All in all it was one heck of a race. "This was stupid." is all I could muster to say when I got inside and collapsed on the floor infront of Joel. However, a massage and three hours of missing crossing paths with Brian, talking with fellow runners, put me in a different mindset, and I started thinking about training for next year's race. Stupidity is a slow learner.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Still Feeling Every Mile
It's been four days since I stumbled across the finish line of Hyner, and I'm still nursing tight quads! I don't think Joel believed me when I told him, but that race was the most physically exhausting thing I have ever done. It was my own fault really, I had no idea what to expect or how to train. Being in Waynesburg, there are no trails to get out and run on, just lots of blacktop. That, and i thought that everyone was exaggerating just how tough the course was. I'm here to bear witness: THEY WEREN'T! The first climb, around 1400' of gain, was the worst but also the most rewarding in terms of awesome view of the valley. (I tried to get some video while on the trail, but mainly you see the ground and only really catch a glimpse of the view.) Where I really began to experience problems was about mile seven when I crossed the creek for the third of about 958 times and went in to my knees, soaking my feet which left them feeling like they weighed seven pounds each. I hooked up with two other guys and they sorta prodded me along for the next two miles until we reached the second climb, finally ascending out of the creek! A long line of us hiked to the top of the mountain, where we got to the third aid station. I choked down a banana and some juice and ran/waddled down the trail which led to about a mile and a half descent down a rather technical trail just wide enough for one runner. Problem was, the rocks were all the wrong size which were all kicked up from the 100 other people who ran ahead of me, so there was no real good footing. That plus the fact that one runner tackled me off the trail while passing (I was going pretty slow) made it pretty frustrating. I was glad to finally get off that little rock garden of a trail and climb up the trail to SOB, which honestly was probably the easiest climb of all! When we got to the top we were told that it was all down hill for the next four or so miles. Man I really want to go punch that group of guys right in the throat! Although the uphills were only slight for the next mile or so, they were still most definitely UP! The last two miles is where I hit the wall. It was all down which one would think would be easier, but my quads were perpetually cramped up, my ankles kept giving out on the rocks, and I had nothing left in me to provide any energy. After stopping a few times to dry heave and get out one particularly nasty cramp from climbing up over a tree root, we finally got to sweet, glorious pavement! I've never been so happy to pound pavement in my life! That is until we turned to cross back over the bridge and the 30-40 mph wind gusts hampered all forward motion. So I walked the last .5 or so until I got in sight of the finish line, where I started to slog, giving the illusion that I had indeed ran the whole time. (It didn't work, you could definitely see me walking up the last little hill.) I immediately crashed on a big wooden chair for a few minutes, before lying on a picnic table for a while, and then eventually finding Joel who was all but hypothermic by the time I got him the key to the car.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Hyner is more than a challenge
Brian, Adam and I made the close to 2 hr. drive yesterday to Hyner Pennsylvania to tackle the Hyner Challenge. Hyner is about 20 miles north of Lock Haven on Rt. 120, and the challenge is a 16.3 mile run/hike through the area around Hyner. We decided we wanted to leave early so we could get there and pick up our packets and racing numbers, so a little before 5 AM we left from Brian's House. We got there and had our stuff by a little after 7:00 and it was just starting to spit rain but the race didn't start till 8:30 . We sat in the car for a while because it was so cold and windy we didn't want to leave the warmth. I was just going to wear shorts but decided to wear my tights under my shorts. (Good choice) About 7:45 we decided to go to the start/finish line and the line for people getting their numbers was so long we knew the race wasn't going to start on time so there was a shed with the doors open and we took shelter there till the start. When everyone got their numbers and they were ready to start it was getting close to 9:00 and I was freezing my butt off.
We all counted down the start of the race and bang we were off. The 1st mile is flat across the bridge and that's where the group started to thin out, I was told by somebody that ran it before to go pretty hard to be towards the front where it goes to singletrak so I did and it worked out good. The course goes into a narrow single track that takes you along the mountain with the river down below you on your right side. (Great view of the river) We ran along the river for maybe a mile and then a BIG sign said "Humble Hill" with an arrow pointing straight up this mountain. So I'm following a group of about 6-8 runners and we start up humble hill and some started to walk and I'm thinking why are they walking? After I passed a couple of them and got up the mountain a little bit I realized I was going to hard and was never going to be able to run up the mountain so I decided I would just do what the more experienced runners were doing, walking on the steep parts when they walked, and Running when they ran. Since this was my 1st trail run I really didn't know what to expect so it was a quick learning experience. The climb seem to go on and on and on and my calves were screaming by the time I got to the top, I think that climb is about 2 miles long. At this point I was still with 3 other runners and we started our decent to Reickert Hollow, they were much better descenders than I was but I hung on till we got to the water station at the bottom and then we started up again. I was going to hard again and had to back off cause I couldn't keep their pace so I just settled in to a pace that I was comfortable with. I thought the next section was really tough, (Johnson Run Hollow/climb) We were climbing up a hollow but we had to keep crossing back and forth over a fairly large creek, so when you ran through the water your shoes felt like they were 10 lbs. each and made that section very difficult. I struggled to the top following a guy that I caught up to earlier but he got away from me towards the top. I made up some time on the decent back into the hollow before the SOB climb, so now I was with 3 other guys to start the assent of the SOB by the time we got to the steep part of the climb there was only 3 of us left. We got to the top and at the water station the guy said its all down hill from here and I'm thinking thank goodness cause I was about done and still had along way to go. That definitely wasn't a true statement there is a false flat that seemed like went on forever. It was probably close to 2 miles and the trail was just a muddy mess with the rain coming down hard at times, made it more difficult. I finally got to the downhill and I started to recover a bit, at one point the trail hits a paved road for about 50 yrds and the guy there said 2 miles left so I continued to push on the downhill and I caught one of the guys that got away from me on the false flat about half way down. He let me around and I thought I better go as fast as I can down cause I know he is really strong on the flat and the last mile is flat across the bridge and a small kicker climb back to the start/finish line. I pushed as hard as I could and when I got on the bridge there was such a head wind and I was really struggling I thought I'm going to have to stop and walk a little bit but I turned around and I could see the guy behind gaining ground and I just dug deep and gutted it out. It was a very painful but exhilarating experience and you can bet I'll be back next year, Hopefully in better shape and more prepared. I was really happy with my time though, my goal was sub 3 hrs and I ran a 2:54:16. Hope this wasn't to long and boring but that was my race! If you like pain then you definitely do the Hyner cause it will kick you in the hyner. It kicked me in the Hyner!!!!
We all counted down the start of the race and bang we were off. The 1st mile is flat across the bridge and that's where the group started to thin out, I was told by somebody that ran it before to go pretty hard to be towards the front where it goes to singletrak so I did and it worked out good. The course goes into a narrow single track that takes you along the mountain with the river down below you on your right side. (Great view of the river) We ran along the river for maybe a mile and then a BIG sign said "Humble Hill" with an arrow pointing straight up this mountain. So I'm following a group of about 6-8 runners and we start up humble hill and some started to walk and I'm thinking why are they walking? After I passed a couple of them and got up the mountain a little bit I realized I was going to hard and was never going to be able to run up the mountain so I decided I would just do what the more experienced runners were doing, walking on the steep parts when they walked, and Running when they ran. Since this was my 1st trail run I really didn't know what to expect so it was a quick learning experience. The climb seem to go on and on and on and my calves were screaming by the time I got to the top, I think that climb is about 2 miles long. At this point I was still with 3 other runners and we started our decent to Reickert Hollow, they were much better descenders than I was but I hung on till we got to the water station at the bottom and then we started up again. I was going to hard again and had to back off cause I couldn't keep their pace so I just settled in to a pace that I was comfortable with. I thought the next section was really tough, (Johnson Run Hollow/climb) We were climbing up a hollow but we had to keep crossing back and forth over a fairly large creek, so when you ran through the water your shoes felt like they were 10 lbs. each and made that section very difficult. I struggled to the top following a guy that I caught up to earlier but he got away from me towards the top. I made up some time on the decent back into the hollow before the SOB climb, so now I was with 3 other guys to start the assent of the SOB by the time we got to the steep part of the climb there was only 3 of us left. We got to the top and at the water station the guy said its all down hill from here and I'm thinking thank goodness cause I was about done and still had along way to go. That definitely wasn't a true statement there is a false flat that seemed like went on forever. It was probably close to 2 miles and the trail was just a muddy mess with the rain coming down hard at times, made it more difficult. I finally got to the downhill and I started to recover a bit, at one point the trail hits a paved road for about 50 yrds and the guy there said 2 miles left so I continued to push on the downhill and I caught one of the guys that got away from me on the false flat about half way down. He let me around and I thought I better go as fast as I can down cause I know he is really strong on the flat and the last mile is flat across the bridge and a small kicker climb back to the start/finish line. I pushed as hard as I could and when I got on the bridge there was such a head wind and I was really struggling I thought I'm going to have to stop and walk a little bit but I turned around and I could see the guy behind gaining ground and I just dug deep and gutted it out. It was a very painful but exhilarating experience and you can bet I'll be back next year, Hopefully in better shape and more prepared. I was really happy with my time though, my goal was sub 3 hrs and I ran a 2:54:16. Hope this wasn't to long and boring but that was my race! If you like pain then you definitely do the Hyner cause it will kick you in the hyner. It kicked me in the Hyner!!!!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Countdown to Hyner
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| 6-10 Trail |
Adam and Brian write their blogs like English majors and I write like I need English majorly. I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents about the coming weekend. As Brian and I were running the 6-10 trail on Sunday we decided Hyner is definitely going to harder than what we were thinking back when we decided to sign up for it. I wish we would have found the 6-10 trail a couple months ago and could have done a few more treks up and down the trail. Once again if you never hiked or ran the 6-10 trail it is an awesome 6 mile jaunt from the bottom of cresson mountain up to below the Lemon House and back. The 1st mile is a wide grassy/packed gravel road and then turns into singletrack to the top which is about 2 more miles, there are some very steep parts but I think everyone would enjoy it. The trial is marked fairly well and after you do it a couple times it is easy to navigate. Now about Hyner my goal is the same as Adams, under 3 hours but we'll see how that shakes out on race day. The legs felt really good on Sunday and I did an light tempo run today and felt really good. I'm going to run easy the next 2 days then take Friday off. Get out and enjoy the outdoors!!!
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| Brian at the top of 6-10 Trail |
Hyner Here We Come!!!
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| Joel at top of 6-10 Trail |
Rain, rain go away!
So, four days to zero hour! I'm psyched out of my mind for this race! The only thing I wish is that it were going to be a nice, sunny day instead of the 51 degree rainfest that is foretasted. However, should it be pouring like it is today, it will definitely make things much more interesting. Streams will be higher, hills will be muddier, times will be much slower, and the experience will be all the more sweeter. No matter what happens, it's going to be GREAT!
We haven't even finished our first truly crazy run and we are already planning our second! Today while procrastinating, I stumbled upon the Ragnar Relay: a 197 mile relay race which can be composed of 6 person or 12 person teams. Because, in my head at least, using twelve people to do that distance doesn't really make it as awesome as it could be, we are going to be doing the Ultra, which is the six person team. Check the site out here. Thirty three miles each really isn't much when you break it up into three legs. It's going to be fun! Gotta think of a team name though... BuckNakedRunners? The Crazies? Give us some ideas. ALSO, we need to provide three volunteers to help out at switch points and so forth so family members clear your schedules for the first weekend in October! I think this is fair warning.
Lastly before I have to do some work, I'll give you an update on the store. We are working on wrapping up all the last financial aspects, the building is going through some slight renovations to switch it over from a sandwich shop to a retail location and we will be painting very soon, and this past week I placed our order for Nathan Hydration and Altra Footwear. (If you check out Altra's website, we're officially one of their retailers... does that make us a real store??) I meet with Brooks on Friday, and we will see what happens from there. We're really getting down to the wire, so prayers are acceptable. The goal is middle of May, so I really hope to get the gears moving a little faster here in the next week!
So now I must apply myself and try to get some work done... or sleep, whichever comes first. Oh, and since Brian threw down the gauntlet, I will put myself out there too. Goal for Saturday is a sub three hour finishing time. The winner of my age group last year finished in 2:22, so we will see what I can pull off. I hope to get some pics and possibly some video from the race, so check back Sunday! Till then.
Monday, April 11, 2011
The last training session
Yes, the Hyner is 6 days away. Joel and I decided to get one last intense workout in before we begin to taper this week. We wanted Adam to join but he decided to run a race. We missed you buddy. Anyway, as I was running the 6 - 10 trail, reality set in. I am going to die. The 6 or 7 miles that we did about killed me. Not sure how I will make it 16.4. Somehow I'll dig deep and make it to the finish. My goal is under 4 hours. I know that was a bold move posting that here but I might as well be accountable for it. I'll let J-man and Adam post their goal times if they feel so inclined. Back to the run.....it was awesome. We ran from the Muleshoe up to the Lemon House and then back down. It was such a wonderful feeling when we popped out at the top of the mountain and could see the historic landmark around Rt 22 from us. I just kept thinking to myself, I just ran that mountain, WOW! We had a ton of fun as we always do. I must admit, I am not a runner but I could get into running much more if we keep hitting the trails.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
6 - 10 Trail Run
J-man picked me up from work on Wednesday afternoon. The weather was nice. Probably about 50 degrees and the wind was calm. We decided to do the 6 - 10 Trail. Yes, the 6 to 10 Trail. If you don't know what the means, then shame on you. Anyone from Blair County should know why it is called the 6 to 10 trail. (Inside joke). Anyway, we had a great run. We did 6 miles in 1:00. I was happy with that time. We weren't going for time, we were just having fun. But I was happy with my effort in that hour. J-man was doing doubles yesterday. He already run hard in the morning and then ran a lot easier with me. It was great though. I enjoyed running with him and I enjoyed him helping to pace me some. The trail was soft and a little wet but was fun. We run to the top of the mountain. We didn't run the whole way to the Lemon House but we know we were close. We are planning on hitting that trail again on Sunday. We are training for the Hyner but we are also running it just for fun. Yes we have fun killing ourselves on trail. We're crazy - outdoor crazy!
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