UGBTGrind'n, Wicked Root, and other updates

Training continues for Georgia Death Race!  I forgot to post an update after the 10-mile UGBTGrind'n Trail Race.  I ran this last year (it was my first trail race ever) and did it again this year.  Last year, I completely smoked it, averaging around 9 min/mile pace - which is crazy fast on the trail.  This year - not so much.  Of course, I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I was last year, which accounts for part of the slow down.  I think I was also not fully recovered from the South Mountains Marathon a couple weeks before that.  Last year - 1:25.  This year - 1:40...  15 minutes slower!  But it's a training race for me, so not anything I'm going to obsess about.

Next up - another repeat race from last year...  Wicked Root 50k!  Now we're talking...  This was my first ultramarathon ever.  Last year, I went out waaaay too fast and blew up around mile 11, and had to suffer through almost the entire 2nd and 3rd laps.  This year, I was determined to pace myself better.

The weather was absolutely perfect.  I started out in shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, and gloves.  (It was about 45 degrees at the start.)  I probably took the gloves off around mile 2, and took the long-sleeved shirt off around mile 4.  I was quite comfortable after that - not too hot, not too cold.  No rain, either, which looked a little iffy on the forecast.

So we all started out, and I didn't allow myself to get caught up in the excitement like I did last year.  I did find myself in a pack of maybe 6 people, though (not the lead pack).  I ended up backing off because we were getting bunched up on the downhills, so I started walking the uphills early, getting a little distance between myself and the pack, and catching up to them on the downhills.  They did, eventually, pull away though - which was fine.

1 or 2 people passed me early in the first lap, and I passed 1 or 2 different people after that.  I passed a few of the 10-mile runners (who had a 15min head start) too.  After that (maybe 3 miles in), I was running by myself the rest of the race.

At mile 5, I tripped and fell.  Waaaaay to early to be doing that!  It wasn't a hard fall, though.  In fact, I was having a great time.  Lap #1 was all smiles.  My heart rate was relatively low.  My legs felt fine.  The trail was great.  I was just cruising along.  Going into the race, I thought I *might* actually do 4 laps (40 miles) as additional training for GDR, since this would be my longest run heading into GDR.  As I made my way around the course, I was confident I would be doing 40 miles that day.

I completed lap #1 around 1:43, and I felt great.  Last year my time for lap #1 was 1:35.  So now I'm getting a little overconfident.  I'm thinking that I'm pacing myself so much better that I'll be able to maintain this pace for the rest of the 50k, set a new 50k PR and then continue on to do 40 miles.  

Sooo...  It was around mile 17 that I realized I was very, very wrong.  My legs suddenly were getting very tired/sore.  I'm walking some of the less-steep hills that I ran on lap 1.  My split times weren't terrible, but I definitely slowed down.  Lap 2 was 1:56.  (Last year it was 1:51.)  At this point, no one had passed me (and I hasn't passed anyone) since the beginning of the race.

Lap 3 was miserable.  But I kept moving.  The whole time I felt like I was going to throw up.  A couple guys left the start/finish aid station about 30 seconds before me, so I was following them the entire 3rd lap.  They would pull away for some time, but I would (mostly) close the gap - only to have them pull away again.

Now, the course is pretty much all switchbacks.  So you can see people ahead and behind you as far back as maybe 1/4 mile, depending on where you are.  So I could keep an eye on the two in front of me, and also watch for anyone that might be coming from behind.  I knew that, given how tired my legs were, if I saw someone behind me they would almost certainly pass me eventually.

Early in lap 3, I started getting a little pain in my back, right around my right kidney.  If you've ever had a kidney stone, you never forget what that feels like, and you'll be paranoid the rest of your life whenever you get any kind of pain near that area.  I was quite worried that I was going to be doubled-over in pain before the lap was over.  Fortunately, it must have just been a crampy muscle, because it never got any worse, and I stopped noticing it after maybe 30-40 minutes.

Of course, during all this misery I'm questioning whether I'll be able to do GDR in a few weeks.  I had grandiose ideas of other (longer) races too.  I'm questioning everything.  Questioning why I was even putting myself through the 50k that day.  I'm looking at my watch constantly, counting every half-mile as a small victory.

A strange thing happened maybe 5-6 miles in the the 3rd lap - my legs stopped hurting.  They were definitely tired.  But they stopped hurting.  So it was definitely more of a mental struggle to keep going despite the fatigue.  I was just overall exhausted, and nauseated - which is mainly what kept me from pushing harder.

About 7 miles into the last lap - I saw someone on a switchback behind me.  Crap.  At this point, I didn't really care - I just wanted to finish.  I didn't care about catching the guys in front of me.  I just kept moving.  This is right before my favorite part of the course, which is near the soccer field.  It's slightly downhill and padded with lots of pine needles.  It's a fun stretch of trail.  It's also where I got passed by someone last year.  I thought for sure the person behind me (which I had seen was a woman in a green shirt) was going to pass me there.  But it didn't happen.

2 miles left.  I'm (slowly) gaining on the guys in front of me, but the woman behind me is also gaining on me.  I don't think I have enough pep to catch the guys, nor keep the woman from passing.  But there's only 2 miles left, so I can afford to let my heart rate get a bit higher.  I'm still walking the uphills though - I don't have enough left in my legs to run them.  (The guys in front of me are also walking the uphills, which is the only reason I'm within sight of them.)

I had a few minor stumbles during the race (in addition to the fall I took), but I had a hard stumble here, and almost fell again.  I somehow caught myself by extending my leg waaay out in front and landing in a lunge.  Still, the effort took a lot out of me.  Cursing, I got up and kept going.

1 mile left.  I get probably within 20 feet of the guys, before they pick up the pace for the final push to the finish.  The woman is still maybe 1/10 mile behind me.  I start running the (very slight) uphills, in my own "push" to the finish.  The finish is slightly uphill, so I kept "running" which is a bit of a stretch, but I got to the finish around 5:50.  The guys I had been chasing were there clapping, along with a few other people.  High-fived the race director and got my medal.  :-)

The "woman in green" (who I learned was Kit Hayes after the results were posted) finished a minute behind me.  Turns out, she was the second-place woman.  I still can't believe she didn't pass me somewhere in those last 3 miles.  Having the 2 guys in sight ahead, and her behind, definitely gave me extra motivation to keep moving.  I probably would have finished a few minutes slower if there had been nobody around.  Interestingly, Kit was also at the South Mountains Marathon and came in waaaaay before me.  Her time was 5:34.  Mine was 6:15.  So maybe my training is heading in the right direction.  Or maybe she was having an off day that day.

Now GDR is 3 weeks away and I need to figure out a tapering plan between now and then.  I'll probably do 18-20 miles this weekend, and maybe 9-10 miles the weekend before GDR.  Then rest, rest, rest.  I think I need to be very mindful of my pace, especially in the beginning.

PRP update - It has been 5 or 6 weeks since I got the PRP treatment.  I *think* my elbow is feeling better.  Progress is very slow and subtle, so it's hard to tell for sure.  My follow-up with the ortho is a couple weeks away, so we'll see what he says when I see him.

As it is, though, I think I'm going to postpone the 8hr Tougher Mudder event that I signed up for in May.  I might do something batshit crazy like the Veterans Memorial 150, which is the same weekend.  It's a 150-mile race that goes across the state of Michigan.  It's super-flat, so I'm thinking it might actually be easier than GDR, despite being twice the distance.  I have until the end of April to sign up, so we'll see how I feel after GDR.  :-)