Shut-In Ridge 18 Mile Race Report
Came into this event about with about 2 weeks less training than needed. Got the word on the lottery draw in mid September leaving about 8 weeks to train. Trail running is a different culture. No e-mail about packet pickup of the pre-race dinner, it's just assumed that after 32 years people know what's up. No mileage markers on the course, water only at rest stops, no fancy elevation profiles. Not a compliant, just noting the difference between this and the tri races with aero bottles, specialty laces, and data collection devices galore. The route was in doubt the night before due to storms the week of, but the course was opened at the last hour. Perfect day to run...upper 30's at the start and sunny.
My race plan was to Sand the first mile at 9:00 pace. I wanted to be at mile 16 at 3hr 20m which would allow me 40 mins for the brutal final climb of 1.8 miles and put me in at 4 hr. By Sanding the first mile I would only need to maintain about a 12:42 pace over the next 14 miles.
As noted before, I did Sand proud. Mile 1 was 151 ft down and 23 ft up. Knocked it out in 7:54 and it was a breeze with a average hr of 151. I was already a minute ahead of plan which gave another 4-5 secs per mile to play with the rest of the way.
We were on double track as the road turned up. Mile 2 - 210 ft up, 0 ft down, 10:02 pace, 157 hr. The small thin people started flying past me here. Banked another 2m45s to the good which had me feeling good about my prospects. Mile 3 - 272 ft up, 66 ft down, 10:29 pace, 155 hr. I was keeping a close eye on my hr and backed off a little on the gas here. 160 would be ok for short periods, but I've never been over the low 140's for a longer event. Things are going better than expected and good thoughts are flooding my brain.
Somewhere around this time we switched to single track and mile 4 the #### kicking began. Mile 4 - 505 ft up, 33 ft down, 14:04 pace, 158 hr. Wow that was hard. Good news was that I had 1000 ft of climbing behind me and only 3000 ft more to go.
The route paralleled the Blue Ridge Parkway so there would rest stops every 1.5 to 2.5 miles and your support crew could meet you here with the essentials beyond water. My girlfriend did support for me and did an excellent job. It was great seeing a friendly face with gatorade and toting a small quicky-mart with her. Mile 5 included a brief stop - 233 ft up, 226 ft down, 11:51 pace, 153 hr. I'm now over a 1/4 of the way there with more than close to a 1/3 of the climbing behind me at 54m30s. I knew it was going to get harder, but I was ahead of where I wanted to be. Somewhere in here I tripped and 10 yards later ended up eating a bush. I hear, "are you ok"...just me being clumsy I reply. Fortunately this was my only tumble.
We were in a cruising part of the course. Mile 6 - 59 ft up, 92 ft down, 10:26 pace, 146 hr. Here's where I realized I had made a mistake. I caught up to a group of about 20 runners in a line. No way to pass on single track, at least this many people, so I was force to back off an watt for an opportunity to pass at the next stop. I should have pushed things earlier to stay in front of more people to avoid this as I easily lost a minute here.
The rest stops were welcomed, but almost everyone lead right into a steep climb that left everyone walking. I can't even described how steep these were. Mile 7 - 371 ft up, 285 ft down, 14:38 pace, 151 hr. Didn't charge my mp3 player enough and it died here. That was a small pyschological blow. Mile 8 - 33 up, 157 ft down, 10:43 pace, 141 hr. Once again traffic was an issue.
Mile 9 - 253 up, 0 ft down, 11:07 pace, 153 hr. Maybe my best mile of the event. Halfway home in about 1h42m and coming up on 2000 ft of climbing behind me. Woohoo!!!
Mile 10 - 381 ft up, 10 ft down, 14:27 pace, 152 hr. Walked a good protion of this mile. Also found out from someone else that this course wasn't 4000 ft of climbing, it was 5000 ft. Boohoo!!! Talked to two guys who had done this before and they said we were on target for a 3h45m finish. Talked to another guy that seemd smarter and he said they were crazy and 4hr was very unlikely with what loomed ahead.
Mile 11 - 548 up, 265 down, 14:27 pace, 151 hr. Lots of walking. Mile 12 and 13 - 689 ft up, 660 ft down, 18 est pace, 149 hr. The uphills were so steep they were power walks at best and the downhills so steep that you couldn't make up much time for safety concerns, only catch some cardio rest. gps unit was start to jump around due to signal loss.
Mile 14 and 15, 719 ft up, 164 down, 16:02 pace, 150 hr. gps totally died around here. Don't believe the Rayovac claim that they last as long as Duracell becuase they lie. The wheels are coming off. Everytime my foot catches a root the hamstrings start to cramp. I reach mile 16 somewhere between 3:20 and 3:23. I'm so out of it I started the final ascent w/o hitting the lap button until I was into it. I'm slightly behind goal but still have a shot of cracking 4 hours.
Mile 16 to 17.8 (finish) - I wouldn't wish this stretch upon anyone. gps is cooked and I don't know how much longer. I asked someone as they walk past around 3h30m and get an answer that we'll be done in 15 min. Much like Rayovac, they lie and I hate them with every ounce of my soul. I didn't know it at the time, but 1010 ft up in about 1.5-1.6 miles. I thought this was supposed to be a run, not a mountain climb. Time is slipping away and there's not much I can do about it. I'm bent over supporting myself with my hands on my quads to take the next step. Every time the hr drops to 155 I dig a little deeper and push it to 160. I look up and the can see people walking towards the heavens with no end in sight. We're basically walking steps now. A couple of peole pass me, but I manage to reel them back in and pass back. 3h40m passes...is the top near? 3h45m...it's got to be close, I don't have much left. 3h50m...still can't see the top and the sinking feeling is setting in, keep pushing. 3h55m...feel sick as this has slipped away. Finally at 3h57-58m I crest the top. My understanding is that we have about .2-.25 mile of downhill. Turns out to be 354 ft down. Basically nothing but rocks, steps, and roots straight down. I listen for a crowd at the finish and hear nothing. Why can't I hear them, I thought the finish was near. I'm resigned to a 4h+ finish and was thinking about just being safe on the the descent when 2 people catch up to me and ask to pass. What happened next still has me shaking my head. I tell them one minute to 4 hours and they say we can make it and begin sprinting. I'm thinking no way, but join the chase. By my calculations we're headed down a debris strewn trail with a 33% grade down. My 225 pounds is completely out of control and my arms flailing in full windmill mode. If I attempt this fresh, 9 out of 10 times I wipe out. Roughly 30 seconds later I hear the crowd (turns out we were behind a ridge) and I'm just hoping I don't end up breaking a leg. Out of nowhere the finish appears and I bound down the last steps plowing into people backed up at the finish line. It was close to a bowling ball taking out pins and I almost flatten a gal chatting with her friends. 3h59m41s!!! I did it.
I've done very well events in various divisions before, but this was probably the most satisfying result, even at 168th of 235.
Next up, 40 miles and Mt. Mitchell in winter
eta: Final climbing numbers - 5305 ft up, 2464 ft down
2h27m ascening, 50m descending, 49m flat
x (close to 7:30 min/miles) good enough for 6th in my AG and something like 34th OA. I had done the half at the Tyranena race previous years and Sat. was a great day for running/drinking beer!
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What? It's nice having you back around.
Looks like everyone in here is rocking out - saw a couple of race PRs lately, and some first-time marathons as well.
Seriously - it's so great to hear that you are getting back in shape and are relatively pain-free.
Uber impressive, BnB!!! Way to beat your time goal. lol I can't imagine that amount of climbing.
to your trail running and how far you've come!!!
Perfect way to run the race - Sand style. Sprint the first mile and hang on for the next 17!
Awesome that you met your goal, and also great to hear that you SandedTM it. That elevation is scary.
