Sunday, July 21, 2013

RR---Dirty Burg 50k, Cannonsburg Ski Resort, Belmont, MI


There was a while when I wasn’t sure if I would ever write one of these again. Last year (2012) was a disaster from a running standpoint—yearlong injury, couple of really disappointing “goal” races, and my inspiration for taking up running in the first place (my beloved dog Leroy) had to be put down. All in all, just a bad year. Even the Mayan Armageddon was a big fail. 2013 couldn’t start soon enough.

Thinking that my ultra-running days might be behind me, I’d spent all winter working on triathlon training. I was hoping perhaps that might be the next phase of my little “insane-training-health” game...and then that was derailed by rotator cuff issues from all of the swimming I’d been doing. In the meantime, none of the small amount of running that I was doing felt even remotely enjoyable; only 10 miles a week and not one of them was good. This was ‘shaping up’ to be another bad year for running (yes, I just went there); clearly I needed a fresh new approach.

On a whim I started doing some “power walks” on a treadmill set to maximum incline, thinking that if I ever got back into running more seriously, that might help. It’s a lot harder than it sounds and gave me some solid early-season workouts. After doing this for a few weeks, I decided just for the heck of it to start doing a few trail runs after work at Holly Recreation Area. I always enjoyed trail running, had gotten away from it a bit, and figured that maybe sticking mainly to trails would help eliminate some of the aches, pains and problems I’d been dealing with recently (especially my left Achilles, right hamstring, and weird foot problem that nagged me most of last year). These proved surprisingly enjoyable, despite some particularly voracious bugs driving me half-mad along the way. So a few trail runs turned into more, more turned into a couple of solid 10 mile trail races (one on an easy course, the other on a Hard course), and all of a sudden I started getting ambitious about maybe getting back into the Ultra game. I saw a couple of options but not many that fit the prerequisites of Proximity and Timing (and wasn’t already sold out), so I settled on signing up for the Dirty Burg 50k at the Cannonsburg Ski Resort in Belmont, MI.

The course consisted of about 5.5 miles of significantly rolling/hilly single-track mountain bike trails, followed by about a .75 mile loop that went all the way to the top, and then back down to the bottom, of the ski hill. So, a 10k course run 5 times. The idea of running up and down a ski mountain 5 times during a 50k was intimidating as hell so I tried to just not think about it in the days leading up to the race. I also noticed the times from last year looked awfully fast; I had a serious concern about a DFL (dead-friggin’ last) placing, but then maybe that was just what I needed. A good dose of humility never hurt anyone, right?

One of the numerous mistakes I made leading up to this race was, I didn’t do any long runs that were long enough. Doing an ultra without at least one 20 miler in training is just a bad idea. The best I did was a back-to-back-to-back, consisting of a 14 miler followed by a 12 followed by a 10; the first two were on easy segments of the North Country Trail near Baldwin, MI, the third on dirt roads near a cabin I was staying at. That third run trashed my Achilles (on roads; coincidence?) and I had concerns that I might’ve just destroyed my season. Fortunately it was completely better after a week off. In any event, in hindsight I’m thinking that the 2nd and/or 3rd of that back-to-back-to-back helped push my thyroids or endocrine system or whatever the hell it is just enough so that I’d be able to handle a long race without completely falling apart. I’d read a race report of a guy that was in this same race last year who didn’t do “long” runs either…but he’d been averaging 100 miles a week so he didn’t need long runs. I’d been up around 30-40 a week, which isn’t nearly the same but still a decent weekly mileage for me. I’m also thinking that pushing it hard on those trail races on subsequent weekends also helped, maybe, mainly from a strength standpoint, and toughening up my feet, joints, etc. Or, it was simply those numerous after-work trail runs, adding a little more each time, slowly and steadily building me up. All of the above.

In any event, this day should’ve been a train wreck. My training was insufficient to say the least; the night before I had several cocktails, then woke up at midnight and couldn’t sleep for the next two hours; then I got up at 4am, on the road by 4:15 feeling rough to say the least from sleep deprivation and being still a little drunk maybe(?);  also I had some significant lower G.I. issues that I was sure would continue to plague me during the race; I was Very dehydrated (see above regarding cocktails); it was turning out to be a warm day with lots of sun; and that ski-hill, at least from the bottom, looked really fucking high.

So I chugged a small bottle of Heed (it’s like Gatorade for those non-runners who are actually reading this and don’t know, just a different brand of electrolytes in drink form), got all of my gear together, lined up at the very back of the pack and off we went. Just keeping up with the back-of-the-packers had me going out way too fast, but I figured I could bank a little bit of time while it was still cool and be ok. Plus I knew that ski hill would slow me down, so I figured I should use some speed on the ‘flat’ part. Due to the twisty-turny nature of the trails my Garmin quickly proved to be useless for tracking distance, so I just used it for time and tried to keep track of my progress that way.

I finished my first loop in 1:08 which was way too fast (I was thinking I should go no faster than 1:15 for my fast loops), but I felt pretty good so I wasn’t too concerned. The single track was almost all hilly but those hills were generally small and more of a nuisance than a menace. My first trip up the mountain wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be; it was the trip down that I found to be more taxing because of the breaking motion that you have to use the entire way down. Anyway, so far so good.

 For my second loop I pushed it more than I should have but I was really having a blast, bombing the downhills, flying around the tight curves and just enjoying the day…remembering the sage advice of the Godfather of running Dr. George Sheehan, who always professed that running is Play and should always be approached as such. I also finished that second loop in about 1:08 so at that point I knew I had to slow it down and get more realistic. Play time was over.

Third loop I made it a point to take it easy, just glide through it, enjoy the day, remember my fueling and get through the halfway point. There were no gels at the aid stations which bothered me a little, but I tried to make up for it with plenty of Gatorade at the two aid stations and also my secret weapon of choice, Orange wedges. And of course lots of water. (see above regarding dehydration)  Unfortunately I took it a little too easy, that loop was around 1:20, but I needed to because things were just starting to come unraveled a bit.

On my fourth loop the wheels were coming off in earnest, but I just kept moving, kept my aid station visits short, walked every uphill and no longer bombed along any of the downhills or flats. Patience is an important part of any long race; you’re just not done until you’re done, so you might as well enjoy the journey and the opportunity. So I continued distracting myself with reminders of how lucky I was to be out there on this day, healthy (if hungover) and happy. I also thought about a couple of buddies of mine who both have incurable, terminal diseases, and how happy & positive they are every single time I see or talk to them. And I thought about my dog, who I had to put down 1 year ago almost to the day, and how he inspired me to get out there every day to walk him, and then to get healthier by breaking my 21 year smoking addiction, and then to get healthier still by taking up running. None of this would’ve been possible without Leroy. I may be dead by now if it wasn’t for him. God I miss that dog.

At the end of that fourth loop when I was climbing the mountain, the sun was beating down on my baseball hat and it was well up into the 80’s. I was roasting dangerously. As soon as I got down I had the aid station hook me up with some ice in my water bottle, and that ice-cold water completely turned me around. It’s amazing how unappealing warm water can be when it’s hot out and you’re literally dying of heat-exhaustion and dehydration.

I soon noticed on my fifth loop that I felt great and still had a lot left in the tank. While I originally thought I’d be in ‘Death March’ mode by then, it was genuinely surprising how good I felt, and I ran much of it (just the flats & downhills, none of the ups, but still). As a result my 5th loop was much faster than my 4th. When I started it I had hopes of possibly finishing in 6:30, but enjoyable running can sometimes be faster running and I finished in 6:20.

Despite all of the bad stuff happening before I took my first step, it was one of my best ultras to date and sets me up nicely for a fall biggie (100k? or 24 hour?).

Random Observations.

This was my first ultra in Hoka’s. I love those shoes, and if I had any money I would invest everything I have because those things are the future of running. Now I just need to figure out how to make gaiters work with them.

If you don’t pee even once during a 6.5 hour run, and only barely at that when you’re done, despite having consumed nearly 200 ounces of fluids during that time, you might be dehydrated.

Specificity of training (running trails in preparation for trail races) is vital.

Running almost exclusively on trails is great for avoiding injuries.

The pre-season treadmill uphill power-hiking helped strengthen my calves, hips, and cardio once I did finally start trail running in earnest. Great low-impact off-season training tool.

I’m liking Injinji toe socks more & more.

Weekly Mileage (not necessarily including overly-long distance runs) is simply a must; no shortcuts.

My Achilles started going significantly south on my by the 3rd and especially the 4th loop. I stopped to stretch my calf at one point, which only worked for about a minute or two…then I stopped to stretch again, which made all the difference and I didn’t have a problem the rest of the way. Sometimes a 2nd stretch can make all the difference.

Don’t drink whiskey & cokes the night before a hot summer 50k that you’re not properly trained for.