate some food.  This was the first real food I had eaten the whole race.  I was using Tailwind for my nutrition in the race.  It was the first time that I have ever used tailwind and it worked great!  I felt energized the whole time, but I began to get hungry, so I ate a few PB&J's off the aid station table to take some of the edge off my hunger.

Once I left the aid station at mile 21.5 I felt reenergized, and ready to take on the rest of the course.  I continued to enjoy the day talking with some of the other runners on the course and having fun on the course.  I felt really strong when I got back on the gravel road that lead back to the finish line and pushed hard all the way to the finish (thanks Tailwind)!

As I approached the finish line there were a lot of people standing around cheering me on as I ran.  My official finish time was 6:33:14, and I was happy with the time for my 3rd 50k.  Since there were so many people at the finish line I wasn't sure where I actually finished, but I found out later that I had finished 12th overall and 1st in my age group!  

Final Thoughts:

I was extremely happy with the way this 50k went for me!  I am continuing to learn more about myself, this distance, and what it takes to run.  This was my third 50k and I was using this as a training run in a 50 mile training plan.  I am beginning to become more comfortable running the 50k distance, but still feel that I have plenty of room for improvement.  

10 Weeks Away

This week marks week 8 in my 18 week training plan for the Cloudland Canyon 50 miler in January.  Can't believe that it's only 10 weeks till I'll be standing at the starting line!  Things have been going really well, and I've been putting in a lot of miles the past few weeks.  Last week I hit the highest weekly mileage I've ever done putting in 56 miles!

I have been able to begin to split more of my time between the road and trail miles.  I usually try and get to the trails for my long runs, I run with a headlamp on some early road miles in the mornings, and try to get a few more trail miles in throughout the week.  I know that I am going to need to get some dark trail miles, and I plan on taking advantage of the time change over the next few weeks.

One thing that I think has helped to give me motivation is that I signed up for the Tortoise and the Hare 50k.  This is a unique race that I'm looking forward to writing about after the run.  I will be using this 50k as a part of my training plan.

South Carolina Oconee 50k Race Recap

The Oconee 50k/ Half Marathon at Oconee State Park in Mountain Rest, South Carolina is something special.  Tucked away in the North Western corner of South Carolina is Oconee State Park. It is the terminus of the Foothills Trail. This race takes place at the foothills of the mountains.  The race was put on by Run Bum Tours race director Sean "Run Bum" Blanton.

PreRace Check-in

On Friday night I checked in and picked up my race bib at the Oconee State Park visitor center.  Registration was quick and I was able to get in and out without much wait.  It was exciting to see and meet some of the other runners that would be running with the next day.

Friday Night

My wife and I had rented a camping cabin for the weekend and ended up heading down to Walhalla to find a place to eat.  We found a pizza place that served pasta that was large enough for the both of us to share.  Then, it was back up to our cabin and early to bed so that I would be well rested for the race.

PreRace Saturday Morning

I woke up around 4am on Saturday to make sure I had time to eat a Clif Bar and drink my morning cup of coffee.  I let our camping cabin and drove the 2 miles to Oconee State Park and went to the visitor center where all the runners were gathered.  The race director, Sean, met with all the 50k runners at 5:50 to go over course markings, and other information that we needed to know about the race.  We then made our way to the back of the visitor center to the starting line.

The Start

Sean counted us down to the 6am start and then lead us through the park to the start of the trail.  It was a cool 50 degrees and I was a little chilled at the start, but I knew that I would warm up quickly once the race began.  Also, it was dark and all runners were required to run with a headlamp.  I had done most of my runs up to this point in the dark with a headlamp, but these runs were on roads so this was a new thing to be on the trails.  I quickly found a pace and fell into line with some other runners.

Miles 1-4 (Junction Aid Station)

In the first four miles I was getting warmed up and trying to get into a rhythm that I felt like I could sustain for the race.  Since I was running with a headlamp I was running a little slower, and because everyone was bunched up in these first four miles.  I have a tendency to start slow and get stuck behind people going slower than what I felt comfortable with, so I spent the first two miles in a conga line running the flats and downhills, while walking the hills.  After two miles I couldn't take it any longer and ended up passing the people in front of me until I had some open trail in front of me.  I was able to get to a comfortable pace and run the next two miles to the Junction Aid station.  Around mile 3 the sun had come up enough that I was able to see and turn off my headlamp.  As I approached the first aid station I was still filling real strong and wasn't low on water so I just blew through the aid station and continued on the course.  This allowed me to pick up some time, and pass some other runners.

Miles 4-9 (Choehee Road Aid Station)

Since I didn't stop at the aid station I pulled a GU out of my pack and ate it while I ran down the trail.  This section of the course was some great single track with a few uphills, but mostly flat runnable terrain.  I quickly found myself alone and running at a comfortable pace.  I would hear people ahead of me every once in a while and ended up passing a few runners along the way.  Once I got to the aid station the workers there began helping me to fill my water bottle, and I began snacking on some PB&J.  I also took a S-Cap to make sure that I was replacing any salt that I was loosing, and I downed another couple of GU gels.  The aid station workers were so friendly and helpful!

Miles 9-15.5 (Cherry Hill Aid Station)

The Choehee Aid station was on a gravel road that the race course followed downhill for about 2.5 miles.  I was able to enjoy the free speed of running downhill, but the whole time was thinking about the fact that the race is an out and back, and I was going to have to run back up this hill.  Once I got to the bottom of the hill the race kicked back into the woods on some nice single track.  This section of the race was a lot of uphill.  I had practiced running up some hills in my training, and I was determined to run as much of the course as I could.  I quickly shortened my stride and just kept plugging along up the hill.  Around mile 13 the first runner passed me going back down the hill.  As I continued running up the hill I started counting the number of runners that were passing me and tried to figure out what place I was in.  When I got to the top of the hill and to the aid station I had figured I was somewhere between 12th and 14th place.  Feeling great I still took some time to stop fill my water bottle, eat some more PB&J's, eat some watermelon, take a couple more S-Caps, and ate another GU.  

Miles 15.5-21 (Choehee Road Aid Station)

Still feeling really strong I bolted out of Cherry Hill and started blasting the downhill.  As I was running I was passing many other runners who were heading up to Cherry Hill.  I even passed a couple of other runners who had left Cherry Hill before me. Once I got to the bottom of the trail I hit the gravel road that was I knew was going to be a long hard 2.5 miles all uphill.  I also need up hitting a wall and did not feel motivated to run up the gravel hill.  Luckily for me as I started up the hill another runner came out of the woods heading up the gravel hill.  We ended up power walking the whole hill and talked the whole way up to the aid station.  I have to say that if it had not been for them I probably would have walked up the hill a lot slower.  On the way up to the aid station I ran out  of water, so I knew that I needed to take some extra time drinking water at Choehee.  I drank about two water bottles full before filling it up to put in my pack.  I ate some more PB&J's, took couple more S-Caps, and another GU.

Miles 21-26 (Junction Aid Station)

Since I took a little longer at Choehee Aid Station I had a few runners that ended up passing me while I was getting some extra water.  Out of Choehee the course went back into the woods onto some single track.  We ran up hill about a mile and then ended up doing a lot of downhills and some rolling hills.  Around mile 24 my right toe caught a rock as I was running down a hill and I lost my balance.  I ended up doing a superman slide on the side of the trail.  My calves immediately cramped up and were causing me a ton of pain.  I rolled off my stomach and sat up trying to massage my calves and ease the cramping.  After about 30 seconds my calves began to relax, but I knew if I didn't get up quickly they were going to cramp again.  I grabbed a tree in front of me and pulled myself to my feet, brushed myself off and started running down the trail again.  I ended up rolling into Junction Aid station a little beat up, but feeling good that I only had 5 more miles to go!

Miles 26-31 (Oconee State Park)

I set out of Junction and followed the marked path for the course.  The aid station workers had told us that some of the 13.1 mile runners had gotten lost, so they had tried to mark the course a little better for us.  I was glad they told me this because I knew I needed to pay close attention to the course.  There were a couple places where I almost got lost, but I was able to quickly see my mistake and find the right path.  The race finished up by running around the lake to the finish line.  As I crossed the finish line I was amazed to see 5:47:09 as my finishing time.  A new 50k PR for me!  I also later leaned that I had finished 16th overall.

Final Thoughts:

The SC Oconee 50k was a great second 50k for me to run.  It had some great single track, and lots of easy runable trails.  I would definitely recommend this race to someone, and especially for someone wanting to do their first 50k!