| Author |
Topic: Mountain Master's 16M Trail Run---Ad Naseum |
JJJessee
Cool Runner |
 posted Nov-25-2007 11:10 AM
  
3rd Annual
Mountain Master’s 16 Mile Trail Run
Harlan, KY
November 24, 2007What a day. The Thanksgiving Feast 2007 ended for me about 4:30pm yesterday when I decided that
I simply could not hold another morsel or tip another flute of bubbly.
My kids and DW were more resilient -or imbibed less- took the carnival to town for extended play,
graciously leaving me to kick back, pack my race bag, and take the dog for a walk as desired.
Perfect. Perfect.
Everyone had an enjoyable evening, even DD’s dog who scored a crisp and brisk walk around the block under a bright full moon.
An 11pm lights-out led me to the world of dreams without resistance, drifting inevitably toward a 4:30 alarm.
Harlan is over a two hours by car, and the shuttle bus to the race start on the mountain ridge top leaves the staging area at 8:30am.
I don’t want to miss that bus. The alarm was just a precaution.
I woke at 3:00, my mind evidently needing to think about something that it thought simple dreaming couldn’t handle.
I continued to recline unmoved until the appointed half-hour then engaged bodily.
System check, stretching, and fueling went smoothly and left me with leisure before runnerBeth was to arrive to pick me up.
She had already arranged to carpool with Nick a running buddy of hers whom we would ride with -meeting about 30 minutes along the way
-across the mountain in the Clinch Valley.
We met at the Hansonville Exxon, I was introduced to Nick, we transferred our bags and headed down the valley toward Kentucky
with lively running and racing banter and occasional forays into our domestic backgrounds.
I’m in the backseat -not my best mode of travel as mild to moderate motion sickness occasionally rears its putrid green head.
This morning was just such an occasion. As long as the road is fairly straight I’m OK.
But we missed a turn and drove several miles out of the way before we all concurred things didn’t look right and Nick consulted the map.
"No problem, here’s a short cut".
Perhaps it was a short cut on paper.
As the road wound tighter and deeper into the compound curvatures of the mountain hollers I grew less and less gastronomically stable.
This was a bad opening for the day, but we finally made it to the registration area parking lot with my all my cookies –but just barely.
It didn’t subside just because I was on terra firma. Inside the Village Mall I register, strip down to my running garb and hastily return to the fresh air.
I’m only getting on that bus with the barest essentials
- A hand held of plain water, salt, IBU, a coat to leave on the bus for the return trip, and a barf bag for the trip up the mountain to the starting line.
Fortunately my cookies were better travelers this go round. At the trailhead about 60 or so runners disembark, mark the tree of their choice, and warm-up a few minutes.
Due to the 20 –something degree temps and many of us standing in shorts, the RD fortuitously kept instructions brief and ends with "GO!". With a seemingly endless supply of hills we start up the first one.
Nick in front, Beth toward the middle and me toward the back.
I’m still dizzy but getting some color back in my cheeks.
The hill keeps me honest and prevents my inevitable "finishline start". Most of the pack disappears across the first crest.
The trail is actually a dirt and gravel road near the ridgeline.
This is really the first cold air of our running season and its taking a sharp, liberal bite into my lungs.
On the second or third hill, I pass a man who has taken the liberty to walk.
A mile or two further and no one of the few that are behind me are seen and
I only infrequently see a lone man nearing the top of the current hill in front of me.
The first water stop is at 4 miles. By now I’ve finally started to warm up. My left foot does not like the strong down hills,
which seem to be steeper than the up sides.
I’ve only drunk 10oz probably because of continued queasiness. At about an hour out, I take an S-cap. I figure it will settle my stomach or pump it -no more coddling.
It settles and my natural ration of dopamine perhaps puts my foot in a better mood too so things generally improve. By the water stop at mile 8 I’ve sucked down another 20oz and the overall downhill nature of the course is more dominant.
The vistas are plentiful and serene, but the rutted steep downhills are demanding focus.
By about mile 10.5 Garmin abruptly stops tracking.
The downhills are longer and steeper. I’ve passed one DNF with a turned ankle.
The runner I’ve been following is losing steam or maybe I’m gaining steam. I catch him, we talk and I get his second year experienced view of what is to come.
I catch another 20oz at the water stop before twelve.
We come to the end of the unpaved portion and make a sharp left onto a section of two-lane highway.
He’s on the right -I’m facing traffic and two vehicles approach each other between us.
The shoulders are only 18"; yikes that’s a little close for comfort. Soon we turn off into Kingdom Come Park on a narrow paved steep hill. My goal time for this run was to stay under 3:30. If things went smashingly and the trial was friendly, a stab at breaking 3:00.
All I had to do was run 11:00 miles 15x and a generous 30 on The Hill to hit 3:16 -a fair compromise.
At about 12.1 miles my time is 2:11 and we start to walk the hill. My compadre falls behind, and I hunker down for about a mile of 11-12% grade.
I keep pushing and pushing, fairly hard, but not hard enough to keep my HR from falling some. I crest the top in 15 mins at 2:26 with about 3 miles to go.
I have one more short section to walk and it’s mostly downhill from there. Actually, I have a chance to break 3:00. About half a mile out I see a walker ahead,
but a pedestrian shouts out something to encourage me. The walker perks up to a brisk jog.
I catch him easily but it could have turned in to a real battle for something like 54th place. My run finished on a slight uphill in 2:57:07. (Only 2 or 3 in my AG I think). Beth finished about 2:35ish,
a few minutes better than last year (2 AG).
And Nick; well Nick won the whole shootin’ match.
I forgot the exact time but well under 2:00. He competes with wild abandon.
Nick said his nearest competition had caught him at mile 10. They battled the rest of the way.
Last mile, they were elbow to elbow until Nick kicked it about 30m out.
He said he blacked out at the finish line and hit the ground scrapping his arm.
That’s wanting it. His last mile was a 5:47.
A DL runner-spectator gave us an early ride back to the Mall.
We changed, ate some pretty good Mexican food, collected some swag and drove home.
They let me ride in the front seat.
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
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charleygross
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 11:19 AM
JJJ!! Nice Race!! It's always nice to meet or break your goal time!! Congratulations also to Nick who ran a phenomenal race as well. I've always been intrigued with the idea of a trail run as most of my running is done on trails and paths.. Great job and a fine report as well!!!Chris
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evryday
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 11:26 AM
Man, what a great read! Very nice race and report.Congrats. And also congrats to Nick. ------------------
Remember rule #6 My User Profile
My running log
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choover
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 12:21 PM
Hey TripleJay!I so enjoy your RR's! Sounds like a great finish to a day that started a bit rough with the car sickness. Congrats on breaking 3 hours and congrats to both Nick and Beth. I'm impressed by people who can run those kinds of trails with such wild abandon. Your motion sickness reminded me of a young gal who was on the bus with us to the Deadwood Mickelson trail starting line. She found a new use for her drop bag on those windy roads. Poor thing. Any pictures? ------------------
choover
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Canfit
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 12:39 PM
JJJ - what a tough race course! Can't imagine all those hills. Congrats on conquering them! Great race and RR! Glad you got the butterflies flying in formation and your stomach settled down. Continued great running!
PJ
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Tramps
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 01:08 PM
It's so great that you seem to have such fun racing. Congratulations on another fine one. Whenever I read these trail reports, though, my ankles get sore.
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Spareribs
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 01:31 PM
It sounded like the ride to the race was harder than the race itself. I don't know how you trail runners do this sort of thing. Nice going despite the conditions. As long as you don't fall or hurt yourself, it's great conditioning. You did very well, quite a strong runner. Spareribs
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tomwhite
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 02:03 PM
.......jjj//.........I love this RR............hilarious, in too many spots to quote.............ya ran well,
wrote better,
and I was relieved when they gave you the Front Seat....... .............A Classic RR............
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CNYrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 02:17 PM
So glad they let you ride in the front seat! Awesome report and this sounds like a wonderful race/trail experience. You brought it all to life and I kept exclaiming aloud or chuckling as a I read it all. Thanks and good racing!CNY
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perchcreek
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 06:02 PM
JJJ.. Great race and super great workout! Sounds fun, except for the car sick part! Thanks for sharing.Steve
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Peter NC
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-25-2007 06:48 PM
JJJ, congrats on finishing that one... Motion sickness in the car getting over there....20 degrees at the start in shorts? ...that doesn't sound like fun.  ...glad that you finished.------------------
Me - Saucony Hurricane 8/Asics Gel Kayano 12 - FR305
My Log
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asicsman
Member |
posted Nov-26-2007 10:39 AM
JJ- It was a nice short cut- I'll remember to avoid route 606 in future travels, ha! I would not categorize this race as a 'trail' run, but just a road race on a rough road. The gravel road is so tough. I have ran a full marathon at a faster clip than this race. It is tough, much tougher than I ever thought it would be when I ran it three years ago. I like to use it as a gauge of fitness from year to year. This year I could walk without a limp and was not beat up as bad as I have been in the past despite racing hard the last 6 miles - which resulted in my fastest time yet. It was a pleasure to meet you and perhaps in the future we can carpool to another race again. Much better than driving alone, ha. Nick
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JJJessee
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-26-2007 05:56 PM
Hey, Nick. I sent Beth the pic. If she hasn't forwarded it to you contact me at jjjessee at comcast dot com I didn't really come to until that salt kicked in. I started feeling better after that except just being tired. I felt worse the Sunday before than yesterday. I'd look forward to carpooling about anytime.
I'm not attempting anything long until Holiday, but I wouldn't mind going to watch Frosty 50 if youall are runnin'.
jjj ETA: Again, Congratulations. [This message has been edited by JJJessee (edited Nov-26-2007).]
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wick51
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-27-2007 05:08 PM
Thanks for the great race report! This is a race I've been wanting to run, but really wanting to find out a little more about the course,which you have so graciously provideded. sounds like a "keeper"! thanks!
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Econo
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-27-2007 07:52 PM
Wow, what a wild ride! In all ways! Thank you, JJJ; you're a real trail guy and that's so cool. 
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Ileneforward
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-28-2007 12:13 AM
What a great report! You are a very gifted writer. I loved every word.
You really should have puked at some point however.  Congratulations on a fabulous race!
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smpankowski
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-28-2007 05:33 AM
JJJ
What a power house. One can only imagine how you would hammer it with out the cookie stuff going on.------------------
SteveP My User Profile
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JJJessee
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-28-2007 01:30 PM
Thanks You guys,
Your encouragement makes all the difference in the world.
Your examples as runners and community have brought me along way. Your right Ilene, I would have felt better sooner to just do it.
I'm an up-chucking coward I guess.
I'll work on it.
Thanks, again
jjj [This message has been edited by JJJessee (edited Nov-28-2007).]
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Soundrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-29-2007 12:39 PM
JJJ, fun report. You and I have similar stomachs. I've learned to just lay it on the line when riding in cars with new people who don't know my stomach and insist on shotgun. They don't want to pay the price. My H2C teammates all now know me quite, um, well. Big vans climbing up and down mountains are even worse than little cars. Love your attitude. Nice job toughing out a slight PR and 2nd AG despite the green around the gills. Sounds like you needed another good puke before the race. Darn fast-talking RD. 
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mariposai
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-29-2007 01:06 PM
I truly enjoyed reading your report JJJ. Sorry to hear about the mishaps just before the race. Good way to meet your goal even in hard conditions. Be proud of that AG win.------------------
"It also hit me afresh that in the Marathon, everyone who finishes is a winner in their own rite" Vista
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tselbs
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-29-2007 01:30 PM
jjj, you made the best of a day that started out rocky. Congrats on beating your goal and the AG award. Nick and Beth sure did well, too. Keep up the good work.TomS ------------------
My Profile
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SkipAZ
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-29-2007 09:22 PM
What a fun report Triple J! Congrats on your sub3 on a tough course. Happy they let you ride up front on the way home too.
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hollys4874
Cool Runner |
posted Nov-30-2007 11:04 AM
JJJ – no matter where you finish in the line up, these trail races of yours are definitely heroic events! And with your queasy start, you still managed to do a great job, achieve your goal, and best of all, finish without injury. Great race and report.------------------
Holly
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