Race Report - 2014 Mount Cheaha 50K

The North Alabama contingent.

My Unofficial Official Return to Ultras

After making it across the finish line of an ultra marathon for the first time in more than 12 months at the Mountain Mist 50K last month, I was feeling pretty good about having a shot at finishing my first attempt at the Mount Cheaha 50K. I was feeling so good, in fact, that I decided to finally break out my new racing attire, my polka-dotted running shirt in support of the National Blood Clot Alliance in the fight to "Stop The Clot", but more about that at the very end of this race report.

When I crossed the finish line of the Mountain Mist 50K, I was pretty beaten up physically and mentally after taking almost 8 hours to make it. So I started to doubt my decision to register for Cheaha. Then again, I didn't really have anything to lose, so I decided to put in some quality runs between Mountain Mist and Cheaha...just as soon as I got over that cold I got right after Mountain Mist. Nothing like hitting a few snags trying to derail your plan.

Since I had only had 2 really good weeks of running since Mountain Mist, I figured I'd treat Cheaha just like another long training run, allowing me not to taper and take full advantage of another week of running, kinda. I did a 10 miler and 12 miler on Monday and Wednesday, respectively during the week of the race. I also made sure that every training run since Mountain Mist had at least 100 ft of ascent and descent per mile, allowing me to get as much climbing in as possible before tackling what is arguably the toughest 50K in the Southeast with somewhere between 6000-7000 ft of climb. It also happens to be one of the most beautiful trail races out there, taking you along 30 miles of pristine single track trail just before you climb to the top of Alabama (the top of Mount Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama) where the finish line is located just in front of Bald Rock Lodge.

Getting to the Race

While the race was only a 2 hour drive from Huntsville, I decided to drive down the afternoon before the race, because the logistics for this race kinda require it. It's a point to point race, requiring participants to either make their way to the race start on their own or to take the free shuttle from the finish to the start of the race at 6AM the morning of the race. Either way, I would've had to leave no later than 3:30 AM to make it in time. Thanks, but no thank you!

Cary Long AKA Hot Wing Runner, had kindly offered to not only give me a ride to the race, but also let me crash in his family's hotel room. I initially accepted, but later declined citing my desire to give him and his family their well deserved privacy. Honestly, I just didn't want to sleep in the same room as Cary. You know what I'm referring to if you've ever run behind him. I could only imagine what happens when he has access to and makes use of an actual toilet. No, thank you.

So instead, I decided to live it up. I remembered this city's slogan "What happens in Oxford, AL stays in Oxford, AL", so I checked in to the swanky Super 8 Motel. The staff was so friendly, they had already turned on the lights in my room before I even entered. Actually, I kid, the hotel has just been remodeled and was extremely clean with friendly staff to go along with it. Unfortunately, this place didn't resemble the Bates Motel at all, like I had hoped (after all, that would've made for a much better story). Remember this place when you're coming to Cheaha next year, low price ($50), clean updated room, great service.

Race Day

My alarm went went off at 4:45 AM, leaving me enough time to fix and drink a cup of coffee and take care of my other pre-race needs before driving my car over to Cary's hotel just before 6 AM. Tony and Christy Scott were kind enough to give Cary and I a ride to the race start. Thanks again, guys! Cary, Gregg Gelmis AKA photographer extraordinaire and I walked our tails over to their hotel to catch our ride. The drive to the race start was quite uneventful, Gregg only got us lost once;-)

Just after we arrived at Porter's Gap Trail Head for the start of the race, the shuttle school buses arrived with the majority of the runners. Luckily, we got to use the porta potties just in time before the mayhem that is 300 runners competing for 3 toilets ensued. Now it was time to mingle with fellow runners from near and far before taking the obligatory picture under the race banner. As always, there were quite a few Georgia GUTS runners, but the Birmingham BUTS runners were represented as well. With all these entertaining acronyms, Benj, Cary and I figured it's high time to introduce the newest chapter of "We Run Huntsville" the NUTS runners (North Alabama Ultra and Trail Running Society). It's an idea, anyway.

Cary being his usual self.

After some comments from RD Todd Henderson, folks lined up under the banner for the race start. Todd asked slower runners to line up in the back to allow fast runners to charge ahead and not get caught up in the congo line that would ensue a mere 50 feet after the race start, where the single track trail started. I decided to line up in the back of the pack. My strategy for running races this year is to just finish them and to try to finish them feeling good, so the back of the pack is the perfect place for me in this phase of my running life.

Cary and Benj lined up somewhere to the front of the mid pack, while Ryan Harbaugh AKA Newbie Ultra Runner and I rolled up the field from the back. We were sent off just after 7:30 AM. My goal was to stay under the 9 hour cutoff and the conga line would make sure that I didn't get any ideas of starting too fast.

Me and Ryan in the back of the pack.

The first few miles were relatively uneventful, it was slightly cooler than expected at the start with temps in the 40s, but the weather forecast called for highs in the upper 60s for the day, which would actually feel hot. I had been on the Pinhoti trail before during a couple of unsuccessful Pinhoti 100 attempts, but that race runs the trail in the other direction, so the entire course felt new to me, aside from the painful Pinhoti 100 DNF reminders brought on by the Cheaha aid stations that were located in the same spots as . It didn't matter what direction I came from, I immediately recognized them. Hopefully, Mount Cheaha 50K was just a prelude for my third attempt at a Pinhoti 100 finish in November, my big race for this year.

I continued to run with Ryan for a while, but as I was trying to pass some folks to get off the train in order to run at my own race pace, I ended up losing sight of Ryan. Sorry, buddy, I really wanted to run together a little longer than we did. As I was working my way up the field, at a very slow and easy pace, I caught up with another fellow runner and FB friend, Gregg Ellis, who's had his own health and injury woes to deal with and who is also on his way back to a full recovery, I'm sure. Thanks again, Gregg, for the company along the trail. Glad to see you finish strong!

The night before at the race packet pick up, I also met a fellow from Denmark, Michael, who happens to live just a few hundred miles north of where I grew up and where most of my family still lives. A Disney song comes to mind: "It's a Small World, After All!" Ha! Try getting that song out of your head by the end of the day. I bet you can't!

Just after I caught up with Gregg, we came up just behind Michael and the three of us ended up running together for a while. I started to feel the urge to step of the trail to pee, but I enjoyed the company, so I decided to wait. When I couldn't wait any longer, I decided to just run ahead, build a small cushion, step off the trail and be done in time before they caught up with me. Just as I turned back to the trail, I saw a couple of guys in red shirts and I figured one of them must be Gregg. Well, I was wrong and I wouldn't see him again until much later. And I didn't see Michael again until the finish line. On that note, it was good to catch up with you and exchange stories, Gregg! And Michael, I will try to Facebook or Google stalk you, so we can connect! I hope you had a great experience running your first ultra in the US, and the Mount Cheaha 50K no less!

I continued to run at a slow and steady pace, walking serious hills and running the rolling hills and flat sections (there weren't many of those). There were a couple of fun creek crossings and really not a lot of mud to speak of. Unfortunately, due to my slow pace, Gregg and Tony were already heading back from the big creek crossing and I think I might've actually startled Gregg as I was running by them on their way back to the trail head. Thanks again to both Tony and Gregg for taking a couple of snapshots of me running, much appreciated!

My new buddy Michael from Denmark.

I ran most of the second part of the race on my own and I figured it was time to break out the iPod Shuffle. I had added a couple of newer songs in addition to my "go to" ultra running playlist that largely consists of AC/DC's Greatest Hits. A couple of songs provided just the perfect soundtrack to this race. First, there was Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". How can you not feel lucky as you are running the Pinhoti trail with these amazing vistas of the surrounding hills and mountains. Yeah, yeah, I know, not exactly what the song's referring to, but who cares. It definitely worked for me.

And then there was the sections that is lovingly referred to as "Blue Hell". Call it karma, coincidence, whatever, but as I approached the bottom of this section of "trail", if you can even call it that, AC/DC started blaring "Hard as a Rock" through my headphones. Next followed "Highway to Hell". I couldn't make this up. So I started climbing this thing with a huge smile on my face. No joke, while I am always happy to be out there running, I usually do not expose my teeth for a smile unless I sense a photographer nearby. This smile was real, this smile was sincere and I had a blast! I cannot describe it any other way! Everything felt perfect in that moment. I wasn't tired, I wasn't ready to be done, I was just happy to be out there and doing what I was doing, just happy to be able to do what I was doing. I even passed a couple of guys during the climb.

When I finally neared the top, I made another new ultra running friend, Michael Bloom. We chatted for a while and he asked if I minded if he stayed with me for a while. Did I mind? Heck no, I just didn't want him to be held back by my slow pace. So we decided to stay together and finish together. He started to pick it up and I just tried to hang on (Michael, for not having run more than 10 miles at a time this year, you sure kicked my butt on that last stretch!). Another big climb and a short trail section later, we were dumped out onto the road leading to the finish line. As the announcer shouted out our numbers, I knew I did it and when I checked my watch, I realized that I was actually going to finish in just over 7 hours, comfortably below the 9 hour cutoff. Thanks again #93 for running with me for the last section of the race!

Crossing the finish line with Michael Bloom.

Jerry Abbott AKA Mister Consistent, Cary and Benj as well as most other Huntsville runners had long finished by the time I crossed the finish line, but I couldn't have been happier. I felt great, I wasn't in pain and I had had a great race, period.

Yep, that white stuff is salt.

Aftermath

I hope you're still reading this, because before I conclude this "short" race report, I wanted to mention my new polka-dotted race shirt again. As most friends and family already know, along with my ankle injury a little over a year ago came a near brush with death due to multiple Deep Vein Thromboses (DVTs) in both of my legs and Pulmonary Emboli (PEs) in both of my lungs that had developed as a result of that injury, putting me in the hospital for a week, resulting in an extensive rehab and recovery phase and making me extremely thankful for the family and friends I have. For this and other personal reasons, which I gladly share with folks in person, I had decided that if I got to continue to run, that I would do so in honor of other PE and DVT sufferers and to raise both awareness and funds for the National Blood Clot Alliance and to support them in their fight to "Stop The Clot" in any which way I can.

I consider my continued ability to run a privilege and raising awareness for this very personal cause is my way of being thankful. Please feel free to hit me up at an upcoming trail run or race and I will gladly share with you the ways you can exercise prevention for yourself, your family and your friends as well as learn how to recognize when someone might be suffering from DVTs or PEs. And just in case you're thinking this cannot happen to you, think again. I had no genetic markers nor was I otherwise predisposed to blood clotting disorders. Yet, it did not keep me from being affected. Furthermore, only 2 out of 3 people affected by PEs are as lucky as I was. We actually get to tell our story.

I encourage you to make a small donation for this worthy and, in my opinion, underserved or under-appreciated cause. Click on the donation link in the upper right corner of this blog and visit the National Blood Clot Alliance website to support my efforts as a NAThlete in the fight to "Stop The Clot".

Race Report - 2014 Tick Ridge Trek 25K

That's right, that white dot behind me is Cary!

I signed up for this race thinking it would be a nice and easy run on some easy flatish trails. After all, this race took place somewhere out in the country just 45 minutes north of Huntsville. I pictured cow pastures and flat jeep roads maybe, but not any challenging terrain. Boy was I wrong! This one turned out to be a challenging trail race, indeed and I am glad I treated it as a training race considering the shape I was in when I signed up for this awesome race.

I arrived at the race site with plenty of time to spare prior to the race start. It was a rather chilly morning and the RD and crew of volunteers had a lot of foresight and set up not only large tents, but heaters as well. And fret not if you forgot to grab some breakfast when you headed out the door to attend this race. They were serving up lots of goodies, coffee, hot chocoloate, and even oatmeal and other post race goodies. I opted for some coffee but decided to keep the food for later.

The race started on time and both the 10K racers and the 25K racers took off on the same course, that would later diverge to separate the two groups of racers. I decided to take it easy as my training was just now picking up, my mileage increasing ever so slowly week by week. Cary was working on some racing strategies for his upcoming Thunder Rock 100 Miler in May and so decided to take it slow and easy as well, which allowed for some great company throughout this race. Thanks Cary;-) We also "picked up" Shar along the way, who ended up running with us for quite a while as well. This race was gnarlier than I and a lot of other runners had thought and that wasn't just because my training wasn't quite what I wanted it to be. Then again, some other runners (e.g. Will and Benj) had some great races, so maybe it was just my perception:-)

With a couple of miles to go, I decided to push my pace a little to try to giterdun. While I started slow, I finished strong. Final thoughts? Great first time event, great race organization, great race team of volunteers, great food. What's not to like? I'll be back for more next year:-)

Race Report - 2014 Mountain Mist 50K

Our entire ultra training group before race start.

This is my first ultra marathon finish race report since 2012, when what seemed like a minor ankle injury during a soccer match just 4 days after my second Pinhoti 100 attempt turned into something a lot more major and complicated. Less than 12 months after what hopefully will have been my last surgery and hospital visit for a while, I was able to toe the starting line of the Mountain Mist 50K.

I wasn't really prepared to run this race. I was making progress in my recovery, but I continued to take two steps forward and one step back. Just 2 weeks before the race, I went back to my ankle surgeon to check on an issue. Thankfully, he reassured me that everything had healed perfectly and cleared me to run. Unfortunately, an intense one week work related class kept me from training yet another week and before I knew it, race day had arrived. Further reassurances from some of my fellow training buddies whose training hadn't gone according to plan, either (read: severely undertrained is an understatement) convinced me to try to run. The goal was to finish under the 8 hour cutoff, so I would get an official fourth finish at Mountain Mist.

I met up with Rich at his place at 6:30am to make sure we wouldn't miss the 7am race start check in. It seemed Mike was running late, so my antsy @$$ decided to head up the mountain ahead of them to get checked in and mingle with some of the familiar out of town runners that I hadn't seen in a while, most of them GUTS runners from the Atlanta, GA area.

Our entire training group had signed up for this race: Jerry Abbott, James Duncan, Ed Johnson, Mike Trice, Richard Trice and myself. Thankfully, everyone made it in time for our obligatory pre-race group photo. Half of us were ready to PR and the other half was ready for a long day in the woods.

Ed, Jerry and James lined up near the front of the pack while Rich, Mike and I found the tailend of the field. I planned to run conservative from start to finish. It had worked perfectly for me during the Rocket City Marathon and it was in line with my new mantra, keep it slow and steady, speed is not important right now.

The race course had been modified this year to allow for a larger field of runners and to allow the front of the pack to spread before entering single track trail that would make passing more difficult. However, this approach really only worked for the front pack. The back of the pack continued to create trains at just about any uphill and downhill section of the race.

The three of us in the back kept to our slow pace and it worked. None of us really had a serious drop off in physical or mental determination to finish this thing. Well, if we did, none if us verbalized it. The result was a long trail run with a positive attitude and engaging conversations through the day. The only complaints to be heard were related to the windchill that would frequently chill us to the bone throughout the day and keep us from shedding ANY of our three to four layers.

As the day progressed and I realized that I was likely to finish this race, I became even more enthusiastic. I was still able to run ultras after all and I was actually able to finish them. I realized that I might still be an ultra runner after all, albeit without any speed. Who cares, I can work on speed later. Rich and Mike were a large factor to me finishing this thing as I'm not sure I would've stayed the course for almost 8 hours without their company and reciprocal encouragement. The scenery provided an amazing backdrop to our adventure with frozen waterfalls, and the ever popular stone cuts. It made climbing waterline trail and the other sections almost "a walk in the park". Well, it was a walk based on our actual pace:-)

When we started to hear the cheers at the finish line about 1.5 miles out, I started to get choked up just a little. We all relied on each other to finish today's race from start to finish, so it was only fitting that we decided to cross the finish line together, not holding hands in a "Kumbaya" kind of way (we wanted to maintain some type of manliness), but next to each other nonetheless. We were the last of our training group to finish, but it seemed today provided to be a challenging race day for all of us, with times slower than initially anticipated. However, a finish is a finish and that is all that mattered to me. After all, I am one of the ones lucky enough to be able to be out here, period. Hopefully, there are many more ultra attempts and finishes in my future. With friends and running buddies like these, I don't see why not:-)

First ultra marathon finish since my return thanks to the Trices.

Jerry ran so fast, he was gone when the last of us finished:-)

Race Report - 2014 XTERRA Alabama Monte Sano State Park 15K Trail Race

I signed up for this one last minute. The goal was to have a good time and to finish without hurting myself. I managed to do just that. With a finish time of 1 hour 46 minutes, I ran it 20 minutes slower than last time, but that's ok. My mantra for this year is to enjoy every mile run without any regard for pace or PRs. I want to stay healthy. I figure a year at easy pace will allow me to do just that.

I arrived at the race with 20 minutes to spare, enough time to pick up my race packet and chat with Benj and Cary and some other folks I hadn't seen in a while. It had been raining heavily the days prior, so we all knew it was going to be muddy, but I don't think anyone was prepared for just how muddy it really was. Actually, muddy was an understatement. Half of the course was literally under water.

It was a lot of fun to watch folks try to avoid the water and puddles for the first 2 miles. By then, every single runner realized that there was no way to avoid it and started to finally just plow through it. I used this opportunity to use my awesome Christmas present from my wife (GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition), recording all but the last 10 minutes of the race as my battery died. However, I haven't been able to edit the video just yet. Apparently, 30GB of HD video requires a lot of computing power. Oh well, it's gonna take me a while, but I hope to end up with some cool footage from this one.

My race plan as to start slow and to keep it steady. I did that until the last 2 miles when I tried to pick it up just a little. I crossed the finish line slightly winded, but within 5 minutes, I felt recovered, no stiff muscle feeling or any other painful movements for that matter. While I used to love to gun for a PR every chance I got, I do prefer not having aching muscle and joint pains after an event and being able to go for a run the next day without extreme muscle soreness.

I was glad to see a lot of familiar faces. Mountain Mist is next, but I will be glad just to toe the starting line.

Race Report - 2013 Recover From The Holidays 50K (DNF)

I signed up for this one pretty much last minute. After surprising myself by crossing the finish line of the Rocket City Marathon just a couple of weeks earlier, I was feeling great, but that inner voice was telling me once again to take the foot of the gas and take it easy. I still wanted to see local running friends (almost all of our usual training crew signed up) and try out my awesome christmas present (GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, review to follow) from my wife, so I signed up anyway with the intent to only ran a few miles.

Chris Estes and I chatting prior to the race start.

I arrived at the race about 30 minutes before the start. James Duncan and Ed Johnson had already set up the "mandatory" crewing chair near the start/finish area and kindly allowed me to drop my stuff there as well:-) The weather was perfect for racers, but for me planning to get in some easy miles it seemed just a little too chilly. I kept on all of my layers as I grabbed my GoPro camera and strapped it to my head. As is the case every year, lots of my local running friends and heroes were in attendance once again. I managed to catch up with a few of them before the race started. I lined up in the back third of the field of runners. I wanted to take it really slow and decide after each 3 mile lap, if I was going to go out for another.

10 miles into the race, I decided to call it quits after completing another lap to get a nice half marathon in for the day. Since I didn't have to go much longer, I tried to pick up my pace jut a little. When I arrived at the finish line, I felt like I should do another lap, so I guilted Cary Long into running one lap with me. I continued to keep pace, chatting away and focussing on my footing as to not reinsure my ankle on my final lap. All went well and I finished the day with 16 miles at 9:45 min per mile pace, not too bad for a gimp on trails:-)

Happy New Year everyone.

Action shot brought to you courtesy of Gregg Gelmis:-)

Race Report - 2013 Rudolph Run 5K

Another great little local 5K race just before christmas. I had signed up the whole family for this one. I decided to run with my wife once again as I plan to do for all of my upcoming shorter distance races. My son decided to go at a slightly faster pace to improve on his previous 5K. He'd been taking it easy, not really running at all following his first High School Cross Country season. Every athlete needs to take some time off anyway and this allows him to just run what he feels.

I decided to pace my wife again to see if she couldn't edge out another PR. This course was hillier than the Frosty Freeze 5k course a couple of weeks earlier, so it would be tough to beat that time. We kept a steady pace throughout the race, but didn't manage to get that PR for my wife. Didn't really matter anyway as I'm the only one in this house that is driven by finish times:-) Being thankful for just being able to run after dealing with numerous setbacks over the last year has made me rethink that approach. This next year I will focus on just enjoying different events without pressing for time. Crossing finish lines with a smile on my face has become my only goal for the foreseeable future.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Race Report - 2013 Rocket City Marathon

I really had no intention of actually running this race to finish it. I had no place at the starting line to begin with. The only reason I even toed the line?...I had registered months ago in hopes of my recovery and rehab going better than expected by the time December rolled around. All in all, rehab had gone quite well, but I continued (and continue) to have episodes of "worry". Worried that I'd reinjure my ankle without any notice or even a warning of anything being wrong, worried that I'd develop another blood clot and on and on. There was really no rhyme or reason to it, I just started to feel like this sometimes and as a result, I would back off my training. I would increase my mileage, never really pushing my pace just to be safe, but then I'd back off again on barely run at all.

So when marathon week arrived and my running had actually gone pretty well for a couple of weeks with increased mileage at a "safe" pace, I figured I'd just head downtown to see how far my feet would take me. I was hopeful that I could maybe complete 20 miles before the wheels would come off either due to pain or exhaustion. I hadn't run more than 15 miles at a time in the last 12 months and that only once, but I had been running and logging at least some miles. I figured finishing was out of the question, but maybe 20 miles would be realistic.

In order to accomplish my goal, I decided to be extremely conservative with my pace to increase my chances of completing 20 miles, but not too conservative because my wife and I had tickets for the Nutcracker that afternoon, so I really needed to be done in 5 hours to allow myself to limp home and take a shower before heading to the concert hall. 5 hours was the goal no matter what distance I would cover. Missing the Nutcracker with my wife really wasn't an option:-) I was very happy to read on FB the evening before the race that there was 4:55 pace group (thanks Suzanne and Carrie), so I figured I'd try to stay with them as long as possible (read: until the wheels came off).

As luck would have it, the skies also cleared somewhat just in time for the race start. After mingling with some familiar folks at the Holiday Inn (for the last time before it gets torn down), I headed outside and to the start line. The temps were perfect and the rain had mostly stopped. I was going to have a great 20 mile training run. With my cell phone in hand (to call my wife for pickup along the course), I started my fourth Rocket City Marathon.

For the first time, I was able to talk while running anything shorter than an ultra marathon. I usually push so hard from the start that I never really have the extra energy required to carry on conversations during the race. I always felt bad, because peeps must have thought I was just rude. Nope, I was just busy breathing:-) It was great to actually be able to carry on conversations while I was out there, presumably for 5 hours or less, hopefully reaching my goal of 20 miles. The conversations continued and the miles slowly clicked away.

I continued to check my splits every mile but other than that, I just kept going, enjoying a nice long run. An hour went by, then two, and I continued to feel great. No pain anywhere. I was starting to feel confident that 20 miles was very possible today. I kept a steady 11 minute pace and wasn't great. I wanted to pick it up, but I kept reminding myself that it's all about making it to 20 miles today, just like the days when I first started running and it was all about just completing the distance for me, never about pace.

The miles continued to pass and as I approached mile 20, I was still on track to actually finish the full distance in 5 hours. Not only that, I was still feeling great, even ready to pick up my pace. I also started to pass some people, which really has never happened to me before in a marathon. Why? Because I ALWAYS blow up. Not today. I decided to take it one mile at a time until I started to hurt or slow down. Neither happened and when I made the final turn to the finish and saw David Bier's confused look, it finally sunk in that I was actually going to finish my fourth Rocket City Marathon. I was just as confused as him and I have never had a bigger smile on my face when crossing the finish line than today. Yes, it was my slowest marathon ever, but I managed to finish it, just a year after my "little health scare" and just 10 months after reconstructive ankle surgery.

I'm looking forward to whatever is next!