Sunday, April 28, 2013

No Regrets: Jordan's Promise Land 50k Race Report


“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.
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). 
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.
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.
http://www.cnyhiking.com/BRP-CorneliusCreekTrail001.jpg
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.

Apple Orchard Falls
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLHhbF21QxE/Tb8xlvLf-qI/AAAAAAAAC0E/IY67E9YQ6GY/s1600/047+apple+orchard+falls.jpg
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
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.
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

Finally got myself a top 10 pack!



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