2/13/2010 Holiday Lake 50k ++

Well it took me over a month to talk about this one. I was happy with the result considering the conditions, but the weather didn't allow for me to hit the PR that I've worked all winter for.

Leading up to this race we have had a cold snow filled winter. The race course was covered in 4-8 inches of snow. This made for a tough slog for 5hours and 37 odd minutes putting me at 27th overall.

I started the race hitting the trail at the .8 mile point in 12th or so. As we headed into the woods it was clear that not many people had been on the trail. The snow was hard enough to almost stay on top, but just as I thought I was going to push off with ease, my foot would break through. This made for a lot more effort. Then about 15 minutes into the race my group missed a turn and lost a bit of time. The good side of this was now I was behind 25-30 people and the snow was better packed (anything would have been better).

My race plan quickly changed from a PR race to trying to stay at a 10 min per mile pace and trying to hit the turnaround close to the 2:30 mark. I ended up at the halfway point in about 13th place in 2:42. Due to some gastric issues I had to make a pit stop at the 4H camp, took care of business, and hit the trail again loosing some ground, as a few people came through the turnaround while I was busy in the Restroom.

This is a out and back course. You run clockwise on the first loop and then counterclockwise on the return. It's neat and uplifting to get to see all the runners as you head toward and away from the halfway point. This year I was closer to the front runners than I've ever been and the runners behind me were more spread out than I've ever seen.

For most of the 2nd half of the race I was in survival mode. I went out too fast and the effort of running in the snow had my muscles taxed long before they should have been. I hung on for another 2:52 on the 2nd half for a 27th place 5:37 minute 5th finish at Holiday Lake.

Next up is the 4/3/10 6 hour of Warrior Creek Mtb Race. Racing on a Duo Team

Then 4/24/10 I will be running my 5th Promise Land 50k and hoping for a sub 6 hour finish on a course that gains over 7800 feet.

Training this year has been good. Lots more miles on my feet but my bikes haven't seen too much activity.

2/13/2010 Holiday Lake 50k ++

My 5th Holiday Lake 50k is 1 week away. It's going to be a wet, snowy, muddy mess. I can't imagine what's going to happen, weather wise, in the next week. I'm trying to hold on to a positive attitude. Good thing is, I'm physically ready.

Report will come following the race.

1/16/10 - Swinging Bridge 35/50k

This is a fun low key event put together by the Richmond Road Runners Club. Last year was my first year running the event and I choose to do the 35k. See prior post - http://mountainjunkies.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

The 2009 race was crazy. -2 degrees at the start and a struggle to stay warm and in constant motion. I ended up 8th in 3:35. This year was different, better weather, better conditioning, and I have entered 2010 at my lightest weight in over 20 years.

Much of this race is run on "primitive trail." This means that there is minimal trail maintenance. Throughout the course there are dozens upon dozens of downed trees, some of which, if you are lucky, have been cut down or cut out. In addition, the single track trail looks more like a deer path than the typical single track around here. It was common to see people getting off course and then looking around for a trail blaze or other marker to get back on course. I was one of these people, I got off course at least 2 times.

The course is an out and back 35k, then for the 50k you can continue on a different out and back 15k. I ended up running in a group for the first 10 miles and hit the halfway point in 8th place. On the way back to the 35k finish I was able to catch a few more people and finished the 35k in 3:02 and entered the 50k portion in 4th. Shortly after entering this section I got off course due to a confusing course marking and lost some time. I was able to work my way up to 3rd place and tried to hold on, but at mile 27 I started to get some adductor and sartorius cramps. I walked for awhile, was passed by one runner, hit a few electrolyte caps, and a gel, and was able to get back in a grove until the finish. I hit the finish in 5:03:10 in 4th place. Not a bad day. I was happy with the outcome and look forward to the next 50k on 2/13/10 at Holiday Lake, where I've run the course 4 other times and don't have to worry about course markings near as much.

For this race there were 5 Aide Stations that offered water, a couple different sodas, bananas, peanut butter pretzels, M & M's, and Famous Amos cookies. I went for the bananas and peanut butter pretzels and drank 20oz of water between each AS.

Frozen Toe 10k

On January 9th 2010 we will be holding the first event on the Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail. This is going to be a great event that we hope becomes annual.

This has been a venue that I have looked at for a long time. It is a great trail that I use throughout the year and join with other trails in the area to train for many of the Ultra Marathons I've done over the years. Come out and enjoy this event and kick off the New Year with a healthy activity.

The Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail is a 5.6 mile single track trail that loops around the Roanoke Mountain Campground. This is a great trail with a little bit of everything. A couple of years ago it was upgraded in a few places and is now a fast and flowy trail that is perfect for a January trail race.

Course Description:

The event will start at the New Hope Christian Church. From here you will run down Welcome Valley Road to the Chestnut Ridge Trail. At the trail, runners will run the loop counterclockwise. Once back to Welcome Valley Road you will take a right and run back to the church/finish.

Event Age Groups: 11 male and female age groups. with medals given to the top 3 in each age group. The top 3 male and female winners will receive unique awards.

Age brackets for the event include, for both male and female: 14 and under; 15-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44; 45-49; 50-54; 55-59; 60 & up.

Parking for the Event: The event headquarters is going to be the New Hope Christian Church off of Welcome Valley Road.

Directions to the Start/Finish at New Hope Christian Church:

From Roanoke: Take I-581/HWY 220 South. I-581 turns into HWY 220 South. Just after the Outback Steakhouse take a left onto Old Rocky Mount Road (State Route 789). You will be on this for about .65 miles to Welcome Valley Road. Take a left onto Welcome Valley Road and the New Hope Christian Church will be on your Left.

Outback Scramble - Indianapolis IN

Every year Gina and I travel to Illinois to see our family for Thanksgiving. Typically we try to find a place along the way to trail run or, if lucky, find a place to race.

This year we were in luck. We found the Tuxedo Brothers Outback Scramble at Eagle Creek Reservoir. This thing was a blast.

Leading into the event we were lucky to find any information describing what we were in for. The race info described a race distance of 4 miles plus or minus a mile, creek crossings, briars/thorns, rope assisted up and downhills, a good chance at getting lost, and lots of other obstacles.

The race was capped at 300 people and was to start at 9:34am. If you brought canned good you received a discount on your race entry and the 3 people who brought the most canned goods got a head start. Weird I know!

The race started with a .75 mile or so lead out on a road. Then the course headed into the woods. Not on a trail, but into the woods, where you followed pink flagging. The flagging took you through the roughest portions of the woods, over fallen trees, up steep slopes, down steep slopes (some with ropes to assist you), into ravines, across creeks, zig zagging up and down just like my heart rate.

Along the course were hats (sombreros, viking helmets with horns, sequined hats, feathered hats, party hats, coiled up snake hats, you get the picture). These hats represented a choice for the runner. Grab a hat and cross the finish line with it and you receive 1 minute off your finishing time or run with your hands free and take the "real" time.

I wasn't too concerned with the hats until the guy in front of me dropped his as he was scrambling up a hill. He looked back and just decided to leave it. I picked it up and kept in in my possession for the rest of the race (more on this in a minute).

Towards the end of the race the course went into two separate fields of tall, 5 or 6 foot grass, where you could hardly see where the next piece of pink flagging was ahead of you. At the last field, I could see a course volunteer waving runners his way and directing them out of the "trail" portion and back onto a path and the final .75 miles.

The last section was a loop around a grassy field. We circled around the field and headed to race headquarters and the finish line. Everything seemed smooth. I was in 18th place and thought I could hold my own and come away a bit better because of the hat I had in my hand. As I was coming toward the finish about 100 yards out I felt something pull at my hat. It was a 20 year old trying to rip my hat out of my hand. I mean rip. He was tugging with all his might. Fortunately I was wearing work gloves for this "trail race" and had a healthy grip on my hat. The "hat thief" finally gave up and as he ran off I could hear him say "it worked last year" (repeat offender). So I finished with my swirled multicolored hat and got an extra 1 minute off my time. I was 19th overall and 2nd in my age group.

Gina and I had a great time at this event and may be back in future years.