I chose to run this race for three reasons. First, the race site is not even an hour from Illinois State. How could I not run an ultra that was so close to me? Secondly, the event was not too long(at least for an ultra) nor competitive and I needed a break from the intense Ironman atmosphere. And finally, (this kind of contradicts objective #2) I had noticed that if the same field came out from last year, I would have a legitimate shot at winning the race. However, this was last on the list and I figured that it was something to keep in the back of my mind.
I drove out to the race with good friend and fellow runner Marla Luckey. Marla is a very good ultra runner who has won a bunch of ultras, including last year's Farmdale Run. A little ways into the drive she mentioned that her friend Zach from Aurora was coming up to the race. All of a sudden alarm bells went off. "Zach Gingerich!?" Yes, it was Zach Gingerich, one of the top ultra runners in the area with a record of impressive runs including top ten finishes at the Ice Age Trail 50. I guess there was always second place to look forward. Marla mentioned that Zach thought that I had a shot at beating him. I was shocked that he even knew who I was but came back down to earth pretty quickly when I realized my chances.
We got to the race at about 6:45, checked in, ran into Andy Weinberg(helping coordinate the race and RD of the McNaughton Park Trail Runs-does an incredible job)and made last minute race adjustments. At five minutes before the race, we all lined up and got ready to roll. The RD made last minute announcements and soon enough we were off.
For the first couple of miles, it was difficult to tell who I was racing. There was an eight mile race going on at the same time and they ran the first portion of the course with us. I tried to take it easy but I didn't want to let the leading 33-milers get out of sight. I stayed well behind the
top eight milers, but still near the front of the pack. By the time we got to the point where the eight and 33 milers split(around mile 4), I learned that I was in 4th place.The start of the race, you probably can't see me, but I'm the one on the right side with the white shirt and white hat.
Soon enough we got back on the same course with the eight milers and me and another 33 miler named Rob got behind two of eight mile guys. The trail took a strange turn and headed towards a gravel road with no directions. We took a left onto that road and ran down it for a little ways. Soon we passed a trail marker that was facing the opposite way with no sign of any runner ahead of us. After another sharp turn, we were at the start of the race! Crap! Running an ultra is always more difficult when you run more than you are supposed to.
We turned around, dejected that we no longer had a legit shot at winning the race, but we decided to make the most out of our situation and get back on the course. We sped up quite a
bit, backtracked for a a little under a mile and finally found where we missed the turn. The eight milers that we followed were in front of the sign we missed, blocking it from our view.Rob and myself -just after just getting back on the trail.
Rob and I played catch up for the rest of the
loop. We ran pretty quickly, trying to make ground on some of the runners ahead of us. We rounded out the first lap in 1:41 and we were told that we were in 11th and 12th place. Pretty disheartening since our goal time was almost 15 minutes faster, but we stayed upbeat since we still had a chance to place. Rob took his time in the aid station; normally I would have kept running, but I figured that since we were just out there having fun that I should just wait for him. We lost a couple of minutes off of our overall time throughout the course by doing this, but since we winning was out of the picture I wasn't too concerned. I found out that Marla was only four minutes ahead and although I hate to admit it, I hoped to catch her. There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, right?
The second lap went pretty smoothly. I stuck with Rob and we got into a nice rhythm. We passed a couple of guys here and there, but other than that, we were alone on the trails. I barely felt like I was breathing, my legs still felt strong, and the temperature was now perfect for running. I was really feeling good, better than I usually do at this point in a 50K.
Perhaps things were going too smoothly, because on one of the tricky downhills, I took a nasty tumble on the trail, nearly missing some rocks. I ended up with minor scrapes and a dirty shirt, but nothing major-could have been much worse.
The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful. We passed some guys here and there, and enjoyed the scenery. By the end of the second lap, my legs were starting to get a little on the sore side, but as should be expected considering I had run over 23 miles.
We came into the aid station, expecting to hear that we were in 7th and 8th place, but instead we were told that we were still in 11th and 12th. Needless to say, I was a little frustrated. Apparently, they mixed up the numbers the first time around and we probably were closer to 15th. However, they did tell us that there was a pack of runners not far ahead.
Angry about our positioning, but motivated to catch the guys ahead of us, Rob and I took off for the final loop. We got about a quarter mile when we passed a runner that was barely walking, in real bad shape. Shortly afterwards, we passed another guy.
By now, I really wanted to make some progress so I started moving a little bit faster. I slowly, but surely pulled ahead of Rob; it took about 3 miles to fully lose sight of him. In the meantime, the course led us through a scenic portion of switchbacks. Every turn I made, I could have sworn I saw the next runner through the trees. But everytime it was just my imagination playing games with me. I got to a decent uphill around the marathon mark and saw two more runners ahead of me. I passed one of the guys pretty easily, but the other woudn't get passed without a fight. To lose him, I stared pushing the hills. I figured it was time to give everything I had, but at the same time I hoped I wasn't overdoing it with 6 miles to go.
Soon enough, both of them were out of sight and I was alone again on the trail. Pushing some of the hills that I did had left me pretty beat and made it tough to keep a good pace. Soon enough, I ran into the only real long steep uphill section and this time it really took its toll on me. I walked most of the way up and was pretty beat by the time I reached the top. Definitely lost some time here. After the long climb, there was an aid station. I quickly downed some Coke which put a little wind into my sails.
There were only about four miles left in the race and by now I had given up on catching anyone in front of me. Throughout this section, I recapped the day. Had I known I would have gotten lost, I am sure I would have been incredibly disappointed. But all I could think about was how much fun I had out there. This was less of a race and more of an enjoyable couple of loops. I had cruised throughout the day at a comfortable pace in a beautiful forest. I had paced myself fairly well, ran a good race(besides getting lost), and made some new friends. But now, I was ready to go home.
I reached the last mile of the course, which was through somewhat of an opening. All of a sudden, I started feeling much better and I started running pretty hard. I made a final run through the forest, then popped out to see the clock reading just over 4:59. I sprinted in, just making it under my 5 hour goal for the race!
Here's a link to the results
http://www.farmdaletrailrun.com/docs/2007results_33mile.pdf
Congrats to Marla on (once again) winning the race and breaking her own course record!
No comments:
Post a Comment