31 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Barefoot Running, Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
30 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
23 August 2010
I ran with two handheld bottles instead of the usual hydration bladder and that setup worked pretty well for me. I had plenty of fluids for the way up, refilled on top, and used that on the way down. While I used up all fluids towards the end of each section, I was never thirsty or feeling dehydrated. Granted, it was only 10 miles, but the humidity really takes the liquids right out of you via sweat. The Flyroc 310s felt pretty good as well and telling from Richard's assessment while he was running behind me, my gait looked much better when compared to my Laurel Valley adventure in the old Roclite 295s. BTW, I actually removed my Superfeet Green insoles and replaced them with the standard Inov8 insoles that came with the shoes. My thinking is that it might allow for a better/more snug fit around the heels if I use the insoles that were made for this shoe. According to Richard, I was actuall running on the heels of my shoes instead of "next" to them as I did at LV. The wear seems to be more centralized as well with a lot less "overpronation signs" on the shoes. So far so good. I am going to rotate the Roclite 312 GTX into the mix once the weather gets a little cooler and we get more rain. I really need to go for a long trail run before I make the final call on the Flyrocs, but they felt pretty good.
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
21 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in 2010 Brothers For Life 5K, Endurance Running, Race Reports, Running, Trail Running, Ultra Running
20 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
19 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Barefoot Running, Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
16 August 2010
Pre-Race Thursday
Half of my running group left Huntsville, AL Thursday night right after work to make the 5 hour drive up to Highlands, NC. Highlands is not only very close to the finish line of the Laurel Valley White Water Run, it also happens to be the location of Richard and Mike's uncle's vacation home. Man, how did I get so lucky? We arrived shortly before midnight and went to bed pretty quickly. I was already showing signs of pre-race jitters, I could barely sleep. I was packing and repacking my race pack in my mind more than I like to admit.
Pre-Race Friday
I woke up pretty early the next morning and could not wait for the day to be over. The race wasn't until Saturday so Friday was just another day before the race and I couldn't wait for it. I wasn't able to nap, too nervous, but I did hydrate and carbo load. Mike and James arrived around 4:30PM and once they unloaded their bags, we quickly started to compare packing lists, gear bags, food items, race fuel, etc. Everyone started with significantly different approaches in regards to what might be required. If you were to apply a label to my running buddies and I based on our initial race inventory lists, you would refer to Richard as "The Minimalist", James "The Boy Scout", Mike "The Perfect-ionist" and myself "The Clueless". After comparing packs and items, we all started to make some adjustments and our packs' contents started to look a little more similar. The following items ended up in my Salomon XA Pro 10+3 pack at the end of the day:
1x Ultralight Adventure Medical Kit (Used after the race)
1x Digital Camera (Used twice during the race)
1x Katadyn Vario Water Filter Pump (Used twice during the race)
1x Injinji Crew Socks (Didn't change during the race)
8x Ibuprofen (Used 4 during the race)
20x S!Caps (Used 14 during the race)
6x Propel Beverage Mix (Not used during the race)
4x Nuun Beverage Tablets (Used 1 during the race)
2x Gatorade Beverage Mix (Used 1 during the race)
2x Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews (Used 1 during the race)
2x Clif ShotBloks (Used 1 during the race)
2x Sportbeans (Used 1 during the race)
2x Honey Stinger Gels (Used 2 during the race)
2x GU Energy Gels (Not used during the race)
1x Clif Shot Energy Gel (Not used during the race)
3x Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwiches (Used 1 during the race)
2x Gatorade Bottles (Used 2 during the race)
1x 2l Water Bladder (Used and filled twice during the race)
After a very nice pre-race pasta dinner with our gracious hostess for the weekend, we all called it a night around 8 or 8:30 PM to try to catch some sleep. Our alarms would ring at 3 AM and everyone wanted to at least try to get some rest. I ended up double-checking my gear one more time and figured my pack had to weigh at least 15 lbs. That would weigh heavily on me late in the race...that I was sure of. But I shouldn't run out of food and drinking supplies as my running buddies nearly did when they ran this race in 2007.
Race Day
Wow, the alarm went off at 3AM Eastern Time and I was amped and ready to go. Luckily, my obligatory pre-race coffee was already brewing. We figured it would take us a little under an hour to get to the race start, so we left the house at 3:45 AM. Well, we were almost right. Using their collective memories of where they went three years ago, we arrived there just before the 5 AM start. Just enough time for a pre-race team picture (see below) and a quick wiz.
I am the handsome guy in the green shirt;-) Richard is on my right and James and Mike are on my right. It's easy to tell our moods from the look on our faces. I am the only one showing a slight level of nervousness being a first timer and all, but we are happy and excited to be here. The race director Claude Sinclair offered two start times, 5 and 6 AM, to give some folks extra time on the course, if they needed it and we opted to take it. 5AM would give us an extra hour of cooler air out of the sun and this was a very difficult course with lots of elevation gains, almost 15,000 ft to be exact. That type of elevation profile lets this race compete with some of the serious 100 mile races. Only difference, the 100 milers actually spread this type of elevation gain over 100 miles instead of 35.
Let me somewhat preface this report with the comment that I am geographically challenged and I have no short or long-term memory for geographical names and locations. However, I am quite capable of following white blazes and I was lucky to be running in very capable company as well. I believe one of my running mates (James) is actually an Eagle Scout, so you know we were prepared for absolutely anything. I am not sure what all made it into his race pack, but I know the initial inventory list included not one but two knifes, a fire starter, duct tape, and a 2ft rope among many other things. While I managed to figure out the purpose for most of the things on his list (I had enough time on the trail), I am still not sure about the 2ft rope. Maybe he figured I'd like to hang myself once I'd realized what I'd gotten myself into. Then again, one simple step to the left on one of the rather narrow sections of the trail would have taken care of that in no time;-) In short, we were ready for anything and everything.
We picked up our "race bibs" from Claude (he is known to recycle left-overs from other/previous races, hence the interesting looking example in the picture at the top of this report) and put on our headlamps just in time to get to the starting area at the bottom of the infamous stairs. If you have ever run this race before, you would know why the starting line of this race could not have been more appropriately placed. As I soon found out, the climb up the stairs at the race start immediately set the tone for this race as there would be more, much more, stairs than I could or would care to count, only to finish the race with the most serious climb of stairs anyone can imagine. Right before 5AM, we all assembled around Claude who had handed a musket to someone to fire the shot to start the race. After a "misfire" the gun went off and so did our group of runners, straight up the first of many sets of stairs, followed by the 5AM sweeps, who were receiving last minute instructions.
It was pitch black and our first miles were rather slow, but we were moving. We wanted to avoid early trips and falls and Richard's ankle injury and my calf injury required a conscientious effort to watch every step and to start slow enough to get our muscles and joints warmed up. The 5AM group of runners consisted of about 20 or so runners with their headlamps bobbing up and down on the mountain trails above and below us. While the temperatures were rather low and comfortable, the humidity was quite high. After just two miles, Richard and I were already discussing the amount of sweat we were both dealing with. We also noticed a mist or fog that, coupled with the headlamps, almost gave us the illusion of blurred eye vision. It was a very strange feeling to say the least. But I was excited to be out there. I had heard so much about this race and now it was finally my turn to give it a try. The goal was to finish and not DFL.
We slowly trotted along, careful not to misstep into the abyss. It was awesome to trek up the hillside in total darkness, the headlamps ahead and behind us being the only thing visible to anyone. By 6AM we had covered a little over three miles, and I was feeling great. I knew everything until now was easy and it would only get harder. Around mile four we made our first creek crossing over Laurel Fork Creek. Due to the rain the previous night, it is worth mentioning that all man-made structures along the trails (bridges and stairs) were extremely slippery, requiring us more than once to grab a hold of a handrail, if one was available, to avoid a slip and fall. I am still not quite sure how the leaders make their way across these slippery structures. Maybe they take the approach we opted for later in the race after the downpour started, which was to "skate" across the bridges. Unfortunately, I did not attempt to skate across the rocks that caused my first ever "official" fall. I almost went for a split if it hadn't been for my left knee breaking my fall. Yes, it hurt, but only briefly. Thankfully, some of the bridges had just recently been updated and metal grids on top of the wooden surfaces actually provided some serious traction for most of the major creek and river crossings to prevent any additional disasters. While were consistently ran a pace between 17-20 minutes per mile for the first five miles, we picked up some serious steam over the next two miles, averaging just over 12 minutes per mile while running this entire sections alongside Laurel Fork Creek or criss-crossing over it. Miles 8-11 were at a consistent 15 minute pace.
At mile 11, we started approaching Lake Jocassee and we would run along the lake for quite some time, until we approached a bridge crossing around mile 13. At this point, we made our first water refill stop and I put my Katadyn Vario Dual water filer pump to the test for the very first time. I refilled my empty 2 liter hydration bladder and tried to eat a PB sandwich, but I could only muster to eat about half of it. I decided it would be better to stick to gels and such for the remainder of the race. We crossed Toxaway Creek at the North end or head of Lake Jocassee and continued on our way. Now the tough part of the race would begin, well sort of. We immediately started to climb for about 2 miles, but were able to pick up speed again for miles 15-20. By the way, when I say speed I mean 14-16 minute per mile pace...and that describes mostly downhills. At LV, running uphills is nearly impossible, unless you are an elite runner. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong;-) As nice as it felt mentally to run this pace, it was also at this point that I realized that I had some serious foot/shoe issues. Mike pointed out to me that I had what appeared to be some serious overpronation issues while he was following behind me as we were climbing up one of the many hills. Funny thing is, I do not normally overpronate...ever! But here I was, my Inov-8 295s looking like, well, like I have been overpronating in these shoes for years even though I've only run about 150 miles in them. No other running shoe of mine has ever been worn that way nor have I ever been diagnosed as an overpronator and I have had my gait analyzed numerous times. Anyway, I would pay a heavy price for this issue as the downhill "crashing" quickly turned the outsides of both of my heels into a nasty blister (see pictures below of lefty and right foot).
Posted by Ultra Kraut in 2010 Laurel Valley White Water Run, Endurance Running, Laurel Valley White Water 35 Mile, Race Reports, Running, Trail Running, Ultra Running
11 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running
09 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Barefoot Running, Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs
04 August 2010
Posted by Ultra Kraut in Endurance Running, Running, Trail Running, Training Logs, Ultra Running