Dances with Dirt race report

I took Friday off from work and left Willoughby about mid-day. My destination: Pinckney State Park, near Hell, Michigan. Hell is about 10 miles past Ann Arbor (insert U of M joke here). I met up with Jen and her relay teammates and we went to dinner in the epicenter of wolverine country, feeling like strangers in a foreign land. Although I have to say that Ann Arbor seems like a nice town. Sorry, Woody.

The early race start meant getting up at about 4:30. I fixed a light breakfast, turned on my computer, and read some race reports from Badwater for a final bit if inspiration. Took a hot shower, got dressed, did some gentle stretching, said good-bye to Jenny - who was still in bed (relay started 90 minutes later than the ultra) - and headed out.

Billions and billions of stars...

I arrived about a half hour before the 6:15 a.m. start.  The weather was cool, about 52 degrees, and dry. A beautiful, early September morning. I remember looking up for a moment at the sky, and it was filled with stars. I have a lot of early mornings with my training. So when I am outside before dawn, I always take a moment to look at the stars if its clear. It helps relax me. Well, the cosmos put on an especially brilliant display that morning, so far out in the country. The Milky Way stretched across the sky. I hoped it would be a good omen for the day.

Down to business

I slathered some Ivy block on my legs, sunscreen on my shoulders, strapped on my Fuel belt, turned on my Garmin and was ready to go.

About 200 runners lined up at the start line. We'd have about 45 minutes of running before dawn. Most of us had headlamps on, and as the RD made his final comments before the start, he joked that we looked like a Gynecologists' convention.

My first priority was to seed myself well at the start. Last year, I got caught up with runners going slower than I would have liked, and it was very difficult to pass on the single track trail.  So I chose my spot well, and covered the first couple miles at around a 10:00 / mile pace. Perfect.

The course for the first third of the race was pretty fair. A few hills, some roots and rocks, and some spots where the trail surface turns to sand. But the biggest concern in those first few miles is dealing with the darkness and tuning in to your body. 

One thing I was starting to notice, though - hot spots on both of my feet - right at the pressure point where my bunions jut out. I was a little concerned, this coming so early in the run. But, the rest of me felt good. I made it through the first 10 miles in about 1:41 or so. I was really happy with this pace.

My decision to run 50K

I decided early on that my race would be a 50K, and not a 50-mile. The 50K course and 50-mile course start at the same time and are totally parallel until the 50K finish. So DWD rules let someone who registered for the 50-mile change their mind and just do the 50K. You just have to decide before the end of the 50K (likewise, you could sign up for 50K and decide to go for the full 50 miles). I wanted a quality performance. And I thought I could put together a strong 50K without having the prospect of running an additional, 19 tough miles in the back of my mind. The decision made me more comfortable with my pace and confident with what was ahead.

Nutrition strategy

The course emerged from the woods at a place called Hell Creek ranch. I did a quick pit stop at an aid station here to fill bottles, etc. One of my objectives was to get through the aid stations fast this year, and I did a good job of that.

I was carrying two hand-held bottles this year, to make sure I didn't dehydrate. One had water, the other had Nuun electrolyte drink. You buy Nuun as tablets that dissolve in water, a-la Alka-Seltzer. Tastes a bit like Red Bull. I carried the tabs in a little pocket and plop-plop-fizz-fizzed each time I refilled the bottle. Worked really well for me. Although it never got very hot - about 68 by late morning - I was sweating quite a bit. 

I kept my nutrition very simple. Every odd hour I slurped down a Boost meal replacement drink, which I carried in my Fuel Belt. Even hours was a Clif bar. That gave me an average of about 200 calories an hour. Never had any problems at all with GI issues. 

"Welcome to Hell!"

Back to the race. If the first third of the race was pretty fair, the next three stages were a real kick in the butt:

• "This Sucks Less"  4.75 miles. Tight, single track trail, short but steep hills, and overgrown tree branches that you constantly had to block with your arms (I have scratches all over my shoulders), or duck under (I smacked my head on low branches a few times). It's just the sort of running that beats you up and slows you down. I knew that my lovely 10:00 pace was gone.  This stage is named after another called, "This Sucks," which the ultra runners didn't run. I have to say that "This Sucks Less" sucked plenty out of me.

•  "Stripper Pole" 2.95 miles. Not sure where the name came from, but its marked by a climb up a long hill that's so steep you have to use our hands to dig in to the deep sand and scramble your way up. Then, an equally steep descent! 

• "Styx, River of Death" 3.25 miles.  It starts out easily enough. A mile or so on a nice hiking trail. Then ... what the ... the course markings take you off the trail into the middle of the woods. No trail, you're just traipsing through the woods, going from marker to marker, through sticky mud, over fallen trees, etc.  AND THEN into and through the river. There are three river crossings, then a quarter-mile run straight up the river. It ends at a place called Hell Store.

As I exited the river Styx, finally, I was greeted by Satan himself, presiding over Hell. He laughed and welcomed me, and said he'd been watching me come up the river. I asked if he had designed the last three miles of course too, and he laughed, evil.

Home stretch

I was now at mile 19, and took a quick break. For the first time, I took off my socks. Surprisingly, the hot spots had not formed into blisters. I wrung out my socks, emptied the sand out of my shoes, re-laced, had something to eat and got moving again.

I was starting to do math in my head. It took me about 3:50 to go 19 miles. Could I do this in under 6 hours? What a victory that would be - last year, it took me 7 hours and 26 minutes to go the 31 miles. I figured I'd need to keep a 12 minute pace. It was going to be tough. 

The last 12 miles are very runnable, but there are a lot of rolling hills. And my quads were really starting to burn - especially on the downhills. 

I plodded ahead. The relatively easy trail helped me get back into a groove. I put the thoughts of a 6 hour finish on the back burner, and just focused on getting through each mile.

The final aid station was at a place called Silver Lake. I refilled my bottles one last time, and had a cup of Coke. My Garmin said I was at mile 24.5, although the aid station sign said this was mile 25.0. I filed the discrepancy away in my brain. I was about 4:48 in, and had about six miles to go. I needed to get moving.

Setting a pace

Now, I got serious about the six hour finish. It was quite simple - run 12-minute miles, and I should make it. There was no reason to hold back. So I got back on the trail and settled in. My Garmin was telling me that I was holding around an 11 minute/mile pace on the flats. Nice, but I was walking the hills at that point too, which was dropping my average pace overall.

I soon noticed that a line of runners was behind me. No one was trying to pass me - I was setting the pace. None of us spoke to each other. I think everyone was focused. I got into a zone, and felt like a diesel engine, pulling these people along, fighting the pain and ignoring the doubt.  At one point, I tripped on a rock and fell, but I quickly got up and got going again. The shock of the fall gave me a momentary surge of adrenalin that I wished could have lasted the rest of the way.  But soon, my legs and feet were again killing me, and when we had to crouch down at one point to get under a fallen tree, my hips groaned in pain. But we kept going, like a train.

Time to GO!

And we held the pace. I kept looking at my Garmin, and as we hit 30 miles, the clock read 5:49. I wasn't confident in that half mile discrepancy, so I told myself  "If I want to be sure to make it in six hours, I have to GO NOW!" 

I picked up the pace, in spite of my protesting body. And I could hear a few footsteps, as a few of the others chose to follow. The next couple minutes were a daze. Finally, we rounded a bend and the canopy of trees opened.  I could see the road ahead, and knew the park was just across that. That half mile discrepancy was in our favor. I crossed the finish line in 5:56. I had nothing left.

A surprise finish

I took a moment to get myself together, and reported my name to the timekeeper. My 5:56 was not only a 90-minute improvement over last year, but good for third in my age group. Neat. As a prize, I got a new headlamp with a DWD logo!

I talked to a couple of the runners who had been with me that last six miles. One guy thanked me for the pacing job. 

The aftermath

I got my senses back. And I was hungry!  I hobbled over to the food tent and they gave me an entire Domino's pizza. I stumbled back to my car, popped the hatch, sat on the bumper and ate half of that pizza. I exchanged text messages with Jen, whose team was in the middle of the relay. Figuring I had a few hours to kill before they finished, I decided to go back to my hotel, shower and nap, then come back for the celebration.

On the way back, I stopped off at a gas station / convenience store to get libations. As I limped in, the conversation went something like this.

Clerk: (Seeing my limp and filthy clothes)  "You just run DWD?"

Me: "Sure did"

Clerk: "How'd it go?"

Me: "Took third in my division."

Clerk: "Great! Well, the Powerbars and Gatorade are over there (pointing to a corner of the store.)"

Me: "Thank you, my friend-in-Michigan, but I am not here for Powerbars. Kindly direct me to the beer cooler. It's Miller Time."

Clerk: "Now you're talking!"

I got to the hotel, feeling like road kill. I sat down, cracked open one of those Millers and ate the rest of the pizza. Finally, I took a shower, scrubbing mightily to make sure I cleaned off any poison ivy I might have brushed. And laid down to take a nap. 

An hour later my alarm rang. I awoke and my body felt like a board. Everything hurt. I struggled into my clothes and out to my car, then drove the 15 minutes back to the park. One of the two Progressive teams had finished the relay, so I hung out with them, watching the runners finish.

Jen ran the last leg of her team's race. And wouldn't you now it - they had their best performance ever too, in spite of being short one runner. 

T-time

It's taper time for the DWD 50, which is a week from Saturday.  My last long run was last Saturday. 17 miles on the Buckeye. My goals for these two weeks are to:

1) Stay healthy.

2) Not gain weight.

3) Stay healthy.

I've done a few runs this weeks. Only stressor was a 4-mile tempo run on Tuesday. Everything else has been easy. Two days off from running, now, then a 10-miler on the trails Saturday.

Getting in a little pool time this week. The outdoor pool is all but closed for the season, so I am back in the "tub" at the YMCA. Battling for space with all the old folks. Coming back inside is like going back to work after two weeks of vacation.

Well, after two years of struggling with other strokes (on advice of various coaches), I've been using a front-quadrant style again.  Just in the last week or so, my 100 pace is down almost 30 seconds. Just like that. I kid you not. I did a 500 in 8:12 this morning. Which might not qualify me for the London Games, but it's faster than I've done a 500 in a long, long time.

This is the swim style I used when I was able to swim a 1:06:50 in Lake Placid. My best swim performance ever.  But the coaches watched me and told me I needed a faster turnover.  And I'm such a dope, I've been struggling with that for two years since.

Was it Mickey Mantle who said, "don't let 'em mess with your swing"? 

NERC Cross Country Series

For the last three Tuesday evenings, I've run the Northeast Running Club's cross country series at Penitentiary Glen. I ran the series to get in some "speed" work approaching DWD. 

This is the closest I have ever come or will ever come to running high school cross country. See, most of the participants are high school kids. There are a few of us "elders", but I wouldn't be surprised if the average age is around 20. 

The races are a fairly laid back affair. $3 entry fee. Course marked with flags on the trails and fields throughout the park. I was able to get out of work in time to get there by 6:00 and get in a couple easy miles to warm up. Caught up with a few other runners I know. Enjoy the August weather. Line up and wait for the horn.

It's kind of a trip running with the kids. A lot of them seem to not have the pacing thing figured out yet. But they do have some agility on the trails that eludes me. I sort of get going and build up a head of steam that continues steadily for three miles. I power my way up hills and plow a straight line from point-to-point. Chug chug chug chug. The kids sort of dart past me like hyperactive hamsters on speedballs as they get a burst of energy, then drop back when they hit the wall. I feel like the "jam car" on the toy racetrack I had as a kid. 

Anyhow, I got in good workouts over the three weeks. It's actually a fairly tough 5K course, with a quarter-mile-long hill at the end. My best time was last week, when I posted 7:35s.

Fairport Lighthouse Tri - pleasant surprise

A week ago, standing in the rain watching the Ironman in Lake Placid, I had no idea I'd be doing a triathlon this weekend. Or, even this season. But something in the mountain air got hold of me and on Tuesday night, while in our cottage on vacation, I logged in to the Internet and signed up for the Lighthouse Tri in Fairport Harbor.

It's a race I've done several times in the past. Usually as either a glorified speed workout or a post-Ironman shakeout. But I've always done it when I've been on my own "razor's edge" of fitness. I think my best time here was a 1:09, and in some years I've been competitive in the overall. 

But this year, looks like Fairport is going to constitute my entire tri season. Going in, I hadn't done a single brick, had ridden my tri bike only once this summer (yesterday), and had swam open water only twice (last Friday, and yesterday).  Frankly, until last weekend, I have had scant interest in multisport this year; instead focusing on running (actually, healing my stress fractured toe...then running), and swimming / biking on the side to cross train.

So I was surprised at not only how well I did, but how much fun I had. 

Jen was doing the race too. We got there about 6:30, and the racks quickly filled up. They never offer enough racks at Fairport, so I brought my own bike stand and set up to the side. Good spot near the bike exit.

I did a five minute ride to work through the gears and make sure the new tube I installed last night was all set. Then ran about 10 minutes to warm up. The sun was coming out and it looked to be a nice morning. I had a good sweat, and was ready to go.

Not a great swim, but I've done worse

I was in the "old guys" starting heat. Everyone 35 and older.  I'd guess there were about 50-75 of us in the heat. The horn blew and off we went. A 500 yard out-and-back. I got into a lot of traffic in the "out." Kept swimming up on people, and caught a few arms and elbows. But after the turn, things began to spread out, and I angled towards the beach, helping get me out of traffic. I settled in to a groove and actually drafted off another guy (in a wetsuit; I wore none) for most of the last 250 yards.  I got to the end buoy, popped up and my watch read 11:30. Not great, but I think I've done worse, and was on my way.

Only thing that slowed me down in transition was putting on my singlet. Otherwise, I was through fairly quickly. The bike course begins with a short but steep uphill. Pretty nasty, actually. But the rest is pancake flat. From the start, I was passing people, as we rode out of Fairport Harbor and on to Fairport-Nursery Road. I settled into an easy gear and spun away. When I sneaked a look at my computer, I seemed to be holding easily at around 22 mph. 

A slight headwind on the way back on the bike

There was a lot of bike traffic on the first half. But as I worked my way thorough the field, it thinned out. I was even passing a lot of folks from the earlier starting heat (the "young" guys). We had a slight, slight headwind on the way back, but I was still able to hold my pace above 21.  I saw Jen on the way out, and she looked like she had on her battle face. She looked GOOD!

I finished the bike in about 32 minutes; or a 22 mph pace. Honestly, I was very surprised I was this fast - and that it wasn't an overly hard effort. That's in the ballpark of my performances in years past when I was in Ironman shape. 

Holding my own on the run

But I had no time to reflect, because I was off on the run. I had no idea what to expect. Almost all my running this year - at least since coming back from my stress fracture - has been slow steady and long. And mostly on trails, to get ready for the Dances with Dirt Ultra.  So I started out pretty easily. Out of the park and over that nasty hill, on to the three-mile loop. I got in to it and just focused on a relaxed stride. I wasn't sure of my exact pace, but I knew it was slightly faster than my usual training pace. 

For the most part, I held my own over the three miles. I was passed by a couple runners, but also passed a few on my own. And while I went in to this thing with no thought of playing competitive, I admit I was looking at the ages markered on to each runner's leg. If someone in the 35-39 group had passed me, I think I would have tried to latch on and give them a run for it. But it never happened.

I finished the run in about 25 minutes, and posted a 1:13 overall time. Fourth place in my age group. 

Jen: most combative

Jen finished shortly after me, in about 1:22, or fifth in her group. Her race was highlighted by a superfast bike, averaging 19 mph. I call that "most combative", in Tour de France terms. 

Post, I mingled with a bunch of folks. Sam and Joe Joseph, Esq., I.M., were there with Gabby in tow. Joe was hoping to race but couldn't get there in time (although, I think a week off is a good thing too). My mom (the Brett Favre of middle school teachers) and dad came to watch too. Scott Erdman, John Telich and his son, Deirdre and Bill, Roger Miller, Jen's friend Halle (did her first tri - way to go!), Bill Bretz, Joe Bush and many others.  

I was surprised, pleasantly, at how much fun I had and how well I did. I think I needed a year off from this. I have some other stuff on the calendar this year, and I think this will be the only tri. But I am thinking of putting together a flexible, changeable race schedule for 2009, focused on local races. Already thinking about 2009!

Ohio Masters Open Water Swim

I participated in the Ohio Masters Open Water Swim meet this morning at Edgewater park. I entered the two mile swim. I've put in some decent yardage (and meterage) in the pool lately, but have swam in the open water only once this year. That was a week ago, in Mirror Lake at Lake Placid.

We had beautiful weather this morning. Temperatures in the mid 70s, no wind and calm waters. I ran in to a number of people I know from triathlon before the race. There were a number of triathletes there, but I think most of the participants were Swimmers (with a capital "S").

The race started a little late, as they had some trouble getting the buoys set. But a few minutes after 8:00, we were off and swimming.  

My swimming has been slower than in years past, but I've put in some long swims and was comfortable with the prospect of this long of a swim. Although, I was without a wetsuit, which I figured would slow me down a bit. I don't so much swim as I muscle my way through the water, as more than one coach has told me. The wetsuit helps keep me buoyant, but I just didn't want to wear it. 

I did about 1-3/4 miles in Mirror Lake in 1:04, so I settled into an easy, slow pace, and figured I was looking at a 1:15 finish. The course was basically a triangle loop, done twice for the two mile. I sensed very quickly that I was pretty slow. That, because I quickly lost sight of any other pink caps (my color), and was soon passed by the other waves of swimmers.  But, it was just a nice, easy swim. 

I finished in about 1:14. Not bad, although I was near the rear of the pack. 

It was fun. Something a little different.

Triathlon

I hadn't planned to do any tris this year. But being in Lake Placid last week awakened the demon and convinced me to give one a try. So I'll be returning to Fairport Harbor tomorrow for the Lighthouse tri.  I haven't even ridden my Cervelo at all this year until today. I took it out for a 7-mile shakeout ride. After a summer of riding the Dreadnought Frankenbike, the P3 felt light and fast. Will let you know how it goes.

Jen finishes the Ironman