Race Report - 2022 Eagle Ridge 50K

Dashing through the forest (PC @schreinerphotography)

Fourth consecutive weekend, fourth ultra. This time, I decided to revisit the Eagle Ridge 50K in Guntersville, AL. I've had pretty good showings there a couple of times over the last few years and I knew the course. I figured this would be another great training run. However, I still underestimated the elevation gain on this course. Im sure this will be an unpopular statement among some of the southeast trail and ultra runners, but this course is more challenging than both Mountain Mist 50K and Mount Cheaha 50K. I have run all of these courses nearly 20 times combined, so I feel I get to have an opinion:-)

Either way, this would be another great training run. I planned to be somewhat conservative from the start, and since this was a double loop course, decide at the beginning of the second loop whether to push the pace. Unfortunately, I used a bunch of half marathoners nipping at my heels as my pace gauge. I didn't realize until they turned left for the finish 12 miles in while I turned right to continue the longer first loop laid out for the 50K runners.

It was at this point that a friendly volunteer (thanks Alan) notified me that I was running in third place overall. To be honest, it really didn't matter as I was already feeling the effects of the quicker pace. I dialed it back right away, but that only prolonged the inevitable slowdown that would occur eventually. The remaining 18 miles turned into me looking over my shoulder at each and every rustle of the leaves, expecting a runner to pass me from behind. It wasn't that I was worried about getting caught, I was actually hoping someone would pass me so I'd stop worrying about it and just slog it in for a finish.

That never happened. The unexpected warmup seemed to get to all of the runners as well, not just me. It seemed the entire field slowed a bit as the race progressed. As a result, I never did get passed, which meant I had to keep moving as best as possible as a "death march" is never fun. After all, I may not have cared about my overall placement, but I also didn't just ant to give up third place because I decided to walk it in:-) 

In the end, I actually had to sprint uphill for the final quarter miles just to come in under 6 hours. I'm happy to say I managed. As always, this was another well managed race brought you by the crew from RunningLane. The course was well marked and aid stations provided everything I needed. If you want a challenging race early in the season to see where you're at, this one is worth the trip.

Race Report - 2021 Delano Park 12 Hour

 

This will be the shortest race report in the history of race reports. Over the last month, I have been following a strict low HR training plan to rebuild my endurance base after recovering from Covid and to hopefully manage and resolve my perineal tendinitis issues that I sustained in the aftermath of my bout with Covid.

The last time I followed the Maffetone or MAF HR based training method had been 7 years ago. It basically requires runners to use a simple formula to calculate their heart rare training zone, which is rather low to ensure they're training within the aerobic zone to build your aerobic base (basically your running engine). In general, the recommendation is to do this strictly for 3 months before adding or phasing in any kind of higher intensity workouts.

I had run the Delano Park 12 Hour race seven times before. I've had good runs, great runs and some not so good runs. Today was a not so good run. In fact, for me it was the shortest run to date at this event. I pulled the plug at 21 miles after having walked the last 2 miles/laps. The plan all along hd been to run 50K at MAF pace. While my pace dropped after the first 15 miles, I did stick to the HR zone. However, my motivation to run the planned distance waned rather quickly. 

While I missed my goal, it was fun as always to catch up with the local running community in a real race. We're all largely deprived of in person races, so this was a great way to hang out for a bit, even if socially distanced and masked whenever in close proximity to others.

Race Report - 2019 Delano Park 12 Hour

After completing my 50K goal, I completed the Taco Challenge.

AKA "a 50K run with a Taco Challenge chaser". I signed up for this one pretty last minute, 4 days before the race. My training schedule called for 80 miles for the week, so I figured this would be a fun way to accrue some of those miles. Actually, I knew this would be a fun way to do so. After all, this would be my sixth time running this event. My goals this year were much less ambitions than last year, when I got lucky to walk away with the win for the 50 mile event.

The weather forecast for race weekend turned nasty just 3 days out, so I started to scramble to front load the week to try to get the majority of my weekly training mileage ahead of race day, just in case the race got cancelled or delayed due to severe weather.

On Thursday I scrolled across a post on Facebook challenging fellow Delano Park racers to part take in the Taco Challenge, conceived by local ultrarunner and rock painter extraordinaire Youngsu Hoy. Participants would have to eat a Taco of their choice followed by running a mile, rinse, repeat five times. Upon completion,  finishers would get an awesome hand painted rock. Good enough reason and motivation for this guy to jump in on the action. 

My plan was simple, run a 50K at a decent pace, then do the Taco Challenge for good measure. My wife was kind enough to get some vegan tacos for me from Taco Bell on her way to Delano Park to join me for a couple of miles, so I could complete the Taco Challenge. By the time she arrived, I was just heading out for the final lap of my 50K goal. I had started off the day and my first few one mile laps at a 9 min per mile pace chatting and catching up with other runners and friends I hadn't seen in quite a while. After the first few laps, I continued to lower the pace ever so slightly to inch closer to a 8 min per mile pace.

The plan worked as I managed to run my second fastest 50K ever. I used a total of 5 prepared bottles of fluids and 5 gels. During the Taco challenge, I did chug a few small cups of Coke.

However, once I completed the 50K, I was ready to take it easy for the remaining miles. My goal was 30-40 miles for the day, so when my wife came out to join me to walk a few miles (she hasn't been able to run due to injury), it was a very welcome change of pace. We logged another 8 miles before I finally called it a day at 39 miles. And the best part, we managed to beat the worst of the storms. My fellow runners who stayed out there for the full 12 hours were not as lucky. In fact, the race had to be suspended for about 45 minutes while lightning and severe weather hovered above the race course.

Big thanks to Jon Elmore and his awesome crew of volunteers. This race is as much a social event and hangout to catch up with your running family as it is a top notch ultra running event. State records are surely going to continue to fall as this race continues to be a local favorite year after year.

The traditional finisher mileage plaque for the Delano Park 12 Hour and the awesome hand-painted rock finisher award for the Taco Challenge.

Race Report - 2014 Rocket City Marathon

Lots of anticipation 2 minutes before the race start.

This race probably would've worked out as I had originally planned, had I not decided to take care of a bucket list item three weeks before RCM. I had just completed my big 2014 goal race, the Pinhoti 100 Miler, on the first weekend of November and was still feeling giddy when the opportunity presented itself to run the JFK 50 Miler, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the US, just 3 weeks after Pinhoti and 3 weeks prior to RCM. Adding a 50 mile race sandwiched between a 100 miler and a marathon PR attempt is probably not a good idea, but I decided that I could not turn down the chance to run JFK, even if that meant not being properly rested and prepared to PR at RCM. There were a few experienced runners who said as much before I toed the starting line at RCM. Regardless, come race day, I would still try everything I could to achieve that elusive sub 3 hour marathon time. I had fallen just 150 seconds short 9 weeks earlier, when I ran another local marathon as a training race, so I felt that I might still be able to get it done on less than perfectly rested legs. I had stuck to easy running for the 2 weeks leading into the race, hoping that it would help my legs to recover and regain some of their "spring" in time for the marathon. However, I wouldn't know if that was the case until I actually ran the race.