So off I went barreling down interstate 95 at five in the morning. I arrived at Susquehanna State Park on Saturday morning March 21st, parked, picked up my bib, bought a pint glass and a hat and went back and sat in my car to eat my peanut butter and nutella sandwich. After about 20 minutes I got restless and got out and fiddled with my shoes, attached my bib and fiddled a bunch more. Little did I realize that most of the runners I wanted to go meet and greet were at the pavilion area and not fiddling in the parking lot like I was. It was then Katie Eshlemen came jogging up and gave me a quick hug. I had met Katie last October at the Blues Cruise 50K. She was in a hurry and we wished each other a great run so we didn't get a chance to chat. That's the true secret of these races, the friends you make along the way.
I made my way towards the Pavillion and met up with a few of the TrailWhippass crew Brian and Ryan, Mel and Dylan as well as Emir and Amy Dedic and Casey Fisher a friend I met through Instagram. It's so great to see and talk to the same folks from race to race. When people say Trail Running or Ultra Community, it's very true.
Before I knew it I was walking down into the field for the mass start. Lined up and off we went up the crusty snow covered field.
I chose to wear my new Brooks Cascadia’s with sheet metal
screws in the bottom. This was a wise move as the first half of the race was
packed down snow covered trails. The first four miles are a small loop that
spread the runners out and brought us back to the start pavilion area to the
first aid station. I shared a few of these miles with Mel, whom I just
officially met and we discussed his upcoming run at the Boston Marathon and
various other races we have done. The first 4 miles were gone in a blink of an
eye as I pulled into the pavilion area aid station. After that first aid
station you made your way out to the first big loop of 13 miles and repeated
this loop a second time to get the 50 kilometers. I am not keen on looped
courses however my target race for the year, Oil Creek 100, is a looped course
so many of the races I choose to sign up for in 2015 are loop courses on
purpose to force myself to learn to enjoy them. It’s all a mental thing I
think.
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| 3 miles in and still smiling |
I was feeling good entering the first loop and just chugged
along. The trails were nice and rolling, the air was cool and the sun was
dodging in and out of the clouds. This is when you settle in that groove.
Almost auto pilot like. I remember smiling looking off into the Maryland woods.
Then all of sudden a creek crossing. Just like that wet feet. Man that water
was cold as hell! No big deal. My shoe choice was smart and they drained well.
This is also great ultra training. Learning to deal with wet feet. I embraced
it and didn’t complain about it. It’s like running in the rain. You have to do
it and learn to enjoy it because at some point you will be forced to run in the
rain.
After the wet feet the climbing insued. The climbs were not
bad really but they just seemed constant. They would become grinding later on.
After about mile 6 or so I had trouble finding my rhythm. I could not get a
groove going because every time I would start we hit a hill and I hiked. Not a
complaint of the race just my own shortcomings as a runner. I enjoy hiking the
hills and often try to get several thousands of vertical gain in a week in
training. This after all is just another
long training run really and trying to stay in that mental frame of mind and
keep my heart rate low was proving difficult midway through the first big loop.
Nice and easy I kept telling myself.
 |
| Single Track for days |
Mile after mile ticked off. Another wet creek crossing,
another stone covered park road, more rolling fields and hills. I was enjoying
myself. It didn’t really matter how bad or good I was running. I was out here
running in the woods in a park I had never been with like minded folks. Somewhere
around mile 13 or so as we climbed another steep hill I looked off to the left
and got a fantastic view of the mighty Susquehanna River. It was massive. I
never realized how wide and powerful it really was. It was beautiful. The trail
followed this view for several miles. It was narrow with an actual drop off
that if you were clumsy could fall and get hurt. Up and down and around we
went and across a field then out on Quaker Bottom Road. I decided to bomb this downhill
road portion on blacktop to try and get a little time back. Then back in the woods up a hill
and across the finish for the completion of the first big loop. My watch read
around 3:40 with about 18 miles ticked off.
I sat down to change my socks, shirt, and shoes. Then realized I
left my socks in my car and not my drop bag. I was a little irritated to say
the least. I was not about to run back to my car. So I changed into my Pearl
Izumi M2 trail shoes which in hindsight was a mistake. The grip and traction
was nowhere near that of my Cascadia’s with the screws and this really cost me
time I think in the end. I was grumbling to myself and complaining a little
saying I really didn’t feel like going back out. That’s when Casey bluntly told
me that I didn’t want a DNF. People were dropping like crazy due to the muddy
conditions that were developing. Dropping was not an option. I can’t drop cause
of mud, that would be ridiculous. My mindsight is always that dropping during a
race is only acceptable if your injured. I was not injured. I was a little
beaten down and tired but nothing was wrong. So I grabbed some aid at the
pavilion and back out I went.
As soon as I went back out I ran into another Instagram
friend, @sowhatirun. We ran together for maybe a mile or so, snapped a selfie
of course, and chatted a bit. Gotta love social media. Without it I certainly
wouldn’t know half of these great runners. She ran ahead and it this point I
decided to plug in the music. I had ran the first 18 miles without it on
purpose so I could converse with others and just take everything in. But now I
was needing a boost. My quads were starting to take a hit due to the mud. I was
sliding all over the place and was using muscles in my legs to balance myself
I’m sure I rarely used. My pace was taking a hit as well. This last loop was
going to hurt a little.
Rush piped through my ear buds. Lots of Rush. Neil Peart
really gets my legs moving. What a drummer. I started to feel half way decent
now. Cross the creek again, up the hills again, across the wide open field
again. Mud and more mud. It got deeper and deeper. It was a mess and then I
realized I pretty much sucked down the last bit of my Tailwind I had brought. I
needed calories. Lucky for me the next aid station had Mountain Dew, salted
potatoes, and PB&J quarters. I stuffed several potatoes in my face and took
a sandwich quarter. The potatoes were fantastic by the way. Lucky for me I
always can take Mt Dew. They filled up my handheld and off I went. Mountain Dew
tastes so good late in a race. I’m not sure why. I never drink it outside of
races though. I discovered my love of it during Phunt 50K back in January. It
must be the super high jolt of sugar and caffeine. Onward I went back into the
woods.
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| Me and Mr. HAT |
Less then 6 miles to go said the sign as I entered the
woods. The mud was really bad at this point. Close to 60 degree temperatures
and hundreds of runners trampling the trail. It was a slog fest. But like they
say embrace that suck and put one foot in front of the other. When I came to
the hill climbs at the river I was pretty much toast. The miles of mud and
slipping and shoe sucking mentally got to me. I was cursing under my breath. I
wanted to be done. My body was done. My mind was done. So I ran when I could and
slowly hiked the hills. Keep moving you stupid jerk. Self deprecation sometimes
works for me. I was at a low point here and I was so close to being done. I
tried to text my wife but could not get a signal for some reason. That’s when
the “F” bombs started. I can laugh about it now, but wasn’t at that point. Then
we popped out at Quaker Bottom Road again! Almost there I kept murmuring to myself. I managed to run a 9:08 mile down the
road which was amazing. Back into the woods up a hill and back across the mud
filled field and across the finish. I was happy to be done. I suffered way more
then I really thought I would coming into this race. The mud was much worse
then I ever imagined. BUT..I got it done in 7 hours 9 minutes. I’ll be back
next year to make amends.
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| Finishing Strong...sorta |
Great race and swag. Great course markings and aid stations.
Awesome friends and awesome time on the trails. A must do race in the Mid
Atlantic/Northeast part of the country.
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