In the long running quest to keep my pants fitting as I age, I try to run one Big Race a year. Personally, I define a Big Race as a half marathon distance or more. I ran my first half marathon in 2003, and most years since, I have either run a Big Race, or trained for a big mountain trip. As the time for the most recent running endeavour came along, I realized that it would be my tenth Big Race. I have previously run eight half marathons (including one trail half marathon) and one full marathon. For my tenth race, I wanted to branch out and do something different. In the past several years, I learned to appreciate trail running. There is a decent network of trails close to my house, and any time in the woods is time well spent. And the trail races that I have done have all been really enjoyable experiences. It is hard to explain to someone who has just done road races, but the pace and expectations on trail is very different. You will be walking some, and it's ok!
Of course, when you get into serious trail running, the Ultra world is where you end up. It seems pretty intimidating. The distance numbers are so large, you don't even have a concept of how far that really even is. So, for my first Ultra, I choose an Ultra "lite", the 25K. A standard full Ultra is 50K, so I think the 25K is equivalent to the half marathon, but considerably harder. 25K is 16.3 miles, which is further than I have run since my full marathon in 2005. I knew the pure time and distance of it was going to be a challenge, never mind the unpredictable trail conditions. When it came time to pick an actual race to train for, I had two options that were close to me, The Bell Ringer at Montgomery Bell State Park (in December) and the Swamp Stomper at Meeman Shelby Forest State Park (in January). The Swamp Stomper worked in my schedule better so I started training in early November.
Of course January weather is crazy unpredictable. And of course the race ended up being held in the aftermath of a pretty bad winter storm, for West Tennessee anyway. The trail was covered with ice and snow and the temperatures were in the teens at the start. We had to painstakingly pick our way down the steep hillsides and towards the end we were crawling on our hands and knees on the hill climbs because it was too slick to even stand up. I finished about 45 minutes slower than I had wanted, but I finished. Here are some of my thoughts about the experience:
1) My training was pretty manageable. In the past, I have trained for trail races by pretty much training for a half marathon and maybe running some short trail runs here and there. This time I ran my 4 mile speed runs on the road, and all of my long runs on trail. I only got up to a 10 mile trail training run, but I know I should have topped out on a little longer distance.
2) My shoes were da-bomb (I have a license to still say that). On a lark last spring, I used my R.E.I. member coupon and dividend to get some real trail runners. I ended up getting a pair of Merrell All Out Crush. They are not quite ultra light shoes, but there is significantly less to them than most Hoka Ones. They have soft soles with almost cleat like treads and meshy uppers. In fact I actually wore them while coaching soccer this fall and ran drills with the kids. This summer I also took them on a day hike in Colorado and was very impressed. On race day, when we were going down the steep icy slopes, the folks with Hoka Ones were sliding every which way. My steps were staying firmly planted. In fact, over the whole 16.3 miles, I only fell once. I see another pair in my not so distant future.
After that one fall
3) There are still things about Ultra gear culture that I don't get. Mainly what I don't understand are the water carrying strategies. I was one of the few weirdos that just opted for a regular Camelbak. Ultras aren't road races where there are water stations every mile. This course only had four. Because we were going to be out in the woods, at some points a long way from a road, I also wanted to carry and protect my phone. Additionally, I wanted the ability to store away any layers that I ended up shedding (even though I only ended up shedding my hat and gloves). Because most of my outdoor foundation is very oriented toward hiking and some mountain biking, I thought a Camelbak would be a smart move. I even upgraded my 18 year old Camelbak to a fancy new Camelbak Rogue, which is pretty small, but has just enough space to take care of business. I even ran a few long runs wearing it and thought it felt great. On race day, I noticed that there were very few true hydration bladder systems in sight. Most folks were wearing vests or belts that held water bottles. And several had the hand held bottles that are strapped to your hand the whole time. I just don't get it. I know from backpacking, the most efficient way to carry weight is as close to your back as possible. That is where you put the heavy things in your pack. I also know that you don't want weight pulling on your shoulders, it messes up your breathing. I also know from many exhausting afternoons coming down from mountains, that you don't need any weight in your hands that isn't completely necessary. You will be surprised how just carrying trekking poles or an ice ax will wear you down. Your arms need to swing as natural with your stride as possible. So why don't they wear Camelbaks? I guess because they slosh around, but I don't see how that is any different from the two half liter bottles you have bouncing off your cheeks from those vests. In any event, I like my Camelbak, so I guess I will just be a weirdo. It won't be the first time.
4) I think I am starting to understand the Ultra ethos. I am not gonna lie. The conditions for 2018 Swamp Stomper sucked. And as much as I complained about the cold, if it had been warm and wet, it would have been just as miserable. The frozen cookie dough trail surface that we bounded down would have been like running through quicksand. There would have been just as many falls in the mud as there were falls on the ice, although they probably would have been less painful. If the whole point of the Ultra is to overcome adversity, then this event was a classic. I was impressed with how it was handled by the runners. Even though some people quit within the first few hundred yards, and one person was taken to the hospital, pretty much everyone else stuck to it and powered on through to the finish without much complaining. I even noticed that I wasn't the only one smiling and laughing as we crawled along the treacherous stretches. I guess there are more crazies out there than I realized.
This is the fun stuff.
So, long story short, I started out this quest just wanting to say that had done one, but I can definitely see some more Ultra crazy races in my future. I have had my fill of snow running for a long while though.
Here are some interesting ideas
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