RR: Watchung Winter Trail Half Marathon: Slow

This happened to be the coldest run I've ever done

RD Rick: "How Far are you going today?"
Me: "No idea."
RD Rick: "OK, put something down, and we can change it."

If I was honest with myself, I knew I was doing 13.1 miles today. There was a 10K option, but that was just too short a race. The marathon option was tempting, but I wasn't up for that kind of effort in these conditions and I knew it. 50K? "I'd like to do 5 laps, but we'll see." Yeah right. But, optimism reigns supreme. I checked "26.2" and got ready.

What followed was one of the most enjoyable runs I've ever had. I had no problem keeping up with a mid-back conga line that cruised along at 14 minutes per mile - which wasn't bad for a trail run in these conditions. I got my continuous mile in early - mile 1.5 to 2.5. In the first lap I took a couple of bad steps and the ankle protested, but never more than a minute. First 10K done in about 90 minutes.

I filled my hand-held (I normally prefer camelbacks, but the tube and valve freeze in these conditions) and went off onto lap 2. Much quieter now - no conga line. After a mile, the first front-runner passed (lapped) me - and then a steady stream of fast runners came by, with the occasional passing/leapfrogging of someone at the same position as me. The trail now well-packed, I didn't turn any ankles. I did fall once, and in so doing I noticed my microspikes had come out of position. I took a break to re-strap them and was once again on my way.

I was also hungry. And my feet were cold. And as much fun as I was having, I wasn't in the mood to run a 7+ hour marathon. Decided halfway through this lap that I'd be doing a half marathon today.

So when I finished the lap, RD Rick described the short 1-KM loop I'd have to do in order to complete the distance for a half-marathon. That loop went right by my car, so when I passed it, I stopped and changed clothes. I then ran in the last fraction of a mile in a cotton t-shirt and hoodie. I was jogging in nice and easy when someone passed me with 50 meters to go. I think the kids would say, "lol." Get off my lawn, kids. I finished in 3:27. lol.

Went and grabbed lunch (pizza) and came back to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out with RD Rick and RD Jen and helping out where I could. Always fun to kick back with mah' peeples.. besides Rick and Jen, a few hashers made appearances, and of course some ultra runner friends, and, notably, met 2013 grand slammer Pete P from Staten Island, which made for a very cool conversation.

Lap 1 mile 3: - lots of time staring at this guy's back in the conga line

Start of lap 2: Icicles off my cap! Frozen Boogers!

Lap 2 mile 2: I know some people love summer, but this is so nice

Lap 2 mile 4: Tracks leading out of the woods

2014 plans

For all intents and purposes, 2014 is wide open. Because I've not yet officially registered for anything*, nothing is set in stone.

Ultras

Goofing off at my favorite race

I think it's a foregone conclusion however, that I'll return to Three Days at the Fair in May, which is without a doubt my favorite race on the calendar. The fine folks over at NJ Trail Series have held this race four years and I'm proud to say I've been there all four. I'll once again be doing the 72-hour version, and with 398 lifetime miles at this race I should be earning my 500-mile coin in 2014.

NJ One Day 2013

I'm also almost certainly going to do the New Jersey One Day in November, a 24 hour run on the same course as 3-days, which I was happy to run in its inaugural year last month. I hit 77 miles in 2013 and I know I can do 10 miles better than that (because I have.)

On the course: Recover From the Holidays 50K

I am planning on opening the year with a 50K fatass in Poughkeepsie at the MHRRC Recover From the Holidays Run on January 4th. I did this in 2009 and had a lot of fun but haven't been able to return. I was going to go in 2013 but that was just a couple of days after I sprained my ankle, so I skipped it.

On the course: Wakely Dam Ultra. "There be no roads here." Photo by Rob Jacob

Another race that I registered for in 2013 but was unable to attend at last moment (due to a wedding) was the Wakely Dam Ultra on July 19th, which is 55K over rugged remote trail in the Adirondack wilderness. The entire race is run without seeing a single road, so it's a totally self-supported event with no aid stations. I have done it twice and it's my favorite local trail race on the calendar. I am going to try to register when it opens on March 1.

On the course: Running With the Devil

Finally, I really enjoyed NJ Trail Series' Running With the Devil race at Mountain Creek in New Jersey this year, and if I don't get into Wakely Dam (it fills up in minutes), I intend to go here on July 19th, and hopefully this year I'll be able to stay longer than 9 hours. This one, which consists of multiple laps up and down a ski area, really tests your climbing and descending ability.

Finally, I would like to return to Colorado to give the Run Rabbit Run 100 on September 12 another shot, but it's way too early to know if I'll be able to manage that logistically or financially.

Shorter races (5K - Marathon)

Right before an outing with my new gym's run club

Since Run Rabbit Run, I have done a lot of short fast runs lately, and I think I may be in sufficient shape to PR a 5K right now. I don't know how long this fitness will last, but I am likely running a 5K on New Year's Day and maybe I'll do well there if things click. In general, I have joined a run group at my new gym and they're planning on attending several local races up to half-marathon, most of which I'll be happy to run. Most of these little towns in North Jersey have 5K runs at some point in the year, and it sounds like I'll be getting a tour of them with this club.

No plans to run a marathon at this time. If I do it hopefully won't be a big city race.

Triathlons

I love my tri club friends!

I will likely return to the Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Triathlon on June 14th. I'm a former member of that triathlon club but still friends with everyone in it, and everyone in it does this triathlon and I'd like to as well.

One thing that is really exciting locally is the new Ironman 70.3 (half-distance) race in New Jersey, in Princeton. It'll be held for the first time ever on September 21 and many of my friends are going. It also will be flatter than Syracuse, but being after Labor Day it won't likely be a hot race like Eagleman (or Syracusse this year.) So I'll probably register for that.**

Adventure

January 15, 2004 photo at the extreme northwest corner of New Jersey

So every year I tend to have One Big Thing that I shoot for. In 2010 it was Umstead 100 (which I didn't finish until 2012 but that's a different story), in 2011 it was running every day that year, in 2012 it was Ironman, and in 2013 it was Run Rabbit Run. I have long been eyeballing the Last Annual Vol-State Road Race, which is a 501K (or 100Pi miles (314)) race from Missouri to Georgia in the middle of summer. Even through the stifling heat and humidity, the ten-day time limit always made it seem achievable through dog-headed stubbornness and Relentless Forward Motion. However, ten+ days is a long time to be away for the sole purpose a single race, and the race's increasing popularity makes it less quaint than it used to be, so when somebody mentioned the idea of a New Jersey crossing, I was intrigued.

It would approximate the route of the NJ Longest Day Challenge Bike Ride from Port Jervis at the northwest corner of the state (photo above would be starting line) to Cape May in the Southeast. Depending on the route, the distance would be something slightly over 200 miles. It wouldn't be part of any organized event, but just a multi-day run/walk. I'd do it solo/unsupported if I had to, but I'm not committed to that. There'd be no fund-raising. This is just stupid self indulgence.

I have been kicking this idea around and while I haven't committed to anything yet, the more I think about it, the more I want to do it. Since it's local, costs should be minimal. And I'm doing it on my own so the time-frame could be anything I want it to be- but late May/early June before it gets too hot makes the most sense. I'd do it over a long 5-6 day weekend.

Will I actually go through with this? Who knows. But I'd like to. Stay tuned..


Finally..

Yes, there will be more of this

I'm also recommitting to my goal of 2000 miles total in the year.

Next post (maybe): 2013 in review.


* At the time I wrote that, it was true. I have since registered for the Princeton 70.3.
** I did.

Race Report: NJ 24 Hour - 77 Miles

Was very pleased to run the first annual New Jersey One Day this past weekend. Finished with 77 miles, 19th place overall out of 61 starters.

Personalized finisher's awards. What a neat idea from the RDs.

A friend wrote on Sunday afternoon, shortly after the race ended:

Steve-
  Outstanding race. You are the best example of big man* in the sport.
  This one deserves a race report. 77 miles beat a lot of very good runners.

My report would be pretty typical, except that I was motivated by the fact that I had to follow my own advice.

You see, an odd thing occurred this past weekend at the NJ 24 hour race. I found myself a veteran of timed loop racing. Several times over the weekend, I was giving advice to people - encouraging the discouraged, rebuking those considering quitting.

In particular, there are two insights that I learned over the eight previous timed loop ultras I've done (NJ 24-hour was my ninth), and I repeated them often to any rookie who would listen and to any vets to see if they agreed (they all did.)

1.) The 24-hour race is won and lost at night. If you can make it through the night without stopping, you'll put up a good result regardless of how fast or slow you are.

2.) Every participant has to take their licks and pay their dues. Once those dues are paid and those licks are taken, the dues are paid and those licks are yours forever. But they have to be paid and taken. You will struggle in that first 24-hour race. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if the loop is short or long. It doesn't matter if the competition is hard or easy. It doesn't matter if the weather is cold or hot. It will suck. You will want, more than anything, to quit and go home. Since the consequence of quitting is not a DNF, it'll be all that much easier. But if you don't persevere, then you're just kicking the can. Pay those dues. Take those licks. If you do, you will be rewarded - both with a strong finish, and with a future of this race never being that hard again.

24-hour racing is never easy. But it also is never has hard as your first time.

A friend wrote me on Monday morning and said,

The taking your licks thing is good advice and speaks to a knowledge of how to get things done in these timed races. And you were able to follow your own advice, which isn't always easy.

Naturally, since I was giving out this advice, I would be a hypocrite to not follow it myself.  By following my own advice, I moved from 49th place on Saturday afternoon to 19th place on Sunday morning. I did not catch all those runners by speeding up. All I did was not stop - and they did.

I started out slow and spent a lot of time chatting and catching up with old and new friends on the loop. I added walk breaks after 2 or 3 miles. Felt strong most of the day. Dusk came early, about 5:00, and the night was about 14 hours long - that's a long night. It was cold - probably upper 30sºF. It hurt like hell. After 10pm the course started to get quiet, and after 1AM the number of people out there was noticeably lower. By 2am I had completely bundled up to stay warm, and was marching along at 18-22 minutes per mile. I spent a lot of time with walking with people which helped a lot. There were several runners who seemed to be doing really well, passing (lapping) me every 3-5 laps. Several times I was staggering due to sleep deprivation but those episodes tended not to last very long. For some reason the hours from 3-5am didn't seem as cold as earlier in the night. When twilight started to appear at 5:30 or so I became elated. "I made it."

All night long, I was pushing for my goal of 75 miles. But as dawn happened, I was doing math and it occurred to me that 76 miles was possible. By 8:00am, I knew I'd hit 76 - but if I really pushed in the last hour, maybe I can hit 77. I put on some very loud music (my 5K playlist) and threw down a 40-minute long finishing kick that got me to 76 at 8:36AM. That kick was so dramatic that I had made 78 miles a possibility.  I opted not to knock out two consecutive 12-minute miles that late in the race, and decided that, with 24 minutes to go, I would reward myself with a leisurely-walked victory lap which brought me to 77 miles.

On the back of the award, a personal note from the RDs. Everyone got one!

Mistakes and mental notes:
* It did occur to me that by spending so much time chatting with runners who weren't as fast as I, I was probably going slower than I should have. That wasn't a big deal, but might have made a 2-3 mile difference. Better to chat with them on the second and third day of a multi-day, when everyone is going slow.
* By not bringing a water bottle (accidentally left it at home), I was filling paper cups on every loop. That probably made a 2-3 mile difference.
* Over the last several months I have run a couple hundred miles, all in runs of 5 miles or less, in a pair of minimalist zero-drop shoes. I really like them for short runs, and thought I'd start this race in them. I made it about 8 miles before I changed into traditional shoes. The cushioning was obvious and I was fine again, but I really felt that drop, too. It was borderline unnerving. Would like to look for zero-drop cushioned shoes. (Hokas aren't available in my size..)
* Still have to think about this one. At night when it was really hard I would go about 5 miles at a time and take a 5-minute break, which helped with the pain tremendously. Starting back up after taking 5 felt almost fresh.

I am one of those who thinks that timed-loop racing is underrated and unappreciated by the majority of ultrarunners, particularly trail-oriented ultrarunners. One of the most encouraging things about this race was how happy all the participants were. People from all sorts of backgrounds were there - in addition to time-loop veterans, there were people with trail backgrounds, people with triathlon backgrounds, and people with no backgrounds at all (their first ultra.) Everyone I talked to, regardless of their background or how their day went, had a positive experience. Most said they were coming back for the May race, which has 48 and 72 hour options. I think that's fantastic. The May race (Three Days at the Fair) is probably my favorite thing on the calendar. I have done it every year they've held it - twice in the 48 hour, and twice in the 72 - and it's a foregone conclusion that I'll always return to the event. Each time I've gone home wanting more. Until now, ThreeDays has been the only race on the calendar which I can't imagine not running every year. I think now NJOneDay will join it.

*I am 6'6" 292lbs.