Back in June of 2015 I was slowly starting to gear up my training for my second 100 mile race. I had contemplated all the facets and had sent my entry registration in for the Grindstone 100 mile Endurance Run for the second time, having run it in October of 2014, and taking stock of the beat down it gave me, yet wanting to attempt to improve my time of 34 hours, 46 minutes from last year, serious training had to get underway. By serious training, I mean long runs of 20 to 30 miles ( and maybe longer) in the mountains on weekends, at least on Saturday and several back to back that would take up both Saturday and Sunday, and getting in another 20 to 30 miles during the week. I remembered the time in the mountains on weekends with friends last summer, and the weekly mileage I had hit in July and August especially, along with a couple 50 mile races and a road marathon I did, so I was getting ready to make that same kind of time commitment again to 70 and 80 mile weeks, along with family, work and volunteer duties with Scouts.
I had taken the colder months of January and February to recover from the long race season I had put in during 2014, having completed the "Beast Series" along with the training load that goes along with those extra long races. I knew if I volunteered at the Holiday Lake race in February and volunteered at the Terrapin Mountain race in March I would not be pulled into wanting to do the "Beast" series again this year. I did not want to lose too much fitness though and I did want to make a little progress on my desire to complete a marathon in all 50 states, so I put a marathon on the calendar for late March in Maryland. Colder weather and late snows around the end of February and the first of March gave me further issues with getting back into "racing shape" than I wanted. I completed the marathon in Maryland but was pretty slow due to the lack of proper training. In April I had a surprise opportunity to take some work related training in Wisconsin, and while there I notched a marathon in that state, slow again, but now had my eyes on running the Promise Land 50k plus mountain race. After a cold night sleeping in my van with a small propane heater which I think may have given me some carbon monoxide poisoning I "participated" in Promise Land...about an hour slower than the previous year. All this to say that by the end of April I was tired of racing marathons and ultras way slower than I should be, and was itching to get my training back on track.
May was upon us and looming ahead was the Hat Creek Trail races. I was entered in the 24 hour solo division, and was treating it as a training run for Grindstone based on the premise that I would be running tired into the darkness, all night long. I was surprised at the short list of folks registered in that division. Most everyone was part of one of the relay teams or running the 12 or 6 hour solo divisions. I was wondering if I might be able to get close to 100 miles on the relatively flat 5 mile loop course in 24 hours. Race day came and the heat was on...95 degrees and very high humidity. After the first lap I realized this was going to be a run of terrible attrition and people were going too fast for the heat...they were going to blow up, crash and burn. I backed my pace way off, ate and drank like there was a party going on and managed to stay out on the course after everyone else in the 24 hour solo division had stopped. I managed to get 80 miles in 23 hours and 37 minutes I think it was, and I actually won the division! Not due to speed or real ability (at the age of one month short of 59 at the time, all my speed and ability was pretty much in the past), but just due to being too stubborn to quit. This brought me to the place where I was getting more confident that training was progressing in the direction I wanted.
June progressed well with long runs and midweek faster runs, a highlight was getting out on the Appalachian Trail to meet up with Scott Jurek and cover 38.5 miles with him and other members of the Blue Ridge Trail Runners. The week of June 28 through July 4 I had 51 miles in training...progressing toward 60 and 70 mile weeks I had hoped would take place in July and 80 mile weeks I was hoping for in August. July 5th saw me doing a 23 mile strong solo run, finishing in a thunderstorm on Candler's Mountain trails. Monday, July 6th, late in the after noon at work, after putting new front tires on two Ambulances, I was moving mounted tires and wheels to get ready for the next day when disaster struck. One of those mounted tire and wheel assemblies fell on my left foot and the pain was so severe I was totally speechless for a few minutes. I knew I had just wrecked my running for the rest of the summer! I would be lucky if nothing was broke. I knew at the very least I had a severe bruise to my whole foot! I could barely walk let alone run. I went for x-rays and they said they couldn't see anything broken, but there was severe soft tissue bruising and trauma. I couldn't run at all for three weeks. After that let pain be my guide. I swam to try to maintain some cardio conditioning. I swam an open water mile in the lake at Scout Camp, but swimming isn't running.
After 3 weeks of zero running...losing fitness...losing leg strength, I got back to easy slow running. The next three weeks saw my mileage at 24, 26, and 30 miles, more flat pavement than rough trail, gingerly, easy, slow, not the 60, 70, 80 miles with strong mountain weekends hiking hard uphills and bombing fast downhills...the middle of August and I was way off track to be considering going 100 miles on foot by the first of October, let alone trying to improve my time. The weekend for trail work and training runs on the Grindstone course was coming up and I told myself if I could finish those runs without quitting early I would stay registered for the race. If I could not complete those training runs, which were roughly 30 miles on Saturday August 22nd, and 21 miles Sunday August 23rd, I would withdraw from the race. I finished both. Not without some pain mind you, and pretty slow, close to or maybe right at dead last the second day. I kept my name in the hat. The next two weeks saw me getting in close to 60 miles each week including 30 miles at the Iron Mountain Trail races. I did drop down from the 50 miler to the 30 mile distance at Iron Mountain because at this point my foot was still hurting, my fitness level for mountain ultras was not great, and I knew 50 miles in one fell swoop would be much more difficult to recover from one month out from my 100 miler.
Of course the twists and turns were not all done yet. Torrential rain the weekend before the race, and even more rain and extreme winds were predicted for race weekend, and the National Forest Rangers cancelled the permits for the event. Much scrambling on Clark Zealand's part got the race re- scheduled for the second weekend in October, which although it screwed up the taper plans, it provided one more valuable week for my foot to heal before getting trashed again by that tough technical course. I went to bed early on Thursday, October 8 and by 5:30 am I found myself awake contemplating how much my training was lacking, how my foot was doing, and preparing to drive up to Camp Shenandoah to pick up my race packet and set up my tent. I got there early...like the third person to check in, and got settled and tried to relax, making last minute adjustments with my hydration pack and drop bags. Others drifted in. Blue Ridge Trail Runners present and accounted for. Oh no! The shoes I had planned to start with are at home! Grattan is still in Lynchburg, and bringing Erin to help crew Alexis... so phone call to Grattan and arrangements made to get my shoes up to Camp Shenandoah with him...phew! They got there a few minutes before the start! I had other shoes but not the ones I wanted, so minor crisis averted.
Before the race started I must have had a troubled look on my face, because Todd Thomas said something to me in effect like "cheer up and look happy...you look like you are going to a very dark place". Well, he was right, literally and figuratively. I knew my fitness for this level of event was minimal. I was wondering if my foot would hold up under the relentless pounding it was about to receive. And of course since the race starts at 6:00 pm and it was cloudy, and there was no moon anyway, it would be very dark out on those mountain trails...I would be getting tired and the going would get tough...even tougher the second night. I had thought if training went well and I was healthy I could finish around 30 hours. I knew that was out the window now, but I was still hopeful for 32 hours, and even had an aid station split spread sheet in my pocket for a 31:35 finish time.
A few pictures at the start, the National Anthem, and we were off. Around the lake...bottleneck going into the single track right away...fairly smooth trail running back through the camp past the shower house, then the climb out and...thunder in the distance!
Rain...well it just fits the tough profile this course gives you. Get all wet and try to regulate temperature right off the bat, with the steep climbs, the windy ridge lines, and the slick, mossy, wet leaf covered, wobbly rock strewn descents...and then fog. Similar to last year, but at least I had a better idea of where I was going and what terrain was next. I had not been on the course at all until race time last year, and I made a couple wrong turns that cost me time and made me run a couple extra miles in the 2014 race. I would not repeat those mistakes this year. In fact I was able to prevent a few others from one of those mistakes where the course turns right off the fire road to go to the first aid station. Some people had blown on past the turn as I did last year on that downhill section of gravel road. As I saw the turn and realized the people in front of me had gone past it I yelled "WHOA! RIGHT TURN!" The first aid station at 5ish miles is more of a courtesy than a necessity for runners on the way out. As the last station on the way in, it definitely is a necessity then. I saw Clark greeting runners there but moved on trying to measure my effort and not spend too much energy too early. The Falls Hollow Creek was pretty full and the course crosses the creek a few times getting to where you start the real climb up to Elliot's Knob. I don't think my feet got under water last year. Different story this time. Wading thru the crossings got my feet soaked. The hike up the steep gravel road to the top of Elliot's told me I lacked the strong uphill hiking I normally can do. Just not enough training and climbing in the preceding weeks. Nice to see some of my friends on the short out and back at the summit. Now to get across the long ridge and then down the other side to the Dry Branch Aid Station. Lots of rocks impeding progress. Letting people pass me. Trying to eat and run and stay hydrated. Don't want to get into any calorie deficits or dehydration issues this early. More people passing me.
Dry Branch aid station. Topped my hydration pack, had some good food. Rebekah Trittipoe was making fluffernutter soft tortilla log rolls and they were great! And, she had little snack bags to go so you could eat as you hiked up the next climb! Thumbs up Rebekah! I checked my split sheet and at this point I was about 20 minutes ahead of schedule, even though I felt like I slowed down a lot after the climb up Elliot's. I hiked well on this climb, and got across the top of Crawford Mountain quicker than I thought I would. The descent down the back of Crawford is so tricky at night with the rocks and wet leaves. I was glad to get into Chimney Hollow and run a little on the flat. I caught a few people on there that had passed me earlier which put me in a better mood. The rocks were taking a toll on my left foot though, and the shoes I had wanted so much were staging a low traction act on the wet rocks. I guess it had been so dry on all my training runs with them, I never got a chance to test them in the rain on rocks. Well, no time to worry about that.
Dowell's Draft and my first drop bag. Grattan, Blake and Clifton were there and helped me with hot coffee and soup and getting my Tailwind into my hydration pack and topping it with water, and sending me on my way up to Lookout Mountain. Nothing in this section sticks out as particularly more tough than any of the rest of the course, just kind of keep moving. Lookout aid station was a welcome sight though with warm food and another cup of coffee. Pushing on through the night to see if I can get to North River Gap on schedule. At some point on the descent into North River I began to really feel the effort I had been putting out, and realized not only was I red lining out on my fitness from lack of enough training volume, my left foot was really hurting, and I was compensating some with my stride and my left hip flexors were now complaining. I began to take serious stock of how I felt and decided I might have to halt my effort at North River even though I actually was on schedule with my aid station time sheet at North River. Grattan, Clifton, Sam, Blake, Joe Wilson and Chelsie were there filling me with food and helping me with my hydration pack and Tailwind again. I sat for a few minutes while they all encouraged me to continue. I knew the toughest part was about to happen.
The nearly 8 miles of trail to Little Bald aid station is about 6.5 miles of uphill grind in the wee hours of the morning, when the normal human body just wants some sleep. I changed socks and felt a little better. I determined I could press on, but I was not very excited about what I knew lie ahead for the next 6 miles. The first part of this climb goes over the mountain the race takes it's name from, Grindstone Mountain. Then a short downhill then back up and you roll through a couple more short flat and downs then a good solid climb up Little Bald for about four miles. I saw the leaders coming back on their return trip as I neared the top. Just before I got to the top here comes Todd! He told me to get my butt in gear and move it! All my get up and go had already got up and gone at that point. I yelled back at him that he was about 12th or 13th and Josh Gilbert was just ahead of him maybe a minute or two. I passed a couple young ladies near the top, and as we broke out of the single track onto the slightly downhill fire road one of them sounded kind of distraught when she asked me where the aid station was. She had her pack off and was looking at a map or mileage chart. I said it is about a mile and a half mostly down hill on this fire road as I pointed northward. She almost wailed "I can't understand why it is so far away! I can't believe I just spent 3 hours and only went 6 miles!" I told her the tough part was over till it gets dark again. Keep moving. They have to put the aid station where they can drive to it. You can't really drive to right here unless you have a very modified four wheel drive or a military type humvee or something like that.
Little Bald aid station and familiar faces! Shane and Dave and Steve were helping runners with hot food, coffee and soup and doing a good job of it. I sat. Changed socks and shoes. Changed shirts. Ate. Ate some more. Sat some more and ate even more. Finally about 30 minutes later I moved on. Somewhere along here I encountered the rest of the BRTR gang and gave them fist bumps and high fives. They all looked pretty good. A lot better than I felt. I was a bit surprised that Alexis was not right with Kevin or Brenton or Mike P. at this point. I guess I had seen them so close together at Elliot's I assumed they were all together. By this time they had gotten a little strung out on that long fire road that stretches past Little Bald aid toward Reddish Knob. This section is much flatter (not to say that it is flat) than most of the previous parts of the course, and has much better footing, so I was moving pretty good to Reddish. There is a couple miles of asphalt out there past Reddish going to Briery Branch with a good bit of downhill on the way out so I made good use of that as well. Along here I kept leap frogging a guy and a girl. The girl was wanting to drop out at Little Bald. No good. The aid station workers are not leaving any time soon. Might as well keep going to the road at Briery Branch where your crew is. So she did. After she dropped there I was talking some with the guy who was Joe Galioto. We ran together for awhile chit chatting, then separated again before getting back to Little Bald.
The descent back into North River Gap was welcome. Down, down, down. The day was warming up a little and the mountain bikers were out in full force. I saw guys flying down that trail so fast I don't know how they survived. I saw them later, down near the foot bridge and said something to that effect to them. They said "we don't understand how you are still running". Honestly, I don't understand either. As bad as I felt the first time I came into North River...I was seriously thinking of a DNF...and now I knew I would finish barring any other unforseen issues and was still moving pretty good. I knew the ultimate slowdown would happen, just not when, but as long as I could walk, I could finish at this point. Back through Lookout in the evening and on the way down to Dowell's it got dark the second time. I still had a mountain trail marathon distance to go with two looonngg climbs, in the dark, extremely tired, facing me. As I started back through Chimney Hollow I kept trying to will myself to run, but every slight incline just forced me to hike. This was not good. If I had to finish the whole rest of the way like this it was going to be a long night. The climb up the back of Crawford and the climb up the back of Eliot's absolutely slowed me to a crawl. I was dizzy and felt like I could not keep my balance. I felt like the slightest trip would send me hurtling over the edge of the cliff to my right on both climbs. I actually went fair stretches where I was one stepping, moving one foot forward and dragging the rear foot up behind me, instead of stepping forward with each foot in turn.
At last, the top of the ridge going back across Elliot's. I started moving better but my head light was fading. I stopped to change batteries. I dropped one battery, fumbling around finally getting it right. Frustrated at my slow pace, I moved on. About half way across the top I saw some green eyes reflecting back at me off to my left. I tried to make out what those eyes were attached to but it was out of reach of my headlight. They were wider spaced than a human set of eyes would be. They were about 3 to 4 feet off the ground I would say. Not a deer. I have seen plenty of deer at night. Usually they reflect light blue or almost white and they will move their head somewhat. I have seen a few bears in the woods and usually they will leave and go the other way when a human is around. Whatever this was just stayed still, watching me as I moved along the trail. At least it didn't follow me. I have seen video of Mountain Lions at night...exact same green reflection. The Wildlife folks will say there are no Mountain Lions left in the Appalachians. I'm not so sure now. There have been many claims for Mountain Lion sightings in the Appalachian Mountains. Maybe this was what I saw. Maybe not. It seemed higher off the ground and wider eye set than a large Bobcat. I have seen very large Bobcats...this was bigger. Might have been a juvenile Sasquatch!
Down the gravel road off Elliot's, I got a nice view of the lights from Staunton. Down the creek drainage in Falls Hollow, I zig zagged across a flat rock in the creek and fell, basically doing a split. I didn't fall in the water but I did mess up a muscle or something right above my right knee and pulled something in my left glute, still feeling that over two weeks later. Falls Hollow aid station and hot soup and coffee...oh what a welcome relief. I saw Rick Gray here and he said he had been having a rough time. Digestive issues. I left trailing right behind him and his crew, but I could not maintain their uphill climb pace. Finally coming back into the back of the Scout Camp, I felt like the trail was much rougher coming back in than it was going out. As I got closer to the lake, the sun was coming up and I no longer needed my headlight. As I crossed the dam, there was Blake waiting for me to show up. Todd and Alexis were at the finish area, bundled up and trying to nap, while congratulating all the finishers. Clark was standing at the finish line. I gave him a big old hug, signed the cardboard totem, although my hand was not really working enough to write very legibly, and hugged the wooden totem pole. A shower, breakfast with the BRTR gang. Then the toughest part...driving home!
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