Refreshing Kindness
One year ago today, a kind man offered me a nice cold drink after I emerged from the woods covered in sweat and deer flies.
The world might be a happier place if we all thought to give refreshment to the sweaty people.
Slate Run 25K
200 + 16 + 200 = A LOT OF MILES!
Is getting up at 4 AM on a Saturday (making your wife and two-year-old do so also) to drive 200 miles in order to hop out of the car and run 16 miles worth of rocky muddy trails up and down big central Pennsylvania mountains crazy?
Most people would say, “YES!”
But as you can see in the pictures below, I was accompanied by 249 equally crazy friends! I don’t know how far anyone else had to drive that morning, but it’s a safe bet that a large percentage would have done just what I did for the opportunity to run in those hills. If you are crazy enough to enjoy running on the mountains for multiple hours, riding in a car for three hours is no big deal.
This is what I did on June 1 in order to run in the Slate Run 25K trail race in Slate Run, PA.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, But Not Many Feet of Elevation
Photos never do justice to elevation. The mountains never appear as tall as they are in person. And photos can’t convey the burning in your thighs when you are climbing up, up, up and then finally the ground levels out at a scenic view… only to round a bend and continue up, up, up. Your thighs burn and the pictures are silent about it.
The pictures also don’t show how good it feels once you get to the top of the mountain and you can run on wonderful single track trail for a few miles. Then your thighs come alive!
So Much Water!
There was so much water after the second aid station! The trail insisted on weaving it’s way back and forth across the streams, sometimes knee-deep. That mountain water was rather chilly! By the time I crossed a road around mile 10, my feet were numb. I mentioned this to a volunteer at the road crossing. Her response? “Welcome to Pennsylvania!” She also asked if I needed water, which struck me as ironic after I just complained about. She said the next aid station was only 2 miles away. So I kept plugging along.
After the road, the trail continued uphill through more water. That’s where I hit the wall. The 200 miles of driving caught up with me. My feet hurt from the cold water. There was no end of it in sight. I was no longer running. I was stopping more often. I started counting my steps, forcing myself to do 3 sets of 10 steps before I stopped to catch my breath. I got angry at myself each time and stopped at step 8 just to be a jerk to myself. The water was roaring down the mountain. I so wanted to lie down in dry silence. Someone passed me at that point. He said, “I think we’re getting closer to the top.” I sarcastically thought, “Aren’t we constantly getting closer to the top with each step? But that doesn’t mean we are close to the top!” I don’t think I said it out loud.
Near the top, the water slowed and quieted. I stuck my hat in and splashed water all over my head. That snapped me back to reality a bit and I continued on in better spirits.
Enjoy Your Ride Home! Come See Us Again!
At 5 hours and 8 minutes, I hobbled over the finish line. Spasms in my hamstrings. Spasms in my thighs. Spasms in one of my calves. I moved like an ape in running shoes. But I finished.
Then I remembered: We still had to drive 200 miles home. We were a good ways from civilization. When we got to Danville we stopped at Wendy’s and I pigged out. (I pigged out for a bunch of days actually.) The spasms hit me off and on while my wife drove. Later she said, “Maybe you should give this up. You’re in pain and you don’t look like you’re having fun now.”
This race is scheduled for June 6, 2020. As soon as I shake these spasms I think I’ll walk on over to my computer. “Hello, ultrasignup.com.”
Boulder Beast 2018: The Road to Hell is Paved
Here are some photos from the Boulder Beast trail race in Lock Haven, PA (September 22, 2018).
Traversing the boulder field was great fun and not as easy as one might expect. It’s a lot more significant in person than it appears to be from a distance. I wish I had taken more photos, especially through the middle section of the race. But that’s the section where I could only focus on moving ahead to get to the end. I was under prepared, overweight, and running with spasms in my quads most of the way, except, of course, when I was going up those long steep hills, stopping to lean on trees every 10 yards. There was no running then, only spasms.
On one of those hills between mile 11 and 16, I swore to myself this would be the one and only time I did this race. I doubled up on the swearing that night as my legs seized over and over. But as I spotted Rote Overlook high up on the mountain as I headed back to New Jersey on I-80 the next day, I recalled how stunning that view was and I began to miss that course already. Yes, it was damn hard. Yes, I was fairly miserable for long stretches. So what?
Now I have a new goal: get back to Lock Haven next September and do better!
By the way, the first 3 miles of the course are on paved roads, hence the title of this post.
=> Click here to see more photos by Michael McNeil. <=
George Washington Bridge Challenge 10K
My wife and I ran the George Washington Bridge Challenge 10K today. How often does anyone get the chance to run on one of the busiest bridges in the country? (One time per year, as far as I know.) That’s what made this race so appealing.
The race started in Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. We took a ramp up onto the bridge. Then we ran out and back over the bridge twice. Coming off the bridge we ran along Main Street in Fort Lee and then down Henry Hudson Drive to the Ross Dock Picnic Area to finish. The majority of the race was on the flat bridge and then downhill after that, hardly any uphill. A nice run!
Considering I had only run twice in the past two months, including this race, I was pleased with how my running felt and the fact that I finished in 1 hour, 7 minutes. I struggled now and then, walked when I felt like it. I went into the race with the idea of simply running according to how I felt and not worrying about my time or pace. I didn’t worry about comparing myself to anyone else. I just chugged along and enjoyed the scenery and the satisfying feeling of moving my feet. I was actually surprised that my time was as good as it turned out!
Here are some photos:
Skin in the Game
My last run introduced a new challenge to the mix of getting ready for the Hyner race: BLISTERS. With three weeks to go until the race, the blister problem has become a Gordian Knot situation that needs to be solved ASAP.
When I first got these Saucony Perigrine shoes a few months ago I worried the heels might prove to be a problem. But I ran in them a handful of times on rail trails and then on trails at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. Their heels weren’t as snug as I’d like but they didn’t seem to be a problem. I ran at the Delaware Water Gap a few times with snow on the trails, my distance averaging 6 miles. It wasn’t until the trails were clear and I was able to go farther that I encountered the problem of blisters on my heels.
I did a little research and decided to do a test run near home today. I slapped on multiple Band-Aids and wore two pairs of wool socks. I went over to the Dickerson Mine Preserve (not the same place as the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, but named after the same guy).
My plan was do run 5 miles. By mile 2 my heels were on fire again. The double socks didn’t help. I ground out 3 more miles, running more than walking because I just couldn’t wait to be done. Plus, I was in a hurry to get back to the drawing board to find a different solution to this problem.
And one other thing. It snowed again today. Aren’t we like 2 weeks into Spring? What the heck?
Here are a few photos from the Preserve:
