“No Regrets” Race 3 of 6 in the BEAST series
Since leaving the mountains of
Bedford with a bitter taste in my mouth after Terrapin Mtn 50k a few weeks ago,
I have thought a lot about what I would do differently for Promise Land 50k. On
one hand, why would I need to change anything? Everyone has bad races and
sometimes its better to try it again without any drastic changes. On the other
hand, something just didn’t feel right about the way my race went last time out
in the mountains and I wanted to get it right this time. As I was gearing up for PL, I began
thinking in earnest about my race strategy and kept coming back to the same
thought, “I need to go out harder.” This type of race plan is not a typical
‘ultra-runner’ strategy, which usually revolves around strong, steady running,
but long story short, I decided that I would really push the envelope at this
race, run without trepidation and have a blast in the process. I was not going to be conservative, but
rather go out hard, be aggressive with the pace and see where that would take
me. I knew beforehand that this
type of race strategy was either going to work out great, or blow up in my
face, but no matter what it would hurt…a lot. No regrets right?
Friday Kristen and I made out way to the campground and got
all set to go, pitching our tent next to our VT Ultra teammates. The evening
was pretty uneventful and it was once again great to see so many familiar
faces, from Winchester, Blacksburg, Baltimore and the numerous other places
where we have lived and run. Off to bed we went and I was out in no time.
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| Night before the race. |
4AM rolled around and we woke up,
got changed and hung out with fellow runners before the start. 5:30 hit and
after a few words from Horton (ok more than a few words per usual) we were off
and running into the darkness. I had told several of my teammates of my race
plan, so they were not surprised when I took off with the lead group up the
mountain. I ran with the lead 5 up most of the first climb but then they
started pulling away from me over the last ½- ¼ mile before turning into the
woods for more climbing. At that
point I was worried that my plan to stay with the top pack was already doomed,
less than 2 miles in. Once we turned off the road and into the forest, I was on
my own and would only catch glimpses of Frank G, Sam D, Jordan W and the other
top guys on occasion. When I got to the top of the climb and started down the
big grassy trail/service road, I began to catch up to them. After about 1.5
miles I caught most of the top group, minus Shaun Pope who was way out front by
now. I decided then to really
start cranking up the pace. I wanted to stay moderately uncomfortable so I
would not settle into a pace that would just get me into trouble later on when
I knew I would be feeling terrible no matter what I did early on in the race.
Either way, I was trucking with Sam, Frank and Jordan most of the way towards
Aid Station 2 in places 2-5. Along the way Brian, another of the top group took
a hard tumble and I stopped to see if he was alright. After a few seconds he
was able to continue and eventually caught back up to us no problem (he ended
up with either bruised or cracked ribs from his fall… ouch).
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| Cool view of the course courtesy of Keith Knipling |
I was relieved when we got to the
part of the course where you do a small out and back to aid station 2 because I
was nearly out of water, but when we started down the service road, something
didn’t feel right and it ended up that AS 2 was not set-up yet. We quickly
yelled for Shaun to turn around and our group headed back up the mountain. We
didn’t lose too much time there, but ended up grouping back up into a big pack
of runners 1-5 with Shaun still working to catch up. I was a little worried
about my hydration at this point because there was no more water until the next
stop at Sunset Field, but then I remembered that during a training run on the
course 2 weeks ago, Chris Bernard had stopped at a spring on the White Oak loop
to fill up a bottle. I was determined to find that spring and fill up. That
didn’t turn out to be a hard task, and in no time, I was back in business with
a full hand bottle. By the time I got to the highest point on the course at the
Blue Ridge Parkway, the group had strung out again with Shaun right in front of
me and the rest of the top 5 out of sight. I knew that from here on out I would
most likely be running solo for a while.
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| Trilliums in full bloom were all over the course. http://www.fs.f |
I arrived at Sunset Field solidly
in 6th place with no one in sight other than Shaun right ahead of
me. I was excited for the next several miles of glorious downhill to stretch my
legs out and let gravity do some of the work. The run down the mountain was
beautiful with all the trees leafing out, the trillium blooming and the creek
rushing next to me. Though I am a very social person, I really enjoyed the
solitude of this section. I was really able to take in the beauty of the course
and not worry about anything for a while. I quickly filled up and got a little
nutrition at the Cornelius Creek AS and then continued on down the mountain to
the lowest point on the course where you turn onto the White Tail trail. Once again, I was still completely
alone, which was very helpful in staying relaxed and focused. I kept telling
myself, “just stay strong until Apple Orchard Falls then bring it home from
there.” I kept a pretty good pace through this section and arrived at the Colon
Hollow AS sooner than I had anticipated. I knew that this section before
hitting Cornelius Creek again was going to be one of the tougher parts because
it was long, rolling and all looked the same.
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| http://www.cnyh |
Not gonna lie, this section was not
very fun. I surprised myself and was holding it together much better than I had
imagined, given the fast start, but the rolling, wide grassy trail was getting
old…fast. I did see a couple turkey hunters out there which was fun (then
proceeded to flush a turkey out of a roost in a tree some 100 meters
later….hope it’s ok .) On the
descent back to Cornelius creek I was caught very quickly by Brad Hinton and Jack
Kurisky, which pushed me back to 8th. I was surprised that it had
taken so long for anyone to catch me so I was not terribly discouraged at this
point. I knew that all I had left was the brutal climb of Apple Orchard Falls
then the long descent back to the finish.
After being able to keep running
through most of the lower section of the Apple Orchard Falls Trail, my pace
grounded to a near halt as I reached the part of the climb where you have to
rock scramble for awhile then hit the stairs. I kept my pace moving but
undoubtedly it was slowing dramatically. Once I cleared the falls, I heard
someone behind me say, “Is that a Hokie?” and saw my buddy Rudy running up
behind me. He blew by me and was running like he just started the race. Shortly
after he passed me I was caught by Mario Raymond and decided then that if I had
any shot at a top 10 finish, I HAD to try and stick with him. So that’s what I
did. When Mario ran, I ran, and when he walked, I walked. That strategy worked
well and got me back to Sunset Fields in good shape. At the top we both caught back up with Brad which put me back
into 9th place
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| Apple Orchard Falls http://3.bp.blo |
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| Photo courtesy of Beth Minnick |
I wanted to tell myself that at this point I was a lock for
9th place with only a couple miles of screaming downhill to go, but
I knew that there were many, many fast people coming down the mountain as fast,
if not much faster than me. With all the training that I do with the VT Ultra
guys, I know that my training buddies can descend really, really quick. I did
not want to take any chance with that and kept the throttle on all the way back
down to the gravel road. At this point I saw that Mario was gapping me a little
bit but there was not much I could do but focus on my own race and try to
finish strong. When I saw the
squirrel shaped mailbox I knew I was nearly there and that’s when I finally let
myself enjoy the fact that I was about to place top ten for the first time at
Promise Land! I crossed the finish line in 5:17:37 which was a 25 minute PR. No Regrets.
What a great race it was for me. My race strategy, though not
very sexy, worked perfectly for me. I nabbed a top 10 finish here for the first time, and had a
blast running through the beautiful mountains. Even better, VT Ultra absolutely
KILLED it with 5 Hokies finishing in the top 15 and 3 in the top 10. It is so amazing
having a great group of young folks to train with here and the hard work is
definitely showing. Like we now say, “There is definitely something in the
water here in Blacksburg.” Unfortunately, Kristen did not have the best time out there
and had GI issues throughout the race. But as a testament to her toughness, she
finished the race with a smile on her face. It’s such a blessing to be able to share
these moments with Kristen, my beautiful wife, best friend and training
partner, even if the results aren’t always what we want.
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| HOKIES in the top 15... Steve, Me, Darren, Rudy & Guy (L to R). |
Now for a little break from the LUS/Beast series until
Grindstone 100 in October, but that does not mean we aren’t going to be doing
any fun ultras over the summer! Stay tuned :-D
Fun Fact: We are 1/2 of the way through the BEAST series race-wise but only 1/3 of the way mileage wise. We have many, many more miles to go....and I'm ok with that
Fun Fact: We are 1/2 of the way through the BEAST series race-wise but only 1/3 of the way mileage wise. We have many, many more miles to go....and I'm ok with that
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| Finally got myself a top 10 pack! |
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