Pinelands 50K trip report - 5/26/2013

Finishing

The runners in front of me were negotiating a stream crossing as I picked out my footing in the ankle deep mud so I didn't pay much attention. At water's edge I tried skirting around the left side but the water quickly rose up to my knees as my feet sank in the mire. Pulling my left leg out I was gratified to see my shoe came with it. Back on to firmer ground I walked a dozen paces to let the majority of the muck drain out and started a slow trot up the next hill. The runners ahead of me slowly but steadily pulled away. Six kilometers down, just 44 left to go.

It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't fast but I completed the goal I set for myself; run a 50K race before my 50th birthday. Several friends recommended Pinelands as a well run race with a nice course and good footing to try for my first ultra so I signed up in December and started training in earnest. The winter is a tough time to train, especially for trail running and I developed a pain in my left heel that left me unable to run at times. Plus, winter is ski season and Monica and I went to Austria for a week in the middle of February, so my training really didn't pick up until March. There were a lot of long runs, including a 22 miler and a few 19 milers that left me feeling adequately prepared, if not really on top of my game.

Why yes, there was some mud

A week before the race the forecast looked great, then things started going downhill. It was going to be pouring rain all week, including Saturday when the 5K races were all being run. The organizers posted that the course might be a big muddy. Monica and I headed up to a hotel in Freeport on Saturday night after Peter and Anne's wedding and it rained the whole way. We had every conceivable piece of clothing available for possible conditions during the race; me for running and Monica for crewing. Off to Dunkin Donuts for a breakfast sandwich and then to Pinelands to meet up with friends and get things started.

When we arrived it was raining lightly but it seemed much nicer than it could have been. The 50 Mile runners were already on the course and you could see things were going to be slick. As we walked over to the sign to take a group shot several of us were picking our way to avoid the deep water. Foolish humans. In the first 100 yards of the race all of our feet were soaked and caked with mud, and it never let up for the entire course. I started running a bit faster than I should have, trying to keep pace with the folks I'd started with. My left heel was a bit touchy already, I wasn't sure how it was going to handle the day. By the time we reached the second aid station (the Yurt) we were all covered in mud and willing to stop, eat, and drink. It had sunk in that I wasn't going for any particular time, just trying to survive.

Monica was at the Yurt aid station and I'd see her there twice more on the first lap. The sections though the fields were pretty horrific. The grass had been mowed to a 8 foot wide path, but the footing was an unrelenting mess. There were trampled paths on the sides or down the center, but it was only firm ground in comparison to the slop everywhere else. Mud squished out on every step, sometimes sending you sliding down an incline or stumbling while the suction tried to remove a shoe. Parts were nearly impossible to run and when we hit the drier sections I was too tired to run up most hills. It drained me physically and emotionally.

The end of the first yurt loop

There were two loops coming back to the yurt and I ate and drank each time. By the second loop I'd lost all the people I'd started with and settled into a slow but mostly steady pace. It was clearly going to be a long day. My left heel was throbbing slightly, letting me know it hadn't forgotten about me. At the Valley aid station Monica gave me my MP3 player and the music really helped. I had to fast forward through two songs as the day went on; Stairway to Heaven and The Long and Winding Road. As the loop took us past the start/finish area I saw the hoard of 25K runners starting their run. My main goal at this point was to avoid being passed by any of them. Looking at the finish times I think I mostly accomplished that goal.

The last third of the loop was much drier but had more hills. I remember a very depressing sign that had an arrow pointing one way for "Last Chance Cut Off" and one pointing the way we were going labeled "Gloucester Hill". I spent this time mostly alone, running where I could and walking lots on the steeps. This was definitely the low point of my spirits and thoughts of dropping at the end of the lap came unbidden to my head. Monica was there at the start/finish which brightened my spirits, and just the act of completing the lap made me keep going. Everything was going to be familiar terrain after this - I knew what to expect at least. Finally, every step was bringing me closer to the finish which is an amazing psychological boost.

The loneliness of the long distance runner

At the starting line I was wearing shorts, calf sleeves, Dirty Girl gaiters, a long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve, a running jacket, gloves and baseball cap . Before the gun I handed the jacket to Monica as it was clearly too hot for it. At one of the aid stations I peeled off the long sleeve shirt and gloves since they weren't needed. Later I took my running vest from Monica and used that for the rest of the race. By the end of the race everything but the hat was covered with mud; I'm not sure the shoes will ever be the same. The socks went right into the trash.

Most of the second lap is a blur - lots of slogging in the mud, holding out until the end of a song before taking a walking break, being passed by 50 milers, and lots of encouraging words from runners, spectators, and volunteers. As I approached the start/finish line, which meant I had less than 10K left, it dawned on me that I was really going to finish. I wasn't wearing my GPS watch and couldn't do math in my head but I think my pace finally picked up near the end. I could do enough math to figure when I'd passed the 26.2 mile marker and that felt real good. I ran without seeing other runners for long stretches as the kilometers clicked down. As I pulled into the Last Mile aid station I saw a woman who had passed me about 5 miles earlier and I used her as motivation to run the final stretch. I actually passed her about 100 yards from the finish line, expecting to run in with her but she held back so I finished solo. I made it look good for the remaining spectators - Monica was cheering me home and that was the best part.

TARC!

The best crew ever

This was an amazing experience, both the race itself and the training. I've gotten encouragement and well wishes from lots of athletes, many of whom were there that day running along with me. It's a goal I set for myself two years ago after finishing the Boston Marathon and there were times of injury and pain when I thought it was never going to happen. My biggest support is Monica, who gave up lots of weekends up north because I had to train, or was recovering from training, or was blathering on about training and my injuries. Seeing her 10 times on the course meant the world to me. I have no idea if I'm going to run another ultra. Certainly not for a while as too many things have been on hold while I pursued this goal. We have other plans for the summer and while I'm sure I'll be running quite often I am enjoying the freedom that comes with no deadlines.

Training Log - Week ending 4/6/2013

Sunday 3/31 - 3.55 miles @ 10:40 - Recovery run day after longest run of the year. Very slow.

Monday 4/1 - Rest day plus painful but helpful sports massage.

Tuesday 4/2 - 4.01 miles @ 10:30 - Slow but productive run

Wed 4/3 -60 minutes on the exercise bike

Thursday 4/4 - 4.15 miles @ 10:30- Trail running from work with hills

Friday 4/5 - Rest Day

Saturday 4/6 - 11.03 miles @ 12:03 - Trail run in the Fells, some foot pain during and after

Total Mileage -22.8 Miles
Less mileage, slower pace this week, but 100 miles in the last 4 weeks. Ended the week with some foot pain. 7 weeks to Pinelands.

Training Log - Week ending 3/30/2013

Sunday 3/24 - Telemark skiing at Cannon. New boots, binding problems, and watching Monica's nephew race cut down on the number of runs but I could still feel my legs.

Monday 3/25 - 5.1 miles @ 10:00 - Solo lunch run, wasn't planning on much but felt good enough to extend to 5. No watch or music, just me and the road.

Tuesday 3/26 -Rest day

Wed 3/27 -3.6 miles @ 10:00 - Hill repeats, my first time trying these at a hill near the office, 4 laps

Thursday 3/28 -Rest day

Friday 3/29 - 4.6 miles @ 10:38 - Legs felt like lead, but glad to have accomplished it

Saturday 3/30 -15.5 miles @ 12:46 - 2 laps of the Fells Reservoir trail, plus a little extra. That's 25K, just have to do that twice at Pinelands.

Total Mileage -28.8 Miles
Three weeks in a row of increased mileage. 8 weeks to Pinelands.

Training Log - Week ending 3/23/2013

Last week was a good training week, this week I managed to keep up the momentum. I'm pretty tired but I managed to crank out another long run, albeit a slow one.

Sunday 3/17 - 45 minutes of lifting and stretching at the gym

Monday 3/18 - 5.1 miles @ 9:37 - lunch run with Tery and Pete, then on my own. Pushed it to 5 miles instead of my planned 4.

Tuesday 3/19 - Road the stationary bike for 45 minutes

Wed 3/20 - 5 miles @ 10:19 - lunch run, pushed myself to run the full 5

Thursday 3/21 - rest day

Friday 3/22 - 3.7 miles @ 10:36 - Predawn run before podiatrists appointment

Saturday 3/23 - 13.1 miles @ 10:09 pace - Pretty decent run along the Charles, from home to the Museum of Science and back, plus a little extra to make it 13.1. Slight calf cramps at the end; have to keep an eye on that.

Total Mileage - 26.9 miles
Two solid weeks in a row, really ramping up the miles finally. 9 weeks out from Pinelands.

Training Log - Week ending 3/16/2013

Thought I'd write down the training log from last week. It was my first full week back and it was a big mileage week to ramp up.

Sunday 3/10 - 5.07 miles @ 9:55 pace - Squeezed in a run before dark thanks to Daylight Saving Time

Monday 3/11 - rest day

Tuesday 3/12 - 5.00 miles @ 10:00 pace - Early morning run from home, finished before sunrise

Wed 3/13 - 45 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym

Thursday 3/14 - 4.15 miles @ 9:40 pace - Another morning run but this time in daylight

Friday 3/15 - 30 minute on the stationary bike at the gym

Saturday 3/16 - 10 miles @ 12:15 pace - Long trail run in the Fells with Robyn and Max

Total Mileage - 24.22 miles
My longest week in a long time, 10 weeks out from Pinelands

10 in the Fells

The last time I ran 10 miles was almost exactly a year ago. My foot has been bothering me the past several months and we took a ski vacation in Europe in February so my training for the upcoming Pinelands 50K trail run has lagged behind schedule. I'm not going to be as well prepared as I hoped, but as long as I stay healthy I will make it to the starting line. I can't be sure what will happen after that but I'm concentrating on getting some good long runs in and staying healthy.

I met Robyn and Max at the Bellevue Pond parking area at the Fells on a cold but clear morning. The temperature was 32 degrees so we all had hats and gloves on. I was wearing my trail shoes with my new orthotics that the podiatrist gave me. I've been having pain in my left heel that seems related to my plantar fasciitis but x-rays also showed some heel spurs. The doctor assured me that everyone my age has some heel spurs but that it wouldn't explain the pain. He told me to stretch every day, take some Ibuprofen to get the inflammation under control, and wear the new orthodics. So far it's been pretty good and I was able to ramp up to over 20 miles this week. The highlight of my training plan was a long trail run in the Fells, and my hope was 8-10 but I was aware that I hadn't done a really long run for a long time.

We started at a pretty slow pace as we warmed up. Robyn has been working in India for a while so she hasn't been able to run much, and Max started running more recently and had a little foot pain, so our little trio had moderately low expectations. The snow was mostly gone but we encountered a bunch of wet and icy conditions that kept us on our toes. The loop is 7.5 miles and we kept a pretty steady pace between 11 and 13 minute miles. We kept on the easier footing with some occasional bits on the Skyline trail with more rocks. I felt pretty good as we got back to the cars but I had my mind set on 10 miles so I told them I was headed back out for a little more. Knowing Robyn's competitive nature it was like shooting fish in a barrel and she agreed to head back out. Poor Max didn't know what hit him.

The last 2.5 miles sucked, frankly. We were tired and chose a rough trail and nothing is fun when you're a slave to a GPS watch. We finally got to a trail with better footing and guessed at the point to turn around to ensure exactly 10.  Our mood improved dramatically as we turned around and our estimate was pretty much dead on. We had to run a hundred feet past the cars until the watch clicked over 10 miles and we were all happy to be done.

I had some discomfort in my foot but no pain. That in itself was a victory. To finish 10 trail miles was the first real indication that I might be able to do the 50K in May. It's still an uphill battle (pardon the pun) but I'm headed in the right direction.

Garmin track of the run