Back to bringing ultras into focus, and Dahlgren 50k race recap

I think I'm back.  Not that I was ever gone, but it sure felt like it for awhile.  Really, ever since Chicago almost a year ago things have felt off.  Sure, I was injured, I came back, I ran some, I ran Boston.  But the whole time I just never felt "perfect", and then after Boston the aches came back.  I was able to complete Northface in a respectable time but didn't feel great either and then had to take even more time off.  Somehow (thanks largely in-part to my newfound love of Cycling) I have managed to stay in shape and although I have definitely lost of lot of speed my longer distance endurance has stuck around.

It hasn't been until the last few weeks but I have been feeling great.  Some days I'll have a run where ill feel on-fire, oozing with energy, and then another day I'll be feeling tired and dead legged - this should actually be viewed as "normal" I suppose.  I've been keeping up with the cycling pretty well too and I think its really helping with my cardio, sticking with a couple tough rides each week and some easier riding another day.

I had really been itching to get another trail race in, and after some unfinished business last year at Dahlgren I wanted to return.  I told myself I wouldn't sign up if I was feeling achy, but after a 4 hour hot and sweaty training run a couple weeks ago and a few more shorter distance tempo runs I gave myself the green light to sign up.

Race Summary

Race: Dahlgren Rail Trail 50k
Date: August 3, 2013
Time: 4:34:52


I somehow got up at 3:45am the morning of the race, picked up my buddy at 4:15am, proceeded to get pulled over by a Cop for doing 51 in a 35 MPH zone (no ticket issued - he was obviously looking for drunk drivers at such an hour), and then high-tail it to the race start.

This year Dahlgren had a different start/end than last year.  I'm guessing the rail-trail is finally finished so now they could start at Mile Marker 0.  I actually liked last year's locale better, had a big field to hang out in, plenty of space, and a big outdoor pavilion.  This year was fine though, and actually easier to find.  After I got on I-95 South there was basically 2 turns to find the race start.

The race check-in was in a red caboose, pre-briefing at 6am, and the gun (yes - the director had a cap-gun) went off at 6:30am sharp.  A few packs stomped out ahead of everyone else and then about 20 runners back is where I was.  I was running with a couple buddies I knew and we were fine keeping a relaxed, comfortable pace together.

We got lucky with the weather.  Last year it was 80 and humid at the start, and got into the 90s as the searing sun came up.  This year was much different, still warm and humid (I mean, this is southern Virginia in August we are taking about) but not nearly as hot and overcast the whole time.  Starting temps around mid-70s and they didn't get much higher than 80 that day.  We even had a few small sprinkles towards the end.

There isn't much to report.  We just kept on trucking, blowing through the aid stations for the most part.  We were all carrying hydration so it was usually just a quick walk through to grab a cup of Gatorade and maybe a cookie.  At the turn-a-round (roughtly 25 km out), we all fully refilled and had bigger snacks.  The women's leader at the time excitedly passed us there opting not to grab anything but I felt bad because I know rushing through aid stations only comes back to haunt you in Ultras.

Heading back my cardio and energy level felt great, but my legs were starting to get tired and stiff.  I felt it coming on around 22ish miles in, and I had to slow down in a few sections, but was able to power through it for the most part.  Our 3 runner pack started to thin out too - one guy was feeling great and went on ahead while the other hung back a bit.  I stayed in the middle.  About half-way back there was a steep section that I walked up, a great chance to stretch my legs and get a breather.  Back on the flat trail it was time to pick it up.

I soon started to realize the trail markers were giving us a countdown.  The 5.5 Mile Marker was tough to stomach, but more encouraging was the 4.0 Mile Marker.  I figured we would pass at least a handful of people on the way back (and I was right).  What I didn't expect was to still be able to pick off 2 more runners, 1 around the 5 mile mark and another guy with only about 2.5 miles to go.  At the 2 Miler Marker things get much easier mentally - just keep it steady for 1 more mile, then a half a mile, than a quarter mile.  If you were keeping track that leaves us with quarter mile left, an opportune time to pick it up, stride it out and shave a few seconds off your time!  Something tells me my friends and I all had similar experiences in the final few miles, all finishing within about 10 minutes of each other.

New 50k PR of 4:34:52, 12th place overall.  I have to say, not as good as I thought I would do (or could do someday?), but pretty happy about it.  This was about 5 minutes faster than last year, but last year was much hotter causing me to walk/run some of the latter miles, and I also had a lot of tactical mistakes.  Tactical mistakes being: taking too much time in aid stations, using a drop-bag that burned up some time to mess with, and stopping at the port-a-pottie.  Taking those into account, my moving speed was probably faster last year.  However, I was coming off of consistent 60-70 mile weeks last year, and this year I had been taking it very easy all Summer.  My longest run since Northface (which was 2 months ago) was only 23 miles/ 3.5 hours long too, so running Dahlgren really gave me hope that as long as you make an effort to stay in maintenance mode your endurance sticks around.  The PR is certainly a plus too!

The race starting area, very low key just like an Ultra should
be!  Check in was in the red caboose.  Starting line was
off in the distance by the white tent.

Talk about a low-key event.  This felt like a real ultra, or at least it aligned with my vision of one.  Beyond the 30,000 person Marathons, beyond, the social 10k races with drink tickets at the end, and beyond the high-production, advertising plentiful Northface sponsored trail races, you can still find tiny races where a group of strangers show up, run a lot, and head home.  There are lots of plus sides to this so don't take it as a negative that its so small, its just a different experience.  Getting in (and out) is a breeze, its a friendly crowd, and you are bound to recognize people if you show up to enough of these.  Heck, I even recognized a guy I talked to at Logan Airport after I ran Boston!

Not the most exciting race map - it was just a huge out and back (which worked nicely).

For some reason this past year my favorite post-race refueling food is french toast, preferably with caramel, syrup, and sliced bananas on top.  Its basically sugar and carbs, which I don't have a problem with after running for over 4 hours.  This was probably thanks to my introduction to The Paramount in Boston, but you can find it all over.  Silver Diner is a start --  Bananas never tasted so good!

Next up: keeping on with my training plan, but also staying cautiously optimistic to not over-do it.  I want to keep up with the cycling, which takes places mostly Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  I'll need to work in some trail runs too, one of which needs to take place in the mountains.  In a few weeks is the Reston Century 100 mile Bike Ride, which I am viewing as more of a mega-workout than a true test.  Then a week later I have got the Iron Mountain 30 Mile Trail Run (still tempted to do the 50 mile option...).  This should test my hill climbing and descending abilities.

The JFK 50 miler remains my focus race for Fall.  I will have a bit of a blip in late September, when I go to Europe for 2 and a half weeks - 1 of those weeks being spent at Oktoberfest in Munich drinking copious amounts of beer.  Though I'm bringing running shoes along something tells me that will be mostly a period of resting (and liquid carbo-loading).  Then I can get back at it for 2 months until JFK, upping the mileage and really hitting the trails in the cool, dry fall weather!

Specificity, specifically

I really think my long term plan moving forward is to abide by the rule of Specificity:  that is, focus on what matters to you at the cost of other distances.  I want to keep up the ultras, even at the cost of my 5k times.  This means less track-work (but not necessarily no track work), slower track work and speed sessions, more miles on the trails and longer duration workouts on the weekends.  Doesn't necessarily mean more mid-week miles so hoping it doesn't mess with my work schedule.  Staying injury free is a huge deal, so I will be keeping up with the cycling.

I have plenty of Ultras penciled in for next year, and while I look forward to all of them they are all in support of my one goal for 2014: that is, to complete the Grindstone 100 miler in Swoope, Virginia.